I'm Baaack!

So how is everyone??? I thought about you all and wondered how things were going...just fine I am sure but still I wondered. We had a good trip but boy did we work hard. Mom and I were commenting on the way home last night how nice it was going to be to get back to work for a little vacation!

We left about 4:30am on Friday (after about 3hrs. of sleep), drove all day and got there around 7:30pm, spent Sabbath day at church and with Grampa and then Sat. night the "fun" started. We had a HUGE garage sale on Sunday, to the tune of about $7500.00 which was completely crazy and insane with people. The rest of the week we were up by around 7 or 7:30, started working around 8 and hardly stopped until 10 or 11 every night. Then Saturday night we started loading the truck, finished around midnight, got up early and finished packing the last minute stuff and Grampa and my uncle drove out around 11am. Then mom and I had to get our stuff packed up and between us and my aunt who stayed on to help we got the house pretty clean and left around 3pm ourselves. Then we stopped and spent a couple of hours at some friends house while he fixed the u-haul trailer I was towing and then we drove until around 12:30am. Slept till 8am, stopped in Portland at great aunts house for a few hours and got home around 9pm last night. We are actually quite exhausted. While we were at grampa's mom did a lot of the dirtier cleaning out on the jam packed covered back porch, she did most of the burning (there was a burn barrel that never went out from Monday morning till Friday evening!) and she did a lot of the selling of the food stuffs that grampa had like wheat, dry goods, canned food, etc. that he wasn't going to take with him. I did all the cooking, hauled a lot of furniture around to various places by hand and in my truck, and did the fiddely sorting and packing and wraping inside. One day I also did a bunch of cleaning in the shop and hauled three loads of furniture to the neighbors house in my truck, with the help of the neighbors teenage son. Right until the end no one believed that we would actually get him out of there when we said we would and I even wondered at little at the begining but once all the big stuff, cars, ATV's and furniture that needed to go was sold I knew we were on the home stretch. I haven't worked that hard in a long time though and I am glad it's over!
It was wonderful to spend time with Grampa though and I also had the chance to stop and play the piano from time to time which was great. I haven't played in so many years I wasn't sure I even remembered how.
We had so many experience while we were there and I won't bore you with them all but suffice it to say that so many things fell into place and we had the strength to get through everything, despite the lack of help and support from any other family members, so we know we were supposed to be there.

I learned a lot of things during the last 10 days:
1. I learned that I don't last very long in the car awake after only 3 hrs. of sleep...not very long at all. I don't think I made it 10 min. out of bellingham and slept all the way to almost Portland! Good thing mom was ok driving till I woke up. :-)
2. I was thrilled to actually be able to find a waterfall that I vaugely remember visiting about 15yrs. ago. Not only did we find it again but we took lots of photos and I will try and post some soon.
3. I learned that while I am not nearly as good as I used to be I can still play the piano, sort of, and my hands are still too small to reach more than an octave!
4. I learned that most people keep TOO much stuff!
5. I learned that people that come to yard sales are a different breed of duck and some of them are downright obnoxious and way too cheep to be considered the good Christians that they like to think they are. There were some that really got on my nerves and who's behaviour I found quite shocking.
6. I learned that if you rent a u-haul trailer from some place called "Discount World" thats probably what you are going to get...discounted service and goods...long story but after really bad customer service they rented me a grounded trailer, meaning it was not supposed to be out on the road, which of course I didn't know till 2 days later when it was loaded and we were on our way out and stopped at our friends when we discovered that I had no lights on the trailer. God is good though and our friend is somewhat handy electrically so he was able to fix it enough that we at least had running and brake lights and one blinker, that is as long as my truck lights were on! No I am not planning on paying for this trailer...I have an appointment with the manager at the Bellingham U-haul tomorrow and we are going to have a little chat!!
7. I learned that I will not die if asked to lead song service and give people a mini lesson on proper breathing. I did not volunteer but I did it and survived and actually it was sort of fun. Would have been a little better if I had known more of the songs but it went ok.
8. I learned that family members get pretty weired over "stuff" and anything they think will be valuable.
9. I learned that with enough rain the area in CA where we were can actually be quite beautiful and now I understand why people live there, sort of!
10. I also learned that I just can't resist bringing home books when they are there for the taking...yes I brought home 3 boxes full, though I have no idea where I am going to put them...I guess I am going to have to reorganize my room and put up some new shelves. Wonder if this is the sign of something terrible?? :-)

We didn't really bring home that much stuff, mostly books and glass ware and kitchen stuff so that was good. There were a few other things like a set of lamps and a big mirror but that was the extent of the big stuff. Probably my favorite items were an old 8x10, hand colored, of my gramma and her brother when she was probably about 3 or 4, my grampa's navy uniform from when he was in during WWII, photos of him wearing and also an old hand crank drill that still works beautifully. (I also had fun going through the shop picking out a nice box and a bag full of tools.)

