~':: a friday ::'~

Today was another delightfully rainy one, especially because I got to spend it at my man's dear family's house. My man and his dad and brother were out of town today doing some construction work, so I went over to spend the day with Mom S. and Ana. We had such a nice day...Ana and I worked on our homemaking notebooks and made pots of tea (we are enjoying loose leaf Darjeeling!). Because it was an indoor day as a result of it being very wet outside, we made some collages and watched P&P...delightful! My fun project was making a collage in my book for the header of my blog...which Ana very kindly (and expertly!) worked with on her photo program till it was just right. :) Then crocheting, more photoshop, supper, more tea--as we wait for the men to come home. A truly peaceful, relaxing day. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such wonderful family. He is so good!

~making a little progress~

Loving His Will

'Having been pardoned by your God and Savior, the next thing you have to do is to show your gratitude for this infinite favor by consecrating your self entirely to Him, body, soul, and spirit. This is the least you can do. He has bought you with a price, and you are no longer your own. "But", you may reply, "this is contrary to my nature. I love my own way. I desire ease and pleasure; I desire to go to heaven, but I want to be carried thither on a bed of flowers. Can I not give myself so to God as to feel a sweet sense of peace with Him, and be sure of final salvation, and yet, to a certain extent, indulge and gratify myself? If I give myself entirely away to Him and lose all ownership in myself, He may deny me many things I greatly desire. He may make my life hard and wearisome, depriving me of all that now makes it agreeable." But, I reply, this is no matter of parley and discussion; it is not optional with God's children whether they will pay Him a part of the price they owe Him and keep back the rest. He asks, and He has a right to ask, for all you have and all you are. And if you shrink from what is involved in such a surrender, you should fly to Him at once and never rest until He has conquered this secret disinclination to give Him as freely and as fully as He has given to you. It is true that such an act of consecration on your part may involve a great deal of future discipline and correction. But as soon as you become the Lord's by your own deliberate and conscious act, He will begin that process of sanctification which is to make you holy as He is holy, perfect as He is perfect. He becomes at once your Physician as well as your dearest and best Friend, but He will use no painful remedy that can be avoided. Remember that it is His will that you should be sanctified and that the work of making you holy is His, not yours. At the same time you are not to sit with folded hands, waiting for this blessing. You are to avoid laying hindrances in His way, and you are to exercise faith in Him as just as able and just as willing to give you sanctification as He was to give you redemption. And now if you ask how you may know that you have truly consecrated yourself to Him, I reply, observe every indication of His will concerning you, no matter how trivial, and see whether you at once close in with that will. Lay down this principle as law--God does nothing arbitrary. If He takes away your health, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so; and this is true of everything you value; and if you have real faith in Him, you will not insist on knowing the reason. If you find, in the course of daily events, that your self-consecration was not perfect--that is that your soul revolts at His will--do not be discouraged, but fly to your Savior and stay in His presence till you obtain the spirit in which he cried in His hour of anguish, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but Thine be done" (Luke 22:42). Every time you do this it will be easier to do it; every such consent to suffer will bring you nearer and nearer to Him; and in this nearness to Him you will find such peace such blessed sweet peace as will make your life infinitely happy, no matter what may be its mere outside conditions. Just think, my dear Katy, of the honor and the joy of having your will one with the Divine will and so becoming changed into Christ's image from glory to glory!


...If the thought of such self-denial is repugnant to you, remember that it is enough for the disciple to be as his Lord. and let me assure you that as you penetrate the labyrinth of life in pursuit of Christian duty, you will often be surprised and charmed by meeting your Master Himself amid its windings and turnings and receive His soul-inspiring smile. Or, I should rather say, you will always meet him, wherever you go.'
~*~ ~*~ ~*~


From the book Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss (pp.86-88, 89)

Also wonderfully beneficial is Mrs. Prentiss's biography, More Love To Thee: The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss, by George Lewis Prentiss

Rainy Day Decorating

It's cloudy and rainy outside this afternoon, there's a fire crackling in my wood stove, and I decided to do some rearranging. :)
~I distressed a picture frame that I painted on Monday...said picture frame is hung on the wall without glass or a back, and I have a plate hung and a picture tacked on the wall inside the frame. It looks nice. ~*~

~The picture pinned inside my frame with a thumb tack--from a Carl Larsson calendar.








~I sanded the corners of my frame a bit with none other than a fingernail file ;), because I didn't know where, or if, my man had some sandpaper (for those of you who may not know...my man is definitely a metal man, though he makes beautiful things for me out of wood when he so chooses).




~My "Cream of Wheat" picture from my kitchen, moved to a new location near to where he was before to make room for...
~The newest shelf in my kitchen (made out of a nifty old crate). The arrangement warms up an unusual corner formed by an old chimney.

~The lighted star (originally from the top of the Christmas tree) adds a special whimsical coziness.

