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Tue 12 Jan 2010


A Wonderful Trust



“She took her worries if she had any about us, to God. She was that way. She had a wonderful trust that God could and would work anything out that she couldn’t manage. Mom was wonderful that way.”
—Rodney Graeme, A Girl to Come Home To by Grace Livingston Hill

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14

Wed 27 May 2009


Making Do



It isn’t about what you do without. It’s about what you do instead.”
Quoted by Edith Flowers Kilgo in The Simple Life

I have been wanting a new camera—one that takes super macro shots, breathtaking closeups of distant objects, and all around awesome pics like I see on other websites. Between ongoing doctor bills for my daughters and a slowing economy, it has not been possible for me to afford a better camera. Instead of feeling bad about it, I have felt that the Lord wanted me to just be thankful for the simple one I have and to make do with it. So I’ve made the best of my situation.

I learned to make my own macro lens by holding a magnifying glass to my camera when I take a picture.

Mushroom at Pond

I learned how to take better pictures of pets.

Autumn on Porch

Autumn's Paws

Although I have not edited my pictures before because it seemed so complicated, I have learned to adjust color, saturation, tint, warmth to make a picture stand out more. I realized that I have software on my computer to make it simple for me.

Pond at Sunset (Before)
Before

Pond at Sunset (After)
After

Leaf After Rain
Before

Leaf After Rain
After

Piney Woods
After

I know there is still so much to learn. I’m sure the professionals laugh at my amateur work, but I’m having fun!

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14

Wed 4 Feb 2009


Fireproof on DVD



103339: Fireproof, Special Collector"s Edition DVDLast week we made a special trip into town to purchase the Fireproof DVD on the day it came out. We have been anticipating it for months, ever since we saw it in theaters. Back in the fall, my sweetheart had taken me to see it as a surprise, and I took my girls, my parents, and my parents’ neighbor a few days later. We were just blown away by the movie. It contains something for the whole family: action, romance, and comedy. It encouraged me greatly to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ presently so clearly on the “big screen.” We have watched it numerous times since purchasing the DVD.

Since watching the Left Behind series, my girls have been big “fans” of Kirk Cameron, who starred in Fireproof. They have loved the stories I’ve told them of how extremely popular Kirk was when I was a teen girl. My daughters are amazed at how God worked in his life and saved him. It still amazes me. I recently read Kirk’s autobiography Still Growing. I cannot tell you how much his testimony encourages me in my walk with the Lord. My middle daughter got to it and read it before I could.:) Now, my oldest is reading it, sometimes aloud to her baby sister.

Here is the official Fireproof trailer.

Although I don’t normally listen to this style of music, this song has greatly encouraged all of us. It is called “While I’m Waiting” and was featured in Fireproof. I’ve done a great deal of waiting on the Lord in my life. He has always been working behind the scenes, as I was waiting. He does that for all of His children, no matter if we can see Him working or not. We can trust that He is getting everything lined in place for His perfect timing.

We loved the Fireproof in 60 video on the Fireproof website and also on the DVD. You can view it on the website; it is the second video. Hilarious!

We have seen all the movies made by Sherwood Baptist Church. We pray for God’s continued outpouring of blessings and protection on this humble church, who just want to honor God.

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14

Thu 9 Oct 2008


Poise and Dignity



“In times of sorrow it is important not to let the home life sag, not to let ourselves take the attitude that we don’t care or that things do not matter. This is not the right heartbeat for a home. No, let us force that smile and perform our household duties with poise and dignity in honor of those who trusted and loved us. Now more than ever the family needs nutritious meals and an attractively set table with delicious, appetizing foods.”

—Thyra Ferré Bjorn, The Home Has a Heart

Although the above quote is for those who have lost a loved one through death, this also applies in other times of sorrow, like a divorce or in our current time of economic uncertainty. There is so much fear being spread through the news and elsewhere these days, but I’m reminded that what I’m doing here in my home is so very valuable and needed. Doing my job with poise and dignity brings much comfort to my family and myself. I also gives us courage.

Tomorrow is here,
The day
That I feared
Yesterday,
And God
Is still
In control.

—Phyllis C. Michael

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14

Sat 5 Jul 2008


Her Own Secret Castle



Table Flowers

Afterward I asked her, “Do you think I’m wrong in holding on to my wishes about moving? Surely Kermit should consider my feelings, too.”

