Around Our Yard

Ok - the other night I was going to go check on my baby chicks and thankfully I looked out the window on the door- and saw this:

 

We have several stray cats in the area that I feed. And this skunk thought that I was leaving food out for him. So the next couple of nights I decided to bring the leftover food in every night. Well I guess once the skunk came looking for food a couple of times and realized he would not be finding food unless he got up during the day - so he changed his schedule- how do I know?

 

Well just an hour or so ago I was about to go work on mowing my yard. As I walked through my bedroom I looked out my window and this is what I saw:

He was napping right there by my baby chicks pen. I watched him closely and ran and got the mower and took it around to the front yard so I could at least get part of the mowing done hat I wanted to get one.

Then I watched the skunk to see if I could figure out where he was going. So now I think I know where he is living.

 

When I got done with mowing the front yard - or at least to a stopping point - I just left mower in the front yard. I am going to wait till my husband comes home and that way one of us can put mower up while the other one is on the look out for the skunk.

 

By the way, Six skunks have tested positive for rabies in our area since January. And a friend of mine said that she had looked up skunks and that if they were out during the day - they are probably sick. So there is a good chance that our skunk has rabies or something else. So we will have to take care of him and soon - I don't want my other animals to get sick.

 

In other news- On Thursday morning I was in my kitchen working and when I turned around guess what I saw? Not one but 2 hummingbirds!! I was so excited! I had heard that some people had seen them in the area so I had put my feeders out about a week ago. The only problem is that I have been gone SO much this week that I had not had a chance to see them yet, until yesterday! Now I see them here and there throughout the day. I am so happy they are back- it just is another sign that spring is here!

 

Our baby chicks are doing very well. They are loving their outside time. I can not wait till they get bigger or the weather warms up a bit at night so that I can leave them access to going out in their play yard all the time - so they don't have to wait for me to go let them out. Let me tell you- when I go out there and they know they are going to get to go outside- they are so joyful and excited - it is contagious! That is one reason why I love chickens- they have a way of calming me. I have always loved watching them. I have a great little story from when I was a little girl that I have shared before and I will be sharing it again soon - since I am thinking that most of my readers now have probably not heard the story.

 

When I was out mowing - I was reminded of some wonderful things to be thankful for: as the wind blew through my hair - I was reminded how wonderful it was to have hair again. It still is no where near how long as I would like it to be (at least shoulder length), but it is so nice to have hair that is long enough to blow in the wind. Then as I finished a large % of the front yard(our yard is big) I was thankful that I am stronger and able to accomplish more than I have in a while. And as I breath deeply I am thankful because it feels so good- to have mowed and I might be tired but I am feeling very good. It's nice to have it done and it's nice to be able to look out there and enjoy the fruits of my labor- a much better view.

 

Well I better close - because I have the other half of my To Do list to work on now. I hope everyone is doing well. :O)

Ripping the Scab off too Soon

The past couple of weeks have had me taking my Mother in Law to many different appointments. One of which meant being cooped up in a small room for like about 9-10 hours.
I am thankful that I am available to help her in this area.

So after some testing for several different things- we got some answers this week - some of which we were kind of prepared to hear some of them - not as much as we thought we were. In October my MIL had a heart attack and was taken directly to the hospital and they put a stint in. Well she has been having some issues and so they had her take a nuclear stress test. This week we went in for a follow up and what my MIL thought she would hear was that everything was good and to come back later for a check up - but NOPE it wasn't gonna be that easy. Come to find out the stress test came back abnormal and the Dr is thinking either the stint collapsed or she needs another stint in the same area of the heart. So in just a few short weeks she will having another stint put in.

Then the reason we were at the hospital all day long is that she had to have a biopsy done. Well we got the results of that and sure enough cancer was found. We went to a Dr appointment today - but did not find out anything more and that was disappointing. They are setting her up with an oncologist. So hopefully they can get her in ASAP.

This whole situation with thinking that there was a good possibility of cancer - has opened up fresh wounds for me. It brings back to mind that day. And it brings back the memories of finding out for the first time that no only did I have cancer but that I would require treatment! I was kind of prepared to hear that they had found cancer- I was NOT prepared to find out that it was pretty serious and would require further treatment. I have had to deal with these raw emotions again this week.

