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Showing posts from 2014

Holiday Happenings

Hi to all of my sisters in Christ! I can hardly believe Christmas is near. My family and I had a very nice Thanksgiving and I hope yours was blessed, too. We have so much to be thankful for! Whether in plenty or in poverty, the Lord provides for his own. I love this wonderful bible verse: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. Psalm 37:25 Since we have no extended family near where we live, some good friends of ours invited us to spend Thanksgiving day with them. They provided a delicious turkey, dressing and potatoes we brought green bean casserole, 3 pies, and some  Jalapeño  poppers (for later in the day). After our meal, we watched a little football and then played some games until everyone got hungry again and then warmed up some leftovers for a little dinner. We had such a nice day with our friends and thanked the Lord for bringing them into our lives.

Slander and Estrangment

slander  | ˈslandər |  noun   the  action  or crime of making a false spoken statement  damaging  to a person's reputation; a false and malicious spoken statement. verb  [  with  obj.  ]  make false and damaging statements about (someone) :  they were accused of slandering the head of state . If you've even experienced slander (false accusation) you're not alone. It is painful and sad. But an important thing to remember is that the slanderer is the sad one. If American court systems take issue with libel and slander, what must God think of it. It's not surprising when someone outside of faith might slander others, but when it's someone within the church, it is disturbing indeed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. James 1:25 What you do and say and how you live, speaks of whom you obey. The life of a Christian is carried out through the evidence of faith.  Fait

Sabbath Keeping

Some people, women in particular it seems, have really gotten into trying to keep the sabbath. Trying being a key word there. After all, they will say, it's one of the ten commandments, right? Or is it?  What exactly does it say in the ten commandments about the sabbath? Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. — Exodus 20:8 Notice that God doesn't say to observe the sabbath, or to keep the sabbath. He says to remember the Sabbath. How did Jesus legally break the Sabbath? Because he IS the Sabbath. So when we remember the sabbath, we are remembering Jesus. Who he is, what he's done, what he's doing and what he's going to do. Remember him . And who we are IN him. Remember what he did in Egypt. Remember without him you are nothing. Remember him. Call upon him. Sup with him. Another way of saying remember is "don't forget" or, as it's written in the KJB, "forget not". This phrasing is used 24 times in the Bible. One of my f

Move & Sweat

This week I got back into the habit of exercising each day and I am feeling better. Exercise is good medicine. :-) I wrote out my fitness goals today and how to achieve them. Creating a calorie deficit each and every day through diet and exercise will result in weight loss. So a deficit of 1,000 calories per day (burning off 300-500 in exercise, reducing calorie intake by 500-700 per day) will result in a 2 pound weight loss per week. I'm focusing this week on just getting some exercise each day. So far, I have made time to workout each morning for 45-60 minutes. I've "walked" the equivalent of approximately 13 miles so far and plan to walk another 3 tomorrow. I love the Leslie Sansone videos. She makes them fun, gives great motivation and encouragement throughout and they are not wimpy workouts. I'm always sweating good by the end. I also like The Firm workout videos. Their aerobic routines are a too little complicated for my taste, but the overall workou

Cast Your Care

On any given day, stress can come and hit us between the eyes rather unexpectedly. I'm sure you know how that goes. You're going along in your normal routine and them, wham!, an issue arises out of thin air and you feel the stress mount. It's the stuff of life. It isn't always possible to fix it or make it stop. Sometimes we just have to get through it. How does a godly woman cope with life on life's terms? Read the instruction manual. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  1 Peter 5:6,7 Humble yourself. It's very humbling to admit fear, defeat, incompetence and failure. We have to rely on the Lord and cast ALL our care upon him. Does this mean that he'll fix everything up for us? Not always. Not even very often. Because he knows that we learn and grow best in times of frustration. He wants us to learn to turn to him, trust him completely and hu

Sunshine On My Shoulders

Did you know that the bone disease, Rickets (soft bones) is on the rise? When I was a new parent I actually got a lot of my health information from tv news. Crazy I know. They would have "experts" come on and give the latest greatest health trends and I'd actually believe them! ha. Until I began reading about health for myself and found much of their advice faulty. One thing they have been far, far too officious about is sunscreen. The result is many parents have been afraid of letting their children get a drop of sunlight on their skin without a layer of sunblock on first. The problem is that sunshine is good and produces vitamin D in the skin on contact. We all need that  necessary bone building vitamin and a little sunshine is not going to cause skin cancer as we've been made to fear that it would. As little as 20 minutes a day of sun on your face and arms is more than enough. You can also boost vitamin D by eating fish, eggs and cod liver oil.  The time to

Keep Your Perspective

If you were to be offered a glass of water OR a thousand dollars in cash, which would you choose? Most of us would choose the cash. But what if you were were lost in the dessert, dying of thirst? We would not think twice about choosing the water. Our perspective is relative to our circumstances. When we keep our perspective fresh, our attitude and viewpoint will reflect gratitude. Are you happy in your homemaking? Do you wake up smiling, glad you have the privilege of loving your husband and children and guiding your home today? I believe that homemaking is the most important job there is.  Even above science, politics, medicine, engineering, and so forth. Why? Because homes are where little people are brought up and shaped into what they will become. It is where we nourish the soul and train the spirit. Today, there are far, far too many women who have foolishly exchanged their most high calling for a bag of pyrite. Fools gold. Some children begin their latch-key careers very ea

