Boldness

The book of Second Kings tells us the prophet Elisha was visited on his deathbed by Joash, king of Israel. Elisha told Joash to smite the ground with his arrows to represent the Lord's upcoming deliverance of the Israelites from Syria.  Joash did as he was told three times and then stopped.  Elisha was very disappointed and told him he should have smitten five or six times.

Hummingbirds - 2015

" I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."  --Jeremiah 31:3

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.  The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."  --Psalm 138:7-8

Random Summer Highlights + A Blogger Meetup!

Meet-up with Happy Elf Mom Christine

I had the pleasure of meeting the Happy Elf Mom, Christine, from Homeschool and Etc. at the Iowa Open!  We compared notes and discovered we actually were both at the tournament last year, but had not met each other.  Christine is a lovely lady with an awesome sense of humor.

14th Annual Turning Hearts Celebration

My family and I spent Labor day at the Turning Hearts Celebration at the Bontrager's farm near Kalona, Iowa.  I had never attended this event before, but a few friends and family members went last year.  A couple of them must have really enjoyed it, because they twisted my arm pleasantly encouraged me to go this year. (Ahem, the guilty parties know who they are.) 

Montauk

On our way to Wisconsin this June to meet with Cryslyn, we stopped at Montauk, the mansion of Iowa's 13th governor, William Larrabee.  The mansion, near Clermont, Iowa, was built in 1874 and cost about $20,000 to construct.

In front of the house are four bronze statues portraying Generals Grant, Dodge, and Sherman, and Admiral Farragut.  There are outbuildings for stables and cattle.  The governor had peacocks, chickens, turkeys, and the first Swiss cattle imported to Iowa.   

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

St. Louis Trip, Day 2 - Saturday, July 25, 2015

The site I most wanted to see in St. Louis was my great great great uncle Philander Lockard's grave.  Philander and his brother John both volunteered for the Union army during the Civil War.  Philander died at age 24 of typhoid in St. Louis on December 8th, 1861.  John, 25 years old, was wounded April 6th, 1862 during the Battle of Shiloh, and died on May 25th in Waterloo, Iowa on his way back home. 

The gravestone where John is buried at one of our local family cemeteries commemorates both him and his brother Philander, and I had always thought they were both buried there.  But upon further research, I found that Philander was actually buried at Jefferson Barracks.

Battle of Athens State Historic Site

St. Louis Trip, Day 1 - Friday, July 24, 2015

Just over the border in Missouri, we stopped at the Battle of Athens State Historic Site.  A storm caught up with us here with tremendous claps of thunder.  It was almost as if we could hear cannons roaring.  It started raining, so our visit was a comparatively short one.  We didn't want to do much walking in the rain.

The Battle of Athens was the northernmost battle west of the Mississippi in the Civil War.  It was fought between the Missouri Home Guard (Union) and Missouri State Guard (Confederates).  Athens was a town of over 500 people.  The building above is a very nice picnic shelter, modeled after the Athens General Store, one of 6 grocery stores open in Athens prior to the war.