Hearts in Service

I went to bed feeling very down and anxious and I couldn't figure out why until about 2:30 a.m. when I woke and heard the nudging of the Holy Spirit.  It's been such a busy week that I found that time spent in prayer and reading God's word was pushed to the side.  So after tossing and turning for a while, I finally got up and spent some solid time with the Lord. I went back to bed around 5 a.m. peaceful and centered.   I tend to be an all or nothing type person.  As I've aged, I've gotten better, but I still seem to struggle with this in all areas of my life.  I'm working hard at being consistent and balanced, but every so often I catch myself in this same quandary.  You'd think that at the age of 53 I still wouldn't struggle with these basic things in life but I do.  I've done various psychological profiles throughout the years for different organizations and they all come out the same - spontaneous risk-takers, on-the-go, adventurous, imp

Play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life's only true lessons are writ small in the margin. ~  Jonathan Lockwood Huie     It was such a busy week and this really is the first day that I've had time to sit down and even think of a blog post.  It's been a busy, but good week.    A week of meetings and special services.     A week of making new friends.   A week of sewing some new things.   A week of rearranging my booth at the local coffee shop.     A week of setting up a new spot at a new shop.  (The antique store where I used to be offered me a tremendous deal to have my things there and since I have inventory and Christmas is coming, it made sense).   A week of fun and laughter.   A week of baking for church events.     A week of worship.    It's been a busy, but blessed week. It's been a week of playing with life. :-)

As I looked around our little church yesterday, we were stuffed to the gills.  We had 55 people and my husband counted and there were still 20 seats left, but it was definitely tight.  Of course, many of those were in the front row so they may never fill up. ;-)  I loved seeing the herd of children head off to children's church before the sermon.  When we arrived two years ago there were no young ones so this is another good sign of growth.  We are letting our teens know about winter camp at our denomination's local campground and so far have about six teenagers interested.  Our church service is over around 11:00 and yet, people stay and fellowship until about noon.  There is lots of laughter.  There is an energy and excitement that is so wonderful to see.  And yet, there was a time, when I wondered if we made a huge mistake coming here.  I felt out of place and lost.  I was like a fish out of water.  I'm not sure how or why the turning point came, but I do rememb

Cary Grant ~   My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. I haven't done a Frugal Friday post in a few months mostly because I've been failing quite a bit lately in this area.  However, the purse strings have been tightened again and I'm working hard at getting us back on track. One way I do that is to stop being lazy and start getting back into the meal making mode.  There is nothing worse than purchasing a refrigerator full of fruits and vegetables and then having them start to go bad because I'm too busy to cook.  This past week has been a good one and I've gotten back into menu planning and spending time in the kitchen. Some ways I've saved this week are: $ Shopping for gifts from my own personal craft store!  There is a benefit to running your own business and that's having a plethora of gifts to choose from.  I wanted to give a thank you to the ladi

God is good all the time.  Do you believe that?  I do!  I know I've seen His kindness to me many ways in the past week. Isaiah 63:7 (NIV) ~ I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us— ... yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. This week I'm thankful for blessings #2571 - 2584. 2571.  In the midst of a crazy week, I felt relaxed and rested. 2572.  All the last minute details of our church's fall festival came together. 2573.  Nathan met with his job coach and will have weekly meetings to help him find a new job, as well as get the assistance he needs. 2574.  I had a large number of volunteers show up on Saturday to help. 2575.  Saturday turned out to be a wonderful day with no rain, many visitors and lots of fun. 2576.  I prayed all week that it wouldn't rain and it didn't.  I n

Macaroni & Cheese. Apple cider doughnut holes. Sugar cookies. Caramel Corn.   It was a busy weekend and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  The weather is cooler and something about it gets me back in the mood to bake.  I made a lot of goodies for our fall festival and church, then made some homemade mac and cheese this afternoon.   Comfort food and oh, so tasty!  

I'm feeling chatty today and so this blog post is going to be a hodgepodge of things.  It's been a rainy, dreary week but the sun did come out for a bit yesterday so I went out to get pictures of the beautiful fall foliage.  It's not going to last much longer and is just gorgeous right now. It was choppy at the lake yesterday but not too cold so it was enjoyable. Tomorrow is our fall festival at church and I've had so much fun planning it.  It feels like forever since I've done anything like this and I've missed it.  The first year we were here, I was so hesitant to do much though I'm not sure why.  I think some of it was just needing time to get to know our congregation and their needs.  Some of it was my own feeling of being a fish out of water in this new area and getting used to a new church, new home, new climate, and my son leaving home for the first time. It was lot of "new"!  However, over the past six months or so, I'm

