Missing Kitty...

When you live in the woods...

You have to get used to predators.

We are cautious about our hens...

We don't let them range free if we are not at home...

And we keep a close eye on them when we are.

We have always had a barn cat.

He serves a purpose...to keep away the mice.

"The hunter...stalking his prey..."

We try to not get too attached...

Because we know what can happen...

But...how can you not get attached to something

so soft and cuddly???

So...today...

We are missing Kitty.

He has been gone for almost a week.

Sometimes he has roamed in the past...

But never for this long...

Our minds tell us that he

has probably fallen prey

to some creature of the night...

But our hearts continue to pray that he might

just be on an adventure...

Perhaps with Mr. Moose.


"Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and let my cry come unto thee..."
Psalm 102:1

An Unexpected Visitor...

Outside...splitting wood...

Again....

but almost finished.

It was just about time

to break for lunch...

When I looked up...

My husband's eyes were as big as saucers...

"Look...but don't move," he said quietly.

Standing, not 10 yard from us...

Was our unexpected visitor.

Apparently, he had stopped by for some lunch as well.

He stayed for about an hour.

Then decided to go visiting down the road.

I was a little upset that he hadn't offered to help with the woodpile...

But I believe that he had plans

to stop by my mom's

for a cup of tea.

"And God said,

Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,

cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind:

and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind,

and cattle after their kind,

and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind:

and God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:24-25

The Joy of Being a Help Meet...

A Foggy Friday...

My husband and I split firewood...

All day long...

Just the two of us.

We barely spoke...
Just an occasional glance or a smile.

But we worked together like a well-oiled machine.

It was amazing.


"And the LORD God said,
 It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him..."

Genesis 2:18

The "Neighbour"...

Until several days ago, these folks were strangers to us.

As many of you know, we heat our home primarily by wood.

Being the only lady in a home with 4 strapping "men",

Most of our wood is split by hand...

the old fashioned way.

Occasionally, through the years,

we have had access to a woodsplitter...

but, as I've said before,

most pieces of firewood

were split by an axe.

Last week, my youngest son

was helping one of our elderly neighbours split some firewood.

The neighbour had borrowed a woodsplitter

from a friend in town.

When the man came to pick up his woodsplitter,
my son was still there helping our neighbour.
So, he had the opportunity to meet this kind man
who had lent his woodsplitter to our elderly neighbour.

They spoke for a few minutes...

about trucks and wood and hunting...
guy stuff.

Several days later...

This "stranger's" woodsplitter was in our yard...

Aiding us in preparing for winter.
The man wanted no money for lending us this tool...

"I don't rent my machine..."
We were told...
"I let my neighbours use it."

His wife was equally as wonderful...
She raises milking goats...
And heard that we were interested in them...

"I will be breeding my favorite milker soon
and looking for a good home for her baby..."
she said with a smile.
"Please come visit soon and we'll talk goats!"

Dearest friends,
Just another opportunity for me to see...
That God is always blessing...
Through the people around us...
If we only open our eyes...and our hearts.

"Then one of them, which was a lawyer,
asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?


Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
 and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."


 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:35-40

One Morning With Mom...

My mother was invited to a bridal shower of a friend's daughter this weekend...and, not knowing the what the girl already had acquired for her home, she wanted to do something different as a gift. So...she decided...with my help...to put together a "homemade laundry basket" of goodies.

Thursday morning she and I hit the sewing room...we started with a clothespin bag...don't you just love the material she chose? It's a seersucker, and so bright and laundryroom like!

We started with yellow binding...
but then went to the blue because of the size!

I made a pattern out of cardboard...very simple but practical.

The dimensions are 12 X 14...

We used a wooden coathanger for the holder...Samuel and Gramp had to cut it down to size for us!

The wooden piece was cut to 12 inches

We lined the bag with blue cotton and a thin layer of batting...overall, we were pleased with the results!

The coathanger is removable so
that the bag can be tossed in the wash!

With the same material, we also lined a laundry basket,

made a laundry bag,

and created a pincushion for the top of a mason jar sewing kit.

Sorry, we got busy...so no pictures!

We filled the basket with a variety of homemade laundry soaps (dry) along with the ingredients and recipe for making your own.

It turned out really cute,

and a very different kind of gift indeed!

But the best gift of all...spending time with mom...

Mom will be back today from Massachusetts...

I can hardly wait to hear how it went!

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed..."

Proverbs 31:28a

The Game...

Monday evening...

Dishes done.

Three of my "men" are reading...

One is feeling a bit restless.


"How about a game of Dominoes, Mom?"

Dominoes is a great game for
reinforcing addition and subtraction facts
and for developing thinking skills!

There is a pile of mending with my name on it...

And a good book calling to me...

Some schoolwork that needs correcting...

But all of that can wait.

So, we sat at the kitchen table...

Playing Dominoes.

And discussing everything under the Son...

World events...

Local sports...

Family and friends...

Fall projects that need to get done..

The issue of modesty in our culture...

We ate salsa and tortilla chips...

And cracked "corny" jokes...

The final score...163 to 588

As you can plainly see, I was the 588

If you aren't familiar with the game,
the object is to get the lowest score.

But I was clearly the "winner" last night...

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things loss
 for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them  dung,
 that I may win Christ"

Philippians 3:8

The Gift...

My husband's favorite chain saw is as old as the hills...

He's had it for as long as I've known him...

I think he only paid $5 for it at a yard sale...

It doesn't always work too well...

In fact, more often than not, it doesn't work...

He tinkers with it...

He sharpens the blades...
He gets frustrated with it...

And puts it away in the woodshed for another day.

But, since we heat our home primarily by wood,

he returns to the woodshed,

And tinkers some more...

Such was the case this weekend...

Until our son came home...
With this...

A gift...

From a son to a father...

Simply because he loves him.

And I am reminded of another gift...

Involving a Father and a Son...

Simply because He loves us...

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

The Hypocrite...

Thursday morning at 8 AM...

Samuel's schoolbooks and

 my "Idle Bag"  in hand...

(see previous post)

Samuel and I head for the garage to have the truck repaired.

Hoping that it would only take about an hour...

we decided to wait...

rather than drop it off and then have to return to pick it up.

We had been there about an hour...

when two "strangers" walked in...

The first, a "scary looking biker dude" type...

With a full scruffy beard...

And a ripped t-shirt...

The second, a bent-over mean looking little old man...

With a tattered old baseball cap...

That I was convinced hadn't seen a washing machine this century...

And a flannel shirt and jeans to match.

My first thought...

To protect Samuel from the inappropriate language

that was sure to come out of the mouths of

one, or both, of these men.

What did come out of their mouths shocked me beyond belief...

And humbled me beyond measure...

For you see, the two men knew each other,

And they also knew the Lord.

Every other phrase or so that they spoke contained the words...

"Praise God"...

or

"What a blessing"

or

"Amen."

I was so ashamed...

I almost interrupted them to apologized...

But, instead,

I reflected.

On how quick I am to judge someone...

either good or bad...

By the way that they look...

or the way that they dress.

As my nana would say..."never judge a book by it's cover..."

And I realized what a hypocrite I am...

and I prayed that God will forgive me and cleanse my heart.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter,

 but within they are full of extortion and excess."

Matthew 23:25

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

Matthew 23:27-28

Do You Have An "Idle Mind" Bag???

I can still hear my nana's voice...even after all these years...

"An Idle Mind is the Devil's Workshop..."

My nana loved this saying...and used it often. Although the old proverb doesn't come directly from the Bible...it has it's roots in a scriptual idea. The Bible teaches us that a  person who doesn't have something particular to occupy himself with doing might  be tempted to occupy himself with sin.

My nana was never ever idle. Her hands were always busy...and never empty. She was either cooking, or sewing, or knitting, or cleaning, or canning, or ...the list goes on and on.

Sometimes we do not realize until years later just how much influence someone has upon molding and shaping us.

Because of Nana...I carry an "Idle Mind" bag with me just about everywhere I go.

On any given day, it might be full of several little projects,
 my Bible, a book or two,

a little notebook and a pencil...
among other things.

It is for all those "little moments" when we are called to wait patiently...

at a doctor's or dentist's office...

in line at the grocery store...

in a traffic tie-up...

for a game to start...or half-time...

to get the car repaired...

to pick someone up...

This morning my "Idle Bag" has the following projects in it...

A "Candy Corn" newborn hat...
Just about finished!

A bib...part of a layette set...

winter socks...half done...
to keep someone's toes toasty warm!

A cross-stitched basket of
flowers that will someday
be on a pillow!

So...what's in your "Idle Bag" this morning?

