Ryan had his senior pictures taken this afternoon. As our photographer, Christine, was taking his picture, I took a few too....
Here's to Ry's senior year and the class of 2017
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Friday, October 28, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
a sight unseen emotion settling just right
I can't explain it, at least in words anyway. When it comes to taking a photograph, it's a feeling, a sight unseen emotion that settles as right, when you look back at pictures you took and know that you captured what you were looking for. An authentic glimpse into the essence of what it was like being at that place in that time. I've learned that it's not always the picture perfect shot that creates the capture, but instead, an unguarded moment of the occupants. A moment that, even for just a second, captures the beauty of the experience. I'm using too many words, and like I said at the beginning, I can't explain it in words....so I'll stop and just show you.
Eli was home from a 48 hour shift at the fire department. TJ, a fellow fireman and a friend of Eli's since first grade was sharing a meal with us, Danika was over (Ry's girlfriend), and Ry. We were sitting down to dinner last night. Just before we got started, I grabbed my camera and took several shots.
Oh, there are a few more perfect than this one. Pictures where everyone is looking at the camera, smiling. But none that captured the moment quite like this picture did.
This settles just right in this wanna-be photographers heart....yep, it settles just right.
Eli was home from a 48 hour shift at the fire department. TJ, a fellow fireman and a friend of Eli's since first grade was sharing a meal with us, Danika was over (Ry's girlfriend), and Ry. We were sitting down to dinner last night. Just before we got started, I grabbed my camera and took several shots.
Oh, there are a few more perfect than this one. Pictures where everyone is looking at the camera, smiling. But none that captured the moment quite like this picture did.
This settles just right in this wanna-be photographers heart....yep, it settles just right.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
policy in politics
I received this note from my dear friend, Rebecca, and found it both thought provoking and convicting- enough so, I wanted to share it with you all...
'I've been listening, reading, thinking and praying. As I write this, my mind and heart are firmly standing on the solid ground of Jesus Christ. As a Christian community, I hear us saying. “I could never vote for...” “Christians have no place in politics.” "I don't like any of the candidates so I'm not going to vote".... Those are the words we've swirled over coffee, blogs, and church foyers. We use them to justify the decision before us. They comfort us to the point that we have become broken records of rhetoric amongst ourselves and impotent outside the walls we call church.
It would be easier to binge watch Netflix right through November 9th...But we cannot, This election matters, we must vote!
Let's bypass all the trivial debates and get to the heart of what matters. No, not what matters to us, but what matters to God.
The formula I've found that helps me cut through all the noise is this election is this:
This is hard, it is messy. Like it or not there is one candidate that more clearly aligns with what God's Word teaches. No this person will not save you (remember, we are not voting for a Savior, we already have one) or speak “Christianese”, but he will keep freedom, which in turn, will keep freedom open to the gospel.' ~ Rebecca
Heavenly Father, thank you that you are Sovereign and in control of all things. Thank you that no matter who wins this election, you are still working all things for your Glory and our good. Please protect all the candidates running for president in this election, please fill them with the knowledge and wisdom that they have the chance to influence our country for you. Please also protect our country. Lord, we have made so many poor choices, we need to repent and turn back to you. I love you Dear Lord Jesus.
'I've been listening, reading, thinking and praying. As I write this, my mind and heart are firmly standing on the solid ground of Jesus Christ. As a Christian community, I hear us saying. “I could never vote for...” “Christians have no place in politics.” "I don't like any of the candidates so I'm not going to vote".... Those are the words we've swirled over coffee, blogs, and church foyers. We use them to justify the decision before us. They comfort us to the point that we have become broken records of rhetoric amongst ourselves and impotent outside the walls we call church.
It would be easier to binge watch Netflix right through November 9th...But we cannot, This election matters, we must vote!
Let's bypass all the trivial debates and get to the heart of what matters. No, not what matters to us, but what matters to God.
The formula I've found that helps me cut through all the noise is this election is this:
I Vote Policy in Politics.
Let's take a look at some policies of the two strongest running candidates:
- One candidate is firmly pro-Life the other firmly pro-Choice. As a Christian you have the opportunity to vote for life in this election. (Deut. 27:25, Ps. 139, Prov. 24:11-12, Jer. 1:4-5)
- One candidate is going to stand with Israel and the other will stand with Israel's enemies. (Gen. 12:1-3, Ps. 122)
- One candidate will bring judges to our Supreme Court that will uphold and defend the current constitution, the other will not.
