Don's "Humor"

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Winter In Iowa

It's winter in Iowa

And the gentle breezes blow,

70 miles per hour at 52 below!

Oh, how I love Iowa

When the snow's up to your butt;

You take a breath of winter air

And your nose is frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful,

I guess I'll hang around.

I could never leave Iowa

'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

Author Unknown at this time.... could pretty much be anybody in this state!

...Where Is The Woman I Married?!!!!

"Who are you and WHERE is the woman I married?" This pretty much sums up the look Don gave me last night when I chose pert near the least expensive kitchen sink in Menards.

Yeah!!! My kitchen cupboards are here!!!!

We are REALLY going to have to step up the hunt for a drywaller!

Hmmm....maybe I could find somebody and hold them at gun point and demand they drywall my house as a matter of national security....

Oh, so sorry! I forget I am not Jack Bauer!

Can you guess what I've been watching?

There are a couple of trains of thought on watching 24. One is that after one episode you are so on edge you need to take a break for a day, or a week.

Then there are those who get hooked and believe you have to watch the whole season in a 24 hour period in order to get the full effect.....can you believe there are crazy people out there like that?!!!! It honestly doesn't take as long if you watch it in double time on your laptop. The subtitles help. You can read what they are saying. But again, who could process all that action in 1/2 the time!!!!

Patience

In the spirit of our current ladies Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit, I give you Patience.

You know the ability to be settled even when you find out that your trusses are too long and the stairs (which took hours to place when drawing up the house) have no place to go, so you have to get the trusses re engineered, and thus adding to the work load on my dear hubs.

Or when it takes 3 men 2 hours to put up one piece of drywall....

Thankfully, God doesn't just want to change my life, but He is here to change TODAY!

We're Loosing Our Baby

It's official...I no longer have a baby.

This fact has been quite obvious lately, Jesse's height alone reinforces that fact. Don and I have both been floored just watching Jesse pass by us.

There are other things too, independence in meeting daily needs such as getting dressed, brushing his teeth, doing dishes, raiding the fridge for a bologna ONLY sandwich. (just 3 slices of bologna folded like a tortilla.

But, if there was any doubt in my mind, tonight blew it all out of the water.

Jesse: "Bye Mom."

Me: "Where are you going?"

"To college."

"College?"

"Yes, far, far away."

"Mom, where is college?'

"If you don't know, I don't think you are ready for college."

"Yes I am. I am going to college far far away. Maybe, in Africa. I am going to college in Africa. Africa is a college."

"Africa is a continent.... I still don't think your ready to go..."

I've Got Sunshine...

...on an icy day!

(I haven't the first clue where to even begin looking for a vase!)

Joy

I am SOOOO geeked!

We started our new Bible study last night. We have begun, "Living Beyond Yourself" authored by Beth Moore.

This is a DVD study. We watched the first "instalment" last night, and it is so RIGHT ON!

Due to various pressures, needs and frustrations I have been taking a close look at the places my energies are spent, mainly people, and was starting to par back on how much I was "investing" myself.

Honestly, if felt very unnatural, but within the parameters of my selfish human mindset, it was needed.

I have been rather "let down" lately, feeling like a dumping station, a place people come to get rid of crap, but don't really care to linger .....

Anyway, it's complicated. My lack of neediness is often interpreted as a lack of need, but if someone really SAW me they would know that... right?!!!

But! It's not about ME!!! What a relief. God's plans for me ARE beyond me by design! I'M not supposed to do it! HE IS!!!!

Thru His Spirit I can

• Do things I couldn't
• Feel things I didn't
• Know things I wouldn't

The filling of the Spirit doesn't just change my life, it changes TODAY! I don't have to wait for it! It's available now! I just have to "come out of myself".

Cool beans!!! No striving. No manipulating.

I am so excited! I was giddy with gratitude last night as I crashed with my dear hubby! Just the knowing....I am exactly where I am supposed to be, with Don, in our house, in N.H., in our church, with our kids, in our families... It's FANTASTIC!

Did I mention our study is on the fruit of the Spirit....

Peace

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

That pretty much sums the past couple of weeks for our family.

So many precious memories and growth, yet so much turmoil and tension.

So many paths to growth being pursued, so many barricades we must lay at the feet of Christ.

So much to say, so much to ponder.

I can say we are so very blessed! We had a perfect New Years! Our church went a head and help prayer meeting on Wednesday night. I would have totally understood if they had cancelled, I probably would have supported the idea, but it turned out to be just what we needed.

God is so good like that! He keeps showing me how perfect things can be if I wait on Him and cease from striving. I am learning to seek His leading to help me discern between my zeal and Git R' Done "tendencies" and when He has a Plan Of Action for me. Also a constant balancing act is weighing whether keeping silent is apathy or wisdom.

So, back to our New Years.... usually Wednesday nights are a time of service to a bunch a kids from our community, but this past Wednesday we were all able to sit down together and it was such a cozy time.

I love that our church has such a united heart for ministry to each other and to all God sends our way! It is such a blessing to know those I invite will be safe and welcomed by all.

I digress, again, Pastor shared his observations of growth in the past year and his vision for 2009. He also opened things up for everyone else to do the same. There really has been a lot going on with our church body. Tornadoes, floods, moving, building, rebuilding..... It is so important to look back. God's faithfulness can be so quickly eclipsed, at least for me, by mounting troubles. Just that morning God had brought me to Hebrews 3:12-16 (The Message)

So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.

So that was my lesson from 08/ challenge for 09. Even the kid, who out numbered the adults, got involved. They shared things they were thankful for, prayed and got to sing their favorite song 2X!!! I think "Bold As A Lion, Brave As A Bear" is the song Pastor has adopted for our theme song for 2009. The kids are thrilled.

After church we went, for the first time, to our friends new house. We brought our Wii, Christmas gift from the Mc's) and hooked it up to their Living Room TV. Their Wii was hooked up to the 10 foot screen in their home theater. The kids had a blast bowling, and watching "Cars" on that monster!

We took turns upstairs facing off in tennis and boxing. It was fun! We stayed until midnight and prayed in the new year. It was precious!

It is WONDERFUL being home together as a family. Don has recently seen clearly God's path for our family and is doing a fabulous job of communicating and leading us.

There is more to say, but there is a lot to do.

A special shout out to my nephew Caleb on this his 6th birthday!