Hearts in Service

How is your attitude today? My focus in life has been on doing things well.  Whatever comes my way, I want to do it to the best of my ability.  Whether it's managing my home, doing a project for my husband, working with children in the church or running my own business.  Ephesians 9:10 ~ Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.     But sometimes I need an attitude adjustment.  I can get overwhelmed, annoyed, irritated and complaining about the things in my life.  I love the verses that talk about working for the Lord, because the reality is that everything we do is for Him.  When I have that perspective then it changes how I approach all I do in my life. Colossians 3:23-24 ~ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know you will receive an inheritance as a reward.  It is the Lord you ...

Dan & I took a much needed afternoon off yesterday after church.  One of the things we wanted to do was go apple picking but rather than go some place close to home, we decided to drive about 45 minutes away and do a number of activities. One of the things we both commented on is how busy and distracted we get.  We race through life and forget to just stop and relax and breathe in the fresh air and notice the beautiful colors around us.  We can be color-bind! Yesterday was a day full of colors!  I thought I'd share some with you.   Sometimes you just need to get rid of the distractions and appreciate the beauty around you and enjoy the colors!

I've had such full, busy days lately but if you've read my blog for any length of time you know, I love it! :-)   This week was filled with cleaning the house, continuing to pull tomatoes off the vine.  Those grape tomatoes did fantastic this year.   I've been watching Emily's tennis matches.  The school is about a block away from the shop so it's great that I can get over there just in time to see her play.  She has improved so much and yesterday she was bursting with pride because her coach, who is sparse in his praises, went out of his way to tell her how well she is doing.       I've made bread for the shop.  I've been taking orders so I don't end up with leftover bread and each week the amount is increasing.   I just got a bunch of new fragrance oils in and can't wait to make some new candles in fall scents.  These have long since flown off the shelf!  I hardly sold a candle all summer and in the pa...

Yesterday was officially the first day of autumn and it felt more like the beginning of winter.  It was extremely windy and there was definitely a nip in the air. I went to the lake to pick up some rocks for an object lesson and had a hard time staying on my feet at times.  It was funny to watch the geese try to fly and not get anywhere.  They finally gave up and settled back down on the rocks. The leaves are changing. Football has started.  These little guys ran by me yesterday and were so cute! Tennis is winding down which is a good thing because they have to bundle up in order to play. The next few months are some of my favorite.            I'm looking forward to the holidays and all that comes with that.       Of course, winter won't be far behind.  But in the meantime, I'm planning on enjoying the beauty of the fall.    

People throw the expression, Thank God it's Friday, around quite a bit.  On this Friday, I want to thank God for the blessings in my life! This week I'm thankful for blessings #2191- 2200.   2191.  Thankful that I was able to get out in the garden and get the last of the tomatoes before the cold hit last night.   2192.  Thankful for a wonderful bounty of them this year.     2193.  Thankful for a husband who spends time in God's word every single day.  I cannot remember a day that he has ever missed, no matter if he's on vacation, sick or what is going on. 2194.  Thankful that I can have heat at the flick of a switch. 2195.  A friend's generosity allowed me to put up pickles this year.  My cucumbers were a flop and she stopped by the shop one day last week with a basket full. 2195.  Peaceful days that allow me to get a lot of a sewing done. 2196.  Good friends.  I prayed long ...

Good morning, my blog friends! It's chilly here in Central New York and tonight we are supposed to get down into the 30s.  Definitely, sweater weather!  It's my favorite time of the year.  I love autumn.  Changing leaves. Apples, ready to be picked. Wonderful scents of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, baked into pies. Beautiful colors. In the midst of my very busy days I don't want to forget to stop, smell and look around and appreciate this moment.  This is the only time I'll have this minute in my life.  I'll never get it back.  I don't want it to slip away unappreciated. So no matter what you are doing today, be alert!  Keep watch.  Look for that precious moment and just breathe.  Smell the air.  Appreciate the beauty around you.  And thank God for it! Have a blessed day.  

I Corinthians 7:17,24. ~ "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him...Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to." If only my children acted like Sue’s children, then I could be patient.   If my husband was like Jane’s then my marriage would be great!   If I had a job that paid more then I could be relaxed like Jennifer.   If my situation would change, then I would be able to trust God. Do you fall into this trap at times?   Do you wish things were different in your life?    Do you think that if your situation were different, then you would be different?   Are there days when you want to give up?   Are you in a situation that you wish would change?    I think we all experience this from time to time.   Yet, the Lord wants us to be content with the circumstances and situations that He has allowed in ou...

