Free audio book

Here's something I came across today - a free audiobook, Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages . You can find it at http://christianaudio.com/free. Each month they give away a premium audiobook download for free - COOL! Happy reading!

Welcome Autumn!

Welcome Autumn!

Is there anything better than crisp, cool mornings, warm apple pie, the smell of spices in the home (especially cinnamon), bright, colorful leaves, mums, apple cider, apples, caramel apples, pumpkins, pumpkin pie, football, bonfires, roasting marshmallows, hay rides, weenie roasts, and Thanksgiving? I know there's more but I have to stop now.

This is truly my favorite time of the year. There are so many things to love about it and today I officially kicked off the fall season by decorating.

My youngest daughter always helps me with this treasured task and I am thankful that she enjoys it so much because I don't get as much enthusiasm from the oldest kids. It is such a joy for me to pass on a tradition that is teaching my children how to someday make their own homes warm and inviting with each new season.
1 Corinthians 10:31–Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a warm and inviting home or have a perfectly clean home. I want people to feel welcome when they come to our home and to feel the presence of Jesus, rather it be my home is neat and tidy, or the dog and kid hurricane just came through the living room.

First the home's foundation should be love. Love your family unconditionally as Jesus does and show them that love everyday.

Keeping the home clean is one way to show them love. You don't have to have it spotless at all times, this only causes you stress and tension which spills over to your family. But letting the house get out of control also causes stress for everyone. Which sounds better - chaos and craziness or a haven of rest and relaxation.

The mother is the heart of the home and whatever mood you are in is the mood that sets the tone of the home.

Don't go out and buy all your decor at once. Buy a few things new each year or every other year until you have what you want. And the best time to buy is when the season is over - SALE - SALE - SALE!! I am very frugal and I buy many of my things from the Dollar General, Dollar Tree and let's not forget yard sales! I honestly can't remember where I got that wreath on my door. But I know I didn't buy it new. It was either given to me or I got it at a yard sale, and I added many of those things to it myself. I got the welcome sign at a yard sale. I made the cornucopia on my table and I purchased everything from the Dollar Tree.

MMMM...can't you just see a nice, big, juicy turkey and all the fixins on my table. We are ready!

I pray you will spend some time with the Lord this glorious fall season and let Him bring in a bountiful harvest to your spirit. Get some morning time in with Him, when the sun is just rising and the birds are singing, and sing a song to the Lord with them. Reflect on His goodness as the sun reflects off the golden leaves and praise Him for His wondrous works!Psalm 105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!

Secret Scriptures

At first glance these shoes may not look like much, but if you could see inside them, you would find something unique - secret scripture.

These shoes belong to the greatest man I know besides Jesus, my husband. And inside them are scriptures that I carefully tucked away under the inside soles, secretly.

Not only do I put them in the shoes of my family but I put them under their mattresses and sew them into their pillows, all in secret. Why do I do this in secret? Because some things are more effective when done in secret.

Matthew 6:6 says But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. God sees the burden I have for my family to come to know Him and instead of hitting them over the head with the Word of God, as I have done so many times in the past, I want to love them to Christ. And by doing that I have to leave it in the Father's hands and continue to pray and stand on His Word.

Besides, because of their lack of knowledge of how important prayer is, they would most assuredly have a complaint about it. But, even if they find the scriptures, I won't stop finding other creative ways to cover them in prayer. But you can pretty much count on me to still secretly stitch them into their pillows, mattress, and shoes...all for His glory!

Whatever Wednesday

Once a month I let each kid cook dinner for the family and I'm going to try to stick with Wednesday. So for now, I'm calling it "Whatever Wednesday" because I'm letting them pick whatever they want to cook - but still getting the mom seal of approval.

It was my son's turn tonight and he chose to cook his favorite meal for us - mushroom stuff and corn...and some angel hair pasta on my request....mmmmm! Mushroom stuff is just mushroom soup and ground beef. Who would have ever thought this would be a favorite of one of my kids, heck, all my kids love it. And Josh's was superb! I think it was a close even to mine, oh I'm so proud!!

And even though I want to keep this to Wednesdays, I'm giving in to my youngest and letting her cook for us tomorrow. She wants to fix chili dogs. How could I refuse? Dinner cooked for me two nights in a row - yea buddy! And, well, it's just awesome to watch my babies cook a home-cooked meal on their own and enjoy it! I feel good knowing that my kids will be able to leave our home someday and know how to cook for themselves and others.

It's moments like this that make me proud. It's moments like this that I treasure. It's moments like this that make me thank God for how blessed I am.

Oh, and you know what's even better? My husband will be supervising our 8-year-old tomorrow, yeehaw! Not that I don't want to, but you know when mom cooks almost every night of the week, it's good to get a break.

