More of KSHA camp, Tim and Brenda's visit

 We were thrilled when Tim and Brenda decided to come and see us at camp.  It was a four hour drive for them.  They got to McPherson at 5:30 p.m. Friday.  We met them at Freddy's for some fast food, since they could not make it by the 4 p.m. supper hour at camp.  Afterwards, I got to change Charissa's clothes.  She was very cooperative for her "computer grandma."  She has seen us more on the computer than in person in her short life.

 Later, she had had an equipment (diaper) failure and had to change clothes again.  That's why her hair bow does not match her cute outfit.

 Grandpa having a turn holding her.

 We were skyping with Jeff and Beth on the computer.  It almost made Beth cry.  She hasn't gotten to see Tim, Brenda, and Charissa in person since last Thanksgiving!  :(

 This was Saturday morning, on our way over to breakfast from our dorm.

 Brenda and I walking to join the others waiting at the cross walk.

 The Albertson breakfast table

 Emily grabbed this picture while we weren't looking.

 "If I close my eyes will the eggs go away?"

 Emily's happy face.  She had great news this week:  she won a Facebook contest for free braces from the doctor who did Jeffrey's orthodontic treatment!  Also, Jesus gave her a week without headaches!  PTL!

 Janet and Melanie Smiley!  What a dear lady who matches her name!

 Sharmen Wright and her brother, Michael Wright.  Michael was able to be at camp for the weekend, but he was not feeling well.  The tumors in his lungs are causing a lot of pain.

 Randall McElwain preaching about Songs to Sing in the Dark.  I was so glad Michael was there for that sermon, and the rest of us...

 Here we are listening to the sermon.

 Emily snuck into the children's service where the Apostle Paul was teaching the children.

Kansas State Holiness Association camp meeting, McPherson, Ks.

 It was our privilege to go to the KSHA camp meeting in McPherson, Kansas last week.  We so much enjoyed and appreciated the benefit to our souls and minds.  Below is Dennis Goodwin, left, camp president, and Ken Thompson, one of the speakers for the camp.

 Ken Thompson, preaching.  I have known Ken Thompson since I was a teenager.  He and his wife were missionaries to Papua New Guinea for many years.  In the 1990s, they pastored in Littleton, Co. so we got to be around them more.  Now they live in Missouri, but travel all over holding revival meetings, and it is rare we get to see them.

 Randall and Sue McElwain.  Randall was the Bible Teacher each morning and we feasted on his messages.  Randall went to KCCBS back in the early 80s when I did, and we hadn't seen him in person since we got married 30 years ago.  He and his wife have been missionaries in Taiwan and now live in Hobe Sound, Florida where he is the Hobe Sound Academy principal.  We sometimes see him online when we watch the Hobe Sound Bible Church services.  It was good to see him again and get acquainted with his wife.

 Jerry and Becky Glick and their son, Jeffrey were the singers for the camp.  We loved getting to hear them sing again.  They were the singers the first time we went in 2003.

 Emily and Jason worked in the snack shop at noon or after church, and in the kitchen at brunch 9 a.m. and dinner 4 p.m.

 Emily was manning the microwave in the room behind this curtain.

 This was a time when Jason was not working, so of course he was eating!  :)

 This was a morning meal with our friends, Jim and Anna Tremaine, Stephanie Thompson, Steve Sturtevant, and Martin Barnard.  One great thing about camp was eating with different folks and catching up or getting acquainted.

 These are the children's workers:  Bob, Lori, and June Owens.  We discovered during our meal with them that June is my brother-in-law, Charles Owens' first cousin!  It is a coincidence that their last names are the same, because their mothers are cousins.  We enjoyed visiting with these folks!

 Here are some pictures of the youth kitchen help crew.  This is the second year Jason and Emily have helped with KP duty and they enjoy helping.  They accidentally left their aprons there when we left, so we hope the person we asked to bring them back to Colorado remembered!

 

 

  Looking across the dining room and zooming in, we caught Randall and Sue and Chris Cravens in our cross hairs!  Chris Cravens was the other evangelist.  We enjoyed his preaching.

