Hearts in Service

As I'm reading through the Old Testament, I'm on the story of Moses and the Israelites in the desert.  I'm amazed once again at the constant grumbling of the Israelites, despite the fact that they've seen God rescue them and provide for them in absolutely miraculous ways time and time again. Numbers 14:11 ~ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? Ultimately, none of that generation were able to enter the promised land because of their complaining and disbelief.  I shake my head and wonder how in the world could they continue to complain when confronted with miracles, but I wonder how often I do the very same thing. I have seen God's hand do miracles in my life throughout the years, and yet the very first time I'm confronted with an obstacle I tend to moan and whine and complain.  I get wracked with anxiety.  It must cause God t

I have to share this very awesome answer to prayer! A couple of weeks ago I shared that we discovered we were going to owe $6,500 on Emily's college bill.  We don't have $6,500, nor can we afford it even with the payment plan offered.  So what we decided to do was to apply to this new scholarship available to residents of New York State called the Excelsior Scholarship.  It basically offers up to $5,500 to college students attending New York State schools. However, there is a catch.  You have to commit to staying within the state after graduation and working within the state for the number of years you receive the scholarship.  Emily was not happy because she does not want to stay in the state after graduation.  However, when she discovered that it was a choice of not accepting it or not being able to go to college this year she unhappily agreed.  I told her that 4 years is a long time to possibly have a change of heart and at the end of her college term if she reall

  I generally fit into any setting I'm put in.  We've done inner city ministry, church planting and rural ministry.  Some things I've liked more than others, but I've always adapted.  Some of that may be because one of my top spiritual gifts is missionary so I fit into whatever setting or culture I'm in. But at heart, I've always been a country girl.  That doesn't mean I love being isolated and in the midst of nowhere, but it does mean that I have an affinity for the simpler things in life.  I love all things handmade, homemade and earthy.  Even when we lived in one of the most densely populated cities in the United States doing ministry, I was gardening, canning, sewing, and hanging my clothes out to dry.  And I was only in my mid-20s then.   This week was no different.  I've put up 17 pints of bread and butter pickles, 11 quarts of dill pickles and yesterday, spent some time harvesting Queen Anne's Lace heads to turn in

  Things have slowed down a bit and it's been nice to get back into a routine of focusing on some things around the house.  I feel like I'm going through a bit of an identity crisis with my youngest getting ready to go off to college.  I always joke that Dan is going to fall apart when Emily leaves, but I have a feeling it's going to be me.   I purchased a case of cucumbers for $14 and I spent the day yesterday making 17 pints of bread and butter pickles.  Today, I'll be doing dill pickles with the rest of the cukes.  When I compare with how much a jar of pickles cost in the store, this is certainly saving me money. We had homemade pizza for dinner and I love doing that.  I find the dough to be like a blank canvas on which I can create anything.  We ended up with Greek style (feta, fresh tomatoes, basil and onions) on one and pepperoni and onion on the other. We have had so much rain this spring and summer but I have to say on the positive s

I've always had extremely vivid and crazy dreams.  In fact, I usually love falling asleep because it's like a movie reel going on inside my head.  Dan often comments that I have the wackiest dreams.  Last night was no different.  I usually can remember them in great detail though there have been times when I forget them as I wake up. I'm writing this one down because I woke up laughing. I'll use names because my friends who were featured in it will know who they are.  This one featured many from church. The first part of the dream featured a large fellowship hall and myself and a few ladies were setting up for some sort of graduation celebration for someone at church.  (Hmmm....I wonder who? lol).  But this party was being done in waves.  One group came in, we cleaned up and reset the place for the second group which was supposed to be either later that day or the next day.  I remember taking off table cloths that were covered with food and telling Holly that I

I took a hobble (about all I can do) around my yard tonight and took some photos.  What a spectacular evening.  There was a sweet smell in the air, the flowers are beautiful and the blackberry bushes are loaded with berries that are on their way to ripening.   Queen Anne's Lace jelly will be in the works soon.   It was so quiet and I was taking different photos when I stumbled on this girl.  She scared me and I scared her.  She snorted, stomped her foot and she and her friend bolted off through the woods.  I didn't see the other doe either until she started running. I'd love it if these were normal size apples because there are about 4 trees on the property.  However, they are tiny. I love evenings like this.  

Yesterday we discovered that money that we thought was coming for Emily's college bill is in fact, not coming and we owe quite a large sum.  We also discovered that unlike Stephen's college, they don't give you the option of 10 months to pay it off.  It must be paid by in four monthly installments that equal half of Dan's paycheck.  As this realization hit yesterday my stomach started knotting up, I felt my hands shaking and my head began to throb.  I truly felt like I was going to throw up. I woke up in the middle of the night and once my sleepy brain kicked in so did the anxiety.  But in the middle of my worried thoughts, one phrase came clearly to my head, "Be still and know that I am God."  It kept playing over and over again and surprisingly, I was able to focus on that and drifted back to sleep. This morning I looked up the Psalm that it came from and found this encouragement. Psalm 46 (ESV) ~ God is our refuge and strength,      a very presen

We had such a wonderful weekend of celebration with family and friends.  I enjoyed every single moment.  So much so, that I forgot about my camera and ended up only getting a couple of pictures of the day.  It is almost impossible to host a large event, visit with people, make sure everything is running smoothly and take pictures at the same time.  That is my one frustration!  I was also a bit disappointed that I didn't get to just sit and relax and chat with anyone for any length of time.  Each time I'd sit down, I would see something else that needed refilling or doing.  However, overall it was a great party and weekend!  I am exhausted and resting my leg which is what I was instructed to do was impossible for the most part.  However, I did spend most of the afternoon with the leg up and slept for 10 hours last night. This week I'm thankful for blessings #3051 - 3062. 3051. I am so thankful that I have a daughter (and actually, it's all my kids) that is g

I love sharing on Frugal Friday here because it's good motivation for me to keep trying to figure out how to live well on little.  Being frugal isn't always easy and it certainly does take work, but it's been a necessity here but is so ingrained in me now that even if we had a ton of money, I would still live this way. I actually love being frugal and working to make our dollars stretch.  I like the simplicity that comes from being appreciative of the small things in life and being content with little.  Here are some ways I've saved this week: $  Because I couldn't go with Dan to Emily's orientation last week, we canceled the hotel room which was going to be a large expense that I wasn't happy about paying anyway.   Dan just came back home at the end of the first day and then went back the next.  Even with the cost of gas, it was so much cheaper than staying in the hotel. $  We had to pay $175 for the orientation ($100 for the first parent and $75

I t's been a rainy summer and last night was no different.  I woke up to a soaked deck and had to wipe everything down before I could sit out there.  It seems like at least 4 days out of 7 it's been raining.  A number of things have happened over this past week and I feel like I've received a soaking from the showers of blessings that have rained down on us.  Money is always tight because we are in full-time ministry in a small church, as well as living on one income.  But when we have to plan an unexpected event such as a graduation party it becomes even tighter. My heart is full this morning: ❤ I have watermelon on my menu for Saturday and two different people offered to bring it which makes that one less purchase I have to make. ❤ Yesterday, a friend stopped by and she had purchased all the plates, cups and utensils for the party.  ❤  I had asked another friend on Sunday if we could borrow his charcoal grill since we have a tiny, tabletop one.  He sa