Thankful Thursday

This has been a sad week in our church. A wonderful young woman in our church was called Sunday evening and told that her 37 year old brother had a brain aneurysm. He had surgery and on Monday he was squeezing hands on demand and giving thumbs up. But, sometime Tuesday he took a turn for the worse. He was pronounced brain dead and his family chose not to artificially sustain his life, knowing that he was already "Home". He left behind a wife and three children ages 5, 9, and 12.

So, today I am thankful that I still have all of my family with me. And that, for now, they are relatively healthy. There are some health issues, but we are all still here. I am also thankful that when the time comes, and it will, that we suffer the loss of a loved one or a more serious health issue than we've had already, that we know the One who comforts and sustains.

Homekeeper's Journal

This week’s Journal is all about Home and Garden

This week in my kitchen ………
There's not a lot going on this week. My husband has been working until dark each evening trying to get a job finished before we go on vacation next week. We've been eating light. Salads, sandwiches, pizza

My gardening thoughts this week …….
I'm hoping it stops raining so we can get the rest of the garden in. I also hope the rain we've had doesn't ruin what's already been planted.

What I’d like to can, freeze or put up this year ……
Everything! Grocery prices are going up and up but unfortunately my grocery budget is still the same. So I hope to can, freeze, and dry as much as I can this year.

My plans for my home this summer ……
We have so many projects going. I would like to finish up some of the things we've already started.

This absolutely positively has to be done to my home this year ….
I have so many things! We have two new toilets and new linoleum sitting in our sun room so I would like to get the bathrooms finished. We also need to finish up our kitchen project we started 2 1/2 years ago! I guess the last thing would be to finish the privacy fence around our yard.

You can participate with your own entry by visiting Sylvia at Christian Homekeeper.

Peace

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

Peace. We all want it and there's only one way to get it. We need to keep our minds on God. Period.

We search and search for the thing that will make us happy, give us peace, fulfill our lives. There's only one thing that will do that and until we realize it we'll run ourselves silly, like a hamster on an exercise wheel, looking for that thing. It's right before our very eyes and unfortunately most of us will spend a lifetime seeking and never finding.

I'm so thankful this morning that while I'm not perfect by a long shot I have found my peace. My prayer today is that others will find it, too. I pray for the lost person that they will come to know the Lord. But, I also pray for the Christian who is still trying to figure out what the elusive thing is that would complete their lives. They've trusted Jesus for salvation, but they've yet to fully turn everything over and completely put their minds and hearts only in Him.

Is your mind stayed on Him?

This and That...

I was finally able to get the yard mowed today. The lawnmower kept bogging down because the grass was wet and so so tall. It has rained here nearly everyday for I don't know how long. I'm not complaining about the rain, but I needed just a few dry hours to get some mowing done!

Last evening my daughter and I finally got some flowers planted. I love to have flowers all around my porch so I now have 4 pots and 3 hanging baskets with flowers. I'll have to try to get some pictures. I still have 4 hanging baskets that hang around the hot tub that need flowers. I'm trying to remember the names of what I planted. They are all annuals and I don't know if I even know them all. I do know we planted begonias, impatiens, and dusty miller. There are two more that I can't remember the names of.

I am behind on house work, again. It seems I cycle with that. I'm either on the ball and on top of everything or I'm completely behind. It only takes one or two days of not keeping up and the next thing I know, I'm behind!

I have some sour cream in the fridge that needs used up. A couple of weeks ago I had a coupon for a dollar off two cartons of sour cream so I bought two. We were having tacos for supper so my hubby, trying to be considerate, stopped and bought sour cream! So, tonight I'm having a semi-homemade version of stroganoff. It's just browned ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream served over egg noodles. Tastes delicious and is very quick to throw together! Pair it with a green salad and YUM! ;0)

We're leaving to go on vacation next week and we still have some things to get in our garden. The weather man is calling for rain everyday this week, so??? I hope we're able to finish it up. My poor husband has came home more days than I care to mention covered in mud trying to get the garden planted even in the rain. What can you do? If we wait until it isn't raining it may be JUNE!

That's the update for now! Not very interesting, but hey, I like it! =)

Why Do We Do Dumb Stuff?

A few months ago after my blog had been dormant for a while I got this brilliant idea to start it back up. I had about 100 posts or so from the previous couple of years but I thought I would delete them and start over. You know, get a fresh start.

Dumb Dumb Dumb!!

What made me think deleting two or three years of my life was a good idea? Ugh!

I've Walked Through the Valley

I have something on my mind that I've been itching to get out. There's not really a place or time to just "work this into conversation", so I choose to use my blog as an outlet! ;0)

I've walked through the valley. My husband has had a severely broken leg. So badly so that the doctors thought he may lose his foot. He went through 18 months of grueling physical therapy. And on top of it all ended up losing his job because he was a "safety hazard". He was injured at work doing a job he was told to do. They were already liable and didn't want him coming back and re injuring himself so they wouldn't allow him to come back saying he was physically unable to do the job and would be a safety hazard. He was out of work for a total of three years.

I've walked through the valley. My daughter had back surgery at 15 years old. At the worst of her pain she literally could not stand up straight and would tremble from head to toe from the pain. She would lay in bed at night and shake uncontrollably because the pain was so excruciating that she could not relax her body and sleep. This went on for 8 months. No one wants to suspect a back problem for a 15 year old, so a diagnosis was a long time coming. She still has 3 bulging discs and arthritis in her back. She also has bursitis in her hip. She's 21 and she works every single day with pain. In addition to the back surgery when she was 17 she was hospitalized for a week because she was dizzy, throwing up, had constant debilitating headaches, and a near fatal sodium level. Diagnosis SIADH (Syndrome of Inappropriate Anti-Diuretic Hormone) Cause unknown. She is still treated for that and will most likely have it for the rest of her life. Long term prognosis for someone her age with this is unknown because it is very rare for someone her age to have it.

I have been through the Valley but Praise God we've come out on the other side. I'm not in the Valley now and I WILL NOT apologize for that. I'm tired of having to feel like I have to hide that my children are not wayward, my marriage is not crumbling, my finances are currently good, I have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear and I will Praise the Lord for those things because He is the one who gave them to me! My daughter still has health issues and has some level of pain nearly all the time. My husband still has pain, walks with a limp and has days when it's very painful for him to work, but he keeps going. Each day that we can get out of bed and live we are thankful for that!! God is good!

Somewhere along the way it has become a no-no to admit that God has been good to us and life is not all sour pickles! I'm not saying you should constantly brag about having "things", but I'm happy to say that my life is good! BUT!!! I've been through the Valley! I know what it's like. More than likely before I die I will go through the Valley again, but for now I'm going to enjoy not being there! LOL

Being in the Valley gives us appreciation for life that we may not have had if we hadn't been through some trials! Before going through the valley I probably would have complained about things that I no longer complain about. There are some things I'm no longer concerned about. To an outsider maybe my life isn't as good as I think it is, but I've been through times that make me realize how precious life and family are!

I am not saying we don't have bad days here, but over all I'm happy to wake up each morning and live my life. I'm happy that God has allowed me to be me! I love my family and my life! I will not be sorry for that or try to hide it!

Big Mama

Have you ever read Big Mama? If not, you should run right over there and read her blog. She is an everyday Mom who is absolutely hilarious. Usually I read her because she can make a trip to the grocery store the most exciting and funny thing ever. Today she wrote about the love Christians should have for others and each other. It's a wonderful post. I wish I had the ability to convey a message like she does. Go on over and read up!