The rain has finally stopped!!

Twelve days of rain in a row. We are totally sodden but the rain has finally stopped. We have a week of fair weather we hope coming. Even the birds are happy. They are out flying around and chasing each other this morning. I am happy that we have finally gotten some cooler weather. It is supposed to hit 80 this week but that might help dry this ground out.
  We have been trying to get my guest room painted. We have the first coat on the walls of a beautiful silver green color.It is hard to describe. But it looks like the shallow area of the ocean before a storm. We still need to touch up any thin spots and then finish painting the trim work.  I will be glad when it is done.Then we have two rooms left to paint as well as the rest of the exterior of the home. At least the front is done.
  I need to get the rest of those sweet potatoes canned. I found a couple rotten ones in the basket. It is too warm in here for them.I am only canning them in water with a bit of salt.
  We had homecoming at church. We are on the committee and it was a lot of work. It was a good work but still very wearying. We ended up bringing quite a bit of food back. Someone brought two pans of deviled eggs and then went home. Well this year we had plenty of eggs for a change. I ended up bringing most of those two pans of them home and doctoring them up some. I made egg salad out of them.  I may use part of them to make potato salad. The church cooked a pig and we brought some of that home too. There was just so much food left over. One lady brought some soup. It was made from a package she told me that she added broccoli too. Herrs was the brand name . It was potato and cheddar. She cooked it up and added some broccoli florets to it. It was so good. She begged me to take the rest of it home. Such a blessing to be able to help out and then be offered food for my home. I need to freeze some of that barbeque.
  I have a mountain of wash it seems. I need to do that as well as change sheets and dust today. House Blessing. I get frustrated at times being here and not having the paycheck I was used to. But I think the benefits outweigh the loss. Once I get my garden and chickens and such going again, I will not have time to pine for my old job. I will find a way to make a few dollars from home.
  I finally went to the grocery store this month. It seems we were out of so much.  I now have more of my staples for making home cooked meals.  I need to go through my fridge and cook up anything that is getting old. Waste not want not.
  I had best get busy. So much to do. I am grateful for it. Diana

A glimpse in time. Standing at the cross.

Have you ever suddenly been hit by a physical feeling or vision of something that you knew about, as if you were actually there? This morning as I went about fixing my coffee, my mind paused on the thought of those poor people who were executed by the gunman for saying they were a Christian. Then as my thoughts progressed, I thought of the thief on the cross who knew he was guilty and yet realized that Jesus was not and who He really was. It was then as I thought about that that I felt the total impact and shock of what it must have felt like as the nail was pounded through His hands and I heard the groan of pain and misery as they nailed Jesus to the cross. It was as if I was actually standing there seeing it up close and in person. A glimpse in time so to speak. It almost sent me to my knees. I accepted Jesus as my Savoir many years ago. But it never hit me so hard until today of what it must have felt like to be crucified. The magnitude of what He did for me and all who believe in Him was overwhelming to say the least. It made me weep with sorrow at the horrors of it. But it also made me cry with joy at knowing He was raised after three days and completed the work that enables us to be reconciled to God and go to heaven when we die. Those people who died for their faith knew that they would step into eternity and see Jesus who shed His own blood on that cross so we might be saved.What strong faith it took . Would we be as strong in our faith? Maybe it is time to think about what it really cost for us to be a Christian. It cost God His Son Jesus.  Those groans I heard this morning were not because of the pain He suffered. It was because the sins of mankind were laid upon Him. Jesus knew no sin. He was perfect and all those sins were laid upon Him so even God could not look upon His own son.  Jesus could have any time stopped the crucifixion but He willingly laid down His own life so we might have our sin debt paid . The wages of sin are death. Spiritual death and separation from God whom cannot look upon anything that is not holy. That is the gift of salvation. If you ever notice when they talk about salvation, it is called a gift. The reason is that God offers it to us, but we have to choose to accept it. When we believe what Jesus did for us is true and confess that we need Him and accept what He did in our behalf those sins are covered by the blood and remembered no more. We are then new creatures in Christ. We are free from the curse of Adam. We are given a fresh start and a new life in Christ. Is it easy, no but it is amazing knowing that you have been adopted into God's family as a son or daughter. Having a personal relationship with Jesus is wonderful.Words alone cannot describe it. But this is something you have to experience yourself. You will never know what it truly  is or benefit from other people's experiences. It is knowing that should you ever be put in a position that declaring your faith in Jesus is going to cost you your life, you boldly say I am a CHRISTIAN ! Because you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know your name is written in the book of life.

The joys of being a homemaker.

