Spring Has Sprung

First signs of spring... Our daffodils are peaking through the ground... Now that's something to be excited about!!!


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"Old School" Memories

I love the look of our kid's school, Bent Elementary School - it reminds me of the original Garfield Grade School that I attended in my home town of Monmouth, Illinois... Stone, brick, archways, columns, decorative pieces...














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Colossians 1:13

"For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear Son"

After reading the verse above, or one similar to it, have you ever thought ... "Why do I still feel like I'm wandering around in the dark?"

If you're like me... You have. Admit it!





I ask... If I'm now in the light...
• why do I keep running into things
• why am I still stumbling over objects
• why am I still running into walls
• why do I still feel so alone?

And the answer is simple...

To enjoy the light and benefit from it fully, we have to OPEN OUR EYES.



Father, forgive me for continuing to walk in darkness by not opening my eyes and enjoying all that you have to offer through the light of your Son Jesus Christ.

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Don't Forget The Squirrels

Picture Time In The Greenhouse

Just one of those days that I needed to drive to the greenhouse and take some pics with my iPhone for some new phone wallpapers... Sooooooo ready to plant outside!!!














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Colossians 2:8

"Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ."

I remember a day early last summer when I was watering behind the greenhouse at Bloomington Country Club... The hose kept getting caught on this and that and at one point I finally pulled the hose with a strong jerk to get it loose. What I didn't realize was that the hose was wrapped around my feet and when I took a step at the exact time I jerked the hose... Well, I very quickly landed on the ground chest first.


I'm not sure which hurts more... landing chest first on the ground after my feet have been swept out from underneath me, or the hard punch to my heart after realizing I have been following empty and nonsensical "human thinking."


The past few months I've learned that during the last couple of years I've allowed a lot of "empty philosophies" and "high-sounding nonsense" enter my thinking. Which, in turn, has effected my actions, my language, my conversations, my relationships, my business, my ministry involvement, my desires, my priorities, my... my everything. Every part of me.


The philosophies and nonsense were wrapped around my heart and when they got jerked... I fell... And it hurt.


I could have stood up, brushed myself off and continued walking with the same philosophies and nonsense wrapped around my heart. But, like when that hose pulled me to the ground so suddenly last summer... I stood back up and removed the hose from me feet and made sure it didn't get tangled with me again.


Obviously, I found it much easier to walk without the hose wrapped around my feet, but I still had pain as a result of my nonsense. The same with my heart... though it still hurts from my nonsensical thinking and philosophies, I'm finding it much easier to walk... with Christ surrounding my heart.


Father... forgive me for allowing my heart to be trapped by ways that didn't please you. My heart is yours God... heal it, mold it, use it for You and your Kingdom however you see fit.

You Talkin' To Me?

We're studying the book of Isaiah this year in BSF, which not an easy book for me to study. I don't really "get into" prophecy, end times, etc. - I know that maybe doesn't sound "proper" to say, but I just don't. I have always loved to study all of the epistles, but especially Romans, Galatians, Colossians, I&II Peter, I&II Timothy, James, and I&II&III John.

Anyway... this has been a difficult year for me to really get into doing the weekly questions. But, I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing the weekly group teaching. This week, though... my mind was wandering so during the teaching time I re-read Isaiah 40 a couple of times and then Isaiah 41, too. Six different verses really popped out me tonight that I needed to hear... so I'm not feeling too guilty that I didn't listen too well to the teaching :-)

But, as I read these six verses I thought... "WOW, Isaiah... You talkin' to me?"

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:18
To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?

Isaiah 40:26
Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.

Isaiah 40:28
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 41:10
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Thankful for times like tonight that even though I had a hard time listening to the verbal teaching, God still taught me through reading his Word.

It's back to Colossians tomorrow, though... I've had a week to think through what I was going to blog about last Tuesday, but with the blizzard and the kids home for three days, my days became a little confused and out of routine.

The Icing On The Cake

I have already felt SO unbelievably blessed and loved recently... But today was just the icing on the cake... LITERALLY!!! Here is my birthday cake Laurie surprised me with when she came home from work today...











Two of my FAVORITE things in EDIBLE form... photography & flowers!!!

I am SO blessed!!! Thank you Laurie and thank you Krista!!!

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Feeling Blessed

Sometimes I forget how blessed I was as a child. But, this weekend I was reminded once again how special and influential my parents have been to me in my 45 years of life. They say that the older we get the more we appreciate our parents... That's very true for me. It's amazing to think of all they've done for me through the years... spiritually, financially, emotionally, relationally... I am FEELING BLESSED.

I love these two so very much...

Thank you mother and daddy for EVERYTHING over the past 45 years.

Happy Birthday Mother

What a FUN Friday night we had... We headed back to my hometown of Monmouth, Illinois and celebrated my mom's 75th birthday with a surprise party with my brother, sisters and their families.

We met at Cerar's Barnstormer Restaurant for a very nice meal then headed to a local hotel for relaxing, chatting, laughing and cake eating. And what a cake!!! We asked our very talented and artistic friend Krista Gaff, also known as Sugar Mama and owner of Sugar Mama Custom Cakes, to design a cake based on a quilt my mom made a few years ago. It was AWESOME!!! And very yummy, too. Here is a picture of the "quilt cake" she made...

What a special night, for a special mom... Happy Birthday Mother!!!

You can follow Sugar Mama on Twitter and Facebook... We also HIGHLY recommend her cupcakes... WOW!!! My personal favorite is snickerdoodle :-)

Special Mom & Daughter

We've had someone on our minds a lot lately... a very special mom named Phyllis. She's been in our prayers at our house for the past couple of months... We lift her up to God for healing, strength, patience, endurance...

And we've been praying for her very adorable daughter, Miss H... What a precious china doll she is. I had the opportunity to do a shoot with Miss H last fall and had SO much fun.

Here's a storyboard I put together today since I had Phyllis on my mind.


Miss H Storyboard, originally uploaded by Capturing Life - Capturing Memories.

Please keep Phyllis and her daughter in your prayers.

Thinking Green

I'm sitting here listening to the howl of the wind and watching the snow build quickly through a nearby window... and thinking GREEN...

Yes... I'm thinking of summer... green leaves, colorful flowers, singing birds, flighty butterflies, bug-eyed dragonflies. Ahhhhhhh... I can't wait!!!

But, I guess we need to get through this crazy blizzard first. I was out twice this afternoon shoveling snow... HOW CRAZY IS THAT!? I guess I was trying to get a clearing for the 12-plus more inches of snow we're suppose to get tonight. And, after having a nice 3-mile run this morning I felt a burst of energy that needed to be used.

It'll sure be interesting to see what everything looks like in the morning... We're not sure how much we've already received in snow today, but Laurie and I are guessing 6 or more inches. It's so hard to tell because it's blowing so severely... I've tried to keep an area clear for Tumnus (our silky terrier) to go potty, but... that's not working so well. Earlier I took him out and after making down our porch steps, he became a little confused at the next set of steps down to the sidewalk... they weren't there. So, he just took a dive where he thought the steps were located. When he landed he just stood there and stared back at me, like I was going to go pick him up and rescue him. He finally realized it was all up to him, so he took off to quickly find a place to do his wee wee. Yes, it was cute :-)

Ok... enough fun. I need to get back to work. Yes, work... SO much to do right now, and little to no motivation to get things done. But, I thought I'd better take advantage of this bit of motivation I've had over the past 24-hours. So... ONWARD!!!