Why Oh Why......

Is it me, but why do they have to man-handle and manipulate the paper?? Now I will tear it off....not touching this girl....:)

This portion starts our journey to the Pacific Northwest in the Seattle area and south to Mount Rainier. I was really excited to be able to see God's mountain and handiwork again.

Bloomin' Beautiful!

Our first stop was at Seattle's Woodland Park rose garden. To stop and smell the roses was our top priority. The air was warm and the sun shone down to high-light the bright white roses with a hint of buttery yellow in the center.

Hey, I was once like the one with the scarf... hee hee hee!

Beautiful fountains and lush gardens, somehow I am always at peace as I smell, admire and breathe in these places......as you grow in relationship with God, what you do will simply reflect who you really are...

Downtown Seattle for a Moment.

We stopped for a few hours downtown as we had time to spare. Drank coffee, people watched and just loved the sign here.

Pikes Market was our destination just to see the flowers, tap our feet on the hardwood floors inside and hustle/bustle our way around.
Downtown has it's own flavor, your choosing whether to sip, snack or lick. I chose to sip! Jim chose to sip, snack and lick!

The thoughts of the righteous are right; but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. Proverbs 12:5.

Deception Falls. How ironic is that?

When you allow yourself to be deceived, the path flow will take you over the edge....but if you follow God's Word, your path will be clear as His light will shine all around your feet so your steps will be ordered by Him.

Deception Falls has such a finite beauty. The loud, deafening roar of the rushing waters, flows downward, over water worn boulders, carving time in the stone for future generations to wonder about.

"To live for the greatness of God is to live the great life." (exerpt from Beth Moore's study of Esther.)

Leavenworth Washington.

This little Bavarian town is reached via Steven's Pass on Route 2. Quite the tourist town with it's shops and eateries fashioned after swiss decor. They even had a Maypole in the center of town! Jim and I took a client, John and his wife, Carol to visit with us. We ate lunch in town and stopped at our favorite bakery for a apple turnover.

A Froo Froo Dinner at Salish Lodge. Kobe beef cooked on hot rocks....

We shared a wonderful meal with our new found friends. But the best part was the artfully presented dessert. I snapped this picture of the huge palate before Jim could take it apart...this portion was made for two I believe!

Relationships are never about power. One way to avoid the will to hold power over another is to choose to limit yourself - to serve.

Paradise Inn, at the foot of Mt. Rainier.

The inn was built in 1916 on the south slope of the mountain. It was constructed from salvaged timber from a fire dating to 1885. Local stone was used also. In 1920 a four story annex was built with 120 rooms.
www.mtrainierguestservices.com/

Check out the history at above site.

There was much snow left and lookie here, we are in shorts! Most trails were open but snow hiking was in fashion still, in July! Our friend from Illinois could not believe how warm they were while hiking in the cold stuff. These two were troopers. We took them close to Panarama Point and on such a clear day, we could see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Baker. You surely needed your sun glasses as the sun was shining brightly and few clouds to shadow your day!

Many flowers were blooming but in a couple of weeks, the sub alpine meadows will be a riot of colors. We were overloaded with Avalanche Lilies, Alpine Lilies and buttercups too.
Avalanche lily is aptly named as you often find huge masses of this beautiful flower seemingly sweeping away everything in their path as they fill a meadow or slope. They bloom shortly after the snow melts. Sometimes they push thru the snow!
Comet Falls to Van Trump Meadow. Sidebar: Mildred Point.

This hike started out to be a piece of cake...we had taken this hike before with family but just made it to the falls. Each step you take in the shadowy depths beneath the trees brought you closer to the clean pine scents of Christmas trees. Up, up we went, one step at a time, resting here and there, waiting, observing the stillness and quietness of the earth.

We found these flowers called:

Jeffery's Shooting Stars on this trail. Did not see them anywhere else. So beautiful.

The hike became very steep as we neared the Van Trump Meadows. Many Avalanche lilies were nodding their heads in the wind to us, coaxing us further up the trail. Slow and

steady will win this race! We met people along the way and a man lent me a walking pole which eased the burden on my knees. Isn't that how God shows us His love in little ways? The views were awe inspiring while we rested and sipped from our water bottles. Many birds were singing and chip-monks played along the trail, hoping for an easy lunch.

Would I do it again? You bet I would! To share this joy with someone you love, is the greatest experience.

We ate lunch at Mildred Point and met a nice couple, Steve and Debbie. They decided to follow us down on the Wonderland Trail to Longmire. We would catch the shuttle bus back to the trailhead of Comet Falls. We treated them to dinner that evening at the Inn. We had buffalo meatloaf! Yum!

I have to say, after 9 miles of hiking, my feet were screaming at me. But I know that after a good foot rub and 3 Aleve, my doggies would be good as new in the morning. And they were!

I hope this will inspire anyone who reads this, to find a new journey, a different road to travel, or explore God's wonderful creation!

An Earfull

Hearing God's voice...ever wonder if what you heard is God? We become a part of God's family by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This is the word of faith spoken in Scriptures.

God speaks in many different voices, I think fashioned to our specific needs. God spoke to Elijah with "a still small voice", to the nation of Israel out of smoke and fire, still yet to Jacob, Daniel, Paul, and more by dreams.

How about me?

Three parts of One's being.

Our body, we communicate through our senses, touch, taste, sight, sound and smell.

Our souls, we reason, have feelings, make decisons and communicate with others.

Our spirit, which has the capacity to communicate with God. The Spirit of God "speaks" to our spirits about Who He is and about the basic issues of life.

Practical steps to Hear the Voice of God.

1. Ask God for a "hearing" heart.

The Hebrew word for understand

is shama which means "to hear, listen to."

2. Set aside time to meet with God.

Establish a set time each day and believe God will meet you there.

3. Have a Bible reading plan.

Scripture is given by inspiration of God, He will speak through His word.

4. Memorization of Scripture.

Engraft the Word of God in our Spirits through memorizing portions of

Scripture. See John 14:23-24.

As you intimately draw closer to God's heart, we find Christ as we've never known Him and, pooled in the reflecton of His eyes, we startle to discover that a part of ourselves resemble Him." (exerpt from Beth Moores' study on Esther.)

The Majestic Mt. Rainier, Washington.