she said it so well!!

A homeschooling friend wrote a wonderful blog post about teaching our children to work. She put it so well, that rather than attempting to say the same thing in my own words, I'm just sending you to her blog. They are a Mormon family, and I just really appreciate their family....ethics....I guess you'd say. I was so blessed in reading her post. I've been thinking about this same thing lately, especially after catering for the weekend at the Air Force retreat. I fed thirty people for the whole weekend with only the help of....my children! I could take on this job because I knew that I could count on them to help me. Nothing major, just lots of little jobs, but without them, it would have been nearly impossible. And I would have taken it for granted, because that's just how we are, except that I was continually told what amazing children I had, and people really seemed glad (for the most part....there was one noisy, playful incident, but...yeah) that they were there. I realized that our requiring them to help out around the home has shaped them, they stand out in today's society. In a way, that's kind of sad. Both hubby and I were raised in homes where it was just expected that everyone in the family work together, I can't imagine it otherwise, so of course, that is how we have raised our children. And slowly I'm seeing that that way of life isn't the norm so much anymore. I can't imagine it, I couldn't....no, I wouldn't, want to live in a home where we weren't all working together as a team!! Anyway, here is Karen't blog post! Enjoy it!

please note that I have fixed the link as it was pointed out to me that it took you to a page on elder care!! Sorry about that!!

The day after

It's the day after my 43rd birthday. I was trying to explain to hubby last night that birthdays just kind of make me feel strange....I dunno, not a bad thing, necessarily, but just different. The kids get so excited that it's my birthday, but really, it's just not that big a deal. Again this year, I was SO blessed by friends on facebook....people can say what they want about online social stuff like that, but it is AWESOME to be wished happy birthday by friends from long ago, close friends, distant friends.....reminds me that I really do matter, that I do leave an impression wherever I go. Pretty cool! For gifts, hubby got me a Cuisinart Food Processor and 2 wooden pizza peels (if you don't know what that is, google it). Little D, who I lovingly call Turtle, got me a box of Turtles (well, Daddy got them and let Turtle give them to me), Pink got me a bag of chocolates too, and Big D gave me coupons for housework (yeehaw!!) All in all, it was a blessed day....I was very much reminded that I am loved, I am somebody....and though that may seem trivial or something I should just know, it's nice to be reminded! :)

redirecting

I was going to title this post "response to struggling" or something like that, but when I clicked on the blog button, it said, "redirecting" and I realized that's what this is! God is redirecting me (again!). :)

from my quiet time journal:
Hebrews 2:13a "And again He says, My trust and assured reliance and confident hope shall be fixed in Him..."
I need to keep my eyes fixed on Him. I am not "stuck in a rut", I am exactly where God needs me to be. My choice is whether or not to glorify Gor right from where I'm standing!! I am not lost, I am right here!! I need not be floundering, but rather flourishing!!

Thank You, Abba, for meeting me here! Thank You for reminding me of who I am IN YOU!! Abba, thank You that I am not lost, but I am saved by Your grace....which is more than enough to bring me great joy in all that I do each and every day. Thank You that in You alone is true life, abundant life! Help me to walk each moment of every day in honor and glory to You alone!!!

struggling

I realize I haven't posted here in a bit. A lot has happened this summer and I am dealing with a seed of bitterness that has been planted in me. I feel as if I have been left out in the cold with nowhere to turn and at the same time I am afraid to turn anywhere and deal with stuff like this all over again. I thought I could easily forgive and forget, I really think I've forgiven, but at the same time, I'm angry for being abandoned. I trust God, but it's just some of His people that I don't trust, and that's where the seed got planted. I'm feeling ineffective in my ministry here because I am not fellowshipping with other believers, and I'm hiding my heart so I don't get hurt again like this. BUT I'm the person people look up to when they're struggling and so I still try to keep a smile on my face and a positive attitude, but inside I sometimes think I'm starving to death. And I know the bitterness is at the root of this lost feeling, but ...... I dunno, so there you have it, why I've been rather quiet lately.

recipe websites

A Cajun Family's Recipe Collection
A Year of CrockPotting
Back of the Box Brand Name Recipes
Baked Doughnuts Recipe - 101 Cookbooks
Bob's Red Mill - Whole Grain and Gluten Free Products and RecipesBrowse Recipezaar Recipe Categories
Chef Doughty
The Chef Within
Cooking Cache Member's Area
Cooks Recipes _
Recipe Site Links
Cooks.com - Recipe Search and More
copykat.com
Free Money Saving Recipes - Home Cooking
George Foreman Grill Recipes � Meat Grilling Chart
Open Directory - Home_ Cooking
Pastry Chef Central - Bakery Formulas
pecanspringsjournal
CookeryRecipes
Archive - New York Magazine
Recipes for Good Health
Recipes with Popcorn
Table of Contents for The Crinella-Zurlo Sonoma County Cookbook
The Pioneer Woman Cooks
!the Recipe Portal.com - The Best Recipe Sites
Ashley's CafeHappy Tummy

