I LOVE a Surprise!

We have been shopping for a new car for Jamie over the past couple of weeks. His "ride" for the past 4 years has been the old red truck. This truck has been through Kynn, Spencer, and then Jamie so it has a lot of miles under it's wheels. Jamie is transferring to NGU this fall, (he leaves in about 2 weeks :( ) and we knew that it would not be safe for the truck to be on the interstate, thus a new vehicle for Jamie. He knew we were looking, but did not know any of the details. John Wise, (LOVE CHEVROLET) , agreed to help us look for a car.


The phone call came and John told me he had a car he thought we might be interested in test driving. Kynn and I went and picked up the Saturn Ion and drove it home. We had pretty much decided this was the car. We parked the car at our neighbors house and when Jamie went to take his shower, I brought it back to our yard. I wrapped the key and we gave him the gift.

I think he had an idea what might be in the box! When I handed him the box he said, "What is it?" I said, "Open it!" At that time he started grinning. :)







(I am sorry about all this space between the pictures. I don't know how to correct it) Would love someone to tutor me on this!

This was the smile right before he walked outside to see his new car.




His comment on first seeing the car..............NICE.



The very FIRST thing he did when he sat in the car was to check out the radio. It passed the test!

He likes it!! Sun in my eyes kinda picture!

Jamie took us on a test drive around the neighborhood and then we headed to Aunt Cynthia's house to show her. She liked it too. :)

On Thurs. we returned the car to John, at Love Chevrolet, and today we actually went and purchased the car. Jamie went with us to sign the papers and all. John congratulated Jamie on his nice new car.




It was such a blessing to have John help us. He is extremely knowledgeable about cars, after all it's his business. He went the extra mile in service and kindness to us. All his staff at Love are so kind and helpful. John took the time to talk with Jamie and tell him about every feature on his car. All three of us actually learned a lot about cars today.

This picture was taken right before he took off in his new car. I am sure he will travel many miles in this car. We are so thankful to John and to God for allowing us to purchase this for Jamie. He has blessed us.

Jamie, I pray that you will drive carefully and be protected as you travel the highways. May you continued to be blessed by our Lord and Savior.

Love covers a multitude of sins

"Love covers a multitude of sins."

Have you ever seen the verse, "Love covers a multitude of sins"? It is one of my favorites and I pull it up in my mind often. Jesus is so interested in love and wants us to love like He loves. Notice I did not say "loved" as if He was still dead...

I love it when the Holy Spirit helps me retrieve this verse so I can apply it to my life and extend mercy, cut someone some slack, or react differently than I would have years ago, before I began to zero in on this verse.

Today after work I stopped by a grocery store that I usually do not frequent. I ordered a pre-made raw salad and a nice young man saw me waiting at the deli counter, parked his broom, and offered to assist me. I wondered if he would wash his hands or put on gloves before he helped me. After all, he had been cleaning only God knows what.

He did neither...

He reached for a long-handled spoon to scoop out my broccoli-raisin salad and I thought, "Well, how easily can germs make it from his hands to the broccoli, down that long handle in just a few short seconds?" I let it slide instead of making a big issue out of it...

There was only one problem: some of the broccoli flopped out onto his hand and he just took that spoon and scooped it right back into my container! At that point I had to choose how I would respond.

Instead of giving him a big lecture on why he should wear gloves and how he should not sell food that has touched his hand, I just felt led show some grace and smile, thanking him for the friendly service.

I then had to decide if I was going to march to the manager, demand a free broccoli salad and report the young man...

So I paid for the salad and shared the story with the Lord's kindness, while emphasizing that the man was one of the nicest people I had ever met and his customer service was excellent. All he needed was some training about health codes. The manager said he was new and would explain their policy. I doubt he was ever told about the gloves...

This man didn't "sin" against me as the verse states, but in my quest to grow in love and become more and more like Jesus, I look for little everyday ways I can apply his grace and love to others. I wonder if this was a small, silly way to do this... I really don't know, but just wanted to write about it. Maybe my two sons will stumble upon it one day and use it to address another scenario.

Yesterday while I was in the waiting room at the doctor's office the person at the desk asked each person who checked in to have their picture taken so it appears on their chart. They do this at MD Anderson, too, so they can be assured that you are you. There was a woman who became unglued, verbally outraged, over this and I felt for her, that such a thing would set her off like that. I felt compassion, though, and wondered if a cancer diagnosis had just caused her to cave in.

I think God cares about the little things as well as the big things. He cares about how we treat people - all people. We can exhort people or "teach" them in love and humility. I want to be better at that! I can recall times when I was just like that woman. I want to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord...

Today was a good day. I am thankful for another day. (Anne Buck, July 22, 11)

Blueberry pickin'

Today has been a fun day for us. Kynn and I set out early this morning to pick blueberries. (I have no pictures) :( Oh well.

As we were on our way to the blueberry patch, I called my mom to chat. We had decided to stop at a McDonalds right before we got to the field and I told mom that I was going to run in McDonalds and passed the phone to Kynn. I expected to get back on the phone when I returned, but the two of them had a conversation going that I did not want to interrupt. I wish the words I heard were recorded because I would love to hear them again.

Kynn said that as he was reading his Bible this morning he was thinking about the pretty new curtains that were hanging in our kitchen. (He hung them for me yesterday.) He pondered on the thought of how much time had been put into making the curtains, and also the time that is took to hang them. Then his thoughts went to wondering how much time does he actually put into hearing the voice of God. At that point, conviction of the Holy Spirit fell upon my heart. Truly, how much time do I concentrate on hearing the voice of God. How much time do I sit still and wait for him to speak to me? It has given me something to think about today.

What a precious phone call. I love the fact that my husband will take the time to have a relationship with my mom. I love the fact that when he hangs up he tells her that he loves her. I love the fact that he has a quiet time in the mornings. I love the fact that God will speak to me out of what He spoke to my husband during his quiet time. And, I love that we picked blueberries today. It was fun. It was hot. We picked 25 pounds. :)