1. Are you a force to be reckoned with? In what way?


Hmmm... not very "forceful" I'm afraid.  Though when I was teaching many of my students were intimidated.  I must have an imposing presence, but I just don't feel intimidating.  I don't get "mad" very often, but I can, and when I do it ain't pretty (not braggin', just sayin').

2. What are two things you love about the wintertime. Or, if love feels like too strong a word, what are two things you like about winter?

I used to love winter, but for the last few years it has been nothing but trouble, so I can't say I love winter at all.  I do like being able to craft to my hearts content and not feel guilty like I might be wasting time better spent weeding the garden, or putting up vegetables or something else.  In the evenings it is quiet usually.  This makes up for the hastle of walking the driveway 'cause I can't drive up, or shoveling snow, or poor Mr. D trying to keep things thawed and vehicles running.  All of this adds up to a "meh" feeling about winter.

3. Pomegranate, kumquat, persimmon, kiwi, and guava are all fruits said to have health benefits, particularly during the winter months. Do you have a favorite on the list? Are there any on the list you haven't tried?

I like kiwi and pomegranate.  I've baked poultry with kuquat.  Don't care for the persimmon and guava that we can purchase here in the northeast.  Most fruits are not at their prime when we get them, but these I have had and like.  They are not my favorite.  Mr D loves pancakes with pomegranate seeds in them... I think he likes the "crunch". 

4. I passed a local church yesterday and noticed they had this on their sign, "When all else fails, do the right thing." Your thoughts?

That's like saying we go to God after trying everything else first... shouldn't He be our first thought?  Doing the right thing should be the rule of life for the Christian, not a second thought after you've tried everything else.

5. Do you ski? According to one list I've seen, the top 5 ski destinations for 2014 are St. Anton Austria, Whistler Canada, Cortina Italy, Tahoe USA, and Zermatt Switzerland. Of the five listed which would you most like to visit? We can make skiing optional if that helps the non-skiers with their answer.

I lived in Colorado for 10 years and went skiing twice.  I've lived in New England for many more years and have been skiing quite a few times, but only once in the last 20+ years.  I haven't been able to afford going.  I don't have my own equipment anymore and lift tickets and all the equipments makes for quite an expensive day.  Vermont used to have a free day for VT residents and that was the last time I went skiing.  I have thought about picking up a pair of skis and poles at the thrift store and getting boots, but then you have to get the bindings adjusted.  I think snowshoeing is better.

6. What's the last thing you looked for online? (besides my blog!)

I looked for a manifold for a Massey Ferguson 202 tractor with a continental engine.  Mr. D put his hand through the one we had and we need to replace it.  Mind you the old manifold was so fragile that is fell apart in his hand before he could take it off.

7. What saying, slogan, quote, or motto, have you seen lately that inspires you for the new year?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am excited to see what God has in store for the new year.  Knowing that God is able and trusting in His good care I am secure no matter what takes place.

Happy Birthday Friend

If you have a minute, jog on over to Mrs. T's place and wish her a Happy Birthday.

http://acrossmytable.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday my friend.

Anyone else happy that it's Friday?  I am.  I'm not sure why, but I am.  Weekends are busy for me and I need work to recover from my weekends :)

Have a happy one!!!

Update

Neon is back from the garage and running well.  THANK YOU LORD!

Goals for 2014

Sadly, I am not a goal oriented person.  I have determined to do things before with very poor track record.  It goes well for a few months and then goes into quick decline.  I thought that my friend Mrs. T at http://acrossmytable.blogspot.com/ had a good post about questions concerning the new year.  A little introspection might be good for me, so here goes:

She says there are 31 questions and I didn't check the link to these, but the 10 questions she has answered are good ones...

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

I am currently working on two word studies, soon to be finished, but this seems to be a good way for me to dig into God's Word, at the suggestion of our pastor who has been doing these on Wednesday evening.  I have learned a lot through this study method.  Any suggestions of words for word study?


2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

I am going to be a little selfish here.. yet not really selfish I guess.  I love to have folks over for fun times together.  Since we have lived here we are so limited in space.  I want to have people over, but don't want to squeeze them into the camper and the weather is unpredictable in the summer with no cover over our picnic area, so my prayer is that we will have the moble home to live in VERY SOON.  That way we can enjoy family get togethers here, have a "game night" once in a while or just have friends over for dinner.  Also would make a more delightful place for our grandson to come and visit during the summers.

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year? 

