Asking for His Will

Just praying for His Will - if it is meant to be - it will happen.
All went well this afternoon, should know by the end of next week.
This is definitely His timing and praying for His direction.
Totally at peace with either answer.

Even came home to dinner waiting for me - my sweet husband cooked up some good grub!
One of my favorites is a cream gravy over toast or potatoes - he made a brisket gravy with some of our leftovers from the weekend!  It was scrumptious.

Goal # 3

Yes!  Goal # 3 has been completed.

I've officially taken 500,000 steps.
The first 250,000 were taken in 24 days.
The next 250,000 took 25 days.
I was supposed to do it in less and am quite surprised it was only a day past the previous days required.  I had several days in this round where I didn't meet my 10,000 and my average step per day dropped.
24 days = 10744 steps per day (1 day under 10,000 steps)
25 days = 9705 steps per day (8 days under 10,000 steps)
I will try again to beat that 24 day time frame - we shall see with this wonderful summer heat.

Readers

We are a family of readers.  Once we pick up a good book, it is hard to put it down.  Our reading interests vary.  Charles enjoys a good suspense or mystery book.  Becca seems to follow in his footsteps - always looking for a thriller to devour.  Chuck tends to like books in the medieval period or those in the fantasy and magic genre.  My taste is christian fiction.  I love the pioneer and old west time period. 

Homemade Ice Cream

All that I can say is YUMMY!

BLT's for dinner

Tag team ironing

Bookstore for a new/used book - one of our hobbies!

NCIS marathon - we all enjoy!

Cleaning

We cooked and cleaned today.

I made a few new discoveries.

#1 - Vinegar  - we use it to clean different things around the house, but I discovered something new today.  We have a black fridge and the tray under the water/ice dispenser has looked nasty for awhile.  We have scrubbed it with soap and water, thrown it in the dishwasher and tried different cleaning products but none of them worked.  It had this white film from the ice and water splatters.
As I was cleaning I poured some vinegar on it and let it sit.  About thirty minutes later I took my sponge and was wowwed!  It wiped it off and looked as good as new!

#2 - Cream of Tartar - what a wonder cleaner!  I put a little on a sponge then added a little water - my deep fryer looks new again.  I got ambitious and cleaned the fronts of the cabinets too. 

Homemade Burgers, B-Bque Beans, Salsa with Potato Salad, Chips and Watermelon

Tomorrow we are gonna make homemade ice cream - it has been awhile since we have made it - can't wait - it's our favorite kind of ice cream.

Brisket and Sausage

I love three day weekends, it gives Charles an excuse to smoke some meat.  All finished and ready to eat, we can't wait to dig in.
Chuck and Becca cut down those random little trees that sprout up - thank you!

Graduation

Lindsay graduated tonight - we are very happy for her!  She is going to do great at college and be successful in her future!  We love that girl!
It was nice to see family and friends too!

Eventful Day

Unexpected phone call this morning
B can work more this summer if she wants
Stopped to see Chuck at work but he was very busy
Went to Lindsay's graduation party - It was nice - so proud of her!

Sight of the Day - Skaters!

So Becca and I saw a Skateboarder Dude on the way to church!  The guy we saw was a little more California dude looking than this guy!

He had his long board - I have never seen such a big skateboard.

After we passed the church we saw a few more skateboarder dudes - but they had their average sized boards.  The were carrying something else though.

Ground Rails to perform their tricks.

A quick stop at Taco Bell - even though they didn't have their skateboards  - there was another group that looked like they were about to go hit the ramps.

One donned the skater beanie - something like this!

Our day was filled with skating sights!

