Howell's Homestead

My Daughter Is One of My Biggest Bessings

2012-01-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

This is me and my daughter, Madeline. I love this picture; I love this young lady.

My daughter is one of my biggest blessings; she is full of love for me and shows me her love in many ways. Her love is unconditional. She has a servants heart and finds great joy in doing for others. I thank God for the gift that she is to our family.

Hearty Chicken Soup, It's What's For Dinner!

2012-01-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

When I did my menu planning last week for tonight's dinner, I had no idea what the weather was going to be like, but after a very cold and windy day, I sure am I glad I jotted down my daughter's Hearty Chicken Soup recipe for tonight. Too good not to share.

The Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
3 medium carrots, sliced
1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (along with the seasoning packet!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup cut fresh or frozen green beans

The Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink, drain fat.
Add 2 cups of water and 2 cups of Chicken Broth, tomatoes, carrots, onions, wild rice (and seasoning packet), celery, salt, pepper, and oregano
Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered until carrots are tender
Add beans, cover, and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes
Eat and enjoy!

Our Verdict:

We all love this soup, it's great for cold days like today. I would rank it a good comfort soup. Madeline made this while I was on bed rest and it not only tasted good but made me feel good. You could certainly crock pot this, but it is so quick and easy that we don't. Madeline made this today around 1 o'clock pm and we let it sit all day which I think helped the flavors to mesh together well, because we all agree that it was better this time than the last.

Something New for the New Year

2012-01-03T07:22:00.000-05:00

A few posts ago I mentioned something about menu planning and the struggles I have with it; well last week I got a jump start on January's menu and we're trying something new, new to us that is. I don't know how often you use your crock pot, but in our home I normally only use it on Sundays for church fellowship meals; however this month is going to be different. In an effort to save time, I have come up with a menu using my crock pot for almost every night in January. We started on Sunday by making Paula Deen's Sloppy Joes recipe. We get home from church normally around 3:30pm on Sundays, and it was so nice coming home and having dinner done. The recipe was not our favorite, we're used to Manwiches for our sloppy joes, but this one wasn't bad; however I most likely won't repeat it as it didn't receive rave reviews from any of us. Last night was a different story, I threw the main dish in the crock pot around noon and let it do most of the work for me. At the last minute, I cooked up a pot of rice (seriously considering getting a rice cooker) and warmed some collard greens. Easy schmeasy. Most of the recipes we will be trying this month come from crockpot365 website, which by the way, all of the recipes there are gluten free unless otherwise noted. Since I knew that my daughter and I would be doing a yeast cleanse this month, I was thrilled to happen upon this site. So beginning with last night's dinner...

The recipe: CrockPot Bacon and Cheese Chicken

The ingredients:

2 T olive oil
4-6 chicken breast halves, or equivalent bird pieces (I used 6 frozen breast cut into thick strips - but you don't have to cut them, I just wanted to)
12 pieces cooked and crumbled bacon (I find it easier to cut the bacon into pieces prior to cooking - and used maple bacon)
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used more than 1 cup)

Directions:

Put the 2 T. of olive oil into the bottom of your crock and spread around. Note that if you are using fattier cuts of meat, you can probably omit this step.
Add chicken to crock.
In a small bowl, combine the teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing; mix well. (Okay, I have to admit I wasn't real sure about this combination, but after tasting it I couldn't stop. It's good. Stephanie, from crockpot 365, of this combination said, "the flavor is so bizarre and tasty; I've never had anything like it." I agree.)
Pour sauce over the top of chicken.
Add shredded cheese and the crumbled bacon to the crock, getting between the chicken pieces.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4. The cooking time will depend on how thick your chicken pieces are, and if they are fresh or frozen. My chicken was frozen and it cooked on low for 4.5 hours and was done, so at that point I just kept it warm until we ate.

Our Verdict:

We all LOVED it. It's definitely a keeper and one we'll do again.

Have a favorite crockpot recipe you'd like to share? We're still short on a few days this month and would love to try something new.

Creating Opportunities

2011-12-30T09:00:00.076-05:00

Sometimes life gets busy and before we know it, too much time has gone by and we didn't make time or create opportunities to do the things we wanted or meant to do, and we are left with regrets. I don't know about you, but all too often I have regrets. Regrets of not finishing what I started. Regrets of not making time for a child, relative or friend. Regrets of speaking harshly to my husband, son or daughters. Regrets of not reaching out to that new person at church. Regrets. Plain and simple.

We've been in North Carolina for a year now, and as I continue to reflect on 2011 and even years prior, I am filled with regret for not doing or creating opportunities to do some of the things I wish I had. I'm not loomy, gloomy about anything, it's just a fact and one that I am going to change; so I am resolved to create opportunities in 2012. We desire for our home to be one of hospitality, and therefore we will be creating opportunities as a family and as individuals to have friends over for fellowship, and as a matter of fact, we've already gotten a head start on 2012 in this area We will begin scheduling time in our days, weeks and/or months to be of service to other families, to learn something new, to get better at something we already know how to do, to keep in touch with friends and family who aren't close by better, to be slow to speak and quick to hear and to live, prayerfully, with no regrets but with creativity.

In what ways will you create opportunities in your family?

A New Year is Coming...Reflecting Back Over 2011

2011-12-29T15:15:00.001-05:00

A new year is only a few days away, and last night at prayer, our elders Scott Brown and Dan Horn challenged us to look back over the last year and give thanks to God for specific things that He had done and pray boldly for the things we want Him to do. As I sat there reminiscing over the past year, my heart became so full of joy and I continue to stand in awe of Him for all that He has done for our family over the course of several years. In looking back over the year, beginning in October of 2010, God closed a door by shutting down the place of business where my husband worked. While that wasn't easy, because it affected not only our family but also my father and mother-in-law as well as Chris' brother-in-law & sister, we clearly saw God's hand moving, and just as quickly as He shut that door He opened another.

I can remember like yesterday waking up that first Monday in January of this year and while still in bed, talking to my husband, Chris looks at me and says, "I really think we should try to move this week, if it's not asking too much." He was being serious. I sat there for a minute thinking about what all would have to take place in order to move, everything would have to happen. Literally. I responded with, "Well, yeah that is asking a lot, but we can do it." We immediately started making phone calls to two different Realtors on two different houses that we had looked at the week before; both were for rent and both needed to be occupied. We made an offer and one was immediately accepted, so we packed up beds, clothes, and the kitchen and made the first of several moves the very next day.
God provided the church, the job, the home, new friends and a new family. During this past year I have so clearly seen His hand working in our lives. Below is a timeline of remembrance.

January

Moved to NC

February

Chris started work and worked mostly out of town
Made new friends and began spending a lot of time at their home helping out with projects

March

Unbeknown to all inside the house, Hadassah wondered outside and took a walk. She was returned to us by what we believe was an angel.
House in VA went from short sale status to going on the auction block not once but twice and within 24 hours was pulled off the auction. No one could explain why; we could.

April

House sold via short sale
One of my favorite uncles passed away
Friends from VA moved into our backyard and lived in our camper

May

Chris began a new business delivering pool water while continuing his other job. Pool water delivery went really, really well.
Found out about a home coming up for rent that would allow for us to bring our goats.
Got the house mentioned above but had to help the owners move out, rip up carpet, sand & paint plywood, painted upstairs.

June

Moved into new house
Friends from VA living in our camper continued living in our camper at the new location

July

Chris had knee surgery and was out of work for 9 weeks
Hadassah jumped in our pool while no one was outside, I saw her hair floating and ran to get her. She had jumped in right beside the ladder and climbed up just as I got to her with a big ol' smile on her face. Scared me to death. Thankfully, God was with her.
Pool water business continued to provide an income with the help of a friend and our son, who made the deliveries
Chris and I signed up with Norwex
Friends living in our camper had TWINS!

August

Chris still out of work
Barn built for goats
Goats brought back from VA
Went to Minneapolis for a Norwex convention

September

Chris back to work
Chris launches a business idea to a friend and potential investor
Friends living in our camper moved out

October

Chris and Seth begin Underground Solutions of North Carolina
I found out that I was pregnant
NCFIC hosts yet another awesome conference: God Centered Marriage Conference

November

Danaher's came for a weekend visit
Thanksgiving with my family

December

My grandparents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary
Learned that my Mom has breast cancer & will have to undergo a double mastectomy
Miscarried my baby at 12 weeks
Hadassah broke her collar bone

I am quite sure that I have forgotten and left out a few here and there, but these are the events that I remember. However, there is one that I remember more than all the others and consider it to be one of the most important and that is the new birth of our son, Seth, who last December at the Love the Church conference, recognized his depravity, his need of a Savior and after repenting and giving his life to Christ, Christ accepted him as His son. Praise the Lord from Whom ALL blessings flow.

I would like to encourage you to look back over 2011 and remember all that God has done for you. Talk about these things with your family; help them to see God's hand at work and thank Him for each thing.

May the Lord richly bless you and yours in the coming New Year!

Confessions

2011-12-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

Hello. My name is Shelly and I'm a pile-er. I come from a generation of pile-ers. My Mom is a pile-er as are both of my sisters. A pile-er is someone who has piles of things (i.e.: clothes, books, magazines, toys, trash, etc.) all throughout their home and/or car. These things have homes mind you, but I get so scatter-brained or busy that I fail to put them where they belong and thus a pile begins and sometimes it grows and even multiplies. I find piles on my table, the floor, the stairs, dining room table, office desk, craft table, my dresser, nightstand, and basically anywhere and everywhere. It's like cancer, it grows and grows and will continue to unless we find a cure. Why is it so hard to simply put stuff away where it belongs, right away? Speaking for myself, I will be working on something and get called away from whatever it is I'm doing before I am done, and so I stack up my papers and books and stick them somewhere, or rather than take the time to hang a shirt I will lay it on my dresser with the intention of hanging it before bed, but then bedtime comes and I'm tired from the day's busyness so I just go to bed, and somehow from the time I laid that first shirt till bed, my dresser pile has grown and so I close my eyes and say, "I'll just get it in the morning." Morning comes and most of the time I am able to tackle my room first thing, but why am I tackling anything? Here is a glimpse of what I'm talking about... my bedroom. Please keep in mind that it wasn't this bad before I was put on bed rest last week and so my bedroom became my littles room as well, but it has been this bad before and has the potential to get this bad again unless I change.

Do you know a pile-er? Maybe you are like that yourself and you just didn't know there was a name for people like us. Well, it's the name I've dubbed this syndrome because it sounds better than sin. *gasp*. Yes, I did just say sin because that is exactly what it is. It's the sin of laziness and unfortunately there isn't a 12-step program for this problem. Don't be discouraged though because there is a cure! Jesus said, "Go and sin no more." He did not say, "Go and try to not to do that next time" or "Go and work on it", no clearly He said, "Go and sin no more." Ouch. I know, I know; I didn't like hearing that when a dear friend and mentor shared that verse with me over other sins that I have committed. But think about it; that one little verse is applicable for pretty much every sin we commit, isn't it? So rather than starting little piles here and there with good intentions of putting things away later, I should be showing more diligence in putting those things away right away and setting a good example for my daughters. When they see my diligence being acted out I am teaching them to be diligent also and therefore breaking the generational sin of piling! WooHoo! That's what I'm talking about, Friends, breaking generational sins. *high fivin' myself*

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines Diligence as, "steady application of business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken; exertion of body or mind without unnecessary delay or sloth; due attention, industry, assiduity. care, heed."

ATI's working definition of Diligence is, "Visualizing each task as a special assignment from the Lord and using all my energies to accomplish it." They go on to say, "Diligence is pursuing a goal with eagerness, energy, and determination to see it accomplished...[it] requires expending an amount of energy that is not a "natural" choice. We tend to make easy choices and choose to avoid hard work. True diligence requires working hard, with the motivation of love and an attitude of joy. ""Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ"" (Col. 3:23). It is important to realize that we are serving the Lord in EVERY task. The Lord looks on the heart and will reward those who serve wholeheartedly."

We have to learn to be diligent, especially when we have a lazy spirit about us that looks for the easy way out (i.e.: hello, look at your piles!). If we don't learn diligence how can we expect our children to be diligent in their school work, cleaning their room, putting away their clothes/shoes/toys, etc.? We can't. Children learn by example and I confess that I have been a very bad one for my children. However, I am determined to break that cycle, that sin cycle of laziness. As a matter of fact, I already started (see below). Care to join me?

I was so inspired after reading just a few chapters in the Large Family Logistics book that Monday morning I decided to tackle the "Laundry Monster", my office/craft room (you shoulda seen the pics of that room's before and after), and my bedroom. I found it very helpful to set the timer for 20 minute increments and accomplish one pile after the other. My bedroom was the last on the list; after doing away with all the piles - and yes, I did put everything away where it belonged - I swept, dusted, and washed my quilt. It looks better, smells better, and feels better. My daughters were impressed with all that I was able to accomplish yesterday due to diligence on my part to complete each task that I started and I took great joy in slaying the piling dragon; may he never return!

May the Lord greatly bless your efforts in slaying the piling dragon in your home as well.

Organization 101

2011-12-09T06:50:00.001-05:00

If there is a class, sign me up! This is an area in which I struggle. I desire to me more organized in every area of my life but I am just not sure how to get there and keep it going. I have a very dear and good friend, Michele Gill, who is my organizational hero. She is on top of things in her home; well most things that is and with what she hasn't conquered she will, because it's her personality to do so. Her secret? I don't know them all, although I intend to interrogate her thoroughly, I do know that a big secret to her success has been the book Large Family Logistics the Art and Science of Managing the Large Family by Kim Brenneman. Michele has read through the book twice and once they moved out of our camper (that's another story, but one that will inspire you so I will post about it later) and into their current rental home, she was able to begin implementing many of the suggestions given by Mrs. Brenneman. I recently purchased my own copy and it is sitting by my bed waiting for me to crack open the pages and dive into the world of organization.

One area that always seems to be a struggle is meal planning. I know, it really shouldn't be that difficult but for me it is; it's not just the meal planning but also the grocery shopping planning that's involved. . I get stuck in a rut of cooking the same ol' same ol' and when I look at the empty squares on my calendar I go blank. Well, I have good news, Friends! Last week I managed to both menu and grocery shop plan for two weeks. *insert happy dance* With the events of the week, some things have gotten shuffled and with the help of leftovers and a few dinners from friends, I have been able to shift things around and extend our menu through the 22nd of this month. I am so excited to have accomplished this small task and cannot wait to tackle other areas. For now, I would love to share with you our menu.

