"A Closer Relationship"

"Do you have a closer relationship with Jesus today than you did last year?"

This was a statement made just recently...and it got me thinking. When I try to answer that question, it makes me discouraged in a way. I know what this man was trying to say...but it still discouraged me instead of encouraging me.

In order to answer that question, I have to compare. Compare my relationship with Christ today to the relationship I had with Christ a year ago...or ten years ago. I don't like that.

You see, we are all just flesh. Even though I am a saved, blood-bought child of God, I am not sinless. I have good days and I have bad days. No one is perfectly consistent.

I just finished up the book of Isaiah this morning and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would find myself anticipating the mornings...to drink my coffee and read the book of Isaiah. No, I am not just saying it because I am a pastor's wife. :) That is the honest truth.

You know what else is the honest truth? There are days that I don't feel like reading my Bible. And to be honest again, there are days here and there that I just didn't read my Bible.

So to ask myself..."Do I have a closer relationship with Christ today than a year ago?" I don't know. And I won't be finding out.

I take my personal relationship with my God one day at a time. Frankly, that is all I can manage. :)

You see, you will find that when you are trying to "reach for the goal of having a closer relationship with God"...you will find at the end of that journey...you will be closer to God. And that my friends - a close relationship with God - is the sweetest reward.

Monday and more...

Whew. Busy start to the week! Sunday evening, a group of our church family went to a revival service at Grace Baptist Church in Fernley, NV. We had a total of 28 of our folks drive out for the service and that blessed my heart. :) I met a nice young woman at the church named Crystal and we talked for quite awhile. However, at the end of the night, I started getting a headache and on the way home, threw up. As soon as we made it home, I went straight to bed...thankful that my husband could take care of the kids.

Monday morning, my headache still persisted and I scheduled an appt. to the chiropractor for that afternoon. Problems with my back and neck are usually where my headaches originate from. So Monday was a rather rough day and I was not able to accomplish my regular Monday duties. After my chiropractor appt., I took Sierra to her yearly check-up at her doctor. She had so much fun just being with me by herself. :) We then went home and had a late dinner of tacoes.

Today was much better and I got quite a bit done. I did quite a bit of yard work...mowing and trimming the lawn, putting out the garbage and recycles for trash day, watering the lawn, pulling the weeds out of the side area in front, sweeping off the walk, tying up my overgrown tomato plants and then tackling the house.

My neighbor brought over a batch of his beef stew and it was such a nice surprise! I made peach cobbler and brownies about 5:30pm...peach cobbler makes the house smell so yummy! We then had our monthly youth worker meeting at our home at 6:30pm. Everyone had peach cobbler or brownies with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Along with a hot cup of coffee. :)

After our meeting, we caught the second half of Biggest Loser. Now I shall head to bed. Have a great night. :)

On the Palms of God's Hands...

Lately, I have been reading the book of Isaiah. I mentioned it to my husband and he said, "Heavy, huh?" Yes, some parts are quite deep with prophecy. But I always forget how many great little nuggets are sandwiched between the deep parts!

One of the passages I read was Isaiah 49:14-16...

"But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me...(The Lord speaking)...yet I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands..."

Amazing! Are you feeling forsaken? Are you feeling forgotten? The Lord will not forget you. He has written your name on the palm of His hand! You know...that little thing that we sometimes do so we won't forget to do something. We write it on the palm of our hand.

Can you imagine God's palm? It is mighty big...big enough for each of His children's names.

He hasn't forgotten you! I have a friend that her vehicle is no longer repairable and she is in need of a new vehicle. I have a friend that is having chronic pain and has no answers. I have a friend that has an unsaved husband. I have a pastor's wife friend that just found out she has cancer. I have a friend that is only 30 and has only months left to live. My dad just found out that his place of employment is closing and he will be unemployed after 24 years of working there.

The Lord will not forget you, my friends. He has YOUR name on the palm of HIS hand! You are loved!

Visitation and Dates...A Perfect Saturday

I don't have any pictures but we held our first day of our church visitation program last Saturday. Everyone met at the church and enjoyed a donut and juice. We had prayer and went to a nearby neighborhood and placed church postcards on doors. We had 16 including adults and children and what a blessing! There is just a feeling of working together for Christ that can not be replaced. Thank you to all that came out and supported our pastor and church! It means so much to the cause of Christ!

And praise the Lord that we had a visitor the very next day...someone that received a postcard on their door and came to church! We also had another visitor who lives nearby that saw our church sign and decided to visit. We had a third couple who visited because of hearing Pastor Eric do a wedding two weeks ago. Praise the Lord!

After visitation, we got my mom her first In & Out burger. Praise Jehovah for In & Out. :)

We then took mom and the girls home and my hubby and I went for a LONG date! I love when she visits. :) It was so relaxing and enjoyable.

Sunday Happenings...

A few highlights from Sunday at Sierra View...

Mrs. Terri-Ann Nuckolls (on the right) joined our membership! We are so happy to have her in our church family. :)

New outfits for Sunday from Nana...perfect for fall weather coming. :)
Miss Kayla, one of our teen girls, played the offertory with me with her violin. She did an excellent job!

