Monthly Clothing Report

So for the months of Jan and Feb - a grand total of $8.98 was all I spent on clothing. Well obviously by my above photo - I have had better luck this month.

So I decided instead of lots of individual photos I would post it like this. I only figured this out because on my phone photos - it was set up like this so I took a photo of what was on my phone screen and then edited it. But I am quite happy with how it turned out. The colors are not always true to product - example of that is the two blue top and then cami.

OK so the first photo - I just wanted to show you my cute little pen I found a few weeks ago - it's one I share with the granddaughter- the little body comes out when you are going to write and then pop up and disappear if you aren't. She helped me write out information in my binder in my purse - until I thought how heavy she was and found a pencil.

Ok - I am not even sure ya'll are interested in knowing how much each thing cost - if not - then next month I will leave that off - if anyone has any feelings either one way or the other - let me know.

I will go left to right - starting with the first row:

Bill Blass capris - these cost $3.93

Then we have a like new pair of Faded Glory capris $7.57- these were actually gifted to me.

The top on the right - is a Catherine's brand top- it was half off and I only had to pay $2.24 for it. On the hanger it is not as impressive as it is on- I have worn it and got a compliment on it. I think that navy blue is one of my best colors to wear.

Next row:
Grey St. John's Bay top- this was $4.94
(the top two buttons seem to have a problem staying buttoned - I am planning on going in and sewing that closed so that it can stay modest and look nice)

The next one is a Beverly Drive sleeveless slinky top- $3.93
(this is a great top for church and I will wear with a black skirt that I have)

Next one - Faded Glory - this was new with tags- tag stated a price of $11.97 but I only paid $5.45

Cato- sleeveless top - New with tags - price of 19.99 crossed off and had a price of $13.99 printed. but I only paid $6.56

Bottom Row:

Avenue sleeveless top with a lace panel down the front- New with tags - tags said $34.00 but I only paid $3.73

Cato's brown cami with lace - $1.91
(this cami will be worn with the cato sleeveless top - unless I sew a panel of lace in where it goes too low in the front)

Apt. 9 turquoise cami $3.93

Last but not least:
a pair of Cato jeans - with white stitching - $4.94
(I have worn these and absolutely love them!!)

Not pictured is a black half slip - $2.99

So a total for the month of March is $ 44.55

Sounds like quite a bit but when added to the previous things bought for the year- $8.98 for a total of $53.53 - when dividing into 3 - for the 3 months of the year - it equals about $17.84- which is actually more than some people spend on one piece of clothing.

I will be continuing to look for summer clothes and also short sleeved tops. - so hopefully I will have some more luck!

Surprised~ A Dream Come True

So a couple of months ago - I mentioned that there were plans in the works in order to fulfill a dream of mine(and my husbands). This dream began 10 years ago when my husband bought me a Janome Sewing Machine. While we were at the shop looking at the sewing machines - he saw a quilting machine and really wanted to get it for me. I had only been quilting - piecing quilts together for a couple of years at that point. And truthfully I was not ready for a quilter. And of course - we did not have the money. My sewing machine cost quite a bit and we could not afford to do both.

 

Well about a month or so ago we had my sewing machine service- first time in 10 years. And while my husband was at the shop dropping the machines off- he saw it. A wonderful quilting machine- and the best part about it was that it would fit in my sewing room! Many quilting machines take ALOT of space. And this one is only 3X5!

 

He told me about the machine and took me up to look at it and I loved it too. So we began the process to try to get it. And at first I was a bit frustrated because financing held things up for about a month. But - it ended up being the best thing ever! Because what happened is that they had sold out of all of their Dream Machine Frames and so we bought the display model- just the frame - not the machine. And we saved 20% off the total price.

 

So I did not know that the process was still in the works and on Friday - my husband had a dinner to go to with his work crew to celebrate a coworkers anniversary with the company. Several hours later - he was still gone. Well I didn't think too much about it because SweetPea and I had our own plans for the day.

 

When my husband got home - he asked me to come look at something. When I got out to the truck - I saw it! There was the quilting machine!! I was overwhelmed for sure!

