At Home in Georgia

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house . . . ; he kneeled upon his knees three times a day.

Beep, beep, beep! “Why is that vehicle in front of us rolling backwards while we wait on the red light?” questioned the driver we were traveling with. The eighty-year-old man did not realize that he was to blame, for it was his vehicle that kept easing forward until it almost made contact with the car ahead of us. My wife and I were witnesses from the back seat of his car.

How often the Lord sees our misdeeds, while we blame another. In the Scripture reading today, Daniel was put to the test. He would have had plenty of reasons to blame others. Yet not one accusation escaped his lips. Daniel was aware that the prohibition against prayer had been signed by the king, but it did not make him stop praying to his God. He trusted God and blamed no one. He did not even blame the king for signing such a decree. Because of Daniels fervency in prayer, his life was spared.

A Day for Christmas

For more than three centuries, as Christianity spread slowly throughout the world, Christians remembered and celebrated the birth of Christ on different days and in different fashions; it was not until the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity that December 25 became the official Christmas Day. Constantine had taken root in Roman culture in the third century A.D. On December 25th, Mithraists celebrated the festival of Dies Invicti Solis, or the Day of the Invincible Sun, in honor of Mithra, who was said to have been born on this date. When Constantine declared himself a believer in Jesus Christ, he left Mithra behind, but he decreed the official Roman day of celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ to be December 25, the same day as the celebration of Mithra. This was also the season of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia and the Kalends of January, two highly spirited celebrations marked by great feasting and revelry. In those days, Christianity grew in a world full of mythology, superstition, and competing gods; and Constantine understood that the best means of winning converts was not by forbidding the old celebrations, but by turning the old traditions to the new Christian purpose.

This week's frugal finds!

Last weekend I posted about my latest project -- refinishing our old pedestal table....... I sanded the top off and applied new stain and it turned out like a brand new table!! I have also been on the lookout for pressed back vintage chairs. I have been checking www.craigslist.org for good deals and this past week I was able to pick up some more chairs! I actually picked up the following chairs, 4 of them in this style for $75 and the owner also gave me the pedestal table that came with it! Not sure what I am going to do with the table for now... but I cleaned the chairs, and applied new stain/finish.

The chairs were fairly worn, especially in the seat area. I prepared the chairs by clearning with mineral spirits and then adding some stain & finish. You do not have to completely strip the wood of it's original varnish to give it a "fresh" new look..... just clean well and then apply a stain / finish wood sheen product. I used Minwax finish -- it's a stain & finish in one, and I applied a colonial walnut color. Really easy to do. Just rub on with a soft clean cloth. Make sure to wipe off any residue of the stain after applying a coat. It dries within a few hours. I have applied this stuff to old antiques to freshen them up. It works wonders!

I also picked up these antique chairs....... aren't they beautiful? I love the "cut" out at the top....I need to get them cleaned up with a coat of the finish/stain too.

So far, I have 10 used chairs I have been able to pick up for great prices and I need to find 2 more!

It's a little work to find a bargain -- but well worth the money saved! These chairs are over $100 a piece brand new, so the savings is big!

Discovering Twila Paris ..

I recently came to listen to the music of Christian Artist, Twila Paris..... and all I can say is "wow"! This Christian Woman truly has been given the gift of music! She clearly uses her music to glorify the Lord! If you have not listened to twila's beautiful music and heard her lovely voice...... you need to!

Lessons from Jehoshaphat

Last night I went to bed with a heavy burden on my heart...... crying out to God to help me to see what I needed to do to resolve this challenge -- the Lord led me to this passage in the Bible. It was exactly what I needed to read! Isn't God great? He gives us the answers we need right from His word! Thank you Lord!

Jehoshaphat found himself in a predicament when he was told that a "vast army was coming against his people and was already at En Gedi" ( 2 Chronicles 20:3) . Alarmed, Jehoshaphat immediately turned to the Lord God and proclaimed a fast for all the kingdom of Judah. The Bible tells us that "the people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord, indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek Him." ( 20:4 NIV)

" O Lord God of our Fathers are you not the God who is heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. ... if calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgement, or plague or famine we will stand in your presense ... and will cry out to you in our distress and you will hear us and save us... O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do , but our eyes are upon you." 2 Chron. 20 : 6-12 NIV

So many times in life, when faced with a particular challenge, " I don't know what to do"...... but will my eyes "be upon Him"? Will I seek His help as Jehoshaphat did for the kingdom of Judah? Will I seek His help when my family is faced with a particular trial or challenge? I pray that I will do just as Jehosphaphat did and turn immediately to the Lord God for guidance!

As I fell upon my face seeking God' s help with a particular challenge I was having with one of my children --- the answer came so very clearly from the Lord.......

" Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you ... Do not be afraid ; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you. " 2 Chron. 20: 17 NIV

Will I take my "position" and "stand firm" and see God's deliverance? Shall I be afraid? Shall I be discouraged because the battle seems so overwhelming? Shall I not go out and realize God will be with me to fight my daily battles?

