Getaway to the High Places

 That's what Marshall gave us for our birthdays -- yes, remember I DO celebrate for a long time - Terry's is coming up and mine was months ago, and so Marshall booked us a night in the Breckenridge Lodge while he was on call for 36 hours at the hospital..   I rested ---Terry was on a study leave so he spent lots of time at his computer and Marshall worked nonstop at Denver General.  
The drive to and from the mountains was breathtakingly beautiful.  Something about all that vastness makes everything take on different perspective.

Jesus often went away for a time and would retreat
to the mountains.
Did things look different to Him when He came back down?  Something about the heights just automatically makes you look heavenward. . . and then when you have to come back down . . . there is new purpose in what you're about. . . .Marshall did the arranging and God sent the snow!

Marshall had a project waiting for me in case I got bored.  Painted up two walls before we headed up to the high country.

We got in some great time with Marshall and his girlfriend, Katie and were able to spend Sunday afternoon touring downtown Denver by transit train and on foot. With a little help from the kids and Terry's iphone's mapping system we were able to locate the King Tut Exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

I was shopping Breckenridge's Main street tourist spots yesterday and glanced in a window and read a sign that struck a chord with me  "Jeus loves you, but I'm His favorite".  I grinned and went on to the next stop but it stayed with me.  .  .  Did you ever get to be somebody's favorite?  teacher's pet?  grandchild that had a special connection with one of the grandparents?  had an aunt that repeatedly told you how very special you were?

Have you ever thought some saintly person was surely God's favorite?   because there was no way he could think you were nearly that wonderful?  I have.

I like the idea that I can be HIS his favorite ---  only Omniscience could create a relationship that would allow me and every one else that special place!

Campbell turned 4 months old on Thursday. She's 12# 7 oz. and has changed so much!!!

Cute as a Bug - - Lady Bug That Is

We just got this today -- We'd heard about Campbell's Halloween Costume Uncle Marshall and girlfriend, Katie had brought her last weekend when they came to KC for a visit.  Mommy and Daddy went for a run, so Uncle M and Katie decided to "test-drive" the costume.  She only lasted long enough for a few pics. 

God Never Left

I have been glued to the television as much as I could rightfully do so and still teach school for the past 24 hours.
I went to sleep praying for all 33 to come to surface and can now thankfully say, "Thank YOU God, they're all back from the deep!"

The stories of faith and heroism make me cry.

  >The 19 year old who said there were 34 of us down there-- not 33 -- God never left us!

>The desperate wife who went after the policeman with a skillet when she thought they were abandoning the search and rescue on day 9 before the miners had ever been located.

>The 63 yr. old spiritual leader who was the 9th one to surface who went to his knees and thanked his God that he had arrived home safely.

>The little girl who stood with a hands clutching a dozen Brazillian helium balloons and released them when she hugged her father.


>Singing, "Chi, Chi, Chi,  -- lee, lee, lee",  flags flying, soccer balls tossing, this spirited nation, proudly welcomed home their heroes.

>We kept up with the miners through the day in my classroom with a telecast played on my Smartboard, pulling life lessons from excerpts of news clips that were shared about each man --

>One man said God and the devil were there and God won!!!

>One tiny baby girl, Ezperanza (Hope)  born while her daddy was away has her daddy home safe tonight.

Pumpkin Patch Outing for Campbell Hope

Reflectiion

Except you become as a little child . . . . 

I watched Roman and Paislee playing on the little berm behind the childrens' center the other evening. They were rolling down the hill --
              ----chasing the kite and blowing bubbles from the bottle of super bubbles I'd found at the dollar store --
                          - - -Giggling and full of wonder with each new discovery . . . their laughter was like music to me --
                            I got caught up in the whole experience.   I looked in their little cherub faces and saw God at work -- we were outside to enjoy all of His creation and I was seeing it reflected in their faces.

I already see this child-like awe and adoration in my granddaughter's face as she looks  at her momma and responds to her every grin and expression . . . singing along with every note she hears.Campbell Hope's face is reflecting Bethany's love for her.

 

There's a phrase that has intrigued me for some time . . ."the glory of God in the face of Christ”. . .    In Christ we see God's reflection --

We don't have a visual of Jesus --but do you think maybe we just might get a glimpse of Him reflected from these angel faces?

. . .I want to know Him so very well and feel his love so deeply that my face does that same kind of reflecting.

Where Did the Time Go?

Campbell found her tongue and proudly showed it off!

Our time in Kansas City went all too quickly but we did get some  wonderful moments loving on sweet Baby C.

Pappa getting some grins!!

Nana's song, Skimmery Dinky Dinky Dink made us both laugh

Shopping Spree!

.

Sweet Baby James

A little guy so very tiny has touched the hearts of many, many people.  His life was cut short far too quickly.  A precious little guy that his grandma called "Master James".

I've recently heard his daddy and his grandparents talk about his big toothless grin and all the love he gave.