- One candidate will go to great lengths to keep the people and service men and women of our country safe. The other has not and will not make this a reality.
- Lastly, lets not quickly gloss over the Vice President nominations. This is the most telling of all, the person they choose to take with them to the Oval Office. Christian, you can actually vote for a man that loves and proclaims the name of Jesus.
This is hard, it is messy. Like it or not there is one candidate that more clearly aligns with what God's Word teaches. No this person will not save you (remember, we are not voting for a Savior, we already have one) or speak “Christianese”, but he will keep freedom, which in turn, will keep freedom open to the gospel.' ~ Rebecca
Heavenly Father, thank you that you are Sovereign and in control of all things. Thank you that no matter who wins this election, you are still working all things for your Glory and our good. Please protect all the candidates running for president in this election, please fill them with the knowledge and wisdom that they have the chance to influence our country for you. Please also protect our country. Lord, we have made so many poor choices, we need to repent and turn back to you. I love you Dear Lord Jesus.
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| It's always fun to put a name with a face. This is Rebecca, my cousin Luke, and their 3 kids- Grace Anne, Dawson, and Claire (bottom R) |
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
who needs guard dogs anyway
I am laughing even as I start typing this blog post.
We have 15 acres. 3 acres are where our house and a few out building sit and 12 acres are fenced with our cows. For most of the summer, we've been feeding our cows apples- In the process of feeding them apples, I've taught several of the cows to come right up to us and eat the apples out of our hand. The cows will get so excited when we go out into the field, they literally run up to us and stop within 2 feet of us. If cows could squeal and laugh, they would be doing this when they run up to you, they are that excited. They also run up with such fury, you wonder if they are going to stop before hitting you. If we don't give them apples when we are out in the field, they will persistently follow us around at whatever speed we are going (if we are walking they walk behind us- if we were to run, they would run behind us- not that we ever run...but if we were to run).
The first time they ran up to me, I stood there, willing myself not to run like mad for the fence and jump over it. I wasn't sure if they were going to trample me or stop. I took a big breath, stood still, and faced the cows (like any good pack leader does) and shouted a greeting to them 'HHHHEEEYYY!!'- I figured I would rather go down appearing brave then loose face in front of 17 cows and run away. I didn't have apples so I just petted them behind their ears and told them how handsome they were. They didn't appreciate this as much as apples but they still persistently followed me around the field when I walked- keeping pace the entire time.
The back of the 12 acres of our cow field backs up to a rural subdivision. The houses are on larger lots with all of their back fences bordering our field. The first house on the road, closest to the highway, has quite a grow going. If the privacy fence was not a dead give a way, the big green leaves growing up over the fence and the smell of skunk was. I walk around our field most days, 2 times around during the walk for the normal or 3 times if it's an ambitious day (like once a month). The cows run up to me every time I walk and follow me for one lap around.
Last night, I was walking around the field and noticed leafy greens laying on the ground along our back fence line. It was a long enough stretch of those leafy greens that someone would have had to walk down the fence line to spread them. They were cut and thrown around, not growing up out of the ground. I've never seen marijuana close up- never smoked it- not my thing at all, so it took me a minute to figure out what I was looking at. I picked it up and took a picture, sending the picture to my Matt, 'Is this marijuana?'....then I took a whiff- it stunk (which confirmed my suspicion that it was marijuana). I gathered as much of it as I could find, make your arms create a big circle out in front of you, that's how much I gathered, and threw it between our fence and the neighbors fence. I'm fuming mad by this time, trying to figure out if someone was trying to feed our cows pot, and trying to figure out who would be walking our fence line spreading the pot around.
WHAT IN THE WORLD!
I grabbed the biggest branch of marijuana with the most leaves on it and stormed across our field to show Matt. 'Honey, you need to go talk to the neighbors about this!'
Matt said he pulled up to the neighbors (the ones with the grow), which were all standing outside their house, held the pot branch up and asked them if it was theirs. They had just gotten home from work and figured out that sometime, during the day, someone had stollen their marijuana plants. They wanted to know where Matt had gotten the cuttings from their plants.
