When I was small, I thought the 4th of July fireworks celebration was just for my birthday.
Our cousins from Wichita frequently came in, as well as the California cousins, Grandma and Poppie Swift, and our aunts and uncles from northeast Oklahoma. The reunion was usually at our house.
The meals were usually the same—fried chicken, corn on the cob, fried potatoes, cornbread and brown beans, green beans, watermelon and cantaloupe. For dessert, Mom always made blackberry cobbler for my birthday.…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on July 2, 2009 at 8:11am —
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Oklahoma and Kansas has had more than their share of tornados the last few years, with several towns having almost total destruction. Storms are inevitable in Tornado Alley, as this area is called.
In May 10 years ago, the town of Midwest City, a suburb of Oklahoma City, experienced a devastating tornado that destroyed many homes. A day or two later, Vinita experienced a downpour of rain, which caused a flashflood, resulting in 3 feet of water in my mother’s home, as well as other homes in Vini…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on April 27, 2009 at 12:31pm —
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We women just love a wedding. We get to ooooh and ahhh over the beautiful bride who never looked prettier than on her wedding day. We dream of our own romantic engagement and fondly reminisce about our wedding day. We laugh with the other guests over the antics of the ring-bearer and flower girl.
And we get misty-eyed at the taking of the vows, wishing they would have used the old church vows, “For better, for worse, in sickness and in health.”
When the couple exchange rings and vows, sometime…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on April 9, 2009 at 11:24am —
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JEWELS FROM THE WORD
ALL ABOUT JESUS
My grandson and I painted ceramics this week. We painted a decorated Easter egg, two little ceramic Easter baskets, and an Easter egg with a chick sticking his head out. Engraved on the egg were the words “Just out” which my grandson colored diff…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on March 21, 2009 at 7:08pm —
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During World War II, Mother worked at the Army base laundry where Dad was stationed and because she could iron so well, she was assigned to iron the officers’ uniforms. After I was born, Dad bought Mom a wringer washer, a sewing machine, and iron, so that she could take in washings for a living, while he worked as a mechanic. She washed and ironed clothes for the businessmen of Vinita.
For many years, an ironing board and iron was always set up in the front room of our house. The ironing board…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on March 7, 2009 at 2:46pm —
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I tried to argue with my mother when I was a child, but she would say, "Are you disputing my word?" Her word was the final authority and there was no need to discuss it or argue about it any further.
A person might ask you, “What faith are you?” meaning “Are you Baptist or Catholic?” Or “What religion are you? Hindu? Muslim?” Others talk about faith as a virtue. “Just have faith, sister. It will turn out all right.”
Discussions abound on the subject of what faith is, drawing on the famous Bibl…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on February 28, 2009 at 1:31pm —
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Saturday is my home blessing day. I do the laundry, sweep and vacuum the floors, and water plants—all those things that seem to get push aside during the week.
I have a new bunch of African violets now, some on the verge of blooming, as well as some nice foliage plants. I started growing African violets after seeing my mother-in-law’s success with them. She claimed the best light for violets was from a north window. She said they needed watered if the dirt was dry to her first knuckle joint on…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on February 21, 2009 at 4:34pm —
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My calendar is so full now that I have retired. The old retirees from the phone company used to say they were busier after they retired than ever, and now I know what they mean. I thought I would be able to throw away the calendar and just take each day as it came, without having to plan anything in advance, but it hasn't worked out that way.
Sometimes when I want to remember something important, I write it on my hand, if my calendar isn’t handy. If I don't do that to remind myself, I may not r…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on February 16, 2009 at 11:00am —
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REMEMBERING
Dad loved to fish and spent many hours of his long life sitting quietly waiting for the fish to bite. If the fish were biting at all, Daddy could catch them, even if no one else did. And most of the time, Mom was right by his side.
He knew the spawning patterns of fish and how the fishing was affected by the weather. He could talk on all aspects of fishing, along with the experts. He had probably fished for most fresh-water fish of North America, but never fished in the ocean. He w…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on January 24, 2009 at 2:22pm —
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There used to be a TV commercial for a financial company, showing men discussing finances, and when E. F. Hutton started speaking, the room was silent. “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen.”
Many people this new year are wishing for some authority, or fortuneteller, or a crystal ball to tell the future, to forecast where the stock market is going, what our financial future is going to be. The stock market forecasters are saying that if January is good in the stock market, the whole year will…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on January 3, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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Christmas has sure changed around our house. When our children were at home, our whole Christmas revolved around school and church plays.
“Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh in the white and drifting snow.” No, we didn’t travel to grandma’s house, because our grandmas lived in the same town.
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.” Well, no white Christmas here. I looked it up on weather.…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on December 16, 2008 at 12:36pm —
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Jeremiah 29:7 Today’s English Version (TEV) says “Work for the good of the cities where I have made you go as prisoners. Pray to me on their behalf, because if they are prosperous, you will be prosperous too.”
Proverbs 21:1-3 TEV “The LORD controls the mind of a king (or city official) as easily as he directs the course of a stream. You may think that everything you do is right, but remember that the LORD judges your motives. Do what is right and fair; that pleases the LORD more than bringing h…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on December 6, 2008 at 2:10pm —
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My computer desk sits by the fireplace and the vent is evidently open because cold air comes through. Yesterday I used some heavy plastic and duck tape to cover that vent so today I don't feel a draft. However there is probably a way to close it so that cold air doesn’t come through, rather than covering it, which detracts from the beautiful looks of the fireplace.
Our fireplace has an insert and vents to circulate the heated air through the house. We have never used the fireplace in the five y…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on November 24, 2008 at 10:37am —
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YOUR PASSION
When I was raising kids, we were always in such a rush to eat after a day of work and school, I seldom wavered from my old stand-bys—Hamburger Helper, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, chili.
My husband cooks too, and when I was traveling on the job, he kept the home running smoothly. The kids still prefer his deer stew to mine.
My son loves to cook with a passion and if he could make money at it, he would be a gourmet cook. He loves making up his own recipes as…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on November 9, 2008 at 2:11pm —
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God calls working people. All through the Bible there are examples of people who were called by God as they were “on the job,” so to speak, doing their daily work.
Take the example of Elijah and Elisha. When Elijah found Elisha, he was plowing. There were twelve yokes of oxen, and he drove the twelfth set, so evidently eleven other men were driving the others. Now that is a big farming operation. Elijah crossed over and cast his mantle upon Elisha, who recognized the anointing and calling of Go…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on November 3, 2008 at 11:42am —
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Hi, here is this week's devotional.
SHOWS ON OUR FACES
My favorite magazine has the nicest article this month, with photos of eight famous people 65 years old or older.
There are three women and five men. None are beautiful or handsome according to the world’s standards. The nicest looking man has badly bushed and wiry eyebrows that, if I were his wife, would be clipped and tamed down before he ever appeared in public.
Five out of the eight have droopy eyelids, just like me. All eight have c…
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Added by Lavon Lewis on September 20, 2008 at 5:29pm —
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