Decorating on a budget for the holidays. Hello everybody!

Finds to Profit Pinay Flipper....That's Me!

 When we came back from the Philippines I've made up my mind to stay home but make money at the same time.  I used to sell books for years on Ebay when I was homeschooling our two boys, so naturally it's the easy option for me.  Plus I enjoy the sourcing part: going to garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores and just this year, bin diving.


I love hunting for treasures in other people's junks and making profit.  It gives me the freedom to buy things I need without compromising our family budget.  Being an online reseller allows me freedom to stay at home and spend time with my family.  I know my husband loves to come home after a hard day's work with the aroma of my cooking greeting him the moment he opens the back door.  We are all happier when I stay at home than when I work outside the home.  That, I can attest after all these years.  That is the reason why I prefer to work from my home.


As an online reseller all you need is a laptop/computer, phone, printer, scale and camera and a place to store your goods, a little office space, small table, shipping supplies like tape, boxes, etc..  You do a lot of research on an item for comparable pricing, take good pictures of the item and list, list, list.  The sweet "Ka-ching" sound from your phone while you're doing something or even in the middle of the night is music to my ears.  And then you ship, ship, ship.  The staff at our neighborhood post office now know me and JJ since we go there almost daily.  You can schedule the post office to pick up your mail but I prefer to bring it over just to say hi to those two lovely ladies at the post office.


So who doesn't know what a garage sale is or estate sale or thrift store?  I think most of you know what they are but "what is bin diving?" you ask.  Well, Goodwill has stores everywhere and whatever items that did not sell from all the stores are transported to this one big warehouse where they are sorted and placed in bins.  They are then offered for the last time to the public.  They are sold by weight - $0.99 per pound for clothes; $1.49 per pound for shoes; $1.19 per pound for housewares/everything else.  The bulky ones are $5.00 per piece no matter how heavy.  Of course prices differ in other Goodwill warehouses.  There are warehouses in Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and other states.


We wanted to show you what the inside of the Goodwill bin was like but we were not allowed to film inside.  But to give you an idea of what you can score when you go there, please watch our Youtube video below:

Yes, you are better off with mask and gloves (even before the Pandemic) because you are literally rummaging through stuff that are ready to go to the landfill (well some of them, anyway).


Let me know what you think in the comment section.  And thank you for following.  We love you!

Our Wanderings at Field Station Dinosaur Park, Derby, Kansas

Now that I graduated from wheelchair to walker we are able to go places, this time we will wander among the dinosaurs in Derby, Kansas.

Field Station Dinosaur Park is located in Derby, Kansas.  It sits on 14 acres and contains 44 life-sized animatronic or mechatronic dinosaurs.  Inside the park the family can enjoy scavenger hunt, fossil digs, paleontologist laboratory and other science activities.  There is an amphitheater where dinosaur-themed shows are performed by the friendly and outgoing staff.  The park also has a mini golf course and climb ropes course.  Due to the pandemic, the paleontologist laboratory and the climb ropes course are both closed.

Field Station Dinosaurs Park
2999 N. Rock Road
Derby, KS  67037
(855) 833-3466

Summer Hours (June 1 - August 6)
Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 12pm - 6pm

Jurassic Golf
Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 9pm
Sunday 12pm - 9pm

Admission is $16.75 adult and $13.75 kids

Here's part 1 of our jaunt that we uploaded on You Tube, part 2 is coming up so be watching :).  Enjoy and don't forget to like and comment and subscribe on our You Tube channel to get notified when we upload our other upcoming Kansas wanderings!!!  We love you all and thank you for following.

The Lost Art of Canning - Watch us can potatoes!!!

My husband had wonderful memories growing up spending time at his grandparents' farmhouse.  He talks about being sent down the road in the farm with his cousins on a hot summer day to gather berries so grandma can make jellies or helping grandma can meat, fruits and crops or just about anything.  Back then that's how you make sure your family gets fed well during the winter months.  Now with the advance in technology everything is available all the time, year-round, and there really isn't a need to can or preserve something.

My husband begs to disagree and I'm with him!  Home-made preserves like jams and jellies taste way better than the store-bought ones.  Plus you know what is in them unlike the ones you get from the store which contains ingredients you can't even pronounce!  So we started making our own jellies, preserve our own veggies and can our own fruits.  We control what is added in them, especially the sugar content and avoiding preservatives.

