The flag of joy

source

 

This is the Thierstein castle in Switzerland.  I have always loved

castles, and maybe it's because my ancestors used to live here!

On Sunday, the speaker we had at church said this-

 

Joy is the flag flown on the castle that has Jesus sitting on the throne.

 

I really liked that picture- I have often felt like my life lacks

joy, and maybe it's because I haven't been letting Jesus sit on the throne.

Something to think on and apply to my life...

Another Date is Set

 

We found out today that the BIS meeting, where they

choose the family for A, has finally been scheduled

for July 30.  We are going to be considered along

with three other families.  If you don't remember,

A is a little girl who is a year and a half old,

and we first submitted our homestudy for her back

in October of last year.  We don't know why it's taken

so long for them to get the paperwork done and get

this meeting scheduled-their first estimate was that

the BIS would be right after Christmas.  But I do know

that God has a purpose and plan for A's little life,

and He knows why it needed to take so long.

We are praying that A will go wherever God wants

her to go, and that she will come to know Him

as her Savior no matter where she grows up.

Of course, we hope that she can come here to our family!

All our boys are hopeful too.

Thanks so much, once again, for all your prayers

for us and for little A.

 

We constantly pray for you, that our God

may count you worthy of his calling,

and that by his power

he may fulfill every good purpose of yours

and every act prompted by your faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:11

Summertime Tea

 

 

 

Would you like to join me for a little tea and cookies

on this rain-cooled summer morning?

 

The roses are smelling so sweet, and the birds

are singing, it's a beautiful day.

 

This tea cup and tea pot were given to me by

two special ladies, my Mom and my Grandma.

 

One thing I love about our house is that it is surrounded

by trees, so there are lots of birds.  I enjoy sitting and listening

to all their different songs.  This Mockingbird, below,

often sings for us in the evenings.  I love how God seems

to have made some animals just for fun- like the Mockingbird!

 

 

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures,

and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

...And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20,21

 

I am joining Sandi for her Summer Tea Party.

There are always lots of pretty tea things on her blog!

 

Getting Ready

 

Anytime I bring up anything related to school this summer

our boys tell me to be quiet, so I am quietly preparing for

next year, because we have decided to homeschool our youngest

two, SJ and AJ for second grade.  I am collecting books and ideas,

which is really one of the funnest parts of homeschooling,

and thinking through our schedule and what we want to accomplish.

 

I like simplicity as far as school is concerned,

and one book I have appreciated is called

The Three R's by Ruth Beechick

She has a lot of back to basics ideas, which I like.

I also like a literature rich curriculum,

so a lot of the books we are using are

from the Sonlight Reading Lists.

 

We are using a different math curriculum,

called Life of Fred, which I am looking forward to.

Hopefully our kids will like it, it uses stories to teach math.

I have selected Read Aloud books with an American

History theme, and we plan to take advantage of

local museums and go on lots of field trips.

 

I am hopeful for a fun year!

But then, usually my dreamy notions of how homeschool

will be are rudely shattered by kids who are crying because

they don't want to write in their journal, or learn their

multiplication tables...

 

 

Faith

 

I think I've had the wrong idea about faith for awhile now.

I kind of just thought faith was the same as trust.

There's a kids' song that goes,

"Faith is just believing, what God says He will do."

And that is true, but it's just part of faith.

I am learning that faith is more than just believing,

faith is acting on what you believe.

 

As the body without the spirit is dead,

so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:26

 

In Hebrews 11 it says faith is the "evidence of things not seen".

Faith is showing by our actions that we believe

in what we can't see.  Realizing this truth is helping me

as we are waiting for our next child. 

 

Back two years ago, during the summer I kept feeling

over and over again that God wanted us to adopt a girl

with some sort of special needs.  I came up with all kinds

of excuses but whenever I came up with one God would

remind me of a verse or song that would blow my excuses

out of the water.  So as Andy and I discussed it, we decided

that yes, God wanted us to adopt again, and that we should

try to adopt a waiting child.  I remember when I put the application

to adopt through the state in the mailbox I felt such a sense

of peace that I was obeying God and what He wanted us to do.

