Let Us Not Grow Weary

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:7-9

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Wow

Thank God for moms. Where would we be without them?!

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Alarm, Cruel Enemy

Alarm, Alarm/ Wake me not/ I'd rather sleep/ To dream and plot/ And not be faced/ With cold hard day/ To rise and go - / I'd rather stay! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Photo courtesy of prfreak at photobucket.com

Distance to the Top

I was praying and feeling how far I am from where I ought to be. And it occurred to me that maybe sometimes when the Bible talks about patience, it is referring to the patience it takes to walk up the mountain to the goal. I can't reach the top in one big step - but that doesn't give me an excuse to not even try. I must realize that one trusting baby step is more progress than many a hopeless gaze at the pinnacle. God will bring me there in time.**********************************************************************************************************photo courtesy of kathya1204 at photobucket.com

First Post From the New Phone

Hello! Yup, i've got my new phone at last!

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Thankful

Today I am very, very thankful for my church family.

Shallow?

Hi there, Saturday. Oh, and hello to anyone who might be reading this. Today is Saturday. Yesterday was Friday. I am brilliant. For months now (since this past Spring) I have been eagerly waiting for my ATT upgrade to roll around so that I can order a new cell phone. You see, in the Spring I went to Cumberland Gap. I hiked. It rained. And rained. And rained. And my phone didn't come out alive. Thankfully our family has saved all the working phones we've used since we signed up for cell service in Kentucky, and I was able to fall back on a couple old (I mean OLD) phones while waiting for the upgrade. I was really REALLY tempted to bite the bullet and just order a new phone at the best price I could find, but I got to thinking and decided that since I had a working phone (albeit from the dinosaur age) and the upgrade/renewal would give me a big discount, I could have the patience to wait 6 months for a new phone. It's been rough. I know that sounds pathetic, but in the age we live in, technology makes a big difference. I'm not saying we can't live without certain things - I'm saying that some things become a lot more easy and convenient with a little help from technology. This Thursday is the day. I have been counting down. And it's gettin' close. Happy Saturday. *********************************************************************************************************Image courtesy of markmun4 at Photobucket.com

Thankful

Today I am thankful for Fall. Especially for Fall evenings, when it just makes everything so cozy.

Giving Thanks Challenge!

I have decided to join the Giving Thanks Challenge, hosted by Leah over at the South Breeze Farm blog. No reason not to be thankful :-). Today I am thankful for a job I enjoy. I get to practice housekeeping and mommy skills while getting paid. The couple I work for is very good to me, and the little boy and I get along well.

I Cannot: God Can

My world is enclosed in a reality that God is not limited by. You see, He controls reality... He is God. He is in the business of doing the impossible. He created the world, after all! He sent His Son into the world born of a virgin. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He heals miraculously. And yet I limit Him based on the "reality" encased in this temporal world... I have been reading Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray. Murray talks about how we get frustrated, beating our heads against the wall because we consistently fail in our attempts to be wholly devoted and surrendered to Christ's will. Very shortly put, he points out that "...the things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:37) Is it in coming to the end of myself that I will find the solution?

Grab Bag: Serious & Silly Stuff

This morning I wore a sweater that was clean ... but since the last time I wore it was to dinner at a friend's house, it smelled like dinner. And I don't really want to smell like dinner at church. So - I'm a genius right - I put on the sweater and then hastily slipped into the laundry room, grabbed the Febreze, sprayed a cloud into the air and then walked through it. Voila. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it actually.. but the sweater wasn't dirty! Just aromatic :-p. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the serious note -- Singing songs that ask God to let His Spirit rain on us, for His Spirit to move, etc., often scare me. I've always pictured God moving my heart in a direction that I'm scared silly to follow in. This morning it occurred to me that when His Spirit comes, it's sufficient. Not that there is no quiet waiting on God for preparation and direction, but that's the point: it's all in God. He shows us what to do, and He is our ability to do it. In correction, He is the source for a change of my heart. In stepping out, He is the strength and courage. He is all. Oh, isn't He good to show us these things?!

Have you seen Him?

C.H. Spurgeon's evening devotion for today (Oct 29). Worth a look :) You can find it at www.ccel.org

Photo Shoot with Abigail!

Recently I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot of my dear sweet friend Abigail. We had a lot of fun and Abby was a wonderful model! Look at that beautiful smile.

Prayer for Authenticity.

Lord - my Healer, Savior, Righteousness...my All in All. Help me to be authentically all in for You. All Yours, always.

Flower Fest

STOP!

I watch stoplights. What I mean is, If I am sitting in my car at a red light, I feel compelled to keep an eye on the light controlling the cross-traffic - I like to know when it turns yellow, and then red. That way, I know when my green light is coming. Do you watch stoplights?

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Photo courtesy of joycechan2009 at Photobucket.com

Something Lost

"It is the sisters and wives and mothers, you know, Caddie, who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie -- harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things.... A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well.... I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind." -Carol Ryrie Brink, Caddie Woodlawn (excerpt) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A woman's calling is noble, and good, and so very, very vital. As women, we must never consider the home to be second in importance to the workplace.

The never-ending, seldom-posted Colorado narrative: Wednesday in Pagosa Springs

Wednesday. Wednesday was the day we totally chilled out. It was a grey day with a light rain, just the sort of day to take it easy and really settle into vacation mode. After sleeping in, I left Mary to snooze away the rest of the morning and I went for a run in "our" neighborhood. It really was that; I believe I've mentioned before that we were in a substantial condo community. For reasons I do not know, it tickled me to be able to step out of our door and go for a jog while on vacation. Maybe it's because on family vacations growing up we usually crammed as much carefully planned activity into the day as possible - leaving little room for individual reflection or exploration (which is perfectly logical since as a family there was necessarily planning and structure involved to keep things running smoothly). Those vacations were a blast in their own right, but this was my very first absolutely grown-up trip - no parents, no siblings, hundreds of miles from anyone I know. This is going to sound awful, but...it was great :-). Don't be shocked - you know that while we all thoroughly enjoy familiar home-settings and family close by, sometimes it is delightful to scamper away on your own now and again to breath new air and see new things. I digress! My jog was wet. Wet and cold. I was a wet, cold popsicle when I marched back into the condo. I got thawed and cleaned up, Mary got herself up and moving, and we decided to run to the shopping district to see what we could see (or rather, buy) And so we did. The shops were interesting. You had your regular assortment of things you could've bought in any state combined with authentic and local "stuff". One of our favorite stores was an interesting gift shop connected to a real-live boot, hat, and ranch/farm outfitter. You could just tell that real people could come in and buy a hat worthy of wearing around the local cows. We spent money. Yes, a little too much money. My justification was "for Pete's sake, we are in Colorado...you don't get to do this every day. I'm spending the money and doing it right!" We checked out a local artists' shop - where multiple local artists sold their stuff. There were striking photographs, paintings, jewelry, fiber arts, crafts, and other handmade gems. We picked up a carefully chosen gift or two there during our stay. The end of this fruitful day? How about a hot soak in natural springs...beneath a night sky... The top photo was taken across the river from the hot springs place. Do you see the blue umbrellas? They are in the area that the hot springs/hot tubs were. The bottom photo is yours truly, keeping house in our condo :-)

"I Smile at My Enemies"

"And Hannah prayed and said: 'My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.'" 1 Samuel 2:1

To Think On

"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it." — Oscar Wilde

Christa Wells: My Best Remedy

Stumbled across this video while blog-hopping tonight...lovely.

A Warm Yellow Cupcake

A warm yellow cupcake - before icing adds its gaudy touch. I love to break open the cupcake and eat it in pieces. Yes, I do enjoy cupcakes with icing - and icing can help redeem a sub-par cupcake... but a nice moist yellow cupcake is the stuff. Icing sometimes complicates things unpleasantly. Above is a shot of the cupcakes I made this afternoon. Yes, I iced them. I told you I do not despise icing! I did, however, eat one plain. :-)

Autumn

Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits. ~Samuel Butler

marigold

"nothing in my hand i bring"

"A sense of our own folly is a great step towards being wise, when it leads us to rely on the wisdom of the Lord." - C.H. Spurgeon

The Bridge Grating by Rebecca Lange

I think about the holes in the bridge grating ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Every time I walk over it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not always the same thoughts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sometimes I wonder ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If little shoes would stick through if a kid walked over it ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And whether they thought of that when they made it ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whether anybody thinks of these things for safety’s sake ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think how dreadful and yet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How funny it would be if I dropped something important ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My phone down through the rusty grating ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Into the green spongy stuff that lies on top of the smelly water ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I always have to decide ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whether I’ll walk on the bar-shaped strips of concrete ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That I assume were placed there for the benefit of car tires, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So they don’t have to go over the grating. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Or whether I’ll walk carefully over the grating. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I know I won’t fall through, but there’s the thought ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What if I catch my shoe somewhere, trip, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And throw my keys into the lake.

I Ask You by Billy Collins

I Ask You by Billy Collins Love this imagery...

And the Point Is...

Baby Joanna! My time in Michigan couldn't have ended with a sweeter arrival. My aunt and uncle are the blessed parents of a darling new baby girl. I have been editing these photos bit by bit, but I've finally got them done.

