Happy Homemaker Monday 9/252017

Posted on by Mary

6-12-2017

Happy Monday to all my wonderful friends I wanted to say sorry I haven’t been around in quite a while I was reluctantly forced into a blogging break as we have been running into a crazy schedule and then (GASP) my computer kicked the bucket…for good! so I had to wait for my new one!  so she is here and it has been so much fun getting aquatinted with her!   you will get to catch a glimpse of her further down!  Well I hope you have a wonderfully splendid week…I hear it is actually supposed to turn fall like by the end of this week!

So on with the Happy Homemaking

The weather:::  HOT! As in the 90’s  The hottest it has been all summer long (AND it is a few days into fall)

On my reading pile::: My Bible One thousand Gifts And a bunch of others

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend::: Fixer Upper

On my TV::: A Movie on PureFlix

On the menu for this week:::

Monday Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake
Tuesday- Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday-Chicken and Dumplings
Thursday-Grilled Cheese and soup
Friday -Beef Stew
Saturday- sandwiches before the hayride, hotdogs after
Sunday-Meatball Subs

On The To-Do List::  What’s not on the to-do list.  Life has been so incredibly busy that I just kinda feel like everything needs looked after right now!!

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::  I am working on decorations for The Raising Generations Today Conference next month….watch for a sneak peek in the next couple of days…EEK I am so EXCITED!!!

Happening this week:::CRAZINESS…church haired. Bible studies at least three and RGT planning meeting and the list goes o and on

Looking around the house::: I’d rather look outside to be honest

From the camera:::Happy

The new laptop and her lovely accessories

What I’m wearing today:::well I have had two outfits on today  Both of which included my walk for Life T-shirt and I had khakis on for little beans appointment and then I changed into blu capris when I got home

One of my simple pleasures:::  sitting outside.  I don’t care what I’m doing but I love to sit outside and enjoy Creation

Bible verse, Devotional:::   This week I will be meditating on my verse for the year

Jeremiah 17:7-8New International Version (NIV)

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check out Diary of a Stay At Home Mom

A Wild Life, Living Wildly for Jesus

Posted on by Mary

wildly

So Our summer has been WILDLY  BUSY with so many things!

Wildly Exhausting

Wildly Exciting

Wildly Full of Blessings

I guess you could say it was wildly WILD.

So It is growing ever closer to the end of September.  It’sFall already people and just in case your curious.  It is 86 degrees here in upstate New York.  It’s one of the warmest days of the…er…..Fall??

Honestly I have been so tired as of late I am ready to crawl into bed  at 830 most nights and I don’t want to get out until May.  Yeah it has been THAT kind of wild!

People I forgot the my youngest had to study spelling words and his verse for the week. It was THAT kind of wild.

two weeks ago I had some moments and a grabbed my laptop, my coffee ,  my Bible and planner and I sat  down at the kitchen table. I opened my laptop, pressed the power button and …….drumroll……..NOT A BLOOMING THING!  it was the first moments in what seemed like months, but in all seriousness it had only been a month and a half to write and my planner was just chock full of wild ideas!  Things like 50fun facts about our family, what I’m reading, a sneak peak into our weekly schedule and so on.  I was excited to say the least but there was nothing.  It had been charging on the kitchen table overnight.  So there was no reason for it not to turn on.

So I picked her up flipped her over. It was damp….apparently  our evil but lovable cat had found a glass of water.   I removed the hard plastic green case …more dampness and tears welled in my eyes..  It’s not that I am addicted to my computer in all reality I wish I could use it more.  My computer holds the power of words.  I rarely if ever use it for  anything more that the craft of writing or creating with my cricut.  It is like a friend that I tell my secrets too…And then post to the internet for all the world to see ( ok not really, I don’t post everything but I found the irony as I was typing that).  It also held 100’s of pictures and other documents like half written book reviews  blog posts and edited photos ready for blog posts.  (No speeches necessary on how I should have backed them all up). I gave myself the speech about 100 times in that first hour before hubby got home.    When hubby got home he opened the case,  all that was inside.  2 lowly drops of water…2!

We got a fan and dried that baby out. She turned on two separate times, all of which gave me a glimmer of hope and then she shut off 30 seconds later and each time I felt hope of her ever being normal again slip away.  Then Wednesday rolled  around Hubby had made an appointment an hour away to get her assessed.   He dropped me off at the pregnancy center and headed north.  An hound a half later I got a text message that simply said “all fixed”. my heart beat wildly!!  My reply

“Really?  How?”

There was no water damage she is just old (7 to be exact). she is a beast of a computer and has worked for me fantastically!  I was excited and I made plans for the next morning….only to be left staring at a black screen again!

