Shilah Writes

                                                        Warning!!!  I don't know why I felt the need to explain August and what it does to me each year.  If for nothing else, August makes one long for fall days, days that are cooler and with more color.  August tests me with its rush to finish up the summer.  I usually wax poetical trying to relieve myself of some deep inner sadness.  Realize there is truly no hidden meaning in these words that feebly explain this dry, drab month of the year.  She is bone dry in spirit; like a well that has no water.  A well that is waiting for blessed relief from feeling cracked and brittle.   It waits and hopes that once again water will flow, trickling  And gurgling and splashing with its wet noise of joy.  Why is dry sadness and wet gladne...

This is Laife's first painting.  He sat down after the trip to Seattle...we were home only an hour, and he was doing this.  He says it is ugly and can't figure out why I like it.  I'm so proud of it that I took it and hung it in our sail boat. Shaunti had a birthday that got overlooked more than usual.  I guess one should never have a birthday in August. I even bought the cake.                      We gave her some nice stuff tho...hope it helped the non party mode. Our 1st camping/sailing trip with all five of us... Shaunti fishing... Bruce took this picture and I love the way the sun shines down on my baby and the boat. Isn't she a pretty little thing? Oh, Look! Another one... Mr. Dude.  He read all. weekend. long.  I could tell he was really into the sailing thing... I woke up early and enjoyed a book, coffee and this gorgeous sunrise. His mercy is new ...

A friend once asked me, "Do you measure your success by your accomplishments?"  Well yes, I guess I do.  Because I feel at loose ends, discontent, and even ornery when I have a week of dead ends with nothing getting finished.  So anyway, for what its worth, here's our week past and it felt very successful to me... August 5 - 60 quarts green beans...50 quarts applesauce August 6 - 12 hrs of cleaning before Bruce comes home from L.A. August 7 - My baby turns 11 August 8 - 5 hrs of waiting for Pro X to match paint for my classroom...while I wait 3 loads of laundry gets washed and 3 flower beds get weeded.  Approx. 1/2 gal of paint used to touch up classroom. Enjoyed 1 cup of coffee with 2 people...my mom and co-teacher. August 9 - 15 desks are painted white and tightened with mighty, powerful screw gun. 3 streaks of white paint in hair. 27 smears on arms and legs...not sure didn't count... Had lunch with 1 sister and 4 littles plus my 2 girls. August 10 - 15 desk...

What a foreign concept waiting is...  Think about it, do you know anyone who is truly good at waiting? Waiting feels like such a waste of time, after all, we are taught to stay busy and active.  Heaven forbid if we should sit and do nothing! Yet, the Bible verses that talk about waiting don't have a lot of action taking place. Instead they all mention the purpose of waiting.  In waiting there is supposed to be joy. Imagine that...it is not the virtue that comes to mind when I think of waiting.  Col 1:11 says we learn about God's strength and power in our lives and that we learn patience and long suffering with joy when we wait. Isaiah 40:31 Says we renew our strength, learn to fly, run like a winner, and walk like a hiker when we wait on God. James 5: 7-8 talks about the waiting on a tree to bear fruit and the early and latter rain required to make it happen best.  Apply that  to what you are waiting on; children growing up to love God or your ma...

What do you do when your life unravels? What brings you back to solid ground and God and trust?  What do you do when all of the things you used to do no longer seem to work? First of all...Be thankful.  This is the most important first thing to do.  The Bible says to give thanks in EVERYTHING.  That means the hard stuff too. That means especially the hard stuff.  Saying thank you to God for the hard stuff is letting go of self and walking in faith with God. Saying thank you brings you back to KNOWING that God has got the situation covered front and back.  Thanking God for the hard stuff helps you think beyond the problem to how God is going to solve it.  This never stops working even when it seems like it does. And the other thing that always works regardless of the feeling, is coming to God with all of it.  In Hebrews it says without faith it is impossible to please God...he that cometh to God must believe that He is God and that He i...

These two went on a sailing trip while the rest of us did the boat cruise around the bay provided by the city pass. Selfie with my two eldest...Precious memories... The whole gang... Inside the boat with a few nieces and Lora, my sister in law and my friend... Craig and Kari's daughter Nicole.  Craig's family visited our home prior to our trip to Seattle but do you think I took any pictures?  Of course not...and we went huckleberry picking too and they help me  acquire 2 buckets of the little purple gems. Since we were in the bay the same time Bruce was sailing; I was able to take pictures of his boat. He and Shaunti are standing at the front of the boat. How about that...not too bad for being zoomed in and in and in... Cityscape... We visited the aquarium as well... The city is crowded in summer...I was so glad to come back to a small town and breathe country air... How foxy! These two intrigued me...maybe it ...

Hello all, just back from a lovely weekend in Seattle with the Hartman family...(I'll post pictures later this week hopefully.)   In the meantime I wanted to share a little encouragement straight from the wells of mercy... There were a couple incidents in our travels that made me realize the power of prayer. Again.  Driving over it felt like we were hurling ourselves through space.  We weren't really, it was just my overwrought emotions. Cars were headed for us from both sides and I knew we were going to be smashed like so many bugs on a windshield. Every rumble strip and changing of lanes reminded me of the old arcade games we used to play in the strip mall when I was a teenager; always wrought with some obstacle to dodge and barely miss.     About halfway I had a little cry with God. I asked Him, "Why am I cursed with tense nerves?  What am I afraid of really? A little help please? Please help me to think rationally. You have given us ...