Happy New Year from the Bolivar Peninsula of Texas

Ted and I trust that each of you had a very Merry Christmas and we wish you a Happy and Blessed New Year.

May God bless you in 2010 with health, happiness, enough income, something profitable and fun to do, and family members and friends to surround you and share your joys and trials.

Our weather is cool here on the peninsula and we heard last night that the forecasters are predicting the possibility of snow showers on Wednesday for us folks in Southeast Texas. How could that be? We are excited, of course, at the prospect and the kids think it is great.

For those of you who are keeping up, Ted and I, like so many of our neighbors and friends on Bolivar, are still waiting on Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to settle on our claim so that we can begin to rebuild our home and our lives. God has blessed our family with a nice leased home in Crystal Beach, and we realize we are so much more fortunate than many who cannot get back to the peninsula because of not having a home. It is been a long nearly 16 months now to wait this out, but we are trying to be patient. We, like most, have filed lawsuits now to try to get our money that is fairly owed to us.

Another body (or the remains of a body) was positively identified on Friday. It was Harry Bingham, 61, of Crystal beach, and his daughter in New Jersey has now been told. The Laura Recovery Center in Houston confirmed that DNA evidence made the news official and even though Harry's body had been discovered on September 8, 2009, near Smith Point, it took this long to get the confirmation. For many families, Hurricane Ike is still very close to the heart and not over by a long shot although it is considered "old news" to many now.

I have personally asked God to help me be more gracious to all I meet, keep my mouth shut more often, and to try to help those I meet along the way with a genuine and sincere spirit.

Steven has enjoyed his break from school and will go back on Monday. His band, Seaweed, played on New Year's Eve, after much practice here in our home. He loves music and is doing well on both guitar and drums. Callie Grace is also a budding musician and is now back home in Texas after a visit to Georgia over Christmas. Both Brent and Nikki now live in or near St. Petersburg, Florida, very near the Gulf. Brent pastors the Community Bible Baptist Church and Nikki begins a new job on Monday. Please pray for both of them and their families. Brendan is a fine young man and growing like a weed.

May God bless you until the next page turns,

Brenda

Today is the anniversary of Elvis' death...

OK, I know it is corny, but today is the anniversary of Elvis' death, and I don't feel so good myself.

It has been a trying week for many reasons.  DeAnna and Callie Grace came to the beach for the weekend and we had such fun, so it ended well.  Ted and I took DeAnna out on the boat into the bay and on the Intracoastal Waterway for fishing on Friday and she caught lots of "stuff," some of it wild, and some of it good.  On Friday, we went out again to the deeper, more beautiful water of the open Gulf out beyond the North Jetties.  I caught a shark right off the bat and she was impressed.  We had fun and then came back and took Steven and Callie Grace to the beach at our house to join some of my dear friends, John and Joni Harding and their grandchildren for a time of playing in the sand and surf.

The reason I can always remember when Elvis died is that the anniversary is on the 16th, one day before my son's birthday on the 17th of August.  I was in the kitchen icing his birthday cake when Teresa, my beloved sister in law, called to break the news.  I told her that what she said wasn't funny and a bad joke, and she said, "Oh, Brenda, he really is dead.  I'm not joking.  Go turn on the TV."  And I did and he had!  I couldn't believe it.  That man could sing and he will always represent a part of my growing up years.  There's lots more to tell, but I won't take the time to do that now. Happy Birthday, Brent.

When Brent moved to Florida to pastor Community Bible Baptist Church, he made a joke about hurricanes following him.  Everyone laughed. There's three building right now and two are heading for central Florida — Not so funny!  He and his family (and us eventually) have experienced way too many hurricanes here on the Texas coast and the church (Val Verde Baptist) had storm damage at least three times from weather related issues while he was there.

Ana, Bill, and Claudette are concerns right now for all of us.  We have been told to batten down the hatches, but it mostly is going to be rain — they think!  We pray!

Had some experiences this week that I would have liked to have avoided seeing.  Hurting people do hurtful things, and they seem to do it simply as a matter of their own existence.There is nothing uglier to me than a bitter, rude, embolden, older woman who speaks out of the meaningless heart she has emptied years ago.  When you have no joy in your own life (for whatever reason) because of your past actions, alcohol, drugs (prescription and other), lack of close family, not getting along with neighbors, and jealousy and envy, there is a tendency to lash out and hurt those who are more successful and certainly more happy. I saw that demonstrated twice this week by two different women who had no cause to be concerned about issues they chose to tackle.  You almost want to hold a life mirror up to their faces and demand that they stop and take a hard look at themselves, but of course, that would not be acceptable.

May God help them.  Dr. John R. Rice used to say often that "bitterness and envy eats up the vessel it is stored in...and quickly at that."  Dr. B. R. Lakin shared with us "If they're kicking you in the rear, you've still got the lead, so keep on going."

Ted and I ask you to join us in prayer for his only sister, Martha Ladd, of Beaumont, Texas.  She underwent open heart surgery in Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday, August 12.  She has had some complications and needs our prayers. These complications involve her heart, kidneys, lungs, being disoriented, and a staph colony.  She is at this writing in an isolation ICU.  Her husband and children are there with her and they all need our prayers.

May God bless all coastal residents during hurricane season — 2009 — and Happy Birthday, Brent!