An effort has begun in his memory -- dedicated to helping young parents with this awesome responsibility of raising their children ----children "on loan" from Heaven -- We are calling it "The Baby James Project".   Our prayers have been that no parent be overwhelmed in  parenting and they  feel reassured that help and hope are out there. 

So many  have joined forces to bring  it all about . . . two sweet ladies making the classroom homey and comfortable . . . .  lots of people donating funds and resources to make it come together.

Baby James, our prayers are that from this terrible tragedy,  something good will come.

First Playdate --

I'd have loved to have been there to love on all those babies and listen to the mommy chatter as they all enjoyed their day out .  

Who's the Big Girl???

Today I get these pictures of our sweetie pie with her birthday placard

I remember when 3 months  seemed like forever while we were waiting on her to arrive!  Where has the time gone?  God has blessed us - the Goods & Bells richly -- she's a treasure!

Daily Updates for Nana

With school in full swing and living in 55 minute increments, I don't always get to pick up my cell phone until mid-morning during a lull. By 10:30 I always have at least one pic from my sweetie pie and by nightfall usually a video clip from Campbell's daddy.   Below is a picture of Campbell's first KU Football game!!!

100% girlie girl!!

My friends know that I'm gonna show my latest picture whether they ask to see it or not -- so they politely let me "strut my stuff" and crow about Campbell's latest accomplishments. At the present, she's mimicking all her mommy and daddy's facial expressions and surprised Bethany early one morning this week.
Bethany was doing her early morning floor work-out -- she glanced over to check on Campbell and saw her on her play mat doing the same moves as her mamma!!!


I've seen this same expression on her
momma as a little girl when she accomplished
something huge, "I did it!"
Sitting pretty in the bumbo seat!                                     "I DO sleep -- what's all the fuss?"

I

Sleepless in KC

So today, I get this txt. msg. from Bethany -- "In honor of it being the Lord's Day this morning from 3-5 am I sang Campbell "Amazing Grace" 402 times and "Jesus Loves Me" 338 times. She went on to say, "Campbell liked the singing and it kept me from being frustrated."

It's sort of like Terry said about prayer this morning, quoting C.S. Lewis, "I don't know if prayer changes God, but it DOES change me."

Campbell DOES have her sleep issues -- Some people have quoted what they like to call the baby verse in the Bible, "We shall not all sleep but we WILL all be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51

My mother always used to say, "this too shall pass". And that's what Bethany & Mat know and it keeps them patient during this stage of C's development.

For these stages I like what HE says in Isaiah 40 "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." That's my kids right now -- so it speaks to my heart!

Word Art

Starting back to school always means sitting through in-service activities. Every year the administrators want to make certain we are keeping our students engaged in the learning process and provide in-service workshops to keep us abreast of what's going on in the field of technology. Being digital immigrants - teachers my age can appear from the dark ages to the digital "natives" or ("millenials" as they are called -- the 10 yr-olds to 31 yr. olds). So it's important to keep up.


I tried to prepare myself for school by taking some classes this summer in skyping, blogging and how to use the cell phone to an educational advantage. Yesterday I learned a new concept -- making word graphs from paragraphs of written text on a web site called wordle.net and then having students write summary sentences about the main idea of a text.

That looked like fun . . . so

I pasted in the text from my last blog post. It enlarged the words I said the most frequently in the text -- and put them into a graphic design. hmmmmm. See how large the words "favorite" and "time" are.

I got to thinking -- would I want my conversations
put in graphic form?

What WORDS do I use the most?

What do I talk ABOUT the most?

WHAT or WHO should I bring into conversation
more often than I do?

I think I know what you would tell me the center of my communication has been these past few months.

Blessed!

Marshall arrived yesterday for his two-day visit. He's been working some 90+ hour weeks -- He came exhausted and we are thrilled he was able to spend a part of his vacation here and at the same time, visit friends in both OKC and Dallas. Bethany came for a longer stay to be able to spend time with her brother and anxious for Campbell to have some quality time with her favorite Uncle.


Before picking Marshall up, Bethany and I had gone up to Owasso to show off Baby C to some friends and by the time we did lunch, and made the airport -- the little Princess was all tuckered out from several interrupted naps. . .She never quite got enough rest the remainder of the day so we had a very LONG night and by 3:00 am it was time for Nana to walk the floor and try to soothe down our little "nap striker" Several choruses of "Campbell, Jesus Loves You" with the vacuum cleaner as back-up music -- by 3:45 this morning she was sound asleep. Pappa and I took her bouncy chair upstairs to our room to let Mommy sleep -- by 6 AM she was wide awake, ready to eat and play with Uncle M.



It's been a GREAT visit and I feel blessed we have gotten to be together twice this summer. --- Everything I've prayed for. In case you can't tell, I miss our kids SO MUCH, them living so far away -- and when they leave -- this house seems pretty empty!

If your family lives close to you or far away -- make whatever time you get together special ---
cook their favorite food
set the table with your best dishes,
even eat in the dining room
but let them know that they are your favorite folks in the whole world!!!!
Your people are your great treasure and you're
doubly blessed if they live near by!

