50th Anniversary Celebration Pictures

We received the formal pictures of Bill and Dolly's 50th anniversary celebration this week. Fellow blogger, Tammy Batson, took them and did a great job! It's a challenge getting two people looking at the camera and smiling at the same time, so fourteen is nearly impossible, but she did it!! The fact that we came from three states and actually managed to match (pastels with khaki) is also a miracle! Here's a sample:

We started outside:


With just their kids:

With just the grandkids:


Moved inside for a few more. Notice the free advertising we're giving Gaylord...

Courage

Wealth lost-something lost;
Honor lost-much lost;
Courage lost-all lost.
- Old German proverb

As I've been going through our family pictures, there have been so many emotions involved! Many pictures bring a smile or a laugh. Some bring old memories, while others are before my time. Here is a set from October 1964:

Kim, age 5 1/2


Rod, age 19 months


This picture of Rod tugs my heartstrings! I can hardly look at it without wanting to cry myself...

This is not the Rod I remember. He lived a life of pain, but he was courageous! Sitting there on that horse, with big old tears in his eyes just gets me every time.

There were few things that held Rod back. He was all boy. He loved basketball, volleyball, racquetball, and softball! He was the boy who learned to ride a skateboard, sitting down, with a friend pulling him from their bicycle! He seemed fearless! Definitely more imp than angel, so a picture of him with tears is very rare.

Here's his kindergarten picture (front row, second from the left) - a black eye and a smile!


Here he is in the hospital, with a broken leg and a smile!


In this picture he's sitting in a wheelchair, in a full body cast, but again smiling!

Rod was so determined to LIVE. Pain would slow him down, but never stop him completely.

There are two people who can be credited with some of that courage - Dad and Mom. They courageously allowed Rod to be Rod. I know there were tough times, but they helped him grow up with an incredible amount of self confidence.

When it was time for bicycles, Kim, Rick, and I all got our own. There was no way Rod could have ridden on his own. Instead of saying, "Sorry, you just won't be able to ride," Dad found a used tandem and he would ride on the front with Rod on the back. Those Saturday afternoon rides, with all of us following Dad and Rod, Rod being his usual witty self, were some great times!

It takes courage to face what life hands us, but for today:

Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
- Frank Scully

Heart Improvement

During our Home Improvement project I've had several thoughts running through my mind that I wanted to blog about, but with all the noise and distractions, I have not taken the time to sit and put those thoughts in order. This week could be very wordy!!

I have been comparing our home project to my heart lately. Just as I stated a few days ago, home improvement projects never seem to end, so it is with the heart. Just when I think I've gotten victory in one area, a new challenge arises.

While our home is beautiful on the outside, cleanliness on the inside is much more important to me. All the paint, trim, and stone work in the world can't cover grime, dust, or bugs! Jesus had a little bit to say about that in Matthew 23:25-28

25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

We have what we call the "low spot" in our house. It's a counter top in our family room, the first place we see as we come in through the garage. It's the "low spot" because so many things seem to land there! Keys, iPhones, watches, tape measures, sunglasses, books, papers, magazines - they all seem to land there! It's not a place I want anyone to see, and it is like this on a daily basis no matter how often I clean it.

We often have "low spots" in our hearts that we don't want anyone to see. There are times we like to hold on to old hurts, guilt or bitterness. "The Secret Place" is a song Bro. and Sis. Nathan Hurst sang in the early 80s when they were in revival with our church. I still hum it from time to time and check my heart for any secret places.

The Secret Place

1) My heart is like a house, one day I let the Savior in
There were many rooms that I'd visit now and then
Then one day He saw the door, I knew the day had come too soon
I said, "Jesus, I'm not ready for us to visit in that room."

Chorus 1:
That's the place in my heart where even I don't go
I have some things hidden there I don't want anyone to know
But He handed me the key, with tears of love on His face
He said, "I want to make you clean, let Me in your secret place."

2) Then He opened up the door, and the two of us walked in
I was so ashamed, His light revealed my hidden sin
But when I think about that room now, I'm not ashamed anymore
For I know my evil sins no longer hide behind that door

Chorus 2:
That's the place in my heart where even I didn't go
I had some things hidden there I didn't want anyone to know
But He handed me the key, with tears of love on His face
He said, "I want to make you clean, let Me in your secret place."

Chorus 3:
Is there a place in your heart where even you don't go?
You've got some things hidden there you don't want anyone to know
But he's handing you the key, with tears of love on His face
He says, "I want to make you clean, let Me in your secret place."

