Thanksgiving Crafts

We've gotten a little crafty around here lately!

In our Home Ec class we made turkey pins.

(my variation on Paper Turkey Pins found at FamilyFun mag)

Instead of cereal boxes, we used magazine pages backed with a piece of card stock.

We also made turkey cookies in class.

Pillsbury Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies are a yummy way to celebrate and give thanks!

This morning we thought we get one more treat in before the big day, 

Pilgrim Hat Cookies.

You'll find different variations floating around Pinterest and the web, 

but we bought cookies that had a fancy scalloped edge 

and used other ingredients we had on hand. 

They are easy and delicious!

Taste of Home has a great recipe you can follow.

What Should I Read Next!

A friend suggested I check out www.whatshouldireadnext.com.

Let me say, "It's AWESOME!"

Type in a title or author and you will get recommendations from other readers of books to try next.

Click on the Info/Buy button and it takes you to Amazon so you can check out the selection there.

You can build your own book list and share recommendations by registering with your email.

What apps or sites do you use to find new books to read?

Such a happy distraction! Enjoy.

Two Songs For You

A few weeks ago I was driving in my husband's truck and listening to Satellite Radio. That evening I was listening to THE MESSAGE channel and Natalie Grant was debuting her new CD, Hurricane. During the broadcast Natalie shared the stories behind each song with a small live audience. There were some very poignant moments and I found myself reaching for tissues a couple of times.  At the stoplights I also reached for my pen and notepad to jot down the titles of songs I wanted to purchase on iTunes so I could listen to them again and again.

While I like the song, Whisper, I truly liked what Natalie had to say about it.

The jist of what she said was so very often we want God to thump us over the head with what He has to say to us - if His words came like lightening, it would be so much easier to know His mind.

But He doesn't do that.

Why?

Because God is too close to yell.

He has to whisper.

That thought made me want to pull over and just listen right then and there.

It's so true. We want the message on the loud speaker. 

We're busy. 

We want it to be easy.

But the Lord wants to sit with us and He wants us to quietly listen.

My newest favorite song is When I Leave the Room. 

Natalie wanted to write a song for her little girls, but she said she wanted to write only ONE really good one. She worked at it for months and nothing seemed right. She was touring with Nichole Nordeman and had her family along. Nichole understood Natalie's heart and after the tour ended Nichole called and said, "I think I have something for you." She sent the lyrics to this song. Natalie and her husband, Bernie Herms, put the lyrics to a haunting tune that will tug at your heart. You may want to reach for the tissues before listening! It's the new Butterfly Kisses, I think.

I found my notes from the ride and have made my purchases. If you're interested in reading more about the album, you can read about it at nataliegrant.com

I hope you enjoy.

Walking on the Water

Lately the Lord seems to be reminding me to trust in Him, to recognize His Sovereignty, to be at peace with where He will take me.  That's a little scary and makes me wonder what's going to happen. Some big changes are possible for me in the near future and I don't know if the Lord is preparing my heart to trust through those changes OR if the possibility of those changes has been used as a gentle reminder that it's about keeping my eyes on Him and not my circumstances. It doesn't really matter, the message is still the same.

I temporarily lost my study Bible this week and had to read from my chronological Bible one morning for devotions.  That's was a little frustrating since it's organized by days of the year instead of books of the Bible, but as I opened it up on Friday morning, I thought, "The Lord probably has Matthew 14 on today's date!" I thought this because earlier in the week someone used that passage to encourage me re: the possible changes and I bristled a little when it was shared. Of course, right in the middle of day's reading was, you guessed it, Matthew 14. It made me chuckle.

The passage is a familiar one with Jesus walking on the water and Peter stepping out to walk with Him. He doesn't succeed for very long, but gets distracted by the circumstances, the wind and the waves, and he takes his eyes off Jesus. Down he goes, right!  The Holy Spirit wasn't being too subtle this week; I got the message. However, despite the usual reminder we get from that passage - to keep our eyes on the Lord - He also gave me one more nugget, which has been immensely encouraging.

