Urgent Prayer Request

Last night my dad had a stroke. There is also the possibility that he may have had a mild heart attack, but we won't know anything until the doctors do an EEG this morning. He has lung cancer, and 2 weeks ago he had some excruciating pain; the cancer had eaten completely through his lung. Please pray for him as we deal with the latest health issues. He is in ICU and more tests will be done this morning. Last night, though, the CT Scan showed there was NO bleeding on his brain, which is a good sign. His left side was paralyzed last night, but he was alert, knew where he was, and what was going on, but he was very difficult to understand.

I know that God is good, and no matter what the outcome it will be His will and it will be okay. I will update as I get a chance, but it may be later tonight.

Spring forward!

It looks like spring has finally arrived. I'm so glad, I love the warm weather and sunshine, even if the wind is blowing really hard.

It's been a wild week around here. Our senior girls (Viola Lady Longhorns) made it to the semi finals of the state tournament. The first time in over 40 years that the girls' team has gone to state. I'm so proud of them. They lost the semifinal game last night to a team that is expected to win it all, and they only lost by 4 or 6. Austin rode the pep bus to the game the last 2 nights. I really wanted to go watch them, but it just didn't happen.

Wednesday night I didn't feel very well so we didn't make it to Awanas. Chris came in a little later and said he needed help. We had a new calf born and his mamma didn't act like she wanted him, so we had to lock them in a pen together. During all this process our blue heeler (Darrell) was trying to help us and the cow got him down. He limped around, but we thought he was just sore. Yesterday morning (Saturday) he still wasn't acting much better so I took him to the vet. Poor D had a dislocated hip. The knocked him out, put his hip back in place, and taped it so he is immobilized. We have to keep this dog as still as possible for a week!

Last night wasn't great, either. We lost a mamma cow and her calf, and had another mamma who can't get up very well. At lest she's still alive and so is her calf, but it looks like we may have a bottle calf because the cow can't stand up long enough for her calf to nurse. It's not been a great week around here!

At least I did notice the jonquils breaking through the weeds which really lifted my spririts. There's just something about seeing those bright yellow flowers that really helps my mood.

Please pray...

My grandmother called me this afternoon very upset. Today, shortly before noon, their pastor drowned in a boating accident. He and 3 other men from the church had taken advantage of a beautiful day and went fishing on the lake. I don't know exactly what happened, but there was an accident and Brother Russ was taken home to be with Jesus. One of the other men was air lifted to St. John's hospital, one was taken to a local hospital, and one of walked away.

Please pray for the Frist Christian Church in Flippin, AR, for all the church members, and for the Dunham family. Brother Russ Dunham leaves behind his wife, Lesa, and 3 young children. I know this family would be greatful for prayers as they come to grips with the accident and try to make sense of it all.

Spring?

Technically, it may still be winter, but our cows have decided it's spring and time to start having calves. I love this time of year! Last night Chris came in and said he had to have help, we had a 1st calf heifer trying to have her calf and it just wasn't coming, so Casey grabbed her boots and headed to the barn with him. I had to put on jeans because I'd already gotten comfy in the flannel pants, but I followed with camera in hand. I was absolutely no help, but I did get some great pictures. Chris pulled the calf and it wasn't long before the mamma was working him over trying to get him up. He was BIG! We had gotten spoiled, this is the first one he's had to pull in 2 years. We have 6 calves on the ground now, 2 from our bull and 4 that I call "free gifts with purchase". We bought 9 "open" heifers and 4 of them have had calves. Cute little surprises!

Spring, to me, is a time of rebirth and renewal, a new season. Spring always reminds me of the verses in Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

I think, as Christians, we are like those new calves, we have new birth in Christ, He cleans us up, helps us stand on wobbly legs, nourishes us, and helps us grow while He stands beside us. How quickly we grow and how strong we become is totally up to us, and this spring, I'm choosing to grow by reading and studying His word. How about you? We have missed 3 weeks of church because of illness, but tomorrow we will get back into the groove. I love my church, it's a place of encouragement, strength, and comfort. To see my children grow and flourish in Lord just makes my heart soar. God is good, even in the storms, He is good!

Too tired to blog?

Why is it so difficult to get back into the groove after you've been sick? I'm so tired tonight I came in from school, stretched out on the bed (before I changed clothes) and fell asleep! I'm almost tempted to try one of those energy drinks the teenagers seem to be so fond of, but I'd rather not be awake for 3 days, so scratch that idea. Hey, maybe I'll go to bed early tonight, there's a novel idea!

Today I had a run-in with a couple of my 11th grade boys. I know why the day didn't go well; I didn't pray for these kids today before they came in my room. It resulted in him making some very rude comments, me ordering him out of my classroom and to the office, then my having to step outside the door to regain my composure. I was about to unload with both barrels on his little friends who were also making smart remarks. To make it worse, I got a new student today and he had to be there on the day that it all hit the fan. Pray for these boys, they need the Lord in the worst way. They seem to have no respect for women or the girls at school, they are vulgar, rude, and need to be under conviction! (Maybe that's just my wishful thinking, maybe I want to place them under conviction, but I can't even come close to what God can do.)

