The Anchor Holds

I don't know about you but I sure am glad the past week 

has come and gone.

I have always loved a good storm.

When I was young, my mom celebrated EVERYTHING.  Hurricanes were no exception.

Growing up in Miami, we had regular afternoon thunder showers.

It was a party. We would count one mississippi, two mississippi to see how many miles that lightning strike was from us. 

We would go ahead and turn the lights off 

so we could light the candles.

Today, the media encourages buying water, 

cases and cases of water.

Back in the day, mom would clean out the tub 

and we'd fill it just incase we needed good drinking water.

Today, we fill our tubs so we have flush water, 

which I might add is quite enjoyable.

Our new (to us) house on the river is at sea-level. It brings on a whole new world of issues that we are just learning how to deal with.

Docks floating away, neighbors docks landing in our yard, 

toilets that have no where to flush,

water in the house.

I must say, it is no less fun. 

It changes up the daily mundane world 

that we have grown accustomed to. 

It provides an opportunity to purge and clean and redecorate.

This is our dock just after Matthew.

Doesn't look too bad.

Get a little closer.

Could have been worse.

We are in the middle of replacing the old pilings with new and improved ones. They were about 1/2 way done before the storm.

Doing without teaches me to be more thankful for the simple luxuries that I am spoiled to enjoy.

1. Ice

2. cable

3. flushing toilets

and in that order.

The sailboat below weathered the storm pretty well.

Can you see the boat behind it?

She is sitting on dry land.

Not sure if you can tell,

the rope connected to her anchor is right where it was dropped.

Reminds me of the song The Anchor Holds.

It reminds me of no matter what life hands us,

The Anchor Holds. 

Jesus is my anchor and He is always right there.

No need to stress.

No need for worry.

Trust Him.

Easier said than done!

The night before the storm hit us,

the news announced to expect a 9 foot storm surge.

Well, if that would have actually occurred,

our house would have had about 5 feet of water in it.

Mark and I decided to run back to our house and grab a few things. 

As I walked through the house,

we had already stacked things high.

It was eerie to look at all our "stuff."

I tried not to be anxious.

I know I trust Him.

It was emotional.

Our neighbor, who stayed and weathered the storm,

sent us a video of our property. 

Water did enter our house. 

The back den is lower than the rest of the house.

It got about 3 inches in it.

We had emptied it.

We have terrazzo floors.

When we came home to access the damage,

we walked in and the floors were dry.

The tide came in and went out just the same.

I was so surprised.

God is good!

Life is getting back to normal.

Hopefully, 

no more Matthew's for a long time.

Of course,

there will be other traumas and crises.

Hopefully, my faith is a little stronger 

and I will trust Him a little better.

Dishes, Carseats & God

As I get older in my walk on this earth I find that I question things more.
I know, I know, it took me long enough.
Like for instance, I cut up an onion this morning and when I was finished,
I get the Dawn out, squirt an ample amount on the knife, grab my dish cloth, scrub the knife, rinse it, dry it and put it away.
Here's my question.
Is it really necessary to use the soap?
In all actuality, there was probably plenty of left over soap on the cloth.
Maybe it helps with the odor of the onion?
These are the things that float through Wendy's mind.

Here's another thing that annoys me.
Carseats for kids.
They expire? The get decommissioned?
Here's what I think. I think the carseat companies are saving their butts from being sued, which is a good business move. It also guarantees that they'll have more sales. I get it.
But my question is, why do people fall for it?
When do we start thinking for ourselves?

I think that I was just a gullible girl and if someone says it, well it must be true.

Here's one...
did I give my life to Jesus because I was taught to from an early age?
Yes, I think I did but I remember when I was young (9), really questioning in my mind if this is what I believed.
As I got older, I would sometimes question the very fact if there was only 1 true God.
Everyone must answer for themselves but I can tell you from personal experience,
He is truly alive and real in my life. I know it isn't the same for everyone but I sense His presence in my life. My faith is huge because I have heard from Him. Sometimes, it's through His Word, other times He speaks in my mind.
I love being outside. It's my "happy place." When I'm outside, I see Him in nature and once again, He reminds me that He is right there with me.

If you lack faith, there is a verse... "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God."
Seek Him, & I promise you will find Him.

John 14:6 says, "...no one comes to the Father except through Jesus."
Romans 10:9 says "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."


I guess what I have learned is, don't believe everything you hear. Find the truth for yourself.

Pinky

My sweet father, Pinky.

My dad knows no strangers.

He introduces himself to everyone.

I remember when he moved into their present home,

watching him rush to the road to introduce himself to the garbage collector.

He is always looking for someone to talk to.

