Living Small And Getting Smaller

You may be surprised to hear this. I am attending college. My load is crazy. For this particular semester, I had to scale down almost every activity that causes me to be away from my desk for more than 15-20 minutes.  In those short increments, when I give my rear-end a break from the chair, some things get done in our little Barndominium.

Behold our bounty! 

We harvested the sunflowers from our garden and tried our hand at roasting the seeds for snacking. Obviously commercial growers have figured some things out that we do not have a grasp on. -yet-

I'm not sure I can really enjoy these roasted seeds because I am obsessed with checking every.single.one for holes. Why? Because worms (and squirrels) had also been snacking on the sunflowers, that's why! There's no way I can just grab a handful and chuck them in my cheek to happily crack away. Can't do it. Also, I soaked these seeds all night long in salt water and still did not achieve the awesome saltiness I prefer. If the zombiepocalypse happened tomorrow, we wouldn't be capable of sustaining ourselves by growing our own food, but we're getting there. At least the cardinals don't care about worms in the seeds.

It was in the mid-nineties today, but I couldn't care. I had a hankering for Simi's potato soup and that was that. I tracked down her "recipe", then I messaged her for clarification. She's one of those amazing cooks that doesn't really write down recipes. She puts "some" of this and "a couple spoons" of that and voila - deliciousness. I went for it anyway, and it was good. Not as good as if Simi had made it but I suppose that privilege is for another day.

 It was an interesting study in our family unit getting smaller and our impending empty nest. Used to be, I would make a giant pot of soup like that and it would feed our large family and we would have a little left over for lunch the next day. As the years have gone by, I have seen my leftovers become larger portions. Although, the dishes created in bulk cooking are still outrageous! The youngest is off on a mission trip this week and that left just three of us at the dinner table. That also left a portion that will feed us lunch tomorrow, a portion that will go in the freezer that will provide another meal another day, and another single serving portion that will go in the freezer that someone can pull out when only thinking of themselves.

I wonder if I will like cooking for just two, or if I will find it somehow less satisfying. Who am I kidding? I don't like cooking at all.

Then, the bad thing happened. I was preparing to fill my Hawaii cup with ice water (cause I am still trying to kick the evil soda habit) and I accidentally knocked it to the floor. I've already replaced the lid for this cup because it broke in a fall, but today was the last straw for the poor thing. I said goodbye to the pieces and the fond memories of being hosted in Hawaii and the sweet care package Mary sent me before I ever got there.


Aloha, dear cup....

 

Blessings on your day, my friends

Carpenters Bluff Bridge

I love bridges.

Today hubby took me on a photo-taking date to the Carpenters Bluff Bridge. The bridge has been spanning the Red River since 1910. You can read more about the bridge here.

Trains used to pass on the bridge, but it has been converted for vehicle traffic.   Cars can only go one direction at a time and they go way too fast , if you ask me. 

The foot bridge is even more scary.

The bridge appears to be coming apart at the seams.

 

Blessings on your day,

Seventeen

                                             
                                   Our youngest.

Seems like they were born sometime close to just yesterday.   6 feet and 4 inches of boy twin will tell you that this is not so.   Today we stand in excitement, celebration, and ~yes~ a little bit of trepidation to announce that they are seventeen .   I have written about this some; here and here .

Though they are twins, in typical fashion, they are each attacking their special day quite differently.   Boy twin, just wants to get through  school - if it were up to him, he would have stayed home today.   He chose to open all of his presents, leaving no wrapping un-torn.   Grandpa got him a very particular Swiss Army Knife (They all tell me that every man must have one. I agree. But he is not a man, he is my Sonny-Boy.)

Girl twin , who has been telling her friends all month that her Birthday was coming, put on a special dress, Birthday Princess Ribbon , Birthday Tiara , and the brand new make-up that Grandma made sure she was able to open and use on her special day.   She chose to open her gift from Grandma, and just 2 from Mom and Dad so that she would have more to enjoy when she came home.
 
As we step into this final year of major influence over their lives, where they take more of the reigns and we practice letting go, I am filled with many emotions.   It is becoming real that these small creatures , the last additions to our little family, are soon going to be flying off in search of life, love, fame, fortune, education and deciding who they really are without the constraints and close guidance of their parents.