Tag: Jesus made me clean, I let Him in my secret place

This life is a never ending process. Titus 3:5 says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Cleansing, renewing, lather, rinse, repeat!

I worked on this post Saturday and Sunday and thought it was ready. Then Pastor White preached "Bonfires the World Doesn't Understand" on Sunday night. It was such an appropriate message for what has been going through my mind lately. His illustration about someone masking their body odor instead of bathing was priceless! There is a difference between cleansing and masking.

Heart Improvement - week 2,000... to be continued!

Home Improvement - Before and After!

I'll confess I was a little nervous about the paint color when they finished, but as it has continued to dry I am very pleased!





Next up - new doors! These are old, wooden and weather weary! If we tried to sand them down, there wouldn't be anything left. After almost two weeks of numerous trips to Lowe's, I ordered our doors today.


P.S. I forgot to add that while I was at Lowe's I saw CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!! It's bad enough the Halloween candy has been out for a month, but it's still 100 degrees here, I'm not buying any snowmen!!!

Friday Foodie

We "ate out of pantry" this week!

Do you get this way? I had half a pound of ground beef, half a pound of ground turkey, two chicken breasts, frozen pasta, dry pasta, and more canned goods than a family of 6 needs! So I only bought milk and produce at the grocery store and cleaned out quite a bit! We had Porcupine Meatballs and Chicken 'n Dumplings. Both of these made great leftovers, too!

Be on the lookout later today or tomorrow for house pictures - the job is finished!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Metrolink Crash, One Year Later

Just a little over 12 months ago, Metrolink Train 111 crashed en route to Simi Valley. On the one year anniversary, September 12th, a memorial was dedicated at the Simi Valley station in remembrance of those who lost their lives in that horrible crash, as encouragement to those who survived, and with gratitude to the first responders. I had a few extra minutes last night before boarding the train to Burbank, so I wanted to see the new memorial.

There are stones with the name of each victim:

A place to sit and meditate:

Again, I am thankful that I was not on that train. I also want to remember Pastor White's encouragement to the church to be first responders in the lives of those who come in our midst.

Laugh or Cry?

In Southern California we have four seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fire. Today, as the official first day of Fall, Santa Ana winds started blowing. It was 103 with 5% humidity. HIGH fire alert. Les emailed that there is a fire between Fillmore and Moorpark, that's not far from us. As a matter of fact, we were on roads Saturday that are now closed due to this fire.

I thought I'd check online for any news, here's the headline that caught my attention:

Ventura County fire burns 6,000 acres;
caused by spontaneous combustion of manure

I did NOT make that up!! LATimes.com Wildfires are no laughing matter, especially for residents who have been evacuated. I'd say this one "stinks!"

Happy Fall!

It's a new season! The Autumnal Equinox occurs at 5:18 p.m. EDT today. To celebrate I've pulled out my fall decorations:

It's not time for sweaters or boots, though:

Tuesday, 9/22/2009

Hi: 103°

Sunny. Highs 95 to 104. Through and below passes and Canyons...areas of northeast winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph.

I know the weather will change eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later! I'm also praying for rain... it's been about 6 months, so we're definitely dry around here. Just as weather patterns change, so do the seasons of our life:

Seasons Change (by Crystal Lewis)

Are you going through a dry spell
Yes I've been there before
Where the trees are slowly withering
Where their roots cry out for more
Where the desert floor is dry and cracked
No clouds hang in the sky
No winter rain or spring it seems
No change in sight

(Chorus)
But seasons change
And then they pass
No way to know how long they'll last
I'd love to know the reason why
But God knows
Seasons change

Are you going through a dry spell
I've been there a time or two
Where life seems to stay the same for awhile
You want to change but don't know how to
It's the place where you feel empty inside
Can't put your finger on the need
I look at God and see what I want to be
I look at me and see what I am

(Chorus)

Are you going through a dry spell
I was there awhile ago
Now I've come to a place where the rain falls
Where the trees bear fruit and grow
Where I find a refuge in my God
It's a place of surrender I know
I look at God and see what I want to be
He looks at me and sees His own

If you're in that dry place in life, don't lose hope. God knows where you are and He sees you as His own.

Home Improvement Week 6

I THOUGHT we were going to be finished last week. We're SO close!! Stone work is complete. The only item remaining for our crew is Tex-Cote. We decided we want our house to be green. Tex-Cote had 2 choices of green:

Umm... can you say "chocolate mint ice cream?"

or

No and No. Does anyone really paint their house either of these colors?? Maybe they use it for trim or something...