 

Why Papa was putting everything together SweetPea was saying - I know how to do it. Let me show you how to do it Papa! I thought it was so funny! She has never sewn before but she was sure that she could do it. And sure enough - she did! We let her go at it and she did quite a good job! She got to play before I did- she is braver than me!

 

 

So I have been doing a bit of practicing with my new machine and I have really enjoyed it.

Although after I worked on this bit of meandering - my first attempt-- I looked at some of the paper work that came with the machine and come to find out I was going backwards. Hoping to get some time on it to try it out the right way...now.

 

 

What Can the Soil Do?

Today's post is a pretty long excerpt from my "Parables of the Kingdom" book. It is well worth the read, otherwise I would never have decided to type it all out to share with you all. Hope you are blessed.

from pages 14-16

What Can the Soil Do?

"This is the story of a plot of ground that wanted to be a garden. The story actually begins with the Farmer, who purchased the plot of ground at great expense. Then he provided some seed of excellent quality and came to the plot of ground and sowed the seed.
Well, the plot of ground rejoiced. It had always wanted to be a garden. And it began immediately to try to do its part toward becoming a garden of beauty and fruitfulness. It began to look at itself and discovered to its dismay that it was covered with a number of unsightly weeds. There were thorns and thistles and briers and brambles, and the plot of ground was concerned and ashamed. Before the coming of the Farmer it hadn't paid much attention to such things, and the weeds had made terrible inroads. Their roots were deeply entrenched in the soil.
"How can I receive any benefit from the seed while all these weeds are growing unchecked?" wondered the plot of ground. "Everybody knew that a garden must be weeded in order for the seed to grow."
So I began immediate efforts to try to remove the weeds. It wanted to cooperate with the Farmer so that the time would come as quickly as possible when it would no longer be just an ugly weed patch, but would become a lovely garden.
The plot of ground struggled and fretted. It sincerely wanted to get rid of its weeds, but the problem was figuring out how. All the instruction about weed-pulling seemed to be vague and contradictory. The plot o ground heard from one source that if it would get rid of the leaves and stems, the Farmer would then be willing to pull out the roots. But it discovered it was too weak to get rid of the leaves and stems.
It was told that if that if a plot of ground did its part, then the Farmer would do His part. but the plot of ground seemed unable to do any part of the weed-pulling for itself. It was often told to try hard to overcome the weeds, but it didn't exactly know to do that either, and when the weeds were still apparent, week after week, those around the plot of ground, and even the plot of ground began to wonder if it were really sincere in wanting to get rid of the weeds.
Someone suggested to the plot of ground that if it would not try to remove the weeds from the whole garden all at once, but would concentrate on removing just one weed at a time, that would be easier. But the plot of ground found itself unable to remove even one weed.
At times the plot of ground almost gave up in discouragement at the lack of progress made, but then it would once again picture the garden it longed to become, and it would again put forth earnest efforts to try to get rid of the weeds. But all of the efforts of the plot of ground to rid itself of the thorns and briers ended in nothing.
One day the plot of ground was forced to admit that it would never become a beautiful garden on its own, and that day the Farmer came to the plot of ground with some terrific news. The Farmer had come often before, but he plot of ground had been so busy struggling with the weeds that it hadn't really taken time to listen. The Farmer told the plot of ground something that was almost impossible to believe. It seemed at first glance to go contrary to everything the plot of ground had ever heard about gardening. Here is what the Farmer said: "It is not the responsibility of the garden to get rid of the weeds. That is the work of the Gardener."

It is the Gardener Who Pulls the Weeds

"Well you can see right away why the plot of ground had a hard time with the response. No wonder the plot of ground had trouble with the Farmer's announcement.
But unless the plot of ground accepted the Farmers offer, it must give up all hope of becoming a beautiful garden so the plot of ground surrendered to the Farmer and allowed Him to pull the weeds. And the first thing you kow, the weeds were being pulled up- by the roots, not just the leaves and stems went. The whole plant was uprooted and taken far away from the plot of ground. Then in their place good seeds were sown, and the garden began to grown and develop.
As time passed, the plot of ground, which was now a beautiful garden, continued  to allow the Farmer to do His work. And the garden continued to do its work. It continued to accept the seed that the Farmer sowed, drank deeply of the water the Farmer showered, and basked in the sunshine that the Farmer provided. The plants in the garden grew and grew and brought forth fruit- some an hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty."