I'm making myself a note so I won't forget to pray for these kids, even the ones who just drive me nuts! So many of them have circumstances that would be difficult for adults to deal with it's no wonder they have attitude problems.

Lord, help me to hear Your still, small voice, and help me to pray for these kids, use me in for Your glory, and never let me forget that we are ALL made in Your image. Amen

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been another of "those" weeks, the ones that make you want to sing the old Kris Kristofferson song "Why Me, Lord?" After 15 days without electricity, we finally had power restored, that same afternoon I got sick, really, really sick. I ran a high temp for a couple of days, and couldn't even muster the strength to get out of bed. Chris was sick, Austin was sick, and Logan was just getting over being sick. We were a sad bunch. Today was better, though, I actually ate solid food after 4 or 5 days of liquids. Those liquid diets really work, but I don't recommend them unless you are intent on self-torture, add a fever of 103 and it will take the excess fluid off your body...but I digress. I felt even better when my brother called and said they were coming to Mom's. I love my brother, and I love my sister-in-law, but it was Landon I was wanting to see (sorry Lance & Lindsay, but it was bound to happen when you had that sweet baby).

This afternoon I spent a couple of happy hours just snuggling my baby nephew. I wouldn't give him up, he was mine today. If you had asked me if you could hold him I would have told you no...okay, I might have let you hold him for a couple of minutes...maybe 5, but no longer. I also took some really sweet photos of him. Oh, how I wish I didn't live an hour from them! Logan crawled up on my while I was holding him, patted his little hand, and said, "Mom, I think we need to babysit Baby Landon at our house. We can take him home with us and Lance and Lindsay can take a nap." I think he has listened to us talk about how many times Landon wakes up during the night. LOL You just can't beat the wisdom of a 4-year-old.

So that's it, that's how we spent Valentine's day. Our fancy dinner will be a pizza (if I can talk Chris into going to town and picking one up), and our entertainment will be whatever delights Dish has in store for us tonight; we do have several episodes of NCIS Dvr'd, so that's always an option.

Some cheese with my whine?

When I was a kid I wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder, complete with dark brown braids. I read the tales of her life and thought how much fun it would be to live that pioneer family life. I have since changed my mind. With the ice storm and loss of power, (we are on day 7); I have come to the realization that I quite enjoy being a modern woman who is completely reliant on modern transportation, technology, and electricity! Those frontier women were tough! Thankfully, we still have generator power, but we are dealing with some water issues and our generator kicking off at the well pump. I love living in rural Arkansas; I love being out on the farm away from all the traffic; I don’t love not having electricity.
I am trying to be cheerful about all this, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to remain upbeat about putting a 4-year-old who hates the dark to bed every night and listening to him cry. Last night was one of my insomniac nights. Normally on those nights I get up and quietly slip into the living room to read or write; last night I couldn’t do that. To help conserve diesel for the generator, Chris shuts it down at bedtime, which plunges the house into total quiet and darkness. Last night there was nothing I could do but lie there in the dark and think. Chris works so hard and the storm damage cleanup is adding to his list of things to do. He worries about making sure we have what we need, he worries about keeping the house and well on a generator; will it cause damage to the wiring or breakers? He’s tired; he’s cranky, and I’m losing the battle to remain cheerful and positive. For the first time since the ice storm I lay in the bed and cried. What will we do if we go back to school tomorrow? Chris doesn’t want to leave the generator going while no one is home; do I get coolers and unload the refrigerator contents into those? Do we let the house get cold again? What do we do when the kids and I get home before Chris and I don’t know how to start the big generator (and don’t want to learn).

I know I’m whining, and I really am thankful that we have the generators, and I know the crews from the Rural Electric Co-ops are working very hard to restore our power, but I just needed a minute for a pity party.
Okay, I’m better now, time to move on to more important topics. Please pray for my sister-in-law, Lindsay. She’s a new mom (see my post on my sweet new nephew), and she’s had an infection. Even though she’s been on antibiotics, the infection just wasn’t getting much better. Night before last she was very sick and Lance took her to the ER and the doctor admitted her. She has a staph infection and is being given large doses of IV antibiotics. Mom is at their house taking care of Landon for a few days, or until Lindsay can get back on her feet. She thought she may come home today, but the doctor has decided to keep her another night. I wish there was something I could do to help her, but I don’t know what that would be. We really don’t want to leave home and leave the generator running, so what to do, what to do? Pray! Please pray for Lindsay, and Lance, and Landon.

I had no intentions of turning this post into a novella, but it did, and I offer no apologies. Sometimes a girl just has to be a little long winded!

