10/31/10

II Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Just had to share this song today. I was reminded of the words as I faced something kind of hard on Friday. God's grace is sufficient and I should praise Him through it all!

10/30/10

It is not terribly cold here today but much cooler than it has been this past week. We've felt like summer around here.. humidity and all.

Since it was cooler today, my sweet Steve asked me this morning if I wanted him to start a fire in the woodstove. Cautiously I thought about this because I knew it wasn't going to be terribly cool, just refreshing. However, because he knows my heart and love for a fire, he decided he was going to fix one for me.

It hasn't been a hot fire, the fan is not on providing warmth throughout the house, but there are the smells and looks of fall in the air and I have missed them.

Now I'll move on to the rest of my post:

A last look at Jordan Pond in Maine. It surely was a beautiful place.... wonder what it is like right now. I am sure beautiful will the fall foliage.

Steve took a rest on a rock....

So did the kids... this is when we stopped almost halfway around the pond and ate some lunch.

Just beautiful...

"Climb Every Mountain......"

Bubble Mountains... twin mountains in between the lake and the pond. These were carved out by glaciers.

What a great view!

My sweet family. :)

10/29/10

Hello???

Anyone out there?

I think I have been talking to myself on here a lot lately.


Here is something to think about for today. A friend sent it to me in email:

Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why did God have to do this to me?' Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter.
'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'

To which the mother replies: 'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!
'God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

10/28/10

These are lamps that we saw at the fair that had been refurbished into bird feeders!! The person who made them also used Christmas lights in them. They were BEAUTIFUL and I loved how they made something so ordinary look so extraordinary.

They were placed next to a path. As I have looked at these pictures I couldn't help but think of
Psalm 119:105 ~Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

I am so thankful for the light of Christ Who lights my path every day. I still sometimes stumble, but He lifts me up and shows me the way....

10/27/10

Authentic Faith.

Do you think you have it?

What is "Authentic Faith", you ask?

It is where you trust God in all things... not just on Sundays.

It is when you are faced with a challenge you look to the Lord and not your own ideas or ways.

I will be honest, I have not always had authentic faith. I will even go further and say that I just began having more of that 5 years ago.... and the Lord is continuing to work with me on that.

Yes, I had faith that the Lord saved me and I was going to Heaven.

But faith is so much more than that.

In the last year the Lord allowed me to face a personal challenge that rocked my world and caused me to go crashing to my knees realizing I was nothing without Him.

I am so thankful for that rocking of my world. I am thankful for the journey.... doesn't necessarily mean I would love to go through it again. :)

Through that time I have learned how to really step out on faith and BELIEVE that God is going to make things the way He plans. I had all of the words to say that in years prior, but to REALLY believe it is another thing. He has taught me to stop thinking on what I think, but to put it all in His hands and trust Him completely. That is something hard for a control freak like me, but I continue to learn that nothing is too hard for God.

In the last few weeks I faced a physical challenge... one where I was uncertain whether I had cancer or something minor.

In those days of waiting and wondering I began to do more soul searching than I had already been doing in the last year.

There was a peace about me during that time that I know could only come from the Lord because I kept giving my worries over to Him. I had gotten to the point where I told the Lord that whatever He chose I would trust. I was no different than other people who had faced the same things. A year ago I wasn't able to do that. A year ago I would have been a nervous wreck.

The Lord worked out the issue in the way that was positive. However, it got me thinking: "What if the Lord had seen fit to put me through something that was not so pleasant?"

I kept thinking of Job. I kept thinking of how God never left Job's side through all that he was put through.

I was reminded that God has never left my side either.

I can now understand a little more of "Authentic Faith."

I can see how the Lord is continuing to fine tune me to be Who He wants me to be. When I continue to give my worries over to Him He fights the battle for me. Giving over not just the big things in life, like my issue, but giving Him the little things: like my attitude, how I respond to others, etc....

That is when "Authentic Faith" is found.

