This morning we woke up to snow mixed with rain and it seems like just yesterday I was picking pink lady peas and sweat was dripping from my forehead and into my eyes. The days are so much shorter and the seasons seem to be changing in every aspect of life. I am still coming to grips with fact that my first baby is 13, going on 14 and entering high school next year.
My nieces are with us for a few days so school is a little lighter so over the next few days I am taking time to put some thoughts down here as well as clean out the garage, make and can some apple sauce that Andrew has been wanting and who knows what else:)
As I look outside now, it is completely sunny but so windy and cold. The pigs are chasing each other in their pen, the chickens are pecking the ground while their feathers blow in the wind, leaves are flying like crazy, all but 1 of our 12 chairs from two separate cookouts this weekend are blown over, the tractor is still hooked to the trailer which is filled with hay... signs of fun are everywhere, kids on the trampoline, kids swinging, kids snacking on apples, bread in the oven and the warm fire burning beside me.
Even though the garden is gone, the leaves are dying, the grass is turning brown and the flowers have faded, life is still busy and moving forward quickly. We had Room In The Inn a week ago and I enjoyed a speaker from A Mom's Heart yesterday and I was reminded again that people are hurting all around me... deep dark hurts that aren't easily fixed but these raw painful hurts that have been shared are not too big for the grace of my Savior to cover. It is hard living in a fallen world, Satan is alive and real and wants to see all things good come to an end. He wants relationships and marriages destroyed. He wants children to turn from their parents. He wants those who are daily serving the Lord to fail again and be defeated for good. There are so many distractions in life, even those good things can rob us of more important things. So I find myself asking, "what next"? A kind of -where to go from here- and -how do I do life differently today than yesterday-. I wish I had the answers but I don't. I try often to remember, Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21
I often wonder what others think of me, sometimes this is negative but today I am talking more about how I am living my life in front of others. Do they know that I love the Lord? Do I live in a way that says He is my number one priority? Do my words reflect my love for Him? Do my actions reflect who I say I want to be here during my time on earth? Do I live my life with heaven being the ultimate goal? I know that the Lord calls me a child of God, a heir of the kingdom, child of the light, lamb of God, chosen, a royal priesthood and God's possession. I hope that I can truly believe those names, live a life that reflects those names and rest fully in His grace for me when I have those moments when I screw up. We all need Jesus as bad as the next guy.
I have been reading a book called Orphan Justice by Johnny Carr. I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone. If you care about orphans, vulnerable children or missions this is your read. This man has thought through the process further than the band-aide. Sustainable help is what is needed. I have the privilege of viewing a documentary Through the Valley tonight. My Rwandan friends are part of this and it was filmed while I was in Rwanda this summer.
I think I have rambled from left field to right field and then to the outfield so I am just going to post some pictures!!!
My nieces are with us for a few days so school is a little lighter so over the next few days I am taking time to put some thoughts down here as well as clean out the garage, make and can some apple sauce that Andrew has been wanting and who knows what else:)
As I look outside now, it is completely sunny but so windy and cold. The pigs are chasing each other in their pen, the chickens are pecking the ground while their feathers blow in the wind, leaves are flying like crazy, all but 1 of our 12 chairs from two separate cookouts this weekend are blown over, the tractor is still hooked to the trailer which is filled with hay... signs of fun are everywhere, kids on the trampoline, kids swinging, kids snacking on apples, bread in the oven and the warm fire burning beside me.
Even though the garden is gone, the leaves are dying, the grass is turning brown and the flowers have faded, life is still busy and moving forward quickly. We had Room In The Inn a week ago and I enjoyed a speaker from A Mom's Heart yesterday and I was reminded again that people are hurting all around me... deep dark hurts that aren't easily fixed but these raw painful hurts that have been shared are not too big for the grace of my Savior to cover. It is hard living in a fallen world, Satan is alive and real and wants to see all things good come to an end. He wants relationships and marriages destroyed. He wants children to turn from their parents. He wants those who are daily serving the Lord to fail again and be defeated for good. There are so many distractions in life, even those good things can rob us of more important things. So I find myself asking, "what next"? A kind of -where to go from here- and -how do I do life differently today than yesterday-. I wish I had the answers but I don't. I try often to remember, Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21
I often wonder what others think of me, sometimes this is negative but today I am talking more about how I am living my life in front of others. Do they know that I love the Lord? Do I live in a way that says He is my number one priority? Do my words reflect my love for Him? Do my actions reflect who I say I want to be here during my time on earth? Do I live my life with heaven being the ultimate goal? I know that the Lord calls me a child of God, a heir of the kingdom, child of the light, lamb of God, chosen, a royal priesthood and God's possession. I hope that I can truly believe those names, live a life that reflects those names and rest fully in His grace for me when I have those moments when I screw up. We all need Jesus as bad as the next guy.
I have been reading a book called Orphan Justice by Johnny Carr. I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone. If you care about orphans, vulnerable children or missions this is your read. This man has thought through the process further than the band-aide. Sustainable help is what is needed. I have the privilege of viewing a documentary Through the Valley tonight. My Rwandan friends are part of this and it was filmed while I was in Rwanda this summer.
I think I have rambled from left field to right field and then to the outfield so I am just going to post some pictures!!!
HIS MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING!
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