Thoughts of Spring

Photo from Country Living Magazine's Facebook page

Yesterday, we received another 7 inches of snow, bringing our total to over 40 inches, which is the 4th snowiest winter on record.  Thankfully, we could prepare ahead of time.  Jeff brought home work so he could avoid the roads and work from home.  I had time to get food restocked.  All was cozy and warm on the home front.  

As I was reading our history lesson out loud yesterday, I came across this quote, and instantly I was transported to spring!  So, I thought I should write it here along with the cheery bouquet pictured above, to give us a little burst of spring.  

"When spring came, after that long hard winter, one could not get enough of the nimble air."  

~Willa Cather, My Antonia, 1918  

Just 42 days until spring! 

The Simpler the Life the Greater the Peace

"The willingness to be and to have just what God wants us to be and to have, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else, would set our hearts at rest, and we would discover that the simpler the life the greater the peace."
Elisabeth Elliot


"Be on your guard against all kind of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Luke 12:15

Am I truly willing to be and to have just what God wants me to be and to have?  The older I get, the closer I get to this state of being.  I remember a time when I was out of control with my wants.  I was also jealous of anyone who seemed to have the very thing I wanted.  Thankfully, I have learned to be content with what I have.

If there is something that I think I want and I do not have it, I can rest easy knowing that there is some reason that the Lord does not wish me to have it.  Perhaps this "thing" might become an idol and take my heart from Him.  Certainly I do not want that.

I remember a time when I had a longing for a house with a basement.  It seemed all  my friends had one.  (They still do.)  What I did have was a house that my husband could afford.  Grumble, grumble, grumble went my little discontent heart.  And then, a few years later, I had no house to grumble about!  Talk about learning a lesson the hard way!  By the grace of God, I learned that lesson well.

I learned not to be greedy for gain.  I learned to be content.  I learned that having a house on this earth is not my right.  It is a privilege.  Thank you, Lord for being a gentle, yet firm teacher. And, as it turns out, I have a sunken family room that is kind of like a basement.  I am getting closer! 

Therefore, I do believe that my heart is at rest with my circumstances.  I may never own another home.  If I do, it will be a gift from Him and I will appreciate it as such. It certainly would take a miracle to be able to buy a house in the next few years. And it is not something I long for, either.  What I long for is to be in the will of the Lord, having nothing more or nothing less than what He wants me to have.

Elisabeth Elliot also says, "Heaven is not here, it's There.  If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next.  God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for."


"In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."  2 Peter 3:13

Monday Meanderings

Good Monday morning to you!  Oh, yes indeed, it was another busy weekend for us.  And we are tired.  I find myself wanting to hide from the world outside my doors this week so that I can get some progress made on the house inside.  There are just too many things out of place for me to be at peace.  That said...  Here is a bit of encouragement for you all this fine Monday morning. 

"The way you keep your house, the way you organize your time, the care you take in your personal appearance, the things you spend your money on all speak loudly about what you believe.  "The beauty of Thy peace" shines forth in an ordered life.  A disordered life speaks loudly of disorder in the soul."

 -Elisabeth Elliot

"Those who walk uprightly enter into peace."   Isaiah 57:2

So, What am I going to do?  I am going to make a plan, invite my children to help me, and then I am going to pray that I do not sin in my attitude in the midst of digging out of this mess.  And if I have to, I might just figure out a way to stay home until it gets done!

Habits

Good morning friends. I pray you had a lovely weekend, too. I've been thinking about habits lately.

"In early childhood, you lay the foundation of poverty or riches, in the habits you give your children."

Mrs. Lydia Child, The American Frugal Housewife


"Therefore, the first rule, and the most important of all, in education is, that a mother govern her own feelings, and keep her heart and conscience pure."

Mrs. Lydia Child, The Mother's Book

Oh, how I feel the weight of these statements as I wrestle with my own feelings and keeping my conscience pure.  What are the habits that I have given my own precious children?  Are they worthy ones?  No, not all of them.  Rooting them out at this age is proving to be as difficult as rooting them out of my own heart.  Habits can be a constant struggle, when you are trying to change them, especially at my age.  Fortunately, I do have a compassionate Savior.  He sympathizes with my weaknesses.  Only through Him can I overcome and hope to be the mother my children need.  I feel trapped by my habits.  I must not allow them to be my ruin!

1 Corinthians 10:13 (New American Standard Bible)

 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

More regarding Elisabeth Elliot

Hello again friends.  It occurred to me that you all may not know about a wonderful, encouraging, free resource that has been such a blessing to me. 

Have you ever been to Elisabeth Elliot's website, ElisabethElliot.org?  Did you know that you can access her newsletters from 1982-2003?  Do you know what a wealth of encouragement she poured into those newsletters?  And the best part is that they are not lengthy, so you could read them, soaking in the godly wisdom, in little bits of time.  Bits like this:

"Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow.  He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender, and loving.  If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will with out fail be led.  Oh that I am sure."

Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter Sept/Oct 1992

A Mother's Brave and Tender Love

"...for no matter how lost and soiled and worn-out wandering some may be, mothers can forgive and forget every thing as they fold them in their fostering arms.  Happy the son whose faith in his mother remains unchanged, and who, through all his wanderings, has kept some filial token to repay her brave and tender love." 

from Little Men, Lousia May Alcott 

(Oh, I am really enjoying this book!  My dear, not-so-little, son downloaded it for me onto the Nook when I was having a recovery day this week.  It is so handy to have a son who likes computer gadgets.  I would be lost without him to guide me through them all.) 

