Hearts in Service

This was the view from my back door the other day.  So I've obviously had plenty of time to evaluate my goals for 2015.  :-)    I want to be intentional about carrying out my goals for the year so I'm going to do my best to come back at the end of each month and see how I'm doing and what I'm accomplishing. I'll relist the goals and at the end of each category, evaluate how I'm progressing. Spiritual * Consistent quiet times with the Lord each week. * Go on a retreat this year to write, meditate and connect with the Lord. (by myself). I've done very well with being consistent.  I was having such a dry spell there for a while so it's nice to hear the Lord speaking to me in new ways.  No retreat yet. Marriage * Build up my husband with my words, and not tear him down. * Take over a couple tasks to take the burden off him. * Continue date nights Obviously, the first one will be an ongoing work in progress.  I'm working...

I haven't done a Frugal Friday post in a while so I thought it was time.  I've done a pretty good job this month, getting back on track and figuring out ways to save. One of the things I did was reevaluate my personal business, Terri's Country Crafts & Books.  I had started making soap last year because it was something I always wanted to try and then I also felt like I needed to have an item at the farmer's market that everyone may want to purchase.  That was before I got my approval to make and sell bread. I love making soap  It's fun and quick.  But it's not necessarily frugal.  When I tried to save some money by purchasing olive oil from our local store which was much cheaper, it ended up not being the smartest choice.  It caused some of the bars to end up with little orange spots.  When I researched why that was happening it turned out it was because of an inferior grade of olive oil.  It didn't harm the soap and it works grea...

Shauna Niequest ~ “I think preparing food and feeding people brings nourishment not only to our bodies but to our spirits. Feeding people is a way of loving them, in the same way that feeding ourselves is a way of honoring our own createdness and fragility.”   I love feeding people.  As I work in my kitchen, I often think about who I am feeding, pray for them and pour my heart into what I'm making.  It's a way to show love to people. Stephen made a comment under one of my Facebook posts the other night that was so unexpected and brought tears to my eyes.  He said, " You do a lot more for our family than cook for them, Mom. You are, along with Dad and of course Jesus, the foundation of who I am and who the Groh's are. Thank you, I love you!!" As parents we often wonder if we are making mistakes or at times, doing anything right!  So it was nice to get some affirmation straight from his mouth.  But my kitchen is the center of our home and...

Lamentations 3:21-26 ~ "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." There have been many events in my life that have been very hard to face.  They were circumstances that brought despair and hopelessness and fear.  Situations that would have caused me to give up if I didn't have the Lord in my life.  But I was able to get through them because of the hope I have in Him.  These verses in Lamentations don't seem to fit in with the rest of the book.  Lamentations is an eyewitness account from Jeremiah of the destruction that came upon Jerusalem when invaded by the Babylonians. Yet in the very mids...

I arrived back home last night after an uneventful flight.  I was treated like a queen by my family which was unexpected and nice.  Nathan was working but Dan and Emily took me out to eat.  I came home to birthday gifts, flowers and a cake made by Emily and the house was clean.  What more could I want? After a solid night of sleep I'm up and ready to plunge back into my life. I have a craft fair coming up on February 7th.  I need to get a package together for Stephen's birthday on the 11th.  Valentine's Day is right around the corner and I have an idea for that.  We are having an open house for our church family on the 22nd.  I need to make a few things for the local coffee shop and also begin making centerpieces for a ladies retreat in April. I also have a few home projects that I want to do.  I need to work on Emily's room and finish a paint job that I never completed.  I want to make curtains for our living room.  I...

Today is my 53rd birthday and I'm finding myself at a place where I'm happy and content with the life the Lord has given me. It's a good life.  I have a loving, Godly husband.  I have three children who love the Lord and are kind and compassionate to others. I enjoy caring for my family and working alongside Dan in ministry.  And it's enough.  I no longer have the constant struggle that what I do isn't important or successful.  I am content. This birthday finds me visiting my mother, stepfather and grandmother.  We've had a wonderful time together and I'll be sad to leave tomorrow.  My grandmother has diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer's so she's definitely different than the last time I saw her.  But she looks good.  She looks healthy.  My mother has done a wonderful job caring for her.  I'm so blessed to be able to come back in May and care for her for 7 days so my parents can get a way for a bit. This morning I have...

