A New Addition

We've been considering the possibility of getting a dog for the last several weeks, after losing 5 chickens in about a week's time. On Tuesday, thanks to some amazingly generous friends, we brought home a new addition to our family.



Juilin is a full-bred Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie). He's almost five months old, and has a very sweet disposition. Most of us have totally fallen for him, and Jonathan thinks he's pretty okay for a dog. His name is pronounced jew-linn; he's named after a "thief-catcher" in a series of books J and I enjoy. We're hoping he stops our chicken thief, though we doubt he'll "catch" him!

I was planning to tell you more about Juilin, but right now I think I need to go out and let him run around some. More later!

God, the Cosmic Janitor - from Molly

from Molly at Adventures in Mercy, a passionate and well-written post reminding us that

There is no such thing as a Cosmic Janitor. There is such thing as a God who sits down for supper with a harlot and has put His gentle hands on scabby-skinned homeless rejects.

Maker of the Universe

I have so much to post! But I must go fix supper. So I'll tell you about our new puppy, etc, later. But I had to take the time to post this wonderful video. I hadn't heard this song until today, and it just... wow.

Full Day, Full Heart...

Mom Smith, Davey, Barak, and I were at Child Evangelism Fellowship International Headquarters in Warrenton, MO today for a day long workshop in preparation for this year's Good News Clubs. Dad and Mom Smith have been doing clubs for the last three years, and I'm prayerfully planning to join the team this year. We'll see what the Lord works out about a work vehicle for Jonathan so I can take the van/kids to Club with me. :-) Anyway, it was a day full of learning, and very profitable.

As is usually the case, spending all day thinking on the gospel message gave me such a thankful heart. That the Creator of the universe would love me so much that He sent His only Son to take my place, to pay the price for my sin, is overwhelming. That He not only died, but rose again triumphant and is seated at the right hand of the Father - wow! What a joy to know that the price for my redemption from the sin that separated me from God and doomed me to an eternity without Him, has been paid for, and that because of His precious blood, I have eternal life!!

I have several friends, from two families, who are facing the possibility/likelihood of loosing their earthly fathers in the near future. With them on my heart, and my heart so full of thankfulness for my Saviour, these two precious hymns came to mind tonight...

O That Will Be Glory For Me
by Charles H. Gabriel

When all my labors and trials are o'er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the Lord I adore,
Will thro' the ages be glory for me.

CHORUS:
O that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me;
When by His grace I shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

When, by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will thro' the ages be glory for me.

CHORUS

Friends will be there I have loved long ago;
Joy like a river around me will flow;
Yet, just a smile from my Saviour, I know,
Will thro' the ages be glory for me.


and another favorite...

Nothing But the Blood
by Robert Lowry

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

and finally, a wonderful song shared on FB that was a blessing. I'd never heard it before...

Making Powdered Laundry Soap

I made laundry soap this morning and decided I'd try taking pictures of my work, both for the sake of having pictures for a tutorial and for the sake of trying to hone my meager photography skills. I've posted more of the pictures here and would love any input on the photography aspect of my project in the comments.

And now, on to the laundry soap!

I realize some of you already make your own laundry soap, but I thought a tutorial would be fun and hopefully helpful.

Ingredients:
1 bar Fels Naptha (I have friends who use whatever soap is on sale, but my results increase exponentially with Fels Naptha, so anymore, I don't do subsitutes)
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Borax


Instructions
Grate the Fels Naptha. If you have a food processor, I highly recommend using it. I use the fine grater on my Cuisinart.

I then pour the grated Fels into a bowl (isn't it gorgeous?!),


put the chopping blade in the processor and replace the Fels.

Pulsing with the chopping blade for a bit takes it from this:


to this:

which I think has to be faster to dissolve.

Add the borax and washing soda and mix:


Then transfer to jar, or whatever works for you. I personally love the look of my laundry soap, so I like to keep it in a glass jar.



I made a double batch, which fits easily in a half gallon jar. It's actually a little over 5 and half cups of soap. I use about 4t per load, so I get 65+ loads out of it. I need to use less now than I did before Jonathan installed the water softener, so if you have hard water, your loads/batch may vary.

Another Rendition

... of the Hallelujah Chorus. Enjoy!

Guineas

I realized this morning that I have only imagined posting about the guineas that we've had since the beginning of July. This just goes to show that not all the blog posts that start in my head end up online.

