A MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY

On this date, August 21, sixty years ago, my parents were married.  I would say that is quite an accomplishment to live with someone for 60 years.  I've heard my parents' story but feel that since it is THEIR story, I should not tell it.  I will say they have been excellent examples of hard work, patience, tolerance, and most of all, love.  I'm sure it's not been 60 years of total bliss.  Is life ever really total bliss?  I would say that life is life, often filled with hardships, disappointments, fears, and uncertainties along with the happiness and joyful times.  I think maybe one of the biggest reasons for success in my parents' married life is having the Lord ALWAYS in the center of that life.  Most likely if asked, my parents would both say it has been a life of blessings from the Lord.  Fifty of those sixty years were spent in the service of pastoring churches and was a major part of their lives.

I know that you, my blog readers, would love to see a pictorial.  Granted there were some years there where we didn't have a camera or were not as photo conscious as we are now.  It was hard to narrow them down but I picked a few of my favorites.  Many seem like just yesterday with the way time does fly by.   I hope you enjoy.

The guy is sporting some snazzy shoes.....

...and the girl a beautiful hat.

This is one of our first photos of our family of four.

Then there was a period of time where photos of the parents alone were fairly non-existent, but eventually we caught back up with the photos.

Mother held her share of Daddy's coats during baptizings....

A nice 25th wedding anniversary party was hosted by Rock Springs Ladies for them.

Here's a good one of The Parents and The Sister.  The Sister was still cute.

There were various other events meriting a couple's photo.

The color of this dress is my VERY favorite color.  Wonder if she still has the dress?  I LOVE it!

Here is "the-guy-is-wearing-a-colored-shirt" photo.

Of course, there were Easter photos with the family during the years of the big hair.

All three grandchildren will love this one for various different reasons...

This was my all time favorite grandparent/grandchildren photo for sure...was someone's birthday or Mother's Day or something fun like that.  Everybody looked pleased, happy, and pleasant.  Not that they don't in the other photos, this one just had that extra something....

Since The Husband gave me a gift of a tripod years ago, the family group shot at Christmas has become tradition.  I won't bore you with them all, just a few.

And yes, we could laugh about it and be a bit silly, if only for a minute or two....

...or at least some of us could on occasion.  Others showed talent at remaining stoic during silliness.

There was a celebration for 50 years of marriage....and photos again....

Finally, there have been more recent family photos at special occasions.

Congratulations and blessings to two wonderful parents!

AN ALASKAN ADVENTURE

Many years ago The Husband and I watched a movie on television that I never forgot.  Okay, so I forgot the name of the movie, not the plot.  It starred Kurt Russell and the idea was that he and his wife were on a trip.  Their car broke down in the desert, folks came by to help, the wife went with the folks to bring back help, and the wife disappeared.  Of course the helpers were not good people.  Most of the movie was the husband trying to find his wife.  Near the end, their car was hanging on the side of a bridge….a very high bridge.  The end result was positive for the married couple but it took a lot of nightmarish events to reach the end.  Believe me.  I never forgot that movie.  Maybe some of you have seen it, too, and never forgot.  I never want to see it again either, just in case you are wondering.

Back in 2003, The Husband, The Girl and I planned for months a trip to Alaska.  I worked with a travel agent and got our itinerary exactly like we wanted and it was a great trip for sure.  The daylight for hours and hours when it should be dark threw me off quite a bit but I eventually adjusted.  We arrived in Anchorage, rented our Avis car, spent the night, and headed towards Mt. McKinley the next day.  We drove over a hill and caught this first view of the great mountain.  It was a sight that took the breath away.

The views from the small plane we rode in later were amazing....

The red in this photos is part of the plane's wing.

Our 2003 Christmas card was this photo from the glacier.  Yes, The Husband is wearing short sleeves. What can I say?  And his hair is brown, not gray.  And I seem to have the same hairdo I have now.  And The Girl looks the same.  Good for her!

After that we headed to Denali National Park and rode on a school bus on single roads like this for several hours.

My favorite moose photo....

The next day after going north to Fairbanks and turning east headed to our cabin for the night in Paxson (the middle of nowhere in Alaska), we were driving right along and about twenty minutes from our Paxson cabin.  Traffic on that day, July 6, a Sunday was heavy as folks were obviously going from east to west traveling home after the long holiday weekend.  A block dropped off a vehicle in front of us and with traffic on the left and a huge drop off on the right, all The Husband could do was hit it.  In our Avis Camry.  He hit it hard. (Yes The Husband went back and picked it up from the side of the road.)