" Jehosphaphat bowed with his face to the ground and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down to worship before the Lord.... then some levites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel with a very loud voice. Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehosphaphat stood and said, " Have faith, in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld ; have faith and you will be successful. After consulting the people Jehosphaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out ..." 2 Chronicles 20: 19-21 NIV

So shall I not do the same? Shall I not gather all my children and bow down before the Lord with our face to the ground and worship Him? Shall I too not have faith in the Lord God that we will be upheld in our challenges and trials we face? Shall I not appoint some of my children to sing to the Lord and praise Him????

I know that I am not facing an huge army -- but I am .. and "we are all" facing the enemy in some aspect in our lives.... for we fight not against "flesh and blood" but against principalities and powers....against "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" ( Ephesians 6:12)

Shall I not do as Jehosphaphat did and call my children together and fall down before the Lord, having my eyes upon Him and then go forth without fear knowing full well He will fight the battle for me/us!

So take courage my heart! Do not be discouraged o soul! The Lord our God does continue to fight the battles of His people -- whether that be armies and legions or whether that be the daily battles that face us in our homes as we raise our children and live with the flesh.

Oh God please help me to be like Jehosphaphat! Help me O Lord to keep my eyes upon you Lord! Let me praise your name in the midst of the 'army' that stands before me! Let my children and I lift up our voices in praise of your Holy Name!

Daily Devotion 326

November 22

Thank God for Your Home

And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

Nineteen-year-old Jason stormed out of the house in a fit of rage. Dad had made him mad again. Couldn’t his parents ever get along with each other? He had had enough. He was going to get back at his parents for the way they had treated him. “The next time you hear of me, it’ll be in the headlines,” he called over his shoulder angrily.

He drove off in the car and picked up his friends, Pat and Freddie. They left their home state of South Carolina and drove to Atlanta, Georgia. There they decided to rob a bank or steal a vehicle. After searching awhile at a mall for a chance to do this, Freddie left his two friends and caught a bus back home. The other two boys continued north and happened to end up in our small town. They decided to steal a vehicle. One day, our local newspaper ran the sad story of an elderly couple murdered in their own house.

Their pickup truck and about $300 were stolen. The two boys were eventually linked to the murder and arrested.

Last week our local newspaper bore the headline that one of the boys, Jason, was convicted and received two life sentences plus ten years in prison. A sad story it is, and yet so typical of the world about us. Children end up doing things they never imagined in reaction against their parents’ treatment. Neither parents nor children can be blamed for the other’s mistakes, and yet parents have a great responsibility to influence their children for the right.

Have you thanked God today for your godly parents? Do it now. If you do not have godly parents, have you thanked God for your salvation, that you can teach your children what is right? Do it now. If your father made mistakes and did not treat you right, have you forgiven him? Do it now. If there is bitterness in your heart toward your home life,

have you rid yourself of it? Do it now.. Life is too short and eternity is too serious to hold a grudge. Purpose now to be the kind of person that you would wants others to be to you!

Tim Mast, Crossville, TN

A happy family is but an earlier heaven.

—Sr. John Bowring

Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:25—6:9

One Year Bible Reading Plan:

James 3

Ezekiel 24—26

Used by Permission of Vision Publishers

PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803

Phone: 877-488-0901

E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]

Such Blessings!

Last weekend we received an email from his lovely wife letting us know that he would be arriving the next day (Sunday)~! It's not easy finding a day in the fall up here in Oregon, that is dry let alone sunny:P So, it's important to check the weather daily to see if there will be a window of time. They did and he was on his way.

I want to share a wonderful thing here quickly. I was blessed to see the title of the email that she sent..."Greetings!! From your landlords wife!" It was wonderful to see that she acknowledged that she belonged to her husband:) Not as a possession but rather as his helpmeet, his adoring wife! Something not to be ashamed of in the least. It was truly refreshing:)

He showed up Sunday morning around 10:30am. I had not been feeling well the night before and so had not slept well. This meant sleeping in just a tad the next day;P Miss Sarah was the only one dressed so she greeted him first while Miss Mary-Ann and I got dressed. Shame on me for being so lazy that day:P

I went out to meet him and my what a blessing. He was very sweet and pleasant. For all of my silly conserns about things, it was wasted as he had no real expectations of us and so the fellowship was quite sweet and encouraging:) He spent time speaking with our Miss Sarah while she helped him at one point which she enjoyed greatly. She has since shared some little stories that he shared with her about himself.:)

I had the blessed opportunity to correspond with his lovely bride and get to know her a bit better. I am looking very forward to getting to meet her in person. Perhaps Spring:) Lord willing:)

We sent him home a few days later with some homemade soaps, peaches, pearbutter and oatmeal cookies which I've been told he ate half of on his ride home:P

We have truly been blessed by the Father in our moving her. He has given us godly landlords, plenty of room for our homesteading needs and the sweet fellowship of this past week:) How could we ask for more?

