My Sister, My Friend

 Isn't she a beauty?!!!

One of my bestest friends is turning 25!!!!!

I've known her most of my life, and have fond memories of her from the day she was born.

I remember that day very well. I was so sure I would NEVER be able to remember her name, 

it was soooooo different. 

Jolene Elizabeth Miller, what could be so hard to remember about that?  I'm happy to say not only have I remembered her name, but I also have many happy memories with this girl. 

Memories  ingrained into my mind that I will never forget. Why? Because she's my sister. 

HAPPY  25TH  BIRTHDAY  JOLENE!!!!

Soft and gentle as a kitten,  wild and fierce as a tiger. 

She does not like coffee! But that doesn't change our friendship.

She loves kids, and kids love her. 

 Purple is where it's at.... ALWAYS! 

Side by side, or miles apart

you will forever be close to my heart.

Don't ask..... :) 

"i look like a moose." You make all the bull moose go 'Whaaa Whaaa'

 

An adventurist. A risk taker, A dreamer. A drama queen. A side kick.

An amazing listener. 

She is the mirror shining back at me with a world of possibilities. 

She is my witness who sees me at my worst but loves me anyway. 

She is my partner in crime, my midnight companion, 

someone who knows when I am smiling,

 even in the dark. She is my sister. 

There is no one, I repeat NO ONE,

more fun to laugh with than her. 

Grandpa says, "She flutters around like a butterfly, doesn't she?"

We blame a lot of things on the fact that she was born in a car,

and the car (Chrysler Lebaron) had some sort of affect on her.

but two of her wouldn't be so bad, would it? 

She takes time to be with those that matter. 

Sisters don't need words. 

They have perfected their own SECRET LANGUAGE

of smiles, sniffs, sobs, gasps, winks, eyerolls.

Such a beautiful princess, daughter of the King. 

Jolene, 

           You are so special to me. I can't imagine not having you in my life. You are the only one that "gets" some things about me. You are my favorite person to watch a movie with. You listen, and offer advice, and support, and sometimes just listen. You care so much about people and their "stuff". Your heart is HUGE! And beautiful. I have watched you grow a lot the last few years. God is doing something so amazing and purposeful in you. Life is not always easy, but you have a way of looking at the brighter side... seeing the positive.... sticking it out... learning from the experiences... laughing at life...  I have learned much from you. It is obvious to me that God loves you, and His favor rests upon you. He has great and exciting things for you. I am so honored to be a part of your life, and to be able to walk this journey with you as your sister and friend.  I love you. -Amanda

Trust... again

1. ’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to take Him at His Word;
   Just to rest upon His promise,
   And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
   • 
     
     Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
     How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
     Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
     Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

So what do you do when life hands you a big impossible mountain to climb? There it is, suddenly right in your path. There is no way around it, it surrounds you. There is no way under it, it sinks into the deepest of seas. It's so high you can't even see the top. Is there a top? You can't dig through is, it's made of the thickest, heaviest rock. There it is looming in front of you. Mocking you. You can kick it, punch it, and call it ugly names, but the only thing that results is a guilty conscience, and a bruised body. This is not what you thought life was gonna be like. You had dreams, big dreams. But this mountain, it's destructive. It's ruining your life. Does God see this mountain? Doesn't he care? Didn't He say if we had enough faith He could remove our mountains? But it's still there. God I have faith. I know you can remove this mountain. Soooo..... why is it still there. I have faith. I have faith.


Then Jesus calls your name and He says, My child, I just want you to come to Me. Come, I will give you all you need. I will be more for you than what you can imagine. Trust me. TRUST ME. I created the mountain. I put it in your path. I have something pretty amazing I want to show you. I know you have dreams and plans, and this might get in the way of what you want. But my child, what if this is what I want?  Can you trust me?




God has been showing me a lot about prayer lately. He pays very close attention when His children pray. He listens with full, undivided attention. He doesn't get distracted by the dog, or the dryer stopping, or the phone ringing. He listens. He really listens. He looks you in the eye, and He nods in agreement. He puts His arm on your shoulder, and holds you close. And if you let Him, if you sit quietly and listen, He will speak to you. He will whisper words of love, affirmation, encouragement and direction, words of Life. This is what God wants more than anything -to sit down and have a nice talk together. He wants you to pour out your heart to Him. All the frustrations and agonies of the day. He wants to hear what has made you happy, and He wants to hear what has made you cry. And when you sit down and look God in the eyes, and talk to Him, the mountain doesn't look so big. Or maybe it's that you don't notice it as quick. It is still there, as big as ever. But in talking to Him, the mountain Maker, we can rest on His shoulder in peace, having full confidence that somehow all will be well. It is not our job to figure out why the mountain is there, or how it's gonna disappear, it's our job to simply rest, be still, wait, trust, and listen to the mountain Maker.



