Visiting Grand Marais MN- video by Jonathan and Thomas

My son, Jonathan, and son-in-law, Thomas, have been doing a podcast together and they took a trip to Grand Marais to visit and plan and made this vlog. It has some beautiful videography and a few thoughts. I thought you all might enjoy it.

So Many Things to be Thankful For

 I thought I would share a few pictures from this last month and just a couple of thoughts. The picture above is Malcolm and I when our family went on a walk at the state park on Friday. 

The other walkers: Aaron, Mara (with Ewan on her front), Thomas and Megan)

I didn't get any good pictures from Thanksgiving day but we were blessed with family and friends joining us at our place. 5 international students from the university joined us and that was a blessing. It was fun to introduce them to Thanksgiving as it is an American holiday.

My seatmates. Some pretty fun ones that had lots of requests and questions. :-)

As usual we had plenty of pie.

Mom, Dad and I. 

We have a couple of kitties (that hopefully we can find a home for at least one of them). This one is so incredibly friendly and purrs away even when Malcolm picks him up like this.

A couple of weeks ago we had a Thanksgiving meal at church. That was fun. At it we were challenged to work together as a congregation to come of with 10,000 reasons that we are thankful (praising God). I normally write a list of things that I am thankful for everyday and have done that for 15 years or so. It has truly changed my life to do that. If you struggle with discontent or unhappiness in any way I highly recommend it. This challenge at church has caused me to put a lot more thought and effort into it -more than my normal 10 or so things per day. It has been such a blessing!

  I don't believe that it is just for God's sake that He tells us over and over again to be thankful. It is so incredibly healing for us! Even if it did nothing for us, He deserves all the thanks we can give but I think when we start obeying Him and begin praying with thanksgiving the way He tells us to we will be blessed far beyond what we can imagine.

  God gives us hundreds (thousands? millions?) of gifts every day and many of them we don't even notice. Instead we are busy thinking about our struggles, the hard things we face, the loneliness in our lives. When we start looking for those gifts instead and writing them down it fills you with such a great sense of overwhelming love - realizing just how much God cares for you. Taking the time to write them down can retrain your thinking. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of your mind" and I think obeying God in giving thanks is part of the way to do that.

   Go beyond just being thankful for family, friends, a home, a job, enough to eat and a vehicle to drive. Start thinking about all the people in your life and then think about what about them makes you thankful for them. Start noticing the beautiful things God puts in your life whether it be a mushroom you chance upon out walking, a frozen puddle that has pretty ice designs, the bark on a tree. Start noticing and get specific in your thankfulness. Give thanks for specific interactions/conversations you are able to have. Notice the sounds around you and give thanks for the ears that can hear and the beauty of music, nature, breathing, etc. Think through the things in your life that have molded you into who you are today. Give thanks - even for those hard things. Once you get started writing down what you are thankful for and truly noticing things you will find it is pretty hard to stop. 

   I would love to hear if you practice this already and if you do what affect it has had on you. If you don't do it would you please, please try? I know you will be blessed.

  Two huge blessings in my life are my Grandsons. I have started watching them once a week while their parents have a date. Ewan is normally breastfed but he gets to drink a bottle while with me. He doesn't seem to mind at all. A couple of weeks ago while Ewan was napping I asked Malcolm what he wanted to do and he said he wanted to paint. So Malcolm and I were having a great time painting away. Then Ewan woke up. We decided that he probably needed a bottle. Malcolm helped me to fix it and wanted to carry it over to the living room. Once there he also wanted to feed Ewan. So I got them set up and then Malcolm tells me " Grandma, you go paint!" He had everything under control and thought I might as well get back to painting. I love these guys so much!

Ewan isn't the only baby at church. We have been blessed with many new ones lately. Juliette was born the end of March and Juniper was born around a month ago and the rest in between. We are so blessed!

