Survived 3 weeks

I'm writing from my front steps this evening.  The colors of the trees as the sun light diminishes is awesome.  The moment is only interrupted by the 5 or 6 different variations of bugs that have chosen me as dinner.  It's been really wonderful weather here and I'm trying to enjoy each day as it will soon be winter and time for me to bundled up and hide near a heater.  Is there anywhere in this world that is both warm AND bug free?  I suppose I'll have to wait until Heaven for that.

Guess that's all I really have to say for now.  Heading to the broski's house for a flick.

180

Homeward bound

We stayed in Des Moines, IA last night and are only 5 hours from my new home. My sister-in-law is out garage sale shopping and will be on the lookout for things I still need. She and my brother have been bringing furniture over this week which is super awesome!

Mav is sooooo tired. He can't relax in the car so he's pretty exhausted when we get to hotels at night. Hopefully he sleeps good tonight.

I'm still a bit overwhelmed myself and could use a vacation :)

Heading to Nebraska

Made it all the way to Laramie, WY last night. Drove through a rain storm for about an hour which cleaned all the bug carcasses off my car. It also got some water in my rooftop carrier though. The wind here is so icy! I wasn't prepared for that kind of cold.

We are aiming for Omaha tonight. We best get on the road soon!

Trip Tunes for Today

Day One

Made it through the day.  Took a couple hours to get the car loaded properly and had to leave behind several items that will need shipping.  I decided I couldn't leave my dog behind, so I took a rental in El Paso, IL that will allow him to come with me.  More about that later.  We left about an hour and a half behind schedule and reached tonights hotel around 12:30am Mountain Time.  Downfall of driving east - time zones work against you.  Mav did okay in the car, he's pretty unsure of what's going on.  He's wearing himself out with worry.  I still wonder if it was the best idea to bring him.  But the choice has been made, no looking back, right?

Tomorrow I will call an old high school friend who lives in Utah to see if we can swing by for a visit.  My 10 year high school reunion is on Friday, so it'd be like having our own little reunion.  It'll add some time to the trip, but how often do I "swing by" another state?

Summit Christian Center was so awesome to gift me some gas and food funds plus munchies!!  Super thankful for that!

Well, seeing how's it nearly 3am where I am, I should try to sleep.  Another long day ahead!

I'll always be your friend!

A song for Cherm the Worm :)

Roadtrip Tunage

Sad good-bye song for this morning.

The Puyallup Thing

Got to spent the afternoon with my brother, John, at the fair yesterday. The fair seemed to have less going for it this year, but we had fun anyway. Not sure when I'll get to Do The Puyallup again so I made sure to get pictures.

To the Zoo!

Last weekend I enjoyed some time on the greens with Callie at the Putting Zoo. I want to kidnap her and take her with me to Illinois. She's such an awesome woman and I'm glad we became buddies this year at school. Then we both dropped out, ha. I can't convince her to road trip with me either - that girl works and works.

That's my blip for now.

Are you a Dog or a Cat person?

Twelve year old me

This post is inspired by Matt over at The Church of No People.  I didn't really follow his format, but hey, he wrote his post 6 months ago so I figure the rules are unimportant at this point.

Twelve year old me:

When I was 12, I wanted to be the first woman to play Major League Baseball (for the Pittsburgh Pirates).  Instead, I told people I wanted to be a teacher because that was much more practical.

A happy tune.

Stay at Home Moms

by Jennifer Johnson (I took this from a note posted on Facebook.)

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The ...door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Wait - patiently, quietly - upon the Lord.

 (Isa 40:31 MKJV)  but those who wait on Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

(Lam 3:26 ASV)  It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.

(Rom 8:25 MKJV)  But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we wait for it with patience.

Fixin' the fence.

Today was a beautiful day!  The sun was bright, the clouds were no where to be found and I got to spend a few hours working with my dad!  These are the days I live for.  I tend to be solar powered, so I was a working machine.  I started off doing some spring cleaning of old paper work.  My dad announced he was heading to the store to get the parts he needed to fix our sad looking dysfunctional gate.  A couple days ago I had asked if I could assist him in repairing it since we have dogs that need a sturdy gate. I left all my paper work behind and had him show me where to start digging the new fence post hole while he went to the store.  A 3 foot deep hole is not easy to dig!  Over the course of the afternoon, we took down the gate, and then put it all back together.  It was a much better workout than going to the gym.  Not to mention the feeling of accomplishment :)

I love doing projects with my dad - though I'm not sure he really knows how much!  I made sure to let him know that I'd much rather help him with a project than go to school!  I love my father a TON!  Doing things like this with him just reminds me how smart and how strong he is.  YUP! That's MY dad!