Recently we have a line-up of jellies that is truly LOW in sugar and apple sauce that is all-natural.  We plan to sell some online someday.  Anyway, we show you how to can potatoes this time:






I hope you enjoy this blog\vlog.  If you are interested to purchase jellies we have available: orange marmalade, white grapes, plum and black grapes.  Be safe and stay well y'all!  We love you and pray for you.  Thank you for following.

NEW NORMAL WHEN STAYING AT A HOTEL

We are visiting Derby's Field Station Dinosaur Park this weekend and we decided to stay overnight at Hampton Inn.  After a day of walking, scavenger hunting and digging for fossils at the park, a dip at the hotel's pool would be a welcome relief.  The temperature in Derby when we got there was 102 degrees, but it was also windy so it wasn't that bad.

Wearing our masks, we checked in at the hotel.  Do you know that you have to reserve a time slot at the front desk to use the pool and/or jacuzzi?  We did that before going up to our room.  We think it was an excellent idea - having the pool to ourselves?  Why not?

The following morning, we came down for breakfast.  That too has changed - you grab a sack already filled with granola bar, bottle of water, muffins, fruit cup.  And you have a choice of beverage - coffee, apple juice or orange juice plus a frozen omelet to heat in the microwave if you want.

A bottle of water, a fruit cup, pre-packaged muffins, granola bar:

The frozen omelet that you can heat up in the microwave yourself.

When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was look out our window to see if there are other people staying at this hotel.  I was curious because the corridors are kind of empty and it was very quite, except for our "neighbor" across the hallway who had children who slammed their door.  But looking down I see several cars in the parking lot and there was even one U-Haul parked there.

I'm glad people are once again "on the move" and going places but I'm thinking how long are we going to social distance and wear mask, etc...?  I overheard yesterday while at the Dinosaur Park a couple of families who cancelled their plans to go to other States this summer because of Covid19 which leads me to question - are we ever going back to normal?

Stay well everyone --- we love you and pray for you all!!!

Biking the Birdy Loop Trail...then WHAMM!!!

I never, in my 60 years, have been in any accident where injury is involved.  Twice I have been rear-ended while waiting at a stop light but both were mild, didn't even made a scratch on my vehicle.  Once on our way home from a debate tournament, a deer jumped in front of our van but we were all safe, although the van was totaled.

Then last Saturday, June 6, that changed.  While camping at Wilson Lake, we found some biking/hiking trails for all levels.  There was a children's trail and also for both the novice and advanced.  The trails for the advanced/pro take you to some craggy mountain trails but you will be rewarded with the breathtaking view of the lake and surrounding landscape of limestone and rock formations.

The Friday of our camp-out we meandered through a pretty wooded trail called "Birdy Loop Trail."  We saw some wildlife and plenty of birds.  While taking a break along the trail, a cottontail bunny hopped along the path where we were.  We didn't move a muscle and just watched him.  Bunnies here must be used to people already because he was bold enough to go past Michael and inched closer to JJ and when he looked at me I greeted him with a "good afternoon, Mr. Bunny' and he scampered away.  We had a hoot from that encounter.  I wished I had my GoPro with me, it would have been very cool recording that scene.  I love that trail so I asked Michael if we can come back again in the morning, which we did.

After breakfast we headed for the trail with the GoPro.  I wanted to share it with you all, how the loop twists through a clearing and then the trail takes you in to a wooded area where we saw the bunny the afternoon before.  Along the wooded trail we saw a handful of big trees felled by beavers.  I'm amazed at how precisely the beavers made uniform cuts around the trunks of the felled trees.  I know they could do that, but big trunks?? no way!  I was impressed, and images of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver from "The Book of Narnia" series came to mind :) I guess they can fell huge trees down with their teeth, but I digress.

Now where was I?  Oh yeah and then, too, there is this mysterious feeling when you are biking in a wooded trail where the towering trees create dappled lights all around you.  You can pretend you are part of a movie like "Jurassic Park" where a meat eater is stalking you and you have to pedal really fast or else....ok I'm getting off topic again.  Anyway, Mike and JJ were already ahead of me by 10 minutes.  I stopped at the entrance of the loop to record the intro for my intended video before proceeding.

