Garden of your heart

05:16, Friday, October 3, 2008 .. 2 comments

is Jesus!

I realize that life has been a bit too hectic for me. I need a bit of a break! So, I am taking just a short time off from blogging.....for about a week or so! :) I am just going to focus on the two most important relationships that I have......Jesus and my husband!

I pray that you all have a good week or so and that you too will enjoy spending time with the most important relationships you have! :)

Sammie.....

04:33, Thursday, October 2, 2008 .. 2 comments

Here is Sammie, before his grooming! That is my husband in the picture with him!

Sammie after his grooming! (Note: We prefer the longer haired Sammie, but he had some major matting behind his head that had to be cut out and so his whole body was cut short! We are looking forward to him growing out his hair once again! We miss the fuzziness of his hair and the more "manly" look that he had )

He doesn't even look like the same dog! We are looking forward to his hair growing some, but he still is cute! He is the best natured dog ever! He gets along with any and all dogs and loves people too!

Our dog Holly loves him and has started to eat her food without us having to bribe her with scrambled eggs or chicken broth on it. She seems so much happier! Here is a picture of them playing!

The new dog we are getting!

07:57, Thursday, September 25, 2008 .. 1 comments

We really didn't plan to get another dog so quickly after putting our two dogs down, but someone we knew was helping a friend to try to find a home for their dog. He is a Goldendoodle (Golden Retriever/Poodle Mix). His name is Sammie! He is just a little over 1 years old and weighs 70 lbs. So much for getting a small dog! They say he is a great dog that just loves other dogs which is good. They say he is easy going which is better! Our dog Holly is definately an Alpha dog, but loves other dogs and has seemed lonely without her companions! We get him on Sunday! :)

I am going to try and post a picture...we will see if it will work!

What a great reminder! :)

05:42, Sunday, September 21, 2008 .. 0 comments

I was reading a favorite blog of mine this afternoon and heard this song. It is such a great reminder, based on Romans 8:31-39. The song is playing currently on my blog titled "I Belong" by Katherine Scott.

I needed this reminder today! How about you?

Here is the blog I was reading in case you are interested! http://eyesofwonder.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Hurricane Ike

07:16, Saturday, September 13, 2008 .. 0 comments I am praying for all those affected by Hurricane Ike! What a powerful storm! Praying that our most powerful God will see each person through!

Goal Setting

11:21, Wednesday, September 10, 2008 .. 2 comments

So often we set goals for our home, for our physical body, for our intellect, but how often do we set goals for our spiritual life. Now, I am not talking about setting goals to read through the Bible in a year, or to pray everyday (although both of those are wonderful goals), no, I am talking about setting goals to live for Christ. To not fall into the world's way of thinking. To resolve to live for him, and yes die for him.....each day! To die to ourselves! I confess that so many times I am so busy doing my "things to do list" that I easily can forget to die to myself.....my ideas, my ways, my list to get done, my...my...my. Me becomes greater than He! It's a constant battle! If we have any part of being in the world, which we all do to some extent because we live in the world, we will find that there are things to compete with our love for the Lord. Even good things: like a home, family, serving others, etc). And other things that we often think of: materialism, wants not needs, broken dreams, dreams not yet fulfilled, etc.

How many of you want to resolve with me to live for God in ALL things even if that means you have to say NO to your wants, desires, dreams, plans, etc??????

The garden is almost finished.....

07:35, Friday, September 5, 2008 .. 0 comments

I picked the remaining corn, blanched and froze it yesterday. I had to throw out some as I picked it a little too late. Bummer! I need to get better at the picking of corn.

I picked two watermelon that are in our fridge. We still have a couple canteloupe growing and all our tomatoes. I do plan to plant some lettuce probably in a week or so. I want to clean up some of the garden.

Why is it, that the end of the garden season, I poop out? As I think of this, I realize that maybe I have some character issues that need to be dealt with. I start out strong, motivated, enthusiastic...but then I struggling to finish and to finish well. We are to persevere...be steadfast....to be disciplined....to be focused....I see how many times I lose perspective, lose motivation, rely on feelings rather than just staying steadfast. Of course, this is more than just with the garden. Hmmmm....I guess I need to spend some time in prayer over this today!

I am looking forward to fall. It is my favorite season! I love the cool weather after such a hot summer. I enjoy the soups, stews, casseroles, etc for dinner. I love to decorate for fall in my house with pumpkins, leaves, etc.

