Bad Luck?

 

You know those days where it just feels like you have the worst luck ever?

Like if it wasn't for bad luck you'd have no luck at all?

 

I've felt like that lately.  It's probably the same kind of stuff everyone faces, but you know, my list feels pretty bad at the moment- and this is just this week!

 

One of the kids needs braces and I can really think of a lot of other things I'd rather spend thousands of dollars on.

 

Our personal bank information came out of the envelope while in the care of the post office so who knows if our identity has been stolen.

 

I had to wash little girl throw up out of her doll's hair this morning.

 

One of the boys stepped on a big nail and had to go to the doctor twice this week for antibiotics.

 

(The flowers are sure beautiful right now though!)

 



 

So anyhow, as I was feeling sorry for myself and thinking about what rotten luck we have this morning, all of a sudden I realized, "Wait a minute, our lives aren't ruled by luck.  God has allowed each of these things to happen for a reason."  Maybe our identity will be stolen and our credit will be shot.  But you know what, we would still survive! (:  Maybe God wants us to live more simply anyways.  Who knows.  But I do know that God knows and he has a purpose for the things he sends my way.  I just need to keep trusting, which seems to be the story of my life, and maybe yours too?

 

The earth is the LORD's,

and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it.

Psalm 24:1

Teatime

 

Miss E and I enjoyed a little tea and biscuits the other day outside in our yard.

The tulips and lily of the valley were blooming so nicely beside us.

 

My aunt shared these lily of the valley with me a few years ago

and they are blooming so nicely this year.  Thanks Aunt Agnes!

 

We used our Romantic England teacups featuring Anne Hathaway's cottage.

She was the wife of William Shakespeare.

 

 

The vintage quilt was an estate sale find last year.  It's so fun to find treasures!

 

We both enjoy our teatimes and I hope to continue this tradition as Miss E grows up.

It's such a nice time to relax and visit a little.

 

How great is the love the Father

has lavished on us,

that we should be called

children of God!

And that is what we are!

1 John 3:1

 

I'm joining Tea Time Tuesday again.

Duck, duck, goose- are you it?

~we got 10 little ducks in the mail this week, so cute!~

 

We first met Miss E 8 months ago, and now she feels so completely ours!  Only God could have orchestrated our lives to come together like they did, and just how she fits in with our family so well, it's amazing.  But there are many others just like her that are still waiting...

 

For the last 8 months I have not let myself look at our state waiting child lists, because I was afraid to look.  But last night I looked again, just to see if the girls we had looked at were all adopted now.  But they're not.  Of the girls ages 12 and under that we were looking at, 23 of those that were on the list 8 months ago are still there.  23!  And it gets worse.  There are 4 girls under age 12 that were on the waiting list 3 years ago, when we first started looking.  Is there really nowhere for them to go?  I know they have troubled pasts and they would have their difficult moments, but they are worth it.  Surely there is someone out there who God is calling to be their Mom and Dad- maybe it's you?

 

If you have questions about adopting through foster care I would love to talk with you!  If you would like to view our state's waiting child lists, click here.

Redecorating

It was high time for me to do some redecorating at our house- the Easter décor was gone and everything was looking a little sad and dusty.  So after finishing up I decided to share some of my favorite areas with you.  Sorry about the lighting, our house has very little natural light so it's hard to take great indoor photos.  But anyways, here's the mantle Andy made over our woodstove.  I used a farming theme for the summertime.  The wheat and milo are from our fields.

 



 

I love Paul Detlefsen artwork and was fortunate to find this one at an auction a few years ago.

Now on to the dining room and the pie safe.  This originally belonged to my great-grandparents and was painted green, I painted it red about 10 years ago and it is a great place to keep my red transferware collection.

 

This beautiful secretary desk was a gift from my parents in high school.  I love it!

 

I am joining A Return to Loveliness today.

I hope you are enjoying springtime wherever you are!

Seasons of Life

 

I am in a stretching season of life right now.

