My quiet time from one morning turned into the next morning and I wanted to share a second part.
Joshua 1:9 says:
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Matthew Henry's commentary had this to say and it really reached me in my own life.
Read this with your role as a homemaker in mind and all it entails... the roles, purpose, duties, and more.
Joshua was humble and low in his own eyes, not distrustful of God, and his power, and promise, but diffident of himself, and of his own wisdom, and strength, and sufficiency for the work, especially coming after so great a man as Moses;
and therefore God repeats this so often, “Be strong and of a good courage; let not the sense of thy own infirmities dishearten thee;
God is all-sufficient. Have not I commanded thee?”
[1.] “I have commanded the work to be done, and therefore it shall be done, how invincible soever the difficulties may seem that lie in the way.” Nay,
[2.] “I have commanded, called, and commissioned, thee to do it, and therefore will be sure to own thee, and strengthen thee, and bear thee out in. it.”
Note, When we are in the way of our duty we have reason to be strong and very courageous; and it will help very much to animate and embolden us if we keep our eye upon the divine warrant, hear God saying,
“Have not I commanded thee? I will therefore help thee, succeed thee, accept thee, reward thee.” Our Lord Jesus, as Joshua here, was borne up under his sufferings by a regard to the will of God and the commandment he had received from his Father, Joh_10:18.
Monday, December 20, 2010
When God Commands. . .
Have we been called by God to be homemakers?
Have we been commanded to be keepers of our homes?
I believe so.
Each home has a calling and each homemaker has a command unto it in one form or another.
My Bible reading this morning was Joshua 1:1-24 and it encouraged me in my calling as a homemaker and in what I am experiencing in my life right now. It isn't an instant feel good moment but life isn't made up of those and especially not so when we grow up.
Things get hard. Sometimes, they seem so difficult that we do not want to continue another step in them or we feel overwhelmed, burdened excessively and more.
Still, we are called. We are commanded to carry on.
The thing to remember is ... that we are never, ever called to carry on in or with our own strength.
My 21 year old son is on a few day visit from his college four hours away.
We ended up in a conversation about a lot of things and one thing he said was... that all of his life he has seen me try to do too much and that he is seeing it now. His point was that we are supposed to look to God for all of our strength and not push ourselves to withstand the weight of whatever we are carrying.
Today's quiet time confirmed this.
When we feel like we cannot carry on another thing, give up and give in finding the way out, up, over or above . . . we are wiser. We were never meant to tackle even one of those things on our own.
We are not all sufficient no matter how mightily we try to be. Only God is all sufficient and we can handle what He places in our pathways when we are strong and of good courage. It doesn't come from us but comes from Him.
The ability and strength to carry on ... day after day and week after week and month after month is not something we have to make it through alone. Even if and when we feel alone in it all... He is ever and always with us and "those that go where God sends them shall have Him with them wherever they go and they need desire no more to make them easy and prosperous." Quote by Matthew Henry.
Joshua was humble and low in his own eyes, not distrustful of God, and his power, and promise, but diffident of himself, and of his own wisdom, and strength, and sufficiency for the work, especially coming after so great a man as Moses; and therefore God repeats this so often, “Be strong and of a good courage; let not the sense of thy own infirmities dishearten thee; God is all-sufficient. Have not I commanded thee?” [1.] “I have commanded the work to be done, and therefore it shall be done, how invincible so ever the difficulties may seem that lie in the way.” Nay, [2.] “I have commanded, called, and commissioned, thee to do it, and therefore will be sure to own thee, and strengthen thee, and bear thee out in. it.” Note, When we are in the way of our duty we have reason to be strong and very courageous; and it will help very much to animate and embolden us if we keep our eye upon the divine warrant, hear God saying, “Have not I commanded thee? I will therefore help thee, succeed thee, accept thee, reward thee.” Our Lord Jesus, as Joshua here, was borne up under his sufferings by a regard to the will of God and the commandment he had received from his Father, Joh_10:18.