Sunday: Chicken Tetrazzini, Salad

Monday: Chicken n Pastry, Sweet Potatoes, Salad

Tuesday: Leftovers - we had a lot of them -

Wednesday: Pizza treated to us by Chris due to long day

Thursday: Dinner brought to us by friends

Friday: Hamburgers, Beans, Chips

Saturday: Ham, Potatoes, Salad

Sunday: Chili

Monday: Mostaccioli Casserole

Tuesday: Black Bean Skillet w/ Rice

Wednesday: Chicken & Broccoli w/ Salad

Thursday: One-Dish Chicken Bake

Friday: California Casserole

Saturday: Mexican Chicken

Sunday: Mushroom Beef and Noodles

Monday: Chicken Spaghetti

Tuesday: Lasagna w/ Bread and salad

Wednesday: Mexican Chicken Stew w/ Rice and Cornbread

That gets us to the 21st of the month and on the 22nd we can have leftovers! Now if I can just keep this going and STICK TO THE MENU, we'll be making progress.

My organizational wish list, in no particular order:

Office, Laundry, Kitchen, Cleaning, Gardening, Meal Time, Bathroom, Bedroom

And the list goes on...but there is hope and that hope is that the Lord will be faithful to help me be organized because He desires me to be. Also, there is this fabulous tool, Large Family Logistics and my fabulous friend, Michele, who will help as well, partly because she wants to and partly because I told her she has to, but mainly just because she is such a good friend and takes the Titus 2 mandate seriously (you know the part where it says the older women are to teach the younger women and she is older than me so) and wants to see me succeed in this area. Love you Michele! ;)

Large Family Logistics: Beautiful Stocking Stuffers for Girls

2011-12-08T14:35:00.001-05:00

Large Family Logistics: Beautiful Stocking Stuffers for Girls: Look at the pictures and read all the way to the bottom because there will be a FREE GIVE AWAY!!! Plus a coupon—buy three get one free. Mis...

Recipe ~ Mexican Chicken ~

2011-12-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from my old pastor's wife, Linda Strode, who in my family's humble opinion is one of the *best* cooks ever. Although I don't make Mexican Chicken that often, when I do it gets rave reviews; we pair it with a salad. Hope you enjoy!

Mexican Chicken

1 bag of Doritos or Tostitos crushed

4-5 boneless chicken breast chopped or shredded (or use a whole rotisserie)

4 c. shredded cheddar or Mexican blend

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cans rotel tomatoes

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 c. chicken broth

Sprinkle 1/2 chips over bottom of pan

Layer:

Chicken
1/2 cheese
onion

Mix tomatoes, soup and broth. Pour over top then top with chips and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Add remaining cheese to top and bake until cheese is melted.

When It Rains

2011-12-08T12:41:00.002-05:00

You know the saying, "when it rains, it pours". Ever feel like that? This has been a week of rain for our family, so it seems anyway. I wonder if I have the wrong perspective? I certainly don't mean it in a negative way, but instead am welcoming the rain for without it we wouldn't grow. Water is essential for life. As a Christian, "rain", or trials and testings are essential to our spiritual growth; without them we would become stagnant. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines Stagnant as:

a. [L., to be without, a flowing motion.]

1. Not flowing; not running in a current or stream; as a stagnant lake or pond; stagnant blood in the veins.

2. Motionless; still; not agitated; as water quiet and stagnant.

The gloomy slumber of the stagnant soul.

3. Not active; dull; not brisk; as, business is stagnant.

I don't want to be without and I don't want my countenance to be one of gloom and dull, but rather I want the joy of the Lord to be a running current, flowing through my very being and to be actively seeking His will and best for my life. I want that joy to radiate from the inside out so that my children see it and are encouraged and inspired by His work in my life. I want to teach them by example that when hard things happen we don't despair or give in to the temptation of self-pity but that we cling to the only One who gives us hope and trust Him for the outcome.

~ In You, O Lord, I put my trust;...For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You...But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only." ~ Psalm 71: 1a, 5-8, 14-16

This week has been a week full of "rain" for our family beginning with news of a loved one who has been diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer, a miscarriage at 11 weeks and 6 days pregnant, and just yesterday our two year old was knocked off her feet by our Golden Retriever, causing a broken collar bone. Even in this, we are blessed beyond measure for we serve a God who knew all this was going to happen well before it did and has been right here with us through it all. "So maybe we need to stop seeing the trials and adversity in our lives as a burden, as an indication that God doesn’t love us. Maybe we need to start seeing them as proof that God indeed loves us very much—so much so that He will not let us try to rely on our own strength, but continue to show us that we must rely on Him to endure suffering and persevere until the end." (Aaron Armstrong)

~ The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. ~ Psalm 28:7

~ ...for He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear..." ~ Hebrews 13:5b-6a

~ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever. ~ Psalm 30:11-12

Father, I thank you for the rain you have given us this week. Please use this in our lives to bring glory to You alone. Please bring healing to our loved one who has the cancer, healing to our hearts that ache for the life that was lost but rejoices in knowing that precious one is with You now, please heal little Hadassah without the need of surgery. We thank You and love You, Jesus. ~ Amen.

The Lord Giveth and The Lord Taketh Away...

2011-12-05T19:19:00.001-05:00

Many of you have been praying for me over the last several days as I began spotting mid-last week. This morning I began bleeding more heavily and *knew* in my heart that I was having a miscarriage, an ultrasound confirmed that indeed I was miscarrying the baby. So I ask that you also pray for our family in this way:

That my body would heal quickly.
That our children would see God's goodness in this.
For wisdom to know if there is anything I need to have checked out.
We desire more children and this was an answer to many a prayer; please pray that if God wills, I would be able to conceive again and carry the baby to term or however long God wills.
Lastly, please pray for emotional healing. I surrendered this baby to God days ago and completely trust that this was His best for this little life as well as for my own, but my heart is hurting as we morn this loss.

This week, the Lord has been teaching me to trust Him even more and His Word has been most comforting and comforts me even now as I write this. "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in who I WILL TRUST; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, ... I will call upon the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised..." "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the Name of the Lord."

Thank you for your prayers for my family and me.

Love & Many Blessings,

Shelly

"I Am Where God Has Put Me" ... on bed rest.

2011-12-03T11:24:00.005-05:00

Well, due to some spotting that started over a week ago and has increased over the last few days, I am on bed rest. I don't like being on bed rest one bit. But this is where God has me and as I type that I am quickly reminded of a post I read just before Thanksgiving on that exact subject by Pam Forrester of Doorpost. So, this is where the Lord has me, on bed rest caring for my unborn baby by resting physically and by resting spiritually as I learn to trust in His sovereignty. God is good all the time.

Give Thanks to the Lord. He is Good.

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Pam

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”(Psalm 118:1, ESV)

A long-time friend and sister in Christ shared some hard news with me yesterday, news that will profoundly affect her life and the lives of those who love her. In the midst of this trial that God has entrusted to her, she said something that we all need to remember, “I am where God has put me.”

Whether the current means of testing our faith is:

A dirty diaper smeared all over the crib by a creative toddler or the reality of cancer invading our bodies, a child who doesn’t seem to respond to any of our attempts to train and discipline him or a husband who has abandoned the family, a long line at the grocery store checkout with a flock of tired and cranky children or a long and challenging period of unemployment, God is in control.

Nothing separates us from His love.

Nothing takes Him by surprise.

Nothing slips past His sovereign control of all things.

Wherever we find ourselves, whatever circumstances we face, we are where God, in His grace, has put us. Because this is true, we can thank Him, knowing that He is there, too. He loves us. We can trust Him.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12, NKJV)

Norwex Giveaway

2011-11-22T17:26:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Chris and I advertised our Norwex business at www.awisewomanbuildsherhome.com website and we are offering a wonderful giveaway worth over $50. To enter, you need to be quick because I believe it ends tomorrow, so go now to her website and scroll down to "A Homemaker's Norwex Giveaway" or something like that and follow Mrs. Fuentes' directions on entering.

Best Wishes!!

Lemon Squares

2011-11-14T07:45:00.002-05:00

From the kitchen of a dear friend, Neila Wood, these delicious Lemon Squares are one of my families favorites and we were always delighted when Mrs. Wood prepared them. Enjoy!

LEMON SQUARES

6 T butter

¼ c. sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

¾ c. sugar

2T all-purpose flour

¼ t. finely shredded lemon peel

3T lemon juice

¼ t. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Beat butter for 30 seconds; add the ¼ cup sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt, baking till fluffy. Stir in the 1 cup flour. Pat dough onto bottom of pan. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat eggs; add remaining ¾ c. sugar, 2 T flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder. Beat 3 minutes or till slightly thickened. Pour over baked layer. Bake in a 350 degree oven 25 to 30 minutes longer or till light golden brown around edges and center is set. Cool. Sift powdered sugar over top, if desired. Cut into squares. Makes 16.

News Flash

2011-11-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

We are delighted to share that Seth, Madeline, Sidney, Chloe, and Hadassah will be having a sibling come June 2012! Our hearts of full of joy and we praise the Lord for blessing our home with another pregnancy.

Trade Show today in Rolesville

2011-11-05T05:53:00.002-04:00

I am up early to prepare for our first trade show; it's the Rolesville FunFest and they will be having a 5k and 10k run. No, I will not be participating in the run, but we will have a booth set up to showcase our Norwex products! I'm a little excited and a little nervous. I hope to have some pictures of our booth as well as the FunFest in general to post next week. In the meantime, check out our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Shelly-Howell-Norwex-Independent-Sales-Consultants/274896955876257

I pray you have a most blessed weekend.

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-10-31T18:07:00.009-04:00

Yes, we are back in the saddle again and I am pleased to announce that homeschooling has been and continues to go very well. We each have a schedule that we have been adhering to, most days anyway, and I am seeing fruit from our efforts. To give you an idea of what my day is looks like, I will include it at the end of this post. We are not bound to the schedule or freak out if we get off schedule, we realize that it's God who ordains our days and allows the interruptions to it, for our good, and we so we take a deep breath or two and pick back up when and were we can. However, having something to refer back to sure does help!

In the midst of starting back to school Chris started his own directional drilling business called Underground Solutions of North Carolina, L.L.C. This has been one of those God-ordained interruptions to many of our school days! *smile* I am so very thankful for the opportunity that God has given Chris, through the help of an investor/friend, to start this business as it is an answer to many of his prayers in wanting to be able to work with our son, Seth. It has been a joy to see their relationship strengthened as they work side by side.

Chris and I are still Independent Sales Consultants with Norwex. It's been slow going as we have had a lot going on to keep us more than a little busy, but we are wanting and hoping it will grow to whatever the Lord wills it to be. We do have a couple of upcoming events, this Saturday we will be attending a trade show with hopes of reaching new people in the community and get some bookings on our calendar, and next Saturday we have a party! Yay! I love doing parties, shows, presentations, whatever you want to call them; they are fun and informative and I look forward to each one! Want more information on Norwex? You can learn about our company and products

at www.shellyhowell.norwex.biz

On with the schedule...

♥ ~ Mama's Daily Schedule ~ ♥

Time Monday, Tuesday, ...

4:30-6am Wake/Dress/Quiet Time & Tidy Room

6-6:45am Bible Study with Madeline

6:45-7am Quiet Time with Chloe & Hadassah

7-8am Rotating Schedule: Feed & Milk Goats or Prepare & Eat Breakfast

8-8:30am Breakfast Clean-up & Quick Tidy

9-12pm Education

12-12:30pm Lunch

12:30-1pm Free Time!

1-3pm Projects ~ Hadassah Nap (Chloe too if needed)

3-4pm Dinner Prep

4-4:30pm Free Time!

4:30-5:30pm Reading (I read aloud to all the girls during this time)

5:30-6pm Girls help me in the kitchen with dinner

6-7pm Dinner & Clean Up

7-8pm Family Worship

8-9pm Free Time (Hadassah Bed) ~ this is time for them to settle down and read,

knit, etc...

9-9:30pm Bed time preparations and lights out!

Now, keep in mind that this is only a guide to help us keep going without the dawdling that boredom can often bring. We are learning to work together and what it means to be keepers at home and help-meets to our husband/father. We are learning to take dominion over the clutter, dust, piles, etc. and have a home that is welcoming and pleases the Lord; most importantly we are working on building relationships with each other by learning what God's Word has to say about our tongues and how we respond to each other as this is an area of struggle for each of us ladies. I often as the question to myself and my daughters, "Am I loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength in my response to ______?" If the answer is, "No." Then we aren't really loving God or the person we've offended or hurt.

Well, for now I must bid you good night, or good morning depending on when you are reading this, as my daughters and I are going to enjoy a movie together this evening while our men are gone!

Norwex

2011-07-24T16:06:00.003-04:00

This month, my husband and I became Independent Consultants for Norwex Enviro Products. All Norwex products support their company mission, which is, "To improve the quality of life by radically reducing the use of chemicals in personal care and cleaning." Our line of cleaning products will save you time and money, improve health, and move towards creating a better environment.

Chris and I are thrilled to be working together and excited to offer quality products that have already been a blessing to our family by eliminating the use of chemicals in our home and we're sure will be to yours as well.

This months hostess gift is the mop system, which is free with a qualify show of $325.

(Please note that while the picture below shows additional items, the free gift with a $325 show is a mop handle, base, and small dry/wet pads.)

Legalism, Tattoos, and Other Ramblings

2011-07-14T07:36:00.010-04:00

I haven't had time to do much on my blog these days but this morning, after reading a few post on FB on the subject of "legalism" and "judging", I decided to do some thinking out loud; here are my thoughts put into words...

For years I had a wrong view of what legalism really is and it wasn't until just recently that an elder shared the true definition of legalism which comes from the root word "legal". Webster's 1828 dictionary describes legal as, "3. According to the law of works, as distinguished from free grace; or resting on works for salvation." and legality is described as, "2. In theology, a reliance on works for salvation." So we can conclude that legalism is a mindset that says, "I have to do this and that in order to be a Christian." It's work based - doing things thinking that by doing them it will earn you a way into heaven. It is following the leading of man and doing what man does because man says you must do them instead of following Scriptures and doing what Jesus says to do.

Here is an example of wrong thinking: "it's sinful for women/girls to wear pants because pastor so and so said and his wife doesn't wear them so y'all can't wear them either." This is an example of what we considered legalism - doing something because someone else was doing it, not because of true conviction which would have looked something like this: "children, the Lord showed me in Deuteronomy 22:5 that a woman should not wear anything that pertains to a man...for all who do are an abomination to Him, and as Christians, we are called to be separate, to not conform to the things of this world ... so in light of the Scriptures and a desire to honor God, in our family ladies will dress like ladies and not wear pants anymore."

