Blessings

This is so encouraging. Something we need to remember.

Future Fruit

 Our countryside is dotted all over with blossoms just now. It is so fun seeing them and dreaming about all the berries to be picked in a few months. Here are some of the blossoms that we have been seeing....

Blueberry blossoms!

 Wild Strawberries!

 Juneberries!

Bush cherries from our garden.

I am looking forward to the berries!
Of course we can't count our chickens before they are hatched or our berries before they are ripe and there is the concern of frost killing all - which is possible as it has been predicted for Friday. But I still am hopeful.

 Are you enjoying fruit blossoms where you live?

Randomness

I have been having so many different things going through my brain lately - I have felt on overload at times. Since I find that it sometimes helps to get them out of my brain and on "paper" I decided that you that read my blog would get to experience some of the overflow of my brain just lately....

In no particular order....

Politics - what is happening in America?
 Though I have long been concerned with the spiritual state of our country, this year has really opened my eyes a little more. I have always been a conservative in politics which generally has meant being a Republican. I believe in protecting life (ALL life), that laws should be based on the moral compass that we find in the Bible, that we need to work to uphold the constitution and that we want freedom. I choose to be a slave to Jesus Christ but I want no other master.

 This campaign season we started with a lot of choices. We had some that looked pretty good to me - they had a moral compass based on the Bible and they wanted to uphold the constitution. However as of last Tuesday - none of those candidates are left (at least in the Republican or Democratic party). The candidates that are left in the race don't care about God or His word nor do they care about the constitution. And what is super sad to me as that is what our country choose. What has happened to our country?

 Needless to say there has been a time of mourning around here. Not despair because I fully believe that God appoint leaders and that His will can be done even when there are evil leaders. Also I think that our light can shine far better when we are surrounded by darkness. I do believe there is hope - but still I do mourn for what our country has lost.

  Ken is also facing decisions. He has been the chair of our county's Republican party for the last 7 years (I have also been very involved). However if they choose to support Trump in the election then we do not feel comfortable being involved. The decision on that will be made tonight. I appreciate your prayers.

Health
My mom has really been struggling with her health lately. She has eosynophil (which I do not really know how to spell) pneumonia which is a chronic pneumonia. One of her sisters also has this and it would seem quite likely that their mom had it too (she always basically struggled with lung issues but then died in her 50's from breast cancer) also pretty nearly all the rest of my mom's 7 other siblings have had lung issues as well. Their family just seems to have trouble breathing.

 This pneumonia is pretty rare and they don't know a lot about it and have not thought it to be genetic but to us it really looks like it is. So obviously for my siblings and cousins and I there is some concern.

 I have been praying a lot for my mom lately as she struggles to breathe and to be able to live life normally. She has come to the place were the regular doctors want her on medication all of the time ( stuff like prednisone which eats away at the bones - her sister did do this and last year she had a simple fall and broke both wrists, a knee and a shoulder and nearly died from it and though she made it through she has bones that have not healed yet) and so she is trying to figure out if there is any alternative options that will help. My Mom has long tried to live a very healthy lifestyle and be cautious with using medication but still has problems with this.

I meanwhile am also trying to figure out anything that I can do to strengthen my lungs while I am still healthy. If I should follow my Mom's path I would have less than 10 years left before they would pop up. Anyway - just something I have been thinking and praying about. If you have any suggestions for ways to help your lungs work better - I would love to hear!

Homeschool Co-op leadership
I have had fun leading a homeschool co-op over the past 6 years or so. It has been a fun challenge. This year there have been a lot more challenges and I have wondered if it was more than I wanted to deal with sometimes. We had grown a bit which I think added to the challenge but mostly it just has been that there has been some outspoken discontent which is especially hard when sometimes what people are discontented with has been exactly opposite of what somebody else expressed. At that point it seems impossible to keep everybody happy.

 Anyway - it has been a growing time for me. I am learning to listen better ( I hope) and certainly learning to pray more. I would appreciate your prayers as well.

Children Growing Up
Mostly I am super happy with my children growing up - it is the right and natural thing to happen. But I do have to adjust to change and learn how to let go a little. Mara's getting a job and preparing to go on an international mission trip has been neat and fun and challenging. We have had to learn how to do without having Mara at home many days (who does the sweeping now?!) as well as figure out just what she is ready for and what she is not (As she flies alone - do we choose a cheaper flight with layovers or one that costs more without? - so many decisions).

 I am sure many of you have faced that as well and have gotten through it just fine. I am super thankful to have teenagers that love the Lord and want to do what is right. I can't imagine how hard raising a teen would be if they were rebellious and making bad choices all the time.

What to eat?
This past year I put on some weight. My jeans had gotten tight and then when I weighed in at the chiropractor I was about 10-15 lbs more than normal. What was going on?
I think mostly my body is starting to change and perhaps my metabolism is working slower.  I have found that I am not usually as hungry as I used to be but unfortunately I still think eating is fun. Anyway - this is a problem that I want to address right away rather than waiting until it is a truly big problem.

I have started working to have more self-control in how much I eat. I also am reading a couple of books "Wheat Belly" and "Trim, Healthy Mama". I really don't care for the idea of going wheat/gluten free and I don't think I will be doing that but I think I can learn something from each of these books.

Did any of the rest of you deal with a bit of weight gain as you neared 40? Did your metabolism change on you?

Can those that study God's word have unity?
I think they can. This is something that I want to strive for. But it has been discouraging lately a little bit as a friend and I were studying a topic together (for months) and I believe we were both honestly seeking and we came to different conclusions. So far neither of us have really changed from what we originally believed. We are going at it again. I don't want to give up. I truly don't think that God's word is that complicated. We should be able to find unity in the truth.