We put two and two together. Especially after walking the fence line again and seeing how the marijuana was scattered. At the end of the scattered marijuana was a backpack and the cutters used to cut it. You could tell that whoever had stollen the marijuana had run down our fence line- scared enough to drop not only the pot but their personal items too.
Cows are curious- what do you want to bet they saw the robbers, after stealing the neighbors pot, make their way over the fence onto our side of the property. They didn't realize the impact they would have as all of them ran at the robbers, expecting apples. I'm sure the robbers took off running, holding on tight to their loot- they picked up speed, hoping to outrun the cows, all the while glancing back to see how close the cows were. Clearly the cows were gaining ground which caused the robbers to drop the rest of the weed and their personal belongings and jump over the fence.......
AAAAHHHHHHAAAAAHHHHH!!! Take that you pot robbers!! Great job to our cows!!
Who needs guard dogs anyway? Especially when you have overly friendly cows :)
We have 15 acres. 3 acres are where our house and a few out building sit and 12 acres are fenced with our cows. For most of the summer, we've been feeding our cows apples- In the process of feeding them apples, I've taught several of the cows to come right up to us and eat the apples out of our hand. The cows will get so excited when we go out into the field, they literally run up to us and stop within 2 feet of us. If cows could squeal and laugh, they would be doing this when they run up to you, they are that excited. They also run up with such fury, you wonder if they are going to stop before hitting you. If we don't give them apples when we are out in the field, they will persistently follow us around at whatever speed we are going (if we are walking they walk behind us- if we were to run, they would run behind us- not that we ever run...but if we were to run).
The first time they ran up to me, I stood there, willing myself not to run like mad for the fence and jump over it. I wasn't sure if they were going to trample me or stop. I took a big breath, stood still, and faced the cows (like any good pack leader does) and shouted a greeting to them 'HHHHEEEYYY!!'- I figured I would rather go down appearing brave then loose face in front of 17 cows and run away. I didn't have apples so I just petted them behind their ears and told them how handsome they were. They didn't appreciate this as much as apples but they still persistently followed me around the field when I walked- keeping pace the entire time.
The back of the 12 acres of our cow field backs up to a rural subdivision. The houses are on larger lots with all of their back fences bordering our field. The first house on the road, closest to the highway, has quite a grow going. If the privacy fence was not a dead give a way, the big green leaves growing up over the fence and the smell of skunk was. I walk around our field most days, 2 times around during the walk for the normal or 3 times if it's an ambitious day (like once a month). The cows run up to me every time I walk and follow me for one lap around.
Last night, I was walking around the field and noticed leafy greens laying on the ground along our back fence line. It was a long enough stretch of those leafy greens that someone would have had to walk down the fence line to spread them. They were cut and thrown around, not growing up out of the ground. I've never seen marijuana close up- never smoked it- not my thing at all, so it took me a minute to figure out what I was looking at. I picked it up and took a picture, sending the picture to my Matt, 'Is this marijuana?'....then I took a whiff- it stunk (which confirmed my suspicion that it was marijuana). I gathered as much of it as I could find, make your arms create a big circle out in front of you, that's how much I gathered, and threw it between our fence and the neighbors fence. I'm fuming mad by this time, trying to figure out if someone was trying to feed our cows pot, and trying to figure out who would be walking our fence line spreading the pot around.
WHAT IN THE WORLD!
I grabbed the biggest branch of marijuana with the most leaves on it and stormed across our field to show Matt. 'Honey, you need to go talk to the neighbors about this!'
Matt said he pulled up to the neighbors (the ones with the grow), which were all standing outside their house, held the pot branch up and asked them if it was theirs. They had just gotten home from work and figured out that sometime, during the day, someone had stollen their marijuana plants. They wanted to know where Matt had gotten the cuttings from their plants.
We put two and two together. Especially after walking the fence line again and seeing how the marijuana was scattered. At the end of the scattered marijuana was a backpack and the cutters used to cut it. You could tell that whoever had stollen the marijuana had run down our fence line- scared enough to drop not only the pot but their personal items too.
