I heard this on a show I was watching and wrote it down. It is good and true yet quaint (I like that word!) :
“I endeavor to always forget the words of idle tongues.”
I will work on practicing the words of the wise woman who made this statement. One way I can endeavor to forget it is by putting my mind on higher things. Things like this:
NOT THIS!
Yes this!
Beauty, goodness, peace, and joy – set your mind on such things (also, on any pretty flowers you may find in YOUR yard)!
Kimmy
It has been a busy week, like usual. We had some beautiful sunrises:
Sunrise over river by a bridge on the way to work.
A beautiful sunset too!
Reflection of the setting sun in river.
And the reason we have been having such morning and evening beauty is due to a fire nearby. Here is a picture of the cloud of smoke it has produced:
Smoke cloud from fire near Idaho City.
We had a full moon not too long ago and I took this picture!
Full Moon! Seeing the corner of the shed shows how close they come. Also, see the smoke on the horizon.
We have been fortunate that there have not been many fires nearby this summer! It gets loud and crazy when the helicopters are coming and going every fifteen minutes!
Summer is winding down, we have already had a slight frost and you can feel fall starting to make it’s presence known. I hope you all enjoy the last days of summer eating all the corn-on-the-cob you can sink your teeth into – followed up with an ear to ear watermelon-eating smile!
Kimmy
We had such a great weekend! My knees are knocking and I sprang a muscle in my rear, of all places! But the pain is all worth it. Thursday night was the Valley County Junior Rodeo! Our daughter came up bringing Chooch with her and we had such fun watching her at the rodeo. Miniature Bull riding was last on the schedule and it was worth waiting for. Like the announcer said, they were like regular bulls with their legs cut off! So fun to watch! Here is Chooch having fun watching the girl’s barrel race! (Please try to ignore the kinda creepy photo bomber!)
Excited!
On Friday it was Roaring Springs day with all the grands and their parents! I climbed up so many stairs, many times dragging a heavy tube, and the ear splitting screams from the grand girls, the loss of skin on the bottom of my feet from the cement, the scrapes on my knees from the kiddy pool and the heart stopping scare when it looked like one of the grands was going to go under for the last time (but she was really fine!) is well worth the pain and suffering! No pictures to share due to not wanting to expose anyone to such torture.
Then on Saturday Jess and his family joined us for the day and we had picnics and floated the river and ate strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream late into the night, then prayed they would all drive home safely. (Sarah and Chooch went back home too!!) Today was a “Goose Goofs Off” kinda day, although I did balance the checkbook, washed loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen and the hot tub and picked some raspberries!
I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!
Now! Get back to work!!!!
Kimmy
Jesus wept! John 11:35
Now, I know many of us would like to make that our “life verse” just because it is the shortest verse in the Bible. But think about it! I don’t want to make Jesus cry!
Right before that verse it says he was angry and deeply troubled because Martha and the people with her were weeping over the death of Lazarus! Right after the “He wept” verse, it says Jesus was still angry when He arrived at the tomb and then he called Lazarus to come forth out of the tomb!
I’ve always thought He cried out of sadness over the death of a friend but Instead he cried out of a place of anger! I think He was angry because of their unbelief!… Conviction falls heavy! Not out of guilt but out of sadness knowing He has probably “wept” a few tears of anger over my struggle with unbelief! Reading in Streams in the Desert for today I read the following:
“Who can estimate how much we owe to suffering and pain? But for them we should have little scope for many of the chief virtues of the Christian life. Where were faith, without trial to test it; or patience, with nothing to bear; or experience, without tribulation to develop it?”
Hubster and I were talking after dinner about the verse in Psalms 23 about goodness and mercy following us our whole life. Trials are really blessings in disguise for with them comes goodness and mercy and a chance to grow our faith in God! Maybe then Jesus will weep tears of joy in the proof of our trust in Him!
The other day, it was cold and rainy so I started doing some housecleaning. I am trying to clear out my sun room a little bit. (Those of you who know my sun room, please don’t faint!) Coming across this milk glass vase I decided to just save the lavender buds and throw away the stalks. This picture will always make me think of the smell of lavender that filled my kitchen! What a healing, joyful scent!
Life is full! Full of good, bad, hard, sweet, harsh, gentle, peaceful and overwhelming moments.
In a make-believe world I would spend my summer days picking a bouquet of flowers in the morning, walking through my lovely, weed-free garden, with dew drops gently falling off the beautiful, vibrant flowers.
I would then enter my cozy, clean home and arrange them in a breath-taking array in a gorgeous vase which was a gift from my dearest friend.
I would place them on my desk
where I would write my daily correspondents to all my friends and loved ones.
Lunch, made up of fresh vegetables, creamy dressing, sarsaparilla tea, and lemon drop cookies, would be next on the schedule.
I would find my way to my bedroom with white drapes that fall to the floor with a gentle breeze blowing through, swaying the drapes, causing them to billow in and out like breathing.
I would lie on my chaise lounge
with my tea cup poodle
and read from my book of poems.
Falling asleep, I would dream of being rowed upon a still mountain lake
with the man of my dreams feeding me grapes while cooling my hot brow with a slow moving fan.
I would arise from my slumber refreshed and looking forward to preparing a scrumptious dinner for that man of my dreams who took me to his heart, to cherish me for a lifetime.
We would spend the evening sharing our day and reminiscing about our happy lives. When darkness fell we would meander into the parlor and share deep rich coffee and luscious chocolate cake!
Sleep would come easy and sweet as we drifted off to dream land.
This is my dream world
Uuum, then reality hits.
I wake up, sit up and feel pains in my back. Monday through Thursday I stumble around the house trying to get ready and out the door so I can catch my transit bus to work. On the bus I read and look out the window at the beautiful view, and lately, often start falling to sleep! What is up with that? I work many hours then ride the bus back home, and at that point it is even harder to stay awake. (As the years go by this is more of a problem then it use to be.) I am so grateful when my hubby is around when I get home. Sometimes he is out of town doing mission trips or speaking at a YWAM base. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to share him but I love when he is there to greet me. In the winter the fire is going and the house is cozy. (When he’s not there it means I MUST take the dogs for their evening walk, make the fire after bringing in loads of wood. It also means heating up a frozen TV dinner.) After dinner we sometimes watch TV or sit in the hot tub. On the weekends I still wake up early, old habits die hard, then I waste my time watching TV until I feel so guilt ridden from the looks that Luke, the dog, is giving me that I get out and take them for a walk. We are so blessed with spectacular views and a great path along the river. (If only my knees could regrow cartilage!) Then it’s back to the house and yard where I try to spend some time cleaning and weeding but that too requires better knees and so I have learned to “lower my standards” (or LYS as Hubster and I have learned to say to each other.) The two dogs that track in sand, mud, and cockle burs along with the shedding cat have added to the need for LYSing beyond my wildest dreams. No longer do I pride myself on my housekeeping skill but there are worse things to regret! We are excited every chance we get to see our kids and our grands. Life is too short to miss any opportunities to listen to their stories, watch their games, make donuts or play games with them until the sun goes down.
I have been so busy and have not posted for quite awhile and am going to try to be more faithful to this blog. My plans are to share some pictures from the things we have been doing. Don’t give up on me!!
Love to all!
Kimmy
crazycascadecountry 