As I approached the wooded part of the trail, I rounded a U turn.  The next turn after that was a sharp turn and by the time I realized it was a sharp turn, it was too late to hit the brake, my bike slid sideways and BAM!  The next thing I know I was on the ground.  I didn't move for I don't know how long - I was assessing my situation.  My right thumb started to swell right away and when I slowly lifted the bike off my left leg, I was able to slowly stand up.  Good, right?  When I took a step I realized I could not move my left foot so I dragged myself and the bike to the side of the trail.  Good thing it was a little early so nobody was out biking yet except us.  And then as I was standing on the side of the trail, I realized my ankle started swelling.  I let the bike fall in the bushes and I slowly lowered myself down to the ground and waited for Mike and JJ to come back for me.

Michael went back to camp to get some ice for my foot.  Then I straddled on JJ's bike, the height was just right for me to sit and "ride" it back to camp.  We stopped a lot to apply ice on my foot.  It was a long, hot, painful walk/ride getting back to the campsite with the 11 o'clock sun beating down on us.  When we made it back, I laid down and applied more ice to the injured foot while Michael and JJ broke down camp.  While I was fussing about getting comfortable in my mat inside the tent, I noticed a bump on the ground next to my mat.  That's strange I thought, why is there a rock all of a sudden in the middle of the tent floor.   Anyway, when they were ready take the tent down Mike moved me to the back seat of the Subaru where he made a comfortable spot for me.  After the tent was folded they found a turtle under it, no wonder there was a bump in the middle of our tent floor.  It must have decided to hide under the tent.

The silly, pretty turtle -- probably wondering where he was...........

...he looked so lost.

Stopping once for gas and pizza for lunch around 2, we made it back home around 4 o'clock.  It had been a very long month of June and probably July....we'll see.

Thank you all for following.  Have a great summer.  Spend as much time as you can with your family specially the little ones for, my goodness, they grow up so fast.  Love you all...Shalom!

Mid-life Wanderings: Garden of Eden Found

Mid-life Wanderings: Garden of Eden Found: I've heard about the Garden of Eden years ago and from stories I gathered, it sounded very interesting.  Finally last Friday I got to vi...



Their website is www.gardenofedenlucas.org

Garden of Eden Found

I've heard about the Garden of Eden years ago and from stories I gathered, it sounded very interesting.  Finally last Friday I got to visit the place.  It was not what I had in mind.  I was thinking of beautiful, colorful sculptures made from different mediums like metals or wood perhaps.  My disappointment, however, was changed to that of curiosity.  The sculptures were a jumble of images that at first doesn't made sense but I know there's got to be a story line in all of them.

The place is closed and no guided tours are offered because of the Covid19 but we were free to enjoy the artwork at our own leisure outside.  Not knowing where to start, I headed to the west side of the house.  I found I was looking at "Labor" crucified in the middle with four characters "Preacher," "Banker," "Lawyer" and "Politician" on all four sides.  I struggled to think what the creator, Mr. Dinsmoor, must have in mind when he fashioned these sculptures.  I moved on to a huge bird sculpture with the American flag behind it and then to my left was something that looked like a ziggurat and I saw up the tower above it, was some sort of a ritualistic scene.  I can't make it out from where I was standing. 

As I moved on from sculpture to sculpture, I noticed lots of serpentine images.  Once I got to the other side of the house where the "Garden of Eden" gate was, I was able to weave out a story, mainly, the fall of man but rounding the corner I was lost as to what all the sculptures before me were about.  Mike and JJ helped me out "interpreting" the images before us.  Mr. Dinsmoor tried to express his ideas and ideology through this folk art medium that he had created.  To me, it is like reading an old, old, newsprint, only these are in concrete sculptures.

Apparently, Mr. Dinsmoor dug up his first wife's bones and moved it to the present Dinsmoor "mausoleum" right on the corner of his property where his body is also.  The mausoleum is part of the tour but I probably won't even want to peek.

