"Our Wednesday"

I wrote a post about spending Wednesdays with my D-I-Love, Brandy. This was before a friend (thanks, Karla) shared the tip of writing each blog into a Word document (she uses Google and I use Microsoft) first and THEN pasting that into the blog site. HAD I been in the habit of doing that, I wouldn’t have lost an ENTIRE post but I did. So upsetting I haven’t had the heart to try writing it again.
I’ll try to sum it up instead.



Brandy is my first D-I-Love. During her pregnancy with our first granddaughter, her doctor’s appointments were almost always scheduled on Wednesdays. On days when Michael, (our oldest son) couldn’t get off work to take her, I’d pick her up. Off we’d go to the doctor wondering what he’d say before we got there and talking about what he said on our way back.

It became a special time between the two of us.

When Emily was born, the Wednesdays ended with the pregnancy and daily life picked up, the same kind of rhythm as before. There ended up being tension in our relationship.



She wanted me to spend more time with her first child and our first grandbaby and was hurt. I never visited them without an invitation. I was stretched to keep up with my family responsibilities and could not bring myself to invite myself so I only went if she invited me.



It ended with a sharing of her heart in wanting me to be an active part of Emily’s life and expressing how hurt she felt. She told me her mother (who lives several states away) would cry on the phone over Emily’s firsts and I was right here and wasn’t “there” for them.



Even though it was a huge moment of revelation for me (she was right) … I didn’t know how to change it.
I wrote her a letter and prayed before writing it. I ended up typing through tears as the Lord revealed the truth to me. She needed me and my grandbaby needed me and I wasn’t there for either of them.



I saw myself and my roles as Mother-In-Love and Grandmother as they were and I wasn’t “in” them. It broke my heart. I emptied my thoughts into that letter and told her the truth: that I didn’t know how to be either one of those things because I had never been them before. I told her to be patient with me and maybe she could help me learn to be better in both roles.



She has.



We somehow, by the grace and gift of God, decided to dedicate Wednesdays as our day together. A day we would spend together… just us… to build a bond.



Brandy has pushed for these days. She knows how busy I stay and how often company comes and people call me away and she has held strong in protecting the middle of the week. . . Wednesdays. Our days.



We’ve been doing this since Emily was a few weeks old and it is hard to find words for what JOY this has brought me. My grandgirl loves me and she has been a Nandy’s girl since the start. Her mother has loved her enough to let her be and she has loved me enough to make it happen.



Everyone knows how close this now 2 year old child is with her grandmama and I know it is a matter of the heart. The heart of a mother who cared enough to not let go when that would have been easier.



Now, we have added Caden and she has strengthened his relationship with me and nurtured the bond between she and I even more. He will be a year old in a couple of weeks and he has been sharing our Wednesdays since birth.

We make a lunch together and try to always include a dessert. We watch a movie when we can or scrapbook or whatever we find to do and we always, always talk. We share these children with joined hearts and I am completely grateful to her and to the Lord for her.



Today, our lunch was bow tie pasta tossed with olive oil, sautéed onions and garlic, steamed broccoli, seasonings and so ons. We had seasoned Tilapia fish, baked and broiled in the oven and sweet iced tea.
We kept up with the kids by consuming two pots of lovely coffee and hours of conversation.

Now, when I share the many menus from "Our Wednesdays" --- you'll know what I mean. Smile...

Rth 1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

Pulling Back Curtains

For a glance into my household and heart...

It is cold in my home today!
There is no heat yet and we won’t turn it on until we must. I can have it warmed up in not time when I’m staying home because I fire up the ovens and bake the day away☺.

Growing-up-on-me-little-man and I are leaving in a few minutes for an almost hour drive away. My D-I-L invited us to her new apartment and one little boy is excited about going.

Today is supposed to be my baking day but I’m pretty low on ingredients anyway so I’ll move it to a later time this week. I got the laundry done, dishes washed, counters wiped down and I’ll make the bed before we leave.

