Prayer Request!!!

I put a counter on here 3 weeks ago (to the hour) thinking that maybe 20 folks would read the blog in a week. Significantly more are checking in and so I thought I'd post a prayer request.

Please pray for our home. I do all I can to keep us healthy around here. You can imagine how illness can sweep through a family our size...often reinfecting the first ones by the time the last ones are feeling better.....

This upcoming week is our birthday week. Nolan, Josiah and Alex all have birthdays. It is also the last full week before the ORI begins on base (translates to long hours and stress at work for Mike). We've done so well not getting ill....but

YESTERDAY Nolan came down with a fever and headache. He threw up once. Now he's got a sore throat too and is nauseated and feverish. He'd asked for a party with friends and has so been looking forward to it...and now he feels bad....and I don't want this to spread to the rest of us at this time.....

Please pray he recovers quickly and that the rest of us don't catch this right now. Please pray that we are able to stay "on track" as Mike prepares for the ORI.

Thanks all. . . whoever ya'all are. {g}

PS a prayer for my sanity is always good too....I feel a bit queasy myself...and that ringing cow bell (I give them when they are sick) coupled with lack of sleep and fussy babies....appreciate your prayers.

PLAIN OLE TWADDLE!!!! {g}

I read “Just Plain Pickled to Death” for no reason other than fun! I thought I deserved a fun read after the rather “serious” non-fiction books I’ve been reading. Thanks to all who recommended the Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery series by Tamar Myers.

This is the 4th book in the series and 44 (or is it 46) year old Magdalena Yoder finally marries her “pooky bear”, Aaron Miller. Before the wedding can occur, Magdalena has to solve a 20 year old murder. The Penn Dutch Inn is full of a strange cast of characters one of which predictably turns out to be the murderer.

I find these books to be HILARIOUS! I love the novelty of the Amish/Mennonite setting. There is nothing at all necessarily “meaningful” in these books but they are a great way to spend a relaxing evening. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, if you like a good laugh and you are intrigued by the Amish/Mennonite lifestyle you may enjoy these books too.

It would be impossible to share all the spots in the book that struck me as funny...but the final chapter - the wedding itself had me laughing out loud. Enjoy.

Thanks to the young ones for buying me the WHOLE SERIES at Christmas….

Experiencing God Through Prayer

Another book finished!

I had heard many things about Madame Jeane Guyon. I had heard that she was “new age”. I’d also heard that her writings had positively influenced as varied an audience as the Moravian brethren, Francis Fenelon, John Wesley, Charles Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee and A.W. Tozer, all of whom God used powerfully and profoundly.

Madame Jeane Guyon was widowed at the age of 29, arrested in 1688 and again in 1695 for teaching heresy. She spent 6 years in prison at Vincennes and was later transferred to the Bastille. She was released in 1703 and lived the rest of her life in Blois under house arrest.

She was a teacher of Quietism, a form of mysticism. Quietism often refers to the state of human inactivity while in fellowship with God when praying, reading and meditating on the Scriptures. It is a spiritual exercise so as to “quieten” the soul in order for God to have His full way with the believer.

I found some things in this book that could be taken to an extreme and did give me cause for concern…but I also found some gems in this book. It is important to remember that Madame Guyon assumes her reader has already experienced “new birth”. I found this book to be easy to read and yet filled with truths that cause one to ponder and “be still” in God’s presence. This book was first published in 1685. In my research I found that there is a book edited by Gene Edwards that several state wanders far from Madame Guyon’s original words and intents. *Experiencing God Through Prayer* takes the reader on a journey to discover the difference between praying to God and experiencing God through prayer. Madame Guyon continually urges her reader to press on towards intimacy with Christ.

I found this to be a valuable read, though I would caution one to read “warily”. This is now one of my “well-marked” books. {g}

Slinging Stacia – Part 2

Hmmm….read the websites…keep trying…got the hip position to work long enough to walk to the neighbors. {g} I've read...practiced...not making significant progress. I think the problem is that there is a really thick padded area (rectangle) and I can't pull it TIGHT because of it....but it doesn't fit unless I get it tighter.....

Slingin Stacia

Many of the ladies at the park “sling their babies”. Becky has three slings and gave me one. I was thrilled and started the day trying to sling Stacia.

It worked great at the park with Adrienne and Becky to pull, prod and shape….but this doesn’t seem quite right. Ah well, I’ll have Mike try it this evening and if we can’t figure it out there are always park days to learn. {g} I think this would be really helpful for me. My wrists have bad days where they hurt and where they give out. I’m just not sure I’ll ever be able to get it on alone. I even stood in front of the mirror to do this and it worked well for about 2 minutes. Then THIS…. If you know how to wear one of these and can figure out what I did wrong - please comment.

BTW, don’t I look like one of those Hindu Goddesses with all the arms and legs sticking out everywhere?????

PS the hair is like that because I’m heading to get it cut and such in an hour and she said not to wash it. Honest! {vbg}

The Anticipation Builds!

We don't have a TV/VCR set up for common use. We DO have a projector and a giant screen that we pull out no more than once a week. This is usually on Friday Family Night. It seems most often to be pizza and movies. The lack of variety doesn't bother me as we've been spending most Saturdays outside together - geocaching.

Jamin asked for and received season 1 of Hogan's Heroes for Christmas. We finished those and he and Cy went and raked a yard so that they could buy Season 2. They ordered them on Monday and are now breathlessly tracking the package to see if it will arrive by tonight. I've even been asked if the mailman will leave it if we leave the house. {g}

Last night it was still showing that it had been mailed from PA but at midnight it hit Waco, TX...so maybe, maybe, maybe it will arrive in time for our weekly tv/movie night.....

The suspense mounts....

GOD WOULD HAVE GUESSED {grin}

Who would have guessed at the beginning of January that by the end of the month we’d have a group of friends…friends for children of all ages AND Mom?

Who would have guessed we’d be invited to homes, birthday parties, Super Bowl parties and churches?

Who would have guessed we’d have friends to invite to birthday parties?

Who would have guessed we’d be struggling not with isolation but with spending to many days at the park with our friends by the end of January?

Only God would have guessed. This was one of the “eager expectations” that God birthed in my heart in December.