 Emily and Jason were asked to play the offertory for the Thursday afternoon missions service.  They did an excellent job.

 There was an "orchestra" every night.  Here they are playing prelude music before the evening service.  Julie Bush and Jason are the cellists; Emily on the violin, Lois Ann Query on the accordion, and Trint Castle on the trumpet.  There were others who joined in other evenings.

 On Thursday evening, our friends, Daniel and Sharonna Nuest came and we got to fellowship with them.  They had come to see us on July 4 when they were vacationing in Colorado.  Jeffrey knew Sharonna from GBS and I knew her dad when I was a teenager.

 Below is a picture of Ken and Vicky Thompson and Vicky's mother, Sister Sales.  I was so happy to spend time with Vicky.  She is a very dear friend.

 This is the new plaza outside of the dining hall at Central Christian College where KSHA camp is held.  It was new since last year.

 Our good friend, Martin Barnard.  He was the Youth leader.  Jason and Emily enjoyed being in his Bible studies.

 Our friend, Cheryl Mosley with her children Michael and Charisse, and her niece Hannah.

 The dining room, looking one direction...

 and the other.

 At this meal, we were eating with the Wrights, family of Michael Wright, one of our heroes fighting cancer.  His sister is next to Rowen, his mother next to me, and his wife and children in the other chairs.  Our constant prayers are with Michael and his precious family. 

  I think I will end this post here and continue with a new one later.

Project dining set

 We found a sturdy dining room set at a garage sale and bought it for Randy and Joy.  They plan to move to the Denver area and don't want to move all their furniture.  We thought it would be a good one to raise boys on.  The cushions looked like this.

 So I bought some vinyl to recover the cushions.  Washable is very good!  Jeffrey helped me.

 Some of the cushions after they were covered.

 The chairs in the garage.  Jeffrey and I sanded all the scuffed places, and then Rowen primed and spray painted them several times. 

 Here is the set in place, waiting for its new family to come.

Jeffrey's 22nd birthday, July 14

 For Jeffrey's birthday, we went to Colorado Springs and got in on the Tent Meeting there.  We spent time with Rowen's cousin and uncle, and we enjoyed a walk in the Garden of the Gods.

Jeffrey with Uncle Alvin and Katie's beautiful clematis.

More pictures of Jeffrey being 22.  We have enjoyed having him home for the summer.

 On our walk in the Garden of the Gods, Jeffrey was interviewing Jason, as a "geologist" about the formations found in the park.  It was absolutely crazy listening to the nonsense Jason was making up on the spot.

Between the next two pictures, you can see all of us.  Both Emily and Rowen, as photographers, don't get in very many pictures.

 It was a beautiful day to spend together with those we love.

One thing Jeffrey did this summer

Jeffrey was privileged to work at his old job at Ace Hardware this summer.  The boss decided to rent this building next door to Ace, and Jeffrey painted it, inside and out!  One evening on our walk we inspected his painting.

Book Review: The Living Room by Robert Whitlow

The Living Room by Robert Whitlow

I read a lot of Robert Whitlow books in 2011 while I was having chemo.  I discovered then that he is an author who makes me think!  There is always a Christian theme running throughout, but also conflicts and mysteries on many levels.  I was excited to find this book up for review on Book Sneeze.

Amy Clarke is the main character.  She is married with two children, ages ten and fourteen.  The ten-year-old is delightfully all boy and the fourteen-year-old girl is at the stage of pulling away from her parents as they try to protect her from dangers she does not realize are there.  Amy has a special relationship with the Lord that carries over into her dreams, where she feels the peace and restoration of God.  She also receives inspiration for her books, and most recently, it seems God is warning her about future events in these dreams.  Amy has finished two inspirational novels and is working on a third book, which is dealing with darker conflicts.  She gets called back to the law office where she previously worked, to fill in for a maternity leave.  When she has insights about the cases the lawyers are working on, she has to decide whether to talk about her dreams, and the lawyers have to decide whether to act on her dreams.

