What's happenin'...

Nice summer day! I arose at 6:45 rarin' to get out and mow the lawn before it got too hot. I spent 1-1/2 hours outside mowing and hacking away at weeds that had grown up around the house. Then inside for a shower and breakfast. Feeling good about getting that done. For now, the whole lawn looks good! (Well, in my rural, wilderness way of thinking.)

Last Monday, when I mowed the front lawn I made a couple of bouquets of weeds. :) They were kind of cute, but didn't last long. I think they drowned from too much water. They are weeds, after all, and thrive in our dry, sandy soil. (Did I show these already? Seems like it.)

Micah and the girls came over for a visit. Of course, watercolors must be used.

 

They always enjoy playing with old friends. Grandma's toy stash is limited, but these girls have good imaginations!

Audrey inherited a straw hat from her great-grandmother. I'm not much of a hat wearer, and she just loved it.

I don't know if any of you are familiar with Sid Roth? He's a Jewish believer in Jesus and I've watched him a little in the past. I've also been seeing a lot in the news about the nuclear arms deal that is being forged with Iran. As Benjamin Netanyehu has said, the deal is a disaster and Israel, as well as the rest of us, are in as much peril as ever from Iran, if not more since they will also get billions of dollars to help them create weapons. Anyway, Sid Roth was saying that God had given him a different perspective on this. He said not to fear! Many Muslims are becoming disenchanted with Islam because of all of the terrorist activity and many of their hearts will be more receptive to the gospel because of all of this. What Satan means for evil, God will use for the salvation of many of the Muslim people. In the eternal scheme of things, that is a glorious outcome!

This is my latest bit for my Sketchbook Project. Not sure if it needs something else. Thinking about it...

Adele, practicing her rolling in the Pack 'n' Play...

...and her first selfie!

Micah and the girls came over night before last and got stuck here until about 10:30 p.m. because the lightning was so extreme. We congregated in the hallway away from windows because in my house it's hard to find a place where you aren't near a window. I told the girls not to be afraid. We were just taking precautions. Audrey asked, "What are per-cau-tions?" "We're just being careful," I smiled in reply. :) So, Audrey and Hazel did some drawing and coloring and when the storm settled down a bit they hurried home.

My copy of "White Road" arrived! I may begin reading this today. When I first unwrapped it I flipped to a page at random and was instantly drawn in to the story. I love this lady's writing style! Down the Garden Path will still be my breakroom read, but this book will be better suited for reading at home with no interruptions.

I'll close with this quote that my dear daughter-in-law, Jess, posted on Facebook this morning. I found it very inspirational, and I hope you all do, too!

"Are you a born writer?  Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action. Do it or don't do it...if...you don't do it...you shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got."

Come on! Let's do it! :)

Have a blessed day filled with the shalom of God.

Family...and Lisa flips out on FB...

Just had to post this cute photo of daughter Micah and family. They were enjoying the Midsummer's parade in the nearby small town of Menahga, MN. :)

As for flipping out on Facebook, I know I should have kept my mouth shut...or maybe not? Somehow a video was shared on my newsfeed (and I wish I knew how to narrow down who can post things or how to prevent friends of friends posts from being shared). The video was of a "prank" where a guy dressed up as a scary, evil clown character would set a little music box in a secluded spot, turn it on, and then when unsuspecting passersby walked over to see what the music box was doing there, the clown would whistle to get their attention. In one scenario he had a chainsaw which he started up and began chasing the terrified young people. In another scene he had a huge sledge hammer and a "dead" looking dummy on the ground. When he got these people's attention he pretended to smash the dummies head. Once again the terrified people ran for their lives. I commented that this was a grotesque video, and why would anyone think it's funny. A young gal commented back something like, "I think it's hilarious! Idk what you mean. Have a little fun for once." I commented in return that I could see how someone who is self-centered and thoughtless might think it was funny that those people thought they were about to die. She commented back, "Yup, you got it." and I said, "I thought so." Aaaahhh! But this is what the world is coming to folks. Gird up your loins and feed on scripture. We're going to need it as evil increases.

On a more upbeat note... I followed a link from Betty the Wood Fairy's blog and found this picture. I could LIVE in this! :)

Maybe I should have hung onto my dad's old VW bus? Road trip!

 

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of this day off. It takes this old body a while to recover from a hectic weekend at work!

 

Thanks for dropping by! Shalom to you and yours!

Feeling bookish...

It's a glorious, sunny day off! I hope to drop in on Micah and the girls a little later. Micah parked in my driveway yesterday evening, unloaded her bike and went for a 4 mile ride. She's training for a half-marathon in the fall. Biking is her cross-training option. She's following a training schedule she found online and she and hubby are both doing some running. He's aiming for a 5k. Ah yes. They're young...

