Goodbye California, Hello Michigan

Joelle, Pieter and I before they took off for Arkansas and California. This picture was taken after we ate some awesome cheesecake....good memories of the Damsteegt Mansion. Even though Joelle and Pieter are gone I know that haystacks still await me on Sabbath!In August I went camping on the Pine River with some friends. This was my little campsite by the river. Rustic was the name of the game....and the raccoons tried to join in. Unfortunately for them we packed our food out every night so they were left fishing or digging for whatever else they could find.A very adventurous hike on the North Country Trail. About 8 years ago my family went backpacking on this trail. The only bear we saw this time around was Pastor Dan....a little grizzly but nicely shaven. hummmm....figure that one out. Bears are good trail guides unless they are hiding from the people.Everyone got off the river DRY! This is a world record for us. I heard the "lean bean" was paying New Zealand to tip my canoe, but the grizzly bear came to the rescue. I'm still glad! Life is fun and I am thankful to God for friends, wonderful nature and enjoyable times.

Happy Birthday

It was my Mom's birthday on Sabbath the 12th of August. I brought some of her favorite potato salad from Apple Valley, and we made some yummy strawberry/blueberry shortcake. Of course we added the candles that won't blow out so I helped her blow them out after they kept lighting up. The next day we visited yet another zoo. For some reason our family really enjoys the zoo. I was amazed by the size of this female lion, and reminded of God's creativity. Next to the lion was a cage of three tigers. And last but not least are some very interesting creatures of the sea. They are my partners in crime when it comes to cleaning teeth. It is a known fact that they actually have a special dance that notifies fish that they are ready for business. The fish evidently line up for a tooth cleaning to prevent disease. It's called mutualism. So if you ever wondered how fish got their teeth cleaned... wonder no more. God sure had fun during the creation week. I am sure that we serve an incredible God!

nothing

Yesterday my mom shared some verses with me from the book of Jeremiah. "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: Is there any thing too hard for me." vs. 27 " Ah! Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." vs. 17 Wow! Thanks mom for sharing the truth of God's word with me.
A few weeks ago I went to the zoo with my family. I have decided that giraffes are very cute and nice. I love their floppy lips and long eye lashes. But the best part about them is their gentleness. We had a fun time feeding them in Battle Creek but it's still my dream to see them in the wild some day.
Still recommending Mott's. However, please do brush your teeth afterwards as there may be some residual affects from the natural sugars.

Drink Mott's

This delicious 100% fruit juice is new on the market... I think... well at least the flavor. Apple White Grape. Great advertising wouldn't you say!

the week

Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday DEAREST, MOST DELIGHTFUL SARAH...Happy Birthday to you....la la la and many more...la la la laaaaa...Thank you... ah thank you very much!

Sarah was unbeatable, unstoppable, and ladies and gentlemen... we just can't keep up with her!

My sister and I by Lake Huron. I'm grateful for the special time I got to spend with Heidi.

Christian and Heidi...a reflection of God's desire to have a love relationship with us. The Sabbath was just beginning...a reminder of the peace His love brings.

Campmeeting

Campmeeting. I loved being with my family.

Yeah for the trolley rides. I actually just jumped on for the picture.

We had the camper down in 2.5 after we solved this broom dispute. :)

I want to share something that my sister found a blessing from campmeeting and that opened my eyes after reading it.

I CHEAT YOU

I cheat you of love-

Because real romance demands sacrifice.

I cheat you of genuine friendship-

Because nobody's going to know the real you.

I cheat you of vision-

Because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window

I cheat you of knowledge-

Because you already know it all.

I cheat you of healing-

Because you're too full of me to forgive.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny-

Because you demand your own way.

I cheat you of holiness-

Because you refuse to admit when you're wrong.

I cheat you of God's glory-

Because I convince you to seek your own.

My name is

PRIDE

I am a cheater.

You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you.

Not true.

I'm looking to make a fool of you.

God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...

If you stick with me- You'll never know!

Family Reunion

My wonderful parents drinking their daily green/carrot juice! They are looking young too!!

My little cousin Cheyenne and I. She was having a great time roasting marshmellows.

This is Anthony roasting his hotdog at our family reunion.

At God's family reunion

Jesus Christ our Brother is on the throne

Family reunion

God has come to take His children home

Week at a Glance

AVALON. She is so sweet and cute. Fearless is also a good word to describe her. She went down this slide all by herself several times and then she went down head first, upside down and backwards!

CARROT JUICE. It's healthy, fun to make and well... 16 oz. per day will do me some good. My family has inspired me to eat more raw. SARAH, ME, and SHANNON. Happy Birthday to Shannon! Last Sabbath we enjoyed the beach. Lake Michigan is still ummm...cold. FOOTPRINT. It's nice to know that when life is a challenge and when it's not that Jesus carries me.

Old News

This post is past due but I decided to write it anyways. It's been over a week since my friend Joelle had her graduation party. I am priveledged to be one of her many friends and I really enjoyed spending time with her family too. We had a great time singing hymns and eating awesome cake which by the way is on the veggiehog blog. Then on Sunday after graduation we had some yummy Middle Eastern food and toasted with some Tabor Hill grape juice. It was all very festive. It's always proof of God's handywork when we get anything accomplished. He has all the abilities to do through us what we could never do alone. Lately I've noticed how strong His hands are and how much I need them to hold me close to Him. And to throw in another lesson. There are a lot of flowers around right now and I don't hear them discussing with each other about how they are going to survive. In fact, they are simply displaying the beauty they've been given to share. So with us... God has made us beautiful and it's for His honor that we can share it. One suggestion: smile... God is in control... He never fails!

porch time

A mid-week break is always good. We spent most of the time on the front porch playing games, making homemade cards, riding Anna's rockin bike and just enjoying the nice weather. Friends are so special, and I hope to spend all of eternity with them.

