Aaahhh, Summer Relaxations!

My daughter, Mary, thought this was a really neat picture. I think she has a really good eye. Oh, and the relaxation part? We got to cut all that hay after she took the picture.

Cinnamon rolls the size of a large man's hand. I made these and they are excellent. (If I do say so myself.)

More bread that I made, all packaged and ready to go.

My Sunflower Bread, as it cools. What a fun, creative way to make a loaf of bread. I have been selling bread like this and the last two pictures at our local farmer's market each week and I am loving the whole experience. I start baking at around 4 am on Friday, go until about 11 pm. Then I get up between 3 and 4 on Saturday to finish up. We sell on Saturday mornings. Today, I brought home one lonely loaf of raisin bread and a few sweet rolls. Relaxing, if you don't mind all of those dishes, the back pain and the lack of sleep.

Laura got a new puppy, Salem. Smart dog. No. Really. He is pretty smart. Even for a dog. It's so relaxing.

The Squirt turned six and had a banana split birthday. She had originally wanted banana splits, with a banana cake and banana chips but we narrowed that down to simply (probably not the word I am looking for...) banana splits. We had the whole works. Turned out, she really only wanted ice cream, a banana, and some chocolate syrup over it. The rest of us enjoyed "the works" part. And some relaxing. Sort of. Are parties ever relaxing? I wonder.....

I gave Cari and Shannon a hair cut. It looks nice, but when I cut Shannon's hair, I wanted to cry. But, as she kept reminding me, it's her head. I will have to post those pictures later.

Anyhow, so far for me, it's been anything but relaxing. I think all of that is about to change. We are going camping this weekend with two dear families and we are so excited. We'll be camping on the river with swimming, fishing, blueberry picking and some real relaxation. I can't wait.

Until next time,

Take Care,

Elizabeth

There's No Place Like Home

At my home, where I love to be, there are flowers blooming everywhere. Here one of our many rose bushes is in bloom over a basement window. Shannon took pictures of our flowers and it has been a joy to me to be able to give some of these beautiful blooms to loved ones who have popped in for a minute or two over the last couple of weeks.

The youngun's enjoying a day in the sun. We have had much rain lately, but as you can tell by the dogwood in the back of the picture that the rain has been good.

My dear, handsome, strong and amazing hubby and me. This was the background that my mom painted for a formal dinner and dance that we held in honor of Amanda and her home school graduation.

We have been pretty busy around here lately. We've had two graduations, finished up another year of home school, been serving in our community, planting bits and pieces of our garden and I have been loving being home.

Our garden is well on it's way. We've already been eating the lettuces from it and soon we will be chomping away on the broccoli that has little baby heads out there. Our cabbages are huge, our peas are blooming. We have four kinds of squashes up, two kinds of cucumbers, green beans, potatoes, various herbs. We have planted pumpkin and brussel sprouts, have the tomato and pepper plants ready to go in, turnips going crazy, and we are almost ready to plant our corn and pole beans. The only thing left is the okra. We have been eating very well from our "forest foraging" that we do each spring. The paw-paw trees look like this will be another bumper crop year. I found a book with recipes for the paw-paws and also persimmons which I had to let go last year because I didn't know what to do with them. The peaches are already the size of golf balls here, too.

Inside, the Lord is finally answering my prayers for helping me learn to be diligent and get things in better order. Much of that, I believe, is that I am feeling better due to the supplements I have been taking and I have been running. Not errands, but actually running four miles about three times a week. Who knew that I could love running? Anyhoo, feeling better is helping me do better in other areas. And more and more, I start feeling like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz. She had to go places, do things and meet people before she found the value of home. I find myself happily cleaning the kitchen, clicking my heels together and saying "there's no place like home, there's no place like home!" How I praise the Lord for this home, my hubby, my children and my place in life at this time.
I hope all of you are enjoying spring as much as I am. Oh, by the way, it's good to be back here in the blogging world. I would love to hear from all of you!

Take care,

Elizabeth

Active Love

Just thought I would share a few of the moments with you that we have had over the past couple of weeks.

We are so busy with life, but one thing that I am very thankful for is a home that is permeated with love.
We share laughter, tears, frustrations, triumphs, prayers and simply time together. But it wasn't always so.
We have cuddle time, work time, school time, dinner time, play time, and it's ALL the time.
We have friends, family, neighbors, and, at times, I believe there have even been "angels unaware".
So, to follow up on my last post. I wanted to share four "A's" that the Lord showed me several years ago. To say you love someone is generally not sufficient. I know with all of these young un's around here, it takes more than that. But, as I pointed out earlier, this did not come naturally to us and our happy peaceful family used to be one of strife and difficulty.

How did we change that? We didn't. God did. He began to show me how much He really loved me. He began to gently heal the scars of my past with His tenderness, gentleness and compassion on me. He used wonderful people in my life, my husband and His Word. He is so good to me.

The foundation for a loving home starts with Him. After that, our active love is as easy as A, B, C. Well, actually, it's A, A, A and A. And you will see that before we can do these A's, we must have that foundation within ourselves.