Anyway, here is the video I uploaded on You Tube of our jaunt last Friday in Lucas, Kansas.  Feel free to drop a comment on what you think of the place, the artwork and the idea behind this labor of love by Mr. Dinsmoor which is considered the 8th Wonder of Kansas.  Enjoy and blessings!

Combining Blogging and Vlogging --- Is It Possible?

Hey all.  I pray everyone is doing fine these days with all that is going on in the midst of this pandemic.  I'm thankful that up to the present, none of my family and friends have been infected with the virus.  I thank God for that everyday.

So the school year ended with a bang (being sarcastic here) hehehe.  Now what?  We wanted to get away one weekend and when I inquired whether pools are open in the hotels I've contacted the answer was no.  All we wanted was to swim in the hotel's pool or soak in the jacuzzi but not one hotel has their pool open.  Amusement parks are still closed so what do we do?  Good thing parks and bike/hiking trails are open so we visit them almost everyday and enjoy the trails and scenery and sweat and huff along the way.

Another thing I tried during this stay-at-home season is learning to use GoPro to film and learning to edit videos using an editing app.  This 60 year old woman is slowly learning some technology - ahem.  It took a while but hey, the lock down gave me all the time I need to scratch the surface - I'm not there yet but I'm slowly getting there.  Then on May 25 I branched out to "vlogging" by launching my first You Tube video - getting brave here LOL.  Last night June 1, I uploaded my fourth You Tube video, I guess I need to keep going since I started this.

Since this blog is about Mike's and my midlife wanderings, I figured we'll wander around Kansas and the Midwest for now since we've moved back from our wanderings in the Philippines a couple of years ago.  I thought about stopping to blog and instead go vlogging but reading our past blogs made me decide I can not possibly do that.  These blogs are our story that we are sharing with you all and a testament to how God had sustained us through the years.  I cry reading some of my past blogs because my heart just overflows with thanksgiving to our LORD.  He has been and always is so, so good to us.  Besides, I love to write....that's the thing.  Writing gives me freedom to express my deepest emotions whereas vlogging does not (that's just my opinion though).

I plan to highlight some hidden gems around Topeka and surrounding areas this summer so I hope you will continue to follow us still.  I will be filming and writing about them as we go along so this should be interesting.  And as soon as the drone I ordered arrives that would even add another excitement to the site.  Yes, I will still need to learn yet another technology....let's see how fast or slow I'll master this drone business but it will be interesting....something new to learn.

Here is my fourth YouTube video uploaded last night --- ENJOY and blessings!

Hey What's Up? Today let's cook Pancit - Filipino noodles

So I'm thinking of transitioning from blogging to vlogging and this is my second You Tube video.  I really don't think I should only concentrate on vlogging because I love to write so much.  What do you think?

Oh, you can find the recipe to the Pancit in the description below the video.  Try it and I hope you like it.  Enjoy!

MARGUERITE LEDOUX and Lock Down Syndrome

JJ and I have been reading a Yearling Newberry book titled "Calico Bush" by Rachel Field published in 1931 during this safer-at-home time.  It's a story of a young girl named Marguerite Ledoux, who was left orphaned and alone shortly after her French family arrived in the New World.  The year was 1743, young Marguerite Ledoux has promised to serve a family for six years in return for shelter, food and clothing.  I see a very tender, refined and humble yet very intelligent and determined spirit in "Maggie the Bound-out-Girl."

I like her courage and resourcefulness even though the people of Maine treated her with suspicion because she's a "foreigner."  Life is hard, with the danger of Indians, the bitter, hungry winters and yet I see in her the ability to adapt in spite of circumstances and to hope for better days ahead.  As I pondered about the book I remember another lady named Marguerite Ledoux.

In 1988, Michael and I moved to San Diego, California where he was stationed.  We found a church, Hilltop Baptist Church in Chula Vista.  They became our family support in this new city and for those months we were there, we met and formed kinship with the members.  One of these families were the Ledoux family.  Marguerite Ledoux had 3 little ones, the oldest, Meredith, was about 4 years old.  Her husband, Lance, who was also in the military was always gone.  Marguerite and I became friends fast.  We spent many afternoons just talking about life specially when both our husbands are underway.  I think she became my mentor without her or me knowing it. It was only when we moved back to Kansas did I realize that she was an important part of my walk with the LORD.

