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!