I also figured out something - I am thinking that one of the reasons why God allowed me to have cancer is so that I could be more compassionate and supportive to my MIL as she goes through her own "cancer adventure." God has supplied my needs and although I am tired and drained - already - I know that God will continue to give me the strength needed.

My MIL has asked that we not put the information about her having Cancer all over Facebook. And so I am sharing it here because I know that my readers are praying women and that you will lift her up in prayer. She has a lot on her plate right now. She is a real trooper though - and I know she can get through all of this - because as she said - "either way she wins, if she lives - she wins and if she dies."

Anyway I would really appreciate prayers for her and for the rest of the family. I seems like we are being bombarded on all sides. And although I have moments of stress and frustration - I am also experiencing peace - that I know is only from God. Thanks so much for listening. :O)

The Start of Their Favorite Days

Well the weather here in Texas has been beautiful! So yesterday we decided it was the perfect day to let the girls out into their little yard. After a little apprehension they wandered out of the shed into the yard. And LOVED it!!!

I am continuing to be SO busy- Much more busy than I usually am. And it looks like I will continue to be busy. Today was a super long day - but God gave me strength when I needed it. I am drained but wanted to check in and say hello!

 

I will check in again as soon as I get a chance.

Hope you all are doing well. :O)

 

Lifetime Guarantee

So this Sabbath I was sitting at church- as the pastor began to speak - I realized that I had heard what he was saying before. In fact, last week - he had shared a little devotional with the youth group for vespers and this sermon was that message ...expanded. At first I was thinking, "oh no...not this again." But as I continued to listen and heard his entire message I realized a very important lesson. There were some people sitting in the pews that had not been to church in a while- and I realized that this message of God's unfailing love- this love that comes with a guarantee with it- was exactly what these people needed to hear. And as I realized that I was happy that they were hearing such a great message. A message that said that even when we mess up over and over- God is still there - waiting for us to come to Him and to forgive us. As I came to this realization - it blessed me. When I realized that I did not need to be just concerned about my own blessing but the blessing of those around me. Then I was really blessed. Really blessed by the reassurance that God is able to fix broken things- it does not matter how many times we take our brokenness to God - He is willing and able to fix us!                                                           

References for Romans 8:38

• Cross References
• Footnotes

• 82 8:38 - 1Co 3:22
• 83 8:38 - Eph 1:21 ; Col 1:16 ; 1Pe 3:22

• m 8:38 - Or "nor heavenly rulers"                                                                                                                                                    

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers,

 nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

 

This is God's Lifetime Guarantee of Love for us!
Praise the Lord!!

God's Promise's.....series... Philippians 1:6

 This is a series from the book "God's Promises" by John Bradshaw!

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"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you
 will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Philippians 1:6

 

Very often, a person come to faith in Jesus and then realized life's challenges aren't magically washed away in the waters of baptism. The bills still need to be paid, jobs need to get done, children need to be raised, and there are aging parents to care for. Discouragement often sets in when bad habits linger and temptations doesn't disappear. The question might be, "How am I ever going to be the sort of person God wants me to be?"
 

God says in Philippians 1:6 that "He who has begun a good work in you" _Jesus_ "will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." In other words, the work that Jesus started I your when you fist came to Him, He will continue to do for as long as you have faith in Him. Simply understood, Christianity is nothing more than the believer allowing Jesus to do His will in the believer's life. If you'll allow Him, Jesus will continue the work He started in you when you first reached out to Him. The power needed for transformation is found in Jesus alone. He will do the work that needs to be done in your life. He has promises!

 

 

Peace and Joy

Something really neat happened today and I wanted to share it with you all.

I had gone out to the shed to check on my chickens. As I approached the chicken pin I heard a bird that I had not heard before- my first thought is that it was some mourning doves- so I begin to search the trees in the direction that the sound was coming from- didn't see anything. Then I started hearing it louder. It was a really neat sound and I was intrigued. And I looked up in the sky and noticed a flock of birds flying over head in a V formation. It was so cool to watch and to hear them - sing/honk what ever it was that they were doing.

