Then and Now..... UP Mich winter 2013

Christmas Eve 2012 Our son Mark shoveling our roof...... 

 

Same spot
two month later
 

 

Feb storm

Words are powerful.......OOPS there I go again...

Being accountable for my words:

Psalms 19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Really slipped up yesterday... Oh boy
 Lord help me....

thought I had to share something that was less the good about someone else...

  Forgive me Lord...

My mouth is like a wild animal.....(a quote from Joyce)

Words they can build up or they can tear down....
Keep tongue from evil: help me Lord help me....from
Gossip
criticism
rude
judgmental
complaining
faultfinding
telling secrets

Learn to talk about good things..... positive things

Sometimes I wonder how my husband can put up with my words
they even drive me crazy.....

Don't rehearse our problems do not talk about it.....the more you talk the more unhappy you make yourself

the more we talk about your problems the more you decrease your joy.
Stop talking about everything that is wrong in my life.....
the less you talk about problems the less problems you have...  yipppeeee

Be anxious for nothing......  pray and say,

Say what we pray......


God I believe you are working in my life...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gifts given:
words
mind
friends
hearing

More joy power and progress.....
thank you Lord...
=========================================================
God is good all the time
               All the time God is good.........

Drying Spinach for Smoothies and soup

Drying Spinach:

We buy spinach almost every time we go to town.  Love that baby spinach.
One week  we forgot it in the bottom of my frig and had to throw most of it out. What a waste....... not only a waste of money but a waste of nutrition.

Yesterday a thought popped into my head of pulling out the food dryer and putting the rest of this weeks in the food dryer for our smoothies and soup. We dry our own in the fall.......and also Swiss Chard.

This work wonderful.......
Wash you spinach.....
Put on tray
Plug it in
and in about 12 hours or less.....you have dried spinach.  Which may keep for many many
This is kind of a dark picture.  But 20 years or so we bought this food drier at a tag sale.
It has been one of the most  used things we have every bought.

We dry herbs, leeks, (which dry wonderful) blueberries. strawberries, apples,
squash, most things can be powdered after.  We use a coffee

My store bought spinach.  Not throwing it away now.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yesterday's Smoothie

(which was really one of the best ones yet)

Dried Blueberries hand ful 

a bit honey

Filli or Yogurt about a cup

2 bananas 

handful of fresh spinach

about 20 frozen strawberries

some milk...either coconut or real milk. 

mmmmmmgood...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

God is good.............all the time

All the time God is good.............

Gifts given

Food dryer

spinach

electric

farmers.

So thankful ,

Thank God For The Promise of Springtime.

Coming home yesterday from town my hubby pointed out to me a bare spot over there by the huge snow bank..

.............................and what did my two eyes see????  Nope no tiny reindeer.......but GREEN yes below that frozen snow look what appears

Thank you Jesus

   THANK GOD FOR SPRING lyrics.......sing on Cynthia Clawson sing on....

     The sky seems gray above me

      And I can't see the light of day

      There's a ray breaking through the shadows

       And the smile can't be far away

            (chrs.)

       Thank God for the promise of springtime

        Once again my heart will sing

        There's a brand new day a-dawning

         Thank God for the promise of spring

         Though the earth looks bleak and barren

          And the seeds they're brown and dead

           But the promise of life grows within them

           And I know spring is just ahead

Gifts given

Green so thankful for the color green

dirt how great it is...

tiny little blades of grass

water... Oh Lord what would we do with out you and all your many blessings...Thank you

God is good all the time

All the time God is good..

================================================================================woke and in my mind I was  singing this song ....

WHY 

We rode into town the other day
Just me and my Daddy
He said I'd finally reached that age
And I could ride next to him on a horse
That of course was not quite as wide

We heard a crowd of people shouting
And so we stopped to find out why
And there was that man
That my dad said he loved
But today there was fear in his eyes

So I said "Daddy, why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is He dressed in that bright purple robe?
I'll bet that crown hurts Him more than He shows
Daddy, please can't you do something?
He looks as though He's gonna cry
you said he was stronger than all of those guys
addy, please tell me why
Why does everyone want him to die?"

Later that day the sky grew cloudy
And Daddy said I should go inside
Somehow he knew things would get stormy
Boy was he right
But I could not keep from wondering
If there was something he had to hide

So after he left I had to find out
I was not afraid of getting lost
So I followed the crowds
To a hill where I knew men had been killed
And I heard a voice come from the cross

And it said, "Father, why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why are they casting their lots for My robe?
This crown of thorns hurts Me more than it shows
Father, please can't You do something?
I know that You must hear My cry
I thought I could handle the cross of this size
Father, remind Me why
Why does everyone want Me to die?
When will I understand why?"

