Opportunities in Disaster Relief!

Well,

this post did not turn out like originally intended!

Gary and I were planning to be on a

Disaster Relief trip,

but the opportunity kind of slipped out of our hands.

Actually, it was a drill bit that slipped into Gary's hand...

and went deep into his thumb.
Instead of going on a disaster relief trip,
we ended up on a trip to the Emergency Room!

This rather changed our plans.

I had already decided that I shouldn't go on this trip

due to a Baker's cyst flare-up,

but I didn't want to keep Gary from this opportunity.

The good news is,

we get to spend this week together instead of apart!

Although Arkansas is now known as
The Natural State,
it previously was known as

"The Land of Opportunity".

Since Gary's thumb is a bit messed up,

 I guess we'll get in Gary's Jeep and do a little exploring

of our beautiful Natural state!

...And if we keep our eyes open,

we'll probably find some "Disaster Relief" opportunities

that we can do right here in our own beautiful state.

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity,
we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Galations 6:9-10

Click HERE to see my most recent post of Names of God on Rocks. 





Newton County Nostalgia!

My sister-in-law recently took me for a day trip
in the county where we grew up.
Our first stop was what used to be the old Vendor School House,
where the verdant growth helped beautify the burnt ruins.

We caught this dog taking a drink from the spring
 behind the old School House where the children
used to get a drink of water.
If you click on the picture to enlarge it,
you can see the water dripping from his mouth!

Our destination was the Mount Judea Mountain,
as seen in the background.

When we were almost at the top of the mountain,
 we stopped to visit with Lu, who became our new "tour guide".
 She stopped long enough for us to admire the view from this rentable cabin.

This is a view from the home of the gentleman
who owns and rents out the cabin.

As these cows graze the backbone of the mountain field,
they have an excellent view of their surroundings.
We were privileged to share the view with them!

Fortunately for us, there were not a great many cactus.

We saw an abundance of deer as we came down the mountain.
Our "tour guide" informed us that the bear were also
showing up in growing numbers.

Here we are back on the paved road,
and beginning to make our way home.

This is just one of the old barns we saw on our trip.

This is the little community chapel
which my dad used to pastor
in the 1950's through the 1960's.

And, I couldn't head back home without a stop
at the old Yardell spring.
This spring provided water for many people
for many generations.
We would often picnic here,
and enjoy the cool spring water.


This spring reminds me of the words of Jesus
to the woman at the well of Samaria when He said,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give him will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14



Thanks for coming along with me
on my nostalgic journey back to Newton County!

Oh, by the way, you can expect to be seeing some of the rocks

we picked up from the top of the mountain in future posts of Rock4Today,

where I paint the Names of God on Rocks!

M is for Marriage...

Jenny Matlock keeps me motivated with her alphabet challenges - and this week it's the letter "M"...

On August 29th, 1969 Gary and I got married. 

(I hope the reason Gary looks so painful in this photo 
was because my brother Bill had dropped some rice
down his shirt collar just as we were kneeling at the altar,
...and not because he wasn't sure what marriage would hold!)

We didn't have a fancy wedding...
probably had less than 100 guests.

But the cost of the wedding,
and the size of the guest list
is not what holds a marriage together in my opinion.

For us,
we choose to love each other no matter what!
We continually strive to practice 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,
...and sometimes that is quite challenging!
Click on the link above if you're not sure what it says!


Click on Rock4Today if you'd like to see
what name of God is featured painted on rocks this week.

Last Lily of Summer

I love lilies,

and I was so sad to have them finish their season.

This is the last blossom. 
I took a picture of it a few weeks ago.
A horticulturist friend of ours gave me a start
of it about ten years ago.

These were some of my first lilies to bloom.



Next came the peach colored ones...



But this one is one of my favorites.
It was developed by a professor from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

The professor gave a start of it to my sister-in-law,
who in turn gave me a small slip of my own. 
 This beautiful black day lily is a tiny delightful reminder
of the wonderful giving heart of my sis-in-law.
I'm sure this beautiful flower is of no comparison
to the blooms and blossoms she is now seeing in heaven!

I took this photo using lilies,
  trying a little water drop photography
with them as I was working on my
Rock4Today post a couple of months ago.
(Rock4Today is my blog that features the Names of God on Rocks!)

My MOST favorite lily is the "star-gazer" lily,

but unfortunately my bulbs didn't produce

any blooms for me this year.

My calla lillies didn't perform well either.
This was the only one that bloomed!

The lilies remind me of the verses in the Bible
where Jesus tells us to "Consider the lilies",
and says if He takes care of them,
He will surely take care of us!

By the way,

the winners of my July Give-A-Way have been contacted.

They have responded with their addresses,

and their prizes have been mailed!