Pray more effectively for each one on a daily basis.  Help and encourage Mr. D in all the tasks he has around here.  Keep better track of the bookkeeping also.

4. In which spiritual discipline do you want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

I would like to memorize more verses than I did last year.  I see the importance of having God's Word hidden in your heart.  Memorizing scripture is easy for me, but remembering where these verses are found in the Bible is a challenge.  I have a desire to work on this.

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

Though I procrastinate heavily, I do not waste the time generally.  I just would like to be less busy with non-necessary things.  I remember someone telling me once if you touch a paper more than once it is a time waster.  If I pick something up to take care of it, I don't want to set it down without putting where it is supposed to go, even if that means a trip to the mobile home or to the trash can.  I determine to not spend more that 2 hours on Saturday to do the general cleaning of my house.  It shouldn't take more time than that and then another hour to clean one area deeply.  Laundry takes a while, but if I do a small load several times during the week it should not consume my whole Saturday.  This will allow me more time to spend with family or working with Mr. D on some special project that needs to be done.

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

Be an encourager.  Take the time to talk to more folks and say something encouraging to each one I talk to.  We have some in our congregation who go from one to another and tell them how tasty the meal was they brought to potluck... it encourages me try new things.  I want to be an encourager. 

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

My unsaved relatives and friends.  I will also be praying for relatives who are not currently walking with the Lord the way they know they should.  Whatever it takes, Lord and help me to be bold.

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year better than last year?

I'm hoping to keep myself healthier by getting more exercise and eating better.  I also want to take better care of the garden this year.  I let the weeds grow after initially working hard to keep them down, they just seemed to get the upper hand.  We would have had a much better harvest if I had kept after them they way I should have.  I also hope to take on as much responsibility around here as possible so that Mr. D can work on the house.

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

I mentioned this earlier, but I want to pray more for my family members and church family by name a specifically.  Our pastor last year encouraged us to pray for specific ones in the church who were struggling and I have tried to do that.  Lately though this has sort of fizzled and I want to renew my commitment to this.

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Consistency.  Something I have struggled with all my life.  I need to be consistent with all the things I've already mentioned.  Witnessing, praying, memorizing and studying.  This is what will matter eternally.

January 2014

It doesn't seem possible that we've already arrived at a new year.  It amazes me how fast the days go by.  The older I get, the faster they go. 

There is a "sameness" to my days too, work each day, clean and laundry on weekends, church on Sunday... not bad, just repetitive.  Perhaps that is a reason for this phenomenon.  We've had a busy winter too.

I'm going to relay what has been happening at our house, not so you'll feel sorry for me, but because I want us all to see how God provides in difficult circumstances.  Besides, my problems are so small compared to the problems that many folks are in the midst of and none are "life-treatening"... just frustrating.

It all started about 3 weeks ago.  My car wouldn't start.  We rolled it down the hill and popped the clutch to "git 'er goin'".  I did the same in the evening at work to "git 'er goin'" home.  We'd had some nasty weather that day and traveling home in the slop, I'm so very thankful that she didn't stall out.  It wasn't the battery, it was the starter.  We purchased a new starter and got it in, the the battery was dead, so we replaced that.  So my car is now on the road, THANK YOU LORD.  Then Joanna lost the brakes in her car.  THANK THE LORD it didn't happen on the hill, but before she had gotten out of the parking space.  Heather was coming to visit and we had the S-10, my car and Joanna's car.  Joanna drove my car to work, Mr. D cleaned out the truck and we used that to get to work and to pick up Heather and Brandon and Joanna had her car towed to the garage and it was fixed Christmas Eve Day... THANK YOU LORD.  While my car was being fixed the previous week, our septic froze up.  It's been in the negatives for a week or so and because of the early cold without much snow, things are freezing up.  PRAISE GOD, Mr. D was able to get that thawed out too and I was able to clean up the mess before Heather came.

Then, because Mr. D had nothing else to do at the time he thought he'd use the plow to clean up a bit.  The engine blew in the plow truck... no plow.  This has not yet been resolved so we are at the mercy of winter right now.  He took out the tractor thinking that perhaps he could get something done with that and the water pump went on the tractor.  We've purchased a new water pump, but it is not on yet.  Then he decided to sand the driveway because it was a bit slick at the time and couldn't get the Blazer started which we use to haul sand for the driveway. 

