Remembering the 50's and 60's

By Patti Londa Greene, Christian Author @ www.PattiGreene.com

Awaken Me: A Devotional Prayer Journal; Link to purchase book on Amazon. http://amzn.to/1mYoO5f

God, It’s Me: 181 Days for Young Adults to Become Passionate about Prayer and Bible Study; Coming July/Aug, 2014

I remember . . .

-          Big Ben and trying to make the London guards laugh.

-          Riding my tricycle up and down the sidewalk alone with no fear of abduction.

-          Singing “Here comes the bride, fair, fat, and wide.”

-          When I thought all pencils were orange. (My dad worked for Gulf Oil.)

-          Mom making me have SHORT, SHORT bangs.

-         Giving myself my first haircut the day before the professional photographer was coming to our house for pictures.

-          Sitting on the curb with my older brother while mom went in the pub to buy cigarettes.

-          Mom’s Tareyton’s!

-          The joy of picking out and purchasing ‘Holy Cards” at school.

 

-          Mean nuns. One nice nun.

-          Being able to take ballet lessons instead of taking a class on the Kings and Queens of England. You see, I was an American.

-          Not having a TV to watch until I was almost 9 years old.

-          Seasonal uniforms complete with ties, hats, and white gloves.

-          Being hit with a ruler at school for forgetting my white gloves during uniform check.

-          Swiss watches, Italian butter and rolls, and European dark chocolate.

 

-          Three homemade meals a day.

-          When going out to Howard Johnson on a Friday night was a real treat.

-          Playing Canasta and Poker with my grandparents.

-          Church every Sunday.

-          Kickball in the summer evenings.

-          My first pair of nylon stockings, my first garter belt, and my first girdle.

-          Skating on a frozen pond.

-          Going to the ice-skating rink every weekend in the winter.

-          Playing Slap Jack and Crazy Eights with my younger brother when we were both home with the chicken pox.

-          Watching Leave it to Beaver, The Three Stooges, and Bonanza.

-          My parent’s parties.

-          Picking blackberries for mom to make jellies and pies.

-          Looking forward to getting a “special” book every Christmas.

-          Catching fireflies at night.

-          The turtle that bit me – hard!

-          Roasting marshmallows.

-          Playing ping pong in the basement.

-          Long bus rides to school up the steeps hills of Pennsylvania in the snow.

-          Standing at the bus stop in the freezing cold and not thawing out until lunch time.

-          A mom who watched The Merv Griffin Show every afternoon.

-          Fish net stockings in all different colors – yellow, pink, green, purple.

 

-          The Busy Bee – Wexford, Pennsylvania’s version of a mini-Walmart.

-          Building snowmen and sledding down our backyard hill.

-          Picking apples off our apple trees.

-          Walking over a mile to Ray’s Pharmacy just to buy Dagwood comic books and candy.

-          A & P.

-          Mallo cups.

 

-          Putting green stamps in the books for my parents and the joy of going to the Green Stamp store to get something for FREE.

 

-          Wanting Nancy Nurse instead of the popular Chatty Cathy. Got it.

 

-          Dentists without anesthesia.

-          Feeding the ducks at the park then going to Tastee Freeze for ice-cream.

 

-          My backyard ducks – October, Ringo, and Violet. Yes, I named them.

-          The joy of going into the big city of Pittsburgh, Pa.

-          Going to auctions with my parents.

-          Jones Beach.

-          Getting school pictures signed on the back.  I still have them!

-          Outdoor luncheons with the nuns at the Greenwich, Connecticut beach.

-          Seeing cousins in the summer.

-          Stamford, Greenwich, Elizabeth, NJ and New York City.

-          Transistor radios and record players.

 

-          Listening to 45’s all day long – over and over and over again.

-          When there were no hand-held hair dryers.

-          Gimbles and Kaufman’s.

-          Going to Woolworths to buy fish and stamps for my stamp collection.

-          Clutch purses.

 

-          Bubble rings. Mine was a pretty blue one given to me by a guy I was “going steady” with in Junior High. I don’t think we ever spoke to each other. LOL.

 

-          Swim team in Bradford Hills, Pa.

-          Riding horses up and down Memorial Drive in Houston, Texas.

-          When Wilcrest Drive and Dairy Ashford was considered FAR, FAR West Houston.

-          Breaking my arm. Once in gym class. And, once on a trampoline the day before starting my new school – Westchester High School in Houston.

-          Wearing my silver Vietnam bracelet. I still have it. This is not mine.

 

-          When doing your nails meant cutting them yourself.

-          Having to wear dresses to school.

-          Thanks Mom and Dad for all the memories!!! I love you.

