Tasty Spring Salad.....

Here's a bit of spring for those of us who just can't stand it anymore!!!!
Toss the following:

fresh greens - spinach or baby spring mix
sliced strawberries
crumbled feta
glazed pecans
fresh strawberry balsamic vinaigrette

To make the dressing, just put several fresh strawberries in a food processor with balsamic vinegar to taste and blend it up. You can sweeten it to taste as well. When I made it I also threw in a bit of Paul Newman's balsamic vin dressing as a base and a splash of blush wine. It was amazing!!!!

Do not be anxious......

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4: 6-7.

It sounds so simple......doesn't it? Why do I make is so difficult? Lately, I have allowed the stressors in life to overtake me again. Most of it stems from my job. I go through phases of this, eventually bringing myself to the brink of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion and meltdown. Why do I do this? Why don't I trust the God of all things to handle the little things that I allow to build? Do I really think I can fix them myself? Such pride...... And furthermore, why do I allow these things to even matter? In the grand scheme, those things that I allow to cause me anxiety are so insignificant. Why do I do that? What is it that I think I can do about it? Am I that delusional? (Don't answer that!)

God is so good and so patient with me. He constantly brings me back around to re-focus on what's really important. I don't want to lose sight of what really matters. I don't want to allow these distractions to tear my eyes from Him. I want to be an example of His love. I want people to see a difference in the way I live my life. How can you do that when you're not putting your trust fully in Him? I don't want people to look at the state of my life and think, "Man, why would I want what she has?". I want them to see Jesus. I want them to see joy.

The Lord has blessed my life in so many ways. I am clothed. I am fed. I am housed. My family has health. God has provided me with a good job when so many others are without. I live in a country where I can openly declare my love for my Lord without fear of persecution. And best of all......I am loved and I am forgiven.

So again, do not be anxious...... I think I'm going to have that tattooed. Yep, I just decided. Philippians 4:6-7 will be my next tattoo. And yes, I think it's perfectly acceptable for Christians to have tattoos. :)

Thank God for patience and forgiveness.

Glacier National Park

Overall, our Glacier trip was a great time. We had a few disappointments due to the season. Early July is a bit premature for many of the hiking destinations. We had planned to visit Iceberg Lake, but it was still mostly frozen over. We planned to visit Hidden Lake, but the trail was still all snow. We planned to hike the Highline, but it just opened the day we were there and they said there was still a lot of snow and ice on the trail.......hike at your own risk and don't forget your ice axe. Huh????? Ok, we'll come back in August and try again. We did a few of the trails at the lower elevations. The Swiftcurrent Loop trail was nice and we visited Lake Josephine as a mini side trip. We contemplated Grinnell, but decided against it this trip. We also visited Hidden Meadow which is accessed through the Polebridge entrance. Frankly, it's a long drive for little reward. The meadow was supposed to be loaded with wildflowers. There were a few flowers along the trail, but none at all in the meadow. It was an ok hike, but the meadow was a bit of a bummer. I wouldn't bother again. Last July we did Avalanche Lake. It's a more rewarding hike. I would suggest it if you're looking for a hike at the lower elevations.

I think we'll plan to return in either mid August or early September this year to do the Highline Trail. Iceberg Lake may have to wait until next year because I doubt I'll be able to get enough time off to do both.

We caught this sunset on Thursday night. There wasn't a ton of color, but it was still pretty.

Marsh-mallow

His Auntie Jocelyn has loving bestowed "MarshMallow" upon him. I can't believe he's almost a year old already.

More from the archives.....

I've never been especially drawn to "abstract" images, but as I was sifting through the files this one drew me in. I don't know what it is about it that I especially like.... Perhaps it's the warmth it exudes or the fact that it's from one of my favorite locations. I don't know, but maybe I'll have to revisit some of my more abstract images.....

Random Images

St. John's Cathedral by moonlight. - Spokane, Washington

Lighthouse on Alcatraz - San Francisco, California

Bushong schoolhouse - Bushong, Kansas

Digging Through Old Images.....