I was working through these basic routines with thoughts going through my head about lots of things but realized something. I realized how comfortable I was. The sun was streaming through the windows, warm and sudsy water swished in the sink, and the dryer’s warmth had a sound all it’s own.

There was a time these would be dreaded chores for me and I wonder why. I guess it was a state of mind… of life and maybe spoke of where I was spiritually. Perhaps, it shows a heart change in the love I have learned to have in such things.
One of my favorite coffee mugs was drained twice today and we had sweetener and cream to make it delicious. This made my morning Bible reading so cozy.

Our five year old who has finally been moved to his own little bed in his own little room… got cold. In the early, early morning hours he climbed up in my bed and told me he was sleepy and tired. I held him close and thought of how quickly it flies… the time between them being small enough to lie with warm heads under my chin to having their own beds in their own homes. Ah, the ponderings of a woman at home sometimes. Smile.

When I write of the woman at home, I refer to all women. Where ever our home is, however we arrange and manage the hours in it, whatever we are doing in it… we find ourselves …of it.

We all clean, many of us cook, we read and write, talk and tell, whisper and some of us yell. Thankfully and by the grace of God Himself… the latter has dwindled down to almost never but the monster still lurches out. How does my Father love me so?

Thus finishes a note pulled like a wedge from the sections in my home life…

Homemaking Prayer

Homemaking Prayer
Dear Lord, I come to you in the Name of Jesus and I ask for Your hand in my homekeeping.
Father, I know this request might sound strange to some but it won't to You. You know me. You know My coming and my going... my inmost inner thoughts. You know my heart.

The longings I have to be a Proverbs 31 woman have been like a flag blowing from
A deeply grounded pole. It has flown high and waved strongly in the fiercest of winds and at times it has become faded, tattered, worn.
The replaced "flag" has been hope found in Your Word. I seek You in that hope today.

You have brought me far, my Lord.
You have brought me from taking my cleaning and order too far in putting it above the comfort of my family and through times when it was the opposite.

Carry me on.
Don't let me give up.
Lift my face from my circumstances and shine Your light into my eyes, into my mind, into my heart.

There is noble work to be done here and I am the leader you have placed at the helm of this homestead. My husband is the head of our family and I am the manager of our home.
Let me not grow weary. Let me not give way or give up just because I cannot see the substance of things prayed for.

Help me praise You for clean laundry, neat dressers, washed dishes, wiped counters, cleared tables and swept floors.
Ignite the sparks of joy into brilliant flames and drown the despair of the undone and the not yet accomplished.

The defeater and leader of lies lurks around the corners aiming discouraging missiles about my home. Sinister whisperings filled with pride... saying we should be better than this by now. Saying we've earned to not have leaking ceilings, worn out wood on the porch, and gleamless floors.
What destruction for the heart these thoughts are!
What have we done to even deserve the beauty and the blessings we have?!

Oh, Lord! Forgive me for allowing such wicked imaginations to even enter in the doors or the windows of me or of my home.
I have appliances working for me all over my home, furniture to hold onto my loved ones in as we watch movies together, books in crooked little stacks all over to read from. I have a husband who drinks his coffee right here with me each morning as I drink mine. I have children and daughters in love and I have grandchildren to call my own! There is so much to thank You for... how could I allow a fragment of energy towards dwelling on any lack? There is no lack when YOU are Lord of a life!

Lift me up each and every morning to YOUR radiance and put a song in my heart for the duties of the day. Let my apron strings swing into place and my joy be complete as I serve YOU in all I do.
Take my hand, dear Father of mine. Take my hand and let me bow to You as I follow Your lead.

Make my home an outpouring of YOU in every place and let me delight in the work to make it clean, cozy and comforting. Make my home a haven and give my hands the work to make it that way.
Don't let the sun go down with any anger here but allow peace to permeate wall to wall and window to window.

I am a HOMEMAKER assigned to this place by THE CREATOR of all and this is nothing short of a miracle in my life.
Thank You. Praise You. Lift Your Name on High.