I know they read our blog now and again so I want to say...Brother and Sister...thank you for your sweetness and your encouragment here. You are truly a God breathed blessing in our lives.

It's Always Something!

Well, it's always something. Just as Miss Mary-Ann and I were arriving home from our class, there was Miss Sarah sitting at the front porch. She had gone out to feed the animals and found one of our whethers laying oddly in the pen. Closer inspection showed he was dying so she gathered him up and came to the front of the house to wait for us. He died just as we had arrived. Poor little thing. And our poor Miss Sarah. It seems she's always the one that is on hand at these times. Perhaps the Good Lord has given her this gift of comforting the dying animals we have.

We were all saddened by Pi's passing but we expected it. Well, at least I did. I had been giving him injections for what i suspected was pneumonia. This was positively revealed at his passing this morning. I had hoped the medicines were working but it was already too late by the time I had figured out what it was. Such is farm life.

This winter is supposed to be colder than last year and much wetter so we've decided to sell off the goats for this year and look into purchasing bred does in the Spring. We'll see. In the meantime, the ones we have, both Nigerians and Nubians, need to be sold.

We will still have our chickens and ducks and rabbits. Of course the inside animals too but Brother Craig and I thought we would maybe take a break from the larger animals for a bit. It will be easier for us to afford wintering if we aren't feeding goats as well. It's a very difficult decision to make but we feel it's the best thing to do for this year.

The Lord has brought us this far and we know He will walk us further on as we endeavor to do His Will in our lives. Times are going to get tougher before they get better so we are sure that the Lord is guiding us to make these changes for now. It will be better financially if we are able to cut back in a few ways and feeding the goats while they are not producing anyway is not a sound thing to do. One day, we won't have to pay for the feed, but until we are able to grow our own it's choices and decisions that need to be made:)

Well, that's the haps for this day. We still have plenty of chickens for meat and eggs, ducks for meat and eventually the rabbits will be a good source for meat:)

Now to pray for our Sarah as she needs a bit of uplifting this evening. God is so good! I know He has another wonderful adventure in store for us. I can't wait to see what it will be:)

Unaswered Prayer?

All of us have prayers we raise up to heaven that "seem" to appear go unanswered as of yet...... some of us have been praying for something for days, months and yes even years....... does God not hear us? This quote is for you.........and me. :) ~ gloria ~

" God's timing is not ours to command. If we do not start the fire with the first strike of our match, we must try again. God does hear our prayer, but He may not answer it at the precise time we have appointed in our own minds. Instead, He will reveal Himself to our seeking hearts, though not necessarily when and where we may expect. Therefore we have a need for perseverence and steadfast determination in our life of prayer.

In the old days of flint, steel and brimstone matches, people had to strike the match again and again, perhaps even dozens of times, before they could get a spark to light their fire, and they were very thankful they finally succeeded. Should we not exercise the same kind of perverence and hope regarding heavenly things? When it comes to faith, we have more certainty of success than we could ever have had with flint and steel for we have God's promises as a foundation.

May we, therefore never despair. God's time for mercy will come -- in fact, it has already come, if our time for believing has arrived. Ask in faith, without wavering, but never cease to petition the King simply because He has delayed His reply. Strike the match again and make sparks fly! Yet be sure to have your tinder ready, for you will get a fire before long. "

The Joy Giver

I have been so busy this past week......from schooling the children ( there are 8 being schooled now!) and tending the home fires... that I have not had a moment to sit and blog.... and I also went into the city this week and that always takes a good chunk of my time ..........in the midst of the busyness, we have also had time to sing our praises to the Lord and rest in His beautiful promises in HIS word! As we enter into this week of Thanksgiving, I like to take time to remember those brave and faith filled souls who came from so far away to establish a colony where they could worship their God freely without being "dictated" how they should do so. They believed the Word of God was to be taught freely and not under the "banner" or "control" of some church........ oh, how I can relate to these brave souls! My journey to the Lord was somewhat of a pilgrimage in many ways! My family travelled over many miles to arrive to a place where God could teach us and show us His ways. So I do have a tender spot in my heart for those pilgrims who came to America searching for freedom to worship to their heart's content!

This past week we have been learning a new hymn to sing for our Bible devotions. We recently learned the beautiful hymn: As the Deer.... if you don't know this lovely song, you so do need to become familiar with it's beautiful melody and even more beautiful lyrics! I have been hearing my children humming and singing this lovely song........

You alone are my strength , my shield; To you alone my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You.

Jesus really is the real JOY giver -- and the apple of my eye! He is what I long for and I need Him like my body needs water! I long to worship Him!

I hope in this coming week ~ that you too will find time to worship the JOY giver!!

At Home in Georgia

Daily Devotion 327

A Day for Christmas

This week's frugal finds!

Discovering Twila Paris ..

Lessons from Jehoshaphat

Daily Devotion 326

Such Blessings!

It's Always Something!

Unaswered Prayer?

The Joy Giver

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