Saturday, April 30, 2011

New Porch "Friends"

Meet our new porch friends...from left to right, Bandit, Mortimer and Cubby!
I finally got a moose for the porch! He isn't exactly what I had in mind a few years ago; I wanted a moose head-a stuffed one to mount but never found one. Found these guys at Lowes this morning! Aren't they cute? Of course Mike just loves them! Ha ha!





Friday, April 29, 2011

The Royal Wedding

I must admit...I did get up early to watch and I watched the service...twice!
The church was beautifully and simply decorated. The trees made it so special.
The music was lovely, creating a holy ambience but the highlight for me was the
reading/reciting of parts of Romans 12. It really stirred me and I thought as he spoke...
"here is the pure Word of God...it's going forth and will not return void" and I found myself praying for the royal couple, the families, all the people that were there...praying that the Word would take root in their hearts...that they would hear and that revival fire would be birthed in Prince William and Kate and spread throughout their kingdom and the world.
It is a timely Word indeed...a timely Word for us all!

"I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be comformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think...
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor....Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited.
Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.
Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12 RSV

Oh would this Word take root in our hearts!
What a difference we would make!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

"Cloudy" Vision

The windows in our house are all in varying degrees of "cloudiness", mostly due to Hugo.
Of course the damage wasn't visible until about a year after Hugo and then insurance would not cover the cost to replace them. Looking out through "cloudy" windows isn't pretty...hence blinds on the windows. Blinds have done a pretty good job of hiding the defects.
But you know, one can only live "cloudy" for so long. After a time it begins to affect you.

Life can be like this too. Things we've experienced, things said to us, things we think...can cloud our vision; can cause us not to see clearly. Pretty soon we've created an unhealthy environment for ourselves and others.
We pull away from friends and family; "blinded" by whispers of the enemy who want to keep us "victims". We dwell on hurts...past and present and pretty soon our vision is so clouded that truth evades us and we're in a pit of self-pity. Here the enemy has us where he wants us but we can choose to put in "new windows".
We can lay those hurts down at the feet of Jesus. We choose to forgive and forget and move on and live in the newness of Life that Jesus has given!
What matters most is what Jesus says about us, not what others say.
We begin to see ourselves through the clear, clean windows of God's Word! We feed on His Word and His powerful Word changes us and yes...gives us "clear vision"!

Selah!

And back to our "cloudy" windows...thanks to our income tax refund, we are replacing ALL of our windows! By the end of next month we will be "seeing" quite clearly!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Glimpses of our Easter fun!















What a day! Church was wonderful- such a celebration of Jesus' victory! I'm still re-living that!
Then home to prepare for our Easter supper with the family...ironing tablecloths, cooking, setting the tables... sure kept Mike and I busy!

Everyone arrived and the fun really began! There were 22 of us and we were all over. Some ate inside, some outside on the porch and some opted not to eat but play Leggos and anything else they could think of to drag out! Egg hunt time came and Papa, bless his heart, put Tangled in and sat with the "hunters" while the "hiders" were busy hiding. Me, I was loading the dishwasher with more plates than I remembered I had! (not doing THAT next year!)

The hunt was on! Kids running everywhere, looking for those eggs...some filled with candy, some with coins. Some would find an egg and stop to open it while others were on the rampage to find the most. Even with all that, Mike found an egg after everyone left. Last year we kept finding eggs months after!
After everyone left and the "dust" had settled, Mike and I toured the grounds looking for lost badmitton rackets and shuttlecocks...two still missing and who knows where they could be.

We picked up candy wrappers we found scattered around-not too many and other toys that had made it outside. Somehow we need to work on putting things back where they go and throwing trash away!

All in all it was fun to be with Mike's parents, his sister Beverly, her husband Rocky and their sons and of course all our kids and Grands! April's chocolate eclair dessert was a hit as well as Brittany's homemade lemonade and Mike's mom's Banana Pudding! Me, I loved her coconut cake!

Next year....throw away plates and cups and maybe a simpler fare!



Saturday, April 23, 2011

"His Resurrection"

"Jesus...
the moment He removed the stone,
He removed all reason for doubt.
Christ's resurrection
is an exploding flare
announcing to all sincere seekers
that it is safe to believe."

Max Lucado

AND....
"... if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells
in you."
Romans 8:11 NKJ

Friday, April 22, 2011

The Tomb

"Low in the grave He lay- Jesus my Saviour!
Waiting the coming day- Jesus my Lord!"

Robert Lowry

The Passion

"O sacred Head , now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down.
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns Thine only crown.
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!"

Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676 James Alexander, 1804-1859

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Jesus, the Christ

"Tis midnight and on Olive's brow the star is dimmed that lately shone:
'Tis midnight; in the garden now, the suffering Saviour prays alone.

'Tis midnight, and for others' guilt the Man of Sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet He that hath in anguish knelt is not forsaken by His God."


William Tappan, 1794-1849 William Bradbury, 1816-1868

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Silly ol' dog!




Miss Darcy is a "trip"! Here she is carrying her hard hat around. It used to be a bone that she would carry around and around the yard, trying to get our attention as we sat on the porch.

She had done that for several years. But some months back the "tree" guys had left a hard hat in the woods and our grands discovered it and would wear it while playing outside. (Duncan calls it his helmet!)
They left it out in the yard and I guess Darcy thought that since the bone wasn't really working for her she would try something else...the yellow hard hat!

