“Children’s children are the crown of old men,
and the glory of children is their fathers.”
Proverbs 17:6
This is a photo of my husband with our youngest granddaughter.
I’m not saying he’s old, but I am saying that his grandbabies are his pride and joy.
Oh, how he loves his three daughters and his four grandbabies.
Happy Father’s Day to the man I love.
Still following,
Elizabeth
I’m thinking that right about now my handyman son-in-law is thanking his lucky stars that he’s in Ghana, West Africa.
Since the Hubs and I neither one are skilled in the building and power tools area, my son-in-law was my go- to guy when I got a wild “can you build this for me?” idea in my head.
When I saw Restoration Hardware’s reclaimed wood and metal shelves it was love at first sight.
The almost two thousand dollar price tag was WAY over our budget, and the size way too big for my wee, little house.
Tricia, of A Rosy Note, (one of my most fav bloggers!), knocked my socks off with her knockoff of those shelves.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
Still, too big for my small space however.
What I needed was a set that fit in right next to my refrigerator, covering up the side of the fridge that could be seen from both our living room and dining room, and adding much needed storage.
In other words, I needed a tall, skinny version of those shelves.
Enter my hero….
my now Ghanaian living daughter’s best friend and her hubby live not too far from me and he has a playground structure building business.
I figured if he can build a play structure, surely he can build some shelves.
So, I emailed him some photos with the specs I wanted, and the poor gullible guy said yes!
He did a FABULOUS job!!!
If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area and want his contact info. email me and I’ll hook you up.
We used reclaimed wood for my version of the shelves too.
To paint it white or not, that was the question.
I decided not, because that would kind of defeat the purpose of using reclaimed wood with all of it’s charm and imperfections.
Restoration Hardware’s version has metal grating on the shelves, which we didn’t.
They use galvanized pipe along the back of their shelves, but we used copper pipe.
LOVE IT!
The shelves were just completed and delivered Tuesday evening.
I’ve already rearranged things on the shelves four times.
Something new to play with!
Love these cute little caster wheels!
I needed these shelves to be easily moveable for when I want to move and clean under or behind the refrigerator.
I’m lovin’ it!
I’m head over heels in fact!
Friday’s coming, friends!
Have a HAPPY, HAPPY Friday
and
a BLESSED weekend!
Elizabeth
It’s been on my New Year’s goals list several years running.
It makes the list and then gets ignored.
“Write a magazine article”
I figure that’s a more realistic goal than to start with writing a book.
Yet, I haven’t done it.
Maybe it’s laziness, but I don’t think so.
I think it’s not wanting to fail.
I’m doing it now.
Finally writing that article.
Good grief, I’m going to be 55 this summer so I better get crackin’ on this life goal.
I want to write.
I want to be a writer.
I feel tears welling up just typing the words.
My goals aren’t lofty ones of best selling novels.
Magazine articles and children’s books would make me happy.
I’m the best story telling Nana and proud of it.
There are dozens of children’s books bubbling around in my heart.
But I’m finally beginning with that New Year’s goal.
I’ve been working on the article all week.
It’s a raw and real story about the miracle God did in my relationship with my Dad.
God heals us in layers.
I really believe that.
Just when you think you’re all better, He takes the healing another layer deeper.
That’s what the writing this week has done.
It’s healing another layer,
and that’s a good thing.
Maybe they’ll like my article, and maybe they’ll publish it.
Maybe they won’t.
You’ll be the only ones to see and read it if that’s the case.
Either way, I’m stepping out and trying,
and it’s about time.
Still following,
Elizabeth
I’m excited that my David Austin Glamis Castle rose is full of buds and the first bloom is now adorning the little white and gray cubby in my office.
I purchased this rose bush at Heirloom Roses, and it was such a teeny, tiny thing a year ago.
This year it’s two feet tall and quite full and bushy.
I’ve now got my David Austin white rose, a floribunda “Sexy Rexy” pink rose, a floribunda yellow rose, and a peace rose growing in my back yard.
All are doing well and full of buds, probably due more to prayer, (literally!), than to any gardening skill on my part.
My first white bloom sits in a little ink bottle next to my old, pink clock.
The clock no longer tells time, but its girlish charm seems perfect for my girly office.
On another note, I purchased these galvanized tin letters at Pottery Barn Kids.
An E for me and an S for the Hubs now hangs in my office.
Kind of works out nice that our last name also begins with an S, so it’s my first and last initial as well.
I may put some old black and white photos of the Hubs and I as children in cute frames, gallery style, around the letters.
I’m also planning on making a little chalkboard for my office, and then it will be pretty much done.
Of course, I think I’ve said that before!
Still following,
Elizabeth
Oldest daughter gave me this beautiful French towel for Mother’s Day.
It came in the mail from France with a French postage stamp on the package.
The embroidered initials have special meaning, two Ms for two grandkids that are across the world in Ghana right now.
Last week, that same daughter and her husband were in Napa, California.
