My Favorite Memory From This Christmas

Our Christmases are very quiet.

After so many years of this you would think
I would be used to this fact.

To be honest, it is always a little
hard for me to accept.

Growing up, we were always with
Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles & cousins.
Visiting all day with family.
Lots of good food, and lots of family.

But things are different for our girls.

Thanksgiving is the holiday we spend
with my side of the family.
Lots of food and fun memories!

In the past, Christmas was spent with my
Mother-in-law before she passed away.
But now it is just Mr. C & I, and our two girls.

It's quiet.  But Mr. C does make it special.
He puts his chef hat on (not really, but he
does cook like a French chef!!!).

We chose a French theme for our menu.
Beef bourguinon, garlic mashed potatoes,
roasted asparagus and crusty rolls.
For desert, creme brulee'.

But earlier that day, we attended services
on Christmas morning, and took part in the
Lord's supper with our church family.

And I am so thankful that we did,
we took part in what Jesus commanded-
"Do this in remembrance of me..."

Taking time to stop and remember,
just why it is that Jesus came to us.
Why He robed Himself in human flesh
and came to us as a babe.
Giving everything necessary to satisfy the wrath of our Holy God.
His perfect life laid down for us, the sinful, lost people,
in need of a Savior.


"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."


And as I look back on our day, I am so very thankful
that busyness did not crowd out the most important part of our day.

Spending time with Him, in prayer and communion.

Thanking Him for coming to redeem us!

Thanking Him, for the free gift of salvation!!!

God's grace and mercy have kept us from knowing
the fullness of just what our Savior experienced for us,
in that moment, when He suffered in our place,
taking what we rightly deserve.

"For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."


And when I ponder this, these words from a favorite 
Christmas  carol ring in my heart-


"Ohhh-ohhh Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
ohhh-ohhh ti-dings of com-fort and joy!!!"


The only comfort I have, and the only truth that
brings this heart of mine true joy-  


knowing my Jesus, and what He did to save me.  

Look at this!

My gals and I have been having a lot of
fun with that statement lately.

We have been browsing crafty DIY
ideas on Pinterest, and when we
find something amazingly useful or
incredibly clever, we always
exclaim, "Look at THIS!!!"

It is fun, and has helped us get our
creative juices flowing once again.

They are talented and creative, and
I love that the 3 of us share an
excitement in making things with our
own two hands.  

But more importantly, we share an excitement
in this, the most important aspect of our lives,
the fact that by faith, we have been saved by
God's grace through the redemptive work of
His Son, Jesus Christ.

Down below, I am sharing something from a
 friend's blog, and immediately, after watching it,
I wanted to exclaim to anyone who would
listen- "LOOK AT THIS!!!"

I want to share this with the rest of you,
because of how the beautiful creativity of
this artists' work, and the words of this
wonderful song, accurately portray just
what our Savior accomplished for us
by veiling Himself in human flesh, and taking
God's wrath for OUR sins.

His reason for coming to earth, to reconcile
us back to our Holy God, through His
sacrificial death, His burial, and triumphant
resurrection.  

Find time, to look at this, listen to the song,

 and rejoice in Him!

Hallelujah!

All I have is-
Christ!!!



The lyrics-

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life
Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

I'm Dreaming of A...

White Christmas?

No, not really...

We've already had two snows this winter,
which is very odd for us, and so I'm not longing
for more snow at the present.  I'm actually looking
forward to some 60* weather that's been promised
later this week.

Actually, I'm dreaming of something different.

Something small.

Cute.

Cozy.

Warm.

Not this.  Ohhhh goodness NO.
No, no, no you cute little bundles of puppy love.
Stop tempting me.

At least not right now, not during the cold winter.

Although Farley might would suggest, this would
be the perfect time to have a snuggle buddy out
there with him in his cold, drafty, dog house.
(That is full of hay for him to snuggle in...
we would never neglect our old, faithful friend...)

Actually, I'm thinking along these lines-

A beautiful, cozy, cabin, that someday we'd like to call home.

A little home.  Small.

Much smaller than the one we live in now.

We're making a list and checking it twice.

Making plans, goals, searching for the right
piece of ground to build our little home on.

We are heating and cooling too much space.
Space that we do not need or use.

