My Best Deal and My Miracle Girls

Hello~ I hope you all had a good week end!
I meant to get on here last week and show you the best deal that I got for the week. Actually for a while. One of the houses along my walking route had a garage sale over a week end and when I went walking by I saw the things that they had left. And I saw this awesome bench and thought it would be cool to have. I tried to take a photo of it a couple of days in a row and every time my phones camera would act up(I have an older iPhone with not a whole lot of storage on it). Anyway one day I was walking with a lady that lives in the neighborhood and I told her I was interested in the bench and so when we were walking and the people were out -she went and introduced me to the nice lady and I told her I was interested in the table- she said it was $2.00! Yes! Only $2.00!! The wood needs to be replaced - but it is still and excellent deal. Especially when you see what it can do!

 Now isn't that cool?

My husband is planning on using a router to put our name on one of the boards on the bench! We may even paint it- don't know yet. For $2.00 - I think I got an awesome deal! :O)

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My Miracle Girls:

It is a true miracle that we still have these girls! I am so thankful for them.

We are still only getting about 4 eggs a day but I am figuring once it cools off some - we may start getting more. They endured a lot of stress and that with the heat might have just caused a bit too much for their systems to handle for a bit.

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This was a SweetPea weekend!

We had a lot of fun! I found the cutest little Hello Kitty play dough/cooking cutter set!

So we made a beautiful cake with beautiful flowers on it! -

We used to be so careful not to mix colors - but our play dough was getting a bit old so we just decided to have fun with it and I love the tie dye look to the play dough! 

 

Our Sweetpea working on a floor puzzle.

This is another great deal I found the last week or so - these awesome bubble gum looking magnetic marbles! She had a lot of fun with them!

 

Well that's about all that has been going on around here-

What have fun things have you been up to?

A Deep Root System

Well I thought I would drop in for a few minutes and let you all know that I am doing alright. I have had plenty of time to think of the loss that we have experienced over the last month or so - with our beloved Dewie and then our 19 chickens and our rooster. My little flock of 6 looks so small compared to the 28 we had just a week and a half ago. I still struggle to try to forget the scene - and the memories of gathering up the lost chickens. Still I encounter people who don't understand. And then thankfully I have people in my life who do understand and care. A friend of mine on Facebook - shard the following with me on my timeline:

And as I think of it - I am so thankful that we have our six girls left. So far we have not gotten 6 eggs on any day since the massacre. We have gotten any where from 2-5 eggs. And I am thankful we are getting any thing. But what I am so disappointed about is that with the amount of eggs we were getting- up to 22 eggs a day - and the girls just turned 6 months old on the day of their death. With this amount of eggs we were able to not only supply the egg needs of our own home - but we were able to share with my Mom, my husbands Mom, my sister, our son, and a good friend. That is 6 different households!

 Plus in the 2 week we had sold eggs we were able to sell enough eggs to pay for feed and maybe a bit more. That was a real blessing. And as they started to lay more and word got around that we were selling eggs- we could have even done more business.

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As I have thought about the events of the last couple of weeks - I have learned more and more about the importance of having a firm foundation. In order for trees to make it through storms it is very important for them to have a great root system- watered deeply. So it is important for us to drink deeply from the waters of the Word of God. Each time we face a trial - we can know that God will use it to develop that deep root system that will supply us with what is needed to keep us standing. I also have learned some other really neat stuff that has helped encourage me in my walk through the storms of life. I am hoping to be able to get on again soon and share some more of what I have learned. God can use any situation that we are in to teach us valuable lessons - if we will just be willing to "be still and know that I am God." :o)  

 

Heart Broken

Today while I was out getting groceries and running errands an awful thing happened. I had one more stop to make before i would be heading home. My husband would be home before me. I told him be sure and check on the chickens because I've been gone for several hours. I hadn't expected any trouble but wanted him to check on them. When I got a call back from him 5 minutes later I realized something was wrong. Sure enough - the dogs had gotten back into our yard and had killed - at that point he thought all of our chickens. Luckily I was at my sisters house picking something up when he called. I got out of the car and went to her door. I was shaking and very upset and I needed to calm down a bit before I drove the 20 minutes home.