 

Living Frugally 2023 version

    Anybody that has been a reader of my blog for very long or knows me very well, knows that I am fairly passionate about living frugally. I admit I find it a pretty fun hobby - so possibly most people will find me strange but oh well. :-)

   I think one of the biggest helps for me financially (after simply trusting God that He is going to provide - I will work and do my best and God will take care of the details) is to really get my mind wrapped around the fact to pretty much all of us have money and we MAKE A CHOICE what we do with it. Many are caught in some sort of debt trap and they don't feel like they have any choices, but pretty much everybody does at some time and we make many, many financial choices every single day. So live intentionally, prepare for the hard times (trouble with health, with cars, home repairs, etc) and make a priority to spend on the things that actually matter to you (after taking care of your financial commitments).

  The things that matter to you - that is different for everybody. So the things I save money on totally may not work for you as perhaps your biggest joy in life is going to a coffee shop every single day. In my viewpoint that is a huge waste of money but I also am happier not drinking something ridiculously expensive out of a cup destined for the landfill and drinking something that isn't very good for me either. I will enjoy it on a very rare occasion - as I admit they do taste pretty good (well not the coffee actually - I am not a fan - but I love a good Chai) but not something regularly. It simply would not bring me joy. But I do love to travel. Our family went to Ireland in April, Colorado in July and other smaller trips as well. I also recently bought a ticket to go to Brazil in January, Lord Willing. That brings me joy. I am willing to make all sorts of other financial sacrifices to make that happen and I do that gladly. I also am very passionate about being debt free and so I have been attacking my mortgage and paying off just as much as I can early. That brings me joy (and I know, I'm weird).

  Anyway, I have been talking with a bunch of people that have a little less money to work with just now and so I thought I would share some of the ways that I spend less money. I am going to divide them into categories and I will try to link to more information just as much as possible.

Cleaning

• I use a vinegar water solution to clean instead of glass cleaner.
• I mop using just water and sometimes a drop of essential oil.
• I don't use paper towels or any one use items for cleaning, instead I have a large collection of rags made from old t-shirts and towels.
  
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Clothing

• I don't shop very often (less than once a month- at times far less).
• When I do shop I almost only shop at a consignment store that I bring things to whenever we have things we don't need and then I earn store credit. So usually I shop for free.
• I say "yes" to hand-me-downs. If we aren't able to use them I can generally take them into the consignment store or pass them on to someone else.
• I challenge myself to be creative in my clothing combinations every so often and sometimes old clothes can feel very new when you combine them in a fun way.
• When I do play clothing my goal is to buy quality items that will last well. This is especially important to me in shoes. I generally just buy leather shoes and they can last for years and years. 
• For tennis/hiking shoes (what I wear most days) I like Keens. They last time I needed a pair I bought some used ones in good condition off of Ebay for a pretty good price.
• I am really working to have clothes that are truly my style (I like ones in natural fabrics, often feminine, rustic or woodsy) - so no matter what fads come and go I can just stick with ones that I like how they look and feel. 

Decorating

• I enjoy having artwork on my walls that was created by family or friends.
• Much decoration in our home often is foraged from the woods or garden.
• Houseplants make pretty and healthy decorations. I have rarely bought one but I have a huge collection. That is largely because I work at a flower shop and can bring home ones that aren't looking healthy enough to sell and then work to bring them back to health. That plant doctoring actually consists of watering them occasionally and putting them by a window, nothing to fancy. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If you have friends that love plants you can often get plant starts from them. That is another great way to have a houseful of plants cheaply.
• I like to make quilts from fabric scraps.
• Throw pillows are another thing that has been easy for me to make from things that I had on hand (old bed pillows can supply stuffing).
• I have found curtains very easy to make and if you look for fabric on sale you can do it pretty cheaply too.
• I like to have basket for gathering produce from the garden. They also make nice decor. I have found them cheaply at thrift stores or garage sales.