Some Delicious Roasted Potatoes

Sharing a great recipe with you all today! :)

Roasted Potatoes

 8 large red potatoes

6 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Frontier all-purpose seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 - 2 Tb. olive oil - or to taste

Vegenaise(optional) - I didn't have any and I thought they were awesome just on their own!

 Cut each potato into 8 wedges. Combine all ingredients and mix well, then pour over potatoes that are in a bowl. Stir until potatoes are coated with mixture. Spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 450* for 30 minutes until done.

Recipe says to top with vegenaise when serving. I didn't have any - And we ate them must like they came out. They are good- I didn't see the need to add anything. I used jarred garlic - where you use 1/2 tsp per clove. I was afraid that it was going to be too garlicky - but we really liked it.

 

On the sprigs of rosemary - a

 

For rosemary:

A sprig is generally defined as a 2- to 4-inch piece of the herb plant. You can substitute about 1/2 teaspoon of dried herb for a sprig

I did not use as much rosemary as they called for - because I had not looked up this info then. I probably only used 1 sprig- So I will have to try recipe again and use more and see what we think.

 

Aldi's run the red tators for like 99 cents for a 5 pound bag ever so often. So it would be a pretty economical dish.

 

I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as we did.

 

I got the recipe from "Naturally Gourmet" cookbook. And had to add a bit of the directions of how to put this together - to make it a little clearer of what to do.

 

Where I borrowed the photo of the cookbook from and where I got my cookbook - click HERE.

 

Scars

This is another beautiful song- actually it is one of my husbands favorite songs. Thought I would share. It is Scars- by Ray Boltz. :)

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Another great song by the same group- Glad. Hope you are blessed! :)

Joy to the world - He is risen!!

One of my favorite songs- so very glad I remembered about this song! I had forgotten! So since I have found it again - I have had to listen to it over and over- I like it that much!!! I hope you like it too! Joy to the world- He is risen!!! :0)

God SO Loved the World

 

It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point and let the imagination grasp each scene,

 especially the closing ones.

--The Desire of Ages, p. 83 (1898).

 

Christ and Him crucified should be the theme

 of contemplation, of conversation,

 and of our most joyful emotion.

--Steps to Christ, pp. 103, 104 (1892).

 

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

 

Defeat? Or Victory?

"I don't believe anyone ever felt so defeated, depressed, and cheated as eleven men did on a Friday night almost two thousand years ago. Jesus had promised them the world. They were going to sit on thrones and rule kingdoms. Life would be marvelous for them. They were important. Then, suddenly, Jesus was arrested, tortured, and crucified. The world had come to an end for them. Nothing will bring us as low as the cross brought them. Not even crippling disease, financial failure, desertion of friends, death of dear ones, or injustices of life. But was it defeat? On the contrary, it was the most glorious moment of victory this world has ever known."

This quote was found in a little book called "The Surrender of Self" written by Joe Crews that I read this week. When I read this quote I knew I needed to share it for todays post.

One reason I wanted to share this quote is because it helps us view the cross from a little different angle than we usually see it- we get to understand just a bit of what the disciples were feeling that night.

Another reason is because in our lives we may experience circumstances that feel like defeat, but in the end - there may be victory. All we need to do is to surrender our lives to God and allow Him to guide and direct and let Him take care of the results. Praise the Lord for that! :)

B-U-S-Y....BUSY

I am so sorry that I have not had a chance to post as much as I had planned to post this week. Life has gotten in the way. Appointments with my Dentist, shopping with my sister(hint- I will have a post for the end of this month showing what I have gotten this month) yard work and the like. I have a post that I was working on but blogger was not letting me post some photos and so I had to give up, didn't have enough time to continue to try.
Anyway I do hope you all are doing well. Things here are going good, just busy. I better close because I have a special post that I want to work on for tomorrow. See ya then! :)

Piecemealing Tupperware

Ok - you all know how much I love Tupperware! What I don't love is the prices of brand new Tupperware- plus the shipping and handling charges that make it so expensive.

