a typical day...

My day often starts about 530 a.m. We meet 5 days a week at our church to pray for our nation! This is so important to me as I see how the "change" that has and is taking is frightening...but this is only my opinion..and as a Christian...I will uphold the principles of God's word ...."pray all those in authority over us; so we can live a peaceable life" (paraphrased by me)

After a few hours there...I venture home to take care of the matters of the homestead...which is usually: laundry, sweeping, mopping, dusting...managing the finances, keeping the porches tidied up...and of course nesting and creating is in there too!!!

As I type this on my laptop..I am looking out to our backyard...its alive with trees, flowers and various wildlife! I have some hot coffee with a splash of sugar free French Vanilla creamer and a sprinkle or tow of Pumpkin Spice on top..quite yummy I must say. Have some candles lit in the house and it smells wonderful! The house is clean and tidied from yesterdays' "Weekly Home Blessing" and quite thankful I have a few moments to post today!

We have had some light drizzle in my neck of the woods, for the past few days, which has made for some lovely Autumn-like temperatures. The wind is blowing some as I hear it rustling in the trees and the wind chimes are playing their music as the wind shifts and turns them. The blue jays and hummingbirds are quite busy today as are the squirrels I see from time to time. Its a time before the rest of the Winter season..when all of nature lays down and rests and sleeps. But until then...the Autumn is here with the vibrant colors and textures...the smells of soups, stews and candle loveliness. The glow of the lamps burning in the homes as we take evening walks about the neighborhood. The smell of the first fire in the fire place to keep out the chill as the sun sets.

While life is not picture perfect neither reads like a novel....we can enjoy the simple pleasures of routines in our typical days. What are a few things and ideas you can implement in your home to bring peace, order and beauty to it?

Simplify our lives....lump errands together; as your doing dishes, light a candle and say a pray of thanks that we have a home to bless and dishes to do!

Gather some leaves, acorns, pine cones, mosses and rocks put together in a basket or a pretty bowl and enjoy the colors of the season!

Get your crockpot out and make up a batch of hearty Beef Stew or Chicken and Dumplins'! nothing says Fall like yummy smells coming from the kitchen.

In the laundry room how about some great containers and baskets in which to house the detergent, softeners..etc...some old enamelware stock pots with lids are great for powdered detergent. Make it a place YOU want to be in....put your personal signature on your home....a place of peace, rest, order and beauty as you celebrate the Autumn season everyday!! Blessings to you and your hearth....

soooo many changes.....

Greetings to you my friend!! It is been quite awhile since I have written....but life is happening for all of us. I have thought of deleting my blog quite a few times...but being unable to do this...I just wait until I feel there is something that I need to say.

I wanted my blog not only to have pictures of my daily life, and thoughts and snippets of this and that...but I wanted to be transparent and authentic....ME!

I may not have alot to say at any given time...but I know that this is a place of encouragement for certain! If we need a place of encouragement, and a time for it it is here and now!

With the Autumn season in place....although you wouldn't know it here..as it was 105 today..urghhh...changes are indeed happening.

I get rejuvenated at this time of year....the colors are so rich...the scent of cinnamon, vanilla and pumpkin spice are often heady...the air takes on a crispness to it...I long to throw a cozy cardigan going out to run errands...and to bring out the Autumn decor and fluff the nest for the changing season.

I have done just that....fluffed the nest!! I brought in from the garage my bin that has my Harvest decor in it, and had such a delightful time nesting, fluffing, and re-creating in my home! I did a little bit each day...and just love it...it so comforting to come home and see the dining room table with the leaves, pine cones and such on it!

As I have mentioned to you that changes have taken place....there is less of me...in fact 54 lbs gone as of today!! It is the start of an amazing journey for certain...and I will continue on with it!!

There is a door that God has opened for us...and that is the door to the Native Americans. My husband and I recently were invited to minister at one of the Indian Reservations' in our area. What an amazing time we had!! The Native community welcomed us heartily....and we are so grateful to be able to minister to them! Both my husband and I have ancestry in the Native community. It is just awesome to see God move and how He opens doors that no man can open and shuts doors that no man can shut!! He makes a way!!! We have been invited to a Youth Rally in October at another Reservation and I was invited to go with a friend to a Woman's gathering held and yet another Reservation!!! God is sooooo faithful!!!

