To do and do and do

8:46 p.m. Today's project was to get my study written for Thursday a day ahead, seeing as out-of-town wedding guests begin to stop in at our house tomorrow. Some wedding errands have to be done on the 22nd as well, like my visit to the florist to take the table favors, goblets and guest book. (Maybe other necessities are in that bag, too, but no sense digging through my mental files, because the focus is on staying calm and in an orderly state of mind!) I hope to make it to the Suit Exchange in the Tyler Galleria also, saving a separate crosstown trip.

All went swimmingly as I used my notes and wrote the lesson for I Samuel 17, a fun and exciting chapter beloved by children and adults, where David kills the giant Goliath. It just represents victory against all odds, and a triumph of faith over fear, God over the devil. And everyone can identify with Goliath-size troubles that seem insurmountable, from a playground bully to an IRS bill!

Throughout the study time, however, I needed to pop into the backyard to help Steve with edging the patio and cleaning up a drink cart that had sat on the patio for years collecting dust. It will be handy for the 35-guest dinner, so people don't need to go in and out of the house for drinks. The wheeled cart will be especially handy since I killed a black widow spider that was tucked up into a corner under the cover, with an egg sac to boot! Nasty, nasty.

Despite having broken a sprinkler head yesterday, necessitating hand-watering, and frequent pauses for instructions, Steve is getting a lot done and the yard is looking nicer. But I do realize that we won't be hosting large events for much longer, because his Alzheimer-induced confusion is getting more severe. The frustration I feel when working in the yard and garden with him is a result of his inability to comprehend directional phrases like, "over there"or "in front of," even while I'm pointing. The meaning of adverbs like"behind," "left," "right," "over" or "under" has faded away. Of course I'm needing to learn that repeating the same words louder isn't an effective strategy! So I generally help him move to the next step of a task, or help him complete it. The Lord knows, and He multiplies my writing time and concentration in the broken-up periods I do have. I love Psalm 92:1-2:

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

And to sing praises to Your Name,

O Most High;

To declare Your lovingkindness

in the morning,

And Your faithfulness every

night.

Later in the day, we went to replace Steve's phone that had gone into the wash in his jeans pocket, got gas money for our son's trip down here from Fresno, and after dinner, Steve mowed and watered the backyard. I took off for Smart & Final for rehearsal dinner items.

We didn't get our walk in as planned, but in all, the Lord's faithfulness made it a wonderful day!