Today I am thankful...

The summer I turned six we drove across the U.S. from Oregon to Maine where I met my Mama's family for the first time.  I remember seeing the solar eclipse in Maine in that summer of 1963, through a rigged up cardboard box with a pinhole in it. Today I viewed the solar eclipse here in Vancouver, Wa, 54 years later, using that same cardboard shoebox method. I'm thinking how my grandkids will remember this summer day of 2017 when there was a solar eclipse like I remember that summer day in 1963.  

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#10,144-#10,167

8-14-17-

-the air so cool this morning I could almost have used a sweater

-going to my sister's 70th birthday party

(Sisters. I just turned 60 and she just turned 70.)

-driving home down the back country roads at sunset

8-15-17-

-losing another pound...(slow and steady wins the race, right?)

-an apology

-a sleepover at our house with my oldest granddaughter and our "unofficially adopted granddaughter" 

-an evening walk with the two of them

8-16-17-

-"my help comes from the Lord Who made heaven and earth"

-my part of the prep for the cabinet painters is done

-going to bed early after waking up early and a busy day

8-17-17-

-the painters have begun!

-fun at the park with our grandsons

-praying with others

8-18-17-

-the beautiful Lewis River

-a walk around Lake Sacagawea

-a heron posing for a photo

-yesterday's migraine is gone!

8-19-17-

-a hummingbird enjoying the lavender in my patio pots

-laughing with a friend

-cool evening breezes on my walk

8-20-17-

-wonderful worship

-a great message

-God is growing His church-each Sunday for several weeks we have new people 

-God's provision

still following,

Survival tips for tumultuous times...

This past week has been difficult.  We are being bombarded with bad news.  Division and strife abounds.  Our whole world is sin ravished and sick, not just the United States.  For people of the Bible this should not come as a surprise.  However, it can be disheartening and overwhelming.  Back in the day there were no instant news sources alerting us of breaking news twenty-four hours a day.  (Perhaps ignorance was bliss!) There were no social media platforms with people continually voicing their opinions and arguing with one another.  Add it all together and no wonder peace is hard to find and confusion seems to reign!  Hopelessness, despair, depression and anxiety have become common struggles.

May I suggest that in order to survive, and even thrive in these trying times, it is important to be extremely discerning about the voices you are listening to.  Psalm 62:5 says, "My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him." Let's break this verse down and see if it can help illustrate the point I am trying to make.  First of all, our soul is our mind, will and emotions.  What we feed our mind affects our emotions and eventually our choices.  As the world gets louder and more confusing, it's good, necessary even, to pull away, wait on God, and submit to Him and His voice. (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, August 20th, at Woman to Woman Ministries where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)

still following,

Also happily linking up with the lovely

Susan B. Mead
and

Sunday Scripture Blessings

Kennebunkport, Maine...

My dream was to return to Maine someday with my family. Mama was born on P.E.I. and was raised in Maine. I'd been there twice in my younger years, then twice again with my husband. Our children and grandchildren had never been. However, there are now fourteen of us altogether, including our three daughters and their husbands, and our grandchildren, making my dream a tad unrealistic.  So, for my sixtieth birthday this month we planned a celebratory trip to Maine for me and my daughters, (and our two month old grandson tagging along with his mama), which was a more practical option.  The night of my birthday, we flew in to Boston, then drove up to Portland, Maine, where we spent our first night. We stopped in Kennebunkport on the way to Portland, where we waded in the Atlantic and looked around this quaint vacation wonderland.

I'm not really attired for wading, but it felt very refreshing after spending the night flying cross country!

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songography at "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out"

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buckaroo mama

peabea

Grateful and Joyful...

I've got two weeks of entries from my gratitude journal today since I was on vacation and didn't post last week. For my sixtieth birthday my husband and daughters helped to make a dream come true for me.  I've always wanted to take my girls to Maine to see the beautiful place where my Mama grew up and to meet some of my relatives that are still living there.  While my husband and I have been able to take a couple of trips there, my girls have never been.  So, on the night of my birthday my daughters and I, (and our two month old breastfeeding grandson), hopped a night flight to Boston, rented a car when we arrived there the following morning, and drove to Maine!  We spent a week sightseeing, visiting my 89 year old aunt and some of my cousins, eating lots of lobster, and soaking in the beauty of one of my most favorite places!  I am bubbling over with deep gratitude to God and my family for making this deep desire of my heart come to pass!

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Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#10,086-#10,143

7-31-17-

-my second-born's weight loss and good health journey-(she's lost 100+ lbs!)