The disciples see a figure walking on the water. They think it's a ghost at first, but then the Lord identifies Himself and says, "Don't be afraid!" What does Peter do next? He asks for confirmation (Is that you, Lord?) and then He asks to join the Lord ("command me to come to You on the water.") 

Why on earth, Peter, do you want to walk on the water?

Stay in the safety of the boat, Dude!

No. More than anything else, Peter wanted to be with Christ, no matter where that was.

It makes me think of Matt Redman's line from Better Is One Day,

"Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere."

Do we really feel that way about walking with the Lord? Are we willing to walk anywhere? Through any circumstances? The wind and the waves are always going to be there in one way or another, but where Christ is, there is safety, shelter, and perfect peace. Each day, each hour, we have a choice to abide with Christ or to drown in our circumstances. I'm practicing the choice to abide.

Desert Places

Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

I've been in a desert place, spiritually-speaking for a while now. Throughout my 39 years of walking with the Lord I've experienced dry times - times where devotions are hard, prayers seem to hit the ceiling and a general malaise permeates my spirit.  There have been many reasons for these dry times in the past, but, in my experience, the Lord does not allow/send dry times without a purpose. He uses these times to teach me more about Himself and in the process, more about myself, as well.

I have felt defeated recently. My mind has listened to the lies of the enemy and I haven't stood behind the Father as my Shield and Defender. I've tried to do it on my own. You know how well that works! I'm tired and I'm weary. I'm finally ready to listen, which is the usual outcome of desert-traveling, a wearing down of my pride and coming to the realization that without Christ, the desert would be my permanent dwelling place.

Isaiah reminds us that through Christ a road has been made for us and rivers, not creeks or even a simple oasis, but rivers will be available. When we're done trudging through the sand dunes, He has made a better way.

Isaiah 44:3

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring....

Isaiah 44:6

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.

It's time to stop wandering around looking for something to satisfy and turn to the Living Water that leads us out of the desert and fully satisfies.

Many of us are struggling with grief and troubles which can seem overwhelming. Sometimes it's easy to barricade ourselves off and trudge through the circumstances, but that's a desert path. Leaning into the Father and availing ourselves of the Living Water at the time we need it most is His way for us.

I'm praying that each of you will walk in abundance with Him.

Tonight You Belong to Me

Too Cute...



This little girl couldn't sleep because of fireworks so her Dad propped her in front of a camera and began singing with her to get her mind off of the noise. What a treasure!

Enjoy!

Weekly Wrap Up - Sept 15

Life is full. Busy. For all of us, I realize, but blogging is not my life.

However, I love to be able to share what's going on in our lives especially with far-away family and friends. So even if I don't entertain you with daily posts, I am going to try to give weekly updates. I know that would mean a lot to those I care about most.

It's also a great way to record what's going on so weeks don't blur into months...into years. I used to try to capture the day with a picture, but that was too much pressure. I found myself taking pics of stuff I didn't care about just so I could mark the task off my to-do list and then actually missing opportunities for pictures I would want to take just because I was sick of using the camera. Weird.

So, my weekly updates will sometimes include pictures, but only if I really wanted to snap them. :)

Last week was full of work for my part-time job. That kept me at my computer A LOT, but the girls were both sick with head colds so they were vegging in front of electronics or the tv.

Mark has been traveling several weeks each month and this is the first trip we've experienced without Rhett at home (he's away at college.) It's been quiet. Very quiet.  Mark walks through the house a lot and Rhett talks a lot so having the two guys gone has been quite peaceful. Sorry, guys.  I don't like to talk on the phone, especially in the evening. I've used up my words by then and just want to relax, but without having an adult in the house, I find that I'm more willing to talk about the mundane with Mark on the phone. That's been a pleasant surprise for both of us.

I can't say that our house looks as tidy as usual. Oh, speaking of tidy...

Last Sunday at church I walked through the 4th & 5th Grade area to pick up supplies (I work in our children's dept.) and saw some forms titled "About Me" lying on a common area table. At the top of the  pile was Tara's form. I decide to peek at what she wrote about herself and her family and friends. It was mostly cute.

Here's the jist of what she said about her family:

My sister likes art.
My brother likes to read fantasy books.
My big sister likes to knit.
My Dad likes being outside.

