Praying for Christmas Miracles

With Christmas fast approaching, my mind turns the thought of a "Christmas Miracle." Of course first and foremost the miracle of the Christ child being born to the virgin Mary. This reminds me a song written by a friend of mine.

I don't mind the pretty paper,
I enjoy a gift or two.
I understand the celebration of the Christmas things we do.
I love to see happy children, gathered 'round the Christmas tree,
Still that's not quite what Christmas really means to me.

Born in a manger, a gift from God above,
Born of a virgin, conceived in God's love.
A resurrected Savior, who died to set me free,
A Cross and a Cradle, that's Christmas to me.

Now it's not hard to get caught up in the festive atmosphere,
The hustle and the bustle of this time of year.
But your heart you've got to know,
There's more to Christmas, you see...
There's something special about Bethlehem and Calvary.

Born in a manger a gift from God above,
Born of a virgin, conceived in God's love,
A resurrected Savior, who died to set me free,
A Cross and a Cradle, that's Christmas to me.


From the cradle to the cross...the birth was miraculous, but if not for the cross and the resurrection of our Blessed Saviour, we would all be lost.

As the time for Christmas miracles is upon us, will you join me as I pray for friends and family that I know of that could use a Christmas Miracle, a touch of the Master's healing hand.

Greg Grobmyer(Canoe Guy to you caching friends) --Greg is currently battling cancer and is remaining so strong in spirit.

Logan Anderson (JimmyLogan's dad)--Logan also has been recently diagnosed with cancer. At age 77, his strength to fight is weakened by the perils of age.

Maxine Dillahay (My best friend's mom)--She had a heart cath today and is scheduled for open heart surgery on Monday, December 14th.

The father of Paula Jordan--His has cancer and is terminal.

Rhonda McLaughlin--My Aunt--She also has cancer and is terminal.

Colton Anderson--Our son--Suffering from depression--After reading my last post, a friend referred to it as Cancer of the Spirit. Sounds right.

Pray for the families that are separated by the war. JAG member, Andrew Pritchett (Titansfan), will be protecting us through the upcoming months. Pray for the safety of Andrew and all those that serve with him.

I know that many of us are in search of a Christmas Miracle. My prayer is for God's will to be done in all our lives. He is the Great Physician and can heal whether it is Christmas or not. December 25th was a date set by the world, He isn't on our schedule or limited by our calendar dates.

May God's grace and peace be with each of you.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"

Depression VS Cancer

Have you ever noticed just how much these two illnesses have in common?

Both consume their victim from the inside
Both can be hereditary
Both can be treated but are seldom permanently cured
Both possess the ability to go into remission and to return unexpectedly at ANY time
Both will eventually show signs on the outside, but by this time the inside is consumed

These thoughts come to my mind as the holiday season approaches. A time of year that for myself and others can prove quite depressing. Also, as we face the reality of my father-in-law's cancer. As I watch him suffer and his health decay, my heart breaks for him just as it does for my child that is suffering from depression. They are both fighting a battle from within and only the prayers and support of family and a touch of God's hand will see them through each day. Some days their strength to fight is stronger than on others. That is why they, and all that suffer from either illness, need your love and forgiveness and not to be judged by their past, but loved and supported for their present and future.

It is my prayer in the upcoming season and the upcoming months that God will provide all with the grace to sustain them.

GeoRace Pics

Geo Race

August 29th was a special day for Jimmy & me for a couple of reasons. First of all, it was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. (I love you babe!!!)

Second thing, this was the day of the 1st Annual Jackson Area GeoRace/Challenge. This was an awesome event. We had cachers from the local association, JAG, friends from the Memphis area and GOWT. There were also cachers from as far away as Alabama. Thanks for visiting us Team NAG!!! (the first place winners) The Usual Suspects came in second place and Team Updog finished a VERY close third. (Take a look at the pics to see team members.)

Everyone had a great time caching and catching up. Big Daddy D was the chef for the day and the burgers and hot dogs were AWESOME. Thanks BDD. There were also travel bugs and coins to be discovered and traded.

The most popular coin of the day was Curt's iPhone. This is a very humorous tale in and of itself. Maybe I will blog about it one day, but for those on the "inside" we know the story and the giggles at the mention of the coin are enough for now.

I hope you all enjoy the pics at least half as much as I enjoyed taking them. Hope to see you at the next event, October 16 & 17 when we will be camping at Mousetail. Be sure to check back for details.

