Author Archives: Ellen

Is He Worthy?

This is a powerful worship song to our Lord. We have been learning and singing this song in our church service in anticipation of being able to sing it well during our church dedication service coming up in September. We have been meeting in the gym of the local community college all summer while our sanctuary is being remodeled, adding room for 100 more seats and a baptistery. We are excited to see what God will be doing in the years to come at First Baptist Colville.

The Buck Stops Here…

…this buck did stop by this morning for a nibble here and there in our brush.

I thought his coloring was interesting.

We borrowed our son’s tractor and Dear got a great start on getting rid of some piles of rock and dirt depositing the piles into the drained pond.

We still have lots of room for more dirt in the pond. The piles below are all leveled out now.

While watching the tractor work I zoomed in on some late blooms in the yard that are waning with the end of summer.

It was a hot day on Wednesday and I’ll wait to finish some summer weeding on Thursday morning. Mornings have been very cool here these last days of August. After the last of the weeding we are spreading some bark in an attempt to diminish the huge pile of bark left by the former owners. We are swiftly approaching our 1 year anniversary of owning our Country Bungalow. Now that we are more settled I’ll pay attention to the next four seasons of life here to determine which is my favorite at our Country Bungalow.

A Full Sunday and Goodbyes…

 

Sunday breakfast was more casual and simple since we were all getting ready to go to church together.

Herb captured this photo of our breakfast gathering. Yogurt, granola, bran muffins and cinnamon rolls.

I drove the “girls” to church and Dear drove the guys. Lovella captured this selfie of the “girls”. Pastor delivered an inspired message on the Preeminence of the Word that motivated many good conversations through the rest of the day. “We know where we are headed, Being real is Not an excuse for sin, We wrestle until we are transformed, we submit ourselves to an Absolute Standard” Once again we were in awe on how the Holy Spirit delivers congruent messages all across the globe.

After church we all gathered at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Chewelah, El Ranchito. The waitstaff entertained us and took good care of us. Straight from lunch Herb and Anneliese said goodbye and headed to their border crossing which would close at 5PM. The rest of us took a more scenic route home to enjoy more of this part of Washington State.

Home again to our front yard campground we were all talking about all the food we had enjoyed and decided a hike would be in order.

We headed to nearby Douglas Falls Campground and hiked. Back home we refreshed and later enjoyed leftovers from our previous meals.

Monday morning dawned with pack up activity as all the campers would be heading out after breakfast. We enjoyed an egg scramble, some leftover bran muffins and toast.  Bev has taken up sketching and we got to see some of her art work. She is gifted.

We suggested copies of this work of art for Christmas!

Final conversations and goodbyes.

It was sad to see all the campers head out to the road.

Dear and I had our cup full from all the good times. Our guests left us gifts that will remind us of our epic camping experience with these Mennonite Girls and their hubbies.

We have found some perfect spots for the barn wood, barbed wire cross, the windmill bird house and ceramic plaque.

We were also gifted certificates for a couple more meals at El Ranchito! This is a generous and thoughtful group. Having this group at our home was gift enough but we appreciate their thoughtfulness that goes the extra mile.

Come again, come often! God be with you till we meet again.

Birthday Fun on Saturday…

When Herb and Anneliese arrived to our camp on Saturday morning we all greeted Anneliese with Happy Birthday to You in song. It was a good beginning to a very full day. The day was full of food, fellowship, music, playing, shopping, more food, and it was all capped off with so much laughter that many of us were in tears, happy tears!

Dear made his famous Swedish pancakes on Saturday for breakfast and the pancakes, smoky links, fruit, sour cream and real maple syrup hit the spot.

Our Colville kids arrived late morning to meet our campers and Addy and Lovella delighted us with beautiful piano music, well mostly Lovella. We enjoyed singing some hymns and Sunday School songs that Lovella played from heart and from hymnals and other sheet music we had on hand. Glorious! Addy was very comfortable with each of the girls and invited them to play with her in “her room”. We hope she realizes that the room is JJ’s, too.

The guys enjoyed peppering our son Dan about his work. There are always tales to tell. Bev captured the following photos of me and Addy. Thank you, Bev.

The guys jumped in their car and the girls jumped in our car and we headed to downtown Colville to do some shopping. The girls enjoyed the end of the Farmer’s market and a few other shops on Main street before we headed home for appies. The guys ended up in Kettle Falls and enjoyed a “snack” at Backyard BBQ before they headed back to our campsite.

Harv and Bev made their famous Coconut Prawns for our Saturday dinner appetizer and Lovella added her mango salsa.

 

Forgot to take a photo of all the goodies we had for dinner. Marinated Chicken thighs off the Traeger along with an amazing rice, bean and veggie salad that Anneliese, the birthday girl, made. Lovella made scalloped potatoes and Judy made coleslaw. Judy also made a beautiful Raspberry Ripple cake for dessert.

We sang again to the birthday girl and then the laughter started. Terry got us going with hilarious stories recounting the day and other stories from days gone by, some real and some fictitious.  Pretty soon we were drying the laughter tears from our eyes.

Laughter is good medicine and we had an amazing jolt of that medicine this night. I’ll never forget it.

So happy that Anneliese’s birthday was filled with the best kind of fellowship and laughter!

Here we go into the last week of August. Are you ready for September?