A few minutes later I got a call from my husband. He was telling me we had a couple of chickens alive. We had lost Feathers - my husbands beloved rooster. He was a beauty. I think I have shared a photo of him on here before. I'll try to do a post to show him next time I'm on my other computer. Anyway I knew I needed to get home to help him look for chickens just in case.

He had called animal control. They came along with a police officer took the report and then began looking for the dogs.  Someone in the neighborhood behind us told them that they had seen the dogs 45 minutes before. Within about 30 minutes they found them. Come to find out they were not strays. Which honestly upset me more because it's not like they were hungry and looking for food- no they were killing my chickens for sport...

My husband and I had to go through the yard picking up a total of 15 chickens. We have 2 that we could possibly still lose. On Monday we lost a total of 3 chickens. So we may end up with only 6 chickens. Our hearts are broken. And feel so weighed down.

Here is what we have left:
3 white chickens
2 black chickens(one is very traumatized - will get a better idea of how she is tomorrow- she went and got into a laying box and stayed put)
1 Easter egg chicken
1 black and white chicken- we think it may be the one that was gotten pretty bad on Monday not-sure if she will make it
1 buff chicken- she is in awfully bad shape and I won't be surprised if she doesn't die before morning.
 We will probably end up with 6 chickens out of the 26 that we started the week with.

On Monday night we worked to make our yard safer. On Tuesday I worked on our fence. We had a fence slat that needed to be replaced and we were waiting for pay day to get that taken care of but that is how they got in. Oh I had put a pretty heavy rock over in front of the hole in the fence. So I thought till we could replace it that things would be safe. I was wrong....so wrong.

So there you have it- we are emotionally drained. I'll probably be taking a blogging break at least till Monday.

I hadn't thought of this question...Had you?

So I realize that this is not tomorrow- but this is the soonest that I have had a chance to get on here and get this post typed up. I shared on Monday how when we share special insight or spiritual gems that we have been blessed with - it is like the waves of an ocean - and it could ripple out to many more people than we ever even dreamed of. Well this last Sabbath as a friend and I were talking I was blessed with new insight that I thought was well worth sharing. My friend shared how she had heard a sermon and how the speaker shared that when trials came her way that she would always ask God, "What do you want me to learn from this?" This is something that I have also learned to do and have for a while. It is very important and such a blessing. Once you realize that when troubles and trials come your way - if you allow God to work in your life He is able to teach you new things and shape you to more represent Him. But where the real blessing in our conversation came what the very next thing that my friend shared with me. She said the speaker went on to say that there was another question that she had learned to ask, "God what attribute about yourself are you trying to teach me about through this?"

This is just a small sampling of what I mean by what attributes that God may want to teach us about Himself. I know that after I went through 2014 - with all of the medical testing, 6 rounds of chemo, losing my hair, several surgeries in a years time period~ I learned some important things about God that I had not truly understood before. I learned that He will supply the strength and courage for what ever He allows to come in to your life. "As are your days, so shall be your strength." Deut. 33:25b became a verse that I used many times. I has given me courage and reassurance many times. Before 2014 - I did not know that I could count on Jesus Christ to get me through what ever it is that I faced. I learned that God was faithful. And that God was Good...ALL the time.

So I am hoping that I remember the next time I find myself in the midst of a storm that I will step back and ask myself not only "What do you want me to learn from this, God?" but also "God, What attribute about Yourself are you trying to teach me about through this?" I think it is great and helps open us up to learning these new things that God wants us to learn. And not only that but also it takes the focus off of us and our troubles and puts our focus back on Jesus - where it needs to be.

