On Hiatus

Hi!

Yes, I'm still alive.

*smile*

My apologies for the lack of posting.

Honestly, I'm really trying hard to be careful of

where all the minutes of my day are going -

what they are being used for -

and I've been convicted of excess time spent

on the computer when I could/should be

spending it elsewhere.

We're all given the same number of minutes in our days

and I fear that I haven't always been wise in

how I use my allotment.

So, while I've been silent here,

I have been keeping busy with things that will bless

and benefit my family...

and purposefully MAKING myself slow down and

trying to listen - straining to hear His still, small voice

above the riot of noise that so easily fills my days.

Simplicity.

I'm doing the best I can where I am

and I look forward to the day when I can

"unplug" even more -

and just listen...

So my hiatus will continue until...

well, I don't know when.

In the meantime, if you'd like some great reading,

I'd encourage you to visit any on of the blogs I follow

(posted in my sidebar down on the right).

They're all great reading and while I

won't be posting regularly here for a while,

I will definitely continue to be inspired by my favorite
"girls"!

Genuinely trying to slow down and simplify,

Sarah

Thankful Thursday

Once again, it's been *forever* since I last posted.

And I'm missing it, so here goes!
*smile*

Today is Thankful Thursday.

Here are just five of the many things I'm SO thankful for!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For sweet friends who bless me with their

years of learning and are willing to help

me find my way in new adventures!

(thanks, Tari, for your patient answers to my

gazillion questions about composting,

gardening, chickens, etc!)

For children who keep me on my toes-

(and sometimes run me into the ground) -

so that I can learn to lean more heavily on my Saviour.

My sweet, sweet husband who richly blesses me

every single day.

These crazy MN "spring" winds testifying that indeed,

Spring is just around the corner!

*smile*

The simplicity of a day spent "unplugged".

You know, no TV, no radio, no unecessary *stuff*

that can divert our attention from the things of

real living - the thing that really matter.

A Quick Share...

Ok, so I know it's been a while since I last posted,

so I just wanted to stop by quick and say,

"I'm still here!"

*smile*

So I made another batch of homemade yogurt

(the recipe to be found here)

a couple days ago and I'm going to have

to make yet another batch today!

My kids (ok, me too)

are loving it!

It's such a great, healthy dessert or snack

and my kids inhale it!

They like theirs with homemade

strawberry jam swirled in.

I like mine with chopped walnuts or pecans,

chopped dried cherries or cranberries

and a drizzle of local, raw, unfiltered honey on it!

YUM!
Makes me want some right now...

Also wanted to share with you that I had an

amazing lunch today, thanks to Mama Hollioni!

Her recipe is soooooo delicious!

My favorite part is that is uses 8

Yes, EIGHT

cloves of garlic!!!!!

I am a garlic fiend, so that's right up my alley.

*smile*

Anyway, that's all for today!

Short and sweet!

Until next time....

Sharing Spurgeon

It's a Spurgeon day.

*smile*

This reading was actually from a couple of

mornings ago, but it's so good I wanted to share with you.

I hope it blesses your heart as it did mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your heavenly Father." Matthew 6:26

God's people are doubly his children,

they are his offspring by creation,

and they are his sons by adoption in Christ.

Hence they are privileged to call him,

"Our Father which art in heaven."

Father!

Oh, what precious word is that.

Here is authority:

"If I be a Father, where is mine honour?"

If ye be sons, where is your obedience?

Here is affection mingled with authority;

an authority which does not provoke rebellion;

an obedience demanded

which is most cheerfully rendered-

which would not be withheld even if it might.

The obedience which God's children yield to him

must be loving obedience.

Do not go about the service of God

as slaves to their taskmaster's toil,

but run in the way of his commands

because it is your Father's way.

Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness,
because righteousness is your Father's will,

and his will should be the will of his child.

Father!

Here is a kingly attribute so sweetly veiled in love,

that the King's crown is forgotten in the King's face,

and his sceptre becomes, not a rod of iron,

but a silver sceptre of mercy-

the sceptre indeed seems to be forgotten

in the tender hand of him who wields it.

Father!

Here is honour and love.

How great is a Father's love to his children!

That which friendship cannot do,

and mere benevolence will not attempt,

a father's heart and hand must do for his sons.

