Spring "Break"?

• Josiah is the newest personal banker in Texas! Way to go God and Josiah! 
• TnT Mark 10:17 - 31 Do I crave, love or value anything more than Jesus? If so, I'm no different from the young ruler in this story. Jesus wants me to follow Him with an undivided heart. 
• C'mon e-100 folks 2 days in proverbs is not enough! ::snort:: Loving the sweeping Bible survey I'm doing with some amazing gals on Tuesday mornings. 
• We are MOTIVATED to get school done. The older four will be coming over mid-May and we want to be done.  Convalescent leave has been good for school - all outside appointments cancelled and the need to stay close by. ::grin::
• We aren't taking a spring break just yet....and the kids are really motivated to get done and get out to enjoy this lovely spring weather....check out the shrinking snow fortress. 

• After the walk yesterday, Michael has been down most of today....slow progress is good. 
• Nolan accompanied me to the base. We went shopping and "ran by the post office". 

• Jared finished his AAFES training today. He aced one test - scored 90% on the other - and says he may never eat meat again. I like that training. ::snort::
• In the boxes were Sundrops...I splurged to buy 6 bags....but I thought they were personal size....and I seem to have ordered from both vitacost and Amazon. ::snort:: Zander is HAPPY! He did great avoiding all the Easter candy. 

• The rest of Choosing Joy 2006 arrived...overall "happy"....we'll do 4 a year from now on. LOL 

• Exhausted tonight...early a.m. and busy all day with school, cooking, cleaning and shopping. I'm done. Good night. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Restoration

Michael was feeling energetic today and wanted a quick outing. He wasn't interested in the parks. The kids weren't interested in the beach. How sad....a walk on the beach alone! ::snort::  I feared it was the walk on the beach or he'd head for the office. The poor man is bored. 


Some of you will remember that we are less than 2 miles from Momoishi Beach. We love this beach. This beach received quite a bit of damage on 3-11 (tsunami). The seawall was destroyed the watch tower twisted, boats and nets in the trees, camping areas, bathrooms destroyed...and  SAND everywhere.... It's been "closed" for the past year.  When we've gone we've noted how "clean" the beach is. The old boats and big driftwood logs are gone. We've not found sand dollars or sea glass since last March. This is the beach where I found my red sea glass.


Today it was OPEN. The signs saying "pray for Japan" and "keep out" are gone. The parking lot is clear of sand. The cranes are gone. The seawall is back. The old boats and logs are still missing. ::grin::

April 2011

April 2012

The seawall is fixed - we noted it's not higher. They did add THESE and I'm not sure what they are meant to accomplish.....

First pieces we've found here since the tsunami!

The bathrooms are even cleaned out and stabilized.....

This photo is to prove I do NOT exaggerate about the glass walls (though they're frosted tiles) and windows in the bathrooms. LOL 

It really did my soul WELL to find sea glass on our beach again, and to see things restored and unbarred.  I have hope we'll be able to spend our summer at this beach and others this year.  You know when it's HOT and humid here. LOL 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Status Updates

• TnT Mark 9 - 
• How often does fear hinder my understanding of the kingdom (9:6,32)
• Receive - embrace, welcome, deliberately and readily accept - "What does it look like as a family, as a ministry, as a church to "receive children"?  (9:37)
• Stumble - trap, offend, scandalize "How do we avoid causing others to stumble?  What responsibility do we have to avoid those things which cause us to stumble?
• Princess chatterbox awoke  - "Mom, remember how you prayed I'd sleep good! I did - I'm AWAKE! This would be the perfect day to get a pedicure."
• SCHOOL - we are getting SO much done! Jared will finish Tapestry of Grace - his SENIOR year by the end of next week. 
• Walk on the beach with Michael and Yuuki.*
• Two double batches of English Muffins done
• ALL home for dinner - roast, roasted veggies, home baked bread, fruit, salad and great conversations....have been thinking a lot about dinner tables, making a place at the table etc. 
• Wow - our neighbor is moving QUICKLY - this neighborhood is going to be very quiet as folks move out and the base has gone to "base first" policies. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Very Full Day

• TnT - Mark 8:29 - Whom does my daily life declare Christ to be? Or Mark 8:34 - What does it look like in the 21st century to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Christ. Your thoughts?
• This just in - Cherry Blossoms are predicted to open up here on 27 April, with best viewing between 2 - 10 May.  Spring will come! 
• "Well, Hello, grill!" The strange things that fly by my window from the neighbor's yard. ::snort:: 
• Elliptical and Advanced Mat workout done and charted at sparks people - Stacia is my workout buddy...one armed push ups and push ups were over the top - swapped for another exercise
• What is google pages? Why?  Is this another pinterest/facebook/myspace- like scheme to get me to share all my deepest interests with 3 billion of my closest friends?
• Trying to map my walking route on sparks people - when I put in my zip code it puts me in the ocean outside of Nigeria....seriously....this feature may not work for me outside of the states. LOL 
• ACK - they've changed the kindle ap for ipad....now how do I know when I'm in cloud or device....and where are my books going? 
• As we work our way through Ancient Civilizations we are about to hit Alexander the Great - the one week Zander has been waiting for all year. LOL 
• Jared survived another training day for work. 
• We all got a full day of school in...youngers and I did a week of Tapestry reading. 
• Christina, spoils us with her homemade Greek yogurt.
• Another chapter from Amon's Adventure. 
• Neighbor came over to tell us they are moving - in two weeks. WOW. They are going to Germany...if only.... ::snort:: 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Easter Thoughts