Cows are curious- what do you want to bet they saw the robbers, after stealing the neighbors pot, make their way over the fence onto our side of the property. They didn't realize the impact they would have as all of them ran at the robbers, expecting apples. I'm sure the robbers took off running, holding on tight to their loot- they picked up speed, hoping to outrun the cows, all the while glancing back to see how close the cows were. Clearly the cows were gaining ground which caused the robbers to drop the rest of the weed and their personal belongings and jump over the fence.......
AAAAHHHHHHAAAAAHHHHH!!! Take that you pot robbers!! Great job to our cows!!
Who needs guard dogs anyway? Especially when you have overly friendly cows :)
Saturday, October 1, 2016
seven circles with life experience
- Life experience always gives the best indication if what one preaches they are also willing to live.
- It's easy to pass judgment on another's situation, especially when you have not traveled that road yourself. It seems the softer the response, the more life the one speaking has experienced.
- Life experience is teaching me that it is inevitable to not cross the path of one who is suffering. It's easier to walk away....but then what would that show of Jesus- maybe this one goes back to the top of this list....Life experience always gives the best indication if what one preaches they are also willing to live
- It has been shown to me that those who stuck by the one suffering- who weathered the storm with that vulnerable precious soul, who showered the one hurting with compassion and kindness, is the type of person I long to be. Standing by the one suffering can be depressing, it can be draining, it requires patience and all those things that our flesh wants to run from. But it also produces Christ like qualities that our world longs to see- people are starving to see Jesus in us. Not surface 'talk the talk' Jesus but when the rubber meets the road and the only explanation can be 'Jesus in you' type of Jesus.
- Life experience has also taught me that not all who begin your journey, will finish it with you- and that's ok. It used to be a devastatingly grievous thing, letting go. But I'm slowly coming to realize that, if your having to chase and then grab for, your too busy trying to force what isn't yours and missing what God's putting right in front of you. It's still hard though, the letting go, and I don't like it at all.
- But on the letting go note, sometimes, when we are all done with our tactics and holding on, it gives God room to work. In those times, what He does, never ceases to amaze me.
- Lastly, the most valuable life experience lesson I have learned to date is this.... I need Jesus, at all times and in all things.....life's a broken mess without Him. Oh, don't get me wrong, Life's still hard, even with Him- It's still messy- but it isn't broken. Because, with Him, even the messiest situations still have His promise. The promise that He is working all things out for His Glory and our good and the promise of Heaven- the here is just fleeting and the there of Heaven, all of it's perfection and Glory, is forever.
Happy Saturday to you!!
Monday, August 22, 2016
if we could....
If Matt and I could (a desire of our hearts, not a reality)...
We would be part of the process of bringing a treatment into the United States that is as good (which would mean exactly the same) as the treatment Ryan received in Germany to treat Lyme Disease.
We would make it so that the facility administering the treatment was not a racket.....yes, I know they would need to make a profit BUT not a killing.
It would be a place of hope and healing
Oregon needs this
America needs this
America is ignorant about Lyme- very little money is spent on any sort of research or education.
It is pushed under the rug and ignored by the CDC and by our medical system. They like to explain it away as psychosomatic symptoms. When it is acknowledged, it's pharmaceutically driven for a profit and not for a cure.
You have very few treatment options in the US- of those treatment options, insurance covers none of the cost.
With the ignorance surrounding Lyme Disease, plus, the fact that it is, for the most part, a non visual disease (usually the person suffering 'looks' fine), so much of the time, friends and family will have a hard time understanding what you are experiencing or how to support you.
With the combination of the above, many times, those with Lyme end up suffering in silence, which is heart breaking.
The prayer of both Matt and my heart is that those who are suffering and agonizing with Lyme Disease would have the opportunity to find their healing. That they would be able to wake up in the morning and feel symptom free and normal. That Lyme Disease would be in their rear view mirror instead of ever present in front, behind, and on all sides of them.
Tonight, as you finish reading this blog post, would you please take just a minute and pray for those who are suffering with Lyme Disease. Would you also please pray that the Lord would rise up the right treatment here in America.
Nothing is impossible with God
Nothing
If you are reading this and you or your loved ones are affected by Lyme Disease, please know that
Matt and I are so sorry- we may not have met you but our hearts are with you and you are in our prayers.
