Living Life

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." —Abraham Lincoln

As you go about your day, think of how people will remember you when you are no longer around, and live a life so that you will be remembered fondly for many years to come. We may have decades yet to live our life, or we may have much less than that. Either way, certain people may only come in contact with you for a brief time, and you only have a small window to leave a lasting impression on them. Others you will know for years, and they will see your good and bad times, but make sure they remember the good times, more than the bad. Yet others, we live with. They are the ones who see who we truly are; what will they remember about you? What will live in their hearts for the rest of their lives every time they think about you? Today, live intentionally, love others, and laugh a lot.

Light Show

So the big hoopla over Good Morning America in Coeur d'Alene for the 'lighting' of the already lit lights at the Resort has taken over the local media. I'm sure the local residents will be thrilled when fireworks are shooting off over the lake in the wee hours of the morning, just to impress GMA, even though they were already shot off Friday night at the 'official' lighting of the Resort lights. The lights may be impressive, but I can't say firsthand because I haven't been down there this year. In the past, it has been good show, but there is a home in Post Falls that to me rivals the Resort. It may not be as large, but it is a great display, and the neighbors have great displays in their yards as well. This little cul de sac has done a great job of bringing Christmas cheer to the area. The one house has their lights set to music. There are thousands of lights, all colors and all displayed at different times as the songs go along. If you are in the Post Falls area, I highly recommend taking a drive down Seltice, turning on Greensferry, driving down to Black Forest, and turning on the first street to your right, Glenwood. As you turn the corner, flip your radio station over to 90.5, and enjoy the show!! It may not get national attention, but it's definitely worth checking out! Just remember it's the Christmas season, so be polite as you may have to wait in line to see the lights, and as they remind you on their radio station, please do not block the neighbors driveways! Enjoy the show!!

First Snow

After much anticipation, it finally arrived, and a lot of it! Our first snow blanketed the area last night. First, we just had enough to make the roads a sheer glare of ice, and then around 9:15, large flakes came tumbling down from the sky so heavy that visibility was limited to only a few feet in front of where you were looking. Around midnight, the winds picked up here on the prairie and this morning, we have areas without any snow, and others that are a foot deep! I feel like a little kid when the first snow is predicted, and I always go to the back door and turn the light on to see if it's snowing yet. Last night, it came down so hard, I didn't have to wonder if it was snowing yet, because it was easy to see it was. The gray and bleakness of late November has turned clean and fresh, and bright. God does the same for us, if we let him. He will turn our darkness into light, and wash us and make us fresh and new, and cleanse us from our sins, we just have to ask. Today I am thankful for the beautiful snow, and I am thankful that God looks at my sins and only sees me as pure as the fresh snow because of Jesus.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. Psalm 51:7-8

Black Friday, Quiet Sunday

It was a crazy, busy weekend with family. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Sandpoint with family. Thursday night, my mom, sister, and my nieces came home with us so we could go shopping on Friday. Kmart was our first stop at 6:30, and there were way too many people for me! We then went to Rite Aid, Sportsman's Warehouse, and Black Sheep all of which were smaller crowds, nice clerks, and good sales. We ventured over to Costco to grab a few things, and it was busy in there, but bearable. We then went for lunch at GW Hunters, and for some reason we lost our sanity for a few moments and went to Cabela's. NEVER AGAIN will we venture to Cabela's on a day like that! I think there were more people in the store than live in Bonner County! It was insane, and many of the shoppers were quite rude, thinking that someone may beat them to a deal if they offered any politeness or cordialness to others. I didn't have anything to shop for in there, and was just trying to take my nieces to see the aquarium and the animal displays, but after a man hit my three year old niece in the head and didn't apologize, but looked at us like we were in the wrong even though he cut in front of us, I decided we had enough and we waited up front for my mom and sis. We went back to my house and enjoyed some peace and quiet, well as much quiet as you get with a three and four year old in the house! ha It took us until the next morning to get over the trauma of walking in Cabela's with the hoards of people! Well actually, I still think my mom is having post traumatic stress disorder over the whole ordeal.

Today, my hubby and I opted for a more serene setting and headed to the mountains before the massive snow storm they are predicting hits the area, and we won't be able to go up to enjoy the serenity of going for a mountain drive for at least five months. It was a cold day, but it was so beautiful in the woods. We forgot to grab the saw, so weren't able to get our Christmas tree but the day was filled with beautiful scenery. We found a dusting of snow, and trees brushed with ice. The setting was picture perfect.

As we came around an icy corner, we spotted a cow moose above the road. She wasn't much for showing herself off to us, so she trotted up the hillside, into the trees. A few hundred feet down the road, I spotted a cow moose and calf below the road, nibbling on trees. The calf went closer to mom, but other than that, they were pretty unaffected by us sitting and watching them for a good half an hour. On our way out of that area, we spotted another cow moose on a hillside, who I am sure had spotted us before we spotted her.

