God in all His Glory

Last night I had read, I had prayed, my eyes were not tired. So I got up and went to our balcony. I looked out and thought I was watching lights from the ground and then, I realized, it was so clear, I was watching the Northern Lights. (This isn't my picture!) I wrapped up in a blanket and went out on the balcony and was again amazed at the wonder of the Father. He is the Father of Light. In creation, there was light before He made the stars, sun, and moon. He is light. For just about an hour, I worshipped Him. I praised Him for the gifts that He has given us. I praised Him for the care He has given our family and friends. I thanked Him for the life that He has give us over the years. I thanked Him for the times that He has so present that I could reach out and touch Him, or crawl into His lap and cry out to Him. He is worthy of the praise and honor that we can give Him. I also praised Him for the times when I didn't feel His presence, when I couldn't seem to connect with Him. I realized that in the chaos of my life during those times, I had to stop and find a quiet place, a place where He could show me His wonder. A place where where my struggling ceases and I rest in Him. There are times when even then, I wonder at His presence. Where is He? Has He abandoned me? Is He really there? Then in a sleepless night, in the quiet of midnight, He shows me His Light. He allows me to feel His presence. And I praise Him.

Father, You are magnificent. I love being called your child. I love the wonder of Your nature. How I praise the marvelous presence in Your creation. You chose to not make this world so commonplace that we can see you in the creation of your world. Father, so many have not seen your light, show them Jesus, show them who you are! thank you for the lack of sleep to make me aware of your presence. How I love and praise you for who you are molding me to be. In your precious name. AMEN

After 5 years...they came back...and we toured again

Kelly and Candice flew into SEATAC on Thursday afternoon. We drove back to Ferndale and from that time on, we had such a great time. We caught up on friends we haven't seen. But our relationship just continues to grow. We ate fresh blueberries, blackberries, and peaches. We sampled the NW Dungeness crab. We saw sights. We laughed, we cried. We prayed. We had a great time and I wanted to celebrate some of the highlights of their trip...there really were so many pictures and memories made...can't wait until they are able to come back. Here goes:

Friday....

Friday Steve had the day off and we headed to Anacortes to take the ferry for our day long feels like it is 3 week vacation. It seems like whenever we need to have a break that feels longer...we head to San Juan Island. The ferry ride itself is worth the ride...then, we hit island time. Things slow down.

This is Roche Harbor...one of the harbors on the island that happens to have our favorite soup...clam bisque!!!!

A trip for Candice out here would be a loss if she couldn't pick blackberries from the "weeds" that grow everywhere out here....

Meet Mona, the shy camel who didn't want her picture taken...we found her on San Juan Island...we hadn't ever seen her before...

This one is coming into Friday Harbor....RELAXATION...began at that time!!!

I love when God gives us reminders of His care for us. In the same statue garden we found this statue...In His hands. He keeps this world in His hands which should be a reminder to us when the world seems like it is in complete upheaval with tornadoes, flooding, earthquakes, and all of the other disasters that frequent our news...wars and rumors of wars...He is in control!!!

Another view of the harbor...

This is the general store that is right across from the restaurant where we ate...

This is the boat that I have to say is our favorite picture...not the prettiest...but one of the most fun pictures...







Okay when they see this one on my blog, they may never come back which is NOT my intention. This is one of my favorites. We were wandering through a statue garden and found the visor family of statues. Since they won't use this one for their Christmas card, it has to be used....delete....um....nope!!!!

Saturday

On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market in Bellingham. It is a cacophony of sound and smells. Flowers and fruit, purses and peppers, singers and wanna-be singers, the Hurdey Gurdey man on his hurdey gurdey...it was a fun day...

These were too pretty NOT to take a picture of them....

Later that night we went to the Bellingham Bay Harbor Cruise with all the crab you could eat!!!

Sunday

On Sunday, after church, we went to Bellingham Bay by Boulevard Park. It was low tide and we knew we would find all sorts of treasures awaiting us....

We found these guys just hanging onto the rocks until the water came back in...

Purple starfish...when we moved out here, I had never seen a live starfish. I was surprised that the first one I saw was orange. Thinking that this was their "normal" color, I was doubly surprised when we found purple and red...another gift from our Father. He has no desire to have us look at what He has created and say...oh another one of those. He delights in our delight of His creation...and on Sunday...we delighted.

We were not miles away. Steve picked this one up for a photo op...they are dry and rough...not at all slimy...

Clustered together, red and purple...

We turned over rocks and saw little crabs...lots of them. They were pretty hard to catch with the camera...

(Okay, this one posed because Kelly found him...on his back...um...not really breathing)

The rock formations that are by the ocean are amazing to me. As I look at His creation, I do have to say, I stand in awe so many times.

When we came to the bay, I wanted you to see what you would see if you weren't looking. God has special surprises for each day of our lives but we need to be willing to stop and look for the gifts that He has for us on a daily basis!

We had breakfast at our house (crab cake Benedict...mmmmm) and headed for Mt. Baker. We couldn't go to artist point because the road was never opened this spring due to 35 feet of snow... but we didn't want to miss more of God's creation on Sunday afternoon...so off we went to the mountain...

I think that I have more pictures of moss (even more than otters...see Monday activities) than anything else! I love the moss that grows on the old growth forests. Okay, I do love the trees in all seasons. I was having some difficulty with all of the fall color that we saw...seems like our summer has gone so fast...

