Under His Wings

During one night of our recent vacation, while Tim was watching the Yankees play on TV, I decided to listen to my radio.  I was looking for a specific station WMHR, part of the "The Mars Hill Nework," a Christian radio station I used to listen to during my college days. The radio station, along with my church, Faith Baptist Church, was a solice for me, especially in my early days at SUNY Cortand. I was only 45 minutes from home, but it was a big change for me to be all alone in a big college campus.  There were months in my first year I could not attend church because of my internship and other school activities, so the radio station was then my only source of Bible teaching. I was able to find WMHR after a few tries. This particular night, I sat and listened to Charles Swindoll, one of my favorite speakers back then.  He still is, but I forget he's on at 9:30 PM.  Later in the week, I was able to listen to a few more of my favorite radio preac...

The next few installments are going to be thoughts written during our recent vacation.  It was a week of enjoying nature while doing a little soul searching also. In the approximately 3 hours we've been here, I have been reminded why this state park where we stayed 4 years ago has been my favorite of the parks we have stayed in.  We had to make the reservations for our cabin back in September as it is a very popular park to stay in.  It was well worth the wait! The beach is beautiful, the birds are singing, the kids are playing (Nate and Anna...Elijah and Tim hadn't arrived yet).  Ahh, this is the life!!!! ************************************************************************************* On Sunday, Tim and I woke up before the kids, which is surprising because I had a rough night getting comfortable and had a low blood sugar.  We went to church at the Salvation Army lead by the Majors who were at the Salvation Army that Tim went to in Horn...

I'm back!!!   This laptop crashed about 6 weeks ago.  Thankfully it was just the case of Windows needing to be recovered.  A recovery disk did the trick. Our other computer, an older desktop that was given to us over a year ago, crashed a few weeks later.  We ended up replacing that one last week. Being 2 weeks without a home computer was quite interesting.  I realized how much time I was spending on the computer and how much I relied on it.   Now that I have it back, I struggle with the temptation of being on it more than I should.  I'll keep working on that! I missed chatting with my friends and finding out what's going on.  I missed writing this blog.  I wanted to download pictures of our recent FL vacation. I'll take this opportunity to tell you how much fun it was!!!  My husband drove, which I am thankful for.  We ran into some heavy traffic in some strange places.  We stayed in a hotel half way to FL We star...

Another installment of vacation thoughts . It was a beautiful night to play outside our cabin.  It was like I was a child again playing the ball game SPUD and Hide and Seek. The Hide and Seek game brought back memories of playing at our neighbor's house "Ollie, Ollie in come free!" yet the current reality of being a 41 year old overweight adult became very evident.  There really wasn't many places for me to hide, and I definitely could not run too well.  There were a few big rocks, but my family used them first. (I did manage to find some big trees near the playground we played at later in the week.) It reminded me of the passage in my Psalm 139 (my favorite Psalm) where it talks about not being able to hide from God.  He knows where to find us.  Even the greatest of Hide and Seek players can't hide from Him.  The Psalm also reminds us he cared for us even before we were formed (Psalm 139:13-15) until our last days (verse 16).  He knows o...

Elijah, Anna and Nate building a Sand Castle Allegany State Park 7/30/11 There's a song my Dad used to sing at church called Castles in the Sand.  I was reminded of that song recently when my family went on our annual cabin vacation.  This year we chose Allegany State Park in Salamanca NY (in the Southwestern part of the state).  This park has two beautiful sandy beaches.  We got to enjoy both throughout the week.  I love sitting near water.  I have to say I don't like being in it as my family can attest to.   I never learned how to swim. There's nothing to me like sitting on a beach watching the waves hit the shore, and feeling the breeze blow through my hair.  I have my eyes fixed on a rolling green hills (pictured above) across the lake.  Ah! This is the life!!!!!  It's not all about building castles in the sand, although it's fun. It's about building special memories with my family.  This is what ...

I love to sit by water. There is nothing more relaxing to me than to sit by the water and think. Even during a bit of rain like in this picture. The pitter patter of raindrops... ahh I could have spent hours sitting by the lake, but with 3 active kids, that wasn't possible. I came away from our recent nature vacation with a new appreciation for God's creation and also an appreciation for what wonderful blessings God has given to me. I wish Green Lakes State Park wasn't 2 hours away. Guess where I'd be if I lived closer. I loved the chirping of the birds, the pounding of the woodpeckers, and the sunshine hitting the lake first thing in the morning.  The peaceful moments sitting by the lake added to the wonderful experience. I'd love to be there in the fall when all the leaves are changed. That would be a breathtaking view!