Another Busy Day

Our Missionaries to New Zealand have added more coloring pages for your little one on their website. Please check it out and print some off. And remember to pray for the Lewis Howell family. They leave, I believe, the 20th of this month for a six month term. To print the coloring pages, click here.

I spent most of the day away from the house doing "Kristi" stuff. It was a busy day but a good one. I say that a lot about my days lately.....busy, but good. Would I want it any other way? Nope!

Courtney's mother, Rachel, did a wonderful post today that I think all mothers should read. Please click here to read it.

I didn't have a dinner oops to share with you tonight. After all, how do you mess up corndogs?

I had lunch and went shopping with a couple of my friends today for the children in our bus ministry. That was fun. We hit the Dollar Tree store and racked up on some fun stuff for the little ones, things older boys would enjoy, and things for the older girls to make them feel pretty. Like lotions and hair clips, bath gels, etc. The bus kids earn "bus bucks" to purchase certain items by doing things like attending church, learning Bible verses, dressing right, etc. I suppose they'll put these things up like a store. That will be fun.

Tomorrow I'll be cleaning house for my mother and possibly dropping off Justin to cut grass. I say possibly because it's been raining off and on all day and looks like it may be doing the same tomorrow. I have some other irons in the fire as well. So either way, my Friday will be full.

Tonight I hope to get my own house cleaned and several loads of laundry finished. We'll see. It's already 9:00 so I'll have to call in the troops and assign chores. Our best cleaning is at night and it's always nice to get up to a spotless house. Before we put our floor down, I would clean my carpets very late at night. SOME people thought that was funny. SOME people would laugh at me for that. SOME people.....well, I can't think of anything else, but SOME people know who they are. ; )

That's about all I have for tonight. Have a great Friday~

And remember: Hard work, cheerfully done, is easy work. Light work, unwillingly done, is mere drudgery.

Good Posts, Missionaries And Frozen Meat

At Ever Joyful, Arlene has posted something funny to read about "How Hot Is IT?" It's cute, you have to read it. Just click on the title.

Mrs. C over at Riverbend Ramblings posted on "31 Days of Prayer For Your Husband." This was good too. This is for those who have husbands and for those who don't.

Tonight at church, we had some visiting Missionaries home from Alaska. Brother Ronnie and Rebecca Starr. Our former church supported them and the church we are at now supports them. It was so good to see them again. They gave their testimonies and sang a song and it was such a blessing.

YEARS ago, some friends of mine were going to a party at a school mate's house in honor of his cousin and invited me to go. The young man having the party was Joseph Yarborough. His cousin was Darby Starr. We struck up a friendship while his parents traveled all over the United States visiting their supporting churches and he stayed in his family's hometown with his Grandparents. Seeing his parents tonight brought back a lot of funny memories. I found out that Darby is now a paramedic and fireman in Arizona, married with two children. Now isn't that neat?

I had another dinner "oops" tonight, but it worked out way better than last night. I took some cube steak from the freezer this afternoon to unthaw. About thirty mintues later, I called my friend Rachel (Courtney's Mother) and while I was talking to her, I guess my hands needed something to do because they put the cube steak BACK into the freezer. Now, how dumb was that?? LOL

Come time to start dinner my meat was still frozen. If this were any other night but Wednesday I probably wouldn't have minded so much, but we have to be at church at 6:00 on Wed night for Justin and Hannah's orchestra practice. What did I do? Well, since Bruce was still sleeping from working third shift, and Hannah was in the shower, and Justin was in his room reading, Harrison and I put Tipsy in the car and ran to Pizza Hut for one large supreme and one large pepperoni with extra cheese. Oh yummy! It was so tasty good. Hannah greeted us at the front door when we got home and said, "I love it when you make mistakes like that" (referring, of course, to me putting the meat back in the freezer. :D

Heeding Godly Advice

Sis Julie from Julie's Jewels did a post on heeding advice. I thought it was worth sharing so please check it out by clicking here.