We looked at dozens of green samples:


And decided on Behr paint, "Sagey." It's the one on top.


Because we want a color that is not standard, Tex-Cote has to mix up a special batch for us. Two days has now turned in to five. They were going to be here Friday, then today, now we're scheduled for tomorrow!

Of course when the crew is gone there will be plenty of sweat equity left. Les took last Monday off to "recover" from Youth Alive/Alive at the Park and ended up tearing out old brick in the front yard and our patio covers (he's replacing the wood with vinyl - no more painting!)


I don't know about you, but in my experience home projects are never done!

Friday Foodie

Can you believe I "served Italian" again this week?!?! I think I need to start learning the language!!

I tried two new recipes from Rosalie Serving Italian - Marinara Sauce and Fried Ravioli. They are both on Rosalie's blog, so I'm free to share them!! Let me just say - "Good bye, Prego! See ya, Ragu!" The marinara sauce was better than any sauce I've ever bought from a can or jar. I think it was better than most I've had in restaurants as well!

Once again, I'm copying the recipes directly from Rosalie's blog:

Marinara Sauce

Note: This sauce can be stored in refrigerator for 1 to 2 days or frozen in zipper bags. Use over pasta, in vegetable dishes, as a dip for appetizers, or in meatless lasagna.

Variation: Add Italian Meatballs recipe found on page 125 of the cookbook, for a quick meat sauce.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, juice included
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
4 - 5 tablespoons tomato paste, for thickening
few parsley leaves

1. Pour olive oil in large saucepan and sauté onions and garlic about 2 minutes, until lightly golden.
2. Pour tomatoes in bowl, removing any hard stems or unsightly pieces and discard. Chop tomatoes fine and add to onion/garlic mixture. Over medium heat begin to simmer sauce. Add the sugar, dried basil leaves, chicken broth, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Continue to simmer 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Add the tomato sauce, paste, and a few parsley leaves. With the lid on, turn the heat to low and simmer about 15 minutes. Stir often to avoid scorching on bottom. If sauce is too thick, add 1to 2 tablespoons of water. Taste sauce and add more seasoning, if desired. Makes 4 cups.

I did not make any changes to this recipe! It was very simple and extremely tasty! Instead of simmering on low, I put it all in my Crock pot for about an hour so I could concentrate on other things, like Fried Ravioli!! We had this over linguine one night, over penne pasta another night and as dipping sauce for Fried Ravioli - Mmmmmmm!!!

Nutritional info: 158 calories / 3.5 g fat / 7.6 g fiber / 2 WW points for 1 cup.


Fried Ravioli

NOTE: This is a great appetizer or can even be served as meal. A delicious Italian classic that continues to delight the body and soul. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce or just plain with lots of fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

1/2 pound frozen beef, or cheese ravioli
1 tablespoon salt

3 beaten eggs
2/3 cup plain bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh curly parsley, chopped
½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup mild olive oil, or more if needed

1. Boil 4 quarts water and add salt. Add the ravioli and boil until the ravioli are tender. Drain gently.
   
2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and add about half the drained ravioli to the egg mixture at a time.
3. In shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper. With a slotted spoon, lift the ravioli one at a time out of the egg mixture, and coat well in the bread crumbs. Lay breaded ravioli on waxed paper. Continue until all are breaded.
4. In large skillet, heat olive oil until hot. Add several coated ravioli to the hot oil, and fry until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to paper towel to drain.
5. Transfer to a large platter with bowl of marinara sauce in the middle for dipping, or serve garnished with Parmesan cheese. Serve while still warm. Makes about 1 ½ dozen.

I cut this recipe in half and substituted Egg Beaters for the eggs. This is another winner!

Nutritional info: 80 calories / 2.96 g fat / .37 g fiber / 1.8 WW points per ravioli.

A "Little" Project

When I was at Dad's for Labor Day weekend I asked him if I could bring home the family pictures. I knew there were tons in Mom's cedar "hope chest." I want to digitize them all before they fade any further. This might turn into Christmas gifts for my family... in 2010!



Mom loved pictures but she did not love putting them in albums!! There are a few in albums, some in picture frames, but many, many, many more that were in piles, in envelopes, and in boxes! I'm having so much fun walking down memory lane!