Beauty amid destruction

"Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns is one of my favorite songs, bar none! I find so much comfort in the words and still praising God through the storms of life. This past week, though, I was praising God through a different type of storm, and ice storm. As I lay in bed Tuesday and Wednesday nights listening to large tree limbs breaking and crashing to the ground under the weight of the heavy ice, I kept telling God, I will praise You in this storm, because I trust God will bring us through whatever trials may come our way. We are still on day 6 with no electricity, but God provided wonderful neighbors who had a very large generator, so we are able to have lights and heat. We are in a very rural area, but neighbors have been checking on neighbors (our closest neighbor is 1/4 a mile away) and all are well. I am so thankful for these people.

Mom was with us for several days and I was so happy to have her here, we were talking one day, about not having electricity and how this may have been God's way to prepare us for something in our future, possibly a mission trip? I think God has also helped us realize that we are not in charge of things, He is, and if we remember to give Him praise in ALL things, not just the good times, He will provide.

Please continue to pray for the crews from the electrical companies, especially North Arkansas Electric, as they work 16 hour days to get power restored to all the people who are without electricity. Casey has been working long days, too, and will continue to do so until all outages are restored. She's exhausted, but this has made her realize that we can't take things for granted because they could be gone in an instant. It may be 3-4 weeks before we have electricity restored, but as long as diesel and gas are available, and our generator keeps chugging along, we will be just fine.....no, as long as God is in control we will be fine!

ICED IN!

We are getting slammed by a major ice storm. Right now we are without electricity, but have a generator, so I'm posting while I can, you may not hear from me for several days. We have limbs down all over the yard, and dead (thankfully) power lines across the driveway and county road.

We slid to Mom's to get her because she was without electricity, too, so we're all here together, at least we have tv for a little while! Say a prayer for all the people in our area, we have power poles that have been snapped like matchsticks, and power lines down everywhere you look. The square at Salem looks like a bomb has gone off, no tree is intact. Casey is still at work (North Arkansas Electric) and called to tell me not to expect her home for a couple of days, the Co-op is feeding them and they are taking shifts answering phones. I just pray that this storm ends soon so the electric guys can start repairing and replacing power poles and lines. The power crews just had to give up today because as soon as they got a line fixed the ice formed on it in another place and it broke again. They can't get out to our rural areas until the storm is over. We've been told not to expect power for at least 3 days, but probably more. We have no water, either, but I did draw up enough to get us through.

I have my cell phone, if anyone wants to call, though! LOL As long as we can get to gasoline we will have heat with the generator.

Read the Bible through

Week 4
I didn't post yesterday because I spent most of the day in the bed, but it's better late than never. Here are the readings for this week.

Sunday - Romans 7-8
Monday - Genesis 12-15
Tuesday - Joshua 16-20
Wednesday - Psalm 9-11
Thursday - Job 7-8
Friday - Isaiah 18-22
Saturday - Matthew 8-10

Miracles

I heard someone say once that God isn't in the business of miracles anymore, WRONG! He IS still in the business of miracles, we just have to acknowledge Him and quit trying to explain it away with science. Accept His miracles or He may stop trying to make them happen in your life!

Why did I say that? Because, right now, in Tulsa, OK, in St. Francis Hospital, there is a little 9lb 12oz miracle. Intrigued? I thought so, so go here and read Kelly's blog about her baby girl, Harper.

Look out boys, Mamma's got some clippers!

I'm not having a bad hair day, I'm having a bad hair month! I was all set for a new Christmas 'do, (had the appointment on Christmas Eve), but fate had other plans. I've gotten calls from stylists to let me know they were sick or had an appointment and needed to reschedule me, but Kathy (the best stylist, ever!) called December 21st to let me know she was going to have to reschedule me, but the date was uncertain. No one really knew there was a water line that ran through the ceiling, but they know now. Those first really cold days caused it to freeze, and the warm days that followed....well, you can guess what happened next. I can imagine the shock on their faces when the entire ceiling, lights and all, and gallons and gallons of water came crashing down! Thankfully they reopened Tuesday and I should get this mangy mass of unruliness lopped off next week. Too bad they didn't reopen in time to save my boys' manes. Yes, I decided they needed haircuts, and rather than find someone else to do it, I just bought some clippers. Cheap clippers. I got half of hubby's head clipped and had to recharge them. I really should have taken a picture of that one, he was sporting a mullet to rival Billy Ray for about half an hour. (okay, not that long in the back...but it was getting there) Being the resourceful mom I am, I parked hubby on a bench on the deck in 17 degree weather and proceeded to cut his hair. I have to say, it looks pretty darn good....for an amateur barber. Next on the list was the #2 son, the little one. I can manhandle him enough to get his hair done. I did have more compassion and make him sit outside: I parked him on the bathroom vanity, and started buzzing. He's 4, so hair or not, he's still going to be cute. Hubby has finally caught a little of my photography bug, so he snapped a few while I was working him over.

Week 3, read the Bible through

I just realized I forgot to post this week's readings, so here they are.