One year.   One year to pray like I've never prayed before.   One year to show them Jesus every day.    One year to ask more leading questions like, "Is it worth how hard you are going to have to work for that?" "How does that fit into your faith?" "Do you really want to do that??"   One year to issue less commands like, "Eat your vegetables." "Be kind." "No you may not watch bloody chainsaw sexpot vampire f-bomb movies . I don't care if every other parent lets their kids."   One year to practice waiting for them to ask for my opinion rather than throwing it at them with the force of a hurricane every chance I get. (I don't really do that.) (I don't think.) (Much.)

Sonny-Boy hugged me this morning. I wonder if he will hug me when he comes home for Thanksgiving with his wife and children....

Blessings on your day friends,

Veteran's Day *repost*

With deepest gratitude to those who have willingly stood in service to this country and to those who have willingly stood beside them.

Generation to Generation

 
It is that time, once again, for P.W.O.C International Conference. An incredible time of worship, study, fellowship, growth and squeals from every direction. I will not be in attendance this year and, of course, I am sad about that but it doesn't mean that I cannot go before God in prayer and thanksgiving for this wonderful conference and the life-changing transformations that happen there.

A lot goes in to making these conferences happen. Women work tirelessly (these take about 2 years to plan), dedicating their gifts and talents to the glory of God. From the prayer warriors, to the local conference team leaders, to the workshop leaders, to the International Board.

Today, as I begin my prayer journey and women from all over the world begin or continue to travel to Nashville, Tennessee ~ we will start with J. Moss. Why? Because we must praise.

 

Blessings on your day, and your journey my friends

She's Not Broken Anymore

*Quick note* I switched computers and I haven't been able to access my blog from the "new" one. Google is on the case and will hopefully be helping me with that soon, but in the meantime, I am at my old laptop which has the info stored for automatic use....






You remember my beauty...some of you have met her in person...(I apologize for lack of a better picture; see above quick note)

She has finally been given the name Caliope. It means "Beautiful voice." My goodness does she have a beautiful voice.
Sadly, a few years ago I began to notice that her voice was changing. There began to be a metal-like string vibration noise coming from her E and B strings and other things were happening too. As you can see, Caliope is very special. What you cannot see in this picture is that Caliope is a 12-string guitar. There is an incredible amount of pressure on her at all times and she began to show signs of stress.

I took her to the local guitar repair shop, which at that time was in Rosepine. They shipped it to their best guy in Lake Charles. He called me with the news that he was unwilling to even attempt repairs to this guitar because of the danger to the finish. And so it went. Several attempts rendered the same response, "Put her on display." Then one day entered.....

I heard about him through my friend Jenster. Jenster has heard Caliope and she felt my plight! He said he was willing to have a look at her. The trouble was, He is all the way in Pennsylvania and I am not. This was also during the time when we were doing construction in the Barndominium and it was no good place to be storing a sensitive guitar. I asked, "Can you look at her and tell me if you can repair her without destroying her?" This gracious man agreed to house Caliope with him for as long as it took to repair her (if he decided he could) and then for as long as it took for me to have a healthy environment for her to return to.
 The calendar would show this to be nearly an entire year.  By the time UPS dropped her at his door, she had MAJOR cracks and her bridge was separating from her body. When he had given her time to show all of her colors,(cracks) and completed all repairs AND there was a suitable environment for her to come home to, he carefully packaged her back up and sent her home. I have included some of the work and pictures of some of the damage from his page. If you click on the first picture, it should take you to the album where he explains all the work he did.

This guitar means a great deal to me and this man lovingly, patiently and carefully restored her to playable condition. She WILL eventually have to be retired, but he assures me that I have several good years left to play her before that day comes. 

I very highly recommend Thompson's Guitar for your most complicated or not as complicated repairs.

Blessings on your day, 

It's On!

Today we are doing battle.

There are a lot of you dealing with spiritual corruption, division and lies. Today, in the name of Jesus, we will pray against that.

Philippians 4:6 instructs us to, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

And 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to, "Pray continually."

Praying down lies and spiritual corruption. Praying up God's wisdom, strength and armor. I'll be dropping specific scripture prompts throughout the day. You can do this!

Begin with Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

In this battle, we must first understand that this is not about us. This is about God and His glory. His church and His people. If you are joining this battle because you are feeling wronged or irritated about a way that you have been treated, stop. Refocus. Seek first the kingdom of God. This is not about you. Angry on behalf of God? Okay. Hunker down.

In battle, we must arm ourselves.

On to Ephesians 6:10-20, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

Praying for a clear conscience...

1 peter 3:16-17, "Keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."

Praying that those who would speak up for righteousness will have the boldness of Nathan and the hearers of their words will have the heart of David...