-God's constant care and blessing in my life

-a beautiful new potted plant for my patio from a sweet friend

8-1-17-

-August!

-my hubs was able to get the airline to change our seats so we are seated together

-God's provision for this trip

8-2-17-

-God's faithfulness and goodness to me for sixty years!

-getting a new flight after our flight was cancelled due to stormy weather in Boston

-a nice birthday dinner out with my husband before going to the airport

8-3-17-

-a safe flight-(and the baby slept most of the way!)

-a safe drive to Maine from Boston-(YaY! We're in Maine!)

-wading in the Atlantic on our stop in Kennebunkport

-a beautiful room with a view in Portland

8-4-17-

-blueberry pancakes at Becky's Diner

-a beautiful drive to Fort Popham

-Mama's hometown-beautiful Bath, Maine

-lobster dinner at JR Maxwell's in Bath,

 (our oldest daughter's first lobster-

she had promised my mama she wouldn't eat lobster til she had it in Maine)

-our fun and quirky AirBnB in Bowdoinham, Maine- (it's a two story apartment built inside a barn)

8-5-17-

-we all slept over nine hours!

-coffee and quiet time on the deck overlooking the Maine woods

-going to the little farmers market in Bowdoinham and buying a fresh chicken and some veggies

-meeting up with my cousin and his wife in Freeport and going to a free concert sponsored by 

LLBean-(it rained, but it was so fun!)

-our baby grandson discovered his hands today

8-6-17-

-from Psalm 119-"Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning"-so true!

-introducing my grandson to our French AirBnB owner-"Bonjour, Monsieur!" she said to him

-seeing more of Mama's hometown with my cousins

-a lobster and clam feed at my Aunt's house, (Mama's last living sibling of nine)

-text from my husband that we had more new people at church today

8-7-17-

-God is good and does good-Ps. 119:68

-seeing my Aunt one more time to say goodbye again

-my oldest daughter making the most delicious meal out of the chicken and veggies we bought at the farmer's market-(roast chicken with roasted potatoes and radishes, a beautiful salad, and sautéed swiss chard-

 set up beautifully on the deck of our AirBnB on our last evening there)

8-8-17-

-a safe drive along the Maine coast to Bar Harbor

-a fun meal at an Irish pub and a good time spending some time in the little shops 

-an AMAZING sunset nature cruise along the shoreline of Acadia National Park

8-9-17-

-a beautiful morning in Bar Harbor

-a safe drive to Boston, (with stops in Hallowell, Maine and Portsmouth, NH)

-our baby grandson's first swim

-belly laughs with my girls

-a free hotel room upgrade to a large suite!

-ordering dinner into our room-(two of us had Italian and two of us had sushi)

8-10-17-

-our youngest daughter driving like a pro through the narrow and crowded Boston streets

-walking the Freedom Trail, seeing where our nation's beginnings happened

-lunch at Cheers

-a safe evening flight home sweet home

-the baby literally slept the whole way!

8-11-17-

-waking up at home in my own bed next to my guy

-writing down memories from our trip so I won't forget

-my helpful nephew who put the bottom trim around our cabinets for me

-sunny yellow mums with green centers in the milk bottle I brought home from Maine

-enjoying my husband's day off with him

8-12-17-

-waking up in the wee hours since I'm still on east coast time,

 giving me extra quiet time with Jesus and time to write a blog post

-help from our friends to get our cabinets ready for painting

-watching our three year old grandson for a couple of hours and him falling asleep holding my hand

8-13-17-

-my big sister's 70th birthday

-a refreshing rainy morning after two very dry months

-a fabulous message at church, and more new faces!

still following,

Hope...

I've been reading through Psalm 119 this last week and this morning as I read verse 116, I was burdened for those who are struggling with hopelessness. "Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope", the verse reads.  I began to remember the many times and situations that I, myself, struggled with hopelessness - when I was sure God was going to come through with a financial miracle and instead we went through a season of great loss - when someone hurt and betrayed me and the relationship never recovered - in dealing with a chronic pain issue - in a long, long season of not seeing an answer to a deep heart prayer - in a two year struggle with depression - in watching my daughter struggle through over a decade of infertility and miscarriage.  I'm sure it wouldn't be hard for me to recollect other times when it felt like I was barely holding on by a thread to the rope of hope.
 (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, August 13th, at Woman to Woman Ministries where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)

still following,

Also happily linking up with the lovely

Susan B. Mead
and

Sunday Scripture Blessings