What's on Your List?

I was reading a devotion this morning from John Eldredge. He was talking about what he loved....so I thought I would add just a few things from my list. I love flowers, all kinds. I love to be out in the mountains. I love waterfalls, hummingbirds, golden retrievers, lakes. I love the ocean and sitting beside it and realizing how small I am and how big God is. I love sunsets. I love my husband and after being together for 22 years, I love him more and more every day. I love my family. I love watching our younger nieces discover things for the first time and seeing the wonder on their faces. I love to discover old barns or homesteads. I love God. I love to laugh. I love the first snow, and I love Christmas. I love truth. I love to take pictures. I love music. I love true friends, who are there for you no matter what the circumstances. I love fresh vegetables, preferably out of my garden. I love to watch wildlife out in the woods. I love the cross and the Savior who died on it for me. I love to watch eagles, whether they are soaring high above in the sky, sitting on a tree limb, or diving into the water after a fish, they are amazing to observe.

John writes:
Everything you love is what makes a life worth living. Take a moment, and make a list of all the things you love. Don’t edit yourself; don’t worry about prioritizing or anything of that sort. Simply think of all the things you love. Whether it’s the people in your life or the things that bring you joy or the places that are dear to you or your God, you could not love them if you did not have a heart. Loving requires a heart alive and awake and free. A life filled with loving is a life most like the one that God lives, which is life as it was meant to be (Ephesians. 5:1–2). Of all the things that are required of us in this life, which is the most important? What is the real point of our existence? Jesus was confronted with the question point-blank one day, and he boiled it all down to two things: loving God and loving others. Do this, he said, and you will find the purpose of your life. Everything else will fall into place. Somewhere down inside we know it’s true; we know love is the point. We know if we could truly love, and be loved, and never lose love, we would finally be happy. And is it even possible to love without your heart? (Waking the Dead , 47–48)

It would be great to read some of your lists of what you love, what makes you who you are, so if you fee like it, please share.

Troubled Times

What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them...we must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly. ~A. W. Tozer

I watched the news for a few moments yesterday, which is something I normally don't do much of because it's so depressing, and so one sided. 71,000 major jobs were lost yesterday, and that's just from large corporations! I wonder how many jobs in little companies were lost as well. Gas went up nationally the past few day by twenty cents, for no apparent reason since oil dropped! Change is definitely happening, but not for the good. As a believer in Christ, I have to remember that these things are worldly, not of God. They are choices and decisions made by man, and we have to live with the consequences.

During these times of hardship, we must lean on God. He is the only one who can truly help us get through the rough times, the hard times, the times when we wonder why, and how much longer. He is the only one who can offer true and lasting comfort in distress.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Everything To Me

This song speaks to my heart, and has since the first time I heard it. Is He more than a story to you? He is to me!

He Waits

God can change our circumstances, but sometimes He waits for us to show real desire for change as well as our faith in Him. ~Anne Graham Lotz

It can be easy to sit back and bring all our requests and problems to God, expecting Him to fix our problems. When He doesn't, we wonder 'why,' 'isn't He listening,' 'doesn't He care,' 'why is He so far away' we ask ourselves. I don't think God moves far away. I think we move from Him. I think there are times when He may be quiet in our lives so we seek Him more earnestly, more wholeheartedly, more on a relational basis, but He doesn't leave us. He wants us to be real, honest, to lay it all at His feet. He doesn't want us to treat Him like a geenie to come and give us what we WANT, what we think is best for our lives, but to always be talking to Him about everything, the good, bad, hard times, times of plenty. He wants us to seek Him in a real, personal way. The bible tells us that He will never leave us if we are His kids. Do you feel far from God today? What can you do to change it? He waits................

Color Me Red

I slept very little on Monday night. I am sure I saw every hour and half hour. I didn't actually make it to bed until after 1:00 and the alarm went off at 5:00, but I was already up. We made an icy drive to Spokane and back, and I was at work by 7:30. I was texting my husband and he was texting me, and I was working on files and lists of names while all this was going on. I sent a text to my boss to tell him I was in two hours early and wondering if there was anything in particular he wanted me to work on. He sent me back a couple things, and I sent him a text back saying I would see him when he got in. My cousin who was headed on a trip across Washington sent me a couple texts in all this to see how the roads were on our early morning commute. I actually can type on the computer and type on my phone at the same time, so work was not interrupted while all this texting back and forth was taking place. My husband sent me a text and I replied to him to be safe and that I loved him. A few minutes later, I got a text from my boss saying he thought highly of me too, but he was sure my text of love was for my hubby. I turned several shades of red, then giggled as I realized what I had done, and turned more shades of red. The people walking by my cubicle stared at me as they wondered why my face was crimson and I was laughing when I was sitting by myself. See, my hubby and my boss have very similar names, in fact, the first three letters in their name are the same and they both have not ordinary names on top of it. Somehow, I sent my text of love to my boss, not my hubby. When my boss arrived at work, he really played it up, as I knew he would, and I turned red all over again. Fortunately, we all knew it was a slip up and all had a good laugh over it. Everytime I have texted my hubby since, I have made sure it has his name on it, and there have even been a couple times I've caught myself laughing again. The moral of the story is to pay attention when texting, especially when working on two other projects, which is all accompanied by major lack of sleep.