The weather was beautiful while we were there, in the 80's while we were there and the last Sabbath we were there after church we also went to a place called Bald Rock which was great fun. It's an area of huge rocks that you can climb all around with fantastic views of the Orville and Feather River valleys. I will make sure I put some photos up soon.

There were moments of joy and laughter, moments of reflection and a few tears as we all closed out 30+yrs. of history moving grampa away from the place I was born and from where he lived and said goodbye to my gramma . It was worth it to be there and I am glad we took the time to help him and share it with him since the rest of the family couldn't be really bothered to help out anymore than they had to.

Thanks for listening to me ramble on. Please let me know how you are and if there is anything interesting that happened while I was gone.

Gone for a while

Just wanted let you all know that I am leaving in about 3 hrs. for CA and will be back sometime at the end of the month, probably around the 30th. So if I don't post anything new or respond to anything you have posted I am not ignoring anyone, just don't have computer access. We are driving down to help my grampa pack and sort and get his things ready for storage and to move to Las Vegas where his new wife and her family live so it should be an interesting trip to say the least! He is 80 so there is no way he is able to do all this himself. One of my Aunts has been helping some but she isn't able to take the time off work to do it completely. Since we were already scheduled to be off from work during this time anyway it worked out just fine...we just aren't quite going to Hawaii during that time like we had planned! It's hopefully going to be there later, Grampa needs us now so he takes priority!

Take care and don't get into too much trouble while I am gone!

Bible

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

Artisans

Artisans are the temperament with a natural ability to excel in any of the arts, not only the fine arts such as painting and sculpting, or the performing arts such as music, theater, and dance, but also the athletic, military, political, mechanical, and industrial arts, as well as the "art of the deal" in business.

Artisans are most at home in the real world of solid objects that can be made and manipulated, and of real-life events that can be experienced in the here and now. Artisans have exceptionally keen senses, and love working with their hands. They seem right at home with tools, instruments, and vehicles of all kinds, and their actions are usually aimed at getting them where they want to go, and as quickly as possible. Thus Artisans will strike off boldly down roads that others might consider risky or impossible, doing whatever it takes, rules or no rules, to accomplish their goals. This devil-may-care attitude also gives the Artisans a winning way with people, and they are often irresistibly charming with family, friends, and co-workers.

Artisans want to be where the action is; they seek out adventure and show a constant hunger for pleasure and stimulation. They believe that variety is the spice of life, and that doing things that aren't fun or exciting is a waste of time. Artisans are impulsive, adaptable, competitive, and believe the next throw of the dice will be the lucky one. They can also be generous to a fault, always ready to share with their friends from the bounty of life. Above all, Artisans need to be free to do what they wish, when they wish. They resist being tied or bound or confined or obligated; they would rather not wait, or save, or store, or live for tomorrow. In the Artisan view, today must be enjoyed, for tomorrow never comes.


Artisans make up between 15 to 20 percent of the population, which is good, because they create much of the beauty, grace, fun, and excitement the rest of us enjoy in life.

The Four types of Artisans are:

Promoters (ESTP) | Composers (ISFP) | Crafters (ISTP) | Performers (ESFP)

Sound anything like me???? Not exactly like me in the area of just living for today because I am always thinking about the future and have been a money saver since I was very little. But the part about machines, tools, and variety as the spice of life...definetly me! It's interesting. I can see how it fits in some respects...so the next time I am annoying you or seeming to be a little over enthusiastic about some new adventure I am trying just try to remember that I create much of the beauty, grace, fun, and excitement the rest of you enjoy in life! LOL :-) (Some people will believe anything huh?? :-))
Take the test yourself...I would be very interested to hear about your results.
http://www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter/register.asp

From the heart

I don't really know how to introduce this post...maybe there really isn't a way...