I posted a picture of the guineas over the weekend on my photo blog and my mom commented, "When did you get these??" My first thought was, "Mama! I thought you read my blog..." Then I went back through both the photo and regular blogs and couldn't find anything about guineas. Ha!

Here's the tale of the guineas... Linda (our fabulous neighbor) got a batch of guineas in late June and we bought some from her. I think we brought our six down to the house on July 1st or 2nd. We lost one when we moved them outside to what used to be the ducks' pen, because we didn't get the ducks' water tub out at first. Sad. But the other five are doing great. We now let them run around in the fenced garden all day, eating bugs. Come evening, they fly out of the garden and run around the yard until we herd them into their pen. Hopefully soon they'll fly out of the garden and into their pen in the evening on their own.

And here they are, in case you missed them on Yesterday:

Dimple

Stephen has had a tiny dimple near his left eye for quite a while. It's cute, but doesn't show up that often.

Here's Stephen on July 5:

Very cute. But no dimple.

Then on July 9, he got in a fight with a cabinet... and lost.
See the deep bruise showing up on his cheek?



And here he is on July 29, with his new dimple in full bloom:


Fascinating, eh?
I don't know how long this dimple will last, but I think it is adorable!

Memory Dishes

Laurie commented recently about how dishes hold food memories, and asked if any dishes in my life hold memories of certain foods. I've been pondering this, and want to pass on the question, as well as answer it for myself.

Mama had/has (Mama? do you still have it?) a lovely flowered china tureen that is always associated in my memory with spaghetti. I'm sure she used it for other things, but spaghetti sauce is what I picture in it. I also hear our friend Brian moaning, "Oh, E, my belly!" because he'd eaten too much of Mama's wonderful spaghetti.

A pan might not be the kind of dish Laurie was thinking of, but I have LOTS of memories of Mama's "chicken fryer." Beef A'La Mom, tuna and rice, the aforementioned spaghetti sauce... I could go on and on.

Then there are camp pans, which conjure up memories of baked chicken, wheat rolls, zucchini cake... and scrubbing!

What about you? Do any dishes in your life hold memories of certain foods?

Surrender

whatever the lessons

whatever the tools

whatever the time-frame

to love You more

to know You more

to become more like You

driven to my knees

in the light of

Your sacrifice

Your majesty

Your love

take me and make me

no matter the cost

no matter the pain

no matter how long the road

to lay hold of that

for which also You

laid hold of me

surrendering. again, and yet as never before. on the hill beside our pond yesterday, knees and face to the ground

A Giveaway!

Giveaway at Apron Girls sponsored by great cookware and beautiful desks!



I love these baking dishes, and to stack the deck in my favor (since I've never ever won a blog giveaway), I'm passing it along to you. How's that for irony... I selfishly want the dishes, so I'm letting you know about the giveaway... ha!

Good luck!

Great ideas for teaching little ones to sew

From Sew, Mama, Sew!

A Fowl Update

Let's cover the bad first, so we can end on a good note, shall we?

We lost 5 chickens, including four laying hens, in one week to an unknown predator. Two of the losses happened while we were gone at camp. The other three took place all in one day last week. Sick. Disgusting. Frustrating. Infuriating. Expensive.

We have four laying hens left, along with a young hen, a young rooster, and our Big Rooster. So we're down from 5-8 eggs each day to 2-4 eggs each day. Hopefully the young hen will start laying soon.

For now, we are keeping the chickens (along with their buddies, the ducks) in their coop/pen unless we have someone outside to watch them. Fowlherd is the newest title around our place.

The ducks are doing well. We definitely have a mallard drake, and it is fascinating to watch him develop his colors. In a couple of recent pictures of the ducks, you can see that how much he changed in just one week.

Since we lost the third duck up at the pond, they won't go up there, and they have become yard ducks. But they love playing in this tub of water. This shot was taken on August 2nd.


And here's the drake a couple of days ago on August 9th. Jonathan got a great shot that captures the color change in progress on his head. Looks a little rough right now, but he will be gorgeous soon, I think. His tail feathers are also starting to curl up, another drake trait.


The guineas are doing well. We let them out of their pen as often as we can, and they love walking (and occasionally flying) around the yard looking for goodies. Our garden is fenced, and I'm thinking about letting them run around in there, since that's the biggest reason we got them. We're just a bit uncertain of getting them out and in, so we'll see. They have much more of a herd mentality than the chickens; they are rarely farther apart than in this picture:

Stepping Heavenward...