A Child of the King

I was reading a story the other day about a man who boarded a boat to the America's.  His cousin had purchased a ticket for him to make his way to this new world.  He was a poor man and was so thankful for this opportunity offered by his cousin.  He saved his money to purchase a few loaves of bread to eat aboard the ship over the next week or two.  Being a humble man, he would quietly retire to his room to eat small portions of his bread a few times a day.  He felt bad that he didn't have more to share but knew that he barely had enough portion to survive the trip himself.  Before they reached their destination, his food supply ran out.  His stomach growled, but he was determined not to complain - he knew the trip was well worth any pain he had to endure.  Another passenger happened to be spending time with him around meal time and wanted to walk with him to the dinner hall.  The man said, I'm sorry, I can not go, I do not have money to afford it.  The passenger was shocked.  He explained to the man that the meals were included in his ticket, he could have eaten luxurious feasts at breakfast, lunch and dinner every day that he had been aboard the ship.  He joined the other passenger and enjoyed every remaining feast.  Like this man, we sometimes forget, that we are children of the King.  He wants to bless us and definitely has the means to do so.  Sometimes the blessings are right in front of us - ask Him to provide the blessings that He has for you!

A CHILD OF THE KING

My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold.

Refrain

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.

My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His when He comes by and by.

Refrain

I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.

Refrain

A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They’re building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still may I sing:
All glory to God, I’m a child of the King.

Add a Little Umph!

Super Powers

Who doesn't like a superhero or wish they had access to some supernatural powers?  When I was a little girl - I remember getting out in the front yard and spinning and spinning while singing Wonder Woman.  I loved that show.  I wanted a lasso like her's with all that power, and her invisible jet - wasn't that cool!  Charles' favorite was different from mine - he had his towel cape that gave him the "ability" to fly like Superman.  The powers that some of the heroes have are incredible.  Can you imagine flying faster than the speed of sound?  We could go see Gramma and Grampa anytime we wanted too!  We could travel the world - the universe!  What about that strength?  The Hulk or Thor are so strong.  Wolverine can heal so quickly after an attack.  Stretch Armstrong can stretch and has such flexibility!  The powers seem endless.  Some superheroes don't have "super powers", but instead they have "super gadgets".  Batman has the most amazing gadgets to help him fight crime.

We went to see the Avengers this morning - what an awesome movie - we were all impressed!  All of us enjoy watching the Super Hero movies.  They are always full of action and adventure.

I think we forget that we DO have access to SUPERNATURAL POWERS!  

Check out these verses in II Corinthians 10, if you are wondering what I mean.

³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.   II Corinthians 10:3-6

     We are full of super powers that are under the careful control of the Holy Spirit equipped for VICTORY!  We have everything we need to fight the battle against evil and win! 

Courageous

Becca and I watched Courageous this evening - it's a great movie if you haven't seen it.
Don't forget the kleenex!

A guest in the house

We had a nice breakfast chat with friends in the morning!
We had a guest overnight - Misti stayed the night!  We love that girl!

Become a Fan

1 Thessalonians 5:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Encouragement makes others cheerful and merry.  It's easy to make our babies smile - don't forget to cheer on your growing and grown up members of your team!

Proverbs 15:13

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

James 5:13

[ Meeting Specific Needs ] Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

If you are cheerful - sing some psalms!

Rah! Rah! Rah!

Blessings of the Day

I enjoyed a nice lunch with my employer today.  It was a nice conversation over a delicious lunch - we both found out that we had a similar favorite - Range Rattlers!

Becca has a temporary job.  She is so excited and is praying there will be enough work to earn her way to summer camp!  She will be filing lots of papers over the next few weeks.

We all had productive, good days at work.

I got to walk a few laps with my sweet friends - The Oats family!

The kids enjoyed seeing their friends at church.

Everyone got home safely from the adventures of the day!

Charles and Chuck had a great discussion with Bible examples.  Our young man is growing up, learning to spread his wings and one day will leave our nest.  We are thankful for his kind hearted spirit and pray that he will one day soar to heights that he never dreamed were possible. 

Pasta Salad

Made a Pasta Salad last night from scratch for tonight's dinner.
It was yummy.
We boiled pasta shells, carrots, peas, corn, and I threw in some onion, jalapeno and sweet pepper that I had left from our salad fixins.
We added Charles' homemade red wine vinagrette and added a can of sliced black olives along with some chopped tomatoes and let it chill overnight.

