Let's Believe!

This is an eleven-week study by Beth Moore that I did several years ago. I am looking so forward to getting to do it again. God's timing is perfect, and He has brought such an amazing group of women together for such a time as this. We will start up again on Wednesday. Can't wait!


Thanks to my sis for allowing me to do it at her house. Mine is -- should I say --  "under construction." That's a post in itself.

Trust

Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment...but trust in GOD, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity.

- Dwight L. Moody

This Is Why!

This cute new little badge I received in my box at my new place of employment this afternoon explains it all. I mean -- everything -- from May through today, August 22!

It explains......

*why Rick has had to survive on nachos, Sonic, sandwiches, t.v. dinners, and anything else he could muster up
*what God orchestrated and directed me to do
*why I basically lived away from home the entire month of June
*why I have bribed and "practiced" testing so many adults and kiddos around town
*why I continue to make meetings/training at least two times a week (nights, Saturdays, etc.)
*why I will be working parttime (when I finish all these requirements!!!)
*why and how I want to continue to invest in the lives of our children at school
*why my blogging has been so sporadic lately

And....that's a wrap for tonight!

An Engagement

My sweet nephew, Chad, proposed to his girlfriend, Tara, Friday night. She said yes, and now their "forever" life together is on!

There are some really good stories to be told. Chad is suppose to pen those himself. When he does, I will direct you to them.

Some kind of wonderful.......

Not All Alligators Are Scary

Har-Ber Village

Rick and I finally got to go to Har-Ber Village. It is apparently one of the largest antique museums in the U.S. The village, located in Grove, Oklahoma, was created by Harvey and Bernice Jones on lakeside property they bought for a summer home. It has 112 buildings that house thousands of collections of antiques and memorabilia. The village includes a schoolhouse, stagecoach station, courthouse, gallows, bank, dentist office, doctor office, homes, and so much more. Most structures were dismantled at their original sites in numerous surrounding states and brought to their property.

There were collections of almost everything you could think of. They had pottery, dishes, uniforms, hats, guns, maps, newspapers, furniture, knives, farm machinery...too much to list.

Rick's parents went there many times. They loved to go and just stroll through the place at least once a year. I definitely want to go back. Perhaps another month other than August would be good! (The heat thing was going on there, too.)

Joplin Destruction

Earlier in the week Rick and I drove to Joplin, Missouri to get a firsthand look at the city after it was hit by the tornado back in May.  It was eerie, to say the least, driving down streets and streets of destruction. There were so many homes, businesses, and churches affected.

As I looked at the ruins of those homes, my thoughts were with each family. I wondered where they were living now. Or had they not even survived? (At least 134 didn't.) Would they be able to come back to the place they had once called "home?"

Would the business owners be able to eventually rebuild? Did the employees of all those businesses have the opportunity to find jobs elsewhere? So many out of work......

Where were each of the congregations having their services?

I wanted to find the hospital I had seen on television. It wasn't hard to locate. The structure/shell was still standing with steel everywhere. Across the street were white tents and some trailers being used as temporary medical facilities.

Please keep reading now about Mission Joplin.

"Mission Joplin is a new movement of action and life birthed out of the devastation and destruction caused by the May 22nd, 2011 tornado which ravaged Joplin, MO. We exist to connect and coordinate the volunteer efforts of eager organizations who want to give to and serve the immense needs of the city of Joplin and its residents during this time of severe loss." (Go here for more information.)


Keelie shared this with me; she is getting to go with some friends. 

As other weather-related victims from the past, these people need many prayers and so much assistance!

We can each do something---pray, give, or go.

Let's do it.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

On a mountaintop outside Charlottesville, Virginia, you will find Thomas Jefferson's beloved Monticello. It is a 5000-acre plantation that was home to the author of the Declaration of Independence and our third president of the United States. He was also the founder of the University of Virginia.

We had a terrific guide the day we took our tour. Now just in case you are wondering, kids, we didn't tour the whole 5000 acres!