AND THEN IT IS WINTER

--Anonymous

Rec'd by email...but I could have written it myself...

because I'm living it! ha, ha...TRUE, SO TRUE!

You know, time has a way of moving quickly and 
catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married, and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is . . . the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise. How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is . . . my friends are retired and getting grey. They move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me but I see the great change. Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore, it's mandatory, because if I don't on my own free will, I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did! But at least I know that though the winter has come and I'm not sure how long it will last, this I know that when it's over on this earth it’s over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done, things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in your winter yet, let me remind you that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long! Life goes by quickly. So do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life so live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. 

LIVE IT WELL! 

ENJOY TODAY! 

DO SOMETHING FUN!

BE HAPPY! 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

DIVINE APPOINTMENT ~ Janice Latimer

By Danna Shirley

I’ve had several what I consider “divine appointments” since I learned how God directs our footsteps, but meeting Janice has been an especially wonderful and blessed encounter. I was on my way home to Tennessee after spending an extended stay in California. On boarding the plane the first available seat I spied was on the front row aisle where Billy and Janice Latimer were seated.

The usual get-acquainted conversation commenced as we waited for takeoff. Taxiing out to the runway was uneventful but as we gained speed, Janice reached over and gripped Billy’s hand like a vice. I could see she was a white-knuckle flyer so I grabbed her other hand tightly and we talked through the takeoff. That was the beginning of God’s “divine appointment” for us.

Our conversation began as strangers but over the next three hours or so we ended as friends. We discussed the usual: what I did and what she did; my kids and grandkids, her kids and grandkids; and of course the Lord and our walk with Him over the years. The more we talked the more warm and welcomed I was drawn into her space and she into mine. Several times our mouths would drop open at the coincidence of our lives. She met my daughter and granddaughters as we waited in baggage claim together and we promised to keep in touch.

Within a few weeks Janice, my sister Nan, and I were seated across from each other in a booth at O’Charley’s for lunch. I was living with my daughter in Memphis until I could decide what to do with my life. I really didn’t want to go back into my own home with all the upkeep and yard maintenance but I did want my independence. So I called Janice, a realtor with Keller-Williams, to get started on pre-approval for a loan.

We looked at several places and I even put down earnest money on a condo in Memphis. The seller backed out and we both agreed God had something better for me. Each place turned out to be nicer than the one before so we knew God, as always, was directing our footsteps.  When it seemed the Memphis area was not agreeable to my wishes we turned to Cordova. I found my little dream house with a zero-lot line and a postage-stamp yard in a gated community less than half a mile from my granddaughter’s school. Since all the required paperwork had already begun, it went smoothly, or as smoothly as any real estate transaction can go in less than three weeks.

Janice gave me a beautiful welcome basket for my new home and I’m saving the bottle of Sparkling Apple-Grape for when she attends my Christmas party. I joined her today (Nov 3, 2015) for a business luncheon at Calvary Rescue Mission and she’s joining me Saturday (Nov 7, 2015) for the Harvest Tea at my church.

It’s been a wonderful “divine appointment” and I look forward to many more by God’s hand and direction.

A LETTER FROM ADDICTION

by Alcohol/Opiates/Cocaine/and Others                                                           

I have come to visit once again. I love to see you suffer mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. 

I want to make you restless so you can never relax. 

I want to make you jumpy and nervous and anxious. 

I want to make you agitated and irritable so everything and everybody makes you uncomfortable. 

I want you to be confused and depressed so that you can't think clearly and positively. 

I want you to feel guilty and remorseful for the things you have done in the past and that you'll never be able to let go of. 

I want to make you angry and hateful toward the world for the way it is and the way you are. 

I want you to feel sorry for yourself and blame everything but me for the way things are.

I want you to be deceitful and fearful and paranoid for no reason at all.

I want to make you wake up during all hours of the night screaming for me. You know you can't sleep without me. I'm even in your dreams. 

I want to be the first thing you think about every morning and the last thing you think about before you black out.

I'd rather kill you but I'd be happy enough to put you back in the hospital, another institution, or jail but you know I'll be waiting for you when you get out.

I love to watch you go slowly insane.

I love to see all the physical damage I am causing you.

I can't help but sneer and chuckle when you shiver and shake; when you freeze and sweat at the same time; when you wake up with your sheets and blanket soaking wet. It's amusing to watch you ignore yourself: not eating, not sleeping, not even attending to your personal hygiene.

Yes, its amazing how much destruction I can be to your internal organs while at the same time working on your brain, destroying it bit by bit.

I deeply appreciate how much you are sacrificing for me. The countless good jobs you have given up for me; all the friends you deeply cared for that you gave up for me; the ones you turned yourself against because of your inexcusable actions. 

I am eternally grateful, especially for the loved ones, family, and important people in the world that you have turned yourself against. You even threw them away for me.

I cannot express in words the gratitude I have for the loyalty you have given me. You sacrificed all these beautiful things in life just to devote yourself completely to me. But do not despair, my friend, for on me you can always depend.

After you have lost all these things, you can still depend on me to take even more. You can depend on me, my friend, to keep you in a living hell, to keep your mind, body, and soul, for I will not be satisfied until you are dead.

Forever yours, Your Addiction