Summer Highlights

Autumn is definitely in the air and it feels so wonderful. I enjoy these crisp, cool days. But, as I was going through my pictures, I couldn't help but remember all the wonderful days of summer, especially our family music festival. Here are a few highlights and pictures that never got posted...

The Lake Itasca Family Bluegrass Festival!

This was a huge event for our family and one that we enjoyed very much.

The Franz Family was absolutely amazing...as always!

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Snack Shack Duty!

My sister-in-law, Beth, and her sister Jamie (Jamie is on the left)

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The Bontrager children singing
"...as arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are children to their father"

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My beautiful cousins with their lovely voices, praising God!
Janna, Erica, Amanda, Katelynn, and Audra

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Sweet little Charissa Wissmann...not really sure if I was friend or foe!

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Next year is sure to be even better!

I hope I see you there!

The Lord will guide you!

"And the LORD

will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a

watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."

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Isaiah 58:11

Do you support blasphemy?

Wow...I was really challenged by this. It made me realize how easy it is for us as humans to justify our sin. Check it out...here.

A place of refreshing

Ok...the moral of this post is "don't be dumb and get too busy!" (I have to learn this one over and over!) This summer was a pretty busy one and sadly I allowed it to consume my time to the point that my quiet time in the Word suffered. It is such a dangerous place, to be a soldier of the cross and not have any armour on! I began to realize that I was losing battles and feeling so spiritually dry. While I was in Ireland I had a lot of time to just be in the Word and pray and oh, it was good and so refreshing!

I love reading the words of old songs and recently found this one that fit so well...

When Thou Wakest in the Morning

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When thou wakest in the morning

Ere thou tread’st the untried way

Of the lot that lies before thee

Through the coming busy day;

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Whether sunbeams promise brightness,

Whether dim forebodings fall,

Be thy dawning glad or gloomy,

Go to Jesus, tell Him all.

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Isn't that great and don't you just lovest that old English! I hopeth thou art encouraged-eth by it!...there really is a treasure of unimaginable refreshing to be found at Jesus feet! May we never neglect it!

The recipe for success...

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

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He shall be like a tree

planted by streams of water

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that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:1-3

The many faces of Ireland

May I introduce to you some of the wonderful people I was privileged to meet...

Sweet little Fiona

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Tom and Noirin De Lasa...they were wonderful beyond words!

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A kind lady who invited us in for tea and showed us some old pictures

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A man at the train station

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Our young tour guide on the train

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Tom De Lasa with two of his great loves: his guitar and the Word of God

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The faces of some crazy mountain climbers!

(me, Lady the dog, Tom, Larry Skrant, and David Darragh)

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And last, but not least, Ben...the wonderful dog from the B&B where I stayed!

I'm Back!

Imagine white sandy beaches, purple heather covered hills, blue mountains, and green, green, green everywhere....and you have barely even scratched the surface of the beauty of Ireland! It was a feast for the eyes everywhere I looked! But the most beautiful thing I experienced by far was the people. Such hospitality and warm generosity at every turn...I was so blessed by it all! Here are a few pictures to give you a tiny taste of my trip:

The beautiful coast of Ireland

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Delicious food!

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New, wonderful friends!

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It was a wonderful time altogether and there are many more pictures to come! The whole trip was like an incredible gift to me that seems like a dream. I am so grateful for the chance I was given to meet some of the most wonderful believers, learn a few rousing Irish tunes, experience a good dose of Celtic culture, and bask in God's amazing creation.

Praise the Lord for the good gifts that He gives!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights..."

~James 1:17

London

I am in London now...just arrived a few hours ago. It is a rainy and cloudy day today...a little dreary but great for taking pictures! I was telling my family that it is like listening to the BBC all around you everywhere you go...the accent is pretty great. Just had my tea and feeling pretty grand! I will be posting more soon.

God bless
Melanie

Ireland

Hey everybody! Just a quick note from Ireland...it is absolutely beautiful. I am excited to show you some of the pictures of this lovely land. The people are even more wonderful...so gracious and kind. I have been blessed!

Love you all, thanks for praying!

Lift up your eyes

"To whom then will you liken God,

or what likeness compare with him?

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...Do you not know? Do you not hear?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

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...It is he who sits above the circle of the earth

...who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.

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Lift up your eyes on high and see..."

Lift up your eyes on high and see..."

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And behold who has created these things..."

(Isaiah 40:18-26)

Matt's house

Progress is happening fast on my brother, Matt's house. Now that it is sheetrocked it is easier to imagine what it will look like when finished. It is so beautiful!

The master bedroom

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We all went over the other day and cleaned up some garbage and had a giant campfire. Here is Katey enjoying it from a safe distance...

Speaking of Katey...it is so wonderful to have her around...she is my little buddy. We have been enjoying all kinds of adventures together...swimming, loooong bike rides, taking gun safety training together, working of various projects...it has been wonderful!

Love you Katey bug!!

It's Back!!

There was much joy and celebration when a big brown box came in the mail the other day baring precious cargo...my restored camera! YAY! It is wonderful to have it back and it works great. They replaced a broken shutter, an interior chip, and cleaned the sensors--all at no cost to me outside of shipping! I guess sometimes an extended warranty pays off.

So I am trying to remember how to take pictures again. It has been about two months so I am a little out of practice. Just for fun, here is a "before" picture taken when my camera was broken...

(I know, pretty bad huh?)

And an "after" picture...

(Ahhh, much better!)

I am grateful for the way God works to teach us how to appreciate things that we take for granted sometimes. So I am back and have a bunch of pictures to show you! See you more often hopefully!

Ya'll Come!

