Mrs. Kathrine Kuss is home and doing a little better.
Mrs. Shirley Frazier is still home and doing about the same.
Jimmy Schwartz was at Sunday School Sunday.
Momma is a little better this morning. Today is day 27 for her at North Oaks. Please continue to pray for the family as we care for her.
CaringBridge:CarolineCutrer
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/carolinecutrer
CaringBridge:LoganWatts
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganwatts
Jadon’s Story: Goodbye Banzel
Posted: 24 Jul 2011 08:51 AM PDT
Momma (and I) didn’t get any sleep last night. Pray this changes tonight.
Fredrick Allen Lea was born March 10, 1957 and passed away on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at North Oaks Regional Medical Center, Hammond. He was 54 and a resident of Kentwood.
Fredrick is survived by 3 brothers, Charles E. “Dup’s” Dupont, Glenmora, LA, Eugene Ganson, Dazetta, TX, Billy J. Dupont, Bergland, MI; sister, Carolyn S. Mercier, Tylertown, MS; numerous cousins and extended family members.
Preceded in death by his parents, Johnny & Ilamae Lea; brother, John Williams Lea.
Visitation at McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, on Tuesday,, July 26, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. until Celebration of Life Services at 12:00 Noon in the funeral home Chapel with Rev. Michael Shumock officiating. Interment in Hyde Cemetery, Chesbrough, LA.
An on-line Guestbook is available at www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com
Momma is alert, eating, and talking. We have missed this “Momma” for several days! Keep on praying.
“Let the same mind and attitude be in you
which was in Christ Jesus.”
~Philippians 2:5~
Thanks for the prayers for Momma and for the family. She was a little better when I left her last night. My sisters worked out a schedule so I could see Jennie and her family when they arrived last weekend and attend church this morning. Pray for us as we continue to stay by her side. Daddy continues to make the trip to the hospital daily. Pray God continues to give him the strength he needs.
Tripp Roth and his family need our prayers. I hope you will spend some time reading on his mother’s blog and then praying for the Roth family.
http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/
Have a great Lord’s Day!
Anna Lee
“You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You.”
~Psalm 31:22b~
CaringBridge:LoganWatts
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganwatts
Today is day 24 for Momma at North Oaks. We need your prayers as much today as we did the first day. Thanks for praying for us.
Bro. Ronnie’s mom
Phyllis Lee Nielsen
Date of death:
July 21, 2011
Visitation:
Sunday, July 24, 2011, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Monday, July 25, 2011, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Rabenhorst East, 11000 Florida Blvd.
Funeral Service:
Monday, July 25, 2011 at 11:00 am
Rabenhorst East, 11000 Florida Blvd.
Burial:
Greenoaks Memorial Park
Today’s inspiration: A living illustration of biblical love by Kelly Boggs (Baptist Press)
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–These days when negative news seems to dominate the headlines, I am always on the lookout for inspirational stories that accentuate the positive. I discovered one recently that deserves to be not only read but also contemplated.
On July 22, Rachelle Friedman wed Chris Chapman in Pittsboro, N.C. Of the perhaps thousands of weddings that will take place in America over the next few days, what makes this couple’s nuptials newsworthy is that the bride’s father pushed her down the aisle in a wheelchair.
Friedman and Chapman were scheduled to marry about a year ago. However, just a few weeks prior to the wedding Friedman was injured in a freak accident, which resulted in her being paralyzed from the neck down.
It seems Friedman and some of her girlfriends were celebrating her approaching wedding with a backyard swimming pool party when a friend playfully pushed her into pool. Friedman’s head hit the bottom of the shallow end, and she was instantly paralyzed.
The wedding plans were placed on hold as Friedman’s recuperation took precedence. However, the idea of canceling the wedding was never entertained by Friedman or Chapman.
Chapman, a middle school science teacher, never considered deserting his injured fiancé. “It was not, ‘What am I going to do?'” Chapman said in an Associated Press report. “It was, ‘What are we going to do?'”
In a day when marriage is a political football for some, entered into casually by others and abandoned easily by far too many, Friedman’s and Chapman’s story is inspiring. It is a living illustration of love as described in the Bible.
Love in popular culture is depicted as an overwhelming emotion. It is treated like an unpredictable summer shower, here one moment and gone the next. As such, the practice of love is too often capricious, especially in regard to marriage.
Love as described in the Bible is not an emotion; it is not depicted as casual and fickle. Love is articulated in Scripture as a commitment. “Love,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “never fails.” The wedding ceremony is a couple’s public pronouncement of their commitment — their never-failing love — to one another.
Traditional wedding vows include some form of a verbal commitment whereby the bride and the groom pledge to remain married until death separates them. Most vows state that love will endure in spite of difficult circumstances that include tough economic times and/or poor health.
In a time when marriage vows are treated by many like, in the words of Mary Poppins, “pie crust promises, easily made and easily broken,” it is encouraging and inspiring to see a couple who appear to be taking their commitment seriously.
In a society where love is expected to be flighty and unpredictable, few would have blinked an eye if Chapman had chosen to not marry Friedman. After all, a paralyzed partner is surely not what he expected. Marriages end every day over far less than a debilitating accident.
Chapman is following through on his plan to wed Friedman because he loves her genuinely, purely and unconditionally. As a result, he is committed to her even if she is in a wheelchair.
Marriage is based on the commitment of love, not the emotion or whimsy our culture calls love. It is unconditional and cements two people together as they agree to face life together with all of its uncertainties.
Life offers no guarantees for a couple entering the commitment of marriage. No one knows what the future holds. However, love — real love — will enable a couple to navigate together through the uncertain waters of sickness, tragedy, economic hardship, childrearing … the list goes on and on.
The various reports that I read never mentioned a faith aspect to Friedman’s and Chapman’s story. I don’t know whether or not they are Christians. However, I do know their commitment to one another is a clear illustration of love as described in the Bible. And I find it inspiring.
Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press and editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
Have a super Saturday!
Anna Lee
Momma was moved from telemetry to step-down less than an hour ago. She’s now in room 3230. Our roller coaster ride continues. Please pray for our family and sing along to my Hymn of the Day! (below)
Ronnie Nielsen’s mother passed away. Please pray for those who are left behind to mourn her loss.
USING WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US
A band director was having a lot of trouble with one of his drummers. He talked and talked and talked with the drummer, but his performance didn’t improve.
Finally, in front of the whole orchestra, he said, “When a musician just can’t handle his instrument and doesn’t improve when given help, they take away the instrument, give him two sticks, and make him a drummer.”
A whisper was heard from the percussion section: “And if he can’t handle even that, they take away one of his sticks and make him a conductor.”
It is a biblical principle that if we are unable to handle the responsibility that God has given us, it can be taken away. Jesus told a parable in Matthew 25 about three servants who were given money by their master and were told to make use of it while their master was gone. When he returned, two of them had used their “talents” and one had not. Jesus concluded the parable by saying:
“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matt. 25:29)
I need a constant reminder that all that I have has been given to me by God to use for His glory. It is an exciting thought to realize that as I use what God has given me, He will bless me with even more opportunities for service. On the other hand, it is a sobering thought to realize that if I fail to make use of what I have been given, I may lose it.
So what are you doing with what God has given you?
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Hymn of the Day
God On The Mountain Lyrics
Life is easy when you’re up on the mountain
And you’ve got peace of mind like you’ve never known.
But then things change and you’re down in the valley.
Don’t lose faith for you’re never alone.
For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He’ll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.
You talk of faith when you’re up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes easy when life’s at its best.
But it’s down in the valley of trials and temptation
That’s when faith is really put to the test.
For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He’ll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.
For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He’ll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.
The God of the day is still God in the night.
“God On The Mountain” words and music by Tracy G. Dartt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V65EPF2S-s0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkpfFxA6Yk0&feature=related
I’ve had this song on my mind since yesterday. Of course, Robert Callihan is the one singing it in my memory. I hope you will sing or hum along as you read the lyrics or listen so some of the singers listed on the You-tube site.
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,
for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.”
~Philippians 1:3-5~
Jimmy Schwartz was able to return home yesterday. Thank God for the way He led in Jimmy’s quick recovery from a very difficult situation.
Boyd Hatchel went to his appointment yesterday only to learn that it had been postponed for two days. That gives more time to pray for a good report.
Two days of the virus really did me in. I’ll try to make the day at North Oaks with Momma today. I’ll give a better update when I get back home.
“The Law of the Garbage Truck” by Mike Benson
http://www.actsweb.org/articles/article.php?i=1658&d=2&c=4
Have a great day while looking out for those garbage trucks.
Anna Lee
The monthly meeting at the cabin will not happen this Thursday because of responsibilities and sickness. On top of everything else, I have been sick for two days.
Momma was better today and was moved back to room 4103 (telemetry). We are so thankful for her progress and the visits and prayers of so many of you. God has been faithful!
Joseph Harlan Simpson
(July 29, 1925 – July 19, 2011)
In accordance with Joe’ wishes, a private service was held for him at McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 followed by a short service at Amite Cemetery in Amite, LA.
Joe began working for Western Union at the age of 16. He enlisted in the US Navy Seebees and served in World War II. When he returned, he attended LSU, graduating in 1950. He taught school for a few years and then returned to work for Western Union in Hammond. While working there, he studied law as an apprentice with a local attorney.
He practiced law in Amite for 50 years. He was a loving husband, a devoted father, an extraordinary grandfather, a friend to many, and a great lover of animals.
He is survived and will be missed by his wife of 62 years, Leah Beth Houeye Simpson; three children and four grandchildren; son, Hugh Alan Simpson and his wife Kay Lewis Simpson and their sons Bradley Lewis Simpson and Brian Joseph Simpson, daughter Debra Lea Simpson Potts and her husband Michael Allan Pots and their sons Casey Allan Potts and Alex Michael Potts and son William Paul Simpson & companion Betty Ballow; one sister, Geraldine Simpson Alford; nephews and nieces, Bruce E. Simpson, Lorraine Alford Mabus, Michael M. Alford, Brett D. Simpson and Duvoix A. Alford; great nephew and nieces, Jimmy Mabus, John Mabus, Judge Alford, Jessica Simpson Christy, Stephanie Simpson, Walter Simpson and Ellen Simpson Burford; and faithful caretakers, Navarrow Hart and Vera Bean.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John Paul Simpson and Jessie Lee Smith Simpson, by his twin brother, Walter Howell Simpson and by his twin grandsons, Joseph Lee Potts and Michael Allan Potts, Jr.
He has requested that any gifts or donations in his honor or memory be made to the Hammond Animal Shelter or any SPCA facility or other humane shelters of animals.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God.”
~Ephesians 2:8, NKJV~
CaringBridge:LoganWatts
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganwatts
Pray for Momma and Boyd as they are seen by neurologists today.
Alan Smith’s Thought for the Day:The God of Truth
https://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=150294201666410&topic=424
May others bless you in proportion to how you bless others!
Anna Lee
“I am convinced
that nothing can ever separate us from his love ….”
~Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)~
“Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.”
~Psalm 67:5~
From Faye Carney
1. Please Add Bo Lilly to your prayer list…. Bo Lilly, left for Afghanistan Friday. Please keep him in your prayers. He is the nephew of Mrs. Ann Trappey
2. Please pray for Robert Hartman, he is in North Oaks telemetry unit, they will do test today on his heart.
Hymns of the Day: Blest be the Tie that Binds
http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_Blest_Be_The_Tie.html
I’ve missed out on attending worship services lately, but have had my opportunities as I sat with Momma in ICU. For example: A nurse shared how good God had been to restore her troubled marriage. She told of the learning experience she has been through. A tech who was also in the room had a few moments of praise and thanksgiving. I was so blessed to be a part of those special moments.
You may wonder how such a conversation took place in ICU. It was because Momma has told everyone that on January 1st, she and Daddy will be married for 65 years. Comments about her marriage have caused many to marvel and to even calculate their age if allowed to live long enough to have sixty-five years on marriage.
Hymn of the Day: Day by Day
http://www.biblestudycharts.com/HH_Day_by_Day.html
This phrase has come up almost daily and mainly from doctors as I sat with Momma. God daily gives us strength to go through our trials here on earth. He has been faithful to walk each step of the way with my family. The wonderful workers in ICU have become like family during the last three weeks! God put each of them in that place and at the moment we needed Him. He allowed them to remind me to “Let Others See Jesus in You”.
Pray for my family as we celebrate the long, sweet life of my uncle today. I can picture in my mind my aunt showing him around in heaven and hear her quoting verses to go with anything she has to share with him (and us).
Be a blessing to someone today!
Anna Lee
The Prayer Link 
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