Come on, ring those bells!

Each month in the Special Needs Department, on one Sunday, we ring the bells as a part of our worship time. Our group loves to sing and they especially like songs that have a lot of motion. For sure, our members are very enthusiastic!

This past week, everyone was excited because we began our worship time in music by repeating the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States! Then, Kipp Martin lead us in a variety of patriotic songs as we rang the bells!

You should have been there to experience the joyful sound! Our group has been together for years. When I went to the department, it had just been formed. Not too long after that I was transferred to another city.

When I moved back to Columbia, the same people who were there from the beginning, were still class members, plus many more had joined. The department is like a tight knit family. There is a strong feeling of love that is obvious!

In July, we will have Bible school in the evenings. We do crafts, learn Bible verses, as well as, do a variety of other things. It is a great time of fellowship.

Bell ringing is not a part of the upcoming nightly program, but rest assured that when we ring the bells in Sunday School the next time, God will surely hear the heavenly sound coming from our Special Needs members! What a blessing!

Our Happy Place…

Every Sunday the staff and members of the Special Needs Department have a wonderful time of fellowship, singing, Bible study and refreshments.

We have been together for years, so we are like family. Now that things are getting better and they are not restricted to their group homes because of the pandemic, our membership is increasing each week. Usually we have a large number who attend regularly.

Singing, with lots of motion is a part of every Sunday. As I have mentioned in previous “journal entries” they love songs that have motions, almost like sign language or using their feet like we are marching.

Next Sunday we will have bell ringing. I have mentioned that previously. They are given bells of assorted colors. The song leader has a hymn playing and he holds up cards with different colors on the cards. The members ring their bells when those colors are held up. The end result is a beautiful sound!

Story time is exciting because many of the members take part by holding something up or reading a verse. Our teachers make Bible study exciting. We have some costumes that the teachers wear at times, if it is appropriate. There is never a dull moment, for sure!

Bible School is held in the evening once a year during the summer. We have good attendance. Some times crafts are made, in addition to having a story.

I have been in this Department since it was just beginning. I was transferred to Georgia by my company and after many years when came back to help in Special Needs, some of the same friends were still attending!

Having a class where so much love is shown and people care deeply about each other is truly a blessing! We all feel the same way, it is “our Happy Place!”

Our Happy Place…

Every Sunday the staff and members of the Special Needs Department have a wonderful time of fellowship, singing, Bible study and refreshments.

We have been together for years, so we are like family. Now that things are getting better and they are not restricted to their group homes because of the pandemic, our membership is increasing each week. Usually we have a large number who attend regularly.

Singing, with lots of motion is a part of every Sunday. As I have mentioned in previous “journal entries” they love songs that have motions, almost like sign language or using their feet like we are marching.

Next Sunday we will have bell ringing. I have mentioned that previously. They are given bells of assorted colors. The song leader has a hymn playing and he holds up cards with different colors on the cards. The members ring their bells when those colors are held up. The end result is a beautiful sound!

Story time is exciting because many of the members take part by holding something up or reading a verse. Our teachers make Bible study exciting. We have some costumes that the teachers wear at times, if it is appropriate. There is never a dull moment, for sure!

Bible School is held in the evening once a year during the summer. We have good attendance. Some times crafts are made, in addition to having a story.

I have been in this Department since it was just beginning. I was transferred to Georgia by my company and after many years when I came back to help in Special Needs, some of the same friends were still attending!

Having a class where so much love is shown and people care deeply about each other is truly a blessing! We all feel the same way, it is “our Happy Place!”

A hot time in the old town tonight…

Many of us remember hearing the story about Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicking a lantern over one night, which caused a fire that burned the entire town down.

Several popular singers recorded a song about the incident. Or at least it was used to describe a hot night in town.

I am not referring to either of those. We, who live in Columbia, South Carolina, know that we live in a “hot spot” in our state. Yesterday began a series of very hot days! Our temperature was 100 degrees, but according to Von Gaskin, our popular weather girl at WIS-TV, it felt like 108. Lexington, which is very close to us “felt like” 111.

I would not trade places with people who live in Iceland, Alaska or any place in the world for a few weeks of hot weather here.

When I was a teenager, most of us loved the sun. We would lie outside in the backyard to get a tan before going to the beach to get a deeper tan! Some girls put peroxide on their hair to become a blonde for the summer. The life guards looked so good with their deep tans and blonde hair!