Meanwhile, my idea of sport has been ordering books. ;) I've missed the packages coming in the mail and, although I try to be frugal, I have managed to find a few interesting titles.

A week or so ago I received The Annie Dillard Reader. I read something by her in one of my literature classes a few years ago and thought it would be enjoyable to read more. Also, I received my copy of The Worm Forgives the Plough. (I think we'll need to have a group read of this since several of us have bought it!)

 

Yesterday I received Down the Garden Path. This was published in 1935 by Beverly Nichols. It's part of a trilogy. I had the last two books already, but was waiting for this one to begin reading them. I ordered it last summer and it got lost in the mail. Being cheap, I refused to order another copy and kept hoping the errant copy would arrive. But, I could wait no longer, so here is the copy I ordered recently. I'm showing you a couple of pages so you can see  his writing style. I look forward to these books as pleasant light reading material. Very English. ;)

 

You'll probably need to click on the images to enlarge them.

Of course, you could  read a sample on Amazon as well.

The other two in the triology are "A Thatched Roof" and "A Village in a Valley".

 

 

I now await the arrival of "White Road", which MK so highly recommends. This sounds like something I would have read as a teenager. I was especially interested in stories of the holocaust and the miraculous journey of the Jewish people from war torn Europe to their promised land. White Road takes place during the Russian Revolution. (I see MK has a post with some quotations from the book, here.)This will be an interesting read, I think. Thanks, MK, for the suggestion!

 

 

 

My step-granddaughter, Kristen, will have her 11th birthday at the end of this month. She lives far away in Maryland and is rather horse crazy. She's taking English riding lessons right now. I decided, instead of the usual card with money, to buy her a book that I read when I was about her age. In fact, I believe my parents gave it to me for my birthday. Have you ever read the story of Wild Horse Annie? Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West is a wonderful book for any horse crazy girl in your life. :) The copy I found on Amazon was in beautiful shape (not the one pictured below) and I think she'll be delighted with it. I remember very fondly, my horse crazy days riding my little horse all over creation. Now that was freedom!

 

 

I believe I'll hop over to MK's blog and read that post I mentioned above. Have a beautiful day, everyone!

Shalom! :)

Happy 4th and more ATC's...

Happy 4th, everyone! Here's a spectacular rendition of our National Anthem. These boys can sing! :)



In other news, I finished up some ATC's for the Dr. Seuss swap...

 

Otherwise, just listening to fireworks going off in my neighborhood. I can't see much because of the woods surrounding me, but I'm glad to be home. I worked for 4 hours this morning to help the poor gals who were scheduled for this weekend. I was glad to escape the crowds. It's pretty crazy in town where thousands of tourists (plus daughter Micah and her family) will be watching the official show.

Son Josh just called to wish me a Happy 4th and to visit for a minute. That's always a treat!

Hope you all have a swell 4th!

Shalom.

Of tornadoes, bugs and birthday cards...

No, we didn't really have a tornado. Whew! But I did get a Facebook message yesterday morning that my daughter had sent at 1 a.m. asking me if I knew we were under a tornado watch! I got the message 7 hours later, so I was blissfully ignorant. :) I had noticed that the skies looked threatening before going to bed and took this photo. I try not to worry about such things because there's really nothing I can do in my glorified double-wide trailer except trust in God. And that's a pretty good thing.

Have you seen these little critters on your windows? Isn't God fun? I wonder what they do in the grand scheme of things? Feed birds? :) I had a hard time convincing my camera to take its picture instead of focusing on the great outdoors.

My son Jordan turns 33 on Wednesday. I've made handmade cards for son Josh the last couple of years and thought I'd try one for Jordan. I seem to have a thing for loons. It was a fun little art project.

 I tucked in a little pocket change. Goodwill is his favorite shopping place. Smart guy!

 

Micah, Adam and the girls dropped in for an unexpected visit. They were taking a walk on the Heartland Trail that passes by my house and Micah called to see if they could stop in. It was so cute to watch them walking up the street in front of my house. Audrey and Hazel keep up a running commentary between themselves and I could hear them from my patio door. As they were leaving and had just turned right at the end of my driveway to go back to the trail (about 100 ft. down the road) I saw Hazel's little blonde head turn toward the house and heard her say, "Bye, Gramma!" You better believe I was ready to say "Bye, Sweetie!" back to her. They had a fun little short visit and managed to play with the piano, tambourine, drum and xylophone! (No, I didn't think to take the photo when they were actually on the road, duh!)

Audrey modeling her braid.

 Adele power!

 Hazel, cousin Cali and Audrey at the park.

 Audrey and cousin Cali at gymnastics this morning. Audrey has skills! ;)

 

 Have a great evening!

 

That's all I have for now. Just wanted to check in! :)
Love God, love people, and speak the Truth in love.
Shalom!

SAFE!

I've been reading through some of the old emails/letters written by my Mom and myself over the years. I speak a bit about them in this post. I came across a letter about my nephew Isaac and wanted to share a bit.

About 16 years ago my nephew, Isaac, at the age of 14, went home to be with the Lord. He had suffered all of his life from a metabolic disorder called Niemann Pick disease. He was only expected to live a few years, but the Lord extended his time. He lived much of his life overseas because his parents were missionaries with Youth With a Mission. He led an interesting life, I think, and his parents made sure he got to participate in "kid things" as much as possible, even T-ball. Though he needed oxygen constantly, they managed to find a team for him to play on.

I won't tell you his whole life history, but I wanted to share something that happened in the last few moments of his life here on earth. His parents and sisters, grandparents, and many friends were gathered at home to be with him, knowing he didn't have long left in this world. My little niece, Naomi, Isaac's little sister, must have been about 4 at the time. As my mother wrote, "In Isaac's last moments little Naomi pointed excitedly toward Isaac and said, 'Do you see the shining arms? Do you see the shining arms?' She saw arms reaching down to receive Isaac. Isn't that wonderful of the Lord?!! After that she quit mourning and crying and, like all the rest of us, walked in a cloud of grace." I find myself sobbing, joyfully, every time I read this! God is good all the time. What the devil meant for evil (death) God has used as the vehicle for our triumphal entry into Heaven.

Isaac had once told his father that when he ran into home base he felt like a hero. On the long drive home after the funeral my mom said, "I kept receiving a picture in my mind of Isaac in his T-ball uniform, running in to home base and a big angel/umpire shouting, 'SAFE!' Well, at last, he is home safe and a hero."

Isaac told one of his father's friends that he was excited about going to Heaven because he would never be bored, never be tired and...could fly! I never met Isaac in this life, but I look forward to seeing him in heaven. Maybe we can go flying together!

Shalom. :)

No excuses...

Yesterday was rainy and gave me a good excuse to simply sit and read and rest up. Today, however, dawned clear and sunny. It's 82* outside with a nice breeze. I'm not complaining after seeing what's happening in MK's neck of the woods!

I did some relaxing this morning and attended my son's church in Burleson, TX, via the internet. I do enjoy those people, though I know that eventually I need to get back in fellowship with some local folks. As Pastor Troy reminded us in his sermon today, nobody in the body of Christ is a Lone Ranger! I keep telling myself that when I semi-retire in the fall of 2016 I'll have more time to get involved in a local church. I'm not sure if that's true, or just an excuse. Holy Spirit?

I listened to the second service, too. You always get something new thrown in and I get to watch my son some more. :) While listening the second time I actually worked on some drawing and painting. Who does that in church? Me, I guess!

These are for a Dr. Seuss swap.

 

 About 1:30 I was craving a hamburger but had none of the requisite ingredients at home. So, I decided to order one from the local café and bring it home. When I got there and saw the place was empty (I figured it would be packed with tourists!) I decided to eat there. This was probably the second time I've eaten out alone since Bob went to be with Jesus. But it's a small mom and pop café that's part of the mom and pop grocery store I mentioned in a previous post, so it didn't feel awkward.

Upon returning home I noticed the lawn was looking pretty seedy. Too hot to mow? I figured if I took it in small pieces with lots of resting it shouldn't be too bad. I really have to conserve some energy for work tomorrow. My supply is not boundless. So I set up a rest station complete with glass of iced tea (under the cap to keep out marauding dragonflies and other flotsam) and John-Michael Talbot's book The Lessons of St. Francis. I'll share a couple of pages below. :)

This is no manicured city lawn. But I like things a little wilder.

The view from my chair.

 

 

During my rests I've been reading JMT's chapter entitled "Creativity" which discusses how we, as Christians, made in the image of a creative God, should also be creative. He gives some very practical ways we can live this out even if we don't feel we are particularly creative. Here are those pages. Maybe they'll make you want to read more?

(You'll have to click on this pic to make it large enough to read.)

 

Right now I'm taking a longer rest indoors. I might wait an hour or two until it begins to cool off to finish the front yard. The back yard can wait until next time. I did the side yards already, so there won't be much left.

I hope you're all enjoying your summer weather. Lawn mowing is about the only thing that coaxes me outside, and I'm so glad it does. I enjoy being out there. I just need to get into the shade a lot. The only shady spot is where I put my chair in the pictures!

Happy weekend to all!

Shalom!