 

I have been quite lucky with finding a few Tupperware items here and there.

 

A couple of months ago my husband found these two containers at a small local thrift store- only problem is that they came with NO lids. We bought them- only paid about 50 cents or so each container. I had SO hoped that I could find some lids while thrift shopping but no luck. So I finally gave in and got on Ebay and looked for some lids. There were some expensive prices. So when I saw the auctions for these lids- I decided to try to get them. I took in to consideration that these containers run about $21.00 and $29.00. And that is not considering the shipping and handling and tax. So I figured paying 5-6 dollars for each lid would be reasonable. Well I lucked out and was able to get these two lids for less than $10.00. So it ended up being about $4.57 per lid. So each container cost me less than $6.00. Now that is a deal!!

 

So when you are thrift shopping - be sure to keep your eyes open for these great Tupperware containers- you might be surprised when you find. And remember you can probably find replacement parts - if things are missing.

I have also found a set of blue bowls, a couple of cereal containers, a small pitcher, and a couple other of these containers- with lids! Oh and measuring cups! It's hard to resist the older color measuring cups. Haven't found those in a long time- but I always keep my eyes open.

Stay tuned I have a lot more to share!! :)

The Hidden Hammer

I'm back! I have so many different things to share with you all but a lot of the posts will take some time and effort to get the photos all ready and such. So I thought that today I would share a little trick that may be helpful to some of you.

My husband has many tool. All sorts of tools for all sorts of jobs. He has tools here and he has tools there. Well I got kind of tired of not being able to find a hammer when I needed one and so I decided long ago to hide one in my towel closet. Well we all know it is there - it is just where I decided to put a hammer- at the bottom under all the bath towels. Now every time I need a hammer I can find it.

I am sharing today because I had this pretty little heart hanging from an over the door hanger, on my sewing room door. Well I moved the over the door hanger to the room for our granddaughter because I hang her church bag on it. And since we have moved most of her things to the other room - I thought it was time to move the bag to that door as well. So I needed to hang up my cute plaque.

So I found the perfect nail and went to find my hammer. And as I was pulling it out I thought of it as my hidden hammer and how it might be useful to someone out there to have a hammer placed somewhere - where you know where it is so that you can find a hammer when needed.

 

Well I better close for now. I have some mowing to do and a list of other things to do.
And since it is a pretty day outside - but a bit chilly I decided to make a batch of granola. Then I decided to try a new recipe for bread- it was called Healthy Bread. So I have that rising as well. Lots going on around here- trying to catch up. Hope you all are doing well. :O)

Pray All the Time

Something floating around Facebook - some encouragement - not only to pray but also to thank God. We always have something to thank God for. All good gifts come from Him! :O

Heart Gifts....series

More of Thee...Less of Me

 

Take me and break me and make me, dear God,

Just what You want me to be-

Give me the strength to accept what You send

And eyes with the vision to see

All the small arrogant ways that I have

And the vain little things that I do,

Make me aware that I'm often concerned

More with myself than with You,

Uncover before me my weakness and greed

And help me to search deep inside

So I may discover how easy it is

 To be selfishly lost in my pride-

And then in Thy goodness and mercy

Look down on this weak, erring one

And tell me that I am forgiven

For all I've so willfully done,

And teach me to humbly start following

The path that the dear Saviour trod

So I'll find at the end of life's journey

"A Home in the city of God!" 

Sneak Peek

Here is our granddaughter and I at one of the field trips that we went on this week. I have some awesome photos to share with you all as soon as I get a chance to go through and organize them and size them and all. It will probably be next week before I can since we will have our granddaughter through Sunday and have some more fun things planned for the next few days.

 

I hope you all are doing well. We have had wonderful weather this week. Well this am a rough storm went through. My son sat in the middle of the highway for at least 10 minutes or so while a hailstorm went through. Thankfully he is alright. And thankfully he leaves early enough for work that he was still able to get to work on time.

