So I thought and thought.
the Farmer and I talked and talked.
This is the result . . .
Open the door and
It is a Project Studio aka My Space.
I can quilt, read, pray, eat, play silly games on the ipad….
I can press the fabric flat and cut out block pieces…..
My current project – love the 30’s designs.
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
“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.
Buster’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.
the 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
This 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.
Where 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
Can 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
Red 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
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
We’ll be eating broccoli and cabbage.
Good Morning
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.
Generation follow generations –yet it lives.
Nations rise and fall–yet it lives.
Kings, dictators, presidents come and go–
yet it lives.
Torn, condemned, burned–yet it lives.
Hated, despised, cursed–yet it lives.
Doubted, suspected, criticized–yet it lives.
Damned by atheists–yet it lives
Exaggerated by fanatics–yet it lives.
Misconstrued and misstated–yet it lives.
Ranted and raved about–yet it lives.
Its inspiration denied–yet it lives.Yet it lives–as a lamp unto our feet.
Yet it lives–as a light to our paths.
Yet it lives–as a standard for childhood.
Yet it lives–as a guide for youth.
Yet it lives–as an inspiration for the matured.
Yet it lives–as a comfort for the aged.
Yet it lives–as food for the hungry.
Yet it lives–as water for the thirsty.
Yet it lives–as light for the heathen.
Yet it lives–as salvation for the sinner.
Yet it lives–as grace for the Christian.To know it is to live it.
To love it is to accept it.
To accept it means Live eternal. UnknownA young man went home from a theological school to visit his aged grandmother. To have a bit of fun at her expense he said:
“Grandmother, you know that the Bible you say you believe was written in the Hewrew and Greek. It had to be translated by great acholars into your laguage. How do you know those who translated it got it right?”
“Ah, Jamie, lad,” she answered “never mind the great men; I have translated a few of them promises myself.”
Selected.Standing on the promises of God . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
I love the way the green looks blue in this picture.
Good afternoon
Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Not long ago I saw a little bird lying still
and cold on the ground.
I thought to myself,
‘I barely missed seeing God,
for He has just been here to a funeral.’
This was the bird that the Lord used as an illustration
to impress His disciples with the precious lesson of trust.
He told them that there was not a single sparrow
which falls to the ground without being noticed
by God the Father,
and not one of them is forgotten by Him.
Since the Heavenly Father cares so much
for one these little two-ounce sparrows,
is it no wonder that we are of more value
than many sparrows?
Multiply the infinite care
of the Creator of the universe by the word “many”
and you have some idea of His care for you.
Since He feeds them and cloths them
with such warmth and attention,
will He not much more feed and clothe you? ~~~~ M. T.
You are God’s Sparrow . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
“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.
My Buster doesn’t look as cozy as Opal, but this is where the Farmer found him.
Buster was sleeping on the Farmer’s childhood rocking chair
that is hanging upside-down from the freezer in the breezeway between the sheds.
Do you like avocados?
I love avocados and guacamole.
I think my favorite way to eat avocados
is on a bacon and tomato sandwich,
bread toasted, no lettuce and add a little mustard, please.
Have you ever gone on a roller coaster?
Small ones when I was a kid,
I don’t have any desire to ride a roller coaster now.
Do you do cross stitch, needlepoint, crewel work, or needle punch?
I’ve done all but needle punch.
Counted cross stitch is by far my favorite.
Do you cook with gas or electric?
I cook with propane.
The downside of using propane is that it blackens the pan bottoms.
Tell me something good, pleasant, or uplifting. Please.
Spring IS Coming!
California Poppies curl up to sleep after working hard all day spreading sunshine.
Good Morning
1 Samuel 17:32-37
And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
It is a source of inspiration and strength
to come in touch with the youthful David, trusting God.
Through faith in God he conquered a lion and a bear,
and after wards to overthrew the mighty Goliath.
When that lion came to despoil that flock,
it came as a wondrous opportunity to David.
If he had failed or faltered
he would have missed God’s opportunity for him
and probably would never have come to be God’s chosen king of Israel.
“And there came a lion.”
One would not think that a lion was a special blessing from God;
one would think that only an occasion of alarm.
The lion was God’s opportunity in disguise.
Every difficulty that presents itself to us,
If we receive it in the right way, is God’s opportunity .
Every temptation that comes is God’s opportunity.
When the “lion” comes,
recognize it as God’s opportunity
no mater how rough the exterior.
The very tabernacle of God was covered
with badgers’ skins and goats’ hair;
one would not think thee would be any glory there.
The Shekinah of God,
(the glory of divine presence,)
was manifest under that kind of covering.
May God open our eyes to see Him,
whether in temptations, trials, dangers, or misfortunes. —C.H.P.
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
Our ‘snow’ comes from fallen almond blossoms.
We ‘allow’ the squirrel almond rights.
Good Morning
Scripture reading and a thought from Sunday Morning’s lesson.
2 Chronicles 28:1, 22-24
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father:
22 And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this is that king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
By reading the 28th chapter
I find how far Ahaz went away from God
and leading the people away from God.
Hezekiah made a choice to turn from the evil ways of his father
and follow God’s laws.
2 Chronicles 29:1-3, 10
Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.
10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
Ahaz closed the doors to the sanctuary,
closed the doors on the law,
closed the doors on all the blessings God had for His people.
Hezekiah opened those same doors,
cleansing the sanctuary,
letting the Spirit of God have His rightful place.
Hezekiah made a pact with God to serve God
and obey His commandments.
Joshua 1:5-9
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
In Joshua I read of God’s pact with me.
This pact hinges on me observing God’s commandments:
God will be faithful, no matter what.
I need to ‘have it in mine heart’ to be obedient
and submissive to His will.
Pact with God – God does everything.
All I can do is give up my filthy rags of sin
and obey prompted by my love for God.
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
If you would like to hear this lesson click here.
ver·dant
adj.
1. Green with vegetation; covered with green growth.
2. Green.
3. Lacking experience or sophistication; naive.
Spring
Fresh
New
Alive
Growing
Spreading
Establishing
Reassuring
After Darkness comes the dawn
The dawn shows what the darkness has produced.
Violet babies! Who would know they were there, verdant.
What a bright spot on overcast days, California Poppies
Good Morning
John 12:27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty
should not be to ask that they be prevented,
but to ask that God protect me
so that I may remain what He created me to be,
in spite of all my fires of sorrow.
Our Lord received Himself,
accepting His position and realizing His purpose,
in the midst of the fire of sorrow.
He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.
We say that there ought to be no sorrow,
but there is sorrow,
and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires.
If we try to evade sorrow,
refusing to deal with it,
we are foolish.
Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life,
and there is no use in saying it should not be.
Sin, sorrow, and suffering are,
and it is not for us to say
that God has made a mistake in allowing them.
Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness,
but it does not always make that person better.
Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me.
You cannot find or receive yourself through success,
because you lose your head over pride.
And you cannot receive yourself
through the monotony of your daily life,
because you give in to complaining.
The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow.
Why it should be this way is immaterial.
The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures
and in human experience.
You can always recognize
who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself,
and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble
and find that he has plenty of time for you.
But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow,
he is apt to be contemptuous,
having no respect or time for you,
only turning you away.
If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow,
God will make you nourishment for other people.
My Utmost ofo His Highest, Oswald Chambers
Accept the refining of sorrow . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
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Thoughts of Grace 