A smaller home would make utility bills go down,
and our cost of living go down.

And we'd like that.  Really we would.

When we thought we were going to Idaho,
we had made a list of everything we were
selling, in order to make the move easier.

And it was just about everything we own.

I'm not attached to stuff.  I want less stuff.
Less stuff to manage, means more time
and resources can be used for God's glory.

Too much stuff makes me feel like
it's all about our glory.

Not His.

Not that I think God wants us to live in
ugly, dilapidated homes.

That's not what I'm saying at all.

I'm just saying that I think we have accumulated
too much stuff, and it crowds our lives.
And it gets dusty.
And it gets cluttered with more stuff.

Let me insert this observation by our youngest gal-
"Remember when we moved here, and we realized
we didn't have enough furniture to fill all the space?
We had to get more "stuff" so that everything looked
balanced or right."

And she is right.  The rooms in this house are much larger
than our former home.  We have a huge dining room and
huge living room, but we spend most of our time in our kitchen
and the little sitting area we made out of the former dining room.
When we have company, we usually end up in the kitchen/sitting
room area, while the bigger than big rooms remain empty.

This house was an affordable option for us, when we chose to move
closer to my husband's place of employment.  It has been a huge
blessing to us, and we know God worked out the details in order
for us to obtain it.

We both believe this house is a stepping stone, to help us reach our
goal of building a home more suited to our daily needs.

We'd like our own chickens, so we can have fresh eggs.
Possibly our own milk cow for fresh milk.
To raise a garden away from whatever the defoliant is
that they spray on the cotton each year.  I'm not sure
what's in that stuff, but it smells like skunks for weeks
in the fall here, thanks to that chemical soup lingering in
air during cotton picking time.

We're just wanting to downsize, live more simply,
and produce more of our own food for our family.

Even frugal people in America have too much
stuff.  Maybe we didn't spend a lot on our stuff,
but still, I can honestly say we have too much stuff
that we really don't need.

And so, we would really like to sell stuff, have less,
live in a smaller space, and reduce our cost of living.

And even though our hearts are a little smitten with the
cabin in the above video, we won't be building that exact
cabin.

But it does give us a lot of great ideas to help
streamline our goals, and helps us to make a plan.

And of course, this will only happen if the Lord wills
this for us.  We are praying, asking for His guidance,
and His blessing, if this is within His will for our family.

Blessings to all of you,
as you seek His will for your own families

 

Let It... What???

Snow!

It came.

Here.

This is how it looked Monday night, but by Tuesday night
it had almost all melted away and hardly any is left now

It's the earliest snow I can remember for us.  I'm sure
old timers have memories of even earlier snows.

The funny thing is, when it was snowing it's hardest,
we were all so busy we almost missed seeing the
big, beautiful flakes as they were falling.

One our gals just happened to check Facebook,
and saw all of the posts concerning SNOW!

We were excited, because it was so pretty
and had no idea at all it was even in the forecast.

The reason behind our busyness?  The reason we
almost missed out on watching the flakes drift down?

This-

 

Crafts!

We're all working on different things, and these pictured above are mine.

Just something I played with long ago, have slightly piddled
with through the years, and now have decided to try
again on a larger scale, maybe?

I'm hoping to get enough made to place in a friends
craft store/flea market.

And so as we piddle, and create, the world keeps on
spinning, things are happening, and thankfully we
take little breaks and look out the window when
friends help remind us other things are going on.

What keeps you all busy during the long winter months?

I'd love to hear!

Blessings to you all!

Just.Trust.Him.

Col. 3:18  "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord."


As you all know, we've started building tables to sell. Right now it is just a side business, we would love it, if it grew into more than that.  (We've dreamed of a business, that he and I could have together.)


This summer we built a table for display purposes to display at a farmer's market. We had hauled it up there a few times, and we got a lot of good exposure. A lot of people really loved that table, but it was a little too long for their needs, so it didn't sell. We've had it in our garage, trying to decide what to do with it. When we first announced our business several families showed interest, and said they wanted a table but never placed an order. Time kept passing and nothing, no new orders for some time.


So, Mr. C asked me to contact all of those families, and let them know we were discounting the price of our display table, mainly to get it out of the way and also because it did get a few dings in the hauling back and forth to the market. When we do get another order, we will need the space to work. 