I hope you were blessed by this as I was. :O)

Worst Day Since I have had Hair Again...

Ok - So I have not forgotten that I promised a post about what awesome gem I had learned from a sweet friend that I wanted to pass on and so it could be like waves of an ocean - traveling to who ever needed the information next. However, we had a traumatic thing happen here on Monday night that spilled over into Tuesday and it has just taken me a bit to recovery.

Monday evening I had been in my sewing room - watching a "Living Alaska" program and working on a sewing project I have been working on. Somewhere about 7:45 - 8:00pm area- I was thirsty and decided to go get water- as I walked through the dining room to get to the kitchen, I heard a weird noise and walked out into our sunroom - looking out the window I noticed 2 dogs in my chicken pen. I ran out the back door to the gate and opened it and as kindly as I could- trust me this was only from God- I was able to coax the dogs out of that part of our yard. As I surveyed the yard- there were feathers every where- in the middle of the back yard I could see a black and white chicken laying all crumbled up. As soon as the dogs ran to the back of our yard and squeezed themselves out of our yard - I ran inside to get my husband - who had been taking a shower. He had not realized that the dogs were out of the yard already so he came running out with a gun- to use if needed.

It was quickly getting dark outside - and we got flashlights and tried to round up our chickens to check them all out. My husband went to the one in the middle of the back yard and found it's wing all bent around and luckily he was able to pull it out and around so that the chicken could get up and be alright- of course the back end of it had most of its tail feathers gone. He carried her to the chicken coop. We found a few hiding in the corners of the yard here and there and urged them to the coop. As my husband was looking behind the chicken coop he found a little black chicken who had died. I had two of my black and white chickens just standing by and in the little pool an I carefully carried them to the coop. After we had all the chickens that we could find to the coop - we began counting the chickens and realized that we had some missing. So we started looking up in the trees- we found 4 of them up in the trees and left them there - as they like to roost up there anyway. After another count we knew we still had 4 missing. So we went outside of the wooden fence into our neighbors yard to look for the missing girls. We found Jester- one of our easter egg chickens up in a tree just outside of our yard. We carefully carried her to the coop. We looked and looked and could not find any more chickens.

We spend probably 2- 2 1/2 hours out looking for the chickens. And you would not believe how hot it was- I was so surprised because it usually cools off when the sun goes down but it was quite warm out there.

On the opposite side of the yard - our fence that we share with the MHMR home next door- has had some slats missing. And my son who had come and helped us look for chickens - said he thought that the dogs got into our back yard through that hole - and then had found a place under our fencing that divides our yard into a 1/3rd section that is just for the chickens. So I said I certainly wanted to replace the slats ASAP. He had his flashlight and while he was looking for our missing chickens in that yard next door, he noticed that there was a pile of slats that had fallen down and the mowers had just piled them up. So at 9:30-10:00pm - he got out there and nailed those slats back up. We are still missing one here and there - but at least dogs can't get through. We are planning on going to get slats to fill in the holes around the yard.

Anyway so I had the hardest time getting to sleep that night. I felt SO bad for my chickens - I really enjoy having chickens and they are part of the family. I like being able to provide a chicken haven for them and just knowing how traumatized they were really upset me. I finally got to sleep but woke up a couple hours later to use the bathroom and just could not go back to sleep for the longest time. And of course once I was finally awake it was not long till the alarm went off. I had been looking forward to the sun coming out - because then I would be able to take food out to my chickens and see if any more had shown back up - one of the chickens a black one flew down from a tree that we had checked and checked but had not seen him there. I was so thankful to have her back accounted for.
Then I went to the neighbors yard - hoping to find the 2 buff chickens and the black and white one that was still missing. I did not find the buff chickens but there was the black and white chicken- and I was SO happy to see her. I thought she would run right to me and let me get her - boy was I wrong. It took me 1 - 2 hours of wrangling to get her in the yard.