Education

• This year and last year Megan has been going to college for free with something called PSEO (post secondary education opportunity) that is offered to Juniors and Seniors in Minnesota. She has been able to do it online through a Christian college in St. Paul. Lord willing, she will graduate with her associates degree this coming Spring at the same time she graduates from high school. We will have to pay about $1000 for her to take a couple of Bible classes this next semester as the college requires it for graduation and the state won't pay for that. I have heard of similar programs in some other states. If your child is interested in college this is a great way to do it.
• When homeschooling we stayed pretty frugal by using a lot of reusable books and using the library extensively. 
• I try to do "Continuing Education" for my floral business by watching videos on Youtube. There are a lot on there that are well done and helpful. I am guessing this is true of many industries. 
  
  
  
  
  

Entertainment

• We pretty much never go to the movie theater.
• I have watched some local plays by volunteering to be an usher and then you get to watch for free. We also sometimes pay for tickets at our community theater - that is worth it to me. And community theater is far less than ticket prices I have seen elsewhere and they do a fantastic job.
• We don't have cable or Netflix (or anything else that I pay for except internet). A lot of what we watch is off YouTube. 
• For fun we enjoy making music together, playing games, ping-pong, reading, biking, camping and canoeing. 

Food

• Use what you have in abundance. Are you getting a lot of something from the garden? Where you gifted from somebody else's abundance? Did you find a great deal on something? Especially if it is something that will go bad - build your menu around it. 
• Don't let food go to waste. Eat up those leftovers the next day for lunch. If it is more than you can eat before it goes bad - freeze some or share it with others if you can.
• I don't shop very often. I love to see how long we can eat from the pantry. This has been very helpful in keeping our grocery budget low.
• When you find good deals of something that will last for a while (in the freezer or on the shelf) stock up on it. Try to get enough that it will last until the next good sale. How much to get varies according to how much you eat it, how long it lasts and how good the deal is. A month or so ago a local store had Mac and Cheese boxes four for a dollar. I hadn't seen that sort of deal on that for a long time. I ended up getting 2 boxes of boxes (48 in all). It is a cheap quick meal that the kids like to make once and a while. Today we went to an Amish store in our area and they had jars of natural peanut butter marked at a dollar and then I looked and saw that you could get a flat of 12 for $9. That is a steal of a deal and so I now have 24 jars of peanut butter. It doesn't outdate for over a year and we should use that much in that time. I also found butter cheaper today than I had for a while ($2.99 a lb) so I got 24 pounds.
  
• I grow a garden (which I do not spend much money at all on (around $35 a year for seeds and that is pretty much it) and then we eat from the garden just as much as we can in the summer and fall. I also put up as much food as I can.
• I rarely got out to eat or buy premade food or drink.

Gifts

• I make quite a few handmade gifts. Not as many at this season of life as I have done in the past but still quite a few. I pretty much always make them from things we have on hand whether it be from my craft/sewing closet or our kitchen cupboards. I have been blessed to be on the receiving end of many people cleaning out their craft supplies however so I have an abundance to work from. Pictured above is a miniature picnic that Megan and I put together for my niece, Lilly. Below is a wreath I made for my sister Keren.
  
• I do sometimes find things at second hand stores or garage sales that are new or basically look new and I will gift them at times. 
• I wrote a post a while back on saving money on gifts that has more thoughts, ideas and details.
• Our Christian radio station in town has something called "Shopping on the radio" that offers gift cards to local businesses at a discount. I will sometimes buy those and either just use them as gifts or use them to buy gifts. It also supports the radio station in the process.

Health

• I make it a habit to drink plenty of water each day. It is tap water (when at home that means well water) so it is free.
• I do a lymph massage every morning.
• I drink warm vinegar water every morning. (2 tablespoons raw organic apple cider vinegar in 16 ounces of warm water).
• I try to do some activity/exercising outside at least 5 days a week.
• I eat a lot of whole grains, vegetables and unprocessed natural foods. I limit my use of sugar.
• I rarely have caffeine.
• I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep a day.
• I don't have a gym membership instead I enjoy working hard, biking, walking, etc that I can do for free.
• I try to spend time stretching at least 5 times a week.

