RV Trial Run and a Birthday

We took our newly renovated RV on her maiden voyage.  We still can't believe we have a camper of our own and as we lay in bed the first night we could hardly believe that this is actually ours...God's, of course.  We wanted to make sure if everything was working properly before going camping next weekend with the church...plus yours truly was having a birthday on Friday.  We left on Thursday evening because we needed to be home for the weekend. We decided to just go locally and Oscar Scherer State Park had one sight open.  Oscar Scherer Park is only about 20 minutes from home so we knew if we ran into major problems, we weren't far from help.  

Delays... how do you deal with delays?  Delays try my patience like little else. Delays make me cry out to God to help me have God-like responses to them.  That's probably why He allows me to have so many, He knows He will get some of my time and attention!

Our first delay was neighbors stopping by to 'chat'.... as much as we love our neighbors, it can be hard to get things done sometimes.  We have several needy neighbors (three right now) with a lot of major needs that God has brought into our lives and sometimes it can be hard to discern when to have time to talk and when we have to move along.  We are open to input from anyone who can give us some advice in this area.

Second delay:  refrigerator suddenly appeared not to be cooling.   Long story shortened: it just needed several hours to cool things down.

Third delay:  we borrowed JR's dad's truck to pull the RV with and found out the light hook-ups didn't work quite right so we had to borrow his brother's truck.  

As evening rapidly approached we were finally road ready.  Thankfully we didn't have far to go and were absolutely delighted with how quickly we were 'set up' and ready to settle in.  We reserved the last spot the park had so they gave us a handicap spot which was really nice with a little extra room.  It is quite primitive there but had lots of bathhouse facilities and things were clean.  (Clean, I like.) Even though we didn't need their bath facilities I still like clean. We backed into our little resort between the palmetto bushes and pine trees.

Thankfully everything was intact when we arrived and here is a little tour of our new 'home' away from home:

If you remember from older posts a lot of work has gone into this 'home'.  We enjoyed working on it but were getting quite tired of it, too.  It's not finished yet but I am sure there will always be things we can improve on it.  

Just before we left the children presented me with a big basket 'for the trip'.  Now the kids know that wrapped gifts about drive me crazy....they need to be opened!  So they give it to me Thursday morning and give me strict orders not to shake or touch any gift until after we were on our way.....  Yep, drove me crazy! 

So after set up and supper I opened the gifts.  They were so funny!  Lots of neat little things for me, romantic things for us as a couple, then some "Good and Plenty's" with a note that said "so dad doesn't feel left out" and then a dvd of Season One of Psych (mystery) with a note that said, "so we, the kids, don't feel left out either"!  I am blessed with such a great family!

Sparkling Grape Juice, two goblets, candle, lip gloss, delicate cookies, salty snacks, good and plentys, dvd, and some soft squirrel/heart socks (that they think rock! ha!).  So on birthday night (Friday) we enjoyed a romantic, candle light meal with our Sparkling Grape Juice and goblets.  The main course was roasted hot dogs....twisted, I know, but you do weird things when you're in your 40's. in love, and in primitive settings!  

Before we left we had been having such beautiful weather that we didn't think to check the forecast.....rain, rain, rain, did I mention that it rained?!  We looked at the radar and soon discovered that it was going to be a wet two days.   Thank God we weren't tenting it! 

 JR is to preach Sunday and we both have youth Bible Study this week so we spent the time studying....

Much studying can make one weary so....

In the afternoon there was a break in the weather so we covered our bike seats with plastic bags and rode trails for awhile.  We took an umbrella along in case there was a down pour but it stayed clear for us.

JR couldn't stand it any longer that we hadn't had a campfire....what is camping without a fire?  So despite the mist he started a fire but had a problem keeping it burning because the rain started increasing.

Derek had to work all day today so KaShondra, Dustin, and Erica came and joined us for breakfast.  The skies began to clear up so we went on a walk around the camp ground.  Of course, they brought Riley, our dog, along and when we neared the river, he, of course, had to dip his feet in and get all muddy.  So....Mother Weaver had to give him a shampoo bath yet before we loaded up and headed back home.  Oh, the joys of motherhood!

After we got home, we went to Detwiler's Farm Market with the kids for hamburgers for $1.00 and one of their luscious smoothies.  The girls wanted to go to Walmart for abit, Dustin and JR needed to go to Fleet Feet for some shoe inserts, I suddenly remembered that I needed to print the church bulletin for tomorrow morning (filling in for our church secretary), came home, made a healthy supper of salad, fried rice and veggies, showered and ready for bed.  Arg, unloading and cleaning the RV will have to wait til Monday.