Matthew Henry Commentary on Joshua 1:1-24
If you are weary or your path seems scattered with more obstacles than level ground... the One who called you to this very place goes before you to clear the way and He is with you. One day, the forest will not be so thick and dark and stormy and you will be able to see the marvelous light of His rewards. Here on earth and in heaven.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Twelve Crafts Till Christmas
I am highlighting blogs, books and so on as I shared either here or somewhere else lately (yes, it is one of those times) and today's is a delight all the way around ;)
I have had a lot of fun seeing the many creative ideas from this blogger who wanted to do a craft per month by Christmas of this year! Lots of step by step directions and more. I love it.
I have had a lot of fun seeing the many creative ideas from this blogger who wanted to do a craft per month by Christmas of this year! Lots of step by step directions and more. I love it.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Even in HOMEMAKING. . . GOD is enough.
I was telling a dear blessing today that I have the hardest times with balance some days. Some weeks. Some months. As a matter of fact, I have such a time that the days turn into weeks and lapse into months before I usually even know it.
So many women are just SO much more awesome than me! I see and hear from and read about women every single day who keep themselves beautiful, make time for reading, lead Bible studies, take kids to all kinds of activities, bake unbelievable cupcakes and cake balls and marzipan delights by the dozen.
There are women who have cozy and clean homes so well ordered and run that it is like the auto pilot Flylady often speaks of when explaining the goodness of routines.
Some women do all of the above without batting a lash and on top of them run 5-10 miles a day and volunteer at charity events and actively particpate in schools their children attend.
Anyone who knows me or reads what I write knows I'm not one of those women.
The good Lord in heaven knows I've tried to be. I've tried to the point of tears, pain and feelings of failure for never even coming close. You know what?
That isn't where my efforts have to be to find true success.
It isn't wrong for me to not be as organized or talented as just about every woman out there and I should not spend my life feeling guilty for not being.
I like a clean house. I actually love a clean house. I am a better, calmer and kinder person when things are just so and I feel brand new when they are. Right now... it is that way when I sweep a corner of time clean enough for it. My home doesn't stay in a state of clean and coziness. Sometimes those two co-exist and sometimes . . . they don't. My husband always says that one day everything will be that clean all the time . . . and we'll wish it back to now. Now when we have an active boy keeping us from sitting down very often, teen girls gathering in our kitchen and baking up all kinds of movie snacks and grown children bringing grandchildren to shake smiles, laughter and goodness all over the place
The thing is --- I do laundry and dishes every day. I sweep, clean after meals, tidy the bathroom, make beds, and do something with paper work every day. Some days I get music turned on and windows flung open (well, around here, kind of forced open with all my might) and all kinds of polishing and scrubbing and scenting goes on. Other times? I have to push laundry baskets back from the door to let people into our entry/pantry/laundry room.
Often I have extra things on my counter or work table and the clothes for family members to put up are left folded on the dryer.
There are lots of things but I know I usually do the best I can. I seek God each and every day and pray for His help. I read my Bible and pray and love the people in my life and anywhere near it with all I've got.
God is enough. My efforts in His name are enough.
I stack so much on my many to do lists that it often takes me a long, long time to reply to emails (but by the grace of God, I do reply!) and I have planned to write this post since a few months ago. Two posts have come since then by Melissa at Contemplative Joy and they really spoke to my heart. I think the words she shared here in July and here in August are shared thoughts with women all over the world. . . every day.
So many women are just SO much more awesome than me! I see and hear from and read about women every single day who keep themselves beautiful, make time for reading, lead Bible studies, take kids to all kinds of activities, bake unbelievable cupcakes and cake balls and marzipan delights by the dozen.
There are women who have cozy and clean homes so well ordered and run that it is like the auto pilot Flylady often speaks of when explaining the goodness of routines.
Some women do all of the above without batting a lash and on top of them run 5-10 miles a day and volunteer at charity events and actively particpate in schools their children attend.
Anyone who knows me or reads what I write knows I'm not one of those women.
The good Lord in heaven knows I've tried to be. I've tried to the point of tears, pain and feelings of failure for never even coming close. You know what?
That isn't where my efforts have to be to find true success.
It isn't wrong for me to not be as organized or talented as just about every woman out there and I should not spend my life feeling guilty for not being.
