Some Magazines I've been enjoying!

I received an issue of Phylis Hoffman's Celebrate yesterday and I love it!
 I think I will be subscribing to it from now on. So many great entertaining ideas and yummy recipes included! I love having people over, but as of recently I haven't been able to because we're having some issues with our trailer and have been sleeping in the living room because we have no electric in the back part of our trailer (I had to shut the breaker off), so no air conditioning and it's been pretty warm during the days here and trailers seem to hold heat for some reason. But I'm rearranging the bedroom now too and hoping that I'll be able to create a small reading cozy corner in there if there is room, for it is quite a small bedroom. But I'm grateful for this place and grateful to God for giving us a roof over our heads!

Here is another magazine that I have enjoyed:
 I love drinking tea and having afternoon tea when I can. And this magazine also has some awesome recipes and tips in it! I'm going to be doing a study on Afternoon Tea for one of my classes and I'm planning to resubscribe to this magazine as a source of information and ideas! I have to go on a field trip with the study as well so I'll be choosing a tea room somewhere around here to check out!

Here is another magazine that is so inviting and that I really love:
 This has lots of good recipes as well as gardening advice, tablescaping and decorating ideas! I love it! These are my wind down magazines that I enjoy reading before going to bed at night they help me to fall asleep with lovely pictures in my mind. That goes back to Philippians 4:8 " Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

These are just a few of the magazines I enjoy. Let me know of some that you enjoy! (I also enjoy Taste of Home, Simple & Delicious, & Healthy Cooking.)

Sharing some Praises!

Just wanted to share a few praises. I've been going through a deep valley recently and yesterday it kept coming to me why don't you just go and pray and so I did. I didn't spend a very long time just a few minutes and I asked God to seal to my heart that I was still His child and the verse came to me that "I'll never leave you nor forsake you." also earlier before I knelt and prayed the song "I would not be denied" came to my mind (that's one I wouldn't normally think of) especially the verse that says "Ole Satan said my Lord was gone and would not hear my prayer: but praise the Lord the work is done and Christ the Lord is here!" and God seemed to be whispering to me that, that was exactly what the devil was trying to do is get me to believe God wasn't hearing my prayers and wasn't with me!
   This morning during the service we had a family in from out of state (their son and daughter-in-law live here and attend our church and run our church school) and they sang the song "Just Ask" and it was hard for me to keep my seat without getting up and praising the Lord (I'm kind of shy in church or in a crowd, I'm that way at school too so it's not just church), I sat crying quietly in my seat thanking God for once again visiting my heart! It's wonderful to know that I'm a child of the King and an heir to Heaven and robe, crown and mansion someday. And again tonight He came and helped our Pastor deliver a much needed sermon on how we should be like Daniel and the way that He purposed in his heart to get home at any cost, praying 3 times a day even when there was a decree out that sent him to the lion's den, even not bowing before an idol and being thrown into a fiery furnace. God is bigger than all that stuff anyhow and if we'll just set our minds and hearts on Heaven, and pray humbly, and seek God's face (seek how He wants us to live our lives) then we'll be living like Daniel. What are you wanting God to do for you today?
   God has been working on my heart and drawing me into a deeper relationship with Him, and I'm doing my very best to live out what He's asking me to do. There have been somethings that's He's laid a finger on that have been hard to do but I'm setting my goals and sites on Heaven, this here is not my home, I'm just a passing through. Someday I'll be where the trivial things of this life will not matter anymore and I don't want to miss that day for anything this world has to offer. Lord, Search me and draw me, help me to seek your face in all that I do. I truly want to be a Proverbs 31 woman. And a woman after God's own heart.
 

Sharing from My heart

Here recently God has been drawing me ever nearer to Him and drawing me closer to Him in prayer and my devotions. He has given me wonderful promises of late and just been giving me peace. A passage of Scripture that has meant so much to me over the past year has been:

PSALM 91

1.) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2) I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; In Him will I trust. 

3) Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler(Trapper of birds), and from the noisome(perilous or deadly) pestilence.

4) He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy sheild and buckler (a small shield). 

5) Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6) Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 

9) Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation. 

10) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 

11) For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13) Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14) Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15)He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him. 

16) With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. 

This is what God has spoken to my heart through this chapter and I thought that I would share it with you. Maybe God will use it for His glory in your life. It's not here to glorify me, I'm nothing and without God's intervention I wouldn't even be able to think this way! It's because of His amazing grace! 

     God has said that as long as I seek His face and pray and keep my spiritual life in tune with Him, He will protect me from the onslaught of the devil! This passage has some wonderful promises in it. 

In the first verse it says that He that dwelleth will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. However it doesn't say he that just dwelleth anywhere. Where must we abide, or spend our time? In the secret place with God, now I don't believe that every moment of every day we must stay on our knees in our secret closets, because God also says in his word that we should work so that we can eat and support our families. But I do believe that we are to be in a constant state of prayer, in constant communion with our Lord. 

      The next verse goes on to say that God is our refuge and our shield! Those are also some powerful promises! Who do we know here on earth that could be that for us? I don't know of anyone. Yes we do have people that we can go to who help us pray and have someone that would stand in the gap to pray a hedge about us but they can't literally be our shield. God has already offered His Son Jesus for that very purpose. Jesus blood shields us from the devil, as long we stay under the blood. 

      Verse 3 goes on with some more wonderful promises, He has promised that he will deliver us, here it says from a fowler, but I believe that in essence He's saying that He'll deliver us from our enemy, the devil, who walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. God has said that if we'll seek refuge with Him and walk in His truth and His light that he'll protect us. Then in verse four He goes on to say that He'll cover us with His feathers. If you've ever seen a mother hen when danger comes she calls to her young and they gather under her wings and she keeps them safe even to the point of giving her very life to save her young. I have a children's story about a hen that gave her life in a fire to save her young and when the fire was over the farmer came through and when he moved her aside out from under her came her little peeps just as safe as could be. That's what God is calling us to do is to hide beneath His wings. He never meant for us to just hang out there by ourselves and "try" to do things on our own. We can't do things on our own, we must have God's help. Also in this verse it talks about how His truth will be our buckler or small shield. Even Jesus used Scripture when he was tempted in the wilderness. That's one reason God breathed His Word and had it written is so that we can have something to fight the enemy with. 

       Verse five has been a real comfort to me. And I found that I'm not the only one who struggles with fear at night! But here in verse five God says that we don't have to "be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day!" Well Praise the Lord! Another place in the Psalms it says that "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee!" Truly we don't have to be afraid for like another scripture says what can man do to me? And who can be against us when God is for us! Verse six kind of goes right along with that, we don't have to fear the pestilence that walketh in darkness. Thank the Lord for where He is there is light! Ask God to shine his light over you and help you stay right in the middle of that light! 

    Further on in the chapter in verses 11-12 it talks about how God gives His angels charge over us to keep us lest we dash our foot against a stone. God never intended for us to walk this way blindly but wants to guide us and guard us if we'll let Him. 

    

    I know this post has been long but just thought I would share with you what God has been sealing to my heart. And just what He gave me as I was writing this post. I love Jesus and I love what God has done in my life. And I'm praying that God will fill me with His precious Spirit so that I can be on fire for Him. I've been contending for the Glory. Will you join with me in contending for the glory? I'm seeking for revival in my own heart as well as the dark, wicked valley that I live in. I aim to make Heaven my home and praise my Saviour forever! 

I'm just realizing how fast this winter has flown by! In just a few weeks it will be time to turn our clocks ahead! I'm so excited to get back out and plant things! I've got several house plants that have grown beautifully and are need to be transplanted. My husband got me 4 new plants for Valentine's Day!

I've been doing some digging recently and found several new blogs that I'm totally enjoying! One is the following one, I find it so restful and peaceful right down to the music that's played! http://warrengrovegarden.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html
You'll have to check it out when you get a chance!
I'll be doing a little more with this type of blogging hopefully!
I also love doing tea and this weekend I'll be having a birthday/valentine's tea with my mom since her birthday is this weekend! Just had to share that link! More later.

Can't think what to title this....

