Joni467's Xanga

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:21:31 GMT

Yeah.. good movie. watch it. It's about moving on after loss. It's about overcoming the stranglehold of grief; And I guess it is also about trusting that tommorow can be bigger and brighter even if there is only one win this season.

This ones for the boy...

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:30:50 GMT

This one's for the girl...

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:55:17 GMT

Tell me it's good enuf.....

Moving...

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:03:49 GMT

It is time to move on from this sight and begin afresh in a new place. It all goes with a new husband a new house and a new life. Ya know.. God has been Good to me. He fed me manna in the wilderness and brought me to a new land. I have so much to be grateful for.. and I am.

I needed forgiveness... and now I also need to forgive. I see that as the one thing I can do to show the Lord my gratitude. It's cool.. to be able to really give God a gift. Our works are lame... but surrender of the heart is of great value to the Lord.

I love this verse: "And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it, for in it's peace you will have peace." Jeremiah 29:7

As I read the commentary Brother Ken sent me (THANKS KENNY!) by Derek Kidner on Jeremiah it made me realize something more. God was asking Israel to embrace thier land of exile and pray and support and help the very people who sent them into exile. By doing so.. they would have peace.

Israel didn't know that in Babylon Kings would find the Lord and great visions would be given an Israelite that would speak through the ages. They only knew to accept this new land and care for it and pray for thier enemy.

Well anyhow... you may find me here now: http://joniluvschachee101.blogspot.com/

with my computer savvy-ness-less (word) it could be a while before I am profound at posting to the new sight. But I will get there eventually! C U!

EEK!

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:33:41 GMT

Bethany and Matt are about to be eaten by a T Rex!! Wait.. this information here says they are actually scavengers. Whew!! Close call.

Unexpected Blessings

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:27:06 GMT

I love horses! And as a little girl I longed to visit Kentuckys rolling hills and acres of blue grass horse farms. So I was on the look out for horses during our brief drive through the state. Every time I spotted black dots on distant hillsides I perked up.. but it was always cows.

Until we drove by a sign that said "Kentucky Horse Farm." and my new husband was gracious enough to turn off the highway and check it out. Well, it was closed.. but we were able to wander around this amazing, beautiful, large top quality horse farm! From a distance I saw a statue and a childhood memory kicked in of something I had seen in books way back when.. it was the famous statue of the greatest race horse ever: Man O War

And then we got to spend time with this lovely and groomed-to-perfection horse:

He was a sweetie!!

And we followed a rabbit with a watch.. ate some mushrooms and this happened:

We are better now.. we ate from the other side and recovered. Now I am hurriedly getting ready to meet Bethany and Matt at the Creation Museum!! Yay!

Greetings from West Virginia

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:47:41 GMT

Hello from Beckley West Virginia!! We planned to go white water rafting here at the New River gorge, and I hear it is awesomely fun, but we were road weary and found a fantastic hotel (The Courtyard Marriot) where we could just relax and swim and eat good food. We visited Grandview National Park and as you can see.. the view of the gorge is fantastic!! We also hiked a tad and found sandstone rock formations and even walked through a scary natural cave!

God sent a butterfly to land right in front of me at this same sight:

But I also have to include one of my favorite scenes from earlier at Virgina Beach:

My Brother adoring his new son and my new nephew Cullen!!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 19:14:07 GMT

Hello from Virginia Beach!!

This honeymoon trip has been blessed indeed! We actually arrived here in Va beach the same day my new little nephew Cullen was born! (pics to come soon, but visit Kennys blog for one today.. he's a cutie!!)

This is Charlie and I in front of the "Kimmel House," a 200 year old Mill house B & B in the bustling though quaint town of Ephrata, Pa. Beautiful rooms with impeccable decorations and scrumptiously fancy breakfasts.

Our first full day in Lancaster county we saw "In the Beginning" a multi media production at the "Sight and sound" Christian theater. It was classy and dazzling, but mostly it was moving. Yeah, I am a wimp, I was just crying at the end when Adam dies and when he is restored to full fellowship with the Lord in heaven. If you go to Lancaster.. GO to this theater.. but you gotta get your tickets way in advance! This is your typical Amish farm. The peaceful views of farms along the rolling hills is tremendous! I took this pic when we were on our "buggy ride" after the play. An amish man named John gave us our ride. I was surprised he was so kind and pleasant. But I continued to be surprised by Amish men we met who talked to us and asked questions. (Always about when we get our first frost or how people can survive in the UP since it's no good for farming...)

This here is Henry.. We had dinner at his house with him and fourteen other tourist-types. Amish don't allow for their picture to be taken but Henry here said with a shy grin that he "slips" sometimes. He and his wife Rebecca were friendly hosts who fed us yummy chicken and succatash and peach pie and treated us like family, inviting us all to sit on the back porch and chat until after dark.

And these here are two of Henrys 46 grandchildren, Mahlon and David (they liked seeing thier pic on a digital camera) David helped his grandma serve dinner and Mahlon gave us all rides on his pony cart. They liked listening to the fancy "Englishers" (as they call any non-amish) talk.

I have no pictures of my favorite Amish man; Sam, who we met at an information center. Sam was a pleasant, wiry man with a smile as big as his beard and sparkling eyes. We talked all about how he found the Lord as a teenager at a tent-revival meeting the Mennonites were holding in '52. He came home and "The sparks really flew then," he said in his thick dutch drawl. He was excommunicated and shunned, but he also led 10 of his 12 siblings to faith. He kept all his Amish ways, even though he is a Mennonite now because he believes a person can know they are saved, and old order Amish consider that proof you are NOT saved.

Sam invited us to a tent revival meeting that was being held down the road and we went!! I had to put on my longest dress and button up my sweater, and still the little Amish children stared at my finger painted nails and ruffled skirt. We heard a young Amish couple give their testimony of how they were saved after trying hard to rid themselves of the guilt of sin, heard another 71 yo excommunicated Amish preacher preach on hell. (Revival tent meetings... ya know) and spent a while talking to a Mennonite couple who were leading the meetings. THAT ALL was AWESOME!

Those are just some highlights.. Now we are heading to the Atlantic Ocean to beach comb and wander around the shops on the boardwalk before meeting up with Kenny to walk Whippets and hold baby Cullen again. But I'll be back with more pics later!!

A Scene from the Summer

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 00:58:55 GMT

This here is one of my favorite summer scenes. Luke & Charlie took a ride on the "Sky Scraper"

I can't understand wanting to look down on the world from 10 stories up while strapped in a chair with legs dangling... but Luke wanted to do it again! I guess that would be better than throwing up on us onlookers!!

The first video is the start and the second the actual ride.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:02:46 GMT

The time has come to pack up and move on. On one hand i am ever so eager... on the other I am a bit melancholy about it all. It seems that God himself has gently closed the doors for me as I pack my things and head into the unknown...

Okay.. not so terribly unknown cuz here is the view from my front yard:

Notice we have a Citgo across the street, and people walking, biking and living. The little red building is the "Cornerzone" a Christian Youth hagout where Josh and Luke played Saturday night along with some real live Hippies who were awesome!

Then Sunday some church friends threw a little engagement party for My Charlie and I. It was fun just eating steaks and hanging out. PLUS we got a $100.00 gift card for walmart. And I am NOT gonna share. (Unless you say please, that is)