  I know it has been awhile since posting. My apologies to all. I have been either sick or busy. We seem to have so much going on right now. My bible studies are going along well. I am now going straight to www.biblegateway.com before I go anywhere else.  I have found myself changing inside. I know have joy and peace where before I was in a hurry to get to Facebook.  Now I find it distracting and sometimes, it disturbs me. I hate all of the negative and block it when I can. I am not trying to hide from the ills of the world but to shield my mind from some of the things I have no control over. I do not want to see abused animals or violence. I do not want to read foul language and see nudity or immodest people.  I do enjoy the interaction with friends and the new recipes and such I see posted.
  I am part of a canning club online. We try to cheer each other on and help each other with answers to questions.  It is a joy to see a newbie canner with their first success. It is not always easy but it is so rewarding to know what you are eating. Just this last week, we bought 50 pounds of bagged leg quarters for $.38 a pound.They had been running sales on them off and on this summer. I wanted so much to stock up on them but my hubby had said no at the time. Well this time he said yes. I ended up putting up 14 quarts of them up. They did have the bones in them. Next time if I have more time and money, I might like to can up some boneless chicken breast or boneless thighs. Such a quick way to throw a meal together. 
  Today is homecoming at church. I have been up since five this morning. I have been helping set up for this event and decided to wait and do what cooking I needed to do till this morning. I am taking meatballs in sauce and a big container of peanut butter delights. I thought about making home made cinnamon rolls but decided against it.I wanted to take something that I knew would be eaten. I hope the weather does not stop folks from coming. The hurricane is taking its sweet time getting gone.
  My hubby is going to build me a chicken coop soon. Last time I had a huge 8x12 one. This time I want something much smaller that is easier to care for.We are using some of the pieces that are coming off the shop. They are damaged on the bottom. That is fine, they will be plenty big for my needs. I had hoped to have my birds already so they would be fully feathered and half grown by winter. We will see which way to go. I may buy older birds this time instead of pullets.
 Time to get ready for church. Have a blessed day.
  

Feasting on God's word or gluttony ?

 I have been reading my bible lately every day. Just like I used to. But like a starving man or a thirsty one, I would devour it by chapter after chapter. But I stopped and realized, I was not getting very much out of it. It was like eating a large slice of chocolate cake quickly without taking time to actually taste it. The bible was so good to my parched soul that I was being a glutton and not taking time to savor it and to ponder what I was reading. Now I try to ask God to speak to me through the word and tell me what I am supposed to hear. Sometimes I will read a few verses, and sometimes I will read up to three or more chapters.It just depends on what I need. I am beginning to know when I have reached where my destination is for that day in the bible.  The Spirit nudges me and lets me know when I have reached that nugget of wisdom for today or this moment. I had been devouring chapter after chapter but with reading so quickly and so much, I was losing track of what I had read. I was not "tasting" the meat of the word. I know it goes into the mind to be brought up later when needed but when we need guidance, we need to slow down and think on what we are being given. 

   Case in point, I have been considering going back to work. It seems we are spending more than we ought to trying to fix the things in the house. My husband has always said that he has the pension and if things got tighter then  I ought to be the one to get a job. So far we have managed quite well. (He really does not want me going back to work.He only brings it up when he is frustrated.)But we had a cushion in the bank which is diminishing. My health is not great physically. I was working and it took a great toll on me. When we moved, it was in the hopes we can make it on his pension.  This is what I have been struggling with. I have laid it out before God and twice now I have been given the same message about God meeting our needs and not to worry about what to eat or wear and what tomorrow brings. Both times this message has come from a snippet on the verse for today on www.biblegateway.com . I opened up the chapter each time to read the verse in context and found my answer for now. Two separate messages telling me to trust God to meet our needs. So for now He is telling me not to take on a full time job. 

  God's word is meant to be savored and to be studied. It is not a race to read through the bible so many times a year to show what a good christian I am. It is a book of life lessons and most of all the pathway to God. When we read the word, we begin to understand(hear) it because we are being called to God's salvation. Once we are saved, it becomes our handbook so to speak on all of life's issues. We learn of how God works and most importantly it speaks to us of His will. Sometimes God speaks to us in that still small voice in our heart. But many times we get the answer through the reading and pondering of the bible. 

   2nd Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof , for correction, for instruction in righteousness," . It is so much more, it comforts us when we are down, it encourages us when we feel like we have failed, it praises God and helps us to do the same. It has the answers to our questions.

   I have been wanting to write about this for several days now and have not had the quiet time enough to get it into words. I felt God leading me to do this. I am setting up my laptop in my sanctuary for times I need to read and pray. I have a small bedroom just for myself  that I have my sewing table and machines, plus my daybed and big reading chair. When I need to be alone, this is where I go.

   We all need that quiet time and place. It might be early in the morning like I do or late at night. It can be anywhere you can get time to pray and to read or listen to God's word. Just remember to pray before you read and seek what you need for today. Our daily bread is not just the food we eat, but the food for the soul, the word which sustains us and makes us grow as Christians. 