The picture above is a result of me reading and commenting on this particular post of Sis Julie's. The whole time I was reading and commenting, I kept telling myself that I needed to pull the cornbread out of the oven. I did not HEED MY OWN ADVICE and this is what happened. BUT! With as awful as this cornbread LOOKS, none of it was left because my family ate every bite of it. LOL Can you believe that? They were either hungry, being nice, or genuinely liked it. :D

Looking at this cornbread, you might not want any of my recipes, but I've started a new blog just for recipes. It's called Blogger's Recipes. These are recipes that have been compiled, mostly by different bloggers, but also ones that have been given to me by friends and family. I never intended on keeping a recipe blog, but as I looked over the recipes today, I just had to share them. I did not keep the names of the bloggers that posted some of these recipes, so if you see one of your recipes on there, please email me and let me know so I can give you credit for it. I'll be placing them in categories eventually. This is a work in progress with many, MANY more recipes to come. I hope you'll find something you like.

And remember: When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do............is die.

Teach Me Lord

Hannah video taped the skit, Teach Me, Lord. I must admit that I did write the foundation of the skit, but Missy and Susan brought out the humor of it. Thanks, y'all!! You'll need to stop the Teens-4-Christ radio in the sidebar to hear it and good speakers help. LOL

Teach Me, Lord

Tonight we had our Ladies Meeting and it was so very good. I enjoyed it so much and Mrs. Ava's devotion was just right. The theme was Teach Me, Lord. She had a little booklet that she made for us and I'm going to post some out of it periodically. Tonight, I'll be sharing our pictures.

About 15 minutes before we started, there were some ladies that stood as mannikins before each day of the week, which represented a certain chore for their day of the week. They did a really good job just standing or sitting there for 15 to 20 minutes. Thanks, y'all!!

Brenda was under Monday, Wash Day. Kellie was under Tuesday, Ironing Day. And Pam was under Wednesday, Mending Day.



Rebecca was under Thursday, Cleaning Day. Missy was under Friday, Shopping Day. And Susan was under Saturday, Baking Day.



And April was under Sunday, The Lord's Day.



This is my Mother sitting down, and Betty-Jean.



This is our Pastor's wife, Mrs. Ava, reading us a poem about daily chores for our Spiritual life.



This is my beautician, Missy, with her mouth open....as always. hehe...love ya, Missy!! :)



Here is a picture of some ladies in line for the food. Our menu tonight was salads, pastas, breads, and desserts.



I wrote a skit about a woman that comes home from work complaining about having to do the dishes, wash laundry, cook, etc. She falls asleep and meets a woman from the past who has it way harder than what we have it today. Susan and her foster daughter, Brittney, were my people from the past. We were in the storage room where they waited before entering for the skit. This was NOT part of our decor. :D



At the majority of our meetings, Mrs. Ava always has some sort of door prizes. Tonight was no different. She had the coolest cleaning novelties to give away...among other door prizes.



My number was called and I got this little basket with Bath and Body Works lotion (Plumeria) and a Bath and Body Works candle (brown sugar & fig.) They both smell, oh so good!



So this was our night. And it was a great one!

And Remember: The educated may require knowledge, but true wisdom is a gift of God.

Oh Well!

I had hoped to post something inspiring or uplifting because I won't have time to post tomorrow but was coming up with nothing. Oh Well. You just get babbling now! :D

I'll be at the church early in the morning with some other ladies to help decorate for the Ladie's Fellowship tomorrow night. We'll leave together from decorating and go to a funeral. It is for a man who was the father of one of the sweetest ladies in our church. I never met the man, but I do know and love Mrs. Wendy, and want to be there for her. Please pray for her and her family. I know this is a very difficult time for all of them.

After the funeral, we'll return to finish decorating. Then I'll have to rush back home, fix something to take to the meeting, go with Bruce to put my car back in the shop and come back to shower and pick up Hannah to leave for the meeting. So! It's going to be another busy day. But I like those busy days.

I plan on taking plenty of pictures of the meeting, so be sure to check back to see those, hopefully Tuesday.

And remember: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22

Does Your Anger Rule You?

I was thinking today that anger can be a driving force in our attitude, health, and even the way we think about other situations in our life.

I'm a redhead and I'll be the first to tell you, that yes, it's true, redheads have a quick and fiery temper. Does this give me an excuse and a way out for me to be quick to anger? No.

Proverbs 14:17 says, "He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly..." I have found this verse to be true on more than one occasion, I must confess.

Does this mean it is wrong to become angry? No. But sometimes the flesh kicks into overdrive and we let it take over. It's OK to be angry, but......