Insurance

• A couple of years ago we switched from having a partially government subsidized health insurance to instead using Samaritan's Ministries which is a Christian Health Care Sharing program. That ended up saving me over $200 a month and my deductible went from $6,000 to $450 which is quite significant. Though none of us have needed to go to the doctor during the time we have been using it (praise God!) and so I can't give you first hand account of how well it actually works I have heard from others that it does work well when you have a need. I know that personally I really, really enjoy getting to send my monthly checks (11 months of the year I send them directly to another believer who has a medical expense) to someone whom I can learn a little about and pray for as well. If you should decide to check them out and join would you please say that Abbi Cobb referred you? That will take a little off my expense for the next month if you do.
• Really sit down and talk with your insurance agent and make sure that you have the coverage you actually need and want. I was able to get rid of some redundant coverage this year that saved me $34 a month. Not a lot but over time it adds up.

Laundry

• I make our own laundry soap
• I don't use either fabric softener or dryer sheets. (This not only saves me money but has made it so I have less headaches as well - I used to love the smell but after removing most unnatural scents from my life I have less headaches - I never knew that they were associated before.)

Personal Products

• I only use shampoo about once a week (I do shower daily but I have found it is better for my scalp, hair and pocketbook to shampoo less). I did have to get to that gradually but your body will stop producing so much grease if you don't strip the oils so often.
• I use a menstrual cup.
• I buy toilet paper in bulk from a local paper supply company.
• I make my own deodorant most of the time (and I like it better than what I have bought when I run out of time to make it).
• I make my own lotion bars. 

Phone

• I use a tracphone instead of having a plan I have to pay for every month. That has worked pretty well for me. I spend around $150 a year for having a smart phone.

Those are a few of the things that I do to save money. I would love to hear what you do to live frugally!

The Fruit of the Spirit is.......Faithfulness

Faithfulness is a trait that has long been very important to me. It is one of God's characteristics that I find myself most often thanking Him for. Though I love adventure and trying new things, having stability and knowing there are things that I can rely on give me incredible peace. Though I have found that people aren't always faithful - God is. 

    To be faithful you are committed to someone or something. You are honest and trustworthy. A faithful person doesn't leave when something gets hard. I have been blessed to have many faithful people in my life as well as a faithful God. As humans we are never perfectly faithful like God is but with the Holy Spirit working in us we can do our best. 

     "It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him,

we will also live with Him;

If we endure

we will also reign with Him;

If we deny Him,

He also will deny us;

If we are faithless,

He remains faithful,

for He cannot deny Himself."

2 Timothy 2:11-13

    I remember years ago (before adulthood I am pretty sure) this scripture just stopping me in my tracks. Today it makes me emotional just reading it.  God cannot be unfaithful, to do so would be to deny who He is and He won't/can't do that. So no matter what happens in life - I have a faithful, unchanging God who loves me! I really think we need to grasp hold of that so that we can realize what the Holy Spirit can do in us as well if we let Him. By the gift of the Holy Spirit we can be faithful - committed - not wavering.

    We are called to be faithful to the Lord.  Revelation 2:10 says "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." This being faithful is not something to be taken lightly. God calls us to be faithful even through extreme trials and suffering.

    We are called to be faithful in our work for God. Though this verse doesn't use the word "faithful" it describes it pretty well: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58. In 2 Timothy 2:2 & 3 we see Paul telling Timothy "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Faithful men (and women) are the ones that are needed to teach others the good news. In that faithfulness we will at times be asked to suffer hardship. Are you willing? Do you remember the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25? Both men who did something with the talents given to them and gained more were commended because of their faithfulness. Do you want to hear " Well done, good and faithful servant!" someday? I do. 

    We should also be faithful in our marriages, our friendships and our jobs - truly whatever we have committed to doing. Proverbs 28:20 says "A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished". 

" I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever;

To all generations I will make known your

faithfulness with my mouth."

