 This is the time of year that's always been one of my favorites (other than spring). Although I know what's coming after fall (snow and cold - and I miss my flip flops), the colors are great and the crispness of fall is in the air with the holiday season soon to begin. Growing up in Germany this season was always special. With anticipation I would look outside the windows of our apartment in the three story building we lived at, for the street decorations to arrive. My dad's work, a bank, was on the first floor. We lived on the top floor. It was my delight when I would see the city trucks pull up to hang the lighted Christmas Garlands which would span across the whole street from one building to another, lining the street all the way to the train station which I could see blocks away from my viewpoint. The lights always brought me joy, comfort and they were so cool to look at. I knew Christmas was coming and with it family visits, playing with my cousins, great food....and of course presents. What made or what makes your Holiday Season special? UPCOMING EVENTS: Date: Saturday, November 3 (NotesNBling) Time: 9am-3pm (That's TOMORROW!!) Event: Christmas Craft Fair Place: Hinckley/Finlayson High School (in the new gym) 201 Main Street E. Town: Hinckley, MN 55037 Date: Friday, November 9. (NotesNBling) Time: 5-9 pm Event: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Craft & Vendor Show Place: American Legion Paynesville, 770 Dieckman Dr. Unit 1. Town: Paynesville, MN 56362 Date: Saturday, November 10. (Music & NotesNBling) Time: 10 am - 6 pm Event: Hometown Harvest Market Place: Peace Therapeutic Massage, 901 4th Street, Town: Hudson, WI (I've been invited as the musical guest to play a few sets during the event) Date: Saturday, November 17. (NotesNBling) Time: 10 am - 1 pm Event: Sartell Winter Market Place: New Sartell Community Center, 850 19th Street S, Town: Sartell, MN (GPS comes up with St. Cloud instead of Sartell) Date: Friday, November 23 - Black Friday (NotesNBling) Time: 3-7 pm Event: Melrose Craft & Gift Show Place: Melrose City Center, 225 1st Street NE. Town: Melrose, MN 56352 Date: Saturday, November 24. (NotesNBling) Time: 9am-3pm Event: Vendor & Craft Fair Place: American Legion Auxillary Unit #428 Waite Park, 17 2nd Ave. N. Town: Waite Park, MN All the events of the season at a glance:   PAST EVENTS: Last month I had the opportunity to be at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Sheboygan Falls, WI to lead worship for Celebrate Recovery. It's pretty neat when folks say "hey I know you!!" :) I think the best part is where everyone shares their struggles and we encourage one another. Lots of tough breaks in life for folks, but they are on a better path and hopefully their feet will continue to stay planted upon the rock Who is their solid foundation. Thank you to the organizers for having me! NOTES-N-BLING In October I had my first event to start out the NotesNBling shopping season, my NotesNBling Open House at my place. It is always such an awesome time to connect with folks individually as they come to shop and just hang out. We have the best time chatting, snacking on yummy stuff, enjoying coffee, tea or flavored water during our talks. This fellowship time is almost the better part than just the sales! What has been so nice for everyone with my Open House is that each person is able to take their time looking through the various items, lay some aside, keep looking and then finally decide on the piece or several pieces which have made their final selections. We also enjoyed being part of the St. Augusta American Legion Crafts Fair. Warren came along to sell his homemade BBQ sauce, and will do so at all the other events. This lady was a thrilled customer who bought my blue lace stone diffuser bracelet and earring set from the RockNStone collection!  ON THE PERSONAL SIDE:
Well, my sweet hubs had a hiccup in his git-along. He was out kayaking a couple Fridays ago and ended up in a situation where the wind blew him across the lake and he had to find a place to land and get out, which he did. However it was in a "trespassing" zone, due to being on homeowners properties. He tried to knock on a couple doors but nobody was home. So he called the sheriff out just to let him know all he wanted to do was load up and get out of there. The sheriff happened to be an experienced kayaker himself, so that was cool. He was kind enough to drive Warren over to get his truck and then helped Warren load up his kayak. However on the second trip down the hill to get the rest of his items, Warren's left foot slipped, got hung and he lost balance, the foot went under him and he thus broke a bone in his ankle. So he has been in a boot and on crutches for the last two weeks! He's had a lot of pain to deal