Concrete Proof

I hope you read HERE, because this is a follow up.

All my life I've been a devout bargain hunter.

 I've always loved it, and evidently I 

talk about it quite a lot.

(Who, me???)

I have never forgotten a story I told at

one of the first Bible Study Fellowship 

fellowships I ever attended.
(Seems redundant, but these are our small groups

 meeting in a home after class.)
This would have been in the year 2000.

The Metzgers had just been to Galveston

on vacation.

I can't remember whether it was Madeline or Susannah, 
but one of them came home proudly 
showing me a bracelet and telling me she had

gotten it for "only $5" after bargaining with the seller!

(This would have been when they were

about 6 and 4 years old.)

She then told the salesperson that she couldn't wait

to show me, because

"My Mimi just loves a bargain."

I told the class that I hoped, instead, one day

 my grandgirls would say,

"My Mimi just LOVES Jesus."

I started to incorporate that story into my last blog.

I didn't, and I didn't know why.
Now I do.

It was not in God's timing. 

 This morning I found this comment
 on my Facebook page:

"Madeline Metzger I'm so glad that I have you to look up to Mimi!! You're so selfless! Truly the love of Christ, even to people who will never meet you. I love you!!"


Which reminded me of
 my angel Susannah's comment on THIS BLOG
("May I Tell You My Story?")
on September 3rd of this year.
 

"Susannah Metzger I love this Mimi!!!!  You're such an amazing woman of Christ and I'm blessed to have you to look up to. You inspire me!"



 Nothing in this life could mean any more to me.
"Thank you, God, for answering my prayer, and for
enabling me to remember my request and
recognize Your answer." 

 

My Kind of Fun!!!

Actually...at least a dozen exclamation points' worth!!!

It began with my popping into the nail shop

to get my toes pedi'd.

There was no one available at the time,

so I needed to return in 30 minutes.

Gene Allen's is right next door, so what

better place to spend spare time?

When I went in I saw these:

Hmmm.  This had the look of a bargain hunter's dream!
It was!
Everything I could fit in this sack from the sale section
would be $20!
Actually, according to the salesladies, there was
not a lot left, even though the sale had just
started that morning.
That did not deter me.
I'm always on the lookout for things for 
Mission Arlington
for their Christmas store, and, I'm tellin' you,
Miss Tillie will welcome anything with open arms!


Well, the first thing I saw were books!
There were 10 of these: (originally $9.95!)

and 2 of these (originally $24.95, and with the
security tabs on the batteries still in place!)

Next, the sweet saleslady showed me these:

Three perfect snow globes--not a chip!
(Tinker Bell $44.95, Captain Hook $79.95, 
and Dumbo $44.95!!!)


Pretty quickly I went to two sacks!


I got 4 great looking Maverick t-shirts
(a S, a M, and 2 L's) $24.95 each

Five pretty pastel scarves: ($12.99 each!)

*Does everyone know that children of the apartment
ministries of Mission Arlington get to come
select a gift at Christmas for their mothers?
So...doesn't have to be just toys!


I got 14 of these little animals soaps (or bubble baths--
I'm not exactly sure, but they're cute!)

ETC., ETC., ETC.!!!


Here's a picture of all my loot!

If you'll notice, the snow globes are sitting
on top of their original boxes!
A giant thanks to Becky at Gene Allen's
for going the extra mile(s) for me!


Of course, a dedicated bargain shopper like I am
would add up the total original costs
vs.
the sale cost.
I paid $43, including tax.

Get ready for this--
$724, NOT including tax!!!

Definitely the bargain of my long lifetime!


I'll never find another bargain quite like this,
but I do run across really good close-out 
type deals occasionally.
If you find something irresistible and have some
"discretionary funds," don't forget
Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex!


I had the time of my life,
and I owe it all to you...Gene Allen's Hallmark!!! 

"Miss America--You've Come a Long Way..."

but I'm sure I'd best not call you 'baby'!