Psalms 89:1

    

    

 

A Good Harvest

There is something very wonderful about harvest time. It just might be my favorite time of year. (But then again Spring gives it some pretty strong competition and there are other fun and wonderful things to do other times of year as well so I just don't know....) It is also a wearying time of year as food doesn't just sit around in perfect condition waiting for you to have time to harvest or process. The canning sometimes takes longer than you think and you are up late waiting for the prescribed time to be done so that you can turn the burner off and take things out. But it is so fun to find the treasures in the garden and hive and a blessing to get meat from the pasture or woods as well. Whether we get our food from the grocery store or the garden it is a gift from God but I think it is often easier to remember that it is God who gives us all things richly to enjoy when we are out in nature harvesting things He has caused to grow. 

   After a two year break I had bees again this year. I had taken a break for a few reasons: 1. I still had enough honey from previous years. 2. My life got a lot busier when I had to go to work following Ken leaving and this was something I could skip. 3. In 2020 when I last kept bees I got stung near the end of the season and reacted to it much more strongly than I ever had before. I was stung on the ear (through the netting that had gotten to close to my ear) and both ears immediately started throbbing, my neck (but not my throat) and arms swelled up and I broke out into hives. It was a little scary. Since then I have taken a homeopathic treatment that is supposed to have cured my honey bee allergy but it hasn't been tested to I don't know if it worked or not. I also have a lot less stress in my life then I did that Fall (as my marriage was falling apart at the time) and I think that my body was quite possibly simply overloaded when the sting happened. Anyway I decided to try again but I have been careful and I didn't work with them unless I had somebody around that could drive me to the emergency room if necessary. 

The bees did well and I had fun watching the miracle that a bee hive is and sharing it with others (as I had nephews and nieces come to learn about it with me). I did learn a lesson this year about not putting off harvesting honey. I had extracted some honey in August (as they had pretty much filled the boxes and I needed more space) and then some in September and I got a nice amount from those times but I knew there was a lot more still in the hives. I needed to extract before it got to cold but it seemed like things were going fine that way. We didn't get a killing harvest at our place until this week. There were rainy, chilly days but for the most part it still seemed pretty nice. And I was hoping for a whole day to work on it and Saturday is the only day for me that is a possibility and I had been busy with weddings, working, traveling and company and it didn't happen. I finally got out to finish getting the honey out a week ago and discovered that the bees and all the honey (except for about a dozen bees and 20 pounds of honey in one hive) had completely disappeared. I honestly don't know what happened but I think in the future I had better not let it go so late. I had figured there was about 150 pounds of honey out there so it was a disappointment but in my learning to trust God in all things I was able to have complete peace about it. He knows what we need. He knows everything in the future all the could-have-beens and He knows what is best - Always. And I had perfectly cleaned out hives to put away and NO stings this year! 

Flowers are an important part of my gardening (and my life). I don't actually harvest these to store away for winter except in pictures. :-) Someone said once that being able to have flowers in every room of their house was a sign of wealth. I totally agree. I feel like I have "arrived" when I can enjoy flowers all over my home. I love being able to get them out of the garden to decorate. I am also super blessed because with my business I end up with extra flowers and with working part time at the flower shop I also can bring old (no longer sellable) flowers home and decorate my home with them. It gives me joy and I feel incredibly blessed. By the way I am curious about that- I have come to realize that not all people have the obsession with flowers that I have, some people will even say "No Thank You" when you offer them a bouquet - are you the type the loves them and find they give you joy or are they something that don't really stir any emotion in you?

I love canning tomatoes - they are so quick and easy. I canned quite a bit from my garden and then a neighbor also shared these lovely ones with me. 

Carrots that I got to dig from a friends garden. I love getting to dig carrots and potatoes and things like that! It feels like looking for treasure.

I have enjoyed harvesting wild mushrooms from our yard this year - such as this gemmed puffball.

One evening every burner was busy as I canned applesauce, cooked down goat bones, made tomato jam and salsa and blanched broccoli. I ended up canning quite a bit of broth and some soup too. I helped my parents with butchering a little and they blessed me with some meat. This year is a little sad as my parents got rid of all their goats. They have had goats since before I was born so this is a real change for them.

