Mr. & Mrs. Fisher

I called the farm the other day and Chantée answered the family phone. 

"Chantée Fisher!!!!" 

It was something I have wanted to greet her with for some time now. 

It seemed to me that she rather enjoyed it. 

We are happy. 

Thankful. 

Welcome to the family! 

Big Bend

National Parks= Great vacation destinations... or great places to pass through on the way to big brother's wedding. Big Bend is in the middle of no-where (unless you happen to live in the big bend of Texas by the Mexico border... and not many people do).

A grandiose place! On a star scale, I'd rate it a five.

The Slacker Summer Blogger Post

My summer highlights in a few pictures.

In May we graduated Andrew.

We are so proud of him!

In May I visited my long-armed and long-torsoed friend Heather in Savannah, GA.

My next stop was at John and Martina's wedding in MD. Dead camera until after the wedding. So I have some pictures of cute goats and Christy! 

In June we graduated our Depression Recovery class! I am proud of them too. 

Fort Mose in June. I love this quiet spot in the marshes. 

At the end of June I spent a weekend in NC. LOVE THAT STATE. So pretty. And this waterfall? I slid down it too! Can you believe it? It's called Turtle Back Slide and really fun. 

I celebrated the 4th of July in TN. Had fun with my friends and ate some pretty amazing food. :) 

In July I went home to visit my family and for Oklahoma Campmeeting.

Family time in the pond.

Good times. 

Campeeting! 

Luke and his bride-to-be :) 

And only a few weeks later in August, Elisa and Allyson came to visit me! They rock. Miss you girls!

Made some new friends this past week. We visited some other new friends in Daytona yesterday. It was a special Sabbath. 

Our other Sabbath highlight yesterday: We sliced into Granny's famous cheesecake that I made. Sooo yummy. Vegan Blackberry Cheesecake goodness. Thanks for the recipe, Granny! 

Kids are going back to school, the sun isn't so blazing, and there is a flowerpot of mums on my dining room table, which tells me that fall is allllmoooossst here. (!) 

:) 

Family Time

It was good. 

The 3 D's

I'm reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" Again. 

Some people think I'm a Mary. 

Others know that there is some Martha in me.

Martha was distracted and stressed... and she was serving and ministering to/for Jesus. How often is it easy to fall into this trap? I've got a full plate and often feel that I am neglecting responsibilities. So thankful for the encouragement in this book to keep my chin high and to turn to Jesus in my times of weariness or spiritual amnesia. 

Here are a few thoughts/excerpts from a chapter that I'm on discussing the "3 Deadly D's". 

1. Distraction

2. Discouragement 

3. Doubt

Satan has been using these tools for some time now... and they work. 

"Satan knows that when we're overly worried and bogged down by duties, chances are good our hearts will not hear the Savior's call to come. While distraction may not win the battle for our soul, getting our eyes off of what is important will certainly make us more vulnerable to attack." -Joanna Weaver

An excerpt from "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World"

5 Strategies for Fighting Discouragement 

1. Allow for rest stops. Discouragement is often our body's way of saying, "Stop! I need rest!"

 (Ex. 34:21)

2. Get a new point of view. Take a few steps back and ask God to help you see his perspective on your situation. Often what seems to be an impassable mountain in our eyes is only a steppingstone in His.

 (Isaiah 33:17)

3. Have patience. It's easy to get discouraged when things don't go the way you planned. But if you've committed your concerns to the Lord, you can be sure He is at work, even when you don't see His hand.

(Romans 8:28)

4. Mingle. Discouragement feeds off of isolation. Get out of the house! Its amazing how good, old-fashioned fellowship can lift our spirits and chase away the blues. 

(Psalm 133:1) 

5. Set the timer. Okay. So things aren't so good. Set the timer and allow 10 min. for a good cry. But when the buzzer sounds, I blow my nose, wipe my eyes, and surrender my situation to the Lord so I can move on.

(Eccl 3:4)