HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

PUPPIES!

Is there anything more fun?

So sweet!!

MULTITUDE MONDAY

Some days I have more time.  Other days, it's quick off the top of my mind.  All days, it's important.  Taking the time to look at the blessings around us brings such joy to my spirit.  I am thankful...

151.  SUNSHINE!
152.  Fresh tulips on my table.
153. A beautiful day to have a picnic in the park yesterday.
154. Healthy puppies growing and getting new homes.
155. Laundry heading to the line.
156. A new journal.
157. "Justification & Regeneration" by Charles Leiter -- what an amazing, eye opening book!  I have learned so much.
158. A text from a person I hadn't heard from in a while that made me smile.
159. Good news about one of our street friends.
160. A pair of downy woodpeckers that brought joy to my children when they spotted them this morning.

FINISHED TABLE!

PROMISES FROM EZEKIEL 36!

As Charles Leiter says, these are promises, not exhortations!

* I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.
* I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
* I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.
* I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
* I will put My Spirit withint you and CAUSE you to walk in My statutes, and you WILL be careful to observe MY ordinances...
* I will be your God.
* I will save you from all your uncleanness.

Praise the Lord!!!

NEW CREATION

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God..."

2 Corinthians 5:17-18

If I am not a new person, I am not in Christ.  I will not be sin-less, but I will continue to sin less!  If I have a new relationship with Christ, then I will also have a new relationship with sin.  When my heart is regenerated, my affections will change.  "If a man is not a new creature, He is not 'in Christ'! Everything is new for a Christian; he sees the world in a whole new light" (Leiter 51). It is all about JESUS!

IN THE DETAILS...

When I take the time to pay attention to the little things all around me, it places my focus on what matters, and brings joy to my life.  What a blessing this journey has been!

131. A thoughtful gift (see post below)

132. Friends who helped clean corrals and get my garden ready for planting this past weekend.

133. New moon sand for AJ (is their anything better?)

134. Children with creative minds!

135. A pond to watch wildlife, catch frogs and sail boats on.

136. Iris bulbs to plant from a very special person! 

137. An afternoon of great fellowship with amazing ladies, which put 5 meals in the freezer!

138. Trees that are leafing out!

139. A little girl learing to love reading! (finally!)

140. Less than 6 weeks till a summer break!

141. peanut butter and jelly

142. fresh raspberry herbal tea

143. a week of "normalcy" after a crazy week with a busy, busy daddy

144. Truth.

145.  My friend, Camille, who is a faithful commentor & a huge encouragement in my life!  :)

146. A creative idea for displaying some 8X10 prints that I haven't yet framed. (I'll try to take a picture when it's done.... it might be a while.)

147. A disaster of a house -- it means it is full of life! 

148. A gorgeous Saturday spent outside, resulting in lots of pink cheeks!

149. A finally finished dining table -- just waiting to bring it in the house!

150. Justification.

A NEW GIFT...

For years, I have tried.  I have never persevered to the point of feeling successful.  Today, I got a new gift that may just help. 

Everytime I would go to play, my old guitar would be out of tune, and tuning it was not fun.  Then, when it would "sort of" sound decent, I would maybe still have time to pick away for about 3 whole minutes before getting distracted, putting it down again, only to attempt to start the process all over again a few months later. 

This new guitar sounds amazing.  I am thankful for the old one where I began my learning process, and now my children can start on it.  But I am even more thankful for this new one because it sounds so GOOD!  :)

Thank you, to my friend, Michaela, for the guitar.  She will travel throughout Montana, Costa Rica and later this year in Africa, all for the sake of the gospel.  God bless you!  We love you dearly and will be praying for you!! 

Thanks also to Tandra, who keeps me well stocked on picks and just bought me the coolest tuner, which makes guitar playing so much easier!  I love you girls!  My daughter looks up to you both as a role models.  Thank you being a godly example to my family!  :) 

CHOWDER and CINNAMON BISCUITS

I got this recipe years ago from a friend.  It's still a staple in this house!

Midwestern Ham Chowder (Emilee S.)