II Samuel 12:1-13, "The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

'Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.'

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, 'As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.'

Then Nathan said to David, 'You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Don't fret because of evildoers, but continue to commit your way to the Lord...

Psalm 37:5-6, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."
Liars, be aware - the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world...

II Corinthians 10:1-6, "By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

We will forgive as Christ has forgiven us...

II Corinthians 2:5-11, "If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. "

Warning against rejecting wisdom...

Proverbs 1:20-33, "Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
“Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
“Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;
I will also laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your dread comes,
When your dread comes like a storm
And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD.
“They would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.
“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way
And be satiated with their own devices.
“For the waywardness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
But he who listens to me shall live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

Matthew 18:19 tells us there is power in numbers, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."

"Almighty God, the giver of all good things, without whose help all labor is ineffectual, and without whose grace all wisdom folly, grant, I beseech thee, that in all my undertakings thy Holy Spirit may not be withheld from me: but that I may promote thy glory, and the salvation of both myself and of others." - Samuel Johnson 1709-84

The Things I Don't Want To Do

The things I don't want to do....

Too many to list, really. I was reminded today that I am forever telling my kids that we all have to do things in this life that we don't want to do. Then when it comes to the things that I don't want to do, well, let's just say that there are lots and lots of them that I am pretty good at not doing.

I have changed my schedule up at the mat in an experiment to be able to take care of things that I need time to take care of, like nurturing my growing business and taking care of hearth and home and the things that God has blessed us with. Also *cough* carving out time for physical activity. Bleck.

I was going to tell you that today, I did one of those things that I didn't want to do but as I am writing this, I realized that I did THREE things, NO, FOUR things I didn't want to do. Praise the heavens, there is hope for me yet! I 1.)Got up and took the kids to school 2.)Went to the gym 3.)Ate fruit 4.) Cleaned the van. This is a big task when you live in a normal place, but when you live in a place that does not yet have a proper driveway - it can be pretty daunting to clean up after all the getting in and out of dirty feet. Not to mention eating on the way to here or there and just general living.

As I was doing my best to do that which I don't want to do, God was kind enough to show me a stack of opportunities that I miss when I decide not to do that which I do not want to do.

As I put my hands on things to clean, move, stock or listen to, I was blessed with the memory of where they came from and prompted to send up special prayers for each. I had to refill my Tissue Cozy and prayed especially for the friend who made many of these in the wee hours during her heaviest grief after losing her daughter. I changed out my mirror dangly and hung the lovely wooden cross and prayed especially for the friend that gave it as part of her testimony after losing her husband. I keep the mirror danglies aka my 'sparklies' in a lovely wood box with a verse from Joshua and I sent a special prayer up for the friend who led me in a study of Joshua. I prayed especially for a friend who is touched by music and knows that I am too so she felt compelled to gift me her favorite new CD (2 actually). Finally, I prayed especially for my favorite worship leader who writes and sings songs that are straight from and for my heart ~ one of the rare instances I actually buy a CD rather than download the album.

And +of course+ the music was blaring the entire time! You are welcome neighbors.



Today, my special prayer for you is that you find the blessings in doing the things you don't want to do.

Let Your Light Shine - 2012

My friend GeorgiaGirl has prompted us to pray about assigning a life verse (of God's Word) to this year; for ourselves, for our families or both. I guess I've always been intimidated by mission statements because you have to first quantify what it is that you want to accomplish and then you have to set about doing it. It's not like a to-do list of practical, needs-based action. It's about what you want your life to mean. What you want your life to stand for. That's pretty deep territory my friends.
I'm feeling compelled to this idea. Perhaps because I am getting older and the meaning I see in things, places, people, actions is changing. Perhaps because in my growing older, I have more to look back on and more of a view of what my legacy is. When you're 19, you look back to see how many things you've gotten to do YOUR way since you became an adult. When you're 39 you look back to see what the things you have done YOUR way have gotten you and how they have impacted others. That reflection is for another post, but it does cause you to question, "Where do we go from here?"

We go to Matthew as he recorded Jesus.

Matthew 5:16 (NASB) "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

This is a little ironic considering that this was part of the theme verse for PWOC last year. What can I say? This is my verse "for such a time as this".

And, because I am who God made me to be, I must have a theme song as well!




We Are by Kari Jobe...

