Joy Dare Continued..(771-779)

              

Ann Voskamp introduced us to    the daily habit of    finding the joy  all around us   in her book, 1000 Gifts. On her website she encourages   taking part in the Joy Dare    and you can find everything you need to know here!Here is my Joy Dare for  the last week of September with Ann Voskamp! 

771.I am  thankful  to live in the information age.. where  any possible  item can be researched  almost immediately.. and if I can't have one of my own,,, I  am  joyful to live in a world where   these   beautiful  creatures  give such love and  dedication to their owners..

772. It has become more evident every day as I am leading the small group in our women's Bible study on Ephesians 6 and the weapons of our warfare.. that the enemy of our soul wants nothing more than to deter us and keep us at bay through whatever means his crafty, deceptive will can devise.... I have been battling recurring pain in my knee.... it isn't an arthritic pain, just a nagging pain that I am putting solely on the enemy's  hand and I have given him notice that he has no power over me or my flesh.. to get out in the name of Jesus and I have prayed for the Lord to restore to me what the enemy has stolen from me and my knee is much better...praise God for His provision to battle that which comes against us in both the spirit and physical realm!

773.  Thank you, Lord for giving our area  a beautiful sunshiny day  .. a respite from the  past  very rainy days .. our rain guage  registered  14 inches of rain in a week...   the rivers a re out of their banks and  the ground is saturated.... 

 but  Lord, you heve given   us  a  lovely day  and  bright sunshine   today and a time for  waters to recede... in preparation for the  coming predicted  onslaught of    the ravages of  Hurricane Joachin that may begin  late tonight and  go through Monday ..  yes, we  had a bit of water  that  inched its way   somehow  under our  sunroom slab and    invaded our storeroom in our basement...  but  that has been corrected and  we have had the time today to take measures to  hopefully  dissuade that from happening again... We pray, Lord for protection   from  ruin  from this   coming  event...for ourselves and all who are in its path...  We pray for protection  of life and property, in Jesus name!

774.  I thank you Lord,  for    allowing  us to  finally  finish the    work   we started  in early summer   to  renovate our kitchen...   allowing us to  invest   some   money in our home for as  the  financial forecast  seemed bleak,  I felt in my spirit that  investing in our real estate  was  the  best way to  lay claim and  protect  our investments..especially as we do hope to  be downsizing    sooner rather than later,  if time goes on.... Anyway,   everything worked out beautifully, and  my dream of a  modern yet  cosy kitcken  has become reality... We couldn't  nor would we have,  if  we didnt trust you in all things, Lord...

775.  My most precious  gift that is flourishing is  my precious  2 year old  grand daughter....

I love to see her  each week on facetime  how she is connecting the dots    in her world  .. here   she is  turning the pages of  her momma's  piano music, and  she is singing Old McDonald as she turns the pages..

776. At this very moment I am receiving a gift unexpected.....

The  absolute last  item to  complete the  kitchen reno   is  being tackled as I type....   Hubby  has had so much to  accomplish that had been  pushed aside as he  worked   so   determinedly  at  the hands-on work in the kitchen  that  I really  had no idea we'd get this last  "cherry on top: 0r not!!!    But  as we  were  deciding on  all the finishes  for the  lights and  appliances  etc,   that old white / brassy ceiling fan looked so tacky...   Lynn would just say, " don''t look up!"  So I didn't and frankly I quit asking if today was  fan day   weeks ago...if you can't tell,  I will  tell you anyway... Im giddy with expectation now!!!!
777. As I sat here  thinking about  what on earth I could write about  a gift unpopular....  it suddenly came to me... of course...
As I  sat at the computer  browsing the news last night  I ran across an  hour long  speech to  Congress by  Ted Cruz    that was  given yesterday.... if you  havent seen it I encourage you to.... he  spoke on what really goes on in Washington.... Why after   4 years of   landslide victories in congress ....   when the populace  voted in  whom they thought would  help turn the tide  in our nation.....  to stop the growth of huge government and  unwarranted spending that was  bringing us down  in so many ways.... that  was putting  such a huge tax burden on our children and grand children...  Well,  ordinarily  when I  see and hear  this  kind of  speech my  apparent lack of faith  would allow it to tear me to pieces...   now I did cry,  because  you cannot hear  this speech  w/o ad nauseum...     but, today I am  not  fiercely revolting in my spirit...   but  am   calmly  taking it all to the Lord....   He, alone,  knows  what  goes on in  the dark and  He is in  ultimate control even when it appears that  the enemy is....  but God is at work... in the heavenlies  bringing about His solution and His plan... So I  can take joy in  just resting  in that knowledge and  keeping my eyes on  heavenly places!!!
778.  