While Heather and Brandon were here, we went sliding.  We drove the S-10 that morning and it was overheating.  The head gasket went in the S-10.  We have taken the Neon down to have the timing belt changed and then get it inspected. The night Heather got here, I drove in and the outside lights were off.  I went to turn them on and they didn't work.  Water had leaked onto the electrical box in the well house and shorted out the wires.  PRAISE GOD, Mr. D was able to fix that the next day otherwise the refrigerator and freezers would be off and we wouldn't be able to do laundry... yikes.

Among the many praises, a neighbor came on his own and plowed out our driveway... twice.  I am so thankful for that.  I usually don't mind walking the hill, but when it is so cold, it is no longer "fun".

Winter is a trial, but is sure is pretty!!!

didn't quite make it up the hill on Friday night, but did Saturday morning... thankful the driveway was plowed when I got home on Friday night

  

 

here you can see how close I was to making it



poor S-10 sits right where we parked it on Friday last week *sniff, sniff* we sure could use this little vehicle right now



happy birthday sweet Joanna!!!

 


sliding... fun was had by all

ice hanging off the greenhouse... just before it slid off

Forgiving and Remembering...

Forgiveness/Remembering…

Our pastor did a word study for us on Wednesday night on the word “remember”. While he was speaking, my mind was drifting a little to the idea that if we are to forgive and forget as best we can the ones who have wronged us in our life, there is another side of that coin.

According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report and so if we are to think on these things we can begin to remember the good.

We are to remember God:

Psalm 143:5 “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.”

Pastor took this verse and looked at the word “muse” – to consider something thoughtfully – syn. “chew over, contemplate, excogitate, meditate, mull, mull over, ponder, reflect, ruminate, speculate, think over” (I especially like “ruminate” because being from farm country I can relate to that word, like a cow out in the field chewing and rechewing its food).

So as I look at the world around me, the trees, the beauty in nature, or even the diversity and beauty in other people and the works of the hand of man controlled by the creativity God gives, I see the creator in all these things and I can “muse” on the works of God.

I was thinking as pastor read this verse… “I remember the days of old”… even though there are things we need to forgive and put behind us, there are many other things to remember.

My life was pretty spectacular growing up with many fond memories, yet there were those things that I need to forgive and put aside. If I spend my time thinking of the unpleasant things it make me spiral into grey thoughts and can even leads me to depression. I am admonished in God’s Word to think of things that will uplift and encourage.

Remember. Remember God. Remember the works of God.

I Chronicles 16:12 was another of the verses Pastor gave us:

“Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;”

Again, we are admonished to remember His wonders, His judgments which are “true and righteous altogether” Psalm 19:9

I know this sounds like a rambling conversation rather than a “study” and I guess I’m just putting my thoughts to words, so hope you can get something out of this.

Of the 210 times that this word is used in our King James Bibles, many of the uses of this word are in reference to God remembering:

Genesis 8:1 “…God remembered Noah…” ; Genesis 9:16 “… remember the everlasting covenant…”; Genesis 19:29 “…God remembered Abraham…”; Genesis 30:22 “…God remembered Rachel…”; Exodus 2:24 “…God remembered His covenant…” etc…

The word is used 38 +/- times in the New Testament –

Most of the uses of the word in the New Testament have to do with “remembering” what Jesus had said. (see Acts 20:35, Luke 24:6).

I want to never forget what God has done in my life. I don’t want to forget how lost I was and how He came and lifted me out of the miry clay…



“Deeper and Deeper” - Oswald Jeffrey Smith

Into the heart of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Seeking to know the reason
Why He should love me so,
Why He should stoop to lift me
Up from the miry clay,
Saving my soul, making me whole,
Though I had wandered away.

Into the will of Jesus,
Deeper and deeper I go,
Praying for grace to follow,
Seeking His way to know;
Bowing in full surrender
Low at His blessèd feet,
Bidding Him take, break me and make,
Till I am molded, complete.
Into the cross of Jesus

Deeper and deeper I go,
Following through the garden,
Facing the dreaded foe;
Drinking the cup of sorrow,
Sobbing with broken heart,
“O Savior, help! Dear Savior, help!
Grace for my weakness impart.”

Into the joy of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Rising, with soul enraptured,
Far from the world below.
Joy in the place of sorrow,
Peace in the midst of pain,
Jesus will give, Jesus will give;
He will uphold and sustain.

Into the love of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Praising the One Who brought me
Out of my sin and woe;
And through eternal ages
Gratefully I shall sing,
“O how He loved! O how He loved!
Jesus, my Lord and my King!”