Our last Sunday at Hilltop Baptist Church, I was volunteering to work in the nursery during Sunday School.  When Marguerite learned I was in the nursery she came down and we had a very good heart to heart talk.  Her final words to me before we parted was "Treat everyday as if it is a gift.  Open it with great expectations knowing that the Giver wants nothing but the best for you."  Almost always that had been my attitude but lately, I have to admit there are days that I don't even want to open this gift or I do not expect anything good at all.  Lock down syndrome?  Hmm....I think so. 

JJ expresses his emotions about the lock down most days and I catch myself telling him to be thankful instead.  That at least we don't live in big cities like New York; that at least here we can still go somewhere like the grocery stores, or the park, or the lake; and at least we can still ride our bikes along the trails.  Well, I'm telling my son all these - in reality I need to tell ME!  Funny how easy it is to lecture someone when the one talking is the one who needs to hear the message isn't it?  I need to embrace the situation with an attitude that is hopeful and with positive expectations everyday for the sake of JJ knowing that he is watching me every waking moments.  Whew!!!
 
How about y'all?  Are you holding on knowing that change is only a skip away?  Be safe everyone and stay well and let us not forget to pray for each other.   We love you!

CAN I BE QUARANTINED HERE? OH PRETTY PLEASE!!!

I watched the live press conference last night of President Duterte and his cabinet members regarding the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) or the lock down in the Philippines.  I've been following the developments rather closely because I need to know when we can fly back to the Philippines.  Last night's press con gave my heart a little flutter.  I'm seeing a little ray of hope breaking in the otherwise gloomy state we are all in.

Here's what I've learned:

ECQ until May 15

NCR (National Capital Region) Manila and surrounding areas;
Region 3: Bataan/Bulacan/Nueva Ecija/Pampanga;
Region 4A: Cavite/Laguna/Batangas/Rizal/Quezon (CALABARZON);
Region 4B: Oriental and Occidental Mindoro;
Region 5: Albay/Catanduanes;
Region 1: Benguet/Pangasinan (may change by April 30);
Region 3: Tarlac/Zambales (may change by April 30).

The following are subject for re-check:

Antique/Aklan/Iloilo/Capiz/Cebu/Cebu City/Davao del Norte/Davao City and Davao de Oro (also known as Compostela Valley).

As recent as April 22, I've heard from a vlogger that a barangay in Cebu City is in total lockdown (no one's allowed to get out and no one's allowed to come in).  The whole barangay is considered infected, the reason for the total lock down.

In the meantime, most of the island provinces are all safe, they are declared very low to zero incident, hence, the GCQ - General Community Quarantine which is way better than the ECQ.  In GCQ, the people have a little more freedom and mobility.  Now if the airlines resume their flights, which I hope soon, I'd like to be caught on lock down (if it happens again) here:

or here:

.....where I could sit by the beach on a sunny afternoon and think about .... the Covid19?   Nah!

Or maybe go to Pintuyan, Southern Leyte,  and swim with the gentle giants of the sea.....

 Or spend the day and night in San Pedro Island, Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.  Island hopping should be allowed by then since there is zero incident in my hometown.

Well, well, well.  It's so nice to daydream, BUT....it could happen too since President Duterte has eased the lock down in our parts of the country.  See you soon Southern Leyte..........


You all are in our prayers during this difficult time.  Know that Jehovah is still in control!  Stay safe and well.  We love you so.

QUE SERA SERA

In the blink of an eye, everything's upended.  In the blink of an eye, plans are put on hold, but for how long?  Fear, worry, unsure of what's around the bend gnaws at me constantly but I cannot give in to these uncertainties.  And I hope and pray that you would remain strong also.  Amidst the roller coaster ride of the stock market, the community lock down happening everywhere around the globe, the rising death toll of the Covid-19 pandemic, let us remain strong in our faith in the One who is faithful for "He will never leave us nor forsake us."  Yes, I'm holding on fast to the One who holds our tomorrows.

And then school closed for the year even through there's still 10 weeks left of the school year.  Now what?  Parents are grumbling and panicking.  Relax y'all!  School is not just about worksheets, books and pencil and paper.  There are myriads of ways of teaching at home, most of the time your children won't even know they're doing school - I promise you that.  Just be there and spend time with them doing what you both love to do.