We would be part of the process of bringing a treatment into the United States that is as good (which would mean exactly the same) as the treatment Ryan received in Germany to treat Lyme Disease.
We would make it so that the facility administering the treatment was not a racket.....yes, I know they would need to make a profit BUT not a killing.
It would be a place of hope and healing
Oregon needs this
America needs this
America is ignorant about Lyme- very little money is spent on any sort of research or education.
It is pushed under the rug and ignored by the CDC and by our medical system. They like to explain it away as psychosomatic symptoms. When it is acknowledged, it's pharmaceutically driven for a profit and not for a cure.
You have very few treatment options in the US- of those treatment options, insurance covers none of the cost.
With the ignorance surrounding Lyme Disease, plus, the fact that it is, for the most part, a non visual disease (usually the person suffering 'looks' fine), so much of the time, friends and family will have a hard time understanding what you are experiencing or how to support you.
With the combination of the above, many times, those with Lyme end up suffering in silence, which is heart breaking.
The prayer of both Matt and my heart is that those who are suffering and agonizing with Lyme Disease would have the opportunity to find their healing. That they would be able to wake up in the morning and feel symptom free and normal. That Lyme Disease would be in their rear view mirror instead of ever present in front, behind, and on all sides of them.
Tonight, as you finish reading this blog post, would you please take just a minute and pray for those who are suffering with Lyme Disease. Would you also please pray that the Lord would rise up the right treatment here in America.
Nothing is impossible with God
Nothing
If you are reading this and you or your loved ones are affected by Lyme Disease, please know that
Matt and I are so sorry- we may not have met you but our hearts are with you and you are in our prayers.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Kim 8.8.76 - 8.8.93
Tucked away in my attic, is a box....a box that I was crying as I filled it 23 years ago.
A box that I have hauled out and opened over the years just to remember.
The box has:
A journal that was passed back and forth between 2 boy crazy teen girls. Kim always signed off with #32, her basketball number and I would put an X through her #32 and replace it with a #24 (my basketball number)
A letter
And a Nike T-shirt that was over worn by both of us
If I close my eyes, I can still hear her laugh and see her smile, I can hear the gracious way that she talked about those around her. She loved the Lord, her family, her dogs (Hilga), and her friends dearly.
Kim went home to Heaven on her 17th birthday.
She would be 40 today
Happy 23rd Heavenly Birthday, my friend...you are still so very missed.
P.S. I will visit Kim's grave periodically. Until now, I have never taken Ellie with me- I wanted her to be old enough to understand, at some level, the first time I took her. Elle's and I stood around Kim's grave and watered the flowers that her mom, Vicki, had planted. We talked about who Kim was and where she is at. We talked about death and the hope of heaven. I found myself mostly talking about memories that Kim and I shared and the joy it will be to see her again.
To Bill (Kim's dad), Vicki, and Natalie (Kim's little sister)........I love you guys and think of you so often. May you feel God's comfort and peace wrapped around you.
A box that I have hauled out and opened over the years just to remember.
The box has:
A journal that was passed back and forth between 2 boy crazy teen girls. Kim always signed off with #32, her basketball number and I would put an X through her #32 and replace it with a #24 (my basketball number)
A letter
And a Nike T-shirt that was over worn by both of us
If I close my eyes, I can still hear her laugh and see her smile, I can hear the gracious way that she talked about those around her. She loved the Lord, her family, her dogs (Hilga), and her friends dearly.
Kim went home to Heaven on her 17th birthday.
She would be 40 today
Happy 23rd Heavenly Birthday, my friend...you are still so very missed.
P.S. I will visit Kim's grave periodically. Until now, I have never taken Ellie with me- I wanted her to be old enough to understand, at some level, the first time I took her. Elle's and I stood around Kim's grave and watered the flowers that her mom, Vicki, had planted. We talked about who Kim was and where she is at. We talked about death and the hope of heaven. I found myself mostly talking about memories that Kim and I shared and the joy it will be to see her again.
To Bill (Kim's dad), Vicki, and Natalie (Kim's little sister)........I love you guys and think of you so often. May you feel God's comfort and peace wrapped around you.
'For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.'
2 Cor. 5:1
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| Tucked in the corner of Kim's headstone is this basketball with her number and our high school... this is precious! |
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