Simple Woman Daybook, May 31,2011


FOR TODAY
Outside my window…a garden plot tilled, ready to be planted, partially planted, and because of the recent rain, little weeds sticking their heads up

I am thinking…this is my first entry and it’s kinda fun

I am thankful for…yellow flowers

From the learning rooms…oldest is girl43, boy 39, girl 32, boy 32, my baby girl  26, praying they continue to learn to follow God with their whole hearts.

From the kitchen…vegetable soup with spaghetti sauce as a base

I am wearing…jean skirt and t-shirt

I am creating…a baby quilt (pic below of progress)

I am going…to Bible Study in about 15 minutes

I am reading…The Widow’s Season by Laura Brodie

I am hoping…good reports from the Farmer’s medical tests

I am hearing…an airplane over head, and children’s voice as they gather for Bible Story Time.

Around the house…General stuff and watching day care child, Little Miss A

One of my favorite things…watch the sky as the clouds roll in

A few plans for the rest of the week:  more blocks put together for quilt, continue to trust in my Father for the unknowns in our future.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing…

A work in progress. . .

This post idea  is from “the simple woman’s day book, where every day is a blank page” http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Published in: on May 31, 2011 at 7:03 pm  Comments (2)  

The God who knows secrets

In Daniel 2, we are told the story of King Nebuchadnezzar, who had a very troubling dream. When he awoke he couldn’t remember the dream, so he asked his wise men to tell him the dream and its meaning. Of course, the wise men couldn’t do that,  so King Nebuchadnezzar declared he would have them all killed.  When Daniel, one of the wise men, heard the king’s declaration, he called a prayer meeting with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel 2:19-23  Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.  Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:  He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.

God showed Daniel the dream and the interpretation of the dream.  Then Daniel was brought before the king.

Daniel 2:26  The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?  Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;  But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; . . .

Isn’t there comfort in knowing we can serve the God that knows all the secrets of our lives? The secrets I am thinking about are those things of tomorrow, you know, the questions we have. What will happen if. . .   What will I do if . . .  How can I if. . .   We all have these kinds of questions and fears, but we can know the God who knows all the answers. He doesn’t reveal to us the secrets or shine a big flashlight on our dark path so we can see days in the future.  He asks us to place our hand in His and walk with Him.

I remember a night; driving in an unfamiliar city going I forget where, It was dark; the street lights few and I couldn’t read the street signs. I don’t have a GPS system, but somehow I had one in the car I was driving (excuse my poor memory). I entered in my destination and keeping one eye on the GPS and the other on the road;  I arrived safely.

God is like a super duper GPS. He already has our lives  programed for heaven. Our job is not to second guess the system, but to one eye on the Word of God and the other on our goal and trust in the Almighty who has gone the way before us.

Will doubts and fears and questions come? Yes, they will. Then we must determine to continue to trust, no  matter what we see or don’t see. We can pray as the father of a young child did:

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.   And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.   Mark 9:20-24

Christ didn’t berate, condemn, or ridicule the father for his honest prayer, but Christ healed the child and returned the child to the father, whole.

We can trust the God that revealeth secrets.

Published in: on May 30, 2011 at 1:15 am  Leave a Comment  

as the Lord commanded

1Kings 17:9-16Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

Did God tell this woman ” my prophet will come and ask for bread”?

Or did God ask this woman to be my servant and I will never leave thee?

I think that by her response to Elijah she didn’t know what would happen but she did know the God she served. As she did her morning prayers don’t you think her cry to God was  ” O God, you see my need, you know my situation, Lord I’m depending on you to supply, but if you don’t supply I’ll serve you regardless. ”  Just as the three Hebrew boys said our God will deliver us but if he doesn’t we will not bow.

Serving God doesn’t come with a detailed  plan and explanations of all that is going to happen in our lives.  So that we can be prepared and know everything will work out okay.  Serving God is a commitment each day to choose Him again and again.

Matthew 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is what God asks and there is no detailed explanation of what “all” entails.

Marriage doesn’t come with instructions either, it is just a commitment better and worse, richer and poorer, sickness and health, choosing each day to love again. We aren’t given any idea about how rich, how poor, how sick, how healthy, how much better, or how much worse.  This week (under the sickness and health column) I needed to help The Farmer with a procedure; I did not see it on  my list 43 years ago. But the love that started then, that has gone through many of life’s circumstances, that is renewed by choosing helped me. And it wasn’t so bad after all.

Published in: on May 20, 2011 at 4:09 pm  Leave a Comment  

When Seasons Change

http://thegypsymama.com/2011/05/five-minute-friday-when-seasons-change/

Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s write in shades of real and brave and unscripted.
Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not.

When seasons change…………
Monday—–1:00pm biopsy
Tuesday————-feeling fine
Wednesday———feeling good
Thursday————Phone Call ————-
aggressive prostrate cancer.

Our season has changed.

it is still spring

the garden is still being planted

tomato stakes are going in the ground

birds still sing

wind chimes are still ringing

but the season has changed.

NOW—–I am numb

NOW—–I have questions

I don’t know how to put into words.

