Wow...can't believe it has  been over a month since I have written anything....hope all you readers (there really are some out there I think) don't think we totally fell off the earth.

It is amazing to me how I can have all the plans in the world and then one thing leads to another and my days are gone before I know it.

Let me do a little update..after many discussions with multiple doctors I decided to go on a 21 Day Elimination Diet...that meant NO gluten, caffeine, dairy, soy and alcohol with the exception of a glass of red wine in the evening as prescribed by Dr. Steve.  I began that journey on Monday, May 26.  The hardest thing for me to give up was dairy and gluten.  I had a couple of slip ups along the way...one day we were out running errands and I was starving and my blood sugar was going wacky..we stopped at Rocky's down by the Landing..it is a small Italian restaurant and bar...they brought us a basket of French bread and butter...I was shaking so bad I scarfed down 3 slices of bread & butter, drank lots of water w/lemon (my beverage of choice whenever we go out) and then had a grilled chicken & spinach salad with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing..tasted great but not 20 minutes after leaving the restaurant...not so good.  Umm was it the gluten or the dairy?  Not sure but definitely need to be more careful.

Another day I really wanted a chili burger from Billy Gail's Cafe and so we along with Ronnie & Teresa, our Assistant Managers went there for lunch.  I ordered my chili burger minus the cheese.  When it came I took one half the bun (it comes open faced) and set it aside...the other half was under the burger and pile of chili....it tasted so good and I had no problems so that was encouraging.  This is what Ron and Ronnie had~ one giant pancake and Ron had a couple of eggs on top of his.  Those pancakes are huge.  I did sneak a teenie bite of Ron's...it was delicious.  You would think it was like a crepe but no it was a buttermilk pancake...just so big it hangs off the plate.

I did pretty well on the Elimination Diet and since Sunday have tried a few things...one was a pasta salad...it tasted so good I had two helpings...ummm I think one would have been enough...I had a little bit of tummy rumbling but otherwise no problems.  Until yesterday...you know that chili burger I had a while back with only a half bun and no cheese...well yesterday I added the grated cheddar cheese to it...NOT a good idea as I was sick all afternoon and into the evening...yep, dairy may be my enemy...this is SAD...I love my cheese...I will be very careful over the next few days and will then try cheese again...but this lady is thinking dairy and I will be having a parting of the ways.  In the long run it will be worth it though if I stop having lots of tummy issues.

And we have been busy here at Branson View Campground which is a good thing.  We love having lots of campers.  The pool is open and so inviting.  We try to go swimming most afternoons/evenings.  We also had a Father's Day Potluck which was lots of fun...so good to catch up with some of our monthly campers and those visiting for just a few days.  Our next Potluck is June 30 at 6:30 PM...we are having a regular potluck and then game night following...hoping to play a rousing game of Mexican Train...if you are in the area, please come and join us...just bring a dish to share and your own table ware!!!

On another note...I realized yesterday that when one thing slips it is easy to just let it slip completely...and for me that has been my time with the Lord...I have been so exhausted over the last couple of months that I have taken to sleeping as late as I can each morning and that is with going to bed between 8 & 9:30 most nights...so last night I said to myself and God...if I wake up early I will just get up and have my time with You.  Well I woke up at six and rolled back over, woke up again at 7:03 and heard this little voice "you said if you got up early you would spend time with Me"  so I got up and came out to the living room...the sun is shining and it is so quiet and peaceful and the view out the sunroom is gorgeous!!!  And so I picked up my Bible, my devotional book and my journal...and was amazed that I had not opened my Bible since 5.26...oh my gosh...how could I ignore my relationship with the Lord for over three weeks...I would be crushed if my bestie ignored me for that long...and here I have ignored my Bestie, my Abba Father for over three weeks...what must He think of me.

Well I believe God has a great sense of humor...my devotion for today was titled "A New Me" --- 

God is so good and gracious and He reminded me this morning that He loves me for who I am with all my foibles that I am made NEW in Him and that I can turn from my old ways and be made NEW in Him.  

Thank you Jesus for this reminder that yesterday, the last three weeks are in the past and today is a new day and I can start over again today building my relationship with You!!!  And again I was reminded of just that as I turned to John 3:14-21 and read His message to me I am reminded that God loves me and in turn I need to love others.   

And then I realized that this scripture was for yesterday, June 18 and that today is June 19...so I turned to today's reading John 13:31-35 and this is what I found

God commands us to love one another just as He loves us!!!  And the question ??Do we love one another in the gracious, longsuffering, courageous way God loves us???  That is how I want to love...to extend grace and love to all who I come into contact with and to be loved the same way.  And you know what...I am loved and blessed in so many ways by so many people and I am so thankful.