 

Now, two years later, we still don't have a child, and the

state is really frustrating to work with, as you've read about

here on my blog.  We started to think this spring that this was

crazy and maybe we should quit trying to adopt through the

state and do something different.  But I am realizing that if we

did quit, we wouldn't be showing much faith, would we?

 

I have faith that God wants us to adopt again.  So, therefore,

if I have faith, we need to show that faith by continuing to

look for girls, inquire about them, and submit our homestudy

for them, even though it's hard and sometimes feels hopeless.

God has not opened up any new paths for us, so we will

continue to have faith that this is what He wants for us!

 

(I feel like I should also mention that when you feel like

God is leading you to step out in faith in some certain situation,

it is very important that you make sure what you feel

God is asking you to do lines up with what the Bible teaches.)

 

After the "faith chapter" of Hebrews 11, where we read about

people who did amazing things for God because they had faith

to do what he asked, we read this:

 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a

great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything that hinders

and the sin that easily entangles,

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him

endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

 

 

Wildflowers

 

The wildflowers are doing well with all the rain we've had

the last few weeks!  I love wildflowers, actually, I love all flowers...

 

 

This butterfly was doing a great job posing for me!

(it's so thoughtful when they do that)

 

 

I love these verses in Lamentations.  Every morning is a new

start, and I am so thankful for that, especially when I mess things

 up.  The Lord is always loving, compassionate, and faithful to us!

What a great promise.

So cute!

I was scanning in some old pictures for a project

I'm working on, and the kids used to be so cute!

I just had to share some of them with you-

take lots of photos when your kids are little,

they will make you smile when you're old!

 

Old Roses and Trust

About a mile down the road from us is an old homestead.  You wouldn't know anyone had ever lived there, except for the flowers.  This rosebush was just beautiful there this year, and there are lilacs, bread and butter, and a grapevine too!  I always enjoy seeing the old irises and rosebushes that somebody planted 100 years ago, still blooming every year in ditches and pastures, even though no other sign of a home is there.

I wish I could give you an adoption update, but there really isn't anything to tell.  Sigh.  We are still waiting for them to schedule the meeting where they choose the family for A, who I told you about a few weeks ago.

I guess we're on the right path?  When things are so hard it makes me wonder.  But God hasn't lead us anywhere else yet, so we will press on!

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.

Proverbs 3:5-6

June is for Roses

 

Would you like to see my roses?

They are in their glory now-

this one is just beautiful now,

I don't know it's name because it was planted

by the previous owner.

 

This is my new "Lady Jane Grey" that I told you about awhile back.

It smells really good!

 

And this is my new "The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild",

and it smells really really good- even our boys thought so!

 

Our Knockout rosebushes are doing well- especially in

the spots where I pruned them back- reminds me of these

words of Jesus:

 

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,

while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes

so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15:1-2

 

Pruning hurts, but it works!

 

 

And lastly, these pretty miniature pink roses

always give a great show- they were also

planted by the previous owner.

 

If you would like to plant more roses, I was very

happy with my purchase from Heirloom Roses 

this year.  Now if only I could add scent to my blog!

 

Tea and Strawberries

 

The strawberries we planted last year are producing very well

these days, so we have definitely been enjoying them!

How does some mint tea and strawberries sound?

 

Doesn't the red transferware look great with the red strawberries?

I chose pieces with a cottage theme.  The teacup pictures Anne Hathaway's

cottage.  She was the wife of William Shakespeare.  I would love to visit

England one day and see a street like the one on the platter!

 

Yumminess.

 

Lest you think my life is perfect, and I just sit around planning

tea parties all day- this is what I was looking at as I drank my tea.

I thought maybe I should show you reality!  Our old mower got

a flat tire when I was half done mowing, and there it sits, waiting

for my husband to come home and fix it!

 

But I don't want to leave you with that photo.

I hope you have time in your day to stop and

enjoy a little tea and the beauty around you!

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

 

I am joining Sandy's Tea Time Tuesday.