Be Still and Know...Then and Now

I may not be deadline driven or win any medals for efficiency but I do like to think that I have retained some ability to follow through with the things that I start even if it takes me a very long to time to see it through to completion. This final installment in our summer vacation post has been lounging around in my drafts folder all summer long and finally after many long days of being neglected, plus the DD is making pancakes for breakfast and I was wasting time on the computer anyway so I thought I would give it a go. So here it is the FINAL 2010 Summer Vacation post! We hit the Petrified Forest on the last leg of our vacation. It is just outside of Phoenix which was our destination to catch our flight home. I was not sure what I was expecting but it was defiantly the last amazing jewel in our vacation crown so to speak. It was AWESOME! The colors, the amazing beauty, the vistas were simply inspiring.  On 07/01/10 we made it to The Petrified Forest National Park . It is...

I have a love hate relationship with the concept of change. I think if you are honest with yourself you will agree that a general rule we like things to stay the same. I like change in some things. I love the change of seasons (except for maybe winter) and I love changing things around in my house from time to time. I enjoy a new recipe every now and again from the same old same old dinner fair. These changes seem to bring with them a refreshing perspective from what had become tired and everyday. I even like to think of myself as a forward thinker, someone who is not stuck in a specific patterns of behavior. To change things up a bit I put turnips in my pot roast the other night. I had never fixed them before and hey ya just never know. (for future reference we will not be adding turnips to the pot roast again, not a good thing in my opinion) anyway I took a leap of faith with my small bag of turnips and now I know that I am not a huge fan of this root vegetable. I have...

With each day that pass there is change, however there are things in life that do not change, traditions that continue on though out the years that hold us together and give us the roots that we cling to. For 176 years people have gathered for Campmeeting. It happens every year on the third week of July. I have been participating in this tradition for the past 14 years. For me it is simply one of the most amazing opportunities for worship, fellowship and true communion with God that I have ever experienced. It draws me back year after year. If you have never experienced a Campmeeting then in my opinion you are truly missing one of the most unique worship experiences available. In earlier times entire families would pack up all their belongings and trek miles and miles to participate in Campmeeting. It was the middle of the growing season and they did not have to be tending there fields, they would load their wagons with food, blocks of ice, butter churns, wash tubs with their cows tied...