with, many sleepless nights, but I think it's starting to get better under control. So far the doctor is pleased with how his break is doing and they are confident he won't need surgery nor screws. But he has to take it easy. This means, no refereeing for quite a while and staying off his leg as much as possible, keep it elevated after work and iced down. So, he will be doing crafts fairs with me! YEY! He is going to sell his homemade BBQ sauce. The setup and tear down will be all on me (sigh!!!!) but, I'm glad he can be with me and just sit and be there! It's a lot more fun to do it together..... So yes, please come out to the events and see us. I'm sure Warren will love to fill you in on all the details of his mishap. Have a great fall season! Sam
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 So October is upon us and the fall season begins! Up in Minnesota I'm sure you can smell the fireplaces going already. As of this writing I'm still in Illinois and the weather is in the 70's-80's.... Yup, I'm loving it! MUSIC WISE: After all my events in Illinois and Wisconsin, most of my upcoming events will be related to my jewelry (NotesNBling) for the holiday craft fairs and shows. Unless there's a place who would like me to come and do music (and I will LOVE to do so), I'll be taking a break with the music..... Not giving up, just re-evaluating and seeing where God would continue to lead in my songwriting, singing and playing guitar. UPCOMING EVENTS: Date: 10/11/18 Time: 6:30 pm Event: Celebrate Recovery Place: St. Paul Lutheran Church 730 Hwy PPP Town: Sheboygan Falls, WI Date: 10/20/18 Time: 10-4 Event: NotesNBling Open House Place: email for address Town: St. Cloud, MN Date: 10/27/18 (NotesNBling) Time: 10-5 Event: American Legion Craft/Vendor Show Place: American Legion 1894 247th Street Town: St. Augusta, MN Date: 11/3/18 (NotesNBling) ***Tentative*** Time 8-2 Event: Deer Widows Crafts Fair Place: Trappers Pub & Grub Town: Farming, MN Date: 11/10/18 (NotesNBling) Time: 10-6 Event: Hometown Harvest Market Place: Peace Therapeutic Massage 901 4th Street Town: Hudson, WI Be sure to check my Facebook page (or this one) for new events that may pop up between now and then. PAST EVENTS: This past month has had a lot of activity! Between getting jewelry ready for KR Digital a photo & frame shop located in Elbow Lake, MN and for The General Store in Arthur, IL (both stores carry some of my jewelry pieces), more jewelry had to be made for the Crafts Fair in Rice, MN, which was an unplanned (but great) surprise. Then it was time to head out to Illinois for 3 music events and another vending opportunity at a festival with my NotesNBling! Great times ahead! Below some photos from my concert at The Steeple Coffeehouse in Monticello, just my set-up at Monticello Christian Church for my concert there and playing a few songs for our AirBnB host in Michigan. Blessed times! NOTES-N-BLING: A really cool thing happened the first weekend in September. Every year Rice, MN hosts a big crafts fair at the same time when the one in Little Falls takes place. It's an event I always wanted to participate in with my jewelry, however the vendor fees were a bit too steep for me. So....I got invited by a couple ladies from our church group to share the tent with them! YEY! How exciting! They are a start-up company called 'Ruby Buckle' for unique greeting cards with a message of "faith", "hope" and "love" to promote handwritten notes and sweet gift bags to give to friends and family. A big 'thank you' to Colleen and Meg for inviting me to share the vendor booth. It was such a good event, us ladies had a blast together and enjoyed a great time of fellowship, I met so many new cool people and a lot of my pieces went home with happy owners! While in Monticello, IL (after my music events) I participated as a vendor at the Monticellobration Festifall. It was my second year to do so and this year I got to share the booth with a Monticello friend who has 'Tattered Rags' which is upcycled clothing. What a perfect combination with the clothes and my jewelry!  ON A PERSONAL NOTE: While in Michigan with my friend, I learned to ride a Segway! Those things are quite intimidating initially, but hey, this old person got the courage up and got on one and even started rolling down the road once I got familiar with them in the driveway of the AirBnb where we stayed. IN ENDING
