Seeing the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

      And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ” 3 And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses.  Numbers 8:1-3

The lamps of the Tabernacle were/are a type of the Holy Spirit.
According to Numbers, they were to be facing forward, towards the Holy Place; the place where God dwelt.
As the high priest entered the Tabernacle, he walked in the shadows; but as he drew nearer to the Holy Place, the Lamps' light illuminated his way.  As he came into the Light of the Lamps, he was no longer in the shadows seeing things dimly; for the Lamps light showed him clearly the way to the Holy Place; the way to the LORD.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

I've Got To Be Me

I wish that I could have a physical body that is strong, like a man.  There are times that my imagination dreams up ideas for projects; or I see something in the yard that needs doing, but I know that I don't have the physical strength or know-how to do them.  The know-how can be taught, but the physical abilities well, that can't be taught.  You either have it or you don't. 
I want to move some landscaping block, but my arms can't lift them. I tried, but could barely lift even one, let alone try to move the whole lot of them!
I've been wanting to take apart an old pallet and make a porch swing.  I could manage the taking apart part, but the rest, not so much.
The trees in the front yard need a major pruning, which requires a chain saw; which I know that I can barely lift (because I tried), let alone hold it for the time that it would take to complete the task.
I have some shutters that I wanted to hang in the bathroom, easy enough; except I didn't have the strength to screw in the screws!  And if you are thinking, "That is what they make power tools for," I tried, I really tried.
There have been times that I have been very upset at my lack of physical strength, even during a time in the past when I did strength training at the gym...it didn't help.
I feel like I am a burden when I have to ask for help.  I feel like I should be able to do these simple tasks.  After all, it seems that a man can do them so effortlessly.
I was sitting out front the other night (looking at the projects that needed done) and it occurred to me that I was created by my Maker.......female, the "weaker vessel." I know, no surprise.
Don't you love it when God uses the "everyday" to talk to you?
It came to me that it is good to accept who I was created to be. 

It is good for me to be patient and to wait for my strong man to help me.  It is good to be needy. It is good to be dependent on others; not in an immature way, but in a way that allows me the opportunity to turn to God (or my honey) in a time of need.  An opportunity to rely on another.  Yes, it is frustrating and humiliating at times, but God made me this way!  He chose for ME to be.......female. 
And so, I will gladly glory in my weakness, for when I am weak.......God is and will be......strong.

HOWDY

It has been awhile.......Here are the "Hi-Lights" of the past few months.
March:  We moved!!  We are in a smaller home now, on 1 acre of land....and we love it!!  God is so good to us and we can't thank Him enough for the blessing of our "little farm."  It is so sweet to be able to go home and sit in our yard and hear nothing but the birds' song.
My sweet Stephenie came down to help me move.....my back totally appreciated her assistance!

April:   We spent the month working in our yard getting the irrigation running smoothly.  I spent a lot of time figuring out if I wanted to keep the huge garden that is already complete and growing things!  I have decided to downsize it by half!
Laura, and the kids, visited for a week and she helped me decorate the house, while the kiddos explored the yard and the tree house.  It was a big relief to finally get the all of the boxes unpacked!
May:  More of the same, except the moving part!!  Mitch is hard at work building retaining walls out of railroad ties....they look amazing!  I'll need to soften them up a bit with shrubs and flowers; but
that will be next year's project.
June:   We drove to Yosemite, California, for my niece's wedding.  She and her fiance, Dennis, got married at Tenaya Lodge, with Mitch performing the ceremony.  It was a beautiful wedding and of course, I loved visiting with my sisters and their families, plus me cousins were there as well.

Our grandson, Adam, graduated from High School!!  And now, he is off to join the military.  He isn't sure what branch yet, but hopes to be enlisted this fall.

July:   Our grandson, Aaron, got married!!! Yes, married!! His wife, Meagan, is a sweet heart and we are so thankful to Jesus that she is apart of our family.  I look forward to getting to know her better.
On our way home from the wedding, we spent the day hiking around in Mt. Rainier National Forest.  It was a beautiful day and the up close view of Mt. Rainier was spectacular!