Greenfield Village

These pictures were taken in Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. The workshop pictured is part of the Menlo Park complex - Thomas Edison's actual laboratory! I visited Greenfield Village while staying with my aunt and uncle this summer. Well worth the visit.

It's me, for real.

Oh dear! What a dreadful long time since I posted last... to be honest, I logged on a few times and just didn't feel it, so I logged off. No posts. Oh well. Sorry. :-) Since I'm sitting here tired to the point of ridiculousness (if that's not a word I apologize in shame) getting poked by the edges of a Red Bull crash with a cup of coffee steaming beneath my nose, I feel compelled to share this quote. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "As soon as coffee is in your stomach, there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move... similes arise, the paper is covered. Coffee is your ally and writing ceases to be a struggle." -Honore de Balzac ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above photo is at Greenfield Village in Michigan. More about that another time! :-) And more photos later, too. Promise!

Babies are the sweetest things...Joanna Jubilee was born to my aunt and uncle last Monday. She is a sweet, cuddly little darling! A very contented baby too - a blessing we all give thanks for! I hope to get some pictures up in the next couple of weeks. If not of Joanna, then at least a few of the pictures I've snapped to make memories of Michigan. Have a great day!

Green Day

Michigan is the same and not the same as I thought it would be. The area I am in (roughly thirty minutes outside of the Dearborn/Detroit areas) is pretty rural. Many trees, many fields, many small "joints" selling pizza or gasoline on street corners. Yet just a fifteen minute drive brings one to any number of attractions. I'm struck by the amount of shopping available! Yesterday I drove to Canton with the intent of visiting Target and saw a Kohl's on the way. Sidetracked! Kohl's was having great sales, by the way :-). Border's, Target, Kohl's, Old Navy... the list goes on. It's not like one big mall with stores crammed in - they line the road and spread out. We are five minutes from a public park. Sweet. It's huge and has good running paths. Trees, sun, shade, playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, a river... it's really nice. The water table is high here - therefore the grass is green, the trees are green, the weeds are green, the fields are green. Wildflowers spread down the roadside. The dirt looks like Jersey dirt, the woods look like Jersey woods. I'm reminded of my home state in many ways. The pizza is good, there are ice cream or frozen custard stands dotted here and there. I love the grassy fields crossed by flat roads, extending into ... what? Perhaps another farm, maybe a town. Were I laden with many extra hours the temptation would be too great - I would go on an exploring binge and see what I could see. From Michigan, have a sweet day!

Michigan

Hi...from Michigan! Long story short: I'm staying with my aunt, uncle, and 3-1/2 yr old cousin in a little town near Detroit for a few weeks to help out. My aunt is expecting a baby girl any time! I apologize for the lack of photo - I hope to be able to take some and post them up here soonish. For now, I am keeping busy doing this and that and getting to see some of the lovely Michigan scenery. In many ways it reminds me of rural southern New Jersey (where I grew up). Very green, very flat, quite scenic and pretty :). Roadside ice cream stands and farmer's markets show up in every drive I take. I'm missing my family and friends, but I'm enjoying my time here, especially since I know this is where God wants me right now. Till later!

Today it is Pancakes.

** Today's thing that makes me smile: the first pancake (in my house we affectionately refer to it as the "test pancake"). It sizzles, it cooks, and when it's done I swoosh it around in the pan to soak up/spread around the extra cooking spray. I eat it with my fingers, completely plain. It's odd, but I love the slight crispiness of the outside with the cooking spray soaked in a little... ************************************************************************************(photo courtesy of poppyseed at photobucket.com: http://media.photobucket.com/image/pancakes/poppyyseed/Food/AZN7wsuV4qbt8cw8lywnXyKPo1_500_larg.jpg?o=10)

Well, it just does.

I have a cereal bowl. In the bottom of the bowl there are three little squirrels painted. This makes me smile.

Today

dozing/ waking/ brushing/ dressing/ driving/ walking/ riding/ eating/ riding/ driving/ resting/ ending my day./ good day to you.

Untitled

The watery light gave way/ and the cool-warm night grabbed my hand/ a firefly glowed for a second/ and a soft bit of air slipped past,/ bearing all the memories and hopes of the darkness in summertime.

Those Nights

I'm craving one of those nights...when the dark is lit up by a cricket's song, and the breeze is pushed past by a breath of humidity...and you're sitting next to your best friend, just being.

