Woman of Adventure Returns!!!

 Once upon a time, I wrote this post.   I was afraid then, that I was allowing fear to hold me back, and keep me from enjoying things we've enjoyed for so long as a family.

And so last week, as I was busy preparing for our upcoming camping/hiking trip, gathering all the things we would need, I sort of dreaded going.  I knew it was going to be much colder than what we had hoped for, but we decided to go anyway.  It was the only time some of the girls' friends could go.    

Well something incredible happened.

Woman of Adventure made her comeback!!!

There I am, to the right, with arms raised high,
and fingers pointing upward.

The crazy one all the girls are trying to ignore.

Notice how far back Mr. C is?
I think he's afraid to hike too close to his crazy wife.
(oops, there's a branch blocking his face...)

Being out in God's beautiful creation has a way
of bringing out the crazy in me.

Here was our home for two nights, last weekend.  It was windy, it rained, the temperatures at night were downright frigid.  But we survived.

Truth be told, I could only handle one night in that tent.  The 2nd night I headed to the bunkhouse where there was extra sleeping space, and I actually ended up kicking the blankets off because it was so warm in there.

Do you know how hard that was, to have to share that news with the rest of my family?  They wanted to tough it out in the tents.  They all nearly froze to death, it got down into the low 30's, just above freezing.  They said it felt like what they would imagine an Everest expedition would feel like, brrrrrr!

Later on, we headed down to the valley.

It's so beautiful in the valley!!!

The elk roam free here.  They are protected(no hunting allowed in the valley) and so they are comfortable with people stopping by, snapping pictures of them and hanging out with them for awhile.  This one is young, probably just a yearling.  Isn't he darling? 

Oh, the lush green, the vibrant white blossoms, springtime bursting forth!

I wanted to run out there, and start singing, 

"The hills are alive, with the sound of muuuuuuuusic!!!"

Even though we were in.the.valley.

And it was pretty quiet, no music anywhere, just quiet.

But, the hills(mountains) were ALL around us however.

And they do make you feel like singing, and dancing!

I promise, I didn't do any dancing.  Promise.

On the trail, heading to caves and waterfalls, this is one of our favorite places to hike.  Our girls were so excited they were able to share this place with others, they've wanted to do this for so long, and it finally happened. 

Watch your head Ms. C!

Here we go, down in the cave, the dark, damp, bat ridden cave...we crawled and squeezed through tight tunnels, formed by water erosion to enter a room where there was a 20 ft. waterfall. 

Ummmm, you can just skip this picture, move along, move right along folks.

I'm really not certain what I'm talking about, no idea, I promise I wasn't making fun of the camera girl.  I had just exited the extremely narrow, claustrophobic tunnel...that might have something to do with the disoriented look upon my face.  Oh goodness gracious!!!

This waterfall, is the outside result of the waterfall back inside the cave.  This is where the water exits.

Here is our youngest, Ms. W, taking in the falls all alone.

Eden Falls, properly named, it does feel like paradise.

Such a beautiful feast for one's eyes out on this trail.

The entrance to a bluff shelter.  It's pretty amazing how deep this goes back.  Artifacts have been found from Native Americans who used this space as their home a very long time ago.  Once you get in there, it's pretty easy to see why, you feel very safe in there, protected from the elements. 

Here is our beautiful group of young ladies, who I hope will be Women of Adventure for years to come!!!

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." -Psalm 18:2

A very fitting verse, for our last photo, I think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weather forecast changed several times during the week, prior to our departure date.  Rain chances fluctuated constantly.  I kept asking all the young ladies to pray, and ask God for mercy, please allow us to stay dry on this trip, please. 

When we arrived at our destination, I shared with the owner how we had been praying that the rain would be held back, asking for mercy for the duration of our visit.  She looked at me and said, "We really need rain, there's a burn ban, things are so dry here!"

I instantly realized how sometimes when we are praying for something that we would like, it may be exactly the opposite of what someone else needs, and our prayers seem so self-centered and extremely selfish.

When I shared this with the girls, our prayers changed,
"Dear Lord, their need is greater than ours."

