Friday, September 30, 2005
Electricity: It's a Good Thing!
Late Wednesday night a very windy storm blew in. At 9 AM we lost power. No worries. Nathan and Cressalyn were at school, Kenny was on his way to work. Ken and I can get along fine without electricity for a few hours. We have a gas stove so heating soup was a piece of cake. No worries. As the day wore on, we began to have worries. No electricity = no water. We have a well. Worries!
We have taken for granted being able to get a drink of water when we want it. We have taken for granted being able to wash our hands when we need to. But most importantly, we have taken for granted being able to flush the toilet when we need to.
Dinner was taco soup, again cooked on the stove. As the sun set we pulled out every candle in the house and lit up the living room as best as possible. It really was cozy. The kids played Monopoly by candlelight. Ken and I read books. Ken took the kids to the home of a member for showers. All in all it wasn’t a bad day, and we met all challenges head on. Until 9 PM, when discovered to our dismay that the season premiere of "Alias" was on and we were going to miss it! We have spent the whole summer watching the first 2 seasons on DVD in preparation for the new season! All the hours of anticipation! All the excitement! All to come down to the hour of airing and we have no power!
We DID get the power back on…at 10:10 PM!!! No joke!
Life brings us unexpected twists at times, right? Small things that shouldn’t matter much really can matter in the moment!
Today we went to get groceries. Simple. Wrong! First we have to drive 30 minutes to the store. Then we shopped for nearly an hour loading 2 carts full of food for 3 teenagers for a month. Ken put our new bank card in to pay for the food, and it was declined! He tried under "Debit." Declined! Ugh! Here we are with over $250 of food and our bank card wasn’t working! The next best choice is to call Kenny who is at home and have him bring the checkbook to us. So we waited another 30 minutes for Kenny to arrive. We stood there with 2 carts full trying to be out of the way while people came and went.
Kenny arrived, Ken paid for the groceries, and we proceeded out the door. Just as I pushed my cart with boxes balanced carefully through the door, the wheel on the cart hit a bump in the cement and down went the top box. Cans and plastic jars rolled into the parking lot in every direction! My cart was blocking the door as others were attempting to leave the store. Ken dashed around and he and I chased cans and began gathering them. Nothing broke or was damaged. Just my pride! What a mess this simple trip to the grocery store had become!
Oh well. According the the Beatles, life goes on. And according to Scarlet O'Hara, after all, tomorrow is another day!
We have taken for granted being able to get a drink of water when we want it. We have taken for granted being able to wash our hands when we need to. But most importantly, we have taken for granted being able to flush the toilet when we need to.
Dinner was taco soup, again cooked on the stove. As the sun set we pulled out every candle in the house and lit up the living room as best as possible. It really was cozy. The kids played Monopoly by candlelight. Ken and I read books. Ken took the kids to the home of a member for showers. All in all it wasn’t a bad day, and we met all challenges head on. Until 9 PM, when discovered to our dismay that the season premiere of "Alias" was on and we were going to miss it! We have spent the whole summer watching the first 2 seasons on DVD in preparation for the new season! All the hours of anticipation! All the excitement! All to come down to the hour of airing and we have no power!
We DID get the power back on…at 10:10 PM!!! No joke!
Life brings us unexpected twists at times, right? Small things that shouldn’t matter much really can matter in the moment!
Today we went to get groceries. Simple. Wrong! First we have to drive 30 minutes to the store. Then we shopped for nearly an hour loading 2 carts full of food for 3 teenagers for a month. Ken put our new bank card in to pay for the food, and it was declined! He tried under "Debit." Declined! Ugh! Here we are with over $250 of food and our bank card wasn’t working! The next best choice is to call Kenny who is at home and have him bring the checkbook to us. So we waited another 30 minutes for Kenny to arrive. We stood there with 2 carts full trying to be out of the way while people came and went.
Kenny arrived, Ken paid for the groceries, and we proceeded out the door. Just as I pushed my cart with boxes balanced carefully through the door, the wheel on the cart hit a bump in the cement and down went the top box. Cans and plastic jars rolled into the parking lot in every direction! My cart was blocking the door as others were attempting to leave the store. Ken dashed around and he and I chased cans and began gathering them. Nothing broke or was damaged. Just my pride! What a mess this simple trip to the grocery store had become!
Oh well. According the the Beatles, life goes on. And according to Scarlet O'Hara, after all, tomorrow is another day!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Smack Dab IN THE MIDDLE
Yep, IN THE MIDDLE. That’s where we are. IN THE MIDDLE of nowhere! In the middle of 2 strong cell phone towers. We just happen to be IN THE MIDDLE of their signals. Which means that we can’t get either one from the house. Stinks. If we go one direction a couple miles, 4 bars! If we go the opposite direction a couple miles, 4 bars! (And no, I don’t mean the bars where you can get a drink!) If we go stand IN THE MIDDLE of the parking lot we can get 2 bars if we don’t move. Kenny’s phone actually had 3 bars IN THE MIDDLE of the house, until he moved.
It’s gotten me to thinking. Being IN THE MIDDLE isn’t always a pleasant place to be. From what my husband and 2nd child say, being IN THE MIDDLE of siblings is sometimes difficult. Sometimes being IN THE MIDDLE is a very fun place to be! When they were younger our children fought over who got to sit IN THE MIDDLE of the back seat. Sitting IN THE MIDDLE of 2 favorite people is a blast! I personally like to sit IN THE MIDDLE of the theater so I can see the whole movie screen and get the full effect of the surround sound.
We often go through very difficult times, being caught IN THE MIDDLE of a storm. By far the best place to be IN THE MIDDLE is in God’s will! We are smack dab IN THE MIDDLE of God’s will! It is the most wonderful peace that He gives us when we are IN THE MIDDLE of His will for our lives! There is a great burden lifted off your shoulders when you reside IN THE MIDDLE of His plan!
That’s where we are. IN THE MIDDLE of nowhere, IN THE MIDDLE of cell towers, but IN THE MIDDLE of God’s will! It’s wonderful!
It’s gotten me to thinking. Being IN THE MIDDLE isn’t always a pleasant place to be. From what my husband and 2nd child say, being IN THE MIDDLE of siblings is sometimes difficult. Sometimes being IN THE MIDDLE is a very fun place to be! When they were younger our children fought over who got to sit IN THE MIDDLE of the back seat. Sitting IN THE MIDDLE of 2 favorite people is a blast! I personally like to sit IN THE MIDDLE of the theater so I can see the whole movie screen and get the full effect of the surround sound.
We often go through very difficult times, being caught IN THE MIDDLE of a storm. By far the best place to be IN THE MIDDLE is in God’s will! We are smack dab IN THE MIDDLE of God’s will! It is the most wonderful peace that He gives us when we are IN THE MIDDLE of His will for our lives! There is a great burden lifted off your shoulders when you reside IN THE MIDDLE of His plan!
That’s where we are. IN THE MIDDLE of nowhere, IN THE MIDDLE of cell towers, but IN THE MIDDLE of God’s will! It’s wonderful!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Cranberry Lake
Ken's parents arrived this morning. We drove 35 miles north to Cranberry Lake. There, we rented a pontoon boat and set out across the lake. The sun was shining, the sky was so blue and cloudless! It was a bit nippy as we motored across. We got out toward the center and dropped anchor to have our picnic lunch...on the boat. There are little islands in the lake that have rocks and trees. One is big enough that someone owns it and has a home on it. It's accessible only by boat. What a neat place to get away from it all!
We motored around for a couple more hours and stopped to just listen to the quiet. Not even birds were making sounds. For a bit, no other boats were nearby. Only kayacks off by the shore line.
We dropped some bread crumbs into the lake to see if fish would come get them. The fish didn't come. But the balls of beads that were compressed enough would sink as we through them in. The water is clear enough to see the bread sink for quite some time! What a neat experience!
For dinner we went the Rose Garden restaurant in Harrisville. It was good to experience the other eat-in restaurant. This one is NOT own by the mayor's wife and the mayor was NOT our waiter.
We returned home to have a bon fire and a dessert of smores. It's gotten cooler already. We woke this morning to the first frost. It wasn't a hard freeze but it won't be long!
I wonder why people keep asking us if we like snow?
We motored around for a couple more hours and stopped to just listen to the quiet. Not even birds were making sounds. For a bit, no other boats were nearby. Only kayacks off by the shore line.
We dropped some bread crumbs into the lake to see if fish would come get them. The fish didn't come. But the balls of beads that were compressed enough would sink as we through them in. The water is clear enough to see the bread sink for quite some time! What a neat experience!
For dinner we went the Rose Garden restaurant in Harrisville. It was good to experience the other eat-in restaurant. This one is NOT own by the mayor's wife and the mayor was NOT our waiter.
We returned home to have a bon fire and a dessert of smores. It's gotten cooler already. We woke this morning to the first frost. It wasn't a hard freeze but it won't be long!
I wonder why people keep asking us if we like snow?
Friday, September 23, 2005
The Windfall
When you think of a windfall, what comes to mind? Webster defines it: 1. Something blown down by the wind, as fruit from a tree. 2. Any unexpected acquisition, gain, or stroke of good luck.
Ken and I went exploring today and experienced our own windfall. We found Cranberry Lake 22 miles north of here and checked into renting a boat for tomorrow while Ken's parents are here. We asked about a good eating place. The man with the boats directed us to "The Windfall."
We pulled up to the house, yes, house. We walked in and were greeted by...nope, not the hostess, not the maitre 'd, and not the waitress. We were greeted by a dog. We didn't get his name. But he came and checked us out and let us proceed into the restaurant. We walked in, looked around, heard voices in the kitchen and yet no one came to see us. I located the restrooms while Ken located a human. A lady came out and we were seated at a table. We were the only customers...at 12 Noon.
She came and brought out genuine menus. We ordered burgers and a basket of fries. As we sat waiting for our food, we heard a little voice in the kitchen. We soon discovered that the cooks child/grandchild was in the kitchen "helping." We looked around, quietly discussing the uniqueness of this restaurant. We were served our meal and bowed our heads to pray for protection as we ate what we had ordered. It was very tasty.
Nearing the end of our meal we noticed the four-legged greeter wander into the kitchen. Hmmm. He wandered back out and we got the check and paid. As we got into our vehicle to proceed with our outing, we both agreed that we will not be returning to The Windfall. While the food was good in taste, the entire experience took us WAY out of our comfort zone!
On the way home we stopped at a roadside stand and Ken found Concord grapes. He bought a bag and popped one in his mouth! The memories of eating grapes at his grandma's in Western PA flooded back! He devoured the entire bag, seeds and all!
Tomorrow we will be taking Ken's parents out on a boat on Cranberry Lake. We will rent a pontoon boat and take a picnic lunch and enjoy the afternoon! The leaves are already beginning to change. In a week or 2 the colors should be glorious!
Ken and I went exploring today and experienced our own windfall. We found Cranberry Lake 22 miles north of here and checked into renting a boat for tomorrow while Ken's parents are here. We asked about a good eating place. The man with the boats directed us to "The Windfall."
We pulled up to the house, yes, house. We walked in and were greeted by...nope, not the hostess, not the maitre 'd, and not the waitress. We were greeted by a dog. We didn't get his name. But he came and checked us out and let us proceed into the restaurant. We walked in, looked around, heard voices in the kitchen and yet no one came to see us. I located the restrooms while Ken located a human. A lady came out and we were seated at a table. We were the only customers...at 12 Noon.
She came and brought out genuine menus. We ordered burgers and a basket of fries. As we sat waiting for our food, we heard a little voice in the kitchen. We soon discovered that the cooks child/grandchild was in the kitchen "helping." We looked around, quietly discussing the uniqueness of this restaurant. We were served our meal and bowed our heads to pray for protection as we ate what we had ordered. It was very tasty.
Nearing the end of our meal we noticed the four-legged greeter wander into the kitchen. Hmmm. He wandered back out and we got the check and paid. As we got into our vehicle to proceed with our outing, we both agreed that we will not be returning to The Windfall. While the food was good in taste, the entire experience took us WAY out of our comfort zone!
On the way home we stopped at a roadside stand and Ken found Concord grapes. He bought a bag and popped one in his mouth! The memories of eating grapes at his grandma's in Western PA flooded back! He devoured the entire bag, seeds and all!
Tomorrow we will be taking Ken's parents out on a boat on Cranberry Lake. We will rent a pontoon boat and take a picnic lunch and enjoy the afternoon! The leaves are already beginning to change. In a week or 2 the colors should be glorious!
I used to go to that church.
Why do so many people in our communities say those words? In every community we have lived in we have met individuals who "used to go" to the church we are a part of. Each time we have discovered that their reason for not continuing is because of another person. In other words, they were hurt by someone who was supposed to represent Christ. Hmmm.
It is amazing how a simple, uncensored statement can deeply affect another person. Often times we don't even know that what we have said has been hurtful or offensive. The damage that these words do to the Kingdom is a shame. So many people no longer attend church because they were hurt by the very ones called to love them.
In this day when we are bombarded with all kinds of choices of religion, those who know the Truth must take care of their tongues. The book of James talks about how dangerous the tongue is. It's always been a nasty tool that the evil one uses to bring down people. We can't let him use it in the church! We can't sit by and allow people to walk out the doors just because they were hurt by something we said!
James 3:9 -- With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
How many more people will walk away from God because of us?
It is amazing how a simple, uncensored statement can deeply affect another person. Often times we don't even know that what we have said has been hurtful or offensive. The damage that these words do to the Kingdom is a shame. So many people no longer attend church because they were hurt by the very ones called to love them.
