Devotion Locations

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are just a few more shots of things Mikie and I enjoyed this past weekend. Nothing spectacular (except the views), but definitely enjoyable!

ROXIE UPDATE - Roxie's basketball season ended last night. They had a single elimination county tournament, and Roxie's team lost to their opponent. It was a bittersweet end to a hard season. The sweet part, of course, were the wins... But also, the new friendships she made during these past few months and the old friendships which grew stronger. All in all, I would consider it a successful season.

JOSH UPDATE - While Josh has been driving solo since his birthday in October, we had a little technical difficulty with the car situation in the Faulkner household. Austin drove Mike's red truck to JSU in August. Mike started driving Austin's green truck (which became Josh's green truck in October), but had trouble finding a replacement vehicle for himself. When he finally found what he wanted, Josh's green truck had to go to the shop for a major overhaul to make it through Josh's three remaining years of high school.

All of the above to say... Josh's truck is in working order and he is now a bona fide DAILY driver. A very, very happy DAILY driver.

AUSTIN UPDATE - This semester, Austin is having to adapt to being JUST a student and not a Southerner/student. It has been an adjustment. He's on the Praise Team at the BCM (Baptist Campus Ministries). He's still a sports writer for the school newspaper. He's playing intramural basketball. He's watching 24 faithfully. And He's carrying a pretty big course load this semester. All in all, he's doing well.

Mondays and Wednesdays are his "every minute is full" days, while Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy, but he has breaks in between classes, practices and BCM Bible Study. Fridays are the best because he is FINISHED by 1:30 and he can head home. (I love Fridays. Friday may replace Thursday as my favorite day of the week.)

He still loves Communications and is taking his second Communications class, along with the "regular stuff." We don't know if this is God's plan for his life, but as of today, it has been a very natural "fit." We will all just have to pray and see.

Weekend in Review

POLES! POLES! Ski sticks are called SKI POLES! I thought of that around midnight last night, but I was too lazy to get up and correct yesterday's post. On with the review...

After our ultra-exciting visit to Unclaimed Baggage (and I'm NOT being sarcastic), Mike and I headed back to our cabin. We had planned on going to a restaurant called Canyon Grill about 45 minutes north of our location. But we were worn out from our Unclaimed Baggage adventure. We wanted something closer to home... but not pizza. Something romantic... but not Chinese.

Only a block or so from our cabin was a log building called Wildflower Cafe and Country Store. We drove by on our way back, and I stopped to make sure they served dinner. They did! We decided to dine there at 7:30.

What a lovely surprise. Decorated with anything and everything from bus seats to flattened, colored bottles hanging in the windows... from twinkly lights hung everywhere to different floral tablecloths on each and every table... from paintings created by local artists hanging from every nail to a live guitarist/singer entertaining the guests... It was just the PERFECT dining experience for our special evening out. We both declared it GOOD. VERY, VERY GOOD!

I even tried something different. (I'm crazy that way.) I ordered grilled cabbage.

Now, I will be the first to admit, in the past I sometimes ordered a very healthy something to sit on my plate. You know. To make a good impression for anyone who might happen by. I kind of did this with the grilled cabbage. I don't like cabbage. I've never liked cabbage. I think it smells like... Well, you know what it smells like.

But when the waitress brought our meals to us, I couldn't help but notice this cabbage smelled wonderful. In fact, it almost smelled appetizing. I cut a small bite. Oh, my goodness! It tasted good. It tasted NOT like cabbage!

Mike even tried a bite or two, and he liked it. I couldn't be sure, but it tasted like it had been marinated in Dale's Sauce, which confirmed something I had always thought... Dale's can make anything taste good.

We finished our wonderful meal, and headed up front to pay. We spoke with the singer for a few minutes and the chef was sitting by the cash register chatting with some people, and he told me how to prepare grilled cabbage. I'm going to do it. I've made a mental commitment to try. And when I do, and it tastes as wonderful as it did at the Wildflower Cafe, I will share my recipe with you on a Tuesday. I promise.

The rest of our weekend was spent sitting by the fire, watching movies, playing Scrabble (I WON... and I never win) and just relaxing. Simple, but definitely something we don't get to do a lot of at home.

We had a lovely, lovely anniversary!

Let's see. We need another clue for our Special Guest, don't we? Hmmm. Okay. Here's one.

6. She considers popcorn a "side dish."

There's a really good story about that one. Hopefully, she'll share it next week in her interview. Keep on guessing!

Wednesday Wisdom - Since it is my anniversary week, I decided to shares a few "LOVE" quotes.

"Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side." Zig Ziglar.

"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company, than a good marriage." Martin Luther. (I love this one.)

"'Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea!’ And Mr. Churchill responded, 'And if you were my wife, I would drink it!'" Winston Churchill.

Devotion Locations

I'm not sharing a specific devotion today. It's more of a suggestion or idea. We always had our family devotions in the den before bedtime. Occasionally, we would have them at the dinner table after we ate. But the devotions we enjoyed the most (parents and kids) were the ones we had in the tent when we went camping. The devotions we read by lantern light or flashlight with the sound of crickets chirping and fires popping nearby.

So my "suggestion" is to try something different once a month or so. Plan a different place to have your family devotion. Here are some ideas:

1. Pile up on Mom and Dad's bed.

2. Get in the van before bedtime and go out for milkshakes, reading as you go.

3. Sit on the back deck.

4. Climb on your roof and read your devotion high above your neighborhood. (I read about a family doing this. Of course, the kids would need to be older... and VERY, VERY obedient... and you would need the right kind of roof. You know. Not too steep! But I could see where it would be a great place to have a devotion on missions in your very own neighborhood. We think about having to go to foreign countries to share the Gospel, when many of our neighbors may not attend church or know Christ as their personal Savior. Just think about the impact the "devotion on the roof" would have on your kids. They would remember it forever!)

5. Your attic.

6. Your basement.

7. A neighbor's house (inviting your neighbor and their family to join you, of course).

8. A park.

9. A favorite restaurant.

The list can go on and on. Use your imagination, and plan a different location for your family devotion THIS VERY MONTH!

Have a terrific Wednesday. Tomorrow I have a date to go with Monday's Seasonal Tradition, as well as some new Blog Linkage to share. I'll share another clue about our Special Guest, also.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda