Fire Pit And Friends

Today Mark worked on the fire pit out in the woods.  It's not complete yet, but it's a good start!  The bricks are not tight enough around the pit, but it gives us an idea of what we still need.

Tonight we had some good friends from church over to play Uno Attack and eat junk food!  It was a blast! Thank You. Lord,  for the blessing of godly friends!

With Mark being off on Friday it always seems like it is Saturday!  Please pray with us that work will pick up at the shop so he is working more than 32 hours a week.  As much as I enjoy having him home,  it is a big hit to the pocketbook!  The Lord will provide!

Thank You,  Lord,  for Your provision!  Help us to trust You for our needs!  We know You care about the details of our lives!

Does Jesus Care?
by Frank E. Graeff, 1901

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

CHORUS:
Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary and the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I've said goodbye
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks -
Is it aught to Him?  Does He see?

Oh, YES!  He cares!  I KNOW He cares!  He cares deeply about you and me!  1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast ALL of our cares upon Him because He cares!  Thank You, LORD, for Your unfailing love!

Plans

Mark has been talking about making a fire pit since we got married.  Today we decided where we are going to put it.  Out in the woods in a clearing with trails all around.  We will construct some sort of cabin/building there, too.

We decided to have a picnic in the woods at the

future site of the fire pit and cabin.  This picture was

staged, lol, but we DO have prayer before every meal.

Mark always prays for the LORD to continue

blessing our relationship.

We ate baked chicken patty sandwiches, potato salad

and had donut holes for dessert.

This picture includes Piper, most of her, anyway.

Here's a look at the clearing.  We were eating

just to the left of this picture.  You can see part

of the wagon we sat on to eat.

Not sure what this flower is, but it is pretty!

I'm standing next to the tree in the clearing, looking into

the direction of where the cabin will be.

Looking back at the tree I was standing by.

One of the trails runs by the tree.

This is a better look at the trail.

There is plenty of fire wood for the pit.

This is looking from the cabin area across the trail.

There is another trail along the edge of the tree row.

A close up of a pine branch with the sun shining through the trees.

A barrel we plan to use for burning stuff.

Mark will use another one cut shorter for

the fire pit.

Piper.  The bucket on the tractor is how Mark carried

the barrel out to the woods.

I thought this grapevine looked creepy going up

the side of the tree.

A fork in the trail.

The mail trail we take in and out of the woods.

We decided to sit on the deck to play cards since

the weather was so nice this evening!  It didn't

take  very long for us to lose the light of day.

It was a good night for me in the card game, A Different Kind of Rummy, for a change!  I love the lights I put up on the deck!  It was a very enjoyable evening on the deck!  Thank You, LORD, for a beautiful day!

A Day of Eating

Today, I picked up our good friend, Carolyn and then picked up Ilene and went to our favorite restaurant (Randy's in Welcome) to enjoy their beef tips.  They are soooo good, you don't need A-1!  But the best part is spending time with good friends!

I dropped Ilene and Carolyn off and then went to get groceries.  By the time I got back to the house it was about time for Mark to get home.  After he took Piper for a run, we went to Cycle Gear in Greensboro to exchange a new helmet he ordered online that didn't fit.  And then we went to Ruby Tuesday's for supper.

 Mark makes a good looking salad! 

I brought most of my tips home from lunch and Mark ate them, so I was feeling pretty hungry by the time we ate.  I ordered the Cajun Chicken Pasta & Shrimp.  I always give Mark the shrimp, but, can you say, "I ate the whole thing!"  I'm feeling like I should have brought half of it home instead of eating it all!

I've been fighting a stupid headache all day. I'm loving the cooler weather,  even if it is mixed with rain, but that causes sinus problems for me which leads to headaches.  This,  too, shall pass!

Visitation - A Funny Story

Before you think I might be referring to the movie of 2006 entitled, The Visitation, which was a creepy show that I didn't watch but just vaguely remembered.....I'm not.

