The Blessings of the Lord

As I was out in my garden the other morning, the Lord brought something to mind that I hadn't given an awful lot of thought to before. Oh, I'm sure I've heard it said in my childhood and probably in my adulthood too, but for some reason, it didn't really sink in like it should have. It was so simple that I wondered why I hadn't really considered it.

Our beans have been very bountiful this year. It seems that each bush I come to is so full that I'm there for several minutes before I can move on to the next. I marveled at how, just one small seed, can produce such a bounty and I was praising the Lord for his favor and blessings to us this year. It was then that He spoke to my heart... if one bean seed can produce this many beans, what would happen if you were more diligent by putting greater effort into planting just one seed for Me? My mind immediately turned to ways that I could be a better witness and I darted a prayer to heaven for God's help.

Because of my many flaws, I often feel inadequate to be a tool that He can use. However, the Lord has reminded me that He is the Carpenter and He knows just how to use each of His tools to get the best results. I must put myself in His hands and let Him guide me, instead of trying to be the one in control all the time. I am called to plant, He will do the rest!

"Thine is the seedtime; God alone
Beholds the end of what is sown;
Beyond our vision, weak and dim,
The harvesttime is hid with Him;
Yet unforgotten where it lies,
The seed of generous sacrifice,
Though seeming on the desert cast,
Shall rise with bloom and fruit at last."
~Our High Calling- E.G. White

During our family devotions this morning the Lord confirmed the point even more. We've been reading out of a book called "My Life Today", another publication by E.G. White. She states:

"If you can exert a saving influence over one soul, remember there is joy in heaven over the one that repented. . . . You may, by judicious effort, be the means of bringing back the lost sheep to Jesus' fold...
If your example is Christlike, that alone, if you do not say a word, will be a help to many. Patient continuance in well-doing will help others to place their feet in the path of truth and righteousness. . . Be careful to start right, and then keep quietly on.
The firm purposes you may possess in carrying out good principles will have an influence to balance souls in the right direction. There is no limit to the good you may do. If you make the Word of God the rule of your life, and govern your actions by its precepts, making all your purposes and exertions in the fulfilling of your duty a blessing..."

A belated anniversary update--

My sweet husband took me out to lunch at Olive Garden which is a favorite dining spot of mine. It was a nice leisurely lunch where we enjoyed a quiet meal with good food and good conversation. Our waitress was a young woman who commented that she was engaged to be married. She was very happy and couldn't wait for the BIG day. We congratulated her and mentioned that we were there celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary. She in turn congratulated us and then asked us for advise for keeping a long and happy marriage. We told her that it was very important to have open communication with each other in all things. We said that even if your hurt, angry or whatever your feeling, it's important to talk things out with each other. Never push anything down, keeping it bottled up. That's one of the worst things you can do. It's not fair to you or your spouse! She thanked us and said that she would remember it when the time came. In after thought, I wish I would have asked her if she was a Believer. I feel bad that I didn't mention to always pray before addressing her mate with a concern or problem.

I have recently been reading the book called 'Rekindling the Romance' by Dennis and Barbara Rainey. In chapter six, Dennis addresses the importance of real communication with your spouse. He directs the following to the husband:

One of the most powerful principles for romance that any man could apply to his marriage is: Words spoken face-to-face, heart-to-heart, to your wife are powerful. If you want to touch your wife deeply, do what Solomon did. Look into her soul through her eyes. She's longing for that kind of intimate conversation...

...one of her top romantic needs is to be heard and understood by her man. She longs for an openness, a sharing of dreams, hopes, desires, and even disappointments through focused conversation."

Sharing worries, failures and dreams draws her into the interior of your life. Many women don't feel needed by their husbands because they are rarely invited "inside"... When a wife is left on the outside looking in, she feels like a mere acquaintance. This is why connecting conversationally is essential to romancing your wife.

After dessert, my husband brought me home to an unexpected surprise. He had been thoughtfully planning a special gift for me. Prior to our anniversary he had done some research on what the traditional gift to give for twenty years of marriage. After finding out that china was the thing to give, he went to the store on a mission. Now this is something special for my husband because, as a general rule, he doesn't particularly enjoy shopping. (unless it's for tools of course:) After several trips to various stores, he settled on a simple and yet lovely design of white china with a silver plated edge. He somehow managed to sneak it into the house w/o my knowledge and gave it to my daughter to hide in her closet. Just before he took me to lunch he gave the kids specific instructions as to what he wanted them to do to get things ready for me when we returned home.

