June 30-July 6, 2019 G&G Visit, Fixing Things, Painting, Floors, Pizza Shop Work

June 30-July 6, 2019 

G&G Visiting, Fixing Things, Painting, Floors, Pizza Shop Work

Hello, Friends!

What a good visit with Giz and Grampy, Dh's parents from southern Indiana.  Giz's health has actually improved and her outlook was very positive.  I had really been looking forward to G&G visiting so we could have serious talks about our church problem with them.  They are wise older Christians that only want what is best for us.  We spent time each day discussing our church problem and slowly processed different aspects.  They confirmed the key point moving forward was to NOT stir the pot.  This is a family trait that they always remain firm on.  We don't want to act in a way that doesn't show love first and foremost and sometimes that means quietly walking away and praying for those involved so the Lord can handle it Himself.

We also had quite a few things break over the past few weeks and Grampy is a master repairman.  They were coming to help us pull up the old hardwood floor in the dining room, but all the other things breaking put that on the back burner their first few days.  

A.B. Church:

I went to the new church, for the third time, by myself this week.  Dd's Sunday School class were finally working together to fix up their classroom and Dd wanted to be part of the effort, so she stayed home from church so she could go to Sunday School at our old church.  She said ost of the people looked at her weird like someone had died or had cancer, all but her teacher, Jim!  He was just clearly happy to see her.  She really thinks her teacher is great.  Three weeks ago, at a "Worship Meeting," our relationship with our church changed and we are still processing that and figuring how to move forward.  The ironic part, for me, is that we've spent SO many hours discussing and not-sleeping in the middle of the night when I know all the people involved in our upheaval are unaffected.  How can one event cause such different reactions between people?!  The sermon at Ada was, once again, very good.  I did okay being by myself and relished that I felt totally okay with it.  When I was younger I would have felt more uncomfortable being alone, but I really did okay.  Dh is going to need more time before he is able to try new churches and that's okay. 



Women's Bible Study:
Dd needed the car so I couldn't go to my class this week, but I did my homework.  I'm really enjoying: 
"In His Image" by Jen Wilkin.  



Chickens:
All the girls are doing 'okay.'  I'm not excited about only getting 3-6 eggs each day!  I have 25 hens!  It's not like I'm not feeding them all the time and all sorts of goodies! Charlotte continued to be 'broody' all this week.  I'd bring her up and put her in a chicken tractor, to force her outside because she only wants to obsessively sit in the nest box.  When they are broody the hens won't eat or drink and wither away.  Somewhere in this time frame Ms. Lemon (my Bantam hen) finally stopped being broody!  I am SO glad!  It takes so much effort doing all the extra work needed to stop a hen from being broody that when they recover I truly want to rejoice!



Garden:
Before G&G arrived I spent hours weeding!  Giz has a severe issue with people not weeding their gardens, so I always try to make sure my garden looks as good as I can.  Even though she has macular degeneration she has an eagle eye for weeds.  She noticed how good my garden looked and said so.



Wednesday: Arrival
Giz and Grampy arrived on Wednesday and all our fun began!  Dh actually got off work early!  Luckily, this visit I remembered to pick up Grampy's sugar-free vanilla ice cream ahead of time, but that didn't stop us from going to not one, but TWO different ice cream shops.  G&G are major ice cream fans---major.  



Dishwasher: 
Grampy and Dh worked together and fixed the broken dishwasher!  





Truck: 



With Grampy's truck beside Dh's the two were able to compare and figure out what was broken with the truck---something about a grounding wire.  They fixed the truck!



Electric in Chicken Coop:
I have no idea why but the electricity in the chicken coop just stopped.  The poor girls were without their ceiling fan!!!  Grampy and Dh were able to change out an old timer switch for a new one and fix the problem. The girls are back to having a nice breeze throughout the night!  Happy Hens!



Flooring:
One of the main goals G&G had coming up for a visit was to help Dh and I pull up our old wood flooring in the dining room and prep the floor for the new flooring we've ordered.  We had to move a lot of the furniture out of the dining room to pull it up. The most 'fun' was pulling 3-10 nails out of every single piece of flooring we pulled up.  I moved all the pieces to the sunroom; eventually, we'll get the wood out to the outbuilding so it won't be in the way.  Giz had a special pair of plyers that helped her leverage out each nail.  Her strength isn't what it used to be, but she stuck to it and they didn't stop until we had removed every last nail.  








Videos:
Dh showed Grampy a lot of his video's he took featuring the new machines from his work.  They both love machinery and enjoy watching how the machines run.  It is hard to say who had more fun watching the endless videos!






Pool:
The pump wasn't working and the water level is in doubt, but that wasn't really the focus for us this visit.  I know G&G always wants to help us get our pool going, they have had a pool open for decades!  Perhaps next week we will have time to figure this out?  



Pool Flowers:
Over the past few years, I never thought much about all the rocks around my flowers.  But, it finally clicked just how hot the air is coming off the concrete pad around the pool.  Then I realized all the decorative rocks were acting like little ovens circling the flowers.  I decided to pick up all the rocks and place them around the outside perimeter of the fence.  I miss all the pretty rocks, but the flowers will be better off.



Painting the Fence:  
Giz was so happy to help me paint on our fence.  She wanted a seat, so I found a bucket and she and I chatted and painted together.  It was so nice to have someone painting and working beside me.  



Invite with Elders:
Ironically our church friends, the "A's," invited us out to eat at the very restaurant where Dd is working on Friday, while she was on duty.  We were hoping they wanted to discuss our church problem, but they never brought it up and I wasn't sure what the proper thing to do was, so I didn't bring it up either.  It was nice having fellowship even if there was a cloud hanging over us all.  It was also great seeing Dd at work and her boss and co-workers.




Out-to-Eat:
We don't normally go out to eat, but G&G are big fans.  Friday morning they wanted to have breakfast at The Backwater Grill, then dinner at the pizza place for dinner.  Saturday we went to Moo-ville (ice cream...my favorite!).



Migraines:
Unfortunately, this was a migraine week for me--three days in a row.  I was able to keep moving forward for the most part.  I laid down for a while on Thursday; which was my most painful day.  G&G doesn't have migraines and I always feel so lazy for not having my usual pep when they are visiting.  It seems like people that don't have migraines have a really hard time understanding the whole-body exhaustion and pain that you deal with when your struggling.

Dd's Academic Progress and Activities:

Work: Pizza Shop
Dd had to work a few nights while G&G were here so we didn't get to play cards this visit.  Plus, with Giz's macular degeneration problems we thought it might be better not to bring it up.

Bible/Church:
Dd went back to our old church for Sunday School.  Her class was redecorating the room and she wanted to help.  After the class, Hailee and Dd came home to borrow our sander so they could keep working on a cabinet.  

Science:
Apologia's Biology
*Slow week with G&G here.*



Music:
Giz asked Dd to play her various instruments during the visit:
piano, saxophone, clarinet, and guitar.



Watercolor:
Dd has continued to enjoy doing a lot of watercolor paintings.  I'll do a whole post of some of her paintings soon.



Photography: 
Dd continues to really enjoy photography.  She is really doing well with it.  She took out Dh's 35 mm camera, with old fashioned film and has been taking pictures with it.  We took the film to Walgreens to be developed and are anxiously awaiting how it turns out.

Cooking/Home Economic's:
Dd made G&G her cauliflower dish.  We had a grill out on Saturday--hamburgers and brats and Dd helped out.



Next Week:
G&G will go home next week, on Monday (for me, the week starts on Sunday).  The heat has arrived in West Michigan, we had the air conditioning on for G&G, but after they leave we will probably turn it off for a while.  I don't understand why, but when we run our air it has to go through our geothermal and that ends up costing us hundreds of dollars extra in our electric bill.  It really quickly adds up to a super-bill that is hard to choke down.  I think it is something to do with our well pump.  So, back to sweating inside and out!

My husband is never happier than when his parents are near him!
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How's My Garden Growing July 6, 2019

How's My Garden Growing? 

July 6, 2019

*Time to start thinking of blanching and freezing greens.*

Bed One: 

The herbs are doing well.  I finally got to eat a strawberry!  

Bed Two:  

The green beans came over the metal poles this week!  I'm so looking forward to eating lots and lots of those!!  The new asparagus plants haven't come up yet, that I planted in the spring.  Perhaps they won't.  The basil is finally looking ready to pick from! Yay!  I planted a few Zinnia's in the front left corner to add some color soon.  The volunteer potato and squash plants are really taking over the area...I hope those are a good kind of squash that I like!  I saw some blooms below.

Bed Two:

The parsley plants have brought in a welcomed visitor---this little beauty will be a Black Swallowtail butterfly!  I'm happy to see it!