Sunday - Romans 5-6
Monday - Genesis 8-11
Tuesday - Joshua 11-15
Wednesday - Psalm 6-8
Thursday - Job 5-6
Friday - Isaiah 12-17
Saturday - Matthew 5-7

Prayers for a baby girl

Please say a prayer for baby Harper. She was born Friday weighing in at 9lbs, 12oz. She has pneumonia and was taken to a NICU. Her family has requested prayers as things are very critical. She was scheduled to be placed on an ECMO (heart/lung bypass) machine, but the last news I had, she was responding to other treatment (prayers at work)and was taken off the list for the ECMO. You can read more about Harper on her mom's blog here or on her grandad's blog here

I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe in miracles.

Week 2 - read the Bible through

I'd planned on posting several times this week, but it's been another busy one. Our semester tests were Monday & Tuesday due to a couple of snow days before Christmas. Wednesday night was Awanas & church, and I had to talk a little while afterward, and Thursday we took Austin to the allergy clinic in Little Rock. I guess it just wore me out! We did find out that he's allergic to dust mites, and pet dander, along with most pollen from the various plants & trees we have in the area. He also has mild asthma, but we're loaded up on asthma meds and will begin allergy shots in a couple of weeks.

Now to the good stuff, the readings for this week:

Sunday - Romans 3-4
Monday - Genesis 4-7
Tuesday - Joshua 6-10
Wednesday - Psalm 3-5
Thursday - Job 3-5
Friday - Isaiah 7-11
Saturday - Matthew 3-4

I got a little ahead this week because I just couldn't stop reading some of the passages. I went all the way through Job 8, and read from Matthew 1-4. When you look at the scriptures with fresh eyes and really try to get a mental picture of the happenings, it makes such a difference. Honestly, it was like reading a great novel to me, I just couldn't put it down! I pray that God will give me a zeal to really dig in to the scriptures and to make it real and personal to me. I pray the same for you.

Read the Bible through

Sunday - Romans 1-2
Monday - Genesis 1-3
Tuesday - Joshua 1-5
Wednesday -Psalm 1-2
Thursday - Job 1-2
Friday - Isaiah 1-6
Saturday - Matthew 1-2


As in most churches across the country, we, as Christians, are being challenged to read the Bible completely through in 2009. So many times I have made this resolution, and so many times I've gotten to the books where you have long lists of "begat a son....and the son begat....and begat...and begat..." until the only word I recall from the passage is begat. Then discouragement sets in and I think, "Maybe I'll skip this book." so I usually do, then I get behind, then something comes up and I don't get to read my Bible like I should. You know the old long list of excuses. This year, however, I am challenging myself to stick to it, to read the Bible completely through in a year. Not only am I challenging myself, but our pastor is challenging the whole church. He has even created a handy checklist and reading plan for our convenience. (talk about being spoon fed...I depend on that spoon.) Each Sunday I will do my best to post my list for the week. I hope you can join me and help hold me accountable to read the Bible through this year. And just in case you can't find the post, it will be the one with the Bible (because you know me, I hate to post without a picture!)

***OH, and one more thing, I challenge you to read your Bible for the true history book it is. Put yourself in the places of the people. Think more deeply about the lives and how they managed from day to day. What are some of the struggles of these people. They were REAL flash and blood and their voices should still be heard. If God thought we should know about them don't you think it's worth putting all your effort into?

New addition

I hadn't seen my sweet, new nephew in 4 days, so I had to have a baby fix this afternoon. Of course, I had my camera. It's so nice to have family on whom I can practice photography. I've never taken newborn shots, but I'll get to take Landon's pictures in a few more days. Logan is proud of him, too. I need to get him a t-shirt that says, "I'm the BIG cousin!" He's 4 1/2 and does not like it when someone calls him the "baby cousin", the first thing he said when he saw Landon was, "Now I'm not the baby!" I love the shot of Logan's hand and Landon's foot.

A new daddy

Today, at 2:45pm my baby brother became a daddy. Landon Ray entered the world weighing in at 7 lbs, 5 oz, and 20 inches. He's beautiful! He made his mommy and daddy a little nervous when he decided to come facing up, but Lindsay did great. She's just gorgeous anyway and didn't look like she had been through 8+ hours of labor and spent almost 2 hours pushing. She was very tired, but a happy new mommy, and as for Lance, I don't think his feet have quite touched the ground since 2:45. Landon has a big bruise on his forehead because of his difficult birth, but he's absolutely perfect!

God is amazing, He showed us another miracle today. How can you not believe in miracles when you look at the face of a newborn baby? God knows and plans every cell of our being long before we are born. Thank you, Lord, for you blessing, a little blessing named Landon.