Thanks to my parents prolific apple trees I was able to dehydrate a lot of apples. They are a yummy snack. I love how efficient my current dehydrator is. I also canned apple pie filling and applesauce.

Today I made Kimchee. I think it is going to be a yummy (and good for you) batch and I am excited about it. I am thinking maybe I should make another batch.

   The freezers are full and the pantry shelves look lovely too. I am so thankful for God's many blessings. We got our first hard freeze last night so it is time to move on to the next season. I am looking forward to some sewing/crafting.

  Did you harvest anything at your house? What is a favorite thing for you to harvest?
 

Jackpine Retreat 2023

The middle of September found us, as normal, heading north to go camping along with a bunch of others at a place we call Jackpine Retreat. This was my 44th time to attend and I love it every year!

A few weeks before we went I had met a bunch of international students that are attending our local university. I told them about our plan to go camping and invited them to come along. Nine of them ended up coming. I had 4 ride up with me on Friday and my parents brought the rest up on Saturday. We stopped at the town of Baudette along the way where we could get a view of Canada. 

Cooking over the campfire is an important part of our time at Jackpine. Aaron and Jason were working to get their brats just right. Jason, Michelle and McKayla came all the way from Louisiana, I always get excited when they are able to come. 

These pictures look like we had a sparsely populated campsite but actually we fed around 30 people at our campsite. There was a total of around 130 at Jackpine.

Times of singing together are one of my favorite things. Kate, a student from Russia, commented that it sounded like many of the people had been professionally trained. They aren't but most of us love to sing praises to God and I guess that shows.

I got to teach the kids class on Saturday morning. Billy who was doing the messages was talking about Loving God and others (among other things) so I decided to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. We decided to "take" the journey from Jerusalem to Jericho. The 30+ kids lined up to go on the road. I had arranged with a couple of older kids to hide along the route and then jump out and "attack" another of the older kids that I had positioned to be first in line and then run off with her stuff. That was a very effective story telling aid except Malcolm burst into tears and went running after "the robbers" trying to defend Nettie. Overall we had a lot of fun with the class and I was very grateful for the moms that were willing to come along and help out. 

Planning for next year...

Ewan at 3 months was camping for the 2nd time. The students helped out with holding him.

Ricardo from Columbia tried out spool walking and did a good job.

Jackpine is a place we like to go to spend time with old friends and make new ones as well. It is the time each year when the highest percentage of my closest friends get together. It is such a blessing to spend time with others who passionately serve Jesus Christ and follow His word to the best of their ability. It is not a group of perfect individuals but imperfect ones who know and seek to be like the One who is perfect.

My whole family was able to be there for at least part of the time (my parents don't camp anymore but they come up for part of Saturday). 37 in all.

Introducing the students to the rocker. 

 I really enjoyed having this group from other countries join us. Among them were a Buddhist, Muslims, non-religious and more. They were a fun group and I really enjoyed the conversations we were able to have about life, God and religion. They didn't mind that we spent a lot of time singing praise to Jesus. They commented on how they enjoyed seeing this part of America - it was very different than what they had thought America was like. 

Game playing is a fun part of Jackpine too.

I was excited to meet Dj's new wife, Talia. Speaking of DJ (one of my boys longtime friends) one of my fun memories of Jackpine this year was seeing him with a bunch of boys in the 5-8 year old range walking around. I asked "What are you guys doing?" and I don't remember exactly how it was worded but they told me that they were just walking around and talking about God and the Bible and stuff. From conversations that I have had in the past with DJ I know that he follows God passionately and I just think it is so cool that he would take the time to walk and talk with a bunch of little boys and encourage them to follow God passionately too.

This boy loves Jackpine and the freedom to roam from camp to camp and have lots of friends to play with. And even though it is chilly, run barefoot if you so desire.

Megan and Ewan.

Aaron's girlfriend, Harper, drove up all the way from college in Nebraska to come. I enjoyed getting to know her a little better. Travis asked her and Aaron to sing a special and they sounded beautiful together.