Ephesians 4:26, "Be ye angry and SIN NOT; let not the sun go down upon thy wrath." When we neglect to put this verse into practice, the devil has a foot in the door of our life. Verse 27 says, "Neither give place to the devil." People get under my skin........and fast. I have no tolerance for ingorant people. I don't have the patience of the Lord and I have NEVER been told I have the patience of Job! And I certainly do not pray for patience because I know what will follow. I do, however, pray that the Lord will give me inner peace and help me to love those that get under my skin. And I'll say truly, that just praying for it doesn't make that change. I really have to work on it. LOL I found this little poem and thought how true this was of how I feel. It is comical but befitting.....

To live above with saints

we love,

O that will be glory!

To live below with saints we know,

Now, that's a different story!

If you don't want anger to rule over you, verse 31 of Ephesians 4 tells us exactly how to avoid that happening. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice;"

How should we react to someone who angers us?? Vs. 32, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Anger comes from many sources and most of the time it will be from our own family. Why? Because the devil hates family. He hates our physical families and our spiritual families. He'll pit sibling against sibling, spouse against spouse, child against parent and Brothers and Sisters in Christ against each other in the church.

Ephesians 5:1&2B "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love..."

And remember: Nothing will cook your goose faster than a red hot temper.

Surgery Went Well

I was at the hospital this morning at 5:30. My Mother-in-law's surgery began around 7:30 or so and went really well. She was out in 45 minutes. Her time in recovery was longer than that. She had a bit of an upset stomach for a while, but that passed and she should be able to come home tomorrow. Thank you all for praying and please continue to pray for a speedy recovery as she will be down for six weeks.

I was going to read some of The Englisher while Bruce's Aunt Sue and I waited during the surgery, but I had grabbed the wrong book in the dark and ended up taking The Preacher's Daughter. So I decided to skim through it and read different paragraphs. Some of them were really funny and some of them were sad. I think I skimmed through about 11 chapters. It was kind of fun and it did help pass the time quickly.

My Dad came to pick Hannah up to spend the weekend with him and Mom. They're taking her shopping tomorrow and she's really looking forward to that. He asked if we would like to go to McDonald's for some lunch so we took him up on his offer and then he changed his mind and said he wanted a corndog from a local owned restaurant called Angelo's. Since we were near the church anyway and Angelo's doesn't have dine-in, Daddy suggested we go see Mrs. Janet at the church and all of us ate lunch with her in her office. We had some real belly laughter there today. It was so funny. What was funny? Everything! I don't think there was a serious moment while we were there. But if you know my Dad, you don't expect anything otherwise. Well, there was ONE serious moment. Just as we walked in, Janet told us about her cousin that just started nursing school this week. She was in a wreck and totaled her car just before we got to the church. But thankfully, she was OK. We went to see her after we left the church and she was more shook up than anything. Her wrist looked pretty bad and I have a feeling that even though it is NOT broke, it is certainly going to be sore tomorrow. I'm glad it wasn't worse than it was.

We picked up our car and ended up paying $20 for the work that was done on it. We took it straightway to have it inspected, but the code had not reset yet and they couldn't inspect it. The gentleman told us to drive it around over the weekend and bring it back on Monday. By then the code should reset. Well, it did reset when Bruce drove it to the hospital to see his Mom and the Check Engine light came back on. SO! Bruce will run the code....again.... and see what else needs to be fixed. LOL We expected as much. It's been like this for three years now. Oh well. As with everything else, it is in the Lord's hands.

Prayer...

My Mother-in-Law is having surgery tomorrow, so I would really appreciate everyone who prays, to please remember her in your prayers. She'll need it and thank you for it.

Normally, Justin will do his yards on Friday, but we did them today to get them out of the way so we wouldn't have to worry about it while Marie is having surgery tomorrow. His second house has an apple tree that has dropped many apples. And on the ground were dozens of yellow jackets, wasps, and even a couple of hornets enjoying the sweetness of the apples. Well, I wouldn't let him cut over there, and he didn't seem to mind me telling him so. LOL I left the lady a note and I'm sure she'll understand. She's really sweet. I kept her Grandchildren for a few years so I wanted to make sure they didn't go over there. Wouldn't that be awful?