They are his offspring, he must bless them;

they are his children,

he must show himself strong in their defence.

If an earthly father watches over his children

with unceasing love and care,

how much more does our heavenly Father?

Abba, Father!

He who can say this, hath uttered better music

than cherubim or seraphim can reach.

There is heaven in the depth of that word-

Father!

There is all I can ask;

all my necessities can demand;
all my wishes can desire.

I have all in all

to all eternity when I can say,

"Father."

Daybook Entry

FOR TODAY...

Outside My Window...

the clouds overshadow the day

and several Red-breasted Nuthatches

and Chickadees dine on the sunflower seeds

in the pinecone birdfeeders

the boys and I madea couple weekends ago.

I am thinking...

"is it the kids' nap time yet?"

I am thankful for...

our Christian school that our church runs -

we decided today that my oldest nephew is in need

of more structure if he's going to be ready

for kindergarten this Fall.

From the learning rooms...

we are almost finished with our first math workbook,

only a couple pages left in handwriting,

and are currently reading:
Egermeier's Children's Bible Storybook

The Llama Who Had No Pajama

(for fun)

The Story of Dr. Doolittle

(and no, I'm going to run upstairs

to check if I spelled that right)

Elmer and the Dragon

(Cade's favorite)

and as always....

a whole PILE of library books!

Yep. We kind of like reading

in our house! :o)

From the kitchen...

I've got bread rising in the oven - I bet it's about to overflow -

I should go check on that.

I am wearing...

crazy striped socks, burgundy fluffy slippers,

favorite gray jeans, and a sky blue camisole

underneath a grass green fleece.

I am creating...

almost done with scarf

(same one as last week)

more dishcloths,

still working on my knitted handbag

and would love to get some #7 knitting needles

so I could try to knit myself some mittens!

We'll see about that...

*smile*

I am going...

to a friends house for coffee night / crafting night.

Hello, uninterrupted knitting time!

Yay!

I am reading...

through the gospel of Matthew,

still in the Psalms,

and of course my favorite -

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.

Oh, and also reading The Love Dare

that a friend lent me.

I'm excited to see what is all in there!

I am hoping...

that my oldest nephew will be a good boy in preschool

(which he starts this week).

Pray with me on this one, won't you?!

I am hearing...

my niece bossing the boys around

*sigh*

what is it about girls????

They think they rule the roost!

I've got news for Sweet Thing.......

Around the house...

I really need to vacuum,

of course, the usual laundry

and baking bread and trying to decide what to

make for supper tonight.

One of my favorite things...

sitting and enjoying long talks with my Mom.

My Mom is one of my best friends and I adore her.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

#1) try not to lose my mind

#2) try to implement Pastor's message on

being quick to listen, slow to speak...you know the rest.

*smile*

#3) make it to the gym at least 3 times

#4) enjoy a date night with my sweet husband while

a friend takes on the challenge of watching our 5 kids

for a couple hours. Bless her heart.

#5) I'm going to stop now or I'll overwhelm myself

with my own expectations. :o)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Such FUN!

I've been on kind of a "making everything homemade"

kick lately and today will be no different.

Over the past week,

I've made lots of fun new things!

Let's see....

Three batches of homemade soap

(which are now curing for the next 4 weeks -

I hate waiting so long before being able to use it!

I'm tempted to try making hot-process soap

one of these times!),

Lainie's dishwasher detergent,

Herbal organic shampoo

(which I adore!

It does double-duty as a body wash, too!),

all-natural toothpaste

(again, delightful!),

a fabulous Banana Facial Mask

(wow!),

Note: Youtube has tons, I mean TONS of great

make-it-yourself recipes!!

have almost finished a scarf for a friend,

and have made several knitted dish rags.

Oh my!!!!

I've had SOOOO much fun creating useful things!

How I enjoy the creative endeavors God gives us to enjoy!

He is so good, is He not?!

*smile*

Oh, and today I'm making a double batch of

Mama Hollioni's Amish White Bread

for my family.

Now, if I can just keep MY hands off it

and not eat any - well, it will be a miracle!

Yep. I've been trying to cut out

bread, sugar and cut back on salt in an

effort to lose a few pounds.

But with fresh bread in the house,

I can make no promises!

Ha ha!

But I digress...

Ok, off I go to start the bread!

Have a blessed day!

