by Sharon O | Aug 31, 2026 | Uncategorized
The upper room is a place and has been the topic of our Pastors teaching lately.
It has challenged us to think about the relationships Jesus had with those who followed him and those who listened to his teachings.
You can listen too, if you log into our church website:
Grace Chapel (You tube) Wilsonville Oregon.
The series is well worth your time to find it.
Now back to the teachings.
Jesus prepared those who followed him for his last day of meeting with them. HE KNEW the breaking of the bread, the sharing the cup, the lessons spoken. HE KNEW those would be the last few words he would share with them.
Then he washed their feet which was a huge thing to do back in those days where everyone wore sandals and the feet were dirty.
It was symbolic of what was to come.
IT was challenged by those who he ministered to.
Jesus knew what he was doing and as he moved into the last moments, he let them know. “Someone will betray me tonight. And he is in this room.”
Can you imagine the tension and questions among them?
Who would it be? How would he do it? Why?
I know it would feel very uncomfortable and Jesus challenged that.
What would it look like for us to have a last night with those we cared for? I know I would not wash feet. I am positive I would not be challenging I think and hope I could say good things, words of affirmation to those around me. But we never know how would our last night look like?
Jesus broke bread, and told them, “This is my body, he shared the cup.”
He prepared them, even though they did not understand or try to comprehend what he was saying.
The time has come and they had heard that over and over, yet even at that point, they did not get it.
I think Jesus knew the denial of their hearts would come soon and even though some said to him, “I will never leave you.” when it comes to truth and safety one can change the course pretty fast.
The upper room is a place of soft feelings in the middle of words that are heard from the savior’s heart.
by Sharon O | Aug 20, 2026 | Uncategorized
It’s called cowboy church and it is actually set up at a rodeo arena and grandstands. Our Pastor was invited along with the worship team and other speakers to set up a cowboy church.
The first one they did was at the St Paul Rodeo grounds in St Paul Oregon, one of the most well-known rodeos and highly talked about event in Oregon.
They set the first one up and got it all planned not really knowing how many might attend. After it was over they figured it was about 400 people and with great enthusiasm for more opportunity to share with the rodeo family all around.
The next one will be this Saturday at the Clackamas County fair and rodeo in Canby at 8:00 am.
It is a worship time, a time of being thankful, a time to listen to the messages given by a few key people and of course it is always fun to see our Pastor in jeans and a cowboy hat.
It is actually at the fairgrounds where the bulls and horses and the rodeo families all stay till the evening work begins. We have gone to the rodeo many years. There is something about the traditional rodeo and
events surrounding it.
The next cowboy church will be at the Pendleton roundup which is another very well-known rodeo.
Those who choose to watch the rodeo sit on older grandstands,
they allow those who watch in comfort. And of course, the main part of the rodeo is always the clown, his role is to distract the animals away from the cowboy. Whatever he does is very important in order to keep the cowboy safe and then himself.
The clown also shares jokes and other small events that distract and also borrow time till the big events begin.
I don’t mind the horses and even the bucking broncos, but it is still a dangerous event when one is riding a huge bull with very large horns.
If you have never been to a rodeo some year, go and treat yourself. It is a culture ‘we’ are not accustomed to, but it is pretty cool to watch.
It’s called cowboy church and it is a pretty fun way to worship the Lord.
by Sharon O | Jul 28, 2026 | Uncategorized
The waiting room is an interesting place.
I had three doctor issues yesterday and each one required a time of sitting in a waiting room as I waited for my name to be called.
It is a place that is awkward in the sense that you don’t really talk or carry on a conversation. As if it is known, it is a place of quiet.
Most people sat with their phones and browsed to pass the time away. There are no more magazines since covid, and staring at the walls is not a very exciting choice.
In this place there are a variety of people.
Some were young 20’s and some in their 80’s.
The lady across from me as I waited for an ultrasound was well into her 80’s. Sitting alone. Frail. I wondered what she was doing there alone and why no family was with her. I also wondered what was wrong with her.
There were always the ‘ones’ waiting for labs and or X-rays.
Each has a story and each had a reason to be there.
Each event I had to wait at least 45 minutes or more until they called my name. We ended the time with a meeting with my surgeon about my knee and how he would do my surgery which is now scheduled in October.
This year has been full of recovery and patience and pain and frustration. Slow moving and healing.
This knee is not working like it should and he has to redo it with a replacement knee. What a scary thought.
I will try not to think on the topic of my knee being removed.
He is a great surgeon, and he has done this many times with no problems.
I trust him totally.
Then I have to go through recovery and physical therapy again, and try to sleep without a lot of pain, one more time.
By nature, I have a high pain tolerance, so it is easy to not take pain pills or use other things to help manage it. In January when he did my first surgery, I lived in my chair, and I had used ice a lot.
