Sunday, March 1, 2015

Winter Weather Blessings from the Courtyard

Hello Out There! Today is Day 12 of the 40 Days for Life Campaign. We did
not pray at the courtyard on Day 10 and Day 11 because the roads were icy and
it was too dangerous to get out! I told everyone to stay safe and pray from
wherever they were at. Yesterday afternoon Jim and I drove to the courtyard and
checked out the ice situation. The concrete was iced over below the oak trees and
as you walk in through the gates. So we devised a plan of action for this morning.


Step one - Get out of bed at 5:15 am - Jim did, I didn't
Step two - Make the coffee because we didn't last night - Jim did, I didn't
Step three - Get dressed and ready to go - Jim was, I wasn't


At 5:45 or so I finally got up. Jim brought me some coffee to drink while I was
getting ready. He went and loaded up two push brooms, a regular broom, rock salt
and Epsom salt (because we didn't have enough rock salt) and started the truck and
turned on the heater so that it could warm up. He also warmed up some tortillas
and heated up some bacon I had fried up yesterday and made us a bacon tortilla wrap
for breakfast (yummy)! Yes, I know, I am very blessed to have such a wonderful
husband. I thank God for him all the time. We are a team, we work together.
After two cups of coffee I am ready to go! We load up and head to the courtyard.
It is dark and a light mist is falling, the trees are covered in ice and look so pretty
and shimmery (not sure if that is a word or not, but I like it)!
We get to the courtyard and carefully walk through the gate, I start sprinkling salt
and Jim starts pushing the broom. I go and get a big trash can out for the leaves and
a stand up dust pan. Another vehicle pulls up, and our friend Doug steps out. He is
there to pray, but he sets up the chairs and grabs a broom to help Jim first. It is cold
but the wind isn't blowing so it is not too bad. We set up the propane heaters and
light one. After the work is done, we sat down to pray. About 9:30 a.m. Muriel shows
up, she is dressed up ready to go to the 10:00 a.m. Mass but she sits down to pray
for a little while first. Right before 10:00 Muriel heads to Mass and at 10:00 Doug
heads home. I ask Jim if he would please go and get me some coffee from
McDonalds, and maybe some oatmeal too! I felt like I had burned off the bacon
tortilla wrap already. (Probably not, but I like to think so!) Jim took off and I was in
the courtyard by myself, and I just sat by the little heater and read from my daily
devotional book. I watched the ice fall from the trees as it began to melt, and I just
felt so at peace.
Jim got back and I went and sat in the truck with him while I ate my oatmeal and
he ate some kind of McMuffin thing. Then we went back into the courtyard and sat
down and started reading our devotional. Mass ended and Rickie and Irma
stopped by to say hello. Irma said that she and her mama would probably be back
to pray later on, Muriel showed up and told us to go home. She sent me a picture
about an hour ago of her legs wrapped in a blanket and red cotton gloves on her
feet propped up by the heater. The caption read something like, keeping my toes
toasty warm! She is so funny, and so devoted. She told me that Phyllis was there and
that she was leaving, and Matt will be there from 1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m.
Muriel is going to go back at 2:00 p.m. and stay until Jim and I go back at 3:00 p.m.
We go to the 6:00 p.m. Mass so someone will take out place while we are at Mass.
Praying hours in the courtyard are from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Tomorrow will be another day full of blessings, come and join us if you can, if not,
please pray from wherever you are! The babies, and their families need our prayers!
I'm going to close with the following scripture:
   We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
            Isaiah 64:8
                                                           Bye for now, Sharla

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