... is a book that has been recommended to me more times than I can count. Well, after doing some clean up and helping with the most critical portions of today's school, my tummy (which is still not quite happy after dealing with a stomach bug earlier this week) is saying, "Sit a spell!"

So, I'm finally going to dive into Stepping Heavenward, thanks to Google books, which has a public domain copy of Stepping Heavenward in a free .pdf download. I love my laser printer, which lets me print in booklet form, so it's the size of a real book!

Off to read a bit...

Please pray for Noah

I mention Noah Estes from time to time, asking for prayer. If you're not familiar yet with Noah and his family, he is darling little (almost) 3 year old who is very ill. I have been reading his family's blog for over two years now, and though I've never met them, they have become a blessing to me as they share God's work in their lives.

Right now, Noah and his family really need your prayers. You can read more about what is currently happening on their blog, as well as learning some background on their family by clicking the "New to Our Blog?" button on the right of their page.

A Helpful Clarifying Thought

Many thanks to Mary for sending me a link to this very worthwhile post.

Ozark Family Camp

We had a fun time at Ozark Family Camp last week, and I have lots of pictures to show you! I decided to do the Picasa album link this time, so here's the slideshow. You can click on it to go see larger versions of the pictures. If there's any you'd like a full size copy of, just let me know.



It was so fun to see folks whom I hadn't seen in years, many of whom Jonathan and the Blessings hadn't met (if you go to the album, there will be captions). We were blessed by the terrific speakers - John Heller was the main speaker, teaching about the Holy Spirit, and J and I attended Steve Price's sessions on the Believer Priest. The children all enjoyed their classes as well. Davey was in the teens class... that felt strange!

A few of the highlights -

Monday afternoon we went on the trail rides. Eight years was the minimum, so I took Ellie and Kate on the first ride. Jonathan, the boys, and Grace met us at the Hitching Post and J and the three older boys went on the second ride. Later that afternoon, Grace and Stephen got to ride around the playground as well. No pictures of the big boys and Jonathan on their ride!



Tuesday, we had a picnic lunch down by the camp lake with the group of families to which we'd been assigned. After lunch, our family all went out on the lake in paddle boats, with varying degrees of enjoyment.



Wednesday night was actually our last night at camp, as we needed to come back and get a few work jobs done. It was also banquet night, which made a nice opportunity to roam the dining room getting pictures of friends. I missed plenty, but here are some of the shots I did get:





We were late registering for camp and the waiting list was not moving, so we were planning to tent camp. But several days before departure, Aunt Karen (who is my aunt by love, not by blood) emailed and invited us to use their downstairs bedrooms. We were thrilled to accept! Next year, I think we'll mail our registration right away, because it would have been lovely to be in the thick of things instead of a short drive away. I'm also praying that we get to stay the whole week next time!

Our time at Ozark was delightful. There was lots of personal learning that I haven't even touched on here. Perhaps later this week...

Amazing!

This is a phenomenal performance by Phil Keaggy of Salvation Army Band. Rick, from Cumberland Books/Dry Creek Chronicles, posted it out of his current fascination with "looping," a technique that allows a solo artist to "turn his solo guitar into a guitar army." I sat here with my mouth open through much of it - great stuff!

500

My 500th post on this blog. I'm thinkin' that's a milestone!

I've seen this "landmark" coming and was wanting to make something for a giveaway, but I haven't been physically able for the last month or two to do any crafty work, so maybe at another milestone.

On the way home tonight from our chapel ice cream social, our family sang one of my favorite hymns. As I savored these dear words, I thought that I would share them with you as the focus of my 500th post. After all, milestones are both for taking a look back and a look forward. This hymn covers all of that for me.

He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

I enjoyed this story I found on cyberhymnal.org tonight:
As a young man who recently had been graduated from Brown University and Newton Theological Institution, I was supplying for a couple of Sundays the pulpit of the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia [Pennsylvania]. At the mid-week service, on the 26th of March, 1862, I set out to give the people an exposition of the Twenty-third Psalm, which I had given before on three or four occasions, but this time I did not get further than the words “He Leadeth Me.” Those words took hold of me as they had never done before, and I saw them in a significance and wondrous beauty of which I had never dreamed.