God, in His mercy, did answer both of our prayers, and it was surprising.  They did get their rain, during the night, while we were all snuggled up in our tents and the bunkhouse.  We didn't get wet, and they received some much needed rain.  The next day, we hiked for hours, and it did not rain on us once.  God answered with mercy,  our request and theirs, in the way that He knew was best.

It was a very good lesson. 

Thanks MM!

Thank you Mountain Mama, for the "shout out" and award.  I'm so sorry I'm just now finding time to get around to participating.  Life gets in the way sometimes...things have really been busy, I'll share more about that in my next post.  For now, I'll share 7 things about myself that I don't think any of you know.  And then I'll share about bloggers who I've discovered who are an encouragement to me.

1.  I am one of six children, 4 girls, 2 boys, and I'm next to the youngest.  I loved growing up in a big family and had hoped for a big family for Mr. C and I, but that did not come to pass.  We are blessed to have the two God graced our lives with, they are huge blessings to us!

2.  Growing up, no one in our home ever hunted or fished, but when I won a contest at VBS, I was allowed to pick out my prize, and I chose a fishing pole.  My family was flabbergasted, no one could understand why I, little ole me, would pick out a fishing pole.  I'm sure they wondered what I was thinking, and how did I ever think I'd get to use it?  We did not live near a lake or anything.  I can remember one night, my Papa taking me fishing, and I caught a catfish, only one, and I fed it to the cats. ha!  Anyway, I really believe the odd things that God drew my heart to in my younger years, were in preparation for my life in marriage, I married a man who loves to hunt and fish.  He has graced our table with so many different things, and my family cannot believe, the little gal who was such a picky eater, would grow up to eat and love all the different things that I eat now.  I would never eat fish before, but now I love certain types of fish, I've had lots of venison, frog legs (tastes like chicken!), squirrel, wild hog, duck, and goose.

3.  I love watching wildlife, I have actually seen all of these, with my own eyes out in the wild, in their natural habitat (some are common, others not so common)- red fox, gray fox, bobcat, opossum, raccoon, beaver, rabbits, ground hog (wood-chuck) chipmunk, skunk (alive, not dead on the road), armadillo( also alive, not roadkill!), red fox squirrel, gray squirrel, coyotes and their pups, black bear momma and her 3 cubs, white-tail deer(we've even had a baby white-tail in our home, I got to hold it!), we've seen TONS of them, several type owls, brown pelicans, Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, Blue Herons,various types of duck in the wild, Canadian geese, snow geese, muskrat, and right now my all time favorite sighting, river otters.

Oh I forgot soft-shell turtles, snapping turtles, red-ear turtles, and too many snakes that I am not going to name.  I'd like to foget all of those that I've seen, just block them out of my mind!!!   AND once I found the remains of a young alligator on the banks of a river, not far from our home in the country.  That was a little unnerving to say the least, because we liked to swim in that river occasionally, and well, the thought of sharing the water with gators, not such a pleasant idea. (That was pretty rare to find that, in warm weather they have been known to swim up to places they usually do not occupy, but still!!!)  And last but not least, last weekend we were in the region of our state where Elk have been reintroduced, and we have seen large herds of them out there at different times.  They are really incredible to see!  I think that rounds up the list. Someday I'd like to travel so I can go see whales out in the ocean, they fascinate me!

4.  I love DARK CHOCOLATE!!!  Enough said.

5.  I love growing things, especially flowers, they are easier, BUT, the reason I love growing things is because of all the spiritual application God teaches me when out playing in the dirt.  So many lessons for us, in things like seed-time and harvest.  Pruning, weeding, fertile ground as opposed to stony, dry ground...so many good lessons He has for us, if we just take the time to learn.  

6.  I love learning new things.  My experience in public school nearly extinguished my love of learning, thankfully it was rekindled whenever I started teaching my own gals here at home, and boy has it ever been fun.  Even though we are finished with school, we still learn together, I never want to stop learning new things.

