The Envelope

     One Christmas, many years ago(I think somewhere around 8-10 years ago), my Dad gave myself and each of my siblings one of these envelopes.

    They were addressed to each of us and said, "From your Heavenly Father."
This is what was inside.

5 note cards, each with a different promise from God's word.

Abundant Life: John 10:10 "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give you life in all its fullness."

Example to Live By: "John 13:14-15 "And since I , the LORD and Teacher have washed your feet, you ought to wash eachother's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you."

Kingdom of Heaven: Luke 12:32 "So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom."

Salvation: Ephesians 2:8-9 "God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

His Love: Romans 8:33-35a " Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.  Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? 

    I pulled it out of my Bible this morning and read the cards again. So thanks Dad for this gift, a reminder that not only does my Heavenly Father love me, but you do too!

How Does the Garden Grow and Other Such Adventures

       It is a simply beautiful, sunny, Sunday here in the lovely North lands. I went out to my veggie garden the other day and realized that it is going to town. I have all sorts of exciting things growing.

A whole handful of sweet and tangy basil. Fresh picked.

 

Sweet peas and hot peppers

I have a bunch of tomatoes and one of them is finally turning red.

Baby zucchinis and cucumber flowers.

My flowers are also starting to bloom.

This afternoon Luke is working on cleaning up and painting an old oil pan. He seems to be enjoying it.

    

      We had noticed that our freezer was getting pretty overgrown with frost. So yesterday, I took it upon myself to defrost it. I used a blow dryer. It was slick!

While I was working at it, all of a sudden this giant slab of ice just fell off.

Well, that is all for now. Keep looking for adventures. 

Happy Sunday.

"Because it's summer and the memories are just waiting to happen."~ Unknown

Truth

     Good morning. How are you on this fine Friday? I've been learning lately, that God's word is the absolute truth. Now I have always known this, but it is becoming more real to me. One thing that I am working on re-learning right now, is that I don't have too--in fact I shouldn't-- believe every thought that pops into my head. All to often, a thought or idea pops into my head and I accept it as gospel truth. Now I'm not saying that God can't or won't speak to you this way. But I have gotten to the point that I believe it even if it is fear or even if it doesn't line up with God's word. And that is not right. In fact, the Word has something to say about it.

1 John 4:1
" Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

And

2 Corinthians 11:3-4
"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully."

      My love has been helping me to realize that this is not ok and I am trying to work on it. Though, like they say, "old habits are hard to break." So lately, I've been trying to read the Bible, all of the Bible. I so often find myself reading the same books and passages over and over. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was not reading other sections because of it. As I start to read more and more, God's words and truths jump out to me and my mind is like, "Oh God does have something to say about such and such."

     So, God's word is the absolute and ultimate truth. So, when I find myself stressed, afraid, and worried and feeling trapped by the stress, fear, and worry I need to remember what  John 8:31-32 says

"So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;  and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

      God's word will set me free from the trap my mind has set, if I allow it too work in me. Another thing the Word tells me to do is resist the devil. I will get there in a minute. But first, 1 John 4:16 says, 

" We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

      So, according to the Word of Truth, God is love. It then says, in 1 John 4:18 

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

      So, God is love and there is no fear in love. Therefore, fear is absolutely not God. And if it is not of God than it must be of the enemy. And so I come back to what I mentioned about resisting the devil.  

James 4:7-8
" Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

    Thus, if fear is absolutely not of God, then it must be of the devil. And if we are to resist the devil, we have to resist fear.  
     So today, find rest in the Word of God. Allow it to set your mind free from whatever has it in tangles. Resist when your mind throws things your way that don't line up with the Word. And finally, rest. 

Psalms 46:10
"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 

 "The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is." ~Winston Churchill 

Lunch?

      So Norbert the Turtle and Lucinda the Crab have been lovely pets. Sadly Lucinda mysteriously disappeared last weekend. Luke cleaned the tank and after that she was gone. We aren't completely sure what happened. We don't think she could have escaped on her own, but who knows. It's probably more likely that she got scooped up on accident. Or... Perhaps Norbert ate her. This is unlikely, as we found no remains. But it isn't for lack of trying on Norbert's part.
     The other day I walked over to the tank and noticed that both Norbert and Lucinda were sitting on the rock. Norbert was creeping up on Lucinda with the look of a mighty hunter in his eyes. He was hoping for lunch, I could tell.

    Then, the moment came and Norbert went in for the chomp. I'm sure he could almost taste the delicious crabbiness.

     Suddenly, Lucinda caught wind of the dastardly plot and scurried to safety. Norbert lost his balance and went plunging head over shell into the water. SPLOOSH!!! His dinner plans thoroughly spoiled.

    And Lucinda lived to see another day. At least until now. Who knows where she may be. Well anyway, I hope you are having a lovely week. Happy Wednesday!

“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” ~Marianne Williamson

Summer 2015

       Summer is here, even though it was only about 46 degrees when we woke up this morning. Today was quite beautiful and I spent a small part of it out in the garden with the Lovely Keren Ruth. A couple weeks ago,  my love and I headed south for a fun weekend. We got to spend some time with my grandparents as well as going to a big family reunion. It was quite enjoyable.
      While we were at my grandparents, we stopped at the Oasis. The Oasis is small chunk of my grandparents farm that has been converted into a picnic area. There is an old gravel pit pond and canoe, a small cabin, and a fire ring. "Grandpa and Grandma's Oasis, the Place of Shearer Fun."

