Greater Things

I shared this song in an earlier post. As I think about what God has done here already & what is going on right now I am convinced that God is moving in a mighty way in our little corner of Nebraska. He has Greater Things planned here.

stir us up

So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,
Haggai 1:14

as i worked on my life journal yesterday, this was the verse that God used to speak to me. actually the whole 1st chapter about how we are to not just focus on "building" our own house, but give God's house the attention it deserves.

this concept is easy for me to relate to the building project our church is working on. but what stuck out to me more than literal construction was the fact that God doesn't want us to become too involved in our every day lives (jobs, families, friends, etc.) and miss opportunities to serve his kingdom.

what is so cool about this passage is the promise that God can & will stir the hearts of his people. i want him to stir my spirit.

Lord, stir the hearts of your people so we desire to serve you & your house. rearrange our priorities so they match yours.

funny feet

it really surprised me how many people couldn't tell whose foot it was that stepped in the paint. although, why would you be able to tell? most of you haven't studied the dillan family feet.

it made me laugh how many people asked me "so, whose foot was it?"

hmmm. should i reveal the real foot owner?

all i'll say is it wasn't mine! i mean, come on! i got 3 votes! whoever voted that it was my foot (i know who two of you are hd & bd) is crazy! how would i have taken that picture? do you notice that i'm the one that always has the camera? i'm not in the pictures because i'm taking the pictures!

you'll have to come see the size of the footprint on the floor to figure out whose it was. they'll remain for posterity. they are kind of cute, after all.

God of this City

I appreciate the meaning of this song especially as we build on to our church. I pray God uses that space to minister to our city...

duck your head

we've been ducking our heads under this precious "happ brda dad" sign for weeks. kamrie made it all by herself. i'm so proud of how you can sound out your words kam!

goose pit

it's time to get the goose pit ready!

we all went with grandpa & grandma dillan on sunday to check out what kind of work needs done on a new pit. the kids had a great time picking flowers & wanted to go into the pits so badly!

let's do a little clean-up first, please. a little mouse was staring out at brad & kamrie when they opened the door to the first one. the 2nd one hasn't been used in a few years (by humans...), so it'll require a bit more work this year.

cattle grazing around the pits, cooper loved driving so close to them!


checking it out


girls running to pick flowers


chloe


grandpa pete


cooper


grandma paulette helping chloe & cooper pick wildflowers


looking into the new pit


some creature lives here!


brad using a shovel to open the door. scared of what may jump out??


"when can we go in?" "i want to go in & see!"


parker & his loyal followers trying to pick a cactus without getting poked.

journey photos

here's our journey below the earth decorations. it's a fun series starring kit windswept & angus fetchenpepper, who are trying to find the treasure of pirate blue boots.

hot cross buns

after 4 days of band practice hunter wowed me with his saxophone skills. he could already play hot cross buns! i'm really proud of how he's taking care of his instrument & practicing on his own.

lil' cuddlers

we put our little sweeties in bunk beds to give them more floor space in their room. here's how they've slept the last couple of nights. i pray they'll always be best friends.

csi

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."Matthew 7:13-14

the stairs just after finishing

what i saw the next morning...seriously, broad is the road that leads to destruction (of my lovely linoleum)!

perfect csi crimescene--the "bloody" footprints!

it wasn't too tough to figure out the "victim"

narrow road

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Maybe this isn't exactly what Jesus was talking about, but it definitely is a narrow road to our basement tonight (sorry boys, hope you don't need to come upstairs). I'll let that paint dry & do the rest tomorrow.

novella

i've been enjoying francine river's sons of encourgagement novellas. these books, although they are historical fiction, really have brought these men in the Bible to life for me. it helps me picture them as real people with real feelings & thoughts.

school snacks

school snacks.

it's always a challenge for me to think of something creative that kids will actually eat & not cost a fortune to feed the whole class.

some of our favorites: swiss cake rolls--everyone likes them (except maybe the teacher), granola bars, cookies, cupcakes.

notice we aren't really into the healthy stuff?

chloe has snack tomorrow, kamrie has snack on friday & parker is supposed to take part of an edible plant part on friday. i'm glad they all fall in the same week so we can make one big batch.

we made nest-es. you know, nests? (kamrie says nest-es, it's so cute. hunter used to say the same thing, "mom look at the nest-es!") chocolate rice krispy bars shaped into bird nest shapes with jelly bean eggs.
we originally came up with the nest-es idea when parker's kindergarten class was hatching eggs. therefore the nest-es tied into their schoolweek.

kamrie's letter of the week is "g." not sure how the nest-es tie in, so if you have ideas for me (goose nest-es, girl-bird nest-es, etc.) you can let me know. her heart was set on the nest-es, so that's what we made.

