Hearts in Service

Good morning, my blogging friends!  It's a dreary day here in Central New York but I'm feeling some sunshine in my heart today and that is because of the Lord's love for me! It's been a while and I thought it was time to have a giveaway.  All you need to do is leave a comment here on the blog or under this post on Facebook and I will enter your name in the drawing.  You can leave a comment through Wednesday, February 3rd and then on Thursday, February 4th I'll draw a name.  It'll be a package of one of my books and other handmade goodies and anyone can enter (U.S. and overseas).  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

It's hard to believe that the month of January will be over in a few days.  It just flew by!  I do have to say that one of the reasons it feels that way is that we've had the best winter here.  Hardly any snow, warmer temperatures and quite a few days of bright sunshine.  What a difference from last year! As the month comes to an end and my business is closing down, I'm finding that I'm feeling more peaceful about the decision.  I dragged it on longer than I should have and I'm realizing that I need to treat it as if I were wearing a bandage.  If you try to pull it off a bit at a time, it hurts more.  However, if you just rip it off, it'll sting for a moment, but then the pain is gone.  ;-) This weekend I'll be taking my items out of the one shop and then a couple weeks later out of the last one.  But, the bandage is getting ripped off.  OUCH!  lol I am going to be taking on a huge responsibility in the spring (which I can't share at the moment

I love the sunshine and in the winter months I really crave it.  Yet, we live in one of the cloudiest areas of the country.  For Christmas this year, Dan bought me a sunlight lamp so that hopefully, it would help me get through the long months with little sunshine. However, counting my blessings on a weekly basis is like having little bits of sunshine throughout my day and week.  Looking around and seeing how the Lord's hand is on my life in little ways and big ways feels like the rays of the sun shining down on me.  And that is a wonderful reason to keep on counting! This week I'm thankful for blessings #2637 - 2650. 2637.  Windows in our sunroom that let spirit-lifting rays shine through. 2638.  A bowl of fruit that reminds me of summer. 2639.  My son's artwork hanging on the wall. 2640.  Creating a warm and inviting home for guests and family. 2641.  Friends who took us out for dinner in celebration of my birthday last

Today is my birthday and I turn 54 years old.  I'm happy.  I love my life and it's a good one.  But while I'd love to say I'm always mature and have it together, I'm afraid that's not the case.  Sometimes I still feel like I'm a child who is struggling to grow up.  This weekend I was away at a pastor's wife retreat and before we went, we took a personal strength's test called a Strength Deployment Inventory which provided very vivid ways of seeing yourself and others from the perspective of motives under two conditions - when things are going well and in conflict.  I found it quite interesting and informative.  Much of it I already knew, but it really did give me deeper insight to who I am. When things are going well, my strengths were in being assertive and nurturing.  Just a few of the statements used to describe me were... You identify needs quickly, then move swiftly to assist those in need. You feel drawn to mentoring relationsh

I'm thankful for the little moments of solitude here or there in my life.  Without them, I truly think I would sink.  I've never been the type of girl that needs long stretches of down time or week-long vacations at some fancy resort.  And that's a good thing because we can't afford it anyway! ;-) But those quiet moments from time to time are all that are needed to help me recharge.  I had one of those moments yesterday when I had a friend for lunch.  I get those moments when I'm alone in the house for a bit.  And I'm getting one today as I leave for an overnight retreat. I'm looking forward to some spiritual refreshment and recharging my battery.  I'm feeling a bit drained and need a boost. Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

James 1:17 ~ Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. Year in and year out I have seen God's hand on my life.  From a young age, I readily believed that God is a good God and provides good things for His people.  I know that doesn't mean everything will go my way but I do believe that He will meet my needs.  Yet, every new challenge usually sends my stomach into a churning mass of knots.  I've gotten better at being quicker to calm myself down and trust and I've even gotten good at not flipping out at the first bit of bad news.  But I still tend to tense up and my mind starts meandering over all the terrible possibilities that can happen. This week was no different.  I received a text from Stephen right before I went to bed on Monday.  He had gotten back from college and discovered he wasn't cleared to start classes the next day because

I posted this about 7 months ago but it's a good reminder today too! :-) Matthew 25:14-23 ~ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.   To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.   The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.   So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’  “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you

(Homemade Hot Pockets) (Ratatouille over pasta) My plans changed yesterday.  After sending Dan and Stephen off, I had planned on getting some housework done as well as starting to work on a few projects.  However, almost two hours after they left, the door flew open and in they walked.  Even though the sun was peeking out behind the clouds here, a few miles to the south of us, the roads were treacherous with lake effect snow.  It took them an hour and a half to go about 20 minutes down the road and back.  Nathan set out for work a bit later and had to come back as well. So it was a day of playing board games and making meals.  I laughingly joked that I had been looking forward to not cooking that evening since it was supposed to be just me and Emily! Our lives are often like this. We make plans and they get changed.  You can either roll with the flow and change course or get frustrated and throw a fit.  I'd love to say that I'm always flexible, b

After a month at home, Stephen heads back to college today.  Things will settle back into a normal rhythm.  But I will miss the activity.  I've loved having Steve here and the house will seem too quiet and empty without him.  But it's part of life and seeing my children grow up. Emily's young man headed back home yesterday and we had an enjoyable weekend with him.  He's very nice. He's homeschooled, an Eagle Scout and seems to be very grounded. I've seem my daughter blossom this year into a mature young lady with a good head on her shoulders.  She's always been quite finicky about the boys she has liked and none of them have met her standards.  This one is a keeper.  She met him two years ago at our denomination's winter teen camp and he lives out of state.  They've been friends and it has only recently blossomed into more than friendship. My family has always been a part of my blogging and it's been so different the p

Catherine Pulsifer ~ "Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste." Lately, I've been working hard on avoiding waste.  Nothing frustrates me more than having to throw away food because it spoiled.  Most times that happens because I get lazy and we end up ordering in or eating out.  So I've been working at making meals and cutting our spending in that way. I've also been trying to make do with what I have.  Rather than run to the store every time I don't have an ingredient, I've been working around that.  That's how I ended up with the wacky lemon cake I pictured on the blog yesterday.  I was out of eggs so I altered my wacky chocolate cake recipe to make the lemon one. For Christmas, Nathan bought us a Kuerig coffee maker.  While I appreciate his heart, I'm not a big fan of them.  The main reason is the cost of the little k-cups are outrageous and secondly, they fill up the landfills.  However, s

I recently had a well-meaning person tell me that if I would get a steady paying job it would be better for our family because we would have money for extras.  I've had time to reflect on this a bit. At first, I thought, "Well, he has a point."  "We could do a lot more financially if I was working outside the home."  There would be vacations we can't afford now.  There would be the peace of a steady paycheck of extra income.  There would be a lot I could do with that money. But there would be much I would miss and that is a price we are not willing to pay, at least at this point.  If there ever comes a day when we have no choice, then of course, I will do what I need to do. If something happens to Dan or some reason we have no income, then I would go back to work in a flash. I have worked a full-time job and many of my friends that do know the sacrifices that are required.  Each person is in a set of unique circumstances and I believe it's up