Hmmmm...

Ok, well, we got our nephews and niece back

Monday afternoon and as you can see,

we've been busy getting back into the swing of things.

Can I just say that I'm so thankful for my sweet husband

who just went to the grocery store for me?

This late at night, too!

(It's almost 10:00 pm here)

I am so blessed by him.

I've not yet attempted to go grocery shopping

(or any kind of shopping, for that matter)

being outnumber 5:1.

I doubt that I'll ever attempt that feat.

Anyway...

I just wanted to check in and let you

know that I'll try to get back into a routine

with posting here.

I've found myself writing

(you know, actual pencil-on-paper writing)

more in my journal lately

and it's been good.

Anyway...

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Wishing you His richest blessings,

Sarah

Sunday

Sweet Moments...

Yesterday, my Dad came and picked up

my brother's three children to spend

a special weekend with Papa and Nana.

So as of about 1:30 yesterday afternoon,

it's been "just us".

And it has been oh, so sweet.

I have been savoring this blessed time that I've been given

to re-connect with my two boys.

I really feel like in all the hustle and bustle

of the recent changes in our home,

(though I know with out a shadow of doubt that He is in this)

that my boys have kind of gotten a little lost in the shuffle...

and that's the last thing on earth that I want.

So....

last night, after a fun day doing silly little things together,

as I was tucking the boys into bed,

Malachi, my three year old, says,

"Mommy, let's all snuggle in my bed together."

What a great idea.

So the three of us (Daddy was out looking at a truck)

pile into his bed (the lower half of a bunk bed),

*smile*

and in the soft glow of their favorite snowman night-light,

we snuggle. and talk.

We chat about what the tooth fairy might look like -

(Cade recently lost his first two teeth, hence the interest),

and we talk about the fun things we had planned for today-

a trip to the library, making pinecone birdfeeders,

and anything else that popped into their little minds.

We decided that the tooth fairy has gauzy gray wings

with shimmery pink swirls,

she had medium length, curly, green hair

and beautiful sparkly blue shoes.

*smile*

We lay there together in the soft light,

snuggled under layers of blankets,

and we said our nigh-night prayers and then

we just kept talking and sharing our hearts

until Malachi's started to drift off to Dreamland.

It's THESE moments that I sorely miss.

THESE tender moments that I long for.

This connection.

This sharing of hearts.

This T*I*M*E.

I find myself so very, very grateful for the gift of a

respite weekend that my parents have given us.

It was much-needed.

So, off I go to spend the rest of my day with my boys.

We're going to ambush the library -

*smile*

(only kidding, my kids are very good a the library)

and then I hope to make some pinecone bird feeders!

But first I must purchase more birdseed.

Here we go!!!!!

Grace

Here are the lyrics to the choir song

I mentioned yesterday.

Written by Carolyn Hamlin

(I'd never heard of her before,

but these words touched my heart in a big way.)

Grace

Lord, as I seek Your guidance for the day,

I find my thoughts unyielding,

confusion crowds my way;

But then when I bow to You,

the challenges You guide me through,

Your promises are ever new,

I claim them for today.

Your will cannot lead me

where Your grace will not keep me,

Your hand will protect me.

I rest in Your care.

Your eyes will watch,

Your love forgive,

and when I am faltering,

I still will find You there.

Each new day's design

is charted by Your hand

and graciously revealed

as I seek Your master plan.

Keep my steps faithful when I go.

Return me to the joy

that Your blessings can bestow.

Your will cannot lead me

where You grace will not keep me,

Your hand will protect me.

I rest in Your care.

Your eyes will watch,

Your love forgive,

and when I am fatering,

I still will find You there.

(repeat)

Your eyes will watch over me,

Your love will forgive me,

And when I am faltering,

I still will find You there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I dwell on the significance of these words,

I find it becoming my heart's prayer.

How often I falter in this Mothering

and yet He watches over me,

never allowing more than I can bear.

And how encouraging to remember His forgiveness

in those times when I fail my children or my husband.

And so sweet to savor the knowledge that indeed,

His mercies are new every morning

and the promises in His Word there are for me to claim.

He is always there - with me every step of the way.

Such comfort.

I hope I will be able to sing this song in a couple weeks

without being a bawling mess.

*smile*

Daybook Entry

FOR TODAY...

