A much more chipper update

I realized how very depressing and blue my last post was and I apologize! I will try to make up for it with this post.  I always want to honest in what I write however, and I don’t want to give the impression that the world is always rosy and perfect. I’m very human and constantly need the Lord’s strength. Thank you to everyone who commented and left words of encouragement for me—they were a great blessing, I promise!

We’ve been busy and got a lot of things accomplished over the weekend, in spite of my husband having to work extra hours (even on Saturday, which is rare). Over time is welcomed at this time of year though, and especially with the baby on the way.

I’ve had several good days recently and was able to feel more like myself and enjoy my new kitchen. Jacob enjoyed that greatly as it meant meals more like he was used to before first trimester sickness set in. I’ll be 12 weeks along tomorrow, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my most favorite things about being pregnant so far has been the reaction from all the little people in my life. My sisters are beside themselves with excitement about being aunts and my little darlings at church are just about as excited. One of my little sweethearts, Mallorie, aged barely 4, when I told her that I was going to have a baby looked at my belly and said, “Well, it must be really tiny right now ‘cause you don’t have a belly at all. When Cayla (her cousin) was expecting Presley her belly was so big she didn’t have a lap!”

Jacob  worked in his garage for several hours Saturday and there are only a very few boxes left out there now. They are all in the house, but they are in the rooms where they belong, making it much easier for me to empty them now. He also set up his desk and arranged everything how he wanted it. We put his desk in the breakfast nook in the kitchen so we can visit while he works and I cook. I love it ;)

Ever the bookworm, my heart soared with joy as I unpacked my library and put it on the bookshelf. I felt like I was seeing old friends again after a long separation. It made me really want to read, but I am trying to exercise self-control and not start a book until I get more unpacking finished. I have a tendency to get lost in a book and let everything else go and we can’t have that right now!  I’m hoping for a bigger shelf for Christmas—I have too many books for the medium-sized one I have now. There are still three boxes of books that need to be unpacked.

 

Our post-Thanksgiving deerlease trip was a success, as you can see from the photo above. We are cutting up the deer Jacob shot, getting it ready to be ground into hamburger meat.  My father-in-law helped us and that really sped things up. Notice Jacob’s very comfortable camo t-shirt I’m wearing? ;) Something tells me I’ll be borrowing his shirts a lot in the future for around the house.

Last year we ground an entire doe into hamburger meat and it lasted us almost a year. We’ll do the same with this deer, and as it was bigger, hopefully it will last a full year.  It really helps out with the grocery bill when you have your own meat ;)

It’s almost time for Christmas—the tree is up, and it is 80 degrees outside. Welcome to Texas. We are hoping for a cool front in time for Christmas, but we shall see. In honor of our unseasonably warm weather, I thought I’d share the following song with y’all:

Overwhelmed

Morning sickness has hit me hard. It is actually all day sickness and no amount of crackers or protein or you-name-it will make it go away. Wearing Seabands has helped some, but most days it doesn’t matter. I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed or on the couch, looking at my bare walls that need decorating and house that needs cleaning. It is hard not to get really blue and have a pity party about it. There is a wonderful little reason that I going through all of this, and I am SO blessed to be a homemaker so that I can be at home during this time of nausea instead of having to go to work and suffer like many of my friends have.

Feeling overwhelmed has been my state of mind over the last several weeks. I have so many things that I’d like to get accomplished and things that desperately need to be done. Sadly however, most days I’m glad if I can get up and be dressed and have a few things done before my husband comes home. I’ve been sick a lot over the last several weeks and I tire easily. I feel like I am barely getting by, struggling to keep up running our home and all the things that go with it. I have felt like I’ve been neglecting my husband, he’s had to fend for himself and care for me so much lately. This a hard place for someone who likes to take care of everything herself to be in.

  Having just moved into our new home, it makes me even more eager to get things how I want them. I was battling with morning/all day sickness while we were moving so only the bare essentials were unpacked.

Jacob has been such a trooper through all of this and I know he is looking forward to the end of the first trimester as much as I am. He has taken such good care of me and treated me like a queen and looked past all of the unfinished, untidy things around the house. I am very blessed to have him.