Help me in my homekeeping. Let my work here bring YOU glory and honor and praise!
I bow my head and lift my hand to Yours... and offer this home into Your service.
I keep this home and You keep this heart.

In the Name of Jesus... Our Loving Savior... King above all kings and Lord of all, Amen.

Home Tones (Moving from Home Notes Email List)

Home Tones


Isn't it funny how we can tell the tone of one's home within minutes of
stepping in?
We can feel and sense something warm, sweet, cozy, and loving as quickly
as their opposites; cold, unkind, uncomfortable and hate filled.

When you walk into your home what is the tone? What is the tone when your
husband, children, and visitors of all kinds step inside?

What is the tone while you are home? The hours and moments you share with
your family --- how are they?

If bickering and disagreements are frequent there is a reason. I don't write
that there are "reasons" because there is ONE. It is spiritual disharmony. A
cut in the relationship between God and family. Something in the soul is not
as close to our Lord as is needed for discord to be prevalent in your days.

Disorder is another one... where disorder is present, peace isn't.
Who is it happy and humming when every thing they are around is cluttered,
disorganized, chaotic, and with no symmetry?
No one remains happy for long in this environment. No one remains smiling
when they cannot find anything, have to sort through stacks to find needed
papers, can't get dressed until this load or that load is completed and on
the list goes.
I get flustered even writing this! I feel uneasy and restless just thinking
about it for I have lived through it and the pain it causes.
As I type I have areas clean and shining and those in dire need of my
capable and working hands. The areas in need of some old fashioned work have
been causing such frustration into my days!
My desk has been cleared but there are now several stacks of paper to go
through and put up. The kids' school desk is covered in items that we must
find places for since we changed over from home school to public school. My
shower stall needs scrubbed down and wiped with baby oil and this entire
house is in such a great need for dusting that I cannot believe it has gone
by this long with no care.
I walk in one room and my mood immediately lifts... my spirits rise up and
smile... until I walk into this office or see another layer of dust!

I have started adding these annoying jobs on to my daily routines and to do
lists so I hope to have them behind me soon. My point in sharing them is
this: disorder creates confusion and distracts us from what God wants us to
see, do, feel, or hear.

What is another thing that can hamper the tone of your home?
Overdoing... over scheduling... running on empty due to running too much,
too often, and too quickly. Not taking a break or having down time. This is
a hard one for me to handle. I get up at 5:00 and never stop. My quiet time
with the Lord is first so I guess you could consider that as stopping but
that is the extent of it.
This isn't good. When we "over-go", we find ourselves missing shared meal
times together, shared conversation time, shared laughter or shared
anything. Everyone wakes up one day to realize that we are all running in
separate directions!
No relationships hold up to this for too long without some real problems.
Problems understanding each other, serving each other or even knowing each
other.

What a TONE a home would have with even one of the things mentioned here
(discord, disorder & over "going")... and even more so with two or ALL of
them going on at once!
The Home Tones would not be pleasant for you, your husband, your children or
any visitor chancing in!

This tone would be negative and depressing! This home would not be one to
uplift, encourage, comfort or care for those living in it or drawing to it.
This home would not glorify our Lord in any way, would it?


What other way is there? What other "Home Tone" is there to achieve?

Let's see...

Harmony... the members of a family connecting in a loving and nurturing way
with one another more than disagreeing. Family that works through any
misunderstandings in calm and proper ways.
Of course, we will have moments far from serene in our lives of learning to
live with each other but we can always strive to walk in love. Walking in
love calls for living in the beauty of working together towards a common
goal.