Upon our return, I noticed as we were pulling up to the house that the blinds in the kitchen were closed. I wondered why and mentioned it to my husband, but he said nothing. I never imagined that a surprise was awaiting me. Once inside the kitchen I saw it right away. The kids were there with cameras in hand to catch my surprised and excited expressions. They had arranged it all so nicely there on the table for me! The china set (for two), tea and cookies, a vase of three long stem roses and a framed poem that my husband had written, just for me.

The poem:

I met a girl in eighty-five
She made my soul come alive
A match made in heaven
The girl and I wed in eighty-seven

We said ‘I DO’ and became one
And in ninety we had a son
Our family grew again in ninety-one
This time a 'bear' who weighed a ton
Our adventures it seemed had only just begun
And they weren’t always filled with fun

In ninety-four we opened the door
To a baby girl, and my wife said no more
The girl and I who had become one
Are a family of five and are done
Hardships come with such a clan
But they teach you to have a plan

Ups and downs are a part of life
Especially when you take a wife
The key is to love each other without fear
This will save many a tear
And carry you throughout the year

It’s now been twenty years since we wed
And though some thought it wouldn’t last
And some said he’s out of his head
I wouldn’t change one thing of our past
Really, its been a blast and gone so fast
So honestly and from my heart
Without my girl, there is no doubt
My heart would die and never start

So the calendar states twenty years
The mind reads seventy-three hundred days
Yet the heart doesn’t keep track of time
For when it comes to love it says always

Some measure success by wealth and fame
Some measure it by your family name
I measure success by a love that’s shared
Through thick and thin and when laid bare
Are our hearts alive? Is our love still there?
Yes! Now that’s success, that’s wealth, and true fame!

No one can deny I am a blessed man
To have such a devoted and loving wife
I am ever grateful for this precious gift from God
That has and will last me all my life

In fact I praise the Lord with all my soul
For giving my girl and I such love, happiness, and security
Our match was surely made in heaven
Twenty years now, going on eternity!

Happy Twentieth Anniversary My Love

Today is a special day!

It's almost hard to believe that it's been so long, but twenty years ago today, I married my best friend. I love him more now than the day I married him!

God blessed me in a tremendous way when he brought my husband into my life and I believe that the He chose him specifically for me. My husband is a strong spiritual leader in our home; he is always striving to gain more knowledge and endeavors continually to be a better man.

He is kind and compassionate; he generously gives of his time, often setting aside his own needs when others call.

On this day I want to honor him as well as thank him for the love he's shown me. I want him to know that I see the sacrifices he has made to keep me at the top of his list, second only to the Lord.

My dear husband-- I will always adore and love you right down to your very core. I thank the Father above for giving me a man who is faithful, honest and true. I'm so very blessed to have you!

On our wedding day, I surprised you by playing a song that reflected exactly the way I felt. That song still voices my feelings today and I want to replay it for you here.

Get your own playlist at snapdrive.net!

I asked the Lord for someone,

and I always knew
that in God's time and in God's way
it would be someone like you.
All my hopes and all my dreams
were suddenly fulfilled
It's almost unbelievable
our love is in his will.

Only God could love you more,
for he gave me this love I have for you.
What a blessing to know He's your Lord,
For only God could love you more, than I do.

I'm tempted to be saying ,
that we met by chance
But God was there at every turn,
In every circumstance
To share this life God gave me
seems such a fearful task,
But every moment we have shared
is more than I could ask

Only God could love you more,
for he gave me this love I have for you.
what a blessing to know He's your Lord,
For only God could love you more, than I do.

SHMILY!

~Audio made possible by my son, Joshua. Thanks a bunch Josh!! :-D

Gardening on the Homestead

I mentioned to a few of you that I would post some pictures of our garden. Well, I finally remembered to take my camera out today, after spending the entire afternoon out there working. It was hard work, but because the humidity was low, it was the perfect day to be out there.