I do plan on posting pictures this week of the Fall Harvest Decor in my home and how it is changing with the seasons...but until then...blessings to you and your hearth and may your hand be blessed in all you do!!!

Summer's past....

All of us have triggers that remind us of loved ones who have gone to be with the Lord. I have many fond memories of Mema...my Mother's mother. She was born in Oklahoma before Oklahoma was...it was Indian Territory! We were told countless stories...the adventures they had when they were children!

In the summer my younger sister and I would stay with my grandparents for a few weeks! We slept out on the "service porch"...it was screened in and had a big fluffy bed with a cozy chenille bedspread. Mema always had fresh flowers in every room of the house...whether anyone was in it or not! She would ask me to go pick violets to put in a tiny vase next to the side of the bed where I would be sleeping...ahhh those sweet smelling violets as you layed your head down to sleep.

I would drift off to sleep hearing the coyotes in the distance and the sounds of thunder at times.

My grandparents rose about 4am every morning...Papa would go out to the gardens and orchard to harvest the veggies and fruits for that day!! Plums, apricots, grapes, corn, cucumbers, melons...it was amazing the green thumb the two of them had. I would hear Mema singing in the 'summer house" which was located just across the walkway from where we slept. she would sing "In the Garden", "Amazing Grace" (which her name was Grace!) and other traditional gospel songs....she was getting her canning started for the day....always "puttin up" something! Her jams and jellies were amazing!!

The clouds would build over the mountains in the afternoons, then we would have a good thunder shower...I would sit in the summer house as the rain fell on the roof making such a distinct sound...eating a cucumber and tomato sandwich with fresh harvested veggies and bread made that morning!! These are such beautiful memories and while I long for that time once in awhile...I know that walking in that simplicity of living....has been deeply ingrained in me since I was a child. For this I am oh so thankful. For the times we are living in a more uncertain everyday. We must know the God who loves us in a way we never been loved before. We must trust and lean on the Great I AM as never before. Many may say negative things and worry about doomsday predictions....while I know what the Word of God says.... I keep praying and believing and standing in the gap for those who have yet to make Jesus their Lord and Savior!

I am being purposeful in this season I find myself in...putting my home in order....clearing out the files... deleting old things, purging the unwanted I have stored up...thinking they were a part of me and such a treasure...only to find out...its baggage that I have toted around for many years. As you have guessed...this isn't just in the natural, but also in every facet of my life...physical, emotional, spiritual too!!! Shedding of pounds is a great liberty...and in spite of having to face and continue to walk through some challenges these past few months, I trust God with it all for HE is the one who led me to this place, and I am so grateful!!!

I look at Summer's Past...with a smile on my face...a wonderful time in my life as a child....and fast forward to today..this moment....being led down a path of greater simplicity in my life, enjoying my husband, children and grand-children, in awe of God everyday for my life in so full and I can truly say I am a blessed woman!

I plan some upcoming posts about the Autumn season....my favorite!! Recipes, Ideas to get your home cozied up for the upcoming season!! Blessings to you and your hearth dear friends...till I see you again!! xo

Memorial Day...

Gasp.....she posts again!!! Yes I am back....its been quite awhile and for that I apologize. Time just seems to be passing so quickly it's amazing!!

My Hubby and I graduated from the School of Ministry on Resurrection Sunday...it was a long 1 1/2 yr process..with MANY tests and trails, but the Lord was so faithful in it all!

We are waiting on the Lord to find out what is next....until we know what it is, we are happily serving at our church. He is Head Usher and I am over the Prayer Ministry as well as a teacher in the Sunday School class. I am called on every 6 weeks to minister on Wednesday evenings to the congregation and Hubby has ministered on Sunday morning a handful of times!! God is Good!