Bed Three:

Most importantly, the green beans are growing up fine and looking hopeful.  I've been eating the volunteer lettuce from this bed this week.  As you can see, this year I've been letting things go to seed so I can hopefully harvest seeds for next year's garden, but it makes the garden look a bit messier than usual.

Bed Four: 

Everything is doing okay in this bed-- carrots, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, flowers...  they just haven't matured very fast.

Bed Four: 

The potted plants are doing okay.  I love basil and have planted it in numerous beds, even if just in a little corner, and in some pots too.  I just want to make sure I have plenty to make my Basil Butter again this year and a few plants to bring inside in the fall for my winter use.

Bed Five: 

Swiss Chard, volunteer potato bed doing fine.

Bed Six:

Kale's (two different varieties) doing really well.  It was last year, this week, that I started blanching and freezing my kale leaves.  After such a great growing week I think it is time to start doing again.  I sure did enjoy eating all that kale and swiss chard over the cold months.

Bed Seven:

Spinach is going to seed and I hope I will have seed for next year!  The turnip greens and Swiss Chard are being eaten by me and the chickens.  I share the turnip greens with the hens a lot, it makes them happy!  The green beans are doing well.  The seeds from my third planting are coming up very well and have filled out the empty spots were the first seeds had failed.  I'm hoping for a big green bean harvest!

Bed Eight:

Lettuces, kales, swiss chard, and basil all doing well.  I've been eating on the lettuces a lot this week.  

Blackberries:

SO, remember in the fall how I dug up all the blackberry bushes and took them to an area on our back driveway, an area that I spent over a week clearing from weeks and thorny plants to start a new area just for the blackberry plants?  Well, it seems I didn't do a good job getting all the blackberry roots!  I can't tell you how many plants I've come across throughout the yard and around the garden.  I'll have to wait for the fall to dig up and move all these new plants. 

I have no idea what this plant is, but it volunteers in my wet garden each year and it really is so pretty.  I hope to move it to a more appreciated location in the fall too.

Wet Bed:

I had a lot of volunteer Tomatillo plants volunteer in the island bed this year and I decided to move them over to this bed so they wouldn't interfere with my green beans.  I had transferred a bunch of Marigold plants from the island bed and they adapted well, but something is always eating them in this bed---I see slugs but it has to be more than just slugs eating the branches?  This bed is doing okay, it never does really well because of the lack of sun.

Wet bed:

The Milkweed I planted in here two years ago is doing really well!  I'm so glad!  Plus, it seems like whatever eats the plants in this bed are leaving this plant alone!  I've moved some of the coneflowers and black-eyed Susan's out to make room for the milkweed to spread.

Island Bed: Front side

Most importantly, the green beans are doing well!  But, wow, the Kabocha squash seem to be very happy!  I've never grown this variety of squash before, but so far it is doing okay.  The tomato plants are doing okay, but I wish they were growing faster as I still don't have a fruit.

Island Bed: Back Side

The flowers I planted are doing fine.  I *wish* I could have transplanted more out faster.  I transplanted a lot of Zinnia's this week and the ones in the sun died quickly, but the ones in the shade all seem to be doing okay.  I can't wait to see how the flowers grow and bloom--I've not grown a few of these and am curious.

The sunflower and marigolds I planted in the dirt between the driveway and the garden are all doing well.  I don't think any of the transplants died! Yay!

The grapevines are all doing really well--about ready for more posts as they are branching out beyond the posts.  I somehow missed taking a picture of the potato beds and the corn bed?  I'll have to update that later.

.........

June 12, 2019 My Last Worship Meeting

June 12, 2019
My Last Worship Meeting (and last time attending this church).
I know I am going to want to remember this meeting so I am making a quick draft from my notes so that I will be able to come back here and process it.  I'm so glad I took notes and typed this up.  As the months have gone by I keep wanting to go back to this church because it was comfortable and I need to remind myself of why I left.  Dd still goes back to the teen activities to see her friends on occasion.
June 12, 2019: Attending: Paul and Cory lead it, sitting in attendance were Teresa S., Doris A., Dd and I.  


