New Insight into Psalm 23 series

“Every day and every hour and every moment I have to have Someone living for me and in me who can crucify every unholy thought, every unholy act, and keep me in a place of usableness before a holy God. And that is exactly what we see Him doing in Psalm 23.”

~”I Shall Not Want” by Robert T. Ketcham

Rehoming of a pet

I have shared how I was chased by a rooster as a child. This has caused me to be afraid of roosters. Although Rudy was a pretty good rooster - we decided that it would be best to rehome him. The last weekend that our granddaughter was here - he kind of scared her and so she was ok to hear that we might have to get rid of him.

 

One of my husbands friends was alright with adding a rooster to his flock so Sunday my husband gathered Rudy into a cat carrier and took him away. It was much easier to get him into the carrier that I had expected. Thankfully. When my husband brought the carrier to me so I could say bye - I started crying. I raised him since he was a baby. And you fall in love with your pets- they become family. And even though I am afraid of roosters - it still really made me sad to see him go. I pray that he has a good home and is happy.

 

 

Now we have 22 chickens. So far our biggest amount of eggs per day has been 5 but I am thinking that today will be a 6 egg day. We shall see. I can't wait till this week end - our sweet granddaughter loves to gather eggs. That is her job when she is here!!!

Lukewarm?

This week I am deviating from our little health series, next week it will return. 

This week I will be finishing up reading this great book. I have gained a better understanding of many of the parables in the Bible from this book. Yes, I started the other book before I was finished with this book. It was so tempting. It's alright though- I love this book enough I will finish it this week. And it will be added to my special library of books in my reading nook.

I love how this quote gives a deeper understanding to what “lukewarm” means.

“Now, in Revelation 3, we are told that the church in existence shortly before Jesus returns is called Laodicea, and Laodicea is known for being lukewarm. What is “lukewarm” made of? It’s made of hot and cold. But you can’t go by the kitchen sink on that. It doesn’t mean that we are hot on the left side and cold on the right side. You go to Matthew 23, and you find out that lukewarm is made up of hot on the outside and cold on the inside. That is what makes lukewarm. People who are apparently hot on the outside, but cold on the inside- doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.”

~”Wonderful Words of Life” by Morris Venden pg.136

New Insight into Psalm 23

I am SO very lucky to have a small thrift store nearby that has some great people who donate things to it, because I end up with some of the greatest books there are. I really feel blessed. The last few weeks the thrift store is running a sale on books - so most books are 50 cents unless it is a small book - then she only charges 25 cents. I am not sure how much she charged for this book but 50 cents would have been the most she would have. I think that was an awesome deal. I have only read the first chapter and was SO very blessed by it. I will only be pulling out the excellent quotes that really speak to me to share with you. By the way - this is such a great book - I am on the look out for me - so I can share it!!

 

 

“ The glorious truth that they(Christians) should be meeting Him every day in green pastures and beside still waters has never dawned upon them, or at least has never become a blessed, daily experience in their Christian life. True it is that one cannot know Christ as Shepherd without knowing Him as Savior, but the tragedy is that born again believers who know Him as Savior may never know Him in their daily experience as a blessed present Shepherd.”

 “I Shall Not Want” by Robert T. Ketchum pg.11 of this awesome new book I’m reading. I have only read the first chapter and wow! What insight into the 23rd Psalm. Be watching for more great quotes!! :O)

How Did It Go, You ask?