Gingerbread houses and life lessons

"Plleeeeeese, Mommy, let's make a gingerbread house." That was Logan's request for Christmas decorations. They had made one at school (his teachers must be hiding the Wonder Woman symbol on their chest, because there is NO WAY I would attempt a gingerbread house with 20 4-year-olds "helping"). I kept putting him off with the lame excuses, "Mommy doesn't know how to make gingerbread", "we don't have the right kind of pan", etc....basically anything to keep from saying, "No a chance, no gingerbread house, nada, zip, never!" I cook, but baking is NOT my thing, you actually have to measure and be precise, I prefer the "eyeball it" method, or the "Hmmm, I'll bet this would taste good in there." Fast forward to Christmas Eve, yes, I went to Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve, only because I didn't have everything I needed for Christmas (I think God was trying to teach me patience...I learned, please don't give me another lesson). We had ice the day before, so my original plans were shot down...but I digress. So, we are in the dreaded Wal-Mart, and right there on the shelf was a gingerbread house kit! Logan spied and and turned the baby blues on me, "Pleeeeeeease, Mommy, pleeeease." so I gave in. It was only $5, so I figured it would be worth it if it would keep him quiet for a few minutes. I completely expected it to be a pile of sticky crumbs and candy before it was all said and done, however, it was the best $5 spent of the whole Christmas season.

We carefully got the pieces out of the box (yeah, right, as carefully as a 4 year old can rip open a box), looked at the instructions, then tossed them (goes back to that whole following a recipe & baking thing). I snipped the icing bag, and "glued" the pieces together. Keeping Logan away from the thing while it dried was a challenge, but it stayed up. I decided I would "help" him decorate, and took the icing bag out of his hands. After a few meticulous, careful applications of "glue" and telling him exactly where to stick the candies, he looked up and said, "I want to decorate my house!" Every cell in my brain was completely against the idea, but I handed him the icing bag and started giving directions. He just looked at me like I was insane (imagine that, me, insane, with a 4 year-old hold a giant bag of royal icing?), and started squeezing and sticking. This child can't sit still long enough to make it through an episode of Veggie Tales, but he sat for over and hour, squeezing, glueing, and sticking. There was no candy left, he even took a few mini chocolate chips to add to the top (said it was reindeer poop....such an active imagination). The whole gingerbread house thing turned out to be a great experience. He was so proud of his creation, and I learned to let him do it by himself. I also learned that I am NOT cut out to be a cake decorator because I wanted it to look like the gingerbread houses on Food Network! Better to leave the decorating to the kids.

Anyway, here it is, hope you like it as much as Logan.

Casting Crowns rocks!

Last night a group of us went to Jonesboro to see Casting Crowns. I thought it would just be them, but imagine my joy when I found out it was their Christmas celebration and we also got to see Michael English, Natalie Grant, Avalon, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, Pure NRG, AND Casting Crowns. It was great! I was being a little Scroogey and wasn't really in the Christmas spirit, but I sure am now! I even let Austin miss the last 2 hours of school so he could go, too. This was his first concert, and what a great one. He was blown away by the whole thing. Did I mention I have their new Crowns Christmas CD in the cd player in my truck. It's great, GO GET ONE FOR YOURSELF!

I'm so tired tonight because it was almost 1am when we got home last night (this morning?) but it's a good kind of tired.

If you get a chance to see Casting Crowns....or Avalon, or Michael English, or Natalie Grant....in concert, GO! You won't regret it and you'll be so blessed you just won't know how to act!

God is in control!

I'm usually in such a hurry that I don't even look at things around me, but God had other plans for me this morning. We topped a small hill on our dirt road and the early morning (7:00am) sun was beautiful shining through the trees. The shadows were playing on the ground, the sun was peeking between the tree trunks, and the whole area was illuminated with warm, golden light. I had my camera with me and stopped in the road to take a shot of it. I had no idea that I had left the 4 cross-screen filter (usually used for taking shots of lights at night) on my camera lens. When I finally got a chance to load my photos onto my computer, I was amazed at the shot I had gotten. The light coming from the eastern sky, shining through the trees looked like a cross! Not just that, but the shadows on the road made another cross! I've been so preoccupied with so many things lately that I had drifted away from where He wants me to be. I'm so glad God showed me His glory in such a beautiful way, and helped me refocus my eyes on Him. No matter what may come, GOD is on His throne, GOD is in control, and I will place my complete trust in HIM.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

Hey, Kayla, this one's for you!

I had the priviledge of taking wedding photos for one of Casey's best friends on Saturday. Kayla and Joe tied the knot at 3:00 pm, then had a really fun reception following that. I just thought I'd post a few of the photos here just to let Kayla have a little hint of what will be in her hands soon. Oh, and Casey was one of the bridesmaid, too.

I hope you like them; constructive criticism is appreciated as long as you be nice! :)

His name is David...

..He sits on the front pew at church, he's there every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, he never misses; he's a grown man with the mind of a child; he has Down's Syndrome. I don't know how old David is, but I would venture to guess he's well into his 40's. He lives in an assisted living group home, and rides the church bus. This morning he was very agitated, I had no idea what was wrong, but he moved over to talk to our pastor's daughter. I assumed he was uncomfortable sitting alone, then I realized he was almost in tears. He always brings 2 dimes for his offering and this morning, as the offering plates started around, he couldn't find his dimes. He was so upset that he didn't have his 20 cents to put in the offering. After being assured it was okay, he just dropped his head. I guess God spoke to him through our praise and worship song, "How Great is Our God", because by the end of the song he was singing as loudly as he could, his words, under any other circumstances, would have be intelligible, but his face and hands were raised toward heaven, and you knew exactly what he was singing.

