Happy Christmas Wreath

 

happy with our new wreath and recycled poinsettias and ribbon

Christmas Lights in JC, TX

 Driving through Johnson City last Saturday night after going to the Post Oak Community Homecoming Pot-luck, I couldn't resist capturing a few of the Christmas lights.

The streets were filled with people milling about and all the lights were a site to see!



All of My Beautiful Girls

Rachel and Perry Engaged!!!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

 

An hour before their road trip to Brooklyn, New York!

 

the happy couple :-)

 

 

"Just what I've been waiting for!"

 

Congratulations! 

 

The date is set:  November 2, 2013

 

Woohoo!!!

 

A Momentous Week!

Perry and Rachel had been planning to go to New York for months. Well, the week of departure arrived and the flurry of farewells and goodbyes began... and I'm finally blogging about it!

 

Sunday, August 12, 2012 - Farewell Party at Carter's Place

 

Stephanie and Elaine with Rachel
 

Perry grilling burgers

Heather Hohertz and Emily Hohertz

  

Rachel, Patrick and Patricia Hall --

Perry's sister and brother and stepmom

 

 Tom, Matt and Heather Hohertz

 

Emily Hohertz, Amber Karley and Rachel Karley

Rachel's co-workers from Comacho Rec Center

Rachel with Katie Blythe and Will Tullos

Amber, Rachel and "Little Rachel"

The Family

 

More farewells at our house on Tuesday, August 14...

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 









The Star of Them All

 

 "flowers" in my mailbox planter

A Tribute to My Daddy

 

Private First Class Ernst Lindig

 

This is my daddy in his uniform. Another Veteran's Day has passed by and I just want to keep on remembering him and express my appreciation of his courage to enlist and fight for our country and our freedom.

  

 

We visited the World War II Memorial in Washington DC in 2007. The picture of the World War II Veteran Registry above has a short bio about his tour of duty. He was in the 103rd Infantry Division, also called "Cactus Division" mostly in Germany and France. I will also say that he received a Purple Heart Medal. The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy. I thank God that my father recovered from his injury and he was able to return safely back to the U.S., his home sweet home, and eventually marry the love of his life, my beautiful mama, Mathilde Clara Rode.

 

 

Ernst and Mathilde at Gillespie County Fair



Our Refuge and Strength

Creating Space for Grace Devotion

 

Psalm 46

 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its water and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (v. 1-3)

 

My daughters were 3 and 6 when we took a trip to visit family in Spokane, Washington for Christmas. It was a great trip because we also had the opportunity to visit with other family members while we had a layover in Salt Lake City. By the time we boarded the plane for our two-hour flight to Spokane it was dark and we were told that a big snowstorm had just blown in from the north. The storm was causing some complications with our plane.

 

Now, I must tell you that I really don't care for "complications" when I fly anywhere. I just want to go where I'm going and be done with the flying part! But this time, I was particularly concerned because snowflakes as big as half-dollars were pouring from the sky, it was already very dark outside, the temperature was freezing, and airport technicians were "de-icing" our plane. De-icing our plane? I found myself wondering what would happen if our plane needed de-icing in midflight between Salt Lake City and Spokane? My imagination ran wild with that one!

 

I soon realized I needed to put my faith into action or it was going to be a very miserable flight. And I didn't want my children to experience fear or anxiety over something that was out of our control. It was then that I remembered the verse I had committed to memory in the Bible Study I attended: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. -Psalm 46:1" I spent the entire flight repeating that verse over and over in my head because that is the only way I could have a moment of peace.

 

Has there ever been a difficult time in your life when a Bible memory verse helped you get through it? Have you shared that story with family and friends?

 

Share your story - and create space for grace and strength... Make a difference in someone's life.

 

God and Gracious God,

We give you praise for being ever so strong! Like a rock and a fortress - our refuge! Thank you for giving us strength when we need it, and for being there even when we forget to call on you for help. And dear Lord, help us to share our stories of faith and grace with others. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Fall Flowers

How lovely are the flowers after the rain! What a fun excuse to blog after getting away from it for almost 3 months! All summer long I kept saying, "If you want to have flowers you've got to do the work!" Well, it's really a miracle how anything stays alive when the temp gets up to 100 degrees, but I'm glad to witness the miracle of God's beautiful handiwork and have the snapshots to prove it:

 

plumbago

 

 

yellow belle

 

 

begonia

 

 

lantana

 

 

lantana

 

 

lantana 

 

 

blackfoot daisy

 

 

geranium

 

feathery succulent?

 

 

 potted begonias

 

 

home

 

 



Living off the Land

Creating Space for Grace Devotion

Joel 2:21-27

You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you… (v. 26)

I spent my childhood on a farm. We grew lots of plants and animals. At different times we had fields of wheat or alfalfa or peaches; barns full of turkeys or pigs; and sheep or goats or cattle out in the pasture. My parents also had a garden full of vegetables. I guess you could say my mom and dad “lived off the land.” They depended on rain and weather patterns to nurture plants until it was time for harvest. Then they prayed the rain would stop so the hay could be cut and bailed or the peaches would not freeze. And there was always the threat of damaging hailstorms to worry about.

I honestly wonder sometimes how they did it and then I remember. My parent’s faith in God was strong. My dad read from his Holy Bible to his family every night before bedtime, and we all prayed the Lord’s Prayer together.  We attended church on Sundays. If you came to our house you went home with a bag full of vegetables or fruit. We always had enough to eat and enough to give away.

So many years ago when my dad and I were talking about church he asked me if we tithed. He said that giving a tithe was a good thing to do.  And he said he’d never been sorry because it always came back as a blessing.

Heavenly Father,

You give us so much. Some of us are blessed with time, some of us with talents, and some of us with money or produce. Help us to share our first fruits with our neighbors near and far away. We want to please you in all that we do! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Albuquerque Botanical Garden

After strolling through the aquarium, we sauntered over to children's fantasyland in the botanical gardens. There's a lovely horseshoe shaped bench made of glazed tiles that pieced together create a beautiful garden. All along the topside of the mosaic bench is a stream flowing through glazed ceramic rocks. There's also a colorful tiled pool spilling water into another pool. On the way to the enclosed butterfly garden, we stopped at this beautiful stained glass mosaic, then went on to feast our eyes on all sorts of butterflies.