 Did anyone else watch the pageant last Saturday?
Or maybe I should say, will anyone admit to
watching?

Well, it was impressive!

The production was slick, gorgeous, just about perfection!
It was condensed to a strict 90 minutes, so
there were no fillers and no wasted time.

The contestants were beautiful, well spoken, 

intelligent, and talented.

Well...talented except for maybe the winner!

**There were opera singers**

**There was a marvelous pianist**

**A former American Idol finalist**

**Excellent dancers**

And then there was the winner...

doing the cup song.

 A pretty but pretty laid back version of the cup song.

She said she was hoping to encourage and 

make happy all the 9-year-olds that would be watching.

"Uh...but what about the judges?

I thought they were older than that!"

Here's a shot of her parents after she performed.

Her mom is holding her own red cup, 

and her dad is saying, "Look at me, all you suckers

who paid for dance, voice, and piano lessons.  

Not only did I get out for a red cup, I didn't

even have to buy fancy shoes!"

(I hope you can see--she's barefoot.)

Now if you're into the Miss America thing at all,

you are probably saying,

"Well, there's a lot more to it than just the talent."

That's true. but...

Talent is supposed to be more important than

anything else--35%.
(Interview 25%, Swimwear 15%, Evening Wear 20%,
and the onstage question 5%.)

Speaking of the questions...

The ones from these judges to these finalists
sent shock waves through media world.

I certainly question the judgment of the judges!!!

The finalists were given a whopping 
TWENTY (20!) SECONDS 
to answer the hardest questions imaginable.
I must say I thought much more of the
contestants and their answers
than I did of the judges and their questions.

Kathy Ireland asked one poor contestant:

"We were all rocked by the video of football star

Ray Rice punching his wife Janay.

She's standing by him.

As a woman, what do you think of her decision?

I wish the contestant had said:

"What I think is that your decision to ask that

question is totally inappropriate!"

Instead, she answered as well as possible.

This one is even worse:

Brigadier General Ann McDonald asked,

"The savagery of the ISIS threat to our security

was demonstrated by the gruesome videos of

two journalists and an aid worker being beheaded.

What should our country's response be?"

Whaaat?  Ridiculous!

We should make her President, not Miss America,

if she has the answer to that!

It reminds me of the days when the joke was that

every girl's platform was "world peace."

The judges might as well have asked,

"Now Miss XYZ, exactly how do you plan to bring about

world peace if you become Miss America?"

Yeah, this pageant's come a long way since 

sweet old Bert Parks sang 

There she is, Miss America, 

and the judges asked the contestants
questions like, 

"If you were an animal, what would you be?"

   

 

Ten "Most Favorite" Books!

No one has actually tagged me to list the 10 books

that have most impacted my life.

So...I'm just playin' like someone did!

 Without spending a lot of time thinking, these

are my choices.

There is a wide variety, somewhat following

the path of my life.

1.  The Bible

 {Really in a category all to itself}

2.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

{The earliest "favorite" in my memory}

3.  Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman

{Daily devotions which carried me through the

Alzheimer years}

 4.  The Testament by John Grisham

{A Grisham with a message}

5.  The Firm by John Grisham

{Grisham had me at The Firm)

6.  1,000 Places to See Before You Die 
by Patricia Schultz

{Never dreamed I'd have any reason to own this}

7.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

{Stirring, gut wrenching, unforgettable}

8.  The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

{If I love it so much, why haven't I finished it?}

9.  Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

{Even more stirring, gut wrenching, and

unforgettable than The Help}

10.  Evidence That Demands A Verdict by

Josh McDowell

{Irrefutable, amazing evidence for a Creator God}



That was fun!

Anyone reading this is hereby challenged to list
your favorites!

 

My Trip to the Apple Store

I had three back-to-back appointments.

There is a bit of a doe-see-doe before you actually

get your turn at the genius bar.

You check in, you are moved to this table,

someone scouts out your problems,
you are moved to another table,

then you get assigned to a genius.