Here, my oldest son Joshua, is putting away the leftover newspapers that we used to lay out around our vegetable plants to help with weed control. Since it was a little breezy today, it took teamwork to get the job done. I would lay a few papers down, my youngest son, Jared, would spray water on them to keep them in place, and then my daughter laid straw on top of the papers. Lastly, my son would would spray the straw with water one last time to compact it down somewhat, so that the wind won't blow it away.


In this picture you can see some of our green beans. Notice the planks of wood between each row? Those are from on old privacy fence that a friend of ours had torn down. My husband put up a new fence for her and he brought her old panels home. My oldest son cut these apart with a sawzall and placed them in the paths. This not only helps with the weeds but this makes it easier to walk through the garden, especially after it rains. Another purpose for those boards is so that the plants won't become damaged by the (almost daily) trips to check on its progress.


These are our potatoes. See how bushy they are!? We are very pleased with how well they are doing this year. We have been really diligent about getting out there at least every other day to check for Colorado Potato Beetles, their eggs, and larvae. It has taken us a few years, learning by trial and error, how to have a successful crop of potatoes. As a rule, we do not like to use any pesticides on our garden. Last year, however, our potatoes became so overwhelmed with Potato Beetle Larvae that I broke down and asked my father in-law if I could borrow some of his Sevin to sprinkle on my potatoes. This year, I was determined not to let that happen again. Because I have learned what the eggs look like, we have managed to destroy just about all the eggs that were laid, before they hatched. We missed a few, but with a daily walk through, we have also been able to hand pick those nasty little larvae off the plants and destroy them as well. If you have a very large crop of potatoes, you may find that hand picking is just too big a job. In that case, I would recommend a company called Gardens Alive! They sell organic products that will kill those bad bugs and not harm the plant or us.

Another little tip we've learned to use for bug control is companion planting. Can you see that green bean plant growing in-between the potatoes? (Yes, I know-- there are weeds there too.) In a book that my brother in-law introduced me to, called "Great Garden Companions" I have learned that by planting certain plants next to each other, it confuses those bad bugs (such as the Colorado Potato Beetle), and they won't eat up my veggies that I love so much.

At our first planting, some of the beans we sowed didn't germinate because we didn't get enough rain. Therefore, we wound up sowing new beans between those potato plants. Hence the need for hand picking beetle eggs and larvae off of some of our potato plants. The beans weren't big enough to fend off the beetles.


This is one of our potato plants in bloom. It won't be much longer and we'll be able to harvest. Yum!


Here, my daughter Andrea, is removing some thorny grass that has managed to come up from under the straw near the potatoes.

Lastly, I will share some pictures of our tomato plants. We placed newspapers around our tomatoes this year, just like we did with the beans and potatoes. We also added a hardy layer of straw. Like I said, it takes a bit of time to do all of that, but it leaves us blister free from hours of hand pulling and hoeing out weeds. Happy, happy campers are we!

Last year we had several Tomato Horn Worms or sometimes known as Tobacco Worms. I haven't seen any signs of them on or near my tomato plants this year, but I'm keeping my eye out and won't be a bit surprised if they surface. We also hand pick these worms. To kill the Tomato Worm, I grab onto it firmly and just pull it right off the plant. I then place it into a small bucket that I have filled with some water, with a squirt of dish soap added to it. When I'm done checking each tomato plant, and am certain that each worm has completely drowned, I dump them out in an out of the way spot on the property. Unfortunately this is not just a one day fix. Once you see one worm, you can be sure there will be more to follow!
I told Joy (quite possibly not her real name) that I would share a picture of how we secure our tomato cages. It is just an ordinary tent stake and you can find them at just about any department or sports store. We secure each cage with two or three stakes. Where we live, we are surrounded by corn and soybean fields. It's pretty wide open here and until we can plant some trees around our property line, our garden will continue to get some pretty hefty gusts of wind come through it. It works quite nicely!

It won't be long now!

There are still a few things growing in our garden... some cabbage, cucumber, watermelon and marigolds. When they get far enough along, I'll share photos of those too. I have yet to get any pepper plants put out. If I don't hurry, I think it'll be too late. Maybe we can go get some tomorrow.