-          That’s only the 50’s and 60’s – Maybe if I get creative again, I will do the 70’s and 80’s – Yikes!

Comment if you remember anything from your life in the 50s and 60's!

www.PattiGreene.com
 

What is God's DESIGNED PURPOSE for YOU?

What is God's designed purpose for YOU?

I can't say it any better than Gus Yepiz!!!

"...I will use you according to your designed purpose.” This is profound and one area that God had to work on in my life. When we become Christians, Satan comes along and gives us this horrible assumption that God will turn us into "supermen", able to leap tall building with a single bounce so to speak. We assume H...e will change our personality, give us new giftings, and replace our old talents with new ones. God never intended or promised any such thing! He never intended to take our broken pot made of clay and turn us into a vessel of gold, he only promised to take the pieces of the broken pot, turn them back into clay, and then remake the same pot using the same clay. The difference is that He has removed the dross and contaminants that caused the pot’s uselessness in the first place. It is like the master craftsman who cuts down the big oak tree on his land and makes from it a beautiful chair. Everyone is in awe of the woodwork and carvings of such a beautiful chair. Old women now sit on the chair and rest their weary feet, young men stand on it to reach the fruit from the orchard, a mother rocks and feeds her baby from the comfort of that chair. Such magnificent beauty, strength, and usefulness are now that oak chair’s portion! And that, of course, is exactly the point…, it is still by its very nature oak! The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God doesn’t give us new gifts and personalities when we become Christians. He won’t turn our clay to gold or our oak to ebony in order to perform His work…, rather He says, “Stand back and watch what I can do with clay and oak!”

By Gus Yepiz
(Reproduction permission given by Glory Odemenene)

 

    Awaken Me on Amazon.com and BN.com

    God, It's Me - Coming Soon!

 

Social MEDIAing and God

 

 

 

"I didn't learn SOCIAL MEDIA when I was in school!"

 



It is tough to blog, tweet, Facetime, Facebook, Goodread, e-mail, Skype, post, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. and etc., when all you want to do is sit down, study your Bible, pray, and get going doing other things. Now, it isn’t that I don’t like all the Social Media sites. I love them, but WOW, they can be way too time-consuming.

 

                                                      Coming Soon - Summer, 2014

 

 

On this journey of SOCIAL MEDIAing, where do you begin without wiping out anything else of importance in your life? If you have any ideas, please let me know at patti@pattigreene.com.

As you can see, I am basically just trying to figure out how to have time to do everything in my life. I have been involved in social media for a while, but I never really took the plunge to really expand. I want to expand, but I just want it to happen on its own! I am learning that isn’t going to happen. There are techniques, research, emails, friends, new friends, and connections that have to be made. Add in the time spent reading books so you can post on Goodreads, writing a new book, keeping up with new media, searching Pinterest, and for those who have an outside job, OH MY! How do you do it?

But, as I have pondered all this, I have realized that God is the one right beside me when I am writing books and guiding me along the way, so why shouldn’t I use that same “Holy Spirit” strength in guiding me with my new hobby of SOCIAL MEDIAing!

Today, I have decided to let Him go on this journey with me. I don’t have the wisdom, knowledge, or time to do it on my own. Every tip shared with me, I am going to look at as a prodding from Him. I will evaluate it, maybe act on it, or maybe put it aside for another day. And, I will listen for His still small voice telling me “Enough is enough for today.”

Honestly, it can be overwhelming. Why would I want to please God in every other area of my life, but leave Him out of my Social MEDIAing? 

So, starting TODAY…Hear me friends, I am making a commitment to follow His leads, His promptings, His suggestions, and His will regarding how much time I spend each day Social MEDIAing. I will put God first in my life and pray for His will in all I do – including the daunting and fun task of social MEDIAing.

NOTE: I am putting this in writing, so please help me to be accountable to my new found SOCIAL MEDIA commitmentJ

And, if you would like to help me….please join, link, or connect to one of the sites below. I would LOVE it. We can all learn from each other, share with each other, laugh with each other, and cry with each other.  And, it will be an awesome encouragement to me to see how many new friends I can make from this post. Thanks for being my friend, my future friend, and my source of encouragement.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/PattiGreene13
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/author.greene

Website - www.PattiGreene.com

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19605578-patti-greene

Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/pattigreene13/

Patti Londa Greene, Author

Awaken Me: A Devotional Prayer Journal

God, It’s Me: 181 Days for Young Adults to Become Passionate about Prayer and Bible Study (workbook) (Release date – Summer, 2014) http://bit.ly/1gNmgGD

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33

Family Traditions for the Christmas Holiday Season

Christmas Pajamas Tradition

Family Traditions for the Christmas Holiday Season by Author Patti Greene

It is amazing what you find when you start cleaning out files (I am speaking of file folders – the old manila ones that we used to use religiously). I pulled out these files from the garage that I haven't looked at for 20+ years. One of the items I found was a list of family Christmas traditions that I typed up (with a real typewriter) in December, 1989 for our Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church, Humble, TX.

