a scrapbook conglomeration of life in the past month
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“... the love of God prepares a place…”
He just wants all His family together. That's so impressive to me how He loves us so much that He didn't want us to live hopeless and die homeless. His love is what is preparing that Heavenly place.
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may 31
one morning a group of ladies met at a homestead to clean up after tornado damage. in their hayfield, we are picking up their family photos, baseboards, underwear, books pages, jackets, you name it...
this is not okay. this makes a brain think...
i walk up to the owners and the lady reaches for a hug. and my eyes well up...
and they talk about God. and what hiding out in a closet is like while the wind rips up your life.
and she tells me she just was praying ''Lord make this stop.'' ''it seemed like it went on forever...'' '' i hope you never have to go through that.''
they talk about their garage and I'm thinkin "where? what garage?"
''there.'' they point.
only the cement pad remains.
pure devastation. their house is mercilessly torn up. they are in their 80s.
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ranch life.
its the best life.
but somedays its just hard. and i feel all stressed.
I was feeling discouraged with this work. during authority meeting, I brought the topic up to Ms Shar. And she replies, something down this line…
“Success is not about fixing or changing or healing these girls. Nor about what these girls do and what they choose. we are here to plant seeds in them, seeds they may only use in 10 years. Measure success by how much you love them.”
and that hit deep.
I needed those words.
success is not always what we humans perceive it to be.
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A van full of girls
An hour of mini golf.
A cup of raspberry concrete.
In the back seat
a convo on “fitting in” during youth years.
laughter. teasing. friendship.
these are the good type of evenings.
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a text from a new friend “text if you need anything”
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this thought -
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friday evening
a piece of home
walks through the doors of this big house
on the hill.
ma and pa are here.
the second they arrive
till the goodnights are said
there is not one single spare second
of silence. ms tru, ma, and i keep the convo and laughter and stories running at a full tilt and it's all three of us talking at the same time yet we all get what we are saying.
pa and mr danny sit in the big arm chairs
in the living room
and it appears they aren't lacking convo either.
at bedtime, they are the last ones, turning out lights.
saturday. we enjoy the coffee shop in the woods. we tour around the area. we stop by Freddys for lunch. we go back to the house for naps.
a hog roast happens saturday evening.
parents and i go
and they get to meet gentry people.
and see why i love this place and these humans.
sunday
church.
lunch was at a family's place who are longtime friends with folks. ms shar, mr jasons, and mr dannys were also there. a table full of yummy food and hilarious people.
evening was church. then snack at mr todds.
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brother sends his hammock with folks.
so now i have a hammock to use.
at night
i lay in my hammock.
best place to think and sleep.
but here in this hammock, I'm definitely sharing close quarters with some creatures. There's rustling in the leaves in the lil ravine beside me. i dont mind though, kind adds to the vibe.
one night, i wake up to extra noise around me. i peer over the hammock edge. two racoons. just chilling 10 feet from me. they are digging in the ground, making soft little noises. with curiosity, i watch their curiosity. they are adorable. i know though that i wont be able to fall back asleep with these creatures right there. so i start clapping my hands and saying ''shew shew'' and making a commotion. one of them gets the hint. he runs away. the other one is like ''nah. you ain't scary, i'm gonna keep digging in this dirt if you don't mind.'' the thing is, i do mind. so i get more dramatic with my unwelcoming requests. unbothered racoon is not letting my opinion stop him. okay. i stumble out of my hammock. walk over to my car. grab my water gun. and head back to the hammock. racoon is still there. i shoot him with my water gun. he understands. he runs away.
...
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I step onto deck in morning
coffee hot in hands
i still my heart to simply listen...
its impressive to me how He choose to make to the sky blue
and the trees green
and how He truly created such a world of color.
He's a God of abundance
and i pray i know more of that abundance.
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i was sitting at a cafe, when i heard the barista say bye by saying ''beep beep'' to someone who was walking out the door. that type of creativity made me smile.
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youth decide to put on a skit for the bible school kiddos.
david and goliath is the topic.
we meet and practice. 2x during the week. than friday night at 6 we bring the skit to the kids. it was fun. one of the guys made a cut out of the Goliath. real height. and spray painted it all. truly was impressive art work.
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''Can you love God if you don't love yourself?''
a question ms tru and i hashed
as we did supper dishes.
''one of God's way of loving you is by giving you peace.'' Ms Tru
(text thoughts if you have)
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june 20
6:00 thursday evening
the girls' parents arrive. for the banquet. on the deck, 5 card tables set up, each family has their individual table, set to the finest. beige table cloth, light pink cloth stuff with gold candle stick holders and dark green candles. each table had its a mini sourdough loaf on wooden slats. the full ferns hanging from the deck roof. the string lights on.
a beautiful setting.
us authorities serve them. salad. bread. steak. mashed spuds. and some sort of raspberry desert. the time flew by.
at 7
oodles of vehicles pull up to the ranch house and soon the yard is swarming with people. its time for our little program. so in front of that big ol deck, the girls and i put on our lil program. in a white rocking chair, ms tiff reads ''the song of the King'' by max lucado and all around her the girls and i try distracting the crowd with distractions. (idea stollen from a youth rally i was at last fall) we made the distractions ''ranchy''. (text me if you want more details on the distractions we performed for i dont feel like typing them all out right now.) then we sang 3 songs and had prayer.
after program, people soon leave, for the girls need bed.
the sunset that evening was stunning. i stood out by the driveway and watched it. mr doug walks up beside me. ''you think eddie had something to do with it?''
''the sunset?''
''yeah. maybe she was like 'hey they are having something at the ranch tonight, can we make it extra pretty for them?' ''
❤️🩹
friday
ms regina and i are on duty today while everyone else is at parent seminar. the day passes fast. for supper we head to school where the parents and board and authorities are. it was a good day but i was rather done by suppertime.
saturday.
7:30 finds mr danny and i toodling down the highway, headed to tire shop because this jetta is shaking like a baby rattle when i drive past 40 and i plan to take it to inman this weekend. apparently one of the tires is bad quality and it would blow apart if not fixed.
at 8, breakfast is at school with all seminar attendees. then parent seminar continues. we have a prayer request time and then a prayer for them all. then we have a guest speaker talk about ''leading from the heart''. there is tears shed this morning. lunch is scarfed down and then tiff, sam, ms shar and i hit the road to inman, for bri and andrew's wedding. on the road, we laugh so hysterically hard i could not catch my breath and driving like that is a challenge. plus my cruise was not working so it was all a bit interesting. we were destressing from the previous days. plus these people are just funny.
family supper
met some lovely humans
sunday.
wedding day.
the choir is stellar
bri looks so happy and calm
in her light blue dress.
her color pallet is beautiful.
the whole wedding vibe
is just good.
after wedding
i run to galva
to hug kara
and see her cute lil house
and meet her husband
and 5 cats.
and rottweiler.
so good to be with her for a wee lil bit.
then we hit the road for home.
the monotone song of
tires running on cement
driving through a city
at dusk
and all the lights
and these humans in this car
a good quality weekend.
and i just thank Jesus for this all.
...
now homestay has begun
the 10 days will fill up.
there is a garden to nurture. a espresso machine cleaning that has been procrastinated. a newsletter to complete. a fridge schedule that needs revamping. flower pots to keep alive. a classroom to clean. coffee to drink. pool to swim in. chores to do. a friend's class program to go to. another wedding this saturday here in gentry. pickleball to play.
a life to live.
k thats all for now.
i hope your heart knows abundance
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