Isaiah 40:31

Today in Bible study I was thinking about Isaiah 40:31.

KJV:
31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
NAS:
31Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Other translations say "Trust" or "Hope". I wanted to know exactly what word this was. The Hebrew word used for "Wait" in this passage is "Qavah". The literal meaning of the word is "to bind together like a cord." The figurative definition of the word "Qavah" is "to wait, to hope, to expect."

Most people are familiar to the figurative meaning. But, think about the literal one...Think about the process of making a rope (cord) by twisting or weaving (binding) many strings together to form the rope. The more strands that are twisted or woven together in a rope, the greater its strength.

So what does "waiting" have to do with strength as it is listed in Isaiah 40:31.And what is the idea of the cord or rope? A rope's strength comes from the amount of strands it is composed of. A rope's strength is constant even when it is not being used. As strange as that last sentence may sound, it is actually the key to this verse. When a rope is not being used, what is it doing? The rope is "waiting." It "waits" for its owner to put it to use. When the rope is attached to a load, it draws its strength from all the strands and goes to work. So how exactly do we "wait" upon the Lord? A good idea is the one of the rope. A rope is made up of many strands and so is our relationship with God. The more "strands" that one weaves into our relationship with God, the more strength He gives to you.

A thank you to a Mr. Wickstrom for some good food for thought.

A house

So we made an offer on a house. They initially turned down our counter offer. Then they called back and asked if we were still interested. We renegotiated. It was a done deal. Our realtor and their realtor new it was going to happen! The owner called and said he was verbally accepting our offer! Then, they allowed our offer to expire. The current owner does not want to move twice. So since he could not get the home he wanted, he would not sell us his.

So again with a different way of not buying a house. I wonder to myself, do I blog about each home we make an offer on, or do I just blog when we are moved into the new home? Hmmm.

Give me your flowers....please

I love to garden. Next to family, it is my favorite hobby. Give me a day where the weather is about 50-55 degrees, a little cloudy with a breeze, my hula hoe, 2 good rakes, a shovel and a pitchfork and color me the happiest of people. Our current rental has been a good but challenging place to garden. It is .67 of an acre and most of it is landscaped. So I take it in thirds. So mostly, 1/3 of the yard looks good all of the time!

Gardening is one place where the Lord teaches me lessons. Isn't it wonderful there is even God's truth in gardening! Like about weeds spreading, overtaking and even killing plants-a lesson in diligence. Like pruning..how it is necessary for the health of the plants to cut off branches that are interfering with the well being of the tree-a lesson in pruning your own and your children's lives. Like the trillium, that takes 7 years to bloom-a lesson in patience. And so on...

So I drove by our previous home the other day. Spring is a beautiful time at the garden in that yard. The roses bloom early because of the direct sun and higher altitude. The roses were all gifts to mark occasions; first (and many following) mothers day and birth of first and second child. One rose smelled like pixie stix, some like oranges, others like the standard "Rose" smell, but VERY fragrant. There were 3 lavender plants that started blooming in May. The blue star creeper starts popping up between the stepping stones about now. A curly willow started from the first Valentines day arrangement Ryan bought me after we'd moved in. Honeysuckle from Ryan that attracted these beautiful green metallic hummingbirds. And a HUGE host of "Friendship" plants. Those are plants that reproduce and your friends have to give them away or throw them in the compost pile. We had shasta daisy, chickweed, and wood violet from Ryan's childhood home. There was calla lilly, jasmine, and several climbing plants from our first home together. Crocosmea from a friend I'd worked with. Ground cover, rose of sharon and iris' from my parents house. I love friendship plants.

It seems the current owners have different taste in gardening. So they took out all the landscape that was put in over the last 5 years. I am hopeful the plants all went to loving homes. I wish I'd left my number and a note that said "Any plants you do not want, call me and I'll dig them up for you". Oh well.

First real injury

Daphne had a little accident. She was at the bottom of a slide, and Luke went down. She was hit between the knee and ankle. She cried for over 30 minutes, and would not walk on it for nearly 3 hours. I was concerned. However, the next day she seemed fine, except for a limp. She had no swelling or even a bruise! She played on the swings and slide, ran around the yard, and even rode around on her trike. She was just grumpy that evening. I figured she strained a muscle.

The next 2 days went about the same, except she seemed real grumpy. The limp did not go away.

4 days after the accident, I took her in to get checked out. The doctor gave her a physical test in the office. She went on her tip-toes, walked, jumped, and it all did not seem to bother her. He thought she looked fine, but said he'd take an Xray. What do you know, she had a fracture. A torus fracture to be specific. He explained toddlers do not fracture or break bones the same way adults do.

