A trip of a life time......

I belong to a wonderful book club that was began as an off shoot of a summer reading program for our local library.  The ladies that participated in it had such fun that they extended it into the winter months and it became a staple of our library.  I didn't go to the club but saw a good portion of the ladies on Tuesdays at CAKLs Lady encouraged me to go many a time, to the book club, but as I am an addict when it comes to reading novels that aren't classic or children's book I declined over and over.  Well one day due to an unremembered circumstance I joined them.  I enjoyed their fun so much I tried to make it to the book club when I could. They kindly let me be a voyeur to many of their books, but more kindly they made the genres they were reading adaptable to my reading a non-fiction or classic or the author just had to be from a region.  This summer they were reading Susan Wiggs and Lady decided to write the New York Times best selling author about donating books to our club, we just couldn't imagine her actually doing it or for the ability for all to read the same book at the same time, which we never get to do.  Susan Wiggs sent us 10 copies of her book the BeeKeeper's Ball and a basket of goodies that complimented the book.  Lady began a correspondence with her, and her husband her biggest fan.  They extended us an invitation to come and visit them as their guests in their guest house.  We were overcome with delight at the kindness and wondrousness of the invitation.  We had a rummage sale to help with cost to rent the guest home next to the authors home, there were in the end just to many of us to stay in the one quest house.  The community came out and supported our sale and our once in a live time opportunity.  We tried to get our local paper to include an article in the paper, alas the did not, what an opportunity they missed because the paper on Bainbridge Island did once we were there, here is the link http://www.insidebainbridge.com/2014/10/20/bainbridge-bestselling-author-susan-wiggs-hosts-montana-book-group-for-dream-visit/ ...... well lets just say we tried to include the local paper but they lost. I digress. 


We left for Bainbridge last Friday, got to the ferry before rush hour and were visiting with Susan Wiggs for Hors d'oeuvres by dinner time.  We had a marvelous time exploring the Island of Bainbridge, the ocean (okay to some of you it is a sound but to a land locked Montanan it was the ocean, and I counted it as such, and I have now seen the pacific twice), we got to see the Japanese Memorial for the Nikkei people of Bainbridge and of course we visited the library, there were three librarians and one sub librarian in the group after all.  Monday we left our moment in paradise and made the 8:45 ferry and were on our way home with a lifetime of memories, signed Susan Wiggs books and did I tell you she introduced us to three (yes three) of her sister Authors from Bainbridge.  Two hundred of them live there, imagine that.......


I just want to say that I learned in four days to love everyone of the ladies in our club, we started as a group of book lovers and returned a group of friends that really love and know each other in ways most book clubber never know one another.  I was, and hope to continue to be, a part of something bigger than ourselves.  There were no squabbles and when have you ever seen 8 ladies share 2 cars and 2 quest houses for four continuous days and that not happen?  We came home a family that love and really care about each other, a transformation made on a trip to visit a wondrously generous author who might just be our kindred spirit..  I know I will never look at any of these ladies and not feel a bound that will last a life time.... The wanders of reading in action I would say or maybe just God giving me something special for my life time, love and hugs to a wondrous moment with my sister queen bees......... tomorrow.   

I struggle to be able to let the Lord bless me, guide me and take care of me....... mostly I fail.

I don't know if it is the fact that I am the oldest child, or that I am a survivor or I am just stubborn and willful.  I know that I am and always have been a very self reliant person.  I am empowered and I have always been quite prideful of that.  I raised self reliant and empowered children for the most part, well maybe I did not do such a good job with my first child but I eventually figured it out and now as a 50 something I find that maybe I don't feel as much pride in that I as I once would have.  Though I would wish I had given my oldest daughter more ability to have self worth and love of self. I think maybe I struggle trying to balance the sin of self reliance with what the Lord would want me to be, reliant on him.  I do think that self reliance is the root of all sin when it boils down to it so I wonder about the balance of teaching your child to have self worth, empowerment and knowing that total self reliance and total empowerment are truly some of the worst sins a person can have.  I know that I was raised up in the baby boomer generation and if there was ever a more selfish and self center generation I don't know when it would have been well except maybe our children..... I contemplate my life a lot....