"My precious Son, I hear them screaming
I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming
But soon I will clothe You in robes of My own
Jesus, this hurts Me much more than You know
But this dark hour I must do nothing
Though I've heard Your unbearable cry
The power in Your blood destroys all of the lies
Soon You'll see past their unmerciful eyes 

Look there below, see the child
Trembling by her father's side
Now I can tell You why
She is why You must die

click on why below to hear this beautiful song

WHY

Doing away with depression: Morning time.....be it 5 min or 5 hours

Winter depression has always struck me:
Be it a lack of sunshine, or being cooped up in the house. ....I do not know why.
it has always been such  a struggle for me.
counting the days to spring is good..........but living in the now is much better.
focusing on today and living it to the fullest.

But I love Joyce Meyer:

she speaks to me all the time she speaks to my heart


 She comes on our tv at 7:30 every morning   I find when I take  morning time for prayer to listen to teaching...for God time that my life is totally different. My days are so much better..

  It is so neat to be awake when the earth seems to come alive. When you hear the first bird sing in the spring....or the crack of dawn when the first light appears.


  When I fall away from my God time fear begins to enters in. depression....and it seems there becomes a distance between my Lord and me....

                                                     and believe me it is not Him that moved.


Forgive me Father......

Joyce s message today speaks right to my soul..... it is

When you are down,  do spiritual warfare..

Remember always that:

1 God lives in me
2 He sees me
3. He loves me all the time
4 He understands me.....
5.  He hears me...

We don't always get a good beginning but boy oh boy we can have a good finish...
Hallelujah...

Get up everyday and do our best.................. Lord Help me....

Jesus throws a come as you are party.  Religion gives us rules...religion says you have to .... Jesus says you want to.....

If you are feeling down and that no one cares...Remember and pray this prayer:

Any man who is in Christ is a new creature...All things become new...

Jesus died for me,  he loves me, hears me, sees me and understands me....
God I am so sorry for my sins I believe in Jesus
Please come and live with me give me a brand new start.


========================================================== GIFTS given:

Gift of worship
gift of love
gift of kindness
gift of caring
gift of blessing
===========================================================

More snow clean up pictures.....

Trying to help hubby by getting some snow off the roof.......

 

Clean up is fun but hard work.............

But oh so worth soaking away the aches and pains......in Tubbie 

 

Blizzard 20013 UP Michigan

Who is that?????????

OOPS  LJ fell in the snowbank...............mmmmmmmmmmm guess
I will go and pull him out.............

Not long till spring now............Nope it is just around the corner......

I see it.....




No one and I mean No one I know loves snow like this man........

he is beaming and just runs that blower all day...........  :)

Today is a gift

Every day is such a gift

Thank you Lord for snow making some people so happy

One man's happiness 

My thought is

We do need to make lemonade out of Lemon's...

Oh my what is coming in the window right now???

can it be??????????????????yes it is..............

Mr. Sun.....

===========================================================

God is good all the time

All the time God is good........

More snow???? 26 days till spring

The gifts⛄

Gift of more snow ⛄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄
Gift of travel✈🚂🚙
Gift of snowblowers😜

Blizzard 2013. And still snowing

Trying not to complain

BUT............


STORM

Coming. Another foot or two of snow.
Well lj will love it.


Ok
Thank you God for the gift of snow
And the sun who is up there on top of all the clouds somewhere
And thank you so much Lord for the gift of the promise of spring

Wow!!!!!
can you tell cabin fever has set in.

This to shall pass.

💐🌸🌷🌹🌻🌺🍁🌿🌼🌞🌞
Spring Soon.

After the snow

Beautiful sunny morn
We had -8 when we got up.

Lar doing his favorite thing. Shoveling snow. Which he has done every day this week.

He loves it.

.........................

Smell of Dirt......Starting some organic spinach

This is the time of Year that one who lives in a white land of snow
Wants to see dirt!!!!

DIRT......................
ahhhhhh

Smell dirt feel dirt........dig in the dirt...............give me dirt... :)

ok I know it is early but to have a tomato..........a real red homegrown tomato about now would be amazing.

You do know that is one of Two things you can not buy ...right???

(love and home grown tomatoes.... )

Well Bakerboy it thawing out my block of frozen dirt as we speak...I hauled it out of the greenhouse and he put it by the wood fire in his shop yesterday so today it may be workable.

 he is an amazing husband.  A true blessing from God...(thank you Jesus) how he puts up with me sometimes I just wonder....