7.  I would like to start my own business, something I could do from home.  I am playing around with some ideas.  Now that my gals are finished with school, I have the time necessary to devote to something else.  Once I get it figured out, after much prayer and research, someday I hope to share what direction God leads me in.  He may lead me into something that isn't even a business, but whatever it is, I know it'll be the right thing, as long as I follow His leading.

And now to pass on the Stylish blogger award, to some of my favorite blog finds, I'll share what I can, I doubt I have time to award 15.

1.  thecottageonpilgrimsfarm - always encouraging and she shares the most beautiful pictures of their homestead/organic farm.  Her home is simply beautiful, looks like a wonderful place to live. We dream of homesteading someday...someday!

2. solasisters - in this day and age, it's so important to be wise, and to be able to discern what is going on in the "religious" world.  I love the gracious way they share truth and bring light to subjects others are not willing to discuss or expose.  We need more "watchmen" on the wall I believe.   


3.  white as linen Margita's blog is so refreshing, she has a simple, elegant style, and shares photos of her latest decorating changes.  She is frugally minded and I LOVE that about her!

4.  goodbyehousehellohome Leslie the homemaker is always full of encouragement and she too is frugally minded when it comes to caring for her home.  She has great taste and such good advice on so many different things, especially about our roles as wives, mothers & home-keepers. 

5.  a wise woman builds her home - Mrs. Fuentes is such a wonderful encourager as well, with so many wise things to share with women.  A very good place for Christian women to be encouraged no matter what season of life you find yourself in.

6.  bigdreamslittlehouse   Sweet Heather is sure to bless you, with her creativity and loving heart.  She shares beautiful truths and photos of the most beautiful flowers and birds.  I do love flowers!!!  And birds!

7. homeschoolonthecroft  Anne makes me smile & laugh, I love everything she shares from over across the big pond, she lives in Scotland, and always has breathtaking photos to share of the sea near their home, and photos of their sheep, I really love their sheep!!!  I have a feeling we're distant cousins since my Grand-dad's heritage is Scottish!  :o)  At least it's fun to pretend.

8.  rural-revolution Well, just go check it out, I'm sure today's post will make you see why this is a fun visit.

9.  imprintables All I can say about this blog, is well, I am trying not to covet this business.  I think I would love to do something like this, and so I live vicariously through this blog, dreaming and loving everything they do!

10.  a heart like water this home-school Momma is a friend, and one who is honest about the daily, trying to figure out how to manage home and the education of her 7 blessings, she is sure to be an encouragement to other home-school Moms.

 11.  hometowngirl This one is a new find, and I love Vintage, so this is just a pleasant place to stop by and just enjoy!  Blogs like this inspire me with simple decorating ideas in the home.

That's all I have time for now,  there are many others I enjoy, just check out my bloglist if you like. 

I hope each and every one of you all are having a very, blessed, encouraging day today!  I feel privileged to have come in contact with all of you through blogging, it's an incredible way to be encouraged.

"Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Eph. 6:23 

Sharing...

I just had to share this link with you all today. 

May this bless you all as it did me. 

This precious girl, is our Pastor's daughter.

Her most recent post is here, her last post before leaving the bush country.

She and her co-laborers in the Lord, have recently returned from
ministering in the bush, and are on their way back to Kenya.

Here are her latests prayer requests, please if you are led, join us
in lifting up her requests to our Heavenly Father. 

"Hello everyone,

I am out of the bush, so you should be getting more frequent updates and prayer requests.  We are currently in Kampala, Uganda spending a few days at the guest house.  We left Sudan a few days early.  Wes was already driving to Kampala, and that was cheaper than flying all of us.  We are all extremely sad right now.  God used our time in Sudan in great ways to speak to us individually and as a group.  We enjoyed ministering there, and we all prefer village life to city life.  We also felt like the staff, chaplains, and the women we were ministering to became family.  

Today we are taking a day to just seek the Lord and spend time with Him.  Please pray for all of us, that God would encourage our hearts to re-enter Kenya and city life.  We are all in a bit of shock...all the noise, riding instead of walking, and food other than rice and beans.  I think we would all gladly each more rice and beans if we would have been able to stay...even me! 

