Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa.  We are excited here because it is supposed to be 66 degrees!  It rained most of the morning, but now sunshine is on the way.  Yippee......

We watched two Mallards courting a Drake in our front yard this week.  She must have made her choice because we now have a couple who are looking to nest and one lone male has left the area. The neighbor has thrown out corn into his front yard and the squirrels love it!  They are going around burying kernels and I expect we will be mowing down spindly corn stalks all summer again.

We had good news after my blood draw Thursday.  My white count has actually gone up some so the surgery to remove another large stone in my other kidney is still scheduled for Tuesday morning and I am still able to remain on treatments.  Would appreciate any prayers for this last one to be a success too! 

Joel was able to get a ride in on Friday.  He has had three busy weeks and been gone a lot at night.  Hopefully things will settle a bit.....although I am not so sure what I am thinking with that since Holy Week, Palm Sunday and Easter are not too far away!

I was watching some of Kathy Lee Gifford's final week on her Today show with Hoda. (NBC).  They had several guests come and many shared stories about her.  The theme I heard over and over was how she lived out her faith.  Often praying with staff, speaking boldly about her Lord and being kind and helpful to people.  Quite impressive in the career world she inhabits.  She never just says "I will pray for you" she takes the time, right in the moment, to pray.  I love that.  There is no better time than right now!

We took another trip to the library to bring more magazines to put in the "free" section and to look for some light fiction books for me to read. We were not there very long, but long enough.  We have a really nice library that has it's own little cafe in one area and a large reading room with glass windows that looks out over a beautiful wooded area.  I would love to see more books, but  they do have a pretty good selection and you can special order anything you want if it is available in other libraries.  They have several computers available for public use also.

I watched news coverage of a kidnapping in Uganda this week while some people were on a safari.  So scary and such a concern with so many Americans who live and work in Uganda.  Please pray for all those who are part of the Gem Foundation and Amazina ministries!

It is my sister Janelle's birthday today.  It was not too long ago that we wondered if she would have any more birthdays here on earth to celebrate.  She had a heart attack and ended up with emergency surgery for 6 bypasses.  Almost unheard of.  She survived and is thriving.  Praise God. 

I have been enjoying Christie Purifoy's book, "Placemakers".  She writes about nature, trees, gardening and making our homes places of comfort, beauty, and rest.  My favorite quote so far....

"Every place made by God is loved by God and that includes every place where his people dwell.  If we are willing to look through the lens of his love, then we will see that every place has some particular magic."