Compassion International

Some of you may have seen the two children on the side bar of my blog. I'm going to just copy and paste a blogger friend's entry about a trip that's now going on for Compassion International. You might want to check it out. See below:

"If you haven't been following the Compassion bloggers this week, you are missing out. Shaun Groves (http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog/), Melissa Fitzpatrick (Beth Moore's daughter)(http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/), and Angie Smith (Audrey Caroline's mom)(http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/) are just a few of the bloggers on this trip sponsored by Compassion International. They are in Calcutta, India... and for me to say any more would basically be an injustice when you can just read their words and see the images (http://www.flickr.com/photos/compassionbloggers/) for yourself!"

God is working in a mighty way through Compassion International. (Sorry I don't know how to fix this for you to go straight to the site from the website address so you'll have to copy and paste. I'm learning but I don't have time tonight to try to learn to link to those addresses. It's worth your while to copy and paste the addresses and read for yourself.)

Be Impressed!!

It’s OK for you to be impressed (mainly shocked)---I am!! In my circle of friends, I’m known mostly for my culinary talents (or lack of), so when I decided to attempt to make a delectable, inviting dessert that I saw pictured in a magazine, I was WAY OUT of my comfort zone! However, I wanted to venture out there and take a stab at it. Here are the ingredients needed for the dessert.
And, after spending about three times as long as the recipe said it would take to put together, here is the finished product. I realize the picture looks sort of like a turkey at first glance, but, trust me, it was really a scrumptious looking dessert. I have no idea how it tasted because I took it to a friend who had surgery, but it LOOKED yummy not to mention beautiful. And, it was SO not me!!

It’s Summertime!!

Today was a perfect beach day. Even though I live on the coast, I never tire of going to the beach. After sitting and soaking in the sun, my friend and I walked for 40 minutes and I firmly believe walking 40 minutes at the beach in the sand is equivalent to at least an hour of walking elsewhere!
It was gorgeous and the summer crowds are beginning to show up. We decided today it’s time for us to begin going to another part of the beach away from all the tourists (however, we do appreciate your business if you’re a tourist!).

Girls' Night Out---Way Out!!

Recently, four of my friends and I decided we were ready for a night out. We chose our destination to an exotic hideaway (i.e. our farm house), planned time for shopping at extravagant places, and, of course, we prepared healthy, gourmet meals.





Well, so much for the extravagant shopping and gourmet meals and the exotic hideaway. However, the time spent together talking around that kitchen table was priceless. We shared our lives with each other and laughed and cried together. That’s what true friends are for and the time together was such a blessing.



They were kind enough to listen to family stories, go to the cemetery with me where most of my mother’s family is buried, to go see the little church where I went growing up, to talk to the animals we have,
and to go for a walk around our pond.
They even got to meet my uncle and aunt and some cousins who were out there working on a cabin they’re building on the property.
Also, we got to be the first ones to use the NEWLY remodeled bathroom and Joyce was the first to use the new shower. That’s a real claim to fame!!

The weather was perfect. It was just warm enough for us to not need to build a fire (although those are nice, too) and just cool enough for us to be comfortable. The trees are such a vibrant color of green this time of year and the wildflowers and clover were gorgeous.
They were a constant reminder of what a beautiful world God has created for us.

We even have a goose who thinks she’s a goat and we were entertained by her antics as she flapped her wings and squawked if she lost the goats. She goes EVERYWHERE they go. We aren’t sure why but she panics when they leave her.

On a different note, when we started to leave, we realized we needed somewhere to deposit our garbage from the weekend in order not to leave it to attract critters in the house. SO, because our car was filled to the brim with luggage and coolers, Joyce clutched the garbage securely in her lap, as if that’s something she does every day, until we could find a kind soul who would let us use his garbage can. Also, not on a lighter note for Barbara, but the only injury we suffered during our stay was an ant attack on Barbara. However, it was only because she was standing in the middle of their home! I think Janet, Robin, Joyce, and I came away unscathed unless you count Joyce having to hold garbage in her lap for a few miles.

We had a fabulous time just being together. Thanks to all of you for being my special friends.

