End of the Harvest

Here I sit with a cup of homemade hot chocolate.  MMMmmm...My husband is beside me sipping his chai tea and browsing the internet.  Our brand new non-electric coal stove is crackling in the next room and we are toasty warm and as cozy as we can be.  It's so good to be able to slow down and enjoy these moments together.

The last few weeks have been busy with making arrangements for getting the coal stove installed by builders who also put in a new chimney in our 1880's home. She tolerated it like a champ!  Actually the home originally was heated by coal, so it's like having an old friend over. Christmas prep has been keeping us moving as well.  I can't complain, it's a good kind of busy.  But, Oh!, these calm moments are priceless.

In other news today after church I pulled in the end of my lettuce harvest.  I had a small (maybe 3x2) plastic green house over my 3 small rows and it kept my lettuce perky until now.  Not bad! We've enjoyed tons of fresh salad this fall.  Can't wait to plant in the spring : )  Gardening is becoming a favorite past time of mine, reawakened this year as it was time to have my first real honest-to-goodness own garden on our own property.  I've got gardening in my veins.  My great-grandfather was a fruit vendor in old Totowa, NJ.  My grandparents on both sides of the family gardened and were pretty good at it.  My parents are avid gardeners.  One of the pastimes they really enjoy doing together.  Growing up we had 3 gardens!  One large one in our back yard in NJ ( they don't call it the Garden State for nothing!) and 2 at our Community Garden Center.  One was a perennial plot that was left alone for the winter, while the other plots got tilled by the grounds keeper.  I have many memories of gardening as a child.  Watching mom with her bandadna on her head working in the garden, Dad making his nightly run over to the Community Garden Center to water it, and me enjoying the sweetest peas right out of the pod.  So it's been a wonderfully nostalgic, yet a fresh and new experience to dive into gardening in my own way.  I'm thankful for the experience and looking forward to year two.

To close I want to share this verse that has a little bit to do with my gardening experience.  I love this past time but the most important thing is to see the Lord and his goodness in his creation.  It's because of Him, what He's done in my life, and how His Word has changed me that I can experience joy and see His love in creation.

Job 23:12 " I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." NIV (emphasis mine)

Happy December!

I am really looking forward to this month as it brings fun times with family and friends, making memories, and celebrating Jesus birth together.  This year I've made a hot chocolate mix from dry ingredients.  I put it in pint mason jars with marshmallows to top it off. Pieces of some old christmas cards become cute tags and it all has come together very nicely!

Do you have any clever and cute gift ideas?  This stuff is so stinkin' yummy!! For the recipe head over to Homestead Acres's page :  www.homestead-acres.com  I omitted the coffee creamer and used whole-fat dry milk instead of non-fat dry milk.

Hope you are enjoying this season.  Don't forget to slow down, step out of the materialism of it all, and thank God for "drawing near to us".

Fear

     Today I had off of work!  Kind of not a good thing right now as my hours have not been what they once were with the nursing agency I work with.  I've been in contact with our local hospital and I'm hoping to get back in to work at least part time.  This has been a lesson in submission to my husband.  I LOVE doing nursing in kids home.  It's a great fit for me...however the hours are unpredictable and the homes are sometimes far away and even unsafe.  After 2 years of being patient with the agency my husband has told me I need to look for a more stable job, at least part time.  He is right!  I need to hear that from him, I need a kick in the pants sometime!  I also need to submit to him.  If I could make it work I would keep this job forever!!  I love it but I also think it's easy and comfortable for me, fear may be keeping me from going back to harder work.  Which leads me to the second lesson God is teaching me: "Don't let fear stop you if I AM is leading you!"

    Fear of failure, making mistakes, not being able to handle it.  Isn't that the way it is with a lot of new things in life?  We hold ourselves back due to fear or stepping outside of our comfort zones.  Have you ever experienced this feeling?  Have you ever chosen the easy road even though you know God (maybe even through your hubby) is calling you to a more challenging path?  I trust Him that as He calls me He will give me the strength I need to replace the fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 "The Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind."

