Booklover's Been Playing Again

My daughter, Amy, has been filling her off-school days with reading the Redwall series and digital scrapbooking.  We don't do much with scrapbooking, but the graphics are great fun!  She also loves to take photos -- should have had her do these, rather than the mom, who can't take a picture without getting shadows in bad places. Graphics from Shabby Princess. That's Booklover, in the lower left corner. For the record, she is my SECOND oldest.

Halloween

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." (1 Timothy 4:1)

Halloween was a corruption of "Hallowed E'en," the evening before "All Saints Day" in which civil disobedience and sinful license were tolerated prior to the forgiveness and penance sought the next day.

Although the level of debauchery and wickedness has waxed and waned over the centuries, nothing "hallowed" has ever been associated with the practice--until more recent times among evangelical churches. Now we promote a "Harvest Festival" or a "Bible Character Dress-up Night"--much of which encourages the practice of costuming and treats as a harmless alternative.

The difficulty is not with the church activities, but with the timing and the association with that which is evil. That obvious connection with a pagan holiday will undermine resolve to "come out from among them, and be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17.

Yes, no doubt that passage warns against an "unequal yoke" in marriage--but its primary focus is on church and individual purity! "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

As a parent, I know the pain of restricting my children from participating in the "fun" of Halloween. And as a former pastor, I know the pressure to accommodate the majority of church members who see no "harm" in such things. However, our allegiance and our responsibility are to the Lord, not men (Colossians 3:23). HMM III

From daily devotions by ICR.org

Ten Ways To Help Your Pastor, Your Church, and Yourself

1) Treat your pastor with the proper respect. Treat him the same way you would a doctor, a lawyer, or a politician. A pastor's role is more important than all of these professional roles because he is God's appointed leader for you and your family. Therefore esteem him very highly in love for his work's sake. (I Thess. 5:12-13).

2) Follow your pastor as he follows Christ, I Cor. 11:1, Heb. 13:7. Never blindly follow anyone but always follow the man of God who is following Jesus Christ as set forth in the Word of God, Phil. 3:17-21.

3) Pray for him often (see Eph. 6:18-20; II Thess. 3:1-2). You know how much opposition you receive from the world, the flesh, and the devil; your pastor receives even more, therefore, pray for him!

4) Obey him as he admonishes you and teaches you the Word of God, see I Thess. 5:12 and Heb. 13:17. These verses teach that you should submit, obey, and follow.

5) Do not speak against or listen to any gossip or slander about your pastor, I Tim. 5:19 reads, "Against an elder receive not an accusation..." and Eph. 4:29 reads, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth...," and Prov. 6:16-19 teaches that God hates for us to hurt people with words. Listening to gossip and slander is just as much a sin as speaking it.

6) Support him financially so he can keep his mind on the work of the ministry (see I Tim. 5:17, 18 and Phil. 4:10-19). The ministry of the Word of God is twice as important as just making a living. If a man cannot properly care for his family, he will be distracted from the ministry. It costs your pastor just as much to live as it does you, and in some cases more because of the additional transportation and the way he is expected to dress.

7) Encourage your pastor. Tell him when he has helped you. Eph. 4:29 teaches that we should speak that which edifies. You minister grace to your pastor when you tell him how he has helped you. He will be a more effective, dedicated servant of God if you give him some feedback on his ministry to you (see Prov. 3:27). It will also be very encouraging if you tell your Sunday School teacher, husband, or wife, and children how they have helped or been a blessing to you. Praise doesn't cost – it pays great dividends – in the home, in the church, in the school, and on the job.

8) Be patient and understanding with your pastor, your mate, and your children. Do not expect your pastor or his family to be perfect, they are human. John 1:5, and James 5:17 teach that a man of God has the same human weaknesses and temptations that we all face.

9) Stay busy serving the Lord. This will bless your life and be a tremendous encouragement to your pastor. You have a spiritual gift, so use it. John 13:17 teaches, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." Happiness doesn't come from knowing what is right, happiness comes from doing what is right. Therefore, serve the Lord.

10) Be a blessing to your pastor, your family, and all who know you by being a soul winner. People all around us are lost in sin, dying and going to hell. Do all in your power to win them to Jesus Christ. Tell them what Christ has done for you and what He can do for them. Reflect on what your salvation means to you and then realize that those who are lost in sin need the same joy, peace, assurance, and hope that you have.

