Last Saturday my "baby" turned 21!  Where, oh where, has the time gone?  In my head I'm still in my twenties!

Well, not really.  More like my thirties.  Well, not really.  What difference does it make?  I'm too young to have sons that old! 
 

I think we started a new Easter tradition yesterday.  After we got home from church we set up our new croquet game and played some Easter Bonnet Croquet.

It was my son, Jeremy's, idea.  The croquet game was my idea, but the Easter bonnets were his idea.  So, we all had to wear "lovely" hats.

Mine was easy.  A woman in our Sunday School class made silk flower corsages for the women in our class.  I pinned mine to a hat and wore that.  I took some plastic leis and wrapped them around my husband's floppy hat for him.  Jeremy likes Nascar and tied some figurines and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stuff to a Nascar baseball cap.  Casey wore a baseball cap that said "Party Girls" and had a silly, flipped up brim.

While we were playing someone came to buy Casey's car that had been stolen and wrecked on a fire hydrant.  Everyone took off their "lovely" bonnets except me when they went in the front yard.  I wonder why.  Bunch of chicken-heads.

We were trying to play according to the written rules that were included with the game.  None of us knew that, if only two were playing, that you were supposed to use four or six balls between the two of you.  Did you?  It got confusing because we had to remember which balls had gone through the wickets and which hadn't.  We all had fun, though.  I think. 

I feel better this week, but still haven't gotten completely over my cold.  For a while I thought I would have to go to the doctor.

I still don't have all my energy.  Once I get it back I'll be using it up because there are all sorts of things around this house and yard that are needing my attention.  I've hardly done anything outside except kill weeds.  At least that is a step in the right direction.

I need to get my garden cleaned out so I can get some tomatoes planted.  Fresh tomatoes are sooooo good!

I still have a lot of painting and decorating to do to the barn.  We were thinking about having a barn-warming party this spring.  With all the rain delays I wonder if I will be able to get it done by the end of summer.  It may not be until next spring... or summer!

Priorities.  It's all about setting priorities, isn't it? 

Anyway, things just went a little crazy after I got it.  The board member who wrote it got everyone else so confused they didn't know what to do.  In the meantime, all of the business needing to be transacted by our homeowner association came to a standstill.  No bills could be paid, no decisions could be made, and no meetings were being held.

God gave me a peace about it.  He had a plan!  It was a GREAT plan, too!  The man that wrote the letter put his house up for sale after that and it is sold already!  Poof!  He's outta here!

Now all the rest of us Board members have to do is to clean up the messes that the man made when he went knocking on people's doors spreading lies about us.

Isn't it amazing how we see a giant wall when we confront a problem and go crazy trying to figure out how to take it down?  All the while God is in motion and has a "wall eraser" in His capable hand.  Silly us!

Have you ever watched the show, Extreme Makeover, Home Edition?  That's where they build a deserving family a new house in a week.  That is the one TV show that I make a point to watch.  Actually, that is the night that we have our bowling league so I tape it to watch it when I get home.

What a wonderful thing, to help out in an area where people cannot help themselves!  Think how wonderful the world would be if we all had the mindset that we would help where help was needed.

Usually, all of us need help at some time in our life.  Then, on the other hand, all of us are in the position of being able to help someone at some time, too.

The thought just popped into my mind, if everyone had a "helping" mindset then those people that do help won't be so overburdened.  As someone who has volunteered her time to various organizations over the years I noticed it was the same people volunteering their time, over and over.

We all have some talent of some kind that can help others.

I've started the Bible study and gone back to it a number of times but don't get very far.  I'm waiting for God to fill me with the words that will help everyone understand the concept.

When I was sick my house got into a sad state of messiness.  I've been trying to plug away at that one room at a time.  It was pretty embarrassing.  It's a good thing you didn't come visit me!  I wouldn't have been able to let you in the front door!

My middle son still doesn't have a car because of that rotten insurance company Coast National.

My car is my truck and camper.  The only other car we have is a Ford Expedition.  I drive the big truck most of the time, but there are some parking lots that just won't accommodate it and I have to drive the Expedition.  My husband rides his bike to and from work but needs a car to go coach golf in the evenings.

So, we basically had one car among the four of us.  Most of the time my youngest son used it during the day to go to work.  If one of the other of us needed it we would have to take him to work and pick him up.  I was in charge of logistics... who needed the car at what time and how conflicting schedules could be worked out.

So, it is quite a relief to gain a vehicle.

It was from God to my son.  He was talking about buying a newer, way more expensive one, and I looked in the paper and found a 1977 Chevrolet Nova.  The price was very good.  I figured he would laugh at me when I told him about it since a Nova isn't exactly a "cool" car.  He went to look at it and bought it.

That car has very low mileage, the original upholstery and carpet is in good condition, the manual was in the glove box, the original spare was in the trunk along with some other original things, and it runs well.  The part that showed it was from God was there was a Bible in the glove box and a window shield in the trunk had John 3:16 written on it!

My son said he is going to drive that car like an old man would.  He's not going to push the engine and is going to try to preserve its condition.  It has so many original parts in good shape that he could invest some money in a paint job and some missing trim and it will become a classic.

I've been under some severe spiritual attacks lately.  They have been coming from all directions.

It is like I am wearing a bullet-proof vest (my spiritual armor).  I'm taking hits in the heart.  They are not penetrating my armor but they hurt all the same.  The impact is knocking me to my knees.

I'm not mortally wounded, but I am getting beat up.  The good news is that I am not defeated.  I am on the Rock.  My base is sure.

I am encouraged.  I must be doing things right or the enemy wouldn't be taking the time to mess with me.  So, I'm praising God that I'm worthy of the enemy's attention.

I guess that means God wanted to leave the last one up longer, He was waiting for you to need the new one, or for whatever other reasons God might have in His infinite wisdom.  So, don't blame the delay on me... speak to Him about it!