Yesterday - The View From My Phone

Part of Something More

Some of you may not know that Mike is also a musician. He is a remarkably talented songwriter!

Recently I googled my own husband to see if his music was still available out there in Internet Land. Not only is it available, but even Amazon still has it. Isn't that cool!?  I love the songs on this CD and I think a lot of people would enjoy it, if only they knew it was available. By the way, I also found it on ITunes and CDBaby and it was cheaper than at Amazon. Weird.

What it Means to be Called

As most of you know, my husband is a pastor. He didn't mean to be a pastor. I don't even think he wanted to be a pastor. I believe he was CALLED to be a pastor. Read here for the story of how I found out about his calling.

To understand this calling, you need to know about the Great Commission...

Matthew 28:16-20

New International Version (NIV)

The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Great Commission refers to the time Jesus was telling his disciples that they had a lot of work ahead of them. He told them they were to go out and spread the word, to teach the world about Jesus. We also believe that those directions were given to all Christians. However, we often use the term "called" when we are speaking of someone who feels they are given the spiritual nudge to give themselves completely to this vocation. Someone who is called into the ministry not only is answering the command of the Great Commission, but also offering themselves to act as a leader and a shepherd to other Christians as they also follow the Great Commission themselves. Mike is one of those people.

I am very proud of my husband for following this calling. I know he didn't really want to. I know he is an introvert and being a pastor may not have seemed like a likely vocation for him. I also know that he relies on God's guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit to help him and I know that is why he is able to do what he does. He set aside a lot of his own dreams to allow God to lead him where he wanted him.  He didn't know where this path would lead.

Putting aside your own desires to follow such a calling goes against what our current society teaches us is good and just. We hear a lot of advice...follow your dreams, do what you love, if it feels good do it, it is your choice, stand up for yourself...the list goes on. It isn't necessarily all bad, but Christians are taught something more. We are taught that we are to be only the managers of our lives, not the owners (my words). We are taught that we are to look after the needs of others as much as we do for ourselves. We are taught that the most important thing we can do is to spread the word about God's grace.

Time with Family

I spent much of this past week-end at my Mom's. She lives only about a two hour's drive away. I LOVE the drive up there. It involves a lot of wide open space, one of my favorite things. I always relax at Mom's house as well. She has a way of making her home so welcoming. It just feels homey to me, even though I never lived in the house where she now lives.

Saturday evening we picked up my aunt Michelle and met my sister and nephew, Tina and Steven, for dinner out.  Every time I go to their town I find myself wishing I could go visit them more often!

(pictured: my Aunt Michelle)

My Mom has 4 sisters and I always thought all of them to be quite beautiful.  

Sunday morning I went to church with Mom, meeting my sister and nephew there as well. It was a treat to worship together. After church we went out to breakfast. It was calm and pleasant. Well, for me it was. For them it may have been annoying as I drug out my camera so they couldn't really relax. They were good sports, though, so I can share my photos here with you. Thanks, guys!

I was there to celebrate my Mom's birthday with them. I probably shouldn't tell her age so I won't. 

I will tell you, though, that my Mom is much, much younger than other women her age.

Think about that!

Happy Birhday Mom!

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."
George Washington  


George said it just right. That is how I feel about my Mom! I wish everyone had a mother as great as mine and apparently George Washington's.




Happy Birthday Mom!
I love you!

Are You a Mutant?

I don't always make good use of my time. Recently, I started off mentally going through my list of things I needed to accomplish on my day off:

     1. gardening
     2. loads of laundry
     3. pharmacy pick-up
     4. clean house
     5. plan some meals
     6. go to the gym
     7. sew
     8. photograph items for Wyoming Rose
     9. organize something.... anything!
   10. write lists of more things that I probably won't accomplish today

I felt kind of overwhelmed by all that needed accomplished when I really just wanted to rest and then go play with granddaughters (which we all know I did). Well, all that overwhelmingness is hard to handle so I decided to procrastinate. What better way to procrastinate than to go online to YouTube and look up stuff you don't even need to know? What follows is a result of my efforts. Since I wasted my time, I decided I would share with you and waste a bit of your time as well.



I found out right away that I am a mutant special.

Blue eyes are the only mutation I am admitting at this time.

I bet you all are some sore of mutants as well!

I mean that in the kindest way possible.

A Waterfall and a Buffalo

It was just an ordinary Thursday yesterday. However, for a few hours, I felt like I was on vacation.

 With Maria and the granddaughters I went to a little waterfall. It is a beautiful little setting and only about 15 minutes away!

Both girls enjoyed the water. The spray felt good!

Cordelia and I were wearing flip-flops so we felt free to splash through the shallow creek at the bottom of the waterfall.

Elise thought she should do the same.

It was relaxing and fun.

I had beautiful company...

...and lovely water. 

It just doesn't get better than that!

We drove back into town for another adventure. Maria had received notification that Cordelia had won a little drawing at a local grocery store. Her prize? A Buffalo! She wondered on the way there if it would be a real buffalo. Were you wondering that as well? That would be absurd but my Mom once won a Shetland Pony!

Thankfully, Cordelia's buffalo was a manageable size.

What a sweet couple of hours out  of my day! 

No Words

Happy 1st Birthday to Elise!

Oh, last year on this day we were all pretty excited!

I remember the feelings of nervousness. I was first worried about my own child, Maria. She had given us quite a scare when she had her first baby. I tried to not think about it but I admit it crept into my mind a bit. Thankfully, that particular drama did not occur.

I remember the feelings of happy anxiousness. I was so anxious to hold and touch and see and smell and love on that new little person!

She arrived and we did all those things!

We bonded with her, even though we really didn't yet know her.

I stayed the night at the hospital so Eric could take care of Cordelia at their home. It was a long night but so precious for me. I got to hold her a lot and I got to spend that night with Maria. I felt so honored!
I also felt so tired, but it was worth it.

This photo is my absolute favorite from the day Elise was born!

It is a year later already. We now know this little beauty as a spirited one year old, someone with opinions and ideas of her own. 

We know she has a great laugh.

We know she loves music and has some awesome dance moves. My favorite is when she throws her head back and forth and the long strands on top remind me of a man with a come-over that has gotten out of control. 

We know she loves balls and dogs and stuffed animals. We know she has a cute way of snuggle hugging that melts my heart. She loves to follow her big sister, play with Betty Sprinkles, loves being outside, blowing kisses to her Daddy...and she is just so cute!

We know there will be so much more that we will know by this time next year!

New Cleaning Ladies and a Gasp

Maria often sends me photos of her girls when I am at work. It absolutely brightens my day!

Yesterday she sent me this one first...

I texted back that I didn't know they had hired a cleaning lady. She responded that she had two.

On another note...

Sunday morning we were out of town. I called to speak with Cordelia just a bit. At the end of our conversation I told her I was going to church with Grandma Carol. She gasped! She said, "Grandma Carol!? She is one of MY grandmas!"

That's it. I just wanted to share a couple of moments that brought me joy. Have a nice day!

Blongo Blog!

Say this three times fast... Blongo Blog, Blongo Blog, Blongo Blog...

I find ways to entertain myself.

My mother-in-law, Carol, recently purchased Blongo Ball. Do you know about Blongo Ball? Well, that is why I am writing a Blongo Blog, so that you will know and understand the game of Blongo Ball. Trust me. You are going to enjoy this game! It is easy to learn the rules, but challenging as you attempt to perfect your skills.

The game is played with two goal apparatuses. It is a bit like horsehoes without all that clanking and dust. My husband and my brother-in-law were the first to break out the box. Each got three sets of blongo balls. These are basically golf balls with holes drilled through them and an attaching string tying them in pairs. There are three yellow sets and three orange set.

I was proud to capture blongo balls in mid-air with these photos.

All you do is throw them toward the goals. If you can loop them onto the top bar, it is one point, across the middle bar it is two points and if you manage to wrap it around the bottom bar, three points. If you get it to bounce off the ground and up over a bar, it counts as 5 points. The first player to 21 wins. Easy enough, huh?

Well, it turns out that you really do better if you can kind of "whip" the blongo balls as you release them. I had a little problem with control. Let's just say that I am grateful to my husband for chasing down blongo balls gone wild.

Sometimes, you need to resort to distracting your opponent. My brother-in-law, Joe, was good at that!

Although it looks like Mike is pretty good at just tuning him out.

He practices that skill on me.

I'm not sure Mike even noticed all of Joe's efforts.

Later we got my sister-in-law, Sue, involved.

She was a natural.

Although we got a little wild, don't worry,

we had adult supervision.

Thanks, Carol!

 Blongo Balls were a fun idea!

Cross in Clouds

Mark 8:34

English Standard Version (ESV)

    And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.