One of my favorite new   additions to the kitchen is having my favorite cookbooks at my fingertips...  loving that!!!

779.  Another   gift that  brings me  a lot of delight is my  desk  organizer...     that is sort of shelved....  but  again keeps everything I need at  arms length!!!!.. and keeps the   desk area looking tidy...!!!

Time for Some Warming Refreshment

The rain just keeps coming down... the ground is completely saturated   from days  of a  steady drizzle and the creeks are a risin'!

When I went to Bible Study this morning I got rather  drenched  running back to the car and it chilled me to the bone.... 



Even though the colors of autumn  are   spreading across  the map,    it  really  makes  one feel   much more  cosy  to see the autumn colors   warming the   rooms of your home on these kind of days!

The gold and  russets   are  like  feather comforters    to the senses...

And as I  approach the  kitchen I am overwhelmed  with  the need for some pumpkin spice tea 

 and   pumpkin roll cake  which I just happen to have a bit of that left in the  fridge!

As I spy my  comfy  chair   in the parlor,  I know exactly where I  will take my repose.. 

 Oh, btw,  I  have been working on  my desk top  trying to  make everything fit   in an organized manner....

 and so here  we  go...

today  I  am choosing one of my Bed and Breakfast  collection mugs....  They are perfect for a  warming  afternoon refreshment...  this one    I   bought last year at the Woolverton Inn in  New Hope, PA.  My plate is Royal Stafford... my  autumn go to   pottery!
And I just happen to have a  stack of lovely    fall  catalogues and   my  Victoria Bliss  to   while away  with  as I  enjoy my afternoon  reverie!

Today  I'm sharing with 

Martha’s Favorites 

Tea Time Tuesday 

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Friends Sharing Tea 

                                                            Share Your Cup Thursday

Wallah! All Done at Last

Change around the home   is   wonderful...  

Heretofore,  my 1930's kitchen  was   just bereft of storage  or   utility..on the  one long way opposite the sink  there was nothing but a furnace flue in the corner...  so for  extra  storage I  put  a hutch there.. which  served us well enough  for  several years..

.

As you can see the other side of the kitchen  was   very  small   and  actually only suitable for one  cook at a time.  But  Lynn was well trained to  use  the space on  winter mornings  to make the family  waffle  breakfasts!!  Our  very plain  solid wood birch cabinets  were  efficinet,  but  not nearly enough  and  we won't discuss again that I only had 2 drawers....

 But this past  late spring  we   had only one purpose ~to  redo  that  kitchen...   and  bring it into the  21st century anyway!  Our  English Tudor home  will never   have an open concept,   but  that isnt a priority  for us.. We love  the cosiness of our home and attempted to keep that same  country cottage  feel of it..

  I have posted before  how we  incorporated our old cabinet  bodies  into the new design  with new  cabinet doors, but  these  horrid  over the sink lights had to go!

So after  we   installed our wonderful  plantation shutters  we   were able to install our new pendants...

Which I think  goes a long way in updating and    I do  really love my  paint color..  Rolling Pebble by  Behr.

without the flash

 and with it....

 So now  on the other side of the kitchen...  we have a  computer work station... Yes, it is  absolutely  too full of stuff  I can't seem to decide  how to manage  all  my gear...  but Im getting there.  Computers and printers are  bigger than you think they are... but now that I am  a Grannie to two  little  tykes,  I absolutely couldnt keep all my  mess  in their room....  So before   Birdie's little  sis   gets here  we had to make  a way  ....  and  now  I have many more cabinets for the  myriads of  dishes I collect!  yayayayayay!
 YOU might also notice our  under the cabinet lights....  I   love those so much in the evening...Our daughter  said  a few weeks ago when she saw it,   "Gee, mom, why didnt you do this   when  I was still at home...."