Cherry Cobbler

Today my boss offered me a bag full of cherries she'd picked over the weekend. Knowing that I have never dealt with fresh cherries in cooking, I decided to accept the bag and go home and be adventurous. FYI: Pitting a large zip-top bag full of cherries takes a while. I did feel pretty clever by using a paperclip to deftly (I'm stretching it here...I did get into a rhythm but "deft" may not be the right word...) scoop out the pits. I found that technique in an online search, and it worked great! Unfortunately there were a handful of cherries that were bad (little bugs and brownish stuff inside them). Being a cherry novice, I didn't conclude that the brownish stuff was unfit for consumption until about half-way through the batch. Here (being the conscientious cook that I am) I considered just letting any that were yucky that had already passed through my hands stay, and just chuck any others I found as I continued pitting them... but I didn't. I picked over every single cherry and discarded the brownish buggy ones and at long last was DONE pitting cherries! I had previously found a recipe for a cherry cobbler online and so fell to work making it happen. It ended up I had over twice as many cherries as I needed so I made two cobblers with the idea of giving some away if they turn out well. I have just removed them from the oven - I hope they are tasty, because I had a good time making them!

Yesterday I got a late start getting ready to go to work. It's not that I had to look great for work (I babysit, clean, and cook for a family in my town), but I knew that I would be going to church later on and I don't have much time between work and church to fix any huge hair or wardrobe problems. So I thought, "Ok hair, I'm going to spray this curling stuff on you and use the diffuser a little bit, and see how it goes..." That's a gamble because my hair is naturally curly but it can take some coaxing to be curly in a pretty, manageable way. It turned out good enough (I thought), so I pinned up a few pieces and let it ride. Apparently that's a rockin' good look for me, because I got three or four compliments on it that night! It's funny sometimes how when I think I've got a good look going, no one comments. Then when I feel sort of haphazard, everyone thinks I look great! Maybe my idea of what looks good needs to be revised. Funny thing about hair. How come when I'm just playing around with it, it does really cool stuff...then when I'm under the gun getting ready for something and I really need to look nice, my hair does NOT cooperate. I'm thinking of hiring a personal hair stylist...when I suddenly get rich. Which, you know, could be soon I guess. :-) Hope you have a good hair day today! *** By the way - the above photo is from when my hair was a lot shorter, right after a haircut, and doing that cool thing that it does when I don't really need it to look nice...sigh. ;)

Wonderful Things

"Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law." Psalm 119:18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I really love this verse. It reminds me that I can ask God for fresh fire, for refreshing. It reminds me that He is the well that I am invited to draw from. When I feel dry, I can seek Him and He will answer!

I'm Thankful

How grateful I am to God! I'm excited to know that He is working in me and teaching me, and being so patient with me as I slowly grasp all that He is. I'm seeing that He's my source for strength...for everything, really. He's so good, and He's always faithful! "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:1-5

A Heart Full

...I begin to believe more and more strongly that it is not that we need God to show us something "new", but that we need to seek God for His truth and life to sink deeply into our hearts and become immeasurably precious to us. If His word seems stale, seek Him for refreshing and revelation. If the journey seems impossible and long (which it is on our own strength) seek His strength and peace. It's all of Him and from Him. Glory to Jesus.

Hello There

Over a week and nary a post. You have been sitting on the edge of your seat with bated breath, I know...;-)I guess I just haven't felt like rolling my thoughts out into visible form lately. I am going to wrap up this post quite abruptly - but I'll dig through my stash of favorite quotes so you've got something to ponder until we meet again... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." -Dale Carnegie

A blessed hunger, a fearful contentment

Can you imagine what would happen if only the actual sensation of hunger was removed but our bodies still functioned in the same way? We would walk around feeling satisfied with our bellies, while our bodies wasted away for lack of food. At some point, we'd die. If our hunger for Christ fades, do we walk around with blind, numbed hearts, while our inward person is withering and dying? Sometimes I find myself wishing that certain things would not bother my conscience. If such a wish were granted it would put me into a terrible place of spiritual numbness. To walk through life without the ability to be moved by God and conscience -- to not even be able to see that something is dreadfully wrong with my heart towards the Lord... Lord, keep me ever hungry for You.

A Little Bit of Sun

Those days when you feel like you cannot get your chin up over the bar. When the little raincloud spatters drops onto whatever you are doing. When there’s not relief in the normal things that cheer you up. Yeah, it’s been one of those days. --------------------------------------------- Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43:5

These are a few photos I took last summer. I have posted some of them previously with my text postings, but I wanted to go ahead and put them up for their own sakes. Enjoy :)

Nothing much

...A blast of air from the ocean that swipes your face and makes your hair dance...

I looked high and low// Turning rocks and magazine pages// At this friend’s house, in that enemy’s eyes,// I trotted ‘round all over the years// Asking my mother, and telling myself// I checked on the internet// And many times I thought I’d apprehended –// But never finding the whole thing// Sometimes a clue, a scrap, a thread// And I tried to join these to finish the mystery// But disappointed, I found// I’m not completely in any of them// And I always slip through my fingers// “Who I am” – elusive me!