My mother has come to see me a few times and made me sit while she cleaned my house and cooked for me. That was such a blessing to me and to Jacob—I didn’t want her to leave! ;)

It is days (and weeks) like these that make me remember I can’t do it alone, that I must draw my strength from Him. I cling to verses like the ones below and encourage myself that this will pass and soon I’ll have a clean house again and eventually a baby in my arms and it will be all worth it.

Matthew11:28 (KJV)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Psalm 61:1-2 (KJV)

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Tiny Packages

It has been said that the best gifts come in tiny packages—engagement rings, house keys, etc. The quality of the gift is not in the size or quantity. Tiny packages often hold the biggest surprises and change your life the most.

Next June we will be welcoming a tiny gift into our home and our names will change to Mama and Daddy. Glory to God!

A Miracle Baby

 

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. – Psalm 113:9 KJV

  Babies are very, very dear to my heart. My heart aches for women who are unable to have children, or who have lost children. I think of Hannah in the book of I Samuel and ask the Lord to give the ladies with empty arms a baby, as He did Hannah. He did it for her and He can do it for them. I wanted to share this story of an aching heart and empty arms that were filled.

We have some dear friends from our church who are missionaries to the country of Honduras. They are a wonderful couple in their early thirties. Last Sunday while they were home for a visit, they shared some of what the Lord has been doing for them and their ministry. They also shared some very exciting news about the wife.

Five years ago, she was  diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and endometriosis and told that she would never be able to have children. So they began to look into adoption.

  At the beginning of this year she felt impressed that the Lord was going to give her a miracle. She had been sitting in her rocking chair, praying and reading her Bible and got up to open the front door and the Lord spoke to her and told her that He was going to give her a miracle.  She felt that the miracle was a baby.

   Earlier this summer, a baby became available for them. They were so excited and shortly before the baby was born came back to the States to get the things they would need. Sadly, the baby was born and did not survive. Two weeks later, they learned of another baby that was available, but that adoption fell through as well.  She told me that they decided to take a break for a little while—the emotional roller coaster they’d been on for the last month was almost more than she could bear and her heart was breaking.

Two or so weeks after the second failed adoption, she got very ill. She thought she had a parasite and was going to take a pill for it, but something quickened her and she thought, “I’d better take a pregnancy test just to be safe.” She did and she was pregnant!

When she had the first ultrasound and they got to see the baby for the first time, she asked the doctor to show her all of the cysts and endometriosis that she had. He looked at her a little strangely and said, “I don’t know what you are talking about. The only thing there is a baby.”

Not only did the Lord give them a miracle baby, He completely healed and restored her womb.

They are expecting a healthy, perfect baby boy next spring. To God be the Glory!

Rehoboth, or How the Lord Blessed us with our House

Genesis 26:22
And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

  The Lord carefully orchestrates and orders the lives and steps of those who love Him and strive to serve Him completely. His timing truly is perfect and He has ways of preparing us for the next level and season. Jacob and I have seen this continually in our almost two years of marriage.  In our quest for a house, He continually placed people in our path to help us and share their wisdom.

  For most of this year we have been talking about and desiring a home of our own. Our little apartment had fulfilled its purpose by providing us with a place to live after we were married, but it seemed to grow smaller everyday. It was time for more room. My sewing business alone had caused us to outgrow the apartment.

Last July we began tentatively looking at houses. We never actually scheduled any viewings a realtor, we just looked at houses online and a drove by one or two of them. We were more than a little overwhelmed at the prices of most of the houses. We didn’t want the Taj Mahal, we just wanted a little starter home.

  We discussed getting a larger apartment for the time being. We really needed the breathing room and more storage space. We contacted the apartment manager and she said just to let her know when we were ready and she would set everything up. We were going to have more room one way or another.

  The very next day at church, Bro. Bobby (one of my husband’s mentors growing up) came to him and told him about a house that had become available to buy. Bro. Bobby buys houses, fixes them up and sells them. Jacob has helped him with a few houses before and had asked Bro. Bobby before we were married if he would keep a look out for us a house that we could buy cheaply  and fix up.