I hesitated and put off doing what he had asked. I was afraid they would think we were hounding them, trying to twist their arms into buying a table. He reminded me again, that we really needed to try and sell it. I had my own ideas about how we should go about it, and tried to talk him into another way. (bad wife!) But he didn't like those ideas (safety concerns) and asked me once again, to please do what he had asked.  I'm the customer relations rep in this here business of ours. he he


So, I finally submitted and did exactly what he asked. Simple as that. Within minutes of reading the message, one of the potential customers said they were sure they wanted the table and would be out to look at it the next day. They bought the table. And other customers who we haven't heard from in awhile, said they were still interested but that wasn't the color of table they wanted to order, but would be ordering  soon.  BIG SMILE!  


I don't know why I do that? Why do I hesitate and not trust my husband's leadership when he asks me to do something so simple? God blessed us through that act of obedience.  The leadership God provides to us through our husbands, is a blessing.  It's a protection.  And when we step out from under his leadership, we step out of God's will.  We leave ourselves vulnerable and unprotected.   


It was a much needed and timely lesson for me. This year has been just a little crazy to say the least. But God has proven His faithfulness over and over again to us.


Just.Trust.Him!!!  My motto, my reminder.  I'm going to make something with that on it, to remind me of this lesson.  (One that God has to remind me of too often.)  


Pray for me, and I'll pray for each one of you as we submit lovingly to our husbands' leadership.  God has a plan for each one of our lives, as Christian wives.  


Just.Trust.Him!!!

For A Special Blog Buddy...

One of the most beautiful views I've ever seen...

One of the friendliest dogs I've ever met...

One of the most bittersweet moments
I've shared with a friend...
just days before their departure
from their mountain home.  

One of the sweetest little girls we've ever met...

And another, just as sweet as her big sister!

&

A link to something else for our special friends...

 HERE!!!

Swamp Baby & Such

Just as I promised in the last post, 

I promised to introduce our latest "child"

Swamp Baby-

Ain't she purty!

We used rough cut, aged, Cypress

harvested from the swamp-lands of our

great state, and we love the way our

baby turned out.  

We took our time, sanding her 

down, making the surface so

smooth, but leaving enough

of the grain from the sawmill

cut, to give our baby personality.

We thoroughly enjoy making new

wood creations.  Working together.

Mr. C is a good boss to have.  

He lets me take a coffee break,

whenever I need one.  

Mocha Latte'?

Don't mind if I do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now for the "such".

This fall...

I have been thoroughly enjoying our ladies

Bible study.  Our leader is a fierce defender 

of God's truth.  We have made our way through

1 & 2 Peter, and now we are presently studying 

that tiny book named- Jude. 

Going verse by verse, and learning so much. 

She is so careful, making sure scripture interprets scripture,

just as God intended for us.

She never allows us to end any conversation 

with our own opinions or ideas.  

Every claim we make must be validated

by scripture, kept in context. 

I am so very thankful for the careful

handling of God's word. 

These studies are so timely, as Peter and Jude

wrote what God directed them to,by His Spirit.

I love this portion from Jude's introduction-

^"3Beloved, my whole concern was to write to you in regard to our common salvation. [But] I found it necessary and was impelled to write you and urgently appeal to and exhort [you] to contend for the faith which was once for all ^[a]handed down to the saints [the faith which is that sum of Christian belief which was delivered ^[b]verbally to the holy people of God]."  Amplified Bible

He is exhorting his readers, to contend

for the faith.  

Contend.  

Too many authors are not contending,

but are simply blending.

This is no minor thing.  

We are to contend for the one 

true faith and nothing else.  

We must be so careful when sharing

information and quotes from others.

I'd love to share an example.

The other day I read something

that sounded so good.  

I read it as one who is seeing the 

statement as a result of the life of

Christ transforming us women, 

and making us more like Him.  

I copied and pasted the quote to my 

Facebook status to share w/ other 

Christian women, urging one another

to encourage us to be women of the Word. 

Later on, I felt the need to check on

the author of this quote.  So I obeyed

that nudging.  And when I did, I was 

horrified.  The woman who I had blindly

trusted represented a false religion, 

one that is based on what the Bible calls, 

doctrines of demons. 