So sorry it took me so long to get on here and update about the potluck. I have to say that I was pretty nervous about it. It's a bit of a challenge for me to go to thing that most the time couples go to - well that is if you are married - then usually your husband goes with you to potluck. Well my husband does not like potluck and has not been going to church with me in quite some time. It has probably been about 10 months or more since he has gone to church with me. Anyway so I was pretty nervous about this potluck. It is a new group of people - I only have spoken to 3-4 of the ladies in the class. I am pretty proud of myself for that because for an introvert it is a challenge to meet new people. God has opened the way for me to meet new people and I am thankful for that. Anyway I went to the potluck and I felt a little uncomfortable - especially in trying to find a place to sit. There were purses and belongings are several seats at a table that a couple were sitting at. And I did not know if more places were being saved so I walked to another table - that no one was sitting at. To be honest - I was dreading sitting down there all by myself. That is an awkward time indeed. As I sat my things on the table a sweet lady from another table invited me to sit by them. And I gladly accepted. At least a couple of the ladies that I have already begun to talk to sat at my table as well. My time at potluck ended up being very pleasant. I am thankful for that because I heard the teacher say something about us having a potluck once a month. It will depend on what weekends they have the potluck if I will be able to go or not. If it is a week end that our son has his daughter then certainly I will be eating at home with the family.

God took care of everything and even though there were a couple of times during this day that I felt a little uncomfortable - overall I had a very good experience.

I continue to believe that God has led me to this church and I am so thankful.

The Very Last One (of this year)

This is the very last Block of the Month(BOM) of this year. And as you all know by now that my quilt shop that I was doing the BOM at is closing in just a few short days from now- the end of August.

About 10 years ago or so my husband's job had him working 4-10 hour days which meant he was off on Fridays. Once a month on Friday morning I would go to BOM. Since my husband enjoys quilting also he decided to sign up for BOM as well. He was able to do the first 2 -3 and then his schedule changed but I kept getting his block for him.

 

Now I need to explain the rules of BOM- The first month we pay for the block packet - it started off at about $5.00. Then each month if you brought your finished block to you during the BOM- you would receive the next packet for free. However, only the 1st block was free. So if my husband had have been able to continue going to BOM his packet would have been free, but since he stopped being able to go - I started to have to pay for his.

 

For several years I let him pick which block he wanted to do(they offered 2 choices) and I would do the one he didn't do. Then I figured up how much I was paying for his blocks

 

$5.00X 12 months= $60.00

 

and things were already a bit tight, so I decided we just could not keep doing it.

 

But now I am so happy that I able to get those blocks those three years because now even though BOM is over I have the rest of those 3 years to work on finishing up.

 

For the past ;year - after I have finished my current BOM for the month= I have been working on finishing up the Red, Black, and White blocks. I have that set of blocks finished now so I have begun working on the Red, White, and Blue set of blocks.

 

This is the block I finished this month so far.

After I finish this set, I have a set of Christmas themed blocks to work on, and a set of western themed blocks to work on.

 

So you can see I have a decent amount of BOM kits to keep me busy for quiet some time.

 

When I am done with all of that- I have a Americana Shop Hop quilt to work on - and also a Brights Shop Hop Quilt to work on.

 

Then I have a heart quilt that I found a year ago that I have been working on gathering the fabrics for.

 

Oh and all of these Blocks in each of the sets of 12 will need to be put together with other fabric and made into quilts - and then all of them will need to be quilted. I have plenty of quilting projects to work on. So don't worry about me and not having any quilting to do, because God worked it all out ahead of time that I would have plenty to keep me busy. Although I am sad that BOM is over and that the quilt shop is closing down, I still have plenty of projects to work on to keep me busy and out of trouble. It is need to see how God works things out - long before there is a problem!

 

 

Holding Plans Loosely

The last couple of weeks I have had plenty of opportunity to hold my plans loosely. As I have shared in the past I really enjoy my Friday's. I love spending my day getting ready for Sabbath. Changing the sheets and making beds,laundry, hanging my towels on the line weather permitting, sweeping, mopping, getting groceries if I didn't on Thursday..... You get the idea. Anyway you get the idea. Well the past two weeks I have had unexpected things come up- taking my mother in law to a Dr appointment which kept me out and about for several hours of my Friday. Then this week I needed to take my Mother in law to my sister in laws mother's funeral.... Which turned into going to grave side service and family dinner...5 hours later I arrived home... Worn out.Thankfully I was able to get at least the essentials done. But my stress level was almost through the roof with everything going on.