This morning I get on a plane and fly to North Carolina to visit my mom, stepdad and grandmother.  I'm looking forward to it because it's been almost two years since I last visited with them.  It's hard when your parents get older and they can't travel like they used to.  It's hard being in ministry with little money which makes it difficult to not only find the time to get away, but to find the money to do so.  So the solution was to have me go by myself. I'm going to miss Dan and the kids but this is such a necessary trip.  One of my reasons for going is to help my mother out a bit if I can convince her to let me do so. (Picture me wrestling a vacuum away from her).  You see my 73 year old mother and 82 year old stepfather have been caring for my 90 year old grandmother for the past year and a half.  And that is tiring.  My mother not only moved my grandmother into their small home but nursed her back to health. I love my mother with all my...

"My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare." Psalm 25:15 When an animal stumbles across a snare, it gets entangled and the more it struggles, the tighter the noose gets.  The more they fight to get free, the tighter the rope will become until it is impossible for the animal to get free.  Often they end up collapsing in exhaustion. As we face obstacles, struggles with sin, or problems in our own lives, we can often be like an animal who gets caught in a snare.  We run around trying to break a habit or find a solution to the problem, using own strength. We try to think of every possible way to get out of whatever situation we are in.  Yet, the more we struggle and fight against the issue with our own resources, the more tightly trapped we become. And the more exhausted we get. In this verse, the psalmist tells us that only the Lord can release our feet from the snare. Only He can solve whatever problem ...

I'm not a fan of winter.  And I definitely don't like not seeing the sun very much.  So I struggle to find uplifting things to get me through the day. I did find a few things this week. Driving into a sunrise. My daughter's talent. The beauty of roses . Reflecting on Jesus as light . It's amazing how those few little things are all I need to feel my spirits lift.

Stephen has been home from college for the past 5 weeks and it's been wonderful.  Today he and Dan head back there to drop him off.  I'm really going to miss having him home. It's been fun.  Dan has loved having someone to talk football with (they are checking scores here).  It's been wonderful to see God working in my middle son as he grows in his faith.  Seeing his spiritual maturity brings us great joy. Some things that will happen now that he is leaving..... * My food bill will go down.  That young man can eat!.  * My internet bill will go up as he always forgets to check his cell phone usage.  lol * My sunroom will be cleaner! ;-) * I'll make more frequent trips to the post office to mail him packages. * It will be quieter, as he is the talker out of the three of them. * My prayer life will increase as I'm always concerned when he's away. * A piece of my heart will be missing as it always is when my children aren't here. ...

My kitchen has been turned into a factory this week; both food and bath and body items.  :-) The first three days of the week were spent with food items; preparing our own meals as well as meals for others.  I couldn't figure out why I felt so wiped out on Tuesday night until I realized that from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday night, I had made the following items. 2 pans of stuffed peppers 3 pans of baked spaghetti 3 pans of ziti 3 fruit salads 3 tossed salads 2 veggie platters 7 loaves of bread 1 pan of brownies 1 cake Then yesterday I spent the day manufacturing a different type of product.  I'm getting ready for a craft fair on Saturday.  Recently, I've branched out into different types of bath and body items and really enjoy this part of the business.  I made the following. 14 candles (French vanilla, pumpkin spice, chocolate espresso, lavender chamomile, and cucumber melon)   7 salves (lemon, lavender, and an essential o...

Psalm 147:1 ~ "Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!" Are you praising the Lord today? Do you naturally think or sing praises all day? Or do you go through your day thinking of everything that is wrong in your life? Do you spend more time grumbling than praising? I have been so guilty of this at times. I look at what’s going wrong instead of what’s going right and I can waste precious time worrying and complaining.  I can spend my time grumbling and fussing about so many things. Yet, as believers, our time should be spent giving God the praise even in the midst of struggles. Isn't it so much nicer to be around upbeat, positive people than those who are down or complaining all the time?  Even more importantly than what others think is the fact that our praises are pleasing to the Lord.  We bring Him honor and glory when we learn to thank Him no matter what is going...

