Making Progress

     I am making progress on the photo book--page 27 and ready for day 5.  At this rate I may be able to keep it to under 100 pages!
     If you are interested in eventually seeing the finished project, email me (countrygirl@shalominthewilderness.com), and I will add you to the people who can view the book online.  It may be awhile before it is finished, though, because we are taking another trip in the near future so I may have to stop working on this one and prepare to travel again.😊  And then, will I need to make another book?🙄  I guess that depends on how I'm feeling after I finish this one.

Photo Book Creation

      Have you ever made a photo book?  I am grateful for the companies that make it possible to upload my photos and then help me create a beautiful book using them.  If I don't do this after our trips to Europe I never look at the photos again.  I am now in the process of making another book.

       I had previously used Snapfish, which I liked, but decided to try Mixbook for the last book I made and was very happy with it because of the tools for improving the photos as you add them to the book.  I'm therefore using Mixbook this time, too.

      So far it has been very frustrating!  I edited each photo I wanted to use and added it to a separate folder in the order I wanted to use them combining my photos and those from our son and daughter-in-law.  One problem I encountered immediately was that for some reason our cameras were not set on the same time, therefore photographs of the same place appeared in different spots.  I moved them all to the right places and then began the upload.  Another problem!  The upload began in a random area--I have no idea why but it was 3 days into the trip.  Oh well, that's OK, I thought, but then saw the note stating that because of the size of the upload (1328 photos) it would take 2 days to complete.  It appeared I could still use other programs on my computer while the photos were uploading so I also thought "no problem" until I awoke the next morning to see the upload had somehow shut down with only about half of the photos loaded!  Since it had started in the middle of the trip I didn't know which ones had been completed.  By then, I was about ready to give up!  Of course, I couldn't because I've made a photo book for the other grandchildren of their trips with us so I have to complete this one, too.

      I deleted that project and started over.  I placed 100-200  photos in separate folders to be uploaded.  Then I saw the note that said photos larger than 15 mb couldn't be uploaded.  I went through each folder, finding the 'too large' photos and reduced them then uploaded each folder.  I finally completed the upload Wednesday.  What a relief!

      Last night I began the process of assembling the book.  Hopefully, there will be no more problems!  Here is a screen shot of the first page, so you can see the possibilities:

      I am a perfectionist, it seems, so it takes quite a while to complete each book.  I consider this a labor of love that will last a lifetime.  When we are gone, our grandchildren will still have the books as a reminder of that love and the fun we had together.  So in my eyes, each one is worth the effort expended, and once it is completed I am relieved, and grateful I could do this for them. 

      But I can't help being a little frustrated in the process!!

Peter Horrobin - Sexual Immorality, Deliverance - Pt 1

         Please don't discount these excellent videos because of the titles, which have only a small part in the overall message.   Country Guy & I watched them last night and thought Peter Horrobin explained the Christian life better than anyone we have ever heard.  He is a wonderful teacher!

Peter Horrobin - Sexual Immorality, Deliverance - Pt 2

Amazing Symmetry

      Have you seen this?  I think I posted it before but didn't want to take the time to look it up.  I love numbers and find this absolutely fascinating, so I'm adding it again.  I don't know who figured this out, but I think it is fabulous!  God is always giving us little glimpses of Himself and His perfect universe!

The Redneck Pool Party at Linn Park was a Success Again This Year!

      We had such fun at the Redneck Pool Party yesterday!  This was our 3rd annual event and the kids loved it, as much this year as the previous two.  An added bonus was the addition of a performance of Battle Creek, one of our favorite bands.  In fact, we thought they were such a good fit that we have invited them back for the Pool Party again next year.
 

Power washing the tarp.

     This year one of our committee members removed a small grain bin from their property so he suggested we use a ring of it to support the straw bales.  What a great improvement!  See posts here and here for previous year's problems with pool failure.

Pulling the tarp over the frame



The Firemen were gracious to fill the large pool for us.

       The pools are such a great way to use the tarp leftover when the pile of corn is uncovered at the grain elevator.  Even though the photo below looks like an acre of tarp, it is only a small section of the original.Here are a few photos to let you see how much fun we had preparing and how much the kids enjoyed the different activities.

We also made a one-bale high kiddie pool.  Here the guys are unloading the straw to make the frame.






As always the 80 foot Slip n Slide is a great hit!

As is the Water Balloon Shooter.





Even the littlest ones got in on the fun!

Fun in the Redneck Hot Tub (made in the bed of a pickup truck).

Bubble-making was also a great hit!

