The Practice of the Presence of God

Years ago, I read a short little book called "the Practice of the Presence of God." It was written over 300 years ago by a humble monk named Brother Lawrence. I was looking through it once again last night as I so desperately needed to feel His peace and presence. When T.J. asked me what I was reading, I told him the title of the book and that it was written by Brother Lawrence. He asked "you mean you wrote it?" No, I did not. But here is a link to it online for your enjoyment.

Be blessed and be a blessing! - Larry

On the beach

The Beach

"Ahh...what are rocks and mountains compared to waves and sand..."

We had a delightful trip to the beach a few weeks ago, (notice weeks, sorry ya'll I'm a little behind on posting) though without Mamma on the second trip it wasn't quite the same. Anyway here are some pictures from round two at the beach, I will try to get round one up soon (ever heard of putting the cart before the horse?)!

"The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes."

Psalm 118:23

Here is Angela Marie and Lola Marie enjoying a walk on the beach:

Lively bunch ain't we?

Angela is showing me (Larry) the perfect picture that she wants to take, with the wet sand, the dry sand, and the water foreground and background:

And here is Angela's perfect picture:

Beauty

Ahh...Ya'll I had the sheer delight of riding my Grandma's bike down the beach on this trip. Oh girls, if you've never done this...well, lets just say 'next time' and leave it at that. Just imagine for a moment: the waves splashing up under the wheels, the wind wipping through your hair, and ruffleing your white skirt (well, formerly white, now rather brown with sand), and...well you get the point.


It was just after T.J. 18th Birthday when we went, so it really was almost a late birthday trip. Happy Birthday dear Brother, we love you!

The Man himself I presume.

We also had a wonderful visit from my Dad's Aunt Dot, during which she gave me some lessons in swing danceing! Bring on the Glen Miller!!

Clapping ensues...

I'll try to post round 1 ASAP. Wishing everyone a wonderful week,

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Daddy and Angela

Blessings for T.J.

We celebrated a wonderful blessing ceremony for T.J.'s 18th birthday. We began with words of wisdom including things that I had learned from my father and my grandmother.


I then also read and played an audio of blessings from other men that have had a significant impact on T.J.'s life as he was growing from a boy into a man.



Here is Dad speaking a blessing over his son:




Then the dear brothers of our fellowship all added their own blessings and words of encouragement for T.J.:

Here, T.J.'s grandfather (from CountryMama's side of the family) blesses T.J.:


After the blessings and communion, we had a great time of feasting and fellowship:

Happy 4th of July!

As I enter this post, I pause to thank God that we do still live in a land where we can worship the Lord as we please (for the most part). We do enjoy freedoms here in this country that others in the world can only dream of.

We were watching a Moody Science video last night entitled "Empty Cities." The video highlighted several ancient civilizations that collapsed on themselves once they turned from moral living and embraced pagan things like child sacrifice and the pursuit of immoral self-pleasures. Surely, in this land where we now sacrifice children on the altar of "choice" and where we are told we have to be tolerant of "alternative lifestyles," we are not too far behind. Hopefully, as a nation, we will turn our hearts back to the God of the Bible, and repent of our sinfulness.

A good friend forwarded me this video that I have posted for your enjoyment. Yes, there still is hope for our nation. As a nation, we do tend to turn back to God in times of need. With cities now underwater as a result of flooding, and fires consuming large chunks of land out west, hopefully we will heed the wake-up call.

Home With a Range

by Mr. Larry...

Oh give me a home

where the chickens do roam,

and my dear,

and my children do play,

where often is heard, an encouraging word,
and the skies are not cloudy all day

(here comes the chorus, everybody sing along...)

Home, home with a range

where my dear and my children do play,

where often is heard, an encouraging word (whoo-hoo)

and the skies are not cloudy all day (although we could sure use the rain)!

The Dangers of Fresh Organic Salad - Part II

T.J. and I travelled to Tampa this week. The lovely and wonderful Mrs. Christine picked some fresh lettuce and stuff from the garden and packed us a bunch of food to take with us on the trip. When we sat down to dinner last night, T.J. found a little suprise in his salad...yes, another little green worm! This guy was packed into the bucket at around 7:30 am, and placed in a cooler all day as we journeyed in the morning, and then worked in the afternoon. Eleven hours later, when we were enjoying dinner, he was still alive and doing well. We set him free in a vacant lot next to the hotel.

Larry

Fun, Food, and Fellowship

Hey Ya'll,

We've had a delightfully busy week, Daddy was down in Orlando during the first part of the week and it was quite quiet, but once he got home the fun began! On Thursday the Hicks Family invited us over for supper. We had such a grand time, talking and laughing, tossing jokes and bags of corn back and forth. The Hicks showed us the wonderous art of Corn Holeing. Who would ever have thought that throwing socks filled with corn into holes in plywood would be so facinating! Unfortunately I have no pictures of this event, Boo hoo (as opposed to Whoo hoo). Thanks Hicks Family for your wonderful hospitality.

On Saturday night the Morton Clan invited us over for supper. With good food (fabulous Darth), great and encouraging conversation, and even a cute baby, who could possibly ask for more? I even got a chance to ride the infamous see-saw that Wesley built out of a light pole, fun fun fun. Thanks Morton Clan, we had a jolly good time I tell ya.

Silhouettes

"...twould be better if conversation..."

A gathering place of friends and a center of excitement: the computer!

Wesley, Rachel, and little Joseph came for supper too. Is'nt he just precious, he's gained a whole pound since he was born!

Mama, Baby, and Adoring Anties. Oh he's so cute you could just eat him with a spoon!

Adeline Grace

Dancing to Glen Miller music

More dancing . (I don't know how Dorothy does it, I'm sweating, and my face looks like a very ripe tomato, but as usual, she looks lovely.)

The Window

Dorthy was so fasinated and excited to discover that our feet look very similar. Can you guess who's is whose?

1 2 3 BYE!! To which we of course responded with 1 2 3 WHOO HOO!! (which they thought was hilarious)

Well that's all for now, tune in next time to see the International Tornament for Corn Holers, have you got the ITCH? (just kidding, I don't have pictures)

So blessings to all, and to all a good night,

Angela