Devotion

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-10

I may have been having an emotional moment but when I read this yesterday I felt like crying. Not sure why. Maybe because the verse about hungering after righteousness is the meaning of my son's name and something I pray for him every night.


Perhaps I was thinking of the persecuted church and the horrific experiences that we in our comfortable houses CANNOT imagine!


I think though I was just feeling comforted by God's Spirit in realizing that He cares about us when we're down or "poor in spirit". That he notices the peacemaking qualities that most other people look past. Other people look at our outward appearance and judge us but God sees our heart. I love that!

Motivated Monday

I have a few different projects that are in the works. Here is one of them. This is our dining area and what has been done so far is my husband's doing. He installed drywall, which took care of my #1 complaint about owning an "old" house. The walls are tongue and groove planks and they were covered with thick wall paper. So non practical!

He also put in a ceiling system and is going to install 1/4 inch MDF boards up between the beams, but you can already envision it right? Oh, and that light/fan? My #2 complaint! It's going!

My project is to prime and paint. Before the room was painted Dutch Boy's "Red Wine" which I have continued to love for 3 years now. But we're thinking we might be putting our house up for sale sometime soon, and according the the experts over at HGTV, "red is not a color for everyone". So, I think I'm going to go with a muted teal. I am too lazy to look for examples so stay tuned for the finished pictures:) It might be awhile though. After husband is done with the ceiling and we paint, we're going to sand and laquer our hardwood floors.

This project isn't really going to be my doing, but I just wanted to show something sad. Remember when it snowed and then the ground froze? And then it snowed some more and then froze some more? Well, I remember wondering what would happen to my poor plants. So, when spring finally showed its sweet self, I went out with the pruners to give my roses a little care. This is the finished result after cutting away all the dead branches. Boo hoo:( My neighbor and closest rose expert tells me they may have gone back to wild and I may or may not be getting roses at all this summer.

Here's another project that is going to take some work. I am not a baker. I always say I love to cook, but baking is not my thing. Maybe because I think the professionals already do it so well, so why try? I think I have potential to be a good baker. I like measuring things exactly right, leveling off the cup of flour and whatnot. Maybe I don't want to bake because baked goodies are my absolute weakness and I don't want to find myself eating whole cakes. Or half cakes.

But I want to learn how to bake bread. I already know how to put a mix into a bread machine and press the button, but I would like to learn the old fashioned way of doing it. I would love to teach my kids too. So, after making up my mind that I would learn I committed myself by purchasing a 50 pound bag of bread flour at Costco. The bag on top is the 5 pound bag that I usually buy.

I have another project that has to do with this but it's a secret for now.

And this isn't a project but I thought I throw in a picture of my two guys. Aren't they adorable??? Last night we went and relaxed at the Camano Island State Park. Lovely night, lovely sunset, lovely family time!

With a Love

This morning I went to a Proverbs 31 meeting. My friend Becky and I walked in to find gifts at every place setting. Since I love gifts, (that's my love language by the way;) I was highly curious and quickly tore open the brown paper wrapping to find a book that I thought I'd lost. "With A Love" by Heather Ware, is the true story about Milly Ware, her husband Ted and her five children as they travel to Cuba as missionaries during the revolution which brought Castro to power. I read the book a long time ago and lent it to someone, forgot who, and haven't seen it again. Also, when I read the book I really wanted to someday meet the amazing woman in the story and I was ecstatic to find out that she was this morning's featured speaker.

At 89 years old she is one of the most inspirational women I have seen in my life and I left feeling so encouraged and refreshed.

Her website, where you can order the book, is http://tedandmillyware.com/

"Nurture" by Lisa Bevere

"Nurture" is the first book I've read by Lisa Bevere and I absolutely love it. Her writing is lovely to read and I believe she has, in her book, answers to some of the main problems facing women today in regards to their relationships with each other.

Lately I've heard over and over that women are looking for best friends, that they are longing for that Anne of Green Gables/Dianna Berry relationship. Not only that women are looking for mentors/mothers and they are hoping to mentor women/daughters.

This book responds to that longing and has really inspired me to continue seeking those relationships because God is doing something significant in the church today; gathering us together in order to grow us in our gifts, help us in our weaknesses and "strengthen [our] hearts so that [we] will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones." 1 Thes. 3:13

Also, Lisa Bevere will be speaking next February at Christian Family Center on Camano Island, Wa. I'll post more information when it becomes available.

Beautiful Spoken Word

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI7Cl42UDWQ