i love surprises.

Remember me raving about this book? I happen to have an autographed copy to share with one of you! To enter the prize drawing, here's what you'll need to do. Just click HERE and then on the "Read Excerpt" tab to the left. Come back to my blog and add a comment to this post sharing one thing that spoke to you from the book.

I realize this might be a "stepping out of your comfort zone" kind of moment. (Perhaps even a good time to examine what you are saying to yourself ;-) Your comment can be short or long, detailed or vague - pretty much anything goes. You have until 9:00 pm tonight - ready, set... GO!

a letter to her daughter

I've shared Angie's story with you before. Her daughter Audrey passed away shortly after birth. She wrote a letter to her daughter and posted to her blog on Friday. Click HERE to read the post, it is simply beautiful.

Faithbooking Request

I always talk about the importance of documenting and sharing stories, especially our God Moments. I think it's high time I created an album about our ministry – documenting in one place the many of stories/seeds related to faithbooking. This will make it very easy to see what God has been up to and, at the same time, give us a tangible reminder of His faithfulness in both the large and small things. (I plan to create a similar album to pass along to leadership at the church.) Many of you have shared with me behind-the-scenes stories of God at work – thank you so much for that! It is always such an encouragement to see His hand in others’ lives. Your anonymity will be protected. I will also include pages regarding the many outreach projects our ministry taken part in; the Lord is simply amazing.

I have a request for you! I would like to hear your stories – even if it just seems like a teeny weenie thing to you, when you put all of the teeny weenie things together it makes a HUGE impact! If you do not want your name used or would prefer to have the details veiled (i.e. I would include those kinds of stories as a private pocket page), I will honor that request. Just drop me a note using the email link to the left. Or, if you would prefer to remain completely anonymous, just send your stories to:

Hosanna! Lutheran Church
9600 163rd Street West
Lakeville, MN 55044

Attention: Tina Vega, Monthly Faithbooking Crop

(Stories that relate to the blog are also welcome!) Here are some questions to help you begin:

1. How have the faithbooking crops inspired God-related action in your life? Have they affected the time you spend with God, interest in church or the Bible, reaching out to others, stepping out of your comfort zone, etc.? If so, please share how.
2. Have you been inspired to share the Faithbooking Crops (or blog) with others? How about neighbors or friends you do not have a faith connection with? If so, please share your experience.
3. Barring equipment malfunctions, we try to begin each crop with worship. How do you feel about the worship portion of our crop? Have those feelings changed over time? If so, how?
4. Have you been sprinkling faith-related journaling into your albums? Please share how your journaling has changed since attending the Faithbooking Crops or reading the blog.
5. What do you like most about the Faithbooking Crops and/or blog? What do you like the least?
6. Have you been noticing God at work in your life? Do you see Him using the Faithbooking Crops or blog as part of that journey? If so, please share how.
7. If the crops or blog have been of value to you in any way, please share how.

Thank you so much for your time!

12 on the 12th

12 on the 12th, originally uploaded by Tina Vega.

it looks like something from the set of Grizzly Adams

Ummm, apparently another critter has taken up residence. I called my neighbor to vent about my close call with a vole (I saw it running from shrub-to-shrub via the front window). While checking window views for signs of other voles, I spotted this in our pond. It wasn't there before (click HERE for proof). This is what it looks like now:

Funny thing is, my neighbor and I had spotted some large burrows on the hill near another pond behind our property. After some thorough Googling and discussion, we're pretty sure a beaver has moved into the neighborhood.

Lucky for us.

Not only do we have one of North America's most prolific mammals taking over the yard, we now have a beaver, the world's second largest rodent.

Lovely.

I can't wait to see what new adventure tomorrow brings...

the vermin are taking over

We have voles. Just to give you an idea of their destructiveness, here's a snapshot of our yard:

Meeley had a little extra time this morning and decided to shoot a few hoops before heading off to the bus. He noticed one of our gutter downspouts coming loose and went to reattach it. The second he moved the gutter "a chubby critter" came running out.

YUCK!

I ran outside in boots (armed with a poke stick) to properly assess the situation. There was apparently a nest in the downspout.

DOUBLE-YUCK!

It's bad enough they've thoroughly infiltrated the neighborhood, destroying small trees and lawns, but they've gone too far by nesting so close to MY NEST (a.k.a. our home). It's time to take action, time to take back control...

It's time for a neighborhood poison party. BYOP.

one big bloody mess

Ren took a sharp turn on his bike and did a number on his elbow. He was feeling so miserable, he even allowed me to capture the moment.

Now that's pretty miserable.

I am happy to report he was back to his old chipper self by bedtime. We cut off the damaged t-shirt to avoid putting pressure on his elbow. He asked if he could keep the shirt for a possible warm weather Halloween outfit.

Seriously.

Here's the little Hulkster in action:

"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."