Ewan and I. Ewan is wearing a hat made by his mom and a sweater that I made for Malcolm but that fit Ewan for Jackpine this year. I look like I didn't get enough sleep and that is true. Saturday night was a pretty chilly one. I think many of us didn't sleep the best.

Travis amused me by not only holding Ewan all through leading songs but also doing the actions for at least a couple of songs. I don't think I know anybody else that loves babies quite as much as Travis. 

Billy Wallace shared the messages and they were encouraging and had a lot of food for thought.

Church is generally held around a big campfire. The younger ones are usually closer to the middle. :-) In all my years of going I don't know of any bad burns that have happened. 

  A couple more memories of Jackpine this year that stood out to me were on Saturday night my niece Margaret and I were looking at the stars with the international students. We could see the milky way so well and it was incredibly beautiful. First just a few of us went out to the field where we could see them really well and then when the others found out all of the students wanted to go. We enjoyed the wonder of God's creation so much. Katy (from Panama) came to me and shared that see the stars like that really reminded her of the grace of God. I so agree! Every day He gives us countless gifts for us to enjoy and some of them, like the stars, are incredibly gorgeous. We just need to wake up and start noticing this grace that He pours out on us day after day.

  While up on the field there was a group of teenagers (primarily boys) sitting around a campfire. They were visiting a little but mostly they were singing. Angela (from Columbia - and she was actually a visiting professor, not a student- who said she wasn't religious) came and asked me if they were singing about Jesus. Why yes they are. She thought is was very neat. We never know who is watching and just how we might be able to plant a seed or share about Jesus. 

   Jackpine Retreat 2023 is over but many good memories remain. I'm looking forward to next year.
 

Beautiful and Fun Things to See in Ireland

I have been a little unsure of how to truly go about sharing our pictures and about our time in Ireland. There is just so much to cover. This post is picture heavy with some of the fun and beautiful places we saw.

On the first day on our trip from the Airport in Dublin to our AirBnB in Oughterard we did a little extra side trip to see Dunsandle Castle. I had read about in online and was very intrigued because this was owned by the Burke Family and I had read a book series that was set in County Galway (By Brock and Bodie Theone) and the main characters were the Burke family. So though the book was historical fiction it was based on a lot of truth and it was super fun to to visit this castle and imagine how things would have been nearly 200 years ago.

We were very blessed to be able to hang out at the Tuttles (the missionary family) home many times while we were there. It is a beautiful home on the banks of the Owenriff River in Oughterard. They are renting it and are very thankful to have found that home as it is very hard to find places to live there. The photo below is from one of their balconies. 

Mara and Malcolm walking near the Tuttle's.

A bunch of us actually went out on a walk in their neighborhood. We crossed over the river on a little footbridge and then came back on a bridge that cars drive on as well.

This bridge is in a little park that we stopped at on our walk. It actually is directly across the river from their house.

Their home, up on the hillside.

The bridge we drove on every time we came into Oughterard from our AirBnB.

A cool place behind the Catholic church building.

Mara and Jess out behind their house.

Primroses grew wild. So pretty!

Thomas in their backyard.
We went on a hike to see Galway Wind Park and the views that we could get up on the hills.

The forest was so cool and super soft with moss.

The view (and us) from up top.

Jonathan and the wind farm.

This was what a lot of the landscape looked like when we were there in April. Very rugged and rocky.

We explored around Lough Corrib some one day. It was a very pretty lake. Super windy too.

Nick and Jess Tuttle

The cemetery behind the Anglican Church in Oughterard was very pretty and interesting. 

The boys were trying to stay dry.

Aughnanure Castle in Oughterard. This was a very lovely place!

The toilet.

Malcolm and I by one of the fireplaces.

A more private toilet and a place where prisoners were kept down below the grating.

Aaron, prepared to defend the castle.

There were some fancy details on the stone work.

I loved this place!

One day we drove along the North Atlantic coast.

We saw wild horses.

Sheep are everywhere in Ireland. Most of them have some sort of paint on them.

In Spiddel we went to a group of shops with lots of handmade things. That was really fun.

