Hearts in Service

I Corinthians 13:1-3 ~ "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is such a key thing in our lives, isn't it? We can be the most gifted person and can look so good on the outside to others. If you look at some of these gifts that are mentioned here, they are mostly external. Speaking in tongues, prophecy, faith that reveals itself in an outward action all are visible signs to those around us. But even with all those wonderful gifts, we can be doing them without love. We can be doing them for show or for affirmation or pride. The thing that truly makes the difference is whether we are motivated by love. This can be true in our own

Do you hear that buzzing?  That would be me! Things have been hopping here lately and there are days I feel like my head is spinning.  But I love it!  It's certainly better than sitting around feeling depressed because it's snowing and gray and everything and everyone is new.  I love being a stay at home wife and mother.  And I know so many people have the stereotype that it means I sit around and watch soap operas all day.  Now that my children are growing up I've heard a couple of comments from well-meaning family members, "So now you are going to go back to work, right?" But the reality is I love being home.  I love being able to help my husband in ministry.  I love being at the "home-base" to put out fires and be available for whatever comes up.  I'm loving having my own business and seeing that start to do well and yet, getting to stay home. So when people ask me that question the thought goes through my head, "When did I ever sto

One of the things I actually love about being frugal is that it requires me to be creative.  I love creativity in the kitchen, in the craft room, with my writing and with my ministry.  So what a wonderful way to utilize that creativity. Otherwise, it's just about skimping and saving and cutting corners and to me that's just BLAH!  So finding ways to turn a frugal meal into an elegant dinner is exciting.  Finding ways to craft and sew and yet not spend a fortune puts a spring into my step each day.  Coming up with wonderfully frugal ways to decorate at church events brings me a tremendous amount of joy.  Being able to find fantastic deals and then use my creative streak to make something magical out of them is worth spending the time doing that. Frugal is fun! :-) This wasn't a stellar week in the savings department because we got hit with two very unexpected bills.  And I was so annoyed but we had to go buy all our gardening tools because doofuses that we are, we left

Hebrews 4:12-13 ~ "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." I hate housekeeping! I might as well be honest about it. It has never been my strong point and it is not something that I find enjoyable. Yet I've learned over the years how to make the house presentable. To anyone coming in for a visit things look pretty good. The clutter is picked up, the living room is dusted, and vacuumed and things seem fairly clean. However, if you look behind the closed bedroom door you may find a few piles of papers that were removed from the living room or kitchen before guests arrive. The closets are stuffed to the gills and things aren't as good as they appear on the outside.

Today is a dreary, rainy, humid day.  A good day for staying inside, curling up with a good book and relaxing. But, I have 25 lbs. of tomatoes to process before they go bad so that is what I've spent the past couple of hours doing.  I have 7 quarts of diced tomatoes to show for it so it was well worth the time. I also tested out a new recipe today - tomato quiche.   It turned out great and was very tasty so I thought I'd share the recipe. The top got a little dark because I was distracted and forgot to check on it, but it still tasted good. Tomato Quiche 1 deep dish pie crust - I made my own.  Prick holes in the bottom with a fork and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. In the meantime, slice a large beefsteak tomato and set the slices on a plate covered with a paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt and let sit. Slice 1/2 of an onion and saute in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Grate 1 cup cheese of your choice - I used 1/2 Colby-jack and 1/2

I had such a seriously great frugal week that I decided to make it a Thrifty Thursday instead of Frugal Friday post.  lol!  Before I share my savings this week, I do want to share an e-book by my friend, Kate Megill.  Kate has a family of 10 and does a wonderful job of staying within a budget.   Her e-book, Cut it Out: How I Feed My Family for $500 a Month Without Coupons , is available on her website.  Click on the title to go check it out.  For $3.99 it's definitely frugal. :-) Okay, on to my savings.  $ I'm trying my hand at soap making, using another "in real life" friend, Heidi Corley Barto's book, The Natural Soap Chef.   Because I'm new at it and have none of the equipment needed, it could get costly if I just went through and started purchasing everything from a soap making company.  But I was able to get many of the needed items by going to a local thrift store.  I didn't really want to use my regular bowls for this because I real

Ann Voskamp gets to the heart of things so much better than anyone I know anyway.  Visit her at A Holy Experience for some inspiration today.

We moved to our new home on December 21st in the middle of winter in north Central New York.  So needless to say, I've not done much exploring outside besides walking between the parsonage and church. However, this week the temperatures warmed up and I'm finding all sorts of little jewels hidden here or there.  The previous pastor's wife, whom I knew from school, was a gardener.  There are many flowers planted all around the house and I can't wait to figure out what they are. I also discovered that she had a little herb garden next to the house and I can already see the sage and dill from last year.  There is a large garden bed behind our shed and though it's smaller than what I usually plant, it's a start.  I also found that she planted strawberries behind the shed and am looking forward to picking those.  There are also a number of blackberry bushes in the field behind us.  Can't wait until they are ripe and I can make some jam.  There are so many po

How about some eye candy on this very beautiful, warm, spring day?  I'm sooooo happy that it's 60 degrees out today.  Finally.  Some glorious weather. I thought I'd bestow some beauty on you. Caught that bee in mid-flight.  Love it! Flowers from Dan & Emily. They may open in time for Easter. Full-cheeks. :-) I hope you are all out and enjoying this beautiful day.

Ephesians 5:11-17 (NIRV) Have nothing to do with the acts of darkness. They don’t produce anything good. Show what they are really like.    It is shameful even to talk about what people who don’t obey do in secret. But everything the light shines on can be seen.   Light makes everything clear. That is why it is said,   “Wake up, sleeper.      Rise from the dead. Then Christ will shine on you.”   So be very careful how you live. Do not live like people who aren’t wise. Live like people who are wise.   Make the most of every opportunity. The days are evil.   So don’t be foolish. Instead, understand what the Lord wants. The sun is out today and though it wants to go back behind the haze, it pops out from time to time.  As I sat in the sun room having coffee this morning and looking at the sun shining brightly through the windows, I realized how dirty my windows are.  It's definitely time to bring out the Windex and paper towels and get to work wiping the smudges and di

Living in Central New York, especially next to one of the great lakes is a study in contrast.  Sunday dawned warm and sunny.  The snow has melted.  Crocuses were blooming.  Birds were singing and it was beautiful.     We were invited to a friend's house for dinner the same day.  Her home is right on the lake and this is the site from her back deck.  Ice as far as you could see.    Today it is raining, cold and dreary.  One thing is for sure living here.  We never know what to expect and things go from one extreme to the next very quickly. Our lives are a bit like that too, aren't they? We desire to do the right thing.  We want to grow closer to the Lord.  We want to be in tune to the Holy Spirit.  Yet, on the flip side, we are human, frail and weak.  We mess up.  We fail.  We blunder and make mistakes. Romans 7:21-24 (MSG) ~ It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in Go

It has been a stellar week in the frugal department and I was excited to share today.  One thing I have found in trying to save money is that it takes a lot of time so there is a cost to being frugal.  Yet, if you are in a situation like I am where you are living on one income, it's necessary.  During the times in my life where I have worked full-time, I found we were in worse shape financially because I was so wiped out a the end of each day and week that I had no desire to do anything necessary to save.  It also takes will-power not to cave in to those times when all I want to do is eat out or order in.  I had to fight down those urges quite a few times this week.  I was so glad I did! Anyway, here we go with the savings. $ Bought bananas that were on sale at the local orchard for $3.00 for 7 lbs.  That translates to $.42 per lb.  Awesome!  We ate some, I made some into banana chocolate chip muffins and the rest will be used up or put in the freezer for a later date.  I

I've gotten to the point where I'm afraid to open up my social media.  A sad phenomena is happening today among those who proclaim to follow Christ.  They are shooting themselves in the foot. So many Christians shout that they are being persecuted.  They state that believers are getting creamed in the media.  That it's all unfair!  In many ways, I would agree.  However I also believe that we have done it to ourselves.  We are left holding a smoking gun and wondering why our foot hurts. We focus on a pet issue and make that the focal point.  We rant and rave and rail against so many things.  Yet, I very rarely hear of believers weeping over the thought of people dying without knowing Christ.  It seems to be all about the sin and not much about Christ's love for the sinner.  And to be honest, if I sense this, what does it look like to those who don't know the Lord? Since when did our Christian walk become about following a particular political party?  How did

  On this first day of April, I love looking for the beauty around me.  It's warmer but the lake is still covered with ice.  Lake Ontario doesn't generally freeze up but this has been a crazy winter.    Dan & I went for a walk along the lake yesterday and this truly is a beautiful place to live. The Canadian geese have been flying north and are almost home.  That is a wonderful sign that warm weather is coming. There is something about being outside, even though it's cold, that makes me feel peaceful.  I'm loving the fact that my husband has a day off now and we can spend it together.  Well, with a small interruption here or there.  lol I am looking forward to the days when we can walk without being bundled up. And I definitely can't wait for summer days on the lake!