Beautiful Rain

We had beautiful rain this week – it was very cooling as the temps were 100 or over all week. Thunder started rumbling in the background with promise of rain – pretty soon it came down in buckets. You could almost hear the ground drinking it up – the plants raised their heads to feel the moisture on their leaves, and all of Gods creation said thank you.

We have the whistler ducks here in the park – really a lot more than we have ever had. This last week we began to hear strange noises – noises that we never heard before. Fred thought it was some machinery in the flea market next door, but since I had been out walking I knew the answer finally. It was the whistlers – they produce a shrill whistling sound that lasts for quite a few seconds. It is weird that we have been in the park for so long and never heard it before. The baby whistlers of earlier days are almost as big as their mamas now – almost impossible to tell them apart while they are in the water We do have a new batch of youngins though -  little clones of their parents waddling down to the lake,

Hopefully these picture from last week will post – I wish the blog program was not so touchy. In addition to all these fruits the veggies are so plentiful – actually not grown here in the Valley as it is between growing seasons right now, but so very fresh and reasonable – cauliflower, tiny sweet peppers, burpless cucumbers, big green bell peppers, sweet cherry tomatoes to name a few.

the funny looking fruit on the bottom left is the dragon fruit from last week

 dragon fruit cut open - strange looking but really good - kiwi like taste

The distribution that was scheduled for Saturday was postponed until Sunday as the rain made the distribution area quite muddy. The Thursday before he distribution, we went to the church to deliver all the bags of rice and beans in preparation for the distribution. Ida was there with an amazing group from Lake Pointe Church in Lakewall, Texas (near Dallas) was there to help pack all the canned goods, rice, beans, cereal and everything else that was donated. They were a fun group and worked hard to make sure things were ready for Saturday. They were going to attend on Saturday and hep out, but because of the cancellation until Sunday and their time schedule, they attacked another church project on Saturday and left for home on Sunday A huge thank you for all of their help.

boxes of rice and beans

packingaon an assembly line

the stacks don't seem to be going down

do we have anymore bags?

busy as bees

Sunday promised to be a great day – thank you Lord for providing a cool breeze as the temps were again 100 or so. We arrived around 9:30 – the festivities were supposed to begin at 10. Lo and behold, folks stated arriving around 8 AM!!! Miss Opal came along with us with her faithful sewing machine set-up so she could demonstrate machine quilting and perhaps sign up a few ladies for Monday classes. 8 ladies signed up (including a few younger gals) which really excited Miss Opal. She is all ready to begin in September – the ladies will be finishing quilts for the quilt tops that were donated to us, and then go on to make quilts and/or other sewing projects for themselves, including clothing. God gave Miss Opal the gift of sewing so she could help others serve others while raising their own self-esteem.  

 Miss Opal setting up by herself - she is almost 79 - we have learned to let her do it her way

demonstrating machine quilting - the ladies seemed to be very interested

The distribution was such a well-organized event. The members of the church congregation had so much under control, we had little to do, except enjoy the happiness all around There was an inspiring children’s sermon given by Glenn and Helen Nations- an interactive one so all the kids could be involved. All of it was based on following the Lord with ice cream somehow woven into the theme. Afterwards, everyone got to enjoy homemade ice cream from the Nations. There was face painting, snow cones, audience participation, gospel music, and lunch of hot dogs, chips, drinks, and of course, ice cream. We again had bags of non-perishables for everyone – lots of beans, rice, cake mixes, canned good, salad dressing, - whatever we had accumulated for this event. And because of the generous donations of people, we again had lots of clothing for everyone to choose from. It was such a fulfilling day that when we returned home, we both just crashed!

 waiting for the festivities to begin

 drinks of all kinds

 a cute kittie

 Glen and Helen talking about the apostles and ice cream - all in the same sentence

 young ears listening intently

 the theme of the day was the rainbow - God's promise to mankind - so I decided  rainbow face paint was appropriate

 singing praises to God

                                                                              hot dogs for everyone

 face painting lines

 snow cones anyone - the ladies loved my rainbow painting, so guess I started a trend - and yes I did indulge in snow cones - coconut and lime

 could possibly be the first snow cone they ever had

 it got pretty quiet as everyone was eating

 bags packed on Thursday

 we even had tomatoes left from Friday's produce distribution

 clothes shopping - Ropa style - lots of clothing for everyone

 Cy - the gentleman who took over for us while we were gone also teaches the ladies how to crochet - some of his creations

 boxes packed - plenty for all with extra if needed

there were even school supplies to be handed out according to grade

Today’s sermon continued with “God helps those who help themselves”. Does the Bible really say that?? This saying is often heard when there is financial distress in someone’s life. In other words, get busy, pull yourself up, and God will help you. Does it mean God will help you if….God will provide if….?  God helps us with no strings attached. This saying actually comes from Benjamin Franklin. In Biblical times, widow women had no rights – they could not own property, no means of support. If they had no sons, they were truly destitute. I Timothy 5:3-8 instructs people of that time period on how to treat widows. It encourages everyone to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. Scripture often tells us that God helps people. He equips people with gifts – like preaching, teaching, hospitality, healing, passion, and in Miss Opal’s case, sewing. God takes care of us so why does He equip us??? Why doesn’t He just take care of things Himself?? He equips us because of grace – doing something for someone that they cannot do for themselves. In other words, God helps those who CANNOT help themselves. He equips people to help others. We are all blessed to be a blessing to others.  We are put in place to help others – just at the right place and at the right time.

Help someone this week – something simple like opening a door for them, helping them carry large items, even help an elderly person put their groceries in their vehicle You will be blessed.