A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words

If one picture speaks a thousand words, how much is spoken as you pour over years & years of memories captured of a loved one who has gone on? 

Just recently two pretty amazing people in our area went on to receive their heavenly reward. Both individuals had

Beware of ONLINE FRIENDS...

I met someone online a few years back. 

Isn't that a great beginning to a horror story!!!

This person is a woman - like me. And, we conversed pretty regularly for the next two and a half years. Through our conversations:

Listen, Trust and Obey

Today, and in this season of my life, I am focusing on three words:

• Listen
• Trust
• Obey

I am repeating them to myself frequently... in that order. And, I'm reviewing what

Our Chautauqua Adventure - Journal Entry July 8

Posting this from a journal entry written the summer of 2014.... because I FIND JOY IN... looking back on tough times & seeing God's faithfulness through the entire experience...

A day in the life of our Chautauqua Adventure - Summer of 2014 - July 8  (all pics from 7-8-14)

There are openings here in CHQ throughout the remainder of the summer -- EXCEPT that one week. Ken Burns will be here that week. If you can come any other time than Week 7 there should be no problem finding housing :) We are just in the beginning of Week 4.

NEED ACCEPTABLE & AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR 10 NIGHTS!

Future CHQ Student?

UPDATE: Monday, 8/10/14, 11am... Today is our last FULL day in Chautauqua - as we will be leaving for stuckinindiana land before noon tomorrow. We are staying these last 3 nights in a very nice hotel just minutes from the gates of CHQ. Our 7 nights on the porch at the DOC Graybiel House were filled with some interesting experiences & wonderful people. God remained faithful & blessed us by providing that place to stay...
(CHECK OUT THE BLOG FOR OTHER RELATED POSTS & LOOK IN THE WEEKS TO COME FOR THOSE WHICH HAVEN'T BEEN POSTED YET!!)

UPDATE: Thursday, 7/31, 11:15pm... 7 of the last 10 nights have been set up :) I heard back from the Disciples of Christ denominational house around 11pm. I need to pay them & fill out paperwork. But, it looks like... on Saturday morning before noon, we will move out of the Mardelle (boo for the creepy landlord) and Saturday afternoon after 3pm, we will move in to a PORCH on the second floor with the Disciples of Christ!! No windows - just screens & mini-blinds. Never a dull moment in our #chautauqua adventure!!

UPDATE: Thursday, 7/31, 1pm... I'm trusting & praying as I wait to hear back from TWO places this afternoon... 

* One is a 2nd-floor porch apartment (with only screens & mini-blinds for windows) at a denominational house here on-site (shared kitchen & bath; no AC); priced VERY reasonably - but, ONLY available for 7 of the 10 days

* One is a close, but off-site, hotel suite (with a free daily shuttle to/from CHQ; but, no cooking facilities at all); reasonably priced for what it is... still a bit much for 10 nights.

UPDATE: Tuesday, 7/29... and still looking with a possible place outside of the gates with a shuttle to/from the property but, NO COOKING privileges :/ Not discouraged... I have an army of Christian brothers & sisters agreeing with me in this prayer :) God ROCKS!!!

UPDATE: Sunday, 7/27... and still looking for a place on the inside. Not discouraged... because... I serve a mighty God.

7/18/14 This is a crazy unusual post for me. But, I've felt led to post it for a few days now. 

Some of the people who read my posts are family members. Others are friends. And, some are people not yet personally known to me :) Many of my blog readers believe in the power of PRAYER. So, I'm asking for PRAYER & POSITIVE THOUGHTS from anyone who reads this post.

We (my daughter, her 18-month old daughter & I) need ACCEPTABLE & AFFORDABLE housing for 10 nights.... INSIDE THE CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION GROUNDS!

mommy & daughter at the Art Quad

If you are familiar with CHQ, you understand that the going rate per night and per week inside the gates & fences of Chautauqua is not small. The rent charged for our first 6 weeks here was enough to feed a small family for a year! I'm praying for a MIRACLE... FREE housing would be ideal! Being the crazy person that I am... I believe that God can do that. SO, join me in my prayers.

