Hearts in Service

It's been a busy week and we've only just started! Yesterday, we drove 7 hours round trip to help Stephen pack up from where he was doing his internship, clean and come back home. So now I have piles in my house. Lucky me! ;-) But, I've decided that I'm going to eat this elephant one bite at a time and not stress about it. Here is the plan for this week: Spiritual/Personal Development 1. Bible reading and prayer - 5 out of 7 days 2. Required reading for consecration - because this isn't pleasure reading and I have a hard enough time concentrating as it is, I pull out a highlighter and highlight the important points. It's keeping me focused! Husband & Marriage 1. Find a way to bless my husband this week. Family 1 . Help Stephen pack up and move 2. Send documentation to NY State to provide proof of Nathan's disability 3. Paperwork for ACCESS-VR for Nathan (agency for adults with disabilities) 4 ....

I 'm hitting the ground running this morning, as we are going out of town for the day so I'm making this brief. I have so much to be thankful for this week! Today I'm thankful for blessings #3,337 - 3,350. 3,337. A busy, productive week. 3,338. Yesterday I went down the road to the local farm market to see what I had sold over the past few weeks, pick up some of the items that I didn't think were doing so well, and restock some tea bag totes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had sold quite a few items. Every little bit helps towards the project I'm working on. 3,339. Stephen has been working as a counselor at our district's camp and called the other night to let me know he was on his way to the hospital with a broken finger. He ended up fracturing it in 3 different places, but I'm thankful that it happened at the end of the camp week and it wasn't more serious. 3,340. He is home for the week and I'm thankful that we get to s...

"Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both." ~ Benjamin Franklin I haven't done a Frugal Friday post in many months and thought I was due to post one. I enjoy doing this as an encouragement to others, but also a reminder to myself. Dan and I have lived on one income for many years and I've had to learn to make due throughout that time. It's become such second nature to me, that I don't always think about it.  I love the above quote by Benjamin Franklin and I try my best to use both my time and money wisely. Often people will ask me how I can get so much done, and I tell them it's because 1) I do work quickly, but 2) I don't waste a lot of time, and 3) I work efficiently. I get up in the morning and after having my coffee and quiet time, I generally plunge right in. I do take breaks from time to time, but I don't just sit and watch television all day long. Sometimes, I'll have a cooking show on for background noise and ...

Isaiah 30:15-18 ~ This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift! A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill." Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! I'm sure you all have heard of the expression, "Good things come to those who wait." Yet, how often do we run ahead of the Lord and demand our own way? These verses are an excellent reminder of what NOT waiting will bring. God tells us that our salvation and strength come through repenting ...

Ephesians 5:15-17 (HCSB) ~ Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. I realized yesterday that it's been over a month since I wrote out a to-do list here. Most of that has been because with my knee situation I just haven't been able to do much of anything. Now that I've had surgery and it's getting back to normal, I can begin to get back into a routine though obviously, I still need to take it easy. Yesterday, I sat down and finished one of the projects that I need to do for consecration. I was supposed to write out a five year learning plan for my life. I had been mulling it over for a couple of months now, but put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) and typed it out. I felt it was a good exercise and a way to live my life a bit more intentionally. I'm finding as I get older that this verse...

I'm currently reading through the book of Job and the thing that strikes me the most in this book is Job's complete faith in the Lord regardless of his circumstances. His entire fortune and family is wiped out. He is afflicted with a terrible skin disease. His wife and friends add to his misery, and yet, He consciously chooses to steadfastly follow God.  My prayer is that I would be able to do the same regardless of my circumstances. I want to be able to say, "My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside." That requires keeping my eyes fixed on Him and not the circumstances. It means putting one foot in front of the other when I really want to lay down in despair. It means walking in a straight line and not meandering off on my own. It takes constant prayer, constant listening and a faith-filled life. May that be true of all of us! Today I'm thankful for blessings #3,322 - 3,337. 3,322. A very productive week o...

We live just a few miles from Lake Ontario and I always love going there to walk and get pictures. After dinner last night, Dan and I drove there and while I couldn't walk, I did get a few shots. Because this shot was from so far away, I didn't even notice this tern plunging into the lake until I was looking through the photos this morning. They will dive into the water head first from a height of 1-6' as they are on the hunt for fish so we often see them swooping back and forth over the lake. I often reflect on different aspects of life as I take these pictures and this reminded me of something. How often do we spend our lives dipping our toes into what God has for us, instead of plunging in? There have been so many times in my life when I sense God's nudging to do something, and yet, because I'm fearful, I tend to timidly move forward. I dip my toes in the water instead of taking the leap of faith. This often occurs for a number of reasons. I'm afraid o...

Yesterday was such a good day. It started out extremely early at 4 a.m. but the humidity had dropped and it was a beautiful, sunny day. My knee is doing fantastically well, despite what I thought a couple of days post-surgery.  I can bend it and the pain I did have is lessening each day. I can go up stairs starting with the bad knee and it doesn't hurt or give out. There is still a bit of tightness and stiffness within the knee, but that is lessening each day. It's almost too good to be true! I am being careful and making sure I sit and put it up every so often, but it is so nice to have a knee that is actually working. For the first time in months I was able to carry the basket of wet clothes outside to hang them up (it's been too heavy to carry with the bad knee). I baked and had a couple of friends over for lunch. I stripped the beds and remade them. I decluttered an area in my sunroom where all the things from my last retreat had be...