“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage/journey to Zion.”- Psalm 84:5

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Giving Myself a lot of Grace & Very Bad Storms


(  bread poppies)


I am in a period right now where I really need to give myself a lot of grace.  I have so much on the go as usual with all the summer business.  I for some reason had imagined of relaxing a bit more during this summer and mentally blocked all the tasks that I need to do during this time.  But it is a good kind of business I have to say.  I am trying to whip my house back into shape.  Which involves a lot of de-cluttering and organizing.  I also need to sit down and make some lesson plans for this coming year's homeschool. With all that said I am now down to two students.  Wow, that feels so strange after having four very active boys in the home for so many years.  I just got used to Philip being gone ( two years now) and now I have to get used to the idea that Luke is flying the coop now. ((sniff , sniff)) 

 I need to try to plan a better year of a very Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling.   I felt the Lord leading me to put aside my craft fairs till I am done schooling the two younger boys.  Now I feel like I can do a better job and really get focused on what is needed in my little homeschool.  I was juggling too many things to do a good job.  It is a big leap of faith and I have already felt some bumps but all is good.  



As I prayed this morning I asked the Lord to really breath some life into me and my spiritual walk with Him.  The message I got loud and clear was ..."Be still and know, that I am God".  The word that I heard a couple of times  was the word know.  

Know -  To perceive with certainty; to understand clearly; to have a clear and certain perception of truth, fact, or anything that actually exits.  To know a thing precludes all doubt  or uncertainty of its existence.

If I truly take time to truly believe and  know that He is God, my doubt begins to fade away.  I can then really rely on Him that He will take care of the details and I am to do what I am called to do. 
  And let Him take care of how things will work together in the end.  I am to trust and obey and know there is no other way.



This year is a test to this in so many ways.  The cost of living is going up and up and what we bring in is the same but in some areas is less.  This year's garden is has been a struggle with the cold long spring.  We will be down in fruit because of it and things are not as far along as we really would like.  I do pray and hope we can still get a good harvest and hoping it will be a warmer fall to let things keep growing.  Trying daily to lay my concerns at the Lord's feet and know that He is in control of ALL things.



( taking a ferry ride near our home)




We were very blessed and harvesting red and black currents from the garden.  I will be making some beautiful red jelly soon and it won't be long before raspberry picking will begin. 




We have been experiencing such weird weather this summer.  As some of my blogging friends who are in drought we are experiencing flooding.  I am thankful our house is up on the mountain and are not feeling it so badly.  Here is some samples near by us.





A tragedy of two mudslides  happened very near.  A little town was buried with a mudslide.  Please pray for the people there, thank you.  Plus there was a really bad storm here last night and a trees have been falling. One motor cycle rider got killed with tree falling on him very close to here and also a 11 year old boy was killed last night at a Christian camp with a tree falling on a cabin and he was killed.  Please pray for all those effected by this, thank you again.






We are praying for a bit more sun and good garden time in the coming weeks.




13 comments:

  1. Oh, Mary, I pray that your family will be able to make ends meet and that you'll be able to receive the grace you need right now.

    Here we have drought. It's hard to imagine how there can be such terrible disasters due to storms elsewhere. May God bless you and keep you.

    My son isn't sure what he wants to do, but everything he's interested in requires two advanced math courses, and some of them require advanced sciences as well. He has worked hard enough last year to be able to take those advanced courses this year.

    I wish you peace and joy as you plan your school year.

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  2. My prayers are with you and yours, Mary. We are facing an uncertain future as well; praise God that we have some time to prepare for it.

    We are in drought also, and find it just so very odd that so many are experiencing flooding where we haven't seen real rain in almost two months.

    Good for you in putting the craft fairs on hold for awhile. May the Lord bless your faithfulness to your children and to Him. xxx

    Have a lovely weekend!

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  3. Oh my! I watched that mudslide video and it really scared me! I'm so that one motor boat left the docking area in time before the mudslide got them! Very scarey stuff!

    At any rate, times seem to be very uncertain and scary these days. All one can really do is take one step at a time with the Lord's help and grace. I'm sorry you have had to give-up your crafting for a season, but truly, your sons need you the most. Sometimes the Lord asks us to give-up certain things for a time so we won't get overworked or distracted.

    Be strong in the faith dear friend, and know that you are in my thoughts regularly.

    Blessings to you!

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  4. That video of the mudslide is amazing. A community was buried in the middle of the night here a few years ago by a mudslide. Our prayers are with you that the weather will calm down and you will get a great harvest.
    Blessings, Dawn

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  5. Praying for you and your family, dear Mary. We are in trying times as well. But our God is faithful and He is able - Ephesians 3:20.
    Love and ((hugs)) to you!

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  6. My Sweet Mary...times like these come and go, yet He is the same every moment of this life.

    Stay focused completely on Him and He will always direct your paths.

    The videos are scary...but yet, He is in control of those also.

    Love you,

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  7. That is so sad about the storms and the wreckage they are causing. Weather is tough this year. We're in an extreme drought and you are getting too much rain. I am glad you are giving yourself lots of grace. I feel the numbers crunch, too. Things cost more and the pay doesn't keep up. I really need to get our food budget under control. They say the drought is going to cause prices to rise again. Where is Luke going?

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  8. Wow, that last video was wild. I really hope that things are settling down in your area.

    I think its great that you are hearing the Lord about your schedule and homeschooling. We all have seasons we need to put things down for, I pray this season is very fruitful for you.

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  9. Whispering prayers for all your requests. So sad to read of folks losing their lives due to the storms in your area. May the Lord grant peace and comfort to those families.

    Glad to see an update from your garden; those flowers and berries look wonderful. The kids and I made blueberry-raspberry jam just last week and hope to make more this week if my sister's berries are ready to be picked again (free is a good price!). Hope your jam turns out wonderfully!

    Wishing you a week filled with His peace as you work around your place and plan for the coming school year. Congrats at having graduated two of your boys! You've done well, my friend. :)

    Talk to you later this week,

    ~Lisa :)

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  10. Mary it's good to see you post again!
    I pray you are kept safe during this wild weather you're having!
    What a good mum you are to hold off your craft fairs to school your boys.
    They will be grown and finished up before you know it and you'll be so glad you made this choice!
    I pray your crops all come in bountiful and blessed!
    Times are pretty tough for most folk these days, but we know the Lord knows all our needs and takes care of His children.
    You take care of yourself too, my friend.
    God's blessings be upon you and yours.
    love..Trish xx

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  11. It was so good to see an update on my sideboard today! I love hearing from my most northern blog friend. I can relate to this post on so many levels. First, I relate to the need to give myself grace. I also relate to praying for some new breath into my spiritual walk. I am doing the exact same thing.

    A few years ago, I heard a wonderful sermon on that verse (be still and know) As I was listening, the pastor kept saying over and over (it seemed to me anyway) that we needed to be still and know God. Not "know that I AM God" but "KNOW GOD".

    From there, I went on a little side study of my own to really know more about Him through studying His names. I can't tell you what a blessing that study journey was for me. In fact, I think I need to revisit it.

    I am so sorry about the mudslides, destruction and the death. I can lift these families in prayer!

    Glad to see you Mary.
    Be still.
    And Know God.

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  12. Mary the poppies are so beautiful!!!!! And the currents...oh my I use to stuff my self silly with them as a child ( in the PNW) So yummy.
    I surely know how you feel...I have one left to homeschool. And Child # 2 will be leaving sometime this year.
    Praying for bountiful blessings for you and yours. The Lord knows our every need and cares for us.

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  13. I am late getting here...my computer caught a bug. I can relate on many levels to this post. I have now sent off four of my six into the world...they seemed to fly out by twos, which made the adjustment harder. Each time I had to regroup and remember that now our family looked different...there was those still at home and the extended...our adult children. I will begin my 24th year of home school with Benjamin this year...I too am regrouping and finding out how it will look...it doesn't look like my first 22 years..so different just doing one, and yet so many possibilities if I don't get side tracked.

    So Mary I hear you....I am praying for you as God shows you what this season holds.

    So glad you are having some wonderful fruits...looks like the wild grapes I found on our bike ride...I did jam and juice.

    Blessings dear one....Hugs,
    Janette

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Thank you, each sweet comment brightens my day. Blessings!

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