It has been wonderful for me to connect with folks over the summer into the early fall but I am ready to be home, do some events together with my hubby and enjoy the crafts fair season in Minnesota. Join me this season to take a break, breathe in the fall air, grab a cup of hot chocolate, tea or coffee and visit with a friend. Share encouragement, share a laugh or two and focus on all that is good. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  Where has the summer gone?? Oh I so love the time of flip flops, running out of the house quick without having to put on layers and layers of clothing. Sitting outside, doing events, spending time with friends or being on the road without the worry of icy conditions. Sadly they will be upon us faster than we think. The only thing I won't miss.....is.....the.....MOSQUITOS!!! I've never been bitten this much as I have this year. Have they become more vicious? Ugh! Today school has started here in Minnesota and for many of you it has already. Warren has gone back to driving the school bus, with new routes this year and new kids... Keep him in prayer as well as the kids for a safe school year! I hope you all had a wonderful summer and we look forward to next years summer months! MUSIC WISE: Part of September I will be hanging out in the Monticello, IL area doing some music events. I'll be playing for a ladies group (not listed), the coffeehouse, a church group and then participate as a vendor at the Monticellobration Festifall, the yearly arts/crafts event downtown Monticello, IL. Looking forward to spending time with friends, making new ones and being available to the Lord to minister through me in music and service. UPCOMING EVENTS: Date: 9/8 & 9/9/18 Time: Sat: 8-6 Sun: 8-5 Event: Old Creamery Arts & Crafts Show (NotesNBling Jewelry) 405 Main Street East Town: Rice, MN First time at the 22nd Annual Crafts Show at the Old Creamery in Rice, MN!! I'll be set up with two friends (Meg & Colleen) at their tent with my NotesNBling jewelry! So come on out to Rice and see us! Note that there are TWO days of this event, Saturday and Sunday! Date: 9/13/18 Time: 11 am Live Music/Original Songs/Organic Folk Place: The Steeple Coffee House 102 E. Lafayette Town: Monticello, IL  Date: 9/25/18 Time: 12:00 noon Event: Young At Heart Luncheon Place: First Christian Church 1699 N. State Street Town: Monticello, IL Date: 9/29/18 Time: 11-4 Event: Monticellobration FestiFall (NotesNBling) Downtown on the Square Town: Monticello, IL I will be set up with my NotesNBling jewelry for the second year at this fun festival which takes place right downtown on the square. PAST EVENTS: Our second event in August was more BBQ related and an event we have attended now for 8 years, the Deerwood Summerfest. We've always loved the atmosphere there and have gained quite a following and have had that same spot for the last 6 years, in the Police Chief's parking spot in front of the Municipal Building/Police Station. Best spot in town! NOTES-N-BLING: Last month I talked about some classes I started taking. So here is the result of me learning how to solder sterling silver. It started out with a wire which we wound around a certain size dowel. Then we had to cut the individual rings which would become the bracelet links. The cutting also has to be done a certain way so that the ends once matched together would solder properly. Then after soldering it had to go into a solution, as all the silver turned black due to the heat from the soldering torch. Then from there into another solution and then we could hammer some design into the links and then polish them. I took it a step further beyond the bracelet and created some cool earrings to go with it! Here's the result of my new art. Once I can buy all the tools, I'll be adding some new design elements to my NotesNBling jewelry, handcrafted all sterling silver! It'll be some of my pricier items, however they will also not tarnish and are great for those of us who cannot wear base metals, or other materials aside from leather. So be patient on this one, as there's more involved tools wise which I need to purchase.... But then it'll be some fun times creating! IN ENDING:
Lots of possibilities have opened up since this spring. In Aspen at InspireSong, the interest in my song "Goodness And Mercy" by Paul Herman from CCLI is exciting yet daunting at the same time because he needs a professional recording of the song as well as a professional video done. All that isn't cheap and at the moment..... I will have to wait. The musicians are available for finally recording my next album, however they are in Colorado and the studio isn't free..... I will have to wait. My jewelry is getting attention and more "fans" and repeat customers, including some custom orders. There's new designs I have learned to create and new materials I've learned to work with which will bring it all up a notch. However, it involves the purchase of these materials including the necessary tools to work those materials..... again I will have to wait. With Warren's eye surgery 3 weeks ago much will be put on hold. So all this ...."will have to wait".... is daunting and I'm going to be honest, also