His Bounty is Good

Today has been really busy and it is early afternoon. I started off by walking one of our dogs which is a St. Bernard who is only 6 months old and weighs over 50 lbs. Anyway, I am trying to get a handle on him before he gets too big so I am trying to train him now. I have bought a new harness for him which is called the Gentle Leader and is supposed to help stop jumping up (which he does a lot), stop pulling, stop lunging toward other dogs, help him to learn to sit and lay down. I will let you know if it works.

After this it was off to picking peas out of the garden before it got too hot and then to shelling them. For something that my husband didn't think would make very much, God has proved us wrong. They have taken off and boy are we blessed! We have finished picking our green beans, I think that we will have enough to make it through the winter :0), since we have about 29 quarts put up.

You know this is the year where our garden was put in late, only 1 squash plant came up, and we didn't think that we were going to get that much out of the garden due to it being very hot and dry, but God surprised us once again with His power. But isn't that how God is; always keeping you on your toes? I think sometimes He does it just so we can't say we are bored and sometimes I think He just loves to watch our reaction and have a good laugh at us. He is such an amazing God! Not only has He provided us with enough to last all winter (and then some), but he has some how given my husband and I the time to pick it and put it up. He has also blessed us with a wonderful neighbor who has helped me shell peas on more than one occasion; love you Cookie. He tells us that all we have to do is ask and it shall be given (paraphrasing) and that is just what we did. We asked and He provided, not just enough to make it through the winter, but enough to allow our parents enjoy the bounty also. That's my God!!! He doesn't just provide, but he over provides. So thank you Lord for this wonderful bounty that you have given us to share with others, especially when prices are going through the roof and things don't seem to look so good. You are always there being gracious at exactly your precise time, which as you know happens to be perfect.

Psalm 65:11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.

Are you Jesus?

I received this e-mail today and it couldn't be more true. We not only need to spread the word with our mouth, but with our actions (lifestyle ministry) which sometimes speak louder than words can. I have posted this in hopes that you will read it then ask yourself, "Are you Jesus?" Thank you Pam for sending this, it couldn't have been more timely. You are a great friend to have.

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.He was glad he did.The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, 'Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?' She nodded through her tears.. He continued on with, 'I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly.'As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister....' He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, 'Are you Jesus?'
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: 'Are you Jesus?' Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Getting Caught Up Week

Well, this week has been one of trying to get caught up with everything that was left undone for the 2 weeks that we had swimming lessons. By this I mean that the house had not gotten cleaned for 2 weeks, the laundry was done just enough to get by and the fridge had not been cleaned out in that time either. I now feel much better that all this stuff has gotten done and we now have a very clean house, the laundry needs to be tackled again ( I feel as though I could this every day and still not be caught up), and the fridge is now without anything that has something growing on it YEAH!!! It's amazing how you can feel so proud of your house, especially when it is clean. I love it!!!

Today while we were at church during worship, I was sitting there going through my bible for scripture that God has been giving to me lately; when my daughter came up to me and started to love and hug on me. I looked at her and her hair was a wreck! Her nice little headband that she had in was crooked on her head and her hair was no longer neat, but a mess. As I started to straighten her headband and fix her hair I felt that God was trying to tell me something. I stopped and just looked at her and felt God saying, even though you are not perfect and look a mess sometimes I love you just as much if not more than you love her. We all have this idea of what a christian is supposed to look like, you know, nice, neat, have it all together type of person; when in reality God doesn't care. He still loves us in the morning when our hair is all over our head, when we have been in the garden and stink to high heaven, he loves us when we look in the mirror and don't see anything beautiful; he sees nothing but beauty. God is a God of love, faithfulness, and of beauty. Yes, there are some bad times that we go through in life, but He has allowed this for some reason or purpose and sometimes we make the bad choice, but He is always there for us. He is always there with His arms wide open waiting for us to run into them so He can love us, the same way that we do our children. We must understand that no matter what we do or what we look like, He loves us. He is our Daddy, our Father, our Dad, our Pappa; call Him what you want but He's there, ALWAYS!

