Glitches

In our society it is common for us to encounter glitches. Working with computers almost every day I have been in many programs and have learned how to work around a lot of computer glitches. If trying something several times doesn’t work then it is time to shut down and start again. On Thursday this was how my morning began. I got to work and started opening my programs and the main one I need for my job kept giving me error messages. I tried a few work arounds and they didn’t work. So I went to a different task working in excel and as I worked it gave me an error that it did not update what I had done, then screen turned white and finally popped back up but the last entry I had made was missing. I fixed and finished that task and decided to restart my computer and see if it helped with the other problem. When it came back up I went to my cell phone to call a coworker and my phone wouldn’t unlock, so I had to turn it off and then go back into it. I called my coworker to see if she had the same problem with the program and she did. As we talked we both got error messages trying to get into the program but then we tried another trick I had figured out from a previous glitch and both of us got into the program. So much fun.

Problems and glitches happen every day and we learn ways around them or we have to ask for help from professionals, sometimes they can help or give us another work around to get where we need to be. Sometimes they have no answers and have to ask someone else for help. I feel blessed that we worked this one out easily, sometimes it takes much longer and have to get many people involved to get problems fixed.

Just when we hope things will go good we usually find glitches and problems that can make us stumble if we let them frustrate us. If we learn from the glitches and problems we can handle them much better when they come along. It takes a lot of patience to just apply what we know instead of getting frustrated that there is a problem at all. I am not perfect at this but I hope through experience I will get better.

Right now we are slowly working our way through the glitches and problems related to building our house, it is much harder to not get frustrated when you are around it every day. I pray for Bob and all the other people who have daily problems with big tasks. Prayers help.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there who work their way through glitches and problems with their children every day! Enjoy your week and I will be back with more.

Steps

I have been disciplining myself to walk a minimum of 5000 steps a day, which for me is around 2.1 miles. I get up early and take Coco and Bob for a walk most days. Then at lunch I spend around a half hour walking around our parking lot. And then in the evening Bob, Coco and I go for another walk. It gets challenging when we get rain so we have to walk the road.

Everything we do takes steps whether it is walking, working, building or play. What is wonderful about all these steps is that if you are following God He directs them.

The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the Lord,

And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].

Psalm 37:23-24 AMP

I can’t tell you how many times I have stumbled into something that seemed to be purely by accident but turned out that God was directing my steps. Usually I just have a small question about something that doesn’t seem quite right and as I bring up my issue with my boss sometimes he will see deeper issues that need to be addressed and it turns out to be a good thing I stopped and asked about it.

God gave me a very curious mind which causes me to ask questions about things that sometimes turn out to be important. I think this is part of God ordering my steps and usually I don’t realize what is happening until it is over. So that is how I stumble into good stuff. It is me being directed by Someone much more powerful than myself and I am blessed to experience it in my life.

Enjoy your week and look out for times when you stumble into Gods steps. If you like, please share your stories with us.

Rainy Weather and Other Stuff

Rainy weather makes it hard to get things done in the yard. Bob managed to mow and do some other yard work on Monday before the rain started. The main rain event waited until Friday to arrive. We got 3 inches in our rain gauge on Friday morning. Then while we were out of town on Saturday, we got another 3 7/8″ of rain. There were some tornadoes that caused damage in areas around us, but our property had only a few limbs down. We inspected after we got home as far as we could go without having to walk in some pretty good-sized puddles and tall weeds that sprouted up quickly from the rain.

We had a good time on Saturday watching two grandsons play soccer. The oldest scored a point in the game and the younger made some great defensive plays. I was so glad we got to see them play. The wind was crazy strong at the game, which made it a little difficult to deal with. Coco got to spend time with their puppies, and they all seemed to get along pretty well. There was a little bit of aggression but most of it seemed in good dog playing fun. It was great to have a break from the house building and other stuff.

We have been looking for and buying tools and supplies to make building the house a little easier. I joked that Amazon is building our house. Shopping used to be more time consuming before the internet. And we find ourselves doing all kinds of research on the internet now for quick answers that you used to have to know a professional to get those answers but now they are a few clicks away. We know that not everything you see on the internet is true but with discernment you can usually find what you need.

The unfortunate thing about using the internet and computer programs that autocorrect is that you find yourself forgetting how to spell words correctly and when you try to hand write a word you wonder if it is spelled right. I remember back in grade school asking my teacher how to spell a word and she told me to look it up in the dictionary, the problem was if I couldn’t spell it I couldn’t find it in the dictionary. Trial and error got me through grade school for sure.

Isn’t that the way life goes. We slowly learn things eventually master them, then get lazy and forget how to do them until we force ourselves to learn again what we knew and use it. This is so true with faith. We can have slow introductions to faith in God and over time begin to walk in it building our confidence in our relationship with Him, then slowly we start drifting away and forget what we once knew. We have to wake ourselves up and remember why we believe in God and what He has done for us. On rainy days it is so easy to just sit and do nothing but with our faith we should always keep our eyes open actively watching and waiting for what is coming. Faith is not a passive belief but an active expression through words and deeds.

Stay awake, watch and pray or you might lose what you have. Enjoy your week and I will be back with more.

Our Best Painting Effort

I used to think that painting was easy, but I don’t anymore. I used to think that anyone can paint, but I don’t anymore. Over the course of our lives, we have spoken with different painting crews. One in particular talked a good game up to a point, but when it came down to doing a good job, they fall short. They told us that their way was a new way to paint. When we asked about how they prepped the surfaces before they paint, they admitted that they did not prep at all, they just painted. Sometimes the hardest part in painting is the prep work. If you don’t clean the surfaces that you are going to paint, the paint will look good for a while but then start peeling off because it did not adhere to the surface only to the dirt.

Bob and I spent about 7 hours this weekend painting more siding for the house. Our homemade tables are serving us well. We make sure each piece is clean and then I paint the grooves with a brush and Bob follows with the roller on the raised parts. We have it down to an artform now. Both of us feel the pains from painting and moving each piece to its drying place. But slowly we are getting it done. There is a long way to go, and so many jobs to do, a lot of them have nothing to do with the house but have to be done none the less. This is going to be a great house when we are finished.

All this hard work is going to pay off. If you want something bad enough you will take the time to do it right so it will last. Having a passion to do the best we can do seems to be something that is missing in some of our workforce today. Because of our faith and belief that God wants us to do our best, Bob and I are passionate about always putting in as much effort as it takes to get a great result no matter how long it takes.

I hope you will enjoy your week and do the best you can at what you do in order to glorify God. I will be back with more.

Fun in the Sun

Bob and I have been busy the last two weekends with some yard work. Even though we have a house to build we also have to take time to keep up with other projects. Keeping the lawn trimmed and building a compost pile were two of the projects. Lawn mowing is usually done mostly with the riding mower but this week I decided that it would be easier to get some areas with the push mower. We have so many bumps and holes in the yard it is treacherous at times and difficult with the rider. A couple of weeks ago we bought a smaller weed eater so I could help with the weed eating. So, I did what I could with it first and then brought out the push mower. I got a lot of steps in pushing that mower, but it made the riding mower job much easier.

Then since the push mower has a bag attachment Bob used it to gather up some leaves that have been deteriorating by a fence for a few years. Then he mowed some of the front lawn and some tall grass with the riding mower. Gathering the tall grass by hand was easier than having to dump the little mower each time. We took all of that and layered it starting with leaves then adding grass until we filled our two compost piles. Now with some time, turning as needed we should end up with some good soil to grow our garden with. This is a long-term project, but I am glad we have it going. We already have been throwing food waste in the compost and some of it is getting good enough to use.

We also purchased some peach trees and got them planted last weekend. Then Bob finished up by putting down some plastic and mulch around the tree to keep down the weeds. We both love peaches, so this is going to be great. We had a peach tree at our last house and really have missed it. I can’t wait to see how these peaches taste. The trees have small fruit on them already. My Easter lilies seem to have died in the bathtub over the winter, so I planted some althea bushes that my sister gave me in the bathtub. I can’t put them in a permanent place until we have more of the house done and I can landscape. I also bought a tomato plant that I am keeping on the deck. We love tomatoes, so I hope it works out good.

I feel blessed to be able to spend time outside working on the land that God made a way for us to purchase. Everywhere I look I see wildflowers blooming and many surprises coming up in different places. Trees are blooming and pollen is flying (don’t particularly like the pollen), butterflies are flying, and life is springing from every corner. I hope you have time to get outside and enjoy this spring that God has given us. When times are turbulent I find it relaxing to just spend time in nature. Enjoy this nature God and given us and I will be back with more.

