March 31, Today’s thought – Go on Thy Way

mar21
Good Morning

Luke-10-27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

“Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and thy neighbor as thyself,”
and the go on thy way.
The way in which God shall lead thee
may be over rocks and deserts,
over mountains and oceans,
amid things perilous to the sight and touch;
but still go on thy way rejoicing.
Thomas C. Upham

One step at a time . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 31, 2014 at 11:04 am  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – Lighten My Candle

mar29 002Japanese Ground Orchid from Grandma Crain’s garden to ours.

Good Morning

Psalm 18:28-30
For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

For long the wick of my lamp had served my purpose,
silently ministering as I read beside it.
I felt ashamed that I had not before
noticed its unobtrusive ministry.
I said to the wick:
“For the service of many months I thank thee.”

“What have I done for thee?”

“Hast thou not given light upon my page?”

“Indeed, no:
I have no light to give,
in proof whereof take me from my bath of oil,
and see how quickly I expire.
Thou wilt soon turn me as a piece of smoking flax.
It is not I that burns,
but the oil with which my texture is saturated.
It is this that lights thee.
I simple mediate between the oil in the cistern
and the fire on my edge.
This blackened edge slowly decays,
but the light continually burns.”

“Dost thou not fear becoming exhausted?
See how many inches of coil remain!
Wilt thou be able to give light
till every inch of this is slowly
charred and cut away?”

“I have no fear
so long as the supply of oil does not fail,
if only some kindly hand will remove
from time to time the charred margin . . .
exposing a fresh edge to the flame.
This is my twofold need:
oil and trimming.
Give me these and
I shall burn to the end.”

You may seem altogether helpless and inadequate;
but a living fountain of oil is prepared
to furnish you with inexhaustible supplies.
Not my your might or power, but by His Spirit.
Hour after hour the oil climbs up the wick to the flame!
from Streams in the Desert Vol 2

Matthew 25:4, 7, 10
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

10 . . . and they that were ready went in with him . . .

Be prepared . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 29, 2014 at 11:25 am  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – Rock of Ages

feb24 029Brother Bob’s house at Cozy Acres.
You can see the top of our RV about half way down the picture
to the right of the evergreen tree,

Good Morning

Isaiah 26:3-4
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].AMP

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me- Psalm 62:5-8
Let me hide myself in Thee – Exodus 33:22
Let the water and the blood – 1 John 5:6
From Thy riven side which flowed – John 19:34
Be of sin the double cure – 2 Kings 2:9-10
Cleanse me from its guilt and power- Isaiah 1:19

Not the labor of my hands- John 5:30 (first clause)
Can fulfill the law’s demands- Exodus 33:22
Could my zeal no respite know- Psalm 69:6 (first clause)
Could my tears forever flow – Psalm 6:6
All for sin could not atone – Heb. 10:5-6
Thou must save and Thou alone – Hebrews 10:8-10

Nothing in my hand I bring – Isaiah 4:1
Simply to Thy Cross I cling – Galatians 6:14
Naked come to Thee for dress- Rom. 13:14 (first clause)
Helpless look to Thee for grace- Philippians 4:I3
Foul, I to the fountain fly – Psalm 2:7
Wash me Saviour, or I die – John 13:8 (second clause)

While I draw this fleeting breath- Psalm 103:15-16
When my eyelids close in death – Ecclesiastes 12:3-7
When I soar to worlds unknown – John 14:2-3
See Thee on Thy judgment throne – Matthew 25:31
Rock of Ages cleft for me- 1 Corinthians 10:4 (third clause)
Let me hide myself in Thee – Psalm 16:1-8

Isaiah 26:3-4
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:KJV

Hide Thou me . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 28, 2014 at 4:56 am  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – Invisible Reality

mar25 011the Farmer’s Meyer lemon

mar25 012has many blossoms despite the freezing weather this winter.

Good Morning

Romans 8:24-25
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 8:25b . . .we wait for it with patience and composure.AMP

How can you prove God is real?
The truth is, even though there are wonderful arguments
for the existence of God,
you cannot prove His existence.
You can point to His world and His works,
but He is invisible.
Some have heard Him speak in an audible voice,
but again, no one has God on an audio recorder.
Is this a problem?
Is it troubling?
Not at all!
If God could be seen through a telescope or under a microscope,
would He be the Almighty God proclaimed in His Word?
He’s the Creator
and as such cannot be studied in the same way as His creation.
Paul asks, “who hopes for what he already has?”
He also says, “hope that is seen is no hope at all.”
Hope is for the deeper, more profound realities
that require open hearts and eyes.

I believe in the sun even if it isn’t shining.
I believe in love even when I am alone.
I believe in God even when He is silent. unkn

from A Day Book of Grace.

Continue to HOPE . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 27, 2014 at 11:17 am  Comments (1)  
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Today’s thought – The Greatest of These

mar25 003Sweet Peas are blooming.

Good Morning

Philippians 1:9-10 And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment], So that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and that you may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble].