Anyway, yesterday we picked up JJ's device at his school and while we were in line waiting for our turn, I spied these corona virus-like seedpods lying on the ground.  They were everywhere under the big tree on the corner of the school parking lot.  So while we wait for the cars to move along -- PING! an idea came - in the blink of an eye  (can you see my eye blink and a light bulb above my head?)  Hahaha.

Once we got the device I parked my car in the corner and JJ and I each had a grocery bag and we went and filled both of them with the seedpods.  Of course JJ was grumbling about it but I challenged him to find out what tree it is and do a research about it as part of his home school.  It might be hard, of course, because the trees are still bare so we won't even have a clue what the leaves even look like.  (If you know what tree I'm talking about please feel free to comment below).  I mentioned that he can find out whether this kind of tree is endemic to the Midwest only.  He asked what "endemic" means and - BINGO - that's another "word of the day" for him.  He will look up the meaning of the word for me.  So there, parents, one example of teaching your children at home - simple, everyday activities that brings the most impact and will stay with them forever.  But, a tip, don't do it often or they will stop asking for fear that they may be asked to research it...tehehehe.

Back to the corona virus-like seedpods, I will turn these into a beautiful wreath worthy of hanging at my door.  Hey, who knows I might get orders - Hahaha.

And here it is....TAHDAA....tell me what you think.  I will be experimenting with other designs as well.

Well on the serious side of the matter at hand, let me ask you this, dear ones.  When we come out of this pandemic, and this lock down and Stay-at-home-is-safer idea, what will our score card look like?

# of hours slept?
# of hours spent on our phone?
# of movies watched on Netflix or Hulu?
# of hours spent online?
# of hours awake at night worrying?

........you fill the rest.  Or did our pursuits changed to spending more time with the Father, soaking in His Word and communing with the Holy Spirit while we're ordered to stay home with our family?

Let me leave you with this: Psalm 107: 6, 13, 19, 28 ""LORD help!" they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress."

And this:  Psalm 107:43 "Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD."

May we find rest under the Shadow of the Almighty today.  Thank you for following - loving and praying for y'all!  Please feel free to share this with your friends.

A WONDERFUL GOOD PROBLEM, AIN"T SO?

Some of you know that Mike and I started a children's Saturday Feeding and Art Program ministry during our stay in the Philippines.  We left it in the care of our Pastor and his wife with the promise that we will continue to support it financially which we have been faithfully doing.  The attendance has its valleys and peaks and some of the children are now teenagers and they have stopped coming.  Still Pastor Teddy and his wife, Deborah along with the few energetic ladies continued to minister to the children who come every Saturday.

Because the place where we used to meet has not been repaired yet, they started meeting at the church.  Below is the picture that was sent to me last summer.  Here's Pastor Ted giving them the Bible lesson before the feeding starts:

Today, March 2, I received a message from them wondering if it would be possible to up the financial support that we send each month.  I learned that attendance is growing, almost doubled.  They now serve children from 3 different Barangays or District.  We started with children from our neighborhood and children from Barangay Nasa and now I learned that there are children from Barangay Canipaan who regularly attends.  My first reaction was to dance and praise the Lord for bringing more children into the ministry.  Just imagine how many household will eventually hear the Gospel through these children?  How many will come to know the Lord and how many will we meet in heaven at the end of the age?  I am so elated I couldn't keep it to myself so I'm sharing it with you all.

Think of a one room church overflowing with children on Saturdays eager to hear the Word. I can't wait to go back and visit them.  And well, yes, isn't this a wonderful problem to have?  I'm going to make and sell more tocino so I can send them the financial support, hahaha.  I used to send them $50 a month, now I need to send $100 every month for they have multiplied, indeed!  HalleluYah!


Thank you all for following.  YHWH bless us all!

BEAUTY IN THE DEAD OF WINTER

Having returned from the Philippines 2 years ago, I detest having to go through cold winters again.  Don't get me wrong, I love it when it snows.  Have you stepped outside when the snow fall and just listen around you?  I love the stillness and the peace it evokes, it's like I am in dreamland.  There's a certain feeling that wells inside me when snow starts falling down.  It has the power to mute the hustle and bustle of life.  It's almost like I can hear God whispering in my ear.