Ecc. 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of mean; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

So much to cover in so little time

Well it's been a hectic weekend but a fun one. Friday Joseph went with his daddy to work, which he thoroughly enjoys. This was his prize for doing so well at swimming lessons. He enjoyed it so much that he did not want to come home when I went to pick him up so he could take a nap. Morgan's prize was to go to Hobby Lobby to pick her out some stickers for her scrapbook. She was so excited that every time the cashier would ring something up she would say, "I am going to scrapbook with my mommy", of course the cashier just ignored her, but it sure brought joy to my heart. We all had a fun day, YEAH!

Saturday was a blast! This was our monthly crop at the church that I attend and boy did we have fun. I think there were 14 people to show up, which is great especially since it is summer time. I had one friend that brought her daughter who is 9 (I think) and she was wonderful. I would watch her and think one day I hope that is me and my daughter. So Anndrea you don't know how that blessed me to see your daughter scrapbooking with you. Which brings me to a point that was on my heart then and still is. I know that sometimes we all need time away from our children and spouses just to keep us sain, but sometimes our children need us to be with them just to keep them sain. When I would look at Anndrea's daughter scrapbooking you could see that she truly loved what she was doing. She could not have enjoyed it if her mother had not taken the time to show her what to do and to help her do it. This was a blessing to me and something that I hope to have with my daughter. I hope that one day when I am old and gray that my daughter will still want to scrapbook with me. Don't get me wrong we don't make a habit of bringing our children all the time because this is our time, but sometimes it just works that way and when it does we all understand and no one seems to mind. I think this is due in part to everyone's children being so well behaved and having a love for scrapbooking too.

Any way, getting back to the rest of the day. I know that I sometimes talk too much at these crops and only end up getting one page done, but when I come home I feel as though a weight has been lifted off of me. I feel like these people know who I am and accept me for who I am, so when I have had a bad week or I am just grouchy, I know that these women will listen (some probably ignore me-can't blame them) and just let me vent. And when I leave I feel that I am refreshed and ready to take on whatever God has in store. This is such a great thing to have, friends that have an unconditional love. I know that God has put these people in my life for a purpose, right now I think that it is not only the common bond of scrapbooking but also the uplifting that I need from time to time. So to all of you who come to the monthly crops at the Vineyard, thank you and may you be blessed the way that you bless me.

Sundays are usually very busy, but this Sun. was different. After we went to church, instead of going out to eat we came home and had fried bologna sandwiches and man were they goooood. Linda had brought bologna sandwiches to the crop Sat. and after I ate one, I was hungry for a fried one, so thank you Linda for the lunch idea. After that we all took a nap, which is unusual for Michael and I. We usually have so much to get caught up on that naps are out of the question, but like I said this Sun. was different. We had my dad and his girlfriend over for supper, which is becoming the normal Sun. dinner, but this Sun. our next door neighbor had her daughter and granddaughter here, so they all came over. The best thing about this was our next door neighbor cooked supper. Yes, we do know how blessed we are to have someone next door to us like Cookie. She has been a blessing to us ever since we moved in (I will tell that story another time). After everyone left, Morgan and I put her scrapbooking stuff in a bag that I don't use anymore and boy was she tickled to death. I don't think that I could have done anything else to make her any happier. I told you this Sun. was different but it was the best.

Now for today, Mon., we all loaded up this morning and took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and spent the whole morning and some of the afternoon there. Michael met us for lunch, which surprised the kids. It ended being me, Cookie, Lisa, Lauren, Morgan, and Joseph a truck full, but a fun bunch. I don't know who had the most fun the kids or me and Lisa. It has been so long since we went to Chuck E Cheese that I didn't remember to take some of the token receipts that Lauren had brought with her, I felt really bad, even though she said it was o.k. I had a memory lapse, oops.:( We all still seemed to have a great time.