Have more to tell you all...I am re-create mode....not sure where this will go...but God is in it!! Much to share with you...but for now, Enjoy the rest of your evening with family and friends, or if you didn't gather with loved ones....enjoy and relish in the blessed quiet!!

Tell next time...Blessings to you heart and hearth!!! xo

New Years's blessings!

We are going out of town tomorrow to spend the evening with our friends and family! We are staying in a local hotel...it will be like a mini vacation for us!

I am looking forward to what the new year will bring. In spite of how the "economy" looks...I see how God has continued to provide for us, His had is on His own. I want to be in the place He wants me to be in...do what He wants me to do...say what He wants me to say...see what I am supposed to see. It comes right down to being obedient really. The Bible says that "Obedience is better than sacrifice"....I want His perfect will for my life!! That may mean giving up things that are no longer beneficial to me....but I purpose to be obedient to His call.

I pray that this year is a new of great favor and flourishing for you and yours...get in a place to hear what the Lord is saying to you...let Him speak to you in His word...be still and know that HE is God. He is directing our steps...yield to His hand and watch what He does in this coming year!!!

God's promises and blessings in abundance to you and yours...in Jesus' name!

Till next year!!! xo

just some thoughts....

With the house decked in its Christmas finery and some packages tied up with bows...this is my time to unwind and relax. It's the time of the season that I settle in more to my daily routines and relish in the rhythm of the season. Its a gentle time for me..raising early in the morning and watching the sun rise. The coffee pot is on its timer, so when I come downstairs the aroma that awaits me...ahh tis morning...I put in two slices of english muffin bread ( so good, crispy and crusty) a small pat of butter...grab my favorite coffee cup that my sis gave me for my birthday a few years ago...then I go to my chair...toss a cozy throw over me and take my journal and bible...then wait on Him. He leads me through my devotional time with Him. Some days I read Proverbs or Psalms....other days Matthew or Ephesians. But in any case...it is always relevant to what is happening in my life...for God knows! He knows what is going on in my life...He cares, when no one else does...He is always with me...never has He left me or forsaken me..nor will He! It is in this place that His Presence comes and gently washes over me.

In His Presence is peace and great joy!! This Christmas...seek Him...and find Him..for Jesus is coming soon....are you ready??? Much love and abundant blessings to you and your house!!

almost Christmas....

Taking a break from puttering around the house to say hello again! So much has been happening! Hubby and I are done with school now...finishing up on the last of our homework and getting ready to take the final..after the Christmas Holiday.

We have attended a few Christmas parties this season...the first, Hubby's company party! It was fun to go with our son and daughter-in-law...he works for the company too! Our dear friends were there also...so we had a great time. The second was this past Friday night...given by one of the ladies at our church, she wanted to bless everyone so she planned a party! I was one of the coordinators..planned the flower arrangements and decorations! It was such a lovely evening!! I am posting the photo of the two of us....

This Christmas season has been lean for many of us...including me. We are purchasing basics for our grown children and just buying needed items for our 4 year old grandson. We will have another addition to our family...Our son and daughter-in-law are expecting their second child...its a girl!!! We are are thrilled!!

I have seen how faithful the Lord is to us in these uncertain times. The media sends out such fear across the airwaves...causing so many to be just riddles with anxiety and panic....but with God...we can be certain ...He is the Surety...He is our Security and Provision!! We can be certain that He will and does take care of His people!! I know that this past year we wouldn't have made except the Lord provided!!!

While many of us are getting back to the basics...I truly believe that this is where God wants us to be....remembering and helping those in need..look beyond ourselves...find someone to bless. The basics of our faith in Him. Trusting in Him with our whole heart and not lean to our own understanding with the circumstances and situations we are facing....God is on the Throne and He is taking care of His people!! What a gift...God making a way where there doesn't seem to be a way!!

Times of quiet contemplation are awaiting us...He is calling to you, whispering to your heart, waiting to reveal to you His plan and purpose for the coming year. Take a break from the running and going...the hurriedness that pushes in on us so much this time of year....and Listen to the still small voice and God whispers to your heart.

Blessings to you and yours this most Joyous Christmas Season!!