As I was waiting my turn, I checked out all

the genii.  (That's my plural of genius.)

There was one who was older than the rest,

had very long, curly salt and pepper hair

parted sharply down the center,

and a long, straggly beard.

(You were wondering if it was a male or female

genius, weren't you?)
 I thought, "That's probably who I'll get."


He was probably scanning the sea of people 
waiting, thinking, "I'll probably get the
old white-haired lady with all the frou-frou stuff."
Yes, here's what I was totin'.

 My shocking pink MacBook Pro, my pink clad
(w/Mickey Mouse!) iPad Mini
(a gift of Jay and Terri),
and my leopard covered iPhone.
Along with my looong list of semi intelligent questions.


His name was Chris.  Yep, we got each other.
I could tell right away he was going to be great.
He turned on my computer and immediately
reached up, touched something, and voila!
My computer came to life. 
It was a beautiful thing.
I could see it!!!!!


I hadn't even put my problem with seeing my
computer on my list.
I had rather grown used to it.
About a month ago, something seemed to happen.
  I could no longer see it as well as I had.
I blamed it on glare and closed all the shades.
I held it up real close to my eyes.
That was a sight to see!!!
I used my magnifying glass--more than usual!


No one had ever told me that you could control
the brightness of the screen.
(Well, if they did, I forgot.)
All Chris did was press "F2" and I had a
bright new computer!
I'm sure I had accidentally turned it down.
 I doubt that he's ever had a customer so excited
over such a small thing. 
(I actually feel it was kinda pitiful.)
I think it inspired him to try to get through
all my first world problems.


And get through them he did!
He answered every one.
I can now not only take a screen shot
but shoot just part of a page!
And drop it in my iPhotos!
I have an external hard drive for back up.
My phone no longer switches to the
French alphabet constantly!
Etc., etc., etc.


 The Apple Store is a happy place for me.
It is also a "happenin" place.
I sort of put on my swag just walkin' in there!
I really do!
And in spite of my very limited knowledge
and slowness in understanding,
I have never been treated disrespectfully at all.
They allow me to feel cool!


I HEART APPLE!
(and Chris)



 

May I Tell You My Story?

Last Sunday at church I was again challenged to write

"My Story" and share it with at least

one person this week.

The story of how Jesus came into my life and

why He will be my Lord forever.

I can't tell you how many years I've realized that

I need (and want) to do this.

In my usual perfectionist manner, I was and am hesitant.

Not because I'm not sure.

Because I'm afraid I won't tell it perfectly.

Because I'm afraid it will be too long.

If it's not too long, then I may leave something out.

"Get thee behind me Satan!"

I'm doin' this.

 ************************

 From the time I was very young, I was blessed to be 

surrounded by the knowledge and love of Jesus.

 My parents were believers.

They took us to church every week.

I invited Jesus to live in my heart at a young age and

was baptized.

I feel that I muddled through my child raising years,

really trying to handle life in my own power.

 I was a faithful church attender, and would have

been called a "good person."

I devoted a fair amount of time to attempting to

 serve others... again, as best I could powered by

my own ability and fluctuating dedication.

 I feel that my faith in Jesus Christ was always

there, but very anemic.

I was lacking that personal relationship with Him;

that surrender of my desires to His plan.

(Wow.  Did God ever cover me. 

Just look at His two children, Susan and Jay!

To Him be the glory.)

Two things happened in the year 2001.

Simultaneously.  

Alzheimer's in Jack and Bible Study Fellowship

for me.

I began a steady progression toward 

constant communion and closeness

 with my Savior.

And He was my Savior through this time.

(As always.)

He truly rescued me from despair.

He drew me closer.  I now feel Him

 every minute of my life.

I pray without ceasing.

He is my life.

He is my world.

Without Him I could do nothing.

Without Him I'd surely fail.

Without Him I would be drifting,

Like a ship without a sail.

And that is My Story.