Right At Home

No, this chicken is not dead. She is merely resting. And, yes, this is my flower garden. This "lady" considers it her second home. Most days,she is content to just lay there, roll in the dirt a bit, and scratch and peck for bugs. More often than not, she leaves my flowers alone. Not a typical place for a chicken, but she feels "right at home".

Much the same as we feel about our family worship right now. For many years, actually since we were both very young, my husband and I grew up in a local church. We continued down this path in our married life, raising our three sons and playing an active part in all the ministries of the church. But God had other plans for us, you see (as He so often does), and a little over a year ago He began prompting us to worship at home, as the New Testament churches did.

So, now we worship in a way that is not so typical for midcoast Maine. We trust in the Lord that He will direct us and will introduce us to others that may want to join us...if it is in His will. In just the past two days, my son Joshua had two different people that he mows for ask him where he worships and he was able to tell them about our "home church".

Coincidence??? I think not.

God is good and we feel "right at home".

P.S. If you attend a home church, I would love to hear about your experience!

Precious Little Gifts

Mom stopped by yesterday morning to bring some veggie peelings to the "ladies". Our hens just adore my mother...she brings them treats almost every day and talks to them as if they were her grandchildren. I was just finishing up on an etsy order for two baby hats.

.I just love making things for little babies. Baby items are always so adorable and fun to make and usually don't take much time because they are so small! Mom remarked about this as she "oohed and ahhhed" over the hats. "He won't be able to wear these for very long," she sighed. Mom should know, she raised 10 children.

I was then reminded again how very short our time is with the special "gifts" that God has given us and how we need to be very careful with that time. My "baby" is now taller than I am and will probably be driving within the next year or so. Our time on earth is so short...praise God that we have eternity with Him to look forward too!

However, one of the nicest things about coming from such a large family is that almost always someone is expecting a new precious "gift" from God. My niece, Erin, and her husband, Greg, are looking forward to their first baby in June.


Mom and I are heading for the baby shower in Massachusetts in a few weeks. I have been working on all sorts of baby items. Right now I'm starting some little booties. They are similar to this pattern.

I also found this old wooden rocking horse (another thrift store gem!) that I am going to fix up and refinish. Erin will just love it!

A Woven Life

Do you suffer from "crafters-itis"? Well, I do. Don't laugh...it is a very serious condition! You find yourself examining anything hand-made, looking it all over, checking out the material, jotting down notes (of course, you always have a pencil and a small pad of paper in your purse, just for these times). Well, crafters-itis flares up on me quite often (more than I'd like to admit)and such was the case last summer when my husband and I were visiting a local hardware store.

I love this place...it is not your typical chain hardware store. It still has worn wide plank wooden floors and wooden countertops. Most items are stored in wooden boxes. It's the kind of place where you can get that part or item that you just can't find anywhere else. We were there looking for some little gadget for my husband's 20+ year old chainsaw. While he gabbed with the man behind the counter, I wandered into the canning section, looking for lids. Lo and behold, there, on the floor in the corner, was a pile of handmade doormats.
They were made out of fishing rope. Forget the canning lids, I had a new craft idea! I picked one up, looked it all over, and for the life of me couldn't figure out how it was made. My husband soon joined me, and told me that the rope was "float rope". He, too, looked it over, but couldn't really explain just how it was woven together either. It seemed to have no beginning and no end.

Well, to make a long story a bit shorter (I tend to ramble, as you can see!), it wasn't even a week later, while visiting friends that I discovered the secret. Many thanks, Holly! You see, she was making one of these doormats, and not only did she show me how...she also let me make one! It is made on a special loom...which my wonderful husband made for me. Now making them seems quite simple...when before I couldn't see how they could possibly be put together.


Isn't that the way with our relationship with Christ? So many of my Christian friends, particularly mothers with young children, are discouraged because they just don't seem to have much "quiet time" with Jesus. Our Christian culture bombards us with the latest and greatest program to get in your "30 minutes a day with God".But God isn't prepackaged, and most who try this method find that it just doesn't bare fruit.