Outside My Window...

I awoke to the view of a breathtaking, delicate hoar frost

that drapes across every branch in the trees

and bushes in our neighborhood -

and now there are giant, fluffy snowflakes

falling from a sky full of moisture-laden clouds.

What a divine artist our Father is!

I am thinking...

how nice it will be to have a weekend

with just the four of us

-my sweet hubby, and our two sons-

Nana and Papa are giving us a respite weekend

and are taking our two nephews and niece

for a special long weekend visit.

I am thankful for...

the way my Shepherd speaks to me through

so many diffent avenues.

In choir practice yesterday,

we sang a song that contained the most beautiful

lyrics - I'll share them with you tomorrow. ;o)

From the learning rooms...

we are continuing doing "double duty" in math;

almost finished with our handwriting book;

and are so enjoying the variety of "living" books

we have the priviledge of reading!

Such sweet "one-on-one" time.

*smile*

From the kitchen...

I'll be baking a double batch of Honey Wheat bread

either today or tomorrow,

and hope to make a batch of lip balm -

we're running low.

I am wearing...

melon, pumpkin, mint, chocolate and olive striped socks,

(now I'm hungry) :o)

my favorite gray jeans,

and a sky blue camisole

layered underneath a sea blue knobby hooded sweater.

I am creating...

a few knitted dish cloths - just for fun,

still working on my knitted handbag -

I've moved on to the second color -

which is a fabulous shade of mustard-

(it looks great combined with the base of olive green)!

And I'd love to make a batch of soap sometime this week,

but don't know if it'll happen.

I'm in need of distilled water for that project

and I have none in the house right now...

so we'll see if it happens.

I am going...

to the gym a few nights this week,

and Monday is Girls' Coffee Night at Starbucks

(yay! I have the best girlfriends in the world)

and I'd love to take the kids to the Library one day

this week - (it may end up being in the evening when

my hubby can come along to help me wrangle all the kids).

I am reading...

the gospel of Matthew and I'm still enjoying

working through the Psalms

and of course, Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.

I am hoping...

that I will be maleable clay in the hands

of the Master Potter this week

and that my ear will be in tune

to what He has for me to learn.

I am hearing...

the kids watching Wile-E Coyote.

Around the house...

tons of laundry to catch up on -

(man! take a weekend off and it piles up

WAY too fast!),

the usual weekly household cleaning to do.

"And whatever thy hand findeth to do,

do it with thy might!"

One of my favorite things...

hearing my oldest son praying at the end of the day,

"Dear God, thank you for giving me

my Mommy who loves me and takes care of me..."

*a tired smile finds it's way across my face after a long day*

I just made bonus.

A picture thought I am sharing with you..

Closed for Worship

A Thankful Heart

I just got done writing in my "real" journal,

*smile*

one modeled after the example here,

and I attempted to record all of my heavenly Father's

blessings that He has poured down on us

in the last few weeks-

difficult though they have been.

After writing in my journal of the struggles we've faced

with the raising of 5 small children,

I then began to scribble down the many blessings

our Jehovah Jireh has bestowed...

and you know what??

once I was able to really sit and dwell

on all the ways He has provided,

well....

let me tell you.

It's overwhelming.

He has proven Himself faithul on so many levels

yet I'd been too consumed in the day-to-day struggles

that I'd missed so many of them.

But no more!

I bless His name!!

He watches over us -

even when we're too stuck in the mire of

the daily grind to notice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lord, let me lift my eyes from the "here and now"

to instead gaze on Your loving face

and rest, rejoicing in Your eternal goodness;

Your never-ending faithfulness!

You are indeed, good...all the time!

Such a blessing...

You know of my fondness for Spurgeon.

Yep- you guessed it -

*smile*

today's post will be an excerpt from his book

(one of my favorites)

"Morning and Evening".

I find it delightful and so very encouraging in my Walk.

And so I share...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7

It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel -

"HE careth for me."

Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care;

come, cast your burden upon your Lord.

You are staggering beneath a weight

which your Father would not feel.

What seems to you a crushing burden,

would be to him but as the small dust of the balance.

Nothing is so sweet as to

"Lie passive in God's hands, And know no will but his."

O child of suffering, be thou patient;
God has not passed thee over in his providence.

