Rejoice and Shake Free

  Do you delight in God?  Do you seek Him just to delight and take pleasure in Him?  Do you find the place of His presence in intimacy that is unique to only you and Him?

  The psalms are full of admonitions to rejoice in God; take pleasure in Him; shout with joy before Him; sing and make melody before Him. In spite of all these encouraging words to do so, how often we present our burdens, and then carry them away still on our shoulders?!

  Rejoicing before God makes those burdens fall right off.   He wants us to shake free of them. He encourages us to do so.  Delighting in God gives Him great pleasure.  Isn't giving God pleasure one of the reasons for living?  When you are in Christ you please God a great deal.  Go beyond that today,  Give Him great pleasure.  Live life rejoicing.

 Determine to really live until you are dead.


Psalm 149:1-2  Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be
Joyful in their King.

Bachelor Uncles

  Our sons, Dom and Charlie, (the bachelor uncles) were bot born with microcephaly.  They are 35 yrs. and 30 yrs. old.  Back in the day they were "labeled" severely cognitively delayed.  I can understand why.  However they are both very intelligent and gifted.  Charlie has a wonderful memory and purity of joy.  Dominick is very compassionate and kind.

  We took them with us to Kansas to celebrate the Fourth of July with Emily and Phillip and their families, their siblings, nieces and nephew.  The weather cooperated mostly and we had a wonderful time.

  Nine to ten hours in the car can be challenging for all of us.  The guys perseverate, getting stuck on their favorite subjects, and we know them all.  They are clearly gifts from God.  They can, however, drive us crazy.

  This time I played a book on tape.  We had cooperation and peace all the way.  It was nothing short of a miracle!


Numbers 6:26 The Lord lift up His countenance
Upon you
And give you peace.

And He did.

Fourth of July

Wamego, KS has the best fourth of July celebration in the state.  Our daughter Emily, her husband, Eric, and four children live there. Our son Phillip and his wife Jaimee live in Wichita with their two girls, and they join us in Wamego. for the festivities.  We head down there every Fourth of July. 

  A beautiful bed and breakfast greets us with open arms and the children take turns staying with us two by two. The family time is just wonderful.   So far, we all get along really well.  Wamego does it up well.  There is always a parade through town, an antique car show and carnival rides for the kids.  The fireworks are always spectacular. 

  Oh! How we enjoy!
  Remembering and being thankful for our freedom.


PS 33:12  Blessed is the nation
Whose God is the Lord
The people whom He has chosen
As His heritage.

Rhubarb Crunch

  Yesterday Timothy(7 yrs old) and Hilde (5 yrs) and I dug into the rhubarb and pulled a pile of it out.  They were pretty gung-ho so we set up cutting boards and some very adult sharp knives.  I showed them the size of the pieces I needed and they began cutting rhubarb for the desserts I planned to make.  After we cut at least 18 large cups of rhubarb, they wanted to help with the rest.  Hilde measured and poured while I had Timothy cutting the crust into crumbs. They carried through until they watched me put it in the oven to bake.
  It seems that our young ones are ready for more than we think.
  Because they are young does not make them incapable.
  Hilde commented that God is breath.
  I was brought to a heart stop, to enjoy that truth, and appreciate the little mouth that spoke it.


Matthew 21:16  "Do you hear what these are saying? 
And Jesus said to them,
"Yes." Have you never read,
'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise'?"

Vivi

  We bid a fond farewell to Vivi, our sweet, young woman from China.  She has lived in our home for the past ten months.  The parting was bittersweet as most partings are.  She punctured our hearts, with her love for life, the minute she stepped through our front door.  It has been a joy to host her during this past school year.  Now she goes home to continue her schooling and her teaching.
  We will miss her.  I see little notes from her lying around the house.  They are like musical notes making a sweet, enduring  melody of memories.
  We love you, Vivi. 
  We always will.



Hebrews 13:2  Don't neglect to
Entertain strangers,
For by so doing
Some have unwittingly
Entertained angels.

For a Birthday Girl Who's Five

For a birthday Girl Who's Five

Bumble little bubble

Float from here to there

Cobwebs in the attic

Flowers in your hair

Life is full and messy

Plans may go astray

Overall His love for us 

Bids us stop and play

Tinker with a little toy

Sketch a happy face

Mix the dough with mama

Catch papas full embrace

Chalk upon the driveway

Paint upon the chin

Dig to China in the sand

Take a little spin

Follow quick the butterflies

Smell the blooming buds

Wash the car with grandpa

Playing in the suds

Here are birthday wishes

For a little girl who's five

Jesus bless and keep you

And make you ever thrive

Matt 19:14  Jesus said,"Let the children come to me,
and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of heaven belongs
to such as these."   

The Here and Now

  I'm trying to live in the moment.  To do that I am taking cues from my husband.  He is more spontaneous than I am.  Some planning seems to be necessary.  There are many moments during the the day, however,  that just need to be live in and enjoyed.  When I do that it helps me to face my fears without "what ifs."  I am better able to be filled with joy, sorrow, sadness, anger, and to deal honestly with each.  Life seems to expand.
  The best model we have for this is Jesus.  He seemed to take everything in stride.  He never missed a beat.  He really looked at people.  He was there, in the moment.  It never slowed Him down.  It never confused Him.  It never defeated Him. He was always right there.


Ex 3:14  God said to Moses,
"I AM WHO I AM.
This is what you are to say to the Israelites
" I AM has sent me to you."