Mom says that's the only reason he goes yard-saling with her,

so he can talk to people.

He is a great guy!

My dad is always there for me.

He is a jack-of-all trades.

That turns out to be in my favor

because I always have ideas scheming in my head.

Anything to do with anything,

he can do it.

Any time I call...

he comes running.

Thank you dad for loving me.

Thank you for loving Christ.

Your faith amazes me.

Meet Sam.

This is has been my father-in-law for over 30 years.

He is a retired Baptist preacher.

He is the best example of a pastor ever.

He truly loves the people in his congregation of 33 years.

He has taught me to love unconditionally.

This is my hearts desire...

to love everyone.

He truly loves me and I know 

this because he tells me all the time.

Pinky & Mark

Another dad in my life that I know quite well is my husband.

I really got to witness him being a father to our 3 kids.

I have seen him play on slip-n-slides.

He coached them in Little League for too many years.

He laughed with them.

He apologized to them.

He prayed for them.

He led them to Christ.

He is blessed with wisdom.

I love you honey for how you loved our kids

& now our grandkids. 

Another amazing dad in my life is my son Daniel.

I am beyond proud of you!

I love how you play with your kids.

How you read with them.

How they all can sleep in your bed with you.

How patient you are for another night of chicken nuggets.

How hard you work.

I love seeing the pride in your eyes when you look at them.

I love how when I compliment one of the kids,

you always compliment the others.

You have always been that way.

On the play ground

in 1st Grade

You made sure all was fair.

You were big enough to make that happen too.

I love that you have made God the priority in your home.

I couldn't be any prouder.

As you see,

I've been surrounded by a legacy of great men.

What a privilege.

My favorite Father of all is my Abba.

He truly is always there for me.

He is the one who blessed me with earthly fathers.

Thank you Lord!

Happy Father's Day

Fun In Florida

I had to come home to get some rest 

from my two jam-packed weeks in Florida.

I had the privilege of keeping the kids

while Danielle finished up her school year.

I now have the Shark Tale movie memorized. 

 Good times!

We enjoyed lots of backyard fun.

From flying kites,

riding 4-wheelers,

golfing

& swinging for hours.

Dani has just figured out the art of swinging.

She has the sweetest personality and is so persistent.

She says, "If you move your legs back and forth,

you'll go higher.

& if you lightly touch your feet to the ground,

 you will stop."

Oh how I enjoyed how pleased she was to learn this art.

We went to the beach 

on what had to be the most perfect day ever.

(unless you are a surfer)

The water was so clear.

We found starfish.

Each day was filled with go, go, go.

Eli turned 6 and celebrated with a Lego Party.

That's a blog for another day.

We celebrated my mother-in-laws birthday.

Mark & I played cards almost every night with my parents.

I can't tell you how much fun we had.

Between being a little delirious from lack of sleep and playing till the wee hours,

We laughed till we cried.

We did some home projects for different family members because that is truly what thrills us.

We spent a day floating down Ichetucknee Springs.

Have you been there?

You need to go.

Freezing clear water to lazily float down for hours.

The time flew by so quickly and I had to board the plane to come home.

I am overwhelmed how blessed I am.

I truly believe that God delights in blessing Wendy.

I flew home first class on that Delta jet

because I got bumped up because the

"Powers That Be" love me.

I looked out that window at this great big world

and was thankful.

Thankful that He knows my name.

Thankful that He cares for me.

Thankful that He sent His Son.

Overwhelmingly blessed!

I hope you are having a wonderful day

& I truly hope you know my sweet Jesus.

He loves You dearly.   

This Doesn't Look Like Home Toto

In 2012 

I found out Mark & I had less than a month to load up

everything that I couldn't live without in a Penske truck

 and move across the country to Albuquerque, NM.

I tried not to focus on leaving our family.

I tried to find the adventure in our circumstance.

My goal was to

put my big girl panties on &

practice what I have preached 

for lots of years

by trusting God. 

I do trust Him but that doesn't always 

make everything easy, does it?

Imagine our shock

after less than a year in Albuquerque,

Mark gets offered a promotion that he couldn't refuse.

Once again,

we had about 6 weeks to pack everything

and move to Kansas.

Kansas!

Everything I know about Kansas I learned

from The Wizard Of Oz.

I flew out twice to find us a house to no avail.

Out of desperation,

I rented a house off of Zillow,

site unseen.

Trauma.

First thing we did after we unloaded the truck

was to go buy some rakes.

Never have I witnessed a move beautiful Fall.

Breathtaking!

Raised in Florida,

it was winter that I was looking forward to.

I love this winter wonderland.

It is like... magic.

That's where I am now

in Kansas

trusting God.