I like a clean house. I actually love a clean house. I am a better, calmer and kinder person when things are just so and I feel brand new when they are. Right now... it is that way when I sweep a corner of time clean enough for it. My home doesn't stay in a state of clean and coziness. Sometimes those two co-exist and sometimes . . . they don't. My husband always says that one day everything will be that clean all the time . . . and we'll wish it back to now. Now when we have an active boy keeping us from sitting down very often, teen girls gathering in our kitchen and baking up all kinds of movie snacks and grown children bringing grandchildren to shake smiles, laughter and goodness all over the place
The thing is --- I do laundry and dishes every day. I sweep, clean after meals, tidy the bathroom, make beds, and do something with paper work every day. Some days I get music turned on and windows flung open (well, around here, kind of forced open with all my might) and all kinds of polishing and scrubbing and scenting goes on. Other times? I have to push laundry baskets back from the door to let people into our entry/pantry/laundry room.
Often I have extra things on my counter or work table and the clothes for family members to put up are left folded on the dryer.
There are lots of things but I know I usually do the best I can. I seek God each and every day and pray for His help. I read my Bible and pray and love the people in my life and anywhere near it with all I've got.
God is enough. My efforts in His name are enough.
I stack so much on my many to do lists that it often takes me a long, long time to reply to emails (but by the grace of God, I do reply!) and I have planned to write this post since a few months ago. Two posts have come since then by Melissa at Contemplative Joy and they really spoke to my heart. I think the words she shared here in July and here in August are shared thoughts with women all over the world. . . every day.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Around here yesterday . . .
Yet again, I have no computer but I can thankfully use my husband's laptop!
Lots of work is going on around here and I need to *work* to make some time for relaxing before the hurried life of school starts back.
Yesterday, I got an early start in the garden and wished I hadn't let so many days slide without going out there. My husband does the nightly watering unless he isn't home and he gathers the new day's harvest each morning. I hand weed little areas at a time, every so often help check for produce ready to be picked and make sure everything we bring in gets eaten, preserved, processed and/or stored properly.
I was concerned about my basil plants (sweet and cinnamon) bec they have done SO well but are the ONLY things surviving from the area I planted them in. It is here, in front of my writing window and has formerly been an herb garden, a flower garden and a place for miniature roses. Now? It seems to be doomed for any healthy plant growth! Well, the confederate rose thrives here .... bigger than any we've ever seen every single year. . . the heirloom roses do just as well. Morning glories are fine but doing even better on the other side of the porch and the basil are making it. The parsley, cilantro, wild flower seeds, cucumbers, dill, and whatever else I planted here are all gone or almost gone. I got all the weeds away from my basil and will plan to mulch it in the next few days.
My jasmine is getting surrounded and almost covered by weeds! These are hard to pull so my husband has agreed to try the Roto-tiller around those, our green beans (can't even get to the beans!) and the edges of some of the other little gardens.
We surveyed each plant before having our morning coffee yesterday morning and there are things getting ready to bloom or blossom all over the yard!
Once back in, I made our coffee, took my thyroid medicine, did quiet time and started the laundry. I got about five loads done and should finish the other three up today!
It isn't backed up laundry --- we just have to wash sheets and blankets way more often than some bec I cannot stand pet hair on them and we have two indoor beagles and two indoor cat with a six month old cat I've been trying to keep OUTDOORS.
I washed and trimmed a HUGE bowl of radishes from our garden and cleaned our fridge! Took everything off the door shelves and took the door shelves out to soak in hot, soapy water while I went through all the bottles and smaller items to see what to keep and what to throw away.
When that was all done, I cleaned the rest of the fridge ...shelf by shelf. Got it all scrubbed and wiped down and all the drawers cleaned in the sink, dried and put back in their places. It was wonderful to SEE the produce drawers and to have everything organized again. I have a thing about refrigerators being neat and clean an d every time ours isn't... I dread getting it back that way. DEFINITELY not my favorite household chore!
My daughter helped cook yesterday (recipes and food journal at http://www.nutmegnotes08.blogspot.com/ ) and had dish duty all day along with helping to clean the counters, helping with laundry and a few other things. The youngest (seven years old who thinks he is at least 32) cleaned the cabinet fronts, made one of the beds, and cleaned the toilet inside and out.
I ended up with no computer for the better part of the day so I did some Bible studying and journaling and even took a short nap!