Never did take pain pills but I am sure this time around I will.
We finally got home after 5 hours in the hospital. I took a hot shower and put my pj’s on to relax.
The waiting room is an interesting place and each time I go there I am often in praise for those who work in the medical field.
It is definitely not something I would want to do.
by Sharon O | Jul 17, 2026 | Uncategorized
Our grandson is here.
She started labor the 10th and it kept moving throughout the day, mild not irritating just waiting and watching,
The night of the10th she went into the hospital at 11:00pm.
They admitted her and continued to watch and wait, we went to bed thinking a phone call would wake us up. Morning came and no baby, and no real change, so we began to pray and wait.
All day long it was ‘What is going on?’
At 6pm the 11th he was finally born. Weighing only 5 pounds and 6 oz. A tiny little one for sure, and totally precious. She did great and all is well. They are home settling into a routine, and it is good, and answered prayers help this grandma feel better.
They named him Wynston Dean (after great grandpa) and he has a full head of brown soft hair, dark grey eyes and precious tiny fingers and toes, oh so precious.
Our other great granddaughter Janly turned two on the 10th and we were wondering if they were going to share a birthday.
We were not able to see her, but we did do facetime on the iPad and that is always a fun thing to do. The attention span of a 2-year-old is very short and we have to just understand that fact, she says Pawpa but not grandma yet. Hoping soon she will be able to say that word.
It is a blessing to be great grandparents when I think of the legacy we will hand down to the. To Love the LORD with all their heart… To remember we love them, and Jesus does too.
A funny part of the story is the new baby has a brother who is 4. His name is Elias and when I was holding Wynston, Elias brought me the car seat and wanted me to “PUT HIM DOWN,” in the car seat.
It is hard when baby gets attention and you don’t.
We will all work on that.
Our grandson is here and it is going to be a very special year for us.
Time to find some children’s books. 
by Sharon O | Jul 7, 2026 | Uncategorized
A new baby is coming very soon, possibly in the next few days.
Our oldest granddaughter who is 27 is having her first little baby.
It is pretty exciting. We have ONE great granddaughter already and now we will have a little boy. They say his name will be Winston Dean after grandpa so we will see if that is true.
We changed our son’s name after he was born. I used to really like Joel Patrick. But when our son arrived, we decided we wanted his name to be Christopher.
Still love the name. Christopher = Christ bearer
Anyway, we shall see when this little one comes and joins the family. She is really cute in her maternity style, which is summer tops and shorts, I never had to go into the heat of summer our babies were born in March.
It is an answered prayer for me, to see these babies.
When I was going through my cancer recovery, I asked the Lord if I can live long enough to see some great grand babies. And here I am recovered six years now with two joining the family.
God is good.
The other blessing we have had is about our daughter and a new ‘job’ opportunity. She had worked there a few years ago and then moved on.
Her most recent job didn’t pay enough so she began to look again and then her old company called her offering a job opportunity.
God answered a prayer again, over and over he has protected her and kept her safe.
Our middle grandson is coming home from Nepal.
He is loving mission work and believe me; this grandma has prayed for his protection. Flying all on his own at age 18 through many countries. The last trip he was in Asia and really liked it there. Even after he was bit by a large centipede he managed to be OK after a few days of resting.
Soon our new baby is coming to add to the family tree.
Congratulations to the new parents as we pray for safety and health.
by Sharon O | Jun 11, 2026 | Uncategorized
The older I get the faster time moves.
The year is half done and so many things have happened I can’t even begin to share, hopefully summer will be good as we move into hotter weather.
Our granddaughter moved to another state with her little family which means a two-hour flight to visit instead of a two-hour drive.
We do face time on our IPAD but that is not the same as a real in person visit.
The baby will be two in a few weeks. We will miss her party.
Our oldest granddaughter is having a baby in a few weeks, so it is a happy time for everyone.
It is a baby boy with the middle name given that is also great grandpa’s middle name. That was an emotional moment when they shared it at the baby shower.
We are definitely getting older. My knee surgery is still not healed, and I am looking at a knee replacement in about four months.
Hoping for a September time of recouping through the fall months.
It has been a long recovery that started last October.
I have so many little organization chores that needs to be done in this house, when we moved in a lot of things were just thrown in tubs and put into a closet. Soon the cleaning will begin. Especially if I am having knee surgery it has to be taken care of.
Time is sure moving fast. Turning 71 has made me realize more days are behind me than those that are before. What I do with those days is important for my legacy and my sanity.
We have aging cats these days and we are watching them, for signs of slowing down and health issues, they are both age 11.
I will not get anymore animals, I am truly done for the first time in my life I am positive these are our last ‘furry children’.
Time is sure moving fast and we need to make more decisions in the days ahead of us as change comes into our day to day lives..
