Our 'Miss A' enjoying a couple of school friends at an ice cream outing.

Fresh Find: Well, what about this Hangelier? What a beautiful look from something so simple. We should all be so genius!

Many people may question why I commit to the American Cancer Society events like the Cotton Barons Ball or Relay for Life. I'll show you why:

This is my mother. She died from pancreatic cancer in September of 2013.

This is my brother. He died from colon cancer in 2014.

There are others that have lost their battle with cancer over my lifetime, too. Then, there are hundreds more that are alive today because of cancer research, treatment, and support. How can I NOT do something? I am 100% certain that those who are fighting this battle, who are survivors, and those who are their caregivers bless others. I want to honor them through my service.

This is why I ACS!

Fresh Find: What a cute overtop!

Today during worship God placed this thought in my mind and heart. It wasn't what was being shared from the pulpit, which is typical for God and me. Not that I'm not listening, hearing, learning, and worshipping, but God often takes me down a sweet side road.

I read a book recently that asked, How long is your anchor rope? The length of our anchor rope is a direct reflection of the depth of our faith journey; how close our relationship to God is.

Is our anchor rope so long that it is hard to pull it in amidst the storm or is it short and at our fingertips?

Today the thought occurred to me that for much of my life my life Anchor has been around my neck. Yes, right there with me keeping me weighted in the rough waters. Some might say how incredibly heavy this would be, but God reminded me today that He is just the opposite. His Anchor takes all my heaviness away. What would be unbearably heavy is carried by my Anchor.

Sometimes we must look beyond what is in front of us to see the simple beauty in God's plan.

And from the message (Dr. Scott Willingham) this morning...

Fresh Find: Looks like a great razor!

My grandfather Etter called me Pete, but this picture most likely was pre-Pete. This picture was taken in the Anderson house across the street from my grandparents, on Nassau Street. That is Marie in the picture. Their mother, "Anners" as we called her, was ironing the drapes.

Fresh Find: These might be good to sit outside after all of this rain!

In my many Plainview travels, there are lots of fun things that God blesses me to experience. As I visited one of the Plainview McDonald's Restaurants, owned by my friend Ruth Robillard and her husband Rick, I found the perfect sized coffee cup to keep me going! Now this is a cup! LOL

Fresh Find: I think I may be switching coffee making styles. I like this.

The grand-sisters recognized Mellow Mushroom (of Mellow Mushroom Pizza fame) right off as we visited a local festival recently. 

Fresh Find: Cute coat at our local Maurice's.

1920. It is 2014. That is 94 years ago. It is so hard to believe how much our world has changed since then. Life was certainly less complicated then. Only those who have lived since then can understand what they did not have. I'm sure that there were those who had and didn't have in life just like today, but I bet they never even thought about flushing toilets, mobile phones, microwaves, paved roads, etc. 

This is a picture of my grandfather, Hugh, his brother, Bert, and his father, C.R. Etter, at Cisco working out of Hilburn Camp, during the 1920 oil boom. I wonder if they met Conrad Hilton?

Fresh Find: Like this bicycle. I've been looking for one.

“Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.” Luke 15:8-10 

As I have thought about these scriptures this week, I think about this example of this Bible story.

The rancher has 10 Longhorns and one is lost, that leaves nine lonely Longhorns. The rancher is frantic because he knows that every Longhorn is very valuable. There is a Longhorn poacher and he has been known to cut off the horns of the Longhorns leaving them unprotected. The rancher looks far and wide, day and night to find this one Longhorn that has gone astray. He finally finds the missing Longhorn. He throws a Longhorn parade and the found Longhorn gets to lead the other nine over the hill and into the valley for all to see. He blows his longhorn to let everyone in the valley know that there is good news. They all come out to dance. They fry chicken, bake beans and cook biscuits. The bees bring their honey. Night falls and there is peace in the land. A star shines high in the sky. The moon glows and nine longhorn plus one makes ten and the rancher smiles as he closes the gate to their pen. Home.

What? You've never heard this story? Most likely because God just gave it to me. LOL

Fresh Find: This looks like a fun comfortable shoe. It reminds me of what I wore when I was a kid. There is comfort there :) I wish it were leather for now, but this patent will be great for springtime! I'm ready...and it's just falltime.

The Killdeer birds are such fun to watch.  The Killdeer is a precocious little bird who runs into new experiences with its eyes wide open. One who gets along with those who are different and takes advantage of the opportunities these encounters provide.

When you approach an adult the Killdeer, it may suddenly develop a broken wing. It struggles in front of you, as if it can barely walk, let alone fly. One or both wings drag pitifully on the ground. Somehow, while struggling to keep its balance, the Killdeer manages to stay one step ahead of you. As you pursue it, the Killdeer leads you farther and farther away from its downy Killdeer babies crouching on the ground or half hidden under a tiny bush. When the Killdeer feels that the young are safe from you, its broken wing heals suddenly, and the bird flies away, calling a loud "KILL-DEE" that sounds like a jeer.

These medium sized birds are fast. I was far away, across a field, trying to capture this particular bird's picture. It led me away from its nest. I feel blessed to have experienced my time with this species today. 

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

Fresh Find: What cute trays!

The Story of a Butterfly (Hawaiian folktale)

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through a tiny hole. Then it stopped as if it couldn't go further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body, Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. 

It was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We will not be as strong as we could have been and we would never fly. 

Romans 5:3-5  “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Fresh Find: What a pretty butterfly shirt!