I went to bed feeling incredibly sad last night.  And I woke up with this heaviness over my heart this morning too.  It has to do with the burden I feel for people who are going through very difficult times.  A friend is reliving a past nightmare this entire week.  Another lost her adult son in a car accident last night.  Another is dealing with issues with her heart and still another has different health issues.  My heart hurts for them all and yet, there is nothing I can do to relieve the pain. I was reminded of these verses: Psalm 34:17-18 (NIV) ~ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;      he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted      and saves those who are crushed in spirit. There is one who can bring comfort and peace.  He draws near to those going through difficult times.  He truly is the only one who can relieve the pain of those...

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”   ~ William Arthur Ward I've been working on gratitude for the past 3 years.  It's not always easy but I've been plugging away at my list of blessings day after day.  It really does change your outlook on life.  There are many days when my heart is full from the many little blessings I see in my life. That doesn't mean that there aren't times when my initial response is a complaint, but I quickly am able to turn that around and those initial responses are becoming less.  And for that I'm grateful.  I'm thankful for the change because my desire is to see the blessing in everything.  Someone good naturedly called me "Pollyanna" one year.  Pollyanna was the character in the book with the same name who always looked at the bright side of things.  But I'd rather loo...

We had a doozy of a week as far as frigid temperatures and snow.  I decided to get out and brave the cold to get some fresh air.   I love walking through the woods in winter.  The only sound was my boots crunching through the snow and chickadees in the trees.  It was definitely peaceful. I didn't make it too far because it was just so deep and I was in up to my knees.  However, I'm glad I decided to get out of the house because it was beautiful.   More snow is on the way today and tomorrow.  It's going to be a long winter!

Women hold tremendous power in their hands.  Did you know that?  We have our husband's heart in our hands.  We generally are the glue that holds the family together and we are the ones that can make or break the atmosphere in the home. As women, we can either bring joy to our households or discouragement and that starts with our marriage relationships. Proverbs 31:10-12 (NLT) ~ Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?      She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her,      and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm,      all the days of her life. Do you enrich your husband's life?  Does his heart trust you?  Are you bringing him harm or good?  How do we do this? It generally starts with our words.  Do you tear him apart with your mouth?  Do you constantly criticize and find fault?  Or do you find ways to build him up and enco...

I shared a few days ago about my word and verse for the year.  I did, however, still want to come up with a few goals to achieve this year.  I find if I aim at nothing, then nothing generally happens.. :-)  So part of being intentional is having a plan and plotting out my course for the coming year. First of all, a look back at 2014.  I crossed out the things that I accomplished and notated the ones that didn't seem to work. 2014 Goals Spiritual  ►  Skip one meal a week to fast and pray. - Didn't happen at all ►  Have consistent quiet times each week. Marriage Relationship ► Encourage my husband through my words and supporting him in ministry.  I don't think I can really cross this out because this is always a work in progress.  I certainly made a more conscious effort.  ► Have a date night twice per month   Health & Nutrition ► Some form of exercise at least 5 days per week and at least 30 minutes ...

  Hard truths.  The Bible is full of them.  Passages that we like to gloss over or twist to fit how we think or passages that we like to skip over altogether. I sat in church yesterday, and as I listened to the worship team practicing before the service I opened my Bible and read this. Philippians 4:4-7 (HCSB) ~ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!    Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.   Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Don't worry, but pray WITH thanksgiving.  It's easy to give thanks when things are going right.  It's a bit harder to give thanks for how God is going to work in a difficult situation.  But how about thanking Him for the trial.  "Thank you God for this ter...

  Every now and then I need to get outdoors, breathe in the fresh air and get inspired.  And that is harder to do in the winter.    But the other day, I braved the cold and went out to clear my head.     When I left the house, I felt down and depressed.  I'm not a big fan of winter and the days are gray and dreary.  The absence of sun is hard.   But after 30 minutes of being outside in the fresh air, I felt my spirits rise.  Things didn't seem so bleak.  I felt hope where discouragement had been.  I'm pretty sure God created us to be outside communing with Him in nature, not stuck inside in an artificial environment. I'm going to have to make a point of doing this a couple of times a week.  I came home feeling inspired.