Please pray for one of the senior chaplains, Michael.  Tomorrow he is leaving with a few other chaplains to an area where fighting has begun.  They will be on the front lines sharing the Gospel, encouraging the people, and fighting with their men.  Michael became like a father to me while I was there.  We had a special relationship, so my heart is extremely heavy to think that he will be on the front lines tomorrow.  Please pray that many would come to know Christ, the people of that place would feel the presence of God when the chaplains arrive, and that God would keep His hand of protection upon Michael and the other chaplains.  Feel free to tell as many people as you know to pray for Michael!

Physically: I am doing okay.  My stomach is having a hard time adjusting to meat and dairy again.  I almost would prefer rice and beans just so my stomach wouldn't be so upset after eating!  I am in a lot of pain, still.  There were only a handful of days in Sudan where I wasn't on medication for pain.  I haven't taken any since we arrived in Kampala just because I don't want my body to be completely dependent on them.  Please pray that my pain levels would decrease to a tolerable level so that I don't have to take medication in Kenya to be able to keep up with the work.

Please pray specifically for the other 2 girls.  I know that God is Sovereign in His timing and reasoning for sending us back to Kenya.  The other girls are really struggling with the idea of going back.  One expressed that she would rather just go home.  The other is having a really hard time communicating with God...I think it is because she is so discouraged about returning to Kenya.  Please pray for them, and that God would give me words that would encourage and uplift them.

We will be flying back to Nairobi on March 25th.

We will remain in Kenya the last 2 months of our time in Africa. 

I think our flight back to the States is June 1.

We will spend a few weeks in Murrieta, CA.

I should be home by the beginning of July.

I love you all.  Thank you for praying for me so faithfully.  I cannot wait to talk with you all face-to-face.  If you have any questions or prayer requests of your own, please write me!

Love,

Anna-Marie"

 

She has been such a source of encouragement for so many, through her posts while she has been away in Africa.  Thank you for taking the time to read and also for lifting up these requests in prayer.  

Do you have any missionaries you'd like for the rest of us to remember in prayer?  Please share!

In The Morning

"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You..." Psalm 143:8

A prayer for myself, my family, and friends as we walk out our day today, following our faithful Savior.

Isn't it too marvelous for words, when you stop and ponder the lovingkindness our Father rains down upon us in His life-giving Word?

As I read through various portions of Psalms, I think on King David, and realize why he is described as a "man after God's heart..." For his words in the Psalms, show how much he loved God, God's word, His commandments and His truth.

"Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me..."

"Righteous are You, O Lord, and upright are Your judgments. Your testimonies, which You have commanded, are righteous and very faithful."

"Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it..."

"Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.
It gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth and panted, for I longed for Your commandments."

"Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!
Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way."

These are not in order as they appear in the Psalms, I just wanted to share these portions of scripture, as they have spoken to my heart this morning, and how much I love the life-giving words of my Father, how they correct me, and show me what is right, what is truth. I am so thankful that His word (the written Word & Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh) keeps us in His way.

"I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great treasure."

Thank you our Heavenly Father, for preserving Your TRUTH, Your WORDS, Your WAYS, and for making them known to us through Your LOVINGKINDNESS, MERCY, and through Your Son Jesus Christ.

The "Day" Has Arrived!

I knew this day was coming.

I've dreaded it.  Somewhat.

I'm not sure how to feel about it.

I've been avoiding this subject, but Mr. C says, no more of that.

He called this morning, first to check in on our Ms. C,
who was ill in the middle of the night and in the midst of her
illness dreamed that she was being held hostage
in the bathroom by a Japanese woman who would not
let her go to her family,
(that's another story in itself,)

back to Mr. C's call,  

second he called to say the words I'm not sure I've wanted to hear.

"I want you to do what you can,
so that we can start working on the laundry room...tonight."

I have mixed emotions.