But I forgot to mention another thing that happened that just added to my stress. So while we are outside on Monday night trying to access the damage and take care of our chickens - we noticed Bandit- the small black and white kitten that we have had hanging around since he was born several months ago, had not been out. Usually if we are out for a while he will come out. But we did not see him. We did see his momma - Lenny though. Well Tuesday morning when I went out to let chickens out and to feed the chickens and Lenny and Bandit. Bandit did not come to eat. I heard his meows though. So I began looking for him. I looked and looked and thought ok - maybe he is on the outside of the fence- which would be our driveway. So I went out there. Then he meowed again and I looked up - and guess where he was?

Yes - at the very top of the pole. He wanted down but couldn't get down. So there was another problem to take care of- at this point only the black chicken has shown back up. And I still needed to go look for the other three.

I called the fire dept. And about 20 minutes later- (I was trying to get chicken in the yard during this time) they showed up. They did not even bring truck up into driveway, but parked on the street. They said because it was a power line there was nothing they could do but spray water up there and hope to encourage the cat to climb down. After just a few minutes of trying Bandit took off running down the pole and then jumped- I am surprised he is did not get hurt- it was a long ways up there. 

So now that he was down it was time for me to get busy trying to coax the black and white chicken back into our yard. I could tell she wanted to get back into the yard- she kept looking at the top of the fence- they are like 6 ft tall fencing. And she went to a couple of spots that had a bit bigger gap between the fence panels. And finally I got her back into the yard. I then walked around the circle neighborhood behind my house looking to see if I could find our 2 buff chickens that were still missing with no luck.

Not only did my chickens feel traumatized but I felt traumatized as well. It was very emotional for me. I check on my chickens periodically throughout the day just to make sure they are alright. They seem to be recovering. They are moving a bit faster than they were yesterday. Yesterday they were laying around and moving kind of slow.

We have worked to try to make their pen a much safer place for them. There is still a little work we want to do but slowly it is getting there.

So we are officially down to 23 chickens- we lost 1 black one and 2 buffs(yellow) chickens. And we have several they have most of their tail feathers gone- but thankfully they will recover. And so will we.

Anyway I will do my best to have that post up by tomorrow. I hope you all are doing well. :)

like waves of an ocean...

This week end I was reminded of something very important. I already kind of knew it but it was brought home as to how important it really is. I was reminded how important it is to share the wonderful gems that are revealed to us. Sometimes as we study the Bible, listen to a sermon, or have our devotional time the Holy Spirit reveals to us a new special gem. A new understanding of something we had not before understood or maybe even a totally new thing we had never ever considered before. It is a wonderful feeling to come to a better understanding of something! And what is even more awesome is to realize that when we share this gem with others- that they too are able to be blessed and the blessing flows on and on- like waves of an ocean just because we were willing to share our blessing with someone else. This happened to me this week end and I was able to share it again and keep it going. I will be getting on here and sharing it with you all tomorrow. So be sure and stay tuned. It will bless you as well. And maybe you too will be able to share it with someone else and keep the waves of blessing flowing.

Are You Living Blessed? Finale

My Book "Living Blessed - the mission statement of the born- again follower of Christ" ended with this beautiful song:

Your Story

You wish your story had more meaning,
So you could tell how you conquered all the pain.
But life's been gentle, even easy;
You've convinced yourself you don't have much
   to say.

So your story goes unspoken,
A testimony tat's been silenced by your fears.
But let me tell you, the day God saved you,
He penned the wondrous story someone needs to hear.

Your story hold the power - giving hope o the weary on their way.
Your story tells the how this God of love still reaches out with arms of grace.
You've seen what God can do, now it's up to you to share His glory.
They're waiting to be free, wanting to believe...
You have just what they need- Your story.
The cross of Christ, the sacrifice that cannot be denied.
It took as much to save you as the thief He hung beside.

