Be still, my soul!

Do you need a quiet walk to still your soul today?

I did- you can come along through my pictures

if you like~

Be still, my soul! the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul! thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul! thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still my soul! the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul! the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul! when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

~Katharina von Schlegel~

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;

like a weaned child with its mother,

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD

both now and forevermore.

Psalm 131:2-3

Little Things

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

In my distress I called to the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

Psalm 18:1,6

One thing I love about God is how he shows us his love and care

in little ways, just because he can.  He answers little prayers in

such loving ways, showing me that he is listening and caring about

me and my little problems.  If he cares about my little problems,

I know that he cares about my big problems!  Here is a little story

that I was reminded of again this morning as I was putting away the dishes.

Seven years ago we had just moved to Chihuahua Mexico

to do some mission work.  I knew very little Spanish, mostly

just enough to say, "mi espanol es muy mal"!  Our new home

had tile floors and therefore with several small children we had

lots of glasses break.  One of the things that broke on that floor

was my glass 2 cup measuring cup that we had received as

a wedding gift.  I used that measuring cup all the time and really

needed a replacement.  So, I went to the local Soriana, which

is the Mexican equivalent of Walmart, and started to look for

a new measuring cup.  I looked all over and couldn't find one anywhere.

So, since there was no way I could ask one of the employees,

I asked God.  I just prayed that God would please help

me find a measuring cup.  And a little bit later, there was

this lonely glass 2 cup measuring cup, sitting on the shelf

by itself, with no price tag on it. 

So I thanked God and picked it up and took it to the front. 

Without a price tag they didn't know what to charge me, so they

went to look for another one, but they couldn't find one either, so they just

charged me a dollar or two and let me go.  I think God put

it there just for me!  Now whenever I use this measuring cup,

I am reminded of how much God cares about me.  He

loves us so much, and I am just so grateful to Him!

Do you have a similar story of God's faithfulness in your life?

I would encourage you to write it down or tell it to a friend.

If God was faithful in the past, He will be faithful in the future,

because HE NEVER CHANGES!

Liberty

PD's pony, Spot, had her foal yesterday!  She is a cute little

filly and PD named her Liberty.

If you are wondering why we chose the name Liberty,

you probably haven't read the Rush Revere Books,

by Rush Limbaugh.  Our kids love them and we have

been reading them aloud in the evenings.  I'd recommend them!

Baby horses are so fun!

Ways to make Easter special

Here are some ways we have found to make Easter special, if you have some additional ideas feel free to leave them in the comments!

1.  A favorite Easter tradition for our kids over the years has been reading the book, Benjamin's Box.  It's a fun historical fiction book of a boy who collects treasures that remind him of his interactions with Jesus.  It's a companion book to the Resurrection Eggs.  We read part of the story each night leading up to Easter.

2.  Life is short, so bring out the good dishes for Easter dinner and make a special meal!  There are many ideas for making your table setting special, but one fun thing I did last year was put a chocolate chick in a little nest of Easter grass in a glass dessert cup by everyone's place.

3.  Add some Easter music to your playlist and rejoice that Christ the Lord is risen today!

4.  Buy a potted Easter Lily or some tulips to bring the beauty of spring into your home.

5.  Decorate eggs with your kids.  It's a mess but they love it.  Then when you do your Easter egg hunt hide the real eggs instead of those ugly plastic ones.  If you don't know what to do with all those hard boiled eggs, make deviled eggs with them!  Here's a great recipe.  (Is it right to make "deviled" eggs at Easter?). (:

Deviled Eggs--

12 hard boiled eggs
1/2 c. mayo
4 slices cooked and crumbled bacon or 1/4 c. real bacon bits
2 T. finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 T. honey mustard
1/8 t. pepper
Slice eggs in half lengthwise, remove yolks.  Mash yolks in bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Spoon back into egg whites.  Makes 24.

6.  There are some good ideas out there for special Easter food.  You can make Resurrection cookies, empty tombs made out of donuts, or Rice Krispie nests with peanut m & m eggs.

7.  Decorations always help set the mood, and although it is hard to find nice Easter decor, it is out there.  One thing I am glad we have is our Easter scene, kind of like a manger scene but with Jesus at the empty tomb.

8.   Watch an Easter movie together as a family.  We have the movie Resurrection, by Max Lucado.

Easter Lack

We are still having computer and internet problems.  So frustrating!  The above photo is from a couple years ago, but it won't be long and we should have a new foal or two around here again!  Spring is a great time of year.  There are signs of spring here in our neck of the woods, tulips poking up through the ground, NCAA tournament brackets lying around the house, lots of wind, and wild turkeys strutting around in the fields.  I am thinking about Easter.  Have you ever noticed the lack of Easter decorations and Easter music, especially compared to Christmas?  It doesn't make sense.  Easter is a much more joyous holiday for Believers, but all I can find in the store to decorate my house with are cheap plastic eggs and stuffed rabbits.  If any of you know of any good Easter decorating ideas let me know.  Pinterest didn't help me out either.  I did manage to round up a few Easter songs for a playlist, so that's been nice, but it's nothing compared to what's available for Christmas.  One of my favorites is He's Alive by the Continentals.  Well, this post is a little scattered, kind of like my life lately, but I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the springtime blessings God has given us this week!

The Ides of March

The middle of March is the time we plant our spring vegetables

here in our part of the country- and thankfully today was a beautiful

day for it!  AJ and SJ helped me plant the sugar snap peas.

My Grandma taught me to love sugar snap peas, she loved

her garden and would show it to me when we would go to visit.

We also planted some lettuce, kohlrabi, and carrots.

The white stuff in the dirt is ashes from our woodstove.

We heard they are good for the dirt,

especially if you are adding manure to your garden.

Now this evening we are getting our first spring thunderstorms-

perfect for watering our seeds.  This time of year is so nice!

As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

Fishing and More Waiting

Hello!  I feel like I haven't written anything in a long time!

We have been having internet and computer issues, so

that's the reason for my lack of posts lately.  I am

convinced that technology has not made our lives easier.

Thankfully it looks like spring has come to our state, and

that always improves one's outlook.  We were even able

to do a little fishing Sunday, and although we didn't catch

anything, it sure was nice to sit outside and enjoy the warm air!

We are still waiting to hear something about our adoption.

There are two sisters, age 9 and 11, and a 1 year old girl

who we are waiting for right now.  Because of the timing

of meetings, it could happen that we would have to choose

between them.  Please pray with us that we won't have to choose!

We are praying that God will make it very clear which

child or children we are supposed to have.  Thanks so much

for praying- sometimes when we have to pray for things

for such a long time it's easy to wonder if God is

even listening.  But He just reminded me again yesterday

that He cares about even the little details- there were two

instances yesterday where He showed his love and care for us.

So even though God is having us wait on the adoption,

it was so nice of Him to remind us He does hear.

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

Many, O LORD my God,

are the wonders you have done.

The things you planned for us

no one can recount to you;

were I to speak and tell of them,

they would be too many to declare.

Psalm 40:1,5