We ate it with mini corn dog muffins and pork and beans.  Not the healthiest, low calorie, low fat - but it was good.

Charles was busy with work stuff, Chuck went straight to the Porch and had a nice time with friends, and Becca worked hard on her school and chores. 

GAP

Just for you - I know you are feeling overwhelmed.

Remember - God always provides. 

 He will provide you comfort.

He will provide you peace.

He will provide you with time to complete all you need to accomplish.

He will provide your needs and sometimes even our wants and wishes.

I was clinging on to something recently that I needed to release.

I was discussing it with one of my sweet friends and she gave me wisdom.

She said - you know what you need to do...

"Pray the blood of Jesus over it!"

Of course, that is right!  I did that - and let Him take it.

It wasn't mine to carry anyway and a peace covered me.

Worry isn't gonna fix anything - it only brings us down, gives us stress and wears us out.

Release your worries and let God have the control.

I like riding in the passenger seat with Him at the wheel - it is much more relaxing than my white knuckles wrapped around the steering wheel.

Praying for you today!

Happy Mother's Day

I feel so blessed.  I have the two greatest kids in the world.  I love them so much.  I'm thankful for the closeness that we share and hope that will always be.

 I have the best Mom in the world. I miss you so much and wish we lived closer.  
When I married I also became daughter-in-law to the best Mother-in-law in the world. 
I'm thankful for the qualities of each of you sweet ladies who give me great examples to follow and achieve to become. 
Thank you both for being wonderful grandmothers too! 
We love you so very much!

Happy Mother's Day!

Coffee Preferences

This is our favorite brand of wake you up in the morning, pick you up and get you going deliciously smooth and tasty breakfast drink.  It's our favorite for your average store.

This is our favorite from Central Market - or it can be purchased online. Yum!

Charles made some delicious red wine vinagrette dressing that we enjoyed over our gourmet salads.

Walk in the Park

Started the day out right - enjoyed a nice walking chat with Tracey at the park, while Becca, Zander and Kenz were entertained by the park itself.  Zan explored all different areas.  Becca and Kenz spent some time on the playground then, of course, ended up near the water. 
Organizing our office was the task of the day.
Yummy pizza for dinner. 

Our Strong Tower

HE IS OUR STRONG TOWER

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

2 Samuel 22:3

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

Psalm 61:3

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Some interesting information about Towers

found on Wikipedia and Webster

Definitions

A tower is an advantage point that is usually attached to a building. It is used for surveying the scenery, looking for foreign elements in the landscape such as enemies or weapons. The tower is most often found on large buildings such as castles or government buildings. Frequently this architectural feature contains bells, clocks, or other additional ornamentation. From a strategic viewpoint, the tower replaced the tree or the hill for defensive scouting.

 

 a towering citadel : fortress

 one that provides support or protection : bulwark <a tower of strength>

Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height, and can stand alone on the ground, or as part of a larger structure or device such as a fortified building or as an integral part of a bridge, the term also denoting a raised structure on a ship or other vehicle.

 

 

 

History
Towers have been used by mankind since prehistoric times. The oldest known may be the circular stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho (8000 BC). Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats, which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC. The most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, built the 3rd millennium BC, and the Etemenanki, one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture. The latter was built in Babylon during the 2nd millennium BC and was considered the tallest tower of the ancient world.
Some of the earliest surviving examples are the broch structures in northern Scotland, which are conical towerhouses. These and other examples from Phoenician and Roman cultures emphasised the use of a tower in fortification and sentinel roles. For example, watchtower elements are found at Mogador from the first millennium BC, derived from Phoenician or Carthaginian origins. The Romans utilised octagonal towers^[1] as elements of Diocletian's Palace in Croatia, which monument dates to approximately 300 AD, while the Servian Walls (4th century BC) and the Aurelian Walls (3rd century AD) featured square ones. The Chinese used towers as integrated elements of the Great Wall of China in 210 BC during the Qin Dynasty. Towers were also an important element of castles.
Another well known tower is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy built from 1173 until 1372. The Himalayan Towers are stone towers located chiefly in Tibet built approximately 14th to 15th century. ^[2]

 

Functions

Skyscrapers

A modern type of tower, the skyscraper, uses less ground space as a ratio of total building interior square footage. Skyscrapers are often not classified as towers, although most have the same design and structure of towers. In the United Kingdom, tall domestic buildings are referred to as tower blocks. In the United States, the World Trade Center had the nickname the Twin Towers, a name shared with the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. A tower has very deep foundations.