This weekend and today, God has been teaching me to let go of things that I worry about so much that mean nothing. I feel as though he has been teaching me how be a kid again and have fun out of life instead of worrying about it. I am by nature a worrier and God is really dealing with me on that. I have stopped having fun with life and started having everything so planned out that my hubby tells me that I am borderline OCD, this is not good. I have been one that if it is not planned to the "t" then I become very anxious and started going into a frenzy of sorts. So I am learning to deal with life as it is thrown to me and trust God that he really does know what He is doing. This is really taking me out of my comfort zone, but don't kids and God do that to you sometimes?

Matthew 6:25-27

25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet you heavenly Father feeds them. Are you no much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Last Day of Swimming Lessons

Joseph, Mr. Jimmy, and Morgan

Well today was it, the last day of swimming lessons. Joseph has made tremendous progress. He is now going under water, jumping off the side of the pool, going down the slide, and going through the hula hoops (you have to put your face in the water to go through them). This is such an improvement from where we started, with him not wanting to put his face in the water at all. Yesterday he told me he didn't want to go under water because he was afraid, so before we went through the gate we repeated our bible verse and man did God work. All of the sudden Joseph was ready to slide, he was ready to jump off the side of the pool, and he was ready to go under the hula hoops. God worked a major miracle in him, yesterday. Today when we got there he was ready to take on the world (as long as it was in the pool). Thank you God for showing up and showing out.

Now, for Morgan. She has made major improvements also. She could already put her face in the water but now we love showing everyone how we can go under water. She is trying her best at holding her breath and gliding underwater, but she has to work on how long she stays under. She can go a tiny bit, but they want her to go longer. She has overcome her fear of the slide and she will jump off the side of the pool also. Each time she gets ready to go down the slide you can see her saying her bible verse, which I know pleases God that she depends on him so much. We will have to work on her straightening her legs when she swims, she wants to pull them under her like a frog. But she has tried to do everything that has been asked of her and tried her best. To this I say "Kudos", Morgan.

It's amazing when we as adults overcome a fear, we all feel so relieved and feel the freedom that God gives us. But I believe when you see a child overcome a fear, you know that God is not only smiling because of what you taught the child, but He is rejoicing because of what the child has learned and will not forget. This faith has been instilled deep within the heart and as we get to be adults we sometimes forget that it is ours for the choosing. We let so much of life get in the way. We think and analyze things way too much, instead of just taking God's word as it is. We can learn so much from a child if we will on let ourselves be a child once in a while.

Psalm 23:4 I will not be afraid for you are right beside me. (NLT)

2nd Week of Swimming Lessons Mon. and Tues.

Well here we are into the second week of swimming lessons. Let me start off saying that Morgan and Joseph are doing much better except for a few fears that still linger. We are steadily praying against those fears. Joseph still does not want to put his face in the water, but we are now blowing bubbles and laughing about it, which is a great improvement for him. Today he even started putting his nose in the water, thank you God for this progress. Morgan's fear is sliding down the slide. She will go under the water but says the slide is too tall. In the picture I hope you can see the fear on her face. I felt so bad for her and I think her swimming instructor did too. So to both my kids I am having to remind them of Psalm 23:4 (NLT) "I will not be afraid for you are close beside me". Morgan has this memorized she just needs a reminder every now and then, Joseph is learning this (I hope).

Also, Sun. night we had a bit of excitement during supper. My dad's girlfriend noticed a turtle going through our backyard. I know that this is not much to get excited about, but when you have little ones this is BIG. They were so excited that we all ran outside to see the turtle (doesn't take much to excite us). Anyway, I have posted a picture of the turtle that caused so much excitement at Sun. dinner.





I started writing this Mon. night but was unable to upload pictures and it just wasn't the same without the pictures, so I am including today's post also. Sorry that everything is so out of order. O.k. today's (Tues.) swimming lesson was GREAT! Joseph went under water (with my help) several times, but he did it! Thank you God! Also, he went down the slide by himself, another fear was overcome by God. YEAH!!!! When he got through he said, "Mommy, I want to do that again." If that don't make your heart pound and put a smile on your face I don't know what will. I am so proud of him! I am also so very thankful to God for answering our prayers. Joseph did so much better in the water today, that it had to be God in there with him. Now we have to work on overcoming the fear of going under water by himself. But I know with God's help he can do it.





