Tulip Festival Dutch style

Well its not like the Skagit Valley but it is the next best thing. It was great getting to see all the flowers in bloom. We were in Orange City, Iowa, yesterday. Parts of Iowa are really quite pretty. Orange City is made up of Dutch people, so there are replicas of Dutch windmills and a few stores with Dutch things in them to see. Unfortunately it was fairly cold yesterday. We went down on a lark just to see it. Once we had seen what we had wanted to see, I was hoping to go down to Sioux City, which is only 50 miles away, which meant just across the Missouri River was Nebraska. So we stepped into Nebraska and back out, just to say we had been there. On the other side, on the Iowa side, there was a Lewis and Clark Interpretation Center. I would have taken pictures but cameras were not allowed, so instead took a few outside.

This is obviously Lewis and Clark and their big dog, don't ask me his name, I could not say. This is part of walking park along the Missouri River. We finally got to see the Missouri. We saw it as we traveled out from Washington, but did not stop, just drove over it. There is so much history connected with the Missouri, I could only imagine way back, when all the people who were traveling further west by way of the Missouri, on rafts and boats, whatever they could get to take them.

This was the end of our day!

Leap of Faith

This is either a leap of faith or stupidity, I am not sure. I have been transcribing for 28 years now, 13 with the same company, and after many years of this, struggling with health issues with back and neck, the direction the company is beginning to take, and the total burnout I feel inside myself, after much consternation and prayer, and an encouraging word from my husband, I have decided to leave the transcription field and do some healing. For years I have had the feeling that God has been telling me to get out of it, especially when the company would make a decision that would effect me in a negative way, such as wage loss, lack of work, and quality issues, and issues surrounding my health, with 7 car accidents my neck is pretty bad, my low back is not good, and all this sitting is not good for my osteoporosis, all this has taken its toll on me, so have decided to take care of myself and do some healing both physically and emotionally, believe it or not this job has taken a lot out of me.

My faith has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 5 years. I have seen doors closed and opened, endings and new beginnings, and God always provides just what we need when we need it, and has shown me doors to go through when I need to, when life has gotten tough, people have entered my life when I needed them the most.

Being amongst the people I live with, the faith here is deep also. God is very important and is very much a part of people's lives. Some years the crops make it, other years they don't. They keep planting, putting one foot in front of the other, and they keep on going, even when it gets tough.

As I move through my life and my faith, I have to ask myself what is important. That question is different for everyone and the answer is different for everyone. Everyone has different gifts and how they use those gifts. I do not know exactly what my gift is. I have never had the time or opportunity to just be, to just stop, and this is a gift not only from my husband who is supportive of this but also a gift from God, for me to have the chance to really see where I fit in, how it is I want to live my life. I am scared but excited at the same time. New adventures lie ahead, a door is closing but another will open and I am not sure what I will find on the other side, but whatever it is, I am ready.

In the meantime, Don and I are headed to the NW over Father's Day weekend to visit with family and friends. Andrew, his oldest son is graduating from University of Washington and will be attending grad school in Santa Cruz, CA, come fall. We want to see him graduate and move on to this next step in his life. It will give us a chance to visit also with our church family in Bremerton, we are so looking forward to that, to seeing familiar faces, be able to connect once again. And just think, if I were working, I would not have this opportunity to do this.

Is this is a leap in faith or stupidity? I think for me my faith is what sustains me, my faith is what will get me through.

Blogged by Anna
This picture has nothing to do the subject, except that I think I will have more time to take pictures like this. This is on Shalom Hill farm where I plan to spend more time volunteering to help out. Living here, I am going back to my roots as farm girl. Life is good!