A field of sunflowers...

...I have passed several times, to and fro my various errands, has remained stuck in my mind.



It is truly breathtaking...row upon row of huge, bright yellow heads that seem to nod to all who pass by in their friendly sunflower way as the wind passes through the field.

And they all are facing the same direction. In unity, they face east each morning. As the sun moves across the sky, their bright faces all move together, looking towards the sun until it sets in the evening.

Yes, there is a scientific reason for this phenomena. But as I continue through my busy days, I really don't care about pondering the science that lies behind the beauty and symbolism of this stunning little piece of God's creation. What I care about is that God keeps bringing the memory of that joyful field back to my mind, reminding me to look to The Son for my strength and direction as I whirl about in my daily activities.

"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."
Psalm 105:4

PS

I went out and bought a bunch of sunflowers and J and I made little sunflower pens for she and her sister. You know the kind, the flower head at the tip and wrapped up with green florist tape. As they do their homework this Fall, what a great reminder for them to look to the Lord!

Dog Days of August

Sleeping...Eating...




Laying around...



A little travel (Big D might kill me for posting these)...




A little fun at the kennel (really a doggy-paradise that God led us to while we were on vacation...$10 a day and I am not kidding)...



Fight with the water hose...



You should see the water hose...



fine-tuning his "innocent look"...

Letter from a Tennis Mom

Dear son,

I vow here and now that I will not become "that" mom.

You know the type. The type that didn't do quite as much as she would have liked to on the court in her own highschool years.

Didn't practice her serve often enough like Serena did.

Didn't hone her mental skills razor sharp like Venus.

Didn't take as many steroids...I mean grow as tall... as either of those players.

Anyways. I vow I will just let you go have some fun on the green courts, whacking the little yellow ball around to your hearts content, without pushing and bullying you if you aren't practicing enough to suit me.

Love,

Mom

(But, oh, I am so excited that ONE of my kids is showing a bit of interest in that great sport!!!!!! You want to go play?)

Same Kind of Different As Me...Update

In June I posted about this book and what it was inspiring within my book club.

I was very passionate at the time I wrote that blog. I was idealistic. I was hopeful and prayerful. I knew it would be one step at a time.

In July, we took that one first step, striding right out of our comfort zone...and it was way more successful then I honestly thought it would be. And may I say, it had God's fingerprints all over it and that is the one reason why!! There is a verse in the Bible about how (Marie paraphrase) women can make all sorts of plans but don't hold your breathe because God is really in charge...

We had planned a taco bar Fiesta in the "clubhouse" for the mobile home community right next door to our church. They have been very receptive and inviting to anything our church has done in the past and so this seemed like a great opportunity. We even had fun little crafts planned for all the little elementary age children, but when we presented our ideas the manager asked us to do something for the teens instead.

That was the first shocker! I can do crafts and interact all day long with an 8 year old but an 18 year old scares my socks off!!

So we prayed and thought and prayed some more. I handed out 20 fliers to every teen from 13 to 19 (AS IN NINETEEN YEARS OLD)in the community. We showed up early. We set out all the food. We set out the chairs. And we waited. For about 20 minutes. Just staring at each other and the food on the tables.

Just when we started to wonder what to do next, the manager came out and started talking to us. She told us about the two 19 years olds and how they "run" the teenagers like a little suburban gang. If they come, the rest will come. And then she called one of them up on the phone and told him to come over and get some of his buddies to eat the free food. From that point on, God opened up several opportunities.

We continued in conversation with the manager, hearing her struggles and challenges. We were able to interact with one of those leaders of the kids, getting his advice about what they would like for next time. Four teenagers eventually showed up, grabbed food and a free CD of Christan alternative rock and promptly left. But two jr high girls stuck around. Their two little brothers in 5th and 6th grade stayed as well. And we were able to get our foot in the door just a little bit.

So here we are with our foot in the door!

Now for that next step...

Another Fun Date Idea

On vacation at Green Lake in Wisconsin, D and I stumbled upon another cheap yet fun date.

We go to this family camp about every other year, but for the very first time our kids were all old enough to be in their own programs. With free time on our hands for just the two of us, we decided to try out the bicycle trails on the bikes the camp provides.

There is nothing like feeling the rush of wind as you fly down the other side of a hill you just struggled to get up! Have you done that lately? You forget about the burn in your aching quads. You forget about your sore behind because you don't have those tight, shiny, padded shorts on. You just feel like a 12 year old again, carefree, and with nothing on your mind but an afternoon to enjoy.

The only down side to this fun date idea for me is putting it into real life back home...we don't own bikes. Not yet. (So much for a cheap date idea!) But we have GREAT trails here in our local parks. Hmm! Maybe Christmas...