Persistent Faith

       I find nature's ability to keep on keeping on despite setbacks rather amazing. For example, weeds are incredibly persistent. I recently re-mulched the landscaped area in my front yard and already, there are weeds pushing their way through. We mow down the grass and it comes back, we weed our gardens and turn around to see that they need it again. Usually, we look at this as a negative thing, but I was thinking about it the other day and realized that that is exactly how I want my faith to be, persistent.
      The enemy of our souls wants to destroy our faith, and he's pretty good at knowing our buttons. There are many different things that weed whack our faith, perhaps, it's fear or doubt, exhaustion, skepticism, anger, laziness, you name it, if it will weaken our faith, he will try it. But The One who calls our names, who desires to know our hearts, and gives us grace daily, wants to grow in us a persistent faith. Faith that gets back up when it's knocked down. Faith that says no to fear and pushes through when things seem foggy and disorienting. Faith that keeps seeking hope when all seems lost. Faith that won't give up. This is what I want. And so, I continue on the journey of growing in grace. 
     And now, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the wind is dancing, and the birds and crickets are making happy sounds.  Oh, and this weekend is the 7 year anniversary of when My Love asked me to be his wife. I'm sure glad he did.

My intrepid adventurer. 

Sweet violets

Planting rhubarb. 

Keeping an eye on the water spigot while Mama waters the plants. Puddle time!

Blooms!

Engaged and happy about it. 2011

Happy Friday my friends. May your faith be persistent!

Siding the House: Step 1

     Happy Wednesday! So, I mentioned last time, that this summer, Luke is going to be re-siding our house. Luke plans to add more insulation as well, making the house more heat efficient...Which it really isn't currently, what with the crazy layout and old siding. I'm excited to see the transformation start to happen.

We needed lumber as part of this process and were blessed with a few giant logs from our firewood guy. So, Luke and his dad spent last weekend out at the farm's sawmill turning logs into lumber. 

We got all the lumber we should need out of just 2 of the logs, the 3rd is waiting for another day.

Getting ready. 

Hard at work. 

Buirlen was a great foreman and oversaw the project. 

Checking out the bobcat with Grandpa.

Exploring. 

 

If it has a steering wheel it is good!

Visiting the goats. He's getting brave and wanted to feed them some hay by himself.

This past weekend, this little guy decided that maybe walking isn't that hard after all. He still mostly crawls, but has taken to walking if his destination isn't too far(say a few steps). He's growing up!

And he continues to climb....I guess unsupervised piano playing is a no go for now. 

May your day be full of goodness and the joy of The One who saw that giant tree when it was but a sprout over a 100 years ago...He sees you and He loves you more than you can ever fathom. 

"It takes hands to build a house but only hearts can build a home." ~Unknown 

Guarding Your Mind

We are still waiting for Spring around here...Perhaps a little impatiently. I have this feeling that we will live outside once it's warm if this little boy has his way.

So, a few weeks ago, my dryer decided to go on strike and not work. Thus, in order to get laundry done, I had to hang it. By the time the dryer was back up and running I had discovered something. By getting into the rhythm of doing one load of laundry a day(because due to dry time, I couldn't do multiple loads all in a day) I was actually staying on top of the laundry. Instead of washing a drying and then stuffing it in laundry baskets to be avoided until I absolutely had to fold it, I'm spending 10 minutes on laundry daily and never getting behind. So, despite the fact that I have a working dryer now, I'm still hanging laundry because I like this new habit. 

Speaking of laundry...This morning as I was throwing a load in the washing machine, I was think about how laundry is one of those never ending tasks. Even if you manage to be on top of your laundry, it's because of the simple fact that you're always doing it. And then I thought that the same is true when it comes to guarding ones mind. 

It says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to conquer strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

God calls us to guard our minds, because they can so often trip us up. But the thing is, just like laundry we must actively guard our minds every single day. All to often I find myself struggling, so I go into guard duty mode, realizing that I've let my thoughts go free, leading to anxiety and fear. But then I start to feeling better and eventually let my guard down and then BLAM!!! Before I realize it something sneaks in and my thoughts are causing trouble again. Guarding our minds must be a constant and daily task. Even if skies are clear and the enemy is no where in sight, a castle guard stands watch, ever vigilant...And so must I be with my mind. We are all dealing with the same enemy. He's sneaking and desires to steal our joy and pull us from The One who designed our minds. Perhaps the enemy uses different strategies on different people, my struggles might not be the same as yours, but the end goal is the same. So we must guard our minds daily just like laundry. 

Anyway...These two cuties discovered a new use for the walker. 

Popcorn

Trying out Daddy's boots. 

"You either control your mind, or it controls you." ~Napoleon Hill

This and That

It's April 3rd and the weather is still being rather "Marchy." We've had some of those gloriously springy days and some cold and wintery ones. Today fits into the later category. I am ready for full fledged Spring, but that's how life goes in the Northwoods.

 He is going to LOVE summer!

     Today my sweet boy is 13 months old. He's growing up and is such a fun little buddy. He still isn't walking but has started jabbering a lot and has taken an intense interest in tools and noise making appliances. Luke was putting some shelves up for me the other day and using the drill. Buirlen thought that was pretty cool and a little bit later he found Luke's screw driver....I didn't realize that screw drivers also make a nice noise, but they do when Buirlen uses them. And the vacuum is highly interesting as well! So much so that I have to hold him while I use it because otherwise he wants to sit right in front of it and touch it, which makes actual use of the machine rather difficult. It is fun to watch Buirlen think his daddy is so cool and want to be in on whatever it is Luke is working on. I'm sure much fun will be had in the garage as he gets older.

Putting ups some shelves. 

It's important to find a stud before hanging anything. 

Keys please. 

Fixing the headlights. 

Driving the forklift is the best.  

Watching Daddy chop firewood. 

Lately we have been on a culinary adventure. I sometimes feel like my dinner menus get stuck in a rut and wanted to start trying some new recipes. So about every week, I have Luke choose a destination and an ingredient, and then I find a new recipe to try. It has been a lot of fun and we have discovered some tasty new dishes that certainly will be repeated. We've "journeyed" to Jamaica, New Orleans, Mexico, and Morocco, to name a few. I've also broadened my spice cupboard as a lot of recipes have required spices I didn't really know how to use before.

 Last week, Luke said, "Pork and Norway," so I made potato klub. I don't think this one will be on the repeat list but oh well, you can't win them all. I have a significant amount of Scandinavian blood in my background, but I think I have the taste buds of a spicier culture. 

We have been loving having Baby Mathias around. Buirlen thinks he's pretty sweet and is quite gentle with him. Cousins are just all around pretty great. 

Catching up with Molly Ann

I was reading in Mark the other day and I really liked the words of a father who so desperately wanted Jesus to heal his son. He asked Jesus to please help him, if He could. Jesus responded, 

"'If you can?' said Jesus, "Everything is possible for one who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me to overcome my unbelief.'" (Mark 9:23-24) 

I just love the words of the father, "I do believe; help me to overcome my unbelief." Because I often find myself struggling with things and these words put it so simply. "Jesus, please help me and help me when my own human brain gets in the way. I believe!"  The One who created Springy days and the curious adventuring baby, The One who fills our hearts with wonder and the ability to believe, loves us so very much. May your day be filled with wonder and belief, adventure and joy. Happy Today. 

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." ~Proverb

"Despite the forecast, live like it is spring!"~Lilly Pulitzer