Thursday, October 28, 2010

Twenty-one Year Old Son

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The one in the brown there.  He just stood up from the living room couch and kicked over a glass on his way out of the room.  Of course it shattered off along the rim paralyzing him with a foot on either side the damages. “How did that get there?”  He bent over and picked up the pieces that he could while Frances came along with the broom and swept up the rest.  She assured him that “it jumped out in front of your foot.”

  Lance needs a haircut badly…again.  Why doesn’t he learn to cut his own hair?!  I wait for him to ask for a haircut…and pray for his future wife to come along and rescue me.   Sometimes I wonder if she exists.  I think he wonders too.

He’s annoying one day and wonderful the next.  This morning he did not want breakfast at eight when the skillet was still hot.  But he wanted it at ten when we were just settling into late school.  GRRR!

Last week he came home from work and helped me with that terrible project of removing hoses and pipes and junk from the basement walls and ceilings. And every fall he brings me a birthday gift.  This fall he brought chocolates and stressed out because that was all he did.

It’s a lonely age.  He’s too big to hug and kiss like I did when he was two for the hurts in his life.  But I pray that he and others in shoes like his will find their comfort and hope in Jesus.  It’s the perfect time in life to seek God and burn out for Him.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Granddaughter Visit



What richness! A whole long weekend with the Nebraska children. The men worked hard on Delvin's house on Saturday, while we women stayed at home by the hearth and visited with Jenny's friends who came by turns to see her. On Sunday we had the whole afternoon and evening for visiting and playing games. Games for the weekend were: Ticket to Ride, Catan, Rook, and (of all things) Risk. Jenny and I spent hours making cut-outs for her baby scrapbook with MTC (Make The Cut) and the Cricut. She said, "I could really get into this!" Outside the wind and rain were amazing making havoc of the yard and woods, especially from our vantage point on this side the window. Most of all we enjoyed having Gwen here. She was easily convinced that we are part of her realm. Such a person, already!
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Oasis

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From all those messes we’ve been making around here.  We pulled out the boiler, and emptied the furnace room downstairs. See: 

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So to come to the supper table to our own homespun oasis is nice.  I was going to set the chicken and biscuit hotdish on the table there, too, in all it’s deepdish stoneware glory and take a picture.  But the men were terribly hungry and could not wait for the biscuits on top to be golden brown. 

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        Yes, the flowers are from the garden.  The placemats are a freebie from sorting clothes to send to CAM.  The napkins and the wooden rings are part of my ongoing collection.  Oh, the table cloth was a free find as well.  Having a pretty table doesn’t have to be a special occasion.  Anytime the family is together is special enough to celebrate with nice things.

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Monday, October 18, 2010

Cabin Rooms

                 

 

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These before and after pictures don’t say the half of what was needed and what happened. I didn't’ realize how badly the walls needed painting until Elv put the stove in this room.  I took the opportunity to try what I have been seeing in pictures…to paint in rich colors instead of the standard cream or white.  This color is Warm Bark. We painted the floor a brick red and then I sponge painted the Warm Bark in a floor paint over the red.  The ceiling is a warm cream/tan color. It’s nice.  

And here is a plug for the paint man at Hardware Hank in Hayward.  He took my three paint samples and listened to my wishes taking notes and making good recommendations.  He understood exactly what I wanted when I asked for him to use the same warm bark color in just a quart of floor paint for the sponge painting.  He sent me off to do other things while he created just what I needed.  He had everything to perfection at pick-up time.  And the following is just a corner of the results.

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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Great Rescue

Have you been following the Chilean rescue? I start to feel claustrophobic just hearing about it.  But last night while they were finally getting the rescue underway I thought how the Bible says that on that last day there will be folks wishing the rocks would fall on them.  Now these 33 men have been down there for over two months hoping and praying to be rescued from their underground tomb.   They have the same earthly sense of reality that we all do and I’m sure the mental stress has been significant.  (I think I’d be “nuts” by now.  But then I would not go down into a mine in the first place because I know that about myself. )

But what about that Last Great Day of the Lord.  What is it that is going to flash on the intelligence and heart knowledge of every person that will completely change our reality?  What will it be that will cause anyone who isn’t ready to wish for the rocks to fall on them.  Can you imagine that people will wish to ride that capsule back down there into that mine rather than to face Creator God the Judge?  Not even the most dedicated follower of Jesus has this sense of eternity and judgment!

May those families being reunited find salvation in Christ.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Remembering My Grandpa

 

He had a new, blue, GMC pickup with a camper for traveling. He liked to travel. He especially liked to travel if he had a camper load of grandchildren. ( It was rather terrible riding back there in the camper. I always kept my nose smashed to the front window to avoid feeling claustrophobic.)

I don't know what made me think of his elbows today. They had a sort of hook on them that wore out all his shirts right there at the elbow. He also had an injured  finger that he couldn’t straighten. He messed it up when he was a boy and they were too poor to go to the doctor so it healed  permanently crooked. He told the story over and over to us grandkids.

One day as a teenager I was at Grandpa's house for a visit.. He sat in the living room telling his stories and quizzing me as usual.. He had his ankle resting on a knee and with his jack knife was trying to trim his toenails. It was rather scary watching him. He kept jabbing at the nails he couldn't quite see , just nicking the offending nail and missing mostly...over and over. Finally I begged him to let me get a clippers and do it for him. To my relief he complied without any fussing.

I remember his contagious joy the most. He could make work seem like a party. He taught us to laugh rather than to mourn over things that were a disappointment or hard to like. He accepted the bumps in life as lessons and made sure we were doing that, too. He taught verbally in every situation. He truly taught us morning, noon, and night, rising up, lying down, and all along the way. At every turn in the road both literally and figuratively there was something to point out to make into a lesson, a story or into something to smile about. Mostly he wanted people to be cheerfully dependable and responsible.

I've been thinking about Jubilant, our grandson, who lives across the sea in Thailand. Will I ever mean as much to him as he does to me? Truthfully speaking it's likely that he'll never spend even an hour missing me unless I can somehow have as much influence on him as Grandpa did on me. So I am analyzing the time and influence Grandpa had with me. What was it that makes me miss him even today some 20 years after his passing? I think it was because he was truly interested in me personally. He kept track of me the same way he kept track of his 50 plus other grandchildren. It was a very personal thing. He wanted to make his impression on each of us individually. And he did!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Things

    

 * Beautiful fall days.

 * Leaves to rake.

 * Brad doing his school work in record time.

 * New grandbabies.

 * Sunday afternoon singing times.

 * Photography worth framing.

 * Wood stoves to keep us warm in winter.

   

   

Concern…or Complaint

             How To Tell The Difference

 

Concern

1. something that affects or is of importance to a person; affair; business
2. regard for or interest in a person or a thing  he felt a strong concern for her
3. anxiety, worry, or solicitude
4. important bearing or relation  his news has great concern for us

Complaint

noun
1. An expression of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
2. A cause or reason for complaining; a grievance. 

Let’s  just be honest. Am I truly concerned? or am I complaining!  How easy it is to be annoyed for bitter or selfish reasons and then try to convince myself that I am “concerned”. Being “concerned” instead of being honest with myself gives me license to tell you about it, too. 

Like the ripples in a pond attitudes and news have a way of reaching shore very quickly.  True concern is positive and redemptive.  Complaining is  poison and condemning.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Colossians 3:15

Monday, October 4, 2010

Anniversary Camping @ Two Lakes Campground

DSC00002  9/24/10 Evening at Two Lakes Campground.  Our camp is on Owen Lake.  Before dark we enjoyed the brilliant yellows of the hardwoods against the wet and blackened  tree trunks with the rippling water behind.

DSC00008 It’s rather chilly out doors tonight. I am wearing my sweater, socks and shoes.  Feels quite cozy.  Listening to Pickin’ on Patch while I write.  Elv is studying. The generator is noisy. The furnace runs some and it warms again.  I’m reading Myra Scovel again.

9/25/10  Happy Birthday Adam, Dru, Emilee.  Adam and Dru are 27 today and Emilee is six!  

    The wind diedDSC00034 down in the night.

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 DSC00011The lake was nice.  In a little bay, the water was clear. It was just like looking into an aquarium.  We could see the fish playing and the sea weed all green in many textures.

Came back to camp. I heated milk and sliced chocolate bars into it. Very good, but it looked funny for hot chocolate. 

 

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It’s absolutely gorgeous outside.  I took over a 100 pictures today and some are worth framing.

Isaiah 33:6  Wisdom and knowledge will be the  stability of your time. And the strength of salvation. The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

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