Tradition says that when they carried Saint John for the last time into the church, he lifted up his feeble hands to the listening congreation, and said,
“Little children, love one another.”
The words are echoing yet throughout the world.
More precious and important even than faith is heaven ly love. Without it faith must ultimately wither. Many of God’s most powerful workers after a time lose their power because they lose the spirit of love. This is the crowning grace of Christian character. It has a thousand shades, and it is in the finer touches that its glory consists.
 Every new experience of life is but a school to learn some lesson of love. Let us not try to expel our teachers. Let us welcome them and so learn the lesson, that they may soon pass on and leave us to make new advances.
If mountains can be removed by faith, is there less power in love?
The immense arms from either side of the Forth Bridge had been completed, slowly and steadily they had been built out; all that was now needed at the center of the mighty arch was the final riveting.
The day fixed was cold and chilly, and cold contracts metals. In spite of fires set under the iron to expand it the inch or two required, the union could not be completed and the day’s program was a failure.
But the next day the sun rose bright; under its genial warmth the iron expanded, the holes came opposite each other, and the riveters had nothing to do but drive the binding bolts home.

1Corinthians 13:13 And so faith, hope, love abide
[faith—conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things;
hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation;
love—true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us],
these three; but the greatest of these is love.

“Love one another” . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Click on the link to see a picture of Forth Bridge, a bridge for trains, and a little of its history. It is a beautiful bridge.

Published in: on March 26, 2014 at 12:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Found in the Garden Plot

mar18 001the Farmer is tilling in the winter green

mar18 002the attach the rippers and weigh them down

mar25 004

mar21 005

mar21 014garden plot is ripped
but in the process
CLUNK!
one of the tines breaks off

mar21 020
so the digging begins
mar21 018ah ha

mar21 019

mar21 016yep, it’s the Cozy Acre ‘looker/adviser’ crew

mar25 0062 12inch diameter 6 feet long concrete pipes connected with a aluminum band
supposed a walk way over creek that originally flowed through the property

mar25 010Every year the Farmer finds more trash in the garden plot
mar21 017then the Farmer tucks the soil in for a rest before planting begins

mar21 015berries and grapes are enjoying the warm Spring weather

NEW THIS YEAR

mar25 001three rows of strawberries

mar25 002the strawberries were planted in the tops of the rows
the drip watering system was installed
(sorry I didn’t get a picture of that layout)
then everything was covered with 3-4 inches of mulch
for a weed free strawberry patch

mar25 007chicken pen/orchard area
gap in the fence is where the chicken house will be

mar25 009first tree planted a black fig
the Farmer has grown from a cutting

Every day something is happening at Cozy Acres.  the Farmer is always planning/plotting another project to add to the beauty and productivity of Cozy Acres.

mar25 011

View from the back fence facing north
most of the pictures are taken toward the southmar25 012

Published in: on March 25, 2014 at 12:27 pm  Comments (1)  
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Sunday Bible Reading – Psalm 8

mar21 001the Farmer tending his seedlings.

Psalm 8:1,3-5,9NIV

Lord, our Lord
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens. . .
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in plalce,
what is mankind that you are mindul of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor . . .
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world.   –John Burroughs

Amen
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

mar21 009Some of the seedlings, hot peppers and tomatoes

Published in: on March 23, 2014 at 5:19 am  Leave a Comment  
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At home. . . it quilts

So I thought and thought.
the Farmer and I talked and talked.
This is the result . . .

mar21 009

Open the door and
It is a Project Studio aka My Space.

mar21 001

I can quilt, read, pray, eat, play silly games on the ipad….

mar21 002

I can press the fabric flat and cut out block pieces…..

mar21 007

mar21 005

mar21 006
My current project – love the 30’s designs.

Published in: on March 22, 2014 at 10:06 am  Comments (2)  
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March 21, Today’s thought – Hope Against Hope

mar 18 001 (1)The ants are circling the ‘wagons’.

Good Morning

Romans 4:18-22
Abraham, against all hope, believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So shall thy seed be.” And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, nor yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore “it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

Abraham is knows as the father of our faith.
That title didn’t come easily!
First of all,
He left his home in a sophisticated and affluent part
of the world because
he heard God calling him to a new land.
Throughout his story in Genesis,
the one constant is that he
“picked up his tent stakes”
and moved on.

But that was just the beginning of his challenges.
When he got to the land,
it was filled with warring tribes.
Even harder to deal with,
he and his wife seemingly could not have children.
How do you become the father of a nation
when you have no land and no child?
But Abraham never gave up–
and at an old age received his reward.
Will your faith persevere
when you see no immediate results to feed your hope?
from A Daybook of Grace

Hoping . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 21, 2014 at 10:18 am  Leave a Comment  
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Chats on the Deck

chatsonthefarmhouseporch

“Chats on the Farmhouse Porch” is a group of friends
gathering to visit,
sip their favorite beverages,
nibble delicious treats
and share their likes and dislikes.

Patrice and Wendell have invited me to join the chatting.
Patrice provides the questions,
we answer.

What are your favorite condiments?

Hands down – Ketchup – my daughter-in-law always laughs at me.

What are you reading?

