little egg hunter

Well, we made a mistake. We got fifteen laying hens before we had a place for them to lay eggs. Instead we have let them run loose. So now we have around eight nests that can be found in, under, and behind various obstacles in our large backyard. I feed my rabbits while a chicken is eyeing me from behind the barrel containing my rabbit feed. I carry a bucket of water past an old tire rim as another one is clucking inside. One begins to fluff up her feathers under the shelf where I feed the cats in the shed.

Those nests are remaining empty though. My little brother, Rylan, has made finding eggs his main goal in life right now. Whether it be at the crack of dawn while he is still rubbing sleep out of his eyes or mid-way through dinner when someone realizes his chair just became empty. At four years old he thinks this "easter egg hunt" (no we do not actually do those) everyday is so fun. His excitement stays the same with each new egg he locates. He runs outside every half hour or so and can be seen zooming to and fro checking all of the nests. If he finds one we soon hear the screen door slam and little feet running across the kitchen floor. He tries to hide the egg in his hands but they are too little to sufficiently cover it.

"Guess what I found!" He laughs and thinks that we have no idea whatsoever. He opens his hands with a squeal of delight, "an egg!" It is absolutely adorable.

counting my blessings//July & August

I know, I know. I am running so behind here! I still wanted to share a little list of things I'm thankful for from the last two months...so here goes!

-going to rodeos with family and friends

-a new phone

-mixed berry smoothies

-monopoly + ice cream with friends

-weeding the garden with these little ones

-garden fresh tomatoes

-low country boil

-Joshua becoming born again, praise the Lord!

-building an exercise pen for my rabbits

-starting college

-hiking with these adorables

-friends coming over on a Sunday afternoon

-studying God's word

-celebrating Levi and Joshua's birthdays

-visiting my uncle, aunt, and cousins in Minnesota

-knee boarding and tubing on the lake

-these delicious coffee drinks

-BLT sandwiches

-TWO letters from TWO friends in ONE day

-Joshua 1:9

-an evening at Roaring River with Levi

-seeing friends I hadn't seen in awhile at a friends' beautiful wedding

-fun with the little ones on the tire swing at lower Flat Creek

-bike rides with Paige and Joshua

thoughts from Psalm 119

I just finished reading Psalm 119 and I realized how full it is with verses about God's Word. I wrote out any verses pertaining to His Word, His words, or at times His law in my Bible/prayer journal. Here I separated them out into different sections on how I can apply them in my life.

"Wherewithal shall a young man (or woman) cleanse his (or her) way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word." -verse 9

I will:
hide His word in my heart, that I might not sin against Him. -verse 11
| If I'm faced with temptation, by having memorized and therefore hid His word in my heart I can be reminded of what His word says in those times and choose to do what is right. I can also have scripture ready to back up my beliefs if anyone questions me. |
not forget His word. -verse 16
| If scripture is hidden in my heart I won't be forgetting it! |
be strengthened with His word. -verse 28
| Just as I need to eat food everyday to be strengthened physically I need to read the Bible each day to stay strengthened spiritually. |
trust in His word. -verse 42
| His words won't ever fail us. |
meditate on His law all day. -verse 97
keep His word by refraining myself from any evil way.-verse 101
| Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. |
hope in His word.-verse 114
and I will not be ashamed of that hope.-verse 116
| What reason have I to be ashamed of the glorious hope I have in Christ? I should never be ashamed to share that hope with others. |
love His word because it is pure.-verse 140
meditate on His word through the night.-verse 148
| Notice how there are two verses about meditating on His word, first saying all day and then through the night. I should be carrying His word with me and focusing on it all of the time. |
stand in awe of His word.-verse 161
rejoice at His word.-verse 162
| Just thinking about how blessed I am to be able to openly have His Word in our home and to be able to read it whenever I want is enough to truly rejoice about. People in other countries are being tortured because of having the Bible and following what it says. |
speak of His word.-verse 172
| I have a dear friend in Arkansas who texts me verses that have been an encouragement to her in her quiet times and it really blesses me. I want to share His word with others around me more often as well. His Words are life and if you feel Him tugging at your heart to share a verse with someone don't hesitate to do so, even if you think it seems out of place or not the right time. It could be just what that person needs to hear. |

His word will:
be a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.-verse 105
give light and understanding.-verse 130
order my steps.-verse 133
| I especially love the above three verses because of me now going to college. There is already some talk of how we used to be apes and how famous scientists "know" there isn't a God. But by knowing the truth found in His word it gives me light in the darkness and understanding. And above all I want the Lord to order my steps and for His will to be done in my future. |
always be true from the beginning to the end.-verse 160
be better to me than thousands of gold and silver.-verse 72
| The material wealth of this world is all going to fade away, only His word will last forever! |
be sweeter than honey to me.-verse 103

"Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them." -verse 165

| One thing I love about our church is how open the people are to studying things again and again. Even if it ends with a disagreement the ambience is always peaceful and they say they may be wrong. Just a very humble and open attitude. I believe we have always tried to be that way and that it is the right way to be. If we know that we both love God's Word then we will be at peace and not get offended because of someone else following what they see the Bible to say. As long as they are truly walking with the Lord then we should focus on encouraging each other along in the Lord, not pointing fingers at things we think they're doing wrong. |

I loved breaking it down and seeing all of the many different ways we can incorporate God's word into our lives! What has the Lord been showing you in your quiet times?

love of heights

Looking down upon vibrant green pine tree tops, thousands of them covering the mountains below. The rushing brown river looking as if it is just a tiny stream winding through the trees. Leaning farther out to see a huge space of tan and gray rocky cliff side before the trees reach to meet it. Fog rises up out of the shadowed lines where slope connects to slope creating ghostly white clouds that seem to hug whatever may be below them. Looking left an enormous black vulture flies from her nest in a crooked scraggly tree growing on the side of the bluff. Experiencing a tad of vertigo as my feet dangle over the rocky ledge where I sit. Knowing that hundreds of feet separate myself from the valley floor. This is the beauty of heights. This is why I climb high to the place where I am even with an eagle riding the wind. To sit in the midst of this grand creation called earth and to truly recognize how small I am in this massive, incredible world.

{I started college August 23rd and I am enjoying the English 101 class so incredibly much. It is definitely my favorite so far. I am required to write 3 journal entries and 1 quote to bring in each week for my instructor to read. This has been very good for me and is making me be creative with my writing as there are certain words I cannot use. So I am forced to truly use my imagination and I will be sharing some of my writings with you, if you don't mind! Also these photos are from the Hemmed In Falls and the Big Bluff in Arkansas. Go to the previous post to see more pictures from us hiking those places. I feel a little silly after writing this as I consider the difference between Arkansas "mountains" and true mountains in Colorado and the like...one day I would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro! But it is high for these parts and it was pretty amazing anyway.}

under a waterfall and over a river

A few weeks ago my brother and I headed down to Arkansas for a Saturday of hiking. It was so much fun! We hiked two trails (all together we hiked 13 miles), did lots of climbing, and also got soaked by a sudden thunderstorm on our way up from the waterfall ... that we had already gotten wet in for fun. By the time we got back to the car we were drenched, but it was a nice cool off from our hike down which was very hot. The actual water falling over the Hemmed In Falls ledge wasn't that much but it was still really neat. It is the tallest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians. 

Then we headed for the Big Bluff/Goat Trail (sopping wet) and after we finally got to the goat trail part of it we were amazed! The huge rocky bluffs, the winding Buffalo River below us, and the fog coming up from the trees was all so pretty.

Hemmed In Falls:

Big Bluff: