The best part about having first time visitors is doing all th favorite Pittsburgh things.....tonight we enjoyed Pramanti Brothers Sandwiches at the original restaurant in the Strip District, but that was after bursting through the Ft. Pitt tunnels to a beautiful lit up City.  Then we drove up to Mt. Washington to see the City from the Mount....it was just fantastic.  Tomorrow morning we're headed to the Strip District again for breakfast at Deluca's and then to breathe in the atmosphere of the markets.  Later tomorrow evening we are boarding the Gateway Clipper for the dinner/dance cruise and we'll see the City from a different vantage point.  It's been a great visit already and we still have a couple more days! 

God bless each one and you and have an awesome holiday weekend....rest from your labors, my friends!

They say it's your birthday....happy birthday to ya!  You know who you are...soo go out and have a great birthday....I'll be thinking about you!

God bless, my friends!  Have an awesome Labor Day Weekend!

Gary and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Virginia friends for the holiday weekend!  We have many activities and special plans and we're hoping the weather cooperates.  So far, so good.  However, we are thinking about all those on the coast with Hurricane Earl predicted to hit soon.  It's totally mind boggling how we can be having blue skies with no clouds and OBX has begun evacuating vacationers due to the impending storm.  Let's remember to pray for all those being affected and for their protection from harm.

As a side note...Happy Birthday, Brian!  Wow, did I hear the numbers 34???  It can't be!!  God bless!

You know what's cool about writing a devotional book?  You never know where the book will go, who will read it and how it will affect other people.  I never imagined the impact of words until I hear the stories of how others' lives have been touched, changed, challenged, renewed or made to think.  It is extremely humbling.  Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to be used.  God bless, my friends!

After an enjoyable ride on my bike for 13 1/2 miles, I "hit the books" to begin studying and writing for my commitments this fall.  I'm so excited about these upcoming retreats and the opportunity to teach again!  However, it's getting closer to 6:00 and I haven't begun dinner....I just get absorbed in the Word of God, what can I say?

Hope all is going well with my readers and friends.  I'm really looking forward to the temperatures cooling off this weekend.  We're having visitors come up from Virginia and it would be great to have some cooler Fall-like days!  God bless!

The moms of America are off and running this morning.  They are like little birds out of a cage....at least that's the feeling I get in my area.  This morning I took my bike out for a spin since the temperatures are predicted to reach 90 degrees this afternoon.  I usually ride through a small parking area (which really isn't a parking area, but the users of the trail think so) to get onto the trail path, but today I had to walk my bike through a very narrow opening between the cars.  Yes, friends, every mother in the South Hills area was out this morning.  They probably waved goodbye to their kiddos with a big smile on their faces and hit the trail with their fellow mom-friends.

There were groups of women, women walking alone, women walking the dog, multiple women walking dogs, women biking together, women strolling babies together....you name it, they were on the trail in droves this morning.  I can't say I blame them.  This is the first morning in a couple of months they have had a day "off"....so enjoy, ladies, but don't forget those buses will be returning this afternoon with kids anxious to tell mom all about their school day!  Enjoy....these days go by very, very quickly!

I can't believe it's time for the big yellow buses to begin making their frequent stops up and down the highways and hedges to gather children for another educational year.  Amazing how time flies....seems like yesterday Nicholas went off to Kindergarten and then in a blink Kimberly was walking down the sidewalk to begin her Senior year of high school.  Now both my kids are beginning another school year as teachers!!  Yes, indeed, where does the time go?

But tomorrow Gary and I will get up and drink our cup of coffee and watch all the hustle and bustle surrounding our home as this will be the first time Gary doesn't have to rush off to work.  I'm really loving his retirement!  And me?  Well, I'll get back to substitute teaching at some point, but it pains me to think of rising at 5:30 a.m. and Gary still snoozing....

God bless, my friends...have an awesome Sunday and a terrific beginning of the week or school year....whatever you are experiencing, but remember...it all goes fast!

Hi Friends, yesterday turned out to be a very busy day, but we did it!  We held our first ever book signing at The Farmhouse Coffee and Gary and I both felt it was successful.  Of course, we didn't know what to expect, but Barb Chapman, the owner of The Farmhouse Coffee, was a most gracious proprietor and kept the fabulous coffee beverages coming...cold and hot...along with snowcones, ice cream, cookies...you name it!

It was an awesome opportunity to meet with not only friends, but persons that read about the signing through the Almanac and just came to purchase a book and, in one case, to visit The Farmhouse for the first time!  My deepest appreciate goes out to my cheerleader, Jan Mackowiak and her husband, the talented Dave Mackowiak, for his background music and array of instruments that keeps us in awe of his abilities.  You're the best, Dave....and second to none.

I am getting additional interest in the women's retreat this October.  To God be the glory, friends.  It's going to be a terrific weekend full of laughter, girlfriends and friends to be made....along with a quaint setting in the town of Berkeley Springs.  God bless, my friends....may you enjoy an uplifting worship service tomorrow!

Each Wednesday I remember the phrase "Hump Day".  As kids we always referred to the middle of the week as "Hump Day" simply because it symbolized (in our visual minds) we had climbed to the top of the hill and was sliding toward the fun we had planned for the weekend.  Although it might sound crazy I still think of that phrasing each and every week when Wednesday rolls around!

Last evening I got the opportunity to see a lot of my "teacher friends".  Unfortunately it was at the funeral home for the father of one of the teachers.  This same gentleman (great adjectives for this truly "gentle man") was also a member of my church.  It was good to gather and reflect upon memories and see so many of our dear friends.  This was a happier occasion than most since our dear friend had suffered with health problems for many years.  We know he is enjoying the beginning of his eternal dwelling with our Lord.

Hope each one of you have an awesome day and, as school begins for many students and teachers, please remember to pray for our nation and the learning that takes place within those institutions.  Pray for the hearts and minds of the teachers, administrators and students that are being entrusted to them for hours each day.  May God be honored and glorified in each lesson and action.  And may the children come prepared to listen and learn.   God bless, my friends!