Stocking the Pantry

     Well fall is is full swing here in Lancaster Co PA and winter is right around the corner I'm sure!!  I LOVE fall!  It is my most favorite time of year!  It's so crisp and fresh and the sun is so bright and warm while the breeze is cool.  I love it!
     Last winter was our first married winter and it was a hard one financially.  Turns out our house, which was built in 1882 doesn't hold heat... at all!!  Our oil bills were ferocious.  We are braced for it this year.  We'll be running space heaters more and we also may have someone blow insulation into the attic floor.  Just need to make sure we can afford it...it's like the question is "Money now or more money later?".
     I have the pantry really well stocked.  Including toiletries and cleaners and all those goodies.  I discount grocery shop so for about $150 I really was able to pack the place.  I love getting stuff for a steal, as long as it's still safe.  Boxes of quaker oatmeal for .50 cents because they're dented, cans of tomato products for a quarter.  Umm yes please!!  There's a brand called Fantastic World Foods which makes some great vegetarian dried products.  There's a sloppy joe mix and also taco filling, chili, refried beans, and hummus that all require just some water and cook time.  They were .50 cents this week!  At a normal health food store they are around $4.00  We win!!  Haha! We're not above that!  If you're in this area a few places I'd suggest are:

Ebeneezer's Groceries on 272 in Ephrata
Glenwood Foods on 322 out toward Hinkletown
BB's on 419 in Shaefferstown

Worth your time!!

If you have any advice on saving money for the winter I'd love to hear it!!

No Mind Has Imagined

God's timing is not our own.  That is something I have known for a long time, and got a refresher lesson in today.  I went to work at a new client's this morning only to find out that he wasn't going to school today.  They had called to tell me about 5 minutes before I got to the residential facility where he lives.  "No nurse if he doesn't go to school."  Unfortunately I didn't check my phone so I walked in to take care of my new client but had to turn around once I got there.  When I got back in the car I had the message from work and one from my husband.  His grandmother had emergency surgery last night and was not doing well.  I went and did some errands, like it was a day off.  When I got home I had a message updating us about my husband's grandmother, I called my husband and we decided we needed to be with his family at the hospital, about an hour away.  He left work and we headed out to be with them.  It was a blessing to see them and to see his grandmother perking up a little.  

When I walked out the door this morning I had an idea of what my whole day would be like and God had a completely different plan for me.  I always want to be flexible enough to follow Him

  

1 Corinthians 2:9

 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
      and no mind has imagined
   what God has prepared
      for those who love him.

Life and More Life!

"Last night was our women's ministry's first night in the study of James.  It's actually a women's bible study, I call it "ministry" because I know this is only the tip of the iceberg.  My mother and another godly woman at church started the bible study a year and a half ago after a serious lack of women's anything was noticed by us.  Way to step up to the plate Mom!!  We need fellowship and encouragement from other godly women on this journey.  My spirit was lifted for sure!!

I find myself in a season of trial related to changes at work and an unhealthy friendship with a believer that I had to end last night.  It's been hard but the Lord's timing is perfect and Chapter 1 of James was exactly what I needed.

James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

He is always good to us!  He promises us in the verse that trials will lead to our perseverance, or maturity.

A woman in our group named Carla, whom I consider wise, brought up the Crown of Life mentioned in verse 12.  We talked about how that can help us keep focused on the end goal during trials, this too will pass and God is aware and cares about what is going on in our lives.  She read verse 12 to us in the Message translation.  I'm usually not a huge fan of the Message but I love the way this is put:

"For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."

Life and more Life!  Praise God! Let's live it fully!!

High Hopes

    Well here it is.  My first baby of a blog.  I've been wanting to do this for awhile.  I enjoy my life in the Lord so much!  I have my good and bad days but generally speaking  "God is good all the time!  And all the time God is good!!"  I plan on using this blog to encourage, share experiences, and learn.
I am passionate about
growing in the Lord
being involved in my church and community
the Word of God
being a wife of godly character
gardening
cooking
canning
vegetarianism
the great big God-filled outdoors
saving money
...and enjoying life as much as possible!