When you think of visitation, especially if you are a church-goer, you have thoughts of the preacher coming to your home to visit you.  Maybe you think about a visit the preacher made while you were in the hospital.  Or perhaps you think of the visitation program where members of the church meet at a specified time to go out into the community (usually with pamphlets of information about the church and gospel tracts) to knock on doors and invite people to the church.  Every church I've been a part of has had a visitation ministry.

I shared this story with Mark today:

When Tim was the assistant to Bro. Rex Hensley at the Addyston Baptist Church in Addyston, OH back in 1983 - 1988, he was in charge of the Visitation Ministry.  He had the contacts each "team" was to make on Saturdays when we met.  Sis. Hensley and I would usually team up and go together.  Those years spent ministering with Bro. and Sis. Hensley were wonderful years and Tim and I learned a lot to take into our own ministry when Tim became a pastor.

Tim went through a phase of bicycling for health for awhile during our time at ABC.  Bro. Hensley, normally very serious and business-like around us, told Tim that he should name his bike, Visitation.  Bro. Hensley said that way if someone called Tim while he was out riding his bike he could inform the caller that he was out on Visitation!  It was so funny coming from Bro. Hensley. Tim had such great respect for him and learned so much about being a pastor.

When we left ABC in 1997 to go to Buffalo, WV the church had a going-away party for us.  The next day I was given this note from Bro. Hensley.  I don't remember if he handed it to me or if Bro. Hensley gave it to Tim to give to me.  I have cherished it all these years and have gone to it many times when I needed encouragement, as you can tell from the fold creases.  I really enjoyed working with the ladies at ABC with Sis. Hensley but Tim's goal was always to pastor, not be an assistant to the pastor, so I knew that eventually I would be the First Lady and use many of the things I learned from Sis. Hensley. 

Thank You, LORD, for putting the Hensley's and ABC in our lives!  I pray that I used my talents and abilities in a way that pleased You!  Please right the wrongs of those times that I failed You!

"Vicky - I didn't get to say anything to you personally 

last night so I thought I would write you this note.

I am not overstating my feelings when I say that you

are one of the finest young pastor's wives I know.

I believe you have exceptional talents and abilities

that the Lord will use.

In Christ,

RH"

Today:

It was a sleepless night in Wallburg last night for me!  I laid in bed until 1:30, tossing and turning, before I decided to give it up and get up.  Normally, I can do some reading for an hour or so and then go back to bed to sleep.  Just didn't happen last night!  I was awake when Mark got up for work, but laid down when he left to try to sleep some.  I slept off and on for about 4 hours and then got up.

Mark sent a text and invited me to eat lunch with him, so we went to Real Q where he ordered a BBQ salad and I got a BBQ sandwich.

When I came back home and went to the mail box, I saw this beautiful feather!  God is such an artist!

When Mark got home from work today, he wanted to take a walk in the woods with the dogs.  It has not been too hot today, so it sounded like a great idea to me!

We found a couple of stars from the decorations I added to the go carts for Hannah's birthday ride.

THIS  is a welcome sight!

I was sweating by the time we got back to the house!

After I got home from lunch, I worked on cleaning out one of the storage buildings so Mark could store the Indian motorcycle that we don't ride much and it was just getting dusty and dirty sitting on the carport.  After we took our walk, Mark helped me move a couple of more items around in the storage building to get the bike in easier.  And then he moved the bike to the building.

This bike does NOT have a reverse on it, so Mark had to use leg power to move it out of the carport.

A win-win.....the Indian is stored and there is more room on the carport now!  :D

Tomorrow:
I'm picking up Carolyn McGrew and we are going to pick up Ilene and go to lunch!

Thank You, LORD, for Your blessings on me!

Nostalgia

I don't think you should live in the past, but it is nice to pay a visit there now and then.  The visit brings back good and bad memories.  Today's nostalgic photos brings back both kinds of memories.