Speaking of that- so today my new Sabbath school class is having a potluck. I don't know very many people and so I am very nervous. I don't always know what to do and what to say in social settings. So I have been very nervous about this. I'm uncomfortable because my husband does not go to church with meat this time and so it will just be me. There are a good number of couples -a majority of the people there will be couples. I am very nervous about this but I feel like I have to go. I feel like God led me to this class in order to push me out of my comfort zone a bit and I feel I need to participate in the activities to fully do the growing God intends for m .so this morning as I write this, I pray that God will be with me and give me peace and even the words to say. That He will help me to experience peace and to come away from this experience feeling positive about it. If you would pray for me I'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

What was accomplished by Christ's death on the cross?

This week I finished reading Morris Venden's "What Jesus Said About....." book. Justification, Sanctification, Perfection, and the Investigative Judgement are just a few of the topics covered in this great book. There is a lot of great information packed in these 137 pages. 
What I really wanted to share with you today is in the last chapter that has to do with what Jesus said about the Atonement. It was just too good not to share:

"In conclusion, I'd like to list briefly several things that were accomplished by Christ's death on the cross. (1) He proved that God's love for man is great. (2) He paid the penalty for in. (3) He proved that the law could not be changed or set aside. (4) He proved that the penalty for sin was fair and just. (5) He proved the awfulness of sin. (6) He purchased the right to destroy the devil. (7) He purchased the right to forgive the sinner and still be just. (8) He made grace available to all who believe. and trust in Him. (9) He redeemed us from the curse of the law. (10) He obtained the keys to the grave, the right to raise the dead. (11) He proved that the wages of sin is death. (12) He made the Sabbath a memorial of creation and redemption. (13) He vindicated the character of God before the universe. (14) He proved that God's government would stand forever. (15) He bought back the lost dominion.

No wonder it will be proclaimed, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour , and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12. "

Thrifted Outfits

 Today's Thrifted Outfit features something I bought back in 2016 and something I bought about 2 weeks ago. Back in 2016, when Goodwill was doing a Midnight Madness sale - a 50% sale just every few months, my sister and I took advantage of the sale and hit a few stores. This white shrug was one of the items I bought during that trip. This is actually the very first time I have had the opportunity to wear it. And I love it!!

White shrug - Cato brand - 50% off $4.49- I paid $2.25

Dress - Sonoma - NWOT- it was originally marked $6.99- I got it for 50% off - I paid $3.50

Total outfit cost ~ $5.75

 

Both of these pieces were really blessing from God. Sometimes it is challenging to find great things at thrift stores. So when I find pieces that seem almost new - or I can tell they are new because of having the inspection stickers still attached to the tags- I am extremely grateful!

 

Oh and one of the best things about this dress - is that it has pockets!!!

I love pockets!! Have I mentioned that before?!

 

The only thing that I would change about this dress for me to like it more is I would add some to the length - I do prefer longer dresses. Oh well - stepping out of my comfort zone every now and then helps keep me on my toes.

 

 

Health Tidbits

Almonds reduce death by coronary disease by 50%

Eating just 5 almonds a day is very helpful!

Walnuts help protect against depression, good for brain health and so much more.

Nuts have fat - but it is the healthy kind of fat. You need fat in your diet but it is best to get your fat from healthy fat foods.

There are so many benefits of eating nuts.

I am sure that if you googled "health benefits of eating nuts"
you will find a lot of results- by the way - I just went to google to check and guess what? It came up with 139,000,000 results! Wowsers!
 

Who are we really fighting?

