Hearts in Service

Thanksgiving is over and we are on to Christmas. However, I want to continue to keep the attitude of gratitude alive in my home and this weekly exercise is a way to do that. This week I am thankful for blessings #36-50 ♥ A leisurely walk with parents who are seen only once or twice a year. ♥ Learning new things about my husband and he in turn, learning new things about me. ♥ A grandmother who loves nothing more than spending time with her grandchildren. ♥ The ability to bless others with gifts made from the heart. ♥ Small splashes of color on a grey day. ♥ A daughter who cheerfully sings at the top of her lungs while helping. ♥ A grandpa who plays silly games with a granddaughter. ♥ Time walking in the woods with my middle son. ♥ A church family that we enjoy being with. ♥ A part in the school musical for Emily. ♥ Traditions that we look forward to each year. ♥ The beautiful symbolism found in everything at this time of the year. ♥ The pride on my daughter's face when she has crea...

My food budget has been creeping up since I started working and I need to plug up the leaks somehow. I know one thing that has helped is using the crockpot and prepping anything that can be before I leave for work in the morning. I am so tired when I get home and it's difficult to get motivated to cook. Having it either ready or mostly put together is a big help. The holiday didn't help with the food bill since I bought a lot of extras. So, I'm going to try my best to make things stretch through this week and into next. One thing that always helps me is to write out a menu for the week. Here is the plan for this week. Monday B - Cereal, juice L - At school D - Crockpot chicken & herb dumplings, tossed salad, fruit salad Tuesday B - Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, juice L - At school D - Italian sausage & peppers, Homemade Italian bread, steamed broccoli Wednesday B - Homemade Onion bagels, cream cheese, juice L - At school D - Slow cooker sl...

I learned a good lesson this week about being thankful even when things don't go as planned. For all my talk about having a thankful heart, I learned a lesson about walking my talk! Thanksgiving dinner was originally planned for 16. My inlaws were coming and I had invited a few other people for dinner at 1:00. My inlaws live 8 hours away and I was expecting them around 4:00 on Wednesday. Close to 4:00 I decided to check my facebook account. Imagine my surprise to see that my mother-in-law had posted around 3:00 that she had just taken a cheesecake out of the oven. Cheesecake? 3:00 p.m.? What was she doing taking a cake out of the oven when she should have been about an hour from my house at that point? I called their house to hear her always cheerful voice answer the phone. "Mom?" "Why are you not almost here?" She said, "Didn't you get my email?" She had sent an email a few weeks earlier saying they would be here on Thursday between 4-...

Nathan has been taking Food Service Basics at BOCES, which is an occupational high school. He goes every morning for a few hours and then comes back to school for his academic classes. Today, he came home with a blueberry pie he made. It looked beautiful and was delicious. It looks like I have some competition in the kitchen. Maybe I should have him make the Thanksgiving dinner.

Control. Something that I strive for all the time. If I'm not in control of a situation, I feel like something is not right with my world. I feel unsettled and anxious. Yet, God calls us to live a life of abandonment to Him. Of letting go and allowing Him to work in my life. Letting Him be in charge of what happens to me. In so many ways I try to keep an iron-clad grip on my life. Slowly, as God works in my life, I'm letting go one finger at a time. I'll do okay for a while and then I'll realize that the fist is clenched again. It's hard to trust that He will work things out for my good. Yet, I know He will. I know He loves me and that when I am in charge things don't always go so well. The Lord knows what I need and what is best for me. I have always grown when I step out in faith. One thing that helps in trusting God for my life, is looking around me with fresh eyes at the many blessings He has given me. Blessings #26-35 ♥ A child who is another step...

I'm in a bit of a panic because normally by this time of the year I have at least 3-4 different kinds of Christmas cookies in the freezer and ready for different events. However, working full-time has really put a cramp in my style! I sat down tonight and came up with a list for this year and tomorrow I'm starting my baking for the holiday season. Here is the plan: Minty chocolate cookies Christmas meringues Gingerbread men Spritz Thumbprint Cookies Cocoa snowflakes Swedish ginger thins White chocolate and cranberry biscotti Russian tea cakes There are not as many as I usually make, but I just can't do what I have done in the past. Even this might be pushing it a bit, but I love making holidays special.

If only...... How many times do we say these words? If only my circumstances were different than I would be thankful. If only I had more money. If only I lived in a bigger house. If only I were married. If only I had a child. If only I had two children. If only my health was better. If only my husband wasn't such a pain to live with. If only I had better neighbors. If only. Yet, we are called to live in with an attitude of gratitude in the midst of all circumstances - good and bad. We find it easy to feel thankful when things are going our way. How about when things don't look so good? I've been trying to use to have an attitude of gratitude and not just an "ATTITUDE!" It's not always easy, but this weekly exercise helps. In keeping with the title of this blog post, I'm thankful for blessings #11-25 ♫ Dinner from a friend that stretched into a second dinner the next night. ♫ A time change that allows me to enjoy early morning sunshine. ♫ A dau...

We had such a wonderful day yesterday. Above are some more pictures of the decorated tables. I had wanted to get small baskets for each table, but had to settle for sugar bowls. I typed up Bible verses of Thanksgiving and praise for each day between now and Thanksgiving. This way the ladies had a verse to read each day and they could also add their own to it. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and as I said before, it was a wonderful opportunity for me to bless each lady who attended.

I've had an insanely busy few days. Some of the busyness has come because today I hosted a ladies luncheon at the church. I was busy making decorations and favors for the luncheon. I find it so relaxing to craft and really enjoy it. It calms me and gives me time to think. I made centerpieces for the tables. Danish paper hearts. They are so easy and very pretty when finished. These I filled with candy corn as a favor. Another quick and easy craft were these little paper pegs. I took scrapbook paper and cut it to fit the clothespins. Then I modge podged them and added an embellishment. You could also add a magnet to the back for the refrigerator. I printed a Bible verse onto cardstock and used the pegs to hold the verse at each place setting. I'll put up some pictures of the table decorations tomorrow. I'm starting to really like these quick and easy crafts. I like seeing the end result and I'm impatient and get frustrated with crafts that take me months to do.

Raindrops on windows and tears on my face. Both water from heaven. The one God's provision for the earth. The other a sign of remorse for careless words stumbling out of my mouth that caused hurt. Words can cause such joy and at yet, out of the same mouth can cause pain. Other words play over and over in my head... Worthless Unimportant Not good enough You don't matter. Words straight from the enemy's mouth into my heart. Words that cause my head to hang low and my shoulders to slump. Words that took a Sabbath day and turned it into one of emotional wrestling and turmoil. Words that made my already sick body feel even sicker. Today, I stayed home because I felt ill. My stomach ached and my head pounded. My intention was to rest. I ended up with my own holy experience. Forgiveness. It's such an important word. As is mercy and grace and restoration and repentance. Words that help me raise my head high and the weight to lift off my shoulders. Words that giv...

Someone in this house likes my dehydrated green beans!