Every secret, every shame
Every fear, every pain
Live inside the dark
But that's not who we are
We are children of the day

So wake up sleeper, lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
Let the light shine, let the light shine

We are called to the spread the news
Tell the world the simple truth
Jesus came to save, there's freedom in His Name
So let his love break through

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

(she wrote this song based on 1 Thessalonians 5)

I'm going to live in the light, make the most of the time I have left, remember that I am meant for more than this so that my light will shine in such a way as to glorify my Father in heaven.

I plan to live this out by:


*Getting more acquainted with the Bible. The format this will take in 2012 is reading it through in a year. Since my beautiful day planner has it all laid out for me, I'm hoping that will help me stick to it.

*Taking time to pray. I mean, I pray. Every day. However, I often miss the opportunity to stop and pray over decisions. Big and Little. I tend to use logic first. Jesus gave us a model of prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and that helps me incorporate the current PWOC theme. :)

*Getting healthy. Mainly through losing *cough* 50lbs. But also, by eating well and being active. (Let's face it, unless you actually ARE expecting, it sucks to be asked when you are expecting.)

Blessings on your 2012 my friends,

Backdoor Bluebird

Saw this little cutie out my new backdoor...





Blessings on your day,

What Do You Do When....

....you have a 2-car carport that weighs a ton and needs to be moved a couple of acres away?

Dismantle it and put it back together where you want it? NO! Of course not. Silly.


You chain it to itself and then hook it to the John Deere and drag it where you want it!




Here you can witness hubby pulling it backwards and already about 1/4 of the way to where it needed to be...











WHOA Nelly!! A little too close for comfort. (Don't tell the parents - that's their trailer.)




Then hubby had the idea to pull from its sides...it was just like tractor skiing!




Here's where it ended up. Yes, it did bow in a little bit but was easily corrected once the chains were removed.



Blessings on your day,

A Lesson In Godly Friendship ~ A BFF Chat Transcript

BFF: .....when you look at it through God's eyes
you are going to be able to see that 'greater love has no man than this... that he lay down his life for a friend"
you are getting to sacrifice for your husband.
you have the honor of laying your life down for him
and what satan would have you do is to focus on getting your needs met
instead of trusting that God will meet all your needs according to his riches in Christ's glory

S4J: you are being rude.

BFF: (that was a bunch of stuff that earns me a punch in the nose)

but honestly, that is the truth and you know it
every time it goes through your head that people aren't meeting your needs or considering you, you need to take those thoughts captive because satan is trying to take from you the joy of serving your husband

S4J: you have left me with no choice but to order pizza
with extra cheese
and pepperoni

BFF: of this great sacrifice you made for him...

HAHAHA

...and he is using the same thing that you did to bless your husband as a device to make you bitter toward him
so remember that you are not fighting your husband
you are fighting satan
when hubby asks you to walk one mile, you are going to walk two.
and then satan loses
and God can be in charge of what you need

S4J: you have lost your mind

BFF: hahaha. i have not.
you know i am right.
you know it as well as i know you would say the same to me
because i love you




Blessings on your day my friends,

116 Degrees And An Epic Update

Hi y'all! It's been a long time hasn't it? I know you mostly know the bits from being friends on facebook, but I thought I would dust off the old virtual stationery and sit down and give an update.
The weather here in North Texas (as in everywhere else in the nation) has been hot! Yesterday the thermometer on the back porch read 116 degrees! It's all that people can talk about (including me.)
It has been about a year since the kids and I moved from Fort Polk while hubby was finishing up his final months of a 20 year career in the Air Force. When he retired, we had been married for 15 years. Added all together, the deployments and separations due to his job equaled 4 solid years. 4 years of our 15 year marriage spent apart. This past year has been such a blessing of having him home and the sure knowledge that we won't be facing those kinds of separations anymore. I would never undo those years and I am thankful to be in a new phase.
During the past year we saw many changes. We have already moved 3 times. Our second Daughter joined the Air Force and was medically disqualified and sent home after several months of making a go of it. She moved in (next door) with Grandma and Grandpa and is working several jobs to save up to get her own place and waiting for school to start this month so she can work on getting a degree in physical education. 18 is proving to be a lovely and difficult age for us to watch her be. I say, "watch" because that is all we can do now. She's a precious girl, finding her way and making some choices that make us wince and duck and get on our knees in prayer. I remember those years in my own life and thank God every.single.day that He pulled me through and out of those onto a solid foundation of believing and trusting in Him.