Happy gardening everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

My Crew

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A Visit To Sea World

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Fun In The Sun

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McCormicks Creek State Park

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Hoar Frost

Happy Birthday Jerry!

Today would have been my brother in-law's 43rd birthday.

Last July he was killed in a motorcycle accident. We truly miss him and this day is not passing without our remembrance of him.

I asked my husband (pictured on the left) to share a little of his memories of his brother (pictured on the right).

"I guess appropriate for his birth date would be the tradition we started about twenty years ago. We were born a year and three days a part. I was born February 11^th and Jerry a year later on February 14^th. Of course he was born on St. Valentines Day and it sure fit him well for he always had a lot of girl friends-- some men would think this a blessing (I once did!), even Jerry did for many years, but time changes things and he would tell me later that it was really a curse-- and he meant that!

I remember when Jerry was very young, we had to have been in grade school, maybe 2^nd or 3^rd grade, and Jerry missed the bus home. I really didn’t pay attention until I got off the bus at home and he didn’t follow me. I went in and told either my dad or mom, I can’t remember. Well they about freaked, which is a normal reaction. Just what would it be like today?? Anyway, it turns out that he liked this girl and he decided to walk her home! That type of decision making really never changed most of Jerry’s life!!

But twenty years or so ago he started what we turned into a tradition every year. I think I was about 23 or 24 years old. He called me up on my birthday to wish me a happy day but he began by calling me an old man and going on and on about how my physical appearance was going down hill because of my age, etc… I was a bit miffed at first, for I thought he was serious. But he then changed to his familiar jovial voice that many of us are familiar with and I then knew it was a joke! You see, for three days I was TWO years older than he was!! We really got a great laugh out of that… so surprisingly for him, three days later, I gave him a call. I told him he was losing his curls (he had the curls for the girls we would say) and his age was really showing. I told him he was gaining on me and would every year the rest of his life! From that time on, this was something that we did every year. No matter where we were, we would make the calls to each other. It turned into something that we actually looked forward to and expected. We would then talk for a good while. This was one way we showed our love toward each other. I will miss that very, very, very much as I miss him very much. It is a hard feeling to describe when you lose someone you love. The emptiness never goes away and actually I am glad that it doesn’t for maybe if it would go away, I would forget… and I never want to forget my brother Jerry."

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Cataract Falls

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2007 Superbowl Champs!

Piano Recital

Yesterday, our kids had their yearly piano recital. Jared and Andrea have been taking piano for almost 3yrs. (Two years and nine months to be exact.)

Anywhere from one to two months before the recital they each choose songs that they'd like to play. Since their teacher holds the recital a few weeks before Christmas, she reserves the second half of the program for Christmas pieces. Usually our kids choose a hymn, a secular piece and a Christmas song to play.

Although it is hard work for the kids, they enjoy it because it gives them the opportunity to choose what they want to play rather than having assignments from the teacher. It also enables them to show friends and family what they can do.

I am amazed at how quickly our children have picked up music in just a short period of time. I don't know if that is normal, but my husband and I are very proud of what they have accomplished and thankful to God that they are interested in continuing with their gift.

Joshua, our oldest, also is very talented in music. His desire was to learn to play the guitar. So, with the generous help of my parents, we have been able to provide guitar lessons for him for two and a half yrs. now. He too learned very quickly, plays beautifully, and we are quite proud of what he has accomplished also!

Other than church services and nursing home outreach programs, Joshua has not been able to share his talent with an "audience", as his teacher does not hold recitals. Joshua approached me one day and asked if I thought that Jared and Andrea's piano teacher would allow him to play something at the piano recital. I didn't know what she'd say, but we decided to ask. It turned out that she loved the idea and in fact was very excited about it! So, he too played at the recital yesterday afternoon. :-)

There were ten participants in all and the program lasted approximately an hour. Refreshments are always served afterwards, compliments of the piano teacher.

• Jared and Andrea performed a duet of: "Memory" from CATS

• Joshua and Jared performed a duet of: "The Little Drummer Boy".

• Jared's solo pieces were a Sabbath Medley of: "Dont' Forget the Sabbath" and "Holy Sabbath Day of Rest". His Christmas peice was: "O Holy Night".
  

• Andrea's solo pieces were: "Anywhere With Jesus" and "My Favorite Things"