When it snowed last week I was captivated by the beauty it brought to my surroundings.  I loved seeing the trees laden with snow and not only that, the beauty of pure white that covered and outlined every lines and curves around us.   So I decided to take photos of some of the favorite spots in Lake Shawnee.  Here's some of the spots in the dead of winter...still breathtaking as it is during the summer months when they are covered with color.

So there.  I have more pictures but I should stop now.  Don't you agree that there's beauty in the dead of winter even if it's brrrrrrr.

I still miss the beach though, :-)...............love you all.  Thanks for following.

Jehovah Nissi, The Lord is My Banner

If you are a parent you can probably relate to what I am going to blog about.  In our desire to please the Lord we try our best to be good examples to our children.  Not only that, we take them to the Lord in prayer every waking moments.  I remember when the boys were little, I started praying for their lifetime partners already.  They don't know that, though 😊.  And yes, I'm still praying up to now.

And then they become adults and have lives of their own.  Still we take them to the Lord in prayer constantly as always, and stand back and watch how the Lord works in and through their lives.  We watch them stumble, make mistakes, get hurt emotionally, choose to walk the opposite path trying to find  themselves.  As parents we ache every time and our hearts bleed as we stand back and let them figure life out for themselves.  We ask ourselves why they're taking the hard way when there's a better way?

My husband told me he was probably 22 when he hit rock bottom and finally figured out that he was going in the wrong direction and had to change course.   Yes, maybe soon our son will hit rock bottom and change course like his Dad.  My friend and prayer partner, Gloria Torres, shared to me that she learned to submit to God everything regarding her children.  And she's right, that is all a mother can do...to give our children unto the Lord for His guidance and protection.

I believe that God takes the life of a man, in this case my son, and sends him on a detour.  Perhaps all these "re-routings" are intended for him to go through in order that he will be better equipped for the tasks that the Lord has prepared for him in the future.  The Lord has brought to mind one of His names, Jehovah Nissi - meaning "The Lord is My Banner" and with that thought I knelt and prayed that He will become "The Banner" over my son while he is on "detour."  God sees the whole picture, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End and I know one day soon, He'll bring my son back to where he needs to be in God's perfect timing.

The above was drafted back in June 2019 when my son and I had a heated argument on messenger.  That night I can feel hatred and desperation and anger.  I was praying for the Lord to touch him while we exchanged messages when out of the blue he messaged me telling me to STOP PRAYING for him.  I messaged him back and told him I will never stop praying for him the same way that I will never stop loving him.  Right then and there I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to fight back.  It wasn't my son who messaged me to stop praying for him (how did he know I was interceding for him the whole time we exchanged messages?  I didn't tell him I was praying).  Bingo!  I knew then who I was up against.  So I knelt with my hand over my cellphone with the messenger screen on and I took authority in the name of Jesus over the spirit of hatred, despair and anger who has gripped my son for so long.   I was wailing before my Lord, petitioning Him in earnest to free my son from these demons.  At that moment I felt release and peace that passes all understanding.  I know in my heart that my petition had been answered.  Then the LORD reminded me of the different names of God and Jehovah Nissi stood out.  At first I was wondering why Jehovah Nissi - here's why:  The LORD wants me to raise a banner over my son because there is victory in the LORD, Hallelujah!!!. 

It is now February 2020 and through all those months, the Lord has slowly revealed to me that YES, He is working in my son's life.  My husband and I have noticed a big difference in his ways and attitudes.  Even his demeanor has changed PTL!!  I still pray that Jehovah Nissi will continue to be a Banner over him daily.  We celebrate small victories - like we don't get messages from him that speaks of hating this and hating that, or of being down and hopeless.   Even his profile on FB has changed, small steps that reflect hope and healing.  Day by day I thank the LORD for these small changes.  And day by day I raise the Banner over my son. One day, like the prodigal son in the Bible, he'll return to the fold and I know JEHOVAH YAHWEH will run to meet him.

And oh I can't wait for that day to come!!!

Thank you all for following.  God Almighty be with you and bless you!