Camping at Shaver with the Paris'

I wonder where we are supposed to turn to go to our campsite...hmmm. We went by this sign that reads "Dorabella" about three times before we realized we had to look on the ground to actually see it. I didn't know we were going to play "Where's Waldo" on our weekend camping trip. Eureka! We found it and got to our campsite with time to set up before Brian and Kylen arrived in the other car...Ashlyn and Julianne put up the tent like pros. We didn't notice the poles were upside down until Brian arrived later that afternoon and walked around the tent turning them around. I am not sure if the tent would have collapsed. Good thing he came to the rescue.

It was wonderful to go camping again with John and Julie, and Bill, Heather, & Will. I am thankful for such an amazing family!

My favorite camping things: to sit by the fire and chat and take in the beauty of the trees and by simply being together without the rush of life around us. Another highlight of our time was hiking to the lake and watching Kylen and Will play in the water and waiting for Ashlyn to fall in the water as she was trying to retrieve a water bottle without getting wet, even though it had floated out onto the lake.

Julianne and Ashlyn in the tent with their cousin Will.

Julianne's face says it all.

Will gets the prize for the dirtiest!

What a special memories!

Firsts and Lasts

I get sentimental as I recount different seasons of life and today is no different. It is the last day of school for Ash, Ky, and Ju. Kylen is about to complete his 8th grade year and is promoted to the high school world. Wow! We now have two college gals, two high schoolers, and one junior higher dwelling within the four walls of the Downs home. I LOVE it! (This is a quick hello because school gets out in 30 minutes and I am going to pick the munchkins up for Clovis North Educational Center and then off to get some lunch as a special treat.)

As for a "first"...I wish I had the video from Charlotte's phone because I have thought about the sweetest interaction between two animals that we witnessed yesterday. (I'm not really an animal person and usually don't get all gooey over them, but this was precious.) Charlie, our orange, long haired cat met his first non human friend. Bella, a golden-retriever/lab came over yesterday and she and Charles became instant best friends. Bella is four times as big as our cat, but they didn't care. Charlie purred the entire time and never got scared of this big puppy dog. They kissed and hugged and wrestled while both of them were intentional about not hurting the other. This went on for a good 15 minutes. Priceless.

Quick side note on what the Lord is impressing in my soul: We are enabled by the Lord's grace and power and FREE to love every person with the Love of Jesus...it is true and our calling in life. Let's believe Him for it. (Galatians)

Mission Possible 2009--Northern Ireland

Brian and nineteen other firefighters are heading to Northern Ireland to work alongside and minister to the Irish firemen. Brian is going to keep us all updated at this site: http://missionpossible2009.blogspot.com/ .

Newest Addition

Charlotte Teisinger has joined the Downs family. She has lived with us for two weeks and we have decided we love having a big family. Char thinks she is making a goofy face in this picture, but I think it shows her fun free spirit and this amazing picture that she just completed painting as a gift for her sister who is getting married this month.

If anyone missed a memo along the way, there are 7 of us under the Downs roof at the moment. Brian, Ashlyn, Kylen, Julianne, Melody, Char, and me. Meghan, the gal who lived with us last year, is in VA at Liberty University. We love every person the Lord brings our way.

Other updates:

*Julianne just began badminton and has her first game tomorrow. Go Broncos!

*Kylen got his wire off his teeth after almost knocking them out a couple of weeks ago.

*Ashlyn has blessed me as I have watched her reach out to people again and again and love them unconditionally.

*Melody is almost done with her first semester of college! Great job!

*Brian is as handsome as ever! That sums it up...

Selah!

It has been over a week since "the Well women" were "Selah-ing" at Hume Lake Christian Camps. As I reflect on what the Majestic Lord has done and continues to do in the hearts of those who attended the Women's Retreat I am in awestruck wonder of our Maker, Author, and Perfector of our faith. Glory Lord, we worship You alone! I had the privilege of serving the ladies I worship with in Fresno by teaching the Word for the weekend...what a joy it was and how humbling to minister to these precious ladies.

Selah (This was the name of our Women's Retreat)--a musical term which denotes a pause to reflect, an interruption, or a time to meditate so as to lift up the Name of the Lord...the Israelites would sing songs to the Lord about a variety of circumstances in life from great days to days they wished their lives were over, times of battle to times of peace, times waiting for the Lord to act to praising the Lord for working mightily...they would sing in the midst of their circumstances and include the Lord in their life, and selah, remember Him and exalt His name, even when they didn't understand what God was doing and why He was taking so long to do it.

My highlight of the weekend was witnessing the Body of Christ ministering to each other and working with one heart and mind to love all with the Love of Jesus Christ. As I walked around Hume, I watched ladies listening to each other, praying for one another, struggling together to know Christ more deeply, laughing together, and simply doing life together. It was thrilling to watch how God has graced each lady differently with gifts to edify the body, from worshipping through music, to administration, to organization, to exhortation, to encouragement...and...

Our theme: Jesus, Himself, is my abundant life! Once we understand that He is the One who loves us completely and has rescued us from death, then the Lord grows our hearts to believe that He works in and through us and overflows from our lives to enable us to love and forgive others by the power and grace of God. His will for every follower of Christ is that we live life to the fullest in Him. We will only experience this type of freedom and abundance, "a spacious place", when all people, places, and things in our lives are in line with the Lord. The Scripture we meditated on for the weekend was Psalm 18:16-19:

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Here are a just a few wonderful things the Lord did in the hearts of us ladies:

I will praise you O Lord with all my heart, I will tell of all Your wonders.

Psalm 9:1

*A new sweet friend decided to give up a show on TV that has inappropriate relationships

*(exerpt from an email from a small group leader for the weekend) "...in my small group alone I saw EVERY girl make a life changing decision. Decisions from alcohol use, to facebook deletions, to change of peer groups, to investing in Godly relationships, to getting rid of guys that are a cancer to their walk, to making the relationship with Jesus personal not a punch of a spiritual time card. God is so good!!
*(from a friend) There are no words to express what God did this weekend in my heart.
*Four ladies came to know and believe the Lord as Savior and received Him in their life! Yippie!!! Praise Him!!!
*(an email) Feeling fully content (and in a season of spring) I went up the hill under God’s direction, not knowing what He had in store. I left with such a bigger image of who God is.
*(From a conversation with a friend)...knowing she needed to destroy the idol of expectation in relationships

Countless times in the last week and a half I have heard "Selah" as a greeting or salutation again and again, at Chick-fil-A, church, my home...so I leave you now with SELAH, with the hopes that you would stop right now and remember the Lord in the midst of whatever circumstances you are in and exalt His name as the God Most High, Holy, Righteous, Loving...