Love Letters

This year I began writing love letters to my children. I wrote the first one on Valentine's Day. I bought each child a small treasure chest and put Valentine chocolates in them along with the letters. I also gave each child a chocolate rose.
I got a different reaction from each child. My oldest cried the whole time, which made me cry. My middle child was silent, even a little hesitant, about this love letter stuff and showed little emotion. My youngest was excited and anxiously jumped up and down waiting for me to read it to her.
I was happy. My mission accomplished - to touch the hearts of my children and to start a new tradition that they would forever cherish. Whenever we are separated they can take this little box with them and mom too. So whenever they are alone, whenever life's harsh realities are crushing down on them, they can read my words of love, comfort and wisdom and be reminded of their mother's love and of home - a place of love, safety and peace.
And my middle child who showed little emotion, well, he's 16, and too big for mushy love letters from mom. But I know deep inside he enjoyed reading that letter and someday I know he will tell me how much he loves those love letters of mine. And I know I will hear it from my girls too.

Doves

When I think of doves I think of love, peace, and the Holy Spirit. Even before I knew the Lord I thought of them as love and peace. This pair has been around for at least two years and they have their nest across the street in our neighbors tree. I first noticed them on Easter morning when I went out to watch the sun rise. That was a very special morning and the Lord ministered to me so deeply while I sang to Him, watching and waiting for the sun. And then to have these beautiful creatures singing too (along with many, many more birds), it was beautiful!!

From what I can gather, most mate for life and the most interesting thing is they feed their clutches with milk!!! Oh, and they are vegetarians! Wow! Who knew? Well, maybe you did, but I just learned something new and I'm loving it!

Both mom and dad feed their young with what is known as pigeon's milk for about a week or so. This comes from the lining of their crop - basically a food storage pouch. Here's the not so cool part, they feed them by regurgitation, eeewww. But I still think of love when I think of doves, romantic love (picture me batting my eyelashes). I think it's neat to have them as neighbors. What shall I name them? Hmmm, will be thinking about that.

Here's the sunrise from Easter morning 2010
Praise be to the Lamb of God forever and ever!

About 3 months ago I started my first New Inductive Study Series by Kay Arthur - Praising God Through Prayer and Worship.

I have to say, at first I wasn't sure about all the coloring and the time it took to do it, but after about a month I was hooked. Along with the study book, this method helps you go deeper into God's Word by taking each verse and breaking it apart, line by line, word for word. Even though I may have read these psalms numerous times, with this method the words and their meaning literally popped off the pages! My relationship with the Lord has gone to a new level and I look forward to our time together each morning.

I highly recommend this method for anyone who wants a more intimate relationship with the Lord. To learn more about this study go to www.precept.org. There are bible studies for every topic and book of the Bible. You will need a notebook, pens, pencils, crayons or coloring pencils. I found that erasable coloring pencils are best because if you make a mistake you can easily erase it, unlike pens or crayons.
Do you have a quiet time with the Lord each morning? I love this verse because I can't wait to see the great things He will reveal to me during our time together each morning!! Pray this verse today with your whole heart and see if He will answer you. Love, I know He will.ou great and unsearchable things you do not know ~ Jeremiah 33:3

My husband and son stumbled across this while they were cleaning out the fence line last week.

I had the hardest time figuring out what kind of eggs they are. I scoured the internet for hours looking for some clue, anything that would point me in the right direction to solving the mystery.

My conclusion....I don't know.

My husband and I usually sit on the front porch in the evenings and one night this week (I think it was Tuesday) he announced that they are scissortail birds, a/k/a scissor-tailed flycatcher. I asked him how he knew this and he said that he's been out here some in the afternoons, just watching the birds, and that's what's been flying to the nest. Really? We can see the nest pretty good from our porch so he must know. But, I looked online for scissortail eggs and they did not look like these. Oh, by the way, these eggs do not show the real color. They were a very light blue. Go figure! The only pictures of scissortail eggs I could find were brown eggs with big speckles, more like spots. Oh well. So I watched for momma bird as I sat on the porch. Where oh where is momma bird? Finally I did see a scissortail bird chasing a HUGE bug, then again and again! I never saw her in the nest but she's pretty sneaky.

Here are pictures of the babies. I was putting my life on the line when I took the picture of them sleeping. Momma bird caught me and she was NOT HAPPY! She squawked and squawked at me and for a minute I thought she would attack! Oh but it was worth it. Look at those sweet things! I absolutely love the one with their mouths open, waiting and trusting that momma will bring them their food.

This reminds me of the scriptures in Matthew 6:25-27Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

This is something we are clinging to right now while my husband is not working. He has not worked since mid-May and will not return to work. He is having a second surgery on his neck Monday which will leave him unable to work again. God has been so faithful and will continue to be. He provides in ways we never dreamed and I'm thankful in all this because I am learning so much, especially about trust and the Father's love for us.