Oh, so much easier said than done.

update

It's been awhile....  I got married!!! :) My husband is a very good man. We love each other a lot.

August 2, 2014

Let me introduce to you...

Shawn Aaron Weaver

*He lives in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

*He is 6 years older than I.

*He has brown wavy hair and blue eyes. 

*He is the youngest of 2 boys.

*Reading is not his strong point.

Our first day together, Our first picture

*He writes VERY long emails.

*He prints in all capital letters.

                                     

*Fruit slushies bring him great happiness. 

*He enjoys going to flea markets, and farmers markets. 

*He loves to fish and hunt.

                                   
*He enjoys studying the book of Romans. 

*He loves steak!

*Making grape pies is something he has mastered quite well.

                                       

*He enjoys listening to Praise and Worship music. 

*His 2 top favorite songs are 10,000 Reasons 
and I wonder as I wonder.

*He enjoys cooking, gardening, even canning, but NOT cleaning.

                                              

*His favorite colors are purple and chrome. 

*He notices small details.

*He has given me 4 bouquets of seven roses each, 

and one bouquet of artificial daises tied with a red bow.

 *His favorite subject in school was math.

*He is very honest.

*He loves dogs.

*He likes calamari.
*He likes mushrooms, peppers, and onions.

*He has great leadership skills.

*He has determination.

*He is an electrician.

*His favorite number is 7.

                                         

*He enjoys watching sunsets.

*He is not afraid to voice his opinion.

                                                

*Cookies are his favorite snack.

*His communication skills are higher than most.

*He is teaching me how to interrupt. :)

                

                                     

*He is very outgoing.

*He keeps his commitments.

*He gave me a promise ring!

                                       

*He is a keeper. 

*Every day I love him more. 

*I am so blessed!!!

                                        

from the classroom

It was math class. The third grade boy was frustrated. He could not figure out his story problem. His teacher had explained it to him, and then told him he needed to figure out the rest of it on his own without any more help. That made him even more frustrated. He sat there... glaring at his math, getting madder and madder. Time went on. His teacher noticed that he was just sitting there, very upset. She decided to wait and see what would happen. He continued to sit, and glare. Between classes whenever it was time to work on more math, he would thump his book on his desk and give out a loud sigh, and continue to sit and glare. After about 50 minutes worth of sitting and glaring had passed, the teacher, noticing that he was now in tears,  finally had a moment to talk to the child and took him out of the classroom for a "discussion". The conversation went something like this.

               Teacher: Child, what is wrong? Why are you just sitting there?
               Student (crying): I can't figure it out, and you said you wouldn't help me.
               Teacher: But why are you just sitting there? Why don't you go on and work at the rest of your math lesson. Sometimes when we leave a problem and come back to it later we can think better and then we get it, just like that.
               Student: I don't know.... I didn't think about it.
               Teacher: How many times did you read over your story problem?
               Student: Once
               Teacher: Only once!!!!!!  You sat there for almost an hour and you only read it over one time!?!?
               Student (crying harder): Well I figured out how to do it, and I kept getting 13, and I know that's the wrong answer, so I just kept doing it over and over the same way, and I always got 13 as the answer. And I KNOW that's not right.
(At this the teacher almost busted out laughing for the correct answer was indeed 13.)
               Teacher: How do you know the answer is not 13?
               Student: I just know! I know it's wrong, but I kept doing it over and over and that's all I got, but I know it's wrong.
               Teacher: Instead of sitting there getting mad, what should you have done?
               Student: I should have just written down 13 and finished my math. But it would be wrong!!
                Teacher (again): Why do you think 13 is wrong?
               Student (looking up at the teacher with a very guilty look): Well.....  I looked at someone else's book and I saw he had 21, so I tried and tried to get 21 but I just couldn't.
               Teacher (now laughing out loud): Oh child, look into my eyes and listen very closely. The correct answer IS 13. The other student had the wrong answer.
             The student stopped crying and held his breath for a few moments before an ever so slight grin started to appear across his face. Followed was a discussion on not sitting idly doing nothing when you are stuck, and not trying to copy someone else's work.