And so was the Pinaqua (I think we used about 80 trash bags!)

As you can see, activities were spread all over Linn Park


Battle Creek's great music and sense of humor made this year's event even more fun!

Plan ahead, so you won't have to miss next year's event.  We had someone Facebook us to ask how far it was from Houston.  When they discovered they didn't have time to get here, they said they would seriously consider coming next year.  The date is August 4, if you are interested.

Peter Horrobin's Healing Through Deliverance

     I am finding that Peter Horrobin's Healing Through Deliverance, The Foundation and Practice of Deliverance Ministry, is an excellent resource!   (It was first published as 2 volumes which you can buy separately at a discount as used books on abebooks.com.)  The book has been recommended through both Doris Wagner's and Randy Clark's ministries so that is how I heard about it. 

       If you have ever doubted that deliverance is to be part of the Christian life today, or that Christians can be influenced by demons, I suggest you read this book. 

       I highly recommend it!  It sheds much light on why healing doesn't happen in many instances today.

August 1 Reading in Jesus Calling

Today's reading in Sarah Young's Jesus Calling is such a great reminder!

        "Nothing can separate you from My Love.  Let this divine assurance trickle through your mind and into your heart and soul.  Whenever you start to feel fearful or anxious, repeat this unconditional promise: "Nothing can separate me from Your Love, Jesus!"
       Most of mankind's misery stems from feeling unloved.  In the midst of adverse circumstances, people tend to feel that love has been withdrawn and they have been forsaken.  This feeling of abandonment is often worse than the adversity itself.  Be assured that I never abandon any of My children, not even temporarily.  I will never leave you or forsake you!  My Presence watches over you continually.  I have engraved you on the palms of My Hands."

Romans 8:38-39; Joshua 1:5; Isaiah 49:15-16

Busy Days

This has been the busiest summer I can remember.! We just returned from Nebraska where we visited friends, watched our grandsons compete in a one mile race which was part of the town's festival, (one of our grandsons from Illinois who was visiting his cousins, won the youth competition in the race) and then enjoyed the festival parade as the two Nebraska grandsons drove their go cart in it to advertise their pumpkin business.  It was a fun weekend!

This week one of our granddaughters is staying with us so we are trying to keep up with her job schedule and cross country practice while working on preparations for the Redneck Pool Party this weekend.  It is one of our most popular events with the children in town and one of the most fun for us as we attempt to improve on building the swimming pool out of straw bales.  Every year we have a 'pool failure' when the bales begin to separate and water spills over the side.  Of course, the kids don't mind--they use the spilling as a waterfall and enjoy that part of the party, too!  Last year we used a piece of tarp from the grain elevator's corn pile as an 80 foot long slip and slide--a new addition which the kids loved!  Here are a couple of photos from last year:


It is quite the job spreading out the huge tarp to cut pieces to use for all the pools/slide/hot tub, but a great way to make use of the otherwise useless tarp that has been removed from the grain pile.

How To Live Naturally Supernatural by Mark Virkler

      I received this email from Mark Virkler's Communion with God Ministries and thought I would pass it on in case any of you are interested in watching the videos which he is making available the next 4 days for free.

He who abides in Me…bears much fruit… apart from Me you can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). Wow! Jesus, are You really saying I can’t do anything on my own? I find that hard to swallow. You should watch me. It seems to me like I can get quite a bit done on my own. Not that I am calling You a liar, it is just that what You are saying is so far removed from reality as I picture it, I don’t know if I can wrap my head around it. However, I do want a fruitful life, in every area: marriage, family, finances, ministry, business, health. So, yes! Teach me how to abide. I need to learn to see things the way You see them. Click Here to Watch Now Do you "grow weary in well-doing," regularly trying with all your might to resist the power of sin and live a good Christian life? Do you sometimes feel like only the strong-willed can be "overcomers"? How do we naturally let Jesus live through us? Would you describe your Christian life as one of "rest"? Do you ever wonder if maybe we are missing something in the Gospel message that New Testament believers knew? If so, this message is for you. It is time for you to release Christ continuously, effortlessly and powerfully! But don't take my word for it. Here is just one of the many testimonies we have received about this teaching: “This course radically changed my life in every way possible. When once the Christian life was somewhat of a duty and chore, it is now a lifestyle of rest. What was once my trying to be good for the Lord is now having Him be good out through me. What was striving to serve Him in every aspect of my life is now simply loving Him and yielding to His Spirit to live out of me. By understanding, experiencing and living out the revelation truth of abiding, my life in every way and dimension has been radically changed.” For the next 4 days, I am posting a full set of videos that will clearly teach you four key truths, and lead you into applying them in your life. Click here to watch this complete video series for free. Blessings, Dr. Mark Virkler President of Christian Leadership University and founder of Communion With God Ministries

Linn Park Gardens are looking beautiful right now.