An example of true legalism is thinking that if I only wear skirts (works) or if I do this or that (more works), I am a Christian and therefore am going to heaven. To make it even worse, legalist turn their noses up at those who don't do what they are doing and therefore make the assumption that they, the legalist, are better than the other person and the other person isn't really a Christian at all because *gasp* they wear pants (follow the "law").

Okay -- let me just say that I am a skirt only wearing gal (unless an activity or work that I am doing calls for pants) and I only wear skirts because the Lord convicted me greatly in June of 2009 (that's another story) -- but I certainly don't look at my neighbor and think I am any better than she and closer to heaven's gates because she wears pants. However, because of my wrong thinking, I am challenged in this area and have to remind myself that God is the one who convicts and brings people to certain places in their walk with Him, and I am to love my neighbor. As far as the heart and intent of a person who professes Christ, only God can truly know and judge, but too often we sit back and say, "it's not my place to judge" and by doing so we excuse and overlook sin. I firmly believe that we are to look at other Christian's walks and hold them accountable (based on Matthew 7:17-20, 1 Corinthians 6: 11-18, Ephesians 4:25-32, Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, 2 Timothy 2, Titus 2, and there are plenty more references that I could give).

I want to speak on the subject of body piercings and tattooing briefly. Bear in mind that I myself have had a part of my body (other than my ears) pierced and also have 4 tattoos. Here is what the Word of God says, "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh...nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord." As Christians, our bodies are not our own; 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." When I made the decision to get my piercing followed by the tattoos, I knew what the Word of God said, I had had it ingrained in me, but I was in complete and total rebellion of His Word and these scars are constant reminders of that. Thankfully God forgives and can use what was meant for evil for His good. The following is an excerpt taken from Bible.com on this very subject:

I know some will have a hard time receiving this teaching because tattooing has now become an accepted practice in our society. However, just because society approves of something does not make it right in God's eyes. Our society at large, also approves of abortion and divorce as well. However, the Bible makes it clear that God doesn't approve of these things.

In sharing this teaching, I am not trying to condemn anyone who already has a tattoo; but rather to warn those who are considering getting one. God loves us, and even when we make mistakes in poor judgment, He doesn't condemn us, but rather tries to help overcome the consequences of those mistakes. Having a tattoo will not keep anyone from serving the Lord. We know some very godly people who have tattoos and are serving the Lord and their tattoos do not interfere with what God is doing through them. Anything Satan tries to use for evil, God can turn and use it for good when we commit totally to Him. God takes us as we are and uses us if we will yield to His will. God will use any of us when we come out of the world and start serving Him with our whole hearts to do His will. Our past is under the blood of Jesus and the sins and mistakes of the past will not hinder our God in our serving Him. Only a hard and unrepentant heart keeps us tied to the old life.

There are many dedicated and sincere Christian people that have tattoos. This article is not meant to say they do not love the Lord. God not only can use them, but does use them. The issue is not whether God can use someone, but rather should Christians pursue getting tattoos? Just because something is popular does not mean it is right. We should always examine things by the "roots and the fruits" of the thing in question.

TATTOOING HAS WITCHCRAFT "ROOTS"

The full article can be read here.

Dear Sisters, as Christ followers we are called to "Be holy for I (Jesus) am holy". The following is an excerpt from "A Wise Woman Builds Her Home" blog and I think is very fitting and challenging:

Titus 2:5 exhorts:

"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

The word discreet comes from the greek word: sóphrón

Here is the definition:

of sound mind, self-controlled, temperate, sober-minded, modest, chaste

Something that really jumps out at me in this verse is, "that the word of God be not blasphemed". Beloved, realize that when we aren't sober, when we don't show love to our husbands or our children, when we aren't discreet with how we dress, how we speak, etc..., when we aren't chaste, when we aren't keepers at home, when we aren't good, when we aren't obedient to our own husband, we blaspheme the word of God.

The word blaspheme is defined in Webster's 1828 dictionary as, "To speak of the Supreme Being in terms of impious irreverence; to revile or speak reproachfully of God, or the Holy Spirit... To utter blasphemy" which is defined as "that which derogates from the prerogatives of God" and the word derogates is defined as "To repeal, annul or destroy the force and effect of some part of a law or established rule; to lessen the extent of a law". Yes, it is that serious. We need to understand that whenever we claim to be Christians but yet live a life (whether by how we dress, speak, act, etc...) that is contrary to the Word of God then we are blasphemers and shamefully I fall short in this area more times than I care to count.

I am going to end with a few challenging verses from Scripture and pray that the Word of God will challenge and convict our hearts that we may grow in Christ's likeness.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may about? God forbid! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?...do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!.....There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit...For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."

You can read the full entry titled "A Woman of Discretion" here. Well worth the few minutes it takes to read it and I pray you will.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

2011-07-14T07:35:00.001-04:00

The Old Schoolhouse magazine is having a HUGE warehouse sale ~ they are offering 7 back issues with a nice tote bag and a free gift along with free shipping for only $25 ~ on top of that you have an opportunity to get even more free stuff simply by sharing this wonderful news on Facebook, Twitter, and your personal blog. Can't wait to see what comes in the mail ;)

31 Days to Clean!

2011-04-27T18:34:00.001-04:00

Looking forward to this book ... check out the link here.

Prayer, Praise, and the Park

2011-04-06T22:14:00.012-04:00

Another beautiful day and one of my most favorite days, the first Wednesday of the month, women's mentoring at the Barn. It's such a sweet time of prayer and encouragement followed by reading (each week we read a chapter from a book, right now we're reading Things To Live For by J. R. Miller) and discussion.

I am enjoying reading J. R. Miller's book. Today our chapter was Talking About One's Self. There were a couple of times we got a good chuckle in ~ I am not sure if it was because one of the ladies was comical in how she read part of it or if it was what she was reading. On the serious side I especially liked the quote by Bishop Wilberforce on the subject of talking about one's self:

"Think as little as possible about any good in yourself. Turn your eyes resolutely from any view of your acquirements, your influence, your plans, your successes, your following - above all, speak as little as possible about yourself. The inordinateness of our self love makes speech about ourselves like the putting of a lightes torch to the dry wood which has been laid in order for burning. Nothing but duty should open our lips upon this dangerous theme, except it be in humble confession of our sinfulness before God."

Miller goes on to say, "These are wise words. We should train ourselves not to think about our own good deeds.....Egoism belittles a man. Personal vanity dims the lustre of a name.....The praise of others, if sincere, is honorable; but when we take it upon ourselves to tell the story of our own greatness, or point out the excellences of our own character, we do that which is unseemly. It were better that we go on with our life and work, doing always our best, and then leave in God's hands all the matter of praise and reward."

The discussion that followed was excellent, as was the picnic at the park with my daughters. We live right around the corner from the park and with the weather warmer and sun out, we decided we could handle the cool wind and spent a couple of hours visiting and playing. I should tell you that as we were gathering our things to leave, we found Hadassah with her paci and blanket asleep on the floor by the door, once again ready to go!

Yesterday

2011-04-06T18:45:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we were preparing to leave to go help Seth at the Bradrick Farm, as Madeline was coming down the steps she nearly tripped on ...

...Hadassah. She got dressed and was ready to go ... to sleep! And she slept all the way there, the whole 2 miles. When we got there she was ready to play...

so were the other girls as well as Triumph. He put Sidney and Chloe right to work helping him pick up leaves, put them in the wagon, and take to the burn pile.

Once they got there they had a bit of a struggle over-turning the wagon onto the pile so they asked for my help. I got Sidney to hold my camera while I picked up the wagon and dumped the leaves. While doing this Triumph exclaims, "Wow! You're really strong aren't you?"(you know it buddy!)

After they finished with the leaves Triumph got a basket full of stuff, some guns, and led them to his new tree fort. This young man is proud of his fort and was happy to have the girls over for some good ol' fashioned bad guy shootin' fun...

That's all the pictures I have to share, after taking these I got busy helping Seth.

Providing for a Large Family - Vision Forum Ministries

2011-03-29T08:29:00.000-04:00

This is an excellent article written by William Einwechter. I really like the last two paragraphs,

"A certain Rev. Moses Brown had twelve children. One day a man who was considering how he provided for them, said to him, “Sir, you have just as many children as Jacob.” Rev. Brown replied, “Yes, and I have Jacob’s God to provide for them.” Joseph Hall once stated: “I remember a great man coming into my house at Waltham, and seeing all my children standing in the order of their age and stature, said, ‘These are they that make rich men poor.’ But straight he received this answer, ‘Nay, my lord, these are they that make a poor man rich; for there is not one of these whom we would part with for all your wealth’” (Charles Spurgeon, A Treasury of David).

How true! And so, if a husband and wife are thinking, “How can we afford to raise a large family in these days of high prices and high taxes?” Perhaps, they should be thinking, “Since God has called us to be fruitful, since God has promised to provide for all the needs of those who trust Him and seek first His kingdom, and since children are God’s heritage and worth more than all the gold and silver of this earth, how can we afford not to raise a large family for the glory of God?”

Providing for a Large Family - Vision Forum Ministries

Menu Planning

2011-03-26T18:19:00.003-04:00

With Chris and the girls off to Vision Forum's Father/Daughter Retreat in Pinehurst, GA, I had big plans to get much accomplished in their absence; however, due to a nasty cold I have spent the majority of the time in bed or on the couch watching episodes of Beatrix Potter with my youngest daughter, Hadassah. Feeling rather lousy for not being productive this weekend I think I will at least attempt to do some menu planning for the upcoming week; part of this plan is to use what I already have in my pantry and freezer and spend the least amount possible at the grocery store!

Monday - Cowboy Beans with Rice and Corn Bread

Tuesday - Chicken Spaghetti

Wednesday - Skillet Pork Chops and Rice

Thursday - Hamburger and Veggie Soup

Friday - Chicken Casserole

Saturday - Dirty Rice (Italian Style)

Sunday - Crock Pot Beef Stew

Well, the meals are planned...now to stick to it!

Girls

2011-03-23T19:27:00.003-04:00

Just a couple of pictures to share of two of my daughters, Madeline and Hadassah. These pictures were take just across the street from our home under a beautiful cherry tee.

Candle Making ... Memory Making

2011-03-23T18:54:00.003-04:00

My daughter, Sidney, turned 9 last month and one of her gifts was a candle making video by Homestead Blessings. We haven't made the time to make the candles and so this morning we decided that today was the day. I have GOT to get better about taking pictures but I do have a few to share.

First dippings

almost done, dried flowers added, one final dip, and voila! One very happy daughter with a glow candle, actually 9 glow candles ~ now all that's needed are tea lights (which I forgot to get!).

The process was quite simple and not time consuming at all and the time that we had together making them, priceless!

Great Impression Giveaway

2011-03-23T17:41:00.001-04:00

A Wise Woman Builds Her House blog is holding a giveaway! Check it out here: http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-impression-giveaway.html

Celebrations of our Son & Daughter

2011-03-20T15:31:00.010-04:00

This past Friday my husband had a Father/Son Cook-Out in honor of our son, Seth's 15th birthday; it was held at the home of Joaquin & Monica Fernandez. The purpose of the cook-out wasn't so much to celebrate Seth's birthday as it was to celebrate his becoming a young man (which should have been celebrated at 13 but we didn't have this mind-set to do this at that time ... better late than never) and so each man was asked to be prepared to exhort and encourage Seth in being a godly man. There was a great turn-out with men eager to eat, fellowship, and get down to business with Seth by sharing what the Lord had placed in their heart concerning him. Some of the exhortations were:

Honor your father and mother in your words, actions, & thoughts
Honor all men
Be a defender of women and children
Learn to govern yourself
Be in the Word and in prayer
Flee from foolishness
Be humble

It was such an encouragement to both Seth and Chris and a blessing to all those who attended. The encouragement for Chris and me comes in the fact that these men want and intend to be involved in Seth's life and are looking forward to his spiritual growth. I was hoping to be able to share pictures but somehow they have been deleted. Oh well, thank the Lord for the memories.

On Saturday we celebrated Madeline's 13th birthday and her Journey into Womanhood with a Mother/Daughter Tea Party. Deborah Brown was instrumental in helping me put this on for Madeline, not only by opening her home for the tea but also for providing all the necessary elements needed to make this an absolutely delightful day. On the menu was chicken salad croissants, scones, fruit salad, chocolate eclaires, cream puffs, brownies, and strawberry soup. The old saying, "many hands make light work" is absolutely true and many hands went in to helping with setting up, providing food, writing out name for place cards, and cleaning up after the party, making the work quite quick and enjoyable.

The tea party didn't start out with the intention of being a surprise but turned out that way ... well sort of! While I never mentioned anything to Madeline and even lied (yes, I lied and I am completely okay with lying when it comes to birthdays and Christmas!) trying to cover someone else's goof-up, she still says she had a feeling we were having a party for her. She loved it. She was beaming that this was done for her. Why wouldn't it be? This is an important time in her life where she is stepping away from childhood and entering into young womanhood. This is a critical time in every young ladies life and we moms and older women should be coming alongside these girls encouraging, exhorting, and teaching them to grow in godliness. That's exactly what a number of women from our church did for Madeline on Saturday at the Barn. Some of her exhortations were:

Spend time in the Word & prayer & in journaling
Guard your tongue
Seek God, take on His character, trust Him always
Meditate on the things listed in Philippians 4:8
Serve the Lord by serving others
Be humble
Honor, respect, and defer to your brother - by doing so you are learning how to honor, respect, and defer to your future husband

Almost all the women there told Madeline that they wanted to be a part of her life and looked forward to watching her grow in the Lord. It was a blessing not only to Madeline and me but also to everyone in attendance.

Pictures will be posted soon, in the meantime you can seem most of them on my Facebook page.

Beautiful china provided by Mrs. Brown! Madeline, so lovely!

Tea Time! Good conversation amongst family & friends.

A time of exhorting and encouraging Madeline in the Lord.

continued...

continued...

more sharing...

.....

A time of prayer for Madeline and all the young ladies there.

This is one of the gifts that Madeline received, it was from her Daddy and me and it is
a symbol of Madeline's spiritual gift of serving. This is a gift that Madeline can take with her
into her own home someday!

Family Economics!