The student may have learned his lesson. Later in the day, he pipes up and says, "That was really funny what I did earlier wasn't it."  Yes my dear boy, that was funny, but please don't ever do it again. And the teacher ponders this and thinks, Am I ever like that? Do I ever get frustrated because I try so hard to be something I shouldn't? Do I judge myself by a false copy? Does God ever feel frustrated because I am glaring and crying and asking for help when He has already clearly shown the correct answer to me?
Oh, forgive me, Lord.

sometimes it's the little things

I am a firm believer in looking for the little joys of life. 

*a child's laugh

*a falling star

*a mourning dove's song

*the brightness of the sun 

*the color red

*full moon rising 

*a shooting star
*a bright reflection
*a kind word
*a rare God ordained moment
*a coffee mug
* spring flowers
*the smell of fresh cut grass
*a jet stream

Whatever it is that grabs your attention and makes you say, "oh wow, look there, that's beautiful!" or "Did you hear that?" That something that takes your breath away, is given just to you by an all loving God who knows you. He knows every part of your heart, every longing you've ever had, every dream you've ever dreamed, every sigh that has ever escaped from your lips, every tear that has rolled down your checks, every smile that has brightened your eyes. He notices every emotion, and He cares deeply about each one. That God, he loves you for who you are. He loves you just the way you are. And the best part is, it doesn't matter what you do, He will always keep on loving you. He is pursuing you, and will do anything to get your attention. 

Those little things that take your breath away, God knows about them too. And He says, "Now if only my beloved child would know how much I love her. If she could only see that I am the one who painted the sunset. I am the one who put the mourning dove outside her window. I am the one that caused the right song to come on the radio at the perfect moment. I am the one who prompted the friend to write an encouraging note. If my child would notice that I am the Author and Instigator of these things, then maybe my child would also notice how much I long to have a relationship with her. I want to talk with her. I want to commune with her. I want to be with her every moment of her life. I want My Name to be in her mind and on her lips more than at bed time and on Sundays. So I will pursue her in order to win her heart.

"Every song you love, every memory you cherish, 

every moment that has moved you to holy tears 

has been given to you from the One who has been pursuing you 

from the first breath in order to win your heart. 

God's version of flowers and chocolates and candlelight dinners 

comes in the form of sunsets and falling stars,

 moonlight on lakes and cricket symphonies; 

warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens, and fierce devotions." 

-Stasi Eldredge

Christmas Holidays in a nutshell and Car Trouble Saga

*beautiful white snow

*bright, crisp, nights -perfect for walking

*lots of sister time

*skating and snowmobiling

*rook games

*lots of good food

*relaxing on the easy chair

*sleeping in

*-30*F. (-35*C.) just a bit cold

*coffee around the clock

*friends over past midnight

*friends out for chai tea

*just being with family

*a good friends wedding

*breakfast casserole -Piece of advice, Never turn your back!

*tea and a late night chat in which we were supposed to leave at 9 and ended up talking till close to 12 

*Nicki and Duchess

*New Years Eve party -so much noise!

*friends who start dating 

*snow angels 

*Gina's surprise appearance at the wedding

*Dad and Mom's anniversary surprise of writing and hiding 31 notes

All these things and more are what made the holidays very relaxing and highly enjoyably. I am so blessed and feel so privileged to have experienced so much goodness during these 2 weeks.  -A gift from God. 

