Tuesday, May 06, 2025

Perhaps You Gave-Up Right Before The Answer Came



"Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”   --- Matthew 19:26


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My sweet friend, Tracy, lost her mother.

Days later at Facebook she shared with us her beautiful tribute and here's a portion:


Honestly, I felt like Mama was invincible. She was always so strong because she had to be. If Mama was ever afraid, she never showed it to us kids. 

When my parents divorced, Mama moved us an hour away to a small Alabama town. I'm sure she had her moments of despair, but Mama had three daughters depending on her on top of caring for her mother who lived with us.

She made a way even when there didn't appear to be one.

I always think to myself, "What would Mama do in this situation?" One thing I know: she'd figure it out with grit and determination.



Wow. Such a beautiful piece and my mind kept swirling it around till landing upon this: the way I'd given up easily on hanging suet outside in honor of Neighbor Sally, just because rats raced up the crab apple tree to eat it.

For decades, discovering answers to problems would challenge me (in a good way) and like Tracy's mom, I could find answers where none appeared to be. Enjoyed it, even.

Yet these past couple years? I'd lost much of that. Instead, I'd complain,  roll my eyes and think, "Great. Yet one more head-tiring, disappointing, impossible thing around here. Gah." (How many such things creep inside us unnoticed?)

So. With Tracy's mom in mind, I stepped around our yard in search of another place to hang the suet--and found one:

The top center of that trellis thing.







And so far, perfect. The birds love the suet's new place and I'm pretty certain rats can't climb that, at least, not without exhausting effort. (Besides, we've not seen rats around in months.) Perhaps squirrels can reach it, (haven't seen one yet), but Sally loved feeding the squirrels and I'm fine with that.

Whew. I felt so encouraged to find that answer and I do thank-you, Tracy, for sharing your mom and reminding me to stay open to solutions even while sinking in the center of impossibilities.

I so wish to receive creative ideas from the Holy Spirit, but that's only going to happen after I stop repeating, believing, "Now this thing, this just isn't gonna happen."

It can happen, but only if I listen to the Holy Spirit, keeping an open mind and heart to whatever He shares.




If I believe something is impossible, then for me, it most likely will be.


"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."   --- Galations 6:9


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More grandmacore decorating (minimalists --this may damage your mental health!)  シ  Yet a handful of these rooms took my breath away.






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Books I finished reading in April:


By The Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pioneer Girl: Growing Up On the Prairis by Andrea Warren
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairis by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Berry the Dead by Nancy McGovern
Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace by Donald J. Sobol
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers by Donald J. Sobol
Retiring With the Dead by Nancy McGovern
Becoming Madeleine by Charlotte Jones Voiklis


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And as I shared at Facebook:

Yes and she didn't listen in her 50's so maybe now in her 60's?   😏





"Things that don’t change eventually die. The ability to change is one of the greatest privileges we have as human beings, and it is a gift from God. It is part of the way He matures us, brings us fulfillment in life, and moves us forward into His unfolding plans for us. I encourage you to believe that change can happen in your life."

--Joyce Meyer




Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Aldi Lady and the Devil and --- :)



"Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”   --- Matthew 16:23


*****

So last Friday.

While home alone, our Aldi order arrived at the red door, so I carried the bags to the kitchen. Peeking inside, I gasped! A half gallon of strawberry ice cream sat leering at me.

No really. Leering.

Strawberry ice cream! My second favorite dessert in the world, but I'd not ordered it, for I've had to give up milk products (and sugar) for my health's sake. Consequences will happen if I don't.

Darn that Aldi Lady and her mistakes, anyway.

My second thought? "Get thee behind me satan." Seriously, this past year I've totally overhauled my diet and am determined to never again have fibroid (and other) problems. 

But what a temptation! I needed to sit down and pay our bills so I considered, "Hey. Afterward, I could eat a couple spoonfulls of ice cream as a reward then throw the remainder away." So yeah, I admit it went inside the freezer.

Yet after paying the bills, I thought, "No! This was just a test and I'm determined to pass it." So I yanked the ice cream from the shelf, placed it inside a paper bag, then marched it down the steps and outside to the trash can.