~ By Ron Hood

Hymn From the Heart -- I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Maybe I'll start doing this weekly.  Sometimes a good hymn or spiritual song can do as much for the heart as the scriptures can, especially if the words of the song include lines or ideas from the Word of God.  We have a big collection of song books, and I can hardly resist the impulse to buy another one if I see one at a garage sale.  We sing the same ones over and over again, but there are so many good ones that are unknown!!  This one is a bit of an oldie, but it's still well-known.  In these days of uncertainty, it's a blessing to have a song in my heart.

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

I don't know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

Hope that's a blessing to you. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but my Saviour does.  Do you know Him?  He is the only unmoveable foundation, the only object worthy of your faith!

More To-Do's

Thank you to all you lovely people who have been leaving comments. What a thankless job, huh?  I apologize for not acknowledging you.  Also, I noticed that I have been added to a few people's friends list. How nice of you!  I'll have to get over and visit you sometime soon. 

Today we are working hard -- with lots of breaks -- to get the house in order.  Most of the time it is just out of control, I suppose because we live in it, and we are here all day every day.   But we could do a lot better.  I "overheard" a blogger (that means I was lurking) who was talking about the supposition of moms of few children, that mothers with more kids can keep a cleaner house because they have more help. The flip side of that is the supposition of us moms of many, who think that mothers with only one or two can keep a cleaner house because they don't have as many children to mess it up, lol.  Hmmm.  I think it depends on the discipline of the mom and her ability/desire to train her children to help out, no matter how many kids she has.  And I don't have much of that.  Discipline, I mean. I have a feeling Susannah Wesley (mom of 13? 15?) never had a messy house. And if you keep up with the Duggars, it doesn't appear that they ever have to spend an entire day putting away and cleaning, either.

Anyway, here's my list today.  Since I am making it late, I get to cross a bunch of stuff off right away.  Hooray!  That makes me feel like I have done a lot more.

Shower
Brush teeth (I told you I have to include these on my list, didn't I?)
laundry
put laundry away (That's the hardest part to get done, and I want it done before Sunday morning!!)
Put Emily and Elisabeth to work on their disastrous bedroom (getting there)
iron Preacher's shirts and
my church clothes
load dishwasher
find "winter" clothes and
put them away
bag too-small clothes
mop kitchen and dining room
start and finish newsletter
vacuum bedroom and living room
take meat out (See, I have to write out every little thing, or we eat eggs for supper!)
get clothes in order for church in the morning

Okay, sorry about the uninteresting post.  I am just using you for my organizational notebook!

Let all things be done decently and in order.
1 Corinthians 14:40

One Project Down, Hundreds to Go

Okay, here's the sewing table, before and after.  It's not exactly purged, only straightened. But for now it works for me.  At least I can find my pin cushion, lol. (The one in the photo is Alizona's.)

and

That little set of plastic office drawers works great for thread and patterns, especially.  Patterns fit lying down sideways.  The tubs under the table are full of half-finished projects, prospective projects, remnants, and stuff that just might come in handy someday, like two old mattress pads.  They make great quilt padding, but how often do I do any quilting?  I did use some to fill a hot pad, and it turned out nice and thick. So how I can throw those away?  The funny thing about this project is that it only took about 15 minutes to do.  I'm sure I have a few other 15 minute projects around here, projects that have been waiting months for me to get to.... maybe I ought to join the Anti-Procrastination Challenge?

I do need to get to the purging.  My friend, Kristy, is having a garage sale tomorrow.  Think I could come up with a load in less than twenty-four hours?

And [Jesus] said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Luke 15:12

Yearbook Yourself dot Com

Too funny.  Actually one of these looks just like me, about six years late. I never was a trend-setter, lol!

1952	1950
1960	1964
1966 The above two photos look just like my parents' passport photos for these years! LOL	1966
1970	1974
1980	1980 This is me in 1986!
1990 This is my DH before Christ.	1990 And this is the year I sang backup for VanHalen.
1994	1996
2000	2000

My kids want me to make this a tag, but that would that be ethical?  Who ever heard of a non-tagger tagging everyone? Come on, play along!

New Blogger

Warning.  My DH now has a blog.  Maybe he will keep his silliness on his own blog now.  (Hi Honey, I see you.)  Anyway, it's Monocogman, and he's right here.  I am not sure why I am telling you this.  It could be embarrassing. He is also known as Pete Falcon, Pants Armstrong, and George Wilson, who is married to Mildred, who recently broke her tongue. Now don't you feel sorry for me?  I live with a man of multiple personalities.  Now you understand why I am sometimes a bit crazy.

There is another new blog among us, started by my friend, Jean.  Jean and her husband recently pulled their seventh grade son out of school and are teaching him at home. Yay! That is now three bloggers I know IRL, except for my kids.  Go on over and say hello!

