A Place Called Home

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to work in and out of my home.  It is not every wife who gets to enjoy her home and to work in it.  I met a wife and mother today who was just ragged with the stress of her "outside" job.  My heart was burdened for her.  Then my heart turned to gratitude that my husband values my work at home and protects my "position" there.

Another Day

I am almost to my running, or what I call wogging (walk/jog) goal.  My first goal is an 11 minute mile.  I am about 30 seconds from it.  Actually, if I did not include my warmup walk in my 3 miles, I am sure that I could meet my goal.  I will have to set a new goal next week - I hope.

Today, I cleared out the piles of boxes in the trailer.  I was very glad for the ease of loading a pickup truck rather than wrestling with a compact car.  Off went the boxes to the yard sale.  My friend's sister's house is stacked with all the goods for the yard sale.  It will be a 4 day sale, so hopefully it will ALL go.  She is using the proceeds to help our friend purchase and mail gospel literature.  I am so excited!

Next, I went grocery shopping.  This is still a different phenomenon for me these days.  Avoiding wheat and typical flours is a chore and a half.  I must say, if it were not for hubby encouraging me and pointing out improvements we have already seen - I would definitely give up!  One of the store's I shop at labels all of their gluten free products.  I had to smile to discover that my childhood favorite cereals are gluten free.  I left them on the shelf because of the sugar content, but Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles are gluten free.  Oh = the memories!

Now it is time to look toward dinner.  Not sure what tasty experiment I will try tonight, but hopefully it will fare better than last night's :)

Sorry, I was so late getting the pictures fixed on the blog so that you could vote for a tract cover.  The overwhelming winner appears here.  While I like the picture, it was not my favorite ... but it was hubby's favorite, and a sister-in-law's, and an aunt's, and a brother's ... .  I am not really all that picky and am excited that it is published and will soon be used to share the gospel with people here in Cleveland County and around the nation.

Truly Trusting

Psalm 56:13

For thou hast delivered my soul from death:

wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

How often I love to take things into my own hands.

Yet, if I can trust the Almighty God with my eternal soul,

can I not trust him with every aspect of my life?

Opinions Requested

 We are currently working on a non-Christmas version of the "True Peace" tract.  Do you have an opinion?  Do any of these pictures portray peace to you?  Leave me a comment.  I am sending off the request in the morning :)  I have a definite opinion, but haven't received hubby's opinion yet.  Maybe you can sway me!

Spicy Almond -Pumpkinseed Snack Mix

I have now made 2 double batches of this snack mix.  It is really good and, unfortunately, addicting.  I happened to bake up two pumpkins left from fall last Friday, so I even had pumpkin seeds on hand!

2 c crispy rice cereal squares (Rice Chex)

1/2 c salted roasted whole pumpkinseeds

1/3 c slivered almonds

1 T canola oil

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp prepared mustard

1/2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 300*.

Combine first 3 ingredients.

Combine oil and next 6 ingredients in small bowl;

drizzle over cereal mix, tossing well to coat.

Coat large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Spread mix in pan.

Bake at 300* for 10 minutes; stir.

Bake an additional 7 minutes or just until mixture begins to brown.

Cool in pan.

Store in an airtight container.



Always There

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the LORD,

and he shall sustain thee:

I saw a very practical example of this verse yesterday while I was out grocery shopping.  Recently, my shopping trips have greatly changed.  I am experimenting with a Gluten-free and a reduced dairy diet.  I am sure that some gluten is sneaking in due to my ignorance, but I am trying to learn and be diligent in this area.  According to some research that I have done, gluten can be a cause of unexplained infertility.  Some of the other maladies caused by gluten included severe headaches, depression, and digestive troubles.  We know that hubby has wheat sensitivies, and he finally agreed to try the diet to support me.  The problem is the cost.  Gluten-free is increasing in popularity, but is not mainstream yet.  One small bag of gluten-free flour is between $4-10 dollars.  Yikes!  One small bag of xanthan gum (the non-gluten, gluten) is $12 in our local grocery store.  I stood in the store and asked God to please provide that I could stick with this plan for at least 2 months so we could discover if it affected our health.  I left many of the expensive products at the store and vowed to research some more. 