The Bible says "...suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of Heaven." Mark 10:14. Oh that we all could have such a childlike faith, that we would worry about having our offering money each Sunday, that we would be heartbroken if we didn't have something to give to Jesus. I'm speaking to myself as much as anyone. Sometimes....often times, I let life get in the way and give God what is left of my time when I should be giving Him the first of my time. I am so thankful that God placed people like David in my path that I can rethink my perspective and realize that God loves us, from the least to the greatest, from the richest to the poorest. He loves us all, His love encompasses everything and everyone. We should all be more like David, not afraid to raise our hand, not afraid to sing at the top of our lungs, not worried what the person beside us is thinking. We should live our lives to the glory of God.

Though David's song wasn't anywhere near the key where the music was written, don't you know it was music to God's ears.

20 years ago today.....

A little dark-haired, dark-eyed baby girl joined our family. Casey was exactly 2 weeks LATE, (which may attest to why she's never on time now), and weighed in at 8lbs, 4oz, and measuring 22 inches long. Now she's 20 and in her 2nd year of college, where has the time gone?

Happy Birthday, Casey!

Random things about me.

This was on my cousin, Jamie's, blog. I thought it might be fun. Please leave a comment if you decide to answer on your blog--I'd love to read yours...

"35 odd things about you"

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? No!

2. Do you own a gun? I personally don't "own" one, but I can use the 20 gauge and Chris has quite an assortment. Oh, I can use Austin's .22 also.

3. What's a favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee house? Grande French Vanilla Latte.

4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning ? Coffee, it's the first thing I do, my kids have learned not to even talk to me until they see a cup in my hand.

5. Do you do push-ups? If you mean the little orange sherbety things that come in the frozen ice cream treat case, yes, if you mean exercize, no, I lift a 43 lb 4 year old, that's my bicep workout.

6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding rings. I had a fabulous pair of silver hoop earrings I wore alot, but that evil "Wildfire" ride at Silver Dollar City stole one of them from me. If you know a pirate who needs one silver hoop, I have one, its mate is in the dirt below Wildfire.

7. Favorite hobby? Photography

8. Do you have A.D.D? Probably...Casey (DD) says I have ADOS..Attention Deficit Ooooh, Shiny!

9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? Just one? I have several traits I don't like, but I'm working on them.

10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: Casey needs to get her rear in here and get the kitchen cleaned up, I wonder what that loud crash noise coming from the basement was?, If I slip off to bed will anyone notice?.

11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. Coffee, milk(I force myself to drink a little, tiny glass before bed every night, water, Diet Dr. Pepper (though I've really cut down on that in the last couple of months.)

12. Current worry right now? Will Mom, Greg, Stacie, and the rest of the mission group make it home safely. (and one more) Will Casey's recent ex-boyfriend cause problems for her when he's home on leave in October. He's been very nasty and threatening on his MySpace. (oh, and just in case he reads this...see the above post about firearms, she now knows how to use them all, and Chris says she can load the clip on the .22 pistol as fast as he can)

13. Current hate right now? My 7th period class (I don't hate the kids, but I really hate their behavior), my right big toenail (ripped part of it off with the door 2 days ago), my flab...not just one area, but the all-over general distribution. (maybe I should start thinking about those push-ups....not the orange kind, the icky ones)

14. Favorite place to be? at HOME with my family. I think I could almost be a hermit...especially if there was a grocery store and Wal-Mart in my cave...or hermitage (?) Hermitage...was Andrew Jackson a hermit at some point???? (It's the ADD kicking in, don't worry)

15. Do you like to travel? Sometimes, but my favorite part of travel is coming home.

16. What color shirt are you wearing? A faded, Ouray, Colorado t-shirt I got on our vacation 3 years ago.

17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? NO! I tried it once and kept sliding off, give me cotton anyday!

18. Can you whistle? Not well, and not in any particular tune, about the only whistling I do is with 2 fingers in my mouth and 2 different "notes" when I'm trying to get the dogs to come back to the house. (you'd think the dude on the bicycle would choose another road to ride down, he goes by our house and is immediately chased by a blue-heeler and a 3 legged hound dog. I guess they don't like men in bicycle shorts....)

19. Favorite color? Oh come on! I'm an art teacher, I can't pick a favorite...but if you want to buy me something my kitchen is done in dark sagey greens, cinnabar & cobalt (Fiestaware colors, and ecru or off white (okay, the official color swatch said tea-stain, I figured with 3 kids anything that already had "stain" on it couldn't be all bad, now the rest of their stains will blend).