Hymn From the Heart -- All Will Be Well

Many years ago when Alizona was maybe two years old and extra cranky in the back seat of the car, I turned around and suggested she sing for a while. Amazingly she sweetly obeyed me, and sure enough, in a few moments she was back to being her happy little self.  It was a wonderful cure for a sad heart.  And you know what? It works for adults, too.  How many times in the Psalms does David state, after telling about his troubles, that he will sing unto the Lord?  On my crying day last week this tune kept going through my mind.  I only knew the words to the first two lines, so I really couldn't sing it, but even humming a song about the Lord made my heart lighter.  I'm not sure of the title, but here are the words by Mary Bowley:

Through the love of God my Saviour
All will be well;
Free and changeless is his favor.
All, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed me,
Perfect is the grace that sealed me,
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield me,
All must be well.

Though I pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Thine is such a full salvation,
All, all is well.
Happy still in God confiding,
Fruitful if in Christ abiding,
Holy through the Spirit's guiding
All must be well.

I expect a bright tomorrow;
All will be  well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All, all is well.
On my Father's love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
Or in living or in dying
All must be well.

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever:
with my mouth will I make known they faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 89:1

Declutterization Update

Thanks, ladies, for your suggestions.  Can we call my decluttering a purge?  That would make me feel better.  I don't just  want it picked up -- I want to GET RID OF THIS JUNK.  Most of our clutter really is trash, with the exception of outgrown clothes.  As for donating the clutter to a charity, no one would want it.  It's that kind of clutter.  Thinking that I should first start with my OWN clutter, I tackled my dresser this morning.  My dresser is really an old dining room buffet with three big drawers, two small drawers, and two cabinets with doors.  I have sorted through my Tshirts, sweaters, and underthings, and through a bit of my personal, "special", hidden-in-my-panty-drawer kind of stuff. Now I'm down to the last cabinet, which is chock full of notes, cards, letters, and drawings from my kids, totally unorganized and not dated. If I can figure out who did what, I'll sort those into file folders.  This is the kind of decluttering/purging the results of which are invisible, but I'm making a teeny bit of progress... Next I will tackle the sewing table so Alizona can finish a dress she started ages ago.  I'll have to do before and after shots of that one.  Okay, back to work now.

Clutter vs. Contentment

From Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer:

"Contentment
is not something
that accidentally happens to you,
it is something
you actively decide upon. 
And you lay hold of it,
re-deciding
every day
that enough
is actually
plenty."

Amen and amen. Enough IS plenty. In fact, we have more than enough in this house, and it is more than plenty.  When does the blessing of prosperity become a curse? When you have so much stuff that you don't have enough storage space to put everything away.  When you don't want to get rid of it, even though you never use it.  When clutter steals your peace of mind!  When six people step over the same toy/piece of trash/clutter/thing repeatedly and no one cares enough about it to pick it up and put it away.

There was a day when our family of five lived on the road in a 30' travel trailer. All we owned was what we could carry with us, with the exception of some seasonal things that had been stashed in a warehouse somewhere. Even then we had too much. Then we moved into a two bedroom apartment, and we acquired a bit of furniture.  And then we moved into a two bedroom house with a full basement, and we accumulated more furniture and enough other stuff to fill the house up.  Five years later, we are in an 1700 square foot house with all our accumulation and ADDED accumulation over the years.  I think we had PLENTY about eight years ago!  Truly the Lord has blessed us, but we have not been very wise stewards.  You don't have to say, "Yes!" just because something is free.

So.  Does anyone have any tips for de-cluttering?  I am not talking about the three-bag method: keep, toss, and give away.  I am talking about how to do it and still maintain healthy family relationships.  I am talking about how to go through your children's bedrooms and throw away all the "precious" stuff that is really worthless, without them feeling violated. (It's simple to throw away someone else's junk.  I have my own closet full of "valuables"...)  And, do we really need stacks and stacks of scrap paper just in case someone wants to color or make a project? How long is it practical to hang on to old clothes that could be made over into something for my younger kids?  Why do I still have the entire set of PowerGlide Spanish books and cassettes, when we have never used it?  Why am I hanging on to an entire shelf of old A Beka books, just in case? And stacks of CD's we never listen to?  Why is my closet full of clothes that are too small for me, just in case I lose some weight?

When did I quit trusting the Lord for our DAILY needs??!?!

