Hearts in Service

I Chronicles 16:8-10 (NLT) ~  Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.      Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.      Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name;      rejoice, you who worship the Lord . As you prepare, eat and fellowship today, don't forget to give thanks to the One who made all this possible.  Today I'm thankful for.... ♥ A warm house. ♥ A full refrigerator and cupboards.  ♥ A family that I love who loves me back. ♥ Wonderful friends both far and near. ♥ Good health. and finally.... ♥ God's precious gift to me in the death and resurrection of His son.   Happy Thanksgiving!

I had a momentary moment of panic on Friday when I realized Thanksgiving was actually this coming Thursday and not a week away!  Time is flying by and I'm feeling the tightening of the packing up a house noose. I have only 4 1/2 weeks to get things ready for our move.  And that is on top of running a sewing business and the holidays.  Unfortunately, Dan is working full time at his secular job right up until December 20th so a lot of this falls on my shoulders.   I thought putting a weekly list of the big items I need to do here for all the world to see would motivate me to stay on task.  I'm hoping that I'll accomplish more this way.   These are things on top of my normal cooking and cleaning.  I'd love to turn these "to-dos" into "ta-dahs!!!" Okay.  Deep breathe.  Here we go. November 26-December 1   Finish 3 table runners Finish 2 tea cozies Make pies & bread for Thanksgiving orders (Made 6 pies, 6 dozen rolls, and 2 loaves of

I haven't done a Crafty Things post in a while but it certainly isn't for lack of crafting!  I've been swamped with orders.  I'm not complaining!  I was thrilled to learn that all three local stores that carry my items want to continue after I move.  There is a little boutique near us that is doing a fantastic job of selling my items so I was especially happy to hear from them. Here are just a few of the things I've done lately.  I've been up to my eyeballs with aprons the past two weeks and I have to say, I love trying different styles but the bib apron is the most popular.  It's very functional and yet, can be pretty with the right combination. Here are the aprons. Adult aprons (I've done 6 in the past 2 weeks) Child's aprons (7 in the past 2 weeks) Some tea totes. Tissue holders. I've also done some tea cozies and fabric bread baskets.  My sewing machine is humming! Tis the season. :-)

I love doing the Thrifty Thursday posts because they make me think more consciously about why I do what I do.   One of the values that Dan & I have always had is to live a simple lifestyle.   We don't have to have the best of everything.  We don't have the latest gadgets.  I don't have to have designer clothing or fancy jewelry. This goes for living arrangements too.  I've been spoiled here the past few years because we've lived in a fairly large home.  So that means, if someone said, "Could you use xyz?" I generally said, "Yes!" because we had the space.   We are currently living a in a two story, 4 bedroom home.  It also has a living room, dining room, and a large "extra" room built onto it. We are moving to a 3 bedroom, double wide, modular home.  After the initial shock/dismay at realizing how much smaller it is, I realized that I would just have to remember the "simplicity" model.  We served for 10 years in an i

Psalm 95:1-2 (MSG) ~ Come, let’s shout praises to God , raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns! I woke up with songs of praise going through my heart and mind this morning.  Do you ever have days like that?  I don't very often, so I'm going to take advantage of the feeling of thanksgiving that is going through me today. Let's rock the house with praise! I'm thankful for.... ♥ 10 years of ministry with a wonderful group of people. ♥ That I can see God's hand on our move and all the minute details. ♥ That I'm healthy. ♥ A gorgeous bright, beautiful sun to greet me this morning. ♥ That I have three children who love the Lord and want to follow Him. ♥ Heat. ♥ Coffee that gets me going. ♥ A thriving craft business. and finally.... ♥ Each one of you! How about you?  What are thankful for today?   I'm putting on some praise music and belting out so

  Remember the song and the dance, Limbo Rock ?  Each time around the bar goes a bit lower and you have to lean backwards farther and farther.  If you a really flexible, you can get under a very low bar. That's what I feel like lately.  It's been a few weeks since we told our church we are moving on and I have to say I'm in this really strange, limbo kind of world where I'm learning to be really flexible and pliant.  I'm not sure I like it, but it's necessary. Dan & I are so proud of our church.  The initial shock and grief is wearing off.  The negativity is starting to dissipate and people are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work to do what is needed.  And that means roles and jobs are getting taken away from us.  Trust me.  That is an excellent thing, but it doesn't mean I don't have moments of feeling unneeded or unwanted anymore.  It's so silly, I know.  It's the way it's supposed to work.  It's means we are leavin

And the winner of my blog drawing is...... Elizabeth D! I'll be sending out your package early next week.  Congratulations, Barbara!  I know you already have my first book, so you can just pass it on to whoever you think may benefit from it.   Thanks for participating everyone.