My laundry room really needs help, it's been in the same state of weirdness
since we moved in.  I know it needs our attention, but I've gotten really good
at going in there, doing what I need to do, and closing the door, never once
thinking again that this room needs-

PAINT

but before that can happen it needs-

A TEXTURED CEILING

THE REST OF THE WEIRD WALLPAPER MUST BE REMOVED

WALLS MUDDED AND SANDED,

AND MUDDED AND SANDED,

AND MUDDED AND SANDED.

My Pappa taught us the correct way to mud and sand,
and it can't be avoided, it has to be done the right way,
or people will know, they'll just know...

And before any of that can be dealt with, everything that is in the
way has to be relocated temporarily to either our bedroom
or our girls' room.

*BIG SIGH*

There's the root of the problem,
I've not wanted to have to deal with this part of the problem...
our rooms out of order-


but, TODAY, Mr. C says, is the DAY.

So, I will obey,
and I will go play,
move things today,
and everything will be in disarray,
oh how I wish I could say,
not today,
but it is this way,
because Mr. C said "hey...
let us start today!"

Wait a minute, he said it...

He said "WE", a unified team, as in-US
him and me, me and him,
together,
he and I, I and he,
(grammar has been thrown out the window
for the duration of this elated moment)
I'm feeling a slight bit of joy over this, because all this time,
I thought it would just be sad, little ole me, all alone,
stuck in that sad room with the very SAD, WEIRD wall-paper

THE VERY SAD, WEIRD WALLPAPER!!!

Please note that is a woman's back, her BACK, got it?

Well, there you have it folks, I wasn't ever sure I wanted to admit
this publicly, but yes, my laundry room has been plagued by this
hideous wallpaper for no telling how long,
I'm pretty sure it dates back to the 70's,
and I just have one question, WHY???

But then other questions abound, and the biggest one,

WHAT IN THE TARNATION DID YOU PEOPLE
USE THE LANDRY ROOM FOR?

I'm really not sure I want to know the answer to that question.
But it lingers in my mind, it weighs heavy on me.

(I'm not sure what tarnation means, my Grandma used to say it,
my Mom used to say it, my Aunts and Cousins used to say it,
it's just a Southern thing, so that Southern ladies
don't have to say ugly words)

Honestly, was this a laundry/pub room?  Laundry/saloon room?

???

?

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Anyway, the DAY has arrived, and honestly

I'm pretty excited that HE is going to help me.

I love HIM!

He loves ME!

Two are better than one.  I'm glad he's taking the lead, and we are dealing with the room together.

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks about that wallpaper...

*BIG SMILE*!

Waking Up Today

The news of the massive earthquake and Tsunami in Japan was the first thing my youngest told me when I joined her for breakfast this morning.  

Praying for these precious people, and the others in the path of other Tsunami waves today.


Psalm 91:1-2 

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. "  

It's Time

Melissa's latest post, over at the Inspired Room 

just inspired me to finish my coffee bar area.

I'm thrilled to finally have the idea I've been needing, in order to finish this spot and pull everything together, all the different components& ideas, that I've had swimming around in my 

head for a couple of months.

The wall gallery idea has inspired me to create 

my own for my coffee bar.

Below you will see my pathetic coffee bar, as it looks this morning.  

Do remember, last week we entertained our precious little friend, Mr. D, for the entire week.

I was much too busy playing tic tac toe, coloring in color books, eating cheese nips, going to the park, and having fun with Mr. D 

to concentrate much on the house.  

The coffee bar has become a catch all it seems.  

It's never been finished, never, and I've never been thrilled with the direction we started going, Ms. C added some of her photo-

graphy, and Ms. W added her just for Mom coffee bar plaque that worked wonderfully at the old place, but these things aren't 

working here at all.  

The photos will be moved to a better place,  

and the colors of the plaque will be changed.

(And the stools will one day be white.) 

(Someday...) 

(I'm not sure when...)

On this coffee bar you will note, coffee maker, large glass jar, two white canisters, 2 French Press carafe's, glass mugs a plenty, bowls-

antique and new, bag of coffee beans, coffee bean grinder, boxes and a bag of tea, memory tree, lamp, decorated box to 

raise the lamp, a cake pan, various decor items and two packs of napkins.

(Don't look too close, oh the clutter!  Yikes!)

Well, ok, here's a closer look at the clutter-

a few items I've kept out, to remind me where I'm going with this coffee bar, and I see a few things that don't belong here.  

They belong in someone's hope chest, and they've not put them 

back yet...Ms. C???

Amidst the stuff pictured here, (that desperately needs order & decluttering) you'll see the cream pitcher and sugar bowl

from a set of dishes I inherited from my Mother-In-Law.  

I cherish these!

 A family picture from long ago, taken at the old place...

my how time flies... my baby girls have grown 

into lovely young ladies.

And Mr. C and I, *sigh*we used to be young.

****************************************************

This next picture has nothing to do with the coffee bar, it's just proof,  to show you all that yes, we do complete some projects around here, thanks to my Ms. W.

My birds are finished, my youngest painted these for me, 

and I love, love them!!! 

SOOOO-

I'm off, off to see the Wizard 

the Wonderful Wizard of Paint...

-frames to paint, a shelf that needs one last

coat of paint before it can be used, and lots 

& lots of other stuff to do.

Because, "there's no place like home..."

and I need to work on my home today. 

I'm off!  

Have a wonderful day everyone!!!

The Great Exchange

Our Pastor shared this with us yesterday, and I just have to share this with you all.

A Communion Meditation

The Great Exchange-

Before salvation, when we come to the cross of Jesus,

we come with
God's wrath upon us
through the cross we leave with
God's favor

We exchange-

 Enmity with God FOR peace with God,

Our unrighteousness FOR Christ's righteousness

Enslaved to sin FOR becoming redeemed (bought with a price)

Sin against God FOR Forgiveness

Addictions to various lusts FOR freedom in Christ

Lawlessness FOR Penalty paid in full

Dead in sin FOR Alive in Christ

Hopelessly lost FOR The Hope of Heaven

Justly deserved punishment FOR Propitiation (anger and wrath appeased)

Weak FOR Can do all things through Christ

Ungodly FOR Made Godly by God's gift of righteousness

As sinners FOR Status as God's "holy-ones" Saints

Enemies of God FOR Reconciliation with God

Disobedience FOR The obedience of Christ credited to us

Slaves to our fleshly nature FOR Slaves of God

Defeated by sin FOR Victorious in Christ over sin

Spiritually destitute FOR Every spiritual blessing in Christ

Enslaved to the spirit of this age FOR Deliverance from this evil age

Death and Hell as our future FOR Life and Heaven as our future

The devil as our father FOR being reborn from above and God as our Father

Part of the fallen sinful creation FOR Made a new creation in Christ

My past sinful life FOR All things New in Christ

Cursed because of the Law FOR a new status as Blessed in Christ

List of sins against God's Law FOR Release from punishment due our sins

Racism, class warfare, religious bigotry FOR Divided Walls, torn down

Division due to selfishness, self-centeredness FOR Unity in One new Man- Christ

Alienated from God FOR Acceptance in Christ

Through the cross, where Christ shed His blood for me, where He bore the wrath of God for me, this is where the great exchange took place, for those who have trusted in Him and have placed their faith in Him.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:  Not of works lest any man should boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9

"For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."  2 Corinthians 5:21

Our family is in prayer for a precious young lady, God has sent our way from another country. She is a college student in a local town not far away, and our prayer is that she too will experience this great exchange and she will soon trust Jesus as her savior. Will you all please add Ms. S to your prayer list, so that hopefully one day she too will be able to say that she knows why Jesus did this for her as well?

A "B" Kind of Day

We changed out of our "BAJAMAS"

And had "BUTTER 'N JELLY TOAST"


And then the

BOY, grabbed his 

BALLOON

and headed to his

BOX!!!

I'm really loving these B kind of days!!!

May I introduce to you, Mr. D, 
who is our guest this week.  

It has BEEN 
a BEAUTIFUL
week so far!



P.S- We had to replace our water heater Monday,
hence the box, and boy has it ever been fun!