a bit discouraging when you want to move forward - especially with the music opportunity! So I just want to share some thoughts, as my mind needs to stay on God, not the circumstances. One of the scriptures that go with one of my jewelry designs is Isaiah 40:31 - Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. So why is there the "YET"....? Before this scripture it says "He gives strength to the weary and to him who lacks might, He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly,..... YET.... The waiting we are to do is not the type of waiting by throwing up our hands and saying "I give up", I'll just sit there and wait. The waiting involves prayer, time with God, listening to Him intently, preparation, practice, learning, growing, trusting, staying in touch with the people who expressed interest or are willing to help, or can teach us more and of course those who encourage us spiritually. I love the book "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers! GREAT devotional book! Get it if you don't have it yet! On August 26 the title for that day's devotion was: "Are You Ever Troubled?" .....oh boy, that's a big fat yes! Many times we all have been troubled and facing trials, some horribly bad....and then some we just make a bigger mountain of than what they really are. In that section Oswald Chambers writes (and I'm paraphrasing) that true peace, which is inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus when realities of life stare us in the face. What did Jesus say? John 6:63 - It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. So the question is....have I ever received, really received what Jesus speaks??? John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. We must look into the face of Jesus and receive His quiet contentment. Right now, this moment, are you troubled? Are you in turmoil? In the book there's this question (quoted): "Are you afraid or confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus." So how do we get it or know that we have it? Well, in order to reflect His peace in your life you first have to turn your mind to Him. It's like when the circumstance hits, your mind goes to God, not the circumstance, in this you also know that you are right with God. For example: you remember scriptures, or you know to go to the Word and to the Lord in prayer. However, when your mind turns to yourself, you might check your relationship with the Lord, because if that's messed up your mind can't turn anywhere else but on the circumstance or yourself. Allowing anything in between our view of Christ which could hide the face of Jesus from us, is what causes us to become troubled or even creates a false sense of security, which is definitely not what we want! So....and I'm talking to myself here as well..... worrying ourselves out of a problem isn't going to solve anything!! It destroys His (Christ's) effectiveness in us, it taints our witness and it isn't changing the situation. Although circumstances may not change right away, our inner peace is needed in order for us to go through the trial without being in a constant state of upset. See, we become troubled because we don't take Jesus into account. When we confer with Christ, truly confer with Him, which includes talking and listening.....the confusion will stop. Remember, there's no confusion in Him!! Best thing to do is: Lay everything out before Him. Then, when you are faced with difficulty, sorrow, confusion, bereavement.....listen to Him say: "Do not let your heart be troubled"..... (Read in 2 Kings 19:14-20 what King Hezekiah did when he was faced with a threat from a dangerous enemy. Hezekiah took the threat, laid it out before the Lord and prayed....) This portion in scripture encouraged me to do the same many times... Maybe that's just what I need to do with the "..has to wait..." stuff and maybe it encourages you to lay it all before the Lord in prayer and hear Him say to you..."Let not your heart be troubled".....  Soo....this update is a bit behind for the month of August. This month seemed like it was especially busy with a lot of out of town travel for music and BBQ as we were setting up for events in Wisconsin and here in Minnesota out of town. Yet, here's a recap of some of the things from this month and some from last month I didn't have the chance to share about. PERSONALLY: Warren had to have eye surgery. During umpiring a baseball game 3 weeks or so earlier, he had gotten a ball smack into the mask on that side of his face. He has had "floaters" since then and when we were in Deerwood at our BBQ event, he couldn't see out of the corner of his eye. 3 days later he had retina surgery as it was detaching. He wasn't allowed to lift or do much work these last couple of weeks and is still on restriction