i live in a house (my daughters) with 3 teenagers, ages 18, 16 and 13. To say that passion, angst and hormones run rampant here would be a gross understatement. Nearly every evening after supper we have a big family discussion around the table on a topic of current events, someones interest, a Bible subject or whatever comes to mind. Generally it is one of the teens who brings up the topic and it goes from there. Tonight the discussion was about homeless and poor people, etc. As usual, there was a lot of passionate talk and no plan for action. As i came back to my room with a troubled heart i began to think ~
Passion is not nor should it be reserved for the young. i remember so very well being 16 and extremely passionate about a great many things. My parents, in general, scoffed at my zeal and i could not understand how they could not understand how terribly important these matters were to me. i have come to realize that passion is somewhat wasted on the young. To assume that because i am a senior citizen and a grandmother i am not passionate is a mistake. i am still very passionate about many things which i sadly admit i have done little or nothing about.
i see now that passion, to be effective, must be tempered with wisdom, knowledge and grace. A teenager has not lived long enough to have very much of any of these things. (Don't misunderstand me, many teenagers are doing great things but i think by and large, it is not happening.) That passion and zeal must be channeled to be useful; otherwise it is just heat and smoke. Many very passionate people are very quietly changing their little corner of the world with little fanfare. All of the loud rhetoric should stop and we must look for what God is doing in the areas of our interest and get on board with it. There are far too many people content to spout words upon words while doing nothing but decrying the current state of affairs and shouting "Something must be done!"
Having said all this, i purpose to put my money where my mouth is and to seek God's direction in what i can do to serve others in the world.
Sunset at Point No Point
Sunset at Point No Point
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
The Simple Woman's Daybook
Outside my Window... it's a bit cloudy but still beautiful.
I am thinking...of the trip to Kansas on Wednesday.
From the learning rooms... i am planning for future learning!
I am thankful for...the Lord's patience with me!
From the kitchen...Tammie baked bread, Nibble Biscuits, Muffins and granola this morning.
I am wearing...off-white capris and a grey turtleneck with my blue slippers
I am reading...Jack and Rochelle A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance
I am hoping....to get a few quilt blocks made before the trip.
I am creating...a new life.
I am hearing...Joe and Tammie talking in the kitchen.
Around the house...is busy-ness.
One of my favorite things...a hot cup of tea, right beside me!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...sewing, preparing to fly to KS, enjoying my daughters wedding.
In my reading this morning, these verses stood out to me~
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face
Now i know in part, but then i shall know fully just as i
also have been fully know.
I Corinthians 13:12
Here is a picture I am sharing with you...
The very tall trees behind the house. 
Saturday, July 6, 2013
We have a house!!! Well, almost.
(Spoiler Warning! This will be a long story!)
Well, the past 3 years have definitely been an adventure! We started thinking/talking/planning on moving out to the Pacific Northwest about 3 1/2 years ago. As many of you know it took over 2 years for our house to sell. Since we've been here we have tried several ideas for making our own home. Our original plan was for a new modular, but the prices had really jumped over the past few years. We tried to find a good used one or a good used mobile home to no avail. They were either priced too high, not fit to live in or couldn't be moved from their location. Patrick and Tammie offered us their garage and after saying No at first, we agreed to look into it. After much discussion we found a designer who came up with a plan to add onto the garage and make a very nice house for us. We liked the plan very much. We presented the plan to 3 builders for bids on the project. The bid that we got back was quite a ways out of our price range, so we were pretty discouraged. Shortly after that our daughter was surfing Craig's List while killing time on a long car ride and saw a couple of used mobile homes that looked decent and were in our price range. I thought, "Oh, no! Here we go again !" We drove down to look at them and decided that the used models weren't for us. One of the salesmen also had new homes for sale so we looked at them, too. There was one that was a bit small, but it would work and better yet, we could afford it! We decided to go home and think on it.