Field Trips

We are busy going on field trips and working on things around here and else where. I will update as soon as I can. I hope you all are doing well. We are having beautiful weather - at least for now!

The Cross Forever Settled This Issue

"The devil knew of God's justice- that His whole government was a government of justice. He knew that if God went against His own character of justice, His government would fall. What he did not understand was the love of God, which had conceived of a plan, before the foundation of the earth, making provision to forgive sinners and still maintain justice.
Satan thought he had God in a corner. Either sinners wouldn't be forgiven, and man would perish; or else sinners would be... forgiven, God's government would go down, and Satan and his angels would gain control.
But the cross forever settled this issue. When Jesus cried, " It is finished!" The devil knew that his doom was sealed. He knew that he was finished, and that all that remained was for him to get as many as possible to suffer and perish with him."
The Return of Elijah pg 83-84

Favorite Things

So I wanted to share a new favorite with you today!

 

So a while back I shared that I was having a problem with my eye lashes on my right eye. It had gotten so bad there for a while that I was even having a hard time wearing mascara. The problem was that some of the top lashes - instead of going straight out or flipping upwards - well they were kind of aiming downward. So the problem was that they would tangle a bit with the bottom lashes and I would have to reach up there and kind of push them apart. I actually stopped wearing mascara for a while.

 

Then an unexpected source just happened to share with me about some great mascara that was actually very reasonably priced.

 

So I went and got myself some and I began to use it. It took some time but my eye lashes are beginning to act a lot better. They are not quite curling up like the other sides lashes - but they are not aiming downward, which is awesome!

Anyway I wanted to share with you all what kind of mascara has contributed to an answer to prayer:

 

I am so thankful to have improvement in this are. I still have a list of 6-7 things that I am praying about that I just have to hold onto hope that there will be an answer to them.

 

There is one of those prayers - that I may have found some help for- and if so I will share about it on here, but only if it is a success. Don't want to encourage anyone to try a product if I am not sure that it is a great product.

 

Oh a little note about this Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara - is water proof- I think this is one reason it has been such a good thing for me to use. It stays put. So at the end of the day - you still have mascara on! It takes a bit of effort to get it off.  But hey - it is worth its' cost if it stays put. And it is only about $6-$7 dollars. That is a pretty good deal for an answer to prayer! :)

 

 

Things are Bad?

Don't Neglect Prayer

The only way that we can be overcomers is to abide in Christ- and how do we do that? By a personal relationship. In order to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ we must spend time with Him - in prayer and in study. He longs to spend time with us - why don't we fulfill His desire and devote more time to getting to know Him better?! :O)

Heart Gifts....series

"This Too Will Pass Away"

IF I can endure for this minute

Whatever is happening to me,

No matter how heavy my heart is

Or how "dark" the moment may be_

If I can remain calm and quiet

With all my world crashing about me,

Secure in the knowledge God loves me

When everyone else seems to doubt me-

If I can but keep on believing

What I know in my heart to be true,

That "darkness will fade with the morning"

And that this will pass away, too-

Then nothing in life can defeat me

For as long as this knowledge remains

I can suffer whatever is happening  

For I know God will break "all the chains"

That are binding me tight in "the Darkness"

And trying to fill me with fear-

For there is no night without dawning

And I know that "my morning" is near.

~ Helen Steiner Rice

Garden Growing and Grain Grinding

So today I thought I would just do a catch up post, to catch you all up on what has been going on around here.

First of all - we are seeing growth in our garden.

Our onion bulbs are sending up green shoots and we are so excited. We have never grown onions or potatoes - so this is all new to us. I noticed growth with the onions earlier this week:

Then yesterday evening, when I went to put my chickens up - I walked over to our potato garden box and notices several of our potato plants already growing:

 

I have been making my own bread for the last several weeks. And I decided to get more serious about making my bread by also grinding my own flour. I talked to a friend who also grinds her own flour and got some great pointers. I had really wanted to get an electric (stand alone) grain mill - but they are over $200. and we really don't have that kind of money right now so my husband and I decided to get this attachment for my KitchenAid. I did warn my husband that since my KitchenAid is over 15 years old - that by using this attachment - that it might cause my mixer to go out and if so we would have to get a new one. He agreed - so this is what we went with. I am quite pleased with it!!