Today...the garden of my heart needs to be tended by the Master Gardener. I need Him to just cultivate the soil, replenish the fertilize, to strengthen the roots. What is so wonderful, is He is always there willing and able to do just that! :) Let the Master Gardener touch the garden of your heart today!

Hurricane Gustav

08:08, Sunday, August 31, 2008 .. 3 comments

I just wanted to say to anyone out there that will be hit in any way by this hurricane or have family that are affected that I am praying for you all! My heart goes out to everyone! Please be safe in all that you do!

May God's be your strength, peace and comfort!

The joys of having one dog!

12:20, Saturday, August 30, 2008 .. 1 comments

Okay, so I have been sad about putting our two dogs down. Now I want to focus on the fun and wonderful joyful things of having one dog!

1. Not so much dog hair in the house! I am vacuuming today and there is just so much dog hair. One of the dogs that we put down shed all the time. Now....I didn't mind, because he was my precious boy, but this will be nice and much easier to keep my house clean with only one dog that is easier to keep her shedding to a minimum.

2. Not tripping on three dogs when I need to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. They all slept near my side of the bed.

3. We get to take our one dog on trips to PetsMart, the park, for a drive, etc. because it is only one large dog instead of three large dogs in our small Honda Civic.

4. Dog Food! We always stayed stocked up on dog food since we order it through a co-op and didn't want to run out. Well....now I have at least 5 months worth of dog food stored up. Going from 3 BIG dogs to one will save us over $50.00 a month in dog food alone! WOW!

5. Being able to give the one dog as much attention as we wants. She loves to be loved on and cuddled with. She often sleep in bed with us....especially during winter when it is cold.

6. I will get more exercise as I want to get our one dog out more, so I will take her on walks in our neighborhood. She loves it! :)

7. When company comes, it won't be quite so overwhelming. They used to have 3 dogs run to give them kisses......it was overwhelming for some people!

8. Really, the financial aspects is where it will help the most. Especially since we had one dog who had chronic health issues that involved lots of medicines. So, when prices are going up, our expenses are going down, so hopefully that will break even! :)

WE MISS OUR BABIES SO MUCH! But, you know what? We are just thanking God that he made dogs so that we can have great companions, protection, etc. They are truly a special gift to us! We treasure the time we had with our 2 furbabies who are now gone, but appreciate our sweet furbaby that we can spend more time with now!

Okay.....that's the last post just focusing on our dogs. God has been good to us, given us strength, peace and comfort and our perspective is good! :) We are keeping our eyes on Jesus!

Today's Special Touches from God!

12:38, Thursday, August 28, 2008 .. 3 comments

Today is a tough day for me! Today is when we put down two of our three sweet, loving, faithful companions...Jacob and Rascal! They have been the best "man's best friends" that we could ever have. I was dreading today, but God has been so good to me with several things.

1. Strength to get out of bed without welling up in tears this morning as I saw my dogs.

2. I had a dentist appt. My hygenist's brother is a vet. When I told her what was going on, she told me how right our decision is and that her brother had to do a similar thing with his dog...to relieve it from it's pain.

3. Ran into one of my old pastor's who is near and dear to me as I walked out from the back of the dentist office and he was in the lobby.

4. Went to my old work and my boss was sharing how God was working in his life and he is teaching youth in his church. He asked if I wanted to come back to work, and I told him not to tempt me, and he immediately said "No, don't come back! You are doing the right thing and what is really important in this life."

5. Got home and had a message from my friend encouraging me and letting me know she was praying for me.

6. Received a card from a sweet dear lady that is a relative of a friend at church. She and I had planned to write each other for years, but never did. Today I receive a sweet card of encouragement. It could have come yesterday, or tomorrow, but it came today.....when the Lord knew my heart needed the most encouragement!

What else the Lord has in store, I don't know! I just thank Him for knowing how to care for us, even with things like putting a couple dogs down. It amazes me He cares so much for me! I am a grateful daughter of the King! :)

"It Is Well With My Soul"

07:07, Monday, August 25, 2008 .. 0 comments

This is such a beautiful hymn. I had heard a little of the story of the author of this hymn, but not the total story. Here is a link with the story and the song! I hope you enjoy it!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYP--c2LTfg&feature=related

Today's Promise for me!

07:16, Saturday, August 23, 2008 .. 2 comments

"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22

For some, I know this is trivial, but for us this is a sad week. We will be putting two of our three dogs down due to being in pain, uncomfortable, etc. by the end of the week.