Order... oh, the inexpressible joy in a freshly cleaned home! The pure and
total delight in a haven where every item inside has a place and a reason
for being there!
Isn't it simply lovely to glance around a room before leaving to see care in
every section?
A laundry room with all the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away? A
kitchen with a shining table, a swept floor, clean counters and a scrubbed
sink? Picture the office with clean and dust free surfaces where papers are
all sorted in appropriate files, pens and pencils all gathered in one spot
and a desk top with nothing on it to dwell on!
Visualize a living room recently vacuumed, polished wood, clear picture
frames and tidied cushions... bedrooms where each bed is neatly made, floors
are clean and dresser tops are neat... bathrooms where everything is shiny
and well kept... what tranquility these pictures create!
It isn't impossible and it should be a priority in our busy lives.

Over Scheduling... maybe this one could be called "under-scheduling" since
running around without stopping usually reveals a random attack on a to do
list without proper planning.
When we run a race through every day as the days turn into weeks and we
don't stop to enjoy the beauty in relaxing... we rob ourselves of a God
given peace and make our own stress rise to dangerously high levels.
What things do you enjoy doing yet never seem to find time for? Whatever
those things are... consider the wisdom in making them appointments into
your life. Anyone - with some effort - can manage to fit the fun in! It
isn't selfish to make time for serenity and repose. It is vital to your
health and well being.

What is the tone in your home right now? What tone do you want it to be?
A home that is cozy, comfortable, loving, kind, happy, well managed and
properly run can be done and should be reached for. It may take some work
initially but it will save work and heartache later on.

It is my prayer that we all... each one of us desiring to have homes with
GOD tones... that we will take the steps and make the effort to follow in
the faithful and competent footsteps of the One who walks before us. The One
who guides us each step of the way whether we look up to see Him leading us
or keep our faces turned to the ground.

Look up, sweet daughter of God. He is looking gently into your face and
reaching out to steady you. His desire and delight is to have you lean on
Him as He makes not only your home... but your life, also, all it can be in
Christ.

His sweet and tender blessings on you...

Love, Sandy

Where No Evil Dwells

Where No Evil Dwells…

"But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death,
Because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you
From the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to
seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you
shall purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 13:5

Dear Sisters,

This letter has been prompted into place due to circumstances all too heart breakingly real.
Just this past week a situation was revealed in a home where wounded souls threatened to tear apart two families.
Unfortunately… this is all too common.
What kind of situation am I referring to? Evil. Seeping, crawling, pouring, flooding, and storming through the homes of men, women, and children.
Evil that doesn't affect only the one allowing it in but runs to each person in the home. Evil comes in many forms but it never ends up as "small" as it seems to start.

So many times you don't hear anything until so much has happened that
it takes much work to "fix". It would be so much better to catch these
problems early on before they have gained such control as to destroy
and destruct the family structure.

Every evil… every sin starts with just a thought. Not one of us has
lived life without such thoughts. From naughty to wicked they come, trying to find a place to settle. Once they settle… they are anything BUT calm and content. These sinful thoughts run rampant and strong, thriving on
each new thought… each one a bit worse than the previous. If this keeps up… sin happens.

Praise our LORD and FATHER that He gives us sound minds! Because we have sound minds we are able to control our thoughts. When negative or sinful thinking comes in the door… we must aggressively throw them
OUT. We make them no more than passers by when we do this.
So many people feel powerless over their own thinking patterns. They truly believe that everything is based on what they FEEL. We cannot base our lives, actions, or reactions in life to feelings and get it right.
Just won t happen. Feelings… like everything under God… always change. Shift around trying to find a place to fit in. They only "fit" when they are disciplined to be under the authority of the Word!

"If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 28:58

The wayward husband who leaves his wife and family to be with another woman or live a wild and "free" life doesn't live a loving life oneminute and abandon it all the next. It starts with a thought. Thoughts allowed to continue to grow and turn into sins. I cannot stress this enough!

The married woman who parties all night long and has unnatural relations with another woman doesn't love her husband and children one second and run out the door to play in the streets of sin the very next. No.

It starts with a thought. These are shocking statements to make, aren't they? I know they are but there are houses all around you where these things are happening everywhere. Even though they are kept secret for long
amounts of time… the truth eventually comes out.