It was the darkest hour of the Civil War. I did not refer to that fact—that is, I don’t think I did—but it may subconsciously have led me to realize that God’s leadership is the one significant fact in human experience, that it makes no difference how we are led, or whither we are led, so long as we are sure God is lead ing us.

At the close of the meeting a few of us in the parlor of my host, good Deacon Wattson, kept on talking about the thought which I had emphasized; and then and there, on a blank page of the brief from which I had intended to speak, I penciled the hymn, talking and writing at the same time, then handed it to my wife and thought no more about it. She sent it to The Watchman and Reflect or, a paper published in Boston, where it was first printed. I did not know until 1865 that my hymn had been set to music by William B. Bradbury. I went to Rochester [New York] to preach as a candidate before the Second Baptist Church. Going in to their chapel on arrival in the city, I picked up a hymnal to see what they were singing, and opened it at my own hymn, “He Leadeth Me.”
Joseph H. Gilmore

And for your listening pleasure, here are a couple renditions of He Leadeth Me.

Thoughts on visiting the Creation Museum

Here are some observations about visiting the Creation Museum, based our on first trip there.

The Museum



One of the things that impressed me about the Museum, something which is actually typical of Answers in Genesis, is the way they bring complex scientific arguments to the average person in a manner that is easily understood. There is a vast array of scientific evidence that supports a Biblical model for Creation and that does not fit with the evolutionary model. At the Creation Museum, a portion of this evidence is presented in a way that is very digestible. At the same time, there is a huge amount to "digest," and I would definitely recommend planning at least two days at the Museum.



Indoor Highlights

The centerpiece of the Museum is the Walk Through Biblical History. It begins on the main floor winds its way around to the lower floor. The website suggests planning 2-3 hours for the Walk Through. You could also break it up into two sessions, though that would break up the continuity. There is an exit midway in case you realize you need to leave the Walk, and there is a bathroom about 2/3 of the way.

The Walk is an interesting mix of display types. There is a great deal you can read; there are realistic life sized models, both stationary and animated; there are videos, both to stand and watch and to sit and watch; plus more I'm not recalling to mind at the moment. The Walk takes you through the 7 C's of History - Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation. These C's are repeated often throughout the Museum, so the Walk is a good place to gain some familiarity with them at the beginning.


miniature of the ark

The Planetarium was a highlight for us. You need to purchase separate tickets, but it is well worth it. The Created Cosmos show was my favorite (there are two, and we saw one each day). One word of caution, though - the Created Cosmos show involved a lot of traveling through the universe, and it really feels like you're traveling! Gracie (6) leaned over to me a couple times to ask if we were "outside now." She and Stephen (2) were a bit unnerved by the Created Cosmos and spent a good bit of the time hiding their heads. They were fine, but I thought I should give a heads up for parents with young children that while the Created Cosmos was my favorite, it might not be a favorite with the little ones.

Each day at noon and three, there are special presentations in the Special Effects Theater from various scientists and speakers. The first day we were there, we thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Gary Parker's presentation on fossils. The second day, in the interest of fitting everything in without feeling like we were rushing around, we opted out of the live presentations. Wish we would have had more time!



Also in the Special Effects Theater is a fun show called Men in White. It covers some of the basic evidence/reasoning in support of creation in a format that is fun and entertaining.

On the lower floor is the entrance to the Dinosaur Den, a display full of dinosaurs that Stephen especially liked. They are life sized and quite impressive. The Dinosaur Den doesn't take very long, but is a terrific part of the Museum.





Outdoor Highlights

The grounds at the Museum are wonderful. They have an extensive botanical garden, several bridges, and a lovely gazebo overlooking the lake. I took many pictures of the grounds. The water lilies are especially lovely.




Also outside is the Petting Zoo. They have a zonkey and a zorse (zebra/donkey and zebra/horse mixes), a camel, goats and various birds, rabbits, and even a wallaby. Not a huge petting zoo, but fun and interesting.



Food

There are several food venues at the Museum, with a wide variety of food. There are also tables and chairs both inside and out where you can eat. You can take food from any venue anywhere on the grounds, so it would be no problem to get food from a variety of places for your group. Also, they welcome folks bringing in their own food. We brought a picnic lunch the first day, and the second day we had fabulous Hawaiian burgers from one of the venues at the Museum.


Lodging

This was our first trip to the Museum, so I have a limited amount of knowledge about lodging nearby. However, I can tell you about where we stayed this time and where we're planning to stay next time.