Now she carries it around and around and around and I just had to get a picture of it.

Oh yea, she also carries a big, long nerf gun but she's buried that under her bedding for now.

I think she's hiding it from the grands!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Weekend Frenzy!

Actually it began on Friday with Anna and her four with an outing to Trader Joe's! Usually if I go with her I do not shop but I needed to this time. I had 3 munchkins, including the very charming 2 year old and the girls with me. One of my greatest challenges was keeping Kellan in the cart! Organic, all natural lollipops did the trick!...about 4 of them, but hey! they were rather small! One store was all I could muster so Anna took me home and three remained with me...the oldest girl and the two boys. We were in and out, walking through the woods, playing on the swings, pulling the wagon, gathering gumballs as if they were valuable treasure, playing blocks and leggos on the porch...whew! I was beat after that and wanted to curl up and rest but Mike wanted to eat out so we did. I thought he would have to carry me but I managed to rally enough to make it to the cozy Italian restaurant up the street. Sure was glad I did; delicious! Saturday morning I vacuumed the downstairs while Mike was at the Men's Breakfast. A friend had taken him and I picked him up and we did a 2 mile Walk-A-Thon for H.E.L.P Crisis Pregnancy Center of Union County. We braved the high winds and a bit of rain. Then off to the Grill for lunch, out to Anna and Dan's to pick up a movie and then home to prepare for our son and his wife coming for dinner and a movie! We had such a nice time! Then today was church, lunch with friends and then Elliott and Camden came for about three hours. It was three hours of "amazing" conversations, working in the natural area for which they were well paid, dinner on the porch and then a bit of TV and then back outside. A "memory -making" weekend for sure and all of it was wonderful!

Friday, April 15, 2011

The View

This is what I see from our upstairs bedroom window. Know I should pull the honeysuckle out of the azaleas but I do so enjoy it's sweet fragrance when it blooms! It's a rather nice "prospect" as Jane Austen might pen and it truly is. Once again the trees are filling out and surrounding us, shutting us off from clear views of our neighbors' homes and we love it. Our home becomes even more of a sanctuary...a place of peace and refreshing. The trees appear more lovely than ever or so it seems this year. The route we traveled to Makenna's ballet was quite stunning yesterday! Huge, majestic trees on both sides of the road, large patches of woods and farm lands...what a treat for the eyes and my soul! We've been spending more time outside, working in the yard, reading in the swing and "living" on the screened porch! Want to do it all before the hot weather sets in. I'm not a fan of hot weather. I could be if we didn't have the humidity that accompanies it here... but we do have wonderful shade! What beauty we have all around us! Get out and enjoy!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

"Forever..."

"Forever, oh Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven." Psalm 119:89 The Word of God...men can change it, misinterpret it, declare it to be "non-relevant" for today... but...forever it IS settled in heaven. It cannot and will not be changed. It has been weathering the storms of this world's evolution for thousands of years. People are free to embrace it...reject it but destroy it-never! People can write and re-write new laws, adopt new "morals" and accept them but when all is said and done, the Word of God will prevail. No amount of re-interpreting will destroy it. Those who choose to ignore and not believe it only hurt themselves and those they may lead astray. The Word is still relevant and is to be believed not debated. It is alive and produces life for all who embrace it and act on it. It is God's love letter to His children. It is freeing! It produces God's kind of love in us, His peace, His joy, His abundant life! Embracing the Word of God will teach us to love others and not to hate. The only thing we are told to hate is evil. Never are we to hate people. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." John 3:16 We need to be about the business of loving as He loves us. Love people into Truth. What a marvelous concept! Actually that's just what Jesus did! We should do no less!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Happy Birthday Kylie!

Our beautiful "fairy" girl is 6 years old today! Like all our Grands, she's a treasure!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Jesus...

"At the cross I bow my knee, where Your Blood was shed for me. There's no greater love than this. You have overcome the grave. Your glory fills the highest place. What can separate me now? You tore the veil! You made a way when You said that 'it is done!' " This song has been "singing" inside me all morning. How I love thinking about all that Jesus did for us, what we now have because of Him. That veil was literally the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies...the place of God's Presence, where only a priest could enter once a year to offer sacrifice. When Jesus declared that "IT IS FINISHED!", that veil, a heavy curtain, was torn from the top to the bottom, forever giving us entrance into the throne room of Almighty God! And we can now come, every day, every minute, etc. boldly into that throne room simply because we are covered in the precious blood of Jesus! We no longer need a priest to go on our behalf. Now we can have that intimate relationship with the Holy God, the Creator of the Universe! Selah!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Morning

The golden orb puts shimmer on the "newness" of our patch of woods and the morning sparkles. It's quite a magical moment as countless airy branches lissomely move in the gentle breeze. How wonderful to be an observer of this morning come to life!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Birthday dinner

The birthday dinner was Saturday night. It was lovely, delicious and quite entertaining! My Mom turned 81 and this was her place with the special plate and yellow rose bud. I meant to take a picture of my parents, sisters and their husbands and Mike- all around the table. This was the before "shot"...but the other picture never happened! We got so busy enjoying each other that I totally forgot about any other pictures. Oh well! It WAS a great night and my Mom loved it!