Great Day

With these gas prices, it can be difficult to justify a Sunday drive. However, sometimes we just have to put that worry aside and go out and enjoy God's creation! We decided to do that on Sunday afternoon. We forgot our map at home, and although we had our gps unit with us, 98% of the roads we came across were not on the gps! We originally set off for a drive to Lakeview, since neither of us had been there, at least not that I remember. We discovered a neat touch of history in that community with the old buildings lining the roadway. We took a different road on our way out, and kept coming across numerous roads, many unmarked. My hubby just used his judgement, and knew we would eventually come out somewhere! Eventually, we ended up somewhere between Enaville and Coeur d'Alene. It was an amazing drive, with spectacular views, beautiful wild flowers, and just time to unwind. We found a geocache and hid a geocache. We came across a calf moose, and watched it for almost half an hour, wondering where it's mom was, especially since it was bellering for her, but she never showed up. We hope she was somewhere not too far away, and that the little guy is safe. The evening was topped off with an absolutely amazing sunset as we got close to home. Best of all, however, was that I got to spend uninterrupted time with my hubby for eight hours.

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:20

Girls Night

Friday night I hung out with eleven middle school girls. There was a small sleepover at church for these girls, with the theme of glamour. It was fun to watch these girls learning how to do make up and applying it, some for the first time, getting very glamorous hair, and putting on formal dresses. They try so hard to be grown up, but then the little girl in them pops out. I took the pictures for the night and had a great time!! The girls would be so serious, trying to give me their best glamour pose, then all the sudden, they would be giggling and making funny faces. Each one of them was beautiful, from the inside out. I came home at 2:30, but didn't sleep until 4:00, and my dog woke me up at 6:00, so it was a very short night, but I am so glad I helped out and had fun hanging out with those girls!!

"Beauty is looking into some one's eyes and seeing their heart."

""The more you dress up the more fun you'll have.""

Moments

"Each moment of the year has its own beauty - a picture that was never seen before and will never be seen again." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

So true. Each moment of each day is unique in it's own way. Each moment, each minute is new and fresh, and when it's gone, it will never return. Make the most of each moment and don't waste the time you have been given. Find beauty, love, and laughter along the path you walk and give it to those you encounter throughout your day. Sometimes, a smile goes a long way in someone's day so give them freely. Have fun! Stop by a playground and swing for a few moments like you are a kid again. It does amazing things for your soul. Enjoy those in your life and don't waste time being angry over petty things, instead love them deeply. Life goes by so fast, don't waste it, live it!!

When morning comes, let your love satisfy all our needs. Then we can celebrate and be glad for what time we have left. Psalm 90:14

Whidbey Sunsets

We enjoyed great sunsets at Dave Mackie Park, Fort Ebey, and Bush Point while on Whidbey Island. Bush Point is the coldest spot on the island, I believe. It was 71 everwhere else, but when we pulled in there, it was 56 degrees accompanied by a very, very cold wind! However, the sunset was great, and there were even sundogs in the sky. A tug boat was going by, pulling an old battleship off to be destroyed somewhere, we presume.

"Peace..... is seeing a sunset, and knowing who to thank."

I would also like to say a Happy Birthday to Marianne Love. If you know her, pop over to www.slightdetour.blogspot.com and wish her a happy day!

Catching Up

I've done a lot of reflecting today. Things seem to be swept away in busyness while on vacation, away from computers, and phones, and life seems to be this little glass bubble for a bit as we enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds of vacation. Today, however, reality has caught up with me as I have caught up with sad and shocking things going on, as well as praying for my friend's dad all day since getting a text message from her that she took him to the hospital. I guess the glass bubble can't last forever, but it was a nice retreat while it lasted. I have had a hard time believing we were only gone from home for five days with all that has taken place.

I have spent a lot of time in my yard today as well. The crickets are singing a beautiful chorus in my backyard and I have been enjoying them as I attempt to weed a bit in my garden. I am excited to say that we will have fresh lettuce and kale by the end of the week. The spinach, on the other hand, is pitiful! Not sure what happened to it, but it looks really, really bad. I will have to plant some more and start over. I am grateful to Mellissa who I believe did a better job on taking care of my flowers than I do because they are so beautiful! Mellissa is our neighbor down the road and is a high school volunteer with the middle school program we work with. She stopped by today and told me she really enjoyed taking care of my plants, and it shows!! I am very grateful for her kindness and care to my flowers.

One of us in this house seems to be relieved that vacation is over, and it's not my hubby or myself. It would be our dog! This is the face of a dog who is being my shadow, making sure I do not leave her again. Evidently, five days is a bit too much for to pretend she's a dog, receiving limited human contact and having to sleep in my dad's workshop!

This however is the face of a dog happy to be home!

Vacation

"It isn't how much time you spend somewhere that makes it memorable: it's how you spend the time." ~ David Brenner

We spent a few days on vacation last week. It was great to have a getaway!! We traveled to Whidbey Island in Washington. It's a great place to visit, especially if you don't mind not having a cell phone in all areas, which I personally thought was an added bonus to the trip! We rented a cottage and loved the peace and quiet and the hospitality of the Old Wagon Road Cottage. We have never rented a house like this before, but thoroughly enjoyed our time! For nearly the same price as a motel, it's nice to be able to make your own meals, and to not have other people running around where you are staying and making noises at all hours of the night! Well, we did take my parents with us so that they could get away for a few days as well, but other than them sharing the house with us, it was quiet. We felt at home there. We enjoyed a beautiful setting and a nice place to stay, where the only noises were from the birds singing all day and the frogs and crickets at night. The grounds had many trees and flowers, and some great rockers to enjoy while sitting on the front porch. The backyard was a beautiful garden that we enjoyed as well.

