A Quick Thought...

I don't have alot of time to blog today but I wanted to leave you all with a few verses that have been of extreme interest to me.

They might not be uplifting or make you feel all pretty and good inside but they speak the truth.

Something so many Christians don't want to hear, don't want to recognize or acknowledge.

My heart has been so sad and heavy this past week. I have been bombarded with shocking news and sad news. News that must remain private for privates sake. I have found myself praying and pleading to the Lord for protection over the christian family. A holy dynamic that is strongly under satans attack.

I praise God that this sad news has nothing to do with my immediate family or marriage but that doesn't mean that I am immune to the false doctrines leading so many believers astray.

Satan is hard at work and he is rejoicing as each Christian home is torn apart...

"THE THIEF COMES ONLY TO STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY..." JOHN 10:10

He comes softly, and deceives so many.

He plays on our feelings and our untrusting emotions. Christians have denied Christ and have become worshippers of self.

" THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS AND BEYOND CURE. WHO CAN UNDERSTAND IT?" JEREMIAH 17:9

Ladies, as Christian women we must regain control of our homes again. We must uplift our families and our marriages in prayer DAILY. We must keep the word of God as center in our home and rebuke the devil from having even the slightest foothold.

We must :

"PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD SO THAT YOU CAN TAKE YOUR STAND AGAINST THE DEVILS SCHEMES. FOR OUR STRUGGLE IS NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD,BUT AGAINST THE RULERS, AGAINST THE AUTHORITIES, AGAINST THE POWERS OF THIS DARK WORLD AND AGAINST THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS." EPHESIANS 6:10-12

Be prepared for battle and protect your homes, protect your husbands and children. Don't let empty philosophies or feel good thoughts go against your holy sacrament of marriage.

Tonight, sit down with your spouse, tell him how much you love him, thank him for providing and ask him what he thinks of your marriage, what needs changing and what area needs prayer.

Break down the walls of pride that steal and kill and destroy and reclaim what is yours.

"IF MY PEOPLE, WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SINS AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND." 2 CHRONICLES 7:14

I know in a marriage it takes 2. Im a firm believer in that.... 2 to make a marriage work and 2 to make it fall apart... but it takes ONE person to turn the tide. ONE person to change the course. Let that be you....

My heart is so sad over the news that has been coming at me from all angles but I will use this as an eye opener. A lesson. I pray God can let me learn from others unfortunate mistakes. From this, I pray my husband and I can grow stronger together without going thru all the hardships that others have had to go thru.

I thank God for blessing me with a marriage that has stood for almost 14 years. And with Gods covering... a million more.

My Basket...

Lately events in my life have been interweaving like a beautiful basket. Sometimes its amazing to just step back for a moment and reflect.
I've often spoken of my love of the Bible Story in 1 Samuel... Hannah and her heartache. The other day, GapBoy and I were having one of our biblical discussions. It was late at night, we were tired and I don't even remember the events leading up to our conversation, but before long we were on the couch casually conversing on end time events and prophecy. I badgered him with questions... GapBoy read every single "Left Behind" book series , so he had a clearer view. After he told me (for the billionth time) that I really need to pick up the books for myself, He started telling me about the Judgement... for us Christians. How the characters in heaven were able to see Abraham and Moses stand before the throne of God and receive their crowns for their life on earth... which of coarse they immedietly laid back at His feet. We began discussing how crazy it would be to actually SEE them, talk to them and worship with them. Men who we had learned about and talked about for so long, men who's lives we have studied year after year. I don't think my mind was able to comprehend it all. I instantly thought of Hannah. It finally clicked. I started telling GapBoy that... "OH MY... I can actually meet Hannah." I was thrilled and had to hold back the tears. I told him how I wanted to go up to her and thank her for being so faithful. I wanted to tell her that a woman CENTURIES later, in a totally different world than her, leaned on her faithfulness and strength. Her life story writen in a bible before Christ ever walked the earth, eased the pain of another woman who lived over 2000 AFTER Christ. Is that not amazing? To some, it may be child-like. But for me, it meant everything. In heaven, I will be able to hug her and thank her and let her know that her tears did not fall in vain.
Tonight in bible study, our video lesson mentioned Hannah. My ears perked up. I wondered how this story related in any way to what we were learning. In the same passage I have read hundreds of times in the past year, I saw something I never knew was there... Not only was Hannah rock solid in her faith in her God, but in a moment when she could have had reasonable argument to be angry at her priest, she turned it on herself and had the utmost respect for authority. In less than a year after that encounter, she gave birth to Samuel, who would lead an entire nation into revival... all because of ONE womans amazing faith. Right in church I thought back to our recent discussion... another thing to discuss over heavenly coffee.;)
I love how God keeps revealing things to me, even after I "think" I know everything. And its also amazing how He is able to weave everything together, so seamlessly, when we, in mortal mind, would never think it was possible. I don't know why we doubt Him... after all, He IS the creator of the universe.

