PAID IN FULL...

for taking care of the lawn and pool this summer!  I think he's in love...

A NEW CHALLENGE...

After going on the 9th/10th grade Mission Trip this summer, and having a mountain top experience, I selfishly wanted more of it!  I loved the singing every night - long and loud, lifting my spirit.  So I thought the rest of the summer about spending more time with these kids, and told the youth minister I would like to be a small group leader.  Our youth group has had this class model for a number of years, where there is a large group gathering each Sunday with lots of beautiful singing, of course, and a lesson, followed by a short discussion with their small group.  That is what I THOUGHT I was signing up for - getting in on their worship and leading a short discussion about the lesson - but at a recent meeting, I found out the youth  ministry team is making a change!  Now there will be an abbreviated large group gathering, and we as group leaders are to spend 30 minutes TEACHING the lesson in small groups.  WHOA! Not what I planned on doing!  But I decided not to renege (I learned how to spell that today) and accept it as a challenge.  Boy how God answers prayers sometimes!  But it's not as scary as it sounds - we will be given complete lesson plans from the youth ministers, and I will share responsibilities with a co-leader.  The main purpose besides teaching, is to be another Christian adult that teens can trust.  So I am asking you to PRAY for me today that I will be that trusted Christian adult for these girls.  I also found out that many of the women group leaders surprise their girls with treats from time to time; no problem here, I love to do that!  But if there is one thing I can leave with these girls after this year, it is this:

I AM ROYALTY

I AM A PRINCESS, A DAUGHTER OF THE KING

I AM GOD'S SPECIAL POSSESSION!

I Peter 2:9  You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

I have decided (with my co-leader's blessing) that we will recite this verse and this affirmation every Sunday in our small group.  Going through the teen years myself with low self esteem is what is behind this encouragement.  I hope self-fulfilling prophecy works and these girls will remember they are precious, no matter what the world says!

Any suggestions for practical ways to ingrain this in their brains?

THE FORGIVEN CHAIR...

My daughter emailed me this picture...she knew I'd love it!  She just purchased a table with four chairs for her kitchen at a local flea market. Look at the chair on the left:  I THOUGHT SHE HAD PAINTED IT WHITE, but she didn't. She just cleaned it! It's amazing what Fantastik and a little elbow grease will do! 

I don't know how the chairs got that filthy coating on them...were they sitting in an attic somewhere gathering dust?  Were they used for many years but not well taken care of? Exposed to the elements?  Whatever their story, those chairs were seen as beautiful and useful by someone, and now they've been cleansed and renewed.  We too, were dirty, and God sees through the grime and lovingly calls us to him to be cleansed!  Thanks be to God!  

PSALM 51:7   Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow!

YUMMY AND LOWFAT...WELL, COULD BE...

Well, my college son has done it again...he's STUMBLEDUPON another great recipe! Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries.  He put this LINK on my facebook recently and I couldn't resist making them!  They're so easy and delicious.  And I got a thumbs up from him and my Bible class!

And like I said, they COULD be lowfat, IF you used FatFree Cream Cheese.  

CURB APPEAL NEEDED...

Just got to spend some time with my DD moving her to college for her senior year!  Both of our vehicles were loaded to the gills because she is renting a small house for the first time!  The University was so full they asked some of the students to move out of the campus apartments.  Thankfully, she and a friend found a little house - A TINY HOUSE -  just one block from school.  After meeting the landlord, we made multiple trips to Walmart for food and accessories, Lowe's for a NEW TOILET SEAT and 3 tier shelving, Goodwill for a desk, and Big Lots for the other stuff we forgot. Needless to say, I'm proud of her - that she is unfazed by this tiny, ugly little place.  She doesn't care that it doesn't have central heat and air, no washer/dryer (but it does have a clothesline), scratched appliances, and very little storage.  Or that her living room view is of a grocery store  loading dock.  Another adventure awaits!