Morgan's progress today was also GREAT! She has accomplished a major feat; she has gone down the slide all by herself, YEAH!!! Today she listened very well and did exactly as she was told and when it came time to go down the slide, she did it! It was a funny but precious sight, she got to the top of the slide and I could see her mouth moving and I knew what she was doing. She was quoting scripture, praise God! She was quoting Psalm 23:4 (NLT) "I will not be afraid for you are close beside me". Thank you God it stuck in her head and your word helped her through this fear that she had. When I saw her come down I couldn't do anything but jump up and down, she did it; she tackled her fear head on with God's word. As she walked out the gate she said, "Mommy, I did it! And Jesus was with me." That deserves a great big THANK YOU, God. Not only did she overcome her fear, but she learned scripture that will carry her through anything in life, and she knows that God is always with her. She now has her faith to sustain her.






I know that my children are learning God's word, even when I think that they are not listening, just by watching and listening to them. I am so thankful that I do have God's word to stand on and I am so glad that I am able to help my children learn how loving and caring our Father can be. Yes, God does give us earthly mothers and fathers all of which can you let down from time to time, it's just human nature. But our heavenly Father will never let us down and we can always feel the safety of him being right there with us. I think that when we teach our children about their heavenly Father, I believe that we are showing them how much we care and love for them. And some how they can get it more than we adults can. They can feel His presence, His touch, and hear Him way better than I do most of the time. I let life get in the way and they don't. So not only do they learn from me but I can learn from them, about simplicity. Thank you God for all do even when we don't listen.

Matthew 19:14 Jesus, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 15When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. (NIV)

1st Week Of Swimming Lessons Down

What a week! I was told that swimming lessons would wear me out but I didn't think it would be this bad and I'm not even the one taking them. The kids are doing great, though. Morgan is getting better everyday and now she is so proud that she can go under water all by herself. She is so funny sometimes, you can't help but smile when she's around. Joseph on the other hand has the "I don't want to" attitude or I guess I could say "I'll do it when I get ready". I know that one day God is going to use this hard headed and stubborn little boy who also has a tender side for something great. The question is will I make it through this. He is so set in his ways that sometimes I just want to scream. Joseph is taking the mom and me class so I have to get in the water with him, YEAH! Joseph is doing everything they tell him except putting his face in the water. I still praise him because last year he wouldn't even get near the water, so this is a big improvement. Morgan is taking the beginner class along with her friend Rebecca. I have had to tell Morgan to go 2 or 3 kids away from Rebecca because they don't listen, they play and talk; the normal girl stuff. Just a note the picture of someone jumping in the water is Morgan, looks like she's walking on water, doesn't it?

We have been very busy today. I have been catching up on laundry and picking up the house and Michael has been working himself to death outside, trying to get some things done. We went this morning and got some blueberry bushes and Michael got them planted just before it started raining. I hope that we will have some blueberries next year to eat, yum. Michael also worked on the kids swing set, they are going to love it when it gets done. He did all this and trimmed up the yard after working at the church this morning. I also moved some things around so that I could put Morgan and Joseph's little table beside my scrapbook table, so that Morgan can start scrapbooking with me and so that their craft area and mine would be in one spot. She has her own scrapbook and can't wait to put something in it. The funny thing is she has told Joseph to leave her scrapbook stuff alone. Can you guess where she has heard this before? After all this we still have corn to put up, this may wait until tomorrow. Very tired and I know Michael is.

Phew! This is just the beginning of the week

What a week so far! The 4th of July I was on call at work, what a day. Then Sat. my dear husband took the kids outside so that I could sleep, he took care of everything just so I could rest. Thank you God for sending him my way. Sunday was an awesome day at church as well with the family. My Dad came over to eat as well as our next door neighbor and her granddaughter. We are so blessed to have so many friends and family. It's amazing how God works sometimes. He is so AWESOME!