Rascal is 14 years old and is almost totally deaf and starting to have sight problems. She has had some leg/hip problems for a while, but lately she easily falls to the ground when bumped, when hair brushed, etc. We want to put her down before she gets to the point that she falls and can't get up. She has been wimpering quite a bit too. We adopted her in 2002 after my mom passed away. She belonged to my dad and mom. She is the sweetest girl and such a great personality!

Jacob is 10 years old. Oh how I "fell in love with him" when he looked up at me when he was 9 months old with his big brown eyes as if to say "can I come home with you." He quickly became "mama's boy" and has been a great watch dog and companion. He is the best natured dog through lots of sickness in his life with allergies, ear and skin yeast infections, arthritis, etc. He has gotten to the point he will take his chewable meds, but fights to take any pills we have to put down his throat or even in cleaning his ears. He used to easily let us do these things in the past, so our thought is that he is tired of feeling so bad.

To say that this is a very hard thing to do is an understatement. To choose to do both of them together was a challenge too, but we realize that it will be easier for them to go in together, and probably easier on us to not have to take another one in a month or so as we know that neither would do well this winter when it gets cold as last winter was tough on both of them.

So......this furbaby mama's heart is breaking right now, but am thankful that we have a God that cares for such things as this and will strengthen us to do the right thing for them.

Sorry for such a "silly" post, but I just wanted to share how my heart is right now. I have shed many tears, and I am sure there will be many more this week and the day we take them in. But, God is good. He knows that "man's best friend" is a great companion in this life! Thank you God for my furbaby blessings! :) They have helped fill the gap of not being able to have children! :)

Verse for the day!

09:01, Thursday, August 21, 2008 .. 0 comments

Psalm 119:2

"Blessed are they who keep his statues and seek him with all their heart."

Heart issue - Brokenness!

02:21, Tuesday, August 19, 2008 .. 1 comments

What does it mean to be a broken Christian? Brokenness according to Nancy Leigh DeMoss in her book titled "Brokenness, The Heart God Revives" is:

1. The shattering of my self will - the absolute surrender of my will to God.

2. The stripping of self-reliance and independance from God

3. Softening of the soil of my heart (breaking up any clods of resistance).

As I have read through this book twice this summer, answered the study questions with it, I realize that this is a continual process. We are not broken once and for all! Each day I need to choose to live a life of brokenness! I must choose Christ over self! I must choose Christ over my way! I must choose Christ over my will! Now, since I have been going through this book and also doing a Bible Study on the book of Daniel, I have seen my selfish nature in so many moments throughout the day. There are moments of victory (praise God for any of those) and moments of defeat. I desire to be that broken child of God who readily does His will at all times, in all ways, at His beckoning....then I see that I fall to my comfort, my way, my will! I confess.....I pick up once again due to God's grace mercy and grace and once again choose Christ.....only to find that ugly self rise again! Maybe that is where Paul talks in Romans 7 "I do what I don't want to do and don't do what I want to do."

Although we will not be perfect this side of heaven, we are in the perfection process! Not for the sake of being perfect, but for the joy of being like Christ! So, once again I say, I choose to be broken! I humble myself before God! I choose Him, not self! I choose to take up my cross daily and follow Him. Each moment of every day! When I don't, I choose to not be stubborn about it, but to repent! I choose to humble myself before the Lord! I choose Him above all else!

That's the abundant life! :)

"Give Thanks"

05:37, Sunday, August 10, 2008 .. 2 comments

I love this song that is playing on my blog right now! "Give Thanks" has such a special place in my heart. Back in 1990 I went on a short-term mission trip to Thailand. I met some of the most amazing Thai Christians there who in order to follow Jesus had their families turn their back on them. They were some of the most committed believers I have seen. :) What makes this song so special to me is that we were sitting in a church service there and they started to sing this song in Thai. There were only a couple of us American's singing it in English. It was so beautiful! To be able to understand completely what we were singing and the meaning behind this song made me realize how small this world really is and how big God's love is for each of us that He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for all! :)

I am so thankful for that wonderful 3 weeks in Thailand! The Land of Smiles! There are less than 1% Christian, so that country needs our prayers! :)

Companion Planting!