Do you remember way back when you got your learner's permit for driving?  It was 1973 for me.  I was 17 years old and had graduated from high school.  Even though I took driver's ed in school dad sent me to driving school because he couldn't handle the practice driving with me, LOL!  He was white-knuckled every time he got in the passenger seat!  And I'm a good driver!  I've never gotten a ticket.....even though I have been guilty of speeding.  I've never had an accident.....even though I've had a few close calls.  I thank the Lord for His protection!

And, now, 46 years later, my oldest granddaughter has her learner's permit!  Hannah took lessons earlier this year but had to wait until she turned 15 to get her permit.  She turned 15 on August 17th.  What happened to the babe in arms?

Hannah and me in 2006

A proud Hannah with her permit on Aug. 23, 2019

Eighteen years ago, Mark's step son, Michael, blew up the motor to Mark's truck, so he bought a 1979 Ford F100; back then they were called Explorers (with AC).  It ran, but not very well.  It was another "project" for fixing that Mark just didn't have time for.  He wasn't planning on selling it, but someone confronted him about buying it.  He gave him a price, take it or leave it, because it had new tires and a bit of sentimental value.  The guy took it!  Today was the day and Mark was feeling a little nostalgic as the guy pulled it off the property.

Hard to see her under the trees behind the white shed.....

Pulling out.....

There she goes!

And here she is at her new home.

So, we saw a couple of decades slip through our hands this week and gone forever, except for the memories!  And that's the way life is.  Here today, gone tomorrow, except for the memories; some of them good and some of them bad.  We must leave the past behind and move forward, pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high (upward) call of Christ!

That makes me think of this old hymn by Jim Reeves:

This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

Oh, Lord, you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

Thank You, LORD, for the treasures that are laid up in heaven for us, You being the most precious one of all!

Rainy Saturday

What a day it turned out to be!  4 wheelers and go carts do not make for fun in the pouring down rain!
Mark's daughter, Jenifer and her son, Jaxon and Jenifer's boyfriend, Adam and his 3 kids, Presley, Davis and Greenlee (forgive me if those are spelled incorrectly) arrived just about the time it started raining really nicely!  But that didn't keep them from having some fun.....getting pretty wet and muddy, especially Jaxon!  Mark was driving one of the girls in a go cart, but the wheels were sliding and he had a hard time keeping it away from the trees, so he parked it!

They took a break to eat some pizza before going back out for awhile.  And before you knew it, it was time to clean up the vehicles and get ready to leave for other activities elsewhere.

Everyone is ready to come back.....when it isn't raining!

Vehicles getting washed off.

It is hard to see, but Jaxon's new hoodie 

is covered in muddy splatters!

And that's a wrap for this Saturday!

Birthday Celebration!

It was a busy week!  It ended in fun as we celebrated Hannah turning 15!  WOW!  That is just so hard to believe!  It seems like just yesterday that she would spend the night because mommy had to work.  She loved swinging and would cry out, "Higher, Mamaw!  Higher!"

Liz contacted me early in the week to see if it would be possible to being Hannah and a few of her girlfriends out to ride in the woods and celebrate her birthday and spend the night on Friday.  Since they would be arriving late on Friday, there would not be much time to play in the woods.  Most of the play was done on Saturday!  And, boy!  Was it hot and humid!  Brad came up on Saturday, too.  Liz and Abby stayed the night with us on Friday with the girls.  It turned out to be only Hannah and Emma celebrating!

Liz wanted me to decorate the 4 wheeler and go carts.  I hung an emoji happy birthday between the 2 go carts and decorated the 4 wheeler with ribbon, etc and put some decorations on the go carts, too.

Liz and I fixed bacon, scrambled eggs and hash browns for breakfast, plus there was a danish and donuts.  When the kids started wanting food, Brad and Liz treated us at the Wallburg Pizzaria & Grill.  Then the girls rode some more before having to go home.

Friday Night:

Saturday:

Movies

Movies

I think the girls had a good time!  So did the adults!  Thank You, LORD, for family time!