Trust

My heart has been in upheaval over a few things lately. For one, my husband has been gone a lot with training for his new job. I don't like when my hubby is away. He is my other half, the way God intended us. Actually, he's not my other half. We are both whole, and when we are whole together, standing side by side through life is when we are the strongest, the way God intended.

As a believer in God's word, I can't say I'm too thrilled about the changing of the guard in this country, as I think of what the next four years could look like, and pray to God that somewhere along the line, morality will return to our country. I think of unborn children and partial birth abortion, I think of how God set things up to protect us and we as a country have walked away from His ways. I wonder how long until people yearn for HIM as Savior as their hearts are designed to, not for a person to be their savior, whether it be a president or some hollywoodite. What if people got excited about God and His love for us, the way they get enamored over a person who does nothing for us? Ask yourself this: what has Oprah or George Clooney ever done for you personally?? God sent His son to die for you and your sins; kind of hard to get anywhere near that type of love, isn't it? God set in our hearts the need, the yearning, the desire for Him. We all have a God shaped hole in us, just most fill it with false idols, false gods. To truly know God and His love is something irreplaceable and indescribable. I know that 'religion' has done a lot of things that have tarnished the name of Christ, but that isn't who He really is, He is love and He loves us and wants us to know Him and His word, and to truly rely on what He can do for us. Take some time to explore the true Jesus!

I also know a lot of people going through a lot of yuck in life right now, whether it's a health issue, family stuff, finances or lay offs, deaths of loved ones and it can be overwhelming if we don't keep it in perspective and rely on Jesus to help us through the tough times. He's always there, waiting for us to come to Him.

I found this quote in my journal by Roy Lessin. It seems appropriate for me at this time.

Waiting times are growing times and learning times. As you quiet your heart, you enter His peace...as you sense your weakness, you receive His strength...as you lay down your will, you hear His calling.

It's not about me, and my wants and desires. It's about learning to trust in God, to lean on Him, to quiet my heart and let Him fill me with His peace and strength, knowing He will protect me, even though that may not always look like what I want it to look like, or be in MY timing.

"For I know the plans I have for you,: declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:18-20

Down Time

I spent around 24 hours in Hope, Idaho at Pend Oreille Shores Resort with my mom, sister, and nieces. We had a great time, walking the docks, watching a muskrat weave in and out of the dock slips trying to hide from us. The girls and I even took off our shoes and boots as we snuck along, trying to find him again. He was sneakier than us, however because we heard him dive in the water behind us. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Lake Pend Oreille and the mountains, and we had a great time swimming. We laughed hard during American Idol, and my youngest niece got some of the funniest looks on her face as some of the contestants 'sang' their songs. It was a good break from the ordinary and I am glad I took the time to go over and have some down time with my family.

Changes

My husband's new job has him working out of our home, at least partially. The rest of the time is in the car. I have a few things to get used to in this new routine. At the moment, we share the desk, the cable internet connection, and the chair. So on the mornings when he has a lot to do, blogging will be late or the following day. I have to change my routine of getting up, checking email, blogging, checking facebook, to work around what he needs to be doing to set up his day until we get the office a little better situated. I'm not complaining, it's just a change. I enjoy having him home on occasional mornings when that will work! Another thing I have to learn to do is to shut the door to the office BEFORE I turn on the Vita Mix and make my green smoothie, as it may be a little loud when he's on the phone setting up appointments or talking to his boss. I also have to remember not to sing loud as I walk through the house, because although I love to sing, it's only a joyful noise when I do it, and it's not joyful to those in earshot of my singing! Another thing we are both getting used to is the corporate job. He's only worked for dealerships before, now he works for a corporation as a claims adjuster, and there are a lot of things that are quite different, most are much nicer perks, it's just a big change. So, with the new year, there are many changes going on in our home, as there are in many homes. I am thankful that ours are good changes and that my hubby found a great job after being laid off. We give thanks and praise to God for the opportunities that lie ahead.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

