Just a quiet morning at home.  It is dark and very rainy.  I have some scented candles burning (mostly apple with some cranberry mandarin thrown in.  I enjoy the sound of the pouring rain on the trailer roof.  Think I'll bake some Apple Crisp this morning.

Blog entries may be sparse this week - Fall break starts tomorrow after chapel ... staying home, but enjoying not sharing hubby with school :)

Generosity and Tough Love

I am thankful today for the generosity of a friend.  A gardener friend of ours gave us a bag of beautiful sweet peppers last night.  When I calculate their worth based on the grocery store price, it was a very generous gift.  We enjoyed a beautiful batch of stuffed peppers for lunch (and there are leftovers too) and will use the remainder for some shish-kabobs very soon. 

Tough love?  Yes, recently I had to ask hubby to have tough love with me.  Hubby gets up very early to have his quiet time before heading off to school.  He usually lets me sleep, but I asked him to ensure that I get up with him rather than rolling over until it is time to make breakfast.  I am thankful for his help where I lack discipline.  It has been a very good week because I have started my day with the Lord and not allowed the day to "squeeze" out what is most important.  Family is often the most compassionate to our "needs" or desires - if you are having trouble, why not ask them for help?  Why should you have to ask?  They may want to help, but may not want to hurt your feelings or to incur some strange wrath from the one they love. 

...hopeth all things ...

I like to look at this aspect of love as the insurance against divorce.  Hope is a word that looks to the future.  The second coming of Jesus Christ is called our "hope."  It is what we rest in.  The future is very bright.  In love, hope is positive, is optimistic, it won't "throw in the towel."  How does love practice this hope?  It forgives and continues forgiving; it holds great expectations for the future; it seeks to do what it can to make things better.  Have you ever heard someone complain about their spouse, their marriage, their children and immediately you see how they could have eased the situation?  It is easy to see how others can encourage love, but harder to see in our own lives.  It is easy to get short-sighted in the midst of trials, or difficult days, or mood swings, but love looks beyond today and the offenses of it ... it just keeps loving. 

Of course, hope in man will cause disappointment at times.  Our true hope needs to be in the LORD.  It is He that can give us true love as described in I Corinthians 13 and can give us the grace to press on!

A Sure Foundation

Psalm 44:5-8

Through thee will we push down our enemies:

through thy name will we tread them under

that rise up against us.

For I will not trust in my bow,

neither shall my sword save me.

But thou hast saved us from our enemies,

and hast put them to shame that hated us.

In God we boast all the day long,

and praise thy name  forever.  Selah.

Think about it!

Green Tomato Update

Just letting you know, I did not forget to give my opinion on the Green Tomato Bread ... I had pumpkin thawed in the fridge that turned into sweet bread and now I have some bananas that are really ready for some baked treat.  The green tomato puree is ready, maybe for next Monday?

Are you celebrating today?

Happy Sweetest Day!

Today is "Sweetest Day."  OK, it is also Bosses Day.  For me, I celebrate the same person.  Hubby is working today and then going hunting, but we will have a special dinner later tonight (unless he is processing a deer).  Will you show and speak appreciation to your "sweetest" today?


***update on the hunt:  hubby hit the deer, but then he was unable to find it before having to call it a night.  Another hunt planned for Saturday night!

October Macs

I am thankful for my trip to the apple orchard last week.  There were 3 blessings about the trip.  The first was beautiful, sunny, yet cool, weather - the kind of autumn weather that you imagine when you think of September and October.  The second blessing was that we found an orchard that was $10 a bushel cheaper than the one we have gone to 2 other times.  The third blessing was MACS!  We arrived at the orchard and a worker asked if he could help us.  I asked what apple would most closely resemble my favorite Mac.  He pointed out the door and said "Those 2 rows right there ARE Hampshire Macs!"  They were definitely thin, but we easily picked 1 bushel and have been enjoying Snacking and baking rather than just baking.  I count it as a "token of good" from the good hand of our God.

ALSO ...
               A shout out to my Dad ...

                         HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Fit Words

Proverbs 25:11

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold

in pictures of silver.

I am so thankful for people who know the right thing to say.  It really is a gift.  It is just too easy to speak without thinking.  Can you imagine walking up to a war veteran who lost his legs in the war and complaining about a stubbed toe?  Can you imagine complaining that your extra BMW is in the shop to someone who is holding their one car together with duct tape and chewing gum?  I know that I thoughtlessly open my mouth many times and we are all painfully aware of the hurtful words of others.  I am thankful that in the midst of a painful world, the Lord sends those who understand the affect that their words can have.  I am thankful  for opportunities to see the difficulties that others face, in hope that I will be more conscious of my words and actions toward them. 

"...believeth all things ..."

Have you ever accomplished "the impossible" simply because you had someone supporting you, someone believing in your abilities, someone who could see your possibility?  Charity has this trait.  Charity "believeth all things."  The world tears down husbands as lazy, incompetent, clueless.  This has crept into our homes and churches.  There are many men who may never succeed or accomplish anything simply because their wives and families do not believe in them.  This often happens with children as well.  We attach labels at the drop of a hat ... "Johnny is our loud child ... Mark is the slow one ... Susie can't do math ... Sharon has to be told 3 times before she obeys."  How often do our labels create the child's behavior?  Why not believe that Johnny can be quiet and encourage him, Mark can work quickly with some motivation, Susie can succeed at Math, and Sharon can learn to obey quickly.  Believe in your loved ones.

While love is not gullible, it does give the benefit of the doubt.  It is generous rather than accusatory.  Are you slow to accept an answer and quick to jump to conclusions?  This is not the nature of Charity.

How can you encourage your loved ones day?  What will they accomplish because you believe in them?

Lovingkindness

Psalm 36:7

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God!

therefore the children of men put their trust

under the shadow of thy wings.

God's love and goodness in the lives of His children is a great witness to the lost.

Do I show the goodness of God to everyone around me?

or do I act as if I have no Heavenly Father caring for me?