Anyway, got the yards done, grocery shopping done, and car put in the shop. The "check engine" light is on and it's time for inspection. UGH! Every year at inspection time, that light comes on and a simple inspection ends up costing between $200 and $700. Bruce ran the codes on it and we know it's the EGR, but he doesn't have time to work on it since he's on seven days a week. Not to mention, he needs some special tools, and everywhere he's gone they've been sold out or don't carry what he needs. But the mechanic we took the car to is a really nice Christian man and seems very fair in his prices. So we're praying it doesn't run us terribly too high this time.

Well, that's it for today. Pretty boring, huh? LOL

Me and Books

OK, I was tagged by Anne at from my perspective... and so here I go. I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you would like to join in on the fun, please let me know. I would love to read it. If you don't have a blog, email it to me!

1. One book that changed your life: Without a doubt, the Bible!

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: The whole Anne of Green Gable series.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: My Bible

4. One book that made you laugh: The Far Side Gallery books and The Wizard of Id.

5. One book that made you cry: The Shunning by Beverly Lewis

6. One book that you wish had been written: You Married Him....Now, Love Him!

7. One book you wish had never been written: Love Stories of the Bible by Billy Sunday. Now, don't get me wrong, Billy Sunday could preach up a storm, but he certainly lacked in the noveling department. LOL

8. One book you’re currently reading: The Englisher by Beverly Lewis. I've read it through once, but didn't pay much attention to it, so I'm reading it again. And yes, I love to read Beverly Lewis books.

9. One book you've been planning to read: I'm fascinated with stories of the Amish that come to salvation or stories set in the Pioneer days or Victorian era. I don't have just one I'm wanting to read right now.

Things About Me

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4:
We have learned that there is only one God. But the Bible also tells us that God is three. God is three Persons, yet He is one God. That is something we cannot understand. (Leading Little Ones To God By Marian M Schoolland)

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can right side: The top of my husbands stack of books next to his end of the couch where I am presently sitting.left side: A couch pillow

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? Leave It To Beaver

4. Without looking, guess what time it is:2:00 pm.

5. Now look at the clock. 2:07 pm.

6.With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?Harrison asking me if he can wear a certain pair of socks to church tonight.

7. When did you last step outside?When I took Justin to the Mall this afternoon.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?I was looking at Arlene's , Ever Joyful.

9. What are you wearing?Brown sandals, a yellow bumble bee shirt that says.....Bee Happy, Bee Joyful, Bee Wise, Bee Kind, Bee Good, Bee Tender, Bee Sweet, Bee...and an ankle length denim skirt.

10. Did you dream last night? Not that I can remember

11. When did you last laugh?
I'm sure I've laughed since, but I definitely remember laughing when Jeff, Stephanie, and Bruce fell in the water while we were rafting this weekend...sorry you guys.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? Beginning from my left...My husbands shadow box of military medals and ribbons, a home interior picture of a little girl sitting in a window watching a bluebird and gold bird plaques around it with a flower swag. In front of me is a home interior grouping of a gold sconce with two candles, a Victorian picture of a mother and daughter sitting at a piano, and a gold shelf with a candle, plaque, and candle snuffer. To the right is a home interior grouping of a two heart shaped plaques with birds on them, a birdhouse with a nest, and a flower swag. More to the right on another wall is a wooden message keeper that Bruce bought me And on the back wall, there is our computer shelves, another home interior grouping of a wooden shelf with a candle and a mother sheep with her ewe next to a picture of some sheep in a pasture in front of a church and a wooden plaque with the Psalm 23 on it. Down the wall from that is a victorian painting of three children walking down a dirt path with flowers and greenery around them.

13. Seen anything weird lately? What a hook worm looks like close up and it's mouth opened. UGH!

15. What is the last film you saw?
Anne of Green Gables....I think. I watch it all the time. She cracks me up.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?After paying our tithe, I'd buy some land away from everything and would build everyone of our FAITHFUL members in our church a new home on that land and we would call it "Faith Village." And when I say faithful members, I am referring to those who love our Pastor, the ministries of the church, and are faithful to the services without making up excuses of why they can't be there. I would have a playground built, a new church building and all the amenities. All the stores we would need. We could come and go to each other's home as we pleased and never have to worry about our children and what they were doing or who they were doing it with. LOL Yeah, I know.....RIGHT! Not much reality in that, is there? I suppose we'll just have to wait til Heaven.

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.While growing up, I attended nine different schools. I think that is why I can talk to pretty much any person at any given time.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?Where should I begin....Let's see.....abolish abortion, marriage between one man and one WOman, making sodomy illegal again, take away all the great stuff in our prisons and go back to bread and water and chain gangs, require that everyone attend a good Bible preaching, evangelistic, soul winning church....even Satanists, Athiests, and Agnostics. LOL Wouldn't that make for some interesting services????? No liberals allowed in the halls of justice or law making or anywhere else in the US. LOL Oh dear. Ok, so that's just a few things. I can dream, can't I??? I'd love to hear what YOU would do!

19. Do you like to dance? Yes, when I'm cooking dinner and Bruce grabs me for a sway back forth, a dip, and a kiss. That's always nice. ; )

20. George W Bush: Yes, I like ole George. I think he did better in his first four years. There are some issues I would like to discuss with him, but I think he's done a fine job and I would vote for him again if he could be our candidate again.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?Hannah Victoria....she is our first daughter.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?I don't have to imagine that....his name is David Justin, but we call him Justin.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad? We lived in Germany for almost two years and I would go back and live in a heartbeat if God willed it.

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate? "Well done thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of the Lord"

25. Four or Five people you want to do this quiz on their blog:I've seen several people do this quiz, so if you have not done it and would like to do it, or you have done it, let us know by posting the link to it.
Thanks, Arlene for tagging me. :) But where is number 14???

Know Anyone Like This?

Work Day

Having the computer surrounded by flour and liquids is probably not a good idea while I'm in the kitchen. But I wanted to post something for today because I plan on getting in bed a little earlier tonight than usual. I really need to get more sleep. Getting in bed after 2:-- AM is not going to be profitable during the school year when I require the children up at 6:30. So I'm trying to put myself on a better schedule. My goal is to be in bed thirty minutes after Bruce leaves for work.....yeah right! My friend, Susan D, from church knew I had trouble falling asleep with Bruce gone so she bought me a cup that says, Dear God, I just can't sleep. Want to talk? Yep, that's me. Thanks, Susan. I drink from it often. :)

I had a good day today. I was at the church around 10:-- or just a little before that this morning and started working on the fellowship building and some of the decorations for the lady's meeting this coming Monday. Pam showed up around an hour after I got there and worked with me until about 3:45. Thanks, Pam.
We sponge painted some wooden panels and cut out letters. I won't bore you with the details. You know you'll see pictures of the meeting and I'll explain it then.
The theme for this meeting is "Teach Me, Lord." It's going to be really good. The decorations are things you associate with school. Books, apples, blackboards, etc. I'm eager to hear what Mrs. Ava has for us that night.

Well, my supper is nearly finished and I have hungry people standing over my shoulders. So I'm outta here!

And remember:
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. Proverbs 19:18

School Books Finally Ordered!!

Mom and Dad always buy the children's school books. This year was no exception. So after going through all of my books to see what I needed and did not need to order, I finally got this year's curriculum ordered and they are on their way. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for buying their books. That is so sweet of y'all!!

What a job it was! I've tried to keep all of our books to pass down. The first couple of years Justin and Hannah used Bob Jones. We switched over to Christian Liberty Press and ABeka when Justin was in the second grade. I have almost all the books from there on so next year I shouldn't have to buy too much for Harrison and Hannah. Although Justin's books are becoming more expensive. LOL

While we wait for the books to arrive, I'll be working on decorating for the Ladie's Fellowship and a room in the church that needs to be cleaned out. But once school starts I'll be ready to hit the grindstone again. I'm really excited about starting school this year. I always liked the first day of school.

I had two unexpected visitors today. One was our former neighbor, Natalie. I hope I spelled her name correctly. Her husband, Greg, graduated from high school with Bruce. She was on her way home from the store and decided to just stop in. And I'm so glad she did. It was good to see her. I hope she comes back soon. We're making plans to go see them too.

She hadn't been gone long when I heard Hannah and Harrison say that Uncle John was here. That's my brother for those of you who don't know. He stopped by to give Tipsy's leash to me. He took care of her while we were away this weekend. Tipsy loves John. She was so excited to see him and cried at the door when he left. It was almost pitiful. I believe she remembers when John rescued her and her siblings as puppies. Anyway, it was good to see him too. So we had two unexpected visitors this evening. That NEVER happens. But it was nice.

This has been such an emotional and physical day for me around the house. So I'm closing it down and going to bed. I have to be up EARLY in the morning to work at the church. I've enjoyed doing that since I haven't been babysitting. It's been nice being able to help out when I can.

OK, so goodbye!! Goodnight!! Sleep tight!!

Great Weekend!

We had such a great weekend with our Sunday School class. There were 13 of us that went. Brother Ken and Tammy, Brother Joel and Pam, Brother Ted and Rebecca, Brother Jay and Paige, Brother Jeff and Stephanie, Bruce and myself and Brother Jim.
His wife, Angie, wasn't able to make it and we missed her bunches. We missed all the couples in our class that weren't able to go. But it was a good time of fun and fellowship and Bruce and I were able to spend time with couples that we don't normally get to spend time with and that made it even more fun. We feel like we all know each other a little better, I think.

I did not get any pictures of the rafting. Mainly because we didn't want to take the camera in the water...duh! However, my SS teacher's wife is pregnant and drove along the river stopping to take pictures of us as we floated by her. So maybe when she gets those developed I can talk her into letting me scan them and then I'll share them with you. OK?

I did get pictures of our bike ride down the mountain. So I'll just start out with our Friday morn.

We kissed the children goodbye, left instructions on locking up the house when they left later, and headed to the church. The men rode with Brother Ken in the church van and the wives rode with Sis Tammy in her van.



Because Brother Ken drank, what I believe to be, a whole pot of coffee, we were making frequent pit stops, if you know what I mean. We made more stops because of the men, and WE had a pregnant lady with us!!!! Well, anyway, when Brother Ken went into the bathroom at a gas station, we decided it would be fun to hide from him. Isn't that nice of us?? So here he is when he finally found us up on a hill behind the gas station.



We finally made our destination to the Ole Barn Bike Shuttle.



We each picked out a bicycle and did the necessary adjustments that we needed. Here is Bruce posing just for Courtney. He knew she'd like the hat. LOL



Some of us rode our bikes around the parking lot or just waited for the owners to load them on the trailer.



When they loaded the bikes, we all boarded the shuttle and headed about 20 miles up the mountain.



When you get to the top of the mountain, they give you your bike and you start the path back down. The scenery on the way down was so beautiful. Bruce and I stopped to walk up another path and took this picture.



We jumped back on the path........



.......and eventually came to this old train depot. The man inside said it used to be the train depot, post office, general store, and pharmacy, all at one time. We stepped inside and looked at all the old photos displayed on the walls.







We started down the trail again........



......passing babbling books.........



.......riding over bridges........



........and stopping to peer over bridges.



We all met at a creekside to just enjoy the moment. This is me. I don't like it, but it's the only picture of me that was taken. So here is proof that I was there. LOL



The men folk decided to skip rocks across the water, but I believe that Brother Jim and Brother Jeff got somewhat carried away. Although their rock did not skip, it did make quite a splash.





We had stopped at another place to "play." This is Bruce with Brother Jay and Brother Jeff.



We had to cut through a pasture to get back on the path.



We stopped at a cafe for lunch about half the way down. I didn't take any more pictures until we got back to Preacher and Mrs. Ava's house in Valley Cruicis. This was the only one I took of Pam, Paige, and Stephanie at the house. They were playing Phase 10. I thought I took more, but I didn't. Oh well. Maybe next time.



Some of us girls took showers while the guys cut down some trees for Preacher. Then we headed out for supper at the Sagebrush. Back to the house, and up at 5:00 to be gone by 6:00 for rafting.

Bruce and I were in a raft with Paige and Jay Carr and Jeff and Stephanie Martin. They are HILARIOUS. We did pretty good....at getting stuck on rocks. But I am happy to say that we did finish our course. At one point we hit a rock that snuck up on us and out went Jeff....then Stephanie. It was all so sudden that Paige and I couldn't help them.....for laughing so hard. As a matter of fact, I laughed so hard that it didn't matter that I was wet, if you know what I mean. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a very long time. They did make it back into the raft, only for us to lose Bruce not ten minutes later.

He just sort of plopped right out of the raft and as I tried to hold my ore out to him, I dropped it and watched both my ore and my husband as we drifted away from them. Bruce laid on his back as instructed by the man before we left, but the water was too shallow where he was and so he only floated in the same spot. We were trying to paddle to the bank as we laughed our heads off at Bruce just laying there...going no where. He finally got up and walked down the bank to us. Oh how hilarious. And yes, I did get my ore back. Brother Ken and Jim grabbed it for us.

Anyway, we had a great time. I would love to take our children back there and hopefully we will. I highly recommend both of those activities for your family.

The bike trail was called The Virginia Creeper Trail. It is in Damascus, Virgina. And we went down the Nantahala River.

Harrison stayed with Mom and Dad. Thank you! He always has a good time with his Grandparents. Tipsy was supposed to stay with them, but ended up being taken to my brother's house. So THANK YOU, John, for taking care of our baby. Justin and Hannah stayed with Brother Mike and Susan McCurry because Hannah was in the top ten of her Patch class and went to Carowinds as their reward. So it worked out to let them stay with them. Justin went to help tend to the boys. They had a wonderful time and THANK YOU, Brother Mike and Susan, for opening your home to them. They had a ball with y'all.

Gone For the Weekend

Just wanted to remind everyone that Bruce and I would be gone until late Saturday. So there won't be any posts until late Sunday or Monday. I should have pictures to post from our trip...Lord willing. I doubt I'll have any of the rafting, but I'll try.

"See ya!"

Beautiful Service

Today we attended the funeral service of Brother Davis. I mentioned him in the last post. Anyway, "It Is Well" on his saxophone with Mrs. Tammy playing the piano. The Pastor of Davidson Memorial, where Brother Davis was a member and deacon, spoke and it was very nice the things he said about Brother Davis. He kind of reminded me of our former Pastor the way he delivered his message. Brother Davis really did have such a sweet testimony. Brother Humphries, one of our members at Faith, sang the timeless "Beulah Land." He's an older man with one of those old style singing voices. It was so wonderful. Then our Pastor spoke. Or rather PREACHED. That was the best part, really. After he preached, The Sons of Faith got up and sang "Our First In Heaven." As uaual, it was beautiful. I believe that one will be on the CD, Courtney. :) Anyway, when we got to the cemetary there were SO MANY people. It was unbelievable. But as we all walked from our cars to the tent, one of the grandsons, Nathan, and Justin played a duet on their trumpets, "Amazing Grace." They were kind of far away from the tent so it was more of an echo as they played. It was really beautiful. After the Pastor said a few words and prayed, one of the men from the funeral home asked that everyone gather in a circle, including the family. So we did. Jennifer Dyer and Jeremy Boone, two of the grandchildren, stepped inside the circle with a heart shaped basket. Jennifer read a poem. And I can't remember what all it said but it was so appropriate for the homegoing. Then Jeremy read the poem that was on the back of the paper memorial given to us as we walked into the church. This is what it says....

Going Home....

Birds in flight symbolize

the end of a Christian life.

One bird is shown leaving the flock

and "going home" to his final reward.

The three remaining birds

continue their journey through life

with peace of mind,

knowing their loved one

is now in God's hands.

Just as Jeremy finished that poem, they removed the lid from the basket and released three white doves as Nathan and Justin broke into "I'll Fly Away." That's the first time I've ever heard SHOUTIN' at a graveside service. We were blessed and honored to be a part of such a service.

Tony Hutson At Revival

Monday and Tuesday we were in revival with Brother Tony Hutson from Middle Tennessee Baptist Church. The services were more than what we prayed for. God was so good. I believe revival had started before he even got there Monday night. Sunday, a young man who was visiting came forward to be saved. The alter was full Sunday morning and then Monday night after the PREACHING, the Lord moved and the alter, the isles, and the pews were full of those kneeling and praying. What a sight and what a sound! To hear God's people pray in earnest need of what our spirits and souls have needed. Releasing those things into God's hands which we have been holding back from Him.
Then after the evening service one of our teenagers came to Pastor Goodman and was crying. Come to find out she wasn't saved and knew she had better get that fixed right quick! So she did before she left the building. Then Pastor got a phone call around 11:30 that same night and was told that another one of our teenage girls had gotten saved.
Tuesday night was a FIRE sermon. I mean he hit everything from drugs to gauchos. LOL It was HOT and it was GOOD! Again, the alters were full.
Then tonight, a young man in the back of the church just couldn't take it any longer and stepped out to accept Christ.
The last three days have been so good. We witnessed four souls saved, two little souls baptized, and the homegoing of a Saint of God, Brother AV Davis.
He was not a member of our church, but was a dear friend of our church and several of his children and Grandchildren are members of our church. The testimony of his children and grandchildren give insight to what a man of God he was and they loved him so much. Please pray for this family. They are a very large family and a very close family. They were told Monday that he only had a couple of hours to a couple of days to live but they knew he would want them in revival and that's exactly where they were. The service was right on target and I believe that God gave them that particular sermon at that very moment so that they would totally give him into God's hands. That night at 2:00 AM, he boarded that lifeboat and made his journey from this world to the next. We were at the funeral home tonight and what a precious sight to see the smiles behind the tears. For they have hope.

A Nice Surprise!!

Look what I found in the mailbox today!!

Lydia from Three Sisters Blog sent this to me all the way from Northern Ireland, where she and her family are missionaries. She made this bracelet and sent it as a gift to me! I feel so honored. There was the sweetest note with it and if the bracelet wasn't enough, she sent a Yankee Candle tart. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yankee Candles. How did she know that??? I can't wait to get this one on the burner. The scent is roses and ivy. It smells so good. I just know its aroma is going to fill the whole house.

Thank you, Lydia, so much for the sweet gifts. You're a darling!!

If you've never seen this blog, you MUST visit it and see the beautiful pictures of the country side there in N Ireland. It is simply breathtaking.

Thanks again, Lydia, with all my heart!

And remember:
Kind HEARTS are the GARDENS
Kind THOUGHTS are the ROOTS
Kind WORDS are the FLOWERS
Kind Deeds are the FRUITS.

If you want the full effect of the pictures and posts below, you'll have to start with the post titled "As I Promised....PICTURES" and work your way up. Sorry about that.

And remember: He cannot have taught
us to trust in His name,
and brought us thus far
to put us to shame.
-J. Hudson Taylor

And Last But Not Least.....

Mark...boy, if looks could kill. lol

Daniel??? Drew??? One of 'em!

Josh

Carrie and Clint

Jesse

Catherine

Christopher in the red shirt and Benji in the white.

Jamie

Monica and Leanna...Monica got saved tonight at revival. Praise the LORD!

Nathaniel

Drew??? Daniel??? One of 'em.

Celine came home with us to spend the night. Hannah put up her tent and she and Celine camped out in the living room.



So those were my pictures from Sunday. Now, here are the pictures of my Monday....today.

I have a collection of thimbles......



and my brother, John, brought me one this morning back from Barbados. Itsn't it beautiful?



When John left I got Tipsy and we went to the vet. She is 32 pounds now. UGH! She has definitely caught herself up to where she should be. Because we dog sat for Mom and Dad this weekend, Mom felt it necessary to reward the children with a few bucks to eat out on for helping with Dolly. So after Tipsy's appointment, I picked the kids up and we went to Pizza Hut for lunch. Yes, pizza again. You can never have too much pizza. Ok, that's not physically true, but mentally, you can never have too much of it. Well, after we ate lunch, I took the children, a cake, some party plates, napkins, cups, and drinks over to Mom and Dad's house. Mom was working and I couldn't bare the thoughts of Daddy spending his birthday in a chair at dialysis and then coming home to an empty house so I took a party over to him. WOO HOO! I like a good party and I think we gave him a nice one.

Hannah loves hats and her Grandparents brought her that red one she's wearing back from Gatlinburg.
Messy hands eating cake.

Harrison with his hat on. It says Dixie Stampede across the top, but you obviously can't see that. Look at his eyes. He always looks like he just woke up in every picture I take of him. lol Bless his heart.

Justin taking a picture of himself being goofy while showing off the knife they brought him back.

Me and Daddy.

Daddy and Harrison

Daddy reading his card

Celine resting on Justin while he talks to my niece, Taylor.

Daddy talking to Taylor. He was happy to get to speak to her today.

Well, those are my pictures. Mom and Dad brought me back a hat and thimble, but I can't seem to get a good picture of either of them. Especially the thimble. But when I do, I'll share them with you.

And remember...God does not comfort us
to make us comfortable,
but to make us comforters.