The car began to stop and luckily we were on a downhill so were able to coast to a pull over spot there.  Ah….we got out, smelled gas and thought of what to do.  Another vehicle pulled over and asked to help, we gave them the number of the Avis folks as well as the number of our cabin’s host, a scientific doctor of birds…uh huh…and asked them to call and report that we were there.  They were from Wasilla, Sarah Palin’s hometown—just a bit of trivia there.  They drove on, I went in the bushes to make a restroom, and we decided with the smell of gas from the car that maybe we should remove our luggage from the Avis Camry.  

So there we were—The Husband, The Girl, Me, and our luggage on the side of the busy highway of Alaska….3 hours from Fairbanks, 20 miles from the cabin in Nowhere, on the side of the road with nothing to do but wait.  So wait we did.  I’m going to say here that it’s a scary thing to be on the side of the road with no communication in a strange land just waiting for help that you know is at least three hours away.  That’s when the long daylight hours become your friend.  Another couple stopped and offered the use of their cell phone.  They were actually familiar with Georgia as they had come to Dalton to buy carpet.  From Alaska.  Go figure.  It’s a small world after all.  With their phone, standing in one particular spot for the service, we were able to determine that Avis had indeed been called by the nice Wasilla folks and were in route with a new rented car and a tow truck to get the other one.  It would be three hours so we settled in at our roadside stop with our luggage.  I was hoping there would be no bears around. 

It wasn’t but a few minutes until a four door truck pulled up with signage on the side that advertised our cabin in Nowhere.  A bearded man said to us, “The Austins I presume?”  (I kid you not.)  Well he told us that were not waiting there for three hours and that the Avis people could come to our nice cabin and get us.  The Husband got in the back door as there was no seat there.  I got beside the good fellow in the front and The Girl at the front window seat.   We were all pretty speechless by now.  The Host threw our luggage in back of the truck and we set off down the road.  He kept the one-sided conversation going and after a few miles, he slammed on his brakes and said, “Oh, I forgot to pick up that fox” and he backed up in the road, stopped, and threw a dead fox in with our luggage.  Uh huh.  Really.  We were still speechless. 

We did get to the cabin and it was exceptionally nice.  Had I not been stressed and speechless I could have really enjoyed the time.   

We went next door to the ONLY restaurant/café/gas station in Nowhere.  It, too, was a big adventure in itself but we don’t have time for that story. Use your imagination and I'm betting you'll be close to the real story.

Our family had booked a float trip with The Host for that night but had to wait on the car to arrive.  The Husband and I allowed The Girl to go along with the group.  The Husband and I waited and waited and finally the Avis guy came.  The Husband got in with him and drove back to the disabled car site so the guy could head back to Fairbanks and The Husband could bring back our new Avis car.  As the guy was an avid talker, The Husband learned that the Avis guy had been to NGCSU for past military training.  This was yet another common factor with an Alaskan as that was where The Girl was at college then.  It’s a small world after all.   As for me, when they left, I went to the cabin and locked the door.

When The Husband arrived back, he asked, “The Girl has not returned?  I’m going to look for them.”  (By then, we were VERY harried and VERY stressed.)  So off he went down the road in the Avis car to look for them.  There in Nowhere.  In the meantime, The Girl returned and bebopped in happily after her exciting tour.  Great. The Host knocked on our cabin door and asked if The Husband had not returned.  I told him The Husband had gone to look around.  I didn’t say look around for you...and The Girl...and the other guests.  Eventually The Husband returned.

We shut and locked the door of our cabin and were finally tucked in our very softest of beds.  Maybe it was truly the softest, most comfortable bed ever or maybe I was just tuckered out.   I lay there and then whispered to The Husband, “Do you remember that Kurt Russell movie where his car breaks down and his wife goes with folks for help?”  To which The Husband whispers back, “Uh huh.  I’ve been thinking of it all afternoon.”  I replied that I had also.  I told him that we were NOT leaving that cabin until we got in our Avis car the next morning and headed east.  The Husband heartily agreed!

Just in case you were wondering, our towing/repair invoice for the Avis car repair was $4700 and a few cents.  Our travel insurance paid every cent.    We paid $200 for the travel insurance.  That was the best $200 we ever spent.   Needless to say for any big trip of this nature we always get travel insurance now.  You should, too.

There’s a lot more I could tell you about this wonderful Alaska trip but this is the true adventure part of the trip.  I could make a sermon out of this story, too, but my post is so long, I’ll not this time.  You think about it and find a sermon…it’s good practice.

A FILLING

I'm thinking that most of you think from this title that I have been to the dentist.  Wrong.  I am going in a few weeks and hope the title of this lesson doesn't apply to me then.  For sure.