2011-03-10T07:10:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow starts the two day Family Economics Conference put on by Kevin Swanson of Generations With A Vision. Speakers include Kevin Swanson, Doug Philips, Scott Brown, R.C. Sproul Jr., and more. Several families will be sharing their stories of family entrepreneurship as well. This conference comes at a much needed time as we face social and economic decline. We have been looking forward to this conference for months now and pray it will be a blessing to all of us who attend.

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord!

2011-03-09T09:52:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday, we received word that our Uncle David passed away; this comes as such a shock and indeed a great loss to our family. His funeral services were held yesterday in Travelers Rest, SC. Uncle David was dearly loved by his entire family and was one of my favorite uncles. He will be greatly missed.

Common Scents Mom Give-Away!

2011-01-27T11:15:00.001-05:00

Stacy McDonald is offering a give-away at http://yoursacredcalling.com/commonscentsmom/2011/01/are-you-a-common-scents-mom/

check it out~!

We've moved!

2011-01-16T06:48:00.004-05:00

Finally, after 3+ years of waiting and praying, the Lord has brought us to Rolesville, NC! We began our move on January 11th and officially moved in January 14th. We are living in an old home in town. Not what we are used to, having come from 7+ acres with no boundaries and privacy galore, to a home that sits on a main road right in town. Our neighbors are the local EMS and beside them is the Fire station, across the street is a large baptist church with bells that chime on the hour every hour and at noon plays a beautiful hymn (we do like that), and we haven't met the people to our right yet. We are worshiping at Hope Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC and while we have only been here for a week, we have already been blessed by the families and we look forward to getting to know them better. Our move isn't complete yet as we still have more to bring down and a very large container (tractor trailer type) full, and I do mean FULL, of stuff. Being in a older home has it's challenges ... no storage ... leaks ... no storage ... etc ... So we aren't settled in yet but it's only been a week and I am praying that by the weekend we will have it all done.

I look forward to getting back online and posting more frequently. Would love to hear from you all so please hollar when you can!

Catching Up

2010-04-30T09:59:00.004-04:00

Boy have we been busy! It's beena while since I last wrote so I will quickly try to catch up on what's been going on with our family.

Since coming back from Tennessee we have been busy trying to get our home ready for sale and it's finally on the market (www.6330littelacres.com)! We still have a few things that need attention (i.e.: replacing screens in doors and windows, caulking, etc...) but the big things like packing and painting are done. Praise the Lord! Now to just keep it clean and trust God to bring in a buyer. Take a look at the website that our realtors put together and if you know of anyone who is relocating to the area or wanting to move out to the country please pass the information along!

We also celebrated our oldest daughter's birthday in March; Madeline turned 12. She is such a blessing to me and our family and I praise God for her daily.

I am in the process of planning for our new school year which will begin in two weeks rather than September so there is a lot to be done there.

Gotta run for now, hope to post again soon :)

God My Treasure: Spiritual House Built with Lively Stones

2010-04-14T10:51:00.001-04:00

The following was such a blessing to me and with permission granted, I would like to share it with you.

"But Christ as a son over his own house; whose HOUSE are we, IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Heb. 3:6

Wow!IF....IF....IF we hold fast unto the end, we are his HOUSE...the building and temple of the Lord! This is truly the EVIDENCE that we are part of his HOUSE....IF we hold fast.

Another verse that goes along with these is I Pet. 2:5... "Ye also, as LIVELY stones, are built up a SPIRITUAL HOUSE, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." The word "LIVELY" really catches my attention! God wants LIVELY stones! He wants us to be zealous for Him! Yes! YES! :) LIVELY STONES!

Taken from the following blog site:
God My Treasure: Spiritual House Built with Lively Stones

Making Home: The Gaze of the Eyes & Philippians 3

2010-04-06T08:29:00.000-04:00

What a great reminder for me today!

Making Home: The Gaze of the Eyes & Philippians 3

Updates On Tennessee

2010-03-26T08:57:00.004-04:00

Tennessee sure is a beautiful state; even the backwoods areas that seem to go unnoticed by most. We left for Tennessee last Wednesday, the 17th, to visit with friends of my parents and check out a potential job for our family, a Christian family campground and canoeing business.

We left around 5am eastern time and arrived there at 4:30pm central time. So after a long drive we were very thankful to be there and be blessed with a hot dinner being prepared for us. Our hosts were very gracious and accommodating and we are thankful for the opportunity to have stayed with them.

Thursday Chris and Seth were able to work alongside the owner and help get canoes ready for delivery, see the campground, meet some campers, and talk business while the girls and I stayed at the house enjoying a beautiful day outside and resting. I got the chance to chat with the Mrs. while the men were out and something that I rarely ever get to do, sit in a recliner and rock Hadassah and enjoy holding this precious little one while she slept!

Friday was spent exploring the areas and being touristy ... we visited Linden, Cane Creek, and Russell Creek. I mean it is beautiful there! We wrapped up the day back at our guests home with dinner and small talk.

Saturday was spent looking around at the business opportunity and Chris and Seth again helping the owner. We had a lot to consider, there is much potential there.

Sunday we visited a church in Centerville that we found off the NCFIC website. Chris and Seth were delighted to see someone they had met at a recent father/son retreat. The people there were very friendly and one lady in particular, Missy was her name, truly made us feel welcome. She has such a bubbly personality, a great laugh, and seems to be someone that you want to know and be around. I was thankful the Lord had her there that day as it can sometimes be a little awkward visiting a new church. We really enjoyed the service and time of fellowship afterwards. Several of the men engaged with Chris and gave good, solid counsel about our potential move. We look forward to being able to visit with these brothers and sisters in Christ again. Sunday was wrapped up with dinner with our hosts and a good nights rest.

We left Monday morning around 6:30am and arrived home a little before 9pm. Our drive home was long but filled with beautiful scenery and a lot of talking about this business opportunity. We're torn as to what direction to go for several reasons. This type of business is something that we began praying for a little more than a year ago and we didn't seek it out, it was offered to us so our prayer since the offer has been that if this is God's will that He would give us complete peace and if it was set before us as a stumbling block that He would not give us peace.

Now, before I go any further I want to give a little insight as to where the Lord is leading us ...

Two years the Lord laid on my husbands heart a strong desire and vision for family entrepreneurship and "told" him that He would be moving us to a new land. Out of our eagerness to be obedient and jump into what and where we thought the Lord was leading us we went to Missouri to check out the area and potential jobs there. Thinking for sure that we'd be moving we began preparing and just when we were ready to go the Lord graciously closed those doors. We were left somewhat confused and disappointed because we thought we had heard correctly ... so now what Lord? Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us, ""For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."" By the first of 2009 we knew why God had kept us here and shut the door on Missouri and we are thankful for what He has done in the last year. We continued to pray and seek God concerning our vision, timing of putting our home for sell, family entrepreneurship, etc... and in November we knew God was working and preparing us for something but for what we weren't sure. By January we knew that the time had come for us to begin seriously getting our home in order; not because we had any inclination about moving out of state or of a potential business offer but because we knew we wanted to be out of the bondage of debt and being slaves to our mortgage company (Proverbs 22:7). As we continued to pray, we believed the Lord was beginning to lay TN on our hearts and so I made a phone call to the people we stayed with to learn about the area that we were looking into and see if they had cabins available for us to stay in when we visited. This call took place on a Friday morning mid-January and it was during this series of questions and answers from both sides that their campground and canoe business was offered to us as a possibility as they are aging and wanting to keep it a Christian business. As you can imagine Chris and I were completely blown away, our minds reeling as we began earnestly praying about this possibility, wondering, "Lord, is this from you or has this been placed as a stumbling block?" Chris called and spoke with the owners asking many questions and receiving a lot of answers along with an invitation to come out and see the business and check out the area. We continued to make this a matter of prayer and the more we prayed the more we believed that the Lord was leading us to TN... hence our recent trip.

So I know the question that is on most of your minds as you are reading this is, "are you going or not?" and the answer to that question is NO, we will not be pursuing this business. The next question may be, "Why?" and the answer is simple, we prayed that God would give us peace if we were to go and we do not have peace about entering into a business relationship with the owner at this time.

Does this mean that we didn't hear correctly from God? I don't think so, God's Word is true and it goes on to say in Isaiah 55:10-11, ""For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall NOT return to Me void, but is shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."" We believe God when He "told" Chris that He was going to move us to a new land and create for us an opportunity for family entrepreneurship, He showed Chris this through His Word with much fasting and prayer on Chris' part. God never said where that new land would be; it could be down the road, Tennessee, Texas, or even overseas. What now? We are continuing to pack and prepare our home to sell. What about when it sells? We aren't sure. But we do know that God is in control and so we trust Him to lead and direct our every step.

Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us as we have much to accomplish to get our home ready. We will continue to update when there is something to share.

Blessings to you and yours today ~

Birthday Blessings and Travels Ahead

2010-03-16T07:57:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated our son's 14th birthday; he spent the day romping in the woods, digging for buried treasures, blacksmithing, and simply enjoying the company of boys. Our friends, The Wood Family, joined us for hot dogs and cake and ice cream to end the day. We are truly blessed by Seth and his role in our family and yesterday was indeed a great celebration of his birth and life.

Tomorrow we all leave for Tennessee! Two years ago the Lord laid on my husband's heart a vision for our family and confirmed that He would be moving us to a new land. While we are not positive that Tennessee is where the Lord is moving us, we do believe that it is a great possibility and so we are going tomorrow to visit with friends and inquire about a potential business opportunity for our family, meet some of the locals, check out the real estate, and visit a nearby church. We plan to come home on Monday unless the Lord prompts us to stay a little longer. We covet your prayers as we make this journey, not only for safety but also that the Lord would confirm what He would have us do and where He would have us go.

We hope to update while there if time and internet service permits!

Change

2010-03-02T08:39:00.004-05:00

It's something we all go through from the time we're born until the Good Lord calls us home. Some welcome change like we welcome a good soaking rain after a dry spell or spring after a long cold winter; others however, struggle with change no matter how minor it may be. I am looking forward to spring and the changes that will be coming with it; not just seasonal changes like the birth of color that burst forth giving new life to the flowers and trees but also to the changes that the Lord is bringing about in our family.

It is an exciting time for us and there is so much that I would love to be able to share but am not free to do so just now. However, I ask that you please keep us in your prayers as are preparing our home to sell and as we seek God for His continual guidance for our family.

Our days are busy with school in the mornings and packing and cleaning in the afternoons so my postings will be limited but I will update as I am able.

My prayer for each of you that follow or subscribe to this blog or simply happen to find your way here by other means is that God will bless you today and that you will know the depth of His love for you. Know that He is with you now, whatever change you may be facing, He will be with you while you go through that change, and He will continue to be with you afterward. His Word tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and He is true to His Word.

Your Sister in Christ ~

Homestead Blessings: A Dimes Worth of Something

2010-03-02T08:32:00.001-05:00

A great poem for those of you who are beginning to plant seeds!

Homestead Blessings: A Dimes Worth of Something

Going Home

2010-02-22T12:20:00.000-05:00

The term "going home" refers to where I was born and raised and where my family still resides, good ol' North Carolina. We hadn't been since last August and were due a visit. My daughter Sidney just turned eight on the first of this Month and her birthday request was to go to NC to play with her cousin. We've been trying to get there but sickness and the weather has kept us from "going home" until now; once our power was restored everyone got busy cleaning, packing, paying bills and balancing the checkbook, etc... to prepare for our trip. We were blessed to be able to stay for 9 nights and had such a wonderful time, the week seem to fly by and the next thing we knew, it was time to be "going home", to our home, again. As we pulled up our driveway, my husband was walking out the door to welcome us home and hear all about our stay.

I am so thankful for my husband being willing to let us go home for that long of a visit and even more thankful to be back home with him.

Snow Update and Winner Annouced!

2010-02-10T09:59:00.002-05:00

We are currently going on 96 hours w/o electricity and I am just checking email for the second time since we lost it; we have a generator that is giving us temporary and very limited occasional power as well as water. Thankfully we have our logs that are keeping us warm enough through the night and kerosene that is on during the day when we are here which is most of the time.

I am so thankful for this outage as it has shown us what we can live without and how we need to learn to continue to live without many of the things that we so easily come to depend on; God is so good in that we have shelter, gas stove for hot meals, and most importantly we have each other. The biggest lesson in all this is hearing clearly how we greatly need to learn to love one another with our speech; with the background noises that having electricity provides we often don't hear (or pay attention to what we are hearing) how we respond to each other. Man, we have a lot of growing to do in this area of love, kindness, patience, and again I say LOVE. God is good and so gracious in revealing this to us; I am so thankful for His love for us and that He desires us to grow in Christ likeness so much so that He shows us our weaknesses and is ever so willing to help us change.

We aren't sure when power will be restored and while we long for hot showers, we are all doing well and have no real complaints!

The winner of the Pampered Chef 29 minutes to dinner cookbook is ...

tossing the tickets around in a big bowl ...

Chloe, our official ticket picker is pulling a ticket from the bowl ...

Ticket number 2608499 goes to ...

momma24! Not sure of your name but have your email address and will contact you shortly! Congratulations :)

Thanks to all who participated in our give away, they are so much fun.

48 hours without power

2010-02-08T11:57:00.002-05:00

Due to this most recent snow storm, we are temporarily without power; thankfully we are not without food or water. I am currently at my sister-in-laws home giving baths, checking email, etc... Praying for our electric to be back on before the next storm hits.

Will update as I can. Winner of contest to be announced when power is restored.

about to be snowed in give away!

2010-02-04T23:02:00.004-05:00

We are about to get slammed with snow starting tomorrow; and from what everyone is saying there is more coming after this one. So, in honor of snow and because there really isn't anything great about getting snowed in except you sometimes get to cook stuff you normally wouldn't because you don't have time because you are always busy running to and fro and now you won't be able to run anywhere because your stuck in your house and after the initial "whoohoo, we're snowed in guys", kinda thing wears off you are bored outta your mind and not to mention hungry... I'm giving away the Pampered Chef's 29 minutes to dinner cookbook!

Now this particular book is one that I bought strickly for passing around at my home shows but often forgot it so while it isn't brand new it's only been looked a few times. So if you want it all you have to do is:

Leave a comment with your name, email and where you are from -- 1
Include your favorite food (i.e.: chocolate, lasagna, steak, etc...) -- 2 extra chances
Include your favorite recipe -- 3 extra chances
Increase your chances of winning by posting on your facebook -- 3 extra chances
Increase your chances of winning by posting on your blog -- 5 extra chances

Winner will be announced Sunday, February 7th by 7pm.

