Using our gifts

Arranging flowers is a gift I enjoy using to serve others.

  I am really appreciating and feeling inspired by this verse:

"As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter 4:10

 God made each and every one of us different. He gave us different personalities and different talents. He wants us to use what we have been given. But I appreciate what is pointed out in this verse- Our gifts should be used to serve others. We could use them for selfish gain but that isn't God's plan- He wants us to serve one another. I hope I can get better and better at doing that- and I hope you do too.

Waist packs for hiking

 We love outdoor activities and hiking is one of things we like to do. When we are active we need water and a snack and we need a way to haul them with us. In the past I have used a back pack but I have ended up with to many backaches from doing that so I decided to try waist packs. I bought one that has worked very well!

  Waist packs might not be the trendiest thing to wear but I would rather enjoy activities and not worry about how I/we look. Since Ken and I had waist packs I decided that the kids needed some too. So this weeks project was making some for them. I was able to use things we had one hand and we made some satisfactory waist packs that can each hold two water bottles, an emergency kit and a snack. We are looking forward to trying them out.

What happens....

...when you send the boys out to hang up the clothes.

Everything attached together in one clump

They actually do know how to hang clothes on the line, I think they were just feeling a bit creative this time.

We've been blueberry picking! {Tips in case you want to go too}

It is blueberry season here now! I love going out in the woods and seeing how many of those yummy and super nutritious berries we can find. This week we were able to go on both Monday and Tuesday. I was so happy we were able to fit those times into our busy schedule. Between both days we were able to pick around 3 gallons of berries. We turned some into jam and ate some and froze quite a bit.

 Here are a few tips of things that work for us when it comes to blueberry picking:

~Where to go.... There are a lot of state forests around here. The ones that have lots of pine trees (or used to have pine trees) are often good locations. We have learned about good spots by asking around and friends telling us. We also just keep our eyes open year round for possible spots.

 ~Be sure to bring plenty of water for thirsty people to drink.

 ~Make it a fun family outing. Our whole family enjoys picking berries or at least going out and having fun in the woods.

~ Be prepared for bugs. Mosquitoes are pretty common, ticks too. Deer flies like to crawl in your hair and bite. If it isn't to hot it helps to wear long sleeves and pants (and to keep ticks out you can pull your socks over your pants) and a hat or kerchief. You might want some bug spray too. I don't like the stuff but I did use it on Monday evening.

 ~To get my younger three to help pick for saving rather than just to put in their mouths I gave them small containers and told them after they filled them and put them in my bucket then they could go play a while and eat whatever they picked. We did several cycles of that during our picking time. Trying to fill a whole bucket was pretty overwhelming for them and they tended to spill them anyway.

 ~We were running short on buckets and so I cut the milk just above which Mara than attached to her waist to put her berries in. She thought it worked pretty well.

 ~Berry picking is a good time to practice counting with little ones. Megan enjoyed picking more while counting the berries too.

~Have fun, bring along identification manuals for the neat flowers and such that you will find while out in the woods, Praise God for his wonderful creation!

Dreaming of a home where....

This weekend we went to the arts and crafts fair in town. I love to go to these fairs even though often I don't buy anything. I love just looking at the wonderful artwork (fantastic and realistic drawings and paintings of nature), pottery, baskets, woodwork, handmade beads, candles, scarves, hammocks and so forth. This year I did end up buying 3 things: A wooden chest/bench to keep our mittens and hats in, a pottery bowl (at a much lower price than I generally see them at) and a jar of honey which will hopefully last us until we harvest our own and then hopefully we will never have to buy honey again!

Our purchases

   Walking through that sort of place makes me start dreaming about how I would love to have my home look. I dream about a kitchen with all pottery, glass, wood and metal dishes- hardly any plastic to be found. I dream of having all our wood furniture be solid wood and sturdily made by a craftsman- no press board covered with plasticky veneer. Wood or ceramic tile floors with handmade braided wool rugs and no wall to wall carpeting. Walls with art and pictures created by us or someone we know. Hardly any electronics to be seen but rather shelves lined with books and musical instruments to be played. Our own handmade soap to wash up with in the bathroom. Meals made out of food we raised or got locally and from all natural ingredients. Handmade quilts on every bed. Fresh flowers to decorate.

Oh it is fun to dream....

  And we do accomplish more than dream. Little by little our dreams do become reality as we work on them. We try new things and find out how to do and make things we have never done before. It is fun and it helps us to be able to buy less but have more. But as fun as this sort of dreaming is and as much as I would enjoy having a home like I described above there is something more important that I want to dream about and work towards.

I am dreaming and working towards having a home where Christ is always center and we consider God's will in everything we say and do. Our desire is to please Him. Where we love and honor one another and encourage each other to do better. Where we give our grumpiness over to God and let Him help us be sweet and kind instead. Where we reach out to the world around us and provide hospitality to everybody. That is the home that I really dream of! This is the part of my home that I want to work the very hardest on!

What sort of home do you dream of?

God

 This is a passage of scripture that I have enjoyed reading and thinking on lately:

  "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything since He himself gives to all people life and breath and all things: and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us: for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, "For we also are His children." Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold of silver of stone, and image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17:24-31

I hope it speaks to you too!