"Jacob was his name. You remember him. He had a problem. He was a borderline, if not outright, liar. After he got finished with outright, he remained borderline. And for twenty years he was a careful maneuverer and planner and manipulator. He knew how to get things done. Who needs God when you can manipulate? Then came the big crisis in his life by the Brook Jabbok. He got in a fight with Jesus, and he fought most of the night. Then, at dawn, it dawned on him. And the breaking of the day he realized that he had been doing this for twenty years. He thought he had been fighting his own battles when in reality he had been fighting Jesus for twenty years. Yes, that is the problem. The way we fight Jesus is by fighting our own battles. And we always lose, one way or another, even though we think we win." pg. 33

This quote reminds me to Exodus 14:14:

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 

There is something about this story of Jacob that always draws me in- like there are so many onion layers to this story and I look forward to the next layer being revealed to me.

 

I also wanted to share a little excerpt from the book "Patriarchs and Prophets" that helps us dig a little deeper. Click on the link above if you would like to read more of the chapter that this quote was found in.  

 

"Jacob "had power over the Angel, and prevailed." Hosea 12:4. Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite Love could not turn away the sinner's plea.

The error that had led to Jacob's sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud was now clearly set before him. He had not trusted God's promises, but had sought by his own efforts to about that which God would have accomplished in His own time and way. As an evidence that he had been forgiven, his name was changed from one that was a reminder of his sin, to one that commemorated his victory. "Thy name," said the Angel, "shall be called no more Jacob [the supplanter], but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."

Jacob had received the blessing for which his soul had longed. His sin as a supplanter and deceiver had been pardoned. The crisis in his life was past. Doubt, perplexity, and remorse had embittered his existence, but now all was changed; and sweet was the peace of reconciliation with God. Jacob no longer feared to meet his brother. God, who had forgiven his sin, could move the heart of Esau also to accept his humiliation and repentance." pg197-198

An Exciting Coincidence

"Our eggs are not only farm fresh, but farm fresh, loved eggs. Each loved on by SweetPea as she fills up the egg carton" is the status that I had put on Facebook 3 years ago on Wed. When I saw the post - I just had to share it. I knew that we were coming close to getting eggs again. Little did I know how very close we actually were.

Later on Wednesday when I went out to check on the chickens and freshen their water and fill up food containers - I decided to look around the chicken shed. For some reason I was drawn to look on the ground in the back corners. Guess what I found?!

These two lovely little eggs!

 

Every day now we are getting eggs! It is so much fun to go get eggs. It's all I can do not to go check on the days that SweetPea will be here since I need to let her go collect the eggs!

 

Raising animals can be a big job. It really can be - but there are joys that make it all worth it!!!

 

My Best Deal

 

This weeks installment of "My Best Deal" involves a super deal that I got at Goodwill, during their 50% off sale last week. I am not sure if all areas do this but the Goodwills in the local metroplex area run a 50% off sale once a month. It used to be once every few months but I guess they realized that people were having a harder time affording things and so now they have a sale once a month. Usually it is mid month.

 

Last Wednesday was the sale for our area and I decided to hit a few stores. I only found 3 things during my shopping trip. At the first store - I found 5 blue Tupperware cereal bowls for $1.08 with tax. Lucky for me - I found 11 cents in the parking lot so I had the tax covered by the money I found!

 

At the next store is where I found the awesome deal!!!

 

 

This Quilting Hoop - brand new!! It is the hoop with a stand. It was marked $15.99 - So I knew it would cost me $8.00. I decided to do some checking on line before buying it and I found them for about $45.00 mostly. There were some a bit more and a bit less. I thought the $8.00 was an awesome deal!!

 

At this store I also found a cake pan for my husband - it is a PrimeWay Three-tier cake pan - click here to a link to Ebay- is you want to see what it looks like. The one I found is brand new still in the bag so I figured you would get a better idea at what I got by me linking to the one on ebay. I paid $2.50 for it. With buying these two things at this store - I spent just over $10.00 so I was able to get a stamp on my stamp card.

 

Stamp Card- The local Goodwill's also have stamp cards- every time you spend $10.00 you get a stamp and when you get 10 stamps - you get $10.00 off. It is awesome. One time when my husband and I went to a smaller town near where we were camping there was a goodwill there - I asked about the stamp cards and sadly they do not have them. So this may or may not be available in your area- it is worth checking out for sure.