He who is the feeder of sparrows,

will also furnish you with what you need.

Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever.

Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble,

and your opposition shall yet end your distresses.

There is One who careth for you.

His eye is fixed on you,

his heart beats with pity for your woe,

and his hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help.

The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy.

The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning.

He, if thou art one of his family,

will bind up thy wounds,

and heal thy broken heart.

Doubt not his grace because of thy tribulation,

but believe that he loveth thee as much

in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness.

What a serene and quiet life might you lead

if you would leave providing to the God of providence!

With a little oil in the cruse,

and a handful of meal in the barrel,

Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same.

If God cares for you, why need you care too?

Can you trust him for your soul, and not for your body?

He has never refused to bear your burdens,

he has never fainted under their weight.

Come, then, soul! have done with fretful care,

and leave all thy concerns

in the hand of a gracious God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Father, as I walk through the remainder of this day,

oh, that I would (continuously) lay at your feet

the burdens that threaten to crush with a weight I cannot bear.

That I would place in your loving hands every moment

and seek your face for guidance and wisdom.

Those times that I instinctively want to react in self,

let me instead respond in You

so that my children would not see Me,

but only You.

Let it be this day, I pray...

Daybook Entry

FOR TODAY...

Outside My Window...

it is cloudy and very cold.

Our MN wind is blowing it's usual gusts

and making it feel colder than it is.

I am thinking...

that I am going to strive to discipline myself

to get to bed by 10:00/10:15

every night so that I can wake up early

to spend time alone with my Heavenly Father.

I tried doing my quiet time this past week

during the kids' naptimes,

but there always seemed to be a million things

calling for my attention that I kind of lost my way.

Ann at Holy Experience wrote so perfectly

what God was already laying on my heart

concerning my quiet time alone with Him.

So this morning I rose early

and enjoyed a quiet (truly quiet!)time

alone with Him, no interruptions,

no background noise of children squabbling,

and I was able to sit and savor what I was reading in the Word

and to pray earnestly - unhurried.

Just me and my Heavenly Father.

It was like coming to an oasis after wandering in the desert.

I just drank it up - so thirsty for Him.

I am thankful for...

the knowledge that His mercies are, indeed,

new every morning!

From the learning rooms...

we're getting back into the swing of things with school!

My, how I have missed our time together -

and the structure that our school time offers to our day.

We're reading Egermier's Children's Bible,

Mary on Horseback, and

finishing up Twenty and Ten.

From the kitchen...

I made laundry soap this past weekend and it turned out great!

Thanks, Lainie!!

For the how-to, check out my sweet friend Lainie's blog,

Mishmash Maggie.

I love her.

I am wearing...

new burgundy slippers my sweet hubby

got for me this past weekend,

gray jeans,

my Old Navy sweatshirt (I seem to wear that alot on Mondays)

and a long sleeve T underneath. It's cold in MN!

*smile*

I am creating...

still working on knitting my handbag -

I know, I've been working on that for a while now,

but it's coming along - no matter how slowly. ;o)

I am going...

to Girls' Coffee Night tonight at Starbucks

and hopefully to the gym a few times this week, too!

I am reading...

through the Psalms and the book of Hosea.

Breaking it off chapter by chapter

and savoring; meditating on what I am learing.

I am hoping/praying...

that I will continually allow God to lead me

through my days this week
and that I'll lay down my own personal agenda

for what He has for me.

I can't do this on my own.

I need Him.

I am hearing...

the kids playing nicely (at the moment)

and...what's that?...

I think I hear a load of laundry calling me, too! :o)

Around the house...

doing LOTS of laundry,

the usual meal-planning,

cleaning,

picking up,

homeschooling,

(you know...)

and I pray that I'll do it all for His glory -

and with a thankful heart!

One of my favorite things...

snuggling my kids and listening to their stories.

Sorry - no picture thought today - running short on time.

Thanks for your understanding.

Sunday

Void of Words...

As you can see...

I've not posted in a couple days.

I seem to be strangely void of words.

my mind is just...blank.

Words fail me as I try to find my way along

this path that has been laid before me.

Thank you for your grace as I sit...silent.

I am hoping as life gets back into it's "normal"

routine with us starting back to school

(my, have I missed that one-on-one time with my oldest son)

that perhaps the words will flow again.

Until then...