But thankfully he does.....

 He built me a small green house a few years ago on the front of our house....well it is kinda like a sunroom...but it works for plants.

This year it is going to be amazing....last year it was a house for hornets....
OK now for
Todays Mission:
Start my spinach and put it in bay window
Start up my  5 gal or maybe 3 gal aquarium...

love the sound of the water falling and it surly must put some humidity in our dry house.  Maybe I will get a fish...

I soak my seeds in warm water before planting

===========================================================3 Gifts given

Gift of soil

seeds

smell.....love the smell of dirt...  

Coconut Milk (Make your Own) But do not be like me........read thedirections

Now this is the most simple recipe ever.....did I do it right?  Nope

But it is great......Frugal and you know what is in it..
 Make you own

Coconut Milk

• 2 cups coconut shreds  bought at the organic Health store.  No sulfites... :)
• 3 cups water if you’re using the blender method which I did

Method:

1. Place shreds in a medium mixing boil
2. Bring water to a near boil, then pour over the shreds and mix. Allow mixture to return to lukewarm/room temp.....  (which I did not do but should have.)
3.  place in a blender for 60 seconds.
4. Scoop mixture into a mesh bag and squeeze the milk into a medium bowl. Don’t waste those shreds! Repeat the process one more time  with the same coconut and then dry them to make your own coconut flour. Which is great if you are gluten free...

OK now what not to do.....
When I made this coconut Milk this morning the part I didnt do cause I read it somewhere on line and thought I could remember it......it was so simple see.
I did not....  let the mixture return to lukewarm or room temp...   I my hurry 

I put it in the blender and turned it on high and whooaaaaaaa   boiling water came flying out down my arm...ouch....

SO Lesson learned....  read the directions good..........  :) 

Number two I did not do.......only used One heaping cup of Coconut....oops...
So have to do it again today.  
Made a smoothie with what I did make....(the weak Milk ) and must say it was very very good---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you Lord for the internet where we can find almost anything in the world in a split second.
It is like having the world's library at your fingertips...You know I could spend days at the library and spend way to much time on the internet.  Help me Lord....Help Me.

My great friend Sept send me the very funny video... have to share it for a good laugh.
This was truly a wedding everyone will remember.... Waffly wedded wife
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Gifts for today
laughter
Sabbath
Spinach seeds..........fish......lettuce
blender........and the promise of Spring.....  

God is good.............all the time

All the time God is good.................

Notes from Joyce.... Peace and Your conscience

If you don't have peace about what you are doing...............don't do it

Peace is the pathway to Holiness.  Act 23-1

My conscience is clear before God.....I have something no one can take away..Act 24-16....discipline yourself...

Set things right with God....Keep your word.    Make it right...ask for forgiveness..
no excuses...  I am sorry I should have not acted like that please forgive me...

Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit..

Please God do not let me do anything stupid.   God I want to be what you want me to be............time to start saying its time to grow...

Your conscience can be your very best friend... but you can have an over sensitive conscience....  Make a commitment to start following your conscience.  Do what gives you peace.....

Heed the warning of your conscience...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Bucket list for everyday:

Golden rule.... Do on to others as you would want others to do unto you. treat others how I want to be treated.

Give more than I receive:  You cannot be selfish and happy...




---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Have no opinion where you have no responsibility...
Three gifts.:
Gift of Conscience
thankful for hot water
for clean water

Paint Brush to butter our bread? Yip

Baker Boy butters all his bread

 with the paint brush.......

It really is not so pretty but works well.........great idea...  :)

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missionaries are a true gift

friends

love

Lent, Ash Wednesday

Lent

Ash Wednesday

Today is a very special day......

 because it is Ash Wednesday and

 two best friends are coming over for lunch

they are both going through such difficult times.

Pray that we can have a fun day a day to laugh and have some great women time.

Mr. Sun is supposed to shine and tubbie should be good.....  

What a fun time with bakerboy in town last night.

We ate out

he surprised me with beautiful flowers.

Had lots of laughs.  

God is Good

all the time

All the time......................God is good.

Pray for My cousin and wife.....

I love this angel....she is posted for all those who are fighting the Cancer fight. I will find and post the name of who made her...  This is for my Sissy and for my cousin's wife Joane who now has the battle for her life.  Please say a prayer for those family's and the many others and trust in Him for the outcome.  Pray for Peace, comfort, people to reach out to them and bless them.  

Thank you for this day Lord. Please show me what to do.........who we can bless.

God I Pray for You to close doors and not just open them