Quick Trip to Georgia

We made a quick trip to Montezuma, Ga. for a wedding....up one day, back the next...

While the Mr. and Mrs. shared their hearts over green licorice....

Oh, wait!  The Mr. has head phones on....No Way!

Anyway, while they ate green licorice together....

the kids were totally out of hand:

The 'unseen' unruly kid was stretched out on the floor

 pinching  and pestering anyone within reach!  (At 21 years old!)

We left home around 4:45 a.m. and about 7:00 everybody got restless and uncomfortable.

Nobody wanted to be uncomfortable alone so....

they made each other miserable!  

(o.k., all in jest!)

We stopped at a rest area about 1/2 hour from Montezuma and got ourselves

ready for the wedding.  'Twas interesting indeed.

Then we arrived at the wedding of Greg Graber and Sarah Yoder:

It was a perfect day for an outdoors wedding. It was about 70 degrees in the sun.

It was funny;  at the reception you could easily see who was from Florida...

they all chose tables in the sun so they could stay warm.

The groom was nervous and the best man seems overcome with emotion! ha!

On the way up we stopped at the Georgia state line and picked up some motel coupon books.

We used them in Cordele and saved about $35-40. per room.

We got home around 5:00 Saturday evening

and this is what we woke up to Sunday morning...

Hmmm!

Somebody(s) were up late when they should have been in bed! Ha!

Saran-wrapped vehicles with some Vaseline for an added flair!

So, before church Sunday morning two men in our household

were outside cleaning their vehicles.

Pastor Appreciation

Last night our church blessed us with "Pastor Appreciation".  It was a very special night with a "mystery speaker".  JR and I tried to guess different people whom we thought might be the mystery person....all wrong.  When we arrived at church we were surprised to see Sam & Edna Mast from S.C. there.  After chatting for a bit, it dawned on us that he was our "mystery speaker".  What a surprise!  He is the overseer of the south region of the BMA churches.  What made it even more special for us is that he used to be JR's pastor when he was a young boy in Pa., so memories for them go way back. 

Randy did a great job of moderating the service with tips on how to pray for your pastors, and had a few comical jokes to share with us all (about pastors, of course! ha).  After some special singing (which was so meaningful), Sam spoke to us from a former pastor's perspective.  He has a great way of communicating and reminded us of ways that we can make a pastor's responsibilities easier.  He also shared how he still remembers how his kids hated to be known as P.K.'s and reminded us of the importance of letting pastors families be normal families. I appreciated that because we are just a 'normal family'  and really appreciate how our church lets us be that.  There really is no greater joy for a pastor than to know that the people walk in truth and get along in Christian unity and brotherhood.

After an open mic for sharing we enjoyed an elaborate meal of grilled chicken, noodles, dishes and dishes or delicate salads and a table FULL of desserts, which included each pastor's favorite dessert.  Fall decorations and candles adorned each table and each pastor left with a basket of cards and gifts.

If you belong to a church that doesn't celebrate pastors' appreciation in the month of October, I encourage you to be the one who starts it.  While pastors feel so unworthy of being the center of celebration, it is such an encouragement, too.

May God bless each one at Palm Grove who blessed us so greatly!  We love you all. 

 To God be all the Glory!

A Work in Process

Time for an update on our camper.  I wish I would have taken more 'before' pictures than I did so I am trying to do a few more 'in process' pictures.  We are working on it as we find the time and are hoping to have it "road ready" by the end of October.  We are planning to take it on a short trial run before our church camp out in November.

Bedroom...it came with a new mattress for the bed, which we removed during our renovations.  D and E have helped us so much with cleaning and construction.  K and D have full time jobs which only leaves time for them to give us advice after work or to cheer us on.

The cabinet you see straight ahead is one we bought at Lowe's for more storage.  One thing this camper is lacking is storage.  JR and Derek installed the cabinet up against the ceiling, put some trim around it and now it looks like it was an original piece.

This is the kitchen area which we hope to redo someday.  For now it will have to do.  The counter top needs replaced really bad because it is warped and is shedding debris.  Under the cabinet is a good-sized water heater which takes up quite a bit of room.

Living room view....table seats have been re-upholstered but not pictured yet.

The table top was made with plywood covered with a nice piece of formica.  While they did a good job putting the formica on, the plywood had warped and when we tried to drop the table to make it into a bed we found out the piece was not wide enough.  The joys and surprises of buying things that need a little work....you find out they usually need more work than originally thought!