So, knowing that Christmas is around the corner, I am going to share these with you now in hopes that maybe, just maybe, you will find one or two Christmas traditions to start in your family.

1. Read Christmas books and bedtime stories around the tree. It is best if you cuddle up in a blanket too.

2. Give each child a Christmas ornament annually, so that when they leave home, they will have their own childhood ornaments to take with them as they start their family.

3. Have a birthday party for Jesus. Let your children invite some friends over for a Jesus birthday party. Serve cake and ice-cream, sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, blow out candle, etc. Give out Christian party treats. Each child could bring a Christmas book to exchange.

4. Tie Christmas bows on your pets.

5. Show videos of past Christmases.

6. If you put Christmas apples (or fruit) on the tree, talk about the fall of Adam.

7. Go Christmas caroling with the family. But, be safe!

8. Have a Christmas photo taken each year of the entire family together. Over the years, you can see how much you all have matured/aged. LOL.

9.Old-Fashioned -  Make separate photo albums for your Christmas photos. Date each yearly section of photos. Then during the Christmas season, leave the albums out so all the family members can look and recall previous Christmases.
   New-Fashioned - Save Christmas photos on separate flash drives and have them scroll on a photo picture frame during the Christmas season.

10. On Christmas Eve, give everyone a new pair of pajamas to wear that evening. That way, everyone has a nice new pair of pajamas on for the pictures on Christmas morning. You can vary the themes each year. One year we had all camo pajamas; another all college-wear.

Disney PJ Year!

11. Drive around and look at the lights in your neighborhood. Take a widow or elderly neighbor or church member with you.

12. Use an Advent wreath or an Advent calendar.

13. Save your previous year Christmas cards for art projects.

14. Purchase a plastic manger, including all the Biblical characters, so that even the youngest member of the family can play with it. Keep it accessible throughout the holiday season.

15. Read Luke 2:1-20 (The Christmas Story) on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. If you have an old family Bible, it is a great time to use it.

16. Bring a meal and/or gifts to a needy family.

17. Give favor coupons as gifts wrapped in Christmas boxes. Ex. Good for one free babysitting night.

18. Decide on one family to have over for dinner and/or desserts.

19. Start a Christmas diary. Write down a description of your holiday season each year. Be sure to note all the cute or unusual comments the children make.

20. Light candles for your Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner.

21. Have a Christmas bulb hunt - similar to an Easter egg hunt. Then, let each child hang the bulbs they find on the tree.

22. Have a cookie exchange party. Each person who is invited brings 4 dozen “homemade” cookies. Then, after some fellowship time, each person takes home 4 dozen different cookies from all the varieties brought. The host makes more cookies so cookies can be eaten at the party.

23.  Make a birthday cake for Jesus. Allow each member of the family to participate in decorating it.

24. Wrap each child or grandchild's gift with a different designed paper. Tell them what their wrapping paper looks like. They will enjoy the anticipation seeing the various gifts awaiting them.

25. Merry Christmas.

c2013 Patti Greene

 

Okay, I didn't want to make this blog a self-promotion, but just in case you are interested in either giving someone or getting a new devotional for yourself for 2014, here is a pic of my new book. Available at Crossbooks.com, Amazon.com, or Barnes and Noble online. Locally in Houston, it is available at Katy Budget Books.

Click here to order Awaken Me: A Devotional Prayer Journal

 

Merry Christmas Everyone, 2013!

Windows 8 and The Bible

www.PattiGreene.com

I have just spent the last two hours of my valuable life seeking help for my newest problem: That problem is Windows 8. So, how do I handle the frustration and anxiety I am feeling right now? The only way I know how is to be creative by putting my thoughts into words through this post. However, that may be a monumental task as it has taken me four minutes already just to type what I have already typed due to the cursor changing on me, the keyboard keys are not typing, and for some unknown reason things appear that I don’t want to appear. I am so frustrated by even typing this paragraph. Does anyone know why in the middle of typing I can’t type and have to hit the lower left bar to be able to type again? And why when typing does it sometimes not work when I hit the space bar to makeaspace (oops) as it did right here.

Yes, I understand that some of this might be user error because I sit in a chair with my laptop on my lap and type. But, SO DO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. Do you hear me Microsoft? The “soft” of what I just typed ended up in first paragraph. I just repositioned it.

