Hearts in Service

My husband is a smart cookie and I really need to learn to listen to him.  He always tells me I overthink things and that I agonize over things that really aren't a big deal.  His feeling is that if I enjoy what I do as far as sewing and crafting and it's not losing money, then I should just do it until I can't do it anymore because of other ministry responsibilities.  He did remind me that if I want to get to know people in the community and this is one thing that allows that to happen, then I am accomplishing my goals. One thing I am going to do is work on keeping some of my thoughts to myself.  This way I don't have to worry about confusing people so much.  One of the ways I work through things is by talking about them, but in this case, it may not be a good idea. So I took down my other post and I'm going to work on not overthinking and just enjoy each day as it comes.  As you can see, I do NOT have it all together. ;-)

There is an expression that I read and hear all the time lately and it's "Give Back."  People, politicians and businesses are always talking about how they are giving back to the community by sponsoring different events.  It may be a food drive or coat drive.  It may be talking about how they paid it forward.  Or some way that they are helping out those in need. I always struggle a bit when I hear this because it makes me feel as if maybe I'm not doing enough.  There will be times when I get inundated with requests to help out with something and when I can't, I feel as if I'm not doing my part. But as I wrestled with this, I thought of the following verse... Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV) ~ Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to

Happy Thanksgiving!   The turkey is in the oven.  The majority of side dishes were prepped yesterday and need to go in the oven later.  My pies and rolls were done yesterday afternoon.  This is shaping up to be one of the easiest Thanksgiving Days I've had.   A friend from church and her son are coming for dinner and it should be a good time of food and fellowship.    I pray that you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving Day!    Psalm 145:21 (HCSB) ~   My mouth will declare      Yahweh's praise; let everything living thing praise His holy name forever      and ever.

Psalm 104:33-34 (NIV) ~ I will sing to the Lord all my life;      I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him,      as I rejoice in the Lord . I opened my Bible and read these words this morning.  "Thank you, Lord, for all the many things you do for me."  "Thank you for the blessings."  "Thank you for a wonderful thanksgiving service last night."  Hmmmmm,, it really could have used more upbeat music.  I wonder who that person was?  I wish more people would have responded when I asked for words of praise.  Why didn't that person greet me?  Why did this one say that to me?  Why would she think that is acceptable?  I can't believe someone would do that!  Boy, am I annoyed!!!  Oh!  I need to get that bread in the oven.  I need to check on the turkey and make sure it is thawed.  I need to do xyz..... Sound familiar?  You start out praising God and end up lost in your own thoughts and even walking down a

Back in January, I decided that I was going to find something to be thankful about every single day of 2015.  I started out posting one thing each day on Facebook and it's been such a wonderful exercise in thankfulness. I decided between now and the end of the year, I would post them here, one month at a time.  That's mostly because no one is going to want and sit and read 365 reasons I'm thankful all at once! :-) I realized almost from the beginning some of them started repeating themselves from time to time but it's okay.  I'm doubly thankful for some of these blessings. January, 2015 Day #1 ~ The wonderful spiritual growth I've seen in Stephen the past year. Day # 2 ~ A husband who helps me through so many of my struggles with encouragement and love. Day # 3 ~ Nathan got a raise at work and a very good review. Day # 4 ~ Emily is happy at school and doing well. Day # 5 ~ Renewed vision and focus Day # 6 ~ A productive week, and

William Arthur Ward~ " Blessed is the woman who has a smile in her voice, a sparkle in her eyes, a song on her lips; a spring in her step, a warmth in her touch, a depth in her beauty, a purpose for her life, a joy in her faith, a hope in her breast and a love in her heart." I've always loved that quote above and in fact, it's been on my sidebar for years. It's something I've tried to live by though I haven't always been successful.  And lately, I have been realizing how far short I actually fall.  It's so easy to write one thing and live another, isn't it?  And yet, I don't want to be a hypocrite.  I want to live out what I actually say.  So I'm constantly working on having a repentant heart and walking my talk.  This week was one of those wake up calls.  I woke up as I heard the frustration and pain in my son's voice as he is struggling to relearn some math for an employment test and yet, I was too distracted with bus

I realized yesterday that I need to start thinking about my Christmas baking.  In years past, I started in October and started putting the cookies in the freezer.  However, we just don't have the freezer room and I've been busy, so I haven't done anything yet. Stephen comes home tonight for Thanksgiving and we always decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, so I wanted to have a few family favorites ready. I try to do a new cookie each year, but I think I'm going to stick to the old favorites.  They are used not only for us, but for church and various events and gifts. Here is the plan this year:  Cinnamon pinwheels Peppermint chocolate crunch cookies Swedish ginger thins Andes mint cookies Chocolate candy cane kiss cookies Bizcochitos Brandy snaps Spritz Snickerdoodles Christmas meringues When Emily gets home from school today, I'm going to rope her into helping me with a batch.  My girl has been off lately and I'm hoping this will r

I John 3:18-19 ~ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.   Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Are you walking your talk? It's so easy to say we love each other, but do we show it by our actions?  I am guilty of just yammering on about love and not always showing it.  I want to show love and I try to, but so often I am selfish, self-centered, and just so inwardly-focused. I'm trying to change that.  How can you show love to others? There are some different ways I have done that over the years.  Again, I am not always good at it and there is always room for improvement.  I have great intentions but I don't always follow through.  But here are some ways to show love (some are things I have done and others what people have done for me).  It's just some ideas to get your thoughts flowing.  You may have different things you would do or have