I just finished reading "More Than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. I knew it was good, but I had never read it. It was a very abbreviated version of Josh's "Evidence that Demands a Verdict." The punch was still there, though. Everything he wrote centered around Jesus - his identity and his deeds. It caused me to do some thinking about how we treat Easter. In Josh's book, the coming of Jesus as God in the flesh and His death and resurrection are the central events in all of history. Jesus can only be a liar, a lunatic of the LORD. Many have come teaching lots of things, but the swirl of controversy around Jesus was constantly not so much His teaching but His identity. Telling a group of Jewish religious leaders "before Abraham was, I AM..." is a direct claim to being God in the flesh. The religious leaders of the day understood very clearly what Jesus was claiming, and fully intended to have him put to death because of it. Even at Jesus' trial, the charges were about His identity not His deeds. As far as His deeds were concerned, He was found blameless.

The crucifixion was accomplished with the full force of Roman efficiency and brutality. No one but Johnny-come-latelys bringing their revisionist delusions would/ could believe anything except that Jesus died on the cross.

Then comes the resurrection. There are too many aspects of this to ennumerate all of them - not even in a lifetime, but one I want to mention is the radical change in the disciples. They were transformed from shrinking, hiding, fearful men to men of whom it was said in Acts 17:6 they had turned the world upside down. What, besides the resurrection, could account for this radical transformation? This singular event in history changed everything. Think of it. One man, three year's of ministry, a horrific death by crucifixion at the hands of jealous men, and an empty tomb on the third day. From this spectacularly humble yet inscrutable beginning, hope and light has entered the world, and all of history is divided into B.C. and A.D.

So, how have we gotten to the place where Easter is about an egg-laying rabbit (how weird is that anyway - what do rabbits have to do with eggs?)? Where did the train of history get off the tracks? What can I/ we do to remember Easter for what it truly is and to tell others the same?

By Grace
MEG
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Easter 2012

• Snow covered fields and barn this Easter a.m. 

• Amazing Grace - do I really celebrate, live, walk depending on His grace day to day? 
• Debated between sparkspeople and weight watchers online - joined sparks.  I have a goal to get it ALL (even the nagging last 10 lbs that stays around to mount an offensive) by the end of December.
• Whole "gaggle" of swans flying over...spring? 
• Anchorage, AK broke a record for snowfall - 133 inches. We are up to 220 inches and haven't broken the record of 240 set in 1984. I had been wondering how this snow compares with our AK winters. 
• Snow's already melted for the day....can't wait until this "spring" looks becomes green!

• Was great to be in church for the first time in a month. All were happy to see Michael. 
• We went to the Club for brunch after chapel....
• We spent the afternoon relaxing. 
• We're still reading Amon's Adventure so read from that as well as the "Easter" story from Golgotha to Ascension. 

• Jamin ran in a steeple chase at ASU - took first by 18 seconds! That's my son! Run, boy, run! 
• Michael has one more week of convalescent leave. This is good - he's worn out from chapel and lunch. 
• Looking for low fat, high protein, high calories options for Michael. 
• Thankful this Easter for the gift of hope and new life...and for the absence of cancer and a good path for health for Michael. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Life in the Snow Globe

Today was Japan Day - a fun day to be sure on base - but we missed it. Michael didn't have the energy and the rest of us decided to hang out with him.

It snowed off and on all day. Some fairly good flurries - but no significant build up. The world was blanketed in white this morning, but the roads were clear by 10:00 a.m.  There is a definite bite in the air. A local friend commented all the quakes and snow makes living in Misawa feel like living in a snow globe. Great analogy - accurate too.

Jared worked again today. He has training all day Monday and Wednesday. His shifts are shorter; but more frequent. We're all adjusting. He starts around 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. and is done around 9:30 p.m. This may work better for school. In any event he is on track to be done by Mid-May.

By the time 3:20 came around Michael and the kids were ready for an outing. We thought about the beach - but there WERE snow flurries and the wind can be fierce on the ocean.

I dropped Michael, Yuuki and the four younger ones off at the Chuo Park (Train Park) on my way to drop Jared off at work. I hopped over to the commissary and bought groceries - AGAIN - and then picked them up on the way home. That was enough of an outing for Michael. A bit challenging but not over-taxing - just about right!

Here are some photos of the fun at the park.....the kids were happy to get away from the house.

I have to include a photo of Zander....so I'll go with this funky one. It seems somehow appropriate!

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...