You see, I believe that God needs to be woven into every part of our lives. He needs to be the "rope" that holds us firm and secure and anchors us through all the trials and tribulations of this world Just as my doormat seems to have no beginning and no end, our relationship with our Lord and Savior should not be scheduled into a part of our day, it should be the focus of our whole day. Paul instructs us in I Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing". Truthfully, it is more difficult to restrict our time with God to a "quiet time" than it is to spend time with God
at every possible moment of the day. Would we tell our husband or our children that we only have time for them between 7 AM and 7:30 AM? I don't think so...not if we wanted to cultivate a loving, intimate relationship. Why should it be any different with the One who gave His life for us?
What do you think?

Restoring Hidden Treasures

Don't you just love thrift shops? I know I do, and so does my youngest son, Samuel, but for entirely different reasons. About twice a month, during one of our grocery shopping outings, we hit the local thrift shop, looking for that proverbial bargain. Sam shops for vintage t-shirts with car and truck logos (which is another blog entirely!) while I peruse the shelves searching for possible craft supplies for my etsy projects. I don't believe that Sam owns a t-shirt that was bought as new, just for him, and he wouldn't have it any other way!

Well, such was the case last week when we stopped by the store. I have been looking for a used adjustable dress form, and Sam, well, we all know what he was looking
for! No luck for me with the dress form, but I did stumbling across two interesting throw pillows and a whole bag of buttons, which are always fun! Just as we were about to leave, my eye caught a leg sticking out from under a pile of yarn and ribbon. As I moved the pile aside, I came across two dolls which, if their clothes and hair were any indication, had been laying there for quite some time.

I was suddenly reminded of a gift that I received two years ago at Christmas from my mom. She had saved my "Beautiful Crissy" doll from when I was a little girl. Some of you may remember Crissy...she was the doll with hair that would grow! You pulled her locks out of a hole in the top of her head. I remember feeling pretty special the Christmas that I found her under the tree. Two years ago, my mom took her out of hibernation, and made a wedding dress for her. This dress was a copy of the dress that my mom lovingly made for me when I was married. She even used left-over material that she had saved from the original dress. My father carved little wooden pumps to put on her feet. You can imagine that there were many tears shed that Christmas!

I decided right then and there that I would take these two dolls home, clean them up, and using some of my doll patterns, make them a new wardrobe. I even have a vintage doll pattern from my "Beautiful Crissy" days. I haven't decided just what I'll do with the dolls yet...perhaps I will save them for a future gift for some special little girl...or perhaps I will put them on etsy. Either way, I am looking forward to the project.




Isn't restoring wonderful? To take something old, worn out, discarded, unused, and turn it into something precious and new. I continue to marvel in the blessing that this is exactly what our Lord does for us...

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake." Psalm 23:3

"And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other." Luke 6:10

"After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly." Mark 8:25

By the way, we woke up to rain, so I thought that I would get started on this project today. But as I am writing this sentence, the sun has just poked it's head through the kitchen window...so it looks like I'm headed for the garden. Like I said before...weather in Maine...go figure!

The Weather In Maine

Yes, it is true what the old fishermen say about the weather in Maine...if you don't like it, just wait 10 minutes! It is amazing how quickly the weather can change in this little seacoast town. My husband assures me that it has something to do with the ocean and the tides and the winds. All I know is that one day can be bright and sunny and hot, and the next we are breaking out the mittens and hats again. Such was the weather this week. Yesterday I had to water twice in my greenhouse and have both the window and door open for ventilation. The day was so beautiful...I even contemplated planting the seed potatoes.

This morning we woke up to a cold, windy, rainy day. It was even too cold to let the hens outside. The radio said that parts of Maine would be receiving several inches of snow. Go figure.

To be honest,I actually do enjoy the fact that Midcoast Maine weather is so unpredictable and constantly changing. You see, on sunny days I love to be out in the garden or the greenhouse. I love the smell of clothes fresh from the clothesline. I love to watch the "ladies" scurry around the yard looking for bugs to eat.

But on gloomy days,

I am equally content to put the teapot on the woodstove and work

on lessons with Samuel, or knit, or sew, or cook, or take a few moments and relax, curl up by the fire and read. Most days, I feel truly blessed with whatever kind of weather comes my way.

However, although I enjoy living in a place where the weather changes from day to day(and sometimes from hour to hour!), I am always content in knowing that our Savior is unchanging. I rest in the assurance that He is always the same...from everlasting to everlasting.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

Though I may be tossed and turned with the winds and the tide, His Word remains stable and secure. A lighthouse...guiding my way.