I feel like a child in a candy shop lately.  The holidays are here and I love it!  This is my favorite time of the year and I love the hustle and bustle of it all.  Stephen will be coming home on Thursday night and I can't wait to see him.  On Sunday we are having a Thanksgiving dinner at church and then some will be delivering Thanksgiving baskets that our church family put together.  Thursday is Thanksgiving and then next weekend begins Advent. In the meantime, I have plenty to keep me busy.  I'm taking orders for savory and sweet breads as well as pies this year.  I'm putting together gift baskets for Christmas.  I've been busy whipping up Christmas stockings for a craft fair the first weekend in December.  And I'm trying to get my house in order.   Yesterday was such a productive day and mostly because I made myself work at a project for only 30-60 minutes and then move on to something else.  Because I did that I was able to get two loads of laundry d

We had major wind yesterday and while out on an errand, decided to stop by the lake, and see what it looked like.  All I can say is, "Wow!"  I've never seen it look so stormy and rough.  The wind was so strong that I could barely stand.  It really was such an awesome sight. What can be so calm and still, can change in a second.  Sort of like our lives, isn't it?  We can be plodding along peacefully and then a sudden storm can spring up and cause major turbulence.  And all we can do is hold tight and hope for the best! Yet, we have One who is our anchor in the storm.  God is there with us in the midst of the raging wind.  He is holding us tight as the waves crash over us.  If you are going through a storm today, know that even though wave after wave may be crashing over you, the Lord will not let you sink.  He is your buoy in the storm.  Cling to Him.  Trust Him.  Know that He is there with you. Praying for you today, my friends!

I've had a busy week that involved a lot of sewing.  There are a few events coming up that I'll be participating in and on top of that, Christmas is on it's way ,and the shops that carry my items want those types of things.  Because I had no Christmas inventory, that's what I've been focusing on.  And I really do enjoy it.  I just need to remember to balance myself.  I can truly get lost in my own world and spend hours and hours focusing on just one thing. Originally, I had planned on closing down the business at the end of the year but have decided to continue in the few shops that carry my items.  My added ministry responsibilities will not happen until the spring and my personality is such that I really do need to keep busy or I get down and depressed.  So I'm streamlining things so that only certain shops will carry certain items and I'm not doing custom orders anymore.  It makes life simpler.  When the time comes if I need to cut down even more, I wil

Matthew 26:36-46 ~ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane , and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because

  I've been working on my new book for months and finally have the proof copy in my hands.  I find it's easier to notice little mistakes when I have a physical book in hand rather than doing it on the computer. I'm excited for it to be done and out for sale, but it's taking so much longer than I thought.  And that is mostly because I keep getting distracted with other things.  But I've been plugging away at it a bit each day and hope to have it ready to go by the end of the month.  However, that is barring any unforeseen circumstances.   This book is a devotional like the others.  My desire is for women to grow in their love for God's word so I enjoy writing the devotionals but I do try to make each one a bit different so they aren't cookie cutters.  In this particular book, I've added small interludes called, "Let's Have a Cup," where I share a bit of my life and heart.  I want this to feel like we are sitting down together over

John 1:5 ~ This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him. What started out as a joyful day turned into a rotten one yesterday.  I spent the majority of the afternoon feeling hurt and crying my eyes out.  It was so silly too because nothing terrible happened.  I'd love to chalk it up to hormones but I truly think the devil knows where to hit me and he hit me hard yesterday.  I allowed a difficult morning, and a chance observation that wasn't even a criticism, to knock me down and ruin my day. Every little bit of insecurity I have came rushing to the surface.  Feelings of not being good enough and the fear of people's opinions lingered all day long.  I went to bed with a pounding headache and swollen eyes.  As I woke up this morning and the thoughts came back, tears sprang into my eyes once again. But, as I read the verse above, I remembered that God is light.  There

We can only be said to be truly alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. - Thornton Wilder I love when I look at my life and really see the value in what I have.  By that, I don't mean material things.  I'm talking about the love of my husband and children.  The enjoyment I find in my daily life.  The simplicity of my life.  The fulfillment in ministry.  These are my treasures and the reasons I look forward to each day.   Being creative in finding ways to be frugal is another of these treasures.  I enjoy figuring out ways to make things stretch and how to make do with what I have.  In fact, I love the satisfaction I get from it.  Sometimes being frugal means I have to do without but I usually am creative enough that I can find a good alternative.   Here are some ways I've saved the past few weeks.   $  Christmas is coming and I have three different locations where my items are carried.  I'm want to add some Christmas th

I really struggle with living a balanced life at times and I'm so thankful that I have a husband who recognizes that and encourages me to manage things differently.  I was feeling so down and depressed yesterday afternoon because of my own silliness and Dan suggested we get out by the lake and go for a walk.  Of course, I did not want to do it, but he kept telling me I'd feel better if I got out.  I finally listened to him and he was right.  My head cleared, my spirits lifted and I got my perspective back.  To top it all off, it was about 70 degrees yesterday with no breeze so it was absolutely beautiful by the lakeshore.  The smell of dead leaves was in the air. There are still quite a few leaves on the trees so the colors are still pretty in places. Chipmunks and squirrels were scampering everywhere. The lake was calm and peaceful.   I'm so glad Dan talked me into this because the rest of my day was not so peaceful.  I really think if I hadn

I thought today that I would let God's word speak for itself, along with some of my photography.  Sometimes, less words are better! :-) Psalm 121 (HCSB) ~ I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth.   He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.     The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night.     The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.    

  Since November is the month when we often think of giving thanks, I thought it was appropriate today to start with a Psalm.  We should have thanks in our heart year round but it is good that we have at least one month that causes us to pause and offer up some thanks. Psalm 148 (NLT) ~   Praise the Lord! ...   Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,