The SVBC teens held a car wash fundraiser Sunday afternoon and raised $180.00 for the youth fund. :)

Old and New Traditions...Pedicures, Shopping and Olive Garden

Monday was the last full day of my mom's yearly visit. It went SO incredibly fast this year. :( I always have her week planned out when she comes with activities, meals, etc. Many things we have done is our little traditions. One of these is to go thrift store shopping and have lunch at Olive Garden on the last Monday that she is here. This year, we did that and also did a new thing...we both got pedicures together! This was actually both our first pedicures and it was so fun to share the experience together. :) We might have to add this in to our Monday traditions. :)

The rest of the girls went to the babysitter's so it was just Mom, me and Addie. :)

Sunday Dinner...

A few pictures from Sunday dinner at Texas Roadhouse. :)Nana, Autumn and Addie

Sierra and me

Papa Tastet and Nana Holt

Eric and Sierra

Summer Lyn

Summer's 1st Birthday!

Friday was Summer's 1st birthday. We celebrated with a birthday meal at Papa Vern's house. I made family-favorite meatloaf, cottage mashed potatoes, cornbread corn and pineapple cake dessert. It was a fun time with friends and family...yet a sobering time as we were in the air race traffic driving to Papa Vern's...after the horrific crash just an hour earlier.

Happy Birthday, Summer Lyn! :)

Reno Air Race Tragedy 2011

*This is a news article regarding the crash at the Reno Air Races which I am sure most of you have heard about on the national news. I took my mom, father-in-law, and our four daughters on Thursday to the races. This happened Friday-the next day. Living so close to the airport, we heard the sirens for several hours and traffic was nearly stopped trying to leave. We thank God for His protection and for His grace for the families of the families who were injured or killed. I believe the total has risen to 9 dead.

A spectacular air race that drew tens of thousands of spectators Friday transformed into a horrific war scene after a veteran pilot crashed his vintage plane on the tarmac just feet away from VIP box seats, forcing officials to cancel the remaining two days of the event.
Early estimates were that three people, including pilot Jimmy Leeward, 74, of Ocala Fla., died in the crash at the Reno National Championship Air Races. But that number was likely to increase, based on witnesses who described the scene as “carnage.” At least 58 were injured, with 12 in critical condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board took over the investigation Friday evening. A three-person team was already at the Reno Stead Airport, where the air races take place, in case of a crash. This was the first fatal crash at the air races since 2007, when three pilots crashed during the event. This was the first crash in the event’s history to involve spectators.
Witnesses said the pilot appeared to lose control of his P-51 Mustang called the Galloping Ghost due to a mechanical malfunction, and he put it into the ground instead of keeping it on the path into the stands, potentially saving hundreds of lives.
“He was a very experienced, talented and qualified pilot,” said Mike Houghton, executive director of the air races, which have been in Reno since 1964.
Leeward had been flying since he was 14 and had competed in the air races since 1975. His medical records were up to date and his flying history was clean, Houghton said.
The plane disintegrated on impact, sending shrapnel into the crowd and tearing limbs off bodies, while the blast from the explosion ripped clothes off some spectators, witnesses said.
Gov. Brian Sandoval, who arrived Friday evening at the airport, said this tragedy was tough for Northern Nevada, just having experienced a mass shooting in Carson City that left five dead, including the gunman, and seven injured.
“I did just visit the site and it is horrific,” he said.

Reno Championship Air Races 2011

Thursday, we went to the Reno Air Races which is held every September right out in the area we live. We were able to walk to the races. It was our first time and it was awesome!
Summer-1 day before she turns 1 year old! :)

The girls visited the Jelly Belly booth and got hats and Jelly Belly's.

This was a neat part...a semi truck and a plane racing!

This was jumpers who parachuted down to the stands-one had the American flag waving and we all stood with our hands on our heart while they played the Star Spangled Banner.

Autumn, Summer, Sierra, Mom Holt, Papa Tastet and Addie.

The Thunderbirds! So very neat!!

Just amazing!

During the show, you could walk around the parked planes and look at them all. Here is the girls in a helicopter.

A Navy plane for Papa who is a Navy veteran. :)

A model of the oldest plane that was built in 1911.

This plane was huge!

The inside!

Outing at the Animal Ark

Wednesday, we went to the Animal Ark outside of Reno. Well, we actually drove to the CA state line, turned around and came back to NV before we found the right road. It is out in the middle of nowhere. :) Even though it is a small facility, we were impressed. They have many large cats-tigers, cheetahs, bobcats, etc., black bears, etc. What is unique is that all the animals would have been euthanized because they would not been allowed to be released into the wild. Perhaps they were orphaned as babies and were taken care of by humans-they would not have been able to live in the wild again. Perhaps they were used in movies and films and such...and it destroyed their temperment...they would not be able to live in the wild again. The Animal Ark takes such animals -and takes them into their care.
So even though it is not a large facility, the staff truly care about these animals. They will stop and take 10-15 min. and talk to you about each animal. I think that was what was special.

This is a falcon. This type of falcon is the fastest living thing in the world. It can reach up to speed of 230 miles per hour. This bird is actually blind in one eye. It was beginning to lose sight in the other eye. A group of vets got together and did surgery on the bird's eye and was able to keep its eyesight. All they charged was a box of Sees candies. :) Amazing! In this picture, she was feeding the falcon quail for his lunch.

This was Sierra's favorite-the tortoise. :) He was an active little guy!

It was a great outing! What a great time at the Animal Ark!