Sunday December 7, 2008

 

 

Amish Church

 

This was going to be a day of rest and relaxation, so I didn’t expect to have current pictures for my blog – until I was cleaning up after breakfast and saw the first Amish carriage coming toward our house.

 

 

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The only time Amish buggies come this direction on a Sunday morning is when one of our Amish neighbors is having church at their house.

 

 

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When there are more than a half dozen buggies, that means church is at Eli and Sadie’s.  (If church is held at another family’s home – west of Eli and Sadie – they take the next road because the hill is not so steep.)

 

 

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This is something that only happens on our road about once – sometimes twice a year.

 

 

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It’s not unusual to see a few boys on scooters in the summertime, but I was surprised to see two of them on this windy, cold morning.  (Notice the second one just coming over the hill at the farm.)

 

 

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They have a long trip for a scooter, because the closest Amish to our south are probably two miles away.

 

 

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This fellow looked a bit taller – so maybe he is a big brother to the other one.

 

 

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We went the long way to church this morning – by Eli and Sadie’s…

 

 

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and on the way home.

 

 

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Heading Home

His hat is in the scooter’s basket.  It was too windy to wear it.

 

 

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Notice the horse’s tail blowing in the wind.

 

 

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Amish have been a great addition to our neighborhood.  They only began moving into our area about a dozen years ago.

 

 

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Sunday December 7, 2008

 

So keep a firm grip on the faith.

The suffering won’t last forever.

It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ

—eternal and glorious plans they are!—

will have you put together

and on your feet for good.

He gets the last word; yes, he does.

1 Peter 5:9-11 (The Message)

 

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Saturday December 6, 2008

 

 

My Day With the Girls

 

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Our first stop was Chuck E Cheese.  After getting our left hands stamped with an ID#, a worker walked toward me and asked if I was having the usual – cinnamon sticks.  I think I go to Chuck E Cheese too often.   

She said she remembered me, because when I bring grandchildren, we are always the first ones in the door – and always get an order of hot cinnamon sticks. 

We go early, because most families don’t arrive until an hour or two later – meaning we have the place to ourselves for awhile. 

 

 

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Tokens

 

 

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Diana dividing them into two equal parts.

 

 

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Gloria playing one of her favorite games.

 

 

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This is what I read when they didn’t need me.

 

 

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Gloria trying to keep the shark’s heads from popping up.

 

 

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Diana doing the same thing.

 

 

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Diana won the highest number of tickets (80) possible while playing Deal No Deal.

 

 

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Gloria preparing to count her stash of tickets.  At one point she came to me and said, “Something is wrong with the machine – the tickets keep coming out!”  I went to check it out, and she had hit the jackpot!

 

 

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Diana waiting her turn at the ticket-counting-machine.

 

 

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Choosing rewards.

 

 

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Their choices.

 

 

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We had a wonderful time.  After Chuck E Cheese, we went to Five Below (prices below $5.00), Wal-Mart, and Burger King. 

Their twenty-four hours was up at 4:00 this evening, but they asked for an hour extension.  Of course I said they could stay another hour. 

~~~

 Now it’s quiet again – while I wait for my hunter-husband, who will be home shortly.  No deer this time.  That’s okay – we already have two in the freezer.

 

  

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Saturday December 6, 2008

 

Blessed be the Lord,

Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,

even the God Who is our salvation!

 Selah

[pause, and calmly think of that]! 

Psalm 68:19 (Amplified Bible)

 

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Friday December 5, 2008

 

 

All in a Day

 

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Sunrises are such an ordinary occurrence to the beginning of most days that we often overlook their beauty.

 

 

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Squirrels in my birdfeeders are a daily nuisance, but they are interesting and fun to watch.

 

 

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Speaking of ordinary, and daily – especially this time of the year – I mailed one more staff couple’s newsletter, and set up two others.  Those two are with the proofreaders. 

But no newsletter is ever ordinary to me.  I love to read the stories the chaplains tell of truckers who come into their chapel – many needing to hear about the love of God.  It’s an honor for me to do this part in sharing the story with their readers and supporters.

 

 

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Then came the highlight of my day – when I went to Jeff and Chris’ to pick up Diana…

 

 

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and Gloria – to celebrate Gloria’s eighth birthday.  The other granddaughters have commitments, so there are only two here this time.

 

 

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Abigail stopped in for a short visit.  I LOVE having her almost next door, and will miss her surprise visits when she goes back to her family in Maine – after being a nanny for Jere and Kristen during the past few months.

 

 

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I talked to my hunter husband tonight, who is back in West Virginia, to see if he can bring home another buck.  He saw a bear, a small flock of turkey, and a few deer – heading away from him – but did not have any shooting.  He is hunting with my sister’s husband, Marlin.

He said it was a beautiful day to be in the West Virginia mountains.

 

 

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Friday December 5, 2008

 

Cultivate inner beauty,

the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. 

1 Peter 3:1 (The Message)

 

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Thursday December 4, 2008

 

 

Morning Frost & Procrastination

 

 

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Yesterday I kept looking at the morning frost that covered the countryside…

 

 

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 thinking I should go outside and take pictures before it was gone.

 

 

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I almost missed this beauty because of procrastination.

 

 

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Procrastination is very deceptive.

 

 

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It always plans to do something…

 

 

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but never does anything.

 

 

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In not making a decision…

 

 

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we are making a decision to do nothing.

 

 

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Choosing not to choose.

 

 

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If I had procrastinated much longer, I would have missed getting these pictures.

 

 

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However, there are more serious things we can miss out on because of procrastination…

a healthy body, a fulfilled dream, a mended relationship.

 

 

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But the most serious opportunities people miss out on because of procrastination are spiritual…

a pure heart, a peaceful life, a relationship with Jesus Christ, or eternity with the Creator of the Universe.

 

 

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Thursday December 4, 2008

 

I am the world’s Light.

No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness.

I provide plenty of light to live in.

[Jesus] 

John 8:12 (The Message)

 

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Wednesday December 3, 2008

 

 

Shelves

 

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Zachary, Deb, and David 

Tonight we went to our daughter Deb’s house to deliver shelves that Cerwin and our grandson Nathan built for her.  She invited her friend Leslie’s sons to have supper with us and help unload the shelves.  David and Zachary are our “adopted” grandsons. 

 

 

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After supper, Harley sat on my lap and watched what was going on around the kitchen table.

 

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 The boys enjoyed getting a ride from the house to the garage.

 

 

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 They took turns helping Cerwin.

 

 

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 The storage shelves are ready for her to put in place.

 

 

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Before going back to the house, I noticed her beautiful holly bushes.

 

 

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 Then I came upon this little Junco.  At first I thought it was hurt or sick, because it didn’t fly away as I approached.

 

 

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 After taking a few photos, I touched it with my foot, and it hopped away, then when the boys tried to approach it, it flew away.  I expect it may have flown into a window, and was slightly stunned.

 

 

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Sunset from her back deck.

 

 

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Wednesday December 3, 2008

 

As we keep his commands,

we live deeply and surely in him,

and he lives in us.

And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us:

by the Spirit he gave us.

1 John 3:24 (The Message)

 

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