It's the little things

She leaned forward suddenly and looked intently at me.  "Do you have freckles??" she asked in surprise.

Bless her.

Thoughts on the cross

"If the meaning of the presence of the cross diminishes once we are saved, then being a Christian is not much different than being a Pharisee.  We are back to trying simply to be good people - or at least people who are better than most..... "The cross faces me with my sin and reminds me of the cost of my salvation.  When I think about consciously sinning, I see Christ on the cross and I have to decide if I want to go ahead and contribute to His death one more time."   - John Fischer

Home again, home again...

I've had a weekend to recover and now it's back to normal.  I fear a big piece of my heart is still in the Shenandoah Valley.  Much to think about.  Lord willing I'll be back in November.  Can't wait!!!

Ever wrestled with a calf?  Feisty little bull!

If I lived in the Shenandoah Valley...

...I would want a pony and cart.  The rain has let up and the sun is shining through the clouds this morning, so Althea hitched up her pony and we went for a ride through the country.  The air is so clear and the mountains are so pretty.  The Sierras are much more majestic than the Allegeny and Blue Ridge mountains, but I think I prefer the mountains around here better.  The hills and farm land just roll and roll and roll.  The country roads are a blast to fly down too.  <wink!>

Only one more day until we head back to the west coast.  We are going to climb up Jim’s mountain again after lunch since we will be able to see from the top this time.  Looking forward to it.

Rain, rain, rain

But not cold.  Very enjoyable actually.  It is so different from a typical September back home!  It has been raining quite a bit since Monday, so the ground has been too wet to do any chopping.  But I did receive my first tractor driving lesson today.  We just drove up and down the road a few times just to get the feel of it.   

Because of the rain we received earlier in the week we were able to climb Jim's mountain yesterday afternoon.  It was such a pretty climb!  We followed the trail up a ways and then blazed our way through the trees and undergrowth until we reached the top.  Had it been a clear day we could have seen down across the valley.  As it was, we ended up in the clouds and mist.  Every time someone would grab and sapling to maneuver around it, the person directly behind would be showered with water.  We were such a mess by the time we got to the top!  Fortunately, we did not run across any rattlers or copperheads.  We did pass a pretty good sized black snake resting on a log.  No worries with those.

Church service tonight.  Looking forward to being with their youth group again one last time.  We shall see what sort of adventures the rest of the week holds.  Still thoroughly enjoying the visiting. 

Hellooo, Virginia!

I have fallen thoroughly in love with the Shenandoah Valley.  I can see myself living here quite easily.  And on a dairy, no less!  Watched a baby calf be born this morning.  It is raining today, but hopefully we will be out chopping corn tomorrow.  The rain will have scared away the rattlers and copperheads too, so we are hoping to climb Jim's mountain sometime yet this week.  Look out all you snakes and bears!  Here come the girls!

Really?

Does the fact that "I'm trying to get ready to leave to go on vacation for a week, so I don't have time to memorize" sound like an incredibly lousy excuse to anyone other than myself?

....and speaking of the moon, did you see it tonight??  Fantastic!  It makes me want to roll out the sleeping bag and sleep outside. 

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.' "    Matthew 16:24

Let him (or her) deny himself...  Oh, that I would remember this verse the next time I feel I can't get out of bed that extra half hour early to read my Bible before work.  Or better yet when I am tempted to stay up later than I should when I know I should be getting up early the next morning.  Denial.  It is a conscious will of the mind.

Be the moon. Reflect the Son.

"Let your light shine before men is such a way that they may see your good works, and gloify your Father who is in heaven."   Matthew 5:16

This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us REJOICE! and be glad in it.