I went on in and checked on my baby girls and then as I came out - I heard the noise again - and saw another group of them flying over. A friend told me she saw three groups fly overhead. She thinks they may be Canadian Geese. What ever they were - I was so happy to be able to have that experience to hear and watch them. It reminded me of how we as Christians can uplift others as we go through life on our journey to heaven. We CAN make a difference in other peoples life's - just by being kind and thoughtful, by having a joyful spirit.

After having this experience I enjoyed a sense of peace and joy that I had not experienced in the last couple of weeks. I have been struggling with a few situations - none of which I can do anything about- which really makes these things heavier to deal with. But by hearing these flocks of birds and feeling closer to God - I felt peace and joy --and it felt good, really good.

I think that it is very good for the soul for us to get out into nature when ever possible so that we can enjoy God's creation- and if we will keep our ears and eyes open - we may be blessed more than we ever even imagined!

Taking a Break from Busy to Visit a Bit

Jesus is my only hope. He is my rock and my foundation. When I feel my burdens too much to bear, I know that I can count on Jesus to strengthen me and give me courage to face another day.

I'm thinking you all have probably guessed this already but I have been struggling lately. I have shared with you some of the thing I am struggling with and since then several more things have been added that are tough to deal with. But I continue to remember that Jesus is in control and that He will get us all through.

Remember I shared with you all that I was asked to serve on the nominating committee for our church this year, well last week end we had our first meeting- almost 4 hours worth. And the sad part is that most of that time was taken up with stuff that will help us as we work through the list - but it also meant that we did not get much done at all of the list itself.

We have experienced some really nice weather over the last couple of days- of course we are back to rainy, overcast weather again today -but we sure did enjoy the sunshiney warm weather while we had it. I was able to walk several different times and that felt great. In fact, one day once I got home from walking and cooled off some (since temps were in the upper 70's maybe even 80 degrees) I actually decided to mow my front yard and then once I rested a bit I mowed a section of my back yard. I would have waited and done that part later except that I knew that overcast/rainy weather was coming and wanted to get as much mowing done while I could. It was so neat to experience a bit more energy than last year - when I was mowing. I don't think I could have gone on a 1 1/2- 2 mile walk and then mowed all that I did. In fact, our front yard is pretty big and since I am push mowing - I would be about worn out with just doing the front yard. And actually I normally felt kind of worn out - like I over did it a bit just by mowing the front yard. And that was even mowing half of it and then taking a break to get water and rest a bit. I would still be worn out when I was done. I am SO happy to be feeling better. I am not 100% back yet - but I am heading in the right direction.

Our baby chicks are doing very well. They will be 1 month old in just a few day! They have grown so much. It looks like we will need to move them out to the shed. The area we have them in is getting small for them. I think they will be very happy with their new home. It will be hard on my - because it is very easy for me to check on them any time I want to. And I will probably worry about them a little being out there and still being babies. I can't wait till the next pretty day we have though - because we will be letting them out of the shed and let them run and play in the dog run that is attached to the shed. It will give them plenty of room to run and play. I am praying for a really pretty day for the week end so that when our granddaughter is here that she will get to see them playing out in the sunshine. They will be so excited! Oh and once we move them I should be able to get some better photos of them.

A friend of mine told me that her husband over hear an older couple talking and they said they had seen hummingbirds at their feeders- so guess what I did? I got my feeders out- cleaned up and put out! I am ready for my little friends to visit now! We really enjoy them!

Well I better close for now- I have a lot of things I need to do and phone calls I need to make so I better get busy. I hope you all have a great day! :O)

God's Promises....series...Luke 11:13

This is a series from the book "God's Promises" by John Bradshaw!

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"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those ho ask Him!"

Luke 11:13

Between 1955-1960, CBS television aired a program called The Millionaire, in which a millionaire named John Beresford Tipton, Jr. Gave $1 million to someone he didn't know and who would never discover the identity of their generous benefactor. Who would do something so incredibly generous?

There is Someone willing to give you a lot more than $1 million, right now. In Luke 11:13, Jesus said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" The personal presence of Jesus Christ is worth infinitely more than any amount of money you could ever accumulate. God is willing to give the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, freely to you. You can't pay for it or earn it, yet God will give you this great blessing, as undeserving as you might be.

How do we receive this extravagantly generous gift? As Jesus said, simply by asking. Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit to you, and the Spirit will bring peace into your life during life's trials, and power for daily living. There can be no greater gift.

Are you asking God each day to pour His Spirit into your life? If not, do so today, and be confident God will keep His promise and give you this great Gift. He has promised!

Where do you give your energy? And a great resource!

"That which you give energy to- you empower"

Today I was lucky enough to get to go to the park and go walking. The sun peaked out several times and it felt good especially with the temperatures being in the upper 60's. While I walked I listened to a few devotions from Jesus 101 the devotionals are Elizabeth G. Talbot and Mike Tucker. A good friend of mine told me about it. And I am so glad she did. Anyway today I was listening to some of the Biblical Studies and I heard the quote above- under the "Anointed" part 3. Anyway it reminds me not to allow worry or Fear to have much time. I would rather use my time to get to know Jesus more and more - that is the kind of power I would like in my life. How about you?

If you would like to listen to this devotional or any other of the resources - read the following information:

You can either go to this site - or you can search or the free app for - at least for the iPhones. Anyway you can then click under "Listen" and there you have several choices :
Plug into Life - are short devotionals that are 1 minute long. So when you are in a hurry and don't have much time, this would be a good choice. To check this one out click here.
Biblical Studies - these devotionals are about 10-12 minutes long. Right now they have two series - "Rescued" that is talking about Exodus. And then "Anointed" that is talking about David. Click Here to check this one out. Oh by the way - on the computer it looks like they have many more series than what I have listed.
Audio Books - Here you can find her audio Books: Matthew, Mark-Good News!, Luke- Salvation for All, John- God Became Flesh, and Surprised by Love. By the way, they also have an option for the Audio Books - for he books in Spanish. To check out the English site click Here.

If you have a link to any of these links - go to the Jesus 101 Institute DOT org.
I think this resource will bless you. Oh and if you will like them on Facebook - they have given away one of her books~ the "Matthew" book. So maybe they will give out another book. Totally Free- you just gave them your mailing info and they mailed it right now.

Catching Up

So to catch you up a bit on what is going on around here. Over the last two weeks or so our area had gotten a little over 4 inches of rain! And actually 14 of the last 16 days we have gotten moisture in the form of rain, ice or snow. We are so thankful for the moisture- since we have been so very dry lately. Many area lakes have risen - but still are below their normal capacities. Yesterday we have rain about all day long. And if I had have been able to stay home - it wouldn't have been so bad - but I needed to take my MIL to a large city nearby to have a nuclear stress test done. We were so thankful that after we parked in the parking garage- and we were standing at the elevator waiting for it- that we noticed a sign that told about a tunnel from the parking garage to the office building nearby. It was nice to be able to get to the building without having to walk out in the rain. The building was only 1/4 of a mile away but it was nicer than walking out in the rain and having to wait at the street till it was clear enough to cross.

Our baby chicks are now about 3 weeks old. Silly girls- On Sunday evening - I looked out there and noticed one of the black chicks was sitting on the top of the metal shelving unit that is turned on its side to house the baby chicks. It is pretty high- but I was not surprised. I had seen some of the chickies sitting on top of the water container. Anyway so we put screen over the top. We will probably have to move them out to the shed in the next week or so. We are hoping for a bit dryer weather and nice weather before we move them out there. They will have a lot more room out there. We will have to do a few little things out there before we can move them. We had it ready for the metal cabinet to be in there - but they will be big enough not to need the cabinet enclosure so we will need to prepare for them to just be in the shed. I will try to get a good photo of them soon. It is hard because of the small area and also the red heat lamps.

Oh I meant to also share that it looks like it might be dry for the next week - and maybe even start getting some sunshine back. I think this winter has had the least amount of sunshine for quite some time. So we all will be so happy to see the sun shining again soon. I can't wait to get to go walking out in the sunshine. I am hoping to be able to go walking today - but not expecting much sun today. It is a bit brighter than it was yesterday - it was "soupy" as my MIL described it.