Thankfully she does not need a real cast. I am happy I can bathe her! Her splint is also the same size as Luke's foot. So she can play outside, without getting mucky! Larger socks over the cast protect it from dirt. They are also a good disguise. She will sport this for the next 2-4 weeks, hopefully just that long!

Can't keep a little ball of energy down for long. She now runs through the house. She sounds like a pirate!

The doctor laughed as he told me to keep her from running, jumping and going down the slide. Daphne was spinning in circles in the office, as he told me this. What a tough little one!

Udderly scared!

We visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We went to the part that overlooks the factory and read about the history of the Factory. I noticed that Daphne was holding onto my shoulders tightly. She kept asking to go to the truck. When I turned around, she started screaming! It was because there was a life-sized, plastic cow and calf. I handed her to Ryan and caught a picture of her disapproval.

We found a cow she would pet.

This is Luke with the plastic calf.

Nehalem Bay

We traveled to Nehalem Bay to go camping. It was our first trip in our new camping trailer. It was so much fun. The weather was in the high 50's low 60's with plenty of sunshine.

Spotting a deer.

Stealing a kiss...Ok it was not really "Stolen".

Poor thing. Brother thought it would be fun to throw a sandball at his sister. It hit the sunscreen on her face and stuck!

Fell in the ocean

Smokey puppy

Even though her head looks big, she was as long as the spoon.

Smokey and Bandit, about 4 weeks after we brought her home.

Smokey's element

Our Smokey dog came to us about 8 years ago. When we brought her home she was 6 inches long! In her younger years she dug up rhodies, brought in bunches of grapes into the house (from the grapevine outside), and once brought in a dead bird and "Buried" it under our loveseat.

On her first vet check, we were told she was the product of a bad breeder. She has too long a spine, too short of legs, and demadectic mange (non contagious to all our doggy friends out there). The vet said we'd be lucky if she lives to be 10.

She has nearly died, or was almost put down SO many times. She had a severe allergic reactions to vaccines 3 times and had to have benedryl and steroid injections in doggy emergency. She ate an entire bowl of chocolate. She injured her spine (could not use her hind legs for over a month). She has eaten several poisonous things. She has also stopped eating for greater than 3 days on several occasions. Let's just say that the money we saved on her upfront was not worth the money we've had to put into her over the years! And she has food allergies.

Smokey now spends most of her time curled up resting in a towel by the vents in our house. She slowed down several years ago, after the spinal injury. She was also sad to lose her friend Bandit (our dog that had to go live with other friends because he started attacking baby Luke).

BUT...when she goes to the beach it is non-stop puppy energy all over again. Here are shots of her running back and forth. She also enjoys the laying in the hot sand and sunshine after a good run. Second to this is camping in the woods. She loves to track animals. But, she does not like how cold it can get.

Blackberries

The blackberries at our house are something else! Ryan wanted to burn the burn pile safely. So he spent about 3 full days cutting down small mountains of berry bushes. There is now a nice view of Mt. Hood! I am blessed to have a man who enjoys good, old fashioned hard work. He really was happy doing this!

Here are some pictures. The ground that looks like dirt (or pick-up-sticks)was covered in vines 7-10' high. Some of the canes were 3" thick! First picture is depth, second is width (I was unable to pan out far enough!), third is a close up of how dense the brush was.

Totem Pole perspective

Now for a story. When I was in my teen years, I worked at a medical clinic. It was my job to check patients in, get their blood pressure, and ask them how they were at the time of visit.

I called a patient that was in the lobby. She carefully left her seat. She had a limp. She excused herself for being slow.

"I'll get there, it just might take a little time".

I brought her in a room, and picked up her 50 something year old arm to get her heart rate. I looked at her hand. Her large, mangled fingers looked like a curly willow branch. The knots that had once been joints, were swelled to the size of a shooter marble. Some of her fingers were frozen. She wore a large plastic ring on her wedding finger. She was all aglow with smiles. When making small talk, she kept referring to "George". Clearly she loved him, as a special smile graced her face when she said his name.

I asked how she was feeling today. Most times when I asked this, I had people start to cry, or they'd say they were in pain, or didn't want to talk about it. She said she was doing great. I asked what her pain level was (This a a scale from 1-10. 0 being no pain, 10 being the worst pain you've ever had). She said it was a 7. Then she said something great:

"There's always someone lower on the totem pole".

What!?