Your story holds the power- giving hope to the weary n their way.
your story tells them how this God of love still reaches out with arms of grace.
You've seen what God can do, now it's up to you to share His glory.
They're waiting to be free, wanting to believe
you have just what they need- your story.

By Rodney Griffin

Are You Living Blessed? part 8

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psalm 107:2

In the last chapter, I learned the importance of telling our story. By sharing what God has done for you and what He has brought you through blesses other people and helps them in their journey through life.

No wonder God urges us, "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!" (Ps. 107:2a), because it encourages us when we are reminded of His supreme ability to rescue the perishing. It also blesses our own hearts and helps us be victorious when we tell of His providences: "They (God's people) overcame him (the enemy)by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."(Revelation 12:11), emphasis supplied) Tell your story, it may be just the judge someone needs."  

 

Not only does telling how God has cared for you bless others, it reminds you and keeps it fresh in your mind so your faith is reinforced and encouraged each time. They are blessed and so are you.

Are You Living Blessed? part 7

There is a chapter on blessing the family that had some awesome ideas. "..God's blessing changes things. It changed a 24-hour period into a Sabbath. It changed a little boy's lunch into a huge meal. And it still changes people and things today."

In this chapter I also learned the importance of affirming God's work in the life's of those around us.
"We are energized when people who know us remind us that they see evidence that God is at work within us. The devil loves to remind us of the negatives. Research shows that the human mind remembers negative things that happen to us or wrong decisions we make 14 times longer than the good things. That's no doubt why the Apostle Paul urges us to speak only those things that build up others.(Eph 4:29) Affirming how we see God at work in someone's life is one way we can do that."

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29

 

I was also reminded that "criticism is the devil's counterfeit for intercessory prayer and a critical spirit can stifle the blessing gift God wishes to provide."  Jesus looked for the best in people and so should we.

Not a Record but High Just the Same...

OK - so I figure you are all aware of how hot it has been here in Texas lately. But just I case you did not know....now you know. On Sunday we had the highest temp that we have had since 2012. I am thankful we had not had that hot of weather in a couple of years - but the last week or two of triple digit temps has not been fun. I have been thankful that I have been able to get out and walk in the mornings at least several times a week. It will be great when the temps come down - for walking and everything else.

Yesterday someone gifted me with 8 - 13 gallon kitchen trash bags of their mothers fabric stash - well a little portion of it. They had taken a couple of boxes and the sister had taken a couple of boxes and I got what was left. I found a few little treasures while going through the bags. I found 3 vintage handkerchief's. I found 6 cute already put together quilt blocks that match along with a little bit of matching fabric- I may try to make a small quilt with it. I found a little bag with about vintage buttons, a thimble and some odds and ends fabrics to add to my stash. It was fun to go through the fabric - but a little disappointing at the amount of usable stuff out of those 8 bags.

Here are the quilt blocks that I found - each one has a different center flower - each with a different button. I think they are cute - The back ground of the fabric is more of a green then a blue as it shows here. Maybe looking at the photo bigger- will show the true colors.

And I shared that I finished a quilt top this week. Well here is a sneak peak:

And with some left overs - I made up - some potholders for my Dad's birthday. This is a photo of before I sewed it together. I have them sewn together now - but I am going to take some of the left over border fabric and sew around the edges with a black marble looking fabric for the binding.

I was very proud of myself for that because I am being able to be more creative and that is fun.
I will try to take a photo of them when I am done and share here.

I hope you are all doing well. I have several errands to run so I better close for now. :O)

It's All Good

Sorry it has taken me so long to post an up date. Dr said everything looked and felt good. I will get the results of my ca125 blood test tomorrow and should get the rest of the results by Friday or Monday. In the whole time I have had labs done at the Texas oncology place they have never missed on the first try until today. Thankfully a more trained lady tried the second time and got it.