20. If you could would you be a pirate? No, I'd hurt myself with the cutlass, and there's no way I'm climbing a little rope ladder to a crow's nest! Besides, aren't pirates supposed to take things from people? I'd be the only one who captured a ship to give things away!

21. What song do you sing in the shower? Most recently it's been "Praise You in this Storm" just because that's my son of choice at the moment, but I'm sure it will be songs from our Christmas cantata...as soon as I learn them.

22. Favorite girl's name? I picked out Casey Lynn for DD, but that could really go either way, the other girls' names I had picked out were: Lydia Allison (but I ended up with an Austin) and Jordan Angie (got a Logan Wade, instead, there's a really cool story behind the Jordan Angie name, too, Chris's grandmother was born in Jordan, AR and her middle name was Angie. Wanna know how we picked out Logan....it's a good cowboy name (guess who picked that one).

23. Favorite boy's name? Austin Lance & Logan Wade

24. What's in your pocket right now? lint...maybe an old Kleenex if I really want to dig (I'm wearing my "jammie pants" as Logan calls them)

25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? I don't know why I remember this, but I had the coolest set of sheets with Picasso sketches (doves and olive branches). I LOVED those sheets! Picasso sheets...I guess I was destined to be an Art teacher.

26. Worst injury? Hmmm, I've had a few stitches, I guess the worst one was when I was 16 and fell off a bucking chute, I had around 25 stitches in my arm with that one. (don't ask, I wasn't riding, I was sitting on it and decided to get off..I'm NOT graceful, 'nuff said). There there was the time in 3rd grade when I fell off the teepee on the playground at Flippin Elementary....and in 4th grade when a bee stung me on the tongue...(yes, I'm serious, I had my mouth open and it flew in, that's how)

27. Do you love where you live? Absolutely! We built our house on our farm and have been here a year and a half. I love it! I don't ever want to move, ever, ever, ever.

28. How many TVs do you have in your house? Three, and I don't get to watch any of them.

29. Who is your loudest friend? I don't know...maybe my friends don't seem loud because I'm the loud, annoying one? (you can agree, my feelings won't be hurt, it's the truth)

30. How many pets do you have? We have 2 dogs, Darrell - our blue-heeler mix, and CJ- our little $40 Humane Society rescue dog that was was hit by a car back in the spring and now only has 3 legs...by the way, he's worth $700 now. I just love him, he's my dog, he doesn't even know he's handicapped.

31. Does someone have a crush on you? If they do, they really need to get a life.

32. What is your Favorite Book? The Bible...as for other books, I can't pick one, but there was one I read over and over in high school "Celia Garth" it was about a Revolutionary war spy who worked as a seamstress and heard all the latest from her "Tory" ladies she sewed for, she then turned around and told the Revolutionary army all those secrets. I had to really do some searching to find a copy since it's out of print now!

33. What's your favorite candy? M&Ms, hands down, any kind, but I'm really partial to the dark chocolate ones.

34. Favorite Sports Team? Viola Longhorns! (especially the 7th grade boys...#33 to be exact) I like the Razorbacks, and Ryan Newman of NASCAR, too.

35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Please let it be Saturday!

Good grief!

For some reason the link doesn't show up, so you'll just have to do it one of 2 ways, you can either go to the sidebar "blogs I read" scroll down and click on the "FBC Flippin" blog, OR you can manually get to it by using this address
http://fbcflippin.blogspot.com

Any computer gurus who read this and would like to show me how to link (or hyperlink, or whatever it's called!), please do, then I won't look like I'm completely inept when it comes to matters of the blog.

Oops

Sorry, the blog link didn't work. I'll try it again.

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

If you ever any doubt that this verse is true, then you need to ask God to open the eyes of your heart and reveal His truth, then you need to go look at this blog. Why are you still reading this? GO!

Praise You in This Storm

Friday night, Logan and I rode with Chris to get a load of hay. As we were driving, we got caught in a very sudden, but scary thunderstorm. It was a small cell, but it was making its presence known. It wasn't long before we drove out of it, and I looked out my window to see the sun breaking through the storm clouds. Of course, I had my camera in my lad and was able to get a shot of the "Heaven hole" (Logan's term). I was reminded of the song "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns (which is one of my favorite songs at the moment.

For some reason, those rays of sunshine piercing the dark clouds just strenghthened my belief that God is with us no matter what we are going through or where we are in life. The storms of life are many, some take a while to build, but grow stronger and stronger until the are huge, and they seem to last forever...like hurricanes. Others happen so quickly and shake us down to the very core, they leave us devistated with nothing left to do but pick up the pieces and move on....those are the tornadoes. Tomorrow marks a year since one of those "tornadoes" happened in my life. We lost Dad suddenly, without much warning on September 23, 2007, but God was there and brought us through that storm....I guess He is still bringing us through, because I lean on Him every day when I'm at school and look at that little rock building where we lived, and what was more recently, Dad's office. Even in times of trial, God gives us so many joys to look to for comfort. Mom would not have had the chance to go to Nicaragua if God had not planned our lives this way, and even more of a joy, a new little Newton will join our family in late December or early January.

I pray that I never forget to praise God through all the storms and to look for those "Heaven holes". This world is a temporary place, and Heaven will not have storms, but joy, peace, and eternal happiness in the presence on the One True God.

My Mom, isn't she just beautiful!


The mission team from fbc Flippin.

Pray for the team from First Baptist Church in Flippin, AR. They leave early tomorrow morning (Saturday) for a mission trip to San Marcos, Nicaragua. Mom is going with them. Just pray that the Lord will go before them and make a way for them to witness to the people who so desperately need Jesus. They will be involved in a mobile medical care/dentistry group, prison ministry, much interaction with children (mom packed coloring sheets taken from a Bible coloring book and the words she and a friend/Spanish teacher translated into Spanish, crayons, and hard candy for them). They will also have the privilege of be a part of the graduation ceremonies from Rhema Bible College and will have taken Bibles (NIV Study Bibles in Spanish) to be presented to the graduating pastors. A large evangelistic crusade will be going on at the same time with approximately 3-4 THOUSAND people will be attending. During the last crusade over 1100 people gave their lives to Christ! What an awesome thing to see and participate! God is good, ALL the time!

Along with Mom, my uncle Greg (Mom's baby brother) and my cousin, Stacie (Greg's daughter) will be going. Please pray for this group, traveling mercies, Godly wisdom, and great health and enthusiasm.

You can keep up with the pastor's blog here. I'm so anxious to see the Lord at work!

Fly by post

And since I don't like to post without a photo, here's old Abe. I took this in DC on June 3rd.


I really hate to post without some kind of picture to accompany it, but it seems like I just haven't had time to take them or unload them from my camera if I do.

Since school started I feel like I barely have time to breathe, much less get any additional things accomplished. I'm still trying to find my groove, maybe I've permanently skipped a groove! I was really looking forward to watching Biggest Loser tonight, but I still have progress reports to get out. (yet here I am on the computer?)

Maybe someday I'll have some profound post, but it doesn't look good for tonight. I think I'll go watch the weigh in of BL....maybe have a bowl of ice cream to celebrate.

Bye, bye summer vacation

Logan and Trevor Brazile, Logan was very impressed with T, and Trevor won the event and took home around $50K, not bad for a day's work.


My cousin, Micaela getting Fred Whitfield's autograph. I still say she ambushed him in the hallway and used Jaiden as an excuse. I think she told him Jaiden wanted his autograph, and how could he say no when he looked at J's beautiful little face! (she looks really impressed, doesn't she? LOL)



The time has come (hey, that reminds me of a poem from Alice in Wonderland, "The time has come the walrus said, to talk of other things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings.), but I digress. Tonight was open house at school, which means the kids will be there bright eyed and bushy tailed on Monday morning, sigh, I love summer vacation why can't it last a little longer....8 months longer would be good. Austin will be in the 7th grade this year, how is that possible? He should still be Logan's age....and he starts pre-K next week, too!

We had one final "fun" trip of the summer last weekend. We went to the Best of the Best Tie Down Calf Roping. I was very cool, and all the "big dogs" of the calf roping world were there. You never know who you'll run across at one of those things, as we were going toward the stands I saw a man coming toward me and I had the thought, "Wow, he looks like my uncle, Randy." Imagine my surprise when I realized it WAS Randy! He and my aunt Brenda, cousin Micaela and her hubby Mario (I guess I can just call him cousin, too, it simplifies things), and their adorable children were there. It was fun to see them, and I could tell, that given a little time, Logan and Jaiden could really have a good time.

I did manage to get a few really good shots of some of the ropers at the trade show. Logan really got into asking them to sign his program. How could you resist such a cute little kid! He got lots of autographs. He was especially impressed with Trevor Brazile because he tickled him. Austin didn't get to go because he was with Mom at my brother and SIL's house for the weekend, but I think he made good use of their pool and entertained their twins, too. They rewarded him by a birthday dinner to Shogun and another dinner trip to Playtime Pizza; he was happy.

Now you're caught up on the goings on of our household, enjoy the pictures, and pray for me as the new school year starts, it's going to be a good one!

I hope this works, it's hilarious!

VBS is Cool!

This week is our church's Vacation Bible School and it has been so much fun! First of all, whenever there's a Hawaiian theme involved you know it's going to be good! I'm helping with the music and I just love to see the look on the little faces when they sing these songs. The guy who wrote all these songs and made up the moves to go with them is truly gifted. I took a few pictures, but don't have them off my camera yet, but I'll get those on here before too long.

VBS is one of the best things a child can be involved in. I am so glad to see some of our Awana kids who don't normally come to church. We're hoping for a few more kids, We had 126 tonight, at 130 Brother Jeff (youth pastor) has to wear a hula skirt for parent's night Thursday night. Austin has already invited friends, I think he's wanting to see Jeff with flowers in his hair!