until "the bubble" (a gas inflation put in his eye to keep some pressure on his retina to heal) is gone. His follow up appointment two days after the surgery showed successful surgery and today at his appointment all is well and looking good and the retina is attached and healing! The wonders of today's medicine. Years ago he would have been blind! EVENTS: July was the TNT Fireworks Tent sales and following Tent Revival at the end of the Fireworks sales which included The BURN Central MN prayer/praise day on Saturday from 9-9 during the 3 day tent revival. At the beginning of August we were at Rock on the Rock, a Christian Music Festival put on by The Overflowing Cup & Total Life Center in Beloit, WI. We played music, Warren sold BBQ and I had a booth with my jewelry. We met a lot of cool folks, spent time in fellowship, gnawed on the best sweet corn ever, enjoyed each other's music as many bands and singer/songwriters played throughout the two day festival. On Sunday Warren and I got to lead worship for the church service held in the park, as the original scheduled musicians cancelled. We got to chat with Billy Saint John from Southern Exposure.... who might have us come down to one of his events in Indiana some time.  UPCOMING EVENTS: Date: 8/25/18 Time: 10-4:30 Event: Art from the Heart Crafts & Car Show Place: Downtown Paynesville Town: Paynesville, MN Date: 9/13/18 Time: 11 am Place: The Steeple Coffee House 102 E. Lafayette Town: Monticello, IL  Date: 9/25/18 Time: 12:00 noon Event: Young At Heart at First Christian Church 1699 N. State Street Town: Monticello, IL Date: 9/29/18 Time: 11-4 Event: Monticellobration FestiFall (NotesNBling) Downtown on the Square Town: Monticello, IL NOTES-N-BLING: Most of you are familiar with my jewelry designs by now, so I'm excited to say that I've attended a couple classes this month to learn more how to make stuff....new cool stuff. So in one class I learned how to rivet and work with leather and how to rivet stuff together for some cool items. So there will be some new earrings and other cool riveted jewelry added soon. Next month (September) update I'll show you what I learned to make with sterling silver wire!!! IN ENDING:
As busy as August was and in a way I'm glad all the events are done, there is a part of me that always misses that time, as we meet so many people and Warren is making new culinary friends with his food which is so cool. Setting up the BBQ events is a lot of hard work, many don't realize how much there is involved with that. If you ever would like to know, contact us and you can tag along and learn all there is to learn about setting up a food stand! But be prepared to lend a hand! It starts with getting electricity to the freezer/fridge in the trailer, on to setting up tents, the tables, getting the fryer out and positioned and the tiny refrigerator/freezer for the fried foods ready. Then the brisket gets put under fire/smoke to smoke for 12 hours minimum.... we may sell the first day, so there's food preps to be done, grilling chicken, hot dogs, brats and Warren will be making his BBQ sauce. If we sell Giros, there's chopping tomatoes, lettuce and onions to be done..... Once the event is over, the cleanup begins.....everything sorted back into the trailer with the tents being last to be taken down and put away..... and if there's a Thunderstorm looming and coming in faster than we can put things away (hopefully at the END of an event)....we are always grateful for every hand that someone can lend us so we can put things away safely and securely in a much faster and timely manner than the two of us could ever do! Yes it's an experience for sure!! So a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all the folks who helped us in Beloit on the last day of Rock on the Rock when the thunderstorm came sooner than expected and came in on us as we were loading up the last items! Thank you to those who wiped tables, folded them up, brought items to Warren so he could sort them into the trailer before it got bad! Thank you to the three men who braved it till the end helping Warren hook up his trailer to his truck as the rain poured down and lightning all around us..... WE ARE SO GRATEFUL to you all who helped! I am back home!! After exactly two months on the road, it was nice to be home in my own bed again and the best part….my hubby!!! Equally nice has been being able to get my clothes out of a closet and dresser instead of a suitcase! So grateful to everyone who has hosted me! Great visits and hang time too. What a great time. The only sad part of being home is….. all you are SO far away and there’s moments where I’m a little sad that I can’t just pop over to spend time with each one of you! Thank you Pastor Bill & Pat Martin, Kim & Mike Eaton (and