I'm sharing this picture as a reminder to myself that there is a reason I should keep my computer off until after I have my quiet time with the Lord!  As I look at it, I feel peaceful.  I feel calm.  I feel centered. And that is how I feel after I spend time in God's word and prayer.  When I commune with the Lord, I come away feeling that same peace and calm that I do when I spend time outdoors in a peaceful setting.  However, this morning, I turned on my phone FIRST.  The first thing that popped up was a text from my son, Nathan, from last night.  Apparently, he had texted me from work and was extremely frustrated and upset that they still have not done anything about his situation there.  Of course, my stomach knotted up. The second thing was an email with a request for a bunch of jams.  That in itself is not stressful, but I immediately felt pressure that I needed to add that to my to-do list.  The third was an email that something I had hoped would work out will no

(Picture by Lisa M. Buske.  She took it at our study last night) I had an epiphany last night as I sat in our monthly women's group.  This year, because I want others in our church to use their gifts and be involved, I asked a friend to lead the Bible study portion of the group and I would handle the missions part of it, as well as set up the room for the meeting.  As I listened to her and saw the absolutely wonderful way she had organized the study, a light bulb went off in my head. I don't have to be in charge and do everything myself.  I know for most of you that would be a no-brainer.  But I find myself feeling like I need to do it all because of my role as pastor's wife.  And yet, if I had done it myself again this year, my friend wouldn't have been able to use her gifting.  Instead of feeling insecure, I realized that God designed us all differently for a purpose and my job in the church is to help equip others to use their gifts. We each have unique tale

It's my favorite day of the week; Multitude Monday!  It is very easy in life to look at what is not going right and dwell on that.  This exercise each Monday keeps me focused on the blessings and the things to be thankful about.  I enjoy looking back over the previous week and reflecting on the many ways I saw God's hand on my life.  When I do that I realize I have far more to be thankful for than to complain about! This week I'm thankful for blessings #2561 - 2570. 2561.  Beautiful autumn weather. 2562.  Feeling healthy again. 2563.  A fun weekend with family. 2564. Family games. 2565.  A grandmother who has passed on her love of art. 2566.  Nathan and Stephen getting to spend time together. 2567.  My daughter who is turning into a mature, young lady. 2568.  Praying with a friend. 2569.  Cooking for many again.  It's hard to have the desire to cook and bake when there are only a few of us.  This weekend was nice because I had a large gr

Having a child with disabilities is heart-wrenching at times.  I have watched my child since he was a little boy struggle with the basics.  I have heard the tears in his voice as he wondered why he is different.  I have seen him knocked down time and time again.  However, I have also watched him get back up and keep on fighting. Today, I watched as he steeled himself for work, armed with a letter to the store managers.  He has been bullied, picked on and criticized by his supervisor and coworkers for months.  He has worked through the emotions that go with that over and over.  We've seen his self-confidence waiver and to be honest, he is depressed much of the time.  Last night, after a particularly bad night, he went to the store managers and told them what was happening.  They asked him to put it in writing and they are going to be dealing with it today.  He wrote down what he wanted to say and I helped him edit it.  I'm proud of him.  He articulated it well.  He didn&#

I've been quiet this week because the flu struck me and progressively got worse until it knocked me flat Tuesday night.  It's been a week that started with me losing my voice, coughing, headache, fever and chills.  However, I'm feeling a bit better and starting to come out of it.  I've been praying for relief because Stephen is coming home tonight, my inlaws are coming for a weekend visit on Saturday and next weekend is the Fall Festival at our church.   Today will be more of what the entire week has been - cups of tea, reading, sitting in a drug-induced haze (cold medicine does that to me - lol), and sleeping.  All of my wonderful household projects that I planned have fallen by the wayside. Oh well....such is life.  I have brain freeze and not one coherent or inspirational thought has come to me most of the week.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and hopefully, I'll be back to my wordy self next week! ;-)

I put together a video the other night of the eclipse, using my photos along with the music, Clare de Lune (Light of the Moon) by Claude Debussy.  It's about 5 minutes long.  Enjoy!     

I completed my very last sewing order yesterday and am in the process of winding down my business.  I still have my items in three shops and will be closing up the business at the end of December.  It's a strange, bittersweet feeling but I know I'm doing the right thing.  Any leftover inventory will be coming home and used for gifts, for us here at home or for future retreats I go on.  I was toying with the idea of keeping the inventory in the shops but have decided against it.  That chapter in my life is closing and I need to close the book and put it down. ;-) I spent two days last week, writing and editing my book, "Let's Have Coffee" and I'm almost done.  I know it will be complete before Christmas and that is a wonderful present to myself! Today's plan is to get into the sunroom and clean, declutter and organize.  My sewing items are out there and the shelves are a total mess so I need to reorganize.  I did offer some of my fabric to our denomi