Set your mind and DO IT!

I'm watching Joyce Meyer this morning and she's talking about something that has just become a huge confirmation for me! God's been speaking to my heart constantly the last few days and I'm finally understanding now that these reoccurring themes aren't coincidences. First of all, I never watch tv past 6:30am (and it's the news that early in the morning). It's never on during this time of day but as I was enjoying my biscuits and chocolate gravy, I clicked the tv on to see what the dvr was recording. And there she was, Joyce. She was talking and I listened...

Anyway, God gave me this scripture yesterday:
John 10:10- The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life- life in all its fullness.

So, when Joyce said this very thing- a little bell went off in my brain- IMPORTANT!!! God has been speaking to my heart that in whatever I set my mind to do, the 'thief' will come and try to destroy my plans. That's been happening a lot lately with many things in my life. I've been battling it over and over again. What occured to me is that I haven't 100% set my mind to these things or I wouldn't be in these battles.

So, today, I profess that all the things I have been 'trying' to set my mind to do- I will do it with the joy of the Lord! I am setting my mind (100%) and I will not let the thief come in to try and steal, kill or destroy. For the joy of the Lord is my strength and I will be victorious over these circumstances!

Lesson Learned!

This last week I learned a very valuable lesson- PATIENCE! While I've been working on acquiring this skill for many years, it became very real for me this week. We've been cleaning up the yard and getting ready for summer- cleaning sticks, removing leaves, planting, etc. Hubby cut some of the trees on our land in the fall and there were some LARGE limbs hanging out by the side of our shop- the precise area I want to put the new goat pen. Well, I'd been looking out the window for a long time....watching that area and I got sick of waiting. The yard has been exceptionally wet from lots and lots of rain. It's like walking on a sponge out there...lots of standing water in low lying areas. My thought process was that it would be a good time to start pounding the stakes in for the new fence. Easier to pound stakes while it's wet than when the ground is rock hard...right?

So, the kids and I ventured outside to start cleaning up that area. I put Angel Baby in the stroller and put on my garden (work) gloves. I was full of energy and was going to do the job myself- NO MORE WAITING ON MY HUSBAND TO DO IT!

I started to gather the large limbs, pulling them out of the mud and piling them up. I got the 4 wheeler and used the cable/winch to cinch them up and then dragged them away. I did that with 3 large loads and I was feeling good about myself. The kids helped pick up the little sticks and gathered them all in the wheel barrow. I looked over at the edge of the shop at an old machine tire (it's big like a tractor tire) that daily makes itself known and sticks out like a sore thumb.

I walked over there and saw some old wire that was laying around by the tire. I bent down and picked it up with the intention of dragging it behind the shop until hubby could tell me what he wanted with it. No harm in cleaning up a little, right? We don't need clutter out for everyone to see...atleast it could be hidden until disposed of, right? Atleast I wouldn't see it anymore....

I began to pull it and then met resistance. I thought it was just caught around that old tire so I yanked it with all I was worth- sure that it would pull free of whatever was holding it. Just about the time I yanked, I got a sharp pain in my back that about sent me to my knees. The wire was stuck underneath the tire and wasn't moving....neither was I at that point.

I gathered the kids and pushed Angel Baby back to the house. I laid the two littles down for their naps and then laid myself on the couch. I reflected on the moment and how 'not' smart that was- all the while being in extreme pain. I realized it wasn't so bad to wait on my husband because he's a lot stronger than I am and won't injure himself trying to pick up heavy things..... a lesson in pride and patience, all at once!

Hubby came home and I told him what I did. He smirked at me and then headed out to that spot, cut up part of the old tree lying there and hauled everything away. That spot is now 'fence' ready... that first day I couldn't even stand up straight or hold Angel Baby. It took 4 days for the spasms to stop and for me to stop yelling out in pain everytime I moved. Hmmmm- did I get the point? Oh yes...I got it...

Grandma's Scissors

Well, if you've read my blog for awhile- you know I always have a story behind the story. I'm sitting here tonight picking the fuzzies out of the velcro tabs in Angel Baby's cloth diapers. For any of you who have (or have had) babies, you know what I'm talking about. Somehow, in the wash, fuzzies collect in anything velcro. It drives me crazy! While my fingertips were becoming numb I thought to myself, there has got to be a better way! I went to my sewing table and pulled out a tiny pair of scissors.

The scissors have worked awesome to scrape out the fuzzies, making the job a lot faster and less time consuming. I began to think about the scissors and how it reminded me of my grandmother, a special summer and her sewing scissors.

One summer when I was around 14 or 15 years old, my grandmother was confined to bed. I can't remember if it was when she was recovering from lung cancer surgery or if it was from the osteoporosis in her back that caused her extreme pain. All I remember was that she spent many months in bed.

I walked to grandma and grandpa's house nearly every day and spent lots of time there. I would go with grandpa to run errands, visit my great aunt, cook meals in their kitchen & watch him as he tinkered in the shop. Other times I would simply go and lay down with grandma in the bed for hours at at time. We would talk, look out the window and she would tell me stories of days-gone-by. Towards the end of the summer, grandma ventured out of bed a little more for short periods of time. That summer she taught me how to sew and how to use a sewing machine. She helped me make a beautiful skirt- long and flowing. She probably did most of the work but she made me feel like I 'made' my own skirt.

Her easy chair was in the living room, next to it was an end table and next to that was a card table on top of which sat her sewing machine. The end table held a cookbook or two, usually some newspaper clippings and a cup. The cup held some pens, pencils, a seam ripper and a little scissors. She always grabbed for that little scissors when she was tearing out a seam or fixing my many sewing 'boo-boos.'

As I sat here tonight using my little scissors, I thought of grandma because my scissors look just like hers did. Once upon a time, I came across this website that sold old fashioned sewing and homemaking items. It was there that I saw the stork scissors. I immediately recognized them as the same kind my grandma had and I wanted some for my sewing collection. These little scissors reminded me of such a sweet summer and some very special moments with my grandma.

All because of a pair of scissors.

God- You reign

Reign:

Noun

1. the period during which a person is the official ruler

2. a period during which a person or thing is dominant

Verb

1. to rule

2. to be supreme

Random pics- lots of fun!

Dance practice for the recital- she's tapping!

Tap shoes too- only this one is the hokey pokey!

So happy...

One of our new baby chicks. We cleaned them out of the 15 layers that were left- this week I'll be back to get 10 more.

One of our two new baby bunnies. Too cute- Princess loves this one.

The 'not-so-new-kids-on-the-block.' There's a white goat missing somewhere in the pic.


Have you ever seen a potato like this? I reached in the bag for what I thought was a good sized baker and came out with this. Hmmmmm...couldn't resist the photo-op!

Don't be ordinary- be extraordinary!