It is so easy to attach - that even though my husband has been out of town again this week - I was able to get it attached and use it - all by myself!

 

I have made rye bread- LOVE it! And I made a dill/onion bread- it is great too. It is a recipe that came from my ex- step mom. I am working out the details of the recipe - she gave it to me in a 9 loaves recipe- she sold bread to the public. So once I have it broke down and worked out - I will share it here.

 

So I found a great savings this week as well. At a local HEB store - I found this 1 pound container of yeast for only $2.77!!!

 

Now is you buy your yeast like this -you will want to store a majority of it in the refrigerator. Now I have an old spaghetti sauce jar- that I store most of my yeast in. And I have an old smaller jar that I had bought some yeast in years ago- that I store a smaller amount of yeast in. The only problem is that I was storing both of them in the fridge. But you won't want to do that. You will want the small one stored in your cabinet - at room temperature. That way it will be ready for you to use when you are ready to make bread. I plan on making up another batch of rye bread today - just so I can use the yeast - when I KNOW it is at room temperature and I look forward to how it turns out. I will try to share that recipe soon as well.

 

I am very lucky to have found some rye berries at a local store! It costs $0.79 a pound.

Oh and the lady that I was talking to about grinding my grains? Well she goes to a place about an hour away and buys a lot of her grains. So since she was making the trip this week - she asked if I wanted to go in half with her to get some grain. And I did - so she bought some prairie gold wheat berries and some kamut berries. And she bought them in a bucket- so since she already has buckets for storage - I get the buckets! Oh and she bought a big box of bread bags- and going to sell me 50 of them for $2.00! Since my bread is pretty big - I have had to use my produce bags. And I know that is not the best things but that seemed to be my only option. Now I will have special bread bags!!

I look forward to getting my half of the grains and making bread with freshly milled grains.

 

If you do use freshly milled flour- you need to be careful because your bread will begin to mold sooner. When you buy flour is has preservatives in it to keep your baked goods from molding too quickly. Tomorrow I will be going to pick up my grain and when I do - she will be telling me more about the whole process. So I will try to remember so I can share with you all.

 

So my husband will be home this evening. Next week is Spring break for our granddaughter and so my husband has taken that week off. We have some fun things planned! I look forward to our time with SweetPea and the fun things we have planned. A trip to a zoo and we are also going to go see a butterfly exhibit that is only open for a month a year. We are going to learn about butterflies, lady bugs, earthworms and more next week!

An Important Health Tidbit

Remember the new workout DVD that I got? Well this morning I did the Heart Healthy Walk. I learned a few new things just listening to Leslie talk. She explain that we need to be sure and exercise our upper chest because if it isn't exercised then the muscles across our chest tend to pull in and our shoulders are pulled in and our posture slumps. I think it's awesome that she takes the time to explain the benefits behind exercise because it helps me realize how very important it is for us to use all the muscles of our bodies. I hope this Health tidbit helps encourage you as well! :O)

Getting Our Garden Planted

Ok - so this week end was a really good week for us to get some more things planted!

Sunday my husband built these two garden boxes:

If the first one we planted strawberries and then in the back on we planted some thornless blackberry plants.  

Here is a closer photo of the blackberries. We plan on buying one more plant and planting it in the middle.

Ok - I am not sure if these are called walking onions or multiplying onions. I will be talking to my Dad who gave me the onions several years ago and I will find out. When I do - I will update and let you know. Anyway Last year these onions were in a different garden box- well they ended up getting over taken by grass- really hard to pull grass and I was afraid that I had lost my onions. I was so thrilled last week to see that I had not lost them. This week end - we got a bit more soil to add to this garden box and did a little work on it and then transplanted my onions. I was thrilled to have come out with more than I thought I had!!

We think we are going to plant my cherry tomato plants on the empty side of that garden bed- gonna do some research and make sure there would not be any problems if we did that.

Last week end we planted some purple onion- something we love and always try to keep some on hand. 

 

We also planted some potatoes. This will be the first time we have ever planted purple onions or potatoes- so we are excited!