Meanwhile her daughter seems to be getting too close to one of her single male teachers, and has several episodes of unexplained loss of consciousness.  Amy and her husband, Jeff, were interesting to watch in their parenting techniques, communication, and affirmations through the trials of life. I enjoyed Mr. Whitlow having his character Amy contrast her marriage communication with the communication of Amy’s fictional characters in her books!

All Mr. Whitlow’s books that I have read have had lawyers and law matters central in the plot.  My understanding is broadened by all the information in the storyline. 

I highly recommend and appreciate the clean, intellectual mystery writing and look forward to more books by Robert Whitlow.

Book Sneeze provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Encouragement for the Weary Saint

"He has made everything beautiful in His time." - Ecclesiastes 3:11



"My times are in Your hand..." David writes to God in Psalm 31.
     Our times, that includes: when our times are, how long they last, and what they consist of... the Christian, the Child of God, can rest assured that his/her times are in the hand of God.  God, the Faithful Father, God the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-wise.

Just as our God is faithful in all times, we must be faithful too... faithful in joyful gratitude and obedience and faith.   David also wrote (with determination), "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth." - Psalm 34:1

"Trust in Him at all times, you people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." - Psalm 62:8.

(I think that these 3 chapters of Psalms would be a great encouragement to you, dear weary saint, at this time.)

I pray that you will experience heart delight and rest in knowing your Father and His care for you, in knowing that He is directing your steps and preparing the path for your feet.  I tell you what, our God is a great Father!  (I'm getting blessed, just writing this!)

~ Beth

Book Review: The Winnowing Season by Cindy Woodsmall

The Winnowing Season is book two in the Amish Vines and Orchards series.  It starts out with a recap of A Season for Tending, which I appreciated since I would not have known what was going on without that help.  The main characters are Rhoda Byler and the two brothers who love her, Samuel and Jacob King.  In book one, the Kings’ apple orchard and their community was devastated by a tornado.  Rhoda, her brother’s family, and the Kings are moving to Maine from Pennsylvania to start over in an abandoned orchard and begin a new Amish community as other relatives join them.  Rhoda is in partnership with the Kings because of her horticulture experience and canning expertise.  Jacob has many secrets from his past, which still have a grip on his life, causing him to be absent from the workload and his relationship with Rhoda every time she needs him.  Samuel is always there, steady, interfering, and usually in conflict with Rhoda.

Rhoda has several issues in her life that cause her pain; she feels guilty that her sister was murdered and she had not kept it from happening.  She has insights into people’s lives that have caused the Amish leaders to be suspicious of her.  She is anxious to move far away from her church family because the treatment she has received has been painful.  She is misunderstood and taken advantage of by non-Amish, as Jacob is, because of the naiveté of the sheltered lives they have lived.

The very sad part of this book to me is that the characters want to please God, but think pleasing God is all wrapped up in obeying the church leaders and the written and unwritten code of the Amish.  I don’t get the sense that anyone has a personal relationship with Jesus as Savior. 

At the end of the book, none of the conflicts have been resolved.  Obviously, at least one more book is upcoming.  I am a fan of Cindy Woodsmall on Facebook and this week, she asked what color of wedding dress Rhoda should have; so I assume the next book will resolve the triangle love situation in this one.

I received this e-book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my honest review.

Book Review: Joni and Ken: An Untold Love Story

I have always been a fan of Joni since her first book.  I was aware of her bout with breast cancer in 2010 and prayed for her as she went through that deep trial.  As I read this book, I appreciated how she and Ken are so transparent about the joys and struggles of their marriage, and their deepening relationship with the Lord and each other through the gift of cancer.  I could relate to her cancer story so much, because in 2011, I was also given the gift of breast cancer.  Our diagnosis and treatments matched, even down to the names of the chemo drugs!  I don’t know that I have as dramatic a story to tell as they do, but I completely agree that God can be glorified and bring good out of a journey through cancer.  I cried several times while reading this book.  It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

The only problem I had with the book is that I purchased it as an e-copy, and it was not formatted for my Kindle.  I had to read it on my computer.  If I had known it was not compatible with my Kindle, I would have purchased the print book.