I know that God loves all of humanity, something I myself can not seem to do.  I judge and I am revolted by the evil that exists in humanity and can't truly say I love that person.  I can't see the person from the actions of the person the way God can.  I know God loves all of mankind in general Grace.   He also wants to love each of us in Saving Grace and so many people never know God that way.  We mostly depend upon our abilities and our self will and never humble ourselves to receive Saving Grace from the Lord.  We rarely see that we are sinners and ask the Lord for the forgiveness that brings Saving Grace.  Such a self willed creature we are, we humans.  God created us that way.  I know that with Saving Grace God gives forgiveness and salvation, but he also never remembers the sins that he has forgiven us of.  Can you imagine being able to love in that manner? I remember the sins I have been forgiven for and sometimes obsess about them, but God truly has no idea what I am even worrying about.  And there in is the rub, worry is not of the Lord, he loves us and will take care of us so worry is something that is of the devil, we just fail to trust what the Lord tells us and fall into satan's trap of worrying.  I know more about evil than the Lord will ever know because he does not let it touch him, or heaven, nothing that would befoul heaven exists there so therefore evil is not in or of God, so he is not touched by it.  We as humans see, feel and worry about evil, all the devils doing, his way of fighting the Lord, he wants us for his own and tries to steal us away for the glory of God with his manipulation of our free wills, sad if only we would just believe the Lord so many of the things we face and deal with would not be a part of our lives. Our self reliance is the devils playground, when all we really need to do is give ourselves and our lives to the Lord and he would guide us in all things. Funny how foolish that is, our knowledge is but naught to the Lord and we think we know it all.  I am a child of God and have to remember as a child to obey and let my Father love me and take care of me and I would have only his best.  The human in me just can't let go of my self will and  believe.... tomorrow.  

The littlest sister makes her debut, mustard, God and time......

I am the proud grandmother of 10 living grands.  I have a total of 3 boys and 7 little ladies. I do not count my two lovely daughters as they are in all ways that matter my lovely daughters, and it says so on their birth certificates, but you would not believe how many people don't get that.  There are the comments of "well they aren't your real daughters" really last time I looked they are as real as rain and I love them the exact same as my other three children. I feel for people that have adopted children for having to explain their situations to people who's business it is not.  I do find it amazing the people who don't get it though.  A child is given to you by God, they come in many different ways but in all ways they are your real children, I digress so getting on. 


My newest grand came into this world last Friday at 8:05 in the morning, she weighed 7lbs9ozs, she is 21 1/2 inches longs, so that makes her the same weight as her older sister Bubbles and 1/2 inch longer.  She is a lovely mixture of her momma and two older sisters, though she does have a tiny button nose that may just be like mine. Her momma told me when she was a little girl she didn't like having a name so close to her older sister and she didn't like her unisex name.  Guess what all three of her daughters have similar names and the newest one is unisex so never say never.  Funnier still is her daddy got to name her and he didn't want anymore K-A-R names so the new baby has an O but it still sounds the same when said as her sister's KAR's..... to funny! what we do with the names and thought processes that brought us to our children's names.  I will call her Cuddles...... because I am sure she will get lots being the youngest of my 10 grands for the long long foreseeable future. I am sure it will be a decade or more most likely before I get anymore.


I made mustard this summer and almost to a person, that I have given it to have, they loved it.  Last week I got an offer from one of those many people to carry it in their place of business if I made it commercially.  I am so stoked about this and Belle is going to help me get the first batch done commercial and we will see where it goes from there.  I hope it goes well and starts, or boosts, my cottage industry that I have worked at for years with out much advancement. Prayers are great wanted and appreciated in this matter.


I have always been a child of God but like most children raised up in a Christian family I have wondered astray off and on in my life.  I must say though that since I turned 50 God has spoken to me in a much great tone.  I have heard his call more and have much more importantly, listened, and obeyed.  Poppie being saved and Baptized 2 years ago has just helped me more in so many ways.  I can't say that I will insist upon my girls having to date saved men because I would be a hypocrite, though I always new that Poppie was going to be saved when I first meant him it is not the same has having been saved when we married.  I do know that our life since he was saved is so much more even and whole.  There is a peace that did not exist prior to his salvation.  I think God wants that for all his children, as do I, but not at the exclusion of my child's perfect mate.  I do believe that marriage is for a lifetime and am instilling that in my ladies, and I pray they find a mate that is or will be saved. I want them to know the joy of a life shared together in the Lord, nothing is more joyful, and true joy only comes from the Lord. I have spent the summer mostly away from you all growing in my faith in the Lord, and no I am not sorry for that.  I only have so much time and if I have to chose you or the Lord to share my time with hands down you loose.  I do know that as I grow in the Lord I become a better person, imagine that, growing  in the Lord makes us more Christ like, funny how that works and it is supposed to be that way.  I know I fall short every day of where God wants me to be but I am his work in progress, and the finishing touches are not done yet, and are life time in the making but some day I will enter in to the gates of Heaven a child of God in his image and as much like his son as he can make me....... Time marches on and I am glad to say that time given to the Lord is never wasted.  I hope you give your  time to the Lord, in his Word and becoming as his son Christ was.....tomorrow.