Renewed), Susan & Billy Casillas, Terri & Shawn Taylor & Phyllis Arnold, Brandon & Cheryl Breaker, Cheryl & Scott Marlow, Melanie Daigle, Michael & Tawana Albert, Jean & Kent Brund, MJ & Cat Jones, Carol B. and last stop: Sue Dempster. You all mean so much to me and I’m so grateful for your hospitality, your love, the fun, laughter, trips, sightseeing, music, stories, FOOD, memories and future plans! It’s been awesome! MUSIC WISE: My June Update came from Clovis, NM at my friend Susan’s house. I love her place. We planted a lot of flowers in her pots and it just looked gorgeous when I left!! While in Clovis, I got to lead worship for Crossroads Cowboy Church in Broadview, NM and a week later was my concert at First Christian Church in Clovis and the following morning they invited me to play with the worship band for Sunday’s service. That was a LOT of fun! A huge thank you to Pastor Jon Forrest for opening the church to me for the concert night and having me be part of the service. Precious moments! After Clovis, my in-between stop for the night was Abilene, where I visited family (Warren’s sister & mom), had a 3 mile walk with my nephew Xavier and the next morning the road called to start heading further south. Actually so far I had such a pleasant road trip, no inclement weather the whole way ever since I had left Minnesota, so that was cool. Sunshine all the way. Once arrived in Woodsboro, things were busy until the day I left. HAHA. Between my daughter working on her photoshoots and following edits and me on my music office stuff, photo sorting and working on finding art events in the area to consider for future reference and visits, we had times where we just took a break and went to town! Although that involved mainly to run errands, it was still fun to go to Corpus Christi to get those things done we both needed to attend to. I also got to tag-team one of her client’s ordering sessions. It took place at Starbucks and another curious customer sat across from us, so I was able to relay to her the information as I overheard Cheryl sharing about her services to the client she had the appointment for. That was pretty cool and a blast. During my stay Cheryl also had photo sessions with clients and it’s been fun helping her with that. She said I really should move there cos she could use an assistant!! Then both of us took a sight seeing trip to Fredricksburg, TX, a little touristy “German” town and picked up my grandson from his dad’s to spend the summer vacation with his mom. The only thing I wish we could have done was to have some German food, however the budget did not allow for the prices of that fare! Although I got some music work done, sold some jewelry while there, it was really nice just to get to visit without having events scheduled…..and of course be a busy photographer’s assistant! HAHA! Here are a few photos from my stay there: The rest of the trip would be fast and furious to get back home by the end of the month. Leaving Woodsboro, I headed to Sugarland, TX next to visit my long time friends Scott & Cheryl who were also my host home before my concert in Pasadena, TX at The Refuge. A couple days later I headed to Pasadena, checked into the hotel and headed over to the venue to prepare for the concert that night. Ah, it refreshed my heart to see my good friend Melanie Daigle who heads up The Refuge, a ministry she’s done for 15 years if not more. We knew her since we lived in Houston all those years ago, often taking part in some event The Refuge had. Concert night went wonderful, with the favorite song of the night being “For A Time As This”, which I played again per request at the end of the night during a time of testimony and prayer. The song really spoke to people that night and was also spot on for the direction the Lord seemed to take that evening in ministry. After a good night’s rest in the hotel, the next morning I headed to Spring, TX where I would be spending some time with singer/songwriter friend Tawana and her family. Tawana and I had some music related topics to discuss, hopefully bringing encouragement to her and we both decided to try out an open mic night at The Blue Giraffe, a secular coffeehouse/music venue. It was an interesting night for sure. My music was well received, however, which was pretty cool, people bobbing their heads, tapping their feet and even singing along on one song! That was pretty cool! Then it was time to leave to head to Duncan, OK where I would be helping my sweet sister-in-law after her severe car accident a month earlier (right when I had left to go on the road!!). When you go through things like that, there’s a lot of pain emotionally and for sure physically which you face in the aftermath. I know….I’ve been there myself! So it was good for her to have some