The color came out along the babbling brook. We stopped at the camp ground on our way up to the peak. The red was so pretty against the blue back drop of the creek...

Another one of my fascinations out here are the waterfalls. The power always stops me and I can stand and look at them forever and wonder at the power of our God. This summer so many places have seen the power of God's hand in nature; for many it has not been an easy thing to see and experience with the floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and all of the disasters that people are facing.

This is Mt. Shuksan which is the backdrop for Picture Lake. This lake has the most awesome reflection of the surroundings. As believers, we need to be a reflection of His love to the world around us. He is powerful and awesome and He is our God!

Picture Lake. I know that you will see more than this picture in later blogs. Love it...

MONDAY

On Monday Steve had to work so Candice, Kelly and I went to the Vancouver Aquarium...amazing sights. This jelly fish and his friends put on quite a show. In looking at the various kinds of ... Jelly fish, fish, animals, and plant life...we were reminded of the uniqueness of God and His amazing creation.

I had explained on the way UP to the aquarium that my FAVORITE animal is the sea otter. I love watching them, love taking pictures, and just love standing by their inhabitant. SO?????? Why did I get grief from Candice and Kelly when they realized that I had taken 44 pictures of the little guy...one can only realize that they like to pick on me!!!!

Hannah was also fun to watch. She was throwing something up in the air and catching it...for quite a while...I have lots of pictures of her too...just not 44! I finally asked a zoo worker what was going on...Hannah likes to play with her food. She will throw it up for quite a while before she eats it. You see in the animal kingdom, even the dolphins like to play with their food. Think of this the next time you hear yourself say...don't play with your food. Maybe that is just the way God meant it to be!

Balooga whales were pretty amazing too. Not as many pictures but so much fun.

The highlight of the aquarium? The 4D movie that we experienced. 3D with water squirting us, snakes poking us in the back (ask Candice about this one), and chairs vibrating as a group of crabs went running across the screen!

Tuesday and the day the Gartners returned home....

Tuesday...The Gartners left...we had a great time but we had a couple more stops before they said good bye and went home to see their little monkeys whom they missed so much! We went to the Space Needle and went to the top. If you look closely...you can see it was pretty foggy but the view was still pretty amazing!!

What a blessing God has given us when family and friends come to see us. We loved reconnecting with them and had a blast!!!! We look forward to the next time they come. They already see other places where they would be able to spend more time....and by then...we will discover new places to take them. Love the friendships that God has given us.

Another Amazing Opportunity we had....

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to attend all of the festivities of our neighbor's daughter's wedding.

Our neighbors are East Indian and we were invited to all of the festivities. I had opportunity to ask so many questions and it was such a privilege to experience their traditions. At one point, one of the ladies asked if I had ever attended an Indian wedding. They reported that it was the most traditional wedding that they had ever attended.

On Thursday, the bride receives her henna tattoos. If you look at her arms and her legs in the video, you can see the intricate design that she has. On Friday morning they rub saffron cream over her body to prepare her for her wedding day. That night there was a party. In traditional Indian weddings, the groom would come from another tribe and these times with the bride's family were very important. It may be the last time she sees her family so it was a time of joy and sorrow for her family. The groom also has parties with his family but these parties do not meet until the wedding. This was a party that was celebrating the family unit!

On Saturday morning, the bride and her family and friends gather for the "snack." a>

All of a sudden there is an announcement that the bridegroom is coming and everyone rushes from the temple to greet the groom. The groom comes with his face covered until the gifts from the brides family are given to his family. Then, the bride's family and friends make room for the groom and his family for their "snack" time.

At the time when it is complete, we took off our shoes, covered our heads, and washed our hands to enter into the temple.

The bride comes in with her brother and father, her mother follows behind. They are surrounded by women who are there to minister to their needs.

The brides father drapes one part of a red sash over the shoulder of the groom and ties his daughter's hands together.

During parts of the service, the bride is led around the altar by her husband and given words of wisdom from her brother and her male cousins. The ceremony ends and there is great celebration with food and music.

As I watched all of these festivities, I could not help but make a comparison of this wedding to the wedding of the Lamb. As believers, we should be ready and always preparing to receive our Groom in Christ. The henna tattoos are beautiful, but the "tattoos" that our Father loves to see is the acts of worship and service that we do for Him daily.

As the announcement of the bridegroom was called and many of the people rushed out to see the groom, there were those who hung back, whether for age, boredom, or just not interested in the festivities, I don't know. It was easy to compare this with my faith.

We take off our shoes because we will be standing on Holy ground. We cover our heads as a sign of respect to our God and Savior for what He has done for us. He will give us new clothes that will be those of the righteous ones.

The wedding, one of purity and love, will be performed. There will be joy. When the groom led the bride around, my first inclination was...oh, no...then, the more I thought of the groom being Jesus, the more I realized that this should be my posture with Him. Submissive and following closely behind Him, not getting ahead of His plans for me.

It was an experience. I loved being there, but my heart also broke as I realized that god was placed under blankets in an altar...how I praise my God that He is alive, not relegated to a particular place but is with me and in me and He surrounds me with His presence. How I praise Him for this reminder of His love for me as we sat and experienced a Hindu wedding

PS...I have no idea why I am purple and underlined????? AND I had a movie with lots more pictures...if I figure out how to upload it...I'll upload it later.