Auntie Bar Bar Says Bye Bye...

Well, I didn't share this with you all in the past, but I'm the type that changes a lot and has a lot of different aspects to my personality. My Auntie persona is just a small part of who I am and it was my dear nieces that inspired me to enter this creative, sharing place called blogland. Lately I've been thinking my adventure as Auntie Bar Bar has run it's course and I feel it's time to move on... So please find me now at my new blog called "For the Love of God" where I will be continuing on for a while there sharing the serendipity of the adventures and thoughts and blessings that are unique to me--a spiritual child of God... Lest people misunderstand my title, I want to say that God doesn't require that I do anything to earn His love--as it was, and is, and will always be a gift offered to everyone who is humble enough to have a repentant heart... This title expresses my goal in life--to do everything with the end result being for myself and others to feel and see, and acknowledge God's love for what it is... We have so many blessings and it is ALL from God!!!! So it is born out of thankfulness that I want to start on this new journey... Thank you for the kind comments you have left me in the past couple of months--with love, "Auntie Bar Bar"...

Where is Your Heart?

For Today...

Dear Lord,

I bring you my shortcomings... which I acknowledge are real, yet seem so irrelevant in light of the fact that it's all about you and what you have done.

I bring you my worship and praise... for being in control and having all authority in heaven and earth! And not expecting us to pay allegiance to anyone who works against Your Will...

I bring you my prayer... that everyone will be on the same page, as you have taught us, that what's important is character and not the color of one's skin.

You spoke to me... in your word today as our study of James 2:1-13 when I read:

1 Samuel 16:7--Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

And Matthew 23:27-We can look as clean as "whitewashed tombs", but be wormy and gross on the inside...

Picture by Lilly A Faris

If you would like to participate in this weekly exercise on Wednesdays called "Simple Devotion", click here to find out how...

At the Top of the Tower

When I was going through pictures yesterday, I came across this one that we took from the picture that they take of everyone at the top of the Tower of Terror right before it drops--and then I took another picture of it to show you. So it's a picture of a picture of a picture, but you get the picture... Click on it if you want a bigger look... You can tell who the repeat riders are, and who the first time riders are--that's us in the front row. I'm the one with her eyes closed second from the left, Bill's next to me and our cousins from Idaho are the three next to us. I love all the expressions...

Happy Birthday, Shell!!!

This is my sister, Shell when she was around 5 years old. It was her birthday yesterday, and I thought I would do a blog in her honor. Of course, since I've known her all my life, she's been a great influence in my life. She's been a special person--second only to my dear Mom--who has helped shape the wholesomeness I so dearly cherish for the stability and sweetness required for a happy home. I credit her with teaching me how to sew--and coming to the rescue to assist me when I had to use the seam ripper, and that was quite often!--decopage, batik, and many other crafty skills that I am still mediocre at since I haven't had her around to keep me going on them... She's always been the most crafty one; I'm just the imitator... She was a caring sister from the start... As I got older, I looked around and saw that many other people didn't have this special something that we possessed. I hold onto it now and nurture it, and try to pass it on to other family members, since it is our special brand of wholesomeness. I'm sure it's just unique to me because it is ours, and it's imperfect and yet beautiful at the same time. Ours was a family that was resourceful and frugal so we seemed to have just enough, and even though we took an additional 2-5 foster kids at a time over the years, we had lots of family fun and traveled all over the country in our VW bus camping along the way. Mom sure was the master ring leader/organizer; us girls were the support team... When I think back at all the good memories we've had together with our family and beyond, I feel truly blessed. We got to hike the High Sierras together with our family and the Methodist youth group when we were teenagers. Those were some of the most awesome years of our lives... We also got a chance to go to Scotland about 6 years ago for the world-wide McGregor family reunion; another highlight in our lives together. Here we are all dressed up in our fancy clothes because we are attending a dinner at the Stirling Castle. What a great thing to go with our Mom, the honorable Dorothy McGregor, who recently found out her DNA to be connected to famous Scottish folk hero, Rob Roy! We have fun together since it is in our genes to get fervent "gatherers" for whom the bumbersticker "Caution, we stop stops for garage sales" was made. When we were kids Mom would wake us up at 6:00 am on Sunday to go to the San Jose flea market so we could be back for the 10:00 church service. Now that was power shopping!!! I think that's how we kept in such good shape through our teen years... Our Mom's given us the gift of a discerning eye, and over the years we've all found some marvelous and lovely treasures, but most of all the habit of "hunting for teasure" gives me the fond memories of our times together... I thank God for my sister, Shell; it's fun to be so similar and enjoy a lot of the same things even though God has given us such different lives. But most of all, I thank God that she and her dear family had a major influence in my "returning to the fold" 13 years ago and has forever changed my life for eternity. For that, I will always be thankful...

A Disney Adventure

Last week we met some of Bill's relatives for lunch at Downtown Disney; they were spending a few days doing Disneyland and California Adventure. We hadn't be there for awhile even though we live just ten miles away. Going into the Grand Californian Hotel is always a kick for me, especially around Christmas when they have their huge fireplace roaring and people are sitting around enjoying the ambiance of the lovely Christmas tree surrounded with beautiful (fake) presents.

I love the fantasy of imagining I'm at the Awahnee Hotel in Yosemite when I'm there since it's not practical drop everything and drive over there! I have to admit, the Ahwanee Hotel used to be more of a magical place to me when I was a kid, but now that I'm older, it's kinda lost some of its grandiosity... Strange how places get smaller when we get bigger.

I still enjoy the beauty here and it's a great place for people-watching. The vacation atmosphere is full of joy and lots of kids and families together on vacation... It was good to see our relatives one last time before they had to fly back to snowy Oregon and Washington.

The Woman in the Mirror--Simple Devotion

For Today...

Dear Lord,

I bring you my shortcomings...for reading or hearing your Word and not making it more of a priority to remember to do it.

I bring you my worship and praise...Lord, thank you for being worthy to serve and to glorify. If we only knew how awesome you really are, we would not cease to praise you...

I bring you my prayer...that I would get my priorities straight this year; that I would spend more time practicing what you have been teaching me and less time trying to get organized and trying to maintain all kinds of frivolous stuff...

You spoke to me...as I did my Bible study to start a journal with thoughts on one side and a list of things I've learned on the other so I can remember and review it from time to time. No more being the person who looks in the mirror and then goes away and forgets...

If you would like to participate in this weekly exercise called "Simple Devotion", click here to find out how...

The "Ten Things About Me Challenge"...

1. I grew up in the SF Bay Area in the 60's.
2. I love coffee, but can only drink one cup a day.
3. My 2 cats are some of my best friends.
4. I love the outdoors and enjoying all of God's creations.
5. My joy comes from helping people.
6. I'm a "foodie" and I'm in search of the perfect dish.
7. I'm a folk art jewelry fanatic; love to pile them all on at once.
8. I see people as works of art.
9. My goal is to love with all my heart, but some situations require tough love...
10. My husband of 26 years is a quadriplegic; he is my hero.