Taxes

2010-01-26T14:20:00.002-05:00

One thing I am pretty good about is keeping our tax information together throughout the year so that when January of a new year rolls around I am prepared for the accountant; this year is no exception! Today I spent several hours with my adding machine, pen, paper, receipts, and computer and set about getting it all together ... mission accomplished!

Many prayers for happy returns for you and your families as well as ours!

Love

2010-01-26T10:04:00.000-05:00

"Love is always ready to deny itself, to give, sacrifice, just in the measure of its sincerity and intensity. Perfect love is perfect self-forgetfulness. Hence where there is love in a home, unselfishness is the law. Each forgets self and lives for others." - JR Miller

New Blog

2010-01-23T14:36:00.002-05:00

I started a blog just for homeschooling; I wanted to be able to add tabs to this blog so that there would be just one blog and from the home page you could click on a tab for homeschool, recipes, etc... but I am not that computer savvy and don't have the time to figure it all out right now (I tried but obviously didn't figure it out), so here it is. My hope is to be able to share what we are learning and various pictures of our school days. Not sure how often I'll post but be sure to follow so you'll know when I do.

Journeying On

2010-01-21T09:08:00.005-05:00

Lord of the cloud and fire,
I am a stranger, with a stranger's indifference;
My hands hold a pilgrim's staff,
My march is Zionward,
My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord,
My heart is in Thy hands without reserve.
Thou has created it, redeemed it, renewed it, captured it, conquered it.
Keep from it every opposing foe, crush in it every rebel lust, mortify every treacherous passion, annihilate every earthborn desire.
All faculties of my being vibrate to thy touch;
I love Thee with soul, mind, body, strength, might, spirit, affection, will, desire, intellect, understanding.
Thou art the very perfection of all perfections;
All intellect is derived from Thee;
My scanty rivulets flow from Thy unfathomable fountain.
Compared with Thee the sun is darkness, all beauty deformity, all wisdom folly, the best goodness faulty.
Thou art worthy of an adoration greater than my dull heart can yield;
Invigorate my love that it may rise worthily to Thee, tightly entwine itself round Thee, be allured by Thee.
Then shall my walk be endless praise.

~ The Valley of Vision ~

Weekend Review

2010-01-18T21:39:00.002-05:00

Friday: Briggs over for a visit and haircuts. I got bangs and I haven't had bangs in YEARS. I don't have a picture to show otherwise I would but I am not real sure I like or dislike them yet. Normally I do not have a hard time adjusting to change, this time however, is different. I'll get back to you on the bang issue at a later date. Di cut Seth's and Maddie's hair as well; we had good conversation and the kids all played well, what a blessing! Thank you Di, I love ya ;)

Saturday: Stephens over! Jeromie and Chris have offered to teach father/son Auto and Home Repair class to our homeschool group. Jeromie has done a fantastic job of putting it together and is leading the class, Chris is coming along side him to co-teach; their first class was Saturday and they had a good turn out. Hopefully we'll have pics to post next time. Anyway, whilst the men taught, we ladies had a good visit and got some knitting in too!
Hadassah is teething so it was a rough day for/with her but she ended up settling in okay; I however, finished off my day with a massage!

Sunday: The Lord's Day! Church, worship, teaching, fellowship, then Brigg's House to get our eat on only our eat got postponed due to Bob - I gotta get a jab in when I can - I will say this though, dinner was well worth the wait as we were treated to Bobby Flay's, I mean, Bob Brigg's Scrumptious Steak, with sides by Cori and crew, salad tossed in by the Howells = full bellies! We celebrated Cori's sweet 16 (which was actually in December but due to our families traveling schedules we decided to wait until January) and Cullen's first double digits birthday!

It was a great weekend and today has been the start of a great week! I pray that as your week has begun that it has been a good day for you and that you are blessed with each new day the Lord gives.

Until next time ~ ciao!

Winner of the Pampered Chef Give Away Is...

2010-01-14T08:55:00.004-05:00

Hand picked by my son out of our bowl with names, the winner is:

Nancy Ward of Wilmington, NC!

Congratulations Nancy; I will be contacting you soon!

Many thanks to all who entered; please check back often for future give aways!

Success Story!

2010-01-13T18:26:00.003-05:00

So I have never made my own broth and was a little intimidated by the thought; not that it's a hard process or even scary but it's the thought that comes with doing something new like, "what if everyone hates it?" or "what if I fail miserably at it?". C'mon now, surely you've had thoughts like that before ... if you haven't I don't want to hear about it!

Okay so on with my success story. I put a shout out my friend Judy for directions on making my own broth as she does this regularly. Thankfully I saved most of my bones from the Turkey that I cooked on Sunday; I ended up putting the bones in a crock pot and covered with water and added half an onion with skin and celery leaves and cooked for 24 hours on low. This was the base for my Turkey soup, to that I added one can of vegetable broth, 3 cups of water, 3 carrots sliced, half of a large onion, 3 celery stalks chopped, a box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice with the packet mixture, 3/4 cup of white rice, salt & pepper to taste, lapped it up with some homemade biscuits and boy was it good!

Big thanks to Judy for her always being willing to give help when able. Thanking the Lord for the boost in confidence and for my family who are normally really good about trying something new and always good about giving their opinion.

What's On Your Menu?

2010-01-13T08:28:00.002-05:00

Ever get tired of the same ol' same ol' when it comes to dinner? I sure do and have often emailed our local homeschool group to get ideas for lunches so that we can get out of the Peanut Butter & Jelly rut. Don't get me wrong, I L.O.V.E. PB&J but do I really want it for lunch every day? No! Same with Spaghetti, it's a quick fix and very filling but eat it six times a month? No thank you. And have you noticed the rise in grocery cost or am I imagining things? Well in an effort to save money on groceries I have discovered coupons. Yes, I know that coupons are nothing new; they've been around for YEARS but the problem I had was that the coupons in Sunday's paper were not for things that I typically bought. I have checked out a couple of coupon websites such as: www.southernsavers.com recently www.thegrocerygame.com - there are many others but I am not going to take the time to name them all.

So what I have been trying to do is first see what is on sale then plan my menu rather than planning my menu and nothing being on sale. Then I look to see if I have any coupons that I can use to save more cashola; usually I do and can then do my shopping.

The websites come in handy by offering store coupons that you might not otherwise know about and lets you know when an on-sale item has a coupon that can be used to lower the price even more and gives the date and source (i.e.: red plum) of when the coupon came out as well as offers coupons online that you can print, create your personalized shopping list, thus helping to save time and money when shopping.

Now, couponing does take up some time and time is a precious commodity these days and something that most of us don't have a lot of - but definitely worth the effort when you can walk away saving $30, $50, or more on your grocery bill.

Another way I have been looking to save on my bill is by making simpler dinner dishes that are still very filling but fewer and cheaper ingredients. I am finding that beans and country ham biscuits go a long way, are very tasty, fill you up quite nicely, and cost less than $1.50 per serving. Now that's a deal!

Menu for this week is looking something like this:

Monday - Kielbasa w/ onion, pepper, garlic, and pasta - side salad - garlic bread
Tuesday - Turkey w/ stuffing, gravy, green beans
Wednesday - Turkey Soup
Thursday - Chicken and Rice with biscuits
Friday - Hamburger Casserole

Now, if I am doing my figures correctly by taking the cost of each item and adding them together then dividing them by six, which is the number of people/servings, then I have less than $2 per serving on almost all of these meals. (By the way, if I didn't figure correctly I am okay with someone pointing that out and correcting me and will not get offended over it!)

So, please share:

How do you save money on your grocery bill or in your home in general?
What's on your menu for the week?
Any advice on how we ladies can become more frugal, thus being good stewards of what the Lord has given us?

Pampered Chef Give Away!!

2010-01-11T09:19:00.004-05:00

For those who do not yet know this about me, I am a Pampered Chef Consultant. I signed up in November of 2008 with a challenge from my husband to use the Pampered Chef business as a ministry. "The Pampered Chef as a ministry?" "How in the world can the Pampered Chef be done as a ministry if your goal is to make some extra money?" Those were my first two thoughts and my husband gently reminded me that if my goal is to make money then I shouldn't do it and that yes, the Pampered Chef could be a ministry; so I prayed and asked the Lord to show me how and He did.

First, my goal is to help encourage friendship and community among women. We are so busy with being wives, mothers, teachers, etc... that we often don't make time to get together with our friends. I was reminded of the blessing I received by having my girlfriends over when I opened my home for a party prior to signing up. We had a great time and enjoyed a delicious meal!

Second, with the economy in the state that it is in, I want to be able to help ladies in two ways: first is by helping them get good quality kitchen tools for free or half-price and second by giving recipes that will save time and money in the kitchen. The Pampered Chef has also taken in consideration the state of the economy and come out with new recipes that will feed our families for around $2 per serving.

Third, proceeds from every show go towards another ministry that we might not have been able to support otherwise. Last year we supported Bethany Christian Services, Micah Ministries, and raised money for Breast Cancer Awareness.

So there's my story and to begin the New Year, I am hosting a Pampered Chef Give Away!! No purchase necessary to enter, simply follow the instructions below for your chance to win a Pinch Bowl Set!

Rules:

For one entry, leave a comment with your name, where you are from, email address and tell what your favorite Pampered Chef product is, why you love it so much, and how often you use it.
For 3 more entries, post this give away link on your Facebook, leave a comment stating that you did.
For 5 additional entries, post this give away link on your blog, leave a comment with your blog page link
For 10 additional entries, schedule a catalog show to be held this month by emailing me at showellpc@gmail.com

Deadline for entries is Wednesday, January 13th at midnight. Winner will be announced on Thursday, January 14th!

Vanilla Wafer Cake Recipe

2010-01-08T16:16:00.003-05:00

I had never heard of a vanilla wafer cake until we went to my Grandmother's recently; she made one and boy was it good. Naturally, I had to get the recipe and try it out for myself and all that's left are a few crumbs on the plate. Recipe below:

2 sticks margerine - melt
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12 oz) box vanilla wafers crushed fine
1 (7 oz.) package flaked coconut r
1 cup pecans chopped

Mix all ingredients together and bake for 2 hours at 275

Let me know what you think!

Another day of random ramblings!

2010-01-08T09:02:00.008-05:00

Boy are y'all in for a real treat, day two of my randomness! This morning as I was having my quiet time, I began thinking over my past and how I wish things had been different early in my marriage and what, if anything, could have been a help to me as a young wife. Here's my story, part of it anyway, and my jumbled-up thoughts...

I had just turned 21 when Chris and I were married; that isn't necessarily too young as far as age goes but for me I was definitely too immature. My mindset on marriage and life was completely messed up; messed up because I was not walking with the Lord, no where near the Lord, not even in close proximity of the Lord... you get my point! Anyway, being brought up in a Christian home I knew the life that I was living was not right and there was this part of me that wanted to know God and be a godly person but I wasn't ready. It wasn't until I was pregnant with my first child, at age 22, that I thought, "We need to be in church, we've got a baby coming!" We visited a church or two in the area that we were in but didn't find one that was a good fit for us so we stopped looking. I began listening to preaching tapes, watching TV shows with preaching, having my quiet time, etc... and desperately wanted more; but my husband wasn't interested in changing his lifestyle and I was weak and had no one to come along side me to encourage me, share the Word with me, disciple me, so after a time I caved and turned to what was familiar and what "felt good". Funny thing was is it didn't really feel that good anymore, in fact I was very empty.

Pregnant with baby number two and we had to get back in church; this time would be different for sure, and it was. I got involved in "ministry" and got this "vision" for the department that I was serving in and my vision was going to change what had been set in place and was working great for years, better. My ideas were welcomed by the leadership with enthusiasm, approved, and implemented; I was given a budget, I was in charge! I thought for sure that everyone would love what I had done but truth was I ended up offending several who had been overseeing this position for years and didn't adapt well to such abrupt change. They would have appreciated me seeking out their input but I didn't and truth was I had not even thought to. I plunged ahead, incorporated the changes, felt good about myself, but still empty. We hadn't made any real friends at this church, there was no community, no one coming along side my husband to disciple him, no one coming along side me. I sought friendships but nothing became of them and I "felt" inferior in my spiritual walk compared to them, my parenting compared to them, and my marriage compared to theirs, so I eventually stopped going to church altogether and once again reverted to a lifestyle that I couldn't seem to shake.

Many months passed and we were not in church and once again "for the sake of the kids" we needed to be in church, so we began going to yet another church. While this one had things we weren't real crazy about we liked it well enough and were resolved to continue going there. We got involved by teaching a children's SS class, we were involved in our own class, we were involved in other "things", but something was still lacking. What was it? No friendships were formed, no one came along side my husband or me, no community. These people didn't even know who we were outside of Sunday morning; here we are teaching and they have no clue that our marriage was falling apart, neither of us were living for God or even close to it, all they knew of us was our Sunday face. We left that church and no one noticed, not until about 3 months later when we got a phone call asking if we were planning to teach the next quarter.

Needless to say that left a bad taste in our mouth for quite some time, at least until I became pregnant with baby number three! And you guessed it, it's time for a church hunt. This cycle didn't stop until I was pregnant with baby number four and went to the church that we are attending now and have been for most of the past five years; I say most of those years because we did leave for a period of time but the Lord brought us back to our current place of worship. It surely wasn't what I was looking for but God knew better that I and what I found was people who truly care about the physical and spiritual needs of others. I found a true friend and Titus 2 woman who was willing to love me in spite of myself and lovingly rebuke and correct me when my thinking and behavior was completely contrary to the Word of God; Judy also encouraged me in my walk with the Lord. She prayed with and for me. By her godly example and how she loves, honors, and respects her husband and trains her children I was given the desire to want to be a better wife and mother. God was faithful to answer prayers and my husband gave his life over to Him and sent men to come alongside him and pray for and with, encourage, and disciple. We have been blessed by the friendship of Bob and Diane Briggs who are more like family than friends. Both Diane's and Judy's love and respect for their husbands has been an encouragement to me and a challenge to love my husband, seek his advice and honor him. These two ladies that have been mentioned here are just two of several that I could name in how their lives, their examples, have impacted me.

So what's the point of today's ramblings? For me, the point is the church's need for men to come along side of brothers for discipleship, accountability, friendship and for the older, spiritually mature women to come alongside the younger (in age and spiritual maturity) and teach them what is good. What is good? Look to the Scriptures, Titus 2:3-5 clearing tells us what is good; it states:

"...the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things - that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed."

Going back to the beginning of this post when I mentioned that I began my morning with thoughts of my past and how I wish things had been different early in my marriage, and what, if anything, could have been a help to me then. The answer, I believe in part, would have been if a woman had taken an interest in me and cared about my spiritual growth and been willing to invest a little time to be a Titus 2 mentor/example.