It is a religion riddled with all kinds of

strange ideas, and one that basically teaches

it is our goodness that leads us to a 

relationship with God.  

A works based religion, nothing of being saved by

God's grace and it being a free gift.

You must earn your way in her religion. 

I deleted the statement at once, upon

finding out what religion this woman

is associated with.  

I did not want to mislead anyone

and make them think that this lady

was a trusted Christian teacher.

I felt terrible, that I had not been

more careful. 

We must be careful.

Satan comes as an angel of light,

not darkness, when he deceives. 

Be careful, contend for the one true

faith, the faith revealed to us in God's

Holy Word. 

God gives us warning after warning, 

about false teachers in the last days.  

There are many in our day.

Pray for your children, your spouse,

your church family, and for yourselves.

We cannot be too careful.  

We must be very careful.

I love how Jude ends,

what encouraging words 

he left us with, as he 

closed out his letter.

 "²⁰But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [^[d]make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit;

  
²¹Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)--[which will bring you] unto life eternal.

  
²²And refute [so as to] convict some who dispute with you, and on some have mercy who waver and doubt.

  
²³[Strive to] save others, snatching [them] out of [the] fire; on others take pity [but] with fear, loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality.

  
²⁴Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]--

  
²⁵To the one only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory (splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority, before all time and now and forever (unto all the ages of eternity). Amen (so be it)."

So be it.

  

Work and Work

"Workin' at the car-wash...
workin' at the car-wash yeah!
Work and work!"

No, I'm not working at the car-wash, let's change the words,

"Workin' at the wood-shop!
 Workin' at the wood-shop, yeah!
 Work and work!"

It's really strange how this new chapter started
for Mr. C & I.

When we thought we were moving, and our house
was on the market, our dear realtor,
(who we love like family) noticed our
dining room table.

"Oh my goodness!  Where did you get
this table???"

"We built it ourselves."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, a good friend of ours built one for his
MIL, and we saw it, and he gave us tips on how
to do our own.  We needed a bigger table for
our dining room, and so this was what we wanted
to do."

We continued explaining-
"Our table is a lot more rustic than his, we wanted
ours to look like we had salvaged the wood from an old barn
or something.  We banged it up, and left a lot of marks
from hand-planing it.  We didn't sand all of that out,
you can see a lot of imperfections and that's exactly
what we wanted."

She oohed and ahhhed over it, and then said,
"Well, my FIL & MIL are looking for someone to
build one for them, would you consider doing it?"

At that point in time, we thought we were moving.
We thought it over and realized, we just didn't have
time to consider doing something like that.  We gave
her the number of our good friend, so they could see
if he'd be interested in doing it.

Well, as time went on, they never made the call to our
friend. Our realtor's FIL, who I'll call "Dave" had to
have hip replacement surgery and they were consumed with
his rehabilitation, they had put their desire for their
table on the back-burner, just until he was doing better.

During all of this, our situation had changed.
Remember that last post?  That car came to
a screeching halt.  RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

At least it didn't crash and burn.
(God's protection.)
Well, our realtor was at our house again, and
she said, my In-laws really would love to talk
with you all and see if you would reconsider doing
this for them.  They want someone who lives closer
to them so they can watch the progress of the table.

This was going to be their 45th wedding anniversary
gift to one another.  A 13 ft. solid wood, custom made,
distressed, farm table.

We talked with them, they let us know exactly what they
wanted and we agreed to do this for them.

They made requests for their table, that caused us to step
it up a notch in our table making skills.  And we are so
grateful that they did.

Not long after their table was delivered, their daughter ordered
one from us.  Her's was not as long, but built the same way.
They love rustic!  We can do rustic!

Come to find out, other people we know love rustic,
and have asked us to make tables for them.

And so we're table makers.

Did we ever set out to become table makers?  NO.

Did we try to give this job to someone else?  YES!



But the job came back to us, (God's providence)
and now Mr. C and I are working our little fingers
to the bone, making tables and we absolutely love it.

WE LOVE IT!