And smiled. I'd passed this test. Was sorely tempted, sure, but whew. I'd passed.

Tests arrive, you know, to show us how far we've come and how far we've yet to go. And how much we need to rely upon Jesus for moment by moment help.

And when we live aware of what's happening we can cease feeling frustrated, confused, and instead? Be grateful for the very power of God available to help us obey Him and succeed.



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"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. "   --- Deuteronomy 8:2



Just a note: I've noticed--for us--we can afford organic and fresh grocery products now because we've given up so many garbage foods. 
Something I hope everyone will at least consider.



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I enjoy buying my garden seeds from Ebay! Flowers and vegetables. They're very inexpensive because most folks use limited, so-not-fancy packaging and just place their own homegrown seeds inside. Many are organic, as well. Highly recommended.

Daily I'm still counting my Top Four Blessings of the Day. A life-changing thing, really, and I love that I can depend upon 4+ special things happening each day. (So often, half will be that I finally unprocrastinated doing something.)   ジ


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Okay, this decorating video was lovely because the ideas were so doable, especially if you live near a thrift shop or visit lots of yard sales.


Wow, the first part of this video was absolutely dreamy and showed the kind of life I'd imagined for myself while young. Yet God chose for me to have forms and pieces of this lifestyle throughout my decades, instead, and I'm happily content with that.





For other fans of The Waltons out there, do you ever watch Judy Norton's videos about her memories of the show? Mostly just rabid fans will enjoy them, but here you go. One of my favorite of her videos is here.










I've got that 'Springtime Has Finally Arrived' feeling in my heart! 


*****


"Rejoice in the Springtime of the year. Let there be Springtime in your hearts. The full time of fruit is not yet, but there is the promise of the blossom.
Know surely that your lives too are full of glad promise. Such joys, such wonders.
All is indeed well. Live in My Sunshine and My Love."
From God Calling by A. J. Russell







Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

This May Not Be Biblical, But I'm Glad I Did It Anyway



"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar."   --- from Proverbs 31



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Two years after moving to the farm, Tom was downsized from his job. An unforgettable day, that one.

Another memorable thing? Soon after, something startled me. Tom continued to mow the lawn, but I did everything else. 

Everything. Else.  And somehow that glaring discrepancy had never appeared so obvious in all our decades together. (He'd not even mowed the lawn till we moved to the farm. But remember, he'd had polio, though always I'd tried not to baby him for that reason.)

Yet it was more. Namely, for the first time I realized that if (heaven forbid) something ever happened to me, Tom would be sunk. Marooned. I'd taken all those 'wives should do everything for their husbands' Bible verses far too literally.

I'd created, not a monster, but a Helpless Husband.  Uh-oh.

So since Tom now had all sorts of free time, I began teaching him--maybe not how to run a house--but to keep it (and Life) from collapsing. Believe it or not, yes, this included how to boil water (he didn't know to place a lid over the pan).

I taught him to cook simple meals. Which pans and dishes to use. How to load the dishwasher. How to feed the cats, sweep the floor, clean out the refrigerator and --

You know, just enough to where, if on his own, he'd be ok. Not live in squalor or defeat. And when the training was over, I felt more relaxed and better about the future.

Well, (not for the first time) this training came in handy last weekend.

Turns out my recent no-pain-yet-annoying-health-issue was due to a fibroid. Took me ages to pinpoint that, but when I did, thankfully, Dr. Berg showed me what to do. Ten days later, it was 'sloughed away'. (I'm skipping a zillion details, but I refuse to have As I See It Now become an old lady's illness ramblings.)

Anyway, I became a bit anemic, so I needed Tom's help and now I could relax while he cooked me some grass-fed ground beef, and fed the cats, and filled the dishwasher, etc.

The lessons in all this? Many, really, but Life does become easier when we daily seek wisdom and balance. Go living with those and our days will make more sense and even become easier. 

No really, they will.







"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold."   Proverbs 3:13


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Some links for different interests:











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"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."   --- Proverbs 4:7


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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15