 And now beside my ugly old flue I have  my floor to ceiling pantry  which I love so much!   

  My new fridge and  dishwasher  beside it     bring me   hopping in the  present time.....

Ok, I still have my old stove... everything in it's time is what I always say!

I am sharing on  

Metamorphosis Monday

Return to Loveliness

 Make it Pretty Monday

Happy Homemaker Monday

                                            

       Return to The Diary of The Stay At Home Mom here!

On the weather front:

With temps in the 60's and  the   cool rains    I am feeling it in my joints... especially my knee.... Praying that goes away  soon!  I love the sweater weather!

On my bedside table:

The Armor of God,  Priscilla  Shirer
 Jesus Calling,   Sarah Young

On my TV:

I  enjoy the  humor of  The Middle,  and the  drama of Blue Bloods.
Love on the Air, Hallmark

On the menu for tonight:
Smething  easy  probably~  chicken tenders and rice... my go to  menu!

The week ahead:~

face time with  our girls
Ladies' Bible study  The Armor of God  by Priscilla Shirer
gym   to do water aerobics
lots of   Bible Study 
 Just need to straighten up the downstiars...   
Oce Lynn installs the fan this week,  the kitchen will be  complete! yayayayayay

On my To Do List:

~laundry

~mopping

~dusting

~reading
~coordinating  the study.. I am a small group leader

New Recipe I tried last week:
not in a cooking mood or frame of mind

Looking forward to:

Our Sunday School class  is taking a drive up to the mountains  soon and   the leaves should already be  turning..  We have dinner reservations  here

Homemaking Tip for this week:

downsize,   purge, and downsize some more.... it is  way too easy to  collect  too much stuff..  A happy home is a  home that  isnt  stuffed with  so much  STUFF!  I can't say this enough....   I still ahve   plenty to do...   especially in the basement!

Favorite photos from last week:

This makes my heart sing....

Old MacDonald had a farm 

E-I-E-I-O

And on that  farm he had a slide....

Lesson learned the past few days:

Rainy days  are great  for taking naps!

On my Prayer List:

family,  church, friends,  our city,  our nation,  the division in our nation, 

Israel,  or  government

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

 

Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. What have you 'fallen for' recently? Funny you should ask... I am sitting on the bench of decision about whether to"fall' for this or not.... Some of my good friends are busily hoarding food, water, paper products, candles, batteries, etc, because they have fallen for the bad predictions of the coming days.... 

disaster looming right over the horizon... I admit I vacillate on this issue... I hear so much about the crisis from my friends, but I am not compelled to order 6 months of prepacked food or 10 gallon containers of water.. I mean someone said one person uses 90 gallons of water in one month. I know that where I live there is no fresh water supply.... I dont want to be the one left out in the cold and dark,  starving to death... but I dont want to be the one who is putting my trust in my own means and not in the Lord whom I dont think has spoken to me on this yet... When there are specials, I purchase twice the amount of canned food than usual.. I have picked up a few extra gallons of water, but I dont think you can say Ive fallen for the disasters that are said to be coming upon us.

2. What's something you're 'squirreling away' for later?Along with what I mentioned above, I did buy an extra set of AA batteries last week,.. is that" squirrelling away" batteries.... Im not so sure... I saw the infomercial this weekend on having a home generator.. that looks like a really great idea but I'm sure it will be very costly.... We dont really live in an area where disasters usually strike.... what if the banks fail and money is worthless..I just have no idea.... I know this... our generation will not be able to subsist on the land and their own resources like our forebears were able to do...I think it is probably a good idea to have lots of ammunition. Never thought I'd ever see myself typing that sentence.. but then again; why.. to protect my extra cans of corn???I'll be very interested to read how others answer these questions. I do know this... if trouble is heading this way we better have a ton of toilet paper!

And I haven't squirrelled away a bit of that!

3. How do you like your apples? Sweet? Tart? Crisp? Cooked? Apples are one of the superfoods for fall... how often do you eat an apple either plain or as part of a favorite recipe? What's your favorite variety?