CARB-LITE Low carb Recipes and AdviceGF Recipe Exchangehealthy_baking_101Wheat free recipes from wheat-free.org

My praise list

I love my DH because
· He is very strong
· He is very smart
· He is creative
· He is always seeking to do what’s best for our family
· He is a strong Christian
· He is playful
· We laugh together
· He is my best friend
· He loves my heart
· He is a man of integrity
· He is growing more and more to be the best Dad and husband a man can be
I love my children because
· They love life
· They play well together most of the time
· They care for others
· They laugh a lot
· They love to make up stories
· They love to put on shows for me
· They think their Dad and I are the best
· They are CERTAIN they’re Daddy is a superhero (I am certain of that too!)
· They love God and He is an integral part of their lives
· They love to snuggle with me
· They’re beautiful
· They’re imaginative
I love to be a mom because:
· I can watch my kids grow up
· I can teach my kids new things
· I can tell my kids stories of when I was growing up
· I appreciate how much my Mom and Dad cared for me
I love my parents because:
· They shaped who I am today
· They still think of me as their little girl
· They are proud of who I am today
· They listen to whatever I have to say
· My Mom says, “I’m sorry you don’t feel to big.” When I am sick (don’t ask why, it just makes me feel good!)
· They put up with a lot from me (and my siblings) and still stuck by us
· They love to laugh
· They taught me to garden
· They taught me to appreciate the simple life
· They taught me to be independent
· They taught me to be flexible
· They taught me to be creative

I love my friends because:
· They are the spices in my life, and together we make something wonderful
· God knows exactly the kind of friends that I need and why, and places them in my life
· I carry a part of each and every friend within me and that shapes me
· They fill in some of the details of life I might otherwise never know about
· They challenge and encourage me
· They put up with me
· They understand me and my quirkiness
I love my home because:
· It has storage
· It is twice the size of my last house
· It has an upstairs and downstairs
· Glenn fixes it to meet our family’s needs
· It is in a fairly nice area (well, I think so anyway, I don’t mind being on a one-way street)
· We have nice neighbors
· It is a sturdy, well built house
I love the person that God made me to be because:
· I am a generally happy person
· I love having curly hair
· I have a sense of humor
· I am creative
· I enjoy being with my children

I absolutely, totally love God because He is I AM which is all that I need!!

Welcome to our Garden

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My new little buddy

World, meet Miss Sylvia White (fitting name and great memories....see this post) She is my pet hamster....so sweet!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Busy Mother's Day weekend!!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Mother's Day to all the dear mothers I know!!

A quote to ponder

Last night we watched "The Silver Chair" (the BBC version) from Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Here is a quote from that movie that really jumped out at me and has been tumbling around in my mind all day. Good stuff!!

"Oh, if only we knew!" said Jill.
"I think we do know," said Puddleglum
"Do you mean you think everything will come right if we do untie him?" said Scrubb.
"I don't know about that," said Puddleglum. "You see, Aslan didn't
tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That
fellow will be the death of us once he's up, I shouldn't wonder. But that doesn't let us off following the sign."

Psalm 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.

Just a little something

to add color to my blog (heh heh!!):
Ain't that just the purtiest little thing you ever did see?? Ahhhh! :)

Waiting

God has me learning about waiting. I thought I had this lesson down. I thought that 14 years of waiting for my husband to truly trust me with his heart had taught me about waiting. However, in this waiting, other people are involved, people are hurting and the right thing to do is to do nothing, to trust God and wait on His timing. Whew!! And I'm not a mean person, but a little dig here and there can't be bad, can it? It can if it means that you're not quietly waiting and trusting God in all of it. I was VERY angry with someone, hurt by their actions and angry that they weren't realizing how many people their actions are affecting. I kept scheming little things to do to make that person "wake up and smell the coffee". Well, then God showed me truly what MY behavior/thoughts were like according to kingdom ways. By being so angry, by wanting revenge, by not being able to forgive and pray....I was the one suffering. By behaving in this way, carrying this load, I was basically saying that the cross of Christ was indeed enough for my sin, but that there was a limit to the cross, to the saving blood of Jesus. I assumed that because the attacks continued that this person was unforgiveable and not worth praying for! By not being content in God's timing of things, by trying to take matters into my own hands, I was proving my level of trust. Ouch!!
Read this story in John 8:3-7:
3And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

Oh Lord!! What have I done? Where have I come to? Father! Forgive me!! Abba, lift me back to my feet, lift my dear sister in Christ back to her feet, set our feet upon Your path of righteousness. Father, forgive my pride, forgive my unforgiveness, my lack of trust, lack of mercy and grace. Thank You Abba that you are ever faithful even when we are not, thank You that no sin is too great for You to forgive. Abba, help us, your children to keep our eyes on kingdom things rather than the things of this earth.

spring!

