Picture of the Day

Ok, ya'll.... Give Me Your Best Tips!!

My trusty little "ticker" at the bottom of my web page, along with my dependable daytimer are telling me that in 16 days Byron & I will be heading North - WAY north!!! We will be flying out to Alaska on the 15th. To say that I am nervous to be on a plane that long would be a drastic understatement. I've flown several times before but I've never flown non stop for such a long period of time. And therein lies my fears. But, nonetheless.... a'flying we will go. So... for all you veteran flyers.... and all you who live in AK or have visited AK... please share what I absolutely MUST pack... what I can't live without (ie. what I must take on the plane with me), etc. Any secrets that you can share that would make my packing and trip smoother?

Oh, yes, one more thing.... if you think of us on the 16th... please pray for our safety. Then if you happen to think of us from the 16th-20th pray for Byron as he will be preaching to the youth at the Dot Lake Camp. You may need to pray for me during that time as well because I will be staying with a friend who would not agree to temporarily move her pet snake out of the house so that I could rest easily. So, it is quite possible that my nerves may be completely shot by the time we leave AK!!! :-)

So... tips or hints, anyone???

Weekend in Pictures

Lots of fun memories this weekend.

Checking out the roof.

Papa & Mama Gurnee Visit

Visiting with some neighbor/friends. And no, Alyssa's hat does NOT match her top but she insisted on wearing it.

Random Acts of Kindness

At camp last week the youth were encouraged to do "random acts of kindness". While not a new idea to me, it was something that I've been thinking allot about. Especially after we got home and discovered that we had been the recipient of a very very nice "random act of kindness". Before we left, we were not able to mow our yard for several days due to so much rain. So, we knew that when we got home it would be a hayfield for sure. We pulled into our driveway, however, and found that our yard was beautifully mowed. And let me tell you.... we have a big big yard with lots of "things" that need to be moved (and put back) while mowing. Whoever had done the yard had done an exceptional job. We figured it was someone from our church (2 specific people came to mind immediately) but no one knew anything about it. We were stumped. Finally on Tuesday this week, we discovered that our next door neighbor had seen that it was really high and knew that we were away so he mowed it for us. Wasn't that sweet?!!!! I made he and his wife a peanut butter pie to show them how much we appreciated it - while I do love peanut butter pie - we definitely got the better end of the deal!!! LOL

Then yesterday, once again we were the grateful recipients of a fun "random act of kindness".... Grandma Ilene and Grandpa George go to our church. They are also neighbors of ours. She called yesterday afternoon and invited us up to their house for ice cream cones. What fun!!!! We had a great time fellowshipping and enjoying ice cream together.

We are so blessed.

My challenge to you.... try to perform 2 "Random Acts of Kindness" this week!!!

Not quite the "Lion and the Lamb" but Oh well....

We have 1 cow and 2 goats right now. That is the extent of our barn animals. They live together in the barn and we didn't realize until this week how attached they have become. Typically we bring the goats out each morning and only occasionally allow the cow to come outside of the barn. Well, the goats would just cry and cry and cry - driving me to distraction. I'd go out and make sure they had food and water, etc and they were always well taken care of. Well, yesterday we decided to let the cow out too. Well, guess what?!! The goats came running to him. They were so excited. They've not cried at all since we've allowed them to be together. I just went outside and here's what I saw (please excuse the dog run hanging in front of them)....

Some Pics of Camp

I didn't get very many pics.... I was the new kid on the block so I wasn't wanting to be any more conspicuous that I already was. But... here's a few I did take....



The view from our motel - which I'd highly recommend to anyone attending camp in the future. Great place... great rates (compared to the others in the area) and really clean.




Byron, Mark Fultz and Mr. Coy solving some of the worlds problems.




A volleyball game




Byron and Kenton participating in a softball game.



Mrs. Christine Black leading the children


Byron plays ball



I love profile shots. And, being the whippersnapper that I am (see Vonnie's blog) I kinda like the sideways shots.....



Kendra when she found out it was time to leave.


Dan Ellis and his wife (Rev. England's daughter) bought ice cream and cones for all the kids (and allot of adults too) on Thursday. It was really a neat sight. I'm not sure how many buckets of ice cream they went through but I think they had to have had 6 or 8 buckets by the time it was all said and done.








You'll have to ask Marilyn Muir about this picture. (snicker snicker)



Eating in the dining hall.

So It's Really True

I've always heard, "Time flies when you're having fun" and this week we proved it to be true. It hardly seems possible that our trip to Beulah Grove Camp is already over. Yesterday we reminded the kids that we'd be leaving for home today and Kenton said, "We just got here yesterday!! How come we have to leave so soon!!" Truly, the week seemed to fly by. We had such a lovely time fellowshipping with "old" friends and making allot of new ones. The ministry of Rev. Stetler and Rev. Pierpoint was just what I needed and so very very refreshing. Marc & Melody Sankey were the song evangelists and I think every song they sang touched my heart and spoke to me as much as the sermons. And, probably my favorite part of the camp meeting was the missions service on Thursday night. Absolutely phenomenal. If you ever have the chance to get into a Bible Methodist Missions service you need to be sure to do it. Anyways, we are home and I am thankful for a safe and wonderful trip. God is good.