On the way home we had a little adventure that I would like to describe to you. The details in this story are FACT and not based on the high imaginations that we may have had at the time. 3 girls and 5 people's luggage in Twila's car, left Minnesota around 7:30 Sunday morning. We were about 3 hours down the road when it started to overheat. Her car had been overheating lately, but we had it checked out, and it seemed like it just needed coolant. So we pulled into a gas station that also had a closed mechanic shop, hoping that all we needed to do was add more coolant and we'd be good to go. When we opened the hood, I noticed right away that it looked like we had a leak of some sort, and the coolant container thingy (here we must stop and confess, I have an extreme lack of mechanic knowledge) was full to the brim with coolant. Hmm.....  now what to do. I asked the clerk inside if she knew of any mechanic shops close by that were open on Sunday. She said she didn't but suggested if we could keep driving we would have better options in Wisconsin. We were close to the bridge that crosses into Wisconsin, and decided to try and keep going and see if we can make it across. We also know the bridge was fairly lengthy with NO place to pull off if we needed to. We drove about 1/4th of a mile and it overheated again so we pulled over. Twila called a friend in PA who is a mechanic and has worked on her car before. While we waited for the car to cool down she described the symptoms to him. In the next 30 min we drove a bit, pulled over, let it cool off, and then drove a bit more. We were able to stop right before the bridge, and made it the whole way across without needing to stop until we were on the other side. PTL! Once on the other side we pulled over again, and no sooner had we pulled over then a run-down,  rusted, old, red, car, pulled over in front of us. A tall, scrawny, man smoking and wearing a Packers sweater, got out and came over. Twila was still on the phone so I got out to see if he could help. The other gal in the back seat (Shanna Yoder) wasn't so sure about him, and was waiting for him to produce a gun or something especially when he went back to his car, saying he was getting a flashlight. But he turned out to be a right nice gentleman sort. The kind that stops to help the ladies in distress. (even if he did have a packer's shirt on)  He seemed very knowledgeable about cars and stuff, and had about 3 things ruled out in the first 30 seconds. He said he wasn't from around there, but saw we were having trouble, and decided to stop and see if he could help. He said it looked like it might be the thermostat, good news -a cheap, easy fix. Bad news -nothing is open today. He suggested to keep going as much as we can without driving when it's overheated, and try to find a local mechanic shop that is open. We thanked him kindly, got back in the car, and continued on for another few blocks. The next time it overheated was right in front of Hardees so we pulled in to see if they had a phone book, or knew of a mechanic place that would be open. The clerk inside, Justin, said he thought everything was closed today, but he had an uncle who works on cars, and he sometimes works on cars on Sunday. Do we want his number? Yes, we want his number, thank you!! During this time Twila was back and forth on the phone with her mechanic friend from PA. He said to check out the uncle but make sure he doesn't over pay us. He predicted the cost should be no more than $150. So with that advice we call the uncle. He said he was willing to help us out and he was sure he could find a part for us. Price???  less then $100 for sure. Thank you Jesus, this man is not ripping us off. So we waited at Hardees for him to get back to us... 45 min later this broad shouldered, dark haired guy, wearing sunglasses, earrings, and a black leather jacket, sauntered up to our table asking us if we were the ones with the broken down honda. There was a moments hesitation... can this guy be trusted? He looks freaky?! But no, we felt strongly that God had lead us this far, He had brought us help, and God would protect us.

 "I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the God of angel armies, is always by my side. The One who reigns forever, He is a Friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by my side."

 So off we went. He lead us to a closed mechanic shop about 2 blocks away that his buddy owned. His buddy was allowing him to open it up just to help us. We pulled around back through a dirty, broken down, alley into the garage and then he. shut. the. doors. behind. us!! Now we are locked in this garage, with this freaky guy! We got out of the car wondering what in the world we were gonna do while he fixed it. 

I noticed he put the garage door opener in one of the trucks, mental note, just in case we needed it later. Also there was a phone on the wall that kept ringing, and 2 doors with exit signs above them. Shanna noticed a window that looked like it would break easy. If we needed to get out, we could climb up unto the barrels and break the window. After about 10 min of just standing around the uncle came and told us there was a lobby with some chairs, we could go sit down. The lobby was one of the dirtiest rooms I have ever seen. the chairs looked unstable, and had rips in the leather. But sit we did, and wait, while we trusted God with all our possessions in our car. We waited.... and waited.... and waited... 

About 2 hours later he came and told us it was good to go. It was definitely the thermostat, he ran it for a while and it seemed great. Our bill... $85!!  We had already decided that if he gave us a good price we would give him extra for going out of his way on a Sunday, just for us, strangers he didn't know. He was surprised at our generosity, and thanked us very much. No, we thank you very much!! We got back in our car and thanked the Good Lord for being so gracious to us. 

He protected us, and our things. 

He lead us to the right sources. 

He brought us good help in time of need. 

We were only 3.5 hours behind schedule. 

So on we went.... the rest of our trip was uneventful. We reached our Indiana destination around 1:00 that night, and parted ways after a few hours of sleep. I went north to Ontario, and Twila and Shanna continued east toward SMBI in PA. Twila and Shanna where about 10 min from SMBI when her car started overheating again. They were able to call local people to come help them. The end of the story... head gasket, and over $1,000. Although it is very unfortunate that she has a big car bill, I see God's faithful, protecting hand. It could have broke down again an hour after leaving the mechanic shop in WI. It could have left us stranded for a few days, needing motels, and having a much larger bill. God is so good! His mercies are new every morning! Great is His faithfulness!