Demolition Central

So here are the before and after pictures. The green porch has been violently removed and things look much better now. Actually my neighbor Shannon and I had a great time ripping into that thing with hammers, saws, crow bars, ratchets, and a whole lot of sweating gurrrr....strength. Well anyways, we were working for 2 1/2 hours on that thing and finally it came off. So now I have a pile of porch waiting to be taken to the trash. Then yesterday we went to Home Depot to obtain some soffet (sp?). That was a first and much more tedious. Overall it was a great time and good experience. I think we will tackle the fence next. Anyone up for digging cemented poles out of the ground? Don't all jump at once!

stay tuned

Today there will be a special report regarding the removal of my all famous green corrugated plastic porch!

In the shadow of the Almighty

This is a picture of the Redbud Tree in my backyard. Yesterday as I was mowing my lawn, I noticed how beautiful it was. By the way, I decided to try mowing my lawn with this very interesting, old time mower deal that runs on pure muscle power ;) , and makes you sweat quite nicely. But anyways, the tree caught my attention and I count it a blessing because though it is shadowed by this huge ivy covered tree, it is still producing beautiful buds. There are many times when Satan tries to make me feel like I am in the shadow of other people but God says... No Way... you are in my shadow. When I am in God's shadow I produce beautiful buds too. There is nothing like watching new plants come to life. I am enjoying digging in the dirt so much and just helping my plants grow well. Speaking of flowers, my boss surprised us with six roses each today. He is so thoughtful. I was tempted to say how spoiled I feel here but I am blessed, truly blessed. God keeps reminding me of this...Thank you God~

for me

Everything Jesus did while on this earth led up to His heart being broken for me. There came a point in the story that He realized that our fate was hanging in the balance. He died because my sin and your sin separated Him from His Father.... that's why the Garden of Gethsemane was so painful for Him and there was no pain from the nails compared with the terrible feeling of being separated from God. That killed Him. But He was willing to go through with it because He couldn't stand the thought of forever living without us. It's no wonder that it is recommended that we spend a "thoughtly hour contemplating the life of Christ each day." EJW It really causes me to thank Jesus much more, from my heart, for the chance to live for His glory. Evenmore, it brings to my mind the times that I feel like I am suffering, but there's no comparison. "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow." Lately I have been noticing how out of focus my spiritual glasses have been. It's a good thing that Jesus has healed these types of problems before. He has been opening the eyes of my blind heart to see what really matters. Him. It's all about Jesus.

Louisa and Clarka

Yes we had a great time canoeing down the St. Joe River yesterday. First we had to carry the canoe 3 1/2 blocks, down a very steep bank and into the river. Luckily we stayed afloat the whole way. After about 1 1/2 hours of laughing, joking, peaking at some big houses (Mahummad's house), scaring the trout out of little streams and seeing all kinds of cool birds, we landed on Andrews Campus. Then we had to carry the canoe up this huge hill. I think we will be more sore from carrying the canoe than paddling. Oh well, we had fun and hopefully we can do it again soon. It was a blessing to be out in God's nature.

Just TAPE it!

So this morning I had a very interesting patient. He's actually a very nice man with an interesting story. First he informed me that he had a sore throat, just to make sure I was going to wear my mask. Then he continued telling me that he thinks it's because he was snoring last night. You know... mouth open... air movement... dry mouth... equals sore throat.? I don't know. Anyways, then the interesting part. "I usually tape my mouth shut at night for the sake of my wife." I wanted to laugh so bad but being a professional in the moment, I just decided to at least ask what kind of tape he preferred..." medical tape." Come to find out he and his wife both sleep better when he tapes his mouth shut, but last night he couldn't breath through his nose so off came the tape. By the way, I would not try this at home... I mean, that even eliminates talking in your sleep.

Love Comes Softly

Most of you who are well aquainted with me know that I am careful about the movies that I watch and that it's a rare occasion. Anyways, that being said I will tell about the movie I watched while visiting my friend in North Carolina and then last night with Heidi and Christian. Love Comes Softly...wow! It's a great story in the days of wagon trains, going west, and love that truly goes through thick and thin. Back then it seems that families depended on each other for everything, and everyone played an irreplaceable role in the adventure of life. Another thing I really liked was how much they trusted in God. Soooo..... if you want to watch an excellent movie.. I recommend it. Oh, and there's a sequel too. Enjoy!

The next day

This is it, Pedicure time! My first experience was a good one but I don't think my budget will be providing for this luxury. So after scrubing, waxing, oiling, massaging, and lotioning the lady finally set me free. Actually, it was great. Tonight we are grilling out. So we put all these veges, and some merinaded tofu on the shish-kabob and YUMMY! Now we are waiting to eat them. Of course I had to throw in a picture of the cute little Avalon girl. She is so much fun. Today we were having fun on the trampoline. Well, dinner time and I am ready ready to eat.

Carolina Sun

North Carolina is the place to be! Today we went to an equestrian center. We fed the horses and a cute little burro carrots . He had some dental issues as Lori puts it. By the way, Lori and I have been friends since the days of poofy bangs and tight rolled pants... not to mention several matching teal and pink coats. Anyways, we have come a long way! Oh, the other great thing is that the sun was in a good mood today. Hopefully we captured some rays. Then we ate some awesome homemade tomato soup and yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. It's a good thing that Avalon ate all of hers because she got her chocolate egg! Well, for more fun and adventures check back tomorrow. Some highlights will include a trip to the health food store followed by a pedicure. Wow! Vacation, oh and more sun minus the cancer. This has been Melanie ..... reporting from the beautiful state of North Carolina.