A Week Later: Perspective
 (the three-week perspective is at the bottom of the page)

I guess I am still feeling blindsided by all this--- We went to church to go to a meeting that was designed for brainstorming ideas to grow our church and help our fellow members be more involved.  Also, ideas of how to get our church's name out to invite new people to visit.  That is the meeting I *thought* I was going to that meeting.  But, when it began within minutes Pastor Cory (first time there) was clearly 'correcting' us and telling us that this meeting was designed to be about scheduling music....wait a minute, what?!!!  That is so very much NOT what our group leader had directed us.  Not only were we 'corrected' that we were not on the right page Pastor Cory repeatedly said that scheduling had been the mission since day one and stuck to that line.  I could understand if he had said, well, this meeting has brought up suggestions our board is not comfortable with so we have decided to change the mission of the group to scheduling; at least be honest!!!  I felt reprimanded and lied to, but honestly, the reprimand was the worst.   I also, very clearly, felt the 'corrections' were directed to me specifically.  Specifically?!  I don't know why I was singled out.  

Richard wanted us to come up with ideas and we did---ideas like having women, children, and the men pass out the offering plates, making church brochures, having the teens Sunday school kids run a church service...we came up with ideas, as was asked of us.


 I really wish I could go back in time, so when the leader, Richard S., had asked my teen daughter to join this group because they 'desired to have the youth of the church have a say in the growth...and come up with ideas to get our church some advertisements and bring in new families, fun activities, and of course the topic of music' and kindly decline the offer for us to participate in this group.  How many hours I've spent lying awake at night festering over this.  All this confrontation and draining of my cup is very much not the reflections of a healthy situation.

The Break-down of the Meeting:

Before things got started I said how I'd called Cookie so she could come and how she had a family emergency and couldn't come.  I suggested maybe announcing these meetings so more people could come.  That was not received well.  Later in the meeting, it was said that too many voices cause conflict and they definitely didn't want more people involved.  I encouraged letting Cookie come since she is so active in all things musical in our church and of all people she should be in this meeting; more so than me by far!  I'm not sure how that was received--gray area.  

Then Cory began--

Cory had two sheets of printed paper with yellow highlights in his hands.  He said that he had held a meeting with the elders to discuss some of the items we had discussed and wanted to go over their responses.  He said how they had this meeting and the tone was that the meeting was not a happy one.  I got the feeling the elders didn't appreciate any of the suggestions we had brought up and it was 'bad'.  The feelings here were strong and negative, tension ramped up immediately and never died down the whole meeting.

Three specific ideas from past meetings were addressed:

1. Communion---how we'd asked for more communion and the board thought the compromise would be to have communion every two months.

2. Testimonies---the board decided against having an open time for testimonies b/c people come to church to hear the sermon and testimonies would take time away from the sermon.

3. Missionaries---our group had suggested sharing some updates on missionaries during the service, maybe once a month, and the elders decided against that.  It would take too much time away from the sermon.

(None of our other ideas were brought up? I guess the other ideas were not contentious so not an issue at this meeting???)

Purpose of the Group: Surprise
at this point Cory said how we've gotten this whole group wrong, it wasn't to discuss these types of issues.  The point was for a group to do the scheduling of special music, organ schedule, scripture reading schedule.  I pointed out that it is not what Richard Simmington had been telling us each meeting.  Richard said this was an exploratory group to discuss how we want "our" church to grow and develop.  How can we involve more people in our church, especially during services, to help them feel part of this church.  Paul said that Richard would be corrected and this group would be put on the right track for the mission of taking things off Cory's plate and making his job easier.  This was a complete surprise to me!  I explained how Richard had asked Larkin (and Joy) to be the voice of young people to discuss how the music was going.

Music:
Tension raised higher as Cory went into the topic of music.  Cory said he had three separate people come up to him to discuss music and I guess it didn't go well by his tone.  His words were not very communicative but his feelings and emotions were very negative and very stern, as if he was saying 'I've counted to ten and this is how it is going to be!!'  His body language, eyes, face, tone all very decided and offensive/defensive...this is not a discussion type of language.  He said how when he addressed the congregation when he was being interviewed he clearly stated he wanted worship music and he hasn't changed in that regard.  He said he feels like it would be a 'sin' if the church didn't do worship music alongside hymns and psalms.  He wants music to be "reverent," and he said that repeatedly.  He wants all three kinds of music and to be 'balanced.'  Paul took a turn at this topic and just backed up exactly what Cory said.

I pointed out how I'd had people tell me they didn't want worship and that they would leave if we went down that path.  Larkin shared how she'd seen this happen in other churches and the divisiveness was not good.

Larkin said how since this meeting was not for sharing how we feel things are going at our church maybe Cory could come to the Sunday School class every few months to give the teens a voice...not sure that was received well, he definitely didn't verbally agree to that.