  We went with Bro. Bobby after church to look at the house and we liked it. It needed a lot of work to get it how we wanted it, but we were excited and went into it expecting to do a lot. After we looked at it, he encouraged us to get pre-approved for a loan, so that even if this house didn’t work out, we wouldn’t have to start from square one again.

It just so happens that we have a home mortgage manager in our church and he offered to help us through the process and handle everything for us. We decided to go with an FHA renovation loan since the house needed so much work.

And so the fun began! We started looking at flooring, paint, trim, you-name-it. We wanted something that looked like wood for the floor in most of the house and found some nice laminate that was just what we had in mind.  I was finally going to get to paint my kitchen yellow and was thrilled because I’d found some antique-looking cast iron knobs and drawer pulls that looked just like my great-grandmother’s.  Jacob was going to build me a clothesline in the backyard so I could  start hanging out laundry again.

   After we started the loan approval process and were approved, our mortgage company sent us a contract for the house. We read through it and were very confused by most of it. We didn’t know what options we needed or even what most of it meant. We were suddenly very overwhelmed.

    Once again, the Lord provided the help we needed from another one of our church family. There is a lady in our church who is a realtor, in addition to buying houses, fixing them up and turning them into rental property with her husband. Jacob called her and asked if she could go through the contract with us and explain and show us what would best to do. She was happy to and was a great blessing to us. She further went on and offered to come look over the house with us. With she and her husband’s experience in buying houses, she had a good idea of what would and would not pass an inspection for the loan we were getting. Needless to say, we welcomed the help.

     A few days later she went with us and looked at the house. After a lengthy inspection, she told us that she didn’t think the foundation would pass muster, as it was cracked, and that most banks will not approve financing for a house with a damaged foundation. We knew it was cracked, but had planned fixing it as part of the renovations. We didn’t realize it would have to be fixed beforehand. The individual we’d be buying the house from was not willing to repair before it was sold.

  As we were leaving with slightly heavy hearts, she offered to take us by some property she and her husband owned that was almost ready to rent. She said that if we were interested, they would probably sell it to us. She went on to tell us some of the things they just done to the house, such as repairing the foundation and putting a brand new A/C unit in it.

     We figured it couldn’t hurt to go look so we followed her to house. On the way there Jacob and I talked about that at least now we were pre-approved and could go house-shopping. We decided that the first house—although it was a disappointment—was the Lord giving us the nudge we needed to get everything started.

  We arrived at the new house, walked in the front door and fell in love. Throughout the house were the original oak floors—they were gorgeous! We walked into the kitchen and were shocked by what we saw. They had just painted the walls yellow and the cabinets had the antique knobs and hinges that I’d wanted. Then, we looked out of the kitchen window into the nice-sized backyard and there stood a clothesline. Clotheslines are a rare find these days, especially in the city.

The living room was painted almost the exact color we’d picked out and many other details confirmed to us that this was going to be our home. Things that we had wanted to do in the first house were already completed in the second. We have stood back in awe at how the Lord has worked everything out for us.

We had to wait almost three months to begin closing as the house’s title needed to season, but we had that long to prepare and get the rest of the down payment together.

We love our new home! We have been in it almost a week and even though there are still boxes everywhere, it is already home to us. As I get more decorating done I’ll share pictures. The walls are pretty bare right now, as I was sick while we were moving and it is taking a little while to get my feet back under me.

Enjoying cooking the first meal in the new kitchen ;)Thanks to Jacob for the photo.

All things truly do work together for the good of those that love Him! (Romans 8:28)

Settling In

We said goodbye to our tiny first home this week. That little apartment held lots of sweet memories of our first year and a half together. It has been “home” to me to me for what seems like forever and I admit, it was strange seeing it completely empty again.

We are officially moved into our first house. There are boxes everywhere still, and despite my efforts to descriptively label each box’s contents, we are still looking for some of our things we need every day.

My kitchen is mostly set up, though there’s still lots to be put away. Boxes are making their way from the garage to the appropriate rooms. We’ve only been here three nights and I’m wondering if I will ever get everything put where it belongs.

We had lots of help from family and church friends. My mom and sisters came for two days and did so much. I don’t know what I would have done without them. My six year old sister said that her favorite part of helping someone move was getting to meddle in all their stuff.

