Another Road Trip

We are heading out for another adventure!  June has been busy, busy, busy.  We are traveling to Lake Tahoe for the weekend for some RR&R - rest, relaxation and recreation!  Tomorrow is a play day but Saturday is a big ride day for Les - Alta Alpina "Riding the Wild Sierra."  134 miles with approximately 16,000 feet of elevation gain.

We are staying outside of Lake Tahoe where cell service is little to non-existent.  I may not post again until Monday.  Happy weekend!

Correction - The Final Count = NINE!!

Last night at church we celebrated the fact that NINE of our young people and children received the Holy Ghost at Youth Camp!!  Pastor White asked all of us who were at camp and helped pray with any of the campers to join them in a victory march around the church.  The crowd was huge!  Revival has come to Victory Tabernacle and we are all rejoicing together!

Jonathan, Fattima's brother, was not a camper but came to camp a couple of nights.  He joined in on the outpouring!

Omar receiving the Holy Ghost during pre-service prayer on Friday night!  Both of his parents were in the altar last night and we're expecting great things for their family!

Last night Pastor White said it looked like a Burbank beehive each night as we gathered around those who were seeking the Holy Ghost.  The excitement is contagious!

The Final Count = SEVEN!!

Cynthia (in the purple) received the Holy Ghost on Wednesday night:

Sergio received it last night...

And so did Desoray!

The final count for Victory Tabernacle children and young people receiving the Holy Ghost this year at camp is SEVEN!  To God be the Glory!

Two More!!!

Kevin (in the middle) received the Holy Ghost on Wednesday night.

And Enrique received the Holy Ghost last night!

Another One!!

I am so excited that Mary received the Holy Ghost last night!  She's now my "Holy Ghost Twin" - it was 40 years ago last night that I received the Holy Ghost for the first time.

We have several more young people and children who are earnestly seeking for the Holy Ghost at camp.  Please help us pray for them!

Camp Update

We are having a great time at Pacific Coast Camp!  Fattima received the Holy Ghost last night!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads reading today.  I think we tend to overlook Father's Day.  Mother's Day gets lots of attention with songs and poems and flowers, while Father's Day gets corny jokes and ugly ties. 

I was blessed to have a wonderful, wonderful Dad!  I could always lean on him...

This was a little getaway to Carmel - I think it was just Mom, Dad and me.  Dad gave me great "hunting" advice that day ~ "Sometimes when you're waiting for a deer, you need to just sit and let it come to you."

This picture was not staged.  This is pure love between a Dad and his girl.

 

If you haven't already, call your Dad today!

I Lied

My last post said, "Next post will come from Indy!"  Sorry, I really didn't mean to lie.  We were having too much fun and I decided not to be a blogging Martha (fretting over blogging instead of being present with the family.)  We had a fantastic time in Indianapolis with the Lance McElhaney family.  On Friday, Les and Lance rode bikes while we ladies went to the Indianapolis Zoo.

Hannah's hand with an orangutan's

New Orangutan exhibit

Baby African Elephant

Hannah trying to get a butterfly to land on her finger

On Saturday, Lance had a Junior Bible Quizzing Tournament.  Les tagged along and sent updates as Lance's team went undefeated in round one.  They ended up taking second overall, which qualified them for the national tournament, and Lance was Coach of the Year.

Hannah and I went for a short run (she's FAST!) then we ladies headed out for some shopping and ice cream at Mrs. Curl's.

On Sunday, Les had to get to work.  One of the reasons we were in Indy was for the IASA Conference.  I joined him at the Marriott until Tuesday morning.  While Les was listening to former president Bill Clinton speak, Monica and the girls picked me up.  We went to the Indiana Museum for a while before heading back to the house.

I didn't get a single picture of Monica!  She is such a wonderful hostess and amazing cook.  No pictures, but I did bring home four new recipes!  I'm sure they'll show up on Friday Foodie in the near future.

I'm going to continue my non-Martha blogging ways next week.  Pacific Coast Camp starts on Monday so I know there won't be much blogging going on.  I'll try to check in, but no promises!

Off We Go!

We are headed East for a change!  Les has a work conference in Indianapolis and we're taking a few extra days to visit with Lance and his family.  We've seen Lance frequently, Hannah was here a couple years ago, but we haven't seen Monica and Claire since Christmas 2009!  That's way too long!  Claire is now 16 and Hannah is 13.

Next post will come from Indy!

Unseen

Last Friday morning I headed out for a trail run.  After about a mile my left foot really started hurting.  I stopped and adjusted my shoes, walked a bit, adjusted again, and started running again.  About two miles up the trail I started seeing bear tracks...

Yes, there really is a bear that lives close to us.  According to the rancher, there is a mama (Big Mama) who has had cubs in the past.  When I first saw the tracks, I stopped and looked around.  Hmm... is he/she still close by?  I didn't hear or see anything, so I continued on my way.  I followed the trail and the bear tracks for about another 1 1/2 miles.  The trail split at that point, I went right and the bear tracks went left.  After my initial pause, I really wasn't too worried about running into a bear.  I know they are nocturnal, so the tracks may have been a couple of hours old.

I told Nicolas Flores about this on Sunday morning.  I showed him the pictures and he thought it would be pretty neat to see more than the tracks, but to actually see the bear.  I said, "I'm not sure what I would do if I ran into a bear."  He, in his nine year old wisdom, simply said, "You could pray."  He's right and I do pray, I often pray for protection while I am out running. 

I ran the same trail yesterday morning.  No bear tracks and no foot pain.  Same shoes, same trail, but no pain.  That's when it hit me - God knew exactly where I was and where the bear was.  If I hadn't had any foot pain, it is possible that I could have caught the bear while he was out on the trail.  The delays from foot pain probably took about 5 minutes, and that may have been just the amount of time I needed to stay safe.

Three quotes from Mom's Bible came to mind:

I thank God every day of my life for what I have come safely past.
You are God's property and God is going to take care of you.
I can see to the corner, but God sees around the corner... don't worry.

I thank God for every time He has rescued me from dangers, both seen and unseen!

The Books That Should Be Written

Happy 154th day of the year!  I know what day it is because I am still currently caught up with my Bible reading.  It is the first thing I read in the morning, before the news and blogs and emails derail me.  I am currently in 2 Samuel, still working through Psalms and Proverbs and yesterday I finished the book of John with this verse:

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Think about what Jesus has done in your life.  Everyday He is beside you.  Everyday protecting, guiding, blessing.  If each of us got up in the morning and simply wrote, "Jesus gave me another day to live," with a world population of over 7 billion, by the end of our days the book would be full and the world itself truly could not contain the books!

I don't want to take His grace and mercy for granted.  "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lamentation 3:22-23.  Every morning!

I may not write a book, but I want to life to reflect what Jesus has done for me!

Tip of the Day: Reviving Memory Foam Pillows

Last week while we were in Santa Bararba, we wandered into a Brookstone store.  We were looking at pillows.  Since Les' first neck surgery in 2006, pillows have been problematic.  He needs just the right amount of support.  We both have noticed that after a while, memory foam pillows of any brand start losing their memory and get flatter and flatter.

While we were talking to the salesman, he asked what brand, how long we'd have the pillows, etc.  Then he gave us a simple tip:  Take the pillow and start tightly rolling from one end, then release.  Do the same from the other end.  He said that re-releases the memory.  I was a bit skeptical, but it works!  I've been rolling my pillow each night and it feels like new again.