Today.....

Is the 4th full day of my summer break.

It's hot, extremely hot, but it is summer after all..

I made a wonderful spinach, ricotta quiche and took it for brunch with Dan & Jackie...seriously, it's the most simple, yet delicious recipe I think I own.  It's a home run every time

I am cooking a big pot of curly kale and collards fresh from the garden..

I am wondering what it is that make some people tick...

I talked to my nearly 80 year old daddy for a good long spell...he is so much a gift to me!

I prayed for some situations near and dear to my heart. Situations that I am powerless to do anything about....

I am taking Thomas for his gym workout for class....

I am making good progress on the bib I'm making for Miss Ellie.....

I miss my friend Beth.....

I am thinking about getting some of my school stuff out and organized...it's still sitting in boxes and bags in my trunk......

I'm thinking about downsizing and what to give/offer to others......

I am missing this girl....I am NOT missing Newton the pig...he makes his presence known....frequently!

I am......THANKFUL!

Uncanny?

Belief....

source

I found this print in my web browsing this morning, I book marked it , and I've returned to it several times.  I love it!  I find it inspiring, and in such an uncanny way, it ties into the "God wants you to Know" app I have on facebook which for today read....

On this day, God wants you to know

... that today is a big day for you. Yes, today. Keep your eyes open for a message. It might come in a shape of a bird flying overhead, or a graffiti on a wall, or a phrase said by a passerby, or... Whatever shape it has, this message has been trying to reach you for years, and today is finally the day. Keep your senses open.

Maybe it's really not so uncanny after all....

Oh my....

There are not many things that I really like about summer.  I find the heat and humidity horrible, not crazy about it being daylight until 9 PM.  There are however, some things that I do find appealing, in fact,  I LOVE THEM!

Take dinner tonight for example....fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, fresh green beans, cabbage and corn on the cob...what could be better?  I LOVED it!

And thunderstorms...nothing like sitting on the porch and watching a thunderstorm roll in...I LOVE it!

Lightning bugs are fun,

And being OFF for two months during the summer is pretty nice too, but Oh MY, was dinner good! DId I explain that I really LOVED it!!?

7X70 times

Matthew 18:21-23

The Message (MSG)

A Story About Forgiveness

 ²¹At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" ²²Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

Simply put, I'm struggling.  I'm struggling with this whole forgiveness thing.  I'm a pretty peace loving, confrontation avoiding sort of person, but I have my limits.  I was listening for the still small voice to quiet my soul over this when I heard this Chris August song.  I don't have the same hurts that he sings about, but I do have betrayal of trust to deal with, and someone who knows better being just plain mean spirited. In the midst of the struggles I'm trying to come to terms with, my mom, bless her heart throws down a gauntlet so to speak...she said to me and the kids, that "we just won't have anymore holidays if you all can't act like human beings".  How am I supposed to take that?


Me and my kids (that live local) have been there for them time and again...fixing the food, cleaning up the table, washing dishes, mowing the grass and doing yard work, stopping by on my way to &/or from work...all because it's what I want to do.  Now this....it's hurtful, and frankly an insult.  I don't know many 17 year olds who willingly go and do yard work every week....there are some grandsons who don't, and won't.  It's no secret that my sister and I don't see eye to eye.  I love her, however I doubt that I even know her anymore. I question if she even knows herself.  Her choices are not my choices, she is the complete antithesis of the way we were brought up.  I tried to explain to my mom, that her making threats like those made lately, will not effect the change that she wants.  It will make an already bad situation worse.  IF, my sister cared about any of this, she would not be making the choices that she is...it is fine to make a stand about behavior, but then I feel like my mom should follow through in every way....not give in to the futile attempt to effect change.  It will never work.  People have to change from within, from their own motivation....it's a hot mess, not helped by the constant stirring.  My option is to let go for awhile and let God...he sees the big picture, he's in the business of saving lives, putting the pieces back together again.  So much energy wasted.....I'm exhausted!

My Daddy

Who's your daddy...

Today is the day set aside to honor father's

Father's Day in the United States is on the third Sunday of June. It celebrates the contribution that fathers and father figures make for their children's lives. Its origins may lie in a memorial service held for a large group of men, many of them fathers, who were killed in a mining accident in Monongah, West Virginia in 1907.

It's the day that I get to honor my daddy...you see, I know who my daddy is. He is a man of the Lord, he is honest, humble, loyal, patient and faithful.  He is my rock.  He has always been there for me and he has taught me. Not so much by what he has said, but rather by his actions.  I may not have a big house or a new car, I may not go on cruises or wear the latest trends, but my soul is rooted in something far more valuable, something lasting. something true.  It is my daddy's legacy of kindness and acceptance of others, it is his gift of sharing and lifting up.  It is the personification of the Golden Rule.  It is the love of a father, by the Father.

Love you daddy!

This week is....

***     Over!!! and so is school!!!

***    HOT, HOT, HOT

***    The beginning of my summer:)

Plans for this summer are to read til my hearts content.  I've gotten hooked on Laura Child's books which are set in a teashop, and always involve a mystery of some sort...

Sew a little more......cross stitch too....

Travel maybe.....

Get organized.....

Get ready to move to a smaller place.  No sense keeping up with this 5 bedroom house and yard with only Thomas and I here.....

Get a jump on the next school year....

Pray more, forgive more, live more....and sweat less:)

Guess where I've been....