Day 27: Talk about your siblings.

My siblings, what a nice topic. I have 3 brothers, all older than I. I was the “baby” of the family. They are terrific brothers, always have been. The oldest two used to babysit the youngest and me and I used to hate it because the “middle” brother would tease the living crap out of us. But we had fun too and he’s a wonderful, loving brother and I love him dearly. He used to teach us how to drive too and we were only about 10 years old at the time. My oldest brother was always there to watch over me and later in life to scrutinize my dates. My youngest brother is only 18 months older than me so we played a lot together. We had a good family life and made a lot of good memories.

All my brothers served in the military. Two remained living in Virginia, and one moved to North Carolina. All my brothers turned out to be good men, good citizens, good sons, brothers, fathers, and grandfathers. I am very proud of each one and glad that I was their little sister.

Today’s Quote: “There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother.” Astrid Alauda

Day 26: Your religious beliefs.

I consider myself an evangelical Christian.  I believe that Jesus was born, lived, died, and was raised from the dead; I accept that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ in order to reconcile all men with Himself; and I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  I speak with Him, He hears and answers my prayers, He is the beginning and the end, He is the Word of God, He was with God in the beginning, through Him all things were made.  There is no other God.

I  believe that God created man from the dust of the earth. I also believe that God alone created earth and all planets in the solar system and beyond.  I don't believe in evolution, the big bang theory, some supernova forming the earth, or any scientific "theory" about how we got here.

I believe that all scripture is God-breathed. I believe that there is a heaven and a hell.  I believe that if we confess our sins that God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. I also do not believe in replacement theology where the church replaces Israel. Jesus was sent for the Jews first and it was only after they rejected Him that He adopted the gentiles.  God still has a plan for his chosen people who are the Jews (Israel). 

I was raised in a Southern Baptist church and after I married I converted to Catholicism.  After about 10 years, my husband (who was a Catholic all his life) began reading the Bible on his own and made a decision that the Catholic Church had not been truthful in teaching him the oracles of the Bible and we left the Church to enter into a non-denominational, bible teaching, faith-based fellowship and never looked back.  We love to discuss the things of God. We love to watch ministers like Joseph Prince, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, John Hagee, etc.

Today's Quote: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." C. S. Lewis

Day 25: 10 ways to win your heart.

1. Be kind and polite
2. Be social
3. Be funny
4. Be smart
5. Wear cologne
6. Treat me like a lady
7. Make me feel like I'm important and you can't live without me
8. Be spontaneous and plan a romantic date without my asking
9. Be a Christian and enjoy going to church with me
10. Have a strong work ethic

Today's Quote: "There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those." Michael Nolan

Day 24: Things you want to say to 5 different people.

Oh boy, this hits a soft spot.
Person one: My mother.  I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most.
Person two: My son Tim. You were my rock and held me together when we were going thru your dad's illness.
Persons three thru five: My children.  You are awesome adults.  I am so proud of who you have become.

Today's Quote:  "All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother." Abraham Lincoln

Day 23: Something you always think “what if…” about.

I like this question. We all have lots of "what-if's" in our life.  This is my grandson's favorite thing to say, "Grandma, what if...." and comes up with the most imaginative things to play what if.  I love it.

Mine would be what if I went to college?  I was interested in teaching and should have gone to college but chose not to.
What if I had moved with my good friend after I graduated from high school to the "city" and shared an apartment together?  As it is, I ended up living with my parents until I married (at 21) so I never experienced living on my own as a single person.
What if I married my childhood sweetheart?  Where would I be now?
What if my husband and I had never moved to Alaska? 
What if I followed my dreams without hesitation?
What if I had 19 children, and counting? :)
What if I were a millionaire?
What if I had been born in the 1860's?  Something I find very interesting to think on.  I always thought I was born too late.  ;)

The list could go on forever, like my grandson's what-if's!  LOL 

Today's Quote: "A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can." Meredith Grey

Day 22: 10 things about you people don’t really expect.

Now how am I suppose to answer this question?  I don't know what people don't really expect about me.  I think I'm an open book...no surprises....just me. So here's a try:

1.  That I am 62 years old
2.  That I've been married to the same man for 41 years
3.  That I lived in Alaska for nearly 30 years
4.  That I could drive a 31 ft motorhome
5.  That I drove across country alone
6.  That I never learned how to swim
7.  Can't think of anything else..... sorry

Today's Quote:  "A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless." Charles de Gaulle

Day 21: Something you can’t seem to get over.

I'm not proud of saying this, but it would have to be losing my treasures when the storage unit they were in was sold off.  When I left Virginia some 30 years ago and moved to Alaska, I stored some things in my parent's attic.  They moved and my things went into storage along with some of their things, and my brother's things.  Someone failed to keep up the storage payments (not out of lack of funds but from lack of communication--who was paying what) and everything in storage was lost.  When I moved to Alaska I left my "treasures" like a huge Beetles' collection of records, trading cards, Elvis memorabilia and records, and lots of my photo albums from young adult thru my first child.  I know, you're wondering why I left these things.  It was because we did not drive to Alaska, we flew.  We mailed most of our things and the rest were left for a time when we could afford to have them shipped up to Alaska.

I can't seem to get over it, especially when I see Beetles and Elvis memorabilia selling for thousands of dollars and these latest reality shows like Storage Wars!  And I can't get over losing other collectibles and especially my photos!  Hey, I said I wasn't proud to admit it!  I should just get over it, right?  LOL

Today's Quote: "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." George Bernard Shaw