Soon, I’ll share the story of how the Lord brought us to this house and worked everything out for us and showed us over and over that this was His will. As I get unpacked and start decorating I’ll share pictures.

Stay tuned for more!

The big day is almost here!

The big day is almost upon us! We will be moving this weekend, Lord willing.  Please say a prayer for us that all goes smoothly and quickly. I can’t wait to be in our little antique house.

October Happenings

   Where has time gone? We’ve been home from the lease over a week and things have been so busy I haven’t had time for much of anything, much less writing.

   Shipping golf clubs, finishing orders from my Etsy shop, getting local order dresses ready for fittings…..somewhere in the midst of all this I’ve got to start packing to move! I usually schedule wedding sewing months in advance and had no idea we’d be trying to move at the same time ;)

We had family and friends-that-are-like-family with us on this trip. The children in the photos are borrowed from my friend Kristin at In Mother Words.  We had such a good time—drinking coffee and cooking and eating peanut butter cups :)

Here are a few photos from the weekend.

My manly bowhunter. Mmmmm Mmmm Mmmm…

The first deer of the season. Way to go babe!

Ellie and Jacob catching a nap.

The fellas.

Me and Cici coloring in cabin.

The nice 8-point Jacob got on Saturday evening’s hunt. The most fun part was that I got to be with him when he shot it ;)

Venison and Veggie Soup

With the evenings beginning to turn cool, and especially with us being at the deerlease, my husband requested soups and chili for a few of the meals while we are here.

Everyone has their method or recipe for the “ultimate soup” and I thought I’d share mine with you. This recipe is very simple and fast, and is a husband pleaser. It is chocked full of fresh veggies—I used frozen, fresh, or what I have canned. It is a from scratch recipe and most of the ingredients I just throw in ‘til it looks and tastes right. There are a few ingredients that I know how much I use, but for the most part I’ll just give you the ingredients and you can tweak it to your own taste.

1 lb ground venison or lean ground beef

1/2 medium onion, cut into large pieces*

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste

Brown meat and onions in a large pot. Add salt , pepper, and garlic powder. Add 2-3 quarts of water (I really have no idea how much I put, I just pour until it looks right) 3 8oz cans of tomato sauce. Stir well, bring to a boil and add the following:

1/4 large head finely chopped cabbage

Carrots, sliced

Potatoes, sliced or cubed

Peas (my favorites to use are purple hull or black-eyed)

Butterbeans

Green beans

Whole kernel corn

Return to a medium boil and boil covered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (You want the cabbage, carrots, potatoes and peas to be tender.) Reduce heat and let simmer til ready to serve. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. You may need to add more water to the broth, or continue to simmer until the broth has thickened some.

* I put it in large pieces because we love the flavor the onion gives, but we don’t like to eat the actually onions. After the soup is finished cooking I remove the onions. If you like to eat onions, chop them as small as you like ;)

Scenery

Here’s a  little glimpse into our trip this weekend. If time allows, I’ll post more soon ;)

Part of the creek that runs through our deerlease.

Enjoying aforementioned creek. The fellas promptly jumped in for a little swim. Yes, a swim in October, but that is Texas for you.

Heading out…

It is that time of year again. For those of you not married to deer hunters, it’s deer season. The time of year when you can go to Walmart and see people in full camo and it completely acceptable. My husband’s trigger finger has been so itchy, that I am glad we are headed to the deerlease this evening. He packed all of his stuff last night and is loaded for bear (which, hopefully we won’t see, since they are not native to where we are headed!).

I’ve spent the last several days trying to make sure all the laundry is caught up,  and  going over lists multiple times to make sure we don’t forget anything. I wanted to make sure to use up or throw out anything that would go bad while we are gone, hence the double batch of banana bread in the oven right now—it smells great! ;) We can’t go to the deerlease without junk food, so I am trying to combat it and compromise with not-as-bad-for-you-as-Little-Debbie  homemade junk food. Homemade cookies are next on the list to go in the oven this morning.

   My mom and sisters are coming over today before we leave and I’m so glad. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen them and I’ve been missing them pretty bad. Mom said that Faith was crying for me yesterday. We might have to have one of the  banana bread loaves with our coffee ;)

I’ve been very busy and getting a lot accomplished, but I am disappointed that I ran out of time to get my camouflage culottes made.  They’ll be finished in time for the next hunting trip.