I do not want my kids to be held hostage by STUFF when they are wives and mothers.  Anyone have some good suggestions for training children to use stuff, but not love it?  Oh, I hear you.  I have to set the example.  Okay, but in the meantime, do I just  leave town with the girls and let Dad go through the house with a dumpster? (I know someone who did this. It's tempting, lol! And scary!)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow:
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 
Matthew 6:33,34

Can't Even Cry Right

There's something about the ocean that makes me cry.  I don't know what it is; I have spent some time trying to analyze this thing and I decided to forget the analyzation.  I might find out something about me that I don't want to know.    It's as if the sight and sound of the water pull weeping up from way down in my toes, tears that I have suppressed for weeks or months, maybe even longer.  It's kind of cathartic, in a way.  Normally I'm not a crier -- well, no, that's not exactly true.  I cry ALOT (seems to be more frequent the older I get. Can it be The Change coming?), but I don't use tears to manipulate my husband, so I always try to hide them. Even when it is OBVIOUS that I am weeping, if he asks me I will deny it.

There we are, whizzing along I-5 on our way to the San Diego Zoo last Tuesday.  For just a few moments the view is clear to the ocean, and the waterworks are immediately threatening.  I grit my teeth to keep the tears in check, and bury my head in my book.  Going home it's the same thing.  That night as we lay in bed talking about our plans for the next day (shoe shopping, playground, etc), I told my DH I wanted to go to the ocean to cry. He was a bit puzzled, but he didn't dig.

So the next morning we arranged for a little lunch date, just the two of us, and we drove the short distance to Seal Beach, which is where I spent quite a bit of the summertime as a kid.  Since DH's leg is still oozing when he is on it too long, we sat on a park bench on Ocean Avenue, not even on the beach or on the pier. Sure enough, in about ten seconds the tears were streaming down my face. I felt pretty silly sitting there with my DH, crying my eyes out like we were having a fight or something.  It sure did look that way -- I was sitting at one end of the bench, and he at the other, with my "stuff" between us.  He appeared to be ill at ease and no wonder, with his wife blubbering away at arm's length, right there in front of the whole world.  Okay, I wasn't really blubbering. I was actually trying very hard to KEEP from blubbering, which sort of restraint gives me a tremendous headache, and just one more reason to cry.  But I did thoroughly soak my one tissue.

DH said he didn't understand how I could make myself cry like that, and I told him that I WASN'T making myself cry.  It just happens when I see the ocean.  After about 15 minutes of not doing it right, (I mean, to have a really good cry, you have to be able to just wail if you want to, you know?) I decided that I had to be alone, maybe out on the pier somewhere, or down near the water, far away from everyone including my dear, sweet husband.  It just wasn't going to work this time.  So I dried my tears and we went home.  We didn't even have lunch.  (Who can eat when they're crying?)  Maybe next time.


PS. Does this count as one of my quirky random things?  Someone tagged me. Was that you, JM?  I'll try to come up with five other quirky things that are at least as entertaining.

Peace

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election


1. The Bible will still have all the answers.


2. God will still answer prayer.


3. The Holy Spirit will still move.


4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.


5. There will still be God-annointed preaching.


6. There will still be singing of praise to Jesus Christ.


7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.


8. There will still be room at the Cross for you, and for everyone you love.


9. The blood of Jesus will not have lost its power.


10. The Lord Jesus Christ will still save the lost when they come to Him.

ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW THE ONE WHO IS REALLY IN CHARGE??

(copied and edited)

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God. Psalm 146:3,5

Stuff

Falling farther and farther behind all of you, my friends, in the blogging world.  I don't know what I do all day, but I don't seem to have the time to cruise around and see what everyone is up to.  So if you are in the same boat I am, I won't blame you at all for not going back to take a look at my post about loving the desert, which continues to grow, or the one about the ESV, which has generated a few more comments lately.  Just wanted to let you know there is activity going on there, just in case you are interested.

Emily has the BIGGEST smile on her face most of the day today since this is her last day of being four years old.  Tomorrow we will have chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, decorated with yellow icing by Emily herself.  And some fudgsicles -- those are more fun  for a little kid than a scoop of ice cream is. As for me, I'd rather have a bowlful of Moose Tracks!  I am so relieved to have switched to this plan.  For 362 days this year Emily insisted on another popcorn cake for her fifth birthday, and then suddenly she matured and asked for chocolate.  Yea!!  Oh.  Maybe that is not a good thing.  We already have two chocoholics in this house...

Pete Falcon (see previous post) is under the attack of mega doses of antibiotics, and after a week of being on them his digestive system is finally rebelling. Yogurt helped for a while, but no longer.  We might have a now-you-see-him, now-you-don't preacher tonight if he is running to the bathroom between scripture passages.