 

Anyway there you have it my best deals of the week!!

Musical Inspiration

This song is worth watching and reading the lyric so you can understand it. A great song talking about God's grace!  One of my favorite lines to this song is:
"Those that keep hoping when its hopeless" May you feel blessed by God as you listen to this song. :O)

Sacrifice of the lower for the higher

"God is the fountain of life, and we can have life only as we are in communion with Him. Separated from God, existence may be ours for a little time, but we do not possess life. "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." 1 Timothy 5:6. Only through the surrender of our will to God is it possible for Him to impart life to us. Only by receiving His life through self-surrender is it possible, said Jesus, for these hidden sins, which I have pointed out, to be overcome.

It is possible that you may bury them in your hearts and conceal them from human eyes, but how will you stand in God's presence?

If you cling to self, refusing to yield your will to God, you are choosing death. To sin, wherever found, God is a consuming fire. If you choose sin, and refuse to separate from it, the presence of God, which consumes sin, must consume you.  It will require a sacrifice to give yourself to God; but it is a sacrifice of the lower for the higher, the earthly for the spiritual, the perishable for the eternal. God does not design that our will should be destroyed, for it is only through its exercise that we can accomplish what He would have us do. Our will is to be yielded to Him, that we may receive it again, purified and refined, and so linked in sympathy with the Divine that He can pour through us the tides of His love and power. However bitter and painful this surrender may appear to the willful, wayward heart, yet "it is profitable for thee."
~ Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings pg 61-62
If you would like to read more in this chapter - click on the link above.

:Health Tidbits - with a special bonus

Today I am going to get back to sharing something health related on Wednesdays. Hopefully this will be an encouragement to you and me to take better care of ourselves.

Sometimes we can get discouraged when we know that genetically we are more likely to get some sort of disease. But what we need to remember is that Genetics is only 30% of what determines our futures. Genetics just points the gun at us. It is our behavior that is the deciding factor of if the trigger is pulled or not. So please start making better choices to take care of yourself today.

I am speaking to myself here as well. I needed to write this out. As I shared last week - and then deleted it because I felt it was too negative and didn't want to discourage anyone- I have been struggling with some personal issues that has really discouraged me. And in the discouragement I have made some poor choices. I tend to be an emotional eater and sweets is my go to when I am in that unhealthy state of mine.

We all deal with the flesh and its desire for what it wants - even when what it wants is not what is best for us. I am being reminded that in these instances we need to surrender our will to God and allow Him to guide us.

We are told in James:

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

 

 

When we are tempted - if we will submit ourselves to God - He gives us the power to resist the devil and the devil will flee! I looked up a couple of words in my Strong's Concordance:

 

Resist:

~ to stand against

Oppose-resist, withstand

 

Flee:
~ to run away

to vanish, escape, flee(away)

 

We can't resist in our own power -the flesh is weak

 

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Matthew 26:41

 

But God is faithful:

 

 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

 



3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

 

 

I understand it is hard to resist temptation - I have been failing miserable lately. But there is always hope. We can put our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and He will help us. We just need to call on Him.

 

Usually our Health Tidbit doesn't have so much scriptures in it - but this is something that I have been processing lately and when I decided what health tidbit to post today I felt it was the perfect opportunity for me to share the rest with you. Hopefully to those of you who may be struggling right along side me - will be encouraged by these verses and thoughts that the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart. It can be hard but never give up - no matter how many times we fall we have a loving heavenly Father who is there to pick us up again.

 

 

Only Two Kinds of People

Just one of the great books that I have found at a favorite little thrift store for 50 cents!

 

I have only read the first two chapters of this awesome book, but have already found a couple of things I just couldn't pass up sharing here on my blog.