In the midst of all this ( and doing things for our new house) I have almost 20 golf clubs on Ebay right now. My husband and father-in-law stumbled upon an unbelievable deal and bought them to re-sell. Since I’m the one with Ebay experience, I’m the one who got to handle all of it. Which is fine, but I know absolutely nothing about  golf, or golf clubs, so I have to wait for Jacob to get home to answer potential buyer’s questions. I know the difference between a driver, fairway wood and sand wedge now ;).  Thankfully we will have internet at the deerlease so I will be able to keep up with what sells, etc.

As soon as we get back, it will be time to start packing to move! We should close on our house by the end of next week. I am so excited I can barely contain myself.

I’d better close here, there are still mountains of things to do to be ready leave. I promise to share pictures of our trip next week ;)

Make hay while the sun shines

 

Last weekend we went home to help my family bale hay. We have missed out on a lot this summer with my husband’s work schedule, so we were raring to go ;) Here are a few snapshots of our Saturday.

The fellas getting something sorted out.

I drove a truck for a little while and had a little hay-hauling buddy, but she didn’t last long. Not even a full round around the field and she fell asleep. She woke up just in time for Mama, Nannie, and the other girls to come by with a snack.

Someone thought she had to pour her Cheetos into her mouth just like her Jakey did ;)  She thought he was doing a trick--not realizing his hands were dirty—and of course had to try it.

A flock of ibises stopped by for a snack in the hayfield too.

Time to get the hay in the barn.

.Deciding the best course of action.

My Papa.

Me and my biggest little sister before heading home for the evening. Do we favor much?

 

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (KJV)

Holiness: Principles or Rules?

  I’ve been pondering a lot on holiness a lot lately. Partly because our church is in the middle of a very in-depth holiness study right now, but also just because it is a subject that has always been near and dear to my heart. The study we are in right now has affirmed what I believe about holiness, but has also opened my eyes to things and aspects of holiness I’d never thought of until now. I wanted to share some of my thoughts and the things I’ve learned over the last few weeks. I’ll probably have one or two more posts on the subject—who knows? ;)

 

What do you think of when you hear the word holy?  I think of the Old Testament and the Tabernacle. The things and objects in the Tabernacle were made especially for use in God’s house, set apart and cleansed specifically for His purposes. The priests were set apart and lived careful lives, conforming to God’s instructions. I also think of purity, like a bride, having done everything she knows her husband likes and prefers to make herself ready for him.

   According to the Bible, holiness is beautiful! Holiness is something to be excited about.  Below are just a few of the verses where it is extolled, praised, and presented as something to desire and reach for. Holiness should be the goal of every believer.

1 Chronicles 16:29 KJV

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 229:2 KJV

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 93:5 KJV

Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

 
Who  doesn’t want to be beautiful? Who doesn’t want to have a beautiful life?  I want to have a beautiful life. I want to live in a way that pleasing and beautiful to Him.

Holiness is worship and gives God glory—the glory that is due to His name.

Many people get their hackles up whenever you begin talking about holiness. Immediately they start spouting words like “rules” “legalism” “PHARISEEEEEE” and such. They begin a spiel about grace and not being under the Law any more, etc. (That is a subject for another post, which I will get to very soon.) So if you are one of those people who when they hear words like “holiness” or “standards” and it gets under your skin, please hang around for a little while and allow me to share what I believe and why, based on Scripture.

{Principles vs. Rules}

Rules—a prescribed guide for conduct or action.

Principles—the reason for which the rule exists.

   I  do really well with rules. If I know what the guidelines are and what is accepted and allowed, I can hit the mark. Rules give definition and I really like that. I feel safe inside boundaries. However, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, you will notice, as I did, that there is not a rule or Scripture for every situation or issue. HOLD IT! I thought you believed in the Supremacy and sufficiency of Scripture, and now you’re saying that it doesn’t hold the answer to every one of our problems?! Heavens no, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is that there are rules, and then there are priciples. Principles are the basis and reason for rules.

