November Days of Thanks

Today I am thankful for my nieces and nephews.  They have all touched my life in many wonderful ways, and are all sweet blessings of love.  

November Days of Thanks, Day 5

Today I am thankful for the area I live, where mountains, lakes, trees, and the prairie are all out my door.  We are blessed to have so many beautiful elements of creation surrounding us.   

November Days of Thanks, Day 4

Today I am thankful for those in my life who stop to pray when I share the burdens and concerns in my life. They hear my heart, and they come alongside me, even though they are scattered all over the country, and pray.  They also share in the joy of answered prayers.  As many different people as there are praying for one need, are the prayers they pray.  Some pray short and to the point, while others use eloquent words.  Most are from different churches, but all go to the same loving Father in their prayers.  The main thing is, they pray, I pray.  It doesn't matter how it sounds, it just matters that we talk to our Father, our Creator, our mighty God.  He hears all the prayers of a sincere heart that is centered on HIm, and for that I am also very thankful.  I don't think I could have made it through some of the times I have if it wasn't for so many holding me up with their prayers.  There is a lot of power in prayer, it's always available to us.  It just takes a heart that is centered on God.  God isn't a genie, so don't make your prayers a want list, that's not what prayer is about. Prayer is just a conversation, it's just getting one on one with the ONE.  We need to make sure we always thank Him for what He has answered, what He has given us, the protection He has provided, and for the daily blessings He freely gives.   I am thankful for prayer.  I am thankful for those who pray.  I am blessed to pray for others.  

November Days of Thanks, Day 3

Today I am thankful for my parents who have modeled and given us a life of love, integrity, support, and trust.  Most importantly, they passed on a life of faith, and the importance of living a life that is rooted in that faith.  

 ♥

Love you, mom and dad!!

November Days of Thanks, Day 2

Day 2 ..... I am very thankful for amazing, saving grace, given freely to me by Jesus.  

November Days of Thanks

Each day of November, along with every other day of the year, it is good to focus on something to give thanks for in your life.  There is always something to be thankful for, if you take time to look for it.  

Day One..

I am thankful for my hubby. We have been together for 26 years, married 25.  He is my lifelong love, and my best friend.  He is centered in Christ, and does his best to live a life reflective of that.  My hubby has been out of town a lot lately for work, and when we are together, I deeply cherish those times.  We have been through a lot together, good & bad, but through it all, our love has grown.  I love and appreciate him, and am honored to be married to my best friend.  

Fall in North Idaho

I Am Back (Hopefully!)

Hello again blog world!

I have been absent for over a month, as I had some computer issues.  First, it started to work slow, make a lot of noise, and then a white screen appeared and never went away.  Sad day.  However, we still had a month of a two year very limited warranty left, so we prayed like crazy that whatever all was wrong, would be covered under that warranty.  Since the computer is less than two years old, we were a little frustrated and sad that everything quit working so soon.  We took it to the shop, and the tech started to go through things.  His first assessment was that whatever was wrong was more than likely not covered under the warranty.  I felt kind of sick to my stomach, as I knew there was no way we could afford a new computer right now.   After a few minutes, the tech started to think differently, and began to run a test on the hard drive.  Within two minutes, 55 bad spots were already present on the hard drive.  He tried to finish the test but it wouldn't budge past 10% of the hard drive.  They packed it up and sent it off, where we received a new hard drive, under warranty.  Thank you so much, God!  

After two weeks, we got the computer back, but not all the updates had been installed or fixed from the hard drive frying.  So, back to the local shop it went.  Finally, over a month later, we have our computer back today.  Things appear to be running correctly.  

It has not been my month for electronics.  About the time the computer died, my phone started to not work correctly, as well.  Fortunately, we were up for an upgrade, and it was a week after the iPhone 4 became a free phone, so that worked out great, as well.  I don't need all the new bells and whistles on a new iPhone, so was thrilled to get the 4.  Now, I just have to learn how to run everything on it.  I finally have a smart phone, not a dumb (smart) phone, like the android product I had before.  This phone may be a bit too smart for me!  ha ha

About the time all this happened, I had a fatality with my wide angle, 18-55 camera lens.  This is not a fix, unfortunately.  On top of that, two weeks ago, my camera decided to join in the electronic mayhem going on in my life.  The card reader decided to not read the card, so now my camera is in the shop, as well.  Being without my computer and not being able to edit photos and work on business, was bad enough, but being without my camera is like a big part of me is missing.  My camera is my therapy, my stress reliever, what I totally enjoy as a way to escape the stresses of life for even a few moments.  It is the way to capture the incredible beauty all around me, and I missed the week of the Fall colors in the height of their glory.  I went out and enjoyed the beautiful colors, but it wasn't quite the same without my camera.  Hopefully, it will be back next week. Hopefully the end of electronic mayhem is in site, as well.

I hope a few of you are still out there.  I look forward to catching up on some blogging, and with those blogs I follow, as well.  

Aaron Shust - We Are Free

Smoky Night Sunset

The air was very smoky last night, which makes it difficult to breathe, but makes for amazing sunsets.  I found a spot in an unharvested wheat field, and spent some time capturing the gift God blessed us with through the smoky night.  

Show Respect and Support to the Martin Family

Please show support and respect to this family for their son's sacrifice:  

Janene Grende shared this on facebook.........Army Spc. Ethan Martin will be coming home Friday, August 17th. His family will be waiting in Sandpoint, at the airport, as Ethan comes home from Dover AFBAn official procession will bring him home to Bonners Ferry. PLEASE, please take time out of your day to bring an American flag, make a sign saying THANK YOU, and let's line up along the highway in front of the Bonners Ferry
 middle school and National Guard building. It is expected that Ethan will pass by at 1130 am TOMORROW in Bonners Ferry. Please spread the word, gather your Boy Scout troops, your 4-H groups, your civic groups, church groups, office staff...etc. Can we please show this family our gratitude? Let's begin gathering at about 11:00 am at the National Guard, or earlier, to ensure we are there on time. I would love to see our love and gratitude stretch the entire highway clear to the funeral home and beyond.  We should line the hwy from Big R north with people and flags too! His body comes into the Sandpoint airport at 10 tomorrow, so please gather along Hwy 95 in Sandpoint, starting at Big R, at 10 a.m.