Yay!! Crocuses are up, daffodils are anxiously awaiting just the right moment to burst out in bright yellow array, winter's sticks are showing signs of life....oh yeah, and the mailbox is full of garden catalogs!!! Woohoo!!

For your viewing pleasure (straight from our back yard):

mr song millinery

mr song millinery This is the website of the man who made Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Day hat. It was a mere $179! Anyway, Pink Princess and I were checking out the other hats and have picked our favorites. Whaddya think? Is anybody going to buy them for our birthdays? Hee hee??

For the Pink Princess (of course!)

And for me (we couldn't find it in any other color, but I think this would work for me)

They're Singing our Song

I haven't been good about getting into the Word lately, so this morning as I sat in my chair sipping coffee and grabbing my Bible, I thought, "WHAT am I going to study?" I didn't even know where to start, until God reminded me that I simply needed to invite Him to this time and He would meet me. I did, and He did, and I need to share this...

Song of Solomon 2:2-3
But Solomon replied, Like the lily among thorns, so are you my love, among daughters. Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved (shepherd) among the sons [cried the girl]! Under his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

I did the boy-girl thing with the colors, pink & blue, so you'd know what gender was talking, it's important.

Taking this with a view of the marriage relationship and submission

The woman:

• soft among the sharpness
• a joy to look upon
• stands out from the rest as totally a different sort
• provides a sweet fragrance rather than sharpness and pain

The man:

• stands out among men as being different
• is fruitful
• is a source of delight
• is strong
• is manly, but also, in that role, he is a provider
• is known for the fruit he bares in life

The woman's relationship to the man:

She delights to be in his shadow because

• he is at the forefront
• she stays in his protection
• he is the one in the light although she is right there with him
• this is her place, a place she is secure and can find rest

She delights in his fruit

• she acknowledges his accomplishments
• she rejoices and delights in the fruit of his labor
• she simply enjoys ~ she doesn't brag or sell or save up, she simply remains with him delighting in him, in the fruit that is evident in his life.

Now, I know there are all kinds of more intimate connotations in this book, but these are the verses that my eyes fell upon, and I was immediately struck by the picture drawn of the marriage relationship, of the wife's submission. This is an incredible picture to me!! I can so see my hubby as an apple tree, seemingly indifferent to the little details happening around him (that's my job as I sit in his shadow) but protecting and providing and being a strong presence. And as I said, as I sit in the shadow of him, I can tend to the little things that come up. I love this!!!!

Thank You, Abba, for this beautiful picture of submission and the marriage relationship! Thank You for my dear, sweet husband, that he is strong and manly and a wonderful provider and protector. Help me to truly find delight in him all the days of our life together. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN!

I thought I posted this!

I thought that I had posted this here after posting it at our church's website. I wrote this on January 4th after DH (Dear Husband) was chosen to be an elder and governing board member at our church (and I was chosen secretary).

I just went back in my journals to find a specific entry that God reminded me of (about took my breath away, is more like it) yesterday(that would be Jan. 3). The entry is from August of 2002, and I was studying in 1 Timothy about women. Here it is:
Referring to wives of bishops and deacons:
1 Timothy 3:11 “In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.”
· Wives are in tandem with husbands
· We should not wait until our husbands are in prominent positions before we change.
· If this is the way we (as wives) try to live every day, then we are not in any way hindering our husbands but rather supporting them and living as if they are in prominent positions

And I didn’t write it down then, but I remember thinking that by living in this way, I was leaving God room to do whatever He wanted to do in my husband’s life. At this time, DH was still a diesel mechanic, we were in our first year of his migraines so we didn’t know what was happening (didn’t know they were migraines) and he was very sick and irritable. When I read that verse, I actually kind of scoffed. Hubby was NOT the type to be getting that involved in church

Now we fast forward to yesterday...a few days ago Hubby was asked to be on the governing board. We didn’t know exactly what that entailed, but DH said yes, he would be willing to help out like that. Then yesterday as we were sitting in church, after the Pastor had introduced the new governing board members, he said that with lots of prayer, he had selected the elders…..and MY DH WAS ONE OF THEM!!!! (He later said he was just as shocked as I was, he just thought he’d be on the governing board) I sat there in my seat rather in shocked and it was then that God called to mind that verse and the study I had done of it so many years ago, and in my heart I knew that God had begun a work in DH way back then!