  For example: There is no verse in the Bible that says “Thou shalt not have a television in thy dwelling, for all that proceeds from it is evil.” It’s not there. (And I’m not going to spend much time on TV right now, I’m just using this for an illustration.) However, there is Psalm 101:3. It says:

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. This is a principle of holiness. I think I can safely say that there are some pretty wicked things on TV. (There are also some good things too, but they are few and far between.) There is not a rule that says do not have a TV, but there is a principle that says we should not set any wicked  or perverse or sinful thing before our eyes and especially our children’s eyes. (I feel another post coming on about this soon……)

Holiness is not just the way that we dress or what we partake of or do not partake of. It isn’t just what we allow of don’t allow in our homes. Holiness is an attitude of the heart. Holiness is wanting to remove any unclean or impure thing or influence from our lives. Holiness makes us want to go to Scripture and see what it defines as acceptable and right in our lives. The hunger for holiness and desire to be like Him will make us give up things and do things that some people may consider to be silly or unnecessary. The way we live does not save us. We live the way we do because we are saved.

Holiness is not intended to be, nor should it ever be, a bunch or rules and regulations. It is a way of life, based on the principles found and explained in the Word of God. It is very easy to become consumed with the rules and not live out the principles. Rules are based on principles. Rules help us hit the mark that principles are pointing us to.

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

Rules may change, but principles never do.

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

  We in the  church have gotten into a bad habit of looking at the world, then looking at ourselves and saying “Well, we aren’t doing THAT or we don’t look like THEM, we’re doing good.” We have a tendency to hold ourselves up to the world and see how we measure up. Hmmm, let’s see, I haven’t murdered, committed adultery or gotten  drunk in 30 years, I’m good. No, you haven’t done anything like that, but have you gossiped, lied, been prideful or returned evil for evil? Have you not done good when you knew to do it? (James 4:17)

  The world grows worse everyday. We cannot use the world’s evil to define or set our “good” or holiness. If we do that, then we too will grow steadily worse and ungodly. We cannot attach ourselves to something that is not solid and constant.

  Our standard is the WORD, not the world. As long as we compare ourselves with the world, we’ll look good. Only when we compare ourselves with the WORD will we see ourselves for what we truly are—sinners, saved by His grace and washed in His Blood.

Oh so roomy!

In about a month, Lord willing, I’ll be cooking supper for my honey in my new, awesome antique kitchen!  Just wanted to share a little sneak peek of the big things the Lord is doing in our lives.

New Facebook coverphotos!

Here are two more Facebook coverphotos for you to enjoy and use. As always, these are free, but if you share, please share where you got them ;)

Click here to Download

 

Click here to Download

Whirlwind

The two and a half weeks have been trying, exciting, fun…with a lot of crazy mixed in.

A week ago one of my childhood friends went to be with the Lord in a fatal car accident. Her younger sister was seriously injured  but is at home now and recovering. Please pray for the family. Ashlyn was 23—only a month younger than I.

This is a photo of me (in blue) and Ashlyn (in pink) and her brother and another flowergirl at Ashlyn’s aunt’s wedding. We were 3 or 4 years old I believe.

Life is a vapor.

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

We had a nice relaxing Labor Day weekend spent with the in-laws which ended at the church playing volleyball and visiting with friends.

I was spoiled rotten this weekend having Jacob with me so much. Now that he is back at work today I don’t know what to do with myself—I feel like a lost puppy without him. Thankfully he gets off work soon ;)

  We began signing papers on our house this week!!!!! I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I can’t wait to share the whole story of how the Lord put everything into place for us and lead us to this house. Please continue to pray that everything will go quickly and smoothly.

Here is a sneak peek for you:

More to come later!

Pattern for Smartness: Simplicity 1948

Here is a delightful vintage sewing video for you to enjoy. ;)

The Unruly Member

   How many times have I wished I had not said something, or thought before I spoke it? Too many times to count, sadly. How many times has my mouth stirred up trouble and caused problems? Again, more times than I like to admit. This is an age-old problem that has plagued us and has not gone away with time. It was an issue with the early church and it is still an issue with us today.