The basket making place was super cool.

I always love pottery too. 

In Galway City we checked out a bunch of Thrift stores. That was interesting. Jonathan wasn't a huge fan but he is a good sport.

This thrift store was selling by weight on this day. Malcolm really wanted the balloon.

We saw entrances like this at several shops. I thought it was very pretty.

A music and art store was fun to explore.

This is a fun shopping area in Galway City.

Kings Head Pub - this building is over 800 years old.

The icecream shop and Megan!

All the wool sweaters were beautiful!

The Spanish Arches in Galway City.

Heather was growing many places.

Blake took us to explore the University in Galway City where he is attending. It was a beautiful campus.

The Galway Cathedral is quite beautiful.   

Malcolm loved the pigeons in Galway.

We went to see the Cliffs of Moher. There were pretty views on the way too.

Jonathan heading off to take more videos.

Malcolm and Thomas.

Hiking up to see the Cliffs of Moher. We were really grateful that Blake told us about an alternative parking area to see the cliffs. The main parking area charged 12 euros per adult. Where we went it was 5-7 euros per car for parking. 

We went on a great day that was sunny and not to windy. It was beautiful!

We totally just enjoyed exploring, checking out each new view from a different vantage point and truly enjoying God's creation!

Naturally there would be part of a castle here too. :-)

Malcolm and I took the hike back to the care together. We were ahead of the others and had plenty of time to stop and pick up rocks and throw them in every puddle we passed.

We took the long way "home" and went down to see the town of Lahinch which was on the coast.

And then we drove back up to Kinvarra and saw Dunguaire castle on the outside. I found it very beautiful.

We were able to walk around the castle.

There was a very large and cool Thatched roof hotel in Kinvarra.

I found these unique little signs all over and was puzzled by them. I think from my attempt at research that the SV stands for "stop valve" but unfortunately I am still puzzled.

Some of the sheep very near our cottage.

Aaron, Malcolm and I went on an adventure one morning near our cottage. We found a mountain bike trail and explored it. I loved the look of the little farm above.

Views from our hike.

Aaron and Malcolm decided to slide through a culvert.

The "Quiet Man" bridge. It was made famous in the movie "The Quiet Man". We had to cross it every time we came and went from our AirBnB as it was part of the little road that it was on.

We went exploring in the Connemara region and it was gorgeous. I guess we were staying in that area to basically. The picture above is Hillary Fjord.

In this picture you can see mounds of peat that area being harvested.

Family pictures by the Fjord. It was a little chilly but pretty!

The Tuttles there too.

We had a picnic there. We were going to do it on the beach but decided it was just too windy down there so we had a tailgate party instead. Malcolm was happy to have his own bag of chips.

Kylemore Abbey

I thought I should have a picture of Abbi in front of an Abbey.

In Clifden I was very excited to find out there was a music festival going on. I totally enjoyed listening to the traditional Irish music. It is so fun!

Jonathan and Malcolm listening to music.

I don't know the name of this castle but it is pretty cool looking. We saw it from Sky Drive in between Clifden and Recess.

On Sunday afternoon when we were headed to Dublin we stopped in a little town and had Megan's Birthday cake in the green (a place were they used to have markets and sell there stuff many years ago). I think it may have been Kilbeggan or Kinnegad.

We explore a neat cemetery surrounding a church building that was next to the green.

At the Harcourt Hotel on Sunday night.

The caretakers cottage in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin.

St. Stephen's Green was a beautiful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Walking around in Dublin.

Dublin Castle.

At the Chester Beatty Museum (which was free). Some 3rd century parchments from the Bible. Super cool!

At the Chester Beatty

I think this was Dublin Castle again.

Christ Church Cathedral.

It was huge - it even went over a main road.

River Liffey and Mara.

The Round Tower and the museum (also free) next to it.

Some poor Irish peasents.

A cute Malcolm.

Building a tower.

Enjoying the garden by the tower.

 After that we headed to the Airport, then to Holland (just the airport) and home again.