On Father's Day I was an emotional mess.  I have said before how Mother's Day and Father's Day are not always easy for me and this year was no exception...I found myself reading Facebook and getting frustrated with all the posts about the "wonderful and perfect Father's" out there so I got off Facebook...don't get me wrong I am glad so many people have had or have good relationships with their Fathers...mine was not...yes we reconciled before he passed away and I thankful for that but it does not erase the heartache and pain I had as a child/teenager/young adult living with and dealing with a not so nice Dad.  

And again I am reminded over and over again that my Daddy, my Abba Father, loves me more than any one man could and I am so thankful for His love for me and the man who is my husband, dad and grandpa to our boys and grandchildren...Ron has shown me over the years, and yes, it took a long time for me to believe, that Ron loves me for me has demonstrated his love over and over and has been the earthly example of how God loves me...I know it seems I am rambling but this is what I have been reminded of this morning...that God, my Abba Daddy loves me just for me and knows I am not perfect and He will sit right beside me, walking along when I stumble, help me up and let me begin again.

Well my mind is racing and Ron just called me for help in the office so I had better get off here for now.  Hope that each of you reading this has a great day!!!  

Woke to a beautiful sunrise and feel so blessed.  

I came out to the back deck and just sat in the warmth of the sun and God's love.  

So many times I feel like I just go 

I have started so many diets, so many exercise plans, so many of this and that and I make a little progress and then I get derailed and start all over and today I am on the verge of trying something new again and I am reminded that it is okay to try, try, again.

and in Luke 5:19-20 I am reminded that with God's assistance He will make a way for me.  I just need to keep on going and so once again I am fixin' to try something new again.

I have met with a couple of doctors due to the continuous tummy problems I have and so starting on Monday, May 26, 2014 I will be doing the Elimination Diet for 3 weeks...I keep telling myself I can do anything for three weeks...right...right!!!

I will not be eating or drinking caffeine, dairy...oh my gosh...what am I going to do without cheese????, soy, eggs and gluten...you know pasta's and breads and stuff like that.

For the past week I have been checking recipes, planning meals, writing out grocery lists and praying, praying and praying some more.  I think the hardest thing is going to be not having the dairy...I can go without coffee

I woke this morning thinking of you Kathy.

Hard to believe you have been gone over 5.5 years.

Today you would have been 60.

Though we didn't always get along 

and would go weeks without talking

I knew you were always there

whenever I called.

We have shared many joys and sorrows together,

celebrated the births of our baby's,

said good-bye to Dad & Mom

we have laughed and cried together

we have always been sisters.

I woke to thinking of you this morning,

hard to believe that I can't just grab the phone

and give you a call to share some news.

Or to cry because someone has hurt me

some how, some way

or to laugh about something that happened.

You would be so proud of your sweet daughter

She brings such joy to so many.

She knows how to have fun

and has a tender heart.

She misses you so much.

I wish I lived closer to her so we could

some things together that you would have done with her

like going to a movie or shopping.

You would be so proud of her.

I love you and miss you Kathy.

That is how Ron greeted me this morning, he from the bed to me as I was walking into the living room before 5 this morning...why was I up then...who knows...but I was.

So I had some quiet time with the Lord,

read some emails,

sent some emails,

and then this sweet little girl arrived

Miss Liberty or Miss Libby as we call her.

Her mommy, daddy, grammy and papa all work at Silver Dollar City

and when they all have to work we get to claim her as our adopted grand.

We then decided to head out to church.

Pleasant View Baptist Church

in Highlandville, MO.

We have been blessed to get to know Dakota, the recently called pastor and also the manager of our sister business, The Cliffs at Table Rock Lake.  

The church is a little country church and about 45 minutes from us here in Branson.

We were warmly greeted by members of the church.

Dakota's message was on 

2 Timothy 1:5 that precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

And the Legacy of our Mothers and Grandmothers

Today was the first time I had been in church on a Mother's Day in many years. I have a very hard time listening to how sweet and loving everyone's mother was or is, how mothers were/are so perfect and how thankful people are for their mothers.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my mom, but she was not the perfect mother, not even a great mother.  She worked hard and I know she did the best she could with what she knew and had but my childhood was far from a happy and blessed time.  And it makes it hard to hear all the sweet, mushy things people say about their mothers.  

I think God protected that thought from my mind this morning as I was getting ready to go to church.  I wanted to be there, to be a support for Dakota as he brought the first sermon since he was actually called as pastor.

I am glad I was there.  God spoke to me in a couple of different ways.