We stayed at the Oak Creek Campground. As I mentioned in my first post, a friendly resident of the campground helped us find our space since we arrived after dark, and she showed us where to place our tents so that we had the best chance of not being flooded in case of rain. I have to admit, that made me nervous!

The campground only has four tent spots, as it is primarily an RV campground. There are many folks who leave their campers parked there year round, and others who are parked there indefinitely while they do construction work, etc. So while in the following adorable picture, it looks like we're camping in the middle of nowhere, on the other side of that gravel road are campers and trailers parked cheek by jowl. Truly.



The Oak Creek Campground was not bad. It had a pool, a decent bath house (that is about 1,500 feet from our tent spot), a laundry room where I took care of washing the lamp fuel out of Grace's backpack/clothes, a game room, and a little store. The folks with whom we came in contact were, for the most part, nice and friendly.

Some things we would have preferred to be different -
We would have thought it lovely if there had been some grass in our area, if the bathrooms had been closer (I was so thankful for the port-a-pot Dad and Mom Smith brought), and if there had been equal to or less noise than we hear outside at home. And really, those things did not make it a miserable experience. We still had a fabulous time. But if we could've changed a few things, that would be our list.

As we exited the highway on our way to Oak Creek for the first time, we noticed a sign for Big Bone Lick State Park. Our curiosity was instantly raised, because we've had great experiences with state parks.

We drove over to Big Bone Lick Wednesday before we went back to our campground, and decided that we definitely want to camp there on our next trip to the museum. It is grassy, spacious, and quiet. The bathroom is more central, too! The is also a miniature golf course, a bison herd, a museum, hiking trails, and other fun looking stuff. I'll be sure to update after our next trip and report whether it's really as wonderful as it looks.

I hope my musings will be helpful if you're considering a trip to the Creation Museum. I highly recommend it as an educational experience, a spiritual challenge, and a motivator to become more firmly grounded and to help our children be more firmly grounded in Scripture.

Our Trip to the Creation Museum

Last week, Dad and Mom Smith took us to the Creation Museum. They not only paid for almost everything, they also bought us a five year family membership to the Museum. So you'll be hearing more about it in the future!

If you're not familiar with the Creation Museum, it is a 70,000 square foot museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The motto you see scattered throughout is, "Prepare to Believe." With a variety of displays and multi-media presentations, the folks at Answers in Genesis bring the Biblical account of Creation to life in a whole new way.

We arrived at our campground Tuesday night after the campground office had closed, but a helpful "resident" guided us to our campsite and gave us tips on where to put our tents so that they would not be flooded if there was rain. With light from the van headlights and a propane lamp, we erected all four tents and got everything set up. I think it was 1.30 by that time, but I talked the adults into a game after we got the Blessings settled. Mom Smith chuckled and remarked, "You just need to have the whole camping experience, don't you?" Oh yes.

Tuesday, we got a bit of a late start - that happens when you play Racko until the wee hours of the morning. We also had a delicious bacon and eggs breakfast that Mom Smith whipped up for us on the campstove. We didn't arrive at the Museum until around noon. But we crammed in everything we could before we have to leave at 5.30 to pick up Maggie at the kennel. There is so much to see there!

Wednesday, I got up shortly after 7 and got things rolling a bit earlier than the day before. Amazingly, we got our whole camp site packed up, ate breakfast, and were on the road in time to make it to the Museum by 10.30 - only a half hour after opening! We had a more relaxing day on Wednesday, and filled in some of the gaps that we missed the first day.

We took so many neat pictures that it was hard to pick ones for collages. So I ended up with seven collages!

Camping:


The boys:


Mostly girls:


The "grown-ups"


And some miscellaneous pictures from both days mixed together:






We had a great time, and were sad to leave:

In the Night

The following is from an email that I wrote to my parents, who are two of my closest friends, tonight/this morning. My intent was to pour out my frustrations and doubts and to entreat their prayers. But I think that God has taken my struggle and turned it into something He can use. It is likely the most raw piece of myself I have ever posted on this blog...

Unable to sleep, I found myself at the computer checking my blog reader.

Laurie posted this recitation of Ps 145 on her blog tonight - it's truly a wonderful recitation.

But as I sat here at 3'something in the morning watching it, when he got to vs 16, the tears started and I just can't seem to make them stop.

14 The Lord sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.


My broken, aching heart cries out - - What about my desire? Am I not a living thing? Do I not fear Him? Am I not calling properly? I pour out my heart before Him. I cry to Him. I bow down. I AM bowed down. When will I be raised up? When will I be saved? When will He open His hand?