There are so many times in my life when I have a plan and a goal in mind and am determined to accomplish it.  Yet, as I go on, I find that a particular thing doesn't work or I need to adjust something else, and I have to tweak my plan. One of the things I wanted to do with the new shop is have homemade bread for sale each week.  Since I'm closed on Tuesday, I thought Wednesday would be a good day to have it so I'd have time to bake.  Last Tuesday, I spent the afternoon baking and went off to the shop on Wednesday morning with 8 loaves of bread.  Wednesday afternoon I came back home with 8 loaves of bread. :-)  It's going to take time to get the word out.  I'm also not so sure I want to spend precious time I do have at home, baking tons of bread.  So I tweaked my plan, put the word out on Facebook that I was taking orders.  This way, if someone wants something I'll know exactly what to make and can bring that.  For...

I was invited by my friend, Lisa M. Buske, to take part in a blog hop. You can read Lisa's blog by clicking here .   I met Lisa at a couple of women's conferences and then we became friends online. She spoke to the women at our church in 2013 and I never would have thought that a year later I would attend the same church when my husband accepted the call as pastor of New Haven Community Alliance Church.  :-) Lisa M Buske, author and speaker since 2010, released her first book, Where's Heidi? One Sister's Journey , on the 19 th anniversary of her only sister’s kidnapping, April 3, 2014. Lisa’s only sister remains missing, more than twenty years missing, yet Lisa and her family have not given up hope. Lisa uses the gifts God’s given her to share encouragement and hope with her audiences, whether you read her blog and books, or hear her speak at one of your events. Lisa spends her days as a teacher’s assistant in a Kindergarten class and he...

One of the things I wanted to do from the beginning with my new shop is set up an area for my sewing.  I felt that if I was going to be at the shop 4 days a week I didn't want to just sit with nothing to do while I waited for customers.  I also felt that it may generate business once people discovered I took custom sewing orders. So I found an empty corner, set up and went to work.  And I've been loving it!  In the 3 days I've been open so far, I've been able to accomplish the following: * Made two aprons for an order. * Cut out 30 tea totes to start an order of 60. * Hemmed curtains for a customer . * Sewed 6 tissue holders. * Sewed 20 tea totes I'm loving the productivity and multi-tasking!    I received another order for an apron and will be starting on that as well as making some placemats. It makes the days go by quickly and I'm getting a lot more sewing done than I did at home.

We live in such a hurry-scurry world and in our frantic pace it's so easy to lose sight of what's important.  We can live our lives in sound bytes and facebook updates and forget to step away from that and live our lives in the real world.   We feel the need to record every moment with a status update and blog about every experience.  We measure our success in friend requests, liked status updates, and blog followers.  We tweet every little thought that hits us and as much as I love social media, it can be exhausting.  It can also make you feel like you are on the outside looking in. My house isn't as beautiful looking as Sue's.  My children aren't as talented as Mildred's.  My meals are plain compared to Gertrude's meals.  I can be left with an inadequate, incompetent, not-good-enough feeling and the feeling that my life is in competition with others. We forget that we are looking at another person's life through a camera ...

One of my favorite hymns is Amazing Grace .  It was written by a slave trader, John Newton, who cried out to the Lord in a severe storm at sea and saw his life changed.  He decided to become a minister and penned these beautiful words of redemption.  Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.  That saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now I'm found; was blind but now I see. Grace - Generosity of spirit: a capacity to tolerate, accommodate, or forgive people I stumbled upon this definition of grace recently and it struck a cord with me.  Mostly because I have seen so many Christians are ungracious in their speech and attitudes. They tear apart others with their mouths.  They criticize and critique and complain.  And yes, I've been so guilty of this at times too.  And yet, my friends, this is unacceptable.  How in the world can we profess Christ and accept His wonderful grace in our own lives and yet, never ...

I made cranberry-orange scones for the farmer's market yesterday and I think they were the best I've ever made.  I thought I'd share the recipe here today.  I know a lot of people add glaze to the top of the scones but I never do.  Traditional scones are sweet but not loaded with sugar and glazes.  These are perfect with a cup of tea. Ingredients 2 cups all purpose flour 7 tsp. sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/3 cup cold butter 1 Tbsp. grated orange peel 1 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup half and half 1 egg, beaten Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda together in a large bowl.  Cut in butter until it resembles course crumbs and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together orange peel, cranberries, orange juice, half & half an egg.  Add to flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and gently knead 6-8 times.  Pat into an 8" circle and...

  Psalm 139:1-6 (NLT) ~   O Lord , you have examined my heart      and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up.      You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel      and when I rest at home.      You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say      even before I say it, Lord . You go before me and follow me.      You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,      too great for me to understand!    Psalm 139 is one of my favorite passages of scripture.  I love the picture of God going before and going behind and a different translation of this passage says that He hems us in, or encircles us.    There are days when I can feel this so clearly in my own life.  I get the sense that His hand of blessing ...