We have big plans next week so do a little work to get our big garden area ready - and we pray that it will work out this year. We have been wanting to get this area ready for several years now. So please pray that our plan will work and that we will be able to find some great dirt to bring in to fill in our area for our garden. Then we are hoping to be able to get our beans, yellow squash, okra, cucumbers and several more things.

I have a couple of garden boxes that I am going to plant some lettuce and spinach in.

Oh and the garden box that we took the onions out of- we plan to do a little work on it and then I am planning on using it as another herb garden- where I would like to plant - basil, cilantro, chives, and maybe more - I need to do some research.

My rosemary, oregano, sage and parsley came back from last year- well actually parsley is what I planted last year - the others I planted several years ago. My rosemary plant is a little out of control but I do NOT want to cut it back because I have ALOT of bees that are enjoying it. So I may plant another rosemary plant in my other herb garden. I am not sure though.

I do need to learn a little more about cooking with herbs- if any of you have any information or links to great places that I could learn more - I would love to hear from you. All the help I can get is what I need! There are so many sources and to wade through them to find the good sites with helpful information is sometimes overwhelming to me.

So today- and it looks like all wee - we are in for some rainy weather. We have already gotten a good rain and I don't think it is over for the day. So my garden got watered for freeeee!!! I like free! :)

Hope you all are doing well. :O)

Three Major Issues At The Tree

"Of the three major issues involved at the tree in the garden, two we will call doctrinal, and the third one we'll call experiential. The first issue- you don't have to obey God. Go ahead and eat. The second issue- if you disobey and break His commandments ,the penalty won't be what He said it would be. You won't really die. Two doctrinal issues: you don't have to obey God's commandments, and you won't really die. And the third issue was experiential- yes shall be as gods. You will become your own God. It has been the devil's deception ever since- for centuries Satan has been trying to get people to be their own gods. The serpent started his program at the tree, and he's going to continue and finish his program in the same way, over the same issues." The Return of Elijah by Morris Vendon, pg 75

Stronger Prayers...

Heart Gifts...series

Unaware, We Pass "Him" By

On life's busy thoroughfares

We meet with angels unawares-

But we are too busy to listen or hear,

Too busy to sense that God is near,

Too busy to stop and recognize

The grief that lies in another's eyes,

Too busy to offer to help or share,

Too busy to sympathize or care,

Too busy to do the good things we should,

Telling ourselves we would if we could...

But life is too swift and the pace is too great

And we dare not pause for we might be late

For our next appointment which means so much,

We are willing to brush off the Saviour's touch,

And we tell ourselves there will come a day

We will have more time to pause on our way...

But before we know it "life's sun has set."

And we've passed the Saviour but never met,

For hurrying along life's thoroughfare

We passed Him by and remained unaware

That within the very sight of our eye,

Unnoticed, the Son of God passed by.

~ Helen Steiner Rice

 

 

 



Variety

Today I wanted to share with you all something that I have learned. I do believe that I am having better success with having variety in my exercise routine. Since I have added things to my walking - I have noticed that I feel that my posture is better and that I have more energy.

 

On my to do list for this week - was mowing my yard. And so since the back yard looked like it really needed attention- that is where I started. So on Monday I began mowing the back yard. I was able to get a much bigger section of it at one time than last year. Then on Tuesday I was able to mow the entire front yard. And last year, I usually had to stop for a rest 3/4th of the way done. Yes - our yard is quite big- and it does not help that it is a bit bumpy and hilly. Anyway I was thrilled that I was able to get more of it done than last year. That is just one more example of why exercise is important- it helps with real life jobs.

 

The cool thing - is that there is a good chance that you already have plenty of things in your own home in order to provide yourself with a variety of options of what do to for your exercise time.

 

I had a couple of exercise tapes -

 

 This next one is challenging- it is a good thing that it is set up in 10 minute sections. It comes with a green rubber band in which to use with your workouts- resistant bands- to help you see results quicker. I have only tried the first section and then the upper body section- I really like this one and use it after some of my other workouts.

I'll be honest - I did order this dvd - and paid less than $9.00 for 7 options of workouts!