Our oldest daughter will be leaving her teen years behind next week. You want to talk about pulling through. Her son is 2 1/2 and she is a good, good Mommy. Again ~ a child making choices that sent us to our knees. Of course, we would love for her to be married and we are very fond of her boyfriend. Even so, we are ever thankful and proud that they are working together in love to raise their son and making him a priority.

The twins. Oh my the twins. They are starting their sophomore year in High School. And their second year in North Texas. They will be 16 in November and will be learning to drive soon. TWO of them. Learning to drive. Aaaaannnnnddddd back to my knees I go. :) Boy twin stands 6'3" and girl twin 5'4". No, they are not identical. Yes, people still ask me that.

Along with our daughter, Hubby will be attending college in the fall to earn a degree in welding. He has been wanting to do this for many years, and thanks to the GI Bill, he will begin working that dream into reality in just a few weeks.

We are coming upon a challenging life situation, which, of course, is nothing new. We have been living in the rental house next door over to our property for the past year and we received a letter stating that we are required to sign another year rental agreement or move out. We will be moving out.

We are making some bold choices about what to do next that will certainly take dedication, patience and prayer. (Is there a theme here?) The ideas that we had about what life would be like on the outside aren't the reality that we are living. Although I do have 3 jobs, they are not providing the income that we thought I would be able to achieve once I could work outside the home full-time and although Hubby's retirement pay is enough to live on if one has no debt and is not trying to build a new home, it is not enough to live on if you do have debt and are trying to build a new home.

So, we are now entering the beginning phases of plan "D". We are outfitting the barn with some living space and looking into bringing a travel trailer to our property to supplement that living space and we are moving onto our own land. Finally. Plan D allows for us to be investing back into our own future, rather than the neighbor's future and will allow us to easily live within our means. The plan is to work our debt elimination plan to completion and then build our house. Now don't get all wound up about, "Living in a barn?? Living in a trailer?? With four people and two dogs???" I did say it was going to be challenging. We have agreed that we will do it as long as we can possibly stand it and we are trying to make it as comfortable and doable as possible while staying within the budget we have for this endeavor and when the day comes that we can no longer deal, we will make other arrangements.

I celebrated my 39th birthday. I tell you what folks, I have really enjoyed my 30's. I will live this last year of them with joy and look forward to my 40's being even better!

I have had amazing blessings in this last year that I have been able to travel for photography and worship and although these trips have not been money-makers, how many people get to go to Hawaii for free and spend a week taking pictures of their friends and making new ones? And how many people get to say, "I got to travel to lead women to Throne of God in worship and all needs were taken care of." Well, I suppose a lot of musicians get to say that, but not me. 'Til now.

We have been attending a local church for some time now and I have begun to sing with the Praise Team. This is a church in transition and we are treading carefully on letting our hearts get too deep until we know for sure this is where we are supposed to be, but the people are so dear and the doctrine is sound. We shall see.

Blessings on your day my friends,

Cohabitation

How cute is this?




Blessings on your day,

Did I mention....

Not sure if I mentioned that my in-laws bought the laundromat in the next town over. For the time-being, I work there. It's a good clean living. Hahaha. :) I had to.
The problem is - we are located right next to a donut shop. Um. Yum. This is no good for my waistline OR my allergy to soy. Today I had this idea....
I am going to take myself over there and see if she can make me a batch of dough without soy that I can freeze at home and fry up in canola oil ~er~ once in a while.
Worth a shot right?

Alabaster Box

Heard this song at church yesterday. Really struck me.


" You don't know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box..."

You can watch the video here and find the lyrics below.

Cece Winans
Alabaster Box lyrics

The room grew still
As she made her way to Jesus
She stumbles through the tears that made her blind
She felt such pain
Some spoke in anger
Heard folks whisper
There's no place here for her kind
Still on she came
Through the shame that flushed her face
Until at last, she knelt before his feet
And though she spoke no words
Everything she said was heard
As she poured her love for the Master
From her box of alabaster

Refrain

And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren't there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When he wrapped his love all around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box

I can't forget the way life used to be
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days
Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box
I'd thought I'd found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul
With the wonder of His touch
So now I'm giving back to Him
All the praise He's worthy of
I've been forgiven
And that's why
I love Him so much

Refrain

And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And dry them with my hair (my hair)
You weren't there the night Jesus found me
You did not feel what I felt
When He wrapped his loving arms around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
Oh, you don't know the cost of my praise
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box

Well, I tried...

This is part one of my very healthy, completely soy-free, low calorie lunch on my lovely fiesta dinner plate. (Part two is in the oven)

Green beans soaked in chicken stock, grapefruit with one packet of stevia for sweetening, scrambled egg whites and iced tea sweetened with Stevia.


