Kitchen 3 (Ann Dees)

Kitchen 2 (Yours Truly-Tes)

Kitchen 1 (Sally Spurlock)

The Heart of the Home

Remember the aroma's from your grandmother's kitchen? Remember the look and feeling of comfort in your mother's kitchen?

You are more than likely to spend more of your time in the kitchen than in any other room in your home.

So whether your style is warm & welcoming, loud & cheerful, stylish & modern or even affordable yet durable.

Your kitchen truly is the Heart of Your Home and it reflects You!

We spend more time in the kitchen than any other place in the home with uses and activities expanding far beyond cooking. We not only use the kitchen solely for the preparation of food but use the kitchen regularly for family discussions (including heated ones!), socializing and entertaining, hobbies, and  playing with our children. As we grow older, the kitchen becomes increasingly more significant -- after the age of 35, the kitchen beats out the bedroom in importance for both singles and married people.

Our kitchen's are a pleasant space for spending time with others. That is why I've asked several of our ladies and men to share some pics of their kitchen's.  Besides I just thought it would be fun.. BTW Sally Spurlock's kitchen was my inspiration. Enjoy! 

The Girl Loves Barrel Racing

Here is a glimpse into the world of one of our youth Nicole Miracle. It's pretty obvious that this girl loves horses and she loves to barrel race.

Nicole says."When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" Psalm 56:3-4

Pics by Vonda Miracle

Lisa & Grace

Here is a beautiful pic of Lisa and Grace from a wedding they attended over the weekend. I love it!

The Many Adventures of Joan and Hughie Hobbs

 Tes-just saw the pictures of Hughie and myself we did have a wonderful time-had been a dream of ours for a very long time-every morning I would read our daily devotion aloud, along with an excerpt about applying it to our life-it seem to always"hit" us EVERY day-God is good! Thank you!

 Mount Rushmore

@ Hoover Dam

@ Yellowstone National Park

@ Yellowstone National Park

@ Grand Canyon

Interesting Find...

JERUSALEM (AP) — A tiny golden bell pulled after 2,000 years from an ancient sewer beneath the Old City of Jerusalem was shown Sunday by Israeli archaeologists, who hailed it as a rare find.

The orb half an inch (one centimeter) in diameter has a small loop that appears to have been used to sew it as an ornament onto the clothes of a wealthy resident of the city two millennia ago, archaeologists said.

When Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority shook it Sunday, the faint metallic sound was something between a clink and a rattle.

The bell's owner likely "walked in the street, and somehow the golden bell fell from his garment into the drainage channel," Shukron said.

The relic was found last week. Shukron said it was the only such bell to be found in Jerusalem from the Second Temple period, and as such was a "very rare" find. The Second Temple stood from about 515 B.C. until A.D. 70.

The biblical Book of Exodus mentions tiny golden bells sewn onto the hem of the robes of Temple priests, along with decorative pomegranates. The artisans in charge of making the priestly clothes and implements, according to the Bible, "made bells of pure gold, and attached the bells around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates."

It was not know whether this bell was attached to a priestly garment. It is engraved with a pattern of circular channels starting at the top.

The bell was found inside the Old City walls, a few paces from the site of the Jewish Temples — the sacred compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The compound is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden-capped Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock.

The excavation of the sewer is part of the City of David excavations in the oldest section of Jerusalem, which lies just outside the current city walls and underneath the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan. In the past, Palestinians have objected to Israeli excavations in that area.

The sewer, which Jewish rebels are thought to have used to flee the Roman legionnaires who razed Jerusalem and its Temple in A.D. 70, is set to open to the public later this summer.

Article By MATTI FRIEDMAN - Associated Press

Jesus Said....

Mark 10:14 Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Vacation Bible School 2011

I'm only going to be sharing a few pics on here. I'll be giving Amanda all the pics for her to use on the children's blog. Above are all the class pics.

Blooming

A couple of years ago, I ran across this saying, “You Bloom Best Where You’re Planted.” Immediately, the wheels in my mind began to turn. I don’t know that this phrase was spiritual in its beginnings, but I automatically began to think about how the Bible instructs us to be “fruitful”. I began to think about how God has placed us in the circumstances that we are in for a reason, and that we can choose to make the best of the situation we are in.

Here is an article by Amanda Hayes I found about doing just that.

First of all, we need to “BLOOM” where we are planted, emphasis on “BLOOM”. I think the word bloom here is telling us that we need to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. What does it mean for a person, not a tree, to bear fruit?

John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” The Bible uses the phrase “bear fruit” to refer to the good works we should be performing as believers. When we blossom for Christ, we share the love of Jesus with all those around us. The results will be a large “crop” in “The Big Garden in the Sky” because of our fruitfulness.

Secondly, we need to bloom “WHERE” we are planted, emphasis on “WHERE”. Being content with our lot in life is sometimes difficult, but God has placed us right where he wants us to be. I love this little poem, “What may be my future lot, high or low concerns me not. This doth set my heart at rest; what my God appoints is best.”

No one could have put this into better perspective than Paul did in Philippians chapter 4, verse 12 when he wrote, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” True contentment is found, not in having everything you want, but in not wanting to have everything.

Third, it is important to bloom where “YOU” are planted, emphasis on “YOU”. So many people are so busy worrying about other people, that they can’t reach their full potential in Christ. “YOU” are a unique individual created by God and He has a very specific plan for “YOU”.

Lastly, we need to bloom where we’re “PLANTED”, emphasis on “PLANTED”. We need to be rooted and grounded in God’s word. If we are not sure what the word says, Satan will lead us astray using every scheme and tactic he can come up with.

Psalm 1:2-3 says,” But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

Sometimes we may not understand why we work where we work, live where we live, shop where we shop, eat where we eat, or worship where we worship. However, rest assured that God has strategically placed you in the precise location on this earth that He wanted you to be. Make the most of every opportunity to “bloom” in God’s garden. We are His prized blossoms!

Congrats To The Reed Family!

 Congratulation's to the Reed family on the marriage of their son Kendale to Amanda Brooke Harris. United in marriage on 7-16-11 @ the home of Kenneth & Kathy Reed.