I already had these 3 pound weights that I bought a while back. I was thrilled to have found them again and put them to work to help me see results. 

Do not forget about the options of finding work out programs on TV.

The program that actually helped me realize that I was going to need to do something other than just walking on my treadmill to get me in shape was Rise Up with Jennifer Webster. HERE is her website. You can order DVD's from her - and you can also go to Youtube and look her up - I think that there is at least a couple of her workouts there.

 

KERA- Channel 13 - maybe it is called different things in different areas - but anyway it is the channel that plays Sesame Street. They usually have a workout on it. Maybe more than one.

 

Anyway the whole idea of this post is to share with you - that there are many options of things you can do for your health. The main thing is to get up and move. Add variety. Don't just do the same thing all the time - you will get bored. I know for me - I have enjoyed my exercise time much more now that I do a variety of things. I actually spend more time in exercise as well. There is no way I am going to be able to stay on my treadmill for 45 minutes- but I can spend 45 minutes to even an hour exercising by doing a variety of things. And because I am spending more time I am feeling better.

 

Be sure and look around your house - see what all you have that you could change up what you do for your exercise time- you might be surprised at what all you come up with. Then add something to your schedule, you will be happy with the results. It's good to move that body!

Oh I need to write a post about something that I learned from Leslie Sansome on my new dvd. Be watching for that - It might be a bit surprising- it was for me.

 

God's Guidance

 

In December of 2014, our Sabbath School leader and his wife - moved their membership to another church in the area. This was very hard for me and the rest of the class left behind. We had a very special class. A class that not only talked about biblical thing but also how to apply them to our everyday life's. We also had time to share what was going on in our lives. We were able to get to know one another and really care about each other.

 

Our class still has a lot of these attributes- but to be honest we have floundered around trying to find our way. I have been challenged in what I was suppose to do. And I tried out other Sabbath School- only to realize that I belonged back in my Sabbath School.

 

Then several weeks ago - while I was at my favorite little thrift shop - I found 5 brand new copies of Morris Venden's "To Know God~ A 5-day plan" I had found other copies but they were older copies and kind of crispy - as in when you open them up they fall apart. That is the way my book is.

Anyway so I found 5 copies. I bought them. And 2 weeks ago - I handed them out to the other ladies in my Sabbath School class. This Sabbath one of the ladies came in and told how the week before she had had a very hard week- so she decided to stay home from church. She got her book and started to read. She said that it was exactly what she needed to be reading. And so we decided that we would start reading this book and discussing it for our Sabbath School. A real answer to prayer for me. Because I knew that we needed something to guide us along in our discussions. And thankfully now we have something. And like I have shared in the past. All the Morris Venden books that I have read have been great. I have gotten a real blessing out of them. They help me understand Biblical things so much better.

It took over a year - but I do believe that our Sabbath School is on the right path. We still have time to share about things in our lives that bother us and to pray for one another - but now we will have something that is uplifting and will draw us into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. And that is what it's all about! To Know God!  

"The Long Wait"

So this past week end a friend of mine - who knows that I have a lot of prayers on the "wait" list and so when she saw this story she was thoughtful and sent it to me to encourage me.


Here is a story from Signs of the Times Magazine:

The Long Wait
A poor woman stood at the gate that overlooked a vineyard.  As she was standing there the owner of the vineyard walked up.  "Would you like some grapes?"  he asked. "I would be very thankful to receive some" the woman replied. "Then bring your basket." The woman left and soon returned to the gate with her basket.  The owner took it and was gone a long time among the vines to the point that the woman became discouraged thinking that he wasn't coming back.  But when he returned the basket was heaping full. "I apologize for making you wait so long" the man said "but the longer you had to wait the more grapes you received." That's how it is with prayer.  We bring our empty "basket" and give it to God.  Sometimes it can seem He's waiting a long time to answer our prayer and sometimes our faith faints with the waiting.  But when the answer comes our "basket' is heaping full of luscious blessings.  We sometimes have to wait a long time so that He can bring us a better answer. J.R. Miller

If you would like to check out the website for the Signs of the Times Magazine - click on the link above! I hope you are blessed!