I think it can be especially hard on those of us who were raised with very strong opinions on what is right and holy before the Lord. Many of us were taught to be articulate and be able to very plainly speak and express our feeling and opinions. If we are not careful with how we present ourselves and opinions however, we can do more damage than good and tear down rather than build up.

The following is perhaps the premier passage in Scripture on the tongue. I offer it for your contemplation today. No matter how many times I’ve read these verses, I am always convicted afresh as read.

My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

² For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

³ Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

⁴ Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

⁷ For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

⁸ But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

¹¹ Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

¹² Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

James 3:1-12 (KJV)

 

(To be continued….)

My Hero and my Healing

It’s been a busy several days since I’ve been here. My days seem to be getting too short—I need to start getting up earlier ;) The Lord is blessing my sewing business so much, I am in awe of all of the business coming my way.

   Things have been busy at church lately. We are in the middle of a 5 week study on holiness—more on that in another post. We had a youth conference at our church and spent two weeks preparing the music and getting ready for it. We had over 430 people attend, which was around four times what was expected and projected for it.  It was wonderful and the Lord was there.   Now our choir is in the middle of preparing to go to another conference to sing—lots of practices and excitement.

   Last Sunday afternoon I had a moment where I was proud to bursting and terrified at the same time. While at my parents’ last weekend I somehow pulled a muscle in my back and it hurt to move. Everyone prayed for me before we left but I was still in a lot of pain. So much pain that I didn’t go to church Sunday morning. It felt better closer to noon on Sunday so Jacob took me out for a bite of lunch and to get some medicine. (I had taken some and spent a lot of time with my best friend the heating pad, but it wasn’t doing much.) I wanted to go to church that night so I needed something with some power in it. Our pastor’s wife is an RN and she suggested Aleve so we stopped in a store to get some.

  When we came out of the store, there was a lady standing at the back of a vehicle, talking on the phone and crying. There was a man standing in front of her—comforting her, I thought, but as we watched we realized that was not the case at all. We put our things in the car and got ready to leave when the man hauled off and slapped the lady hard across the face. I was shocked—he did that in broad daylight! ( I guess I am a sheltered little homeschool girl.)

Almost as soon as the man slapped her, Jacob was out of the car. The man looked like he was going to hit her again and Jacob told him not to touch her again. The man grew very irate with Jacob and went to the vehicle and start digging around in the backseat. There was another man in the car and he got out. Needless to say, I was having a prayer meeting in the car asking the Lord to intervene(Lord, protect my protector!) . I just knew a gun or something was about to come out and I  was prepared to use my car and run over whoever made a move at my husband.

There were a few other people in the parking lot and when they realized what was going on they came over and another man said the same thing as Jacob.

Long story short, they all left and the police were called and came by for a report and they are on the lookout for the man who slapped the lady.  I don’t know if they will find him, but at least she (and the other women in the parking lot) know that chivalry isn’t dead, and the man who hit her knows that he can’t get away with that forever.

  I have to admit, I was pretty scared, not knowing what was going to happen, but I was and am so proud of my defender.

  And my back? I took the medicine and it helped and I was able to go to church. During church the Lord touched me and it hasn’t hurt me the slightest bit since. I know it was the Lord and not just the medicine because there was a certain way that moved that it hurt even with the medicine and I realized during church that it didn’t hurt at all. Our God heals His people!

Busy busy busy

I’ve busy making and putting new things in my shop lately. Here’s a peak into what I’ve been up to. Stop by shop to see what else is there ;)

Crazy colored scarf ;)

Very ruffly, frilly jacket.

Houndstooth jacket with huge flower ;)

I’m still here….

…even though I haven’t been around much. Life has been incredibly busy lately.

The Lord has blessed my little sewing business, once again I have things scheduled months in advance. I finished a 20 piece (yes 20 pieces!) alterations job for a lady and am about  so begin another set of alterations.

Things are looking good on our house—we are just waiting now for the title seasoning to be over. If all goes as planned we should be moving at the end of October. Prayers are still appreciated ;)

The Texas Homeschool Conference was wonderful. I got to see old friends that I haven’t seen in years and visit with new friends. And spending time with Mom and the girls and Daddy was great too. Here are a few pics from that weekend.

Faith thought she needed all the napkins for lunch. Maybe she was concerned about the red drink Mom gave her.