I asked her what that meant. She told me that each segment of a totem pole, is like a person. There is always someone a little higher than you. There is always somebody a little lower than you. She told me she may have arthritis, but she is alive. She said she was blessed to be in her situation. That she was thankful to be happy (again mentioning George), thankful that she does not have a life-threatening illness, thankful that she can walk and drive herself places. She said "There is too much to be thankful for if anyone just sat down and thought about it".

She explained that things happen that seem bad, but you DECIDE to make them better. Kind of like "When life throws you lemons, make lemonade". She showed me her ring. She said this is the most beautiful ring in the world. I disagreed. It was plastic play jewelry. She said her arthritis had flared and her wedding ring had to be taken off. Her finger continued to swell, and she was never able to put it back on. She was unhappy about it. She and George went to the grocery store one evening. On the way out, there was a machine that had plastic rings for 25 cents. George told her to wait in front of the store. He came out with a ring and put it on her finger. He laughed and said "Here is a new ring for you!' She wore it as long as a knew her.

I must tell you the type of arthritis she had is an auto-immune disorder. People that have it as advanced as she, have a shorter life span. The last couple years they are alive, they are flat on their backs in horrid pain. They often die of infections. And she knew it! Yet...she considered her circumstance blessed.

I have never let this pearl of wisdom leave me. This concludes the story.

Maybe the conclusion of this story is....
"...And they all DECIDED to live happily ever after. The end."

Thank you Diane.

Having fun outside

Snow???

Three weeks ago it was sunny and about 68 degrees. The flowers were blooming, the bees were back. Then we had snow! You can see the camelia blooming in the picture of the back yard.

Train building during family time

Ryan, Luke and Daphne enjoy building together in the evenings. The children get their jammies on and have quiet time with Daddy. This train track they were all very happy with.

accidental gardening

A special necklace

Chloe and Lilly made a necklace for Daphne's birthday. She adores it! It is worn every day. We have to talk her into taking it off for bedtime.

Helping hands

Luke has taken to doing hardy yard work these days. He watches Ryan and loves to do hard labor. The grass in the yard is mostly crabgrass. The turf is full of mole or gopher tunnels. Very uneven. I have difficulty pushing this! I was impressed to see Luke mowing away.

Blasting imaginary bad guys

I will protect you Mommy! Do not be afraid!

Daphne's 2nd Birthday and Daphne facts

So little one is now 2. We enjoyed a small birthday party. She received clothes and a play kitchen. The kitchen was a hit for her and brother. I like that they enjoy each others toys.

She received 2 frilly skirts. I am a little nervous to go out in public with the second one! There might be a mob of people to comment on it!

She has become her own little person. She is a very physical child. She loves to run, jump, wrestle, throw balls and pounce. She likes to cuddle and enjoys caring for things. Daphne loves her Daddy! She enjoys playing with cars, trains, dirt, rocks, light sabers, and her brothers play rifle. Her favorite toy is her kitty. She likes the outdoors, even if it is cold, she doesn't mind. She also loves shoes. Her shoes, her brothers shoes, her Daddy's, every body's shoes.

Daphne enjoys her friends. She and her brother really like "Get me" and "Super Hero's". "Get me" is pretty self explanatory. "Super Hero's" is running around with capes and doing good things, and occasionally stopping the bad guys (those are always imaginary). We have the Carlson children over often, and she loves playing with them. There are hugs for Erika every week. And she squeals "Efan! Efan!" when she sees Ethan come in sight. The Hollenbeck children visit too. Daphne enjoys having a big sister type to help her and enjoys playing "Girly" things with Kyla.

She has an opinion on her clothes. Beyond loving the color pink (I don't like pink myself), she just likes things a certain way. This is odd to me. I don't really love it. Luke did not like tags sticking out or a rough material. She wants a certain kind of outfit. In fact, there was a sweater she just would not wear. I was sad because it was made of alpaca and was warm. I made her wear it about 10 times or so, because I thought she was ridiculous.

She is a singer. We taught her the ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle little star. She started mixing them up. Then we taught her Baa, Baa, black sheep. It is pretty funny to hear: "A, B, C, D, wittle staaaaaw. Ow I under utt you aaaaaaw. Ut above the world so high, H, I, J ,K, M, M, N, O, P. Yes, sir, yes, sir, EEEEE bags fuuuuuw. Winkle, Winkle, wittle staaaaaw, Ow I under utt you aaaaw."

Autie Elisha made up a new song. It is to the tune of Only You. You add in the child's name. So the song goes "Daphne, Roooooose. You are my Daphne, Rose" and so on. When you ask her name, she says "Da'ne Wose". She also sings the same tune to "Lukey, booooy, You are my Lukey, boy." She now calls her brother Lukey boy.