NOW—–I don’t have any answers.

BUT I CAN STILL TRUST!

I have trusted, I trust today, I will be trusting tomorrow.

a few words from a song that have supported me through many changing seasons:

Yesterday things were different

Today they’re different again.

Jesus never, never changes

Jesus is always the same.

And one of my favorite verses:

Malachi 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not;

therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed

Thank you.

Published in: on May 20, 2011 at 2:50 pm  Comments (3)  

Breath Deep, that’s what My Mind read

http://thegypsymama.com/2011/05/five-minute-friday-deep-breath/

It’s Friday Again! I’m trying another 5 minutes of thinking and writing, I guess neither one will hurt very much.

When I saw the prompt ‘ Deep  Breath’ and read a few posts, I thought ‘wow’

where can I go with this one:

Take a deep breathe   —  start:

Breath Deep

Let it out slowly, it’s called a sigh

I know two kinds of sighs

a sigh of acceptance     and     a sigh of regret.

If I Breath Deep and let out a sigh of acceptance as in “it’s alright” (thank you, Sarah Ban Breathnach)

You take over God

My way is not your way, God

God’s way is best, I will not murmur

You see the end from the beginning

Deu 11:11  But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:
Deu 11:12  A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

then I find the sighs of regret, sighs of I’m sorry, sighs of ‘I wish I had’ are fewer. . .

I’ll Watch and Pray as I Breath Deep.

Stop

Guess what I read ‘Deep  Breath’ and my mind thought ‘Breath Deep;’ that must have been what I needed for today.

Published in: on May 13, 2011 at 3:56 pm  Leave a Comment  

Cozy Acre Garden 2011

Here are the beginnings of 2011 garden on Cozy Acres:
Last year’s plot being worked:

New plot ripped,plowed, rototilled:


Grape cutting nursery, from cuttings from grapes at Lincoln Avenue:


seedlings added, sprouts up in one week!



Carrots and mixed salad greens:

The shade nursery:

Are you ready?


Marigolds for the row ends

On your mark, get set, GROW!

Watering system, emitters at plant=no weeds

View from the deck:

May the Lord bless the work of the Farmer!

1 Corinthians 3
6. . . but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8. . . and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Published in: on May 11, 2011 at 6:47 pm  Leave a Comment  

Cozy Acre Garden and tying tomatoes

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2011/05/growing

For Ree, the pioneer woman

Last year the farmer retired and we had two gardens, one at home and one at the property  where we attend church. I’ll show pictures of both.
At the church garden before and working the soil:


Watering system and using grass clippings for mulch

Tomatoes

Squash and cucumbers, yellow lemon and Armenian He used field fencing to train vines on, it worked really well, no more crawling to find cukes

Tomatoes all staked up

The home garden has been working for 12 years, it was a beauty to behold. i can say that since I did very little work in it.
The beginnings (gazebo in back is my chicken pen)

Tomatoes

Cucumbers on welded wire


Tied tomatoes




Sweet 100’s

Ace Tomatoes

Romas

A good harvest

Our garden stand at home, I was knitting; ( we had a stand at the church property also, but no picture), selling was my job.

I hope these pictures showed what I was trying to say. We have found that this method of tying is the best and easiest.

Happy and productive gardening to each of you who happen to stop by Cozy Acres.   Leslie

Published in: on May 11, 2011 at 5:56 pm  Leave a Comment  

One Thousand Gifts and a Scripture – 5

http://www.aholyexperience.com

36. Visiting Friends at Donner Lake

37.  Oldest grandson that always gives me a hug when we meet.

38.  Watching squirrels

39.  Little girl learning to say words.

40.  The counter is free from clutter. (It isn’t clear now but I love it when it is.)

41.  Gift of Geraniums from a friend

42.  Bouquets of leftover flowers

43.  Watching Iris open

44.  My favorite yellow rose, Golden Celebration

45.  Being content on Cozy Acres

46.  Sharing a craft with daughter-in-law, love you

47.  Suffering with a grandchild during ‘time-out’

48.  Love his FEET, Seemore Toes
1Timothy 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;    and I’m thankful.

Published in: on May 9, 2011 at 9:40 am  Comments (1)  

Spring on Cozy Acres

After two nights of the Farmer and I kicking off the winter weight comforter, I brought out a lighter weight blanket for our bed.

Someone laughed.

That night the delta breezes of Sacramento came blowing into the valley.  The Farmer came to bed and immediately turned on the heated mattress pad.

Someone is laughing.

A little while later, I heard ” Is there another blanket, I’m shivering?”

I got up and pulled the winter blanket out of the bath tub. (Only if you are a full-timer RVer while you understand that showers and bathtubs are used for many things besides showering and bathing.) The comforter was laid over the lighter weight blanket.

Someone snickered.

After the Farmer and I warmed up, he slept comfy and warm, I, on the other hand, tossed the comforter and enjoyed the lighter blanket.

Psalms 121:4  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (. . .but He might chuckle)

Published in: on May 7, 2011 at 7:47 pm  Leave a Comment