Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Reflections

It is funny what you can do with a phone camera and Picasa. Now anyone can create a magazine worthy picture. 


 Someday, Brad, when you are 35 and everything around you is too big a deal; just come back to this spot and do this again for an hour or two. All the big deals pull themselves back into proper perspective and you can see the larger picture of God's goodness all over your life again.

       Always have time to make grass whistles, and to examine the bugs.              

 Today, Elv sent me a link to a song called Steal Away by Celtic Thunder. Made my day, of course. This is the same guy that spends hours studying for sermons, goes to endless training meetings as a fire fighter, takes out three or four evenings a month to meet with the other elders at church, gets advice from the older men whenever he can, fields the frustrations of those who want him to solve problems, pays the bills, is super dad to our global children tirelessly, yearns over our grandbabies, and keeps the same job for years on end. Today he made time to think about us, him and me. He does this regularly, as well. He is Mr. Steady to a fault and I love him.


Monday, June 24, 2013

A List For The Girls

    All of our daughters are away from home just now, depending on each other as friends. Two of them are married with little ones of their own. This list is from my heart to our girls. I learned these things from watching my Skrivseth Aunties and from my own mom and her sister's good times together. And from enjoying the grown up friendships of my own sisters.
    So to all the girls who read this blog.

1. Do have good times together.
2. Protect the reputations of the folks you speak about, jealously, as if they were there hearing you.
3. Be kind, always. Anyone merits a little kindness, no matter how slovenly or unkind they might seem to be to you.
4. How do you want the others to feel about having been with you? Blessed, cared for, loved? Think ahead of time, how you will meet that goal while you are together.
5. Bring something lovely to the table with you: your latest creation, newest idea, something you read, or pinterest stuff. Share something lovely with the rest.
6. Do that coffee shop together.
7. Spread cheer and comfort. Especially comfort. Every busy woman needs the comfort and understanding of her friends.I can't over stress this comfort thing. You have struggles in each your worlds: things you are learning, serving little ones, and being beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside.  It's VERY energy sapping. Your times together can be fuel if you offer comfort to each other.
8. Think of ways to encourage the others: by your compliments or affirmations.
9. Laugh, cry and pray together.
10. And keep it safe between you, for all of you, confidentially.
You girls are each others best friends for life; you'll find this out very soon. So start now to be the best kind of friends while you are young. Never let fear rule in your hearts about each other. Face those things and talk about them immediately. Foster comfort for each other's hearts. Respect each other's husbands carefully and kindly, always. Always! Always! Your husbands are your other best friends. Help each other to be the best kind of wives you can be.
  Here's for a lifetime of laughter and goodness together, amg




Thursday, June 20, 2013

Summer Stone House Living


Amy gave the old root bound and beautiful hanging potted house plant a "hair cut" and couldn't bear to throw the lovely leaves away. So we decided to root them. The blue jars make perfect vases for the project.






I found these books at the used shop this week: Stones Into School by Greg Mortensen, It's More Than The Music by Bill Gaither, and Traveling Light by Max Lucado.  Reading all three at once.



Susan brought these two tiny cut glass vases last weekend. Aren't they just wonderful?


We have been gathering flowers of every kind. Abbey brings armloads of wild flowers to us whenever she comes to our house.

                                                                 Indian Paintbrush


            I had fun with this. Just dried roses and the three relative's wedding announcements. And Dan and Ruthie, too, of course. How are you doing, Dan's?


This one is for you, Amy. Abbey brought me that cute little hot plate.


 I went with Elv on errands in the wood. Found these pictures.



The husby cutting crookeds into sale-able lengths. 


 Did you know pink ribbons are useful for loggers? I think they didn't notice the color. Loggers wouldn't generally. I asked Elv why this ribbon. "Just a marker." Pretty, isn't it?

Berry Blossoms

Chives All A-bloom



The hosta is especially lush and beautiful this summer.



Come sit for a spell with us. We're enjoying the new patio. Hopefully you won't notice that the concrete walkway isn't done yet.  This is just one of our summer projects ahead of us.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

June At TheStoneHouse

June is slipping away quickly.  The green we waited for so long is glorious. Now our tiny door yard of lawn is enclosed with an almost solid screen of leaves providing us a bit more privacy than at any other time of the year. We love it. No it doesn't keep the noise of our busy community out, or the little boys from running in and out, but we can have picnics in the evening without a public audience.