A wild life can often lead to wild emotions

It’s funny how our emotions can take us from wildly excited to wildly sad and depressed OR wildly angry  in a matter of seconds.  I remember very distinctly 3 and  1/2 years ago as our Belgian Shepherd Daffy came running inside.  She hadn’t run in 3 months, she hadn’t laid down in a month or so. I was so excited I called hubby, excited that the medicine had helped….she ran in the front door, through the kitchen door where she fell over and died.  My wild excitement turned within seconds into screams of terror.  What happened??  Daffy was old she had a herniated disc  her neck.  Just the night before I asked a friend with veterinary experience how do you know when is the right time to put your faithful friend down .  I prayed that we would not have to make that choice I prayed God would take care of it.  He did, I just never expected it to happen quite like that .  Honestly we never do.

I’s what we do with the wildly crazy things in our life that shows our character.

SOOOO when wild things move into your house unexpectedly…like mice, a rat, squirrels, a swarm of  honey bees  or as the case this summer   FLEAS we need to ask ourselves what should my reaction be? (BTW we have had all of these critters in our current home at one time or another)

Two years ago every major appliance in our kitchen systematically died, are you ready for this?  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, no joke!!! So when January rolled around  and our furnace bit the dust, we could have gotten discouraged but instead we through up our hands laughed wildly and said why not!!  It was seriously funny.  Never had we had to replace so many appliances.  that year we had also replaced both the washer and dryer in May.

When we follow Jesus wild things happen. (both Good and Bad)

There are so many things in our lives that when we look back we see just how wild the ride has been.  And when we see pieces fit together that we originally didn’t think were connected  we stand in wild amazement at who God really is.  His protection over situations that later we realize should have ended in a more horrific way.  And yet we don’t wildly praise the one who loves us so much.We stand in church services with our hands in our pockets.    We stand by silently as someone shares a miracle from their lives.  I love it when my wild friends shout AMEN.  I love it when my WILD friends look different than all the rest.  Yes they are crazy unicorn loving people, but what they love even more is Jesus.

They live wildly

They Love wildly

They bless wildly

They laugh wildly

They serve wildly

They show Jesus wildly.

So in the midst of all the wild things like appliances dying, homes being invaded by vermin, or your computer kicking the bucket…..OR in the midst of the wildly insane things like a cancer diagnosis, a pre-term baby, a developmental disability, a hurricane of record proportions  or how about you fill in the blank, Choose to follow Jesus wildly,   giving all of your life, seeking to please him with everything you’ve got!  Live Wildly for Jesus!

Did you have a wild summer?  What is holding you you back from living wildly for your Savior?

 

When Life Hands You a Detour…TAKE IT!

Posted on by Mary

DetourSo I am not going to lie.  This week was UNEXPECTED!!!!   The last thing on my mind was spending an extra week at camp.  BUT the kids and I are here We were handed a detour  for at least part of this week.   so here I sit at my computer, the kids are resting in our camper (we just finished a pontoon boat ride around the lake) and I am sitting here at our rest stop on this detour.  But in all honesty it took both hubby and I awhile to get to this stop on the detour.

We got home Saturday after having two great week away, here at our home away from home.   It was relaxing and enjoyable and refreshing and both hubby and I came away   ready to jump in head first into ministry if.  As if we stop when we are on vacation.  If you know either one of us well you know that we breathe ministry.  It is just WHO WE ARE!  So the whole time away our brains work to plan pray and seek God’s direction for what He would have us to do!  We are fed.   We grow. We come home and jump right back in……but not this time…this time had some detours!

What Happened

When we hit the city next t our  town we stopped at Was-Mart to make a purchase because we were given a heads up on Thursday that there was an issue in our house, so we were coming into the situation prepared…or so we thought.  Detour #1 leaving Was-Mary and half way home, we noticed our brakes smoking ..our big truck has this problem every six months with the brakes.  So that needs to be fixed.   Check Continue reading “When Life Hands You a Detour…TAKE IT!” →

What Are You Thankful For? AKA Thankfulness Challenge!

Posted on by Mary

ThankfulnessAs I have been journeying over the last few weeks I have come to the realization of a few things and I really want to show you a piece of art,Yes I Ive been playing these few weeks away.. Pencils and paint. you won’t see them all BUT this one…I LOVE this quote from Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts.  I am so thankful for this book as it is changing how I look at my life.  Being thankful takes your eyes off you and puts them where they belong, THE GOD OF ALL CREATION!

Life Change comes when we recieve Life with Thanks and ask for nothing to Change

Thankful

I have written thankful lists for a while now but as of late I have ben striving to not just write them but to actually pray and thank God  for the things on my thankful list (what a profound idea right?)

But as I have read Ann’s book I have decided to take on the challenge of writing One  Thousand Gifts.

It is hard because it is really developing discipline to not only look at your world and see those tiny gifts lurking in sometimes dark corners of your day but it is also  slowing down enough to take the time to write them down in my cute little travelers notebook.  Have you read or seen how crazy our schedule is???