Ramblings

2010-01-07T11:59:00.016-05:00

So I'm sitting here with a lot on my mind, a lot to think about, a lot I want to say but not quite sure where to begin; ever had that feeling? I want to talk of things like change, trusting God in the face of ____, Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 women, parenting, loving my husband, homemaking, etc... Since I haven't posted in while, I'm just going to ramble and let my thoughts go where ever they want to today.

Before I begin I am going to go pop some chocolate chip cookies in the oven .... There, now that the cookies are ready for the oven and coffee is brewing, I feel comfortable to sit back and just talk.

*sits back on couch Indian style with freezing cold feet but too lazy to go get socks, places computer in lap, fingers on keys ready to type, and draws a blank ... * LOL! *thinking: four minutes before the cookies come out of the oven, maybe that, along with my coffee, will help get the creative juices flowing to help make sense of the mess in my head ... then again, maybe not*

*has a thought that gets interrupted by Madeline wanting to make a fort, Sidney wanting something else to eat because she is still hungry ... it's quiet for just a moment then here comes Sidney wanting to get the baby up from her nap, the timer goes off sounding the alarm that the cookies in the oven are DONE, I take a break from all this exhaustion to indulge in chocolate and coffee, come to sit back down at my computer and hear The Sound of Music coming from my room, sounds of Hadassah laughing at her sisters... the sounds of HOME and they make me smile* *happy sigh*

Let's talk about home, shall we? We have been living in this home for five and a half years now, the longest that we have ever been in a home. Just today I had a realtor come take a look at our house with the intention of putting it on the market come spring if not before. I like this lady, she came highly recommended from a friend, and made a great first impression. Thoughts of moving bring a plethora of emotions because it means change is coming; and with change, new beginnings. When we discussed the possibility of selling with our children, a rush of emotions ran through our daughter Sidney as this is the only home she can remember being in. She's scared, and at night when she lay in bed, she talks about it with her older sister Madeline. It's the unknown that frightens her and yet excites her at the same time. Change... a new beginning... a new house... a new room... but where? I am at peace with and welcome these coming changes because I know that God is in complete control; I can honestly say that while I don't know what God has in store for our family, I am joyfully looking forward to the future and where He is leading us.

The other night a friend who is struggling with some stuff called and shared how the Lord had blessed them unexpectedly and how this verse that I remember learning as a child reminded her of her need to trust God. Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us to

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

I love that verse and the simplicity of it; trust Him, acknowledge Him, and He will direct you. So then today, another friend emails me and shared the same passage from a different translation called the Message. I have never read from the Message as I like to stick with NKJV or ESV but what I liked about this is how very personal this was for me; like someone speaking directly to me. It reads:

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all."

How many times have I tried to figure stuff out on my own only to fail miserably? Too many to count! It is so easy to trust God and give Him credit when we have good health, money to pay our bills, good relations with family and friends, job security, etc...; but have something come up that throws us for an unexpected loop like a family member is diagnosed with cancer, a Daddy looses his job or gets a significant pay cut and bills begin to pile unable to be paid on time, the list goes on and you get my point. Why is it so hard during those times, when the going gets tough, to trust God? We just read that if we trust and acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths. The Word also tells us that He is with us now, He will be with us during whatever we are going through, and He will continue to be with us after we go through it; He is a shield to all whom trust in Him. Trust. Simple to say, hard to do when your loved one lay dying. Trust. Simple to say, hard to do when your home is being foreclosed on. Trust. Simple to say, hard to do when all your friends around you are entering into holy matrimony and your very heart and soul longs to be married. Trust. Simple to say, hard to do when everything inside you cries out for a child but you remain barren. Trust. As I write this I am encouraged and hope that sharing my heart with you today will be an encouragement to you that whatever state you are in right now, God already knows about it so just give it over to Him; stop worrying and start trusting.

Bust as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand... Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You..."

There's No Place Like Home!

2009-12-28T07:36:00.002-05:00

We had such a lovely visit with my Grandmother, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins over Christmas and so thankful that the Lord allowed us to go but after being away 4 nights and 5 days, it sure is good to be HOME! I look forward to sharing pictures with you in the coming days. For now I just wanted to pop in and say hello!

Have a blessed day!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-23T15:45:00.002-05:00

We are getting ready to embark on a trip to South Carolina where we will be spending Christmas with my Mom's Mother and her two sisters. This is the first year that we will have spent Christmas with her and we are so excited! I do not think that I will have an opportunity to blog while gone so until we return may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Merry Christmas Friends!

Marie-Madeline Studios GiveAway, Again!

2009-12-22T11:43:00.003-05:00

These ladies are offering yet another fabulous give away; see details here.

Christmas Traditions and Such Ramblings

2009-12-21T10:40:00.001-05:00

We don't have a lot of traditions in our home that we stick with every year. No certain day to do any one thing in particular, no certain prank gift that floats around from year to year, no certain place that we have to be just as long as we're together, no certain anything really. And I don't say that with a heavy heart wishing that we had this tradition or that tradition, nor am I envious of other family's traditions. It's just how we are and where we are right now.

This year we are fortunate to be able to spend Christmas with my Mother's Mom in South Carolina. She is so excited about us coming and has called several times to make sure our plans have not changed and that we are still on! This will be the first time she has had Christmas in her home in 14 years and the first time that we will have spent Christmas with her. I am so thankful that we get the opportunity to go and pray that our time together will be especially blessed with great memories.

As I write this my memories are taking me back to my childhood and I smile at the remembrance of how my sister Sharon and I would, with great care, unwrap presents that had been sent in from out of town relatives and then wrap them back up. One year in particular, we each had partially unwrapped a gift from my Aunt Peggy; we couldn't unwrap them all the way due to the paper tearing and it was hard to tell exactly what it was but from the looks and feel of it (brown and furry) we just KNEW it had to be a rabbit fur coat and we were soooo excited we could hardly stand it. Imagine our surprise and somewhat disappointment when on Christmas morning we unwrap not the rabbit fur coat that we had naively assumed but furry blankets instead. They were nice blankets and kept us warm but they were no rabbit fur coats that was for sure!

Another year she and I woke early and rode our new bikes all through the house and played with the toys that were out before we woke anyone else up. Needless to say our Momma was not very happy over that one when she found out but Sharon and I sure had a good time. Our oldest sister Susan was not one for spoiling surprises so she went to great lengths at hiding gifts from us; she wasn't that great at it as I snooped in her room and found all her gifts then Christmas morning when it was time for me to open up the one from her I closed my eyes and ran my hand over the beautifully decorated box and guessed, "This has to be a pink bath robe!" I was spot on and while everyone else laughed she did not think it was too funny.
Knowing my love for snooping in pre-wrapped packages, my sister Sharon pranked me pretty good; she lured me by having the bait wrapped and under the tree. I'm weak, what can I say? Anyways, I did what I always did and carefully unwrapped the package to find a bar of soap and note that read something like this, "You stink, go take a bath!" Busted but what fun!

The one thing that our family does do is instead of putting names on the gifts we put numbers on them. Now Chris and I know who the number belongs to and what it is but the children don't so when it's their turn to choose a gift they call out the number they chose and Chris tells them whether or not they can open it or have to pass it to the person it really belongs to. We have scaled our giving waaay back so this adds that little extra bit of excitement and prolongs the giving time. We have fun with it.

I love the idea that was shared by the Danaher Family; I'm not sure how it was started but, years ago Sarah, their oldest daughter, made "giving bags" for each child helping to turn their focus on giving rather than receiving. Seems as though it worked from some of the stories they have shared like how excited the children get to fill their bags with goodies to give away!
My pastor's wife shared how they have this silly gift that has been passed around their family for many years now. Sometimes they go a year or two without it being given but it always shows itself when least expected!

So, what's your family tradition? Do you have a certain something that you do the night before or on Christmas day? We would love to hear from you, please share your favorite Christmas memory and/or family tradition!

Love

2009-12-20T10:30:00.001-05:00

We have a white erase board on the main wall in our dining area that we frequently post Bible verses on that correspond with what we're learning as a family; several weeks ago we posted portions of 1 Cor. 13:4-8a, "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own... love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things... Love never fails..." Each of us has been challenged with a question following the verse, "Are you showing love through/with your actions and attitudes or with how you speak to one another?"

I confess that I do not always show love to my husband or children in how I speak to them, my tone of voice, more often than I care to admit, is short, impatient, and demanding rather than making my request or responses with love, kindness, and patience. And I am reminded of James chapter 3 where it talks about the untamable tongue, "For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member an boast great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt and water and fresh."

Hard to believe what such a small member is capable of, but think about it, it has the power to give life by blessing, encouraging, exhorting, thanking, loving, etc... and from that same small member it can also destroy life by teasing & taunting, speaking harshly out of impatience or anger, putting others down, etc... And words, sure they can be forgiven but once spoken can never be taken back. Oh how I desperately wish I could take back words that were spoken out of anger, impatience, or just plain ol' meanness. We need to realize how important our words are, so important that Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 that "for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment." In the light of that verse, we should probably think hard before we speak!

I began writing this post a couple of days ago as this subject has been heavy on my heart. I am bothered at how how my children speak to one another and even catching my husband and myself in the same manner of tone. Since typing the very first word I have struggled more than usual; I thank God for these struggles because they show me how much more I need to press into Him. I am so thankful for Jesus who is the prime example of how we are to love others and so thankful for how patient He is with us; how I long to be more like Him.

Snow

2009-12-19T10:40:00.004-05:00

What's winter without snow? Our first real snow fall of the year began last night and hasn't let up since. I think it's safe to say that we have a good 15 inches already and no sign of it letting up anytime soon. By the way, as I type this it's only 10:40am and weather reports say heavy winds and snow until midnight tonight. Here are a couple of pictures from the front, side, and rear porch of our home.

Blog Contest and Give Away

2009-12-17T17:38:00.005-05:00

My daughter is hosting a contest and give away on her blog; the address is www.maddiesmeadow.blogspot.com be sure to check out the details and let her know where you found out about it. Happy writing!

Blog Give Away!

2009-12-16T21:30:00.005-05:00

marie-madeline studio is giving away a $35 gift certificate to spend in their store; they have great fabric, skirts, aprons, quilts, etc... If you're interested in entering, click here for details!

The SOS Conference

2009-12-15T12:38:00.004-05:00

We left for the Sufficiency of Scriptures Conference on Wednesday of last week with great expectation in our hearts to hear the Word of God preached and we were not let down. I had hoped to update while there but had no internet service in our hotel; well let me rephrase that, I was not going to pay for internet service. Here is a short cap of our trip ...

Left home at 10 am and arrived at our hotel around 8pm with several stops on the way; we had a great trip and saw beautiful countrysides along the way, our only complaint would have been the 40-50 mph winds that we encountered.
Stayed at the Embassy Suites, had a great room, enjoyed people watching from the 4th floor!
Thursday - Went to the Creation Museum, definitely needed more time there and hope to go back next summer. Had to make a stop at Wal-Mart for a few supplies that we could not live without (i.e.: coffee pot for our room!), then to Old Navy so that Seth would have more than one shirt to wear while at the conference!
Thursday night, open ceremonies held and excitement is in the air for what the Lord is doing in the hearts of Fathers, Families, and Churches across this great nation. Scott Brown did live blogging throughout the Conference, you can check out his post here.
Friday, Conference all day.
Saturday, 8am-3:30pm we were at the Conference then back to the hotel where we visited with some of the attendees. We packed our things, loaded the van, ate, slept and woke on
Sunday, left at 7am and drove home arriving around 5pm.

We were blessed and encouraged by the preaching of these modern day Heroes of the Faith, Reformers for the Gospel of Christ. We are thankful for them and for their boldness in preaching God's Word. We are thankful for the countless hours that were spent by Peter Bradrick, David Brown, Blair Brown, the Interns at NCFIC, and many others who worked together to make this an absolutely wonderful experience for all who attended.

Our friends, The Stephens and part of The Briggs Family from our church were also there which made our trip all the more enjoyable. We were able to get reaquainted with Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Brower & meet their children and The Cases, which we met at the Marriage Retreat back in August. We met one of the winners of our "Name that Cake" contest, Jenna Ward and her family! Chris got to see several men from the Father/Son Retreat that he and Seth attended.

Overall we had a most enjoyable time. We thank God that He provided a way for us to go when it looked as though we might not be able to. We look forward, with anticipation, to any and all opportunities that He gives us to go to these types of conferences with and without our children.

Car Wrecks and Conferences!

2009-12-08T07:40:00.003-05:00

Quite a combination, eh? They have absolutely nothing in common and are in no way linked to one another; however, they are both linked to our family. Last Wednesday I was out with my four girls running errands before heading to piano lessons; it was the after errands before piano when the accident occurred. I was heading straight on Spotsylvania Parkway toward Route 1 when I saw that a gentleman was running a stop sign at a busy intersection and there was no way we were going to avoid getting hit. I laid on the horn and slammed on the brakes and remember telling my daughters that we were going to get hit; Sidney, my 7 year old screamed just before the driver slammed into my door. Praise God for His hand of protection that miraculously saved us all, including the gentleman that hit us, from any major injuries. My van is in the shop, I wish I had had my camera with me so that I could show you pictures of both our vehicles; our van was hit hard in the driver side door - he hit us hard, head on and completely messed his mini-van up. Praise God for our 15-passenger van that sat us up high enough to avoid what could have been major injuries had we been sitting in a lower vehicle. My Father-in-law was able to get to the scene of the accident rather quickly and helped with getting the girls back to where he and my Mother-in-law could care for them while Chris took care of moving the van and then coming to be with me at the hospital. I was taken in for a CT Scan of my head, neck, spine, hips, and internal injuries; thankfully they all came back NORMAL! My friend Diane would like a second opinion on that but she's no doctor ;) I am being seen by my chiropractor and family physician but believe that with a little time complete healing will take place and I'll be good as new!

Having nothing to do with the accident is the upcoming Sufficiency of Scriptures Conference that is being put on by NCFIC. This will be the first time our family has taken in anything like this and we are very excited for the opportunity to go hear the teaching from speakers like Doug Philips, Voddie Baucham, Ken Ham, and many more as well as network with like-minded families. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning to make our way to Covington, KY; please join us in prayer for the following:

The Conference: For those putting on this event, the "behind the scenes" workers, the speakers and their messages.
The attendees - many will be traveling great distances, please pray for traveling mercies for all, to and from.
The attendees - that we will be receptive to the Word, for networking opportunities, that God would give to each of us what He desires us to walk away with.
The Creation Museum - each person gets a free pass to the museum, pray that everyone will have the opportunity to go and enjoy the time there.