Thy Hope for Eternity ~ Hymn

Thy Hope For Eternity

O, what is thy hope for the future,
And what of thyself canst thou say?
Art thou coming repentant to Jesus,
Or grieving the Spirit away?
Art thou building a house that will perish,
Or one that forever will stand?
Remember the fate of the foolish man
That trusted the sinking sand.

Refrain

The blood of the crucified Savior
Was shed on the cross for thee;
But what is thy hope for the future,
Thy hope for eternity?

O, what is thy hope for the future?
’Tis time thou shouldst think of thy soul,
When the moments like arrows are flying,
And the years, oh how swiftly they roll.
Art thou storing the lessons of wisdom,
So patiently taught by thy Lord?
Or carelessly treading beneath thy feet
The pearls of His precious Word?

Refrain

Say, what is thy hope for the future,
And where is thy haven? O where?
Art thou nearing the harbor of glory,
Or nearing the brink of despair?
While the Savior still waits to be gracious,
Make haste, and His pardon implore;
Make haste, or the mercy that warns thee now,
Will plead with thy soul no more.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

ht: Cyberhymnal ’96

Mennonite Girls Can Camp or…

…glamp.

Glamping: Glamping is a portmanteau of glamorous and camping and describes a style of camping with amenities and, in some cases, resort-style services not usually associated with “traditional” camping.

Dear strung a clothesline between two of our trees out front and I gathered up every apron I own to hang on it along with a welcome sign for four of the Mennonite Girls who would be arriving along with their husbands from British Columbia for our first MGCC RV Resort Camp in our front yard. It was so much fun to see the campers turn into our driveway.

The three with campers/trailers picked their spots and set up their sites. Anneliese and her husband stayed at the nearby Comfort Inn but joined us for all the festivities.

They pulled into our drive shortly after the campers got settled.

Once we had everything set up hands came together for appies. Anneliese threw together a big bowl of guacamole. She also had some spreadable brie with hot jelly for crackers. Bev put out some sugared salmon.

We enjoyed our appetizers out back on the deck and under our sunshade.

Then it was time to fire up the Traeger.

Dear prepared and grilled tri-tip.

Lovella made a Capreze salad. Judy shared some buns. Bev prepared asparagus with garlic and a buttermilk dressing along with Parmesan cheese. It was clear that no one would be hungry on this camp out!

Lovella finished off our meal with piroshky baked in her trailer oven. The meal was a great collaboration and it was delicious. Definitely glamping!

And that was just the end of our first partial day together!

We were full to the brim with good food, good friendship and good fellowship. We said goodnight with plans on breakfast starting at 9 AM Saturday morning.

Jaymison 4 Months!

Our little JJ turned 4 months on Friday the 16th of August. This was a very exciting day in our little family’s life.

We love you so much little guy. Your smile melts our hearts and makes us smile, too.

Besides it being a hallmark day for little Jaymison, documenting the months of his first year, it was family reunion time. Daddy had to be away for work in another part of the USA for a full month and when Addy saw him appear from the security section of the airport she clung to him with joy. All is right with her world again. God is good.

This mama had her hands full for a month and was a supermom for her little ones. Aunt Lolo came to help during a couple of the 4 weeks. What a blessing she was to the family.

Speaking of Auntie Lolo, her and Josh were at a family reunion in Wisconsin with Laura’s Dad’s side of the family on this same weekend.

All of this excitement was happening as 4 of the Mennonite Girls and their hubbies arrived at our Country Bungalow for the weekend. I’m busy gathering the photos and thoughts about the time we had together and will post about it soon.

From the Cross to the Crown ~ Hymn

From the Cross to the Crown

Be strong and courageous whate’er may befall,
We know our Redeemer will answer our call;
Tho’ sorrow and trials are weighing us down,
Yet hope looks away from the cross to the crown.

Refrain

From the cross to the crown let us follow our Lord,
From the cross to the crown let us cling to His Word;
Tho’ sorrow and trials are weighing us down,
Yet faith leads us on from the cross to the crown!

His cup of affliction was filled to the brim,
And are we not willing to suffer for Him?
The robe of His glory for us He laid down,
To show us the path from the cross to the crown.

Refrain

This life is a conflict, a battle with sin,
Yet trusting in Jesus thro’ grace we shall win;
The world may oppose us, the tempter may frown,
Yet faith leadeth on from the cross to the crown.

Refrain

Tho’ friends that are dearest have gone from our sight,
’Tis only to enter the mansions of light;
Their warfare is over, their burdens laid down,
How short was their path from the cross to the crown!

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

ht: Cyberhymnal ’96

My Brain is Full…

Lots of good things weighing on my brain and buzzing in my ears.

I’ll be back next week to fill you in on all the excitement around our Country Bungalow!

Here’s a quote I’ve been contemplating from Spurgeon:

If we believe God’s Word, we are orthodox; if we practice, we are holy.”

The Bible is the great umpire as to conduct, and not the changing moral sentiment of passing generations.

Pray God to order your life according to His Word. To this Word we must be conformed. This is our copy to write by; this is the image to which we must be modeled. 

Sprugeon has a way of speaking the truth that gets under my skin in a good way.

See you all next week…I’m seeing real well by the way! Not one floater interfering with my vision. I’m thankful!