1) Appreciation: How many times a day do you find some reason to appreciate something about those around you? Is it hard for you? For me, it started with actively looking for something to appreciate. Did your children play nicely together? Thank them. Did your husband go to work today? Thank him. Did your friend call you to check on you? Thank her. Look around. Being able to appreciate others is a wonderful first step in being able to love them.

2) Acceptance: For most of us moms, it is really easy to accept our infant. I mean, they are so cute and cuddly! Who doesn't love a sweet smelling baby? But as they grow up, we tend to grow away. When they are older and they make choices that we don't approve of, it becomes easier and easier to criticize, to condemn, to belittle. O, sisters, this ought not be. Accept your children for who they are! Accept your husband for who he is! Accept your neighbors, acquaintances, extended family, etc. Are you perfect? Are you without fault? No. Does your Creator accept you? Yes. You are accepted in the beloved. So are they. You were created in His image. So were they! How it must grieve the One who accepts us, when we will not show acceptance to those around us. Your job is not to act as the Holy Spirit for those you spend time with. God already has someone to do that job. Your job is be His hands, His arms, His feet and His mouth of love. Don't criticize; accept.

3) Affirmation: The Scripture tells us that every word we say should be used to build the listeners up. ( Note: listeners would include those you may not even be speaking to. But that's another message.) What have you said today to affirm someone around you? Did your words build up or tear down? Every wise woman builds her home but the foolish tears it down. Your words of affirmation are a necessary part of building up your home! Find something, ANYTHING, good to say to those you meet today. Compliment their smile, their eyes, their hair, their sweater, a choice they made, a positive attitude they demonstrated, something. There is always something good that can be said. Start small. As you develop these habits, they will come easier and they will get better. But start.

4) Admiration: Admiration is different from affirmation. Affirmation involves your words. Admiration involves your face. As you find reasons to appreciate, accept and affirm, allow your eyes to sparkle. Let there be a smile on your face. Use your arms to hug, your hands to pat, but train yourself to sit back and admire. Use your face to show how you love. Stop your frowning. Who wants to spend time with someone who frowns all the time? It's depressing! You can make a difference, just with your face.

Maybe you wonder why you should be responsible for all this effort? Did not God give you this ministry? Did He not allow these people to be a part of your life? He sees the beginning from the end. He knows. But, He wants you to be His "messenger in the desert place". People are hungry for love. Christians used to be identified by their love for each other. We are supposed to be set apart, a peculiar people. Let's be "weirdos" by loving.

Take care,

Elizabeth

My God is So Big!

Good morning,

Just wanted to share this very sweet moment of training that occurred in our home a couple of nights ago. God has entrusted two dear little ones to our care on a part time basis and we are loving it!

I read an interesting article this morning in a recent "In Touch" magazine. The article was written by Gary Chapman and was talking about true, Christian love. We all know the Scripture that says "love your neighbor as yourself", but he re-worded it a bit and said, instead, "love your neighbor as you would your own family". Wow! Just a few changed words and yet, what an impact that had on me.

Do we, as Christians, set ourselves apart from the world by loving those around us as we love our own families? That's quite a challenge in this modern day world. We are told that to be politically correct means to essentially mind our own business. We make a habit of not assuming eye contact with passers-by when on the street, we don't speak to our next door neighbor beyond a polite greeting when out at the same time, and we certainly don't speak to strangers!

Remember in scripture it says that by "this" all men will know that you are my disciples? What was "this"? It was love. Scriptural love. The kind in which we love our neighbor as our own family. I want to be known by that kind of love. I want the love of Christ to pour out over those that I come in contact with.

Of course, that kind of love isn't really in me. WHAT? If it isn't there, then how do I share it? By recognizing God's great love for me. I am accepted in the beloved. I was chosen before the foundations of the world were laid to be called by His name. I am a sister to Jesus Christ and an heir to the throne. All for love. Unless I have His love in me, full and overflowing, I cannot love those around me.

Sisters, would you please take time today to bask in the wonder of His love for you so that you might be able to share it with those you meet, work with, live with, pass on the street? Because only then, will others know that you are a true Christian.

I will return later with some practical ideas for loving others as you would your own family. Until then,

Take care,

Elizabeth

Rip Tide

There is an ominous activity that occurs in the ocean. It's called a rip tide.

"Rip currents can be recognized by unusually calm waters, caused by the channel of water flowing out. Rip currents can be extremely dangerous, dragging swimmers away from the beach and leading to death by drowning when they attempt to fight the current and become exhausted." (Taken from Wikipedia.org)

These things are devastating! So, why did I choose to blog about them today?

Here's why:

As a woman, my heart's desire is to be pleasing to the Lord in every area of my life. I am daily asking the Lord to grant me His "peace that passes all understanding" and for that "meek and quiet spirit which to Him is of great price". This week, He gave me a wonderful word picture to help me with this peace.

