John

I have been slowly working my way through the book of John for a little while now, seeking out answers to questions that have been heavy on my heart. I wanted to share a few thoughts that have really moved me. If you haven't ever taken the time to read it, please do! John is one of those books of the Bible that really speaks to the heart issue of who Jesus was. I find myself in tears every time I read it. I wanted to share what one of the character profiles said about John (Life Application Study Bible);

"Being loved is the most powerful motivation in the world! Our ability to love is often shaped by our experience of love. We usually love others as we have been loved. Some of the greatest statements about God's loving nature were written by a man who experienced God's love in a unique way. John, Jesus' disciple, expressed his relationship to the Son of God by calling himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21:20). Because his own experience of Jesus' love was so strong and personal, John was sensitive to those words and actions of Jesus that illustrated how the One who is love, loved others. Jesus knew John fully and loved him FULLY! Jesus confronts each of us as he confronted John. We cannot know the depth of Jesus' love unless we are willing to face the fact that he knows us completely. Otherwise, we are fooled into believing he must love the people we pretend to be, not the sinners we actually are. John and all the disciples convince us that God is able and willing to accept us as we are. Being aware of God's love is a great motivator for change. His love is not given in exchange for our efforts; his love frees us to really live. Have you accepted that love?"

One other foot note said, "Those who realize how much they are loved are able to love much".

Really good food for thought!!!

I don't think I've even scratched the surface in realizing how much God loves me. It's something that goes beyond my comprehension....that a holy and perfect God could love a utter sinner like me is hard for me to reconcile. I absolutely don't feel worthy....however, I know that my desire to love and please God, does please Him. And I will continue to search out any way that I can show God that I love Him! He knows my heart and my true intentions. He knows me to the very core of who I am...good and bad....and He still loves me! WOW....that's humbling!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend brought a whole new set of adventures for the Ohs family. On Saturday we loaded up the car and drove to the Grand Coulee Dam. On our way there we stopped at the Lenore Caves and hiked up to see some of the caves. The kids thought it was pretty neat and were begging to hike further, but daylight was running out and we didn't want to miss the laser light show

at the dam. Further down the road we stopped at Dry Falls and it was there that we learned how the unique geology of our area came to be. What a fascinating story. Dan is convinced that we could make money by printing t-shirts that say "Restore Lake Missoula" with a picture of a grizzly bear that is hanging on for dear life at the top of a tree. I think they would sell well in Bozeman? Go Cats...Poor Griz! (OK, I had to put a plug in there for my beloved Bobcats!) Anyways, we finally made it to the dam later that day. It was truly enormous. I still find it hard to believe that we were looking at the largest concrete structure in North America. One interesting fact that we learned was, that if you took all the concrete that it took to build the dam and made a sidewalk, 4 feet wide, it would circle the earth almost 2 times! That's incredible! It really was an amazing site and it's mind boggling to think that someone had this

vision of making this area productive way back in the 1930's and now look how much it's impacted our lives!

We sat and watched the laser light show that night and then Ryker has his own light show right in the middle of it. The nice people sitting next to us gave the kids glow sticks and Ryker decided to see what would happen if he bit it. Well, needless to say he was "glowing"...so was Dan's jacket, Renee's pants, and everything else that it spilled on. Pretty funny in retrospect, however, he did not find the humor in it at the time. He was convinced that he had been poisoned and was surely not going to make it home alive! After much reassuring, he finally settled down and slept the entire ride home.

Sunday was filled with lots of yard work and cleaning out the garden. I can't wait for our veggies to be done growing. We are starting to get potatoes, onions and cucumbers. Our corn is finally ready and the squash is coming right along. One more month and it will all be ready.

Monday was such a blessing for me personally. I ran into a dear friend at Staples and she was a huge source of encouragement to me. I love it when God blessed you with unexpected blessings! Later, I got a phone call from my mom and it left me feeling so very blessed once again. I am so very fortunate to have such an amazing mom who I can truly call my best friend. God uses her time and time again to teach me lessons in faith. By the end of our conversation we were both crying tears of joy and I was once again counting the blessing of such a wonderful friend and mom! Thank you Lord for such a wonderful weekend!

Lincoln City

Last weekend we took a trip down to Lincoln City, OR and it was one of the most enjoyable weekends we have ever had as a family! We stayed at a beautiful hotel called "The Inn At Spanish Head". We arrived on Thursday evening and immediately headed to "Mo's" for some good seafood followed by a walk on the beach. The next morning we all headed down to the beach for a morning of exploring. The kids had so much fun discovering all the new creatures that were hidden in and amongst the rocks. Starfish, sea cucumbers, mussels, barnacles, fish (not sure what kind), and all sorts of other things, had the kids saying "LOOK AT THIS!" all morning. Later that day I took the kids school shopping at the outlet mall then Dan came and picked up the kids and took them crabbing while I shopped for myself for a little while.

Saturday was the best day! We spent the entire day on the beach....building sand castles, crabbing, flying kites and just plain enjoying each other. We took a small break and made our own glass floats at a wonderful art place. It was a fun experience, but really hot! Yikes! We took our own sweet time coming home on Sunday and even had time to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I am sad that summer is over, but couldn't think of a better way to spend the last weekend of it

First Day Of School

The first day of school always seems to be a bittersweet day for me. I mourn the loss of time with my kiddos and yet look forward to the routine that has been absent for the last 3 months. The kids, on the other hand, are excited and nervous! We now have a 1st grader and 4th grader in the house! My, how time flies! As I sit here writing this I have a very strange and uneasy feeling as this is the beginning of both kids at school for the full day. What am I going to do with all this free time?!? Well, for starters, I am going back to school in a couple of weeks. So, I guess my days will be full of studying and housework. Sounds like a good combination to me! I start my anatomy and physiology classes in 2 weeks and am looking forward to starting my journey towards getting my degree in diagnostic ultrasound imaging. Lots of changes taking place...lots of prayers going up.....lots to look forward to!