A Tuesday Afternoon

You've probably seen the "if we were out for coffee" posts. I'm about to add another one to the stack!
If we were having coffee...I'd tell you about an article I just read. I'd ask you about how you think God intends for us to use the emotions He gave us. 

If we were having coffee...I'd tell you about some new recipes I've been making lately. Lemon Bars, Granola, Soft Pretzels, and what I have dubbed Murderous Brownies.  I'd invite you over to share some of them with me. 

If we were having coffee...I'd talk about the flowers I hope to grow this year. I picked up several mixed seed packets as well as some alyssum. I'd ask you what some of your favorite flowers are. 
Mostly...If we were having coffee, I'd just want to sit and smile and LISTEN to what you have to say. 
So, tell me, if we were having coffee, what would you have to say to me? 

A Kitchen...A Pasture

This picture is a good description of the last five days...A million things have been going on. "Cooking parties", time on the road, organizing my closet, laundry (laundry, laundry), cleaning out my car, birthday shopping, prepping for a trip, saying goodbye to my sister's first horse, catching up with people on the phone, and a regular bout of spring cleaning.

Summer is almost here! In the meantime, we've got a little bit of spring to enjoy.

Last week, my friend's daughter spent a few days here. To occupy her, I decided to pull out some recipes that have been "requested" lately. I forget how exciting the kitchen is for a 3 year old girl. Needless to say we had aprons and wooden spoons and some flour on our hands. 

In short...We had FUN. 

The Lemon Bars were a big hit. I was sad that I couldn't find my old recipe for them. Thanks to Google, we came up with one that worked just fine. 

Next up were some pretzels. Don't mind the junk EVERYWHERE. Also in the making were said Lemon Bars, bacon for sandwiches, fruit salad, and baked beans.

 I had to call in the reinforcements for the pretzel making! They made it even more fun and a WHOLE LOT FASTER. That and they saved my not so crafty self from making fat, ugly pretzels.

Saturday was the hard day. My sister has been sick and then we realized that her horse just wasn't doing very well. We were juggling making sure he was doing as okay as he could be and doing some spring cleaning in the house. 
I'm not big on animals, but horses have always been a favorite. It's hard to watch them decline as they grow older....It's really hard to watch them be sick while the little girl who loves them is hurting as she watches. My sister really isn't little, but I was thinking back to the day we took a very little girl to see if she wanted to buy him. 

God was good to make her horse dream come true and give her such a great horse to enjoy! I'm happy for her and glad she can lean on God through this tough time too. She got a horse and she'll be closer to God because of it all! 


Sunday I went with my Mom to do some shopping. We checked out some new stores and a new restaurant and picked up some things for my sister's birthday next week! 
We got what we were looking for and some good deals. I came home to finish one step in the process of organizing my closet. 

Sad, happy, busy, slow, whatever the last days have been for you, I hope that one thing is true of them...I hope that you have seen things that helped you take a moment to think of the God that is using them to show you more of who He is!!! 
Happy Monday. 

January 365

I just found this post in my draft folder...I started the year off attempting to do a 365 project using my other camera. Apparently life happened because I forgot all about this post and I haven't even picked up that camera in months! o

 Here are the first 9 days of that project. 

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I'm going to TRY to do 365 this year and stick to it. 

For now, I'm using projectlife365's prompts. I may not use them everyday. 

With the goal to DRINK as much as I can this year, I decided to start with JI Packer's book "A Passion for Faithfulness". Going through Nehemiah with Packer is already reminding me how much I enjoy what he has to say and the style he writes with.

Celebrated new years with the family this year. We played Settlers of Catan and watched "Secretariat". After sleeping in, I had a breakfast of eggs and bacon.

My computer is READY to be picked up. Went to pick it up and despite the cold and ice and snow decided pulling out my favorite heels was a good idea. It was! So grateful to have my computer back and with fixes that didn't cost me anything this time around.

The drive was GORGEOUS. Snow covered fields and trees complimented with blue skies. If I wasn't in a hurry, I would have loved to pull over and take some pictures. Even the ugly things were made beautiful.

Still not feeling like the holidays are over just yet...

For the first day in a while, the SUN came out and the sky was BLUE right in my own neighborhood! I snapped this picture on my way to see Alice. I spent the morning with Alice and then made a run in the afternoon to pick some things up for her.

The Price Is Right was on in the waiting room at the clinic...I got to see "Bianca" go crazy throughout the whole show. She was sooo full of joy and didn't care what America thought. She was so happy that she jumped and screamed and ROLLED ON THE FLOOR when she won at the very end.