I used to love seeing Troy Donahue in all his beach movies. He was so tall and handsome, with his deep tan and peroxide blonde hair! I saw him in person when he came to Columbia to promote a movies after he got a little older. The sun really damaged his skin. He did autograph a picture of himself, but it had been “touched up.” Nevertheless, he remained my favorite until he died.

This entire week is supposed to bring extreme heat to our area. I can remember long ago, that we slept with our windows open at night to keep cool. When I was a young child, living in North Carolina, everyone on our block sat in a swing on the front porch to cool off until it was dark, then everyone went inside and went to bed. There was no air conditioning or ceiling fans in homes back then.

One summer when my husband and I went on a vacation out West, it was so hot it felt like you could cut the air with a butcher knife! I thought, “If I ever get back to the South, I will never complain about it being hot in the summer.”

The heat wave will end and even in extremely scorching days and nights, it is temporary! Most everyone has air conditioning or fans, so we survive! There is an old saying about the weather, “Wait a little while and it will change!,”

We have to talk about “something” and the weather seems to be a favorite topic right now. It beats complaining about the high cost of food and gasoline. I think I will end this journal entry and go have a glass of sweet tea! Keep cool, my friends…and let’s be thankful we live in the South!

Make a joyful noise !

That is just what we did in our Special Needs Department at First Baptist Church on Sunday!

Our department is for adults who live in group homes around the city, to come to enjoy fellowship and to praise the Lord! The department was begun many years ago with three young girls. Over time, we have become a department for adults who are physically or.mentally challenged.

With the chance of spreading the virus becoming smaller, attendance is slowing coming back to normal.

Membership has grown over the years and attend attendance was steady until the pandemic caused our members to remain in their homes due to the spread of COVID. On a good day, we have had fifty in attendance.

Our members enjoy keeping their hands busy during many of the songs we sing. So we may raise our hands, clap or stomp our feet as we sing. We always have participation during the lesson. The members may be asked to come to the front and put something that is part of the lesson on the board. Sometimes, they will act as a certain Bible character we are studying that day. Involvement is important.

Sunday was a special treat because we had some new instruments! We have had bells for years.The bells are different colors and the members know when to ring their bell because a leader holds up cards as the background music is playing. Our members ring their bells as their color is held up. The end result is a beautiful song!

This past Sunday we had three.new instruments which caused a lot of excitement! There were tambourines, maracas and an instrument called a “shaker.” It is two tubes that are filled with sand that make a noise when they are shaken. I was not familiar with shakers.

We have song leaders to lead the singing and instrument playing. Our department is located next to the library and the Higher Grounds Coffee and Gift shop, so we can be as loud as we like and do not bother anyone.

All this to say, our Special Needs members take to heart, “ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Enter HIS gates with thanksgiving and praise and bless HIS holy name! “

A walk down memory lane…

They say a picture is worth a thousand words…but this afternoon it wasn’t photographs I was looking at, it was pens.

It is so easy to “collect “ things that seem important at the time, but after years go by, they really are worth nothing.. I am finding that to be true as I sort through collections of miscellaneous “keepsakes.”

At one point in my life my husband and I traveled a great deal. We stayed in famous hotels and there was always a pen and note pad for guests to use and keep, if they wanted them.

I must get rid of so many things that mean nothing to my children, but sorting through them has been very low on my priority list. This afternoon, I began the task.

I had a box of the “special pens” that was my starting point. There were several from the Greenbrier, the Waldorf Astoria, the Trapp Family Lodge, many of the Hilton Hotels all over the United States ( we had a special deal with Hilton that allowed us to stay for a package rate for one year.) We traveled independently, but also made many trips with travel agencies.

We enjoyed tours with well known companies. We traveled across Canada in three segments. That was a most enjoyable experience. We loved looking out our window to Lake Louise, taking train rides and boat trips. Naturally, you kept the pens and other mementos that we were given.

We were able to visit every state capital together, except for North and South Dakota. He become ill and passed away. I was living in Atlanta and a friend of ours who owned a travel company planed a trip that included those states. It was long trip, but enjoyable. My goal of going into every state house was realized!

As I looked at that huge stack of pens, I had many from cruises. It was a slow process as I looked at each one because I would have thoughts of where we went and about special things we saw. The food was good and plentiful on the cruises!

When I returned to Columbia, I took many motor coach trips One of the pens I looked at today was from Duplin County, where we learned about wine. My friend Amy was my roommate. When we had a tour of the facility, the employee asked if there were two ladies who would like to take shoes off and crush a tub of grapes. Amy was the first to volunteer! Seeing that pen made me laugh!