I know, I know, life with six kids, homeschooling 3 of them,

2 of them teenagers (and all that entails),

1 of them a 2 year old (and all that entails!),

shouldn't be that hard, right?  Hmmm.

 

I know, from past experience, that this season of life

will soon pass and they will be grown and gone.

But that doesn't help me in the nitty gritty, day to day.

 

So when I read this quote this morning,

it was a big encouragement to me.

God is always there for me!

 

"The seasons change, and you change,

but your Lord abides evermore the same,

and the streams of His love are as deep,

as broad, and as full as ever."

~Charles Spurgeon~

Learning to Love

I think we're doing something wrong.

This morning during homeschool devotions, the lesson was about Mary Magdalene and the other Mary going to Jesus' tomb to put spices on His body.  The book was reminding us how they did that totally out of love for Jesus, and how all work for Jesus is important, whether its cleaning up the church or preaching on Sunday morning.

So I asked the kids, what should be our reason for doing jobs in the church? And they didn't have a clue.  Then I asked what should be our reason for following all the rules?  And one of them responded, "so we can get to heaven?". Oh dear.  I explained that no, obeying the rules doesn't get us to heaven, the reason we do all these things is because of our love for Jesus!  I'm not sure they got it.

But I'm not sure I would have gotten it at their age either.  Learning how much God loves us and learning to love him back is a process, because its a relationship.  And as much as I'd like to, I cannot force someone into a relationship!

But I can be the example that they need.  When I have a job to do at church, do I complain about it or do I remember that this is how I can show Jesus I love him?  Yea, I definitely don't always feel that way.  Doing things out of love for Jesus makes it all a lot more fun though!

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Lilac Tea

The long awaited lilacs have started blooming in front of the stone house,

so of course I had to stop for tea!  They smell beautiful, and like every

year I wish I could make these photos scratch and sniff, like the stickers

we used to have!  An old stump makes the perfect place to set my tea tray.

Do you get the Country Gardens magazine?  I really enjoy it.

This pretty tea cup goes well with our lilacs, even though

the flowers on it are hydrangeas, I believe.  It is really

difficult to find china with lilacs, at least for me.

 And without faith it is impossible to please God,

because anyone who comes to him

must believe that he exists

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

I made sure the younger kids came over and

stopped to smell the lilacs too~

I sure do wish we had the time to fix up the old stone house.

Maybe one day we will...

If you want to know more of it's history,

there's a link on the sidebar.

I'm joining Home and garden Thursday today!

True Safety

 

It seems like the world is falling apart sometimes, doesn't it?  In this age of instant news we hear of crazy things happening in the government, terrible atrocities happening to people all over the world, and our own country is sliding into moral nothingness.  It can easily make me feel depressed and scared.  What does the future hold for our children?  Will they be safe?  

 

I pray for our children's safety a lot.  But what do I mean?  When I think of safety I think of no danger, no pain, no death.  But I don't think that's what God thinks of when he thinks of safety.  In this world we will have death, it's pretty much a given, unless the Lord comes back before then.  So it's a little silly to pray that we won't die, huh? 

 

There is a missionary lady in the Middle East that our church prays for, and she wrote that the area ISIS controls now is just one kilometer from her house.  I can't imagine how scary that would be, but she wrote that she can't imagine being anywhere else.  People are coming to know the Lord and are growing in their faith right there, in the shadow of such evil. 

 

It's hard to know how to pray sometimes.

 

Just this morning I read these verses in Psalms 12:7-8--

 

O LORD, you will keep us safe

and protect us from such people forever.

The wicked freely strut about

when what is vile is honored among men.





 

If God is going to keep us safe forever, I don't think he means we will never die or have hardship or pain physically.  He isn't talking about physical safety, he's talking about spiritual safety- and that's the kind of safety that is really important- Are my children's souls safe?  Will they live forever in heaven with the Lord because they have accepted Him as their Savior?  That's the safety I need to be worried about.