My Hands

I come to You naked and poor
At my wits end, I hit the floor
I raise my hands in open submission
Tears spill out in my frustration

What do You do with me, Lord
How can I go on
Success in the crucified flesh
Seems so far away

Will I make it to the end
And You still be my Friend
I scarcely believe it be so
But sweetly and tenderly
You wrap Your arms round me
Reassuring me in the work
Lifting my eyes to meet Yours

Won’t you see My child
Tis I who spreads the fragrant aroma
Tis I who sets the captives free
Tis I who loves you tenderly
The work is in My hands

Quick change

Boy, I'm glad we got out Saturday to see the beautiful scenery, because things changed quickly! (Please scroll down to see the pics of our fall drive.) We had not only our 1st frost last night, but it was a hard frost. So needless to say we have just lost that beautiful garden. I got pictures before the sun thawed it all out. That is ice on the bird bath!

This is what they call "hoar frost", because of the frost crystles make them look fuzzy.  Bye bye Stella Doros, bye bye roses. If you click on the picture, you can see the frost on the roses. It looks like someone sprinkled them with powdered sugar.

GOD HAD MERCY!

Yesterday we came home to a house filled with smoke! Someone had left something on the burner and forgot to turn it off. It stunk real bad!!! Thank you Lord that You spared us our house!!! Praise You Lord!

Our fall drive in PA

Yesterday we got up early, had Scott's wonderful homemade sticky buns and took a lovely fall ride into the country. We headed up to Ohiopyle and ended up in Somerset Co.'s Amish area. You know that you are approaching Ohiopyle when you pass this farm. Beautiful view!

This stream feeds Cucumber Falls. We drove over that bridge.

Up towards town. The barn is where you can rent whitewater gear.

Scott & Dan take look at the falls.

What a breath-taking view!

This old renovated train station is now the information center for bikers & hikers alike.

A stroll down the bike trail.



Scott is explaining things like a good teacher should. We didn't go very far down the trail before turning back. This is the 1st year we didn't do the bike/hike.

We decided to take a quick look at the view of the area before leaving. Dan took this.

One of our stops in Somerset Co. is Pine Accents where a friend of ours, 
Glenda Yoder, works. We caught up on news.

This is one of the many streams meandering through this area












Many Amish farms in the area.










Milroy Farm is one of the many sugar camps in the area.

This dairy farm belongs to a long time friend of ours Bob & Glenda Yoder. They take care of it for his parents.

This farm had the original log house right next to the road along with a beautiful little pond.










That was our drive through the country for what will be the last fall hurrah.

Beautiful garden almost in November?!

I took this picture to show that we still have beautiful garden flowers when the leaves are turning (as you can see in the background). Something, huh! I still have roses, daiseys, black-eye susans, etc. and it's approaching November! We even a Rhodaderon bloom a single flower! This garden should have been cleaned out by now.

Resound Your Story

Holy Father precious and sure
righteous, holy, and pure
Whose Magesty reigns on high
looks upon us with loving eyes

Jesus Christ, God's own Son
Precious Lamb, the righteous One
Who danced through Eternity
Swooping down to set us free!

Holy Spirit counselor and friend
guide us to that perfect end
Hide us Lord, behind Your glory
that You, my King, may resound Your story

Being a fragrant aroma

This morning in my devotions, I read in 2 Cor. 2 about being a fragrant aroma of Christ to the saved & unsaved. In the next chapter is explained that Moses, having spent so much time in the Presence of the Lord, had to wear a veil because he reflected God's glory. Later I look in Chapter 33 of Exodus. My eyes fell on a conversation Moses was having with God. Moses reminds God that He said he had His favor. He goes on to ask God to teach him His ways so that he may know Him. God grants the request. He then explains to God that there is no point moving on if God does not go with him. Moses says in essence, "How will anyone know that we are Your people if You don't go with us." Moses wants God to be glorified among His people to the nations. God again grants his request. Then Moses dared to ask God to show him His glory! ! ! Can you imagine! Moses had the favor of God. He could ask Him anything, and again God answered his request. Just think - to be in the place of the relationship with God that you could ask Him anything, Wow! Moses spent time, he spent a lot of time, with God. He was so close to Abba Father that His glory shone on his face when he returned to the people. They couldn't look upon his face as it says in 2 Cor. 2:7. Each time, though, it faded away. But we have the Spirit of God & His glory lasts forever! "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." v:18 But we can't be transformed if we don't spend time with Him. I want to be the fragrant aroma of Christ to the nations! I want people to see Christ, not me, so that He will get the glory! I want to carry His glory to the nations!

Fall is finally here!

We went for a wonderful drive thru the country yesterday. And fall is finally here! Even though it was rainy, it was beautiful! We started at Mingo Park nearby. Ist we stopped at Ebenezer Bridge at one end of the park.

































Then we made our way to the other end for a shot at the Henry bridge.


















After lunch, we meandered thru the country. We ended up at Westerwald Pottery. Now there was a photo-op!












Scott made a friend.






The view from this place was positively gorgeous!


















And that was our fall drive!

Is Fall Finally Here?

Fall seems to be taking it's grand ole time getting here this year. Many say it's because of the drought. I don't know, but we are still pretty green around here with a few trees deciding to show their true colors. Even when we went further north to Ohio last week, it was green. I have been taking pictures of the few who dared to turn and post them here to enjoy. Maybe that means that it will be a long fall, which would be nice.


This is the tree in our back yard. It's always the first to turn.

This is out our road towards the end. It's always beautiful there this time of year. You drive under a canopy of color.

This is the wonderful drive I had on the way back from church.
I was dropping the boys & Kristin off at a bonfire in Mingo & caught this.

The Henry Bridge

in Mingo Park.

The sun lit this tree up.

I hope this helps put you in the fall mood!

Trip to Amish Country Ohio

Last Wednesday we went to Homes Co. Ohio for a trip to the Amish country. We love going this time of the year because a drive through the country on a fall day be it sun shine or rain is beautiful. We get up in the wee hours of the day before the sun rises, as you can see Dan sound asleep, but that's not unusual for Dan at any given time of the Day!


Our purpose? To be at Hershburgers for their wonderful cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Hmmm Hmmm! We also get our fresh made bread for our lunch there.














We decided though to go to orchard in Walnut Creek 1st this time. As always its a colorful place to see. We decided to pick up our apples & cider for lunch, because we wouldn't be returning until much later to get our load to take home & freeze. The view from this place is gorgeous as usual!
























We love to travel the back roads to catch the Amish in their own setting. Their farms are always neatly groomed. Even though they are plain folks, you will often see their homes arrayed in beautiful flowers!




















I love the simple life of the Amish. They don't care what the world thinks of them. They live as they feel the Lord tells them to. They live without electricity because they feel that it is important to be dependent on one another. They are always there to help each other out.











We love hearing the clip-clop of the buggies going by. We always give a quick wave. They either nod their head or return the wave.





















Wednesday the auction is in Mt. Hope, so we stop by to take a look. They have buggies of all variety. The carriages are beautifully hand crafted. It's fun to imagine yourself in one of those. I believe my husband has a desire to build a horseless carriage. That would be cool (literally) to ride around in one.










Overall the day was a good day even though the temperature dropped as it went along. During the day we eat in the car as we drive around, picking up goodies along the way. By evening we stop at the local restaurant for dinner before we head home.