One of the questions that I get from people is, "Why is a pretty girl like you still single?" or "I know this really great guy..." and I am sometimes left stuttering around trying to come up with an appropriate answer. Does that mean sometimes I don't wonder the same thing myself? Do I sometimes wonder as more and more of my friends get married and are now starting to have kids why I am ever the bridesmaid and never the bride? Of course I do but then I feel guilty like maybe somehow I am doubting God's leading or maybe even worse I am just never supposed to be married and am I content with that? I have a good life, an interesting one as someone recently suggested to me, and further more I know that just because I have man in my life I will not be whole so I have struggled with these questions for sometime off and on. (I know some of my readers are much younger than I am so you may not have had quite as many years to wonder but imagine yourself in 10 years and you can imagine there are plenty of opportunities to ponder this topic.)
Yesterday I bought a book that brought this whole thing up again and while it's not all clear to me I am about half done with the book and I wanted to share a few thoughts that are finally starting to come together. The book is called, "Do You Think I am Beautiful" by Angela Thomas. As I read the first chapter I cried because she was talking about me in so many ways. As a teenager I was that steady one and guys would say to me, "You are the kind of girl I would want to settle down and marry but right now I want to have fun." I felt a lot of internal pressure to be perfect and prove to someone that I was worthy of notice because my looks were certainly not going to get it. I was friendly to everyone and dependable, I made up for what I consider my lack of good looks by being involved and smart because if nothing else it got me noticed by people who were older. In effect to say to the guys, "Your opinion doesn't matter because see the adults who really know what's up notice me. So there!" (No I didn't think of this at the time and I won't say that if I had it to do over again I would be any less involved but I do think I would have a different reason behind it.) I developed a pretty thick skin and stuck my nose up at those stupid guys who couldn't see something that was good for them if it hit them across the head. One the other hand I wished and dreamed of getting noticed by even just one guy who really was worth something. It never happened and I was left with nothing more than dreams. Then I went on to College. By that time many things in my life had changed and I really didn't have the time or energy to worry about the relationship issue but still hanging in the back of my head was, "When I have the time am I even pretty enough to catch someones eye? Is there anyone out there that would even remotely consider me beautiful enough to want to share their life with me." Around this time many of my friends started getting married and I just wondered, walked down the isle in pretty dresses and cried when they went away on their honeymoons. As the years have gone on (I am only 26, not to make it sound like I have one foot in the grave or anything) I have come to understand my self much better and I have learned to rely on the Lord much more for love and acceptence but I realized as I read this book I still have a long way to go.
I worry because maybe I am showing a lack of faith when I wonder and or I get frusterated because it's even something I consider. Shouldn't I just be content to not even think about these things. Why is this need even there? Well my dears if Angela is right we woman are wired to ask these questions. The question is who and where do we turn for the answers? I have not been out seeking men or feeling that if I didn't have a man in my life I was incomplete but I don't think I really thought about God's opinion of me quite as passionate at she brings it out in this book. Angela shares how so many times we have questions and dreams but the more they are not answered or realized we put up walls and start to pretend it doesn't matter. Sometime the walls start to slip leaving us broken and fragile.

Let me share with you a couple of passages so you can see what I mean.
"John Eldredge wrote a book called Wild at Heart. It's a book for men but in it he also speaks profoundly to woman. What Eldredge does, in part, is catch a glimps of the feminine soul and then passionately affirm our unique design.
Not every woman wants a battle to fight, but every woman yearns to be fought for...she wants to be more than noticed- she wants to be wanted. She wants to be pursued...
Wow, he gets it. This guy has listened past the surface of women and heard them ask the questions:
Who will fight for me?
Who will be my hero?
Who will call me beautiful?
...He can see they are legitimately woven into the core of every woman's soul.
...I believe that a woman will struggle with trust, hope, and desire until she allows herself to ask these questions and recieve the answers from God.
...Have you ever heard your heart cry, "Do you think I'm beautiful?" Then let these words enbrace you with their truth:
The king is enthralled with your beauty. (Ps. 45:11)
The God who slung the stars across the heavens...the same One who shaped the mountains and valleys with the palm of His hand...the God whose very breath gives life...that God, the King has always been taken with you.
You have been notice,
he think's you're beautiful,
the glass slipper fits,
the music is playing,
and He's asking you to dance."