I wish I could record our conversations while we are
working together.  It is quite comical all that Mr. C has
to put up with.  I like to think I've got it all figured out,
and when I state exactly how I know something should
be, I blurt it out, only to realize he just said the same
exact thing a couple of minutes earlier.  He stands and
waits on my brain to catch up to his.

It's a good thing he is so patient with me.

Other men would throw the
miter saw out into the yard, and run off w/ the post-
woman, if they found themselves in his situation.

Thank goodness Mr. C is not like that.

I'm learning new things, wood grains, wood clamps, 5/32
of an inch, lag bolts, 9/16 rachets, 60 grain sandpaper,
stain colors, tung oil, hand planer, miter saw, Skill saw,
power drill, table saw...on and on, and you know what?

I really find it all very fascinating!!!  Big smile!

We're workin' away, all day, at the
Wood-shop.

Here are some of our creations if you'd like to take
a gander and see what we've been up to, and also
see why I no longer have as much time as I once did,
to stop by and visit all my blog buddies.

Toodles for now, got to get some sleep, so I can wake
up bright and early, to work on our latest project.

I've named her "Swamp Baby" and in the next post
I'll reveal why...

Work and work...


ps- A Bible verse, where we learn from wood, and a very
good lesson to remember.

"For lack of wood the fire goes out, 
And where there is no whisperer, 

contention quiets down." Prov. 26:20

I love how God's word gives us such 

descriptive word pictures to teach us

His truths for godly living.  

Have a blessed day friends!

And Now You Know The Rest Of The Story...

Aren't our lives much like storybooks?  They have a beginning, middle and an end, and as each day passes, our days are like the turning of pages, you don't know what will happen next until you get to the end of the next page.

Many pages have turned over the long summer.  Some of you have been faithful to share stories and pictures of the pages in your life.  So here I am, it's my turn, I'm ready to share from the many pages that turned during our summer, here in our little town.

Some of you know of our trip we took out West the first week of June.  I was mesmerized with the mountains, we all were.  Words cannot describe the beauty and pictures just don't do it justice, you need to experience the West in person.  I'm so thankful we were given the chance to do so.  This trip was so important to us, because we were at a place where we thought big changes were certain for us as a family.

We had been in talks with the owners of a business in Idaho.  Some of you will know exactly what business I'm speaking of.  The couple they had first hired to run this business, was leaving because of an opportunity that had opened up for them, back in their home state.  The owners of the place in Idaho now needed to find someone to take their place.  They had narrowed it down to three different couples, and after many, long hours of phone conversations between us and the owners, it was decided we were the ones they wanted to hire.

They needed us to make a trip out west, to see the place and meet w/ one of the owners in person, so they could be certain they had made the right decision and also for us to be sure this really was something we wanted to pursue.

This particular business was a lodge nestled in the mountains of Idaho, located on the Snake River.  I do not know how to describe to you just how beautiful and amazing this part of Idaho is.  The lodge was in an extremely remote area, and the last 29 miles to the lodge took an hour to drive.  The road was a twisting, winding road with the last 6 miles cut out of a mountain side, so that mountains were to your right and the river was to your left as you drove to the lodge.  The drive in was a little nerve wracking to me, to say the least.  But it was because I was not able to see what it was like next to the water, as we wound our way down the twisting, narrow road.

After our visit out there, meeting in person the precious people who had been working for the owners, meeting with the owners themselves, learning what would be required of us if we took this job, we eventually decided that yes, we would do what was necessary to make the move out west and take this job.  Only after prayerfully, and very carefully examining every detail of this opportunity.  We knew it was going to be hard work, but we believed we were up to it, and ready to do our best for the owners to make their business prosperous.

After we returned home, we couldn't quit thinking about Idaho and our new life that was to be revealed in the pages that would turn in the future.  We had fallen in love with everything out there and couldn't wait to return.  From day one, when we found out about this opportunity, we asked for God's will, His direction, and His blessing.  "Father if this is your will for us, then please help us to do what is necessary to sell our home, and only take what is needed.  We ask for Your will alone, not ours.  If this is not your will for our family, please stop us from making the wrong decision."

We put our house on the market, and the first people to look at our house made a cash offer and we were able to come to an agreement in just a few short days on our selling price.  We started making lists of what we needed to keep and what we needed to sell.  We soon realized most all that we own would be sold, to make the move easier.

