VACATIONS

We just returned from a week at Lake Tenkiller with our kids and Grandkids.  It is so much fun to watch those grandkids and the thrills that they get from playing in the water and tubing and getting filthy at the camp site.  I rested and rested and yet today I find that I am completely exhausted.  Now why do you return from vacation so tired?  It seems that is the way it always happens.  Arliss was up and off to work with no problem and I have been draging around all day forcing myself to do the mounds and mounds of laundry.  I love camping but it seems to cause a build up of tired that doesn't hit you until you get to the front door back home.  Now I need a week of rest to rest up from the vacation.  I did get to visit with Mrs. Riley this week when Arliss came back to work and I let the kids do their own thing one morning while I drove over for a nice visit on Mrs. Riley's front porch.  It was really nice I must say.  Our little Abigail started figuring out how to float with her lifejacket on in the lake and was getting pretty good by the time we left.  Her cute smile and sweet way of saying "Gamma" really wrapped me around my finger this week and all the kids too.  Audrey was such a happy baby this week and played on the quilt outside and loved the water once we got her over her strep.  Brett absolutely loves those two little girls and was so good with them all week.  Cherylynne and Kaylyn love Abigail too but Kaylyn and Ethan fight like brother and sister.  I think there is some jealousy for sure.  I noticed especially when Brian would play with Ethan or Abigail in the water that Kaylyn was there and wanting her Dad's attention.  Abigail loves her Aunt Ber and is so cute when she says that name.  She worked on saying Uncle Brian but it kept coming out "Uncle Ian" most of the time.   Ethan is all over the lake now feeling very confident with his life jacket.  He loved hanging around with his Daddy and it was so cute to see him idolize his Daddy so much.   Brett loves to ski and tube and Cherylynne is a tubing maniac.  She never gets tired and will handle the roughest of waters and come up laughing.  Kaylyn is our little accident waiting to happen.  We have to keep plenty of peroxide and bandaids for her daily treatment to her latest accident.  Bryant had a rough week with several things - like his awning being blown off and two of the kids coming down with strep which meant trips to town for medicine.  Lori too had it rough for a couple of days with the sick kids but then she seemed to really enjoy getting to ski as last summer she was pregnant and didn't get to ski.  Arliss had one ski trip and had great fun but then his foot was very swollen the next day and he could hardly ski.  Brian enjoyed skiing at the end of the week but was having trouble with his elbow early in the week.  Amber tubed with Kaylyn and had a good time.  Kaylyn likes the smoother water and so does Amber.  Brian's pontoon boat is the best.  The wind was terrible a couple of days but his boat scoots right through that water and we were able to find smooth water up the lake and enjoy swimming around even on the roughest days.  Bryant is working on learning to handle their boat and it doing pretty good.  It is all new to him and there is just no short cut to learning - you just have to do it.  I really enjoyed our morning devotions even though the kids had their usual bored looks on their faces and couldn't wait until we were finished each day.  I really enjoyed being in Blackgum Baptist church too.  We really love those people and Bro. Ritter's preaching is great.  It was nice though to be back home in our church last night.  We didn't get our normal spots this time and so it seemed like things never really ran as smoothly as usual but we made it work.  It is just such a privilege to spend a week with my kids and grandkids and so thankful that they want to be with us.  Arliss and I are getting more and more lazy and like to sit more and more and play less and less.   I actually read 4 books which is a record for me for sure.  Now the question is - WHY IN THE WORLD DO I FEEL SO TIRED?

Lazy

I hate to admit it but I think I have become lazy.  I find myself going back to bed after Arliss leaves and then I take an afternoon nap and then I'll be if I don't fall asleep while watching TV in the evening.  I think having the house for sale discourages me from doing any new projects so I have just become very comfortable with my backside on the couch with my computer in my lap.  Shame on me - Arliss works so hard every day and then to make matters worse he has started working out of an evening while I am still sitting on the couch holding it securely to the ground.  I hope this is a phase that will pass quickly.  Christy will be here in a few days and I have a feeling that she will keep me moving for a few weeks.  This is the last week of school for me and I am as ready as the kids are to put math up for a few months.  I can't wait for our annual trek to Cheesecake factory - yum!  Two more weeks of Kings Kids and I am ready to sit and learn on Weds. nights for the summer.  I miss Bro. Nelson's teachings but I do love Kings Kids too.  It looks like we will close out Mom and Dad's estate next week when we close on the cabin.  I am sad and relieved all at the same time.  I have listened to two days of discussion over Usama Bin Laden's death and now I am ready for them to move on - it did take the royal wedding off the front page for a few days anyway.  I am very proud of our military for taking out our enemy but of course seeing any soul go out into eternity without the Lord is a sad thing for sure. 

missing Mom

I bought the ham and potatoes for our Easter dinner.  It seemed rather strange not to be talking to Mom who was the extreme planner.  She usually had Easter planned before Christmas arrived.  This will be our first Easter without Mom and Dad.  I am especially missing Mom today.  It will be hard on us all but we will push through Easter just as we pushed through Christmas with the hope that as time passes the hurt will lessen.  The Masons always get together on Easter and so I will carry on the tradition as Mom had done it.  I actually have had it at my house a few times but Mom was always in charge.  I guess as the matriarch of the family I need to hone my planning skills.  I am just not as efficient as Mom.  We will miss Mom and Dad so much.  I also  appreciate that I had my parents for so many years when many lose their parents at such an early age.  Thank you Lord for all the years I had and help me to cherish those memories and that they might bring joy to my heart instead of the pain that they  now bring.  Time heals all wounds - I wonder if that is true when you lose a loved one? 

SELLING THE 5TH WHEEL

We finally sold our 2002 5th wheel today.  Of course it wasn't without complications.  I was so glad that Brian happened to be at the shop and he helped me through my moments of panic.  We had too many vehicles at the shop so Brian followed me home so I could leave a car and then we planned to go back to the shop.  Well Arliss asked Brian to get the propane tanks for the camper and I was to get the title.  Ok- no problem until I got the title out and there was still a lean listed on the trailer - eek!  We had paid that thing off in November of 2002 and I guess I forgot to get the title updated.   Well panic set in first - which usually happens to me.  I got in the pickup and Brian quietly encouraged me to think about what to do.  I first called the bank and they were willing to give us another lien release  but it would be a 5-7 day wait.  The lady was leaving town with the 5th wheel TODAY!  I suddenly thought of my safety deposit box.  Brian took me to the bank and we got into my box and I was frantically shuffling through papers when Brian handed me the lien release.  whew!  I dodged a bullet with that one.  He was rather amused at the way I panic first and think later.  He did however admit that he sometimes does the same thing.  He then drove me to the tag office where I got my signature notorized and made sure the lien release was all that was needed to get a clear title by the new owner.  Finally back to the shop and I was so thankful Brian had gone through that with me.  I still had to make a trip back home for the new tag that I forgot and oh yes Brian had to bring me back home once for the keys to the camper.  By the time the lady drove out with our camper and I had the check in hand to take to the bank it was 5:30 and I was emotionally exhausted.  Obviously not one of my best days for alertness.  Yea! We are very thankful to have the 5th wheel gone. 

Giving up too soon

Just as I lost hope of ever seeing a day with sunshine and no wind - the Lord gave us this most perfect Saturday.  I walked outside and just stood in amazement as the trees weren't swaying madly in the wind and my hair wasn't on top of my head.  I feel so grateful to the Lord as I desperately needed a day like this to give me the ability to keep hope alive when the next round of wild wind hits which it most certainly will but just like the rainbow at the end of the rain so is the beautiful day at the end of the wild winds of spring.   Shame on me for giving up one day too soon - the Lord willing I won't do that the next time.

The Weather

I have lived in Oklahoma pretty much my whole life and you would think that the wind would not get to me so much - but really - the March winds are now eating up April.  It is blowing 30-40 from the south one day and 30-40 from the north the next.  It is  really starting to get on my nerves.  I know the Bible says that we will have perfect peace if we put our trust in the Lord.  I am failing in this area.  For the life of me I can't get that perfect peace about the wild winds day after day after day - I'm sure I haven't prayed for patience- maybe someone else has and I am having to learn it too - oh NO!  what next.

THE RUN AWAY REMOTE

THE RUN AWAY REMOTE

I know that the days of turning channels and turning the TV on and off by hand are long gone. Now it is the battle of the remotes. I don’t know about you all but we have a special container for our remotes. There are at least 5 or 6 in our living room. Well this story takes place in the bedroom. Every night we turn the TV on in the bedroom while we are getting ready for bed and usually watch it a few minutes before going to sleep. Arliss of course is king of the remote and it stays on the night stand on HIS side of the bed. Well on this night, he reached for the remote and it wasn’t there. He looked on the floor and under the bed and even in the covers but no remote. He started asking me - Did you get MY remote? Did the Grandkids come over today? Did someone come to look at our house today? (We do have our house for sale). I had not touched his remote and no the grandkids were not here and who would come to look at a house and steal a remote. He started looking everywhere- in the mean time - I was now ready for bed and I walked over and actually used the “on” button -amazingly the TV came on. I tried to tell him to forget it for this night but he was on a mission. It just would be awful to have to manually turn off the TV. I got rather tickled at him but he left the bedroom and started the search through the house. Now the remote was found on the table beside his chair. He brings the remote to me thinking I had done it. Well I didn’t do it and to this day no one knows how the remote got there. I will say though that the fact that it was on the table beside HIS chair makes it pretty obvious to me who was the guilty party.
Now for a spiritual application. I know the Lord allows these things in my life to teach me and this was no different. We are a very missionary minded church and we have visiting missionaries all the time. We try to give them our best as we so admire the work for God that they have been called to do. We take up special offerings and send them to missionaries in need. It is all good in itself - but like the remote - it is an easy way to support missions without us having to actually touch it personally. Please don’t misunderstand, I think we need to do all that but it isn’t the end. In Acts 1:8 - It says we are to go to Jerusalem and Samaria and all parts of the world. Well the Jerusalem is our home town. Sometimes God doesn’t want us to just support missions by remote. He wants us to go to that neighbor and tell them about the Lord, or take the new comer list and go knocking on doors. How about handing out tracks or mailing them in our bills. Believe me I am preaching to myself as well.
This world we live in today has everything to make our life easy but at the same time we have become lazy. There is no substitution for hands on visiting with people and sharing the gospel one on one.
Now when you pick up the remote maybe you should try to think if God might have some “hands on” work for you to do instead.