Strategic advantages

The tower throughout history has provided its users with an advantage in surveying defensive positions and obtaining a better view of the surrounding areas, including battlefields. They were installed on defensive walls, or rolled near a target (see siege tower). Today, strategic-use towers are still used at prisons, military camps, and defensive perimeters.

Potential energy

By using gravity to move objects or substances downward, a tower can be used to store items or liquids like a storage silo or a water tower, or aim an object into the earth such as a drilling tower. Ski-jump ramps use the same idea, and in the absence of a natural mountain slope or hill, can be human-made.

Communication enhancement

In history, simple towers like lighthouses, bell towers, clock towers, signal towers and minarets were used to communicate information over greater distances. In more recent years, radio masts and cell phone towers facilitate communication by expanding the range of the transmitter. The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada was built as a communications tower, with the capability to act as both a transmitter and repeater. Its design also incorporated features to make it a tourist attraction, including the world's highest observation deck at 147 stories.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation support

Towers can also be used to support bridges, and can reach heights that rival some of the tallest buildings above-water. Their use is most prevalent in suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges. The use of the pylon, a simple tower structure, has also helped to build railroad bridges, mass-transit systems, and harbors.
Control towers are used to give visibility to help direct aviation traffic.

 

 

 

Strong Tower by Kutless

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYnN3rRC1Q

 

 

 

 

 

National Champions

Tim and his team are National Champions at the Roadeo Challenge!
Awesome Job - We are proud of you!

Be Our Voice

Ephesians 5

New International Version (NIV)

5 ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater —has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^{[a] 6} Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live —not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I was going to only post the bolded verses - but couldn't bring myself to only post them. 

Verses 19 and 20 really jumped out - did you know you are speaking from the Spirit to others when you are singing psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirt? 

That is so cool that He is our voice when we do that!

Let Him be your voice!

Sleep

Dad found out today he has sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea

The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." Sleep apnea is an involuntary cessation of breathing that occurs while the patient is asleep. There are three types of aleep apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Of the three, obstructive sleep apnea, often called OSA for short, is the most common. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer. In most cases the sleeper is unaware of these breath stoppages because they don't trigger a full awakening.

Proverbs 3:23-25

King James Version (KJV)

²³ Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
²⁴ When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
²⁵ Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

Glad this was determined and praying my husband will soon have a sweet sleep each night waking every morning feeling totally rested.

Butterfly

This Butterfly was on my car when I went out to pick up the paper this morning.  God was very patient with me this morning and allowed me to capture a bit of His beauty that he provides through nature.

I stood for a moment observing this creature, and then thought about grabbing my camera.  It took me several minutes to find it.  I went back out and took these first two pictures and then my batteries died.

I ran back in and grabbed two batteries that were laying on the desk and popped them in the camera as I walked back outside.  My camera wouldn't come on!  Apparently these batteries had come out of the mouse and were dead too.  I went back in and grabbed new batteries from the package, loaded them up and headed back out.  He posed nicely for the pictures below. 

Becca joined me and captured a few, but I guess he didn't like all the attention.  He flew around a bit, aimed for Becca, which caused a little bit of arm flailing, then on to the eaves.  He only would show half of himself from the roofline, as you can see. 

Goals

I love hitting a goal!

So far, so good - surpassing Goal #1

Goal # 1 - 10,000 steps 4-5 days per week

Today was the day I reached Goal # 2  Hooray!  It took me 24 days of 10,000 + steps daily.