What Autumn Means To Us:

In our Little Red House Autumn is eagerly awaited and celebrated. When fall arrives on our cozy front porch, a few things instantly come to our minds:

Hot Chocolate

Apple Picking

Long cool walks

Mums

Hot Apple Cider with Apple Pie

Pumpkin Picking

Scarecrows

Marshmallows

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Cinnamon Rolls

Fall specials

Soups and warm bread

roasts and potatoes

Our Thanksgiving Tree

Fireplace chats

Church festivities

These are just a small few that come to our minds. Today the celebration begins. We welcome this season with open arms and can't wait to see what the next few months have in store.

Happy Fall From Our Little Red Home To Yours!

A Fall Song

Golden and red trees
Nod to the soft breeze,
As it whispers, "Winter is near;"
And the brown nuts fall
At the wind's loud call,
For this is the Fall of the year.

Good-by, sweet flowers!
Through bright Summer hours
You have filled our hearts with cheer
We shall miss you so,
And yet you must go,
For this is the Fall of the year.

Now the days grow cold,
As the year grows old,
And the meadows are brown and sere;
Brave robin redbreast
Has gone from his nest,
For this is the Fall of the year.

I do softly pray
At the close of day,
That the little children, so dear,
May as purely grow
As the fleecy snow
That follows the Fall of the year.

Author Unknown....

Our September 1st Apple Pie Day! (in pictures)

Our Apples

The cooking begins

Everyone has a job to do. Hannah starts to peel them.

Cool Temperatures.

Today is a perfect fall day. We are taking full advantage of the cool temperatures and cloudy day. We rode bikes, took walks and ran barefoot thru the tall grass... (that needs to be mowed) I know the fall is still some ways away and the heat will return but until then we will pretend its fall.
As I was pulling my 2 little ones in their wagon while Molly rode her bike next to me my thoughts began to wander to a different type of temperature... Spiritual temperature. I glanced at my little Red House in the distance and wondered what the spiritual temperature was in my home.
It looks so welcoming on the outside. Vines growing up and around my front porch. Fresh blooms of all color greet you at the door, and a family quilt is there for you to snuggle with on the front porch. What about when you stepped inside? Can my guests feel Christ? Can they sense their is something special about our home compared to others?
Does my kitchen table tell a story? Do those I welcome, and those that live here feel God present even in the small things served?
It got me thinking that perhaps I need to raise my thermostat. Not just for my newcomers but for the very special people that I serve every day. Christ came to serve not to be served. That is exactly the example we need to follow. Without grumbling, without whining and without (gulp) yelling.
So as of today I will adjust the spiritual temperature in my Little Red House. Tonight I will re-read Jesus's perfect example and pray I can exhibit just a trace of His goodness. I have tried not to yell... something that is shamefully a constant reminder for me...
and I will pray for grace... lots and lots of grace...

Yummy!

Last night I fired up the stove and made some carnival food. The girls help me make and eat delicious funnel cake covered in powdered sugar!! Oh did it bring back memories of sunny day at the beach and trips to the "Wave" for all of us. Good times!!

Did You Feel It???

This morning, I opened our sliding door and entered our screened porch and felt the cool breezy morning air. The sun was hidden behind some clouds and the birds were busy singing. Before long, the kids followed me out and before long all 7 of us were sitting at the table, talking and starting school. Fall was in the air. It was coming... we still have time before it gets here but its not far behind. I felt it and I can't wait. One week until September 1st. Thats the start of the season in our home. Last night I located the decorations in our garage and smiled as I pulled out all the memories. My list is long of things I wish to add to the lawn this year... scarecrows galore, leaves,gourds,haystacks,cornstalks.... I will be dreaming of pumpkins and mums tonight and counting down the days till I decorate our beautiful Little Red House!

Fall Garden...

The plans are underway. Seeds will be planted as soon as this hot spell is over! A fall garden will be grown by seed by our family. Just a couple more days of fall gardening research and the seeds will go in the ground. I can't wait! I really hope and pray it is successful!

9 Days Till Turkey Day...

Today is day 2 at Kelli's house of Thanks.

Im off to Publix later to check off some more things on my Thanksgiving menu. It also happens to be Holiday Fest there...(pure coincidence I assure you ;o) I will just have to grin and bare it when tasting yummy treats and desserts while shopping. Sigh, Sometimes life is so hard.

Jason and I keep revising our ever changing menu as I keep inviting more people to our table and we are still on the hunt for our Tommy bird. Jason wants a 25 pounder... 10 pounds for him and 15 pounds for the rest of us. He loves leftovers and my cooking, so I guess I will try to make that happen. So far our menu is as follows:

APPETIZERS:

Stuffed Mushrooms

Tomato/Mozzerella salad

Cheese and crackers

Crackers and dip

Spinach dip with Pumpernickel bread

MAIN DISHES:

TURKEY

Stuffing

GapGirls special mashed potatoes

Green bean casserole

Home-made bread

sweet potato casserole

corn

cranberry sauce

gravy

salad

lasagna

DESSERT:

Two apple pies

Two pecan pies

Two chocolate pudding pies

one pumpkin pie

brownies

ice cream

home made whipped cream

That about sums it up, as you can see I have plenty of food to share, so if your in the mood for some of the best cooking in the south then just come on over to my little red house. You will not be disappointed...I guarantee =)