"I would like to remind you that there are only two kinds of Adventist. There are only two kinds of Baptists, only two kinds of Methodist, only two kinds of people anywhere in the world: those who know Jesus and those who don't. That's it. And the only Adventist who will be saved, and the only Baptist who will be saved and the only Methodist who will be saved, is the one who knows Jesus."

My friend, Do you know Jesus? If not - it is not too late to get to know Jesus. Open up His love letter to you and start getting to know Him. You won't be sorry you did. :O)

Thrifted Outfits

This past Sabbath the weather was over cast and actually rainy a good part of the day. I took advantage of the cooler weather and wore this top that I found about a month ago. It is a favorite for sure!

We have been blessed with about 3 inches of rain over the past several days! We have been in desperate need of rain. We have big cracks in our yard - both front and back.

Ok - onto the outfit of the week:

G Collection top paid $5.45

Ashley Stewart skirt- $0 - given to me

Total outfit cost~ $5.45

If my plan for next Sabbaths outfit stays the same- you will get to see the new dress I found for $3.00 !! Be sure and come back to see it! 

My Best Deal

Today's "My Best Deal" will include deals from several different weeks. I decided to add them to one post because are all the same thing - BOOKS!

During the month of July my favorite little thrift store near by was having a sale on books and each week when I had a chance to go to the thrift store I would spend a bit of time in the book section. One of these days I will try to get a photo of the book section so you can see what it is like to look for books.

So here are the awesome books I found during the month of July:

This is the book I have been reading this month. It has been very good. I have gleamed new insight into some topics in the Bible that I have struggled with in the past. I highly recommend this book.

I have not read the rest of these yet.

This it the book that I plan to read next. Do you see the special word in the title that drew me to it?

Grace!

This book is one I have wanted to read for a while - but I just didn't want to pay full price- I am kind of cheap like that...lol. And the thing that makes this an even better deal that just the price of this book - it was brand new in the plastic wrap still!!

The reason why these books were the deal of the month - is because each of these books only cost me 50 cents each!! What an awesome deal!!!

If you have thrift stores in your area - be sure and check out the book section - you might be surprised at the awesome deals you find. I am very lucky because not only are there great prices on books at this thrift store - is that there are people in this community that have some pretty awesome books that donate to this thrift store. Many times when people pass away their books are donated to this thrift store - which is in place to help the needy. Which makes it even a better deal to go to this store - because not only am I finding great deals - but I am able to help others while I am at it.

Thrifted Outfits

Today's Thrifted Outfit features what I wore to church last Sabbath.

Believe it or not you can find brand new items at thrift stores and at Goodwill. This is a prime example of a brand new item. It even had the tags on it- NWT.

Some items you can tell are brand new based on the inspection stickers still being attached to the tags - these are called new without tags - NWOT.

 

This Faded Glory Dress was NWT - I paid $5.79

 

What a great deal on an outfit!

$5.79!

 

 



I did it and a challenge for you

Last time I checked in, I shared how it's been a struggle lately to find the desire to exercise and walk. I think the fact that July was hit or miss when it came to exercise put me into a rut of sorts. The way out of the rut is to push yourself to do what you ought to do. I know it's easier to just allow the flesh to get what it wants. Trust me- I have been have a lot of issues with the flesh lately, and a lack of desire to exercise was one of them.

So this week I challenged myself to get at least a 2 mile walk in and I accomplished that Tuesday morning. Wednesday morning I decided to do a weight work out with Jennifer from Rise Up Ministries. (I would put a link, but I'm on my iPad and I'm not quite sure how to do it on here.)  This morning I did a cardio workout with Jennifer and then decided  to go on a walk in my neighborhood. In addition to a good cardio workout this was a good walk. And to top it off I found 2 pennies on the side of thebusy road. That is the positive of walking on roads as opposed to walking at the park.