Goal # 2 - reach 250,000 steps

My new Goal # 3 is

Goal # 3 - 500,000 steps

(maybe I can reach this 250,000 in less than 24 days - hmm might be a subcategory to this goal)

;0)

My new Goal #4 is 

Goal # 4 - 750,000 steps

Biggie - My Final Goal for now is...

Goal # 5 - 1,000,000 steps

Took Misti and Becca out to Anne Marie's.  They helped her put together a headboard for her new apartment.  First we ran to home depot to get more staples, then back to her house.  They sprayed adhesive to the plywood, then to the foam and put them together.  Next she laid out the fabric and topped it with batting.  The foam covered plywood was then laid on the batting and fabric.  This is where the fun began.  It was time to line up the fabric, stretch and staple.  It took a few clicks but the girls did great helping her out.  Did I mention we were working in the oven?  ha ha - it was sooo hot out there, everyone had a face as red as a tomato.  We took a few water breaks and then finished up.  She is going to line it with gold finishing braids later.  Then off for smoothies.  We got our free little smoothie at Taco Bueno for Cinco de Mayo and then she took them to Jamba Juice.  Anne Marie got them both some cute jewelry as a thank you for helping.  It was a fun and productive afternoon.  Thank you Anne Marie for your kindness.  We all had a great time.

When we returned, we had a visitor.  This turtle was in the driveway!

Creekside

A funny bird at Misti's house

Picking up Misti 

Drawn to the water  - Watch out reaching under there!

Ok we will look for one picture 

What is under that rock?

Must be something interesting!

Can't even capture how beautiful the sunset was!

Aww - he looks like Caramel! 

Lazy but still steppin ;0)

I'm so thankful that Charles wanted walk.  I was just plain feeling lazy this afternoon and didn't want to walk.  When Charles got home, he put on his walking shoes, which motivated me to go.  Yeah - it would have been the first day in awhile to not make the 10,000, so I'm glad that he planned on walking.  We always enjoy talking about our day, it's a nice way to begin winding down for the night.
Chuck was tuckered out this evening - he is still adjusting to the working world - but loving it.
Becca and Misti had a good day - think they did some relaxing.

A Little Bird's Story

One day there was a young lady that went out her back door to water her father's herb garden.  Her dog would always follow her out the door without exception.   The little herbs required sunlight and water along with her tender care.  She was busy with her tasks when she heard the little bird's story.  He caught her attention with a little sqwak.  She lifted her head and watched as his story unfolded. 

He was so teeny, too little to fly

He jumped and he waddled  and looked ready to cry

The bird wasn't scared, he was shaking with fear

For, you see, her dog was getting too near

The dog is big, and yes he is strong

The bird tried to run he didn't have long

He went to a bush and tried to hide

But in came a  nose sniffing inside

The little birdie jumped back out

He filled up his lungs and blasted a shout

Two great big birds heard his cry

They flew right over to save the little guy

The three of them sqwaked and made such a sound

They tried to convince him they would stand their ground

The puffed out their chest and flapped their wings

What more could they do to save this sweet little thing.

The dog was on duty, he was on guard

And they didn't belong in his big yard

He would protect her, it was his job

They wouldnt hurt her, this little noisy mob

She gave a holler, Major NO!

You really need to let them go.

He grunted and groaned but went away

Deep inside he was wanting to play! 

Sometimes we are like this little bird.  We find ourselves in the biggest mess and the problem that we are facing seems too big to survive.  Satan will send the scariest thing in front of us, making us think it is an impossible situation.  We must always remember that our God is bigger!  He can and will always win! 

We were blessed this evening with hearing Grace Smart's testimony - it was awesome! 

Felt kinda Blah

Becca and I felt kinda blah this morning, both of us felt better in the afternoon.  I enjoyed a nice walk with my sweet husband this evening and we walked 4½ miles together.  Becca helped me make dinner she made the tuna and I made the soup.  She's a great little cook!  Chuck headed to the porch from work to meet up with friends after his day at work.