"He is the painter, we are only the picture"

hi.

yesterday morning i was sitting out on our back porch drawing/watercoloring and it was raining. very happy feels. 🤍

this last week the ranch house hasn't had as many people occupying it each day. but it has been a very good week to step away and do a few fun things.

when we left school without our ranchers, i felt like the next ten days was going to be so long. there was to be no schedule really and .... well it was filled with some very good times that i will tell you about.

8/8 all of us authorities (except mr todd's)  went to the aquatic park for the afternoon. in the evening we mentors went to ms sharla's for fish.😍 she had invited some other girls too. we had an enjoyable evening eating, playing yard blitz (dutch blitz and the cards are posterboard size), and some of them sang. (no, i mostly listened. ha)

after ehs on tuesday, we went home ate lunch and got ready to leave for BRANSON. ok. this is very exciting ! we went to SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS. ok. i hope you feel the excitement ! it truly was such a good time ! i had been there way back when i was young. so it was very cool to be able to go back now when i am older :)

on thursday i got to experience another first. this is the first time i was at the ranch for an interview with a possible rancher. i did another first, i used the charcoal grill. (with mr todd's help it was started. ) i was privileged to make lunch for everyone :) 

30 minutes or 5 hours? we didn't know how long it would take to float on the illinois river. after 5 hours and still not to our destination, we called for someone to come pick us up. ha. we climbed up an embankment. and walked across a horse/cow pasture to the closest highway. and please keep in mind, we are carrying our tubes and ice chest. a big thanks to ms anna marie for coming and helping us out. definitly a memory to remember ! :)

on monday i went to my first therapy appointment with ms karma. i didn't know what i should work on. like i have been getting along quite fine in my life. there are things that maybe i could work on. it't crazy how the things i had thought about were not what ended up being talked about. the type of therapy we do there is prayer therapy. it's where we look to Jesus for the answers .

after, ms jenna and i went and bought groceries for the ranch. in the evening ms katie got home. she had gone back to deridder and her family for the weekend ! 

also, mr todd's were gone to WA for an awareness meeting + bring back one of our ranchers. (random thing here, i think if i would have excepted the call to go to WA the year they called, i would have tought our rancher. seems crazy. )

tuesday, we had a birthday party for mr todd and ms regina. their birthdays were over home visit. and birthdays are a BIG DEAL !  above is the cake i made. it is half baked harvest lemon coconut cake with whipped vanilla buttercream. (mr todd doesn't like chocolate. it seems hard to imagine. ha :) a cool thing was...that i picked the wildflowers from our yard 🤍 it was very happy to have a full table over lunch. 

"the question is not

what we intended 

ourselves to be, but what

He intended us to be

when He made us.

He is the inventor, we

are only the machine.

He is the painter, we

are only the picture."

-C.S. Lewis

this quote. it speaks my heart. i want to fully be what He intends for me to be. i want to get myself out of the way. i don't want to think "look what i have done and accomplished" but i just want to be the picture and let Jesus paint the picture. i must notice and remember "it's not what i've done, but what Jesus has done for me"

please continue your prayers🤍

xo

ms. brooke