TT

The back door barely clears the stove

The bathroom looking good with a new toilet seat and shelving

Kitchen dinette consisting of a small table, desk chair and ottoman

Living area with cloth napkin window treatments(my added touch)

It may not look like much, but it's exciting stuff in our little world!

GOT MY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS READY...

with these CD's that were produced this summer by New Reign!  Who really cares if you can only discern my son's voice on one song? (As the Deer, btw!)

The best part is when you open the case the first smiling face you see on it is his...

And another thing, it says on the label:  All sounds vocally or anatomically produced.  LOL!  That's for all of you who hear them sing and wonder where those drum beats are coming from...

TWO BIGGIES...

Scripture reading in 2011 - they all have iphones except me!

Last night we had some special devotional time with our kids, and it was such a blessing to me.  Over the years we have done different kinds of things with our kids such as reading the Kids Daily Bible, devos, prayer time, but it's getting few and far between with them spreading their wings and getting ready to take off!  We have usually done a "night before school" prayer time and that's what we did.  In the next five days we'll be helping our daughter move back to college in Arkansas, our youngest will start 10th grade, and our son will move back to the dorms at a nearby college.  What are the things we are wanting to talk and pray with them about, without lecturing too much?  It's sometimes hard to make devotions applicable to each person in our family, but here's what we came up with:

THE TWO BIGGIES:  LOVE and CHOICES

LOVE:   (John 14:15, Romans 5:8, Romans 12:10)

We prayed that love for God would continue to grow in their hearts!  Loving the Lord will change us all - we will want to honor Him and others.  Obedience is an expression of that love, and worship and service become joyful opportunities.

CHOICES:  (Phil. 4:8, Gal. 6:7-8, Prov. 14:12)

A more tangible concept for all of us, we discussed choices again.  God has given us all the freedom of choice - we can accept Him or reject Him.  What are the results of good and bad choices?  We talked about physical, academic, and spiritual choices.

But the sweetest part of all is hearing them pray.  I asked each one to pray for their brother/sister.  It's interesting to hear their perspectives - a 21 year old praying for her 16 year old brother.  Their prayers have matured so much since they were little ones!

SWEET TIMES

P.S.  My son wanted to start off the prayer time with this scripture he read:  "Parents, don't be hard on your children,"  Eph. 6:4 CEV

POOR JANKY...

Janky has had an interesting summer with our son (the new driver).  In just a few weeks he has gotten an awesome sound system upgrade, been stopped by our friendly policeman with a reminder that there should only be 1 passenger in the car (not 5!) with our restricted license laws, and lost his back windshield while flying down Memorial road with all the windows open.  Yes, the windshield just popped out and shattered all over the road!  Thankfully Janky injured no one in the process...I'm hoping with school starting this week that a little order will return to this household and Janky will behave!

FOR MY QUILTER FRIENDS...

Just had to show you my DD's finished quilt!  She started this in May in her usual style - NO PATTERN - a collection of scraps, many from college friends who knew she liked to sew or did little sewing jobs for. She finished it in about 2 weeks because she wanted to take it with her to Colorado for the summer.  I neglected to get a picture then, but here it is now!  

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY...

We went on a brief but wonderful little getaway with our kids!  And the reason I call it a sentimental journey is because we used to go to this place 4-5 times a year from 1984-2001. During that time my parents owned a mobile home near Lake Tenkiller and Fin & Feather Resort.  We boated a lot and were within walking distance of the wonderful buffet and other amenities of the resort.  It was really a fun time.  But, life (and death) happens, and the big "C" got my Dad and they sold the mobile home the year he passed away.  We inherited the boat, but it just wasn't the same going to Lake Arcadia near our house, and the kids were getting really busy with all their activities anyway. We sold it about 5 years ago.  We attempted to go back to Fin & Feather, and have some extended family vacations, but both times we had bad luck:  somebody broke an arm and the boat trailer tires were terrible.  Long story short:  we recently decided to get a cabin at Fin & Feather and rent a boat for a few days.  It was really a sweet time with our big kids after not going for so long.  We enjoyed the lake, wakeboarding, tubing, and jumping off big rocks.  We ate at the 33 foot resort buffet, Soda Steve's, B & J's, played two games of Disc golf, and played cards every night until late.  Oh yes - and we got HOT FUDGE NACHOS.  These are something new since we've been there!  Take a look at our wild and crazy time!