Ps 30.5
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Weeping may only last for the night, but the night seems so long. So dark. So full of anguish.
This particular night in a greater night has been one where I have had to fight exceedingly dark thoughts. I hate it when those thoughts intrude. I hate my doubts and impatience. I long to trust.

And then He takes me to Ps 31:

PSALM 31

A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!
Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!
For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.
I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,
and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.
Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many-- terror on every side!-- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."
My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!
O LORD, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.
Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.
Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city.
I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.
Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!



2 Peter 3.9 - "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you...."


And I return again to:

PSALM 131

CHILDLIKE TRUST IN THE LORD.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

And:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:4-9)

And now, "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." (Psalms 4:8)

A Summer Poem

Summer Days

Winter is cold-hearted;
Spring is yea and nay;
Autumn is a weathercock;
Blown every way:
Summer days for me
When every leaf is on its tree,

When Robin's not a beggar,
And Jenny Wren's a bride,
And Larks hang, singing, singing, singing,
Over the wheat-fields wide,
And anchored lilies ride,
And the pendulum spider,
Swings from side to side,

And blue-black beetles transact business,
And gnats fly in a host,
And furry caterpillars hasten
That no time be lost,
And moths grow fat and thrive,
And lady birds arrive.

Before green apples blush,
Before green nuts embrown,
Why one day in the country
Is worth a month in town--
Is worth a day and a year
Of the dusty, musty, lag-last fashion
That days drone elsewhere.

by Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894

No offense to my friends in town, but I heartily agree with Miss Rossetti! And for the record, I'll say that my favorite seasons are Spring and Fall, but I thoroughly enjoyed this poem, and do have a special love for Summer.

Walk on the Katy Trail

A couple of Saturdays ago, our chapel had a Father-Family event in/near Augusta, MO. Those who are bike-riders rode along the Katy Trail from Dutzow to Augusta, and those of us without bikes met in Augusta and walked along the trail there. Once the bike-riders arrived, we headed up the hill to the town of Augusta. We stopped by Augusta Wood, a delightful shop owned by friends of ours, when went to the park for a picnic lunch.



Mom Smith also met us at the park in Augusta. It was the first time we saw her after the folks' trip to N.C.

Laminin

This gets to the core of me every time I see it. It's even better in the context of the rest of Louis' talk, so if you can, get hold of a copy of the DVD How Great is our God.



He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:13-20

Katie's B-Day

I'm thankful my hands are finally letting me get a post done about Katie's birthday! I've been very slowly creating collages over the last week, and am glad to get to post them.

About 8.00 on Katie's birthday morning, we got a call reporting that a customer (for whom we had installed a water softener and filter in February) had water all over her basement). It turned out to be not our fault at all, but Jonathan had am unexpected two-hour round trip to her house, plus some time to diagnose the problem and help her clean up some of the mess. So we had some extra time at home that morning before leaving on our planned trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The kids read, played carpet ball, got pedicures from Aunt Beka, played with blocks, etc. It actually turned out to be a lovely morning.


We departed for the Gardens around noon, and stopped on the way for a lunch treat courtesy of Aunt Beka and Uncle Eric (in absentia). Then we headed for the gardens! It was a very hot day (the time/temp sign I noticed on the way home said 100'), and all things water were a decided hit. Despite the heat, I think we all enjoyed our outing very much. Here are some pics:




Katie had requested ham for her birthday dinner, along with corn and peas and the most important cake and ice cream. Beka, Georgia, and I got everything ready for her birthday dinner the day before: ham (in loads of butter and brown sugar) that cooked in the crockpot while we were gone; pasta salad with peas, corn, and cheese; and applesauce. I'd also done the cake the day before. It was delightful to come home and have everything ready!

And then, on to the cake, ice cream, and presents!

It was a fun day for everyone. Katie thoroughly enjoyed being the Birthday Girl, especially sharing the day with Aunt Beka and The Cousins.

Grandpa and Grandma Smith were out of town on Katie's birthday, so she got to enjoy another birthday-ish evening last night. It was a good thing she needed to open presents from the Smith g'parents, because it reminded me to pull out what Papa and Gramma Byrd had sent weeks ago (oops!). It was great to catch up on Dad and Mom Smith's recent North Carolina vacation, and Katie loved all her new presents.