CAUTION: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Putting the Holes in Burn and Compost Barrels With Daddy

The Boy was in his glory. The Girl caught wind that The Boy was going to get to shoot a real gun with Daddy and wanted a shot at it herself. So, dearest Daddy went back inside and brought out Mommy's 22 and proceeded to hand one over to The Girl.

He set her up then bent down to show her how to line up the sights and then squeeze the trigger.



















They worked on the safety and how to hold it so we don't have the gun aimed at anyone or anything that a bullet may bounce off.



















Daddy then reloaded The Girl's gun and she hunkered down and squeezed of shots at a rapid succession.... Well, rapid for a six year old who has never shot. And, with almost every single shot that rang out, there was a resounding clang from the bullet hitting its mark.... my new burn barrel and compost barrel.



















Since The Girl was using my gun and hitting the barrels the majority of the time, I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't be able to use faulty sights as an excuse for my complete inability to hit a target anymore. Shoot.















Both The Boy and The Girl did a fantastic job of making sure that air will be able to get to my compost and they kept Daddy busy reloading for a LONG time.

Wordless Wednesday? Nah..... "The Silly Faces Post"

And, for the record, this is her fault.

Point Taken

God's been doing a lot with us lately, and many times when God is stretching you and teaching you and refining you, it hurts. So, for the first two thirds of this particular process, both J and I were FINE. "Ok, God, whatever you want.... I trust You!! I have faith in You!..." And then we faced the last two weeks.... (Yes, I've been hiding for those two weeks in case anyone noticed my absence and wondered where I was.) The questioning started. The faith faltered. We began to sweat and squirm and ask God if He remembered us. Through a variety of circumstances and people, God assured us that, yes, He remembers and, yes, He hears and, yes, He answers. I have found myself over the last week reminding God of all of His promises to us, almost on a continual basis. Even after I stopped sweating and squirming and got back to the submitting part, I still went around the house praising, thanking and reminding. This morning it occurred to me that He knows EXACTLY what He has promised my family. He knows EXACTLY when He is going to fufill those promises and He knows the work that still needs to be done in me before I can find myself in what He has promised. I don't need to remind Him. I realized that I had stopped just seeking Him first and praising Him just for who He is and was focusing on, "God, You SAID...." Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with standing on His promises and His Word, but that should not be the main FOCUS of my relationship or conversations with Him. And as I was realizing this and begin to apologize to God for this, I opened my email for today and this is what it said:

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:31-34 NIV

__________________

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered:
the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

He hath given meat unto them that fear him:
he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

He hath shewed his people the power of his works,
that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

Psalm 111:4-6 KJV

__________________

"You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
And praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;

Then My people will never be put to shame.
Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the LORD your God,
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put to shame."

Joel 2:26,27 NASB

I like that. :) God knows. I don't have to remind Him. I just have to seek Him and put Him first. When I put my focus on Him and what He wants, everything else will line up. How awesome is that!

I have learned....

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

Hebrews 10:23 NASB

Sometimes, while there is a storm raging all around you, you have to grab hold of that hope, that faith, that promise, and just hang on like your very life depends on it.

Food For Thought

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name, Jesus
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

Why is it that so many times we bless, bless, bless when everything is good, but when things go downhill, we start saying, "GOD!!! Where ARE You?!?! Have You forgotten me?!?!" Shame on us. Job had it right.... The very minute that he found that he had lost EVERYTHING he responded this way:


Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.21 And he said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD."

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Job 1:20-22 NKJV

Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from Job and respond rightly when we are facing the desert place and walking through the wilderness....

It Was NOT a "Monday Funday"!!

We woke up late... Hey! It's our prerogative... We're on summer vacation! T had a doctor's appointment at 10 and it was 9:00... I had to shower, get her showered and ready and we had to stop at the bank on the way. At 9:02 I was in the shower, off to a good start. My phone went off. The screen said "The in-laws". "I can call them back when I am done. The shower really isn't good for my phone and probably it is not something super important," I thought. No more than thirty seconds later our fire/ambulance pager went off. The age old "when it rains it pours" went through my head. Not planning to answer the call (there are occasional times that I DO NOT respond... one of the perks of being a "volunteer") I still kept my ear tuned to what the 911 dispatcher was saying (ever the curious one, here). "...respond to a structure fire on Guthrie Rd..." Um... news flash.... that is MY road. We have seven structures on our road. Four are family's homes, one is our longtime, non-family neighbor, one is my father-in-law's business and on is a barn. So.... odds weren't the greatest. I FLEW out of the shower, soap and conditioner and all and threw clothes on. As I was grabbing my fire gear my phone rang again and I saw the screen said "dad-in-law." I flipped it open, barked out, "I'm on my way!" and slapped it shut, running to the truck. Let me tell you, I had that truck SAILING! Dad laughed about it later and said that if I had been going 5mph faster I would have stopped IN the garage. Hey, I got there! Turns out Uncle S was welding in dad's shop and a spark flew into a gas can and, well, that was that..... Dad and Uncle S were hauling stuff out when I got there and throwing buckets of water at the fire. Thankfully our crew got there when they did or we would not have a garage standing. Now, for the record, I was side by side with Dad and Uncle S until our assistant chief got there... I donned my gear when they arrived and went into professional mode rather than frantic daughter-in-law. Several of my.... "co-workers" (??) asked me if I was ok... my response was usually "I will be FINE as long as we get this totally out and taken care of!!" I took a minute when I was not needed and sent T with my observing sister-in-law and called the doctor's office to explain who was taking her down and why. Thankfully I did not have to reschedule a physical. Mom's brand new motorcycle was saved... It was the first thing Uncle S pulled out after calling 911. Unfortunately, my motorcycle is now in desperate need of a new motor. *sigh* Dad kidded that now his ceiling fan will not be very effective.... Perhaps the insurance company will replace that as well as the back wall and roof.... J is actually hoping that the insurance company will give them enough money to just put up a new pole barn across from this garage. They (J and his dad) have discussed building a bigger one and bringing some of J's work much closer to home.... I myself wonder if they will replace my bike's motor. THAT would be nice. :)

Needless to say, my Monday was not very "fun." BUT, we were able to share with a couple of the other fire-fighters how mom and dad were not even supposed to be home and mom for a couple days told their team (they were away ministering at another church) that they HAD to leave Sunday night. She NEEDED to be home Monday morning. If dad had not been there, the garage would have been totally engulfed by the time our fire company arrived.... Another reminder to listen to the still small voice and the inner urgings....

HEY! THEY'RE OVER HERE!!

Looking for these guys?? I found 'em... AT MY PLACE! :)











T and EP. Wow, that boy is cute!!!!















Uncle J making EP LAUGH and LAUGH!! I think that baby was exhausted!

Uncle D torturing T. Trust me, she was instigating!!