       And fun has certainly been had there. Growing up we camped there, picnicked there, swam there, and had family reunions there. A few days before we got there, a storm had blown through taking down a bunch of trees in the area. Including this massive beast at the Oasis.

     The BPW reunion was also a lot of fun. It is three family reunion. One of my good friends, Polly, is part of the B family(she's actually how I met my love) and so it was a lot of fun getting to spend the weekend with her.

      I have been enjoying my summer job as well. Last week I went swimming with the kids and as I was attempting to get myself to sink so I could sit on the bottom, I realized that I was actually kind of buoyant. Sure, sometimes we sink and have a hard time staying a float in the water. But really, if you take a good breath of air you float pretty well.
     And, In this life, we often try to hold onto God as though He were a flotation device. We rely on Him to keep us from sinking, but we are just holding onto Him on the outside. But what we need to realize is that if we just take a deep breath of Him, He lifts us up from the inside out. What I am trying to say with all that is the One who keeps us afloat should be a life giving, internal part of us, not just something we hold onto. Anyway...
     My garden is growing well! My radishes are done and there was a LOT of them. I attempted making two different kinds of radish pickles to use them up. I'm not sure they make for great tasting pickles, but they sure are pretty.

      And then there is Norbert the turtle. Luke and I found him crossing the road awhile back and brought him home. At first we said we were only going to keep him for awhile, but we have gotten attached. Luke came home the other day with a real aquarium and water filter. He also got a tiny fiddler crab to keep Norbert company. We named her Lucinda. It has been a lot of fun. Baby turtles are fun to watch.

Norbert

 Hiding under the rock.

 Lucinda the Crab

Well I hope your evening is as beautiful wherever you are as it is here. Happy Tuesday and Happy Summer!

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”~Henry James

God's Will Part 3

      So, this year, I've been on the look out for passages in the Bible that clearly outline what the will of God is for His people.  So far, I've written about what I've found here and here. And now part 3.

1 Peter 2:1-2
"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation."

God's Will: These are the things God doesn't want to see in your life: deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

1 Peter 3:8-9
"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

God's Will: As part of the body of Christ, God desires for us to be loving, compassionate, humble, and caring. 

1 Timothy 1:5
" The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

God's Will: Love. 1 John 4:16 says that God is love. And we are supposed to be Christ like, therefore, love better be a part of who we are. 

Psalm 34:13-14
" keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."

God's Will: Once again, stay away from evil and deceit. Seek after goodness and peace. In fact it says, "Pursue peace." So don't just open your door to peace, don't just passively hope for it, pursue it. Go after it. Peace is a good thing. 
      Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you." 


Today may you pursue the peace that is found in the One who gave you life. Happy Tuesday.

The First Day of Summer

      Today was the first day of summer. It was lovely.  This afternoon there was a men's meeting at church. So, the Lovely Keren Ruth and I hung out while Luke and Benjamin went to that. We gardened and made a delicious veggie pizza.

I added a couple pepper plants and planted some cabbage seed in our section of the garden. 

  And Keren planted cantaloupe, watermelon, and corn in their section.

These beautiful radishes added their deliciousness to our pizza.

We also used some chives from the garden and then bought some broccoli, carrots and avocado.

It was tasty!!!!

Happy Summer, may it be full of wonderful adventures!

"Friends are the sunshine of life." ~John Hay

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!!! I love you.

P.S. Thanks for sharing your love of fun shoes with me!

Vegetables

I had my first little harvest from the garden last night.

Chives and a little, baby, radish. 

Happy Friday!!!

"Summer is very precious." ~Dylan Lauren

Today

        Good morning. How are you today? Are you wonderful? Are you tired? Are you happy? Are you sad? Are you discouraged or encouraged? I personally woke up today with a mind that was tending toward worry. But you know what? Psalm 118:24 says,
"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
       Is your mind anxious or joyous? Knotted up or at peace?  I find myself going through stages in this process of learning to trust the One who gave me life. I have days where I seem to be able to let go and simply trust and then something pops into my mind and tangles up all the progress I seemed to have made. But you know what it says in Zephaniah 3:17?
"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing." Everything about this verse is hopeful and inspiring but I would like to point out the part where it says "He will quiet you by His love." What about your life needs to be calmed down and quieted? My is my mind and the anxious tangle it likes to make of everything. Through His love, He brings quietness and peace to your tangles.
       Are you sad today or happy? Feeling lonely or loved? Well you know what choose the later of both those options because Haggai 1:13b says, "I am with you, declares the LORD." The One who created closeness and love and security is with you.

Happy Wednesday. 

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." ~Confucius

To Tiptoe Through the Flowers

Oh the wonder and delight of a blooming flower.

Wild Roses.

Peonies.

While I was mowing the lawn today I discovered this little patch of daisies.

Marigolds in the veggie garden.

The Veggies are starting to come up. We already have a baby tomato and we are going to have a ridiculous amount of radishes.

And then there is this. It's a Flowering Almond Bush that was a gift to Luke and me earlier this spring. We kept it in the house for awhile and it was full of blooms. Then I planted it outside and it froze. I wondered if I had killed it but then it started to green up again. And just the other day, I discovered that it is actually blooming again.

"Where flowers bloom so does hope." ~Lady Bird Johnson

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." ~Henri Matisse