We are NOT on Fire

Thank you Timbra for checking in on us. The week of the fires was a bit hectic, but we are back to normal and have unpacked our evacuation suitcases and have had steady power now for two weeks.
What we do no have is steady internet. It sucks. I wouldn't use such strong language but I want to convey my frustration. Well, and I'm sure if I really cared I would still make a way. I am in a continual blogging lull. I have started playing my guitar again though and am slowly learning to read music. I am also knee deep california home grown green beens and apricots. Apricot trees are all over the place around here so I scored about 10 pounds (at least) from different sources and am on my way to the ancient yet wonderful craft of canning or "jamming", if you will. Other than that life just rolls on.
Pictures are complicated with a bad internet connection.
Thank you friends...

Update

We had a wonderful vacation! We hiked, biked, rested, played scrabble, jumped in a lake that was like 50 degrees, tromped in snow, and saw some old friends.

I want to share pictures and write more, but every night when I have the computer the electricity is off because we are very close to the "GAP" fire. I don't think we are at high risk, but we could be evacuated. We have our bags packed and ready if we need to leave. We are probably more cautious than others because we haven't gone through this before. The fire started Tuesday night and we could see it from our second floor. It is on the mountain we can see from our house. It started about 5 miles from here and now is 2 miles or so away. The highest risk of the fire going crazy happens in the evenings when a hot wind blows down the mountain towards the ocean.

That's it for now. Hope everyone has a Happy 4th of July.

Random Thoughts

I don't want to go for a long time without posting again, but I am having trouble organizing my thoughts.

I'm in the middle of a book called "Soul Graffiti" by Mark Scandrette. It is challenging and at the same time is summing up how I've already been feeling for a while now. I can't do it justice here; but want to recommend it to anyone who would give it a shot for no other reason than because I said to.

We picked our first zuchinni from the garden. We found it about a week ago and brought the kids out to show it to them. The girls applauded me and all my gardening skills. It is weird how something as simple as gardening has been so eye opening to me about God's goodness, but it has. He really does satisfy our desires and provide for us with such skill and generosity.

Kind of along the same lines we put up a bird feeder about a month ago. My mom gave it to us for our anniversary. So, we've been enjoying all the birds coming and going. It is in plain view from our dining room table, so we've spent many meals watching or talking about the birds. So you might say that we've been obeying the command of Jesus when he says in Matthew 6:26 to "Look at the birds of the air." He is talking about God's provision and the fact that they don't sow or reap or store away and yet God feeds them. Then Jesus tells us that we can't add a single hour to his life by worrying.

I think I have a lot to learn about this, but I can feel that changes are taking place inside of me. I never knew I was a worrier, but I am seeing more and more that I am. Now that I see it and at the same time am watching birds and gardens grow, my faith in God is growing more. I am learning to trust and feel challenged to align myself more with my trust in God.

We will be enjoying a vacation next week in Northern Ca and specifically Lake Tahoe for a few days without the kids! I am so excited. We actually need to get out of the heat. It was like 102 here today. Wierd.