Our eldest daughter stopped taking appointments in her photography business, our youngest gave her notice at her place of employment, and Mr. C did as well.  Everything was progressing quite smoothly.  The door was wide open, and in just a few short weeks we would be living a completely different life out in the mountains.  We were all so excited and couldn't wait to see what adventures would come our way.

If you've read here on this blog, much at all, you would know that we love the outdoors and everything associated with it.  It was as if this opportunity was the one we've been waiting on most all our married lives.  We had often discussed wanting to do something like this and here we were, God was giving us a chance to do it.

Three days before my husband would be working his last day, and exactly one week before we would be closing on our house, we received a phone call from one of the owners of the lodge.  He called to let us know that there had been a drastic turn of events, something that he had nothing to do with, and there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening.  I cannot divulge the private details, but in essence the opportunity that was once there was now gone.  The door had suddenly slammed shut.

I'm not sure what the best word to use is, stunned?  Shocked?  But all of us, my husband, our daughters, and especially me, found it very hard to believe that this was suddenly over.  We had just told our closest friends about the change that was about to take place in our lives, after spending three months of keeping a tight lip.  We didn't want to tell anyone anything until we knew it was going to happen.  And up to that point it looked like it was going to happen.  We had spent 3 mos. pursuing this opportunity, and right when we were just days away from the biggest adventure of our lives, it was gone.  Vanished.

I will not lie, this was hard to recover from.  What seemed like a "yes", suddenly turned into a "no" and I do mean suddenly, like BAM!  There was no easing into it at all.  I can still remember the owners words, "thank God this didn't happen after you had gotten all the way out here, or while you were on the road here...thank God for His protection."  As soon as we learned the details of what had happened we knew deep in our hearts that God had protected us.  He also protected the family who had left there in June.  They were given a new job, and had relocated before this sudden, unexpected turn of events.

God IS gracious.

And so here it is, two months since we learned that our lives were not going to change that much.  That we'd still be living in our little town.  And that we would not be managing a small lodge in Idaho.

*Deep breath...now exhale...*

We're all fine.

Our daughter is once again scheduling appointments to take pictures for her customers.  My little "chica" is back at Chick-fil-A.  And Mr. C and I are pursuing something else now.

I know in the grand scheme of things, this really isn't that big compared to what a lot of people I know have had to deal with in their lives.  It's just a bump in the road.  A chapter that didn't end the way we thought it would, this chapter had a surprise ending.  But the most comforting thought is knowing that God knows why, and He knows best.  He had a very good reason for saying no to this, and just recently I was given the words I've needed to be able to express what is in my heart in prayer to my Lord.

Choices-The Valley of Vision
A collection of Puritan
Prayers and Devotions

"O God,
Though I am allowed to approach thee
I am not unmindful of my sins,
    I do not deny my guilt,
    I confess my wickedness, and earnestly
         plead forgiveness.
May I with Moses choose affliction rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin.
Help me to place myself always under thy guiding
and guardian care,
to take firmer hold of the sure covenant that
binds me to thee,
to feel more of the purifying, dignifying,
softening influence of the religion I profess,
to have more compassion, love, pity, courtesy,
to deem it an honour to be employed by thee
as an instrument in thy hands,
ready to seize every opportunity of usefulness,
and willing to offer all my talents to thy service.

Thou hast done for me all things well,
hast remembered, distinguished, indulged me.

All my desires have not been gratified,
but thy love denied them to me
when fulfilment of my wishes would have
proved my ruin or injury.

My trials have been fewer than my sins,
and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen
from thy hands.

Thou hast often wiped away my tears,
restored peace to my mourning heart,
chastened me for my profit.


All thy work for me is perfect,
and I praise thee."


What a comfort to this heart of mine, knowing that He knows exactly what is written on each page of my "book", my story, the days of this life I've been given.  He is a good Father who knows exactly what I need most, and He will faithfully with-hold those things, dreams, pursuits that will not profit me for His glory.    



P.S.  Oh, and about our house?  The buyers backed out of the contract.  We did not want to be the ones to go back on our word, and God took care of that.  Just a couple of days before closing the buyers changed their minds.  God is in control.  Amen?  A-men!