The table of contents says it very well:
"If ever there is a question attached to the soul of a woman, maybe it's, "Do you think I am beautiful?" When God answers from the depth of His great love, it makes some of us feel like the wall flower who was asked to dance, but we can become distracted from His invitation because of other lovers, whispers of unbelief, noise and clutter and because we are sometimes the prodigal, sometimes the elder brother.
To return to the music and strong embrace of God requires a desperate and pursuing heart. When a woman chooses to remain in His arms of devotion, God gives the only hope we have, His perfect love and a beautiful crown.
God is so enthralled by the beauty of a woman and calls her His beloved. He wildly pursues her heart with romance and intimacy to make her His beautiful bride."

I was greatly encouraged by this idea of being pursued by God and it made so much sense to me. I can really see how it's not wrong or bad to have those moments of desire to be wanted or wondering if you are even pretty, not even worried about beautful, but the question is how do you deal with them. I think I have tended to push them aside as faithless and not important but I can see now how they are important and they should serve to make me run to the word even more to see what God has to say to me. He does want me and he does think I am beautful as His very own creation regardless of what that means to anyone else in the physical world. I think I have been coming to this realization for some time now but to actually see it in black and white somehow just made me smile and cry and want to shout from the mountain tops, "It does matter and God wants me to desire these things...He want to fight for me, He wants to be my hero and He does think I am beautful."
For me the challenge comes in accepting this love and really living like it's part of me. I have come a long way in the last few years but the road continues to climb and I will continue to hike!

Girls (and guys) until we really learn to fall in love with God in every way we won't be truely prepared to be a true helpmate in any earthly relationships if that is in God's plan for us. We won't even really be whole friends because we will always be looking for something to fill that inner desire for love and acceptance that God has placed with in us. I realize I am preaching to the chior but I had to say it anyway.

Comments??? Thoughts anyone???

Keep your eyes on yourself...

What are another's faults to me?
Have I a vulture's bill,
To pick at every flaw I see
And make it wider still?
It is enough for me to know
I've follies of my own,
And on my heart the care bestow,
And let my friends alone.
Unknown

Lesson in humility

The following was sent to me by a co-worker who is not really religous but to whom I was doing a little bit of whining to one day. I wasn't really complaining but more expressing a certain amount to doubt about some situations that I am in at that moment. The future was looming larger than life and I was being a bit of a worry wart. She sent me this and I must admit I just sat at my desk and cried feeling completely humbled that she had to be the one to remind me of God's control when I, the Christian, should have been encouraging her. Amazing how sometimes it takes a shock to set me straight but I really appreciated this and hope it helps one of you too along the way. I think I will be making myself one of these boxes so I that I can physically put things in there...might help me remember to let go and let God a little more.

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: THE BOSS
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE

I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help.

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

This is my little horse, Casper, all ready for his first drive of the season. He was a little rusty but so was I and he did great. It's quite fun and I love to drive him so if anyone wants to join me sometime just say the word and we can even come to you!

The passing of an era...

On Friday I was laying in bed reading and I looked over beside me and saw a sight that made me pause and catch my breath for a moment. What did I see you ask? A spider, a mouse or even worse? No it was a gaping hole in the neck of my beloved teddy bear. A teddy bear?? I can hear you now, "Aren't you a little too old for such things?" Let explain. I was given this bear when I was five and for the last 21 years she has been with me for better or worse. Some of my east coast friends may remember the pathetic little fits I would throw when I was little and we would come to their house and she would be at the bottom of the barrel of our things and my parents would not go dig her out at bedtime. They were so sweet and would offer me their favorite animal, anything to shut me up but nothing was as good as she. Of course my need of actually having her with me each night has diminished over time but old habits die hard and I still liked to have her on my bed just for the sake of having something familiar with me. I will miss her flat little face and lopsided smile laying on my bed. I won't be getting rid of her completely, just putting her into retirement!

~~~~~~
Teddyesa, homely little brown bear of mine,
through all the years you have held up just fine.

You bore patiently with all I gave you,
still let me hug you no matter what I put you through.

You came to me through no fault of your own,
how thankful I am that you were not on loan.

When I was young no other bear could take your place,
you alone could dry the tears running down my face.

As I grew older I didn't need your presence every night
but when you were near things still seemed somehow right.

You have been 'round America more times than I can count,
and didn't Europe just make you want to shout?

I am sure you didn't like the hospital
but, unlike me, you stayed quiet through it all.

You were with me when my family broke apart,
listening while I shared my broken heart.

The time has come to let you have your rest,
but to me you will always be the beary best!
~~~~~~~~

Sorry to put you all through that but I hope enough of you have had some beloved thing in your life so that you don't think I am completely crazy! LOL (Not that crazy probably wouldn't be close to the truth but...!)