Today:   We are still working in our yard. The retaining walls are close to being complete.  We will be planting some more grass in the backyard as soon as it isn't so hot.
I took on a "new" position at work.  I will now be the officail "order-er of the food" for our church's retreat center. I look forward to this new adventure, pray that my computer skills increase!!
Well, that is it!  I am sure that a bunch more things happened, but they are too boring to write down.

For Mitch

I love you husband of mine.....there is no one else that I love on this earth more than you.  You are the bright spot in my dark days, the laughter to my sadness, the steadiness to my feelings, the heart of my life.  No other man on the face of the planet ( hee hee) would ever be able to measure up to you.  My heart is full of YOU!!

Christmas 2012

Christmas was wonderful.  We spent the day with our children and grand children......nothing better than that!

We enjoyed the snow, went sledding the day after......I haven't gone sledding in years!
I loved watching the grands enjoy their Christmas gifts.....the older ones got cars!!  
I loved eating all of the yummy holiday foods......but I forgot to bring the fudge, the salad, the relish tray, the crudite' platter, and the rolls for the next day' sandwiches!!
But most of all......I love the Lord, Who gave these blessings to me......especially the gift of His Son, Jesus!

White As Snow

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!!  I pray that you and yours are enjoying the Reason for the season......Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, our Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, the Great I AM!!  I praise Jesus that He came to this earth as a Baby, to give His life for me....that He came to make my heart.....whiter than snow.
I am looking forward to heading north to see our family........we leave tonight after service at church.  So far this winter, we have only had a dusting of snow, but up north.....it has been snowing....alot!  I am so excited to see the snow......and my family too :)!!  I have packed my oh so warm winter parka, my fur-lined winter boots and gloves.  I think that a snow-ball fight is in order......maybe a snow angel or two.
Why do I love the snow you ask?  Well, it makes the brown earth and the gray skies of winter a bit easier to  tolerate, that's why!  If I look outside my window and just see....blah....I get a bit down in the mouth.  But let it snow for a bit and everything changes to pure sparkly white!  The earth no longer looks so drab when it is covered in a quilt made of diamonds; and the gray skies now sparkle with frost as the snow flakes fall to the earth.  Yes, I know......snow is cold.....but snow warms this girl's heart.

The Snow (by Katniss Everdeen)

The Snow
See the snow
Its a blanket, soft and white
Falling slow
Covering the world, making it bright

Hear the snow
Crunching underneath feet
Children throw
The snow in the street

Smell the snow
The freshening scent
As the steady flow
Makes my heart content

Feel the snow
Powdery, it freezes your toes
As the blanket starts to grow
And the cold wind blows

Taste the snow
The way it makes the world look clean
Still cold though,
Makes the world, a beautiful scene

Love the snow
When I see it snowing all day
I just know
That everything is going to be okay

The Tide Has Turned

Well, the Christmas season has begun!!  My favorite time of the year.  I love Christmas for many reasons; spending time with family and friends, Christmas cookies and candies, the decorations, and the most wonderful reason of all, my Savior came to earth to be born a Man, destined to die for me!!
Last night at our church's 32 annual Women's Christmas celebration, the gals who led the music sang; Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel......but with a twist.  They added in another song between the verses....it was beautiful and very moving.  
This Is War by Dustin Kensrue. 
This is war like you ain't seen.
This winter's long, it's cold and mean.
With hangdog hearts we stood condemned,
But the tide turns now at Bethlehem.
This is war and born tonight,
The Word as flesh, the Lord of Light,
The Son of God, the low-born king;
Who demons fear, of whom angels sing.
This is war on sin and death;
The dark will take it's final breath.
It shakes the earth, confounds all plans;
The mystery of God as man.

I wish that all of you could have heard it.  It was a beautiful reminder of why I celebrate Christmas.  The lyrics to the above song say it all.  I was in darkness and now I am in the LIGHT!  I no longer have a "hang-dog" heart, and the winter is anything but cold and mean!!  Winter time now holds the celebration of the Light of the world coming to earth to save us from sin's condemnation and the curse of death.  I praise the God of heaven for His indescribable Gift.......my Jesus!!