~':: Tra-la, tra-lee! ::'~

I have finally finished the last hexagon piece for the afghan that I have been making for the last couple of months. I now have all of the 83 pieces in my basket and will need to begin crocheting them together. I am glad to have them done. Not that I didn't enjoy the doing of it--and the colors were so soothing that it was a joy just to work with them--, but I only gave myself two-ish months to get it done before I needed it. Next time I shall allow six. Doing it, of necessity, filled most free moments, and I will be glad to have the option of doing something else! ;) Here I go to finish it...
~*~Yes, I know that I included a picture of my pillow...it does not necessarily pertain to this post, but it kept distracting me with it's lovely blue and pink ticking stripe so much that I had to put it in here. ~*~

Pussy Willows and Homemaking Notebooks

~it is enough~

Clean Sheets and Eighty Degrees

tag

~*~ This morning's collage project...a tag to go with an apron that I made for a friend. ~*~

Wonderful Day at the Farm

My man and I got to drive up to the farm after church for Sunday dinner and the afternoon! I had such a good time. It was warm (65-70) and breezy...we walked all over the farm, visiting the animals and taking pictures.

(Braid: My beautiful little sister; Cap: My farmer brother; Knife: My canadian mountie/state trooper/cowboy/farmer little brother; ...see the brand new little calves!)

hymn

The Glory of the Cross
Words and music by Bob Kauflin

What wisdom once devised the plan
Where all our sin and pride
Was placed upon the perfect Lamb
Who suffered, bled, and died?
The wisdom of a sovereign God
Whose greatness will be shown
When those who crucified Your Son
Rejoice around Your throne

And, oh the glory of the cross
That You would send Your Son for us
I gladly count my life as loss
That I might come to know
The glory of, the glory of the cross

What righteousness was there revealed
That sets the guilty free
That justifies ungodly men
And calls the filthy clean?
A righteousness that proved to all
Your justice has been met
And holy wrath is satisfied
Through one atoning death

What mercy now has been proclaimed
For those who would believe
A love incomprehensible
Our minds could not conceive?
A mercy that forgives my sin
Then makes me like Your Son
And now I’m loved forevermore
Because of what You’ve done

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Guitar chords here
Buy this music here

rainy day

Springtime Rambles

"Caroline found it difficult to imagine a lovelier house than this one, or any room that she would love better than this kitchen-livingroom. It was the private property of the family, and the quests seldom came to it. There were two kitchens at The Herb of Grace, the inner one where they cooked and washed up, and this one where they lived and ate. It was a beautiful room, stone-floored with whitewashed walls. Besides the south window looking across the garden to the river, there was another looking on the stable yard, set open above the pots of geraniums on the sill, and through it came the cooing of doves. Oak beams crossed the ceiling, darkened by age to the same rich colour as the big oak table and the dresser with its willow-patterned china. There were bright rugs on the floor and gay chintz curtains at the windows. Nearly all the year round there was a log fire burning on the wide hearth, with the settle set at right angles to it. Beside the hearth the bread-oven was set in the thickness of the wall, and the spit for roasting the meat was still there, and the hook for the kettle."
~from The Heart of the Family by Elizabeth Goudge

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Thursday afternoon...had a wonderful time looking at decorating books with my dear sisters-in-law, Ana and Leah. We had the windows open, drank Darjeeling, laughed and copied things for our homemaking notebooks.

Friday...I saw my first Robins of the Spring!! One of my very favorite of all the sounds of nature is that "tweet, tweet, twitter, tweet" song that Robins sing on summer evenings. I am so glad to hear them singing again. (The picture is a little blurry because he wouldn't let me get very close with the camera. :))

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Spent Friday putting a new door in the garage of a family from church. It was much larger than the original, so we had to tear out the existing frame and cut the opening larger. It looks really nice now that it's done. :)

You can see the first little fuzzy green things coming up around the house. This is a little hollyhock leaf trying to crawl its way out of last year's leaves. It gives one hope that soon we'll be enjoying many more little plants. I saw a picture of blooming lilacs in a book this morning and it made me long for May! :)

~clothesline~

I finally got to hang up my first load of clean clothes on the clothesline today! It was so fun to pin them up and then watch them blow in the breeze while they dried.

knitting

Nifty yarn, huh?! It feels so silky...

Early morning sunshine

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul,
'therefore I will hope in Him.'

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD."
Lamentations 3:22-26

~'::Pictures of the Baby::'~

Here are a few pictures of my little friends' new baby sister...

This is the new little baby L. Isn't she so tiny compared to her little bed?

This is little princess L again in all of her pinkness.

My friends C and S with their new baby sister. They were very excited when they came back to my house from visiting her for the first time...they told me all about the little faces and noises that she made. :)

This is the baby's daddy...I think they're both taking a nap!