Clarification:
Next Cory clarified again how this group was not formed to discuss these types of issues---it was formed to do the scheduling.  Again, I clarified that is not how it was presented to us at any point previously and that Larkin and I aren't good candidates for scheduling.  I was alluding to us not going forward for scheduling purposes.  Cory said how he needs people to do the scheduling.

Scripture Reading:
Cory said that they elders discussed the idea proposed about women (or the teen youth girls) reading the scripture and that the elders said 'no' to that because that would cause people to leave the church and they can't have that (note the irony here---when I told him people told me they would leave the church if worship music was brought in that was acceptable????).  Cory said he knows the Bible doesn't say anything about women not being allowed to read the Bible out-loud the elders aren't okay with it.

(This all began because our group had come up with the idea of having the Teens run a church service.  Then the problem that our group is all girls and one introverted guy and then there was the discussion is the females could share a "sermon."  I wasn't surprised they wouldn't approve the females sharing a message, although I didn't see a problem with this special occasion, it led to the church board discussing whether the female teens could even read a bible verse out loud on stage.  The board decided women could not read scripture on stage.  I was floored by that, but not nearly as much as my Dd was offended.  Telling her she could not read the Bible out-loud on stage was a real gut-punch to her.)

Teresa brought up Google Doc's for doing the scheduling and didn't receive a positive response, but sounded like she was going to go ahead and try and set that up.  Paul said we just need one person to run this and no one in our small group responded.  Teresa explained Google Doc's to us.

Paul then made a point of bringing up the scripture reading again, starting his sentence with "Tracy......" and for some reason was addressing me (and only me) regarding this????  I was really confused why this was somehow "my" issue?????  The vibe here was very aggressive and attacking and specifically pointed to me alone.

Paul pointed out that the scripture reading should just be reading the scripture without commentary since that commentary takes too much time and he wants the time for the sermon.  I brought up how Eric had done the scripture reading and I specifically asked him about his also sharing a few ideas regarding that passage and Eric said he was told to expound.  Paul said that the scripture reading, from now on, would only be the scripture, no personal thoughts added.

Around this point, I was feeling very offended and attacked.  I decided to address this by clarifying that I felt like I was being painted as the dividing person regarding the music and things and that I was only sharing what I was hearing from people in the congregation.  That my whole worry, and that I'd brought it to the attention to Cory weeks ago, was that this was beginning to be divisive and we really want unity in our church.  Cory agreed with the comment about not wanting division but unity.

Not sure what was said after my comment---I was pretty shaken up at that point.  Teresa said we should wrap up the meeting since people had been arriving for the Wednesday night service.

Then Paul repeatedly asked me to say the prayer for the end of the meeting; which was super weird to put me on the spot after attacking me!!!!!! Super weird.  But, I'm always happy to pray and did so.  I put the chairs back where they go and Larkin and I left feeling ever-so bashed.  Eric, Larkin, and I spent the next two hours discussing what was said in the meeting and how we felt about it.

Cory called, but my phone was still on silence from the meeting, so he left a voicemail.  He said wanted to 
apologize regarding the meeting, didn't mean to come across judgmental, or feeling out of justice.
"I was trying to pick my words cautiously, I didn't want it to come across as if you were the dividing force, if it came off the wrong way I'm really sorry and just want to apologize.  I just wanted to seek understanding and found out what people stood.  That was my intention.  Hopefully, you can forgive me and we can go on all right have a good day bye-bye." (2 1/2 weeks later he called again and left a short peppy voicemail offering to meet with us again.  And that is the extent of his response to this problem.)

Dd was really hurt because she heard P&C say they didn't care about our (her) opinions and feelings yet at the same time Doris complimented how nice it was that she was a young person that voiced her opinion and Paul also said something about it being good to hear her opinion....but earlier they made it clear they didn't want to hear dissenting voices---very conflicting points!  Don't share and thank you for sharing.

She also was upset how they have repeatedly said this is the young teen's church and how they are 'the church,' and yet here in this meeting it was clearly not the case.  Really confused and hurt her.

Dd was also very upset that she isn't allowed to read the Bible out-loud because she is a female---worse part is that our church is knowingly being legalistic again (no drinking alcohol, no smoking, NO DANCING...) and stand firm in being legalistic.