I'm quite sure that I am leaving some stuff out so please pray for whatever else the Lord may lead you to and on a personal note, please pray that my headaches would ease up and that my time sitting in the van wouldn't be hard on my lower back.

I look forward to sharing about our experiences there. Ciao!

Thanksgiving Day part2

2009-11-30T08:14:00.009-05:00

The second part of Thanksgiving Day was spent at the home of our friends Bob and Diane Briggs with their children, Cori, Casi, Cristy, Cullen, Calen, and Catrin and dog, Chase! With bellies full we old folks first enjoyed conversation while the kiddos played. Later we gathered in the den where Mr. Briggs led us in a talk about when and why the pilgrims came, what sacrifices they made to get here, what they endured while they were here, etc... Afterwards we played charades, family against family and the Briggs won! I wish I had on video Mr. Brigg's victory run around the room, that would have been fun to watch over and over again. I didn't have time to crop and fix pictures so they are what they are, see below for part 2 of our Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day part1

2009-11-29T19:20:00.009-05:00

Our Thanksgiving Day started at home with breakfast and a movie/documentary on Anne Frank. We then headed over to my sister-in-laws church for dinner with the Hinnefelds and Howells and there was a few others there that were friends of the Hinnefelds. Pictures below are random shots from this portion of our day...

Mrs. Hinnefeld and her son Tom

Joey and his cousins
Linda, Tanya, & Hadassah Joy

Tom & his son

Mr. Hinnefeld making a craft with all the children

Mrs. Hinnefeld and her son Geoff with the cheezy smile and Chris

The upper room where children of all ages made a craft

Tanya and her sister-in-law Kim

Tom and his son

Sue's daughter Ava with Hadassah

Justin

Pa with Hadassah

We are thankful for family!

Contest Winner of Name That Cake

2009-11-28T15:04:00.003-05:00

BIGS thanks to all who played. We had a lot of fun reading over the list and quite a hard decision to make as we like all the names that were suggested. However, we narrowed it down to 2 which means there is a tie.

The winner of the Pampered Chef Small Spreader is: "The Crazy Cock-eyed Chocolate Catastrophe!" and winner of a Pampered Chef All Purpose Spreader is: "Goodness Me, I Should've Only Stacked Three!"

Winners please contact me via email to howellpartyof7@gmail.com with Contest Winner in the subject line. I will reply to get your address so that your spreaders can be mailed out on Monday!

Blessings for a wonderful weekend to all and thanks again!

Blog Contest - "Name That Cake!"

2009-11-25T18:04:00.010-05:00

So I baked my first 6 layer chocolate cake today that is to be shared with friends and family tomorrow. I had no problems with the batter or the frosting, making both from scratch, they taste delicious. The problem came when I began layering the cake; somehow I don't think it's supposed to look like this:

Why a "Name That Cake" Contest? Why not? We thought it would be fun to see what you would name it since it doesn't really look like a 6-layer cake. So here's the deal:

Leave a comment with your name and name of cake.

Forward this link to your friends and have them play along.

Deadline for entries will be Friday at midnight (not planning on that many entries just thinking that we won't be online due to tomorrow being Thanksgiving and all). Saturday morning we (we being me, my husband, and our children) will take a look at the entries and post the winner.

Winning entry will receive a Pampered Chef Small Spreader, you can view that item by going here or see below.

Only one entry per person please.

Have fun and be creative but please keep comments clean and family friendly!

Thanksgivings3

2009-11-25T15:37:00.009-05:00

Today I am thankful for our friends, the Lord has truly blessed us with some great ones! We had the Briggs over this morning for a few hours of play time. While the children played games and watched Anne of Green Gables, I taught Diane how to make biscuits. Madeline was gracious enough to take pictures of us working alongside each other!

How to make homemade biscuits

Cast of Characters

Me (Shelly) and Diane

I forgot to take a picture after they came out of the oven, these below are mine that were left over. Di did a wonderful job on her biscuits; they looked great and tasted delicious!

After the Briggs left I had to begin baking for our Thanksgiving dinner with the Howells and Hinnefelds (my sister-in-laws in-laws family). I made a 6 layer chocolate cake for the FIRST time. I began taking pictures but soon forgot so while I have the beginning there is no middle and wait til you see the end result; this is by far the most pitiful looking cake I have ever seen or made. Thankfully the batter and frosting taste delicious 'cause going on looks this cake just ain't happenin'!

I decided to forego the prelude pictures and just skip to the end ....

Picnics and Expeditions

2009-11-24T09:28:00.002-05:00

I love the imaginations of children; listening to and watching them play gives me such pleasure. Sidney and Chloe regularly go on picnics and expeditions. On this particularly warm November 4th day, the two dressed for the occassion, packed a sandwich and snack, and copped a squat smack dab in the middle of our round pin to have their picnic and scope out where they would walk for their expedition. Expeditions consist of finding bugs and special flowers in our pastures and can last anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple of hours. They always come home with new stories to tell and new adventures to plan!

Thanksgivings2

2009-11-24T07:35:00.003-05:00

Today I am thankful for:

Thanksgivings...

2009-11-23T11:38:00.003-05:00

With 4 days until Thanksgiving, today I am thankful for my children and for the blessing they are to our family. Each one is unique and has special talents and gifts and contributes to our family in a way that only they could.

Thankfulness

2009-11-21T17:35:00.005-05:00

A friend of mine has been posting as her status on FB something that she is thankful for for the past few days; today for example she posted that she was thankful for the library. I have never met someone who used the library as much as she did when she lived here, she would even request that they purchase books that were on her children's upcoming reading list and they did!

As part of our nightly devotions my husband usually asks us to list one thing that we can be thankful for for that day. What a great way for our children to be able to learn thankfulness daily!

So as I think about thankfulness there is much to be thankful for and much to praise God for. Today and everyday I am thankful for my salvation and for the One who saved me, Jesus Christ.

Morning

2009-11-03T06:57:00.003-05:00

Compassionate Lord,
Thy mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day,
Vain will be its gifts unless I grow in grace,
increase in knowledge,
ripen for spiritual harvest.
Let me this day know thee as thou art,
love thee supremely,
admire thee fully.
Through grace let my will respond to thee,
Knowing that power to obey is not in me, but
that thy free love alone enables me to serve thee.
here then is my empty heart,
overflow it with thy choicest gifts;
Here is my blind understanding,
chase away its mists of ignorance.
O ever watchful Shepherd,
lead, guide, tend me this day;
Without thy restraining rod I err and stray;
Hedge up my path lest I wander into unwholesome pleasure,
and drink its poisonous streams;
Direct my feet that I be not entangled in Satan's secret snares,
nor fall into his hidden traps.
Defend me from assailing foes,
from evil circumstances,
from myself.
My adversaries are part and parcel of my nature;
they cling to me as my very skin;
I cannot escape their contact.
In my rising up and sitting down they barnacle me;
They entice with constant baits;
My enemy is within the citadel;
Come with almighty power and cast him out, pierce him to death,
and abolish in me every particle of carnal life this day.

The Valley of Vision
A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

Happy November!

2009-11-02T15:26:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that yesterday was the first day of November and just around the corner a new year awaits us; I wonder what it will bring. As I think of all the possibilities I am filled with excitement as we look forward to gardening, new animals that will provide us with milk and meat, and possibly new business adventures from home. For now I am busying myself with schooling the children, trying to keep everyone well, learning to bake bread, reading/research, and when the Lord allows, spending time with dear friends and loved ones.

Chris and Seth are in their second year of selling firewood and boy are they ever staying busy! We have already split, delivered, and stacked 5 cords and have 12 more to do in 3 weeks. The Lord has truly blessed us and we pray that as we work together as a family that we are able to bless those whom we are serving.

Closing for now and wishing all who read this a blessed evening!

Trip

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Recently we went to South Carolina to visit my Mema Pearl and my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Darvin; we had such a great time. There are so many wonderful childhood memories of spending summers with my Aunt and Uncle and I love reliving them. Usually when we go we are so busy sight seeing and shopping that we rarely have time to truly visit. This was not the case this particular visit as the Lord gave us sweet time with my Mema to just sit and listen to her share with us parts of her childhood and our family history; most of which I did not know like Thomas Jefferson is our cousin (okay, way distant but still family nonetheless and we think that's pretty cool!). What a blessing it was to hear her speak of God and her love for Him, I will always cherish these conversations.

Something that we absolutely love to do when we go to SC is take a picnic and ride through the mountains; however due to weather we decided to take our picnic back to Mema's after the drive as it was much too windy and cold and wet to enjoy eating out. There are entirely too many pictures to post but here are a few of our time there ...

The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills, the fruit of righteousness.

Psalm 72:3

This picture makes me want to know what's around that bend?

We pulled off the road - this water fall was simply beautiful, we were able to explore it and the area around it. The next several pictures are from that spot ...

Back at home, after eating, resting, and playing ...

Fall already?

2009-10-09T07:06:00.003-04:00

Fall has sure caught me by surprise. Where in the world has the time gone? It has been quite an adventurous year for our family that began last November when my husband became ill and got progessively worse in the course of a month. We weren’t sure what the future would hold for us as we weren’t sure of what was causing him to be so sick. God is good; He sent us to the right doctor who was able to properly diagnose Chris and perform the procedures necessary to get him on his way to recovery! During his brief stay at Johns-Hopkins my Mother-in-law and I bonded in a way that I am quite sure neither of us ever thought we would have! God blessed us with the ability to laugh, forgive, love, and gave us stories that we will never forget; one of my favorites being when she was on the phone with my Father-in-law while trying to tape the water hose outside to keep it from freezing. I still laugh thinking about some of the things we had to go through! Well, Chris made it home and recovered nicely and within a month or so I gave birth to Hadassah Joy; life has not slowed down since. Chris has not had any problems to speak of, the children have all remained well, our home schooling is off to a wonderful start and we have much to be thankful for. It is awesome to sit back and think on the events that took place over the past year and to be able to see how God's hand was in it all. Nothing happened that He didn't allow; and it all brought us closer to Him and to each other. Praise the Lord!

Clean Sweep

2009-10-08T10:20:00.002-04:00

Most of us have seen the old TV show, Clean Sweep. For those who haven't, three experts come into a persons home to completely clean out their most messy, cluttered room(s). They begin by taking everything that was in the room(s) outside and give them 3 categories into which the owners are to sort their belongings: Keep, Sell, Trash. During this sorting process the main "expert" tries to figure out why the owners are holding onto all their junk. For some it may be as simple as they didn't even realize they still had it, for others they simply can't let go of an item due to the memory that it brings, or because it was a gift given by someone whom they care deeply for and therefore can't bring themselves to part with the item.

For several weeks now, I have been telling my husband that I want to clean sweep my attics... again. This is something that has to be done at least once a year but I usually do it twice (spring & fall); I recently began that process by going through bins of clothing, memorabilia, and all that other stuff that gets put somewhere when no one knows where to put it. It is amazing how quickly junk piles up and before we know it we need to clean sweep again.

I find that the same can be true of our life, both personal and spiritual. As I began writing this the Lord really prompted me to think about the "rooms" or areas in my life that need to be clean swept. Sometimes the process of allowing God to go through and purge out all the ugly, dirty stuff can be quite painful but it is a pain that I welcome because it stretches me and causes me to grow in Him. I don't want to hold on to junk; I want it gone. So as I go through our personal things and am sorting our stuff into piles, I am also asking God to "search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." I want God to show me what areas of my that need sorting into "keep" or "trash" piles. What am I holding on to and why? Am I holding on to any unforgiveness? Trash it! Am I uncontent with what You have given me? If so, why and will You please help me to be content in whatever state You have me in? Have I wronged someone and not asked for for their forgiveness? If so, who and will You please give me the courage to go to them? What areas of pride do I need to trash? Thankfully, God is faithful to answer when we ask of Him!

My Girls

2009-10-03T08:28:00.025-04:00

Last weekend Chris and Seth went to NC for a father/son retreat hosted by the NCFIC. This gave me a chance to spend some time with just my girls. We shopped, ate pizza, and watched girly movies; I really enjoyed them and am so thankful for the time we had. On Friday, while Hadassah slept, I took the opportunity to get some shots of them.

Chloe Grace

Madeline

Madeline & Chloe

Chloe Grace

Sidney above

Madeline

Hadassah Joy woke up from her nap and wanted to be included!

Play Days, Fun Days!

2009-10-01T19:08:00.021-04:00

We love days like today... sun shining, warm weather, nice breeze, and friends over to play! Living out in the country has its ups and downs. Well, really only one down as far as I am concerned and that would be that we live a little far from our friends so we don't just pop over for a few minutes to visit with someone nor does anyone just "drop by" our place; no we have to plan our visits. So today was one of those days, a planned play day after school. It is amazing at how quickly school work can get done when motivated by the promise of play. I LOVE play days!!

So the kids decided to play some dodge ball in our round pin ... that's a pretty good place to play that game actually!

They threw football, played volleyball, jumped on the trampoline and shot some hoops. Some gathered on the driveway for a game of CLUE and others played with the rabbits.

My good friend, Di with her daughter Casi & Cori in the back ground. To the right is Di's daughter Caelan holding my Hadassah!

In the playhouse having a snack is Chloe Grace with her best friend, Catrin Mae and to the right some playing CLUE while others look on.

My good friends Karen holding Hadassah and Judy to the right engaging in a conversation with Di who was sitting across from her.

Left: Cullen

Right: Jedi

Family Reunion

2009-09-23T17:43:00.017-04:00

Last Friday we loaded up the van and headed to Micro, NC for a Howell Family Reunion. Both of Chris' parents and my Momma's family have annual reunions which shamefully, we have not attended in 3-4 years. My father-in-law said on Saturday, "When you young people get to be about 60 years of age you'll understand just how important these family reunions are..." He has a point. Unfortunately reunions haven't been hailed as important in our immediate family; what a poor example we've set for our children in this area. It isn't until we go to one that we understand just how important these family reunions truly are and how we need to train our children to have a love for family, all of our family, not just those in our immediate circle.