I love apples... I used to love golden and red delicious but the growers messed them up so badly for longer shelf life... they are hardly an apple to me, anymore.. I like Galas and Granny Smith..When I think of cooking them I love them just stewed in a frying pan with spices and a bit of Oj with cinnamon sticks and maybe a few other friuts and make a compote for Christmas, or my grandmothers apple cake with caramel icing... can't make the icing, so I havent had that cake in decades... so when I'm in the mood for apples, I cut them into eighths and dip the eighths in natural peanut butter for an evening snack! YUM!

4. According to Fodor's the ten best fall foliage trips in the US of A are-Aspen Colorado, The Catskills New York, The Berkshires Massachusetts, Columbia River Gorge Oregon, Green Mountain Byway Vermont, Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway New Mexico, Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, Upper Peninsula Michigan, Lake of the Ozarks Missouri, and Glacier National Park Montana. Which would you most like to visit this fall and why?

Shame on Fodor's for omitting the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC and VA. very near where I live... I will be visiting both the Catskills and the Berkshires this fall when we go to Boston to see our kids...They are lovely mountains, but hav enever seen thema t their autumnal peak of glory. We were in vermont 3 years ago and arrived one week late to see the maples in their fiery read, and one week early to see the majestic oaks.. sad for me becasue seeing Vermont in autumn was a bucket list item for me... huge let down! SO I think I willjust stay put and enjoy the glory all around me where I live!

5. The topic of legalizing marijuana was raised in the most recent televised political debate so let's wade in too. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana in some form. Four states have legalize marijuana for recreational use. Your thoughts?

Absolutely not... once that camel starts under the tent it wont take long for the whole critter to crash in and the camping trip is ruined. We've seen that happen over and over... there is nothing good about marajuana except perhaps for some major medicinal purposes which then should be carefully dispensed like any other habitual drug...I understand the marajuana of today isnt like that I may have smoked in '69 in college... I did try it once.. wasnt impressed, hated the smell. and never tried it again.

But in today's world you open a pandoras box of legalized drugs and one thing leads to another.

6. Are you okay to watch a movie already in progress or do you need to always see it from the beginning? How about jumping into a TV series somewhere in the middle? Is that okay? 

Im always jumping right in.. I surf the tv trying desparately to find something that appeals to me... when I do find something even if I've seen it 50 times before I'm fine with it... I suppose, I dont really give my full attention to the story anyway.. it is usually more for company that for anything else! Im at an age that there is very little that really grabs me like it once did. I do like Hallmark movies and series.IE A good Jesse Stone... I'll take it anyway I can!

7. Thursday (September 24) is National Punctuation Day. What rule of punctuation trips you up most often? What rule of punctuation, when broken by someone else, bugs you the most?

Well, as a blogger, I usually type as fast as I talk and I make tons of boo-boos..and I ,too often, do not go back and closely correct myself. Sometimes I find errors a week later and do go back to correct for posterity. I do know how to spell and write, but my fingers dont always cooperate. I have given up on some punctuation. I seldom use apostrophes and sometimes I find "...." does much to move my writing along...... rather than having to consider, is it a : or a ;? When my hubby comes in and glances over my shoulder he can not abide the spacing between words. He points it out to me all the time... I am not aware that I am doing that..I think it just comes up on the screen. I really do't care about spacing... Have I become a slouch in my writing? Goodness I graded enough papers for 30 years.. Let's not talk grammar now...it's a new era in my life. Hope my typing doesnt bother readers too much... 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The last couple of years have been probably the worst years of my life... as an only child I was soully responsible for the care of my aging 90+ year old parents. They were married for over 70 years.

T he last Christmas before they moved out of their home ... after mom fell and broke her back.

We were all so very close.. But as they aged and became so feeble and unable to contend with property and their own care, I was exceptionally grateful when their doctor suggested it was time to move into a facility... And that was what it took to get them to agree to it... But after over a year in assisted living it became apparent to me that I had to separate them and put them in 2 different facilities... My mom's demands on my 93 year old dad were killing him. It was the hardest thing I ever did, but for his well being I had to and when an opening came up at the Veteran's Care Center... (wonderful) btw! We jumped on it and mom moved into a nursing home. I, then, had two places to tend to over another 2 years. It was hard .. I struggled... I dont have any guilt over it.. I did the very best that I could under the circumstances. Dad passed Christmas of 2013. Momma was so happy that Christmas to get to hold her great granddaughter.. that was the day of daddy's funeral.

Mom passed Christmas 2014... and it was so much of a relief in one way, and so much a a grief in another.... the hardest thing I ever did was watch momma fail to thrive.. she went from 175 pound to 75. Then when she somehow slid out of the bed one night last December and struggled on her own to try to get up when no one came after several minutes, she broke her arm with a compound fracture that would never heal... to imagine her in the floor like she was struggling... it is a nightmare to me. ... to see her bandages leaking red evey day was horrible and only through stronger and stronger pain medication did mother linger in a semi conscious state for a couple of weeks... After all was said and done.. it is now 9 months later and I am just coming out of a funk that I guess was my grieving process... I can finally pick up a book and read it and enjoy what Im reading.....or watch a full length film and enjoy that... or pick up my life purposes in church.. where I had had to step away from earlier this year... for me processing grief included illness... IBS, stress, depression, esophageal problems, and it took most of those 9 months to get things under control. I dont really know why Im randomly unloading this, but perhaps, someone else is out there to whom this makes some sense... I consider myself a strong, mature christian and I know God allows us to endure pain and suffering in all forms to teach us...and grow us... interestingly I have just been asked to lead one of the small groups in Priscilla Shirer's Bible Study on spiritual warfare... and that is exactly what I have been contending with.... God is so good,. He is turning my ashes to beauty in being able to apply what I've experienced and how I've overcome it through His comfort, His mercy love, and His powerful Word and the love of others.... and my own personal battles using the weapons of my warfare!

And God is a giver of gifts. This Christmas our second grand daughter will be born! So very dear that God is restoring the glory of the season of Jesus birth back to our family! Amen!

One Thousand Gifts ( 762-770)

                                                 
Ann Voskamp introduced us to    the daily habit of    finding the joy  all around us   in her book, 1000 Gifts. On her website she encourages   taking part in the Joy Dare    and your  can find everything you need to know here!Here is my Joy Dare for  the fourth week of September with Ann Voskamp! 

762.How  precious was   sharing  the joy  of our grand daughter this morning  as she modelled  a  special  gift from her "Aunt Jenny"..Birdie was in  seventh heaven  as  she   donned her  pair of jammies  all by herself....

Aunt Jenny had  given her the book  Madeleine , and even though  Birdie is just almost 2    she knows the story by heart and  can  finish  every line!

763.  My joy this morning  was   in   finishing   the first week of   Bible study...   and creating  by very  first strategic  prayer card.. using the beautiful  promises of  God in His word!

764.  I am   ecstatically  excited about   learning a new  artsy   technique.. a dear  friend has promised to  take time to  show me the mechanics of  doing something like this using   special photos...

Now isnt that   lusciously beautiful!

765.  The Lord   in His perfect provision  has   suddenly offered us the  first true taste of autumn... I am loving these  beautiful temperatures..  

766. How  my   heart  flipped over when I  walked into the guest room where my  hang up clothes are kept and where we  process the  folding and ironing of clothes and my dearest had  so very neatly folded my laundry...  all ready for me to  choose  from tomorrow  when I return to church  for  Bible Study..  God blessed me so much with  my  sweet husband!

767. This morning  as we  talked on speaker phone it was  a  sweet blessing to hear  little Bird  saying  " Hiiiiiiiigh!   and then  "Bye Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" That was the first time she had  ever  said   the second Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....  Soooooooo  touching to   see her grow a little bit more each day!

768.  As I have been doing my study   it is truly amazing to  begin to grasp the love of the father for His children....  how forgiving He truly is....  I am humbled   by His mercy..   yet  how can I be so   wayward to  do  the   sin yet again.....  Praise His holy name He   take our sins on  account!

769.  Another   beautiful and precious   sound is  to   hear and watch   our   adorable  Birdie   sing her favorite  hymn...   and she isnt even 2 yet...   the hymn. is ' Holy, Holy, Holy!!

770.  The  sweetest  curve I can think of and  I do think of it  a lot is  this...naturally curly hair!!!