Frog Capital of the WORLD

The city of Rayne, is the Frog Capital of the World. Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE oddities. I love to visit them all. Louisiana has quite a few of them too.

All through the city, they have murals of frogs and statues of frogs. In September they have a frog festival where they have a competion for Frog Queen. To win, you have to race your frog and even dress him up for the costume competition. It sounds like my kind of fun.

The city has a park they have opened up for RV parking. It is great. This year we even have sewer and water and electric at our sites. I love it when I can take a long shower and not have to worry about where the water will get dumped.

This is why you RV

We traveled into Mississippi where the NASA space center was located hoping to take a tour of the facility. We arrived on Tuesday, but unfortunately they only run tours Wed - Sun. UGGH. Plan B... have lunch and rest a while at the rest area. By the way, the rest area at exit 2 on I-10 is wonderful. They have nice pull outs for RVs, dumping stations and everything. There was lots of space to walk the dogs and just enjoy life. The azaleas were blossoming and it was just a beautiful day.

We ate lunch and then we rested. You can't do that with a car. Here is Kenny at the rest area and resting with some help from the dogs...

My Hero

As we were traveling toward our ultimate destination of Rayne, LA for the Holiday Rambler Southwest Regional Rally, we stopped at a truck stop for a break. As I walked into the truck stop, they had one of those machines where you can try to win a stuffed animal by picking it up with a mechanical arm. Inside the machine was a Tigger. As you may know from previous blogs, my old stuffed Tigger had been unstuffed by rats about a year ago. Tigger has always been the mascot of our trailer because Tiggers love to bounce and that is something that Tiggers get to do back there as we go down the road. Well, I asked my hero if he would win me a Tigger. He gave a big groan and reminded me that those machines are nothing but rip offs. He did however stick his dollar in and won me my new Tigger! I am so happy that Tigger is back! I have a picture of the stuffed Tigger along with my bouncing Tigger that we keep on the table to look out the window as we travel.

Kathy and Leonard

After leaving Simpsonville, SC we headed to Milledgeville, GA to see our friends Kathy and Leonard Edwards. We have missed them since our days at Magnolia. They were in one of our Crown small group studies. We really enjoyed getting to know them through that small group. Kathy and Leonard invited us to spend the evening with them and have Easter dinner. Kathy made ham, asperagus, rolls, potato, and red cabbage. The company just couldn't be beat. They live across the road from Lake Sinclair. 400+ miles of shoreline. Just beautiful.

We have just enjoyed our visit thoroughly.

Visiting my Sister

Well we are on the road again. I was thrilled to be able to leave a day early and spend some time with my sister Easter weekend. We arrived on Friday and enjoyed time together through Sunday morning for Easter services.

Grace's mother in law cooked us a wonderful Easter dinner on Saturday after we viewed a model of their new home. We also trekked up to the location where the house will be placed this summer. She has a beautiful view of the mountains in the background. I will love visiting her there. I hope she keeps an extra bedroom.

I always enjoy being with Gracie. This morning, she went to sunrise service with me for Easter. We visited the Methodist Church in Simpsonville. She was cold not having a heavy jacket, so I wrapped my arms around her to keep her warm. I am not sure the people from the congregation knew what to think of us, but the pastor did welcome us after the service.

Our Bumble Bee

It has been a long time since I have added to my blog. I wish I could summarize all of life that has transpired, but I just can't. The Lord has ministered to my soul and continued to grow me and all of that just can't be captured in words.

One blessed event that has occured in our family was that our Bassett Pru got a dog of her own for Christmas. Her name is Betty, though we call her "B". She was absolutely adorable and we thought that Pru would really like her since they are about the same age and B is an active dog as is Pru.

In fact, Pru and B have really gotten along well. B just had no manners when she came to us and had some issues with Eva our cat. Eva was harrassed at every turn by B and couldn't feel comfortable being in the same room. Fortunately Brood (Bassett Rescue of Old Dominion) was kind enough to connect us with a trainer. We have finally gotten where B and Eva can be together mostly. You can see by the pictures, that Eva and B have even peacefully rested on the same bed together.

For those of you who can't tell the dogs apart, B has more red in her face and Pru has the stripe up her forehead. The one in the t-shirt is Kenny, but he really isn't a dog, he just plays one (ha, ha). We are about to take our first big trip with B to Louisiana. Stand by for more posts in the weeks to come.

Thanks and giving

When we have truly thankful hearts, giving becomes merely an expression of that inward contentment. Speaking a thank you is just one way of expressing thanks for all that you have received. Writing a thank you note or sending a small token of appreciation are additional ways we say thank you.

When we give to God our tithes and offerings we are not only recognizing his ultimate ownership of everything, but we are also expressing gratitude to God for the many blessings we receive each and every day. We cannot out give God, but we can tangibly show him how thankful we are by responding to him with generous hearts.

One of my favorite verses begins "For God so loved the world he gave..." We show our thanksgiving and love for God by returning just a portion of the blessings we have received.

One of the tell tale character traits of a Christian is that they are generous. They give not only in thankgsiving and worship to God, but they also recognize that God's blessings are not only for our own indulgence, but to bless others as well. We Christians are God's agents of blessing all around us. It shows up in how quickly we respond to needs, how much we tip, how available we are to be a friend. Our opportunities for giving are limitless.

Giving for a Christian is a mark of belonging to God. It is kind of our tattoo; we wear it as our identification with God. People can see it as we show God's love for them in practical expressions of giving and love.

How can you say "Thanks" to God today?