TreasuresInTerraCotta

Sometimes when you go on a mission trip you pray for God to go before you.  Sometimes you pray for the people you are going to encounter.  Sometimes you pray for safety.  Sometimes you pray against Satan. Sometimes you pray for partner ministries.  Sometimes you pray for endurance and diligent hands.  And sometimes you pray for wildflowers. My first picture on the first day at the work site!  Mexican Poppies.  Up the hills... Down the hills... Across the valley... You can see the golden yellow on the opposite hill.   And if you look closely, you can also see the purple lupine on the top of the hill. The poppies about to open with the morning sun.  Clustered together...   Raising their faces in the afternoon sun. Lupine at the edge of the road, at the edge of a cliff.  Tucked safely beneath prickly pear cactus. Sometimes when you pray the answer is easy to see! Thank you to all you pray-er...

Thank you for your comments about my 1001 list.  I agree that it is time to put that list aside.  I think I need it to be finished...what is done is done and what is unfinished can stay that way.  If something is important enough, it will appear on another list somewhere. Never-the-less, there are a few outstanding items that I would like to finish-up...show-off.  Ahhh, the self-indulgance of the blog-world.  Last week I finally submitted my entry form to put something in the County Fair.  Did you know that the book of things you can enter into a fair is called a "Permium Book?"  And there are an insane number of entry options!  I wish I had something really interesting like a sheep or a queen sized quilt or homemade jelly.  Or maybe something I've never even heard of like a Duroc swine, or tole painting or lapidary or tatting.    I settled on two things I sewed and that were Fair-worth...

Almost three years ago I published a big "to-do" list... a list of 101 items to be done in 1001 days .    Today is the 1001st day!  It seems like we should have cake to celebrate!  Or maybe I should make something on my list so I can cross it off...like homemade cinnamon rolls.      It has been good to revisit my list and update it and think about the last three years.  Gladly, a few things have become unimportant...like having my teeth whitened and getting a new hair style.  About a quarter of the items are still "In Progress"...like painting the fence and reading certain books.  There is an end in sight, but I'm not quite there yet.  And I realize that some of my "In Progress" items can and should always be in progress...always trying new recipes, always visiting family, reading the Bible, praying for others, camping, exploring, learning.  Always in progress!  That is life...a...

Almost immediately after my initial admission....remember, it was just recognition...I ran across a blog post " Recognizing Our Anger ."  I do not know if I could summarize the article accurately or completely, but after my initial reading I took two things to heart. 1) Let's just own that virtually all our anger is sin. 2) Begin confessing that anger. My poor friend who tolerated my initial discussion had to listen to me process this new information.  Actually, what I really wanted to do was justify myself.  We discussed the favorite verse "be angry and do not sin."  I tried to justify scenarios and the allowances this verse provides.  I tried to add the righteous argument about "righteous indignation."  But if my Sophomore English teacher Mr. Ammerman had anything to say about justification it would be, "If you have to justify something it's probably wrong."   Ultim...