First, that just as I am choosing JOY and sometimes that is hard to do in different situations, like when you are sitting in an emergency room and the doctor treating you acts like you are nothing but an irritant or a problem and the check out lady is asking for more than half of your weekly pay as a deductible and you were wondering where the money is going to come from just to make ends meet...but I chose Joy that my hand was not infected...but I digress...

that what I can do is find something to be grateful about in relation to my mom.

I am grateful she did not stop me from going to church after I said I was not going back to the Catholic church (I was 12 and it was boring) and that opened the door for me to meet Rita Roth...a mom of 4 who kind of adopted me as one of her own from the time I was 12 till I lost contact with her when we were stationed in Holland.  Rita was the godly mother in my life at that time.

I am grateful that she did not stop me from marrying Ron...she was not too delighted that I wanted to get married at age 18 and she could have stopped the wedding has she had legal guardianship of me till I was 21...but she didn't put up any roadblocks.

So for those two things I choose to be grateful for my mom.

The second thing that I garnered from the sermon and the scripture in 2 Timothy 1:5 was that just as Timothy's mother and grandmother prayed for him that I am reminded that even though I am not in the daily lives of my kids and grands I can pray for them each and every day.

And then when I do get to talk to them on the phone or via Facetime or Skype I am so blessed to have my children, grandchildren, daughters-in-love in our lives.

So thank you Dakota for your message this morning.

And thank you Lord for bringing me to the service this morning.

In closing I would like to ask you to say a prayer for Dakota's sister and her family...they were in the tornado that went through northern Missouri last evening and they had the roof blown off their home and their church (her hubby is a pastor as well).  Our understanding is that no one was hurt in their little town but almost every home and business lost their roofs.  Thank you Jesus that no one was hurt.

May all you are reading this have a blessed evening or day!!

Woke up to this view

 out the back deck this morning

but the longer I am up the clearer it is becoming.

Sort of how I am feeling about some things in my life.

I am finding (recognizing I am slow learner) that

as I have stepped back the last few week,

that sometimes

to

and 

and 

is the best way to 

figure out where I am going

and what I need to be doing.

This past week has been good for me as I work on a majorly long 

and to find 

between 

work

me

friends

relationships

time in the Word

that I don't have to do everything in one day

and that it is perfectly okay to 

and to 

and

Thank you Lord for this time this morning

to reflect on you

and that in all things

I need to give thanks

and be content

wherever I am

and to choose

to live in

so 

How will you choose to live today?

Good morning.  Woke from a sound sleep, jumping out of bed remembering we have a guest coming into the cabin today and the linens were still sitting on the chair in our sun room...so quickly got up, got dressed and walked over to the cabin...what a beautiful sunrise so was glad I was up.  I really do like being up early but when I stay up late those early mornings are kind of hard.  But alas, it was beautiful this morning.  

Lots of stuff on our minds and hearts today.  Ron's cousin, Missy passed away yesterday morning after dealing with ovarian cancer for almost a year.  We are sad that she is no longer with us but rejoicing that she is now pain free and in the loving arms of Jesus.

We love you Missy!!!

After the beautiful sunrise this morning, dark clouds came rolling in and we had a downpour for about 10 minutes.  Then the weather radio went off saying we are under a Severe Thunderstorm warning for the rest of the day.  That got Ron scrambling to put the soft top on the Jeep...it has been nice to have it off for the past couple of days but since we have to go to Springfield to get Ron's new glasses this gal is not chancing getting caught in a downpour in the Jeep with no top on it :)

I began my quiet time in Habakkuk reading chapter 2, verse 4.

and I was reminded how important it is to remember the many trials and struggles I have faced and through it all how the Lord has been right here with me every step of the way.  And in looking back and seeing His handiwork and provision day after day, month after month and year after year I find hope in knowing that He will always provide and be with me.  And I am encouraged to pick up my Gratitude journal once again and start writing in it and recording God's awesome blessings.

Do you keep a Gratitude journal?  If not, I want to encourage you to find a little notebook or journal and begin writing down things you are thankful for each day.  I try to write down 3 things...sometimes they are big things that have gone on in my life that day but most of the time it is simply the simple things...like yesterday, one thing I wrote down was "I am thankful to have a day off to spend it with Ron just riding around enjoying God's artwork."

And then I turned to Job 7-14...

 

And this quote from Barbara Johnson "Suffering is good for us ~ it brings us closer to God, making us better people."

And I am reminded I am who I am today because of all the struggles, issues, sorrows and accomplishments, circumstances and joys that have been a part of my life.  

and

which fills my heart with 

Praying for a day of Joy for each of you reading this today.