My hubby is out of town tonight for his job, and thankfully, he will be home sometime Friday! Since I am in the house alone, I don't expect to hear too many noises, so when I heard a grinding sound coming out of the kitchen tonight, you can imagine my concern. I listened closer to figure out what the sound was. It sounded like one of the kitchen chairs being pushed across the floor, but how could that be, and what was pushing it since I was the only one in the house? I swallowed hard, as my heart beat a little bit faster, and I listened even more. Yes, it was definitely one of the chairs grinding across the floor. I also heard a crinkling sound. I was definitely getting worried now! What, or who, was in my kitchen. Not sure what that noise was, I looked around, wondering where my guard dog was, and couldn't find her. I called her, and called her again, and heard the chair move once again, with a light thud on the kitchen floor. Suddenly, a guilty looking Golden emerges from around the corner of the kitchen. She had guilt written all over her somewhat smiling face, as she trotted into the living room, with her head somewhat down in shame, but not too much. I just looked at her, and thought 'no way did she move that chair.' I had moved a chair over by my corner cabinet to get something off a higher shelf a little before this happened, and hadn't put it back at the table because my hands were full. I hadn't been to the kitchen since, so I forgot that the chair was still sitting there. Well, when I went back out to the kitchen after hearing the noises, I see that the chair has been moved about two feet, over by the refrigerator. I look at the dog, who is refusing to look at me. See, I opened a bag of Newman's Dog Treats about an hour before this, and set them on the counter. Well, evidently, my dog decided she needed another treat but couldn't reach them so moved the chair over to get one, because the bag had definitely been moved. I don't believe she got a treat out of the bag because they were zip locked, but then again, I don't put anything past her at this point. I know that 'experts' say dogs can't reason or remember, but evidently she watched me move the chair, get on it to retrieve what I needed and then thought that she would do the same. I still can't believe she moved the chair. I need to get a sensor camera in my kitchen to see exactly what she does do when we aren't watching!

Recently, a friend of mine was sharing with me how she bought cheese at Costco, you know, the BIG loaf. She said she would come home and it would be gone and she kept asking her husband what he kept doing with the cheese. He claimed his innocence and said he hadn't touched it. She wondered if someone came in their house while they were at work and just took their cheese, but thought that was a bit weird. Her husband is a contractor and has those sensor cameras, so they set a couple up while they were at work. They caught their thief. Seems their Lab came through the dog door, opened the refrigerator, took the loaf of cheese out, closed the refrigerator door, and ran outside with the loaf of cheese. I told her it was nice that at least the dog closed the refrigerator door!

I don't know, Mrs. Love, I think we might have read too much Animal Farm in your English class, because it might be coming true!!

The Power of Words

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story gives us thoughts to think about:
1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects. Be careful of what you say.

I have been both the giver and receiver of discouraging, hurtful words over the past week. As much as I try to let the words that were said to me that hurt me roll off, they are still there and still hurt. I have forgiven the person, but the sting of those words remains. The person who said these words to me doesn't really know me. This person makes a lot of presumptions but really doesn't take the time to really know the true you. This person evidently has a lot of unresolved hurt because the words that come out of this person's mouth are very hurtful to many receivers, and can be like poison to those who may not know how to process what was said.

On the other hand, I made some hurtful comments to the person I am closest with this week. I hurt my husband with my words. I feel horrible, and have apologized. I knew shortly after saying them that I was very wrong. I could sit and make excuses on why I said what I said, but that doesn't make it right. None of it is his fault, just circumstances of different situations beyond either one of our control. I was still in the wrong and I hurt the person I love the most. I have a loving man, and he has forgiven me, but I still have a lot of hurt in my heart for what I said to him. I am sure that the sting remains with him, as well. I wish I could take those words back, but that is the problem with words. Once they are spoken or written and sent, there isn't any taking them back.

Think about what you say and in what tone you say it. Think about if your words are building up someone and encouraging them, or if they are tearing them down and destroying them. A lot of times, it's not a lot of words that either lift others, or ourselves, up or rip us down, but just a short phrase, one or two words, and the attitude behind it. Be careful. Are your words encouraging someone to give up and give in, or are they encouraging someone to press on and accomplish great things?

