Vacation Bible School was our Summer Fun and Learning Time!
Some of the videos are newer and are sometimes slightly different from what I learned...But fun and exciting to learn about Jesus!
Who Could Have Known? Yes, I'd thought about writing in the past, but just couldn't bring myself to do so. I've had somewhat of an unusual life, I think... Certainly, not a "traditional" woman's role in our culture.
I was born in March, which makes me a Pisces. I never paid too much attention to the daily horoscope business, but had at one time, began to consider the attributes assigned each sign, as I met and wanted to get to know people. Perhaps my being interested in knowing myself, and in relation to other people, was driven by the family structure into which I was born.
My mother, Dorothy Lorraine Ellenberger Bixler, was carrying me, her fourth child when my father, Glenn, was killed in a mine accident, kicked by a horse who was pulling coal out from under ground, apparently. For whatever reason, none of the immediate family, my Mother; two sisters, Delores Arlene, and Nellie Marlene; and one son, Wilbur Keith. never talked about my Father. I don't think it was intentional, but merely the routine activities that were demanded in those days, just to respond to basic household or work requirements.
For me, it was a vacuum--a picture, the only one I've ever seen, of a tall, big man, in whom I could see a resemblance. to myself. Early in life, I was the latest child to become involved with the Baptist Church. We were all active in church, singing or playing the piano. I was baptized at Age 13. The only thing I really remember about being in church were all the children's songs, and then hymns routinely sung any time the door was open.
I remember that one minister, Reverend Bable and his wife usually came for Sunday dinner. We always had chicken and homemade noodles. My mother was a great cook and we all enjoyed our Sunday, and favorite, dinner. But, with it came vivid memories!
Chicken Backs and Necks - 5 cents a pound! There was a store just on the outskirts of Uniontown which would feature sales occasionally... Gabbie Asks: Have any of you ever seen a chicken back or neck, little on eat one? LOL Actually there are some very good pieces of meat there...But consider cleaning pounds and pounds of them all at one time?! Yikes! They were an excellent base for the Sunday dinner... Chicken and Noodles, homemade style!
And, another vivid memory, although I'm not sure where Mom actually obtained a live chicken or two once in a while... Well, she had a butcher knife--one I might even still have today--and she'd go out on our back porch, grab the legs of a chicken, turn it upside down so that the wings fell out and around that squawking bird, and she'd take that butcher knife...and calmly slit its throat... Did I tell you that Mom was a "real" country girl!?
We were on social security which covered all of us, from death benefits. My Mother worked as an LPN for local neighbors, helping with meds, shots... She also cleaned house for a dentist who lived across the street. And at night she was usually ironing.
Thought it would be fun to share the mangle Mom used was used. It sat in the corner of the kitchen, had a flat board rather than a round one. My guess is that, when she began to work for the Hagers, their piece of equipment was relocated to our home... A couple of things related to this family. Mrs. Hager (known as Dick, for some reason) was the second grade school teacher in our community. While Dr. Hager's work was in Morgantown, WV, he did provide total dental care, free, for our family! Additionally, it was he who sponsored my brother to attend The Masonic School for Boys, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Needless to say, we became very close as friends.
If you were paying attention, you should immediately have realized that it seemed my Mother was always working, even cleaning the church where we attended! To this day, we continue to be amazed that she worked so hard to provide as a single parent of four children.
And, each of us came to know the work ethic, which we later all shared, as well as the tendency to work long hours, first, in taking care of our home, while Mom was working, and taking on small jobs to earn money to help. My brother sold Grit a weekly family-oriented newspaper (which I later took over when he went away to school). I also carried water for an elderly couple and received a nickel for each bucket carried. It was a fairly long route for a young girl to travel. But, they ran a little ice cream shop and having them as our neighbors brought forth delicious treats! Mr. Davis gave me my first nickname, Whitey, since my hair was so white in those days.
Few memories of events or activities come to mind. Except that sometime when I was old enough to take on chores, I was responsible for dusting the entire house. My sister Dee did the sweeping and overall cleaning of all rooms, while my oldest sister, had kitchen duty, which not only included cleaning, but also to cook and prepare meals for the following week...