I am learning the new basic navigation. But, what was wrong with the old one? If I wanted pictures, I would have bought a Mac. And, I hate going into corners for everything. It is so annoying guys! I really don’t want to learn how to group apps with pics, I just want to put my apps in plain ‘ol alphabetically order. I want to just scroll through my app titles in alphabetical order and with ABC letters. Okay, that might be because I am a former librarian, but please…I hate pictures being forced n – oops, the o didn’t type – being forced on me.

 

But, I don’t hate pictures. I have over 10,000+/-  of them. But, I can’t figure out how to click on a picture, and open it into Photoshop.* I know, all you pro Window 8 people are thinking what an idiot, but if you know – oops, a screen just popped up saying, “Close programs to prevent loss.” To finish my previous sentence…if you know how to do it, please let me know. And to the “Close programs….” comment, I would be happy to, but, I will have to go to the help screen to figure out how to do that. Oh shoot, I don’t know where the help button is, but I bet if I go through my 65 page print out, I may be able to read something about it.

 

And here is an interesting thing about my informative print out…I went through it, made a few changes on Windows 8, only to get to the end of the instructions and read, “If you can’t figure something out, updates are available.” Come on folks, updates when I can’t even figure out the simple things, and shouldn't the updates be mentioned first?  And why did the right side bar just come out and show its face?

Now, I will say that I did learn some things in my two hour self-training. I learned that…

-        Windows X is my new best friend.

-        I can click the space bar tolog (oops) to log in.

-        I can click the home and end keys to see from one end of the tile apps to the end of the tile apps. (I am sure a teenager on drugs would love this feature…back and forth, back and forth, back and forth – in color no less.) See the picture above. 



-        The minus sign at the lower left makes the screen zoom in and out, but why does it zoom in and out when I least expect it?

-        Windows Q shows all the apps.

-        Windows I will power off the computer.

-        Windows E opens Explorer.

-        Windows C shows the right side bar.

-        Windows F shows the Search screen.

-        Windows D launches the desktop.

Obviously, you can tell I am not really a shortcut person. But, I will be now. I have survived most of my computer life without shortcuts, but I can learn. 

I do apologize to Microsoft for any misjudging of their product…I realize that my new HP might be part of the problem, but the bottom-line is I am still frustrated and anxious!!!

Yes, I did learn a few things today, and I do realize I have to take more hours out of my valuable future Saturday afternoons to do that, but why is it so difficult?

I cringe when I think about my 85 and 87 year old parents. They want a new computer. They need a new computer, but how in the world can I train THEM on Windows 8? Hmmm….Ah, great idea. I will leave that to my brother. Nothing like revenge!

 



But, then that leaves me to something else…

The Bible says not to be frustrated, anxious, or revengeful! If I would have stuck with Windows 7, I wouldn’t be facing these trials – Windows 8 trials.

So the second bottom-line is that I am going to memorize these verses before my next Windows 8 self-training, so maybe it isn’t so bad after all. But, God sure has a funny way to get me to memorize scripture, doesn’t He? So, be prepared for Bible training when you purchase Windows 8! It comes with the territory.

 

Verses to Memorize BEFORE learning Windows 8:

Frustrated with this trial: “Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2

Anxiety: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

 

-a different version! NLT



Revenge: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge…” Leviticus 19:18

* By working on this blog, I learned how to put my pics in Photoshop. Actually, it was the same as before, but I was all confused!!!!

www.PattiGreene.com

Bible Tidbits

Hi Folks,

Okay, I just can't help it! It is just me being me, but when I read the Bible I like to look for odd things - some may call them fun facts or plain 'ol Bible trivia. I am not necessarily looking for odd things, but they just glare out at me - those neat little tidbits that usually make me chuckle or make me say to myself, "You've got to be kidding!"

So, I thought I would share some of my most recent finds with you. You will need to get out your Bible though, because YOU will need to look up the answers unless you are a Bible scholar and whiz right though the test! And, I know you will be so enlightened that you will want to highlight them in your Bible for further reference. LOL.

1. Name the four items every guest room should have? Read 2 Kings 4:8-9.

 

 

2. Why should you never make fun of a bald man? What happened? Read 2 Kings 2:23-24.

3. What things make a woman beautiful? Read Isaiah 3:18-23.

4. Who in the Bible built both a pool and a tunnel. Read 2 Kings 20-20-21.

5. What caused Daniel's face to turn pale? Read Daniel 7:28.

6. What was far whiter than any earthly bleach? Read Mark 9:3.

Feel free to use these in any Bible Trivia games you might play at home or in a class!

Patti Greene
www.PattiGreene.com
Author, Awaken Me: A Devotional Prayer Journal, c2013.

Awaken Me

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