We are doing out best to wrap up our first quarter of the school year, so we can go to Grammy and Grampy's for a few days for a combination birthday celebration and trip to the San Diego Zoo.  This trip was supposed to take place this week, but Pete Falcon couldn't walk around the house, let alone the zoo.  He has a few days left to heal, and we're praying for a very quick and complete recovery now.

Seems like I had something important to tell you all... sorry, the brain is kaput.  There's nothing left!

Well, that's the news from the dry and thirsty land.  Have a great weekend, everyone!


O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Psalm 63:1-4

My Superhero's BooBoo

WARNING: NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS!!

My DH, known around here as superhero Pete Falcon (not the Marvel Comic -- we didn't even know about him!) tried to do a trick while he was walking quickly, and attempted to step up and over a 2' brick wall.  As you will see, he missed. Poor Pete. This is the wound on his shin, two weeks after the fact.  We thought he just had a bloody scrape.  After several days it was badly infected, so off to Urgent Care we went.  He had to have the "scrape" debrided.  "Debrided" is one of my new vocabulary words, and it means that they scrubbed all the gunk and dead flesh out of the hole -- they un-debris'ed it., right? Same root word?  (Thank you, Carol!) "Avulsion" is my other new word, which is how you describe this sort of a wound. It's easy to remember because it sounds like "revulsion", which is what my DH's reaction is to seeing his own wound. The dark part in the center is dried blood, of course, and you can be thankful it is there.  The scene prior to this one shows the fat layer under the skin. Before that, the fat also was missing, so he was down to severely bruised muscle tissue. You wouldn't want to see that. The amazing thing about this is that Captain Falcon was wearing long pants when this happened!!!  I don't think he'd have a leg left if he had hit that block wall with his skin. Modesty pays off!

Now, Pete Falcon is a man who is hard to keep down, but this did it.  This fall was his Kryptonite.  But  take heart!  Pete Falcon is gaining strength! He has been chomping at the bit, wishing to get moving again.  God has given him a great measure of grace, and Pete has been a wonderful patient.  As you  can see , it will be a while before he is back on his bike.  (You know how that is when your pedal comes up and whams you in the shin... we don't want that to happen.) 
Until he flies again ~ 

A Month in Review

In the past month we had a birthday:

Made palm frond dollies:

Saw Indian petroglyphs (I think this one says, "Three Feathers loves Sitting Fawn," and "Class of  1574"):

We played:

Fooled with the camera:

And did a science experiment or two:

Most photos by Booklover

Overnight Baked Oatmeal, by Request

We Arizona blogging gals were recently discussing the fact that we are more than ready for fall to get here.  I told Kristy and Shani that I have given up waiting, and that I have already begun my winter cooking -- soups especially, and baked oatmeal. "Baked oatmeal??" they said.  If you have never had baked oatmeal on a cold morning, you are missing out.  It is so good and satisfying, and so easy to make!  Try adding chopped apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, or raisins. Top it with warm milk or cream, or hey, even rhubarb sauce!  Enjoy.

Overnight Baked Oatmeal

2 eggs 1 C brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla  6 tablespoons butter, melted 1 C milk 3 C oats optional: walnuts, chopped apple, raisins, dried fruit, chocolate chips??

Grease a 1 1/2 quart ovenproof dish.  Beat the eggs in it, then add the brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla, and stir until there are no lumps.  Whisk in the milk and melted butter, then stir in the oats.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, preheat the oven to 350.°  Bake until set in the center and crisp around the edges, 35-45 minutes.  Makes six regular sized servings, or four great big man-sized ones.

And yes, Merlynn, it is rather like a warm oatmeal cookie.  I am weakening in my resolve not to add chocolate chips!  No. No. No. Don't do it!

If you enjoy this, try another variation -- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal.

How to Cut a Mango -- Photo Tutorial

I am editing this entry to post a bit of information on mangoes.  Mangoes are considered the world over as "the king of fruit," and for good reason!  They are so good, and good for you.  A ripe mango is slightly soft to the touch and will yield to gentle pressure. At the stem end, it has a full, fruity fragrance.   Also, the skin of a ripe mango will separate easily from the flesh. Don't depend on the mango's color to determine its ripeness. If you have ever tried mango and you didn't like it, the fruit was either not ripe enough, or it was overripe.  I can't imagine anyone NOT liking mango!

Mangoes are a comfort food.  They are good for the digestive system, high in dietary fiber, low in calories, full of Vitamins A and C, and a good source of potassium and beta carotene.

If you can keep them long enough to cook with them (I can't -- we love them the way God made them!), mangoes are very versatile.  They can go into smoothies, breads, cakes, chutney, salsa, salads, and even omelets!  Try  this recipe site for some ideas.

Yum!!!