I challenge you- if you are struggling with getting a walk or exercising in your day, start slow. Maybe a walk around the block or maybe 10 minutes of walking. Just commit to doing something. Set a goal for yourself and work at reaching that goal for this week. Then next week maybe challenge yourself to a bit more. It will take a while to see the benefits but remember the benefits of walking and exercising are more than just your looks, they also help with your health, your mood, your sleep and probably a lot more. Try it out. If you are struggling just decide " I may not feel like doing this today but I will feel better once I do" and then do it. You will be glad you did! I know I am. Now I'm off to make bread. Hope y'all have an awesome day!

** I think I will have some extra time this afternoon so I will try to get a Thrifted Outfit posted.

Use it or you may lose it

Today I just wanted to share something that I have noticed. Over the last several years I have been exercising and in June I actually walked 5 miles at one time! I had been doing pretty well with getting in 2 1/2 -3 mile walks on most days that I walked. Well over July I did my best to try to get a few walks in and I did fairly well considering my schedule.

As I began to get back into my normal schedule of walking during this month- I noticed several things - I was walking at a bit of a slower pace and my stamina is not what it was running. I have done my best to try to walk a decent amount but the last two days I just got myself to walk 1 3/4 of a mile - about 35 minutes of walking. Next time I walk I am going to try to get one of my youtube programs going - maybe that will help me keep at it longer. Maybe it will help me to get in at least 2 miles if not more.  At this point my goal is to get at least one 3 mile walk in before the end of Aug. I am hoping to be able to get a 4 mile walk in September and maybe by October get a 5 mile walk in. These are just basic goals I have over the next few months.

I have heard it said, "Use it or lose it" and it may be true in the realm of exercising and such. I can tell in just the short time period - even though I was still getting a few walks in here and there that I lost a bit. And now I am going to have to work at it to get back to where I was. 

By the time this is posted I should be out on my walk. I am hoping to get in at least 2 miles. I will report in later in the week and let you know. :O)

Why So Many Trials?

Sometimes when trials just keep coming our way we tend to ask why?

Today while reading my devotional for today in the book "Streams in the Desert" I saw a glimpse into why this is. If you are interested keep reading below. Meanwhile I need to get off of here and get to the park to get my walk in. Hope you all have a great day!

***********************************************************

 

Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south, blow upon my garden,

that the spices thereof may flow out!

 (Song of Solomon 4:16).

Look at the meaning of this prayer a moment. Its root is found in the fact that, as delicious odors may lie latent in a spice tree, so graces may lie unexercised and undeveloped in a Christian's heart. There is many a plant of profession; but from the ground there breathes forth no fragrance of holy affections or of godly deeds. The same winds blow on the thistle bush and on the spice tree, but it is only one of them which gives out rich odors.
Sometimes God sends severe blasts of trial upon His children to develop their graces. Just as torches burn most brightly when swung to and fro; just as the juniper plant smells sweetest when flung into the flames; so the richest qualities of a Christian often come out under the north wind of suffering and adversity. Bruised hearts often emit the fragrance that God loveth to smell.

 

I had a tiny box, a precious box
Of human love--my spikenard of great price;
I kept it close within my heart of hearts,
And scarce would lift the lid lest it should waste
Its perfume on the air. One day a strange
Deep sorrow came with crushing weight, and fell
Upon my costly treasure, sweet and rare,
And broke the box to atoms. All my heart
Rose in dismay and sorrow at this waste,
But as I mourned, behold a miracle
Of grace Divine. My human love was changed
To Heaven's own, and poured in healing streams
On other broken hearts, while soft and clear
A voice above me whispered, "Child of Mine,
With comfort wherewith thou art comforted,
From this time forth, go comfort others,
And thou shalt know blest fellowship with Me,
Whose broken heart of love hath healed the world."