I hope to do a post tomorrow of one off the reasons I did not post earlier- a family member on my husbands side passed away and after her daughters got what they wanted of her stash if fabric- they brought us 8 13 gallon trash bag sized bags full of fabric. A lot of it- if not most of it is not what I will use but it's been fun going through it and I have found a few treasures to me. So I will share more tomorrow.

Oh I also finished a quilt top yesterday - and so I'd like to show you that and a secondary project that I thought of to make with the scraps. So hopefully I'll be able to pull that pits together tomorrow. :)

Another Check up

Today is another 3 month check up with my oncologist, so I'd really appreciate prayers. I'll try to get on later today and write an update on what's been going on around here. I have been busy with a project- that turned into two- which is great because it shows more of my creativity is coming back! Be back later. Hope you all have a great day! :)

Are You Living Blessed? Part 6

The chapter "Living Forgiven" really spoke to me. Every chapter spoke to me but this one really spoke to me and gave me even more to think about.

Dr David Levy, the author of the book Gray Matter tells about "the relationship he discovered as a practicing neurosurgeon- between forgiveness and healing."

"When I first began praying for my patients, I had no idea that it would lead me to discover the power of forgiveness. The idea that bitterness was the source of health problems would not have made sense to me earlier in my career, but over time I became convinced that one of the greatest thieves of joy and health is the unwillingness to forgive the people who have hurt you."

"Emotions can significantly affect the health of our bodies, for good or ill. Stress, anger, and resentment can have powerful negative effects on the body...Bitterness is like an acid that eats its container."

Forgiving others  not only good for us and our health, but it also opens the doors for God to forgive us.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Matthew 6:14

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Luke 6:37

"Granting and accepting forgiveness are part of Living Blessed."

Are You Living Blessed? part 5

So this next chapter talked about being on assignment. Blessing others was an assignment given in this verse:
 

8Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8-9

  8To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8-9 NAS

 

I gave two versions so it would be a bit easier to understand.

 

"Living Blessed- what an idea. Living under the giving hand of God. Living under heaven's agenda, not our own. Living on assignment. Huge ideas; all doable, not in my strength but in His."

 

"When we bless people - and things- we are dedicating them to God for His use and His purpose."

 

 

 

 

Are You Living Blessed? part 4

"We read barely into the second chapter of the Scripture record before we see God selecting a day, a 24-hour period very like the other six -common, ordinary- and placing on it a part of Himself. It is now blessed, holy. It is now unlike the other six. It is unique, distinct, and carries eternal significance. His blessing changed a piece of time."

2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 2:2-3

 Happy Sabbath everyone!

Are You Living Blessed?...part 3

Each chapter has a great story or two to show examples of what is spoken of in that chapter. In this chapter the author shares a story how a prayer of blessing on a young prostitutes changed her life.

 

"In the grand design of the universe you and I are not intended to be receivers as much as we are to be channels, conduits, conveyors. Like any healthy body of water, we receive so we can give. All God has given you He gave for you to hand off to others. God instructed Abraham, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing." (Gen. 12:2)"

 

"That's God's Grand Design. The blessing prayer has great power because as we speak words of blessing we become an instrument of God's grace, and extension of His hands, a tangible way for Him to say to someone, "I love you." We are called by Him to do this. Notice:

"Finally, all of you...be tenderhearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil...but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to do this..." (1 Peter 3:8-9)

 

God loves to bless His children because He can use them in turn to bless others. He blesses His blessers, and He distributes His gifts lavishly.

 

A blessing is redemptive and restorative because we become the vessels God uses to share His grace with others, often in unexpected places, maybe even like an all-night diner filled with ladies of the street. God moves us to see others from His perspective and then love through us. Blessings are instruments of healing, and they very often have eternal consequences."

 

This chapter ends with the author encouraging the reader to "reflect on ways that you can bless your family, your friends, colleagues at work and relationships in your church and neighborhood."  