(I usually double the recipe given)

2 cups water

2 cups diced potatoes

1/2 c. sliced carrots

1/2 c. sliced celery

1/4 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

can cream corn

1 cup frozen corn

chopped turkey, ham, chicken, whatever!

In large dutch oven, bring water to boil.  Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onions as well as lots of salt and pepper.  SImmer about 10 min. until tender.  Don't drain.  In another sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour.  Add milk stirring constantly with wire whisk over med. heat until thickened.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Pour cheese sauce, corn and meat to veggies.  Heat, but don't boil.  (I frequently just turn the burner off.)

SWEET CINNAMON BISCUITS (Sarah D.)

(These are super easy and super quick!)

2 c. sifted flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 c. canola oil

3/4 c. buttermilk

butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

milk, optional

Combine flour through soda and mix well.  Stir in oil.  Add buttermilk and stir just until blended.  Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Roll into a rectangle.  Preheat oven to 400.  Grase 9" round baking pan.  Spread butter over dough.  Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter.  Roll up jelly roll fashion and pinch seam to seal.  Cut into slices.  Bake 15-20 minutes.  Serve HOT with milk poured over the top if desired.  These freeze well.  Prepare through step 5 (don't bake!) and freeze.  They can go right from freezer to oven for a last minute treat!

SEWING, BAKING & WOODWORKING

 

Days like today I am reminded once again of why I love homeschooling my children.  Not every day is like this (in fact, unfortunately days like this are rare), but we had a fun time.  Once we hit the books and got through decimals, Elisha's greedy servant, and all the rest, we were freed up for some other schooling. 

The kids have been begging me to teach them some things on the sewing machine.  So, all the kids made pillows today (except that my stuffing supply is gone... something about a stuffed horse needing more stuffing in his neck...) so stuffing will have to wait until I get to town. 

Kiana also helped me make some easy sweet cinnamon biscuits. 

And then while mom was away at Bible study, the kids (with a little help from daddy) made the sailboat they have been dreaming about making for a week now and sailed it on the pond.  They named it the "fast flying duckie".  :)  I wasn't around to get pictures of them actually sailing it, but it worked well!  Everyone was excited!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY



SO MUCH...

It's in recognizing the little things that joy can be found.  The details of life that we so often take for granted. Even on a "down" sort of day, taking time to notice, is a great pick-me-up!

**************************************************

111. Two kids who now do their own laundry, start to finish!

112. Healthy animals.

113. 2 Cor 12 spoke to my heart in preparation for what this day had in store. Love how God does that!

114. 8 healthy puppies getting fatter every day!

115. God's strength.

116. Evan didn't get furlowed this week.

117. Little boy boots sitting on the deck rail reminding me of the stage of life I'm at.

118. Buds on the trees.

119. A broken picture repaired.

120. A friend's prayer in time of needed encouragement.

121. An almost finished dining room table.

122. An almost-healed back for Evan! He's doing so much better!

123. Clean water to drink.

124. A place to dwell on our pilgrimage here.

125. Eggs coming out of our ears! (Egg salad, oven pancakes, sunshine cake... anything to use up eggs!)

126. Chocolate.

127. A dentist found who takes our insurance!

128. Birthdays -- a special one coming up!

129. A school year winding down.

130. Greatly improving eye sight for my son!

ON MODESTY... if you're a female, you need to read this!

I got this from another blog, who got this from another blog, who got this from Sermon by Brian Schwertley on The Public Undressing of America (by Jeff Pollard).  I thought this was well worth reading and in posting this, I hope you do just that!!!

_________________________________

Spring is here and Summer isn’t far behind. As coolish days give rise to hot ones women will once again start shedding their clothes in the name of freedom. I guess that I ought to be used to this by now but it still bothers me. I don’t want to see the undressed bodies of girls I don’t even know and I sure don’t want my sons seeing them.



Whatever happened to decency? To propriety? To modesty?


Where is our sense of shame? Our understanding that not all needs to be put on public display?