"Come on in!"  "There's room for one more!"   When I was in college there was an older couple that lived on campus and those were the words they  always spoke.  They made you feel welcome no matter what time of the day it was, or whether you were expected or not. They always had a crowd lonely college students in their home for dinner or games or just to spend time with them.  I always felt wanted and welcome when I was in their home. I've tried to emulate that in my own life, though not always successfully.  As I thought about this, I realized that what they were actually saying was that there was room in their heart for just one more person. I feel that way too!  It seems that no matter how many people I've gotten to know over the years and have learned to love, that there is always room for just one more!  That's the wonderful thing about belonging to the family of God.  There is always space to squeeze in another person to love and care

It's Thrifty Thursday and while many people want to be frugal and save money, much of the reason it doesn't happen is they don't plan ahead.  I am just as guilty of this and often, things fall apart in the financial department because 1) I didn't have a plan or 2) I didn't work my plan. For me, it's a constant battle, because my personality is such that I can be impulsive or want to act on how I feel at the moment.  Don't feel like making dinner; eat out.  Don't feel like packing a lunch on a road trip; eat on the highway.  Don't feel like making a shopping list; over-purchase.  Don't feel like waiting until something is on sale; overspend.  It never ends, does it? You have to plan ahead in order to save money!  Here are some different ways to plan ahead. ♥  Either making a menu for the week or at least plan for the next day.  So take whatever you need out of the freezer.  Have a plan in place of what needs to get done when so 6 p.m. do

I had mentioned that last week I would have a surprise for those of you who read my blog.  And no, the surprise wasn't that I was moving! Time got away from me and I'm just finally getting around to this. Dan & I have been so blessed lately with how things are falling into place for a new ministry and the move.  We are blessed all the time, but it's been really neat to see how God is orchestrating this whole thing. Anyway, I wanted to pass on some of that blessing so I'm having a blog giveaway!  You can enter by either leaving a response here or on facebook and letting me know what you are thankful for this month.  I will accept entries through Friday and then will have the drawing on Saturday. Here is what you can win.... A signed copy of each of my books, Words of Encouragement for a Discouraged World and One Clear, Still Night. A set of Thanksgiving mug rugs. A pocket tissue holder. Just leave your comment, letting me know what you are tha

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 ~ But you are our letter, and you are in our hearts for everyone to read and understand.  You are like a letter written by Christ and delivered by us. But you are not written with pen and ink or on tablets made of stone. You are written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God. Dan preached on this passage yesterday and it describes our ten and a half years of ministry here.  Our people are written on our hearts.  Christ wrote the letter in each person in our congregation, but we carry that letter inside of us no matter where we go. We will always look back with love on this group of people.  It hasn't always been easy.  There have been times of heartbreak and tears.  But much of our time here has been a time of sweetness and laughter and joy! Today, I want to share a few photos of our 10 years.     Today, I'm thankful for blessings #1807- 1820 ♫ Beautiful guitar playing. ♫ The gift of time with

I have struggled for years with trying to find my self-worth through things that the world thinks is important.  Even though I would never admit it, I felt that in order to be valued I had to have some sort of position.  I had to have a job that society viewed as worthy.   When people would ask me what I do, I would always qualify my answer of a stay at home mom with something I felt would elevate that in their eyes.  The qualifiers were things like.... ► I tutor kids with learning disabilities. ► I used to be the director of a family literacy center. ► I'm home because of xyz. ► I'm home because as a pastor's wife I'm busy with the church.   I never would just say, "I'm a homemaker." or "I'm a stay at home mom."  It had to have a disclaimer after it. And yet, maybe I've gained some wisdom over the years because I'd say in the past year or two, it just doesn't matter to me anymore.  I see the value in what I do.  I

Things have been tight here lately so I've been pulling out the stops to try and save money.  I know that the little things that don't seem like much add up quickly. Here are some things I've done in the past few weeks. ► Started washing the dishes by hand rather than running the dishwasher.  I noticed they  weren't getting as clean which probably means the used dishwasher is on the blink.  I started doing this to just make sure the dishes were getting washed properly.  However, I noticed the electric bill went down after doing this for about a month. ► Hanging clothing on drying racks rather than running the dryer.  Between the dishwasher and the dryer, the electric bill was about $50 less a month.  Those two items don't really affect our finances as the church pays the electric, but it's still a savings. ► I made homemade bread - focaccia, biscuits, whole wheat, and bagels rather than spending $3-$6 for this in the store.   ► Made

There is a song we sing in church by Phillips, Craig and Dean called, Amazed.  It's one of my favorites and today I'm in awe of how God works in our lives. Here are the lyrics.... You dance over me While I am unaware You sing all around But I never hear the sound Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You How You love me You paint the morning sky With miracles in mind My hope will always stand For You hold me in Your hand Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You How You love me Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You How You love me How wide, how deep How great is Your love for me How wide, how deep How great is Your love for me Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You Lord, I'm amazed by You How You love me I love the mental picture of God dancing around me, pouring out His good on my life. 

Yesterday was a bitter-sweet, hard day.  Ten and a half years ago, God called us to this area as church planters.  We spent 5 1/2 years doing that and then merged our church plant with our current church after they lost their pastor and spent another 5 years here.  We've ministered to the same basic group of people that entire time. We've seen children grow from preschoolers to teenagers.  Dan has baptized, married and buried people.  We have cried with these people.  We have laughed with them.  We have loved them and for the most part, they have loved us. However, God often calls His people to go out and when He does that, you need to follow.  We received that call recently and have accepted it.  We will be leaving here at the end of December and beginning in a new church further to the north and the west, but still in New York.  We'll be braving snow - a lot of it and cold weather.  But we will be following where God is leading and I know He is in it. We are excit