I sang all the time--in church, at home to our grand piano...and then I started to pick out different parts of a song, singing an octave higher or lower...Duets with my sister came quickly... I took piano lessons, but really didn't care to pursue it further than to be able to become a part-time backup pianist for the various churches. or for other activities I've attended throughout my life.
Fun...Laying on a blanket under the big pear tree...
Playing with cousin Barbie Sue...using a lace curtain as a wedding veil. She was always the bride...
Early on career choice for me was secretary. After Marlene who had really wanted to be a nurse until she actually got into its reality. She then took a business school secretarial course. It was great to discover that, because I had always wanted to be a secretary, and had chosen the commercial business course in school, I was totally prepared to take on a job, equal to that my sister took, after having gone to business school... My first job was at the school from which I had graduated in 1963, Albert Gallatin Senior High School. I was Salutatorian; i.e., second in my total class of over 300...and first of those graduating within the business course curriculum.
After a summer job at the school, I tested for work at West Virginia University, was hired by the Personnel Office who had administered my tests, as a Records Clerk, on July 18, 1963.
You may not know that my hip surgery was only the second time I've ever been hospitalized. So, you might think of me as an observer of a new experience. Also, you should know that I'm old enough to remember when a GP was the primary contact person for all things medical. Personally, I liked it that way, because the doctor got to know the patient. On the other hand, I can perfectly understand that if we want to continue, any type of medical advancement, it requires specialized training and experience.
One thing I did yesterday was ask somebody a question, just because they were on my contact team list. Duh... I didn't think I should go directly to Dr. Murphy. to whom I am so very grateful for using his training, experience and, most important, his dedication to helping to heal others, to discuss some basic issues for me. That only showed MY inexperience, as opposed to feeling my surgeon didn't need to be involved. For him, I am eternally grateful! You will read often that pain level went down from a 10 to a 2 within the hours of the surgery. I call that a Miracle!
I was asked, before my surgery, what my goal was for afterwards. I said, to be able to walk again without a cane or walker support... With all that is happening, I'm even, maybe, broadening that goal to be able to dance!
Gabbie says: That would really be a miracle, since I never learned how to dance, except for Belly Dancing--which is another story for another day! LOL
So Yesterday, I had my second visit with my surgeon...and two weeks have gone by... Everything still looks good...
But Along the Way, which is often the case, some Bad came within my overall great experience. It all involved bad communication. But I've been in the business of dealing with interactive communication for most of my life...So I'm fairly calm about it, as long as I can see how and why the problem(s) occurred.
So one of the bad issues arising was mixed communications from, including me, so that I've wound up with a leg that feels like it weighs...about 16 Tons! (not really true)...due to leg swelling. Again, overall I'm still excited about being able to once again walk, even still with a walker for fall prevention! Cool, right?!
But then, during this time period, the devastating reality of life in America which happens again and again! THE UGLY! And there was no way, even within the euphoria of feeling God's presence in my life through a fairly serious medical experience, could I stay there. The Ugly had raised its power Again, And, Again...and Again! Americans, including children, being murdered, this time, on a daily basis!
During this past month, Serial killings have occurred...
every single DAY!
When in God's Name...
Over 900 incidents on School Grounds
Stores, Churches...ANYWHERE Can be Killing Fields!
GABBIE SAYS: For me, Abortion, (Child) Abuse, Guns, ARE
Inextricably MERGED in my mind. I believe Joe Biden is in his position right now because He is the one God has Chosen to give us One Last Chance... He is a man of God, who refuses to accept that He can be criticized for believing in The Right of Choice by Women for all medical issues. Yes, that includes aborting fetuses.
BEFORE arguments start, I have to ask... How can conservatives be supposedly Pro Life--against abortion under any reasons--and still refuse to even CONSIDER the MAJOR concerns of Gun Safety that is a top problem issue for the majority of Americans?