I know the answers, of course. I’ve studied our nations fall into immodesty and intellectually I comprehend it. Spiritually, however, I don’t. How is it that women who go to church, who profess Christ, can feel comfortable flaunting their nearly naked bodies in public (and sometimes, to some degree, in worship service) and have no shame?


Is it not embarrassing for a young lady to shed her clothing and stand nearly naked in public in a string bikini? If she went to a doctor and was asked to undress down to her underwear and not cover up with a sheet she would be incensed and, yet, this same girl can strip down even further and, because she is “covered’ by two tiny pieces of cloth that she calls a swimsuit (rather than two somewhat larger pieces of cloth that used to be referred to as unmentionables) she is alright about her nakedness.


Or this same girl (or a different one…there are lots of them who do this after all) can put on tiny, tiny shorts that come up to “here” on the legs and down to “there” at the waist and along with it a minuscule blouse that doesn’t quite cover “there” at the bottom and is cut down to show at least part of you-know-what at the top and head off shopping and she’s comfortable with the fact that everyone who sees her sees nearly all of her. She’s gets angry though if some guy that she doesn’t know starts leering at her or makes undue suggestions.


Let’s get real, girls: you’ve undressed for all to see, you’ve shown guys you don’t know areas of your body that ought to remain private (and what you haven’t shown, he can clearly make out due to the sheerness or tightness of what clothes you left on your body) and now you’re gonna get mad because some guy is going to look? Right. Yeah. That makes a LOT of sense.


Come on now you’re not that unwise…are you?


If you are, or if you are simply uninformed, let me fill you in: ladies, you need to realize that men are visual and that they are stimulated by sight. Specifically, girls, men are stimulated by the sight of a woman’s body. If you give them part of the picture by wearing something cut down to “there”, or cut up to “here” or very tight or sheer or hardly there at all, they’re going to complete the picture in their minds.


Do you really want men undressing you with their eyes? Do you want them lusting after you? Perhaps doing things with you (or to you) in their minds (even if it is “only” in their minds)? Do you want the picture of you half-naked (or more) lingering in their thoughts for days, or weeks, after they saw you on display?


I know the argument: men ought to be able to control themselves. You ought to be able to wear anything at all and men ought not to lust after you and you’re right. You’re absolutely right. You ought to be safe from prying eyes and from prying minds…no matter what. Men ought to control themselves…no matter what. But no matter what, it ain’t gonna happen. No matter what, there are some guys who are going to see you and they’re going to lust after you. You’re putting fuel on the fire and the fire is just getting hotter and hotter.


The truth is this: It is sin to put your body on display. God said it, I didn’t. When you do so, you are setting men up so that they lust after you (yes, you are). When you provoke a man to lust, girls, you’ve sinned and so has the man. The lost man now stands more condemned before God, the Christian man who succumbs now feels shame at his lust. By your immodesty, you might cause a man to fall back into a sin he’s struggled with (such as pornography). You might cause him to look at the body of his wife who has borne him many children and compare it to you who has borne none and judge her unfavorably. Many men will struggle with pictures of you coming to their minds for days or even weeks after they initially see you nearly undressed.


And, you, my dear, will stand guilty before a holy God for your part in their sin.


Oh, yes, guilty you are…even if you don’t want to believe it.


Ladies, we owe it to our brothers in Christ to make it easier on them. We owe it to the lost men to show them fruits of true Christianity.We owe it to our younger sisters to be an example of a faithful Christian maiden (or, depending on your age, a faithful Christian woman). Most importantly, we owe it to our Lord to obey Him.


If you’re one of the girls who has sinned this way, I ask you: please don’t do it this Summer. Enjoy yourself, yes; wear pretty clothes, absolutely. But please wear clothes that cover you. For the sake of your brothers in Christ, for the sake of the young Christian man who is just coming to terms with his manhood (and is trying to remain pure in thought for his future lady), for the sake of the lost, for the sake of the girls whose future husbands you just might be causing to sin, for the sake of my sons and for your sake, dear one, please keep your clothes on. We don’t need to see all of what you’ve got to display.