Reading  – Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Listening to – The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda Brunsetter

What was the last dessert you had?

SShhhh, don’t tell anyone – Last night – brownie mix with two cups of chopped pecans mixed up (no oil) and eaten with a spoon. I keep it in the fridge and nibble on it when I need a chocolate fix.

Wendell would like to know if you would build him a snowman. (If you don’t have snow, just pretend. He’s not detail oriented.)

I would build Wendell a green snowman with a crown of carrots sprinkled with molasses grain.

Tell me something fun or interesting.

mar 18 001Buster’s newest special spot to sleep, especially if I’m trying to type.
I think he likes getting nudged every time
I need to use the buttons along the right hand side of the keyboard.

Published in: on March 18, 2014 at 12:39 pm  Comments (5)  
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March 18, Today’s thought – Perseverance

mar18 001the Farmer’s first step – tilling under the winder’s growth – volunteer sunflowers and weeds

Good Morning

2Corinthians 4:16-18
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

A woman planted a rare rosebush, fussed over it, fertilized it, watered it, and was incredibly disappointed when she saw no reward of her labors. The rose bush simply wouldn’t grow.

Then one day she visited her neighbor and discovered that shoots from this bush had pushed through to the other side of the fence and were blooming in splendid beauty there. She thought to herself of some recent disappointments in her prayer life and realized that faith in God is much like her rose bush. You can’t always see the results of what God is doing in your life, but if you have patience and perseverance, you will discover that He was creating something beautiful in you all along.

Hope requires perseverance. The rewards found inside us and that await us in heaven are worth any struggles we face here on earth.
from – A Daybook of Grace

2 Corinthians 4:16-18   So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.Amplified Bible

By perseverance the snail reached the ark. C. H. Spurgeon

Keep holding on  .   .   .   Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

mar18 002This garden area almost done.
In the upper right corner is the new chicken pen.
The chicken house will be located to the left of the gate.
the Farmer is letting the grass/weeds grow more then we’ll move the chickens to their new home.

Published in: on March 18, 2014 at 11:45 am  Leave a Comment  
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March 17, Today’s thought – In Everything

feb24 025Where ever a seed finds good earth; growth will take place.

Good Morning

1Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

I saw Him in the morning light,
He made the day shine clear and bright;
I saw Him in the noontide hour,
And gained from Him refreshing shower. . .
I saw Him when great losses came,
And found He loved me just the same.
When heavy loads I had to bear
I found He lightened every care. . .
For as each day unfolds its light
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
Life will, indeed, a blessing bring,
If we see God in everything. A. E. Finn

1Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.

With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 17, 2014 at 10:44 am  Leave a Comment  
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March 13, Today’s thought – I call you, Friends

mar 6 002Can you see the red?

Good Morning

John 15:14-16
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

I would converse with Thee from day to day,
With heart intent on what Thou hast to say,
And through my pilgrim-walk, whate’er befall,
Consult with Thee, O Lord! about it all.
Since Thou art willing thus to condescend
To be my intimate, familiar friend.
Oh! let me to the great occasion rise,
And count Thy friendship life’s most glorious prize!

In the New Testament the Christian’s relation to Christ
is represented as a personal acquaintance with Him.
This acquaintance ripens into a close and tender friendship.
A friendship such as this is our Lord’s own ideal of discipleship.
He invited men to come to Him.
He asked them to break other ties
and attach themselves personally to Him.
Those invited were to leave all and go with Him.
He must be first in the affections of His followers.
He claimed full allegiance of their hearts and lives.
He must be first in their obedience and in their service.
Christ offered Himself to men,
not only as a helper from without,
not merely as one who would save them
by taking their sins and dying for them
but as one who desired to form with them
a close intimate and indissoluble friendship.
It was not a tie of duty merely,
or of obligation or of doctrine or of cause,
by which He sought to bind His followers to Himself,
but a tie of personal friendship. ~~J. R. Miller

With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 13, 2014 at 11:45 am  Comments (2)  
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March 10, Today’s Thought – A Sure Foundation

mar 6 001Red Tulips!

Good Morning

Psalm 125:1-2 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

During the Great Depression many people
lost hope in the government, their churches, their families,
and even God as the downward spiral of economic disaster
engulfed everything they owned.
People who had previously been considered upper middle class
found them selves standing in soup lines.
Those who had ordered their lives around money
faced dismal futures, and suicides became common.

Sound familiar?
Is it possible that living in a prosperous society
tempts us to put our hope in the wrong things?

The truth is that no earthly thing deserves our trust;
recent economic woes and front page scandals demonstrate
once again that even the most stable
institution, person, or system can fail.
But when we place our hope in God,
we find His protection and renewal
even in the deepest valleys of our lives on earth.
He alone is a worthy foundation
on which to build our lives.
~~A Daybook of Grace

With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 10, 2014 at 5:51 am  Leave a Comment  
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Sunday Bible Reading

feb24 018

Psalm 19:1, 7-14

The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors?
cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me:
then shall I be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Amen

Published in: on March 9, 2014 at 5:40 am  Leave a Comment  
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