Daniel

Beth Moore's study, Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy shows how individuals can live with integrity in today's self-absorbed society. Join Beth in a faith-building study of prophecy and learn how to shine for Christ in our modern culture. Just as the prophet Daniel faced unbelievable pressures—to compromise his faith, to live in a hostile culture, and to confront temptations and threats—today's believers face many of the same trials.

Oh Ladies!

I'm excited that I'm going to facilitate Beth Moore's "Daniel-Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy" beginning Oct 1. We'll meet for 12 weeks through Dec 17 on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 pm. (location tba)

I was privileged to take part in this study in Kearney (I sure appreciate you, Sonrise Friends!)last winter & it totally changed my perspective on our modern culture. It is a challenging 12 week study with homework 5 days a week. But don't let that scare you!! I looked forward to it each day & am anxious to go through it again. I encourage you to take part if you can.

There'll be plenty of room, so contact me if you can join us.

Journey

Tomorrow will be a fun day at SONShine Gardens as we start a new Elevate Series called "Journey Below the Earth."

If you are involved in Children's Ministries the Elevate curriculum, by Fellowship Church, is EXCELLENT. It is DVD driven with all the songs & curriculum on the DVD. Just plug & play!

I'll take pictures of the decorations tomorrow...

p.s. i forgot to take the pictures...next sunday

left thumb

just fyi, cooper is still sucking his left thumb although he can get his right one in his mouth now. he tried the right one this afternoon & went back to the left after a few seconds.

bzzzzz

cutting the cast (cooper made me help him cover his ears)

chloe all smiles waiting for cooper. she even waiting in the waiting room by herself while we re-xrayed.

yep, i want to take it home


jodi signing the souvenier cast


"they just bzzzz it right off," according to cooper.

cooper wasn't sure he wanted his cast off, but is pretty happy about it after the fact. he's still sucking his left thumb for now. he says it hurts to bend his elbow. it'll be interesting to see if that lasts or if he'll revert to the right thumb again.

magic

this stuff is magic for little girls' hair. put it on after washing & brush through. it saves many tears in the morning.

sweet baby kyla

thanks to jim-daddy for sending us a photo of beautiful baby kyla. can't wait to snuggle with that little one...

letters to the next president

this is a pretty cool site by north point ministries. check it out.

letters to the next president

laminin

this is a very cool video--part of a sermon by louie giglio. it's about 8 min long but very much worth it.

preschool

chloe's first last day of preschool was thursday. she had a great time. it's hard to believe she'll start kindergarten next year (therefore, the last, first day of preschool...)

3 phones...

i spent the day with 3 phones. i wasn't sure which one i'd get the call on about holly & jim's baby, so 3 phones & i redid the bathroom floor in the basement.

check out the before & afters.

after i'd peeled off the old, nasty, wet vinyl (it left the backing on the cement)

shiny new flooring

this is my 3rd attempt (3rd bathroom) at the peel & stick tiles. i'll admit i've improved each time. i use flooring adhesive so they'll stick (hope i don't have to attempt to take them off) & have finally figured out how to clean up afterward.

paint thinner.

now, you handy folk out there probably already knew that, but it took me until today to think of it. i tried something else last time & it didn't work. today it took off the extra adhesive no prob.

after years (probably literally) of wetness down there from sewer issues, the old vinyl really STUNK. it already smells better in there.

baby girl

congratulations holly & jim!

kyla hazyll
sept 8, 2008, 7:02 pm
7 pounds, 14 ounces
20 3/4 inches long

we're so excited to meet little miss kyla.

38

Happy Birthday Brad.

Thank you for your Godly example & commitment to our family. I love how we do life together.

so true

here's the card i got in the mail today from sonja.

couldn't have said it better myself! thanks friend. (our husbands just don't get it...) can we help it if we have a lot to talk about? we have to do it via landlines, facebook, blogger, email & cell phones.

did i miss any?

labor day getway

one word to describe labor day getaway this year?

relaxing.

even for the guys who usually try to golf 300 holes in 3 days.

we had a great time, even though we didn't golf quite as much as years past.

we decided this was a "transition" year, as it's brennon & twyla's first year to own dream valley golf course. it is no longer all play & no work over labor day.

they are doing a great job. al helps with handy-man jobs,mowing & pretty much whatever needs done. :)

we'd love to get down their with our kids sometime this winter. 12 hours in the car with 5 children. sound crazy?

it's so worth the drive to see our good friends.