BTW.... did you notice I posted EVERY day this week???  :)

PRAYER PART 2 -- Thoughts from 1 Samuel

When reading the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, something again stood out to me on this matter of prayer.  In verse 10, "She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish."

Hannah was begging God regarding a desire of her heart.  She desired a child.  It was a personal thing, and she cried out to God!  When she finished praying, and she had finished responding to Eli's questioning, in verse 18 it says, "So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad."

She was broken, but after crying out to God, even before she received a visible answer, "her face was no longer sad!"

We can bring anything to God.  We can lay it at His feet and trust His sovereignty with the answer.  We can walk away from prayer with peace in our hearts and on our faces knowing that our Father will do what's best.

So, if you're burdened with something today.  A relationship issue, a crisis, a fear, failing health, financial issues, anything related to children, lay it at His feet and walk away with a face that is "no longer sad."  It's now in our Father's hands.

THE CALL TO WEAR HOLES IN OUR KNEES

God is teaching me the importance of prayer.  I know it's important.  But He's really teaching me just HOW important it is.  Recently He has taken one avenue of my life away, and He has said, "Instead, I want you to use that time to pray." 

I can do nothing without prayer.  Lives will not change without prayer.  No matter how much time I give a person, only the Spirit of God can actually do the work in their heart.  It has everything to do with Him. 

Every issue, every conflict, every pain in your life or your physical body has one purpose.  To bring you to your knees.  The question is, how do we respond to it?

More than anything else in the world, the most difficult thing to do is pray.  Even Bible study can be used to puff me up because of increased knowledge, but a person will gain nothing from man from being in their closet alone with God.  That person will, however, gain so tremendously from God.

Lord, teach me to pray! 

JUSTIFICATION & REGENERATION

This is what we are using in the ladies' Bible study to lead us through the Scriptures to get a thorough look at the doctrines of Justification & Regeneration.  Chapter 1, which we covered last week, was all about sin.  A few quotes that stood out to me from that chapter...

"... lost men imagine themselves to be "basically good," unless God in mercy reveals to them the true condition of their blackened hearts.  Sin is the ultimate and only problem of humanity.  It is my ultimate and only problem and your ultimate and only problem" (17). 

"None can free himself or escape from sin's bondage.  Sin "reigns" over the sinner and rides on his back like a tyrant until it eventually brings him down to the pit of destruction and death" (19).  -- Rom. 5:21

"We must face the fact that the world is not the way it is because it has a few bad people like Hitler; the world is the way it is because it is made up of multitudes of people just like us!  There is deep wickedness in each of us" (20).

It's not very uplifting to look at the truth of sin.  Some things Leiter teaches through the Scriptures are that sin is:

1) Absolutely universal

2) All-pervasive

3) Irrational

4) Deceitful

5) Hardening

6) Enslaving

7) Debasing

8) Defiling

The application of this chapter in my life, is that in seeing sin for what ugly, darkness it is, it will make me tolerate it even less in my own life.  I desire, through the power of Jesus, to kill it at the first sign of it and not allow it to be present, no matter how big or small.  My desire is to grow in holiness, and I recognize this growth will contine for the rest of the days I have breath!   Also, I am even more grateful for the gift of grace given to me and the righteousness of Christ that covers me.  It also makes me see the lost with more compassion and a desire to show them there is freedom from the tyrant riding on their backs!

Chapter 2 gives us the hope of how Christ is the only One who can free us from this tyrant because of that word... propitiation!!!

WOW.

I actually printed the transcript to this message after listening to it the other day.  I have highlights and notes written all over it.  Yes, it's that good.  It's all about prayer.  It's challenging, but something we as believers need to be challenged in.  If you listen to it, I'd love it if you left a comment or dropped me an e-mail letting me know your thoughts.  I guarantee, you won't be the same if you do.

OUTSIDE THE CAMP by David Platt.


A couple of points he makes....

* Are we going to die in our religion or die in our devotion?

* We need to risk everything for the mission.

Amazing stuff.  Not a very long message.  Worth every minute!