WWW.FAMILYBLUEGRASS.COM

Just want to remind everybody that greatest gospel bluegrass festival ever is fast approaching! Mark your calenders for the first weekend in August (3-5) and come visit the beautiful northwoods of Minnesota. Feast your ears to some beautiful music and enjoy this great event with your whole family. You will LOVE it! Check out the line-up at http://www.familybluegrass.com/ .

Hope to see you there!

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I am going to IRELAND!!!

The last few years our family has participated in a prison crusade down in Alabama singing and playing music and met a lot of amazing people. A group of those people are planning a ministry trip to Ireland this coming August and asked me if I would come along and play my fiddle with them! Here is the poster that they are using in Ireland...

I will be there for two weeks and then on to London for a few days before heading home. I am excited about it and ask that you pray for me while I am there. There is a strong Catholic influence in Ireland and many closed minds. Pray that the music would open doors and hearts to the gospel and the miracle of Jesus.

The Camera Saga Continues...

Well, it is official...I am cameraless. It is like having my arm cut off! I didn't realize how much I used it until it was gone. So here is the story...

It was a dark and stormy night...maybe that is too dramatic. Ok, it wasn't but my heart was after it all was said and done! (I gotta keep up the drama here to keep this interesting without any pictures and all to spice it up). Anyhow, all of a sudden the auto focus went out on my wonderful Canon Rebel Digital SLR camera. Thankfully it still worked on manual so I wasn't in panic mode yet. However, my cousin Audra's wedding was fast approaching and she had asked me to be one of the photographers so something had to be done. I decided to take it into a trusty photography shop in town and have the guy look at it. He cleaned it and fiddled around with it but when I left things had not improved at all, in fact, it no longer worked on any setting now! It now took completely black pictures on all settings except for a very small sliver at the the very top. AHHH! Now was the cue for me to panic! No camera, a wedding, and a very large repair bill--it didn't look good at all.

You know...I love how God works thing out for good. He is a wonderful Father! I don't know if you have ever heard the fist saga of this camera but in a nutshell, a couple years ago it was stolen in Florida and God brought it back unharmed. So here it was, experiencing yet another adventure and I remember that this camera really belonged to God because He gave it back to me after it was gone. So, I was looking into sending it in for repair and lo and behold!!...what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a wonderful paper that said..."extended 4 year warranty"! I had forgotten that I had made that investment 3 years ago when I bought my camera new. Praise the Lord!

So now it is travelling through the world of mail into the hands of a caring techie somewhere who will treat my camera with the utmost respect and care...almost as if he had spent $1000 on it himself, right? Thankfully God takes good care of His stuff so I don't have to worry about it. (I have to keep reminding my self about that though!)

So anyhow....this saga will be continued....

More Blessing

My brother Matt and his family have moved back to Minnesota! It is so wonderful having them so much closer. I love it! They are in the midst of building their house so each day is filled with loads of activity and progress. Here is a little glimpse of all the activity...

Thomas...our little musician!
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Matt and Katey at the job site
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Feeding the workers during set day.

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Balancing on the rafters...Yikes!

Ben and Mindy + 2!

I was just thinking how fast time goes by...and how important it is to really enjoy each and every day that the Lord blesses me with.

For instance...just yesterday I was 7 years old and out in the woods with my little sister Mindy building a fort. Now, she is married and they are expecting their second child! Wow--that went really fast.
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So here is today's blessing...my sister Mindy and brother-in-law Ben and their sweet growing family...

Elianna is learning how to give "kisses"!

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I love you Mindy! Thanks for being such a blessing!

The Cabin

My sister Mindy posted some pictures from our trip up north but I couldn't resist a few more! We had a wonderful time and made some great memories. I came away so thankful for my family. What a beautiful gift I have been given. Thank You Lord!

canoeing...

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Mindy enjoying a nice ripe watermelon!

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Both of my sisters are pregnant and Sam (my brother-in-law) is expecting a watermelon any day now.

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Elianna loved fishing...a little girl after her daddy's heart!

Shannon and Nathan's Wedding

Our family played music at the wedding of our good friend, Shannon Maul. It was a beautiful event full of joy and fun. May God bless this couple as they embark on the adventure of marriage together.

Sweet Gwen, the sister of the bride and maid of honor.

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Shannon made all of the dresses including her own! She is amazing!

Garage Sale!

Mindy and Ben decided to have a garage sale last weekend so Mom and I joined in with some "junk" of our own. It was a freezing cold day but we still had a wonderful day and lots of people showed up.

Mindy and Ben are in the process of cleaning out their house and fixing it up so they can sell it and move to a smaller place. Here is a picture of Elianna "helping" Mindy plant some flowers.

The Love Birds!

Since Audra (my engaged cousin) lives right next door to us I have been able to sneak in a few pictures of her and Justin here and there along the way. Here are two of my favorites from the other night when they and all their siblings came over during an evening stroll.

"Delight thyself also in the Lord;

and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Psalm 37:4

Matt is here!!

My brother Matt arrived from Texas and has officially started the building process out on his land. Today he is heading back down to Texas to move the rest of the family back. I am so excited to have them here!

Staking out the land

Sweet Elianna

Being an aunt is a wonderful thing!

Audra and Justin

Ok--I realize that I am WAYYY behind in my blog but I will attempt to do a little catching up here.

The buzz around here for the past while has been the exciting upcoming marriage of my sweet cousin Audra to Justin Kastner. We are all greatly rejoicing in the news. They are two quality young people who love God and serve Him greatly through the quiet obedience of their life. I have been so impressed with the way they have carried out their courtship and the high standard that they have set for themselves.

We celebrated the occation with a bridal shower at my aunt and uncle's house.

Erica, Mindy, and Karen: dipping strawberries in chocolate!

Krista Fafach: Using her culinary magic and creating a masterpiece!

Congratulations Audra and Justin!