We decided to take another road, and as we were traveling along it, I noticed some fresh moose tracks. We came around a corner and there were three ATV's sitting in the road. One of the kids came running back and told us there were three moose in the road ahead, and they wouldn't move. They decided to play it safe and turn around, but we were in our pickup so went around the corner to see the moose. Sure enough, momma moose had the road blocked!!

She did not have any intentions of moving, either, and if a moose does not want to move, you certainly don't make them move. Unlike the ATV's, we did not have anywhere to turn our pickup around without backing up for quite aways, so we waited, and we waited some more, and mama moose kept giving us a dirty look, and we were wondering at one point if she would charge us with the look she was giving us.

After half an hour, she finally moved off the road, along with one calf. Yes, the other stayed up on the road, eating those bushes you see, for another five minutes. The second to last thing you want to do is to push a moose. The last thing you want to do, is to get between a mama moose and her baby! So, we waited awhile longer and finally jr. moose decided to go with mom. By this time it was almost dark. We found out the road ended up ahead about 1/2 a mile, with a nice wide turn around. The snow and ice were even more beautiful as the sky turned to a dark blue-gray, and darkness settled in.

We felt totally blessed as we traveled down the mountain in the dark. God not only painted us a beautiful picture to enjoy throughout the afternoon, but he put seven moose in the scene to add even more enjoyment to our day.

Giving Thanks

"True thanksgiving means that we need to thank God for what He has done for us, and not to tell Him what we have done for Him. ~George R. Hendrick

I have a lot of things to be thankful for and the list could go on and on. Today, I am most thankful for my husband, my family, my church family, living in a free country, and the men and women who fight to keep this country free. I am especially grateful today some close friends who have offered a lot of support, prayers, and encouragement in the past few days. I am eternally thankful to God for His son, Jesus.

Having a heart filled with thanks takes some practice, but it can become extremely easy if you practice it throughout the day. It doesn't always have to be a huge thing to be thankful for, but the other day I thanked God for giving me green lights on my way to work. Would life have changed if I would have had red lights? Not likely, but it was nice to just get to work without the delays. Thank God for the sunrise, the sunset, the time in between, the rain, the snow, your safety while traveling, for food on the table, for health, for employment, for laughter, for quiet, for the ability to hear, see, touch, taste, and smell. There are things all around to give thanks for. I remember picking up a book a few years ago on 1000 reasons to be thankful/praise God. I remember I started my own list, but somewhere in the years, and a move, I don't know where that list went. I think I will start a new list today in my journal, so that I am not taking things for granted, but noticing the big things as well as the small things that are so wonderful in life. What a better way to start out Thanksgiving than to have a mindset on praise and thanks.

I was going to post a couple verses from Psalm 100 but my dad did that on his blog http://www.intothewildministries.blogspot.com so I don't want to copy him. It's a great passage to read and think about, so I encourage you to do it over this Thanksgiving time.

The LORD is my God! I will praise him and tell him how thankful I am. Tell the LORD how thankful you are, because he is kind and always merciful. ~Psalm 118:28-29

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Carrot Thief

I decided to make some chicken soup on Sunday night, so went to the garden to pull a few carrots to put in the soup. Imagine my surprise when I got out to my garden and found half the row of carrots was missing. We have a six to seven foot fence, so I knew that the carrots had not been eaten by deer. I don't think rabbits could get in our yard, either. Upon closer inspection, I saw a footprint, and a half eaten carrot. Hmm, what could the culprit be that was eating my yummy home grown carrots? Gee, it looked like a dog print up in the mud of my raised bed, but as I look over at my dog, she looks so....so....guilty! She looked at the carrots and then looked around like 'it wasn't me,' then looked back at me with the most innocent face she could find. As I picked up a half eaten carrot, she got the guiltiest look on her face. She is a golden retriever so she doesn't hide guilt well. All the Goldens we've ever had have shown their guilt, even if you don't have any idea why they are guilty. I remember Rusty, a golden we had when I was growing up, came crawling on his belly across the yard, with his head down, which meant he did something he shouldn't have done, but we had no idea what he did. I remember we laughed because we never did figure out what he did that he felt such guilt over. Getting back to my carrot stealing dog....the night before I made the soup, my hubby had let her in for the night, and she had a muddy carrot in her mouth. It should have been our first clue that she was stealing those delicious carrots, but I remember I tossed her a carrot out of the fridge, from Costco, for a treat. She has loved carrots since she was a pup, so they make a healthy treat for her. I figured the carrot she was so proudly carrying was that carrot, but obviously I was wrong. I still have not caught her in the raised bed stealing my carrots, but I guess we will continue to share what is left of the carrots with her. At least it's a healthy snack!