"For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the
light, lest his deeds should be exposed." John 3:20

We must guard our hearts. Our thoughts might start in our minds but if our hearts are pure they will serve as filters for those thoughts. If we have a sinful thought and our heart is filled to overflowing of the LORD'S LIGHT … the heart will not allow the mind to continue on with impure ponderings.

"For Thou art not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil Dwells with Thee." Psalm 5:4

We must flee from the evil and strive to do good.
What are our tendencies? If we don't know any better --- we hide from the truth in any way we can.

Are you doing this? Is there something going on with you that you know isn't right but figure you can deal with it later and just carry on this way for "today"? Are you hiding behind your own smiles while your spouse
does things you would know were wrong if you let yourself admit he was doing them? Are you allowing your children to be flooded with things they should never see or hear --- but you don't act --- for everyone else is
doing it and it's just too "hard" to deal with? Is your home harboring any evil?

"Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace and pursue it." Psalm 34:14

Are these tough questions? Yes. Are they reality? Yes. Is there hope? Yes.
Our hope is in the LORD. He answers every need. He solves every problem. There is nothing… nothing… NOTHING He is incapable of handling.

Will He come in and force you to live right and keep pure standards For yourself and those you love? No. He knows in His infinite wisdom that The decision must be placed on your shoulders. He'll bear the burden but
only if you give it to Him. He will not take it from you without asking. How do we live? How do we keep our homes pure and safe from the darkness swirling around our doorways? We don't think evil thoughts!

If we are lying in bed and a wrong thought comes to mind… we renounce that thought… we confess it right then and there to God and we ask Him to take it from us.
Thoughts can be strong and satan can really push them on us when he thinks we are winning the game with them. So what. He has no power compared to our LORD. Our Lord tells us to keep our thoughts pure and He
wouldn't give us a directive He couldn't or wouldn't help us uphold to.
We must walk a path that is "good". We make choices every day. Our Walk is all about choices. Not in and of ourselves. Choices that we either Sneak behind God's back to make… pretending He won't see if we don't look at Him --- OR --- we go to Him and see what HE says any time we start to Waver on what choice to make.

"He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is
Not good; he does not despise evil." Psalm 36:4

How have we allowed ourselves to become so comfortable with sin? How have we reached this point where we are so desensitized and numbed to the horror of sin? If we aren't HATING sin… we should be! We need to
check and make sure that we hate sin and love God's pure and beautiful Word!

"You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking what is right."
Psalm 52:3

"Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His Godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 97:10

We must restrain our feet from every evil way that we may keep His Word. We must restrain our feet… our thoughts… our words… anything that is Contrary to the Living Word must be cast out of our lives as quickly as it comes in.
Not restraining from evil way will make keeping His Word Impossible for we cannot keep His Word and run down the road of evil at the same time.

"I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Thy word."
Psalm 119:101

I cannot count the times I have written on proper priorities for women. I must add a few words on them again. This is the reality: WE CAN ONLY STAY ON THE RIGHTEOUS PATH WHEN OUR PRIORITIES ARE IN LINE.
When God isn't The most important thing in your life… everything under Him will fall apart.

When your husband is not placed right under God being the first love of your life… your marriage will crumble before your very eyes. When your children are not next in line under your husband… you will witness the effects
of that faulty living in their lives and you will account for those effects. When our homes do not fall in line under our children… peace is lost, Doors are flying open by the winds of sin, and every evil thing that tries To enter … can do so.