My Best Deal

    Ten years ago or so I went to a Mary Kay party and I found out what color foundation I needed and I think I even paid full price for my first tube. After that  I would look on eBay to find a better deal. I loved how well it worked. It's another one of those products that you may pay a bit more fore but it lasts quite a long time so it makes it worth the extra money.  Several years ago Mary Kay ended totally redoing their products and I never found a chart or anything to help me know what the foundation that I used was now sold under. I even contacted several people I knew that sold Mary Kay- neither got back with me. Sad thing is I was willing to go through process to find the best color for myself and to pay full price of the foundation to figure out what I used under the new set up. I had to go to store bought foundation. Until a trip to my favorite little thrift store nearby during July when I found a tub of Mary Kay foundation. It may not be the perfect shade for me right now- it's super close though. And as we go into Fall and winter I am sure that as my skin loses some of its tan the shade will look even better.

I used to buy a full coverage foundation. I need to do some research to see what all Mary Kay offers now. Maybe they still have something like that. Anyway I found this practically brand new tube of Mary Kay foundation for only 75 cents!! What an awesome deal!!

An Unexpected Dream Realized....

 

For a super long time I have wanted a sitting area in my room. We do not have a large bedroom, so I just never thought it would happen. But this last week-end  - my husband came up with an awesome idea and after a lot of moving this and that around - it was realized!

 

In fact, it ended up even better than I had ever dreamed!! I got this awesome bookcase from my Mother-in-law when her store closed down(she had this bookcase in her office). It had been in my sewing room and then got moved to the play room. On at least one or two of the shelves were our granddaughters books. Well we had a bookshelf that used to belong to our younger son out in the sunroom. So I moved our granddaughters books to that bookcase. And in the process was able to create a reading nook for her as well. I had bought two of these awesome chairs and only one fits in our room which is fine because like I said it created a reading nook for SweetPea! She loves it. I have found her out there reading a couple of different times since we set it up.

 

 

 

The bookcase was moved to my room and I was able to go to my other two book cases and pull my favorite books and move them to my reading nook! I moved all of my favorite books that I like to use to help me when I am studying the Bible and then some of my other favorite books as well. 

 

To the right of the bookcase is my desk that sits in front of a double window looking into my back yard. Now I can study the Bible and access my helpful study books without going to the other room!!

 

Not seen in the above photo is a footstool that I have placed in front of my chair. There are a few finishing touches I still want to make to make this area even better but I have to be patient to find just the right things!

 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my unexpected dream come true area. I love it. Every time I walk into my room I am excited to see it!! :O)

 

 

A Breezy Walk

Believe it or not this morning was a great morning to go walking!

 

 

As I drove down the road going to the park to go walking, this was what I saw - this dark sky to the south. I was a bit worried about it raining while I was walking but when I arrived at the park I pulled up my weather app on my phone and found out that the rain was south of us and heading in the other direction. I heard later that a town about 15-20 miles away got a very heavy rainfall. We didn't get any. But what we did have was a breezy walk -and that breeze ever so often felt so good.

 

When I was on my last round of the lower loop - I ran into a friend and it ended up being a divine appointment for sure. An hour later we ended our visit with a prayer and I was headed home. In all the times I have walked there I have never seen this friend there before. It was orchestrated by God for sure.

 

Thrifted Outfits

It seems that sometimes we can get into ruts - where we wear the same outfits all the time. You find a great outfit and so you wear it that way. But a fun way to mix up your wardrobe a bit is to change out what you wear with what. This weeks Thrifted Outfits outfit is just that case. I paired this top with a different skirt than I usually do and I like the out come. I have sure gotten a lot of use out of this skirt this year.

 Here are the facts about the pieces worn:

 

Top~ Rafaelle Woman - I bought this top in April in 2017 for $3.93

Skirt~ Venezia - I bought before 2016 - for an estimated 4.99

 

Total Outfit cost= 8.92

 

July has been a very busy month. I did not even hardly get a chance to get other outfit photos. In August I have at least one if not two appointments to take my mother-in-law to the Dr and should be able to get photos then. So I will try to get those to post. And I will try to do at least 2 Sabbath Thrifted Outfits per month. I have enjoyed writing up these type posts. It is something different and I hope enjoyable to you as well.