CALLING ALL LURKERS

I just saw this over at Pea's and had to join in. Today is the last day, so I almost missed this!!!

I’ve just learned that January 7 - 13, 2008 is National Delurking Week. I looked up what “delurking” means. Apparently, “lurking” is the practice of reading blogs and comment threads without commenting yourself, or making it known that you’re a reader. So “delurking” is making your presence known through comments, etc. Come out, come out, wherever you are! Let me know that you're here reading this:-)Feel free to take any of these captions and use them on your blog to promote National Delurking Week!!

I would be so honored and pleased if you, who are reading my blog and have never left a comment, would join in and delurk!!! I know from my site-reader there are many of you. I would love to know and "meet" you so please who-ever-you-are.......come out, come out!!!

THANKS!!!!

SHOW & TELL '08 #2 - Gift from Germany

I find it hard to believe this is the second Friday of 2008 already!!


So, it's time for all of us to do Show & Tell hosted by Kelli at There Is No Place Like Home. Go here to find out all about it, do your post, sign up on Mr. Linky and then have fun reading and see all the wonderful Show & Tell's that everyone posts. By the way, Kelli, I love the new Show & Tell graphic that your hubby did for you, and us!!!

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." II Corinthians 9:15

I know this verse speaks of Jesus and the unspeakable gift HE is to us from God. I also know that because I have the unspeakable gift of Jesus in my life I am also the beneficiary of many unspeakable gifts because of Him. My Show & Tell today is just such a gift.

(sorry it is a blur! but you can enlarge it)

The top left is a bag of Blue Sweet Peas

The lower left is the name tag on the gift

The lower right is a blank Christmas card in German.

The inside reads: "Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family, dearest Susan! Best wishes from Germany, Anita."

Wednesday the post man brought me these lovely items from Anita, of My Country Garden, from Germany!!!!!

This adorable Victorian Boot. It is so precious. Anita, the detail, the perfect stitches, the ribbon, the rosettes, the tiny pearls. Everything just so perfect. I am displaying this in my guest room, the one with the pink & white embroidered quilt I showed last week on Show & Tell. How perfect!!!!!

I have also hung the gift tag on the peg next to the Boot and I have the Christmas card now sitting on the shelf. Just didn't get the second picture after I placed these items. The seeds are waiting on my computer desk with the Lupine seeds :o)

Anita and I became good friends after I was blessed to win a drawing she had on her blog in July that I won. I, along with two others, won some of her lovely Lupine seeds. I was so delighted that she added the Blue Sweet Pea seeds to go along with the Blue Lupine seeds we will be planting this spring.

One year ago, January 9, 2007, I didn't even have a blog. If you had told me that day I would be receiving a gift from a FRIEND (I didn't even know) from Germany one year later I would have not believed it.

I am sure I speak for each and everyone of us in Blogland of what a joy and blessing our blogs have been to our lives. Best of ALL, the WONDERFUL friends we have been privileged to make.

Thank you Anita, from the bottom of my heart, for your thoughtfulness.

YOU are a found treasure!!!!

FLYING SUZY BLUE PART 7 - Bank Commercial

I can hardly believe it's been over 3 months since I did a blog on Suzy Blue. The last one was here. Others were posted on 7/9, 7/21, 7/28, 9/3 and 9/4.

(click to enlarge)

In September, 1982 Mickey and Suzy Blue were hired by Bank of Tulsa do a TV commercial for them. When he accepted we truly had no idea what an adventure this would turn out to be. I'll endeavor to tell the story step by step with the pictures and narrative.

They dress Mickey up as a Limo Driver. The first scene is his driving up in this black limo.

The next scene shows him exiting the limo.

He goes to the waiting balloon basket.

This is the young man who was in the limo. I failed to get a picture of Mickey opening the back door of the limo, and this young man getting out with his briefcase in hand and walking to the balloon.

Suzy Blue has been inflated and they are flying off to go to the bank.

In actuality they fly only a short way and land, but you don't see this part.

This is what is now taking place. Mickey is laying out the balloon for a second flight. Notice the two parachute jumpers to the left. One of these is actually the young man in the business suit before. The other is a photographer.