Are You Living Blessed...part 2

This book was so good that I thought I would do a series on the book. But trust me when I say - I am only giving just a tidbit of the wonderful, uplifting information in this awesome book. There are great stories in every chapter that really spoke to my heart. If you ever get the chance to read this book - I would highly recommend it. But for now - you will get the benefit of picking up some of wonderful tips to live by in your life in order to live blessed.

 

 

 

In this next chapter, I learned that the blessing is spoken of in the scripture more than 200 times and how God "blesses us so we can bless one another- with our words and with His words."

"It is God's intention- His joy- to lift, to encourage, to inspire. It's His nature to give and His glory to bless! And to us He gives the gift of being extensions of His hands."

24The LORD bless you, and keep you;
25The LORD make His face shine on you,
         And be gracious to you; 26The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
         And give you peace.’
Numbers 6:24-26

This chapter ended with some great questions that I think we should ask ourselves each day:

• "Who do You want me to bless for You today?"
• "Who do You want to love through me today?
• "Who do You want me to put an arm around on your behalf today?"

Like I said at the beginning - what I am sharing is just a tiny bit of the gems I have found in this book, the things that really spoke to my heart. I will be keeping my eyes opened for more copies of this great book to give away.

It Sure is Hot

Just in case you guys were wondering - yes - we are in the dog days of summer.

 

What is sad is that when you look at the 7 day forecast it is all triple digits.... I tell you what it has been hot here. I am trying to make sure my chickens have fresh water and then running water through the dry creek bed- every afternoon. That area of the ground stays pretty saturated- which is good it helps keep the chickens cooler.

I am back to trying to get my walking in - in the early morning. This morning our low was 80- I was thankful for the breeze that blew ever so often. Also glad that the dog that was loose yesterday was not loose this morning. I could not see it good but I had a bad feeling about it so I just turned around and went back home and worked on some jobs in the yard. This morning I got a good walk in. Hoping to get a good walk tomorrow as well.

In this kind of weather - you have to do as much of your outside jobs in the morning or evenings. We have some 1/2 inch insulation sheets- and have cut some out to put in a couple of the west facing windows in our sunroom - and we have noticed a difference in the amount of heat that is felt coming in. Oh and wouldn't you know it- our AC unit informed us that the filter needed to be changed - and I had forgotten to order them when I put the last one in. Our unit uses a special filter that is 4 inches tall- and so it is not something you can buy at Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowes - so we have to order them. Good thing is that I was able to find a set of three on Amazon Prime and should get them Friday. That will help tremendously.

Well I better close - I just wanted to let you all know how hot is here. I hope you all are staying cool the best you can. Praising God - we are. Today my electricity went off for like 5 minutes and I was thrilled when it came back on! :O)

A Life Long Journey- becoming an shakable Christian - with benefits

As I was studying about being an unshakeable Christian - I realized that there were many benefits in being that unshakable Christian and I wanted to share just a couple of passages from the Bible that tell of these benefits:

7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
         And whose trust is the LORD.
8“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
         That extends its roots by a stream
         And will not fear when the heat comes;
         But its leaves will be green,
         And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
         Nor cease to yield fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8


1But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
         And He who formed you, O Israel,
         “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
         I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
         And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
         When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
         Nor will the flame burn you.
Isaiah 43:1-2

I also wanted to be sure and share something that I probably should have shared already. I don't want anyone to be disappointed in themselves because they may not feel like they live up to being an unshakable Christian. I think it is a life long journey to becoming an unshakable Christian. Trials will come our way and knock us to our feet -and if we will continue to hold onto Jesus Christ even through these difficult times - He will strengthen us and lift us out of the pit. Each time that a trial comes our way is the opportunity to become more and more an unshakable Christian. It does not happen over night - it is a life long journey- that comes with benefits. Benefits of our LORD and Savior will get us through life's trials if we will put our trust and hope in Him. Praise be to God! :O)