JimmyLogan & Bashful Hit 1K

This post is a wee bit late, but at least it is here now. On March 28, 2009, JL & I found our 1000th cache GC1DWRQWe chose this to be our milestone cache because it belongs to the geocacher that helped us most along our way. Our story is the same as many others, we were new to the game and Yogi offered loads of tips, a friendly smile, a handshake/hug EVERYTIME we saw him and lots of great caches to hunt.

Caching has been great. We have made LOTS of late night/early morning runs in so

me not so friendly places. We have literally cached in the rain, snow and sleet and been through "hail" to get some of the finds. ;o) We have seen beautiful and usual places that we likely would have never seen were it not for the sport. MOST OF ALL, we have met some of the greatest people in world, the JAG Nation. Thanks to all of you for caches hidden, the PAFs, events, cache runs and most of all, your friendship. You are very special to us and we look forward to MANY MORE great times with all of you.

**Special thanks to Yogi and Dolphin, RiverNWick, BDD & Mrs. T, the Bluff Boys and the Sal Clan. You guys have made the first 1000 a total blast!!!

***One last thing, thanks to the best caching partner in the world, JL. I love you babe. You have been my best friend for 25+ years and if I had it to do over, I wouldn't change a thing. We've come a long way baby and I look forward to another 25+ years and 1000s more caches. Thanks for loving me!!!

Caching Anyone??!?!?!

With the coveted 1K Milestone in sight, I am soooo ready to do some caching during our Spring Break (this week). We have been sporadic at best when it comes to caching. Life and its trials and tribulations have taken a GREAT toll on JL and myself over the past seven months. As we continue to pray for strength to muddle through, more and more we are looking for time to escape. Line dancing has been a great escape during the winter months. However, with the arrival of Spring, we both are looking to do more caching. The hikes in the woods do wonders for a person's nerves.

We went for a couple of caches today. One of which has been on our map for a loooooong time and even though it was close to our home coordinates, we just never found time to go for it. Today we made time. It was a nice little walk, though the smell of the fertilizer or whatever was PUTRID, we still enjoyed the sun and the time out.

After leaving the cache we headed toward the Great River Road. On the way, we saw a new foal. So precious. They day was beautiful, the grass was greening up and new life was all over. Isn't God great. Even in the midst of our trials, He puts things in our path that have us to "be still and know that He is God."

I am thankful for a God like that. I am also thankful for our JAG Family. JAG's members are just like any other close friend or family member. You may go days, weeks, even months without seeing each other, but the minute you reunite, you pick right back up where you left off. We have some great people in our group. However, on more than one occasion we have been referred to by some as "a group of misfits and malcontents."

Webster defines malcontent as a discontented person or one who is in opposition to an established order. He also defines misfit and one who is unable to adjust to one's environment or circumstances.

First I must say that the "established order" from whence we came at that time, was anything but orderly. However, the misfit may be somewhat of an adequate term. True, we did not fit in with the environment/circumstances, but I don't think it was because we lacked the ability to adjust it was more a case of that we had too much integrity to "sell out/adjust."

The former group may be doing well and may be back on track. I have no knowledge of the group, nor do I have a desire to attain such information. I am most happy with my "misfit" friends. I fit right in with them. If honest, genuine people are what is considered to be a misfit, I am honored to be included in that number.

Our friends at JAG are GENUINE. Their concern for each person during a time of need is obvious. They are not intrusive with their concern, but helping hands or kind words are always in abundance. Our two year anniversary has come and gone. We will be celebrating together as the "JAG Nation" soon I hope, but not matter when it is, it will be great.

Maybe it will be so that the JAG Anniversary Celebration will be logged as our 1K cache. How appropriate would that be???

Remembering the Love That Makes Us a Family

It is very early Christmas morning (3:35 a.m.). As I think of the events that today will hold I feel dread, excitement, stress. Then I remember the writing on one of my favorite Christmas ornaments. 

"Celebrate the Love That Makes Us a Family"

This ornament hangs from the front of our tree each year accompanied with a pair of tiny white booties. They are there in memory of our first child, Robyn. Though Robyn is not here in body, the love that we feel for her, Kyle and Colton will forever make Christmas special. The gifts may be minimal and the money even less, but the love is always here and HIS grace is sufficient. Sufficient enough that ithas brought us this far and sufficient enough to see us through the challenges that we already know we will be facing over the next year. Though uncertainty abounds, so does love, and WE WILL OVERCOME!!!

To my children and my husband...

• May God bless you this Christmas and in the days to come. You are very special to me and I can't imagine facing the giants without you here.

To my JAG Family...

• To you I also pray for God's grace and blessings upon you and yours. You are an AWESOME bunch of folks and I count myself blessed to have friends like you.

To the remainder of  my readers...

• My wish for you is a  Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.