Dinner turned into all things awesome. After a day with Alice I made her famous fried chicken with sweet milk gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, and a fresh batch of sweet tea. YUM!

Spent some time this afternoon with Alice. Trip to the chiropractor and then just visiting for a little while. Eventually, I ended up in front of the fire with some mint tea and "The Hobbit". It was grey again today...Somehow, that was okay with me.

Quiet day around the house...I did laundry, hung up a few things in the bathroom, played around with my camera, watched "Strike Up the Band", and went to bed early. I may or may not have had cereal for dinner.

Epiphany!!! Today we remembered the conclusion of the Christmas story.

It SNOWED, A LOT over last night and this morning. The kids are out sledding, I'm tidying up, playing chaffuer to and from the sledding hill,  and baking cookies. I haven't baked since Christmas, so I thought it was just time! 

Slow day with a lot of THINKING. Found 2 Peter 1:3 after looking for the verse that said what it said for months! Spent some time reading and jumping around to connecting verses this afternoon. Finished off the day with more reading in Packer's "A Passion for Faithfulness".

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What project did you start this year? 

Have you done a better job at sticking with it....or, did it get shelfed? 

Jesus Savior

I did not grow up singing hymns. The churches I've been to have usually sung the new "praise and worship" songs with a random hymn thrown in here and there. It wasn't until I began singing hymns with some friends that LOVE them that I realized that I was missing out. 
Since that time, I've come to have several favorites. Honestly, I haven't memorized every single word of any of my favorite hymns. The lines that I have learned come back to me over and over again. 
One such hymn is "Jesus Savior, Pilot Me". Today, I'm taking you on a trip to Cape Cod and through the lines of a hymn that has encouraged my soul over and over again. 

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life’s tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.

Chart and compass come from Thee;

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

 While th’Apostles’ fragile bark

Struggled with the billows dark,

On the stormy Galilee,

Thou didst walk upon the sea;

And when they beheld Thy form,

Safe they glided through the storm.

Though the sea be smooth and bright,

Sparkling with the stars of night,

And my ship’s path be ablaze

With the light of halcyon days,

Still I know my need of Thee;

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

 When the darkling heavens frown,

And the wrathful winds come down,

And the fierce waves, tossed on high,

Lash themselves against the sky,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me,

Over life’s tempestuous sea.

As a mother stills her child,

Thou canst hush the ocean wild;

Boisterous waves obey Thy will,

When Thou sayest to them, “Be still!”

Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

 When at last I near the shore,

And the fearful breakers roar

’Twixt me and the peaceful rest,

Then, while leaning on Thy breast,

May I hear Thee say to me,

“Fear not, I will pilot thee.”

I don't know what "season" it is in your life right now. What I do know is that Jesus is THERE, piloting His people. Not only does He have chart and compass, He is THE chart and compass. Draw near to God....Draw near to God. 

Colossians 1:17 says, "And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." 

Hebrews 1:3 says, "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power." 

This Jesus is Savior and yet He is sooooo much more. Know Him! 

Do you have a favorite hymn? 

What are some of your favorite Bible verses that have led you to know Jesus?

The Great Aim

Hey, ladies! 
I have a few words for you today....No pictures, just words. 
During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter), I was reading John Piper's "Love to the Uttermost". Check it out HERE
I think it was Friday's reading that inspired my thoughts today. 
Piper said this, "The great aim of this writer [of Hebrews] is that we get near God, that we have fellowship with Him, that we not settle for a Christian life at a distance from God, that God not be a distant thought, but a near and present reality, that we experience what the old Puritans called communion with God." 
Let's dig a little...The writer of Hebrews had a message from God. His desire for His readers is the same desire that God has for His people. That desire is simply this: DRAW NEAR TO GOD - ALWAYS. 
Whether you are a total loner or a people person, there is one presence that will satisfy, namely, the presence of God. 
The presence of God is a place Jesus couldn't get enough of. He wants His people to be enjoy that same closeness that He knew. 
Hebrews 7:25 says, "Consequently, He [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them." 
He's saving to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him. Having been saved to the uttermost, don't you think we'd be RUNNING to God continually? He's there, making intercession for His people, even now. 
On this Friday, I want you to do one thing - on good days, on bad days, and everyday- draw near to God. 
Be encouraged to know that Jesus saves His people to the uttermost and lives to make intercession for them. There are so many connections here...Being saved, drawing near, and being interceded for...
The life of the Christian is a beautiful thing! Happy weekend to you all.