My Daily Routine

The Lord calls us to be temperate. Many people think this must mean self-control, but it does not have much to do with self. The word "self" is not found in the Greek translation of the King James Bible. From kjvtoday.com — The word for "self" is not in Greek.  The Greek "εγκρατεια" is derived from the word "κρατος," which means "strength" ( Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary ).  εγ-κρατεια literally means "in-strength" or "strength within" (as opposed to outward physical strength).  "Self-control" gives the wrong impression because it is not the "self" that gives this control.  εγκρατεια is a fruit of the Spirit, which means the Spirit is the one who does the controlling.  Many Christians who struggle with temptations soon realize that the "self" cannot provide this control.  Thus a focus on "self-control" is futile.  What we need instead is " Spirit -control,&

Says Who?

Our culture today is thick with judgment. It is everywhere we go and the irony is startling. People proclaiming what is right and wrong, what is correct and incorrect, what is tolerant and intolerant. Newscasters volunteer their frowning comments at things not politically correct. They chime in to reinforce the cultural shift toward tolerance. But tolerance toward what exactly? Where is the universal meter that guides their views on what is right and what is wrong. When confronted with the P.C. police, we need to humbly yet boldly ask, "Says who?". Who is the one making these broad sweeping judgments of what is right and wrong? For those whose faith is in Jesus Christ, our final authority is God and his word. That is "who says". That is why and how we know right from wrong. That is why we can call certain behaviors wrong. That is why we can call sin, sin. But for the ungodly, this is not so. They do not acknowledge God, but in fact hold his statutes and judgmen

Halloween — Evangelism at Your Door

For years my family has been like most Christians at Halloween — we simply avoided it.  We turned of the porch lights, the front room lights and even posted a sign saying "No tricks or treats".  Halloween and all it's gruesome origins represent is evil and should be avoided. However, Ray Comfort (Living Waters ministry) introduced a different approach to Halloween - evangelism. After all, you've got heathens coming right up to your door every year — why not turn the devil's day on its head and spread the gospel?  Why indeed. So that's just what we did last year. It was quite an different experience keeping our lights on, buying bulk candy and most importantly, stocking up on great tracts. We took turns answering the door and simply said hello, smiled and put the tracts and the candy in each bag. A bit of a weak approach if you ask me, but we're just starting out. :-) I hope that this year we'll be bolder and speak more as we have opportunity. W

Creativity

When I was a kid, I used to sketch and draw for fun. My favorite subject to draw was people. It was fascinating to put pencil to paper and watch someone "come to life" right there on the page. Especially once I got  their eyes right and it was as if they were looking right at me. Weird but cool! But as I got older and life's responsibilities descended upon me, I stopped doing much of anything in the way of art or creativity. I found tiny outlets here and there but nothing substantial. I felt like I was wasting the talent God gave me. But I had little ones to raise and a whole bunch of home keeping skills to learn that I hadn't learned growing up, so my focus was definitely not on myself. But now that my children are older, I'm revisiting my creative side. There are lots of great helps on internet and I've had fun poring over the beginner paintings. Creativity is not just about art, however. We're all born with the innate ability to create and I think

A Woman's Thoughts

If we want to have good attitudes on a daily basis, then we need to take a good look at the thoughts we think on a daily basis.  The Bible says: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23 What you think about is who you really are. If you're in the habit of letting your thoughts dwell on the negative — how hard something is, how mean someone is, and so forth — that habit will manifest itself in many ways that will eventually shape you and lead to a life you didn't plan on. Many people "end up" in situations and with dispositions that they never dreamed of — and it all started with their thoughts. The thoughts we think in our heart, are revealed in the choices we make, the words we speak and a the attitude we keep. The good news is that we have God's Word and it tells us exactly how we can regulate our attitude. How can we make it more consistently pleasing to God and others? Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication

Homeschooling

My mom homeschooled me and my siblings  back in the 70's when it was illegal to do so. I remember ducking when the doorbell rang and going completely silent so whoever it was would go away. It didn't matter who it was — if it was during school hours and we didn't invite them, my mom didn't have the luxury to see who it was. Our friends understood and eventually joined us in homeschooling  for a couple of years. So keeping the blinds and curtains closed and not being able to play outside "during school hours" was a normal part of our school years and it was a very serious thing. The consequences for being caught truant from mandated public school were grim. So we were very careful. When I got married, I knew I wanted to homeschool my own children. They were lucky enough to be born when homeschooling had been legalized and was becoming more and more common. Today, there are millions of homeschoolers - and our numbers continue to climb. But the threats to