   So take time to feast on the word of God. Pray before reading and seek out what the Lord is trying to give you. Take time to study what you are reading and think on it as how it applies to your life. It does not always take a huge amount at a time to give you your need. But it does take thinking on what you have been led to study and to ask for wisdom and understanding. It should not be how many chapters a day you read, it should be how much you are getting out of what you have read. You will know  once you have reached your pearl of wisdom. It will stand out in your mind. Take it and ponder it. Pray over it and thank the Lord for sending it to you.

The power of the tongue. Ephesians 4:29

I know that the HS is working in my heart because I do not feel the same anymore. It used to be I would say something crude or vulgar without thinking about it. Now I feel that battle going on inside . Most of the time, I keep  my mouth shut. But there are times I still mess up. I feel remorse and ask forgiveness.  There is life and death in the power of the tongue.  The bible tells us not to let any corrupt talk come out of our mouth. That consist of lying, crude language or curse words, gossip and sexual innuendo. We need to be diligent on guarding what we see, read and hear. Because once we put it in the mind, it does not come out. Plus if we continually expose our selves to corrupt ideas and  ungodly situations, it is bound to come out of the mouth.Our tongue speaks what is deep in the heart. So use your tongue to speak life into those around you. Lift them up when they fall. Show love and compassion to those you meet. When you fail, seek forgiveness and try again.

"If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit."

Galatians 5:25. If we claim to be Christians we need to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Yes we will fall down and make mistakes, we will sin again and hate ourselves for doing it. But we repent and seek forgiveness and continue on the right path. There is a war that rages within all of us. The war between good and evil. There are powers loose on the earth that are not Godly. They seek to destroy us and draw us away from our walk with God. We have a sinful nature that we were born with. As a Christian it is a daily and often minute by minute task to flee from that nature and do what is right and holy. Being a Christian is not for the faint of heart. But we have a Comforter who lives inside of us and helps us to do what is right. Yes we do make mistakes. We are still sinners. But the difference is we are sinners saved by grace. We cannot earn it nor ever be good enough on our own merit. Jesus paid my sin debt. He can pay yours too. John 3:16.


I posted this on my Facebook page today. I hope it helps someone to see that we need to live what we profess. Yes we are imperfect and weak. But in our weakness God is made strong. He is the power behind our feeble attempts to do what needs to be done. We just need to be the willing vessel. 

On the home front, I managed to put up 7 pints of green beans this morning, The fresh ones were on sale and I bought almost five pounds. I hope to go pick up some more tomorrow. I have some sweet potatoes to can as well. I have the opportunity to go pick more sweet potatoes on Saturday. 

 I have been dealing with some health issues lately. Ear infections in both ears that did not want to go away. I did 10 days of antibiotics only to have the infection move to my sinuses.The ears are still not right but hopefully they will be soon. I start a new regime of different antibiotics tomorrow. Please pray that this time they will get better and I will have no more troubles.In the last year it has been bad for me with respiratory and sinus/ ear issues. 

  The days have been pleasant instead of so hot and muggy. I am enjoying it very much. Have a good day and tell someone you love them. Diana

Integrity

Titus 2New International Version (NIV)

Doing Good for the Sake of the Gospel

2 "You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you."

  Integrity,  the act of living an holy life pleasing to God. Everyone has an excuse, or so they say. But do we really? Yes many of us have faced hardships and bad things have happened that leave scars on us inside and out. But will that stop us from being able to live a life of integrity? No.  Our actions are our own making. 

  Each day we choose how we are going to act or react to the things around us. Each day we are given the opportunity to better ourselves. I am not only talking financially. You need to start from the inside and then your actions will change and you can then have people look at you and consider you a good candidate for financial opportunities or other life changing decisions.

  Integrity in a person creates respect from others. They look at you and want what you have. Sometimes they will give you a hard time because they see where they lack and are jealous of you. Those are the ones you pray for and try to encourage. 

  No matter where you fall in the "social" class of the world, you can have pride and dignity of being the best person you can be under those circumstances. All of this social hierarchy will pass away when we meet God. All that will matter is whether or not you accepted salvation through Jesus and how you lived your life for God. Believing that Jesus died and rose again to pay your sin debt is the only way to heaven.See John 3:16. How you live your life for God, will be your rewards once you get there.

  Can you look in the mirror and see someone who is worthy of respect? We all have our shortcomings. Myself included. But we have opportunities each day to better ourselves. Just for today, choose to change some things for the better. Speak kindly and be respectful to others. Be busy doing good for another with no thought of gain for yourself. Find something to better your education even if it is just reading a book. Tomorrow do it again. And when you make a mistake, ask forgiveness  and try again. Don't forget to forgive yourself. As long as you are trying to live that life of integrity, you are making progress. Trust me, people are going to be watching you. You will become the role model they follow. Make it a good one.