Everyone said that this was the best turn out they had had in years and yet there were many who were sorely missed, Uncle Roy & Aunt Judy and their children and families, Uncle John & Aunt Joy, & Aunt Sarah to name a few. While there were right many in attendance, I observed how hard it was for some to get out of their comfort zone, myself included, to mingle with family that you don't normally see and maybe don't even know. How silly is that? We're family for goodness sake! We should be excited to see each other and hear what has been going on within that individual's or family's life over the past year. We should be knowing each other by name not reintroducing ourselves to one another; perhaps that will be the case once we consistantly attend and participate.

So I had a thought (I come up with 'em from time to time, you know!), why don't we come up with some ideas to make next year's reunion a bit more interesting/fun for the attendees? Feel free to share your ideas here under the "comments" section or email them to Joe & Linda. Here's one ... this year Joe had a member of each family present introduce their own family and tell how they were related to the Howell's; that was a great idea. So that we can get an opportunity to know each other, why not take a few minutes to share something about your family (ie: where you live, what you do, what's happening within your family)? Just an idea ... now let's hear yours (you don't have to be related to share your ideas ... if you have a good suggestion for reunion get-togethers we want to hear it so please post!).

Chris' Dad asked me to take and post pictures; below you find them in no particular order. Please keep in mind that I am not a photographer (new idea for next year: hire professional photographer to take family pictures as well as random shots). I made the mistake of uploading them all on the same side and while it makes for a boring blog post, it takes entirely too long to delete and re-upload them so for now we all have to deal with boring until I have time to change it!

Howell Family - if you see a picture that you want put onto a disc and mailed or emailed over please contact me privately with the "name" or "number" of the picture. Joe and Linda will be helping me put names to faces and I will edit as time permits.

It was a true blessing being able to see each of you and we look forward to seeing you again as the Lord wills.

#2813

#2814

Aunt Doris w/ Baby Hadassah #2282

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#2820 - my mother-in-laws school teacher - how cool is that?!?!

Sidney Howell & Christy Hinnefeld #2289

Chloe Howell #2828

#2826

Seth Howell #2825

Joseph Hinnefeld #2824

#2822

What a crew! Lola, Joe, Tommy, Doris - brothers & sisters - #2816

Shelly & Hadassah Howell (thanks for the pic Uncle T!) -#2815

Part of Tommy & Wanda's Clan #2811

Chris, Shelly & Hadassah Howell #2810

Joe & Linda Howell's Clan #2810

Uhh... how come your camera's not workin'? #2808

Pate Family #2805 (Uncle T took this pic, not me!)

#2804

#2803

#2801

#2799

#2798

#2797

#2796

#2795

#2821

#2819

#2818

Baked Oatmeal

2009-09-23T07:04:00.002-04:00

Chris and I went to a marriage retreat back in August and for breakfast the hostess had prepared Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries. It was so good and filling. I asked her to share the recipe and she did. We have made it two times so far and love it! The first time I made this I used fresh/frozen blueberries, however when I made it yesterday I used fresh/frozen peaches with the juice along with blueberries. Oh my, this was so good. Here is the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:
6 C oats
1 1/2 C brown sugar
4 t. baking powder
2 T cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger

Wet Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 C milk
1 C yogurt
1 C sour cream
2 t. vanilla

Put dry ingredients in bowl, mix well. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Combine wet & dry ingredients, mix well. Add blueberries or peaches or whatever you want to add and mix it all up.
Pour into deep 13x9 baking dish and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve with maple syrup &/or half & half.

Can be made the night before and refrigerated. I have made it with fresh bluberries and peaches separately as well as combined them.

Reflections

2009-09-10T07:43:00.010-04:00

Yesterday I looked into the mirror and didn't like the reflection that was looking back at me. It was one of upheaval. I looked like a frantic, frenzied, tired woman with my hair a complete mess, no make-up on, and a look of scorn on my brow. My friend Sarah would sweetly say, "You just looked a little stressed." I don't like looking stressed nor the "tone" that it sets in my home, nor for others, namely my children. I knew something had to be done about it. Before I can share what was done it is important that you understand why I was stressed.

This is our first week of starting a new year in home-schooling and each day has been somewhat of a challenge. A challenge with scheduling. A challenge with teaching new curriculm. A challenge teaching multiple ages. A challenge with attitudes. A challenge to keep my home neat. A challenge to get dinner on the table. A challenge to keep a peaceable, quiet spirit.

A CHALLENGE.

I shamefully admit that I have not consistantly met these challenges in a way that would please my Lord. After an unusually long day of schooling my children and caring for a teething five month old, I was helping my son with his work - the new stuff, the stuff we've never done before, the stuff that really has you thinking in ways you've never thought of before, the ATI stuff. I was already at my whit's end and feeling defeated, and now I am having to go through it all again. Poor little me. I wanted to cry and feel sorry for myself. And infact I did cry, I cried out to God and asked Him for help. Then I purposed to be quiet and just listen and wait. The Word says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." As I rested in the Lord yesterday afternoon and last night the Lord prompted me to take another look at my schedule and make some very necessary changes in the time frames that I teach my 4 year old. That meant changing my older children's work around as well but I felt certain that since it was the Lord Who was doing the prompting that it would all work out. So with schedule in hand I sat down and began penciling in some changes ... a little here, a little there, and wala! we have a new schedule. As schedules go, we do have to learn to be flexible but it sure is great having a planned, purposed blueprint for your day. Today was a great day and after looking in the mirror my reflection wasn't one of stress and disorder. As a matter of fact, the physical reflection wasn't that bad! Most importantly I can reflect back over the day and smile at what we were able to accomplish and the attitudes in which the accomplishments were made. God is so good and an ever present help.

Fear Overcome!

2009-09-03T15:42:00.000-04:00

My oldest daughter, Madeline (age 11), has a fear of being burned when putting a dish in the oven or taking it out. The dance around the oven door she does as she attempts to take dinner out of the oven can be quite entertaining but there is nothing funny about the fear that grips her innermost being. The other night she made an excellent dinner, she did quite well in putting the dish into the oven for cooking but when it came time to take dinner out, that was another story altogether. With thick oven mitts on she adamantly exclaimed more than once, “I can’t do it. I’m afraid.” I know that kind of fear, I think we all do, which is why it is so important that we trust God’s Word when it says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (1 Tim. 1:7) Getting her to the point of getting that dish out of the oven wasn’t an easy one. Both her Dad and I had to assure her over and over again that she could do this quoting and having her repeat it as well, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” A little more prodding and Madeline overcame her fear!

As a parent, it can be frustrating trying to help a child gain your trust while holding on to a fear but what joy comes to both you and the child when that fear is overcome.
The same is true for us. When we hold on to our fears they hold us back, it is only when we release them fully to God and trust Him that we are able to overcome. For years I hid certain sins that I just knew could never be forgiven. Luke 8:17 tells us, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” I was determined to take my secrets to the grave because I was so trapped by fear and believed the lies of the enemy. The Lord knew that I needed to confess what I had been hiding for so many years, James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” And 1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Oh how true those precious words are. When I took that leap of faith and trusted God with the outcome, healing took place.

If you’re holding on to fear of any kind, I want to encourage you to release it to the One who is able to take it away.

“I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning…. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” – Psalm 30:1-5, 11-12

Raising Sons & Daughters of Virtue … A Challenge Worth Taking!

2009-09-02T13:38:00.001-04:00

Definition of Virtuous: Morally good; chaste

For those who knew me “back in the day” I think all would agree to the fact that I was not a virtuous young woman. There was nothing virtuous about my speech or conduct. I enjoyed, to the fullest, an immoral lifestyle; indulging in bad habits as often as possible, and giving into the lust of the flesh out of a desire to feel loved or wanted only to be left feeling more empty and alone. For years I have often been “haunted” by memories of my past, feeling scarred and unworthy. God’s Word says that He (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Although I would have never admitted to it back then, I was lost in a big way. I thought having “fire insurance” was enough. Before I go any further, let me explain “fire insurance”. That’s where you might have made a profession of faith at some point in your life but you’re not living for nor walking with the Lord and if you’re bearing “fruit” (Matthew 7:17-20) it’s rotten and needs to be thrown out. Well, that was me … not worthy of calling myself a Christian by any means. I thank God for Jesus! By Him and through Him I have been redeemed. Webster’s Dictionary defines redeemed as “ransomed, delivered from bondage, distress, penalty, liability, or from the possession of another, by paying an equivalent.” And you can’t be redeemed if you don’t have a Redeemer, which is defined by Webster as, “One who redeems or ransoms” and as, “The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.” That is exactly who He is and what He did for me! However, because of my sin I still have the scars of my past and the wrong choices I made. Hence my initial thought of raising sons & daughters of virtue continues…

I don’t want for any of my children to go into a marriage defiled and scarred because of wrong choices they made. I want them to go into marriage with the sweet innocence that being pure in thought and deed brings. How wonderful it would have been to be able to say to my husband on the night of our wedding that I had saved myself just for him and this occasion and him likewise… but we did not and unfortunately we can’t go back and change the past which is why it is so important that we start now with our sons and daughters. So because we did not remain pure in thought, deed, and dress, and the majority of our culture encourages promiscuity, does that mean we are fighting a losing battle? I think not! I think all the more reason for us as parents to aggressively train up our children in the way they should go and teach them the importance of modesty, purity, and chastity and not just teach it with our words but show them by our example and share with them, when appropriate, our mistakes and the consequences of them. I don’t want to end here but need to for now but will revisit this at a later time to add more thoughts on the subject!

Life on our farm ... some of it anyway!

2009-08-13T09:08:00.014-04:00

One of the things I love most about living on a farm is when a new baby is born or a chick hatches. Over the years we have had the awesome priviledge of watching the birth of a colt, piglets, and seeing baby chics as they were hatching out of their eggs. All very cool. During the last year we have said goodbye to some very dearly beloved friends beginning with Blossom and her baby, Kilo's Storm (affectionately & appropriately dubbed "Geoffrey"). I don't have any pictures of them on my computer to share but they are Appaloosa's. We aquired 3 sheep last May - partly because we were stupid and partly because we were stupid! Sold them off this past May, done with sheep. Shortly after they (the sheep) came to our farm we sold off Fred & Sally and all of their children (see pic below). They were awesome pets, especially Sally, and we truly hated to see them go (I even shed a tear or two over their leaving & Sally cried like a baby - no lie), but they went to a great home and had even more babies!

The last to go have been the 2 that helped start it all, Skip & Sophie. They were our introduction to horses and our love for them. Selling them wasn't an easy decision, but with the rise of feed and decline in work we didn't have much of a choice. Thankfully they too went to a good home and when I go to visit my sister in NC, I drive right by where they are fattening up in the pastures! (pictured below is Skip and Sophie)

Throughout our years here we've had rabbits that got loose and were found later in our yard and had many a chickens, some found by a fox and some lucky enough to still be alive. We've had a dog or two to say the least and a couple or three cats. So today my son comes in and announces that we have a new baby chic, the first one this year and not for lack of trying because as you'll see in a later picture, our little hen, Baby, is quite the setter and usually has a plenty hatched out by now. I never get tired or bored of new life, it still excites me - it excites all of us! Here is our new addition with her "mama"...

While I was out there I decided to go ahead and shoot a few of the friends we have here on our small farm ... here's Baby, she is a bantam hen, sitting on waaaay too many eggs!

And here are our two rabbits - the gray on is Layla and the other is Rex - they belong to Chloe & Sidney ...

The dog pictured below is not ours but has found his way onto our farm and into our hearts. As long as he's around we make sure he has food and water with a little love on the side. We have dubbed him "Tracker" as he seems to be pretty good at it!

We're not done raising animals here but we did decide to take a break and not getting anything new for 1 year (next spring at the earliest). I'd love to have a goat for milking and possibly meat, a pig to raise and slaughter, a cow for milk and meat, more chickens, less dogs and rabbits and a garden to feed our family on for a year as well as have leftovers to sell. I love being out in the county and wouldn't trade it for anything ... except more country!

That's My Family!

2009-08-10T16:30:00.010-04:00

I love family and those who make up mine starting with the cutie to the left, that's my man, Chris. He is a lover of the Truth which is God's Word, a follower of Christ and godly example for our children. He is my best friend and partner in crime, the one I love to have fun with and whom I love more with each passing day. I am so thankful to God for him, for his love to me and our children. He's an all around great guy!

Next is our oldest and favorite son, Seth. He's also our only son! Seth has quite the personality and loves to entertain. He loves God and is growing into a young man this Mama is proud of (so far so good son, keep up the good work!). Seth loves to joke around and on days when my spirits are low he is who I want around - the down side to that is he sometimes gets on a roll and doesn't know when enough is enough and tends to aggravate his sisters! He is a great protector of his family and home. He is strong and not affraid of hard work and also gentle and loving to his younger sisters. He has a heart of compassion for those in need. He's gonna be reading this so as not to "puff up" I am going to stop there! *smile*

Here's my girls, 3 of them anyway. I just love this picture of them, it captures their personalities perfectly! From left to right is Chloe Grace, Madeline, and Sidney. What a blessing these little jewels are to me. I love to watch them play together. Madeline, my eldest daughter has such a compassionate heart and cares deeply for others. She has such a nurturing way about her already - it's evident in how she cares for her younger sisters. Sidney is very much like Seth in the fact that she likes to entertain others. She loves to play with her sisters and really admires her brother. Chloe Grace simply tickles the mess out of me. At the age of 4 she is very matter of fact in her speech (no she did not get this from her Mother!). She is a big helper and wants to do whatever the big kids are doing. Each of them have their own unique personalities that help make up our family.

This is our newest addition, Hadassah Joy. She is only a week old in the picture to the left and is now 4 months. She captured our hearts when we first learned that I was pregnant with her. I cannot begin to express how much love and joy she has brought into our lives already. She wakes up every morning with a huge smile on her face eager to see her Mommy and Daddy. Most mornings she is up with us and sits while Daddy reads the Bible to her listening very intently and smiling at him. At night she cuddles with me as we drift to sleep. Oh God, thank You for this child!

These pictures were taken by Miss Sarah Danaher of Ampersand Photography, you can visit her website at http://www.ampersandphoto.net/

Blogging with fear and trepidation!

2009-08-10T15:21:00.007-04:00

Entering into the world of blogging fills me with all sorts of emotions. Sounds silly I know but it's true. I long to write or journal - to put my thoughts and doings into words but lack the "know how" and creativity. I want to be able to share, through words and pictures, with my friends and family the ongoings of our daily life in a way that will make them feel as though they are here with us. I want to meet others who share our desire to live a simpler life and have been where we are, with just a vision, and can give good advice on gardening, canning, sewing, animals, building, etc...

Thus begins my blogging journey. It is my sincerest hope and prayer to be an encouragement to anyone who visits here.