I have been craving those fried green beans that you can get at TGIFriday's that are absolutely delicious, and, well, to be perfectly honest, not all that healthy for you. So I took it upon myself to attempt to recreate these things using only ingredients I could have. This is the result...





It took me an hour to prepare and cook these.


They were awful. I think I can modify my recipe in the future and they will be good but I may just decide to follow the fried recipe (using canola oil) a great once-in-a-while so that I can have quality over frequency.

Please don't ask me for this recipe. You will not like it.

Strays!

Haven't we all had a stray dog in our yard? Us too!
Guess who visited us the other day....

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V
We had a stray pig!!


Blessings on your day,

Backpacking Through Joshua - wk 6

This week we read through Joshua chapter 6. Now here's some fun. So, up until this point, the Israelites have been working pretty hard to gain ground in life. Fighting or struggling through every forward motion. Well, except at mealtime. Now, they have crossed the Jordan River and are ready to take the city of Jericho and all that is in it. This is a mighty city with mighty warriors in it and it is shut up tight like a bank vault. How on earth are they going to even get through the fortifications, let alone taking over the city itself with mighty warriors protecting it.

"No worries Joshua ~ just walk around the city once a day for a week, blowing horns. Then on the last day, go around 7 times, blow horns and yell. The city is yours. done."


Um.

What?

I imagine the people of Jericho, although they have heard about God and the blessings He has bestowed upon Israel, are watching from atop the wall on the first day, turning to each other in disbelief, "This is what we've been afraid of? Have they had too much wine?" "Seriously? They're making a parade and that's how they're going to defeat us?" I also imagine that at least some of the Israelites felt silly presenting this 'attack' and must have wondered if God wasn't just trying to humble them or even have a laugh at their expense.

What I find really really cool is that they obeyed anyway. At least there is no mention in chapter six of naysayers or ill-behavers.

Our focus this week is that God is omniscient. He's a know-it-all. No, not like S4J is a know-it-all, or your teenage son is a know-it-all. He is THE Know-it-all. He really does, know.it.all.

(m-nshnt)
having infinite knowledge or understanding

God knows, understands infinitely. So when He is prodding you, or even giving you very clear, step-by-step directions you can be assured that He already knows everything that will follow. He already knows how my seemingly strange and useless actions will affect the circumstances and people I am surrounded by at any given time. So that's the big stuff - God knows how to win wars, take down walls, stop rivers.

And He knows the small stuff. Be still my heart. He knows every grain of sand on the shore. He knows every star in the sky. He knows every time my heart has been broken. He knows my secretest secret dreams. He knows my strengths and weaknesses (He made me!) and how to use them to His glory.

Who do you want in charge of your life? Someone who read, "Being in Charge for Dummies" or someone who knows every word of every book ever written? I'll take door number two.

Uh oh, here comes application. If God, the greatest kindle of all times, is in charge of me, then I have to submit to His leading. When He asks me to do something outrageous or completely ridiculous in my mind, I can and should obey in full confidence knowing that He's 'got this'. The best part of applying this truth is the comfort I can take in knowing that, along with the big stuff, He knows the little stuff too.
P = Putting it out there

What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever done for God's glory? Washed the dishes. Yes, I think washing the dishes is ridiculous. But, to glorify my Father in heaven, I will do it.


Have you ever NOT done something you knew God wanted you to do? Yes. God wanted me to apologize and ask forgiveness of someone who had tortured me for nearly my entire adult life. He wanted ME to apologize. ME to ask forgiveness. Um. No.

What was the result?

For a couple of months I refused. I stopped taking communion, I nearly quit music ministry. I knew I was wrong, I knew I was being a hypocrite, and I knew that I could not serve in that condition. But I was willing to live the consequences rather than be the one to say, "I'm sorry." What a mess. I 'knew' doing so would not change any behavior on the other end and felt I was justified in the things that God was asking me to confess and repent of. What a mess. Did I say that already? Then God said this to me, "I suffered a horrible, excruciating, death on the cross for you and you cannot say two simple words to someone I love?" Um. Yes.
So I did.
It went down pretty much like I had expected but the thing I have to remember is that I do not see everything. I do not hear everything and I do not know everything. God knows how He is working in this person's life and how He used me in it and I certainly hope it brought Him glory that one who professes to know and love Him, put down her pride and humbled herself before someone who does not.

W=Worship