God Must be Very Confused with this Forked Tongue conservative approach regarding, especially children... For, other than the constant barrage of rants and raves about wanting to control how women choose to be medically involved with their bodies,
They also are unwilling to even consider the fact that hundreds of thousands of children are murdered by guns, stolen and placed into human trafficking situations, and, even worse, not having enough to eat to live... This is a World-Wide Situation. Yet it is ALWAYS THE REPUBLIC PARTY WHO STOPS AND/OR WON'T EVEN ALLOW POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS PROPOSED IN CONGRESS TO REACH THE FLOOR FOR ACTION.
ALERT TO ALL WOMEN: Do you realize that there is not even 10 Republican Senators, who will join with the Democratic Party to Work Toward Implementation of Gun Safety Policies? That is a fact as of today! For the Love of God, I hope that changes before this is too late for ACTION RIGHT NOW!
... For when and if it is required. Joe Biden is a Man of Love for all Humanity. If he is failing for some who have individual concerns, then just realize just who is stopping what he promised. The present Senate Republicans in Congress, who consistently refuses to support actions that the majority of people in America want...and NEED.. to have changed in our Country. They constantly choose what they, each individual republican, needs or wants to have done in order to continue to remain in office, even when the majority of Americans are negatively affected by their personal self-interest. This, folks, is exactly why we all know that The Republican Party Has Changed So Drastically, That They Are No Longer Working to Respond to the majority of the people of the Nation.
Right now, although I had a plan of action to share with all of you of God's Love, I feel that He has given me the burden...I Must Bear Witness to what I've seen happening just within the last five years, yes, at the appointment of a Republican president that has done so much damage--and still is--to our basic expectation of a government is, and must be, Of The People, For the People...So Help Us God! I bear witness to the reality that people who call themselves conservative, and who participated in the January 6th Insurrection...are now on the Ballot in States like Pennsylvania where a man who breached the Capitol, and recorded, is now running for Congress... In Florida, members of The Proud Boys--those who Trump spoke to, saying "Stand Back... are working to get involved in many ways... Marjorie Greene is still spouting conspiracy theories and gaining supporters with her toting gun republican noise, while SHE IS NOT NOW SERVING IN ANY CAPACITY IN THE CONGRESSIONAL SEAT INTO WHICH SHE WAS ELECTED!
What does that tell you? Surely, even republicans can begin to see that the Republican Party has Seriously Been Damaged and Corrupted and is now a Cult-like, Gaslighting Bunch of Liars that are out there, declaring, GUNS DON'T KILL; BAD GUYS KILL; AND THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE BAD GUYS ARE THE GOOD BUYS WITH GUNS...
Gabbie says: I just had to go out to ask one of my favorite good guys, and heard...
Gabbie Says: INDEED, My Friend!
Is The Ugly Winning!?
The Love of God will only WIN if We Stand Up for Truth--
God's Truth!
Vote Out All Republicans Who Work to Serve Only Themselves
There's a Lot of Them that Came Out of the Woods
Incited by the Immediate Past President
Sure, I have some personal opinions of things that are sometimes hard to bear and leave us wondering just who made that...latest...mistake... happen...that is affecting so many of us? On the other hand, I am NOT somebody who is so fickle that I would immediately start giving low opinions of the president even when we see WHO is really the problem.
I chose to register as an independent, thinking I would then be able to select people I saw that would act on behalf of the Nation... People like Liz Cheney, a republican who has chosen to speak truth and defend her position against hate and violence, and ostracized by her peers for doing so. She is taking a stand for truth, by being a major player in the January 6th Insurrection, led by "The Big Liar..." Plan to watch at least some of the results of those committee activities beginning next Week!
In the meantime, Vote Blue, Even if You Have to...To Bring Back...What YOU thought was The Republic Party. See the Truth, the cult following of White Nationalist for What Is Going On...
You must fight like the Ukranians are fighting... For LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL AND...FOR...DEMOCRACY! And for God's Truth...
Who knew that, when I'd never had any particular interest in the political area of life in America, I would be called in my '70s, by God, to speak His Truth, the best that I can...