Dd said how she felt that Cory's tone and how he handled this meeting was done wrong and how she could have done better.  How she wanted to look up to her young pastor and how he really came down a lot of notches in how he handled this.

My biggest point of offense here was the unloving, unkind, attacking manner of this meeting.  I expect to, hope to, be met with love and kindness at a church and that clearly was not the case at this meeting.  There was simply NO LOVE, just reprimand.  My heart was truly bashed and trampled after just last Thursday having Paul apologized to me because "April told me I hurt your feelings...and I don't know what I did or when I did it..." (he had come to Strings Group 5-23-19 walked up and bluntly, in front of everyone, told me I sing off-key in a very mean way).

I don't know what is wrong with these people and why they feel the need or right to be mean to me.  I was just wanting to be in the House of the Lord, a house supposed to be filled with love.  I know the Lord hates it when "His people" can't get the simple mission understood; that we are to love one another.  I know He loves me, my singing, and my heart and I will have to rest and try to find comfort in His arms and continue to be very wary around Christians.


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A Week Later: Perspective

I guess I am still feeling blindsided by all this--- We went to church to go to a meeting that was designed for brainstorming ideas to grow our church and help our fellow members be more involved.  Also, ideas of how to get our church's name out to invite new people to visit.  That is the meeting I *thought* I was going to that meeting.  But, when it began within minutes Pastor Cory (first time there) was clearly 'correcting' us and telling us that this meeting was designed to be about scheduling music....wait a minute, what?!!!  That is so very much NOT what our group leader had directed us.  Not only were we 'corrected' that we were not on the right page Pastor Cory repeatedly said that scheduling had been the mission since day one and stuck to that line.  I could understand if he had said, well, this meeting has brought up suggestions our board is not comfortable with so we have decided to change the mission of the group to scheduling; at least be honest!!!  I felt reprimanded and lied to, but honestly, the reprimand was the worst. 

 I really wish I could go back in time, to when the leader, Richard S., had asked my teen daughter to join this group because they 'desired to have the youth of the church have a say in the growth...and come up with ideas to get our church some advertisements and bring in new families, fun activities, and of course the topic of music' and kindly decline the offer for us to participate in this group.  How many hours I've spent lying awake at night festering over this.  All this confrontation and draining of my cup is very much not the reflections of a healthy situation.

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My May's Meeting Notes: 
(Which clearly shares what our leader, Richard S., had told us the objective of the group was until this recent meeting with the Pastor (his first time coming to the meeting.)  

Worship Meeting:

Ack. Ack. Ack.

Our church has been going through a transition this year as the pastor we'd had when we started, who had been there almost 30 years, retired and a young man took over after co-pastoring the past two years.  A new committee was formed called the Worship Team with the desire to have the youth of the church have a say in the growth.  They invited Dd to join and included me in too.  We've been discussing ideas about how to get our church some advertisements to bring in new families, fun activities, and of course the topic of music.  It is really difficult in this day and age to straddle the huge divide between Hymns and Worship music in America.  We've visited so many churches over the years and we're so thankful to find our nice quaint little hymn-singing church surrounded by farming fields.  Although I much prefer hymns there are some at our church that long for Worship songs and the modern hanging screens from which we would all look to sing along with.  As Dd and I voiced our opinions about this I could feel the divide growing between our thoughts and feelings and the people on the other side.  This is exactly the type of thing that divides churches and I hate it.  I don't want to lose my friends over the type of music played at our church.  I've been praying and praying that my comments won't cause a riff with our Worship loving friends.  I really pray that our church won't change or won't change a lot with the new pastor and new ideas.  I really love my church and my friends and do not want to see division.  Ack. Ack. Ack.

Three Weeks Later:
After weeks of thought, I still feel I'm at an impasse.  If the pastor (new pastor) of my church isn't treating me with love and respect I have a problem.  He didn't see a problem with how he treated us and clearly stands behind his actions and words.  If the pastor of the church isn't the HEART of the church then I'm not happy.  I don't feel like I have to hide my feelings any longer on what happened, the Holy Spirit has freed me from my self-imposed isolation.  This clearly was not my fault.  I sat with my head down taking notes during the meeting and was completely submissive until the very end of the meeting when I had to clarify out loud that I didn't understand why I was being directly talked to regarding *OUR* ideas as if I were a trouble-maker.  I clarified that my whole goal was to warn of division and try to encourage our church to go slowly towards any changes for the unity of our church.  I shared what I'd heard from people in the congregation to provide feedback to others.

