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:

Cooking with Pinterest

 

Pinterest has grown immensely popular of late and with good reason. It is a vast treasure trove of useful ideas, information and tips. I personally have found many helpful things there that I use everyday.

 A short disclaimer: While Pinterest is a great tool and resource, I must warn you that some Pinterest users do not have any qualms about posting things that should not be seen. As with any public site, there are occasionally some very offensive and inappropriate pins. People are carnal and that can not be helped. They are rare and if you are searching for recipes or crafts, etc., you are not likely to run into anything lewd or vulgar. Please use caution and discretion.                   

I love Pinterest. I probably spend more time there than I should, but there are just so many great, wonderful, neat ideas I’ve never thought of before and I need them! Well, maybe not need but I certainly enjoy looking through and finding ways of making life easier.

I (and Jacob!) have especially enjoyed all of the recipe pins and food inspirations that are available there. The possibilities seem endless. There are wonderful ideas for easy breakfasts, lunches, crockpot or oven suppers and snacks.

One of the neatest ideas I’ve seen and want to try is salad in a jar. I haven’t tried it yet but I plan to soon for some of Jacob’s work lunches.

Here are three recipes that we have tried lately from Pinterest pins:

Honey Garlic Pork Chops/Kabobs

30 Minute Rolls (recipe can be found on this blog)

Crockpot Italian Chicken

 

{My Recipe board}

 {My Desserts board}

Here are two things to remember and consider when pinning recipes:

1: Always, always, always go to the original pin’s source. You can do this usually by clicking on the pinned photo. Even if the recipe is included in the pin description and is fairly simple (or seems simple), always go to the source and double check everything before you begin cooking.

2: When you’ve tried a Pinterest recipe that you’ve pinned, go back to your pin and tell what you liked about it, if it was good and if you changed or added anything to the recipe. Your friends/followers will enjoy you sharing the recipe and will appreciate your comments about how you prepared it.

 

{Follow me on Pinterest}