WHY DO WE NEED A PLACE FOR THE LAST 10 NIGHTS HERE AT CHQ???

My daughter is a full-time student in the VISUAL ARTS AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION this summer. Since she came with her toddler & a care-giver (that's me), she could not get in the student housing. The three of us have been here since August 19th and living in a modest efficiency apartment behind Bestor Plaza. The landlord told us that he only had the apartment available for the first 6 weeks but, was pretty certain he could move people around to keep us in the same apartment for the final 10 days (wk 7 and 3 nights into wk 8). Week 7 is a big deal around here & almost everything is SOLD OUT for that week! However, when the landlord learned that neither of us was willing to work for him every single day, 4:45-7:45pm, while we were here (for no pay - just a gate pass for me), his tune changed. SO, we are now needing housing for the nights of Saturday, August 2, through Monday night, August 11th. It must be ON SITE here at CHQ due to the crazy art schedule of my Visual Arts daughter. We need full kitchen access to prepare our meals. (Babies can't survive on restaurant food & our wallet couldn't survive 10 days of restaurant food!) We would LOVE to have WiFi access too since being trapped inside for g'baby's 2-hour naps is a great time to catch up socially, read & write. We only need 1 bedroom with sleeping for two. We have a Pack N Play for the little one with us :) A private bathroom with a tub & shower would be great!!

I would LOVE to find somewhere to stay those 10 nights but, cost is a factor. 

CHQ residents...  I'm wondering, do you know of any friends or neighbors who might have a guest house or guest suite where we could stay those last 10 nights - Saturday night, August 2nd through Monday night, August 11th. Perhaps a resident of CHQ would not be here that week & I could water plants or feed the fish (ha ha!) or clean their house or... something in exchange for a place for the 3 of us to sleep & cook our own meals for that time. (I'd BUY all my food & clean up any messes, of course.) FYI, we only need ONE bedroom, we are sharing about 200 sq ft here :) We are fine being close.

Friends outside of these gates... please send your prayers & positive thoughts this way. There has to be a perfect place out there for us!!

the bridge directly behind the Amphitheater

And, thus concludes my unusual plea for help :)  If you know of anything, you may send a note to stuckinindiana@hotmail.com  If you want to know more about me personally, check out the other posts on this blog. I'm an open book on this thing! It tells my WHOLE story - LOL! 

chillin' under the big tree outside the Art Quad

pic taken from University Beach

a favorite place down by Miller Bell Tower

evening walkabouts along the lake

making friends at the 4th of July concert

supporting young artists

We are blessed to be here. We are grateful for the opportunity for our daughter at CHQ. Please agree with me in prayer that God provides for our needs for housing for the last 10 nights. Thanks so much!

Feeling Useless But Being Used

The following scenario happens so often in my life. How about you?

I have a daily routine to which I'm faithful. It's something that happens pretty consistently regardless of the up's and down's in my life. And, one day I realize I've neglected that routine for several days in a row. Then, just when I get back on track, God sends me something I really need that very moment!

This morning, after receiving several ignored pop-up reminders on my phone in the past few days, I decided to actually DO my YouVersion daily devotional (30 Days - My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers). 

And, God spoke to me in a wonderful way. 


Obedience To The "Heavenly Vision"

If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible—not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life—sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

“Though it tarries, wait for it . . .” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision. Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).

It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7). In all matters, O Lord, I would acknowledge You. Keep me in tune with You so that others may catch the joyousness and gladness of God.

Today's reading reminded me (in a head-plant in the palm sort of way)...

• that I need to patiently wait on the Lord... 
• that I don't need to rush out to do everything that I know to be good... 
• that God will use me where He needs me & when He needs me...

IN HIS TIMING IF & WHEN I ALLOW HIM!

I am so thankful that God loves us in our imperfections and that countless blessings are strewn about us... for our discovery! 

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." James 1:17 NLT

PS If you have a smart phone or a tablet, check out YouVersion applications.

YouVersion... A free Bible on your phone, tablet, and computer.

YouVersion is a simple, ad-free Bible that brings God's Word into your daily life.

It's the Bible at your fingertips. There are over 2,000 devotions available. It's a WIN WIN!

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today...