Aunt Miriam gazed thoughtfully out the window for a few moments, then turned back to me and said, “I once heard the saying, ‘A man’s home is his castle.’ I believe that is the truth because God planned it that way from the beginning. The man is the head of the home and his wife must fit herself into the blueprint of his dreams. If she doesn’t and insists on having things her way instead of what her husband desires, she is a usurper to the throne, and I don’t believe that usurpers are ever happy.”

… “But surely the wife has a right to her dreams even if they differ from his.”

Aunt Miriam nodded. “You know that Kermit loves you and that if you don’t yield he will give up his own dreams bit by bit and give in to you. But in doing so, both of you will be weakening the foundation of your life together. A wise woman will never let that happen.

… “Tell me then, what is the answer when a husband and a wife want different things.”

Aunt Miriam’s smile was gentle as she replied, “The wife has a castle, too, a wonderful castle in which she reigns as a queen. It is strong and secure from without, but very fragile from within. She is the only one who can tear down that castle, for it is a living thing which must be nurtured and tended lovingly, or it will decay. A wife who is content to rule only within the bounds of her own castle can be gloriously happy. When she steps out of her domain, she is apt to be unhappy. God has given women a power that is noble, queenly, and good if rightly used. She remains in her castle only by accepting her husband’s plan for their life together, and by seeking to nurture and lovingly build her own private castle strong and sure.”

… On the way home it dawned on me what Aunt Miriam meant. The castle was the wife’s love of her husband. His happiness, virtues, faults, dreams, and dislikes must be accepted and hallowed by her love because these things make up her own secret castle. She must tend it lovingly, and in so doing will add a glory to the home of her husband’s choosing.

Suddenly, I made my decision. Kermit should be able to realize his dream of working in the outdoors under the big, blue sky.

Carrie Bender, Forget-Me-Not Lane

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14

Sat 26 Apr 2008


A House So Cosy and Pretty



Wildflowers in a Tin Can on a Windowsill
Wildflowers in a Tin Can on a Windowsill

“After Laura and Mary had washed and wiped the dishes, swept the floor, made their bed, and dusted, they settled down with their books. But the house was so cosy and pretty that Laura kept looking up at it.

“The black stove was polished till it gleamed. A kettle of beans was bubbling on its top and bread was baking in the oven. Sunshine slanted through the shining windows between the pink-edged curtains. The red-checked cloth was on the table. Beside the clock on its shelf stood Carrie’s brown-and-white-dog, and Laura’s sweet jewel-box. And the little pink-and-white shepherdess stood smiling on the wood-brown bracket.

“Ma had brought her mending-basket to her rocking-chair by the window, and Carrie sat on the footstool by her knee. While Ma rocked and mended, she heard Carrie say her letters in the primer. Carrie told big A and little a, big B and little b, then she laughed and talked and looked at the pictures. She was still so little that she did not have to keep quiet and study.”

“The clock struck twelve. Laura watched its pendulum wagging, and the black hands moving on the round white face. It was time for Pa to come home. The beans were cooked, the bread was baked. Everything was ready for Pa’s dinner.”

On the Banks of Plum Creek, p. 301-302
by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14

Sun 13 May 2007


The Lovely Ideal of a Christian Mother



“My mother’s habit was, every day, immediately after breakfast, to withdraw for an hour to her own room, and to spend that hour in reading the Bible, in meditation, and in prayer. From that hour, as from a pure fountain, she drew the strength and the sweetness which enabled her to fulfil all her duties, and to remain unruffled by all the worries and pettinesses which are so often the intolerable trial of narrow neighborhoods. As I think of her life, and of all it had to bear, I see the absolute triumph of Christian grace in the lovely ideal of a Christian lady. I never saw her temper disturbed; I never heard her speak one word of anger, or of calumny, or of idle gossip. I never observed in her any sign of a single sentiment unbecoming to a soul which had drunk of the river of the water of life, and which had fed upon manna in the barren wilderness. The world is the better for the passage of such souls across its surface. They may seem to be as much forgotten as the drops of rain which fall into the barren sea, but each rain-drop adds to the volume of refreshful and purifying waters. ‘The healing of the world is in its nameless saints. A single star seems nothing, but a thousand scattered stars break up the night and make it beautiful.’”

–Archdeacon Farrar
Quoted on page 17 of Dora’s Diary: Millstream Orchards Family by Carrie Bender
Quoted in Making the Most of Life by J. R. Miller

Janet
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14