Anticipation

I waited and waited in great anticipation last night. I kept checking, having my husband see if it had arrived yet, but it didn't show up, at least not here. I hear reports it showed up around us, but it must have skipped over this neighborhood. What was all the anticipation about?? The first snow! I am like a little kid when it comes to the first snow. We were snowed on a little bit yesterday when we were in the mountains, but that snowfall had the smallest flakes I've ever seen! It came down like a light layer of dandruff! Yes, I was happy to see it while in the mountains, but it's just not the same as on my own yard. On the eleven o'clock news, they showed how the snow was really coming down in parts of Spokane, and they started to issue severe snow warnings during the Patriots game at 5:30, so the anticipation was building. However, we still have green grass this morning. I know it will arrive soon, but waiting is a difficult thing for me. I do hope it stays away for part of this week, as many friends and loved ones will be on the roads for Thanksgiving. But, for now, I will wait. I know come February, I will be wondering when the snow will leave, but for now, I can't wait for it to arrive and enjoy that magical first snow.

Justice

"Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice Thursday and could go to prison instead of the Hall of Fame for telling a federal grand jury he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.......Then came the indictment -- four counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice; a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison -- and Bonds' lawyers seemed caught off guard."

I'm not defending Barry Bonds here, but doesn't 30 years of possible imprisionment seem a bit ridiculous? I know of rapist, killers, major crimes people who serve less time than this. Many get off completely free, while others serve one to two years and are let out. I'm not saying that using performance enhancing drugs is right, because it's not, nor is perjury, but compared to murder and raping a child, or anyone for that matter, it seems pretty minor. I wonder if Joseph Duncan will serve this much time? A girl I know was violently raped at a young age and the man who raped her only served two years. There is always a chance Bonds will get off completely free, but if he does go to prison for thirty years, this countries justice system needs to be seriously re-evaluated, which I believe it does, anyway. I am thankful to live in a free country, and I am thankful that we have a better justice system than most countries, but we definitely need to find a balance here.

Love

Love is...the music in laughter, the beauty in song, the warmth in a shoulder, the gentle in strong. The magic in memories, the sunshine in skies, the gladness in giving, the starlight in eyes. The fun in together, the sadness in apart, the hope in tomorrow and the joy in a heart.

Life hands us rocky trails, and smooth sailing. It gives us ups and downs and times of great joy, along with times of sadness. We have times when we are pretty certain about how things will turn out, and times of great uncertainty. It's best to go through all these times with someone beside you, who loves you no matter what, good or bad. I am thankful for my husband, who has been with me on this bumpy road of life for over twenty years. The journey has been much easier with him, and God, by my side. So today, I just wanted to say how thankful I am for my hubby, and how I appreciate and love him for being my traveling partner on this road of life.

Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love never fails!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Storms

We had quite the wind and rain storm last night! It sounds like the Seattle area really got hammered, with 75-100 mph winds, so I guess our winds on the prairie of 40-45 mph weren't nearly as bad. It was a crazy night, though! The rain came down in sheets, and walking a couple feet in the rain, left a person quite wet and tossled. The wind howled as it wreaked havoc on everything in it's path.

It seems that there are a lot of personal storms going on as well right now. Many of my friends are going through some major storms right now, whether it be financially, personally, in their jobs, with family members, or health issues. It gets scary out in the middle of the storm. We have a couple storms going on personally as well, and I keep trying to remind myself to seek refuge from the storm in Jesus. When the storm seems to be hammering you with all it has, we try to either run from it or use our own power to be safe from it's affects. We need to remember that Jesus can calm the storms and that He is the refuge we should seek. He will bring us through the storms in life. As one of my friends told me last night, we get to a struggle, a storm in life, and wonder how we will make it through, but we always do. It may not be the result we wanted, but God holds everything in His hands and we just have to trust Him. So as the storms of life pound away at us, we need to run to God for our protection in the storm and be assured that He is always by our side, keeping us close to Him.

"Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns

I was sure by now

That You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry

You raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

A Gift

Laughter adds richness, texture and color to otherwise ordinary days.

It is a gift, a choice, a discipline, and an art.

~Tim Hansel

Laugh. Make others wonder what you are up to by laughing at life. It sure beats going through life in a bad mood! God gave us the gift of laughing, so don't waste that precious gift. Use the gift of laughter often, and make sure to pass the gift along to others. When was the last time you enriched your day by laughing so hard, your stomach hurt? I had one of those laughs a couple weeks ago with my nieces and it felt so good. So the challenge from me for this week, including to myself, is to laugh, a lot.

Thank You, Veterans

Sincere thanks and appreciation to all who have served this country, and have kept it free. We offer you honor and respect for your sacrifice. Your service to this country has not gone without notice. Thank you, veterans!