Philippians 1:3 (New Living Translation)
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

Whoa---Are We Getting Fancy, Or What?????

I have mentioned our farm in an earlier post. What I didn't show then was the bathroom that was falling apart. Of course, this is a turn of the century farm house so there is no turn of the century bathroom inside the house--it's an add-on. Between storms and age, the ceiling was falling in and there were cracks in the walls, etc. Steve and Richard (as well as Ken, a friend, who also helped) are in the process of re-doing the bathroom. The pictures above show the beginning and the progress being made. I'll post a finished product later. I'm so excited about the new bathroom without losing the character of the OLD house on the exterior.

A Labor of Love

Our oldest granddaughter (10 years old at the time) hooked this rug for me as a gift for Christmas. She worked so hard doing it and I love every piece of it. It represents her love for me and that is priceless. I will treasure it forever. It stays on my nightstand and I use it to put my glasses on at night so they don't get scratched. Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

A Great Day With Great Friends

The day was gorgeous after several days of unseasonably cool and windy temperatures. We were ready to get out in the sunshine so when our friends called us this morning to ask us to go ride bikes on a ten mile nature trail, we jumped at the chance. (Well, maybe "jumped at" is the wrong terminology since I was still asleep but I jumped out (or slowly crawled out) of bed and got dressed.) We rode by goat farms, over creeks, through the woods, listened to the birds, and just had a really good time. What a super way to spend a Saturday in the spring!

Lighthouse

Our second granddaugher drew this picture for us recently (she's 10 years old). As I looked at it on my refrigerator today, I thought, "This is a perfect picture for Easter. In John 8:12, Jesus said (The Message), "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." Jesus is truly our lighthouse in a world of darkness. Thank you, God, for sending your son to take our sins with him to the cross, to die, and to be raised on the third day. Thank you, God, for the empty tomb. Without Jesus as our lighthouse, where would we be?

Historical Places

Recently I drove to this little historical town and fell in love with this hundred + year old church building. I had to take my husband back by there to see it recently and also so I could take a picture. Where are some of your favorite historical spots?

Warm, Sunny Florida???

Welcome to warm, sunny Florida (NOT)! Yesterday we went to our niece's track meet and I was colder than I've been all year and it's APRIL!! The wind was blowing and everyone was wrapped up with whatever they could find. However, this too shall pass and it'll be 100 degrees in the shade soon and we'll all be complaining about the heat. We are NEVER satisfied with what we have at the present--we always want something better and different. Lord, please help me to be content in all circumstances. (But, I have to be honest and admit I don't like cold wind but help me not to complain about it!!)

The Old and the New; The Then and the Now---A Place Near and Dear to my Heart

The original wagon shed (bottom) and The original smokehouse (top)


We spent the weekend with our younger son and his family at our farm. It's not really a farm anymore but the land originally belonged to my grandparents. They lived there for most of their married life (57 years) and farmed the land. Needless to say, there's not very much which remains standing that my grandparents built (their house burned after they were no longer living and we moved a turn of the century farm house which was sitting out in a field falling down to the site where the original house stood), but the above two pictures are original structures.

Friday afternoon, our granddaughter was on her way out to feed the cows (we have 3 cows, 5 barn cats, and too many goats). She said, "I haven't been out here in a long time and I love this place." That melted my heart. I'm thrilled that my grandchildren love the place as much as I do and enjoy going out there. Here are a few other pictures of the Farm.

The new barn my brother built

The pond in late afternoon

Looking from the pond up toward the house

Hannah fishing

David about to play a trick on his Pops with a toy snake

"International" Table Group

I've mentioned before on this blog that we call our small group Bible studies "table groups" because, in families, relationships grow and lives are shared around the kitchen table. We celebrate birthdays in our group and tonight we celebrated 3 birthdays! One birthday lady is from Russia, one is from Hungary, and one is from the USA. Thankfully, we're all one in Jesus and his blood unites us and makes us family. Not only did we celebrate the birthdays of these 3 sweet ladies, we celebrated the freedom we have to all be together to study the Bible without fear, and, more importantly, we celebrated the freedom we have in Christ. Happy Birthday, Ladies!!