Unfortunately, the beginning of this post is just like usual it seems.  It always seems to hinge on the fact that I’ve been thinking lately.   And lately, a lot of thoughts come from my treadmill book.  At least I’m exercising my spiritual life AND my body.  I have to walk on the treadmill to read my treadmill book.  And just in case you are wondering, my treadmill speed has increased lately as well.  I’m walking faster than ever before.  Granted not as fast as some of you youngsters, but fast for me.  And yes, I feel very accomplished at that….helps me grow nearer to my weight loss goal for sure.  Just sayin' because I'm glad. 

Sunday night The Husband and I went to a revival where my daddy was preaching.  For his scripture reading, he read this:

Luke 12:14-21:

“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man bought forth plentifully:

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

And he said, “This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And I will to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Now in my treadmill book just last week (yes I’ve been thinking of this several days), the reading was saying in a nutshell that we are often so full of ourselves that God can’t fill us, however, when we are empty, He fills us full of His good things, filling us with spiritual goodness that reflects His honor and glory.   

I was thinking about the sermon scripture and, no, I don’t intend this to be a Sunday School lesson, just a thought process.  In my own life, I get in my mind that I know what is good.  I know what will work best.  I have all the right answers.  When, in truth, I know nothing on my own.  On the other hand, with the Lord, I can know everything when He fills me with His Word, His love, and all the other things that He fills with….the list is endless.   I am often guilty of being willing to do more, but I lose focus on whether the “more” is because I think it is a good thing and not that the Lord thinks it a good thing. 

Something else the treadmill book addressed that really answered a question I had been struggling with is that often the Lord leads us in a certain direction and we follow that direction but the direction takes a turn in another direction.  That’s a lot of directions but hopefully you are following me.  The book text reminded me that God sees the BIG picture and uses everything to His honor and His glory.  I know that.  Really.  I just have to be reminded on occasion.

So the bottom line is that when I am full of myself, God really can’t use me.  But when I empty myself, God has a vessel fit for His use. 

I want to be filled with the goodness of the Lord, not with what I think is goodness of my own self.  And somehow, even though I probably have butchered this post and got you totally confused, a lot of questions have been answered for me.  Basically, I want more of HIM.

One of the scriptures I read often that applies pretty good here is this:

“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

I really like that…..

You MIGHT be a redneck.....

I am in the midst of some inspirational thinking of late but have been swiped from that train of thought by a less important thought process.  Now being from the South, the term "redneck" is quite common, especially in the part of the south where I live.  In fact I live only a small drive from the neighborhood of the chiefest of rednecks....you all know him, first name is Jeff and he hosts a smart 5th grader game show.  He and The Girl even sometimes shop at the same retail store as she has been known to be in line behind him to check out.  Granted, only once, but once is enough I would say to practically rub elbows with the chief redneck himself.  Okay, so practically rub elbows.  Their elbows didn't really touch.  Anyways, many of you have gotten your redneck education from this chief redneck  and some of you are like me....just born redneck.

The Husband and I are so redneck that we had a funny redneck experience on one of our trips west...Seattle, I think it was.  We took the tram from the airport to the rental car area to get our car.  Seattle is not as advanced in on-site car rental as some other airports, just in case you wonder.   We got our nice Rav4 and stopped at the checkout booth.  The Husband greeted the woman worker in the booth, she took his ticket, and immediately kind of bent down to hide her face.  I said to The Husband, "She's laughing at the way we talk."  Of course, that seemed a challenge to The Husband so when she raised her head and was obviously trying not to laugh, The Husband (in a VERY extreme Southern redneck accent and language) said, "Are you laughing at the way we talk?"  And the woman was so laughing at the way we talked that she couldn't even talk.  She shook her head yes.  We were good sports and took the receipt.  Before we drove away, she had found her voice and as she waved and laughed, she said to The Husband, "You sound JUST like Larry the Cable Guy."  So I learned that day that even Northwestern people like rednecks, if for no other reason than to be entertained.

I'm so close to redneck that one of my favorite redneck words is "usedtakud".   You know, I "usedtakud" run faster than I can run now.  And I "usedtakud" stay awake longer than I do now.  You know the word and so many, many more fine words in the redneck language.

I could elaborate more on the language but that's not really the point of this important post.  I thought that you, my devoted blog readers, would like to see what is now in my yard.  It's like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.  So, take a look....

Can you see what it is?  Let's go closer.

Okay, bet you're getting an idea.....a bit closer.

You're thinking, "Are these what I think they are?"  

The answer is, "Uh huh."

  

 His and Hers....You ask why?   I say, "Use your imagination."  You say, "I can't begin to imagine."  I say, "Bet you usedtakud!!"