Needless to say, there were many pauses as my downsizing proceeded. My mind would wander back in time. One of the pens was from a large Sunday School class I was a member of. Very few members are still alive. i could go on and on, but it is time for my Saturday date…with none other than Lawrence Welk!

Unfinished business….

Although I am retired, it seems like life is in such a rush, it is difficult to accomplish all you have planned to do each day. I know the reason for much of the distraction. We all know that checking Facebook is a time consumer. Social media is not a bad thing when you use it in moderation. With the pandemic forcing us to alter our normal routines, we find things that distract us from seeing bad news on television.

Long ago in our grandparents lifetime, Monday was washday. There were hardly any conveniences, for my grandmother, at least. It took almost all day to do the family laundry out in the back yard, where hot water had to be heated in a large cast iron tub that you built a fire underneath.Then there was a line of galvanized tubs with water to rinse the clothes. Some clothes had to be bleached, others, such as men’s shirts had to have starched collars. The bottom line was that laundry was an all day event. Plus meals had to be cooked, and other house hold chores were necessary. These days you put dirty clothes in the washing machine, turn a knob and you are free to do other things until time to put them in a dryer.

We, as a new generation, have been spoiled. I like the modern inventions that have come along in my lifetime. It takes very little effort to do tasks that my Grandmother spent a day doing. In her lifetime, ladies were so tired by the end of the day, everyone had to go to bed early to be rested for the the next day .

All that to say, my grandparents had very little free time and yet they got their work done. I used to enjoy crafts and especially sewing. Even as a teenager, I made some of my clothes. I took Home Economics in school and continued this for many years.

That leads me to say, that I liked pretty fabrics and shopping at cloth stores. I could visualize how I would use certain pieces for draperies, sheer curtains and table cloths. I made some quilts for my baby’s crib and later made doll clothes to match the little dresses I made for the girls. In other words, my hobby was useful and challenging.

When you really enjoy certain things, you can get “carried away” as the old saying goes. As my lifestyle changed, I still liked fabrics and then began to make dresses for my my granddaughters, buying fabrics that caught my eye. The bottom line was, I ended up with lots of material that is perfectly good and probably better than some you can buy now, that I will never use.

I have a huge amount of cloth as a result of my “unfinished business.” All the cloth will be donated and used to make lap quilts for cancer patients. So the story of finding a good way to use an over supply of piece goods, as cloth was once called, has a happy ending, after all. I enjoyed buying the cloth and maybe it was supposed to used for this .”new” purpose to bring joy to the recipients! I hope so!

I collect teddy bears, but there is one I wish had not been added to the collection…

Through the years I bought Belkie Bears. A favorite store in the South was Belk’s Department Store. At Christmas each year they featured a “Belkie Bear.” That custom is no longer and Belk’s has filed for bankruptcy. I donated all but two cuddly ones I really liked. But I have purchased lots of bears since then.

I cannot keep everything I like, but I have kept too many of some “special” stuffed toys. When children used to come prior to the pandemic, they loved going to the sun room and playing with dolls and lots of puppies, kittens , frogs, bunnies and hippos!

There has to come a day when you let go, say goodbye and allow someone else to have the pleasure of things you can no longer keep. I used to be known as a “Neatnick” because I kept things in order. I did not have a lot of clutter. I really did not have extra money for things other than those basic items I used.

Time changes lots of things. You end up being alone, as I have for years. When you just happen to be a sentimental person, of which I am guilty…you have a tendency to hang on to things that would be tossed in prior years.

But back to the title of this journal entry…there is a light colored teddy bear that sits in my bedroom to remind me daily to give thanks to God that I no longer have to be concerned about the reason that “special” teddy bear came to live with me. Those bears are given to patients of Lexington Medical Center who have breast cancer surgery. You also are given a nice book filled with information about breast cancer to read at home.

After my mammogram revealed there was a problem, I immediately had the “problem” removed by a very fine surgeon. When the surgery was over, I came home with a new soft, cuddly bear. He is a constant reminder to thank God each day for all the dedicated people who do so much to prolong lives. There is a follow up period just to make certain there are not other problems. But one day those checkups will cease and you will continue to have yearly mammograms.

I will ALWAYS keep that small blonde teddy bear and I will ALWAYS give thanks to GOD for HIS care through dedicated doctors and nurses!