Anyway....
That is a bit of what has been bouncing around in my brain. I would love your prayers and insight on any of these topics.

Daily Bible Reading Challenge

 God's word has what we need for life. It is so fun how it what you read in a day will often address the various issues you have been thinking about. Even if you don't see that in just random reading, you can study and find answers to questions you have. Here (along with some pictures from a canoe ride/walk this evening) are some verses that I have appreciate this past week:

What caused me to worship God more?
"Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power." 1 Corinthians 6:14

That God can raise the dead is simply wonderful and amazing and is totally worthy of our worship.

What touched me?

To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
    but motives are weighed by the Lord.

 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.

 The Lord works out everything to its proper end—
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.

 The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
    Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
    through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.

 Proverbs16:1-6

I read this on Wednesday, after the bad political news of Tuesday evening. This chapter gave me insight, it gave me good reminders and a firmer desire to always seek his leading.

What prompted me to action?
"He who give attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord." Proverbs 16:20

Some simple priorities to follow - Study God's Word and trust in the Lord.

 What interesting fact did I find?
I Corinthians 8:1 "Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies."

What a reminder to make sure that their is always love to go along with any knowledge that I may have.

What did you learn from God's word this past week?

Frugal Activities Lately

We are still working at living frugally around here. Here are a few things that we have done lately. Maybe it will inspire you to live more frugally as well. I would also love to hear the ways that you have lived frugally lately too.

- One of my favorite frugal activities lately was fixing up a watch for myself. The deal is, I like to wear a watch. I like to know what time it is and sometimes (like when teaching music lessons) I really need to be able to easily keep track of the time. My dining room clock recently stopped so that made my watch even more important - but.... It decided to quit.

I was preparing to find a time to go shopping soon but then I happened to look around and found this old watch face of mine (with a broken band) that was still working. Hooray - at least for the time being I could carry it in my pocket and keep track of time. But then I figured I could make a band for it too.

I decided to do something a little different and I used the stretchy thread (that looks like fishing line) and threaded beads on it to make a band.

I have always been rather in love with the color blue and this watch just makes me kind of happy. I am fully enjoying it. I also love that I now have a "new" watch but I spent absolutely nothing for it.

 ~Another recent frugal activity was making underwear from old t-shirts and on 3 of them I used old underwear elastic too so they are mostly all re-purposed stuff which made them very inexpensive. They don't take that long to make either and I like them better so I doubt I will ever buy underwear again.

 ~I am trying to finish up a rag rug (with completely free materials) that I am making for my nursery classroom at church. We wanted a little rug for them to play with toys on when we get down from our seats. I work on this rug mostly in the mornings when I am having my quiet time.

~ Last Sunday was May Day and so we had fun making some baskets to share. We took some to friends, sent some to the nursing home and then Megan had fun delivering them to most of our neighborhood.

 We used things that we already had on hand to make the baskets and then fill them too. No money was spent but hopefully days were brightened.

 ~The other day we cleaned up a bunch of sticks in our yard and then made a fire which I cooked our supper over. Less electricity was used plus we cleaned up the yard. Hooray!

 ~I have started using the clothesline again (I do take a break for the winter  :-) ) . I enjoy the fresh air plus knowing that we saved some money.

 ~Jonathan made a cute chuck wagon for homeschool event using wood scraps that we had on hand. Again - no money was used but it worked great. I was so proud of his skills and willingness to work on this. The wooden wheels impressed me the most.

~Ken tilled my garden for me. I think gardening saves us quite a bit on our food bill each year. Today the boys and I added some chicken manure mixed with leaves to the garden and then they tilled it again. It is looking pretty good. I was able to planted onions, peas and potatoes so far. It is exciting to get going on things so early in the season for us.

~We washed zip lock and bread bags and re-used them.

~ I used rags instead of paper towels.

~I don't use any dryer sheets in my dryer. I don't have much trouble with static either so I don't miss them.

~I made and gave some homemade gifts.

~I wanted to read a certain book but instead of purchasing it I ordered it through the library.

~We drink water between meals and for some meals as well. No pop at our house (except on rare special occasion) or koolaid or other sugary drinks. Very little juice as well. We drink water, milk (and we are blessed with my parents giving us a lot of raw goats milk lately), yogurt smoothies (from yogurt that I make), herbal tea and coffee (Ken).

~I made yogurt and cheese from the excess milk from my parents.

~I saved the whey from the cheese making and have used it for soaking grains and other baking.

What frugal activities have you done lately?

Daily Bible Reading Challenge

How did you Bible time go last week? Did you grow in your understanding? Was it a part of every day? There have been different things in my life that really have caused me to work at digging deeper about various subjects and that has been very fun. I wanted to truly understand God's word so that I can share his truth with others.

From my Bible reading last week I here are some treasures that I found:

What caused me to worship God more?
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
"For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen."
Romans 11:33-36

What a great reminder of the amazing God that we have.

What verse really touched me?
I read the book of Ruth last week and I find that account an inspiring one of people showing kindness to others and God blessing that kindness. Here are a couple of passages I would like to share:
Ruth 2:10-12 "Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work,  and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."

Ruth 4:14 & 15 "The the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."

What prompted me to action?

Matthew 21:21 & 22 "And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea," it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

I believe that God can do anything but still sometimes you wonder if He will choose to work in the situations that you are concerned about. I am seeking His help to have more faith and to grow in my prayer life.

What interesting fact did I find?
Matthew 24:44 "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."

So many people seem to think they have a very good idea of when Jesus is coming again - this clearly states that He will be coming when you don't expect it. So we just need to always be ready. Have your lamp full of oil and ready!

What treasures have you found in God's word lately?