Many times, we can "force" ourselves to appear peaceful. We will put on an outer image of having it all together, of maintaining our composure, of being at peace. But inwardly, we may be stewing, simmering, seething. We are playing and replaying an episode of an argument we may have had with our dear hubby this morning. We are inwardly complaining over our circumstances or the way "she" treated me. Whatever it is, we are not peaceful in our souls. When God tells us women to have a "quiet spirit" this is what we are to fight against, this inner turmoil that robs us of our peace.

Well, we might argue, nobody can really tell what is going on inside of me, so what does it hurt? So long as I appear to be peaceful, I am good. Right?

Wrong. Look again at what Wikipedia says about a rip tide or current. They are found when the waters appear to be calm. An uninformed swimmer shows up at the beach, the water looks great, he jumps in. Before he knows what is happening, he is being dragged out from the beach. Farther and farther he is pulled until he drowns from exhaustion. There is a danger in those calm looking waters.

It's the same thing with us. We may appear to be calm, but under the surface, we have a major rip tide waiting to pull us out to sea. Satan is at work in this inner rip current. He would love to see us destroyed. He would love to see us pulled so far from our Saviour, our husband, our children and our home. He would love to see us give up from the exhaustion. The problem lies with the fact that we deceive ourselves. We believe that so long as we look good, we are going to be okay.

God wants to give us that inner peace that keeps us safe, keeps our family safe, and keeps our homes safe. He doesn't care what we look like! He sees the heart! He knows our thoughts, our motivations, our attitude more than we know ourselves. Shouldn't we yield ourselves to His plan for us and allow Him to be at work in us, producing this peace and quiet spirit? Yes.

Let this be your prayer today:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Don't let your spirit be destroyed by the rip tide of no peace.

Take care,

Elizabeth

Miracle Product!

Ok, ok. So this is a little off topic, and rarely do I sing the praises of any one particular product, but this one deserves a song and dance.

My parents picked this wonder up for me and yesterday I decided to see what it could do. I have been so absolutely impressed that I spent hours using it, all over my home. It got to the point where four of five of my girls were watching with wonder and amazement as well. Amanda commented that this was "better than tv".

I used this stuff on an old armoire in my room. This armoire had been rescued years ago from the trash by my frugal hubby. It was in bad shape years ago. But I just wiped this stuff on and that old armoire turned into a beautiful piece of furniture in a matter of minutes. Same thing with an old chest o' drawers. I used it on my coffee table, a side table that was covered in scratches, and then the front door. I have pictures of the effects on the front door which I will post later. In the meantime, would I recommend this product to a friend?

That would be a hearty "YES!!!"

Take care,
Elizabeth

Who are You Following?

I imagine by the time I lay out all that God has put into my heart on this subject, it will have many parts to it. But, this is the beginning. So, I start with a short story.

A man and his wife were attempting to drive their two cars home late one foggy night over a very curvy WV mountain road. The man was leading and he told the wife she would follow. It was incredibly difficult to see where he was going, but the wife simply had to follow the tail lights in front of her. Next thing she knew, to her amazement, she had followed him right over the side of the mountain, off the road. He jumped out of his car and started yelling at her, "why did you drive off the road?" She smiled at him and said very demurely, "Well, you told me to follow you."

Now, before any of you women jump on some sort of band wagon with this, there is no proof in this story as to why you shouldn't follow your husband. So, don't go there. Just don't.

We are all following somebody or something. Many of us follow a particular newscaster. Many follow all the latest trends. Most of us know all the latest details about the galaxy of stars in Hollywood. We follow a sports team, or the government, or our pastor, or a particular denomination. We are always following.

From the time our children are able to walk, we teach them to follow. We teach them to follow us. We teach them to follow their classmates. We tell them if they will stand in line at school and not question the teacher, then they are good and obedient. We instinctively teach a "herding" mentality. Think about it. When we are in school, we are herded from the class room to lunch, to the gym, to the playground, to the library, to the auditorium, and back to the class room again.

As our children grow, we give them the latest gadgets, MP3's, cell phones, hand-held whatever's, and they follow their peers, they follow the latest gossip, they follow, follow, follow. I mean, this is what we have been trained to do all of our lives, right? What else is there?

As Christians in a nation that is quickly losing interest in real Christianity, isn't it time to lead? Shouldn't we follow the Shepherd? Aren't there any better options? There are. I'm tellin' ya.

But how do we find these options? Do we watch the latest news report to find out? Do we ask our friends? Do we write a letter to "Dear Abby"? Nope. All this does is put us right back where we were. Following.

Be quiet.

Yep, you heard me. Be quiet. The scriptures tell us to "Be still and know that I AM GOD." He tells us over and over again to meditate on His Word day and night. He tells us to hide His Word in our hearts. Can you do that over the blare of the tv, the computer, the cell phone, the radio, the cd, the __________?

We can't. So, with all of this cacophony around us, we follow in paths that lead us over the side. The constant noise pollution clouds the vision of our path. The inability to be still and meditate allows us to lose our way. Of course, all of our friends and the friends of our children are also lost, so like this big group of dumb sheep, we are being herded farther and farther from truth, from our Father, from fulfilling all that He has planned for us in advance to do.

I will stop there. For now. But I will be back. In the meantime, ask yourself: Who are you following?

Take care,

Elizabeth