10/26/10

This should be the last official fair post for the year.... I still have other pictures to share but the whole post shouldn't be about it. :)

I just loved looking at the swings this year. We rode them twice (which after last year is a miracle because I didn't think I would ride them again.... that "old age" fear of heights thing kicked in...) I am happy to say I actually enjoyed the ride!

Here are a few pics during the day.

I just had to capture the people in the shadow of the sun as they were enjoying the ride.

Nightime was my favorite as the ride now had LED lights and not just white bulb lights. I was able to capture some beautiful colors swirling around like a mushroom! Enjoy!

The lights were blinking during the time I photographed this one.... thought it was neat!

Some fireworks through the rides...

Best shot I could get of the Enterprise... there is always next year!

10/25/10

Last week, one of my students brought me a piece of wood that had been cut by a beaver. I was so excited to see it and asked him if he could go over the river and through the woods again to get me one for the classroom. He said I could have the one he brought in.

I was giddy with excitement!

I am going to have Steve put some "varnish" on it and preserve that puppy, er.... beaver cutting.

It made me realize I never have shown the pics of the beaver lodges we found in Maine. It was AWESOME to see one so large and "up close."

Have I mentioned lately how much I loved Maine? Just checking.

This was a "small one" on the side of the pond.

Evidence a beaver has been near!

More evidence... I loved this one because of the sap coming out of the tree when he had chewed it down. Wonder if it tasted a bit like maple syrup? lol

More evidence
The "Biltmore" of beaver lodges....

That was one big lodge....

The view around that lodge wasn't so bad, either.....

10/24/10

Proverbs 9:9-10
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (God) is understanding.

10/23/10

The areas around the fairgrounds that show off plants and designs are always very interesting. We loved this one because it was a butterfly! The designers used CD's and broke them to create more butterflies as decorations. The second pic shows a more closeup view of one of those. I'd love to know how they did that to create our own for our yard. I'm sure there are some old CD's around here. :)

10/22/10

You can't go to the fair without eating..... and we usually enjoy that a lot. :)

My official footlong of the fair. It was yummy... and I usually only eat beef (or even turkey!) hotdogs. For the fair, I make the exception.

Wesley and Mikayla are enjoying their lunch at our first stop every year.

No fair is complete without the funnel cake with POWDERED sugar. Not chocolate. I know that is shocking to you to hear seeing as I am a chocoholic, but just give me the funnel cake with the pow. sugar and don't mess with something already delicioso.

Wesley and Mikayla prefer theirs with chocolate and powdered sugar. More power to them. :)

My sweet man and me. :)

Mom and Dad had just finished their funnel cake as well. Daddy is just a bit goofy.

Apple cider anyone? Cheers!

NC State Farmer's Market ham biscuits were for supper. They were HUGE. We all enjoyed one. :)

We'll be eating more treats tomorrow.... hee hee

10/21/10

We enjoyed riding at the fair.... I love to ride certain things but can't handle them all. I found out last year that the swings gave me the heebie jeebies, but I went back on them this year and did alright. Of course, most of the time I was staring at the back of Mikayla's head. lol

Swings in action before I got on them....

Steve, Wes and Kevin do the "Drop Zone"

Up, up, up.... click....

They made it!

Waiting in line to ride the roller coaster. Fun ride.... Wesley was finally tall enough to ride it. It was a bit jerky for Steve, though. lol

Bumper cars are a must and here are those who chose to ride. I was the photographer so I had to sit this one out... er, uh... photograph them.

Wesley waiting patiently for them to start the cars.

Daddy has a little too much fun... lol

Kevin really gets into trying to hit his niece...

Mikayla got close enough for me to capture her little self!

Steve had a blast, too.

The Scrambler is another favorite. We just love that ride. :)

Mikayla got to ride with me this time. Her laughter was the best part... she giggled the whole time!

Whew... done... I was dizzy!

Kevin and Wesley survived. :)