What I'm Meditating on Today ... The Work of God

There are a lot of ideas on what doing "the work of God" is. What is yours? There are some Christians who think it is serving their family. And that's certainly noble and needful and right. But is it, biblically speaking, "the work of God"? There are some Christians who consider serving the community, the church, the local shelters, political campaigns, kids programs to be the work of God.  Volunteering our time and care to others is certainly loving others as we love ourselves. But are these things the work of God? Not according to scripture. So what is the work of God? Simpler than we think. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent . John 6:28-29 Why do people want to complicate things so much when God has made it so simple. The work of God, according to Jesus Christ himself, who IS God, is to believe on him. Bel

So Much Ter Be Done

I have been too busy to blog much lately. There have been so many different areas that need my attention and concentration — and that is life. :) I am enjoying the life that God has given me - whether things are going great or poorly. I'm alive and that is worth rejoicing about. I hope you, my cyber friends, are enjoying the life that God has given to you. We must be careful not to put our wants, likes, and desires as our main focus. We'll always see areas of our life that don't match some or all of our desires and dreams. The world promotes the idea of living for your dreams, shooting for your dreams, you should be happy, you deserve the best, etc., etc., etc. And there's nothing wrong with having goals and plans and pray God will bless us. But the treasure of my heart is not here on earth and never will be.  It's with the Lord: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay

Choices and Being Perfect

Today will be filled with choices. Choices can become tiresome and sometimes I wish I didn't have to make SO many choices. What to fix for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. Choosing how to spend free time. There are many delicate areas of life where choices can feel excruciating to make. But still, they must be made. We're never free from choices. They are relentless. The choice of what to say and not to say and what to do and not to do are what really count. We can't count our good intentions. If someone meant to say thank you or meant to send a birthday card, or meant to help you with something ... or or or ... we all know that it is only what is done that matters.  Only what actually transpires.  A lot of trouble begins from wanting to control other people and circumstances going on around us or in the world at large. But we typically don't want to control the one thing we can control, and that is ourselves. But God calls us to do just that.

Robin Williams

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The famous actor, Robin Williams has died. It is sad when anyone dies, I think. We always wonder what their last moments were like here on earth and what their first moments are like in the hereafter. I read that Steve Jobs' last words were, "Oh, wow. Oh, wow!" Makes you wonder. Some die tragically, some heroically. But Robin Williams' death will never be thought of in positive terms. He chose to cast a dark shadow over it. However, he is being hailed beloved, talented and even genius.  One person said, "As funny as he was, he's truly one of the all-time greats, he was even better as a person. He was even more fantastic. One of the loveliest, sweetest, kindest guys I've ever worked with. ... It's a major, major loss for everybody." Those are all very nice things to say about anyone.  But on August 11th, he added one trait that no one seems to be willing to admit to: murderer.  Suicide is self murder.  Premeditated, ugly, horrifying, merci

Family Begins with Marriage

There are a lot of couples who say that they "became a family" when their first child was born (or adopted). They will use phrases such as, "we are trying to start a family". But ladies, the fact is that your family started the day you wed your husband. A husband and wife, by themselves, constitute a family . You were two, now you're one. ONE. It doesn't get any closer to that. In fact God places more unity, more familial bonds and more importance on the unity of a man and his wife (singular) than any other relationship including parenting relationships. Because children are passing through. They are a part of your family. But their arrival does not create a family. This fable is actually a notion perpetuated by the media. Talking heads. The power of the tongue, the printed news and the "experts" who elevate themselves above God's holy word. Genesis 2:24  - Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his w

Summer Garden

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I get so excited every morning I look out the back door and see my garden growing. I think we might actually have a harvest this year. Originally, I had started my seedlings indoors in April. And a day or two after I transplanted them in early June, we got a unexpected hail storm. This thing took us all by surprise on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was the loudest storm we'd ever heard! We had to yell to one another to be heard over the noise pounding on the roof. (Which now has to be replaced.)  The balls were one inch in diameter and they demolished my newly planted seedlings. :-(  This is a shot of my son holding one of the hail balls. My flower pots in the background were covered in "white" when the storm was over and I went and scooped as many out as possible, which must have helped because they survived. A few days later, I bought some replacement veggie plants from Home Depot and I was delighted to find that they had heirloom plants! I got tomato, basi

Random Things About Me

I drink coffee but I sometimes think I shouldn't. I worry about the calcium it might be leaching from my bones. But, alas, coffee I love. Black or with a dab of whole milk. Or mocha-fied. Iced or hot. But never with "cream and sugar". Yuck. To me, if you put sugar in your coffee, you don't like coffee.  I believe in getting 8 hours of sleep every night. I'm usually sleeping by 10pm and up around 6am.  If I could choose one era in time to live in for life, I'd choose 1950.  I love crafts. I have craft supplies for beading, scrapbooking, painting, wood crafts, knitting and sewing crafts. My problem is that I rarely make the time to do any crafts! Thinking about hosting a crafting party soon. I used to be painfully shy. But I decided in my late teens - early twenties to try and be more outgoing. Still, I have to "force myself" to engage in conversations with others. I'd much rather  be a wall flower.  I dream of living on Vashon island in the