Keep This in Mind

"Any concern too small 

to be turned into a prayer

is too small to be made 

into a burden."

_Corrie Ten Boom

Good Morning!

I was looking through some old papers, you know, trying to toss and organize, when I came across this quote I must have scribbled down to try and remember.  

"You have to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction!" 
- source unknown

This is just the shot in the arm that I needed today.  We have so much to do:  lessons, bringing a meal to a dear friend, dance, gym, laundry, and more.  In fact, this is going to be another busy week.  Thankfully tomorrow is quiet, but Wednesday we have a friend's 3 year old coming all day.  Thursday we have groceries, karate and our date night.  Friday is our flock group meeting.  Each day we will be working on our lessons and trying to keep the house in order.   

It is a blessing to have such a full life.  It's a gift, indeed.  My prayer is that I make the most of this week I have been given.  And may you be blessed as well.
~Jenn

Poor Richard's Almanac

Gentle Reader,

I've been doing a little searching and thought you might enjoy some of these proverbs from Poor Richard's Almanac, written by Benjamin Franklin.  Amazes me how many I have heard growing up and did not know that he was the author.  The following are some that spoke to my heart. 

None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing.

He that speaks much, is much mistaken.

God heals, and the Doctor takes the Fees.

If you desire many things, many things will seem but a few.

Do good to thy Friend to keep him, to thy enemy to gain him.


Well done is better than well said.

I never saw an oft-transplanted tree,
Nor yet an oft-removed family,
That throve so well as those that settled be.

If you wou’d not be forgotten
As soon as you are dead and rotten,
Either write things worth reading,
or do things worth the writing.

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.





If you should enjoy reading more, click here. 

Just Think...

Just think

You’re here not by chance,

But by God’s choosing.

His hand

Formed you

And made you the person you are.

He compares you to no one else-

You are

One of a kind.

You lack nothing

That His grace can’t give you.

He has allowed you to be here

at this time in history

To fulfill

His special purpose

For this generation.

ROY LESSIN

So True...

"Enjoyment of life is enhanced by the knowledge that we don't need much in order to be happy." 
Mother Earth News, August/September 2010 issue

Almost Everything

"If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need."  Cicero

More Quotes to Add to My Collection

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. --Winston Churchill

"If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get accomplished!"

"If you're not living on the edge, then you're probably taking up too much space."

Really??

“Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” -Mark Twain

Photo from Photobucket.com

Food for Thought

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana


(But I really am hopelessly in love with spring.)

Picture from long ago, a daffodil, I once knew. 

Some Notes on Suffering

Just thinking about the idea makes me uneasy.  Suffering.  I admit that one of my favorite idols is comfort and ease.  However, if you've been on the road of sanctification long enough, you are going to run into the concept in a very personal way. 

I am reading an awesome book, Peacemaking Women:  Biblical Hope for Resolving Conflict by Tara Klena Barthel and Judy Dabler.  In their book, they take a look at suffering in chapter two. 

Suffering tempts us to doubt the goodness of God.  I can remember struggling with this when I watched a good friend of mine die a few years ago.  She left a husband and 2 kids.  They were homeschoolers.  My small view of God caused conflict in my heart that has taken these years to resolve. 

The fact is, we live in a fallen world.  But, God  can use our suffering for His good, for our good.  Maturing in Christ requires our being willing to suffer.  2 Timothy 3:12 says,"Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will suffer persecution."  Through our trials, we become more like Jesus, if we submit our wills. 

Elisabeth Elliot puts a good light on this topic when she said,"Nothing can reach us, from any source in earth or hell, no matter how evil, which God cannot turn to his own redemptive purpose.  Let us be glad that the way is not a game of chance, a mere roll of the dice which determines our fortune or calamity - it is a way appointed, and it is appointed for God's eternal glory and our final good." 

Simple Reading

"I imagined a simple kitchen, a farm sink full of soapy water, a view from the window that would lift my heart, and time enough just to stand there, fingers softening into wrinkles, slowly swirling a sponge across a china plate." 
~Discover how chores become therapy in Katrina Kenison's memoir, The Gift of an Ordinary Day.

Collector of Words, I Am

Some people collect things, I am a collector of words.  Here are a few good ones I found this week. 

"God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters." 
~J.H. Lovett

"The most indispensable ingredient of all good home cooking:  love for those you are cooking for." 
~Sophia Loren

"Finding a way to live the simple life today is man's most complicated task."
~Henry A. Courtney

Dune Boy

"Understanding and encouragement are sunshine and water to that frail plant, early ambition."
~Edwin Way Teale, Dune Boy pg. 228

Nature Never Did Betray...

"Nature never did betray...
The heart that loved her, is her privilege
Through all the years of this our life to lead
From joy to joy;for she can so inform
The mind that is with us; so impress
With quietness and beauty; and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues
Rash judgements, nor the sneers of selfish men
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
Shall ere prevail against us; or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings."
~ Edith Holden
The Nature Notes of an Edwardnian Lady