Having Lots of Fun!!!

With school starting this week, my trips to Kansas City are curtailed so Bethany and Campbell came home for a few days. With our kids both living out of state, I miss them soooo very much and any time we get to have them I clear my schedule so we can hang out the entire time -- I set up my classroom early and edited this year's course outlines. Marshall comes in tomorrow afternoon -- the first time home in over a year and we'll have him for only 48 hours -- so we're savoring every minute of his visit -- and tomorrow night we'll have both kids here together for dinner -- just a few short moments!


Campbell has had some sleep issues and her mommy was needing "girl time" with friends yesterday morning and it just so happened that Terry had a meeting, so it was Campbell and Nana Jan-- just the two of us.

I was ready -- Baby Bjorn pack -- two bottles -- bouncy seat -- floor gym and instructions on how to calm the little lady from Bethany's newest discovery "The Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD.


Mommy left, C started to fuss -- I figured it was time for a walk -- loaded her up in the baby pack and walked around the block -- which put her to sleep for about 30 minutes. She woke up -- played on the baby floor gym for awhile and then --



She got hungry and restless -- fed her the bottle Bethany left -- she gulped in down in about 8 minutes -- started to REALLY fuss -- decided it was time to try out the "Happiest Baby" routine -- so "swaddled, soothed, -- turned on the vacuum cleaner for white noise and in 2 minutes Campbell calmed and in 5 she was soundly asleep in a deep sleep . Piece of cake -- Guess I HAVEN'T lost my touch! -- who'd have thought the vacuum cleaner would be such an important part of the baby nursery or that standing outside near the AC compressor could quiet a crying baby?


Pappa and C time - -He's done nothing but grin since she's gotten here. The two have bonded quite well!





So much fun to show her off at Church this morning to all the wonderful people who prayed for her consistently these past 8 months!

What Am I Holding On To?

In the past week I discovered I have lost something that was very important to me -- my lime green ipod! 'Getting to the season of life where I have been known to misplace things, I turned our house upside down trying to locate this special treasure. Terry gave it to me last Mother's day and I use it when I work out. I was really bummed when I couldn't find it. I wracked my brain trying to remember the last time I had seen it in it's usual place on the kitchen desk -- I was beginning to get a bit obsessed with this significant loss, when I remembered an older Indian missionary, J.C. Johnson, many years ago quoting Augustine. We are creatures of eternity and NO THING in time can satisfy us. WHEW -- that made it all take on different dimension.
Something else God brought to mind were the words of Henry Blackaby in his Bible study, Experiencing God, Don't hold ANY THING in your heart that you can hold in your hand.

Vamos Por Mas

This weekend was one of those special weekends that you mark time by. We housed two gifted women Pastor Daysi from Honduras and her 17 yr.old niece, Heide from Boston who translated. It was amazing to watch them as they worked in sync with each other. Heide could both hear her aunt's next thought and while speaking what she'd just previously heard. It was exhausting for both -- Pastor Daysi not speaking English and totally being out of culture -- Heide talking for two at times as she communicated her aunt's ideas. They had both fasted before coming to determine God's message they were to present.



They met with various groups to encourage and give a word, taking these opportunities very seriously. Heide, captain of her La Crosse team, shared with the teens last night what it's like to be one of a few strong Christian in her high school.



Thoughts that resonated with me --
One was the difference in members and "sons" in a Church family. Pastor said members check in -- and check out if they don't like what they see happening. "Sons" are there to stay because they are family. Family always comes home. Members can leave and often times do leave. "Sons" lend a shoulder to support. They may not always agree -- they may argue and fight -- but they always come "home" because family works through things together.

On Yesterday, Pastor Daysi said -- The past is behind you -- God gave her Isaiah 43:18 -- "Forget the former things -- I am doing a new thing. That was good news to this church family that has gone through some struggles while waiting a very long time to begin building.

Lastly, was something that God impressed on her earlier this year as HE shared with her that HE was taking their church to a new level -- the words "Vamos Por Mas" - going for more!

I like that: not being content with average or short supply -- but going for more!!!

More joy, more ministry, more opportunities to reach out for HIM.

It was no accident that her timing to come was the week we were going to finally be signing the loan documents.-- Pastor Daysi been praying for God to show her when to come to Tulsa and HE impressed her it was now.

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1:2

HAPPY SIX WEEKS, CAMPBELL!

HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE ANY OF US LAUGHED LIKE THAT?

TODAY

Today, I choose YOUR grace rather than guilt -for YOU cover my sins moment by moment.
Today, I choose YOUR power rather than my own SELF-SUFFICIENCY or insufficiency.
Today, I choose YOUR wisdom rather than my own one-liners and quips.
Today, I choose YOUR heart rather than my own that loves conditionally --
. . . Choosing loving rather than judging –
. . . Choosing giving, rather than hoarding or waiting to receive.
Today I choose to do your work out of sheer love for you – not sense of duty or obligation.