Joni Staples, CRS ♥ Broker Associate (936) 650-9017

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches.

Psalms 104:24

All we have to do is look around us to see the fingerprints of God all over this earth. It's Wonderful Wednesday! What are you going to do with this beautiful day that God has given you? When the sun sets... will you hear that familiar voice say to you "well done my good and faithful servant"? It is my prayer that you do. Blessings!

I live within walking distance of Bethy Creek Resort (BCR) and we could hear tractors and all kinds of noise coming from their direction. We knew that the campgrounds had recently put in new roads and laid concrete pads on the waterfront campsites, so we were wondering what on earth they were up to now! A short golf cart ride later and we still didn't know. It looked like they were digging a hole.

Riverside, Texas has a population of only 425. It didn't take too long for us to find out that they were digging a lake. A lake? This seemed a little goofy since BCR sits on the banks of beautiful Lake Livingston. Fast forward... this was no ordinary lake. It was a wake board training lake. I have since found out that this is called a cable park. The lake is 500 yards long and 90 yards wide. There are two towers and a Endless Ride Cable (ERC) that pulls the rider from one end of the lake to the other.

The cable park has several functions. First and foremost it is a camp for beginning wake boarders ages 9-17.

The campers arrive on Monday and are there until Friday. Each day the campers have 2 sessions with the ERC in the wake lake and one session on the Tige wake boats. The students not only learn how to get up on a wake board, they also learn water and boat safety as well as CPR.

The second function of the wake lake is for day riders. These riders skill level range from beginning to advanced. This type of use is not necessarily for a person wanting to learn how to wake board but more just for the fun of it!

This is totally fascinating to me! I love to watch the kids! So in the evening, around 5 o'clock, when we hear that now familiar hum of the cable, we know its time to grab the camera and the iphone (video) and take a spin over to the cable park. Each day the student's skill levels increase and so does their self esteem. A big THANK YOU to Bethy Creek and Camp Wake for providing this awesome camp for our children and for us (the spectators) to enjoy!

When I hear the words small town the first word that comes to mind is gossip. At least that is what I used to think until I moved to a small town and found out what their definition of being in everybody's business is.

I remember when Ben had his heart attack. He had been planning on taking down a dead tree and of course, all the neighbors knew about it. While Ben was laying in the hospital bed, those same neighbors got together and took down the dead tree and even cleaned up the mess! They didn't want Ben to have to worry about it.

Another neighbor, Otis, had battled cancer for several years. When it got to the point that he could no longer walk, the men's prayer group from the Riverside Baptist Church came and built a handicap ramp that lead from the driveway up and on to his porch to make it easier to wheel him in and out of the house. Oh how Otis was blessed by this outpour of love from his brothers.

When Uncle Gene (no relation -- that's just what everyone called him) was dying, Aunt Dot couldn't bear to leave his side. The neighbors called before heading to town to see if they could pick up prescriptions, groceries or anything else that they might need. You see, Uncle Gene and Aunt Dot had become family.

In times like these I often hear "There is nothing that we can do, its out of our control." That is simply not true. While we cannot change the situation, we can pray to the one who can and trust Him that He knows what is best. Then, we can look for little ways to show that we care.

Those small town folks are always in our business -- Thank God!

I shot this photo of my neighbors bluff. This is the Trinity River. I like to call it "Lake Livingston's I-45" because it is our "highway" to the FOUR counties that make up Lake Livingston (Walker, Trinity, San Jacinto and Polk County.) This particular shot is in Riverside, Texas. The smallest city in Walker County with a population of 425. Some of the wonderful coves in and near Riverside and located within Walker County include: Harmon Creek, Bethy Creek, Carter's Cove, Bell and Ford, Thomas Lake, Carolina Cove and Carolina Creek.

What's your favorite hang out spot on Lake Livingston? I haven't mentioned MY favorite yet, that is a whole different blog! Coming soon!

Copyright (C) 2010 Joni Staples