On my way to piano lessons, I pass our discount grocery store.  Usually I shop there for marked down chips and crackers and other frivolous snacks.  I almost did not pull in because those crackers and snacks are "off-limits" for awhile.  I pulled in anyway and was glad that I had for God had stocked the shelves FOR ME!  Rice pasta - 59 cents a bag.  Rice mac and cheese (similar to kraft mac and cheese) - 99 cents a box.  And that xanthan gum - 49cents a bag - talk about a mark down.  Even a box of cupcake mix for a treat for hubby.

It is hard to remember to just give my burdens to the Lord the first time.  He heard that prayer in my local Ingles and directed my steps to His provision.  Praise the Lord!

A Pleasant Benefit



This week, I am thankful for a strange work benefit.  Hubby recently received his new work uniforms.  I have always love the look of my man in uniform.  While I love the appearance of the uniforms, I was not looking forward to the ironing :)  So, why am I thankful?  Well, the shop pays for weekly laundering of the uniforms!  You heard me right ... that will save on stain remover, water, laundry soap, time, ironing ... WooHoo!  What a great benefit!

A Distorted Picture

Ephesians 5:32

This is a great mystery:

but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Christ left us a beautiful picture here on earth.  He left the picture of an earthly marriage to show his relationship with the church.  While his relationship with the church has not changed, his church has certainly changed.  Is that, in part, because women have changed their roles in the relationship of a husband and wife?  Have you seen modern women's views being adopted be the church?

    

How about ... "I just need some 'me' time"?  Pretty popular in the home, modern psycology, philosophy and now in the church.  It seems ridiculous for the church to push Christ away and not want Him in every part of life and worship and yet it takes place each week as we give God less and less time and push Him out of certain corners of our lives.

How about ... "It shouldn't matter to him how I look and dress"?  Many women just "let themselves go" after marriage and children or adopt the world's philosophy of immodest dress standards.  The church as well is approaching the rapture - the wedding - with a grease stained dress because it just wants to do its own thing and be like everyone else.

How about ... "You'll just have to fend for yourself"?  Many women are abdicating their role of caring for the needs of their family.  Many church members also do not want to serve, but just want to see what they can get from the church.

How about ... "My husband is just another child to take care of" or "Can you believe how stupid my husband was"?  Belittling and disrespect is commonplace today in the home.  Look at today's Sunday crowd and you will see that same disrespect.  Look at that same crowd throughout the week and you might not even be able to pick them out.  And how about the disrespectful t-shirts abounding?  Should God be linked with a soda, a beer, or a candy bar?

Are you building a heavenly marriage?  Are you seeking to create a clear picture in your home of Christ and the church?  Perhaps your home is a beautiful picture ... Great!  Are you seeking to be an example in your church to help it to maintain its proper relationship with Christ?

Immovable

Psalm 55:22

A work in progress

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55 has been part of my Bible reading each day this week.

This verse is such a encouraging promise - easy to cling to, right?

As hubby was working on edging our front walkway and garden area last night,

I got to thinking about the second half of the verse.

What does it take to be immovable?

There was hubby, pounding in 18 inch rebar at regular intervals

to hold those timbers in place.

If they were going to be immovable and to last,

there was going to be pain (if they were alive).

I believe the promise,

now I just have to accept what God must do to make me immovable.

Goal Update

Still working on sticking with my weekly/monthly/yearly goals.

Last week, I finished Spring Cleaning half of the house.  I finished the areas we use on a daily basis and have 3 less used rooms to go.  Two on the easy-side and one disaster zone.  I have a friend who is planning a yard sale in 2 weeks so that will be great - the disaster zone can be organized by getting rid of all the clutter.  One man's trash is another man's treasure ... and all of the money is going to go toward the purchase of tracts!

I start week 6 of the couch to 5K program today.  There are intervals of walking and running today and Wednesday with the goal of 22 minutes of straight jogging on Friday.  Last Friday, I did manage to jog for 20 minutes, but I really think that I run slower than I walk :)

I am about 1/2 way through Galatians 2 in my desire to be more disciplined in memorization.  Last week was a little rough, but things are starting to stick.