to have a good time or be happy! Life is what you make of it.
And a blessed time can be granted to anyone by God....
Enjoying life to me is about embracing every thing each moment has to offer, now this has taken practice for me, especially during times of the unknown. But as soon as I started trusting God, leaning not unto my own understanding, embracing His provision not just in the practical things but in the "extra's" that he wants to give us (even at times when it doesn't make sense) it seems He grants more enjoyment to me. He provides more free tickets to this and that, free rides, free gift certificates, good days and more joy. It was like a new dimension of living was opened up for me. God doesn't need our dime to grant us a good time!!! I needed to see that!
While you absolutely still need to keep the sense of responsibility for your bills and duties you hold and such, you've got to have a balance, which I needed. I need not trust in the arm of flesh, the arm of flesh will fail you, but so many times we say,"Man, things are going good, I'm doing good." and we stop there. But, it's all the goodness of God really. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. And when you have the funds to do it all, it isn't you're awesomeness doing it and when you don't have the funds, it isn't you providing the good times then either!!!
So, when you're on the unfortunate end, why does the enjoyment of living have to stop? Why not relax and choose not to worry our lives away? I choose happy!!! Because problems will always be here but we won't be. And I'm speaking as one of the suffering o.k.
(husbands unemployed, 3 of my children have heart murmurs and we've tried to keep this quiet but some of our children don't want it known however, one of ours requested prayer in Sunday School, worried about it so it's going to come out sooner or later and then my own health is iffy, up and down, I can't get a quick fix like some because I don't have insurance, so you see? I understand....we don't have a whole lot going for us in the world's eyes.)
But God's big enough to take care of us and our problems, it's not our job to worry about them. So on we go, enjoying the journey not just the destination!! And whatsoever state we're in, we CAN be content and God will reward us in due time for it, hey you might even be able to say, "I love my life, crazy as it seems!!" and mean it because you're looking to the "Problem-Solver instead of all the problems. Which then frees you up to appreciate every day and embrace the beauty of life all around you instead of the darkness.
"I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me." Phil 4:13
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So this summer we took one day out of every month and had "Family Day."
Picnic at Bays Mountain
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| John zip-lining down hes on the right......looks like he's touching down in the middle there but he's far from it. |
Bays Mountain is free during fun festival week.
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| QUEEN OF THE HILL ;) |
We went on a 3 hour hike to the top of the mountain to get the breath-taking view.
Once you get to the top, you climb an 80ft. fire tower.
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| Jaz spotted tracks on the trail....in the canine family we suppose. |
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| Once a Marine....always a Marine....Semper Fi |
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| Of course, I'm side-tracked with the natural beauty every where. |
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| "Awe, I want to take you home........you can be my little fuzzy wuzzy!!" |
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| Johnny isn't too sure of this tower....he kept saying the whole way down the tower scared out of his mind, as he climbed down the wobbling tower..... "I hate this.....I hate this......I hate this.!" |
Let me just say, this is a dangerous hike o.k. it is very steep and
really children shouldn't do this and really you need an adult per child.
So just know this, because we didn't.......
Otherwise, the view is so worth it, you can see the Carolina moutains..........
at least that's what they told me, seeings how
I had to stop 1/10 of a mile from it, had to take a minute to chase Jasmine who
went rolling down the mountain,
tore her clothing and hyper-ventilated...so we turned around and let the 3 others go on..
(Julianna following closely behind me, she was done apparently)
but courageous Johnny Jr, Johnny the III, and Sara made it to the top.
As for Jasmine, thank goodness no broken bones only minor cuts and bruises.
So onto to something a bit less extreme...ZIPLINING!!
(I said a bit less extreme right?)
Seriously though, the zip-line is safer than that hike and rusty old tower........
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| Jasmine after the eventful hike and after the zipline,,,,still smiles.... children are so resilient I tell ya. |
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Thumbs up for the thrill of it!! |
Picnic at STEELE CREEK PARK!!.....$3.00
PICNIC at SUGAR HOLLOW.......free
GRAMPS TREATS US TO CRACKER BARREL
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N.C. Grandparents Reward Kiddos for Good Grades all Year!
with........ CHUCK-E-CHEESES!!!
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Trip to Auntie Julie's to say goodbye to their cousins :( in Virginia Beach, V.A.
Not so free.....but God provided in unexpected way...you wouldn't believe me so I'll leave ya guessing! Julie and Stephen took good care of us while we visited.
We also enjoyed the Norfolk Botanical Gardens while we were there.....beautiful and fun!!
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| This was funny the frogs "spit"out water and Julianna got a little surprise in the toosh. (hee hee Mommy's mean for laughing I know.) |
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| Cousin Lovin' :) |
Gonna miss this little guy.....Auntie loves you Micah.
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Winged Deer Lake...Free
( we like to go early in the morning ( no crowds except maybe a few fishermen) and there's a playground here too they play on as they are drying out)
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| Mia and Bella, some friends they met :) these dogs love to swim and fetch anything you throw in the water. |
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| Those dogs pushed these logs to shore with their nose while they swam. |
going for that "sun-kissed" look you know ;)
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