Sometimes

Struggles of life

This short clip from the movie Three Amigos is how I've been feeling lately regarding school and life in general. "Ouch."  BUT all the effort is worth the reward at the top!

Blessing in the City [Spurgeon]

If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, blessed shalt thou be in the city. (Deuteronomy 28:2-3)

The city is full of care, and he who has to go there from day to day finds it to be a place of great wear and tear. It is full of noise, and stir, and bustle, and sore travail; many are its temptations, losses, and worries. But to go there with the divine blessing takes off the edge of its difficulty; to remain there with that blessing is to find pleasure in its duties and strength equal to its demands.

A blessing in the city may not make us great, but it will keep us good; it may not make us rich, but it will preserve us honest. Whether we are porters, or clerks, or managers, or merchants, or magistrates, the city will afford us opportunities for usefulness. It is good fishing where there are shoals of fish, and it is hopeful to work for our Lord amid the thronging crowds. We might prefer the quiet of a country life; but if called to town, we may certainly prefer it because there is room for our energies.

Today let us expect good things because of this promise, and let our care be to have an open ear to the voice of the Lord and a ready hand to execute His bidding. Obedience brings the blessing. "In keeping his commandments there is great reward."

Negative Meditation

The scripture teaches that we should meditate.


"Meditate on these things;" [1 Timothy 4:15]
"...but you shall meditate on it by day and by night..." [Joshua 1:8]
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing..." [Psalm 19:14]


What exactly is meditation?  Is it quieting the mind until you have no thoughts?  No.  Is it sitting Indian style on the floor with thumbs holding your index fingers making strange humming sounds? Not really.  I like to picture mediation as the mind "chewing" on a thought.  Taking time to consider each word and it's meaning and how each word connects to the rest of the words.  Thinking of the idea in relation to who said it, when it was said, why it was said, and how it was said.  God wants us to use the mind he created in us.  Scripture encourages meditation as a positive thing.  It's beneficial!  Meditation on the Word, day and night, WILL CHANGE US!


What about negative meditation?  Is there such a thing?  Absolutely!  It's more commonly known as WORRY.  To worry is to meditate with a foundation of fear that results in stress, anxiety, lack of trust, misdirection, and to top it off - worry accomplishes nothing!


"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"  [Matthew 6:27]


Too often we get the silly idea that worry is the same as concern.  Wrong.  To have concern is to recognize there is a potential problem and to think upon possible actions that can be taken in the here and now.  Worry is just speculation about the 'ifs' of tomorrow of which you have no control.  Another ill fated idea is that worrying somehow means you are taking action.  Nope.  Worry is counter-productive.  It only distracts the mind.  "Worry is like a rocking chair; it keeps you busy, but never gets you anywhere." [Unknown].  


Worry keeps us from putting trust in God.  He cares for sparrows and lilies.  Sparrows and lilies.  Should I say it again?   'Cares for' does not mean that God has a preference for sparrows and lilies, or that He gets a fuzzy feeling thinking about them.  It means that He takes care of them - He provides for their needs.   Do you not understand how INFINITELY MORE IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE YOU ARE TO GOD, than common sparrows and lilies??


So let's make a plan, for without vision the people perish.  Let's throw out that nasty old negative meditation and replace it with proper meditation.  What should we think about then?


God wants us to think upon Him; to think upon His promises; to think upon His love, His peace, His authority, His victory!  Philippians 4:8 instructs us, "whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things." If we have any chance of successfully meditating on the Word, we must be READING it.  That's step one.


Step two is to be prepared to take captive our thoughts when we are tempted to worry.  All we have to do is remember to pray when those moments arise.  Lord, my thoughts right now are really wanting to fall into worry about (insert issue here), but I know your Word tells me not to worry, so I give this issue to you and thank you that you've already given me the strength to resist temptation and you've not given me a spirit of fear, but of a sound mind.  We cannot win a battle without both defense (prayer) and offense (meditation of the Word).


I leave you with the following medley from Third Day.  Listen to the words, soak in the music, and turn your eyes upon Jesus, for the things of the world will grow quickly dim.


[Click here for excellent message on meditating on the Word.]