So this is my accountability….I will post the numbers of my gifts. Like This

I’m Thankful For…..

#9Pounding rain that drowns out any other background and creates this peaceful drone.

#10 Solid teaching from god’s word that convicts the hidden spots of deepest tucked secrets of ones life that proves God really does know us better than we know ourselves

#11 Belly laughs the take over the entire family

#12 a simple answer to prayer

#13 Sequence the Game!!

This is how it will work.  FIVE short statements of thankfulness!  That’s it.  It can be simple or   it can be complex.  I will waiver between the two AND I will probably share both funny and serious things I am thankful for!

So here is the burning questions I have for you….

Where are your eyes looking to?

And

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

When I Picked the Word Confidence for 2017……

Posted on by Mary

….I had no idea what was looming around each corner. CONFIDENCE. Confidence In God NOT myself!  I know I haven’t blogged about my word much, if at all.  Let’s be honest and right up front, I haven’t been blogging much at all..  I have been caught between crazy schedules and exhausted.    I had hoped to blog a lot on our two week vacation BUT that did not happen…I have less than 2 days left…..SIGH!  Oh well  but how do I move forward in the future?

CONFIDENCE

So back to Confidence.  My confidence has been tested and stretched SOOOOO many times over the last few years.  Confidence in my abilities, confidence in my faith in ministries (including blogging), ,confidence in God . For instance if when I started at the pregnancy  cente you would have told me that my role there would include people who had been in jail OR that I would be introduced to women who had been in human trafficking situations I would have told you NAH that’s not what I am called to do!  HAHHAHA I was so naive. And Naive is not a word I would use to define me…EVER! However just when I had thought I had heard it all a client made me cough coffee out my nose with one question…..(Yes Amy insert laughter)

The other thing, if you asked me if I would ever be involved in a conference planning ministry that  I am a part of the team I would have laughed and told you “not introverted me.”   Now I am in my second conference Planning session and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

And did I mention that I never thought I would be a pastor’s wife…ok so I didn’t want to be.  I wanted to be a missionary to a country that didn’t’t allow missionaries.  I wanted to be an inner city youth leader….Amongst some other things….Pastor’s wife was never on the list…EVER!!

Confidence or GOD-FIDENCE

My confidence was not there.  I need to have God-fidence as Renee Swope  calls it in her A Confident  Heart Bible Study.  and now I’m in yet another transition period….Another confidence area…A God-fidence area if you will….and it has to do with fear!    We have been listening to our friend Marc preach on it for the last week, and quite honestly it’s been hard.  Im not the same scared  young bride I was when I married my husband 14 years ago BUT there are certain things that grip my heart and mind tighter than anything else in this entire world.   It’s the area of people pleasing .  I worry about this ALL THE TIME. I obsess over this.   BUT there is a big problem about this…Worry means a mind divided!   I am torn between two masters….God who has called me to do this.  I have made a commitment to do this.  It is my  responsibility to use my gifts, to sharpen them, to hone them in, however I hide.  I hide this from social media.  I have not shared my blog on social media( as in my own personal wall) in  over two years, because I am AFRAID!  I worry about criticism, critique….people being angry with me .   and that leads me to my second master….Satan AND other people.  I am a person divided.

The Problem

The problem with all of this is Jesus himself promises struggles, that we will be persecuted that there will be problems . (John 16:33)  So I am trying to avoid and run away from the trouble that is promised. It’s what I do with that trouble. It’s not hiding from it, BUT it is taking it to God and allowing God to work it out.  It is having trust that HE will work through my words.  It is having confidence in Him…confidence to know what He wants me to write and share and when people aren’t pleased with me knowing that HE is because that is all that matters!

Instead I want a sound mind….a whole mind, a mind with one master, God.I want to serve Him and pleaseHim with all I say, do, and WRITE!  And that means if He has all of my mind then there is NO other room for anyone else.  This also means that I need to make sure that I keep my heart in check with God’s word because out of the condition of the heart Man speaks!! (But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. Matt. 15:18 NIV)

The end result

So here it is…

This blog will go back on my social media.

You are now free to share it.

  • I’m not living afraid I’m choosing freedom.
  • I’m choosing one master.
  • Im choosing to have a whole minded God-fidence.

Remember this is my story, a story that God is writing and I am sharing it to bring Him Glory, hopefully to bless others so look past you opinions and feelings and think on this that our friend Marc shared the other night,

Without Misery, there can be no Ministry

Yes it is going to look messy and yes we are going to get raw and we ARE going to talk about hard things, BUT if I don’t do this Im NOT in God’s Will.  He didn’t give me a story to hide it under a bushel….NO, THIS is my light and I’m going to let it shine!