I couldn't think what to title this post so I guess that's what it's titled. It's been a nightmare of the past 3 weeks with my dad's passing and funeral and burial and all. We've felt many people's prayers holding us up. I miss my dad something fierce, but God had some reason He needed him in heaven so I'm not going to be angry with God. I still love Jesus with all my heart and my goal is to one day meet him face to face and hear him say "Well done my Child..."
   This was only our 4th day of class since this quarter began almost 3 weeks ago. We've been in Northern Ohio a lot with the passing of my father. Our professors have been so good about it all. We have a lot of homework to make up but I'm sure we'll get it done quickly.
   We came home yesterday and then lost the electric in our bathroom and bedroom and after calling the landlord he scheduled an electrician to come out and look at it on Monday so for now we're dealing with an extension cord to run a fan and a lamp for lighting back there. So hoping to get a new place sometime soon. Our dog needs some yard space!
    Not much else has been happening around here just kind of fast paced with dealing with everything with dad. Will always miss him!

My dad went to heaven....

Last Tuesday at 7:46 am my dad went to be with the Lord. Boy has this past week been rough. From the phone call saying my dad died after a serious accident. It was all so unexpected. So Hubby and I rushed to be with my mom and over the next day or so the rest of the family gathered in. We were together as a family sharing memories of our dad and crying together. Just seems like he should still be here with us, but we can see how God was preparing us for this time. Not that when death comes you're ever prepared for it, and especially not when it's a shock like this has been. My mom said at first she couldn't even cry just felt weak. Their pastor was with her when she saw dad for the first time after the accident (he was dead when they got him to the hospital) and I'm glad he was! Mom did get to talk to him on the phone at the scene of the accident where he said he wasn't bleeding or cut but just didn't feel good and was gonna let them take him to the hospital. He was very calm when talking to my mom and she said that's a conversation she'll never forget, he was normally high strung and would've been especially so after totaling his plowing truck for the winter, but was calm and resigned to that. I believe the Lord was working with his mind and bringing it around to praying. My younger brother Kevin flew in to Pittsburgh that night and came to where we were staying and it was probably 3 A.M. before we got to bed that night. The next night my older brother and his family came in from Florida around 10 PM or so. We just held each other and wept. I don't think I've ever seen my older brother cry and that was hard. Keith and Kevin are both Marines and they wore their dress blues to the funeral and sat and stood on either side of my mom as she accepted the flag that was draped over my dad's casket (he was an airforce veteran). They did the 21 gun salute and then presented the Bible to Keith and the shells to me. It's been the hardest time in my life I think. He was my dad for 26 precious years and he was a good dad, us kids knew he loved us and was proud of our paths in life. I regret that my father didn't get to meet our children but mom said I can ask Jesus to tell him and I will. I'm so very glad for the week that the Lord gave us with him at Christmas before he died. It'll be a week I never forget. Keith and his wife and one of their girls got to web cam with him on New Year's day and that's so precious to them.
     The night before we left to come home, I sat in his chair with a blanket he used that still smelled like him and that started the tears flowing! I'm gonna miss him so much and already do! Seems like I should be able to call him about things and tell him what's going on, but I can't. I know he's singing with the angels and praising the Lord and that's a comfort. But no one will ever replace him, he was a one of a kind guy. I love him still and always will.

Starting again with FlyLady!

I don't know if many of you have heard of www.flylady.net but it's a pretty awesome website, they're also on facebook. I first learned about it when I was in college at Allegheny Wesleyan College, one of my professors told some of us girls about her! I'm giving her a whirl this year! My home just turns into chaos when we're in school soooo much and I'm running about doing the odd number of jobs that I do! But Fly Lady has daily missions for you to accomplish, and she's great at helping you get organized! I spent part of my day today organizing my meals and grocery list up for this week but even that I could have done in 15 minute increments! She has "Control Journals" for students, for the holidays, for the office, for the home and so many great ideas! I like using fly lady on facebook because it kind of gives you a support group of people that encourage you when you forget to do something or just plain drop the ball on cleaning tasks! It's been difficult this time around being in college since I'm married and now have a home to take care of and so many times things get left to do the next day and then they don't get done the next day, but I'm hoping I can keep up with fly lady this year!