We watched our two little granddaughters while Mama and Daddy were gone.
My daughter brought me back this lovely marmalade from a restaurant they loved, called French Blue.
Part of me wants to open and taste it,
and part of me doesn’t want to disturb this “cute in every way” canning jar.
I’m jealous of my youngest brother.
His wife and he just had a much deserved vacation in France.
Did you know you can rent French barges, basically a floating R.V., and go all over France on the canals?
I didn’t know about it, until I heard about their trip.
Oh, I think that would be a dream vacation for sure.
They are veteran missionaries, having served in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda, and are currently preparing to go into a different country and area of the world,
so they really, really deserved this rest and special time together.
(I just wish they would have taken me with them. 
So, onto some promised news about some blog changes.
First of all, I had tried to start a second blog, Moms of Missionaries, in order to have a safe place for myself and any other moms of missionaries to share the joys and sorrows of having kids and grandkids overseas.
I soon realized, keeping up one blog is very time consuming, and two just was too much.
Besides, this blog is about following Jesus in my real life, and my real life includes being a mom to missionaries.
So, I’ll just share my joys and sorrows here like I already have been.
I hope that you readers will spread the news to any moms of missionaries you know,
that I’d love this to be a safe place for us to dialog about our unique situation.
Have you noticed some changes on my sidebar?
Yep, there have been a few tweaks, thanks to Debi of Blog Togs.
Debi’s not taking on new blog design jobs currently, but I do want to publicly thank her for her help to me.
One of the sidebar changes is that I will now be taking ads on my blog,
(under the sidebar heading Blog Sponsors).
I’m calling it Ads for Missions,
(see the link under my header).
One hundred percent of all ad proceeds will go right to missions work in Ghana.
If you have an etsy shop or online business and would like to advertise here while giving to a good cause, just contact me via my email on my sidebar.
If don’t have an ad to place, but want to donate to help give Ghanaians vocational skills, you can give directly to Ask for the Nations “Canaan Life” project via the paypal link on my sidebar.
Lastly, on an interesting side note.
My French Canadian relatives are Catholic.
On our dream trip to P.E.I. last summer we found out that some of our relatives had been Catholic missionaries to Africa.
I just find it fascinating that God has put a heart for Africa in our blood line,
for reasons known only to Him I guess.
Still following,
Elizabeth
We all have prayers not yet answered,
promises not yet fulfilled,
goals not yet reached.
Me too.
But while we see the not yets,
let’s not be blind to the right now.
This moment is full of blessings to count
and gratitude just right for the gathering.
*************
I’ve taken the Joy Dare.
I’m counting one thousand thanks in one year.
I hunt for thanksgiving using the prompts Ann gives us each month.
If you are interested in joining in, click the link above or at the bottom of this post.
I continue to count my thanks
piling up gratitude day by day
in my little black journal…
#1994-#2014
3 gifts found in Christ-
-forgiveness received
-power to forgive others
-joy-even when things aren’t perfect
a gift of peace-
-my little home office/sanctuary
a gift of hope-
-trusting Jesus to work out details when we don’t know how
a gift of love-
-“I love you” via text
3 things ugly/beautiful-
-sad three year old granddaughter crying for her mama
-messy rice cereal and applesauce face on six month old granddaughter
-the messes the grandbabies make
3 gifts in what I’m reading-
-how King Asa wrongly trusted in the help of someone/something other than God
-the current issue of one of my favorite magazines
3 gifts empty-
-the house all quiet, (too quiet?), with youngest daughter back in Missouri
and grandbabies back home after three days at our house while Mama and Daddy were out of town
-the laundry basket-the last load is finally done!
-the cup of homemade hot chocolate the Hubs made for me-good to the last drop!
3 gifts that really made you smile-
-3 year old granddaughter saying, “I love you, Nana.”
-the way the baby stares at me with those blue, blue eyes
-laughed out loud when the three year old, (who is appropriately limited on unhealthy foods and tv watching), said, “Nana, when I grow up I’m going to drink pop right out of the bottle and watch scary things on tv.”
a gift at 8 a.m.-
-a sunny Sunday morning
a gift at 12 p.m.-
-praying with others at church
a gift at 2 p.m.-
-Thai food with the Hubs
Gratefully yours-
Elizabeth
Walking beside the sea, I spied this family frolicking together.
They seemed to be having so much fun and the way they were reflected in the wet sand made this shot irresistible.
I felt it a fitting photo to go with this verse.
To be always full of the joy of the Lord, no matter our circumstances, must be possible if God tells us to do it.
Happiness comes and goes with what is happening.
Joy, on the other hand, comes from the Strong Place within, our spirit, which is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit.
So many times when I felt like circumstances around me were overwhelming, if I pushed past what I was feeling, the turmoil of my emotions, I could sense within that Strong Place.
I am reassured that, no matter what, all is well with God as the Rock beneath my feet that cannot be shaken.
Still following,
Elizabeth