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions. Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses. Proverbs 10:11-12

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Ephesians 4:29

And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 4:4-10

Polar or Pineapple

The Polar Express ended about 5 pm today, and escorted in the Pineapple Express! The heavy snow of this morning and early afternoon turned into freezing rain, which was not fun to drive in. I was verily moving going down a main road on the way home, which hadn't been plowed with several inches of new snow, and went over the railroad tracks, ended up spinning in a circle, crossing the other lane, and stopping in the ditch. Fortunately, God was helping me out because there are very large, metal electrical poles along that road, and I was between them when I stopped. Also, I had just passed a long line of cars, but none were around when I went for a spin. I am also thankful that I was able to put it in reverse and back out. I continued down the road at about 5 mph, praying that my dog and I would get home safely. Thankfully, we made it without more incidences. The freezing rain turned into plain old rain in the early evening, and the strong winds soon followed. We are rapidly losing our deep, deep snow piles to lakes along our streets. I'm sure glad I have a row boat buried somewhere out there in a snow pile because I might need it! There is actually a chance of a couple days of sun in the extended forecast, which will be a welcome sight to all. I think everyone in the region is tired of the continual snow we have had over the past four weeks. I think there were only one or two days in the month that it did not snow. The sun will be a welcome sight, that is for sure!

I spent some time tonight looking through my seed catalogs and marking seeds for my wish list. The one catalog, Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, put out a beautiful catalog this year! They carry a lot of rare seeds, non-gmo, natural seeds. I ordered from them last year and was pleased with my harvest. I also looked through the Seeds of Change catalog which offers organic seeds. I used a lot of their products last year as well, and was pleased with the results. Just the thought of the garden brings happy thoughts and warm feelings to me. I know it's a long way off, but holding on to the hope of getting out in the soil and starting new seeds might be what gets me through this crazy week! For all those in the area dealing with the same thing, happy garden dreaming!

New Year Sunsets

The new year has brought some sunshine, although it's snowing like crazy right now, again! But, on those days that were sunny, we enjoyed some amazing prairie sunsets. Each one is so different, but each is so beautiful. These sunsets did not happen by random chance, but by an amazing designer! Only a Creator could paint something so amazing in the sky three nights in a row.

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:20

Snow Insanity

It's snowing again, or still. I think it just takes momentary breaks so that it can dump even more snow in the next round. Although I've taken some beautiful pictures involving the snow, I think it's time for a break. It's so deep that we can't see out our front windows anymore-the only view are piles of snow! In our backyard, we have made trails with snowshoes so our dog can get around, but even at that, she has to step down from the snow to get to the step at the sliding door. As I sit here typing, the snow plow is going up the street. I don't know if you have seen Funny Farm, and how the mailman and Chevy Chase go round and round, but that is how it has become in our neighborhood with the snow plow man. He's not liked much at all, at least in our corner of the neighborhood! Although we are all grateful to be plowed out, we have to be able to get out! It seems he greatly enjoys piling the snow a minimum of three feet deep and six feet wide in our driveways and mailboxes. Now, he could swing his blade out, but he doesn't. He could come closer to the edge, but he doesn't. Our streets are normally wide, wide enough for two cars to meet and cars to park on each side, with plenty of room to spare, but right now, it's basically a one lane road. We live on the corner, so we are really special, evidently, because he loves to pile it high in our driveway and mailbox. We only have a shovel, ok, we have two, but the one broke yesterday, so it's a lot of heavy work for my hubby. We have a snow blower on order, but it's not going to be in until next week. My poor hubby shovels for hours! Fortunately, we have neighbors who come and help him out with a snow blower. One neighbor went and got a Bobcat and cleaned out everyone's mailbox the other day and did an amazing job at getting the snow completely out of the way, which was really nice. Of course, the following day, the snow plow comes by and didn't care that hours of work went into cleaning up the mailboxes around here, and piled the snow very high and deep, again. It's almost like he did it on purpose because as well as they were cleaned out, he could have put the snow different than he did and kept them cleaned out. Yesterday, we became concerned about the fire hydrant for our neighborhood, and my hubby found it piled under fifteen feet of snow! He dug it out and put a board next to it. He called the police department to ask about getting it properly marked so the snow plow doesn't keep piling snow on top of it, and they said the snow plow driver can do whatever he wants, it's up to the property owner to keep it clean. He told them how much snow was on the hydrant, and they again said it's not anyone's responsibility but the property owner. Well, that's great since they aren't keeping it clean! Seems unbelievable to me that they can just bury every fire hydrant in the area. It's bad enough that they pile everyone's driveway with snow, isn't it? Yes, the unending snow is starting to take it's toll on me and I'm grumpy about it, as is most everyone I've talked to. I feel especially bad for the animals trying to make their way through this snow, and survive. We saw quite a few deer on New Year's Eve, who were walking the road because the snow is so deep. They had a difficult time figuring out where to get off the road, as we sat and just let them go without pushing them any more. On our way home yesterday, there was a flock of turkeys in the road, looking for some morsels to eat, but likely not finding any, and a grouse sat along side the road, all ruffled up, trying to survive the snow that was falling. It's been a long winter, and we are only officially less than two weeks into winter! I think I better go pull out some gardening books, and dream of spring, and maybe improve my attitude a bit!