That Time I Almost Cried at the Thrift Store

So last Tuesday when I went to my favorite small thrift store nearby, I had found some Wii games for just $1.00. So I had picked up two of them and told my husband about them. Well he wanted to go see what they had left. So that was on our list of things to do Sunday- the only other day that this thrift shop is open.
Once I directed my husband to where the Wii games were, I decided to go look through the cookbook area. This is an area that I like to check out every time I go to this store because I've found some great ones in the past. Well today I found a cookbook that I have been looking for ... For quite some time. As I pulled it off the shelf, I almost cried. I knew it was a special blessing from God, and I was so thankful! Here is the cookbook that I found:

A bit of an update....

Ok so this is what I posted on Facebook this morning:

I'm a little over a week out from my next check up with my oncologist so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that I had a bad dream in which the dreaded word that no one who has had cancer ever wants to hear. It's got me feeling a little fearful this morning- thinking I'll spend some extra quiet time with my Bible and in prayer. God's got this.

And God was faithful and in no time at all- really I just opened the Bible to where one of my several book marks were located and this is what I found and posted on Facebook:

So after reading my devotional I opened the Bible and was drawn to a verse that I thought I had underlined but it turns out what I underlined was on the reverse side of the page- both verses helped me tremendously. Here they are:
"Oh LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." Psalm 30:3
The one I actually had underlined:
"Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24
The Bible- what a blessing to my soul!

I was so thankful because this morning I did not have a lot of time to really get into any deep Bible studying - because I needed to take my MIL to a Dr appointment. So I was thankful that God helped soothe my soul with just a couple of Bible verses- that reaffirmed His promises to strengthen my heart. Had I not spent the time to open His Word I may have been stressed about that bad dream all day. But because of these two verses - I was able to let that fear go and to have hope in the LORD.

Just a quick update on my Mother in law- she is doing pretty good. In just couple of weeks she will be going to have a CT scan and then to see the Dr and find out if she is healed enough to have the reconstruction surgery done. She is trying not to totally expect the surgery to be able to be done super quickly because she does not want to be disappointed and I understand that. I will be sure and update once I find out. This will be an appointment that I will take her to- because she likes that I know the right questions to ask. I know that knowledge and understanding about what is going on with a persons health is very important and helps the person know how to better take care of themselves. I think too often people slid by with hardly any knowledge and are not able to do the things that could do them the most good - just because they do not communicate with their Dr very well. I know not all Dr are willing to give their patients very much information. I am so thankful that the Dr that told me about the cancer that had been found- was willing to have me and my husband come to her office after hours and was willing to spend over an hour with us explaining things to us and answering questions and all. And I realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a Dr like that. I was told by the Dr that put on the health seminar that I went to several years ago - that in order to get the best care from your Dr you need to communicate with them. Tell them as much information that you think that they might need in order to best care for you. And also to ask questions until you understand what is said to you. Anyway we are hopeful that she can have the surgery soon and recover from it all. She is still struggling with keeping a bag on - and it really makes it hard for her to go out in public. Please continue to pray for her in that area for sure.

Well my appointment is not until next Wednesday but I would also appreciate prayers. I always feel so much better to have that appointment out of the way. Thanks so very much! :O)

Are you Living Blessed?

This weeks visit to my favorite little thrift shop nearby did not disappoint. I had not been able to go during the last month but one time and that one time was with my granddaughter in tow. So we quickly went through and bought a few things for her. But this time I got to go and spend a bit of time looking at the books. And I found a real treasure. I knew after reading just one chapter that I would love this book. Below are just a couple of awesome quotes that really stood out to me and I wanted to share them with you all.

 

"Living blessed...in His presence...my heart His home...His plans, my plans...His will, my will. Awesome option."

 "Living Blessed... The awesome option of being in-dwelt by the Absolute Sovereign of the universe who never met a problem He couldn't solve."

 

I hope you were blessed by these as I was. :O)