I write you sitting comfortably in my home - although that may not sound surprising - I have been without use of my pc/internet access for what seems like forever.  But tonight, it is working again, and I am sitting on my couch with my laptop, watching The Sound of Music with my family at the same time.  I do hope to visit with all my friends, but before I go around and visit, I wanted to at least finish my post of Biltmore Estate.

Have you ever visited the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina?  If not, it is worth the effort if ever given the chance to visit it.    The house covers 4 acres, totaling 175,000 square feet. It consists of 250 rooms and  includes 35 guest and family rooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and three kitchens.  The old fashioned kitchens are my favorite rooms in the house.  In fact, I love everything in the basement - the 70,00 gallon indoor pool, the old fashioned laundry rooms, and the multiple pantrys.  I wish I had pictures to share of all this, but you are not allowed to take pictures once in the house.  Also in the basement is a gymnsasium and a bowling alley. 

.A favorite room of my children and husband is the two story library.  This is an amazing room filled with old books and beautiful woodwork.   

Upstairs on the third floor, in addition to more bedrooms, are areas where guests once
played parlor games and took afternoon tea, as well as rooms formerly occupied by ladies’
maidservants.

.

Fully electric and centrally heated, Biltmore House, at the time of its completion, was
considered one of the most technologically advanced structures ever built.  It used some of Thomas Edison’s first lightbulbs, elaborate indoor plumbing for all 34 bedrooms and even had several elevators (that still work today.)

So that's it - now I'm going to see if I can come by and visit and say hi!

Yes, I am still around, or, kind of.  It is very inconvenient to check my email, or to blog, so therefore, I have had very limited time to sign on.  But I'm still hoping for a remedy, soon.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try to go down my list of Things I Want To Post, and perhaps when I finally do get back on, I'll be all caught up.

 ************

This past summer, in late August, we took a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The first night we stayed at a hotel right outside the Estate - it looked liked it has been here as long as the Biltmore has, yet, it was only recently built and opened this past spring of 2009.  It deserves it's own post, so maybe I'll get to that sooner or later, too.

The next day, we moved from the hotel outside the grounds, to the Inn of Biltmore Estates, right on the property.  It is a very elegant place.  While we were waiting for a van to take us over to the castle, my husband thought it would be a great idea for us girls to have tea.

I confess, I didn't want to take the time to have tea.  I was afraid that we'd miss the ride over to the castle - it was mid-afternoon, we'd already missed it twice, and they left every half hour.  If we didn't wait right at the front door, I was sure we'd not make it over there.

So, although I tried to convince my husband that we did not need any afternoon tea, he insisted.  He said that Grandma would enjoy this. When I realized I would not be winning this battle of "To Tea" or "Not To Tea,"  I resigned to an elegant cup of tea.

We girls - Ruthie (10); Rachel (17); Grandma; and myself, sat at a table as we were brought tea and scones.  Dad sat on a nearby couch with the boys, reading to them.  I think they thought they were getting jipped - we got something to drink with cookies, and they got to be read too.   I think Ruthie enjoyed the tea all the more, assuming  she was one up on her brothers.

(At the Biltmore Estate looking over the balcony of the beautiful view.)

We did miss the next van over to the castle.  Just like I thought would happen.  But, eventually we made it over and seen everything by closing time.  And guess what?  When asked what was the highlight of their day (grandma and the girls), they said it was the afternoon tea.  Dad's spontaneous idea was what made the day for them, even though mom's punctuality nature thought it might ruin it.

It is cloudy, cold, and damp outside today.  But inside, it is bright, cheerful, and warm.             

The fireplace is roaring, taking the cold and dampness out of the air.  There is contentment within our family, although going nowhere today, and just staying inside.

We started our morning with my usual Sabbath breakfast recipe – a dozen eggs, some whole wheat bread, a cup or two of cheese, and about four turkey patties (pre-cooked) crumbled. I mix all of this together and then sprinkle the egg dish with more cheese, and then bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  This gives us a protein rich egg dish to start our day, without all the usual mess and hassle of an egg, sausage, and toast breakfast. We had bought cinnamon rolls the day before to have as our breakfast dessert.

So far today, we have read a chapter in Psalms, Proverbs, and a portion in I Samuel 13, 14, 15 and I Chronicles 5 and 9 -this is the story of the reign of Saul.  Besides having generous portions of Bible reading as a family, we have played a game of Scrabble, watched the movie, Toy Story, a board game of Monopoly, and read from our  historical novel   ( a   G..A. Henty book) while many of the children colored pictures with fine art- grade precision pencils.

My niece was with us this weekend.  She arrived Friday evening, as we were preparing our pizzas and breadsticks.  We sat at the table together, and before eating, we had prayer, and sought forgiveness from one another for any transgressions against each other in the past week.  We remembered as a family how Jesus died and paid the penalty for our sins against Him.  His blood was poured out and His body was given up for us.  After pizza, we read a portion in the Bible, played a game of Scrabble, and hung out in the family room around the cozy and warm fireplace.

I am still having an internet connection problem – therefore – my lack of posts.  I have a lot to share and find myself seriously behind in things I’d like to share, such as –

Our trip to Biltmore Estate and our tea time with Grandma in August

Our first visit to Ruth’s farm in Tennessee in August

Our Family Camp here at Ranch Shekinah in October

Our second visit to Ruth’s farm in Tennessee in October

Our week of celebrating the Biblical Holiday, Tabernacle of Booths, in Tennessee with Ruth and her fellowship group

Ruthie’s 11^th birthday party – A Victorian Tea party that we hosted 17 little girls and some of the mom’s

Add to all of that, I still haven’t posted on the foaling of Hot Shot and Willow!

Although I am way behind in posting, I have been enjoying my family thoroughly.  As I mentioned above, we took another trip to Tennessee just a few weeks ago.  Just as soon as we got home from that (we were away nine days) it was Ruthie’s birthday – we took all week getting ready for her Victorian Tea Party.

There have been a lot of changes within our family since our summer trip to the Bill Gothard Institute of Basic Life Principles seminar, followed up with two inspirational visits to Ruth’s wonderful family in Tennessee.   I'm looking forward to sharing what's new with our family, and also to visit with you.  See you soon (I hope!)

Antoinette

 What’s been happening around here since I wrote last….

.

.

Given it’s been almost two weeks since I posted, a lot has happened.  My internet connection has not been working, so therefore, I have been unable to check my emails or my blog.  Although I’ve missed both of those things, I have been very busy enjoying my family, our friends, and the fall season.  

.

.

I’ve been enjoying…

This autumn season.  We have a lot of apple trees here at Shekinah Ranch.  In past years, I was too busy “doing school” to go out and harvest the apples .  But, this year, I’ve taken the time  () to go out with my children to pick the apples, freeze them, and even make some of my first apple pies.  I had fun with Ruthie and Jacob collecting them, and enjoyed my time with Rachel in the kitchen getting them ready for the freezer and making the pies. 

,

,

I went riding with Rachel and her friends through the trails here at Ranch Shekinah last Saturday afternoon and into the evening.  This was the first time I’ve gone riding since early summer.  I rode Maria – and although I rode Western (English is my preferred mode of riding), she was perfectly behaved and did everything I asked.  She was like riding a “button horse” – this is what I call a horse that does everything you want it to do.  She stopped immediately when asked; slowed down when I indicated that’s what I wanted, and went fast when I desired. It was like she had a gas and a brake pedal.  We rode for hours.

.

Rachel and I went to a “flea market” (my first ever) in Shipshewana, Indiana, with some friends.  I bought a bushel of green peppers for $5.00; and two bushels of peaches for $26.00.  We brought them home and froze them for the winter.

 .

.

.

.

 Here's something else that's been going on here at Ranch Shekinah.  We gutted our barn - it's our autumn project.  We've had lots of help from our good friends, the Vales.

,

 .

The most recent is the family camp we just had. We had approximately fifty people attend.  Boat rides, horseback riding, good food, and lots of fellowship.    But, that's another post for another day!

No, we haven't taken up family visitations of our local taverns....

 But rather, this is a historical place that is like a living museum for people to walk through and visit once a year.

 It is located close to the cottage.  We have driven by this place a hundred times and always say, "We should go there some day."   It always looked empty, kind of closed-up, and we never did pull into the place to check it out.

 But on our way to the lake this past weekend, we saw a big bill-board, advertising this weekend as a special Civil War reinactment.  I've seen these signs previous years, and this seems to  be the only time of the year that this place comes alive.  This became the #1 thing I wanted to do this weekend - more than anything else there is to do on the lake.

This building that I was taking these pictures in was an inn for the stagecoach customers.  There were two rooms.  One of the rooms was for everyone on the stagecoach - no beds - just lay out on the floor.  But the above room, was for customers that were rich - they got their own room, complete with a bed and a potty (between the bed and the nightstand.)

.

This was Jacob's favorite part of the day - the reinactment of the Civil War - the shooting of the cannons.

.

.

 I love old fashioned kitchens like this one.

 This might have been Bob's favorite part - he loves maps.  I knew when I seen this map, that if he went near it, he'd be there a long time.  It happened just like I thought it might.

 Well, there's more I could write about this day - the autumn crisp weather; the sounds of the old fashioned music being played; the smell of the burning fires, and the mustiness of the old homes.  But I'm out of energy - it's time for bed. 

Check out Mary at Canada Girl for other show and tells -

Margie’s Apple Crisp

Crust:

2/3 cup oil

1/3 cup water

Mix the oil and water, then add:

2 ½ cup flour

Roll this out and fit into your pan.  I use one of those long rectangular stoneware dishes that I got from Pampered Chef.  If you have one of these, this recipe is perfect for that.

In a bowl, stir together:

½ cup of sugar

½ cup of flour

¼ tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

12 cups of chopped apples

2 Tbsp butter

Pour this on top of the crust.

Then, make another crust, roll it out, place it over the apples.

Bake at 425 degrees, for 1 hour.

When you get it out of the oven, it’s ready for a drizzling of:

1 cup of powdered sugar

Add just enough water (start with a few tablespoons) to give it a thick syrupy consistency.  Sorry this isn’t exact.

.

.

 (All of the pictures on this post were taken this past Monday.)

When the Vale’s came to our home a few weekends ago, Margie brought this Apple Crisp dish.  My husband loved this and had a hard time not taking one more piece.  He’s talked about it ever since.

.

In fact, this morning as he was leaving for work, he began to reminisce once more about Margie’s awesome Apple Crisp.  Now, I have to insert here for you here, that I have never baked a pie in my life, or if I did, I don’t remember it, and I must have had someone standing right by my side helping me every inch of the way.  But when Bob left for work this morning, and I looked at all those apples the kids had brought in for me and set down in an oversized bag and box, I began to think that maybe I could try my hand at Margie’s Apple Crisp.

.

.

 I love this picture - it is of my grandchildren playing with my children.

.

I called Margie, but the only one available was her daughter, Mara, who can make this Apple Crisp as good as Margie can.  She gave me the ingredients and the instructions.  Rachel and I worked together on this after Biology class.   Together, we managed this.  Now, tonight, I will surprise my husband with his own homemade Apple Crisp. I hope it’s good as Margie’s!

.

.

(The girls found some old fashioned clothes in a trunk when they were cleaning out a storage area this past Monday.  They even got Joshua to pose for a picture with them -although he doesn't look to happy about it!

(These pictures were taken just before we took off for the lake this past weekend.)

.

.

Since I wrote last, I have -

.

Friday we spent the day as a family doing yard work and cleaning house.  For the most part, Dad and the two oldest kids worked outside, and Mom and the 2 younger ones cleaned inside.  When we left for the lake later that day, our house looked sparkling clean, and our ranch looked great. It was overdue for a good cutting.

.

.

We spent the weekend at the lakehouse.  We attended a special event that I took tons of pictures - I am working on posting and putting a blog together.  Coming soon!

.

.

When we got home Sunday night, I picked bowls of raspberries.  They tasted great on my blueberry granola cereal I had this morning.  I added peaches and poured on raw goat milk (from my daughter's goat farm.)  Delicious!

.

Monday we had a terrific school day.  If you have been following my blog for sometime, than you know that I love Monday's!  I even have a special file on my side-bar labeled, 'Mondays'.  It's a day that I spend time at home and plan no outside activities.  I run no errands.  I spend a lot of time teaching and reading with my kids. 

.

.

The kids picked 3 bags of apples behind the crib barn.  Well, they didn't exactly "pick."  I told them to just get the ones off the ground.  The ones we wouldn't eat go to the horses and the chickens, and the ones that still look great, go to us.  I have a big bag of good apples waiting for me to do something with them. 

I tried a new recipe and everyone loved it.  It's definitley something I'll repeat very soon.

.

.

Chicken and Rice

I had a huge chicken breast in my freezer (already cooked and ready to go.)  Perhaps it was from my roosters a year ago?  I cut up the meat - this huge breast gave me 4 cups of white chicken meat.  2 cups went into this recipe, and 2 cups went back into the freezer for next Monday night when I make this again.

I put some brown rice in the steamer in the afternoon.  3 cups went into this recipe, the other 3 cups went into the refrigerator for another meal this week.

To the rice and chicken, I added:

1 cup of sour cream

1 onion

1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 can of Cream of Chicken Mushroom Soup

I stirred all of this together, and put it into a greased pyrex dish.  I sprinkled on top Durkee French Fried Onion Rings.  I baked it for 45 minutes at 350. 

This recipe was a hit.  Everyone loved it, even dad and the boys - the litmus test of a good recipe!

.

.

.

Today, we had a good morning in school; the ferrier came and trimmed our horses hooves; we had a terrific lunch of fresh garden cucumbers, (from my brother's garden); tomatoes (from our ferrier's garden); Hickory bacon from the Amish.  My mom arrived in time for lunch (she comes Tuesday through Thursday every week to help me with homeschool.)

In the afternoon, I had biology class with Rachel; took a mini nap on the couch; exercised; got the green beans (from Margie's garden) trimmed and cleaned (with lots of Rachel's help); and got cleaned up before dh arrived home.

Now, it's time for dinner. I've had beef stew simmering all day so there was no time involved in making supper (I prepared it yesterday when I made the chicken and rice.) 

.

This picture was taken (this past weekend) at a favorite little dinky restaurant that we go to on the weekends when were at the lake.  They serve the best "Huckleberry Pancakes."

.

We have a very spontaneous family - mostly because we have a very spontaneous daddy! After dinner, Bob  asked Grandma if she'd like to go for ice cream.  She started to say, 'no', but, the children  altered her answer very quickly knowing what dad might be up to.  When she answered in the affirmative (with the help of her grandchildren prompting her on), we all jumped in the car, and off we went for ice cream. 

I think this is the quickest a picture has ever gone from my camera to my pc to photobucket and then to my blog.  This pic  was just taken a few hours ago.

It’s been busy around here since posting last. After our trip to the b&b, we have:

Had my husband’s parents over to our home for a two day/one night visit.  They stayed in the missionary apartment that is presently vacant.  It was a wonderful having them here.  We had several family meals with them that included Matt & Kristi, and my niece, Jennifer.

That was Tuesday and Wednesday (of last week) and then on Friday, we travelled to Indy again for a business luncheon.  When we got home later that day, we packed up and went to the lake for the holiday weekend.

On Sunday, the Vales joined us for a two day stay.  In the evening, two other couples joined us for dinner.  On Monday, Labor Day, we spent the entire day out on the lake boating and taking the kids tubing.  My kids and dh said that this was the best weekend they’d enjoyed of the entire summer.  What a great way to end the season.

We didn’t come home from the lake until Tuesday afternoon, so we started school on Wednesday morning.  It feels nice to be getting back into our routines.  I’m enjoying some of the new books that I got for this school year.

Thursday was our 33^rd wedding anniversary.  We were going do something kind of special, but dh’s day at work didn’t go as planned (he was to get off early) and we didn’t carry through with our planned activity in which to celebrate.  Instead, I spent some nice time on the telephone with my oldest daughter, Becky; fixed a good dinner for the family; and had a nice time just enjoying our family at the dinner table.  The Vales dropped by about 8:30 p.m. and brought us a beautiful cake, trimmed in baby blue (the colors of our wedding, although they didn’t know that) roses, with the words written on it, Happy Anniversary.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a prettier cake. 

I still haven’t finished telling you about our vacation - Biltmore Estate; our visit to my blogger friend Ruth; and a drop by visit to the Creation Museum bookstore.  I have more things to write about than I have time.

It’s been busy since unpacking our suitcases from our two week family vacation.  Every day has had a list of priorities to be accomplished.  When my husband told me that we needed to take a “quick” trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (an 8 hour drive) for a business appointment, I can’t say that this was one of the top ten things I wanted to do. 

 .

We were supposed to leave early Thursday afternoon, but instead, we weren’t on the road until after 8:00 p.m.  There’s nothing like starting a long trip when it’s almost time to go to bed!  My husband was more tired than I was – so I volunteered to drive.  The roads were clear and it was easy driving until about 2:00 a.m.  Then it began to downpour rain, we were in the mountains, and there was construction going on.  This is where I decided that my time to drive had expired, and Bob took over the remaining 100 miles.  When we arrived in Pittsburgh, we found a hotel and crashed for a few hours.

The business appointment/lunch went well and by 6:00 p.m. it was time to head back home.  We decided to take the scenic route through Ohio this time.  It was around 9:00 p.m. and we decided we’d better get a good night sleep.  While my husband went into check on a hotel accommodation, I got busy on our GPS system.  When it is just the two of us on a trip, I like to stay at a bed and breakfast.  This is something you generally cannot do when the children are with us.  I like the adventure of visiting a personable home, rather than a hotel chain; we both like getting to know new people in this way; and I love seeing different homes.  Bed and Breakfasts almost always have such charm and ambience, not to mention the awesome breakfast that is generally served.

The chances of finding a bed and breakfast at 9:00 p.m. at night, was remote.  First of all, without a previous reservation, a bed and breakfast is a personal home – even if they had a vacancy on a Friday night, the possibility of one admitting us with this last moment’s notice was not very great. Yet, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

On the GPS system, I found one B & B listed, “Cider Mill Bed and Breakfast.”   I called the number right away (Bob was still in the hotel lobby checking out rates and available accommodations.)  Knowing this was a far-out possibility and even risking the incredulity of a B&B homeowner asking for this last moment arrival, I asked anyways.  “Do you have an opening for tonight?”

“Tonight?”  I heard the proprietor ask, with a hint of astonishment.

“Yes, tonight. I am in the area and I could be there within the half hour.”

Silence, and then a giggle.  “O.k., sure, come on over, we’ll take you.” 

When Bob got back into the car with the information he had been seeking, I told him I had reservations for us at a bed and breakfast.  Although he was a bit surprised (an understatement, as when he went into the lobby of the hotel, I hadn’t even hinted that I would be trying to find a b&b) we headed over to Zoar, Ohio.

Have you ever been to Zoar, Ohio?  Well, if not, put it on your lists of places you need to see.  This entire geographical area of Ohio is beautiful.  Rolling hills, pastures, farms, and a heavy Amish area, this is a place to visit if one desires serenity and beauty.

We arrived at the Old Cider Mill at 10:00 p.m.  The old mill  was built in the mid 1800’s and had once been a real cider mill, before being renovated into the beautiful b&b that now inhabits it.

.

 This b&b home defines the word, "Ambience."

.

When we stepped inside, we were greeted with the warmth of old friends by the proprietors, Pat and Sandy Reagan.  We stood in the doorway chatting and getting to know each other.   (When was the last time you had a hotel greet you like this upon your arrival late at night?)  After talking for almost an hour inside the doorway, Pat and Sandy invited us to get situated in our rooms and then to come back down and visit some more.

 Follow the winding staircase up to the third floor of the old mill to find your charming bedroom awaiting you. Or you can go downstairs to Sandy's adorable gift shop filled with antiques and novelty items.

.

After putting our suitcase in our room we came back down and sat on the comfortable wicker furniture in the outdoor screened-in porch.  It was raining heavy outside – the breeze felt so nice.  It was enjoyable sitting on the porch getting to know our new friends. Bob talked comfortably with Pat, while I chatted with our beautiful hostess, Sandy.  All of the sudden, I heard the men get a little quiet, and when our conversation lulled, I seen that Pat was waiting to ask me a question.

.

.

 Isn't this one of the coolest hallways you've ever seen? 

.

.

.

“So Bob tells me that you get up early every morning to pray and to read the Bible?”

After I answered in the affirmative, Bob mentioned that my mornings are sacred and humorously added that I get irritated if he gets up too early and disturbs this quiet time (I confess, it’s true.) 

“Well, you see, I need this quiet time with the Lord in the morning to restore my soul and spirit.  I need this especially, because I home school my children. I do not send them on a bus to go to school for the day; but rather, we are together from morning until evening.  If I don’t get my quiet time with the Lord, after a few days of this, I begin to wear down.”

I had already learned that Pat and Sandy were professional educators, and I surmised that the home school concept may take them by surprise (as it often does for almost everyone that I meet for the first time!)   The subject of home school then became the focus of our conversation.  They were both very curious about this, given that their own occupations were in education.  Pat is a university professor, and Sandy is a “Literate Specialist”.  This evening began to seem Providential.  I had been wanting to get input and perhaps a program to increase reading fluency for one of my children that struggles.

We didn’t finishing talking until almost 1:00 a.m.! 

.

 I took this picture after we had slept in it - I couldn't get it back into the perfect bedding form when I first climbed into it.  Sandy does everything perfect in this house - including ironing the 100% cotton sheet to make the sheets feel crisp.

.

.

When we retired into our bedroom on the third floor of the old cider mill, as I turned off the lights and climbed into our King size bed, I couldn’t help but think about the novelty and uniqueness of a bed and breakfast such as this one; A home that is filled with warmth; a comfortable bed to sleep in; and new friends that have received us into their beautiful home.  Pat and Sandy truly have the gift of hospitality.   They had explained to us throughout the evening, that this B&B is a labor of love.  They don’t do this for the profit of money, but rather they enjoy sharing their home, and even if they did not receive the exchange of monetary value, they would still want to do it.  Pat said, “It is just a bonus that our guests pay us for our hospitality.”

.

.

 I love the angles of this home.  This led to the bathroom that had a clawfoot tub.

,

In the morning, we sat around the breakfast table, again exchanging conversation and getting to know our new friends.  Sandy is a gourmet cook (even offering cooking classes in her b&b) and had made us an awesome breakfast of stuffed French toast smothered with fresh fruit, bacon, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a pot of hot coffee.  We talked for another couple of hours over breakfast.  When we finally departed from their home, I think we were mutually enriched.  The Old Cider Mill B&B is not one that I will ever likely forget and will always remember with great fondness.

We spent this day perusing the area.  This area in Ohio is beautiful (It is off I-80, northeast.) Sugarcreek, Walnut Hill, Millersburg, and Zoar (my favorite of all of them) are filled with quaint gift shops, historical homes, and a taste of yesteryear when life was simpler.

The next time you desire to get away on a romantic trip with your husband – head for Zoar, Ohio.  Stay at the Old Cider Mill - and be greeted with the warmth of old friends receiving you as the honored guest of their home.

  On our way traveling from Charlotte, N.C. to Ashville, we stopped at Cowpens Battlefield. This is where a historic battle took place during the Revolutionary War on January 17, 1781. 

. 

Dad just loves stuff like this.  He's a history lover, and knows every battle in every war, it seems.  

.

 The kids posed for me to take pictures at historical markers.

At each marker, Dad gave a little history lesson.  There were no tests at the end of the tour, though.

If everyone in the picture does not look perky and happy, it is because this was a hot and humid day.  We were all miserable because of it!

.

The historical narrations gave us a lot of information, but I don't think dh needed it.

Now, here is where mom gets interested!   (Strategic battles, yawn.....)

This is a cabin that presides on Cowpens Battlefield.  I thought this was adorable, and read all the history about the family that dwelled here.  Dad skipped this part - he sat in the car. 

Eleven children lived under this roof! 

We arrived home from our trip late Thursday night.  The following day was spent unpacking, doing laundry, sweeping and mopping the floors, and preparing for the Sabbath. 

We do not start school until after Labor Day, as our custom has always been since beginning to homeschool in the year of 1992.  I spend these last two weeks of summer in preparation of the coming school year. 

My preparation first starts with a “school” that is ready-to-go. To this, I mean the school building, our home.  I had told myself that before school officially starts, I would get our weak areas in the home strengthened.  For us, our bedrooms are our weakest point.  They are small, the closets are small, and there never seems to be enough space to put everything.  

.

 We made a small dent in this goal on this day.  Friday is our routine cleaning day, and since we had not been home for two weeks, and we had cleaned before we left, we were able to spend this day tidying up the weaker areas in our home.  The goal for next week is to come up with a better plan for the bedrooms.

 During our two weeks on the road, I was unable to have my personal one-on-one time with Him in prayer, and this is what I have been enjoying the most since I’ve been home – my early morning time with Him spent in prayer and Bible reading. 

I am reading in the book of Isaiah – it’s taking me a while to finish this book.  There is so much richness to it that I cannot just fly through it.  I like to look up verses in my Matthew Henry commentary, or look up Hebrew root meanings to various words.  Another thing that I especially like to do when reading the Bible is to keep a notebook journal by my side to record verses that are significant and seem to personally speak to me.  By writing them out it gives another layer of understanding and depth to my reading of the Scripture.  These are verses that I wrote out this morning from the book of Isaiah, chapter 46 –49:

“  .

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

All of you who remain of the house of Israel,

You whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth,

Event o your old age and gray hairs.

I am He,

I am He who will sustain you.

I have made you

And I will carry you.

I will sustain you

And I will rescue you.

.

To whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

Some pour out gold from their bags

And weigh out silver on the scales…

Though one cries out to it

It does not answer

It cannot save him from his troubles. 

Remember this

Fix it in mind

Take it to heart…

Remember the former thing

Those of long ago.

I am God and there is no other.

I am God and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning

From ancient times, what is still to come.

I say: My purpose will stand

And I will do all that I please.

From the east I summon a bird of prey;

From a far off land,

A man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said,

That will
I bring about:

What I have planned

That Will I do.

This is what the Lord says,

Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

I am the Lord your God

Who teaches you what is best for you.

Who directs you in the way you should go.

If only you would have paid attention

To my commands

Your peace would have been like a river.

Before I was born the Lord called me

From my birth.

He has made mention of my name,

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword

In the shadow of His hand He hid me.

He made me into a polished arrow

And conceived me in His quiver.

This McDonald's is in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The inside of this restaurant is as impressive as the outside.  The ceiling is in that old fashioned tin; there is a spiral staircase going up to the 2nd level; and there is a grand piano on the first floor. 

 Our destination was Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend an Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP).  We had a reservation for a suite to accomodate all seven of us.  We thought that on the way to NC we would stop over in Booneville, Kentucky, to visit Pastor Keith and Amy, and some of our campers.  We figured that we could just "wing this" and find a place to stay when we got there.  This did not turn out to be as simple as we had thought.

.

.

When we arrived in the vicinity of Booneville, it was a real challenge trying to figure out where we would stay.  Some economical hotels had rooms that smelled strongly of smoke.  Then we checked out the cabins, as this was in the Cumberland State Park area.  This resulted in a lot of humor for some of us.  The first cabin we checked out was beautiful - but it was on a mountain and dh didn't like climbing mountains in a mini-van.

.

.

The second cabin we checked out was situated at the end of a lonely cul-de-sac. It looked isolated, and relatively abandoned.  It looked totally unappealing.

.

.

Finally, before the day was entirely spent trying to find a place to stay, we came upon this adorable little house that a bed and breakfast rented out.  I thought this house was cute, charming, and gave us lots of room to spread out. The proprieter only charged us $80.00 for this three bedroom bungalow!

.

 This is the dirt road we drove to get up to the house.

 We have taken many vacations touring through the hills of Kentucky, and I always loved looking at the charming little homes that would dot the country side.  I thought it was really neat to be actually staying in one now!

Some of the campers joined us and spent the night with Rachel.  They had a lot of fun!

 The morning view was so pretty as we looked down from our porch in the light fog.

This is a picture of the kids getting ready to go into the old church building, nestled in the valley of the Cumberland mountains.

We stopped at a restaurant to eat breakfast on the way out of Kentucky.  I couldn't help but take a picture of the sign of this restaurant called, Buckaroos.

This vehicle holds everything but the kitchen sink.  We have suitcases packes for two weeks of travelling for seven people; a cooler; and a guitar. 

.

.

So far, we have travelled to Booneseville, Kentucky (and had a blast); to Charlotte, North Carolina for a semina (learned a lot); and today, we are in Ashville, North Carolina.  We are going to see the Biltmore Castle.  My husband and I took our older two children when they were young to see this beautiful castle, but our younger four have never been here before.  I am looking forward to showing them this beautiful castle. 

.

.

And guess where were going after this?  To meet a friend that I met through this homeschool blog - Ruth . She lives in the Tennessee mountains.  My family considers this destination as the highlight of our trip.  "When are we going to get there, Mom?"  is a question that I keep getting asked.  I can't wait either!

This is a picture of yesterday when we visited Cowpens Battlefield.  Dad's a history buff - he gave a narrative throughout our walk around the battlefield.

I write to you from a hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina.  While I write, dad and kids are watching a movie, eating a pizza, and drinking coke.  This is what we do every Friday night, whether at home, or in a hotel room.

This wasn’t a planned vacation.  It wasn’t exactly a good time, given the economy.  Yet, my husband and I realized half way into this summer that we had never taken our two middle children to the IBLP seminars that our older two had attended.  Rachel will be 18 next January, and time was disappearing over the horizon to see that this happened.  When I looked at the IBLP seminar dates, the ones located close by were past.  We decided to make it a priority, and wing it.  So here we are, in North Carolina, attending a seminar for a “vacation.”

Topics covered are:

Tearing Down the Strongholds of Bitterness

How To Conquer Fear and Worry

Transforming Irritations

Removing the Cause of Anger

The Principle of Success – Discovering True Purpose in Life

The Purpose of a Life

Insights Into Finding God’s Will

How to Overcome the Power of Sin

If you ever get an opportunity to attend an IBLP seminar, do so.  You will never regret it.  Your children will never forget it. 

The word “stronghold” is something that is used in Scripture.  I have seen this word used by Christian authors, and during the past few months have become more and more aware of just what this word means.

A “stronghold” is a false pattern of thinking. When we go to bed angry, we give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26, 27) by establishing a stronghold in our mind. This will cause us to make decisions that are contrary to God’s will.

“When Satan constructs a line of reasoning in our minds that is contrary to Scripture, he then influences our wills to make wrong decisions.”  ~ Bill Gothard~

There is good news.  Although we have violated Scripture in the past and have gone to bed angry.  Strongholds CAN be pulled down.

We have been given weapons that are “….mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (II Corinthians 10:4).  “These weapons of truth are designed to cast down every false philosophy and every deceptive imagination and bring every thought into line with the truth of Christ’s teaching.” ~B.G.

If you have ever gone to bed angry, His Word tells us that we have given “place” to Satan – he has taken ground in our life. We must take back this ground:

1.                         Confess the sin of bitterness.

2.                    Ask God to regain surrendered ground.

3.                         Tear down strongholds with truth.  We are to build up “towers of truth” by reading,            memorizing, and meditating on Scripture.

4.                       Show mercy by forgiving your offender.  “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”  (Ephesians 4:31-32)

 I wrote in the previous post that the Institute of Basic Life Principles has something for every season of life.  And although I have attended these seminars a multitude of times, I am hearing some things as if for the very first time.  

One of the most fascinating things I learned last night was about anger/forgiveness. There is a verse in the Bible that says to not let your anger go down with the sunset (go to bed angry and to not forgive someone before going to sleep) because if you do not, you will give place to the devil.  Bill Gothard explained this verse in a way that I have never understood before.

If you have ever gone to bed angry with someone, then “forgiving them” is not enough.  What happens when we violate the Scripture of letting the sun go down upon our wrath is that Satan is given a foothold into our life and a “stronghold” takes place.  A stronghold is something that we begin to believe that is contrary to Scripture. In other words, we begin to believe a lie.  We do not even realize that this has happened, even if that morning, after having opened our Bible to have devotions, Satan has taken a territory in our mind because we have violated the Scripture of going to bed angry.

Bill Gothard has this grid he shows in the workbook we received the first night.  This grid represents our mind/ soul.  Every time we went to bed angry, thus violating the Scripture, Satan took a footing in one of those representative grids in our mind.  It is in this we begin to have a mind-set and conclusion about something that is contrary to Scripture.

Although I have read my Bible, prayed, and not strayed from Him for decades, I can look back and see times in my life where my thinking was not right.  I can remember things that I did that were not glorifying to God.  I can recall choices that I made that were not ones to be proud of.  I made decisions that I would teach my children to do otherwise.  How could one daily read the Bible and pray, and not walk in the Light for every decision ever made in the past?

This is the answer to that question.  There have been many times in my lifetime that I have violated this Scripture verse of not going to bed angry.  It is during those times that I gave a foothold to Satan in my mind and it is from there I have not always made the right decisions and choices nor had the right priorities and goals.  Although I had gone on in life with the unresolved conflict, “forgiven” the one I believed had given the occasion to the offense, kept on reading the Bible and praying, a serious error had occurred in my life because of this violation.

Steps of Action as listed by Bill Gothard:

1.     1.       Confess the sin of bitterness (Hebrews 12:15; I John 1:9

It is here that we close our eyes in prayer and ask God to bring to our mind the occasions that have happened in the past that have deep rooted bitterness within us.  He will bring to our mind, if we ask Him, to recall those situations that are deep rooted within us, although we may have not consciously thought of them for a very long time.

2.    2.    Ask God to regain surrendered ground – Psalm 23:3

The footholds that Satan took when we violated the Scripture of going to bed angry, we pray to God that He will take back this surrendered ground.  It is through the blood of Jesus Christ,  applied to our bitterness in this area that will give restoration and freedom from the strongholds that Satan has taken.   

I loved this explanation. I have always thought in “word pictures” and this grid of the mind helped me to see what has happened in my life. 

3.    3.  Tear down strongholds with truth – II Corinthians 10:4-5 (Search out Scripture daily to apply to your life situations and beliefs.)

4.    4.   Show mercy by forgiving your offender – Matthew 6:14-15

Be ye angry, and sin not:

 let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

Ephesians 4:26

Our family is attending a seminar this week called, Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP), in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I attended these seminars multiple times as a young girl.  My father was a pastor and each year he would take a group of people in his church to this seminar, and I would tag along.  At that time, these seminars were held in the big McCormick Center on Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois.

When my oldest two children, Becky and Matthew, were around 12 and 13 years of age, I took them to attend a week long seminar, also.  They both have good memories from this.  I think that these seminars made a difference at this critical age. 

I’ve always been meaning to get around to taking my next two teenagers to these seminars, as I view them as an integral part of their education of real life principals, contrasted to knowledge that is gained from text books.  This past summer, a month ago to be exact, all of the sudden, I realized, my third born is one year away from graduating, and my “meaning to get around to it” hasn’t gotten me there yet. 

I went on the internet and found that the IBLP seminars are only hosted during a brief time in the year around the country.  Mostly, they are held in the summer. When I looked at the schedule, I realized that I had already missed the seminar that was closest in location to me.

I talked to my husband, and although this was not an ideal time to take a trip, we chose the North Carolina seminar that is during August 10^th – 17.   So here we are.

So far, we have had a lovely trip. We stopped in Boonville, Kentucky, on the way down, to visit some of our campers and Pastor Keith Murray and his wife, Amy. 

There is something interesting about the IBLP.  There is something for everyone, no matter what season one is in life.  I got things out of this when I was a teenager that I have never forgotten.  I have taught many of these principles that I learned back then, throughout the years to all of my children.  Now, I am in a different season of life, and although I have attended the same seminar a multitude of times, I am still learning.  I am looking forward this week to share with you some of these things.

Tonight's Show and Tell is a conclusion to the series of posts I have had on one of our church ministries,  Camp Ranch Shekinah.

.

.

The vision for a camp here at Ranch Shekinah began over a decade ago.  But similar to when God told Noah to build an ark, it took a while to see the end result. 

 .

 Although we had the land and the facility to build our "ark", we lacked someone to navigate the way.  Like Noah, we told everyone that we were going to have a camp, year after year, but it never happened.  We didn't have the know-how to do this, and although we had a strong desire, we lacked the ability to put a camp together.

 . 

 This all changed a year ago. 

.

An old friend of ours that we hadn't seen in a long time, Curt Swank, dropped by our home.  He had some friends that were missionaries to Romania coming to the U.S. on furlough. They would be on an extended stay, and were desiring a place of their own to stay, in contrast to their previous custom of staying with family members or supporting church families.

.

.

Curt knew our church had a big pole building that had shelled out a future kitchen and apartment.  As we walked through the building, it looked just like it had the last time he was here, years ago - except - now the the rooms were filled with junk.  It had become a storage room.  Wall to wall, it was filled with stuff.  Curt told me he didn't think it would work.

.

.

When Robert and Jodi arrived in the U.S., Curt brought them by anyways.  They walked through the room that we once used for our company office, and the shell of the kitchen (no drywall, no lights, no plumbing, nothing.) 

.

"This is great!" Robert and Jodi said enthusiastically.  

 .

 Robert and Jodi were used to living in circumstances such as this - having spent considerable time in a country such as Romania.  They would move into an apartment with similar conditions, and when Robert finished fixing it up with working plumbing and electricity, the land lord would evict them so the rent could be raised to the next tenant.  This happened to them a multitude of times.

 .

 They moved in, and the shell of a kitchen began to transform into a big, beautiful kitchen.  Robert, with his son William, drywalled, put a drop ceiling in, wired the electric (Robert was an electrician by trade before becoming a missionary), put plumbing in, and installed cabinetry  (our church provided the material needed for all of this). They also partitioned the "office" and made it into an apartment, complete with a bedroom, a living room, and a full bath.  In addition to all of this, they  transformed  a previous storage room into another apartment.

..

They were thankful to have a place of their own to live, and we were blessed at the same time.

 It turned out that Robert and Jodi's ministry in Romania is having youth camps for Gypsie children.  God had sent us a Camp Director in His timing, and in His way.  We seen this as straight from the hand of God to us.

 . 

 The children came from Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky.  The cost was $0.00, as our church sponsored each camper.

We rented port-a-potties, and some portable hand-washing stations. 

As we don't have all the sleeping accomodations we plan for yet,  the campers lodged in the old cobblestone barn, the crib barn, and the small cabin by the lake.

.

In addition to Robert and Jodi, we had a special speaker, Keith Murray, a pastor from Booneville, Kentucky. 

 . ,

I could not conclude these camp posts without mentioning Mike Vale and his family.  God sent them to us, in the same way that He did the Frye family. They came to Ranch Shekinah every single day for weeks and weeks, prior to camp, to help in the prepartion of the grounds.  They built our outdoor chapel by the lake from timber found on the property; fought mosquitoes to build a long bridge over to the island; built outdoor showers; and helped in every area of the entire camp. Only God could have placed it in their heart to contribute in the huge way that they did.   

Everything we could have hoped for, happened.  There was morning and evening chapel; boat and bicycle races; tug of war; a "swim" in the mud; crafts, and a day-trip to the dunes at Lake Michigan.

Robert and Jodi, with their two children, William and Randy, have now gone back to Romania.  Although were seperated by an ocean, we are close to them through prayer.  

.

.

Take a minute and scroll down the below posts and look at our camp pictures.  I think you will see that although this was no "fancy camp," the kids had a lot of fun just the same. 

.

 Maybe you'd like to join us next year?

Now, this is the most important piece of paper for the entire week of camp (or to me, at least.)  I love this chart.  Jodi formatted this with Rachel's imput, and I am totally impressed.  Every night, I would look at this chart and see what I would have to prepare for the morning.  After breakfast, I'd look at it again, and see what would have to be done for lunch time.  And then I'd do the same thing after lunch for dinner.  It was "my brain" for the week. 

This made the week so easy regarding the food, that I've decided that this coming fall I'm going to implement this chart for our family on a week to week basis.  I'm looking forward to this!

 . 

This is a pass-through to the kitchen.  It worked out wonderful when it was meal time.

 I don't know what I would have done without Margie.  She helped with grocery shopping the week before; organized the kitchen; helped get the tables ready for every meal; made sure the coolers were full with lemonade, water, and tea.  Margie was indespensible! 

 Although this camp may seem that it sprung out of no-where, it has actually been a vision of our church for over a decade.  The kitchen was nothing but a shell of a room six months prior to this, but the pass-through opening has always been there since the building was designed.  It was Robert Frye that put together the door on the pass-through that allows us to open and close it when the kitchen is closed.  At course, this door was nothing compared to the entire kitchen that Robert finished out! Dry-wall, electrical, plumbing, everything.  It turned out beautiful. (I hope to post more pictures of the kitchen so check back.)

The girls all surrounded me one morning and thanked me for cooking.  It's nice to be appreciated!

 On the first full day of camp, the girls took a plain journal notebook, sprayed it with glue, and then covered it with sand and sea shells.  This was a perfect little book for the week to take notes in chapel, journal about their week at camp, or just get each others email and facebook address. It made a nice memento for this week of camp.  It also tied in well with the day that they would spend at Lake Michigan.

.

.

The campers were told to bring a plain white t-shirt with them to camp, along with their Bible, pen, flashlight, sleeping bag, and pillow.  They tie-dyed this shirt during their craft time.  (You can see how beautiful these t-shirts turned out by looking at the picture on the top of this post.)

 ..

.

. 

.

This craft class was led by Marah Vale and I think she did a terrific job!

 The last night of camp, the kids took a journey through Ranch Shekinah.   

As they journeyed they came across sign posts and they were to choose which path to follow.

 .

.

 .Along these paths they would come across different individuals that had lost their way;  A man standing beside what seemed to be a broken down car; a couple dressed in tattered clothes that had been traveling for several years and had lost their way, and a drunkard. The campers, being led by their counselors, were to show these lost individuals The Way.

.

  .

 .

.

 .

.

 ..

. 

.

All over the ranch, in the darkness, you could hear the kids. Sometimes you would hear their voices coming from down by the willow pond; other times you would hear their voices across the alfalfa field. They were in seperate groups so it seemed as if their  werevoices coming from all around the ranch. All you could see was the campfire burning on the island.

.

The campers finally travelled by the island of the lake - the island had a campfire burning, and this evening it was to represent Hell.  A man dressed up in red (representing satan) stood at the bridge to the island trying to persuade the travellers to cross the bridge into hell where there were already people supposedly "having a party."  Thankfully, they did not cross that bridge, but rather, travelled a little bit further, coming to the fountain of life of the lake.  It is here that they found safety and security in their destination.

 After breakfast each morning, the kids would go to chapel - outside, by the lake.  We'd sing songs, listen to a talk by Robert Frye, and sometimes have a skit with a spiritual meaning.

 If you look really close at the box that Rachel has a foot in, you will see the word, "Sin" printed on it in large letters.  The story line opens up when a Billy gives Rachel this box to watch as he needs to go somewhere for a while.  He tells her to watch it for him, but gives strict instructions to not touch it. Predictably, just as soon as he leaves her with the box, curiosity gets the best of her, she begins to inspect it, and eventually puts her foot in it.

.

Not surprisingly, she cannot get her foot out of this box called 'Sin' once in it.  She tries and tries, but  it is to no avail. She is trapped in Sin.

.

 A woman walks by and Rachel cries out to her for help to get out of this bad situation.  The woman tells her that if only she would meditate and chant, Rachel could get out. 

It didn't work.  Rachel was still trapped.

.

Ashley suggested that Rachel try music to forget about her situation and eventually she'd be able to get out.

 A couple walked by and again, Rachel cried out for help.  They told her that "relationships" would help her. 

.

 Tiaranny came swaggering by with a bottle wrapped in a brown bag.  A drink would provide all the answers, she told her.

When Jodi came by, she was counting a fistful of dollar bills, not paying any attention to what was going on around her.  Rachel cried out for help, and Jodi took a moment from counting her cash to offer some help.   "All you need is money.  It will help you out of anything."  But Rachel's foot was still firmly  stuck in sin.

.

.

The skit concluded when Billy came back to retrieve his box and found Rachel stuck in sin.  She explained to him that curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she had gotten stuck.  She cried out for help from many, and none of their answers helped her.  At this, Billy responded to Rachel that the only way to be freed from sin is through Jesus Christ.  And unlike meditation, drinking, relationships, or money, asking Christ to be her personal Saviour set her free.

 Every night after dinner, it was time for skits that the campers created and performed.

They were all pretty cute and funny, but this one was had everyone in stiches.

 Rachel's group gave a "cooking show."  They wore aprons and on the table had assorted ingredients.

The recipe that they were to present this night was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

 Now this was no ordinary peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  This was a certified "organic" peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

They spread the peanut butter on the bread, and then began to add their "organic" ingredients - grass, some dried hay, and.....

some worms they dug up by the pond.

 Yep, that's right. Worms.  I seen it myself, or I might not have believed it.  There are worms in each and every sandwich that you see the kids eating above. 

Now, for some reactions from the audience....

.

Would anyone like an "Organic"  Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich from Ranch Shekinah?

 Some of our campers had never been outside of the state of Kentucky.  We scheduled a day at the dunes on Lake Michigan so they would have the opportunity to see a body of water larger than they'd ever seen.  They were totally impressed!

Just as soon as the Tug of War concluded, the campers got the grand idea of dragging each other into the lilly pond.  I don't think our horses have had this much excitement since coming here to Ranch Shekinah.

.

The campers even dragged the Camp Director, Mr. Frye into the mud.

Looks like Joshua is about to get it, too!

. 

I think they had fun!

We joined the horses in their pasture down by the lilly pond to have a game of Tug of War.

This was the winning team.....

 . 

 Camp Ranch Shekinah

I was the kitchen cook for the week, but on Wednesday, I had the night off.  This was the night of the cook-off for the kids. The girls were divided into two groups and given random ingredients to make supper.  What ever they made would be given to a panel of judges to decide who had made the best entree.   There were two rules, though.  Rule One -use a little bit of every ingredient your given. Rule Two - what ever you make for the judges is your own supper for the evening.

.

.

 ..

These are the ingredients they were given to cook dinner with:

 Ramon Noodles

Gerber's Plum Baby Food

Mild El Paso Enchilada Sauce

4 Pepperocini's

4 Piece Pack of Gum

Jolly Rancher Blueberry Sauce

Can of Sausage

Jiffy Peanut Butter

Honey Mustard

Hamburger Meat

Captain Crunch

Hersey's Chocolate Bar

 .

.The Girls Make a Plan

.

 .

.

 .

.

 ....

.

.

 .

 .

.

 .

.Right about now, are you wishing you had been invited to dinner?

.

.

Is Rachel looking for cooking advice from Grandma?

.

I'm guessing that Grandma has never made a meal with these ingredients!

.

.

 The Panel of Judges

.

 .

.

.

 The judges were told to fill out a form to evaluate between the two team's dinner.

Some of the Categories Were:

Most Tasty

Most Colorful

Most Disgusting

 ..

Just so you can appreciate what Keith is going through here in this picture, I have included a close-up picture of the meal set before him to eat. 

.

.

 .

Do you think Bob is really going to eat it?

.

 How about Robert? 

.

.

Miguel sure is a good sport.  He's our neighbor and we lured him into this panel of judges.

.

I'm guessing that Miguel had a hard time deciding which team won the "Most Disgusting" title.

************

.

I'm missing one picture  to conclude this post.

Remember Rule #2?

The campers had to eat whatever they prepared for the judges.

Now, that's a picture that would have been priceless.

I have just got a new book in the mail and I am so excited about it that I feel compelled to write about it before even finishing it.

.

.

How many times have you heard people say that they have a hard time understanding the Bible? It seems that I have heard this countless times.

.

.

Personally, I was raised in a Christian home.  My father was a Baptist minister.  I attended church three times a week.  I went to Sunday School every Sunday of my entire childhood. I attended Vacation Bible School every summer.  I was part of an Awana club that memorizes Scripture until I was too old to attend.  I went to a Christian highschool that I attended chapel every single day. I tell you all of that to tell you that I have never had the Bible explained to me in the way that this book does. 

.

.

I have read the Bible for myself on a consistent daily basis for over 30 years.  I have read  countless books about the Bible.  I have heard hundreds of sermons about the Bible.  But never have I had the Bible explained so clearly as this book.

.

Do you struggle with understanding the Bible?  Then get this book, RIGHT NOW!

My son and daughter-in-law left a large bag of vegetables from their garden on my porch this week.  There was this really big yellow summer squash among the veggies.  My mom was here and I was trying to figure out just what it is that she'd like (she can't eat meat), and I thought of this yellow squash.  I was in a hurry, but I went online and google searched, "zucchini casserole," and within minutes, the first recipe I looked at was this:

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

3 large zucchini (cubed with peel on) 1 large onion, peeled and chopped 16 oz. shredded cheese 1 can cream of celery soup 2 eggs (beaten) 2 tablespoons mayonaise 2 tablespoons sugar 3 cups bread crumbs 1 stick margerine, melted   Cook zucchini and onion in enough salted water to cover, just until slightly tender. Drain and add next 5 ingredients and mix well. Pour 1/2 into 15 X 11 X 2 casserole. Stir margerine into bread crumbs and sprinkle 1/2 on first layer of zucchini mixture. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

I had all of the ingredients, it looked easy, so I tried it.  Within an hour, this casserole was done, and everyone loves it.  Rachel calls it "addicting."  Grandma loved it.  I love it.  The only improvision I did was use one summer squash instead of three zucchinis, I used butter instead of margerine, and I had pre-packaged breadcrumbs on my shelf that had italian seasonings in them.

Do you have a lot of zucchini/summer squash?  Try this recipe - it's good!

Monday

There was a lot to catch up on, as camp had eaten up the entire previous week.  And although I made an elaborate to-do list, I hardly touched what was on there.  I did pull some weeds from my picket fence flower garden, and pruned the flowers, too.  My vegetable garden is doing t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e.  I will try to redeem it, but if not, I will do better next year.  I keep telling myself that this is a good learning experience.

I did do something I’ve been wanting to do – it’s the time of year that the wild blackberries/raspberries are all coming into season.  I’ve had some years that we were so busy that I didn’t take advantage of this and go picking, so this was high on my priority list to get done.  One can always clean the house on any given day, but the berries in the forest will only be there for a short time, not returning again until next summer.

I like to go berry picking because it reminds me of when I was young when I would go to Pennsylvania with my parents to visit our relatives.  I had one aunt that lived in the country on a mountain - well, I had lots of aunts with this description – but this was the one that had berries in the woods by her house that we could go pick. As a Chicago girl, I was impressed with the fact that one could just go outside and pick berries, instead of going to the store to buy them.  And it was kind of like a treasure hunt, too - trying to find the berries in the woods was all part of the fun.  I have pleasant memories of doing this with my mom.

When we first moved here a decade ago, the forest was so dense that we were unaware of our own hidden treasures.  It wasn’t until we started making trails through the woods that we discovered our own gold berry mine.  Wild black raspberries are growing everywhere. 

Spending this day picking berries wasn’t exactly what I had planned, but when Ruthie and Jacob brought me some blackberry jam that they had made themselves after picking berries close to the house, I remembered that berry season is short and I hadn’t been out picking once.  I was afraid that I might have missed the prime time of berry picking.  Matt and Kristi had told me that they went picking two weeks ago and got three buckets full. 

Rachel and Joshua were both gone, so it was just the little ones and myself.  We all grabbed a bucket and off we went.  My fear of berry season being over was quickly put to rest as we each raked off the berries into our buckets.  I could see that we have a few more weeks to go, too, as there were many that were just coming into season.

Although I love the berries, it is really the fun that I have with the little ones when we go picking that I enjoy the most.  They are so delighted when they find a berry bush.  Jacob had a hard time putting any into his bucket – most of it went straight into his mouth instead.  When we got home, Ruthie quickly got to work and made more jam.  She served us toast with her newly made black raspberry jam.  It was delicious. 

No, I didn’t fare too well in the house this day – my to-do list was barely touched, and our house and meals reflected this.  But I made a memory with my children that will last perhaps as long as mine has from those long-ago days in the Pennsylvania countryside with my mom. 

Ranch

Electric fencing – electric not working.  Need another electrical box?  Overload?

Dry lot – front  - electrical fencing all coming down

Cut grass in grass/dry lot

Need to put another trough in the dry lot

Need to put a water bucket in the front yard for Magic

Both stalls need complete mucking and then re-bed

Cabin – screen door?

Go wild blackberry picking

Behind pole barn: dog cage, chicken coop – put in shelter

                                    Misc stuff – go through, throw out, save.

Deworm horses

Tablet for dogs to prevent heartworm

Weed garden

Camp Clean Up

Red crib barn – overnight stuff still in barn?

Clean out tea/lemonade/water coolers

Clean out coolers in kitchen

Clean out refrigerator

House – Outside

Water Spicket by back door – coming off the wall.

Fencing

Porch furniture needs cleaning – fabric.  Ask Jodi how to do this.  Rent something?

Bicycle - needs flowers

House – Inside

Basement!!!

My bedroom!

Upstairs hallway – clothes

2^nd floor bedrooms

Upstairs bath

Dining room bench pads need cleaning desperately

Go through too small clothes for Jacob , sort and bag for Becky.

Write up a camp like schedule for food, post in kitchen on refrigerator

Plan the week before Kayla’s birthday – what will I make?  When will I buy it?  When will I make it?  

Personal

Write Linda’s sister a card

Exercise

Errands

Need new sheets

Peach orchard?   

Johnsons’ – flowers for bicycle

Walgreens – Epson salts/lavender.  Copy Mara’s camp picture cd’s?

Penny’s – return dress for Grace

Black eyeliner

Pipers’ – present for Kayla

Johnsons - need flowers for bicycle

Internet

Search:

How many calories should I eat per day?

 Order Becky's birthday presents (books)

Still to order: Jot &Tittle

Appointments:

Horse ferrier

Hair appointment

4-H practice

Phone calls:

Tracy - horse training lessons - line up for this week

Joe - day to harvest the alfalfa?

It's been a busy week.  It was our week of hosting a youth camp here at Ranch Shekinah.  I was on kitchen duty  - up at 6:00 a.m. every morning, having breakfast ready by 8:30a.m.   Clean up, dishes, and then getting lunch to be ready by noon.  After lunch, I had about two hours until it was time to get dinner ready.  I came home by 10:00 p.m. every night and dropped into bed.

.

It was odd - as I cooked in the camp kitchen, I could see my house from my window - and I felt homesick.  How can one be homesick when one is so close to home?  I guess this tells you how much of a homebody I am.  I love being in my own home.

.

Everything turned out great, though.  All the meals were ready on time, the kids had an awesome time, and there was good spiritual encouragement  and teaching from Robert and Jodi Frye.  Pictures are soon to come - and then I'll share a whole lot more about this past week. 

She delivered four of my babies

and

my first four grandchildren.

And

She passed away the same day that my fifth grandchild, Eliah, was born.

It was approximately four months ago – she met with my oldest daughter and her husband regarding the pending birth of Becky’s 4^th baby.  Linda had just come from the doctor’s office and had been diagnosed with cancer.  She said that the dr. had told her that it was all through her body.  Becky and Adam said that she had the look of a scared deer facing the headlights of an oncoming car.  They were the first ones that she told, being that this appointment had followed on the preceding doctor’s visit.  Linda told Becky and Adam that she would not be able to deliver their baby and would assist them to find a new midwife.

My initial reaction was to go to Linda, to see her, and talk to her about what she was going through and to see how she would approach treatment of this diagnosis.  Linda was always the holistic one, not believing in vaccinations or antibiotics, and using herbs for treatments for almost every ailment. 

I ordered and read a book called, “Cancer Without Fear.”  When I read through this book, I loved it so much, that I ordered a second copy for Linda, thinking it might help her navigate through her choices of treatments for this.

The book came, and I thought about going right away to see her.  My daughter, Becky, told me that she thought I really should go see her and that she would like it if I did that. 

But I didn’t go right away like I’d planned.  I put it off.  I heard that people had been trying to call her and to get a hold of her, but she was not returning phone calls.  I knew where she lived, and I thought I’d drive over there and knock on her door.

But, I didn’t go.  I kept thinking that I would go, but I lost my urgency.  I thought, she’s probably not as bad as we presumed.  I’ve got time.  I’ll get over there, eventually.

I heard through the grapevine that she sought traditional medicine, not alternative methods.  She was having chemo and radiation treatments regularly. 

One of these days, I’m going to see her, I thought.  I have time. 

On the same day that my grandchild, Eliah, was born, Linda passed away.   The baby that she was to deliver, entered this world on the same day that she departed.

How could have this happened?  I began to grieve.  I never made the time to go see her.  I never gave her the book. 

Death is so final.  I couldn’t say goodbye.  I couldn’t tell her that I love her.  I couldn’t tell her thank you for delivering eight beautiful babies – four of mine and four of my grandchildren. 

I didn’t know where she would spend eternity.  At the birth of my sixth child, God had given me a message to give to Linda and it was this:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.  For whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”   (John 3:16)

*****

Linda had first delivered my 3^rd child seventeen + years ago.  We never talked about anything but the baby and my health.  Three years later, she delivered my fourth baby, Louis Joshua.  It too, was a bitter sweet birth – my father was buried just hours before my son was born.

Linda delivered my fifth baby, Ruthie Antoinette.

During the last month of pregnancy of my sixth baby, Jacob, I felt God nudging me to talk to Linda about her eternal destination.  What would I say?  How would I say it?  I’d never talked to her about religion; it seemed to be a subject she didn’t want to touch with a ten foot pole. 

But the baby didn’t come, he waited, and I began to pray.  “Why are you making me wait, Lord?  I’m miserable. I can’t carry this baby anymore.”  And then I felt His soft whisper, telling me that I needed to talk to Linda.

“What do you want me to say?  I don’t know what to say,” I told Him. 

Ruthie’s birth had been exceptionally painful – severe contractions that came quickly with hardly any time to recuperate from the previous one.  I was dreading the entire birthing process (au natural – no epidermal.)  I prayed, “Lord, please help me to think of something during contractions besides just the pain and how much it hurts.”  I wanted to be able to think of what I should put my mind on during labor way before going into it.  But He waited on this, too.  I kept praying, “Lord, when are you going to tell me what to say to Linda?  You want me to talk to her, but I need you to tell me what to say.  And when are you going to tell me what to put my mind on when I go into labor?  I need to know this ahead of time.”

I’ll never forget it – the night I went into labor.  As my first contractions came, I heard His voice within my spirit.  “Every time you have a contraction, say the words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.  For whosever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

I realized right then that this was the answer I had prayed for.  This was where I would put my mind while having contractions, but this was also what He wanted me to tell Linda.  I recognized immediately this two-in-one answer to prayer.

I was having an underwater birth in our Jacuzzi tub.  When Linda arrived, I was already in the bathtub.  When she walked into the room, I was having a contraction, saying, “For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

See, when the contraction peaked, whatever word I was about to say crescendoed with emotion that flowed with the pain, and I emphasized that word.  Every contraction held a different word in its emphasis. 

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten SON that whosoever  believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. “

There was a Bible sitting on the toilet.  Linda sat down and opened the Bible and began to search through it.  She didn’t look up at me (totally unlike Linda) and seemed to be almost frantically looking through this Bible.  She told me that she was looking for a verse, a particular verse, that contradicted what I was saying. She was sure that it was there, although she never did find it.

I kept going.  “For God so loved the world, that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

I didn’t want to drive Linda nuts, really.  But God had told me to do this, so therefore, I was going to do it.  I started getting a little scared. 

“I’m driving Linda nuts. Am I making her mad? Is there some kind of unseen spiritual war going on here?” I was thinking all of these throughout this.

And then I started talking to the Lord, a silent prayer between contractions.  “Lord, I’m scared.  I just want this baby delivered.  I don’t want to drive my midwife nuts.  She’s not paying attention to me, Lord.”

I called for my oldest daughter to come in to be with me (consider me the ultimate modest woman while delivering a baby – I was clothed with an oversized shirt that gave me modesty while delivering.)   Becky is/was a very strong Christian girl, and I knew that she would hold me up in prayer and help me fight this spiritual battle.  When she walked into the bathroom, she seen Linda searching the Bible, not paying any attention to me, and hearing me say,

“For God so LOVED the world,

that He gave His only

begotten Son,

that    whosoever  believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 I knew by the look in Becky’s eyes she recognized what was going on.  “Pray, Becky, pray. There’s a spiritual battle going on here,”  I told her.

After several hours of repeated, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His ONLY begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life,” I began to feel the baby making his way out, giving me that desire to push.  “Lord,”  I prayed, “please don’t have me say this verse while I’m depending on Linda to guide this baby into this world via an underwater birth.”  And then He gave me the words, “I’ve got peace like a river.”  Every time I pushed and felt pain I said this.

During my contractions, I considered how surreal this all seemed to be.  God had a message for Linda, and He was using me as His voice piece.  While in pain during the contraction, I felt as if it was He who was saying His own Word through my mouth.  I felt as an instrument in God’s hands.

When the baby had been cleaned up, and we lay cuddled in bed, I didn’t feel any need to say anything “religious” to Linda.  I felt that everything that needed to be said, had been said.  I mean, what else can be added to the gospel message than, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life,” ?

Since then, I had thought about Linda, and I figured “God must really have her number.”  God must really be pursuing her – He’s calling her to Him. 

I didn’t really feel any further responsibility (outside of prayer, which I did) because God tells us that some are to sow the seed (the Word of God), some are to water what someone else has already sowed, and some will harvest. But it is God that gives the harvest, not me or you.

I knew a lot of Christians used Linda also for the delivery of their baby.  Surely, God is going to use some of these other people in the future, as surely I most likely was not the first one that He had told to speak to Linda.  I was part of a link, and there would probably be others, but God is going to save her, He’s “got her number.”  (This is not some theological doctrine here, just a saying I’ve heard when one seems to be chased by God.)

When I heard that Linda had died, I was grieved.  Death is so final.  There is no way to say, “Goodbye.”  There is no way to say, “Thank you.”  There is no way to make sure of one’s salvation and eternal destiny.  

“For it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement.”

How could I have been so careless about a soul that is perishing?  How could I have been so cavalier about this?  Is Linda in hell right now?  I couldn’t bear this thought.  Is this just a bad dream?  Will I wake up and someone tell me it’s not true, she hasn’t died, that I still have time to go see her and talk to her?

But it wasn’t a dream, it was truth.  And while I rejoiced with a healthy daughter having given birth to a healthy baby, I sorrowed at the passing of my midwife.  It was truly “bittersweet.” 

She delivered four of my babies into this world, and four of my grandbabies.  And although it is only God that gives life, it was as if she physically assisted Him in the giving of life through the process of birthing the baby.  “She gave life to my babies, and I did not bring to her eternal life.”  Guilt hung on me like a heavy load I could not shake.  One would think that I would have been very happy this past week, having had a new grandbaby enter this world, but rather, I have wept.

I knew I had to go to the “viewing.”  The funeral was just for family members and church members and other midwives – she would be cremated.  But I knew that I must go to the funeral home.  Would I meet someone there that would tell me that they were with her at her death bed, they sat by her side, and in her last moments, she asked Jesus to come into her heart?   I knew the chances of this actually happening might be slim, and even less, the chance to meet the person that was with her on her dying bed, in the brief moments that I would be able to spend at the viewing.

Before leaving for the funeral home with my daughter-in-law, Kristi, who Linda had delivered a baby for her just last year about this same time, I talked to Jodi.  I told her about Jacob’s delivery and how sure I was that God was speaking to Linda directly in a way I could have never imagined would happen in that way.  Surely, God wanted her, He pursued her, she must have accepted Christ?  What happened just wouldn’t make sense to me if she had not.

When we arrived at the funeral home, as I got out of the car, I spoke to Him a silent prayer.  “Lord, I know you have a reason for me being here.  Let me see You in this. “

When I walked into the viewing room, I was searching.  “Lord, I’m here for a reason.  Let me find this.”  I made sure I went up to everyone in the room and introduced myself and my daughter-in-law and Kayla   I wanted to know everyone in this room.  Who were they?  What was their relationship to Linda?  Were they with Linda when she died?

After meeting everyone in the room, I headed to the back of the vestibule, and there sat a woman that looked remarkably like Linda.  I asked her what was her relation to Linda and she told me that she was her younger sister. They were close, I gathered quickly.  THIS is the reason I am here, I told myself.  I began to talk to her.  I inquired of her faith upbringing, seeking to know more about this woman that had delivered our babies. 

Concluding our chat, I walked away having shared the importance of knowing Christ, and being sure of one’s eternal destination.  I asked for her address that I might stay in touch, to which she seemed thankful for this, telling me that she had no-one besides her children now that Linda is gone.

I can’t bring Linda back to life.  I can’t “pray” her out of hell, if she is there.  When death has swallowed up an individual, it is final.  Their destiny is eternal, there are no second chances. 

I can hope that Linda received Christ.  I can hope that I will see her again and we will rejoice together and we will talk together about Jacob’s delivery and I can then see more clearly what God was doing.  I can hope, but I cannot know what has happened to the soul of Linda.

But I can change my complacency.  I can be more direct, more straight forward, more bold, and seek after more diligently those that are lost.  I can no longer take for granted the eternal destination of anyone.  I can’t change what happened with Linda, but I can change me. 

My fifth grandchild was born at about 9:00 p.m., weighing 9 pounds and 1 ounce.  He is a beautiful and healthy baby.  Mom is doing well, too.  His parents named him, Eliah Patrick.  

Elijah is an Old Testament name meaning, Lord Jehovah.  But the name, Eliah (missing the "j" in Elijah) means, "MY Lord Jehovah."  This is why they chose this name.

All of Becky and Adam's children have strong Biblical names.   Seth is their first born.  This is the same name of the third baby born into this world by Adam and Eve.  Seth in the O.T. is the one whom the seed of Jesus would come through.  Seth is four years old.  Abraham, another very strong Biblical name, is 3 years old.  Grace is one (and a half) years old.  And now there is Eliah.

A fantastic book – Hell’s Best Kept Secret, by Ray Comfort

I love this book.  Having been blessed by being raised in a church that preached the cross and the message of forgiveness and grace, this book helped me to look and meditate on the other side of grace, which is the Law.

I have always had a concern for those that are perishing without Christ and on their way to Hell.  I can’t help but think about the eternal destination of people that I meet and mingle with on a day to day basis. For decades I have given gospel tracts to those I meet, even having had printed personal soul winning tracts to distribute. 

There have also been many seasons in life that I have become wrapped up in the “busy-ness”  of life, or just become complacent about my position as an ambassador of Heaven.  There have also been times I have not shared the gospel because of discouragement.  Reading this book, Hell’s Best Kept Secret, was a reminder to me of my position in Christ and my responsibility in sharing the gospel.

I loved this book because often when I have witnessed in the past, I have been left with questions such as, “Did I say the right things?”  “Did I miss something that I should have said?” and even,   “Did I make the gospel message too simplistic?”  

The gospel message IS simplistic.  The Bible tells us that it is not our works that will save us.  No amount of good works, even if we devoted our entire life, as Mother Theresa did, to the purpose of good works and humanitarian efforts would deserve us the reward of Heaven. 

“For by grace are ye saved through faith, it is the gift of God and that not of yourselves, lest any man should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8,9)

If we could be saved by doing good works, then God didn’t need to send His only Son to die on the cross for our sins.  If we could have been saved from hell by earning it, Jesus did not need to die on the cross. 

The Bible tells us that He who comes to Him as a little child, and believes in his heart that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was raised again, and confesses with his mouth, he shall be saved. 

So the gospel message really is simplistic.  We don’t have to earn it.  We don’t have to DO anything.  Just receive the gift that God has given – His Son, Jesus, that  paid the penalty for our sins.  

But the question, “Did I not say something that I should have?”  I think this book helped me to answer that.  One needs wisdom when sharing the gospel – when you read the responses that Jesus had to those that asked how to be saved, he never answered like I have in the past – “Just ask Jesus into your heart and ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and you will be saved.”   Never once did Jesus answer like this.

Instead, Jesus, knowing the intents and motivations of the heart, responded to each individual uniquely.  Now, I’m not Jesus, and I do not know the intents and motivations of someone else’s heart – yet, I am commanded to ask for wisdom, (“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask for it, and I will give it to him liberally.”) and wisdom is what one needs when witnessing.  Only He knows where each one’s heart is and what their particular stumbling blocks to the message of the gospel is. 

This book helped me to think about the fact that one needs to realize their need for a Savior before seeking to be saved.  One needs to be brought to a realization of what it is that their being saved from.  We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.  The Ten Commandments, the Law, is our schoolmaster – it shows us that we have fallen short of God’s Standards.  We can use the Ten Commandments to lead someone to Christ.

What is sin?  Sin is anything that falls short of His Commandments. 

Have I ever hated anyone?  Jesus told us that if we have ever hated someone, than we have committed murder in our heart, and therefore, we have broken the commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Murder.”

Have I ever had a lustful thought?  If I have, Jesus tells us that then I have committed adultery in my heart.  I have disobeyed the commandment that says, “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery.”

Have I ever wanted something that was not mine?  Looked at my neighbors house, possessions, (or for me, horses J ) and wished that it was mine?  If I have, than I have broken the  commandment, that says, “Thou shalt not covet.” 

Have I ever not honored the Sabbath and kept it holy?  In our society today, it seems as if we have totally forgotten this one, to the point that we hardly remember it being equal with the other Ten Commandments of not committing murder, adultery, stealing, or lying.   To us, it might seem as a harmless omission, but God changes not, and is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  If I have ever not honored the Sabbath and kept it holy, than I have sinned.

I John 1:8,9, 10

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

IF we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 

According to God, it takes only one sin for me to violate to make me not worthy to go to heaven.  It takes only one violation of one Commandment, for me to deserve Hell and to go there when death takes place.

This is a terrible position to be in, because certainly I have sinned not only once, but many times, and violated many of His Commandments.  But there is Good News in all this.

God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross, to shed His blood for me, in order that He would pay the penalty for MY sin (and yours.) He has paid the penalty, and now I do not have to go to Hell for my violations of His Commandments.  But I do have to do one thing –

I have to receive His Gift of His Son dying on the cross for my sin.  I have to realize that He died for me, shed His blood for my sins, I have to believe this in my heart that He died FOR me.  And then I have to confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and then He promises that I will be saved, and that when death knocks at my door, I will be ushered into heaven for eternity. 

   We are creating lots of memories here at Ranch Shekinah with our cherry tree.  ~Go Here~ to read "Summer Memories" - a post from last summer.

.

.

 . 

I’ve written a lot about how much I love the gift of the Sabbath.  But ceasing from work for one full day is easier said than done.  When I first started to attempt to set this day apart, I found it hard to do if I had any laundry still undone, or to see a cobweb hanging in the corner of a room.  For the most part, I would try to just leave the dirty laundry and the cobwebs and dust alone.   By disciplining myself in this way, it gave me the motivation I needed to plan better for the next week.

 In this I have found several hidden blessings in honoring the Sabbath.   I have found that I plan my days better, in order that by Friday evening (when the Hebrew Sabbath begins) I am able to sit down with my family in comfort, knowing that I have completed a full week worth of work. My house has been dusted, the floors swept and mopped, laundry caught up, and I have a generally neat and organized home.  It was never like this before my Sabbath days, as I almost always did home management chores from a crisis mode.  I was always busy “doing something”  - organizing a room, a drawer, a closet, – or scrubbing down something – a high chair, kitchen cabinets - or attempting to accomplish a myriad of projects,  always hanging over my head waiting to be done.  I didn’t have time to “enjoy” anything, there was always work to be done. The saying, “A Woman’s Work Is Never Done,” could have been my mantra, stitched in needle point, framed, and placed at the front door of my home.  But since seeking to honor the Sabbath, I have discovered the art of planning domestic management.

Yet, I have found that on the Sabbath, in all of my resting and enjoying, I can’t help but notice and think of things that need to be done around the house/ranch.  I have to restrain myself at times to not jump in and try to get these things done on this day.  But in this restraining and relaxing, comes another hidden blessing.  I have found that my batteries are being recharged on this day, and I start looking forward to being able to get back to the work. 

 A picture taken (on Monday) from inside the house through the front porch screen door.

One of the things I love about blogging is that it encourages me to record special days and moments, either by photography or writing.  This past Monday was one of those days that I knew I wanted to record in my memories.  It was a happy day at Ranch Shekinah.  But it was a full day of work, too, for everyone.  There was an aura of happy children everywhere, even if they were doing some unpleasant tasks.

This is a picture of Joshua and Jacob cleaning the chicken coop.  I know that they look like something out of a science fiction movie, but they’re really only obeying their mom by wearing those gas masks. Sure, it’s a little bit of an over kill, but I have heard of too many horror stories of people that have personally told me of physical sufferings they have today because of past cleanings of chicken coops.  My mother-in-law lost a lung because of a disease that is caused by inhaling the dust in a chicken coop, and a lady I met just this last year is going blind in one eye because of the same thing.  So I make my kids cover their ears, eyes, and mouth before going into the chicken coop to clean.

What I don’t have a picture of is Ruthie and Jacob scrubbing the porch down and hosing it.  We have chickens and turkeys that sometimes make a trek up to our porch and before I can chase them off, have done their dirty deeds.   And I don’t have a picture, either, of the two of them sweeping the basement together – another job that I deemed necessary today.

In the afternoon, Rachel, Ruthie, Miriam, and Mara went over to our cherry tree to glean the ripe cherries.  After several hours of picking, they came home and sat on the porch, listening to country music, and pitting the cherries. 

~Go Here~ to read about a cherry pie made from our Ranch cherries.

.

.

Inside the house, I was busy in the kitchen.  I had this terrific dinner planned, and I was looking forward to cooking.  I washed a lot of dishes (our dishwasher broke L) and made BLT’s for all my busy workers outside.   From my kitchen window, I could see this:

This was a day of happy children – working – yet enjoying accomplishing things and being with their friends that accompanied them. Joshua had a friend named Cooper helping him, and Rachel had her two friends.  In all of the pictures of the sights that I captured on this day, I did not capture the sounds – the neighing of horses, the chirps of the birds in the trees, the chickens and turkeys in the back yard, and the sound of children talking and laughing.  And as I did not capture the sounds, neither could I the atmosphere of hard work being accomplished with the “background music” of contentment and joy.  It is truly a day that I want to store in the treasures of my mind for a long time to come.

This weekend I have:

Sat outside and listened to the waves hitting the beach.

Watched my children swim in the lake and play on the sand.

Ate a simple lunch of whole wheat pasta with garlic marina sauce – outside, with my seventeen year old daughter, enjoying her company and conversation.

Felt the gentle breeze and soaked in the sunshine.

Heard the sound of motor boats and watched the sail boats gliding by.

Looked through a favorite cookbook of mine called, Celebrate Virginia, making notes of recipes I want to try this summer.

Rocked my grandbaby, Kayla, on the lakeshore.

Played with my ten year old daughter, Ruthie, in the water.

.

After listing all of the above, I need not tell you that my weekend was delightful in every aspect.  One of my favorite things about being at the lake, is sitting on our wicker furniture juxtaposed directly next to the sandy beach.  I watch the children build sandcastles, and at the same time, I leisurely look through magazines I haven't had time to touch, peruse cookbooks, and make lists of things I want or need to do in the near future.   This past weekend, I I kept a little notebook on the wicker end table beside me, taking notes of all kinds of things that occurred to me while resting.  I made lists:

.

.

.

Books I Want To Read

.

.

.

Internet sites I want to visit.

.

.

.

Herbs I want to grow.

.

.

.

Recipes I want to try and where to find it (what cookbook or magazine.)

.

.

I worked on making a menu for this coming week taking into account on which days I have appointments.  When I thought through the upcoming week, I could see that I have only one night for a dinner that could be time consuming.  Every other night of the week calls for sandwiches and soup.  With this in mind, and the desire to try the recipes I had marked, I have a wonderful Monday evening dinner planned – complete with Sweet Potato Casserole; Yummy Corn Casserole; and a delicious dessert – Banana Coconut Cream Pie.

I have a lot of excess eggs in my refrigerator, so when looking through my cookbook, anything that used 4 or more eggs, was of interest to me.  I am in the mood to spend all day Monday experimenting new recipes using eggs.  When one has so much excess of eggs, it gives you the feeling of freedom to experiment.  Mind you, I am not known to being a “baker” in the kitchen.  I like to cook, but desserts have never been my specialty.  I think I may very surprise everyone! 

Recipes I want to try tonight (using my egg excess):

Coconut Cream Pie (5 eggs)

Custard (4 eggs AND goat’s milk – another item I have plenty of!)

Bread Pudding (6 eggs and half and half (which I have an entire unopened quart of)

.

I keep my laptop by me along with my glasses, camera, herbal ice tea, lip sunblock, and flowers my little eight year old boy, Jacob, brought to me.

.

.

I even made lists of blogs I'd like to post.  I came up with lots of new ideas and I now have lots of posts to keep me busy.  But if I'm going to try all those new recipes I promised myself, I'd better quit now and get cooking!

 These pictures that I am posting today epitomize what I love about children -

 .

That's Jacob in the far pasture running towards the house with his new found treasure.

.

As he came closer, I could see that he had something very special in his net.

This is what I love about children - the excitement and enthusiasm for something as sweet and simple as a turtle.

 With all of my picture taking, though, I forgot to take a close-up picture of the actual turtle.  Suffice it to say, it was something to get excited about.  It was big!!

 .

He did find one even bigger after this, but it was "scary" big - as in, "Don't touch," says mom.  It was a snapping turtle.

.

Visit Mary for other Show and Tells....

Life has been so busy around here; I’ve hardly had time to post.  And to recall just what it is that has kept me so busy is difficult.  The last two weeks are almost like a blur.

Wednesday night (last night) we had  dinner with friends/business acquaintances.  They first came to our ranch – they had never been here before.  This made the day rather stressful – a first time visit by ones we’ve only been to dinner with.  Trying to get the outside tidy – cleaning the porch, cutting the grass; getting the house company ready; and the children looking clean and presentable by 4:00 p.m., - not to mention myself – being ready for going out to dinner after having a full day of trying to get it all done. 

.

.

As my husband left for work this morning, he assured me that I did not need to worry about the house - when they arrived, he told me, we'd hop on the gators, take some trail rides, and then be off to dinner.  Yet, I wasn't sure it would work out quite like that, and I worked inside as the children worked on the porch (washing it down), cutting grass, and edging around the fence line.  As the day went on, the pressure began to build, and I began to question just what I had gotten into. How does one correlate a clean home, a manicured yard, four clean children, and myself ready to go to dinner?

.

.

When they arrived, we visited in the parlor for a while, as my husband had not gotten home from work yet.  ((  ))   They met all of our children for the first time. When my husband arrived, we took a tour of the ranch on the gators.  By the time we went to dinner, I was ready to relax and unwind.  We ate at a very quiet and serene restaurant that has lots of atmosphere.  We lingered over dinner until after ten o’clock p.m.  We were the only diners left in the restaurant by the time we left.  It was a very nice time after having a very stressful day.  Oh, and I forgot to mention the food – tilapia with a pecan/coconut crust and a mango salsa; a salad with watermelon, candied pecans, goat cheese, and greens; and key lime pie for dessert.  It was delicious!!!

.

.

When our friends had initially arrived, I started noticing all the imperfections everywhere around me. I had started really second guessing this whole idea.  And as we drove off for dinner, I was sure this entire  plan stunk.  But after our lovely dinner together, I began to view everything in a better light.  Perhaps seeing our imperfections had made us better friends, after all.

.

Tuesday we spent the day traveling to an aluminum siding place (two hours away) to get siding for our crib barn. When we got there, our order was all wrong – burgundy in color instead of barn red. We spent several hours there going over our order and figuring out what all else was wrong. 

We got back just in time for the 4-H equine practice at the county fairgrounds.  Rachel is on the drill team this year, and is entering the jumping competition.  It was exciting to see her practicing and doing well.  Joshua is in the 4-H program this year too, and is competing in Western (Rachel is in English).  It was fun mingling with our horse trainer and her husband.  Every week I have been meeting new people and enjoying myself thoroughly. 

Afterwards, we invited our friends, the Vales, to come back to our home for pizza. Our family plus their family equals 13 people – this called for a very big pizza order!  We had fun sitting around our big country table chatting and eating – we were all starved.  Their two girls stayed around afterwards to help Rachel and Joshua  getting the stalls mucked and re-bedded for the evening for the mares and their foals.  This seemed like a party in itself.  Four happy and joy-filled teenagers -  mucking in the barn with the music playing rather loudly.  By the time I got the girls home, I didn’t climb into bed until after midnight.  Way past my bedtime!

We’ve been busy around here, too, getting ready for the children’s camp we are hosting in just about three weeks.  Our friends, the Vales, have been here at the ranch almost every day helping us in the preparation.  We built a “chapel” (an outdoor amphitheatre made from tree trunks and timber on the property) for outside chapel service, and now we’re trying to build a bridge to the island. 

I haven’t even mentioned, yet, the two new additions to our ranch – Hot Shot and Willow.  Pictures are coming, don’t worry!  

We’re still waiting for our fifth grandbaby….

Since I wrote last….

Tuesday was a busy day around the ranch as we are preparing for a “week of camp” for children in the month of July.  This is a ministry of our home church.  

Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, a very special event happened   I hope to have a special post dedicated just to this one event on Mary’s Show and Tell.  Come back on Friday!  (no, it was not the birth of our fifth grandchild – we’re still waiting……)

…

Wednesday we went to the cottage to do yard work and to plant flowers in the flower boxes.  This was an all day event.

Thursday – Rachel and Joshua had riding lessons in the evening.  In the morning I finished planting peas, and at the same time the children got the house cleaned.  Grandma was here this day so the two little ones did have some school time, too.

Friday – Dad was home in the morning as this was the day of Pentecost.  There are several festivals in the spring.  It starts with the Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) - this past April 9th; The Festival of Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah) - April 10th; The Festival of First Fruits (Bikkurim) April 11th; and the conclusion of it all is the Festival of Pentecost (Shavuot) - this was last Friday on the 29th.  

On the fiftieth day after the crossing of the Israelites over the Red Sea, Moses called the assembly to the base of Mt. Sinai and it was here that he gave all the laws of God.  This was the day of Pentecost. The word Pentecost means “fifty.”  Are you surprised by this?  I was.  Until I studied the Biblical Holidays, I only thought of the word Pentecost as meaning the religion known as “Pentecost,” (like Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist,) and those that attend there are called, “Pentecostals.”    I didn’t know that the word Pentecost in the Bible meant the number fifty.

In our home, on this day, we gathered together in the parlor and we shared with the children what this day was and gave the history of it.  We also gave testimony of the night of the Passover when Jesus became the perfect lamb and was sacrificed for our sins, and when we accept Him as our Savior, we are saved from eternal death in hell.  We also talked about the Day of Pentecost after Jesus had ascended that the disciples were meeting together and a wind came in through the windows and a tongue of fire sat upon everyone’s head and they began to speak in different languages than their own. 

We had cleaned our house on Thursday in preparation of this day.  As a general rule, Friday is our cleaning day, in preparation of the Sabbath, in order that we may rest from Friday night to Saturday evening.  But with this Biblical Holiday of the Day of Pentecost, we arranged our week to follow suit.  We didn’t do anything “special” this day (like on the Passover and we had a dinner), but rather, we just set aside the morning to sit and discuss what was special about this day and read particular selections in the Bible.  Basically, we used this morning to teach about the Day of Pentecost, the history of it, and to call special attention to it. 

I find the Biblical Holidays all very interesting.  Some books in my library on this subject are:

The Seven Festivals of the Messiah, by Edward Chumney

Celebrate the Feasts of the Old Testament in Your Own Home or Church, by Martha Zimmerman

The Biblical Holidays, by Robin Samson

In the afternoon of this day, I prepared meals for the coming weekend in order that I wouldn’t be labored with cooking but still provide some nourishing meals for everyone.  I made a homemade chicken broth on Thursday, and on this day I added vegetables cooking in the crock pot.  I made a lot of it and this served as a warm meal on Saturday that was tasty.  When I noticed it getting low, I would add a can or two of creamed corn and a few cans of Cream of Chicken soup to keep it restocked. By doing this, anyone that got hungry throughout the day could easily find a bowl of stew cooking in the kitchen at any time they wanted. 

Saturday evening I looked toward Sunday in preparation of what I would serve to our home church.  I made vegetable lasagna and a bean dip made with refried beans, rice, hamburger meat, and Ortega taco seasonings and sauce.  Both recipes were kind of easy as I pulled the already browned and seasoned taco meat and the meatballs and sauce for the lasagna, from the freezer.  I put both dishes in the refrig and on Sunday all I had to do was to put them in the oven to bake.

Things I need to do this week:

#1 priority is to finish planting my garden!  I started a bunch of seeds in pots of soil on my screened in porch. I need to get them all into the ground. I’d like to plant additional seeds and perhaps some extra tomato plants.

#2  Errands:

We need a few items from Tony’s Saddle Shop.

Joshua needs some gym shoes and jeans – need to take him shopping.

Need to make a trip to Costas to get some things.

Groceries I need:  Tuna fish, bread, rice, freezer bags ….(I’ll add more later)

#3 The kids bedrooms need cleaning/organizing.

#4 Plan this week’s meals -

The week for fish?  I’m getting low on hamburger meat and chicken – but I have a plethora of fish in my freezer.  Perhaps I will ask the kids for suggestions today as I plan this and see what they would like to eat.

 It's Tuesday morning (having written the above post yesterday morning.)  I had a wonderful Monday morning.  Although I had a lot I wanted to accomplish, after having a busy weekend with lots of company, my Monday morning moved slow (which is usually my custom.)  I enjoyed writing a post as I hadn't been on the pc for almost a week. 

We did go to Tony's Saddle Shop and Tractor Supply Company.  And I also accomplished my goal of gardening.  I got almost everything into the soil that was growing on my porch in potting planters.

I now have peas, corn, and bell peppers planted in my garden.  I stayed outside all day into the night getting everything done. 

On the agenda for today:

With my goal yesterday to finish my gardening projects, my kitchen went to pot.  This morning my #1 priority will be to get the kitchen looking good.  For those of you without little children still at home, you may have forgotten how messy kids can be! 

It looks as if Dad will be home today - so this will structure our day accordingly.  We will most likely have Bible reading and perhaps some other reading, too.  Grandma is coming today, so several of the children will do some summer school.  I need to take a trip to Wal-Mart. 

Friday

Spent the morning getting the house clean; the afternoon was spent in the garden transplanting my peas that were on the porch; Bob was home working with Mike and Matt on the new stall – this kept me busy making lunch and running to the hardware store.  I didn’t accomplish as much as I would have liked to in the garden.

Friday night we went out for ice cream and a movie – it was a late evening as we were eating ice cream at 9:00 p.m. and going to the movie at ten.

( As I weeded my strawberry patch and raspberry garden, I took pictures from where I was sitting.)

.

Saturday

I sat outside with Rachel on the porch just enjoying the beauty of everything before me and the company of my daughter.  I marveled at the beauty of the Sabbath – a day set aside just to rest and enjoy what God has provided. I especially enjoyed watching and listening to the sounds of the birds all around me.  When one is always busy working, you don’t stop to “smell the flowers” or to listen and enjoy the sounds of nature.  As we sat on the big double rocker, we talked about the gift of the Sabbath, and what life was like for us before appreciating this gift.  Rachel was too young to remember, but I spent a lifetime of letting one day and one week run into the next, rarely taking a breather of rest.  The house always needed to be cleaned, there was always the "next" job of organization to tackle.  My life has changed dramatically since then.  Now, our life is more like music, than noise.  Just like a sheet of music, without rests or pauses, would cease to be beautiful music, so is life when one never stops.  In His infinite wisdom, He knew our nature to be goal oriented, and  knew that He would need to command many of us to "stop," and smell the roses.  And more than smelling the roses, for me, I take this day to appreciate and spend time with the people He has surrounded and blessed  me with.

He has told us that the gift of the Sabbath is for us, not the other way around. It's a gift, not a law that is heavy and a burden to bear.   It is to our own lack of blessing should we ignore this one commandment of the Ten. 

As we sat on the porch talking, Rachel got a phone call from our missionary neighbors that were down the road from us at a garage sale that was selling tack.  Although I aim to not shop on this day, I confess, we went over as soon as we could.  We found the deals of a life time, a horse lovers dream garage sale, and bought three saddles, in perfect condition, with all the pieces (stir-ups, girth) for less than $100.00  Rachel got first rate clothes for the upcoming 4-H competition in July - two outfits for $35.00.  This was an answer to prayer.

Late afternoon we went on trail rides, visited with our missionary neighbors, and then got ready to go see our good friends, the Vales.  We arrived at their house close to eight, and stayed until after ten. 

Sunday

This morning we were without fellowship of any other families present, but this did not hinder a wonderful morning spent in worship. We sat on the porch and my husband gave testimony to our children about the first church after the ascension of Christ, and what led us to Home Church.  He then read from Isaiah chapter 40 and gave commentary about the greatness of God.  As I sat on our porch this morning, I marveled at the beauty and simplicity of a worship service that the father of the home leads his children in instruction of righteousness and praise to God.  As he spoke of God’s greatness, he also gave his own testimony to the children that during these stressful and difficult times, it has helped him to draw closer to God and to reveal to him misplaced priorities.  He shared with the children the silver and gold that he is seeing in these times of trial.

 (Our ranch resident ducks taking a stroll.)

At 1:00 p.m. our company arrived.  Mike had offered the night before when we were visiting their home, to come over and give us a hand on the new stalls we are building for our pregnant mares.  I made a simple lunch as this was a last minute plan.  I prepared potato salad, and egg salad and tunafish sandwiches.  Margie brought brownies for dessert. There were twelve of us all together sitting outside at the picnic table, enjoying a simple lunch and the fellowship of one another.  When lunch was done, everyone went to work. We accomplished a lot.

Monday

Our friends came back Monday morning to continue with our ranch project.  I started making breakfast at 6:30 a.m. The night before, I had premixed the blueberry pancakes and dethawed the hickory smoked bacon.  I had a busy kitchen this morning as I had pancakes cooking on the griddle, three dozen scrambled eggs in the frying pan, bacon in the oven, and English muffins in the toaster.  It felt a little bit chaotic and the kitchen looked like it felt.

Matt and Kristi and Kayla joined us and we had 15 people present for breakfast.  There was so much food that I had plenty to spare and sent the remaining eggs, bacon, and pancakes over to our neighbors, the missionaries to Romania.  I felt happy that I was able to do this because they have special visiting company with them this weekend.

After breakfast, again everyone went to our ranch project. The first stall had been completed on Sunday, and today they worked on the second stall.  They also worked on clearing out the second floor of the crib barn preparing it for storage of our alfalfa harvest.  This was a huge project.

Here are some pictures from our weekend I will share with you:

Don't children and kitties go together like peas in the pod?

.

.

Ruthie came and sat down with me while I was weeding my garden.  I couldn't help but make it a picture moment with my camera that was sitting beside me.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Although we got a lot of ranch work accomplished this weekend, there was still time for horses.

 .

.

 .

.

 .

.These pictures were taken early Sunday morning. It was still cool outside.

 .

.This is one of of our pregnant mares due any time now.

I love all of our horses, but Minnie is one of my favorites. She has such a sweet dispostion.

 .

.

We spend a lot of time on our porch in the early mornings of our weekends.

.

 .

.

 .

.

There was lots of paddle boating going on this weekend - .

I took this picture from my porch - Jacob is comfortably reading a book in his swing.

The girls work as hard as the boys around here....

Pasture rotation time - this is done twice a day.

.

I took this picture from the porch.  I love capturing these mornings with my camera.

Nope, that's not ALL the pictures I took this weekend!  But, it is all the time I have for this morning to post.  I have some adorable ones of Jacob and an exciting moment he had when he found a turtle in the horse pasture.  I'll post more later.

 This picture was taken at the Mayor's Ball in January.   I just found it last night  on a missing set of picture cds.  I have to still find Jacob's birthday pictures!

.

It’s been busy around here this past week.  I spent hours Monday and Tuesday weeding my large raspberry and strawberry garden, and also my herb garden.  My vegetable garden is now completely prepared to plant peas and corn – this is something I hope to be able to accomplish today. I’ve been growing vegetables in my screened-in porch for the past month and they are ready – in fact, dangerously close to being over-ready, to be placed in the soil.

Wednesday I was on the run all day getting errands accomplished and a hair appointment.

Thursday was spent in Indianapolis at a business luncheon at Sullivan’s, and later spending several hours in a business meeting. I got home just in the nick of time to get Rachel to her riding lesson in the evening.

 Something I haven’t mentioned yet is the excitement that has permeated this week of activity.  We have two pregnant mares that are due any time.  I get up in the middle of the night, every night, and check on them to see if they are foaling.  I can’t express to you in words how excited I am about this!

My oldest daughter is also due to deliver her 4^th baby this week.  I am waiting for “the phone call.”  As it is going to be another homebirth (I had four at home, and my daughter has had all of hers at home so far) she has asked if I will come to her home to watch the little ones when she goes into labor.  Did I mention that this is an exciting week?  My stomach is turning over with a certain amount of nervousness every time I think of all the pending births this week. It boggles my mind every time I think of the timing of all of this – to have all of these births due at any moment.

My devotions this morning were applicable to this past week, having celebrated my 51st birthday.

“All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth…

(and then repeats -)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

but the word of our God shall stand forever.”

Every birthday is a living testament to these verses in Isaiah 40. We are all fading, although the youth may not realize so! But the Word of God stands forever.  It is eternal. His Word will sustain and strengthen us as these verses in the same chapter so eloquently express;

Even the youths shall faint and be weary; and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; and they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

His Word has been my guiding point for the past three decades.  It is my compass.  When I feel weak, I am made strong through prayer and the reading of His Word.  I love this verse (in the same chapter) –

He giveth power to the faint: and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.”

I have found this to be true.  When I have been utterly exhausted in my own strength, over and over I have been given renewed strength. He has sustained me through trials and overwhelming difficulties at times. He has over and over renewed my strength when I felt myself to be in total weakness.  He has given me physical healing many times through just prayer.  At the age of 14 years old, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and to forgive me of my sins.  At 51, I live to testify His faithfulness. His Word truly is faithful and has/will sustain and strengthen me. 

I got to visit with Becky and the babies last Thursday – I had been praying that I would have a small window of time open up that I would be able to get over to see her (it’s an hour round trip).  I didn’t see how it would happen, but, on Thursday morning my husband needed to make a trip out that way to meet a business associate.  He asked me if I would like to come along – and as much as I wanted to – I’d already planned out our day with the children.  I sent a prayer to Him to guide me in making this decision, and He helped me to be flexible and to take my husband up on his offer. 

When I arrived at Becky’s, I was glad that I’d made this decision.  Being nine months pregnant, three little ones in tow, and living in virtual isolation (in the country, surrounded by vast fields of land), I could tell that my company was appreciated.  I’d brought my cleaning supplies along to help tidy the house, but she desired my company more than my helpfulness.  I did some dishes, but before I could get to anything else, Becky asked me to just sit outside with her to talk while we watched the children play. 

It was a nice long visit as my husband’s appointment took quite a bit of time.  When I left, I was glad that God had given me the flexibility for the day that I needed to do what I had prayed for all along.

I had gotten up early to pray on Sunday morning, and I prayed that He would especially bless our Sunday morning home church service.  I sensed a need that only Christian fellowship and encouragement could fulfill.  I asked Him to prepare the elders with a special message for us and that His presence would be made known.  This prayer was fully answered.

Home church is very unique.  There are no props, programs, or formality.  The little things that many take for granted as being “church” are not present.  No pews or pulpit, and not even a passed offering plate.  Neither are we constricted to a fixed time frame.  When we first congregate, there is a lot of fellowship going on, sipping coffee, and finding ourselves sharing burdens and prayer requests at this time.  We often do this around our big country table, and it is very informal.  There isn’t really a need to ask for “prayer requests” after this, because we have shared out hearts here.

Each service is unique. Because there is no formality, each Sunday is open to be led by the complete leading of His Holy Spirit.  There are times we open with hymns (with me as the piano player), and each person is able to request their favorite hymns, as well as the children (they love to do this.)  There is generally no special music, although on some occasions we have guests that have provided this.

This morning, we opened with congregational prayer.  We sit in our family room, seated in a circle.  Contrast this to pews and straight rows, faced towards the pulpit.  Everyone is invited to pray, even the children.  This is a very precious time.  Because we do not have a fixed time in which our church service must end, this is a very intimate part of our service.  Each person prays, with no regard to the clock. 

We often don’t have one “sermon”, but many times we have two.  We have two elders, as the first New Testament churches did.  Dan gave us a message about sowing and reaping. These were verses that he had read in his own personal devotions that God had spoken to him in a very clear way.  I found it interesting that this was his message, as I’d heard this same principle of sowing and reaping taught a few weeks ago, and it was something I have been thinking about ever since.  I paid close attention because I’ve been dwelling on this in my mind how everything we do is sowing a seed of some sort, either to the good, or to the bad.  Our deeds, actions, and words are all seeds that are being sowed, and we will harvest the fruit of these.

Our time together had started at 11:00 a.m., and concluded at 5:00 p.m. It was truly prayer answered as we felt that we had sat at His table of spiritual blessings and had a banquet of fullness.

We leisurely spent the remaining daylight hours with our children outside.  We took a trip around the trails, I read a little bit of a new book outside at the picnic table, and we stood on our porch admiring the beauty of the green grass before us – after a long and harsh winter, I can’t tell you how much we are enjoying the color green.

When we came inside, we concluded our Sunday with our family reading time.  We read two and a half chapters sitting in the family room, and then moved upstairs to mom and dad’s bedroom.  There, everyone being all ready for bed with their teeth brushed and jammies on, we read yet one more chapter.  

My husband awoke this morning, having gone into this weekend with a heavy load lying upon him, feeling his load lightened after our wonderful church fellowship and time spent with our children.  It’s the way every weekend should be.

My husband and I enjoy visiting different bed and breakfast inns.  We hadn’t been to one in several years, and we decided that this spring would be a nice time to get away for a weekend.  This past weekend, we went to southern Ohio near the Appalachian Mountains.  I found this B&B (Murphin Ridge Inn) in this past month’s issue of Country Living and also in the Midwest Living publication of the month of May.

We left Friday afternoon and arrived late evening (just a little before midnight.)  We found our key in the lobby of the guest house in an envelope with our name on it, by a lamp near the front door.  When we entered our room we found a basket of cheese and crackers and fruit on the dresser.  Although it was terribly late to be eating, it just seemed too novel not to celebrate the moment and snack on it.

It was just what seemed a few hours later that it was time for breakfast.    B&B’s are known for their fabulous breakfast (thus the name, Bed and Breakfast!) and it is something that sleeping-in is not worth it.  It’s the highlight of the day .

At this inn, the dining room is situated in an old brick home, some 200 years old.  It has charm and ambivalence written all over it.  We were seated in the newer portion of the house that has floor to ceiling  windows on three walls. It is truly a “sun” room.  The walls were made of old logs taken from a home that was on the property built in the 1800’s.  While we were drinking our hot coffee, we admired the room as it looked like an original log cabin that had been restored with big beautiful windows. (It was later that we discovered the history of this room.)

 .

I love bed and breakfasts for many reasons, but one of these reasons is the originality of the breakfast that is served.  I love trying new breakfast recipes, always trying to glean new ideas.  This morning was a French toast that had a cream cheese filling, with baked apples on top.  It was served with a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with a cranberry juice. 

After breakfast, we meandered outside of the dining room with our coffee mugs and sat in the gardens directly outside the windows where we had been dining.  Another couple came and joined us and we got to know them as we sat and chatted for almost an hour.  This is part of bed and breakfast tradition – getting to know other people and having time to chat and sip coffee.  I’ve always enjoyed this aspect of the B&B’s.

We took a walk around the property that had trails in the woods.  I enjoyed the walk although it was a bit muddy from all the previous rain and I couldn’t help but think how much I would enjoy these trails with my horse, Minnie.

In the afternoon, we took a drive into the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.  Because we had arrived late the night before, it was interesting to see what we had driven through in the darkness.  I hadn’t realized just how remote this B&B  was located!

Most B&B don’t serve dinner (well, at least that’s been my experience) but this one did.  We returned to the dining house at 7:30 pm (our appointed time to eat dinner).  This time, we were seated in the original part of the house.  There was an elegant fireplace, and old wooden plank flooring.  Every table had a lit candle.  I wasn’t very hungry, so I ordered the homemade tomato soup and a salad that had all kinds of originality – I think that’s what defines the word, “gourmet.”  I think that even the beverage I had could be considered “gourmet” – it was lemonade made in the blender with vanilla beans.  It was delicious!

The next morning we were back in the dining house for breakfast, and this morning they served quiche – a favorite dish of mine.  Thankfully, one was able to order scrambled eggs, to which my husband, not being a quiche kind of guy, appreciated. They had a homemade, delicious, granola (and vanilla yogurt) that was set up in the hallway of the home for guests to help themselves too.

As we were checking out, I bought a cookbook that had been written by the proprietors of the inn.  I always do this when visiting a B&B (many offer this) as a memento of our trip, but also for the fabulous recipes that are always found within.  This one was extra special because it wasn’t just recipes, but rather a journal of the proprietors – what they did before this b&b, how they decided to start a b&b, and how they found this particular one for sale.  It also included the history of the property and buildings.  And the recipes within have made me want to try everyone.

From the B&B we went to Lexington, Kentucky – horse country.  I’ve been here before many times, but I enjoy the drive through the countryside equally every time. We meandered all over the country side, admiring the beautiful rolling hills, the green pastures with the cows grazing within,  and drove over numerous babbling creeks.  Many times there was no one else on the road but us, and we would just stop the car, get out, and take pictures.  We even pulled to the side of the road once, got out, and waded in the creek.  It was refreshing as well as a great place for pictures!

It was 4:00 p.m. and we decided to stay overnight at Shakers Village – a favorite place of mine.  We stayed in the main house where the dining room is situated on the first floor.  I could write an entire post on this place. Well, in fact, I have in the past.  ~Go Here~ if you would like to read about that. Warning: it’s a very long post! It’s all about my intrigue of the Amish, but my experience with Shaker’s Village is written within about mid-point. One of these days, I’m going to write a post devoted just to this destination spot and include pictures of our visits. 

We got back home the next day in the early part of the afternoon.  I was so glad to be back with my children – but also happy that my husband and I had taken the time to write yet another chapter in the story of our life together, building more special memories in the picture book of our minds. 

Don't forget to visit Mary and other show and tells....

.

.

Now, I am going to guess that you have never heard of "coconut chicken" and that you never dreamed that coconut and chicken even go together.  But, I tried this recipe, and it is a hit with everyone.  You've got to try this recipe!

Coconut Chicken

Dethaw your chicken (boneless) and cut up into small pieces (bite-size).

Get some crackers out – I used Town House Flip Sides Pretzel Crackers (Cheddar Flavor) and sometimes I mix these with a completely different kind of cracker, like garlic pita crackers.  Use about a package and crush them – I put them in my blender and made it into cracker crumbs. 

Get three bowls out –

In bowl #1 crack an egg, whisk with an egg beater

In bowl #2 – put your cracker crumbs in this (above)

In bowl #3 – put 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes (you find this in the baking section of the grocery store – where the flour, sugar, choc. Chips, nuts, etc… are)

Now, take the bite-size chicken pieces and dip in the beat egg (bowl #1), then dip it in the cracker crumbs (bowl #2), and then into the coconut ( bowl #3).  Bake in oven at 350 for about 45 minutes.

My family positively loved this.  Try it!

I served this with rice I had made in a steamer.   Try this recipe with the coconut chicken.

Fried Rice

This is a guaranteed everyone-is-going-to-love-it recipe, too!

Sauté an onion in coconut oil (you can buy this at Wal-Mart).  Then add about 3 cups of cooked rice (I had precooked mine in a steamer) and steamed carrots (cut up).  The onions and carrots really give this ordinarily blah rice a lot of flavor.  Season with sea salt.  (Sea salt is as good for you as table salt is bad for your.  You can use sea salt generously.)

I make this rice every week and keep a big bowl of it in the refrigerator for anyone to eat when they don’t know what else to eat, or add to any of our meals.  This is very filling and healthy.

Tonight, since I was making coconut rice for supper, I wanted to try something different.  I added a can of stir-fry veggies to the rice, and stirred in about ¼ cup of soy sauce.  Everyone liked this, too.

.

.

It was a nice Monday.  Got the kids up bright and early – did our chores with the horses and chickens.  The house was in disarray after a busy weekend, so we spent a few hours before school started getting the house whipped back into shape. It felt nice getting the floors cleaned and having everything picked up.  What a great way to start the week.

We had egg salad sandwiches for a late lunch after our group school time. Before dad had left for work, he had left a two page list of things that needed to be done around the ranch.  Matt and Mike were already here working on the bigger issues, and as soon as we could dismiss school, Rachel and Joshua went out to help.  I let the two smaller ones go play, and I used the time to accomplish a few things.  I organized my check registers, balanced my checking account, exercised, and started supper. 

Tomorrow:

Priorities:

Exercise

Make lasagna for supper in the morning (because the afternoon is full.)

School

Keep the laundry going

Hang up sweaters and light coats that are in a basket in the pantry room

Accomplished all of the above for the day.

On Wednesday, (yesterday) Rachel and I went over to my oldest daughter’s house to help her out.  She’s 8+ months pregnant, and having a difficult pregnancy. She also has three little ones ages 4, 3, and 1.  We went over with some cleaning supplies and a dish of freshly made lasagna.  I also brought a crockpot with chicken and veggies to make her a homemade chicken broth.   By the time we left, her house sparkled, she was able to get her hair washed, and dinner was ready for when her husband came home that evening.  I left content knowing that I was able to help Becky, as well as enjoying her company and being with the grandbabies. 

I have often written about our business trips to Indianapolis but I've never posted a picture in all these years that I've been blogging. This time, I took my camera with me, stowed away within my purse.  The occasion for this business trip was not necessarily "business", though.  It was a luncheon - to say goodbye to Maggie - one of our favorite people in Indy.  She has been a tremendous help to our family business  over the years on a regular, monthly basis, and now, her last day at work was this past Friday. 

.

.

See the guy on the left?  That's Jeff.  Go ~HERE~ to read about how God answered our prayer and saved his life from the clutches of death.  He has been a faithful friend over the years, as well as a tremendous help, too, in our family business.  We have gone to dinner with he and his wife many times over the past decade in our trips to Indy. 

We were hanging out at Matt and Kristi's house, watching the horses graze.  Dad was playing tether ball with his two younger boys, I was holding Baby Kayla and talking to the girls.  It was the day of the Sabbath, and we were just enjoying this beautiful day. 

.

.