Monday we started swimming lessons and both children did very well. Joseph is now putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles, which is amazing. Morgan is getting better at kicking and going under water in general.

Today, both Joseph and Morgan did great at swimming lessons. They both went off the slide. Morgan was a little more skittish about going down, but she did it and of course I was so proud. Joseph was the first one to go down in his class, and he had fun and wanted to slide down over and over and of course I was a proud momma again. They both are doing great and I am so thankful that we are able to do this. They are having so much fun and so am I watching them.

I am so glad and thankful that I am able to be a part of this and not just hear about it. I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to make it with me staying at home, but God provides. Yes, we have to do without some things, but that is all they are, "things". In the end I'll always have all the memories with my children and my husband and for that I am grateful. God tells us in Matthew 6:25-27 (I am summarizing) not to worry, that we cannot add a single hour to our lives. This is a verse that I have highlighted in my bible because I do have to refer to it often. So thank you God for providing and giving us your word to live by.

Cool dudes

These are my two cool cats. We went to get their hair cut today, which by the way they love to do. They actually race to Mrs. Sherry's chair to see who is going to get their hair cut first. This is such a blessing because I don't have fight with them. Anyway, this is what I saw in my rear view mirror as we were coming home. They had put on their sunglasses and carrying on their own conversation. I just had to get a picture of them; they look too cool. Everytime I look at them I see the awesome work of God in them. They are truly miracles beyond belief.

To give you some history behind them, my husband and I had been married 7 years and wanting to have children the whole time. We had prayed unceasing, little did we know that it just wasn't God's time. 7 1/2 years later (in God's time)we became pregnant with Morgan our first child. During my pregnancy I developed Preeclampsia (your blood pressure goes sky high and the baby stops growing among other things). She was taken 6wks early by emergency c-section due to her heart rate dropping when I had a contraction. She was very tiny, but God gave her a testimony. She needed no oxygen, her lungs were completely developed on their own, she just had to learn how to suck. She stayed in the NICU only 1 week. She is truly a precious miracle from God.

7 months later we were pregnant again, YEAH! The pregnancy was going fine until the 6th month, I started having early contractions. Man, I went to the hospital so many times that they knew who I was when I walked in the door. Finally, in the 8th month he was determined to come out, I developed HELLP syndrome, which is worse than Preeclampsia and is life threatening. So 4 weeks early here came Joseph also by emergency c-section. He was normal weight and didn't have to go to the NICU like his sister did. His lungs were developed due to steroids that were given when the early contractions started. But he was fine and God gave him a testimony of his own. So when I look at them I see miracles. I have often wondered how can anyone say that there is no God, just look around at all His wonderful creations.

I don't know exactly why I wrote all this, I guess there is someone who needed to hear that everything will be o.k. as long as you have faith. Believe in God in all that you do and you will never be alone and He will take care of you, I am proof and so are the two cool dudes above. "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9

Just Another Day

Today we had routine Dr. visit for our youngest, Joseph. His report was good, but he did not like having his finger pricked and was thoroughly upset when Dr. Amy came in to check him out. But all in all everything went well. When Dr. Amy asked about potty training, she could tell by the look on our faces that we were getting no where with that. She confirmed what other people had told us that boys were harder than girls; boys had a mind of their own and boy do we believe that. Even though he is hard headed and stubborn; he is also very lovable when he wants to be. He is one of a kind and I am glad.

Last night (Tues.) we had a surprise birthday party for Michael. He turned 40 while in Honduras, so I couldn't let this milestone go by without doing anything. Just about the whole family was here, his parents and mine, which was a huge blessing. He had no idea until he came home from work. This is the first time that I pulled anything over on him, maybe I should say second, since I did leave balloons and a container of oatmeal in his office for him to find when he got back. He didn't know who did this until he mentioned it when he got home and I couldn't help but laugh, which gave everything away. So happy birthday to my dear hubby.