Well I better close and get busy for the day. I have a lot to catch up on. Hoping you all are doing good. :)

Stretching Myself....

So remember that I was needing to make up petit fours for the Ladies Tea at our church this week end?

Well I did it.

I actually had planned on doing a bit more - but when I was able to get the glaze on the little cakes and the glaze was so delicious - I decided to stop while I was ahead.

I added some delicious orange essential oils flavoring to the glaze and it was yummy. My husband who really does not like oranges ended up thinking that they were really good.

 

Anyway so I made up 2 trays of these. And I am hoping that everyone enjoyed their petit fours. I wish that I had taken a photo - of the plating of the petit fours. Several different women make up the little cakes - everyone's were different. And they plated them - with like 4 different cakes on each plate. And luckily I was able to bring a plate home. For desert my husband and I cut them in half and taste tested them. We loved a lemon flavored one and a chocolate one was very good as well. I was not able to go to the Tea as we had our granddaughter and time with her comes first.

I am thinking that I will be helping with the Women's Ministry team next this coming year - and will have plenty of opportunity to participate with these programs- hopefully they are scheduled for weekends that we don't have SweetPea.

After seeing what some of the other ladies did - I sure with I had have gotten some orange icing and did little orange flowers on the top of these. If I had it to do over again that is what I would do.

Well I am proud of myself. I had never made Petit Fours before and I was a little bit overwhelmed with the project- but I am so proud of myself for accepting the challenge and for doing the best I could do. I have a tendency to want to do such a good job on what I do- a bit of a perfectionist- that sometimes I don't do things because I don't think I can do a good enough job. Anyway I think it is good sometimes to accept challenges that can help you grow as a person and I think that this was one of those situations for me. I needed to be willing to try - even if I was not able to do a perfect job. And it feels good to stretch myself a bit.

Prayer is the answer to every problem....

"Prayer is the answer to every problem in life. It puts us in tune with divine wisdom which knows how to adjust everything perfectly. So often we do not pray in certain situations, because from our standpoint, the outlook is hopeless. But nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is so entangled that it cannot be remedied; no human relationship is too strained for God to bring about reconciliation and understanding; no habit so deep rooted that it cannot be overcome; no one so weak that he cannot be strong. No one is so ill that he cannot be healed. No mind is so dull that it cannot be made brilliant. Whatever we need if we will trust God, He will supply it. If anything is causing worry or anxiety, let us stop rehearsing the difficulty and trust God for healing; love and power. "

From an article by:
 R. A. Rentfro
10-7-1965

Busy....

Just checking in for a minute to let you all know I am doing alright. I am just busy right now. We ended up with another ice day - with about 3 1/2 inches of snow- oh my! And I agreed to make up Petit Fours for a Women's Tea that the Women's Ministry team is putting on at our church this week end. Well I have never had a Petit Four so not quite sure what I am aiming at making but goodness- with God's help I will make something that although may not ...will not be as pretty as the photos on the internet will be tasty and enjoyable to the ladies that attend. I will try to take photos- if you promise not to laugh...oh go ahead - I have done my fair share of laughing at the ones that I made in a trial run... they were certainly a rough draft. But enjoyable by those that tasted them.

Well I hope you all are doing well. Be sure and leave a comment and let me know how you all are doing. :)

101 Reason

So sorry I have been so quiet lately. I have been kind of discouraged. Not about any one thing - more like about a mixture of a lot of things. Things like prayers that seem to go unanswered or not answered the way that I really wanted them answered. You know how you get an idea of how things ought to be and when they are not - disappointment comes.

Then there is friendship lost, and just don't know the reason why.

Or my Sabbath School leaders moving to another church and leaving a large void in my life.

Certain aspects of my life - not the way that I had thought they would be.
The healing of my body and the recovery of energy going slower than I wanted.

The weight that I gained during chemo is proving difficult to lose.

And a few other odds and ends - that in of themselves would be ok to handle but mix them in with all the other and it just seems like such a burden.

 

During this time - I am holding onto promises like these:

 

                "For all things work together for good to them that love God,

 to them that are called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

               

I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
³ He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.

Psalms 40:1-3