 Honeysuckle thrives along the shaded road ways and there are four or five different colors of it. I like the dark pink the best and wish I had a whole solid hedge of this. There is another plant climbing in the shrubbery there, too, I know. 
 Bird's-foot Trefoil

 The Poison Ivy is lush and everywhere along the streets here in Northwoods Beach. This patch is growing near to the channel. Don't say you weren't warned. 

 Grindstone Lake through the trees here at the overlook park. I escaped to here the other day on my bike. Met the neighbor lady who wanted zucchini last fall. Now I wish I had planted it again this year. It was fun to meet a new friend out on a bike, too. 

Margie has a lovely snowball bush right now loaded with these beauties. I begged a bouquet and have been enjoying it on the coffee table. 




 We went out on the canoe for the first time last week one evening. All the lakes are at full pool finally after several years of being at low levels. It's amazing the difference it makes. 

 This is in the channel between the two big lakes. Even the channel is wide enough in some places to be its own lake right now.

 Even with the water being up, the beaver are still not quite satisfied and work diligently to create a dam under the bridge. We waited on the other side on our way back as a group of folks on a pontoon boat realized this and were obliged to turn around. They had to make a three point turn to get around in the narrow water way. Finally headed in the right direction back to Lake Couderay the man at the wheel apologized to us, "And we're not even tourists."  We were laughing already anyway, so it was kind of him to give us permission. 

 On the other side of the bridge now. This is one of our favorite spots to sit on the bank and watch. The beavers are always somewhere busy. The bass are here too, and keep the water moving. 


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Quiet Time Gleanings

  Here Is What To Do In Church.
    Jeremiah 51:10 Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

   During our busy-ness of traveling and visiting in Nebraska I found this reason to choose to be happy wherever we are.
    Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And our guys were getting pretty sick so there was no church in sight for them for the weekend. I have a hunch that the house of the Lord is wherever one can worship or declare the works of the Lord...on the job, in the kitchen, etc. 
             
    After we got home, I ran into this What To Do In Church idea again: Psalm 22:21b to the end of the chapter. Begins with, "You have answered me", and ends with "That He has done this." Clearly we are to focus on worshiping God in church.

You have answered Me.

 I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!

 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.

For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.

The most wonderful result of worship in church is that the next generation shall serve Him, as well. What incentive!

During Sunday quiet at time at home, which I enjoyed, but it isn't the same as church especially with two sick men in the house. Still in Psalms, I found this:
Psalm 27:13, 14 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Then this morning. Psalm 37: 23,24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And He (the Lord) delights in his (a good man) way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.  MARVELOUS!

I'm getting everyone to read Deborah's Norville's book on Thank You Power. It will change your life, I hope, forever. God made it such that the choice to be truly thankful even in adversity keeps us vibrant and productive and happy. 

 

And one more quote: He who will live for others shall have great troubles, but they shall seem to him small. He who will live for himself shall have small troubles, but they shall seem to him great.
                                                                  William R. Inge

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Summer Begins

This rainy Sunday afternoon is perfect for blogging a picture post.  We took the three children down to Nebraska this week and left them there for a few weeks (for the summer, really) to help Gabe and Jenny, also Matts, with their busy times these days.  
Jenny has beautiful flowers all along the front of their dear old house that is soon to be razed.  No doubt she will transplant all of these to the front of her new house when it is time. 


Whereas chipped and peeling paint behind flowers is all the rage these days in certain applications; this old house is beyond repair.  For now it was fun to collect these pictures.



The dads were taking a break and admitted that it was easier to endure my picture taking than to jump up and get back to work. That was fine with me. Anyway, breaks are an important part of a job like this. What better time to dream and plan.



 
Brad is all excited about spending the summer helping Gabe with all the hard work of a new house.




 Jenny and Gwen inspect and look on every chance they can.  Gwen manages to be everywhere at once.




 Here we are sitting and visiting between projects in the middle room in the old house. The current puppy, Mocha, would not be left out.







 We had an ice cream/sherbet break at one point. Here is Myles, the two year old in the family at the Burkey's.

I tried to decide if I should even mention that Elv and Lance were sick the whole time we were in Nebraska. Frustrating for them.






Jube, I put this picture on for you to see that Gwen was pleased with your bug shoes.  They fit her quite nicely.  She had to try on her new dresses, too. So life was good.

And one more.

There were no pictures available of our time with Matts.  Elv and I stayed at their house and enjoyed coffee and visits with them, as well.  We had the best time in their little picnic area Friday evening. Matt made smoked ribs for supper. They served smoked caramel apples with ice cream, too. I hope to try that sometime ourselves. So yummy.  The children played in the grove past dark while we adults visited and laughed enjoying the perfect Nebraska evening around the fire.

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