Sunday, September 5, 2010

At The End Of The Road

Our time with family will soon come to an end and forever remain in our hearts. Tomorrow they will return home and we will drive south along the Oregon Coast to a place where there is quiet and rest and beauty. In a few hours I will leave this place – with the opportunity to share with you – and you, my dear friends, must wait to see more until I return home again. Until then I hope you enjoy a bit of the scenes from our days together with family on the north coast of this beautiful state I call home.

The first evening we were here I sat in my little cabin-on-wheels – minding my own business for awhile – when suddenly I looked out the front window and this is what I saw. And I knew what was about to happen.

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I picked up my camera and quickly went outside to capture a bit more of the beauty. The sun was beginning to set in the west. It quickly turned to this.

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All of a sudden I just couldn’t help myself! I had to follow my heart – and follow the road that runs alongside the RV park that has been our home for a few days. I knew where I was going – I had been there before – and I didn’t want to miss a thing! As I approached the place where the road ends and turns into pastureland my steps quickened and I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be!

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Constantly changing, it seemed as if the Master Artist was painting a picture – just for me!

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The colors floated. . .

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And blended. . .

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And then began to fade. . .as the fog slowly crept in.

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It was time to turn and walk back ‘home’ before night fell and darkness surrounded me. My heart longed to stay and yet I knew I must go. The beauty at the end of the road is forever etched on my heart. It will not fade and no fog or darkness can ever take it from that special place where treasured memories stay forever.

The Rock Of My Salvation

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He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62:2

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Psalm 95:1

I go to the Rock of my Salvation
Go to the Stone
that the builders rejected
Run to the Mountain
and the Mountain stands by me
The earth all around is sinking sand
But on Christ the Solid Rock I stand
When I need a shelter
When I need a friend
I go to the Rock



Song: ‘I Go To The Rock’
Written by: Dottie Rambo

Thursday, September 2, 2010

And We’re Off Again!

This afternoon shortly after my sweetheart gets home from work we will leave and drive to the Oregon Coast for a week of vacation. We will soon be on the highway, then travel over the mountains and arrive in our home-away-from-home this evening. One of my sweetheart’s sisters and one of his brothers and their spouses will join us there – his other sister and brother aren’t able to be there. We will miss them and wish we could all be together. Perhaps next year! As in the past, we will drive to Tillamook, the home of the famous cheese and dairy products, and stay in the RV park across the street from the cheese factory.

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During our stay in Tillamook the men will go crabbing on the bay while the ladies antique and thrift and check out all the other RV parks and campgrounds in the area (planning ahead to next year!). On Monday the rest of the family will head home and return to work on Tuesday but we will still be on vacation! We will drive a ways down the Oregon Coast to Lincoln City where we will be able to spend time with dear friends of ours who are walking through very rough places. We are looking forward to being together to talk and laugh and cry together – and, most important, to encourage them and pray together. Tuesday morning will find us on the road again, driving down the coast highway to the southern Oregon Coast near where we used to live. We will spend three nights camped alongside a gorgeous lake where we used to camp with our kids when they were young. My sweetheart will be able to fish to his heart’s content and I will ride in the boat, walk and read and relax and, perhaps, work on a project or two that is going with me.

Our little dog, Joey, is not going with us this time. He has been at our daughter’s house since early this week where he is 'doggy-sitting' four of our grandchildren. Phone calls each evening reveal things about his personality we’ve never seen before. He loves the kids, but he is completely enraptured with our dear little Miss Hannah (four months old). Whenever she cries, he cries – and he goes to her and waits until someone picks her up or takes care of her. I’m afraid he’s having way too much fun and may not want to come home to our quiet house! Our oldest granddaughter thinks it will be a relief for him to come home! Here are some photos of one of Joey’s recent naps on the sofa. He decided to ‘adopt’ one of the sofa cushions and what started out to be a seat on top of the cushion to see out the window ended up to be a rather silly way to sleep. He fell asleep on top of the cushion and then - oops, he fell off – head first onto an old quilt – and just kept sleepin
g! Didn't miss a beat!

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I will have my laptop with me and will have internet access in the RV park – so, I hope to stay in touch and be able to share some of our adventures along the way.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Hope

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‘Hope like the sun,
when we journey toward it,
casts the shadow of our burden behind us.’
- Samuel Smiles -

Sunday, August 22, 2010

All Who Are Thirsty

IMG_4741All who are thirsty,
All who are weak,
Come to the fountain,
Dip your heart in the stream of life.
Let the pain the the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy
As deep cries out to deep
We sing -
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.



Song: ‘All Who Are Thirsty’
Brenton Brown and Glenn Robertson
Vineyard Songs

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Change Is In The Air

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The days have begun to have that ‘feel’ of Fall in the air – and there are other changes around here! I have changed my blog to a private domain. Over the next three days everything from my blog will be redirected to my new blog address:

www.withagratefulheart.com

You may want to change your blog readers or your Favorites list. I’ll still be here – and I hope more often! This is a change I’ve thought about for a long time and I decided it was time – time to make a change.

There are other changes in my life and I can’t wait to share them with you soon. Don’t worry – they are good changes. Exciting changes that are making a big difference for me! (Not to worry, my sweetheart is still here!)

Please contact me if you have any problems accessing my blog. I’ve been assured the transition will be smooth. We shall see!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Two Loves: The Piano and A Cat

I saw this on someone’s Face Book page and I just couldn’t help myself – I had to share it with you! If you’ve been following my blog for awhile you know I love, love, love the piano – and I love cats! Maybe you don’t know that I used to teach piano lessons. I think that’s why this video tickles my funny bone so much because, if you watch closely, you will see that the lady of this house is a piano teacher. (I was not blessed with side-by-side grand pianos, however!) I can’t for the life of me imagine how this talented cat came by her ‘ear’ for music. Scroll down and turn off the music on my PlayList, sit back, watch and enjoy!

And if that's not enough - here's the sequel - her encore!