I will have some pictures soon to post.

We're Off to Camp!!!

For the first time in many years we are off to camp for the duration. Well, we have to come home for Sunday but we'll be there the whole time otherwise. We are going to a new camp (to us) this year and are very excited. We will be driving to Mendon, Oh to attend the Beulah Grove Bible Methodist Camp. If only the suitcases would pack themselves and then magically hop into the vehicle and then the miles just fly by!!! There is no lodging available at the camp so we are staying in a motel nearby - a scenario that has its positive AND negative points. However, we are just so thankful to be able to go to camp. I particularly feel so in need of it! The kids are extremely excited to make some new friends. Pray for us if you think of it!! Oh, and special thanks to the couple who made it possible for us to stay in the hotel!!! We are so thankful!!!

I'm not THAT old!!

The other day we were driving down the road and my son said, "Mom, were there cars around when you were born?" I said, "Good gracious son, how old exactly do you think I am anyways?!!!" As you can tell, we haven't covered that part of history yet!!!

Thanks to my friend Candi (who also designed my blog layout) for this bit of humor (about a subject that is NOT funny)

Happy Father's Day!!

To the 3 fathers in my life I say, "Happy Father's Day!!!" I am very blessed.

Byron is such a great dad to our kids. So many times he should be studying or working on a project but instead he takes time to be with the kids. He is such a good teacher in helping the kids learn about life. I couldn't ask for a better daddy for my kids.


My dad was such a great dad when I was a little girl. I remember spending hours riding along with him in the tractor as he'd work the fields, plant, harvest, etc. Then as I grew older I spent hours in the milking parlor with him milking the cows. Now that I am older he still is a great dad in faithfully praying for us. He faithfully calls each Monday to see how our Sunday services went. I am very loved.


My father in law is the best FIL ever. More than once he's dropped what he's been doing and driven up here to help us out on a project. I cannot tell you how many times he (and Mom) have seen a need and taken care of it. He likes to tease me unmercifully however but that just keeps me humble. LOL

The Wallace/Zeigler Family Grows

This morning my cousin and her husband welcomed the newest Wallace/Zeigler member of the family. Little Keira Ladawn was welcomed by TJ and Trisha (Wallace) Zeigler. Baby's are so exciting!!!

Come on Down to the Farm

Needed!!!

We will be doing the children's services for a camp in Canada in a couple weeks. It has come to our attention that there is not a projector available at the camp where we are going. We have approximately 80% of our visuals (memory verses, songs, etc) on powerpoint, slides, etc on our laptop computer so this is a major need for us. Anyone have any creative ideas (short of visualizing everything in 2 weeks)? We are investigating in this area to see if there is one we can borrow for the week we are there. But, in the meantime, this mom is having slight heart failure. So, if any of my faithful blog readers - known or unknown (LOL) have one sitting in your closet that we could borrow.... rent.....etc, etc..... could you give us a holler???? Thank you ever so much!!!

Thank the Lord for Friends!

Make a Smilebox photobook

13 Years Ago Today....

... I married my best friend. It was a sweltering hot day and of course we got married in a church that did not have A/C. That is one of the only things I'd change about our wedding day. The church was packed with approximately 400 people in attendance. What a wonderful day. I would do it all over again in a heart beat!!! I wish I could post our wedding picture but we do not have a scanner. Here is our engagement picture though.

Then:

13 years and 4 kids later:

Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go

I have been using hymns in my devotions lately and we have also been using hymn studies one Sunday night a month here at church. This past Sunday night this song was one that we highlighted and it has really stuck with me all week. Here is a short history about the hymn's author and then you can click on the youtube link and listen to it. What rich full meaning.
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Born in 1842 Glasgow, George Matheson was the eldest of eight. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated first in classics, logic and philosophy. In his twentieth year he became totally blind, but he held to his resolve to enter the ministry, and gave himself to theological and historical study. In 1879 the University of Edinburgh conferred upon him the honorary degree of D.D.. In 1890, he became a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He died suddenly of apoplexy on the 28th of August 1906 in Edinburgh and is buried in the Glasgow Necropolis. He never married.

On June 6, 1882, George Matheson, wrote, “I was at that time alone, it was the day of my sister’s marriage . . . Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering.” The hymn he referred to is, “ O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” What was the suffering he was experiencing? We do not know for sure, maybe it was thoughts of his own engagement that had been broken off when his fiancée learned that he would be completely blind soon. Or maybe he was grieving the loss of his own sister’s closeness, who had studied Greek and Hebrew so she could assist him in his sermon preparation. Nonetheless, we see that he started to think about the love of God and the cross of Christ and his thoughts were turned to blazing daylight.
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O Love that will not let me go,I rest my weary soul in Thee;I give Thee back the life I owe,That in Thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.
O Light that foll’west all my way,I yield my flick’ring torch to Thee;My heart restores its borrowed ray,That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,I cannot close my heart to Thee;I trace the rainbow through the rain,And feel the promise is not vain That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,I dare not ask to fly from Thee;I lay in dust life’s glory dead,And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be.

Graduation service & Picnic

Today we had our annual Graduation service. We had a potluck dinner afterwards. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the events.









And.... (drumroll if you would please.....) my favorite pic of the day...