There is our little catch up for the time...smile.
Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, teh Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2 John 3
Lots of work is going on around here and I need to *work* to make some time for relaxing before the hurried life of school starts back.
Yesterday, I got an early start in the garden and wished I hadn't let so many days slide without going out there. My husband does the nightly watering unless he isn't home and he gathers the new day's harvest each morning. I hand weed little areas at a time, every so often help check for produce ready to be picked and make sure everything we bring in gets eaten, preserved, processed and/or stored properly.
I was concerned about my basil plants (sweet and cinnamon) bec they have done SO well but are the ONLY things surviving from the area I planted them in. It is here, in front of my writing window and has formerly been an herb garden, a flower garden and a place for miniature roses. Now? It seems to be doomed for any healthy plant growth! Well, the confederate rose thrives here .... bigger than any we've ever seen every single year. . . the heirloom roses do just as well. Morning glories are fine but doing even better on the other side of the porch and the basil are making it. The parsley, cilantro, wild flower seeds, cucumbers, dill, and whatever else I planted here are all gone or almost gone. I got all the weeds away from my basil and will plan to mulch it in the next few days.
My jasmine is getting surrounded and almost covered by weeds! These are hard to pull so my husband has agreed to try the Roto-tiller around those, our green beans (can't even get to the beans!) and the edges of some of the other little gardens.
We surveyed each plant before having our morning coffee yesterday morning and there are things getting ready to bloom or blossom all over the yard!
Once back in, I made our coffee, took my thyroid medicine, did quiet time and started the laundry. I got about five loads done and should finish the other three up today!
It isn't backed up laundry --- we just have to wash sheets and blankets way more often than some bec I cannot stand pet hair on them and we have two indoor beagles and two indoor cat with a six month old cat I've been trying to keep OUTDOORS.
I washed and trimmed a HUGE bowl of radishes from our garden and cleaned our fridge! Took everything off the door shelves and took the door shelves out to soak in hot, soapy water while I went through all the bottles and smaller items to see what to keep and what to throw away.
When that was all done, I cleaned the rest of the fridge ...shelf by shelf. Got it all scrubbed and wiped down and all the drawers cleaned in the sink, dried and put back in their places. It was wonderful to SEE the produce drawers and to have everything organized again. I have a thing about refrigerators being neat and clean an d every time ours isn't... I dread getting it back that way. DEFINITELY not my favorite household chore!
My daughter helped cook yesterday (recipes and food journal at http://www.nutmegnotes08.blogspot.com/ ) and had dish duty all day along with helping to clean the counters, helping with laundry and a few other things. The youngest (seven years old who thinks he is at least 32) cleaned the cabinet fronts, made one of the beds, and cleaned the toilet inside and out.
I ended up with no computer for the better part of the day so I did some Bible studying and journaling and even took a short nap!
There is our little catch up for the time...smile.
Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, teh Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2 John 3
Friday, July 9, 2010
Homemade Tick Repellent and more
Thank you to a dear friend of mine via email who sent this to my inbox and I couldn't wait to share it with my readers! We have ticks BIG TIME where we live so I was excited to see these tips and this natural remedy for possibly warding them off.
While this isn't University-based research (that I know of) but this site for Morel hunters has a tip about Jewel weed and poison Ivy/Oak rashes. www.thegreatmorel.com go to FAQ and to the bottom of that page. Another site: for Jewel Weed is this one:
http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm
What I know personally......When one of the professors, now retired took us on a walking tour of the Arboretum as part of our Tree Care Advisor Classes he mentioned that wherever you find Poison Ivy you will find its antidote...Jewel weed close by.
Lyme Disease is no fun. Protect yourself. Learn about it.
A good homemade recipe tick repellent for on your clothes and your pets follows (from the USDA forest service):
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup Avon skin so soft bath oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil.
Put this mixture in an old spray bottle. No guarantees but it works for some with success.
Another suggestion gathered from The Great Morel's message board: "If you haven't been told yet and you live in an area with ticks like we do in Kentucky, put fabric softener sheets in each sock and a couple in your back pockets and you won't have the tick problem. Works like a charm. Happy hunting!" - Courtesy of Annie in Kentucky.