This is the new table top that my dear husband and son made, stained, and now I am applying a layer of clear coat to it.  It is much more solid, is wide enough, and has no warps in it.

Simply amazing what some wall paper can do!  Curtains are all done now and it is being bombed for all living, foreign critters while I speak.  I do not choose to camp with other living things other than human beings.

We bought a small bookcase for more storage and Derek added some dowel sticks to the front to hold things in while going down the road.  So...yes, it is still a work in process but we are nearly done.

As I think of "work in process" I am reminded of how I, too, am a "work in process".  I am under God's construction as He continues His work in me, to make me look more and more like Him.  How thankful I am for the loving way He changes me and keeps on refining me.

I can never be separated from God's love!

We are enjoying Revival Meetings this week with Daniel Pollard.  

Wow! It has really been good to be reminded of how much God loves me and of how I can never be separated from His love.  While I was still a sinner, He loved me and died for me.  

I can choose to separate myself from God by choosing to sin, but Praise God! even when I separated myself from Him, He did not stop loving me but called me back to Himself!  How can I give Him less than my all?

The command to love....it's amazing how often God has spoken to our church lately on our need to love each other.  The world can see we are His disciples by our love for each other.  Love does not speak bad about someone else but is loyal and committed.  Brother Daniel shared how so many people today are moving from church to church to church.  Today's churches lack commitment.  Choosing to follow Christ is not a decision but a commitment.

Then to be reminded of how much I have been forgiven for, how can I not forgive others when they wrong me?  I will be forgiven with the same measure I forgive.  If I have unforgiveness I am unable to receive God's love.  Without God's love, I cannot give true love.

To listen to these messages go to www.palmgrovemennonitechurch.com and look under the 'messages' tab.

Gotta love this fall air!

Yay for fall, Yay for cooler weather!

We are so enjoying this cooler weather but it has opened our world to a busyness I am concerned about!

We want to open the windows, shut off the air conditioner, and let this fresh, outside air in.  But...before we can open the windows, we have to put the screens back in, before we can put the screens in we have to wash them, before we can put clean screens up we have to have clean windows, right?! 

 Arg!  As soon as schooling was done we tackled the job.  Now I had just been to the chiropractor twice and had my back put in after enduring a month of back pain so I really should not wash windows.  D and E graciously came to my rescue and washed them all for me.  I had to be outside working with them though so I cleaned the back patio area.  Then there was a small area that needed to be raked so I carefully raked it....and  oh dear, pulled that aching muscle again!  Pain back again.....

Today after school was done I 'fall cleaned' my closet.  How do I end up with so many things in my house that I do not have room for?  Sometimes I exasperate myself! ha!  I started bagging the things I do not need and now it looks like I may have to have a garage sale yet this fall.  From the closet I worked my way into JR's office, which he would like moved.  Beginning of story....several years ago we converted a quarter of our garage into a study and office for him so he could have some privacy and space.  The office was so nice but he lost a quarter of his garage to have it.  When we built the addition on to the house we had to remove our small storage shed from our back yard according to county rules.  So everything from the storage shed moved into the garage.  Needless to say it is almost impossible to keep our garage orderly because it is the only place we have to put extra things.  With four vehicles in the family and three mechanic minded men around, it is a never ending job to try to keep things orderly and it is hard for them to find what they need with so many things stacked together.  Like I need something more to do....time to try to rearrange things to make more room.  We are planning to use the office room for things that need to be stored and then dedicate the rest of the garage area to the mechanics.  I dislike clutter and things piled up.  I feel like I dis-clutter and rid our home of things we don't need  and then some magnetic force fills things back up again!

Even though garage sales can be a lot of work we have  been blessed through them .  One year we used the money to give to a missionary family.  We gave it to them at a time when they really had a need that we were not aware of.  It really blessed us to know that God knew when their need would be and would put it on our hearts to dedicate the money for them.  Through it He was glorified and it also gave us an inspiring motivation to size down.  We try to go through closets, cupboards, drawers, etc. once a year and have a garage sale.  It has helped us out financially on more than one occasion.  When six adults live in an average size home it doesn't leave room for a lot of unnecessary 'stuff'.

So....some of my rooms look very cluttered as I am in the process of de-cluttering!  I need an extra dose of God's grace when things seem all disheveled and Praise God, His grace is always sufficient.

Tonight I was privileged to peek in on a newborn baby and hold little Keira for awhile!  She made the whole church wait, and wait, and wait for her arrival but when you see her, you'll agree: she was well worth the wait!  Her family is so delighted to finally have her here and are treasuring each moment with her.  Babies really are miracles!

May you be blessed and have a clutter-free week!