I love digital cameras! They allow you to take and take and then get home and find the good pictures, and save them while getting rid of the not so good ones. I took a lot of pictures, nearly 700! Don't worry, I won't turn this into a dreaded 'family or friends went on vacation and are now making me sit through a slide show of their pictures' place. I do have some I want to share, though! I will write more, and share just a few pictures from our trip in a day or two, but for now, I need to get some sleep as it was a long trip home since we went over the North Cascade Highway, through Omak, and back home. It took us thirteen hours, so brain fog has indeed set in.

Down Time Day

Since I spoke of needing rest a couple days ago, I am doing that today, so this is a very short post. Have a wonderful weekend and I hope those who need it get some rest as well.

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time” ~John Lubbock

Anniversary

""Love is not about finding the right person, but creating a right relationship. It's not about how much love you have in the beginning but how much love you build till the end.""

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow."

Today is our 21st wedding anniversary! I don't know how I've been married that long already!!! Wow, where does the time go? We are planning a very special day so hopefully the weather cooperates.

Twenty-one years of marriage has brought a lot of happiness, joy, sorrow, heartache, change, love, hope, trust, laughter, adventure, and life. I am blessed to have gone down this crazy road of life with my husband by my side. I am thankful that God brought our north Idaho and north central Washington paths together at a college that neither one of us had planned to attend, put us in the same dorm, and had us meet within two days of arriving. At first, I thought that this tall, brown-eyed football player was a bit too much for me personality wise, but I had a weakness for tall, brown-eyed football players and quickly fell for him, once I got to know who he really was outside of our freshman initiation adventures. All these years later, I still am deeply in love with him and can't imagine life without him by my side. I look forward to many, many more years of life's adventure with him by my side, as we see where God takes us.

Rest

There are times when we just need to rest. I admit that I am weary both mentally and physically right now. There's been so much going on and I just need to rest a bit. I unwind my weary soul best next to a lake or the ocean, or in the mountains. I think when our minds and bodies get so overwhelmed with being tired and weary, we just need to escape and be somewhere quiet.




Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28



Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27




Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. Psalm 62:5

Fire Starter?

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, make each word a gift. Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32

Do you ever listen to your words when you are angered or offended? Do you 'bite back' when someone says something to you that hurts? I know it's something that I can struggle with, especially if it's my husband or someone close to me. When I went to Women of Faith, they did a skit that talked about how our tongue can be like a fire and rage out of control, and with one little word, we can destroy everyone around us.

All of us do many wrong things. But if you can control your tongue, you are mature and able to control your whole body. By putting a bit into the mouth of a horse, we can turn the horse in different directions. It takes strong winds to move a large sailing ship, but the captain uses only a small rudder to make it go in any direction. Our tongues are small too, and yet they brag about big things. It takes only a spark to start a forest fire! 6The tongue is like a spark. It is an evil power that dirties the rest of the body and sets a person's entire life on fire with flames that come from hell itself. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed. But our tongues get out of control. They are restless and evil, and always spreading deadly poison. My dear friends, with our tongues we speak both praises and curses. We praise our Lord and Father, and we curse people who were created to be like God, and this isn't right. Can clean water and dirty water both flow from the same spring? Can a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? Does fresh water come from a well full of salt water? James 3:2-12

What do your words do? Do they build up or destroy? Do you try to make an effort to have your words be kind and uplifting, or do you just say whatever you want because 'it's your right.' Words cut deep. They can hurt much more and much longer than a physical wound. Challenge yourself today to speak kindness, to speak life to others, not hurtful words. Don't start a forest fire with what you say. I know when I am kind, loving, and forgiving in my speech, life goes so much better! God didn't design me to speak hurtful words, so when I do, I directly disobey him and I feel guilty, and sad for what I've done. Today, I am challenging myself to speak kind words and to not start any fires.

From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive. Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:23-24

Family

We spent part of Father's day on the lake, fishing. Appropriately, dad is the only one who caught a fish. My cousin Gary joined us and it was great to have him along. He's been gone for a few years, and we've missed his presence in our family. God granted us a wonderful day to celebrate dad.

""Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."" ~Jane Howard

""Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at the people who belong to us we see the past, the present, and the future"" ~Gail Lumet Buckley

"A family is a haven of rest, a sanctuary of peace and most of all, a harbor of love." ~ Feldman

"Families fill our lives with happiness and laughter leaving us memories to treasure today and forever after"

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you as you are to them." ~Desmond Tutu

"The love in our family flows strong and deep...leaving us special memories to treasure and keep."

Happy Father's Day

The longer I work with teens, the more I know I have been blessed beyond belief for the family I grew up in. I see so many kids who are ripped apart emotionally because of their home lives. Many don't have a dad present in their lives, and it makes me sad. A dad is a vital part of a growing up, and I am so grateful for the dad that God gifted me with. My dad has always instilled morals in us through God's word, and has taught us right from wrong, to respect others, and to help others out when we can, and however we can. My dad has given us a strong base of how to live our lives by teaching us God's word, but also by living God's word. He also instilled in us how to earn an honest living and to work hard and fair, and to not take advantage of people.

I look up to you, dad, and respect you. I appreciate the positive and Godly influence you've had in my life. You have helped to shape me into the person I am today. Thank you, dad. We love you!



"The Measure of a man is not of his worth, but what he means to those he loves." ~Leisha Farnsworth

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. " ~ Clarence Budington Kelland

Rain Ended!

The long rain that has been pretty continual over the past few days, finally ended so I took my camera and walked through my flowers. Ahh, so nice to enjoy the colors and all God's beauty!