By now Mickey has taken off the limo jacket and cap and is firing the hot air burner for another flight.

One of the jumpers is now in the balloon with the other about to get in.

Here Mickey and both jumpers are getting ready and positioned. Our 13 year old son, Marc, is holding down the basket

They are now beginning to lift off. Notice the one jumper is sitting on the edge of the balloon rim facing the inside of the basket. This jumper is actually the photographer.

Here is Suzy Blue as she is up-up and away.

Here I am, with one of our crew members, watching as they float away and we are getting ready for the chase. Notice the fan has been picked up off the ground and placed in the pickup bed.

The story, at this point, must be told by narrative only because we do not have pictures. The balloon flew away out of the city area where these snapshots were taken. When they were out far enough and high enough it was time for the next step of the commercial. The photographer who was sitting on the edge of the balloon as pictured in the previous picture now stands, still facing with his back to the ground. The second jumper, the young man who had been in the business suit, climbs up on the rim straddling the photographer and facing him. The photographer has the camera on his helmet. When they are positioned properly and ready the photographer goes first, falling out backward and then the second jumper following shortly thereafter. The photographer is filming the 2nd jumper all the way down.

With the basket loosing the weight of two men it has shot up very high and very fast and Mickey must maintain control of the balloon at this point. He does so and begins to fly away. In a "normal" balloon flight the chase crew (me and others) would be following the balloon, as we have been to this point, and watching for it to land and be there to help with the landing and packing up of the balloon. In this "abnormal" flight the crew is having to locate and pick up the two jumpers who are now stranded in a field. In the meantime the balloon is flying away.

Here is one of the jumpers as we arrive to pick him and his gear up. In the meantime the balloon is flying further away. The crew cannot be in two places at one time. By the time we have located and picked up both jumpers the balloon is out of our sight and no where to be seen!!! We finally had to contact the local sheriff to help us locate and pick up the balloon and pilot. This is only one of two times that I ever "lost" Suzy Blue.

Now for the rest of the story. Since a hot air balloon cannot be flown on a designated route, but only by the wind direction, this commercial is taken in several different segments and then spliced together for the TV commercial.

The "customer" jumper is placed in a helicopter and jumps out and lands in the bank parking lot. The helicopter is never "shown" and the illusion is he is being dropped out of the balloon. The young man, once again dressed in the suit and carrying the briefcase walks into the bank to make his deposit.

This is the last shot with Mickey returning to his limo after dropping off his customer.

This commercial ran on all three TV channels 2-6-8 at various times, from October 1 through 31, 1982.

This was truly an interesting and exciting adventure and learning process for all of us with Suzy Blue that were involved. The moral of the story, as if we didn't all already know this, don't believe everything you see on TV!!!! Multiple filming and a lot of splicing can do a lot.

FACING THE NEW YEAR WITH COURAGE!

The following is copied from The Word For Today

Be strong and courageous. Deuteronomy 31:6

"Dr. John Maxwell writes: "When I began my career I was very ineffective as a leader. My problem was that I wanted to please everybody. Making people happy was the most important thing to me. I lacked the courage to make right but unpopular decisions. How did I turn things around: By making small decisions that were difficult. With each one I gained more confidence and more courage, and I began to change. The process took me 4 years. At the end of that time I felt I had learned many valuable lessons, and I wrote the following to help me cement what I had learned. 'Courageous leadership simply means I've developed:

(1) Convictions that are stronger than popular opinion.

(2) Vision that is clearer than my doubts.

(3) Spiritual sensitivity that is louder than popular opinion.

(4) Self-esteem that is deeper than self-protection.

(5) Appreciation for discipline that is greater than my desire for leisure.

(6) Dissatisfaction that is more forceful than the status quo.

(7) Poise that is more unshakable than panic.

(8) Risk-taking that is stronger than safety-keeping.

(9) Actions that are more robust than rationalization.

(10) A desire to see potential reached more than to see people pleased.'

