Hiking In Grace & Capturing My View

Tuesdays Unwrapped: Things In Common

09.28.10

This photo has been on my mind for a while.

My husband and I celebrated our Anniversary one year by driving down the coast of Oregon. It was a peace-filled time of reconnecting and doing something we both enjoy, something that brought us together in the beginning. Taking photos and then spending time looking at them together, giving affirmation on a good shot and offering advice on how to do some things better next time. (He is a much better photographer than I.)

Though our lives have other callings, we still enjoy this activity, of capturing God’s creation, at first it was on film, and now it is in digital pixels.

I am thankful for the blessing of things in common, that we enjoy together, that will still go on when the kids move upward and onward someday.

Unwrapping Blessings over at Emily’s on this Tuesday. Click on over and discover some other blessings in the linkage there.

Gratitude: Joining In

09.27.10

Today I am joining in a counting of blessings hosted by Ann Voscamp at Holy Experience. Counting the multitude of them on a Monday. Joining in a community of gratitude and giving of thanks. I began it a few days ago in a notebook and decided to keep up online.
Several times in the past I have tried to keep a notebook on my own. I am glad to have this community to keep me accountable to keep counting…

“Every good gift and every perfect gift
is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights…”

~James 1:17

1. Salvation found in Christ Jesus

2. A husband set on serving Christ, seeking to honor God with his life

3. Four gifts from God inhabiting our home

4. a 7 year old Golden Retriever, who was an answer to prayer on a foreign shore

5. a sweet Golden puppy, another answered prayer, that brings laughter from us all

6. the blessing of time spent camping with my parents this past week

7. a light breeze

8. the clear blue sky

9. watching the children fish with their dad

10. The old dog playing gently with the new pup

11. My mother’s life extended, each day ever after is a gift

12. a good nights sleep

13. french braids on a little girl’s head, less knots later on

14. text messages from a ‘kindred spirit’, inviting me to lunch

15. a husband’s compliment

16. a chair in which to spend time alone with my Lord each morning

17. a laptop that works

18. a parsonage to live in

19. the wide open backyard that comes with that parsonage (answered prayer)

20. Seeing God answer other people’s prayer and questions through my husband’s God led preaching

21. two new visitors joining in our worship yesterday

22. sickness providing me time to be completely alone with God

23. curriculum to teach homeschool with

24. lunch with a good friend in the Lord

25. a smiling ‘almost 6’ year old who hangs on his teacher’s every word

26. the soft brown eyes that smile along with the mouth below

27. the bright blue eyes of my artist son

28. good advice from a friend to look forward and stop gazing at the past and what was

29. the rainy day we are having

30. the scent of apple from the candle burning on the sideboard

One Hundred

09.18.10

One Hundred times I have logged on and finished with hitting “publish”. I haven’t done it much lately, what with leaky roofs sending my computer into ~~ICU~~ the Apple Store for a new logic board. I decided to celebrate my ONE HUNDRETH post with some special stuff.

While I was at the shore a sweet new internet friend awarded me my first bloggy award. I did send her an email way back when thanking her for it but I never mentioned it here, mainly because I did not have access to my computer. (I am a Mac-snob and disdained having to check my email on my husband’s PC, so there was no way I was going to actually POST FROM IT.)

SO, thank you Hyacynth over at Undercover Mother for my first blog award, the Cherry on Top Award.

A few requirements for accepting it is:

1. Thanking the one who blessed you with it

2. Writing 3 things about yourself

3. Posting a favorite photo {I could not do that from my hubby’s computer either.}

4. Pass it on, tag a few people you want to give it to.

So three things about myself:

1. I absolutely loath spiral bound books. It doesn’t matter if it is a church hymnal, a kid’s notebook for school, a spiral bound journal, or a cookbook. THE PAGES ALWAYS TEAR OUT AND THE WIRE ALWAYS GETS BENT, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO PROPERLY OPEN IT. (Sorry, just ~~complaining again~~ stating the obvious.)

2. I would like to live on the water’s edge someday… maybe lakeside in Maine? a loche in Scotland? or somewhere close to the ocean…

3. I hoard arts and craft supplies, from expensive water color paint, to stamp art stuff (that I don’t know how to use ~ hey! it was a great deal at a yard sale!!! ), to quilting fabric (I haven’t quilted or pieced anything in 11 years but I could look at beautiful fabric all day long.)

My favorite photo: (this was a hard one…)

New spring growth, on Old Rag Mountain.

And people I would like to pass it on to…
Corrine at Trains, Tutus, and Teatime
Dawn at Beyond Grace
Amy at Daily Pleasures
Jo at Mylestones
I enjoy each of these ladies blogs.

ANOTHER SPECIAL THING…
I created a facebook page for my blog. Stop by and don’t forget to click on “like”.☺

We adopted another fur-covered daughter this past week.

Her name is Mango. I keep having to remind the kids to love on Carmel too.

The race is on… Who will potty train first? the puppy or the 3 1/2 yr. old?

Power -and the lines that go with it.

09.08.10

God has put us in a wonderful spot to see the sunrise from our porch.

Many mornings I would love to photo it and share the beauty of it.

BUT do you see what I find so downright annoying that I never pull out the camera?

Do you see them now?

Surely you can see them NOW.

And so I zoom in to avoid those nasty powerlines and it isn’t quite the same view.

Though it is nice in this shot:

I really wanted the full view of the sun on the horizon and the sky fading from deep blue to purple and pink and orange…

(sigh)

I know…

I am complaining again…

Thank you God

for the power lines that enable me to blog,

and have electric lights,

and a coffee maker…

think I will go and have a cup…

have a blessed day.

Trying to keep an Attitude of Gratitude.

ITS ALIVE!!!

09.08.10

After a two week trip to the hospital, landing in ICU, and needing a full-innards transplant, my ~~baby~~ Macbook is out of the coma and home at last.

They replaced the logic board… basically everything but my hard drive where my info is stored. So I have a new keyboard and trackpad and it is all nice and white and CLEAN. So, I bought that silicone cover thingy for the keyboard to keep it that way… man is it hard to get used to typing now. Your fingers don’t slide over the keys anymore, they kinda stick to the silicone as if it is covered in tacky glue.

So… though I have the ability to catch up on everything I wanted to say on vacation, it seems so far away now that it seems…. pointless. And I lack TIME.

Today is our first day of school. Pray for us if you think on it. Mama wants so much to get through it without getting frustrated with myself and them. That I can teach with gentleness and kindness and not sharp cutting words and sarasm.