Lydia bought a toy gun with her very own money while we were there. You can tell she has heard her big brothers talk about guns quite a bit. She told Mom that she was going to try it first, and if it hurt her shoulder, she wasn’t going to buy it. Imagine that, a four year old concerned about gun recoil! She is too much sometimes.

As you can see from this photo, Hannah has lost her first tooth. Where has time gone? She should still be Faith’s age.

   On another note, my sister Wendi has begun making things to sell in my Etsy shop. She makes 18 inch doll accessories. Her first item is the shop right now, if you have a minute stop and by and see it and favorite it. I know that would thrill her to pieces ;) You can click on the photo and it will take you to my shop.

Off to the THSC conference!

This evening I'm off to the THSC conference in the Woodlands. I'll be there tomorrow and most likely Saturday.
 Will any of you readers be there? If so I'd love to meet you.
 Until next week,
Rebecca

Blessed and Privileged

   Last Sunday, after the evening service we went out with some friends (this is a pretty common occurrence). In the course of conversation it came up that the following day was Monday. This brought sighs and  groans from nearly everyone at the table. The ladies that were present made comments like “Oh I’m not ready to go back to work yet!” and several more in that vein. The following morning I got on Facebook and saw posts along the lines of “Back to work….sure missing baby girl” and  “So ready to be home already.”

   We ladies who are privileged to stay at home are blessed beyond measure. We don’t live in dread of the workdays and the office and we only have to concern ourselves with our husbands and families. We have been spared a lot of stress and anxiety.

    I am so blessed to have a husband who allows and wants me to line up with God’s plan.  He works very hard so that I can stay at home. The Lord has blessed us so many times over the last 18-19 months. People have been amazed at how He has provided for our every need.

   When we first married there was some resistance to me staying at home. Some couldn’t understand why I didn’t just get a job for a little while to help out and get us in a better position financially. They thought we were being foolish and irresponsible. Whenever you are in the Lord’s will, there will always be naysayers and ones who discourage you.

   But as we tried our best to stay in His will and live according to His word, He has never let us be in need. He has provided for every need, right on time, sometimes in ways that we never dreamed possible.

     I have to stop and give honor to my husband for a minute. It was huge step of faith for him to let me stay at home. He grew up in a two-income family that had trouble making ends meet at times. If it had not been for his mother’s jobs, they wouldn’t have made it, I’ve been told. So with these memories and knowing the difficulties of making ends meet with two incomes, it was a huge step for him to keep his wife at home. He has told me that he honestly in the beginning didn’t know how we could do it on just his income, but we have. He gives all credit to the Lord for making things work and providing for us. We are now in a considerably better financial position than when we married and are almost completely out of debt. Not only has the Lord provided what we needed, but He has gone above and beyond and allowed us to get out from under some burdens.  

I don’t want to give the impression that life is all chocolates and roses because I’m a stay at home wife. Being a stay at home wife does not magically double or triple what is in your bank account. We still have to live by faith on a daily basis and trust the Lord to provide for us. There are times when it gets pretty close and scary and we wonder if we are going to come out alright—but He ALWAYS comes through and NEVER FAILS. He rewards and responds to our faith and obedience—every time.

Something big is in the works….

…please say a prayer for us. An opportunity on house has been presented to us and we are praying for the Lord’s will. Our little apartment has served our needs thus far but it is time for more space. My local sewing business has grown to the point that I need a room just for sewing and this country girl needs a yard!

So far everything is looking favorable, but we want the Lord’s will above all else.

Thank you friends! I promise an update soon ;)

Summer Snapshots

What have I been up to lately? Here are a few glimpses into our life the last couple weeks.

Apple pie—yum ;)

A trip to the hayfield…..

Faith had to check the hay like Papa was to make sure it was dry enough to bale.

Faith “helping” me getting the pickles ready for their three hour chill.

Bread and butter pickles—my first batch ever. I’ve helped Mom make them over the years but these were my first to make alone.

We also made apple pie filling the same day we made pickles. I can’t wait to try it out!

Meet Fergus, the latest addition to the JHR spread ;) He is just a few hours old here.

And last but not least, here is Jacob and his little sweetheart being silly: