The Help

This book is wonderful!!  The

 characters are genuine.  I feel as

 though I could call them up and

 have a conversation.  I have

 dreamt about these women,

 laughed with them and cried with

 them.  I could not put the book

 down.  I intended to read slowly

and savor it but ended up grieving

 when I had to put it down.  I hope

 you all enjoy it as much as I.  If

have read it I would enjoy your

comments.  I would like to know

what character you think describes

 you the best. 

Mountain View

A couple of weekends ago my daughter and I went to Mountain View to learn about Edible Plants. If I ever run away you may find me in the beautiful Ozark Mountains in Central Arkansas. The White, Red and Buffalo River surround Mountain View and the quaint towns and townspeople were a joy. We ate organic, homemade bread from Serenity Farms in Leslie, Arkansas. They offerered sourdough wheat bread and homemade cheese which we bought for our lunch. Jenelle bought a homemade eclair that was scrumptious.

We hiked at three locations on Friday and identified edible plants. We visited the White, Red and Buffalo River. On Saturday we had classes teaching us how to prepare the edibles that we identified on Friday. Our lunch was a wonderful salad, soup and bread. Our drink was a spearmint soda made with spearmint syrup and sparkling water. Spearmint grows in my flower bed and I will be making this refreshing drink this summer. Saturday afternoon we distilled herbs. This is done to extract essential oil from the herbs.

Jenelle and I had the pleasure to stay at Mountaintop Bed and Breakfast. We had an unbelievable view of the White River and a gracious host. It was a blessing to get away with Jenelle for some Mother/Daughter time. She is a joy. Oh-and to top off the beauty of the weekend we saw a complete rainbow on the way home. Thanks Yahweh!

Come On Spring

Lately I have been dreaming of spring. Some daffodils have sprouted in the yard so I know that Spring is on its way. I am ready to start planning a garden! I plan to expand the garden this year and replant through the season to get more veggies for the family. I may need to purchase a freezer to hold my goodies. I am going to plant herbs to use for medicinal purposes. I am attending an herbal workshop at the Ozark Folk Center in Mtn. View Arkansas next month. It looks wonderful and I am excited. I hope thoughts of Spring is putting a smile on your face.

Laughter and Family

I hope you are all enjoying the snow. We have had a great weekend. We spent it with Jason's cousin on Saturday. It is always wonderful to catch up. Too bad it takes a snow storm to slow down enough to pause and take time to share the day. I spent Sunday at a friends house embroidering aprons. The aprons were for a chili cook off we had at Cowboy Church last night. I definitely want an embroidery machine!!! I loved it. Due to my friends hand surgery I was able to do all the work. Then the main event last night. It was our 2nd annual Chili Cook off and 5th Sunday sing. We had a variety of entertainment which included our Cowboy Pastor rapping "Pants on the Ground". He even break danced. After the rap he gave us his country version of the son which was just as hilarious. What a great time of fellowship.

I think we often take ourselves too serious. The fun we had at church last night would be unheard of in many churches. Laughter is healing. It brings us together, it lets us put our guards down for a little while as we laugh at others acting foolish and allows us to act foolish as well. It lowers our defenses so we can let others see our silly side. Once these defenses are lowered and others see us silly perhaps we can allow others to see us when we are vulnerable. If we do then we can be ministered to and minister to others as we bring down walls through laughter.

Progress

Here is my latest weight loss progress. I have lost 6 1/2 pound so far. I feel good. I abandoned the HCG diet. I like the diet but it is so restrictive that my family does not benefit. I decided to change our family's eating habits and added exercise to my day. Not too strenuous exercise. I have worked out to a few aerobic videos but mainly stepped on the wii and walked. Today we are going to go play some tennis. I am planning a trip to Tulsa in the near future. I will go to Whole Foods and stock up on items we don't get here in NW Arkansas. I will keep updating as the weeks go on. Have a great day and I hope your new years resolutions are coming along.

Fun Day

I had a great day today! I grew up with brothers. I can relate to boys much better than girls. My whole childhood I hung out with the guys. While girls were playing "secret club" and skipping rope on the playground I was playing soccer with the boys. In high school I had a best girlfriend and the rest were guys. I was not girly, didn't care about hair styles, nail polish or telling secrets. My best friend was wonderful. God sent her to me. Many years I prayed for a best friend and I am still thankful for her.

My little sister (born when I was 16) is getting married in May. My sister in law called yesterday and suggested we take my sister bridal gown shopping. I was excited about spending time with two great ladies but not so excited about the shopping part. Let me tell you-I WAS WRONG! It was fabulous-from the 2 hours of trying on dresses to the all girl lunch.

Being with girls ROCK. I am going to make an effort to nurture female relationships in my life. I think I have missed some beautiful blessings being too busy to take time to find female friends. Going shopping, having lunch, getting nails done with a lady or two is no longer frivolous to me. After today I think it may be necessary. Look out friends. Here I come.

Gates

Lately my attention has been drawn to gates.
For several weeks I have noticed gates and asked God what message He was trying to send me. Isn't it wonderful that He longs to show us things every day? I wonder how many messages I have missed.















As I pondered this while putting on my makeup I felt the answer come to me. Often I have been told that when God closes a door, He opens a window. The only problem is doors lead inside to confined places. He gently told me that He has new lands for me. Great things that can only be entered through gates.

















I pray that I have courage to enter through the gate Yahweh has for me.