If people-pleasing is your problem, you might want to go back and re-read those 10 things. You don't have to be great to become a person of courage. You just have to want to fulfill God's purpose for your life - and be willing to trade what seems good in the moment for what's best for your future! And that's something you can do this year, regardless of your level of natural talent."

I thought this was so great wanted to share it with you my blog friends.

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Thank you for all the wonderful comments on my quilt!!! I am truly humbled and honored! I just embroidered the top (and it was a kit with instructions, pattern, thread, etc.) the quilting was done by this group of wonderful ladies in a church in Tennessee. It is worth every cent I paid to have it done. It makes me happy every time I walk by the door to that room and see it and think of all your wonderful comments :o)

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Our Church always has a theme for each year. 2007 was "Not Without Jesus"

Our 2008 theme is "I Want More". I truly want more of all God has for me and especially of all He desires I become. Please join me in Wanting More of what God wants for each of us.

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I am excited by the grass-root movements we are beginning to see in the political area. It looks like "We The People" may finally be standing up and saying, "We want our country back and out of the hands of the lobbiest and politicians." I would be interested in your feelings and comments about what is taking place.

SHOW & TELL '08 #1 - Embroidery Quilt

Welcome to my first Show & Tell of 2008. Drop over to Kelli's at There Is No Place Like Home and check out the event. Post your Show & Tell item and then go back and list it on Mr. Linkey. Then enjoy viewing all the other wonderful Show & Tell items for this week.

(click to enlarge)

This is a quilt that I spent hours embroidering in 1980-81. It was a kit top that I purchased. After completing it I just folded it up and put it away because I do not quilt and did not know how to get it finished. About 10 years later my sister-in-love in Memphis told me about some women in a church in a smaller town in Tennessee who still got together and did hand quilting. I sent it to her and told them to take as long as they needed to finish it. I waited over a year and then it came in the mail one day.

Here is another view of it. I use it on the antique Jenny Lynn bed in our guest bedroom, Both the bed and the quilt are treasured items,

Thanks for letting me share these two items with you.

I AM SO HONORED

Talk about a surprise......I have been catching up with reading my favorite blogs.

Imagine my surprise when I opened up Just So You'll Know blog by KC and found he had named me as one of his choices for the "Be The Blog" Award.

“Be The Blog” Award which is granted to “those bloggers that are showing time and time again that they are true to themselves and that they ARE their blog”.

I am always touched and moved every time I am blessed by you in Blogland with an Award but this one really knocked my socks off for two reasons:

#1 - KC's blog is one of those that I lurked at for months being afraid to even leave a comment because it was so deep!!! When I finally began to tip-toe gently in and leave a comment or two I figured he's never get around to reading my blog. To find out he does.......and then to be named by him for this Award is mind boggling to me!!! Can you tell how surprised I am?!!!!

#2 - The most important thing to me with my blog is to be REAL. It is not always easy.....especially when you are hurting or disappointed. So to receive an Award that honors being "true to themselves and that they ARE their blog" is truly the highest compliment I could receive.

These are KC's words he wrote: Ms. Susan has wonderfully shared both herself and her many blessings with us even in spite of the fact that she’s a Penless Writer! Her warm, kind and generous spirit shines through every offering she makes on her blog. God has blessed me so many times through her words.

KC I literally have tears in my eyes. Thank you SOOOO much!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am a very reflective person. Especially at the beginning of each New Year I endeavor to reflect on the up coming New Year. To ponder and consider what I hope the New Year will hold and especially to set new goals and resolutions for myself.

So I begin January 1, 2008 quoting Paul, to the Philippians, and setting the following as my goal for this year.

"(For my determined purpose is) that I may know Him (that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly), and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection (which it exerts over believers), and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed (in spirit into His likeness even) to His death, (in the hope). 3:10

"That if possible I may attain to the (spiritual and moral) resurrection (that lifts me) out from among the dead (even while in the body)." 3:11

"Not that I have now attained (this ideal), or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own." 3:12

Phillipians 3:10-12 Amplified - I love the amplified translation as it adds to and stresses the truth of what is being said.

'THAT I MAY KNOW HIM"!!!!

&

"I press on to lay hold of and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me and made me His own."