Precious daughter of God… loving wife, darling mother, dearest homemaker, stand strong in Christ Jesus. Keep your priorities in order and stay strong, strong, strong in the Word. Read His Word every single day no matter
WHAT you have to do to arrange it. Pray. Pour time into getting to know Him. Seek first His Kingdom. Love your husband and see the truth… that how you Deal with your marriage reflects strongly on your spiritual life. Marriage is set up as Jesus Christ is with the church. It is holy, it is sacred, and it is pure. Don't look at what another man offers --- he offers death and darkness while your husband offers light and love in the Lord. Valiantly love your children at every age, stage and phase of their lovely lives. Spend time with them… teach them…discipline them… love them. Don't neglect your home.
Take the time to clean it and bring order about during the hours you Spend in it. Cook meals and wash dishes…sweep floors and keep trash taken out. Tuck clean sheets onto the beds your loved ones snuggle in at night
and you will have peace when you turn out the lights. Guard your home. There are guardian angels at your service on missions from God to protect you, look after you and to help you fight to keep the evil out and the good in. Watch your coming and your going. Look to God for your answers and in making your decisions. Weigh every thought, every deed, every word, every all with the Word in the Bible. If it doesn't line up… do
whatever it takes until it does! Let Jesus lead and you will have a home where no evil dwells…

In His Mighty Love,
Sandy:-)

Posting Pre-Written Articles

I am posting as many of the articles from the Home Notes email list I can manage on here.
The reason for this (and for doing it on Nutmeg Notes as well) is for easier retrieval. Many, many times readers have written asking for a former recipe or writing and I either give the instructions to find it or go get it from the files myself.

The problem with this is how long it can still take to get where we are going! With the blog format, you can go through a quick list and see at a glance what titles are saved.

Anyway, I'm just sharing this for those who have already read most of these and wonder why they are showing up again:)


Love,
Sandy

Missed Post on Quiet Time

What is a Quiet Time
and why do I need it?

From: The House of Hope website:
________________________________________

The maple tree is prized for its cool summer shade, its beautiful woodgrain, its red fall foilage, and its delightful sap. It has weathered many storms by sending its roots deep. The maple spends its days absorbing nutrients from the earth and the sun, and drinking moisture from God's bounty.

The cold winter nights are essential for the tree to be able to produce its sweet syrup in the Spring. The colder winter, the greater the sap production. But the cold winter night doesn't hurt the maple because it has stored God's nutrients in its trunk.
We could learn a lesson from the maple. We live such shallow lives, indulging our flesh but neglecting our spiritual needs. Then we wonder why our leaves are sparse, our woodgrain is blemished, our foilage is faded, and our sap is bittersweet.

God said, "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13). Just as the maple drinks the moisture that God provides, so do we need to drink from God's fountains of living waters in His Word instead of looking to the world to quench our thirst.

Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). God' has given us His Word in the Scriptures. How different our lives would be if we would take time to feed on the Spiritual nutirents there!

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalm 1:1-3).

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

A daily Quiet Time with God helps us achieve the purpose and serenity we all look for. Just as we need nutrients from food for our physical bodies each day, we need nourishment of God's Word for our emotional and spiritual needs. We need to send our roots deep into His precepts in order to weather our storms. We need His guidance and wisdom for our cold winter nights.

http://www.house-of-hope.net/daily/what.html


Tell me the best time for a daily
Quiet Time
________________________________________

To establish your Quiet Time, determine what part of your day is best to set aside for spending time with Him.
Many people find that the best time is early in the morning, before the household is stirring. This starts the day with Him, and gives Him an opportunity to provide reinforcements for the day.
Others find the best time to be at night right before bed. This allows opportunity to review the day with God and plan for tomorrow with Him.

Some people spend a portion of their lunch hour alone with God.
Young mothers often snatch the time while their children are napping.
People who commute for long distances to work often use this time to pray and listen to an audiocassette of Scripture. The disadvantages of this method are the inability to take notes while driving, and the fact that most people don't work seven days a week.

The time you choose to spend with Him will be based upon whatever your schedule allows. Ask God to help you find the time that is best for you.

The most important thing is that you set aside a definite time. It is too easy for our good intentions to get lost in the shuffle of life is we don't make a definite commitment here.

Plan to spend some time listening to Him through Bible reading. Plan to spend another portion of this time talking with him through prayer.

If you miss a day, you will find that things seem more complicated, stressful. Don't despair, just ask Him to forgive you if you missed your time with Him through neglect. Ask Him to help you get back on target the next day.

http://www.house-of-hope.net/daily/time.html