Sunday is here

Before leaving for church this morning, park owners Ted and Donna were out taking pictures to update their website and wanted to take our picture.  We are enjoying this quiet park and are thankful that we found it.  I took a few pictures of my own.  Here's Ted and Donna.I missed the best photo opp when I stepped out of the Q and there was Donna on top of a picnic table with Ted's hat on taking a picture of the office and golf carts. (She was done and down before I could get my camera turned on.)If you are ever in the OKC area, check out the A-AAA RV Park, Newcastle, OK.

Went to church this morning at a church just down the road and it was really good to be worshipping with others.  I was excited to learn that the ladies are beginning a Beth Moore study on Tuesday evening. 

After church, we went to lunch.  Saw folks from our life here several years ago.

Spent the afternoon with Mama Trudy.

And tonight we attended a fellowship at the home of good friends. More than half of the people had left when I took these pictures.

It's been a really good day.

Joey and Sydney

Today, May 30, 2009, Joey Martinez and Sydney Lee were married at the golf course where Joey works.  Both are avid golfers, so the golf course was a very appropriate setting.

Tiny pine cones... maybe an inch long.Think Magnolias... can you smell the scent?  I can.The man of the day, groom, Joey Martinez, youngest son of Don's baby sister, Debby.The bride, Sydney and her dad, Jim Lee.Joey got a new golf shirt to get married in.  Notice their golf bags holding flowers.Something I had never seen done at a wedding before today and I really liked it: Sydney and Joey are pouring red and white sand into one glass container, symbolizing their two separate lives becoming one.A lid was placed on the container of sand and I'm sure this will find a prominent place in their home as a reminder of this day.  You would never be able to separate every white grain of sand from the red and as the container is moved around, the different colored sands become more and more mixed together, making it even more impossible to separate, just as we pray Joey and Sydney's lives will be.  So much symbolism here.  I love it.  Also, clever flower arrangement, huh?Listening to the special wedding music.The next series of photos represents my favorite part of the ceremony.  Sydney's grandmother, Janet Lee, stood with Joey and Sydney and read Sydney's favorite chapter from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13.  It was the sweetest thing I've heard in a long time.Right about now, I've got a lump in my throat.Now, I'm wiping tears from my cheeks.  Isn't she beautiful?[At the party at Debby and Steve's tonight, Janet came over and sat with Don and I and we got to visit with her and learn more about her.  She has seven living children and she travels around staying with each one for several months at a time, sharing her legacy with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She will be in Tucson this Fall with a daughter and we are hoping to see her again.  What a social butterfly she is... we're in love with her.]Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Martinez.It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding.  Warm, but with a gentle breeze blowing. Sydney and her maid of honor, her sister, during the reception.

Joey and Sydney, we pray you have a wonderful life together.  God bless you always.

Wow!

May 30, 2009 / Our Daily Bread

READ: Romans 11:33-36

Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? —Exodus 15:11

One blustery day in June, our family, holidaying in the Canadian Rockies, went to a tourist site that was billed as a “must see.” The cold wind made me reluctant to go on until I saw a group of people returning from the scenic spot. “Is it worth it?” I asked. “Definitely!” was their response. That gave us the incentive to go on. When we finally reached the spot, its beauty rendered us virtually speechless. “Wow!” was all we could manage.

Paul reached that point as he wrote about the work of God in saving Jew and Gentile in the book of Romans. Three things about God “wowed” him.

First, God is all-wise (11:33). His perfect plan of salvation shows that He has far better solutions to the problems of life than we are capable of devising.

Second, God is all-knowing. His knowledge is infinite. He needs no counselor (v.34) and nothing surprises Him!

Third, God is all-sufficient (v.35). No one can give to God what He has not first given to them. Nor can anyone ever repay Him for His goodness.

We can say with Moses, “Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11 ESV). What a marvelous God we serve! —C. P. Hia

By God’s grace I stand on tiptoe,
Viewing all His wonders grand,
Praising Him who freely gave me
Simple faith to understand! —Bosch

In God’s character and in His creation, we see His majesty.

Natty Flat, Texas and a Nice trip home

We were up early this morning, getting Leslie's pickup loaded and helping her get ready for her final trip to their new home.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the loaded truck.

Don and I said goodbye to Leslie and the kids and went to meet Mom and Pops Winklemann for breakfast out at China Springs.  It's always a sweet time with them.  The owner of Griff's where we ate, just returned from a trip to several countries taking pictures of missionaries and the work they're doing.  It was so interesting talking to Willie Gomez and listening to his heart. I wish I had taken notes. Don told him we need him on the board of CRM International.  Professionally, Willie is a photographer. 

So we took off on our back roads trip back to Oklahoma.  Many of the Texas towns still utilize their original courthouses and their downtown area is built around that courthouse on a square.  This is Meridian, Texas courthouse.  Glenrose, Texas.It's green and beautiful in Texas, too.Granbury Lake at Granbury, Texas.Grandbury Courthouse. Almost all of the old courthouses have a four clocks on each side at the top.Don spotted these buildings from a few hundred feet down the road and we stopped.  Actually, this is what he saw:  a GIANT rocking chair! Shades of Silver Dollar City... in Texas.  Only this "city" is privately owned.  Texas Hill Country Furniture and Mercantile is located on Highway 281 just south of Lipan, Texas.  96% of the furniture sold here is made here and it is beautiful.  Don and I decided this is where we would furnish our next home, should we ever purchase real estate again.  They even had a "hoof footed" bathtub made of wood... beautiful.  No picture taking was allowed inside, but check out their website by clicking on the name above.We were told this is the newest addition.  A horse made to scale out of horseshoes.Porch swings, lawn swings and ...rocking chairs galore and they are solid.Shades of yesterday.  I love that these antiques are being preserved for future generations to see.The replicated old buildings were great.Here's a side view of the Natty Flat Smokehouse.Need a wagon wheel?A nice little bridge over the "draw."

As you can see, this giant chair is almost as tall as the utility pole behind it.  It is the world's largest cedar rocker measuring 29'-9 1/2" tall and it is appropriately named The Star of Texas Rocker.

All along the front fence are old farming relics such as this buckboard... and this cottonseed planter... and this piece of equipment that I need to ask my mother about.The prickly bear cactus are beautiful in this part of Texas.On the famous porch of the furniture store and mercantile.A windmill and water cistern to store the pumped water in.  The red barn in the back is where a lot of the furniture is built from logs.Natty Flat Smokehouse where we purchased yummy homemade fried pies: apricot and cherry cream cheese.We spent at least an hour at Natty Flat, Texas and enjoyed every minute of it.A "going down the road" scene to my right.In Mineral Wells, Texas, this is the famous Baker Hotel, now closed to business but open for tours.  The history of Mineral Wells and The Baker Hotel and Spa is quite interesting and many well known celebrities have registered here.  The City of Minerals Wells is trying to save this building.  Check out the office Baker Hotel website:  http://www.bakerhotel.us/Back out in the country.Snookie.... just for you.In Jacksboro, Texas I saw this S & H Green Stamp sign down the street... got so excited and then got this great picture of a telephone pole!! Arrrgh.When we stopped for gas, this little fellow was very friendly, waving and smiling at me.  Nice cap, huh?The entrance to a paint horse ranch.  I missed getting a picture of all the paint horses, but this one stood very still for us going past at 65 miles per hour. The Red River under Highway 81.Back in Oklahoma.