Around the Campfire

Okay.... This isn't around the campfire. It's the forest fire around us. I took tons of pictures today, but I only uploaded a couple 'cause 1. it's  late and 2. I don't want to tie up the internet. Anyhow.... Here is some of the smoke that I've been inhaling most of the day:



That little pink dot in the center of this picture is all I've seen of the sun since around 1:30. You can kinda see it in the picture above, too.



The "Green Bean" with a bunch of smoke behind it. At least *some* of the smoke is pretty. Most of it is just a nasty gray-orange that made everything... the trees, the ground, the buildings, etc etc etc look orange.



Anyhow, we've been getting rained on by ashes. There's both black and white ash everywhere. Right now it looks like the camp will be fine, but prayers would be appreciated. =D

I'm gonna go hit the sack. Miss ya'll!

Thoughts

When I was twelve, I knew how my life would be. I knew for certain that when I was seventeen, some talented and handsome young man was going to take an interest in me and marry me a year later. My goal in life was to be an 18-year-old bride.

Weeellll.... that didn't exactly happen. And I've struggled with that. Where's the talented and handsome guy? Where's ANY guy? What in the wide world am I supposed to be doing?

I love my friends, but sometimes I get a tad jealous. A dear friend of mine got married a week ago. Another friend is fast approaching engagement and a wedding. Two more friends have had young men express an interest in them.

I sit back and wonder, "Where am I going wrong?"

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times. "Embrace your singleness." "Singleness is a gift God give sometimes." "Actively pursue God during your years of singleness." I nod my head politely. I know it's the truth. But me? I'm not supposed to be single, so it doesn't matter for me. I'm the girl who's supposed to jump from teen to bride without all that dreadful waiting and serving in between. That's the plan.


My plan.

What's God's plan? Apparently it's something a little different.

But it'll be better.

But until I know just what the plan is, it's time to lace up my singleness running shoes and start running the part of the race that God has for me right now. Serving my family and my church. Working at camp this summer. Growing in knowledge of the Lord. And praying for the man that is coming SO LATE... but right on time.

P. S. A giveaway to look at... go here.

Prayer Requests

Hello everybody! I have a couple of prayer requests for ya'll. Here they are:

My dear friend Mary has a little sister named Sarah who is going through some health issues right now. She was having seizures on Monday and is still in the hospital. Sarah is three.

Also, a dear lady from my church found out that her son was just killed in Iraq. He has a wife and two or three children (I'll check the number and get it right...) that he's left behind. A praise in this situation is that he did know the Lord.

Do any of you have prayer requests? Feel free to email them to me at ramblinrose506 [at] gmail [dot] com.

Without Ceasing

Do you know what that means? No stopping. That's how we're supposed to pray. Okay, that just means every day at mealtimes, right? Absolutely not! Without ceasing means without ceasing! (Surprise, surprise) That's the way you breathe. Or at least I hope it is. Is it the way you pray?

Answering this question honestly, I have to say, "no." I don't pray the way that I should. Here is a post about prayer that I found very helpful. There are several good ideas in it for helping each of us pray more.

I wrote this on March 10, and for some reason it never got posted. So even though I feel like it's incomplete, I'm posting it now. It's a good reminder whether the post itself is complete or not.

The Well-Meant Shortcut

Last night my mom wasn't feeling well. She's actually been a bit under the weather for a few days, now. Anyway, I was putting Seth to bed for her so that she didn't have to get off the couch. We sang "Only a Boy Named David", then Seth prayed. And I was humbled.

"Please be with Grandpa and Grandma S. Keep them safe and in good health. Be with Grandpa and Grandma O. Keep them safe and in good health. Please help my sisters with their school. Help mommy to feel better. I pray for Grace that you would keep her safe and in good health. Keep her family safe and in good health. I pray for Bailey to keep her safe and in good health and her family to be safe and in good health...."

Get the picture? Each of his friends (and my friends!) and their families got their own prayer slot.

I love my friends. I pray for my friends. There are many many times that I will pray for them individually. But to tell the truth, most of the time I don't want to think of each individual and pray for every one of them separately. But of course I don't want to leave anyone out. So my normal prayer sounds something like this: "Dear God, please be with all of my friends and my family...." Everyone is covered, and in a shorter amount of time for me.

Go back to my earlier statement. I love my friends. How much do I love them? Do I love them enough to get up a little earlier so that I have time to pray for each of them by name? The only time I usually pray for them by name is when I have a specific request for them. (Please don't be offended! I hope we'll all still be on speaking terms by the time you finish reading this!)

I take the shortcut. Yup. I pray for my friends. I want them to draw closer to God. To be healthy and safe. I want them to be blessed in relationships with friends and family. So I mean well enough, but in the end... I'm taking the shortcut. What about you?