Summer's Heat Gives Way...

It's been a long summer.

An extremely hot, long summer here in the south.

So many miles have been traveled, and so many moments of just standing still.

So many things have been learned, but always more lessons to come.

As I sit here this morning, this fine cool morning,
drinking in the quiet(er) morning hours on this blessed Saturday,
I thank my Father for His merciful hand, that has kept us
close to Him through all of our summer wanderings~wondering(s).

I've missed writing, writing is something I need, something I enjoy.

I've tried keeping up with a few blog friends through the summer,
whenever I've had down time, time to read bits and pieces here and there.

It's good to be back this morning,
writing something,
even if it is brief
and not that important.

Hopefully soon, I'll have more to share.

Have a very blessed day today, and Lord's day tomorrow.

 Psalm 121:1-6

"I lift up my eyes to the hills.
   From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD,
   who made heaven and earth. ³He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, he who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.
 ⁵The LORD is your keeper;
   the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,   nor the moon by night."  

  

Happy 24th to my Mr. C

Today marks our 24th wedding anniversary.

I am so thankful for the man God blessed my life with.

What a caring, protective, loving, hard-working,
thoughtful husband I've been blessed with.

When I look back at who we were when we married,
compared to who we are now,
we almost don't seem like the same two people.
 


















So  young, and so much to learn!

The daily in our lives, has a way of being an
excellent teacher for us, that along with
God's word, which has
faithfully guided us through the daily.

We had to laugh this weekend, when making
our plans for our celebration date.

We've become so practically minded, that we
almost ordered a pizza from one of our favorite places
and had planned to take it back home, and just spend the
evening at home together.  

But as we drove through town, Mr. C decided we should
at least go out for pizza. And thankfully, one of his friends
from work had mentioned a new place that he thought
was REALLY good!

You see, I LOVE a fully loaded pizza, that is my all time
favorite treat.  We've done all sorts of things to celebrate
our anniversary in the past, and this year, we decided to
just focus on what we like best, and not make a huge fuss
over how we were going to do things this year. 

We have learned, we can have fun together no matter
what we do. Whether it's getting dressed up and dining at
one of the finest establishments in town, or if it's picking up
burgers and heading out for a drive, down one of our favorite
old gravel roads.

Just as long as we're together, that's what matters most.

And so our pizza dinner, ended up being more of an adventure
than what we thought it would be.  We went to the place
his friend suggested and we loved it!

It just so happens the men who own and run the
newest pizza place in our area, are from none
other than Albania.  They had Michael Buble'
and Frank Sinatra playing for dinner music,
nice touch, 
and their heavy accents made us feel like we had
visited another country for our night out.

It was a lot of fun!

And the pizza was so delicious, perfect and very big!
(We had enough leftovers for Sunday lunch to share w/ our gals.)

Earlier that day, we had found a cake on sale at the
grocer's bakery, $3 for a chocolate, truffle cake,
and so we headed home, after dinner,
picked up a $1 movie from Redbox, (The King's Speech)
and devoured chocolate cake with caramel, truffle coffee.

It was the most perfect anniversary celebration for the two of us.

We have learned over the years, in whatsoever state we are in,
"[therewith] to be content".

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into [this] world,
[and it is] certain we can carry nothing out.
 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."
1 Timothy 6:6-8

I believe, learning that important part of scripture,
and actually living it, has been a huge reason
why there is so much joy in our home.
When Christ is the place where your heart rests,
things are just things, and they do not really mean
very much in the grand scheme of it all.

Just concentrating on giving our best to one another
as husband and wife in our marriage,
plus, following God's wisdom in His word on
how we are to treat one another, has been a key
to the many happy years we've enjoyed with one another.

Anytime we've hit a bump in the road,
we've been quick to go back to God's word,
get ourselves back on track quickly,
and practice what we know when it
comes to the proper care for one another
in this marriage we've been blessed with.

Happy Anniversary my dear Mr. C!
           I love you!
And I pray God blesses us in the future,
with more joy-filled years together!!! 

(Giordano's Pizza in Chicago 2009.) 

This husband of mine, he knows what I like!

Blessings to all of you, who work hard at
giving your best to your spouse,
in the blessed gift you've been given
in your marriage!!!