Brandon Update

AP - Thu Nov 8, 7:10 PM ET
President Bush greets Army. Sgt. Brendan Adam, Sandpoint, Idaho, who lost both his legs while serving in Baghdad in May 2007, as he visits a physical therapy lab for wounded soldiers at the Center For The Intrepid at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Marianne Love wrote:

Army Sgt. Brandon Adam of Sandpoint met President Bush a couple of hours ago in San Antonio. . The President shook Adam's hand and asked how he was doing and if he was getting what he needs to recover from losing both legs above the knee in a roadside attack last May 5 in Baghdad.

Adam said that yesterday his therapist at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio (a state-of-the-art rehab center for amputees and burn victims) told him to be sure to show up for therapy today---and to stay a while.

"All the sudden there were Secret Service everywhere," Adam said in a telephone conversation with Marianne Love. "They came flying in and shut the place down. We were just doing therapy, and there was press all over the place.

"The President came up behind me while I was bouncing on an ab ball," Adam added. "He said hi, shook hands, and we had our pictures taken. They're going to send those to us."

Adam said he really liked the President.

"He had a sense of energy that showed he cares a lot," Adam said. "I got that much from him; he was kind and happy to see that we were doing well . . . just checking on his soldiers."

Approximately 20 wounded soldiers were going through therapy during President Bush's visit, and cameras from news agencies were rolling throughout the room.

"While I was doing push-ups, I had at least 90 pictures taken," Adam said. "It was crazy and pretty cool." He says it's possible that footage of the President's visit to the rehab facility may appear on CNN News tonight.

Adam plans to continue his therapy until he's completely adjusted to his prostheses and can run two miles on a track. He estimates that to be March, if not sooner. The soldier graduated from Sandpoint High School in 2003. He signed up for the Army after being emotionally moved by the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

He suffered his injury on his second tour of duty to Iraq. He is the son of Doug and Karen Adam of Post Falls.

Marianne LoveAuthor/Freelance Writer
website: www.mariannelove.com
blog: http://slightdetour.blogspot.com

Hannah

Happy Birthday to our niece, Hannah! You are the one who is always looking for adventure and who wants to learn more about things. You have a strong spirit and determination to learn to do things on your own, so needless to say, you amaze us with what you can already do, even though you are just turning three today. You always bring a smile to our face, and we love when you give us hugs and kisses over the phone, and love it more when you give them to us in person. Your smile warms up a room and we love to see the way you see the world. You are a very special little girl and we hope you have a wonderful birthday! We love you very much! Happy birthday!

Relationship

Consider Jesus. Know Jesus. Learn what kind of Person it is you say you trust and love and worship. Soak in the shadow of Jesus. Saturate your soul with the ways of Jesus. Watch Him. Listen to Him. Stand in awe of Him. Let Him overwhelm you with the way He is. ~John Piper

I got this quote on my email the other day. If you know Jesus as your Savior, not as a religious person, then you understand this quote. If religion is what you follow, I challenge you to look at the real Jesus, see what the Bible really says about him, not what someone else says about him or the world has portrayed him to be. Jesus really isn't too complex, and he makes the way to follow him quite simple. Money and job titles don't impress him, but a heart change does. If you want a place to start to read about him, the book of John is always a great place to start. I am thankful that I got past the religion and found a relationship with Jesus, that he loves me where I am, and that he knows I make mistakes but loves me and forgives me anyway.

Lifehouse has a song called Everything, and the link to the following video is pretty amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUiEeM5TAUY&mode=related&search

Sunday Smile

Time to Vent

Today is going to be venting Friday. Once again the song Pave Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot is going through my head. I'm trying to think of something positive to write today, but with the plans announced yesterday to make a major shopping development just a few miles from my house, I am having a difficult time. The fact that it's just a few miles from my home is not the issue, but the fact that these same stores, Fred Meyer, Home Depot, and Walgreens, are all already 4-6 miles from where the proposed shopping area would be is the issue. Why would you put stores this close together, especially when the new Cabela's is drawing in the same businesses, and they would be another 5-6 miles away in the other direction? The only answer is GREED. How can all these stores survive so close to one another? How can the stores, like Super 1 which is locally owned, make it with all these mega stores going up everywhere? I think the same thing when I hear that Walmart wants to go in by Cabela's, but they already have a mega store 5 miles from that site, and another one about 10 miles away in Spokane. Wow, how greed has taken over everything these large corporations do, and the city planners are approving. I also wonder how these mega stores can go out on the prairie over the aquifer that they are "trying to protect," and why they aren't being met with the same opposition that the proposed hospital and church are being met with. Why? MONEY AND GREED!

There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed. Frank Buchman

Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough. ~Janwillem van de Wetering