Upon leaving the sales lot, I remarked to Hubby that the saleswoman (Patricia) that we had worked with early in this process sold the same brand and maybe she would have something or even better. He called her office; no answer so he left a message for her. This was on a Friday afternoon. We didn't hear from her all weekend which was unusual as she had always returned our calls promptly. On Monday morning Hubby called her office again; again no answer. Since we knew that there was a mobile/modular sales lot right next door to the one we were trying to call, he called there, too. The person who answered the phone there had a familiar voice. It was Patricia! Unbeknownst to us she had gone to work for "the competition " right next door to her old job. The day Hubby called was her first day on the new job. We decided to take a run up to see what she might have for us. The first one we saw we just loved but felt sure would be too expensive for our budget. Well, it wasn't! The home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a family room and the usual living room, kitchen with island/breakfast bar and dining area. We have ordered the carpet, countertop, etc and the factory should begin construction on a couple of weeks. It only takes a matter of days to complete it, then it will be trucked to our site and set up. After it gets here it will take about 2 weeks before we can move in. Lord willing, we should be able to move in in a month or so. In the meantime, we are working on getting permits, putting in the septic system, arranging for utilities, etc. Things should be really jumping around here soon.
I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that this was the plan all along and that Patricia was the one to sell us the house. Even though the delays have been frustrating, we trust that God knows what He is doing in this as in all things. I'm sorry this is so long, but I wanted to share the whole story. I am enclosing a picture of the outside of the house with our granddaughter standing on the porch. This is not our house but we chose the same colors for the siding and trim. We are very excited!!!
Well, the past 3 years have definitely been an adventure! We started thinking/talking/planning on moving out to the Pacific Northwest about 3 1/2 years ago. As many of you know it took over 2 years for our house to sell. Since we've been here we have tried several ideas for making our own home. Our original plan was for a new modular, but the prices had really jumped over the past few years. We tried to find a good used one or a good used mobile home to no avail. They were either priced too high, not fit to live in or couldn't be moved from their location. Patrick and Tammie offered us their garage and after saying No at first, we agreed to look into it. After much discussion we found a designer who came up with a plan to add onto the garage and make a very nice house for us. We liked the plan very much. We presented the plan to 3 builders for bids on the project. The bid that we got back was quite a ways out of our price range, so we were pretty discouraged. Shortly after that our daughter was surfing Craig's List while killing time on a long car ride and saw a couple of used mobile homes that looked decent and were in our price range. I thought, "Oh, no! Here we go again !" We drove down to look at them and decided that the used models weren't for us. One of the salesmen also had new homes for sale so we looked at them, too. There was one that was a bit small, but it would work and better yet, we could afford it! We decided to go home and think on it.
Upon leaving the sales lot, I remarked to Hubby that the saleswoman (Patricia) that we had worked with early in this process sold the same brand and maybe she would have something or even better. He called her office; no answer so he left a message for her. This was on a Friday afternoon. We didn't hear from her all weekend which was unusual as she had always returned our calls promptly. On Monday morning Hubby called her office again; again no answer. Since we knew that there was a mobile/modular sales lot right next door to the one we were trying to call, he called there, too. The person who answered the phone there had a familiar voice. It was Patricia! Unbeknownst to us she had gone to work for "the competition " right next door to her old job. The day Hubby called was her first day on the new job. We decided to take a run up to see what she might have for us. The first one we saw we just loved but felt sure would be too expensive for our budget. Well, it wasn't! The home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a family room and the usual living room, kitchen with island/breakfast bar and dining area. We have ordered the carpet, countertop, etc and the factory should begin construction on a couple of weeks. It only takes a matter of days to complete it, then it will be trucked to our site and set up. After it gets here it will take about 2 weeks before we can move in. Lord willing, we should be able to move in in a month or so. In the meantime, we are working on getting permits, putting in the septic system, arranging for utilities, etc. Things should be really jumping around here soon.
I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that this was the plan all along and that Patricia was the one to sell us the house. Even though the delays have been frustrating, we trust that God knows what He is doing in this as in all things. I'm sorry this is so long, but I wanted to share the whole story. I am enclosing a picture of the outside of the house with our granddaughter standing on the porch. This is not our house but we chose the same colors for the siding and trim. We are very excited!!!
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