I was thankful and appreciative of the women in my Sunday School texting me and praying for me while I was processing this whole mess.  I hate to not continue to grow with such awesome women of the Word!  But, I don't know if I can remain under this pastor and knowingly continue to contribute to legalistic rules that are not in the bible for the reward of good friends.  "Rock and Hard Place" comes to mind each day.

.....

June 23-29, 2019 Garden, Breaking Things, Dd's New Job

June 23-29, 2019
Garden, Things Breaking, Dd's New Job

Hello, Friends!

 

Church Struggles Continue:
We are still spinning in circles about our church problem; still, we have no idea how to proceed.  Sometimes God says, "It's up to you and it will be okay either way you go."  



At least that is how it feels as we haven't felt any guiding towards confronting the issues.  



Although I do feel like I could and should be able to tell a friend what happened without being "unchristian," as I feared.  So, if the opportunity arises I think I'll be okay to share.  It took me three weeks to make that decision!!!! 

The roses are blooming around the pool area this week.

Ada Bible Church:
Dd and I went back to Ada Bible Church this week, but, this time we went to the later service. Dd fit right in as there were more teens and young adults at the later service.  The sermon was really good.  



Ada's Women's (Thrive) Bible Study:
Last week I signed up for the women's Bible study and went to it on Tuesday night.  I *should* have asked to be in a group with older women; I was the oldest woman there!!!  We are reading a great book called: In His Image by Jen Wilkin.  I've had fun marking up my book and digging in.  This week I've sat out in the 'bottom' chicken run with my book so the hens can feel safe to wander to the outlying areas that have lots of greens.



Alternative Baker:
I made blueberry scones with a GF cookbook my friend Heather suggested, called: Alternative Baker by Alanna Taylor-Tobin.  The tasted fantastic but the heavy cream gave me heartburn.  I was really hoping I would be able to eat them.  I'll try the recipe with almond milk and see if they hold up.  We usually have nice weekend breakfasts and I wanted to try Heather's scones so I asked my library to buy the cookbook and it finally came in this week.



Heat and Humidity/Bedroom Moves:
Due to the heat, Dd moved down to the basement where it is usually quite chilly.  This week Dh and I also decided to go down too!  So, we pushed her over to the 'library' room and brought down her bed to put in that room and we took the other bedroom. 

Dd mowing her new area

 It has been SO nice sleeping in cool temps.  She is *really* loving her new room (aka the 'library') and has been working on fixing up the yard area in front of the big window there. 




 Tuesday, she focused on the lawn in front of her basement window.  She mowed the grass.  She made a dish-soap wash to get rid of the anthill in front of her window.  She filled the bird feeder with sunflower seeds and water.  She took a picture of the raccoon eating the sunflower seeds that night!!!  She had to lower the window covering so she could sleep because she felt like she was being watched.  



She has plans to add more things to her little 'yard,' when we were at Menards she picked out three hooks and a new windchime!  Now she has another bird feeder, windchime, and a hummingbird feeder above her big window. 




Breaking Down: Truck, Pool, Sink
Let's see---this week we have the truck still broken, although Dh continues to try and fix it.  



Then the pool has been a problem---for one, we had a lot of water disappear and we don't know if it is the lining or a valve that is the problem.  So, Dh has spent hours and still hasn't been able to solve it. 




We got the big winter cover rolled up and put away for the summer.



The garbage disposal broke and Dd decided to remove it and replace it with a normal drain.  That's been a repeat problem.  Too many problems!  Hopefully, next week will bring some solutions.



Pool: 
This week we have been trying to figure out what is wrong with the pool while I did a lot of weeding.  I found the front section of the pool had weed-fabric that I could just roll up and take away!  It is nice to have that yucky area not looking so bad finally.  I wish I had a bunch of white rocks to put there.

Close-up of the area after rolling up the fabric.

Henry and I sitting out in the 'bottom chicken run' so the hens can eat the greens feeling protected.  The hens really like Henry and more will come down if he is with me.

Ordered Flooring:
We *finally* ordered our new flooring!  We are going to get a nice natural oak hardwood that is 3 1/4" wide.  We decided to get really nice flooring for the upstairs, but we will have to get artificial planking for the basement as it gets moist and cold down there.  Back in our first home, we had nice oak hardwood floors and it was so nice to have!  I'm ready to cover up our current floor!  When we moved in there was nasty carpeting that I immediately pulled up.  Unfortunately, under the carpet was nasty particle board--ugh.  I painted that with a few coats of Kilz (sealer), followed by an excellent quality oil base, stone-colored paint, then sealed with 4-6 coats of polyurethane.  The painted flooring lasted well everywhere but at the seams and the seams look weathered now.  The painted floors in the basement are terrific---the cement was a perfect match, but the particle board falls apart with excess use.  There is a small chance we might get to do the basement floors this year.




