It's the Life!

SIMPLE CHARM. A FRIENDLY FARM,
FILLED WITH FAMILY LAUGHTER,
COZY QUILTS AND HOMESPUN YARNS.
IT'S THE COUNTRY LIFE I'M AFTER!!!

Opportunity

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
- Thomas Edison

Going Out

He went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever "gone out" in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, "What do you expect to do?" You don't know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to "go out" in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don't know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is new opportunity to "go out," building your confidence in God. "...do not worry about your life. ..nor about the things that concerned you before you did "go out."
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you what He is going to do - He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you "go out" in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?
Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to "go out" dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexperessible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to "go out" through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.
- My Utmost For His Highest, edited edition

This devotional has really blessed me as at different times God has asked me to "go out" in ways I don't understand, oftentimes calling me to a step of obedience in opposition to my desires and the way I'd like for things to be.
"Going out" comes in so many forms and variations, many times touching a particular thing or area in our lives that we grow to depend upon, trust in, and find our happiness in, whether that be our reputation, a status quo, a relationship, a particular object or a passion that drives and motivates us such as a dream, vision or activity.
To "go out" might mean speaking the truth when no one wants to hear it, standing strong in the convictions God has placed in your heart even when it doesn't make sense to others, submitting to your authorities even when it hurts or you don't really understand their reasoning.
We sometimes wonder what the outcome of such an act of obedience will result in. To "go out" could mean loss of reputation, being misunderstood, being accused of legalism, loss of friendships, dashed hopes, and shattered dreams. It may cause deep, inward pain, heartache, and tears. The one thing I'm reminded of each time God asks me to "go out" is that He is simply looking for a heart of obedience that demonstrates and proves to Him that nothing stands in the way of my love and devotion to Him.
And because I know my Father, that "He doth not afflict willingly" (Lam3:33) and that He "honours those that honour Him" (1 Sam 2:30) am I able to "go out" in faith and obedience believing that no matter the outcome, "as for God, His way is perfect."

Hope it blessed you as it blessed me.
~ Jen

Brothers

Brothers: they make the greatest friends, protectors, comrades, encouragers, teasers, and advisors...and I'm doubly blessed to have two of them!!!

I Am My Beloved's

My brother surprised my sister and I each with a box of chocolates this morning for Valentine's Day! It made my day to say the least! When thanking him, his comment was, "Well, I didn't figure you'd be getting them from anyone else." I thought it so sweet of him to make sure we weren't forgotten.
It's sometimes easy for us single ladies to feel that we are forgotten or have missed out on love, especially on days like this, but the truth of the matter is that we are far from forgotten and are loved beyond measure. Our heavenly Bridegroom is ever drawing us with bands of love, ever delighting over us with songs of joy, and ever blessing us with blessings innumerable. Our names are ever graven upon His hands and not a moment goes by that He does not see us. Whether it be painted sunsets, raindrops on roses, cut out snowflakes, the morning song of a bird, or the fragrance of a flower, He is ever showering us with gifts of love. He has even written us a love letter declaring His everlasting love saying, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." I am totally awed when I stop to consider the great love the Creator of the universe has bestowed upon me when He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, to make me, only a handmaiden, His very own beloved. May you be awed, too, as you consider what great love He has bestowed upon you!          

Home Hearth

Taco Soup

One of our favorite soups on a cold evening.

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 jar water
1 pkg taco seaoning
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can baked beans
Mix ingredients together in pot and let simmer until heated thru. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, frito chips or tortilla chips.

The Significant Calling of Women

We live in a world that applauds master's degrees and young women joining the military, but disdains the saintly titles of "wife," "mother", "daughter," and "sister." The lie of feminism has invaded our nation more than ever in the last hundred years, and now we are reaping the effects of a civilization that has bought into it; homes and families are in shatters.

It's in the news, taught in schools, colleges, and seminaries. You'll find it throughout most books, movies and magazines. And sadly, it has even infiltrated into Christian thinking nationwide.

Home, the first institution God created, is under heavy attack. Why? Because if the home is strong, the Church will be strong, and when the home is in fragments, you will find the Church in fragments. Satan knows that if he can avert our attention away from the home and family, that he has a stronghold in the Church.

Where children were once counted as a blessing and large families were the norm, they are now termed as "kids" and the "ideal" family consists of 1or 2 children. Birth control is pushed, wives and mothers have left their homes to join the workforce, and children are sent off to daycare from younger and younger.

We see women taking over leadership positions and men being made the underdogs. In the meantime, family suffers all for the sake of equal rights. Sadly, our society, since the beginning of the feminist movement, was duped to believe that it was all for their good and for the good of the nation when, in fact, it was for the sole purpose of undermining traditional family values and a design to remove God from our society. I could write a lot right on that last point, but for the sake of space and time, I'll keep it short and sweet.

Peter Marshall gave the following in the1940's when he recognized a lack of godly womanhood. How much more does this apply today, over 50 years later?

"Godly womanhood...the very phrase sounds strange to our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other type of women: beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, divorced women. But so seldom do we hear of a godly woman - or of a godly man either, for that matter. We believe women come nearer to fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife, than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realms of morals to be old-fashioned, than to be ultra-modern. The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct."
Dear sisters, it may seem that our place in the home is small and insignificant. Let's not be deceived; behind every great man is a hidden woman. She is there praying, encouraging and standing behind her man. As for us daughters, we have the vital place of being cornerstones or pillars in our homes. (Ps. 144:12) Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines a pillar as " a supporter; that which sustains or upholds; that on which some superstructure rests." Don't let Satan fool you to believe that your place in the home is insignificant. It is vital.

Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down. Prov. 14:1