Our House

Steve said to me the other day, "I just really like this house." It has certainly been a labor of love for us - it was a fixer-upper in more than one sense of the word. The couple selling it were going through a divorce, it had been gutted for a remodel that they never finished, and they were terrible hoarders - junk was everywhere - in fact, a couple of rooms were just piled high with clutter.


Oh, and there was taxidermy everywhere - nothing against stuffed animals and hunting trophies, but just not my idea of interior decorating!


So, we had to look with creative eyes and hearts and see the potential for the house. We started in last June and worked through the summer remodeling from top to bottom. It was a great team effort with my artistic eye and Steve's attention to detail. Steve kept a tight punch-list and we made it just in time with the essentials - literally the oak flooring was laid right before we moved on August 15th.


We have had some continuing projects once we were in the house but they have been more leasurely. Now we are enjoying our little family life here. The doggies love the back yard and the doggie door we put into the family room for them to go in and out. It is a nice home built with love.

(Blackjack is sniffing some critter on the edge of the sidewalk)

Here are some more before and after photos:

(Steve put in a skylight over the front entry and it really
brightens up the whole place.)

(The family room sliding glass door is the common reference
point between the above two photos.)

(The Master Bedroom/Bathroom vanity)

So, yes, I echo Steve's statement, "I really like this house!"

Donna

The Greatest Generation

I found a picture of the plane my Daddy was a crew member of in World War II and sent it to him. It is a PBM Mariner. He was in air/sea rescue and got several medals for bravery and above and beyond the call of duty in rescuing downed pilots who had to ditch their planes in the sea.

This picture was a test flight when they were experimenting with a JATO rocket booster (Jet Assisted Take-Off).

My Dad, Dan Burris was in the Pacific theatre in the Navy the last two years of WWII. Since he was in air/sea rescue, they would follow behind campaigns to go in and rescue any downed pilots, sometimes behind enemy lines which is how he got the medals.

I'm proud of my Daddy's service for our country!

Dan Burris

I thought Anne Graham Lotz' online devotional was good today. It is so disappointing to hear of another role model that kids look up to, namely Tiger Woods, make such poor life choices.

One Life
"Today, in a world where the role models are entertainers, athletes and politicians, many of whom lack morals, integrity and even common decency . . . in a world where no one seems to stand for anything unless it is to stand for selfish, self-serving rights . . . in a world where anything is compromised if it impedes success . . . in a world where pleasure takes priority over principles . . . in a world where we care more about public opinion than about what God thinks . . . in a world where there are no absolutes, where what is right is what works or what feels good . . . in a world where character no longer seems to count . . . In such a world, the testimony of one life lived for Christ is powerful! One life cleansed through faith in the blood of Jesus. One life that confesses, "Jesus is Lord." One life that has the courage to stand for godly convictions in the midst of moral compromise. One life that tells the truth. One life that lives the truth. One life that lifts high the Light!...

You can be that one life!

Blessings,
Anne Graham Lotz"

Historical Drama Queen Seondeok

Steve and I have been watching a Korean drama entitled "Queen Seondeok." It is a historical drama set in the 7th century. Here is the recap and a few photos.

Description:
"King Jinpyeong did not have any sons to name as a successor to his throne. Thus he named his eldest daughter, Princess Duk Man, to be his successor. The drama will be about the life of Princess Duk Man who was later known as Queen Seon Duk, the first Queen of Silla."

There is a good balance between court intrigue, adventure, danger and a wonderful cast of characters. There are also some pithy moral sayings and applications. The drama is in Korean with English subtitles but in a way that adds to the authenticity of the drama.

Online link to view this mega-series can be found at:

http://www.mysoju.com/queen-seon-duk/

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS3G7G5i_V4

We got started watching it on a Korean antennae channel broadcast in the San Francisco Bay area.

Each episode leaves you hanging, waiting to watch the next one to see how things turn out.

Getting in the way with prayer, Genesis 24

A beautiful passage on prayer that I have sort of re-discovered or maybe have really seen for the first time is Genesis 24. Abraham's servant prayed for a wife for Isaac as he traveled to his master's homeland.

What caught my attention is verse 27, especially in the NKJV "And he said, 'Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren."

Wow, what a dynamic progression... praying, getting it into gear to be in the place where God can do something - "being on the way" - and then having the Lord direct his steps. It's that balance, praying and doing and answering

Very interesting!

I love the old KJV for verse 27 "I being in the way, the Lord led me..."

I pray you are getting in the way today with your prayers and that the Lord is leading and using you to greater and greater things.

Donna