A familiar sight, they're just a little BIGGER!

I don't think this one had ever gotten up on the wake board before!

OOPS!  How did that one get in here?  My son is always catching pics of me at my best :)

This is definitely NOT something we did with them when they were little!  It was about a 30 foot jump, and I was the only sane one that did not do it (somebody's got to take pictures)!

We love the Indian at Fin & Feather's buffet line!  I don't know how many times we have taken this pic!

We are Frisbee golf fans!

This concoction may not look it, but it feeds 5 adults!  It's Hot Fudge Nachos at Fin & Feather's newest restaurant, Soda Steve's.  We loved it!

MY TREASURES...

           Children are a heritage from the LORD,
         offspring a reward from him...Psalm 127:3

So happy to have everybody at home for a little while!  My daughter requested good ole meatloaf and mashed potatoes for her welcome home dinner!

KILLING THREE BIRDS WITH ONE STONE...

I love efficiency. Which sometimes makes me feel guilty for not planning ahead or making mistakes or wasting valuable time. I assure you I am not a perfectionist anymore!
But efficiency happened this past weekend.  :)

We needed to retrieve the church Disaster Relief trailer from an Alabama congregation we had loaned it to back in April. So we planned to drive the church truck and get that in Nashville(they brought it up from AL). Then we heard about a friend moving to Nashville the same weekend, so we were able to load the church truck with her possessions and meet up with her at her new apartment there. Finally, we got to be at the wonderful wedding, all in the same weekend (previous post)!  Also, I managed (much to my husband's chagrin) to sneak in a little sightseeing.  We spent a few hours in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. A cute suburb of Nashville, I would highly recommend it for dining and shopping! Check it out:

Yes, I was wearing a little jacket - it was only 90 degrees there!

Neat old church downtown

Great tip from tripadvisor!  We ate lunch here and also bought loaves of Tomato-basil bread and Heavenly Hash brownies from the day old rack.

Yummy sampler platter from Merridee's - Chicken salad, Tuna salad, Pimento Cheese, served with frozen fruit salad and homemade raisin bread.  It was awesome!

This is a photo inside a really cool store, Philanthropy - Fashion with Compassion.  I understood that everything they sell comes from or benefits a Third World country.  Check out some of their products on their BLOG.

I would also recommend The Shoppes on Main, Bink's Outfitters, and F.M.Allen.

Of course, no road trip is complete without a DQ blizzard - Midnight Truffle!

SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT MY GOOD CAMERA...

for the most beautiful wedding venue ever! Of course, it wasn't in the Oklahoma sauna. It was in the lush green hills of Nashville, Tennessee. We have known the bride her whole life; in fact she was born about one month after our daughter!

It was outdoors with some panel windows from an old church as a backdrop.

I loved it. It was rustic and beautiful against the green space. Floral pieces in birdcages hung in them and huge white flower petals were on the grass.

Other fun stuff...near the entrance of the garden...

Real flowers in the birdcage centerpieces!

I couldn't resist taking this one of the bride's cousin during the reception!

If you look closely you'll see the wedding photographer on the ground...and it was sopping wet! There was a rainstorm 30 minutes before the wedding! Unfortunately the wedding programs were ruined but everything else was salvaged and the wedding just started a little late. (Moral of the story: ALWAYS have a PLAN B!)

Our dear friends - this old truck was a great place for a picture of our guys...

while us girls tried to ride the tandem!

A simple but elegant cake!

We had a great time supporting our friends as their daughter was married. And I had fun traveling and dressing up for it - you know I don't get out much!