So far I have separated the photos by person. I'll be using software to make these pictures as clear as possible. Here's a little peek (unedited so far) at what I've found:

Mom's baby picture

Kim and Rick

A dapper Rod


All four of us!By the way, that's my little white dress with the red dots in this one!

290K!

Our faithful Saturn rolled over to 290,000 miles last night on the way home from church!

Alive at the Park

Alive at the Park was amazing!! It exceeded all expectations.

Something of this magnitude takes A LOT of people to pull off - I won't begin naming everyone who had a hand in this event because I'm sure I'd miss someone. Sound men, musicians, singers, choir directors, back stage, emcees, Knott's employees. The list could on and on! Huge props to Bro. & Sis. P.J. White, our youth leaders, and their committee - they have worked on this for months and it was fabulous!

About six weeks ago, Pastor White made an announcement to our church. We had committed to Knott's Berry Farm - no matter who showed up, we were responsible for 500 tickets. Last I heard, we sold over 1400 tickets!!

I spent the entire day in the Wagon Camp Theater. Les was the sound liaison working with Terry Stewart and his crew. We had a great group of guys that showed up at 7:30 a.m. and stayed until after 11:00 p.m., helping unload, set up, tear down, and reload. This same crew also helped set up and tear down at Liberty Hall on Friday.

What can I say about the singers and musicians? Every group, choir, soloist did great! One of the Knott's employees told Les how impressed he was with the band. Les told him it was multiple bands, musicians changed for each group, and that just blew his mind! It's great seeing talent being used for God's glory.

There was standing room only in the theater for both "performances." Thankfully, this wasn't a talent show - but a time of praise and worship by young people and adults from as far away as Texas and Arkansas!! I assisted backstage and I think I was a little too stressed during the first set at 4:00 to feel what everyone was feeling. But the Spirit of God was so strong during the second set at 7:00, everyone backstage was worshiping and praising God!! After a very long day, my tiredness disappeared for a while as I was able to just enjoy the beautiful presence of God. It kept building with a finale that brought the house down because the Holy Ghost showed up in a big way!! They could hear us all over park!!

The greatest testimony I heard came when it was all over. The sound crew was waiting for the park to clear so they could bring their vehicles in and load up all the equipment. While waiting, some of us had funnel cakes. The young man who gave Bro. P.J. his funnel cake told him that his grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher and he hadn't felt anything like that in a long time!

Big thanks to Sis. Chris and Bro. Nembro for taking pictures while I was back stage!

In the midst of all my busyness - I did get to meet Jen and Michelle from Dallas, Texas! I also saw Bekki again. All three were at church with us Sunday morning. I'm always glad to make more friends!

Youth Alive 2009!

Youth Alive 2009 has come and gone and it was a tremendous success!! We made the move to a larger building last year and promptly filled it to capacity of approximately 750. We moved again this year and were full again - this time the crowd was close to 1200!! If you have a great thing going, young people are going to show up.

Our scheduled speaker for the service, Bro. Joel Holmes, was unable to make it due to illness in the family. Bro. Jerry Rowell, pastor of Yuma Pentecostal Assembly, stepped in and did a great job. Earlier in the service the Mass Choir sang "Jesus Said It." Bro. Rowell wrote an additional verse and sang it! He also did a surprise solo with the choir at Alive at the Park!!

After a time of worship and singing, Bro. Rowell preached "The Land of To and Fro." His text was Amos chapter 8, verse 11 and 12. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."

It was a sobering thought - we are such a busy people, going to and fro, but in the Land of To and Fro, the word of the Lord cannot be found. There are those who are constantly looking for some new thing or some new pastor. The altars were flooded for a time of consecration.

After service we had a crew to help take down all the sound equipment because it was headed to Knott's Berry Farm. Les was part of that crew, so I stayed with him. We finished there at about 11:00 and headed to our church where there was food for ministers and their families. I thought we would eat, fellowship a bit but leave pretty quickly since we were to be at Knott's at 7:30 Saturday morning. I was wrong!! My ping pong loving husband proceeded to play ping pong until after 1:30! While I enjoyed the fellowship, it was after 2:00 before we got to bed - much too late for this lady!!

Home Improvement Week 5

We had an amazing weekend and I have several things to blog about, but for today I'll just give an update on our house project!

There was lots of progress this week. The stone work is almost done.


The painters arrived on Thursday to start the prep work.


Windows are taped and covered.

Trim has been sanded and primed.


The back and sides of the house have been pressure washed.


We might even finish this week!