girl-company, have help when she needed it and also someone who could scrub the house to have it looking fresh, which for us girls, that’s so important as it helps us feel more calm and peaceful. I got to play a mini-concert for her which was a huge blessing to her. She so enjoyed it! Even their dog came to listen! Below are some pictures of that…..we hoped to catch him when he had his head cocked from one side to the other, but by the time the camera was out, he didn’t do that anymore. It was so hilarious that we both couldn’t stop laughing and it was hard to sing amidst all the giggles! Such a refreshing time for both her and I! Moments we won’t forget so easily as they were precious! I loved our late night talks and miss them now…. After Duncan, my next stop was Tulsa to spend just one night with my friend Cat and family. We had silly moments (like doing a Facebook Live about exercise outdoors in the heat and it’s benefits), a sweaty walk and a late night Facebook LIVE concert I did, sitting at her kitchen table playing a few songs for folks on her page! Fun! Thankfully NO thunderstorms there! The longest part of my drive was next. Heading straight home to MN would not have been possible for me without staying in a hotel, which I did not want to do. So I drove to Monticello, Illinois for a couple nights with a friend there. On the way I experienced some scary….VERY SCARY weather!!!! The closer I got t St. Louis, the more the clouds coming from the northwest were closing in on me. By the time I got to the outskirts of town in rush hour traffic, the radio bleeped with alert and announcer said “tornado warning” and at the same time my phone went off like crazy with the same message! So I prayed, “Lord I need an exit…..soon” and almost regretted that I didn’t stop earlier. As the traffic inched down the road, a sign said “exit 1 mile”. YEY! Best place I could stop! A QT!!! Food and shelter if need be! Thank You Lord. As the warnings kept being announced, where I was sitting not one drop of rain fell and the clouds all moved more towards town and down south. So I had a 2 hour layover to wait out the weather before I could go on crossing through town to head north east! No tornado touched down and the rest of the drive was uneventful, with just a little lightning here and there in the distance and DRY roads!!! Yey! However I got to my friend’s house quite late and very exhausted, physically and emotionally. Don’t like thunderstorms like that, however they sure were a storm chasers dream!!! From Monticello, my last stop would be Sheboygan, WI to make it a shorter drive each day and it was good to see another friend. Yet…..after all that driving….and exactly to the day two months later…. I was glad to be back home! PERSONALLY: Once home, there was some house cleaning to do amidst helping with the last days of sales in the TNT Fireworks tents my hubby runs every summer and the Tent Revival. With me being gone, he had to hire extra help and we are grateful for all the awesome folks who worked very hard to make sales as successful as they could be for a Wednesday July 4th. Good job guys! UPCOMING EVENTS: Date: 7/19/18 Time: 10-4 Event: Art in the Park (NotesNBling Jewelry) Place:: Munsinger Gardens Town: St. Cloud, MN Date: 8/4/18 Time: 11 am Event: Rock On The Rock Place: Harry Moore Pavilion, Riverside Park Town: Beloit, WI IN ENDING: There have been times thoughout the trip where I’ve had some concern about “how am I ever gonna make it?”. But it’s been equally amazing how God, not only through provision but also a lot through His Word brought encouragement and peace to my travels! At each stop there was always some kind of message for me from the Lord that spoke directly into the situation of trip finances and road safety. I am thrilled to testify that the Lord provided above and beyond for this trip, with the last provision coming in once home through the Munsinger Gardens Art Fair and other sales. At the Art Fair, the opportunities to show God’s love through great conversations and times of sharing the scriptures attributed to my RockNStone and LeatherNLink lines were amazing! It’s like God was sending people. So many walked away with a smile because in some way God ministered to them in our conversations. I also got to deliver a special order bracelet to a cancer survivor who got to share with me at the booth during the art fair. I think I’ll be hearing more from her as she said “God brought us together for some reason”. Yes, there is always a “divine appointment”!! |
Christian Organic Folk Singer/Songwriter & Author
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 Psalm 100 Scripture
1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. Archives
November 2018
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