It's Gonna Be Worth It All

IT'S GONNA BE WORTH IT ALL!

Any day now, my son James and his wife Angela will be having baby #2. Baby Benjamin James is expected to arrive some time around October 3rd, 2013, give or take a few days.

As a mother of four living children and two that have gone before me, I know what it's like to rub my large, round tummy and imagine a newborn in my arms. But by the 38th week or so, I would start to wonder if my baby was ever gonna come, and at night, I'd dream about being pregnant forever!

There's a good reason why people call this glorious condition "expecting" and I'm glad this term is closely attached. One of the wonderful outcomes of pregnancy is holding your precious newborn in your arms for the very first time, and the reward for going through an intense labor and delivery is the incredible smell of your baby's head, or his fresh, apple breath! It was those expectations that helped me cope when I lost sight of my feet and started the countdown to D-Day, knowing what cup I still had to drink from.

Today, I'm expecting, but I'm not pregnant...

I'm gazing, even though I can't see...

I'm standing, after having done all to stand...

And in a world that sometimes lacks hope, I've decided to put my trust in the Lord of hope.

There are fewer and fewer things you can count on in life. Products are cheaply made, not what they used to be. Good work ethic is harder to find, and services lack quality. When someone gives me their word, I still expect them to make good on their promise, because a mans word is suppose to be his bond.

Jesus expected us to expect because He knew it would help us keep our chin up when times got tough. Just like a pregnant woman knows she will one day see her baby, so we should expect, knowing one day we will behold our Savior face to face.

John 14:1-3 says, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

Never stop expecting. It's gonna be worth it all.

Chrissy Larson

Question of the week: I'm expecting a grand son soon. What are you expecting?

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

Yesterday, September 22, was the first day of Fall, 2013. Just saying the word "Fall" brings a sense of excitement. A minister once said to me, "All things are parallel" and I've measured his words against many areas of my life, only to say his statement is very true. A new season not only brings a welcomed change in temperature physically, it brings other changes as well.

I always experience a heightened sense of emotion when the Fall decorations begin to fill the retail aisles. Sadly, they've been reduced in price to make more room for the displays of Christmas trees, cards, and decorations that have already started to dominate the shelves.

Today, my mind rewinds to fond memories of Autumn. After the leaves changed color and begin their slow dance to the musty earth below, my siblings and I would grab rakes and design a maze of paths through the front and back yards, leading to one huge pile of leaves. The paths made fantastic "roads" for an imaginary city, or boundaries in a game of tag. But the infamous leave pile gave reason to spend a whole afternoon raking without one thought of that being a chore.

The bigger the pile, the louder the squeals of laughter! Sometimes, we would get a ladder from the garage just to have a higher platform from which to jump. This occupied us for days until my dad had enough and the landscaping design returned to normal.

Forlorn children were seen everywhere raking Fall fun into bags, only to be set to the side of the road for the garbage truck's disposal. A raise in allowance money was the only medicine that could take away the pain of saying goodbye to the leave pile. That is, until someone mentioned a bonfire or S'mores!

Question of the week: What is your favorite thing to do in the Fall? Please describe in detail!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

My dad, Joe Bifano (90) and my mom (Joni Bifano)

My dad is turning 90 years old this week!!! Do you know anybody that has lived that long??? Life, as he knew it growing up, has TOTALLY changed! Imagine what it would be like to live back in 1923.

• Time magazine published it's first issue costing 15 cents a copy. Today it costs around $4.50.
• Movies such as the Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Lon Chaney and The Ten Commandments directed by Cecil B DeMille were released.
• Louis Armstrong's music was the rage!
• The first radio was developed in the US.
• A five passenger roadster cost $525!
• Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were in power.



1923 Roadster

• The Ku Klux Klan burned a town to the ground massacring many African Americans

Can you imagine life without a cotton swab? A band-aid? A television? Frozen food?  Life Savers candy? Stainless Steel? Zippers? Traffic signals? Aerosol cans? Bubble gum? Or penicillin?

The list goes on and on as to what he lived without. More mind boggling is what he has learned to use over the years. My dad can now read a digital copy of his favorite magazine on his computer. He watches old TV shows and movies in HD on demand; he is now the proud owner of an iPod which has a Louis Armstrong play list; his wife of 63 years text messages the family on her iPad; they drive an older model seven-passenger Dodge Caravan that probably cost them about $29,000 when purchased new; and an African American man is his president!

I love to reminisce about days gone by and hear how difficult life was without all of our modern conveniences. It makes me appreciate the era in which we live.

Dad walking the Appalachian Trail this May (age 89)

Before I ask the "Question Of the Week," I want to wish my dad a very happy, fun-filled birthday. Several of his children are coming into town for this extremely rare occasion and we plan to make him feel very special. God has blessed him above and beyond, extending his life. As far as he can see, his eternal appointment calender for the planet earth still holds an agenda. Until the day that Jesus calls him home, he chooses to give Jesus all the glory and honor for filling his life and fulfilling his days.

Dad's first "Hot Now" Krispy Kreme Donut just last week!

GOD BLESS YOU DADDY - I LOVE YOU!!!

Question of the week - 
What one or two items couldn't you live without?