Onward We Go

Windows on the backside of the house

Bob and I have been busy. Last weekend we spent most of our time working on painting siding for the back of the house. We finished the last sheets today. We figure if we put some there we can decide if we like it before painting all of it. In order to paint first Bob had to clear out the inside of the house, then we built tables to put the siding on to dry. We also had to make a table to paint the siding on. Bob got the big kitchen window mulled together and some of the lighter windows in by himself. We got some help from neighbors and were able to get all the windows put in. The mulled window was a bit heavy, but when you have help and a tractor with forks you can make short work of a heavy window. This is a big step forward.

Bob has also figured out how to fix and has been fixing framing errors left by previous hired help. When you are building a house every new part is built on the previous part and the first mistakes can cause a headache for the next area. It won’t be perfect the way you want it to be but hopefully you can make it work ok and look good. I have noticed that this is true about most things including faith. If you start out with a false belief about God you will struggle to be able to build a strong relationship and faith in God. So, you can find yourself relearning who He is before you can trust Him.

Some people see God as a horrible dictator who wants to do nothing but give rules and tell you what you can and cannot do. Then others see Him as love and accepting of everything we do. But the truth is somewhere in between. He is a loving father who wants the best for us so He gives us guidance and direction but lets us use our own judgment to decide which way to go. He corrects us when we go the wrong way but we have our own free will to make our decisions. No matter what we choose there are consequences, some good some bad. Both roads that can be taken in life lead to different outcomes. The good news is that if you find yourself on the wrong road you can change to the other one any time before you die to this life. It is all about where you will spend eternity when this life is over.

So if you really are not sure you know God as a loving Father I suggest that you read the Bible with a loving Father in mind. Who knows it could help you build your relationship with Him into a strong one. Enjoy your week and I will be back with more!

Snail’s Pace

From this wide

To this wide

Another week has passed, and this life goes on. We have stayed busy all week with many things. This coming week will be busy too. Bob managed to increase the size of the kitchen window opening to hold two casement windows. This will make the backside of the house more open to viewing the woods behind us, and make the whole house feel more open. We just purchased some of the siding and sorted through the siding we had already purchased a few years ago, now comes the job of painting the panels before we put them up. Once they are up, we will put the final coat of paint on after all holes have been filled. It sounds great and like it will be done soon, but reality is that this will take a while for us to complete but at least we are moving forward.

Sometimes in life it feels like we are creeping along at a snail’s pace but as long as we keep going, we are good. I think God smiles down on us when He sees us on the right road and making progress. I know that I always feel better at the end of the day when I know I have moved forward in my faith and in my physical work. I have been working on strengthening my legs and improving my overall health by making sure I walk every day. I started out slow with a goal of 3000 steps, then I upped it to 3500 and now I try to get 4000 steps or more a day. As soon as I have managed that consistently for 2 weeks I will up it again. For me slow and steady wins the race.

Setting and reaching goals really helps me be motivated to really live life and not just exist. I am trying to make my physical and spiritual health a priority in my life. I hope that you will consider this too. Enjoy your week and I will be back with more.

Fun, Fun, Fun

Bob and I have had some fun this past week. We got to spend time with three grandkids. The kids had fun. Rex had the most fun playing on the huge sandpile, digging tunnels and collecting way too much sand in his clothes. Boots from all the boys got so full of sand Bob had to hose them out and leave them outside to dry. Grace and I made a strawberry cream roll and in honor of St. Patrick’s Day we turned the whipped cream green. I was amazed at how much help she was getting out ingredients, pouring things into the mixing bowl, taking the tops off of all the strawberries and helping put all the cut strawberries in the middle. The most amazing part was watching the egg whites whip into peaks and turn from clear to white. I am always fascinated by that process and Grace liked it too.

Jack and I spent quite a bit of time with the metal detector and a large magnet getting screws and nails out of the driveway. Of course, we found some other treasures while we were at it. Once we heard a sound on the metal detector we had to keep digging until we found out what it was. The thrill is in the hunt. Jack also went on his own with the metal detector to find used metal casings. Those are extremely plentiful in the back part of our property. Both boys love collecting them, someday they may outgrow that fascination, but for now they love it. I love that things are getting cleaned up, so I will never stop them.

