“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

I believe that so many times in life, we miss out on things because we do not open our mouths and make our wants and needs known. We are afraid, oftentimes, of what people will think. Will they think I am not strong enough to do things by myself? Will they think I am always whining about something? Will they begin avoiding me because they don’t know what all is going on? And, if they do know what is going on, they will surely drop me from their ‘friends’ list.

My friends, I am here to tell you, if any of those things were ever to be thought by one of my friends…I’d sooner not have them!

But, I am blessed with wonderful friends…Godly friends…friends who don’t care about all those things, they care about me and what I am going through. And, even if they don’t know the details, it is of no matter. They don’t have to know…they just know I asked and they answered.

“‚ĶThe prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

My family has many needs at this moment, and I am asking for your prayers.

My sweet Suzanne and Adam are going through some very trying times at the moment, in regards to a medical issue. I have asked for prayer for them before for this same reason…and nothing has changed. But, there is a glimmer of hope and I ask that you pray that God will answer their prayers, if it is His will. Please pray that Adam and Suze will have peace and comfort as they go about their daily lives while waiting on God.

Suzanne was bitten by a spider during the last few days. She went to the doctor and he told her there was a large amount of infection in her blood. They have started her on some meds, but it seems she is having some rections to it. Please pray that the meds will take effect soon.

Sweet Tara’s dear dog, Oreo, is missing. They live way out in the country, and they think he may have gotten lost in the woods. The other dog came home…but is obviously in much distress. He is missing his buddy. They are always together. Tara and Will have had this dog as long as they have been married. Will rescued it. And, they both love him dearly. I have prayed that the Lord give Oreo an extra dose of tracking skills, so he will find his way home. And, to put His angels that are on animal duty around him to keep him safe. Oreo is the same kind of dog that our sweet Scooter was.

Ian is also having some very hard decisions to make in regards to his health. Don and I can not make these for him, but the outcome of his choices will affect his life for well over a year. This is not an easy decision to make, as he has walked this path before. Please pray that he will have wisdom to make a clear decision, and that things in regards to doctors will fall into place.

Alex has been doing very poorly lately. He has not even been up since Father’s Day. His pain is at a very high level, so he stays medicated most of the time. This is a so hard to witness every day. Please pray that God will give him some relief. Please pray that we will find a doctor who knows more about his disease, and can actually help the pain. Oh, friends, he suffers so much every single day.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).

The only reason I am not more specific on some of these is due to respect of their privacy. The telling of details should be up to them.

Thank you for being the kind of friends that I can come to openly and without hesitation, knowing that I can trust these situations to your caring hearts. Thank you for praying with me.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Here’s some more of those funky house pictures. These are all real. People have lived there or live their now. Enjoy!

When I ran across this story, I found it utterly fascinating. And, I thought you would, too. Did you even know this type of bee existed? Well, I had no idea. But, what a beautiful nest it makes!

Our Creator is the same one who created these tiny bees. It is He who put the knowledge into the very first of its kind. The God who creates the great and mighty wonders of this world is the same God who creates tiny masterpieces that often we fail to notice.

“Listen! Stand still and consider the wonders of God.” Job 37:14

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When we think of bee nests, we often think of a giant hive, buzzing with social activity, worker bees and honey. But scientists recently discovered a rare, solitary type of bee that makes tiny nests by plastering together flower petals.

Each nest is a multicolored, textured little cocoon — a papier-mache husk surrounding a single egg, protecting it while it develops into an adult bee.

“It’s not common for bees to use parts of plants for nests,” says Dr. Jerome Rozen of the American Museum of Natural History of the unexpected find. His team stumbled across the nests of the Osmia (Ozbekosima) avoseta bee in Turkey. Oddly enough, another team discovered the same bee and flowery nests in Iran on the same day. The two teams published their research together in the American Museum Novitates.

These Thumbelina-like nests are a fascinating natural work of art, but they’re also key to understanding more about how the roughly 20,000 species of bees live.

“There’s a demand for biologists to know bees nowadays,” Rosen says. “They are the foremost animal pollinators of plants, and tremendously important for maintaining ecosystems ‚Äî not only crops but also for conservation.”

To learn more, the scientists watched the busy mama bees. Building a nest takes a day or two, and the female might create about 10 nests in total, often right next to each other. To begin construction, she bites the petals off of flowers and flies each petal — one by one — back to the nest, a peanut-sized burrow in the ground.

She then shapes the multi-colored petals into a cocoon-like structure, laying one petal on top of the other and occasionally using some nectar as glue. When the outer petal casing is complete, she reinforces the inside with a paper-thin layer of mud, and then another layer of petals, so both the outside and inside are wallpapered — a potpourri of purple, pink and yellow.

These meticulous shells are just over a half-inch long and usually will house just one tiny egg. To prepare for her offspring, the mother collects pollen and nectar, which she carries back to the burrow in a nifty part of the digestive tract called the crop. She deposits this gooey blob of nutritional goodness in the bottom of the flower-petal nest. Then, she lays the egg, right on top of the gelatinous blob.

At this point, it’s time to seal in the egg. The mother bee neatly folds in the inner layer of petals, smears a paper-thin mud layer and then folds the outer petals. The casing is nearly airtight, which helps protect the vulnerable egg (and later larva, then pupa) from flooding or excessive dryness or hoofed animals.

In only three to four days, the egg hatches into a larva. When it finishes feasting on the nectar, the larva spins a cocoon (still inside the shell, which has hardened into a protective casing by this point) and then hangs out. Rosen says he isn’t sure whether it spends the winter as a larva or as an adult. But at some point the creature’s tissue begins to restructure itself, and it transforms into an adult. Come springtime, the adult bee emerges from its flowery bower.

Then, the cycle starts all over again. (Published May 6,2010, NPR)

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“The Lord has done this, it is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalms 118:23

Here are a few pics from Pop’s party. We had a great time and all enjoyed being together. Missed those who couldn’t be here. I wasn’t able to make my normal amount of pictures, but here are just a few you may enjoy. I don’t know who’s the cutest….Pop…Lori…..or John Thomas !

Pop…84 John Thomas…8 months

Happy Birthday to a boy who’s always been ‘going somewhere’………..

No, there’s never been any ‘just hanging around’ for him…

Well, maybe just once…

Making good friends and having fun along the way…

Studying hard and graduating with a MBA…

And going out to explore the world…..

Happy Birthday, my son. You are a joy. You deserve all the best…today….and everyday!…(and that’s no bull!)

I love you!