While this isn't University-based research (that I know of) but this site for Morel hunters has a tip about Jewel weed and poison Ivy/Oak rashes. www.thegreatmorel.com go to FAQ and to the bottom of that page. Another site: for Jewel Weed is this one:
http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm
What I know personally......When one of the professors, now retired took us on a walking tour of the Arboretum as part of our Tree Care Advisor Classes he mentioned that wherever you find Poison Ivy you will find its antidote...Jewel weed close by.
Lyme Disease is no fun. Protect yourself. Learn about it.
A good homemade recipe tick repellent for on your clothes and your pets follows (from the USDA forest service):
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup Avon skin so soft bath oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil.
Put this mixture in an old spray bottle. No guarantees but it works for some with success.
Another suggestion gathered from The Great Morel's message board: "If you haven't been told yet and you live in an area with ticks like we do in Kentucky, put fabric softener sheets in each sock and a couple in your back pockets and you won't have the tick problem. Works like a charm. Happy hunting!" - Courtesy of Annie in Kentucky.
Friday, July 2, 2010
July 2, 2010 Garden Tidbits
I did my FIRST canning (by myself) ever! Jars of bread & butter pickles are lined on my kitchen work table for 12-24 hours after processing. We are going to keep a jar or three and give the others as gifts to some special people in our lives... ones we have been waiting to bless!
Cucumbers are everywhere and we need to look closely in order to not miss them and end up with dino sized harvest! Lots of pickles, relishes and more planned. Zucchini is the only other food we've brought in but a lot is getting ready to arrive by the looks at the plants.
I have been severely slacking on hand weeding and it sadly shows in a lot of places. Our green beans, basils, and kids gardens still have no mulch and the weeds are getting bad. I am scribbling it down on my to do list to hand weed a few minutes every single morning.
I am having a time gathering, editing, and finding a way to record all the pictures to keep recording our progress so I am considering doing the garden scrapbook/sketchbook/notebook/journal I started last year.
Here are the latest photos:
Cucumbers are everywhere and we need to look closely in order to not miss them and end up with dino sized harvest! Lots of pickles, relishes and more planned. Zucchini is the only other food we've brought in but a lot is getting ready to arrive by the looks at the plants.
I have been severely slacking on hand weeding and it sadly shows in a lot of places. Our green beans, basils, and kids gardens still have no mulch and the weeds are getting bad. I am scribbling it down on my to do list to hand weed a few minutes every single morning.
I am having a time gathering, editing, and finding a way to record all the pictures to keep recording our progress so I am considering doing the garden scrapbook/sketchbook/notebook/journal I started last year.
Here are the latest photos:
Monday, June 28, 2010
Home Garden Notes June 2010
*CORRECTION: Even though I KNOW how to spell zucchini and never even need spell check for it --- I spelled it wrong in my personal journal --- the one I decided to save time with and share as it was written there, here. I don't think I can go through and edit the text on these photos so I'm sending anyway. Each and every one has zucchini spelled zuchinni! Only me! *
I have not kept up with photos or journaling as I hoped and planned. Hoping to do better from here on out!
We have been getting cucumbers, zucchini, one radish I’m not sure was ready and some green beans and sweet basil!
The sweet basil and cinnamon basil are both doing well even though the confederate rose is over shadowing them. Hopefully, they will thrive --- I really want to do a lot with them.
My roses have all four completely stopped blooming so I need to see why and give them more attention. I would like to use the rose petals.
I’m working on getting the kitchen fully cleaned again and sanitized for dehydrating, canning, freezing and preparing the harvest. We already have a lot of cucumbers so I am pickling those.
We had to find the boiling canner Blake put outside, get the rust off of the rack (Walmart didn’t have one to buy) … get some spices and canning supplies. Now, I have to get busy doing my first canning session alone and make sure nothing is wasted.
We’ve been snacking on cucumbers and adding slices to sandwiches, as sides on summer lunches, added to commercial pickle juice after the pickles are gone. Very good!
I stove top grilled (on cast iron grill) zucchini and added it to pasta with some parmesan shavings. We haven’t had a block of parmesan in SO long --- Blake surprised us with a wedge from the Whole Foods market!
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