"And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not"

I Timothy 5:13

" For this same cause, all Christians are commanded to work. "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread"

II Thessalonians 3:10-12

Labor Day...

It is Labor Day...

My husband is home from work...

And yet he labors on...

To provide winter warmth for our family...

And I know that I am truly blessed.

"For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,

because we trust in the living God,

who is the Saviour of all men,

specially of those that believe..." 

I Timothy 4:10

We Give Thanks To You Lord...

The calm after the storm...

This morning, we give praise and thanks...

To the One who delivered us from the storm...
But brought the much needed rain.

To the One who calmed the wind...
But brought the cool ocean breeze to lower the temperatures.

How can we help but worship a God who takes care of our every need?

God is so good.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night..."   Psalm 92:1-2

"For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth:  the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker."   Psalm 95: 3-6

"Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."  Matthew 8: 26

Part of A Team...

A beautiful sunny Friday afternoon...

Today was the first soccer game of the season...

Our son, Daniel is the coach....

But there are other members on this team...besides those pictured in the huddle...

ones that never see any playing time...

Of course, there's Gram and Gramp...who have been to just about every game since Daniel himself played on the pee-wee farm team...

 And, let's not forget, 

the proud papa nervously watching 

from the stands...

By the way, 

I am on the team as well,

 I'm just behind the camera...

 

And then there is Joshua...

who tapes all the games for the team...

 And, of course, Samuel...

 Dan's biggest cheerleader!

Yes, we are all proud members of Dan's team...behind the scenes perhaps...but important none the less. For we are there to support him...in his attempt  to build and strengthen qualities in these young men...qualities such as patience, perseverance, dignity, kindness, honesty, commitment,  teamwork, integrity...qualities that he hopes will go with them throughout their lives. And he prays...each and every day...that they will see Christ in him.

We are there to celebrate with him in his victories...

and to comfort him in his losses...

Today...we celebrated in the victory...

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore run, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."I Corinthians 9: 24-27


"... run with patience the race that is set before us ..."       Hebrews 12:1-3
         

Are We Prepared???

The local schools are closed today...not because of snow(which is the usual case around here!)...but because of the heat and air quality. I think that this is the first time in a very long time that local schools have been cancelled because of high temperatures. The children went home early yesterday...and all after school sports events were cancelled.

Everyone along the coast is bracing for Hurricane Earl. Fisherman are bringing in gear...or hauling their traps out to deeper water in hopes to avoid damage.


Today, despite the record heat, many farmers will try to get the last of the corn in...as well as other crops should we be in the path of Earl tomorrow.

We've been here before..as many of you have, I know. Depending on which weather station we listen to...we might get just a little rain...or we might hunker down for quite a storm. Right now they are advising those of us in the midcoast to prepare for 6 inches of rain, high winds, downed trees, and power outages. You'd never guess it looking out my kitchen window right now.

And so we make attempts to prepare. I'm sure that the grocery stores will be in a frenzy today...that you won't be able to buy a battery or a flashlight anywhere.

But just how prepared can we be? Do we really know what to expect...or when to expect it?

As I watch friends and neighbors "preparing"...I can't help but wonder if we feel the same immediate urgency to prepare for eternity. Do we realize how imminent the end could possibly be...for any of us???

The Lord tells us to be prepared...and to help others to be prepared as well. As my sons and I rush around today, seeing if we can be of assistance to any of our neighbors...helping to put away lawn furniture, board up windows, hauling in skiffs...I know that we are doing this because we have been given advice...that there is the possibility of disaster ahead if we don't heed the warning.

But the Bible clearly tells us of the definite disasters ahead...not just the possibilities. The warning is clear...and strong...and we need to take heed...to prepare...and to help others as well...

And so our prayers are with those in the path of the impending storm...and our faith is in the Lord.

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembing of ourselves together, as he manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:20

Homeschooling 101...

An 87 year old man and a 15 year old boy sitting on the porch swing...

Enjoying a tuna sandwich and a cold glass of ice tea...

Watching the lobster boats pass by...


Today, they have worked on a motor...


And talked about old cars...





Cleaned up the "shop"...



And shared some corny jokes...





Built a new chicken pen...


And reminisced about the "good old days"...










Around here...we call this homeschooling 101.


Teaching children to count is fine...
but teaching them what counts is better.
taken from "Amish Proverbs"

"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers." Proverbs 17:6