I worked on the Linn Park Gardens over the weekend.  The lilies are still blooming and the roses have re-bloomed so they are beautiful right now.  Here are photos of the same garden from opposite ends. 

A New Interstate Banner

We were so pleased ot be able to advertise Heritage Days on the semi-trailer parked near Interstate 70 (see blog post here) that we decided to promote our small town with a larger banner when we took  the first one down.

This job was a little more difficult since the new banner is 38'x8' instead of 18'x8',   It took almost  two hours and 5 people to get it up!  And of course, we chose one of the hottest days!  98 degrees! But we are glad to have it done!  We will see how long it lasts--hopefully several months at least!





I was disappointed with the printing of the banner so we probably won't use that company again--Best Of Signs.  I thought the quality and construction was fine on both banners.  Here is what it was supposed to look like:  

The same thing happened with the first banner.  There was only a small area of color across the top instead of it blending into the bottom color gradually.  Since we used the same company, I have contacted them to let them know of my disappointment. I thought the first might have been my mistake but I was very careful to make sure the colors blended on the second one.   We'll see if their customer service is helpful.

Here is what the first banner was supposed to look like:  

And how it actually looked:

Brian Simmons: I HEAR HIS WHISPER... "My radiant friend"

I love Brian Simmons' (of the Passion Translation) semi-weekly emails.

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As believers we are now "in Christ." Choosing us to be His very own, Christ wants you to know every aspect of your identity in Him.      Brian Simmons and Your TPT Team I HEAR HIS WHISPER... "My radiant friend" Come and learn of Me. Learn My ways as you hear My voice. Step into your place next to Me. Step into My heart. You are seated next to Me in the realm of My glory. Surrounding you are the angels, My messengers of power. Filling the atmosphere where we sit are the songs that cause all to cry, 'Holy.' I call you to take your place and now live in Me. See yourself as I see you. See yourself as My radiant friend, the one I have chosen. Speak the words of adoration as you take your place at My side. Speak over your life and your longings the words that affirm your place in Me. I gave to My servant Joshua every place that he set his foot upon. I give to you every heavenly truth you trust in and rest upon. To Joshua it was from the Great River to the Great Sea. For you I give a River of Life and bring you to My sea of glass. Earthly blessings came to My servants of old, but now every heavenly blessing I give to you, as your Father. Am I not the Father of Lights? I have made you My light to the world. Light and truth will draw you nearer to Me. The heavenly realm is yours. I have placed you already in the secret Stairway of the sky and call you My dove. You are not a caged bird, but the Dove of My heart. Fly to Me and live in Me. The Kingdom of Heaven is My gift to you. Bring your heart into My kingdom until you are transformed from the inside out. The kingdoms of the earth will fade and fall, but My Kingdom will increase and take you from glory into glory. Seated with Me all is at rest. Faith becomes the flow of life when you see yourself at My side. Miracles are nothing more than My Kingdom piercing the veil and coming into the earthly realm. Faith is the currency of heaven that brings miracles into your life. Take your place of rest and believe, for My day of power is upon you. So come and learn of Me and I will teach you My ways and unveil My heart to you. Sit under mercy's fountain and live in Me, for I am your God. Ephesians 1:3-6 The Passion Translation Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts! And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us as one with Christ from the beginning, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence. For it was always in His perfect plan to adopt us as His delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace—for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure!

How the weather changes!

One of my favorite places we visited on our Germany, Switzerland, Austria trip was Hallstatt, Austria.  When we arrived at the Lake the Tour group went on a boat ride around the lake ending up at the hotel we would be staying in overnight. 

 Our hotel room was perfect!  It overlooked the lake, with a small balcony decorated with beautiful flowers.   I could have sat there all day!
Unfortunately, we could only stay one night.  Here is a view from the balcony when we arrived.

 This is how it looked the next morning when we awoke.  I guess it was God's way of helping us move on to other adventures.

Hubert von Goisern und Die Alpinkatzen - Heast as net

We just returned from a Rick Steves' Best of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland Tour.  Our wonderful guide, Andrea Wolf, played this song as we were traveling through the Alps. It gave me goose bumps!   I LOVE it!

 I was not familiar with Hubert von Goisern but have listened to more of his songs on YouTube.  In some he combines rock music with the accordion and yodeling--interesting and creative!