In this day when we are bombarded with all kinds of choices of religion, those who know the Truth must take care of their tongues. The book of James talks about how dangerous the tongue is. It's always been a nasty tool that the evil one uses to bring down people. We can't let him use it in the church! We can't sit by and allow people to walk out the doors just because they were hurt by something we said!
James 3:9 -- With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
How many more people will walk away from God because of us?
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Flag poles, bon fires, shooting stars and The Big Dipper
Wow! What a week this has been! Exactly 7 days ago we were unloading our UHaul. I am still amazed that we got all of this stuff in the house! We have managed to get the majority of things organized and unpacked. I hung pictures last night. It's amazing the effect that pictures have on a home. When we took them down in Washington, we felt like we were really moving. Now that they are up, we feel like we are really home.
Today was a great day. An ordinary Wednesday for some, but a great day! We began early with prayer at the church at 7 AM while the children met at the school's flagpole for "See You At The Pole." One of the bus drivers joined Nathan and Cressalyn as they prayed for their friends and school. We had 8 in attendance at the church. This is incredible when you consider the short time we have been here!
This afternoon Ken and I drove around a bit and found Lake Bonaparte. It's gorgeous and just a few minutes from the house! The day was fantastic and beautiful! We didn't spend time at the lake but we did meet a couple who live nearby...and Emmy, their 4 month old Golden Retriever!
Tonight we had prayer meeting. 16 attended and we discussed the purpose of prayer, who we are to pray for, where we are to pray, and how to pray. Ken asked for reports on the challenge he gave on Sunday. Several reported that they are making small steps to connect with neighbors and open the doors for sharing their faith. Sunday nights we are studying "How to be
a Contagious Christian." The people are eager to know how to reach their world.
Following prayer meeting, we dug a pit and built a small bon fire. We sat around the fire and watched the clear skies and stars. We saw a shooting star! It was awesome!
As the fire was dying down and the children had gone inside, I looked toward the church from where I sat at the fire. Directly above the church was The Big Dipper. It struck me that God had placed that constallation in that place to show us that He is ready to pour out His blessings on this body of believers! It was an incredible sight!!!
I received 2 emails from dear friends in Michigan today. Both of them brought tears to my eyes as I realized how much I miss my friends. Sitting around the fire with my hubby I told him that while I miss my friends very much, I feel no loneliness. We both agree that this is huge in my life! God is so good!
I will end this for tonight. I wanted to share with you the blessings that God is giving us. We are doing very well. The kids are enjoying school and work. It's peaceful, beautiful, and the harvest is ready! Continue to pray for us! We have a great work to do and need God's strength to accomplish His will!
Today was a great day. An ordinary Wednesday for some, but a great day! We began early with prayer at the church at 7 AM while the children met at the school's flagpole for "See You At The Pole." One of the bus drivers joined Nathan and Cressalyn as they prayed for their friends and school. We had 8 in attendance at the church. This is incredible when you consider the short time we have been here!
This afternoon Ken and I drove around a bit and found Lake Bonaparte. It's gorgeous and just a few minutes from the house! The day was fantastic and beautiful! We didn't spend time at the lake but we did meet a couple who live nearby...and Emmy, their 4 month old Golden Retriever!
Tonight we had prayer meeting. 16 attended and we discussed the purpose of prayer, who we are to pray for, where we are to pray, and how to pray. Ken asked for reports on the challenge he gave on Sunday. Several reported that they are making small steps to connect with neighbors and open the doors for sharing their faith. Sunday nights we are studying "How to be
a Contagious Christian." The people are eager to know how to reach their world.
Following prayer meeting, we dug a pit and built a small bon fire. We sat around the fire and watched the clear skies and stars. We saw a shooting star! It was awesome!
As the fire was dying down and the children had gone inside, I looked toward the church from where I sat at the fire. Directly above the church was The Big Dipper. It struck me that God had placed that constallation in that place to show us that He is ready to pour out His blessings on this body of believers! It was an incredible sight!!!
I received 2 emails from dear friends in Michigan today. Both of them brought tears to my eyes as I realized how much I miss my friends. Sitting around the fire with my hubby I told him that while I miss my friends very much, I feel no loneliness. We both agree that this is huge in my life! God is so good!
I will end this for tonight. I wanted to share with you the blessings that God is giving us. We are doing very well. The kids are enjoying school and work. It's peaceful, beautiful, and the harvest is ready! Continue to pray for us! We have a great work to do and need God's strength to accomplish His will!