Rearranging:
As we will be getting the 33 boxes of wood flooring in a few days we have been trying to clear out our living room and dining room to make room for that!  We are supposed to open the boxes and lay out the flooring and let it 'breathe' for a few weeks before we lay it down permanently.  I've been busy bringing loads downstairs to the Rec Room; but it's getting really cluttered down there!



Chickens:
Ms. Lemon continues to thrive!  But, Charlotte spent yet another week being broody.  She won't get off the nest, even to eat, unless I literally pull her off amid her protest.  I continue to put her outside in a chicken tractor with her own water and feeds.  



She can pick at the greens and scratch and be outside.  I know *eventually* I will break her and she will come out of this phase.  She has lost so many of her old white feathers and they have been replaced with nice clean new feathers.  I'm so thankful that it isn't winter because I wouldn't be able to take such good care of her like I can in this weather.  



The rest of the girls are all doing fine; but for some reason this year they haven't increased their egg production.  I've been getting around 5 eggs each day, and I have 25 chickens!






Chicken Coop:
The chicken coop is on a hill and as the chickens scratch and it rains the dirt goes to the bottom and I have to dig it up and carry it back up.  This week I spent a few hours filling buckets (around 30) with dirt from the bottom and filled all the holes and low spots on the top.  



The umbrella had really gotten low and crooked so I straightened it up and built up a mound of dirt and logs to keep it in position.  It was a lot of super hard work, but the top chicken coop looks SO very much better!!!!  



Garden:
I planted more green bean seeds in the spots where I had previously planted the seeds but they didn't grow (or something ate them, more likely!).  Dd helped me hang down more wool yarn for the green beans to climb.  I also planted more corn seed out in the corn beds...hoping for more corn than last year.  

Watering:
It was such a hot week I found myself coming and going with the hose!  



Poison Ivy:
All along the sides of the fence we had tons of poison ivy growing.  I know Giz is coming next week and she will probably want to paint so I spent most of Saturday morning pulling up tons of weeds around the fence.  I was very careful, covered head to foot, and wearing gloves.  Thankfully, I didn't get any rash.



Weeding:
The last two weeks, and probably from now on out, I will be doing LOTS of weeding.  The seedlings are big enough that I can tell what is the plant I want vs. the weeds I don't!!!  Weeding is such a thankless job that eats up hours of my week, but it has to be done.



Grape Vine:
I added two more metal poles as the vines are getting longer.  It looks like we could already use another one!  The vines really do take off!  I brought out my handy wool yard and trained many, many vines this week.  After the amazing jam, we made last year I am very willing to spend lots of time on my grapes this year in the hope for more of that taste of heaven!!!!!!  So beyond amazing.

Flowers:
I've been trying to get some of the marigolds that I planted from seed, from Giz, out of the veg garden and transplant them to the area gardens.  Marigolds are tricky; they look so skinny when they are young but bulk up and take up so much space when they grow. 
This week we had one small poppy bloom, but all the rest have faded away.  The peonies are all about done too.  But, now we have some daisies, coneflowers, and hosta blooms.  The Tiger Lillies are very close to blooming. 

Dd's Week:

Dd's Meal This Week:

Wed (I had a migraine)

Larkin made dinner:

Salmon with GF bread crumbs, Jasmin Rice, Peas, baked cauliflower.  She washed ALL the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. 



Dd's NEW Job:  
Saturday Dd started working at Michigan Farmhouse Pizza!  She had a great time and was complimented at her hard work.  She said she had to wash a lot of dishes; which is her very least favorite activity!  She also made pizza's too and was allowed to bring one home with her since it was her first night.  



Dd Offered A Second Job: 
Dd's math teacher offered her to work at her husband's work office.  Dd is thinking this offer over.  We don't know exactly what she would be doing but should be able to find out more.






Science:
Apologia Biology: all week



Audio:
The Romanoff Empress by C. W. Gortner

Can you see the hummingbird sitting on the tree branch?  

Next Week:
Giz and Grampy are coming up for a visit!

...........