Bob worked on the posts for the porch of the house and reconfiguring a window opening this week. He still has a way to go before we can put in the windows, and he will be working on the posts to get them permanently in place soon. Everything takes time and patience. I am learning that as the days go by. I know that someday it will be all finished and I will be able to look back and be glad for all the hard work that went into getting it done.

Well now that the kids have gone back home, Bob and I are going to spend the day resting. We always enjoy the visits but need to rest up after they are gone. We got a little rain yesterday so we will be mushroom hunting for morrells as we walk around the property. It is fun to do and then we have something different to eat. I hope you enjoy this spring weather God is giving us. I will be back with more next week.

Worn Out

I tried to trim up my yucca plant but ended up stirring up an ant pile that was under some leaves. Four painful ant bites later I abandoned the job. But you can see from the picture I did get some of the bad looking and dead leaves off. At least one side looks better. And thanks to 2 of my grandchildren I had a great stool to sit on and kneel on as I worked.

The whole weekend has been busy. It is the first time I have mowed this year and so I had many little limbs to pick up before I could even think about mowing. I am too lazy to rake all the leaves so I just mowed over them many times making them good and small so they can return to the soil. Bob and I worked a bit on getting more organized which I am sure will help him with having more time to work on the house rather than spending so much time trying to find things. It is not perfect but it is a work in progress. Between cleaning yard and house I am worn out.

Coco was having fun this weekend. She got to go for a walk at the lake this morning when it was 24 degrees outside. Then as it warmed up into the 40s and later 60’s she spent time outside. Every little movement that she sees that she cannot recognize evokes a bark. I tried to explain to her that our neighbors have a right to walk around without her barking at them, but she barked all the more. We are all adapting really well with living in the same house. She loves to have little crazy sessions where she runs like crazy in circles until she is tired. It is fun to watch.

I love taking all I can to take care of Bob, Coco and the plants that we have in and around the house. It gives me purpose and enjoyment. I think God gets enjoyment when we care for each other and this planet. After all He created it and gave it to us to take care of. As the weather gets better and better I hope you find time to get outside and enjoy the beauty and care for the people and animals around you. I will be back with more.

This Week in My Life

We have had record high temperatures followed by frigid temperatures. I can’t decide what season it is. Our weather has become erratic and the fires in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles are consuming hundreds of thousands of acres. People are losing cattle, homes, ranches, farms and it is down right scary. I feel blessed that I am not in that situation but concerned for those who are. The devastation and effects of these fires will last a long time and do not just hurt those who work the lands but affect the food supply for many. Some people don’t understand the importance of farms and ranches to our very survival, especially those who have not been exposed to the facts that you may buy food in the store but the store does not produce the food. I believe that the majority of people in our country could not get by with out network of suppliers that we have right now. Interruptions in supply chains have been a severe problem since COVID struck and disasters just add to the trouble.

Bob and I worked together on the house today. We made some progress on the porch, but there is still much to do out there. At least I got to help and Coco got to supervise. Coco was so funny going up to the door areas and just being able to reach over the plywood to see what was going on outside. If you remember the 70’s she looked like Kilroy (a little character with just his nose and hands sticking over a fence). She did not like the loud noises but was extremely interested in where we were. She did not cry or bark just kept a good eye on us making sure we had not left the job site. I kept telling her that we are building her a really big house.

Just like life any progress we make in the right direction is good. So house progress or spiritual progress are both good. As I watched Coco get scared a couple of times this week I realized that twice she was just afraid of objects out of place or noises she did not know. One time there had been a lot of wind during the night and it had blown a large object about 10 feet away from where it was onto its side by our sand pile. When she saw it she did not recognize and would not go anywhere near it. I had to abandon walking that way to calm her down and Bob had to move the object when she was not around so she could walk that way again. Another time she heard a noise of tin rattling and it scared her, this time I calmly went to her and got her calmed down with quiet talk.

Isn’t God like that with us. If we stop when we are afraid He will calm us and help us see that He is there to comfort us in our trouble. His word can give us direction and peace. I can always find comfort and solace in the face of fears when I read Psalm 91. The whole Psalm is great but especially verses 10 and 11.

No evil will happen to you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels orders concerning you, To protect you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:10-11 NASB

I pray that you will find peace, strength and comfort in God’s word this week. Enjoy your week and I will be back with more.