10:20, Friday, August 8, 2008 .. 1 comments

Have you ever heard about companian planting? It's where you plant certain plants that grow well with others. For instance: Corn and Green Beans grow well together. The reason is that the beans help give off nitrogen to the corn plant which helps with their growth. It is said if you plant basil with tomatoes that the tomatoes will be sweeter, or Marigolds with tomatoes that will help deter tomato hornworms. Then there is onion and garlic plants near certain plants that help deter pests as well. There are numerous resources out their that help to determine what is best to plant together.

Well, it's the same for people! There are some friendships that make life sweeter. There are friendships that help with spiritual growth. There are friendships that help to deter our greatest enemy...Satan. When we who are in Christ are together we are stronger according to His Word.

I am thinking of the numerous friendships that I have. There is Monette, who so desires to live her life for the Lord and strives for a pure heart that helps challenge me and drive me to my knees before God to seek Him more. There is Leslie who no matter what the distance is between us continually is that faithful friend who reminds me of the Lord's faithfulness. She encourages, challenges me to holy living and makes my life so much sweeter because she is my friend. There is Erin who has so much passion and sincerity of heart. She is always willing to humble herslef before God and others. Gretchen who lives as a "broken Christian" before the Lord. Seeking Him above her own comfort and personal happiness...which in the end gives her the greatest joy! There is Geri and Dave who no matter what comes against them, they continually strive to live for the Lord....even in the midst of cancer and other personal struggles and even if they have moments of discouragement. My husband, who has persevered against all odds in life, who is faithful, devoted to the Lord, who is consistant and stable, who loves me unconditionally.....who taught me and showed me that God loves me unconditionally! These people love the Lord and live for the Lord. These people challenge me, encourage me, make me want to be not just a better Christian, but a Christ-like Christian. I fail so often, but then the encouragement begins again! There are others too! That's why God's word says to be careful who you are friends with, to not give up meeting together, to realize the wounds of a friend are for our good.

So....let's be careful who we "companion plant" with in our lives. Not that we do not be in the world, let's just be careful we are not of the world. We belong to Jesus! Let's surround ourselves with others who also belong to Jesus to be the encouragement to one another we need to be!

My friends....thank you for being such a special part of my life! I love each of you very much!

Please help!

11:46, Thursday, August 7, 2008 .. 0 comments

Hi! My second cousin is trying to get a scholarship! Part of the criteria is to place a video on you tube and hopefully have the most hits on it! :) She did a video regarding tea! It is just a couple minutes long, would you mind watching it? This is for a $20,000 scholarship for college! :) The video is 20% of the judging!

Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTPudws0X_k

Entrusted to our care!

06:36, Thursday, August 7, 2008 .. 0 comments

God has entrusted the animals to our care. We have 3 beautiful dogs that are part of our household. I thought I would introduce you to them today!

Rascal is 14 years old (she is almost deaf, having trouble seeing, starting to get weak in her back legs...but just the happiest and sweetest border collie). She was my parents dog and after my mom passed away we took her in since we couldn't find her a home. She is the sweetest girl who LOVES to eat. She used to "ask" (bark) for treats all day long. I quit giving them the dog treats to try and keep their weight in line as she is slowing down. Don't worry though...she gets little pieces of meat, etc at dinner time.

Jacob is 10 years old (he has allergies that are just terrible that cause yeast infections throughout his body....and mostly in his ears. Due to him shaking his head....he developed an ear hematoma last week. The vet said it would dry up on it's own and that he is not in anymore pain other than the initial infection). He also has thyroid problems and arthritis which he was just given meds for. My "brown eyed boy" is doing pretty good. I am working hard to get rid of the infection from the inside out. I am giving him probiotics now, yogurt, doing natural remedies on his ears, etc because the Prednisone and antibiotics that they kept giving him has done havoc on his poor body. So....we are now trying the natural route! He is so sweet. I shake the medicine bottle and he comes over and sits and let me give him his meds. Or...even with cleaning his ears, he comes over lies down so I can get to one ear, then I have him get up and switch position to clean the other. I know he hates to have it done, but he knows that it makes him feel better.....he told me so! Jacob is the one that will protect "mama' at all costs. He loves vegetables and fruit. He has been eating green beans freshly picked this week! LOL! His brown eyes melt my heart! He is a hound/(lab or chow mix)....we have heard both at the vet. He definately has hound in him. He has a black spot on his tongue too!

Holly will be 10 years old in October. She is full of energy, loves to play ball, never eats too much and is very loving. She is in excellent shape....which is good because the other two sure have their problems. When we first got Holly we were told she was the most mellow puppy. We were feeling so excited as she just cuddled and slept the first night. Then.....the next day she awoke and became a terror! Yikes! It took 7 years for her to begin to mellow out and now she is almost the perfect dog. Her favorite place to sleep is next to mommy and daddy on the bed! LOL! She is a lab/shepard mix!

These are my furbabies! :) The Bible says we are to take care of what has been entrusted to us and care for the animals. Today I am rejoicing in the privilege to care for these three furbabies. Man's best friend are sure a blessing from God!

Striving to live a more simplified life!

08:40, Wednesday, August 6, 2008 .. 3 comments

I continue to evaluate my life to see how I can make it more simple. For some that might mean one thing and for others something totally different. In my striving to live a "simple life" I planted a HUGE garden. Now....it is great to be able to eat all this wonderful produce, to freeze some, can, etc. But, what I am finding is it is becoming overwhelming! So, this next year I have decided to instead simplify my vegetable garden. In the early spring, I will plant a few things like spinach, lettuce, etc. to eat for the springtime. In the summer, I will grow the squashes, tomato's, green beans (but just not such huge quantities of it....just enough to feed my household), and then in the fall once again a fall garden to eat from. I will of course plant some winter squashes, beets, etc for storage for the winter as well. So basically....this is how it will be...1/3 of the garden will be producing at a time, instead of all of it coming in and needing something done with it! :)

Another way of simplifying life....I have some dear friends. We usually exchange Christmas gifts which is so much fun. But, let's face it, when we are in our 40's and 50's, we have everything we need or want pretty much anyways. So, I have asked a couple friends if instead of exchanging gifts, we could just plan to do something special together. For me, it's about spending time with people. That's what is important to me. I don't need more stuff....I need relationships! Both of these friends agreed and thought that would be fun! To me, this is simple living! Loving and appreciating the people in our lives.

I find that "doing lots of stuff......gardening, canning, etc" is a enjoyable, but sometimes I struggle with balance of my time. So, even good things may need to be adjusted in our lives in order to be able to make sure we are spending the time for the most important things: Time with the Lord, time with our family and friends, caring for our homes, getting to know neighbors and be a light to them, serving the Lord and others, etc. We only get one chance at this life.......I want to live well with an eternal perspective in mind!

God just continues to bless our socks off! :)

02:27, Sunday, August 3, 2008 .. 2 comments

I get so amazed that God would love us so much to bless us so much! After struggling through that decision regarding working part-time or not, and deciding that we would rather do what God wants for us (no matter what others think), live for Him and serve Him even if it is at a financial cost to us, God has definately made us confident that this decision was His answer to us. Since that time the following has happened:

1. A friend gave us 1 1/4 boxes of nectarines.

2. The same friend said in a few weeks she will have peaches and apples for us as well.

3. Today we went to purchase headsets for our cell phones. We were thrilled to find out that due to our good account we had a 10% discount coming. Then as the man continued to ask us questions, he said that due to my hubby's job we actually would get a 25% discount on the item purchased AND 15% discount on our plan each month. This will be about a $10.50 savings each month.

4. We received our phone/tv/cell phone/internet bill and they determined they had made a mistake and that in reality we should be getting greater credits every month than we were getting. So, we will be saving even more than we had thought by bundling all these service (this does not account for the savings in #3), as well as this month getting retro for the credits we hadn't received in the previous two months.

Once again, it reminds me that the Lord cares for His childrens needs (and sometimes even wants) and that we just need to trust Him with our lives. It is such reassurance to me that I am supposed to be home instead of in the workforce. There have been two other times similar things have happened.

One was when my dad got really sick and had emergency bypass surgery. At this time he was living with us and I knew he needed extra care. I was working full-time and we were trying to pay off a car payment. When I calculated it, I thought we could do it just on my hubby's income so I gave notice. Afterwards, I realized I calculated wrong and we would be short the very first payment. We started to pray and before our next payment was due, we received $10,000 (just enough to pay off the car) from inheritance. Another time, we were struggling to care for the upkeep on our home (it is an older home needing lots of things fixed) and we debated whether I should go back to work to do it. Again, we found that there were area's we could cut and then unexpected checks would come our way from overpaid insurance, etc.! In all these cases, we had not said anything to anyone, we just prayed! So.....it was all God!!!!!

I just want to praise Him for his everlasting love and care! I put the song "Great is Thy Faithfulness" on this blog because it is my favorite song and has been since I was 10 years old. It seems to sum up all that I feel and think at this point!

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