Then what do you think she wrote about Mom? She likes to quilt? She likes to organize? She likes to read? Anything that might seem like a pleasure? Not really.

She wrote,

My Mom likes to have a clean house when company comes over.

Wow.

It's true, but I sure enjoyed giving her a hard time about it. Tara said it's the first thing that popped into her head.

Now I'm wondering if Dad likes being outside because Mom likes a clean house when company comes over? :)

Let's just say, we haven't had company over and it shows.

Back to the weekly update...

Because the girls were sick we, together, spent a lot of time in front of the tv. Fevers were raging, tissue piles were growing, snacks were plowed through. It was one of those weeks. We came across a new show that we really enjoyed, Rachel vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off. What a hoot those kids were! And the food - amazing!

We love to cook and eat around here so my girls were truly inspired. So much so that earlier THIS week, Katie made homemade taquitos for dinner one night. They were de-lish! We were groaning and moaning the whole time we ate them. Definitely a new recipe for our house.

Whoops, I'm getting into this week!

Because we had so much time on our hands I was able to finish up a quilt I made for a co-worker who had her first little girl.  I LOVE this quilt! I love the Momma, too. I know she will cherish it for years to come.

That's our week. Boring, yet productive and entertaining.

Weekly Wrap Up

For our family and friends, here's our week, all wrapped up.

On Monday we said good-bye to our buddies -

 Bella

and Bentley

It's hard to even write about it without choking up. Despite our hearts breaking we knew it was the right decision for us to send our two horses off to another family. They went together and we've heard they are doing well. We plan to go visit them in a couple of weeks and check on them, but for several reasons we had to let them go.  The girls are barely keeping it together for these pictures; we did a LOT of crying on Labor Day. The field is lonely, but we knew it was the right thing to do.

Tuesday was the first day back to school. So far, so good. We didn't quite get a full day in on Friday so we finished up on Saturday morning. We've accomplished all we set out to do this week.

Wednesday I finished a quilting project.

These are appliqued coasters that I made for a swap.

When I want to try a new quilting skill I sign up to swap the finished project with someone. I need a little incentive and a deadline. I had a lot of fun with these and learned a few new tricks, as well.

These are the coasters I received from my swap partner.
Love the orange & blue!

Thursday was CoOp.

This was taken for our CoOp directory - a lonely little picture without Rhett.

(Thought some of you might want to see my haircut - went short in February!)

Friday our small group Bible study resumed. It was a wonderful night reflecting on the Word, prayer, eating & fellowship. So satisfying.

Saturday I tried tying up loose ends and did some laundry so those who are traveling  next week have something to wear. 

A month of joy & sadness

I'm glad summer is wrapping up. In some ways it's been peaceful; in other ways, it's been difficult.

Mark has traveled a lot and the farm work has fallen on the rest of us. We've faced illnesses, injuries and financial setbacks, but in all, we've made it through and I'm looking forward to stepping out of summer-mode and back into school year-mode. Anyone else?

This month I said good-bye to my second child, Rhett, (my only boy) as he went off to college. He's my buddy so it's been an adjustment around here. It's been a little quiet. We don't seem to be going through the food quite as quickly either.

Rhett has enjoyed the first two weeks of university and is getting along well with his two roommates.

My Colorado daughter, Ashley, and son-in-law, TJ came east for a friend's wedding and spent several days with us.

Oh, that Denver beard!

We spent hours talking, eating and playing boardgames - three of our favorite things. 

Our latest addiction...

(such a fun & easy game!)

We've been playing another game around here.

It's called "You might be a Redneck if..."

you can shoot a rifle at 10 years old...

you can shoot a rifle in a skirt...

you're the youngest, but have the best aim with a Glock...

you put a shirt over your head to keep the bugs off so you can take aim.

Yep, Rednecks!

This is some kind of country livin'.

Going-away Sing-a-long

First, I wish I had a picture to share with you. I almost didn't write the post because I didn't capture it in a photo, but I'm guessing you can use your imagination and envision the scene at our home last night.

My son, Rhett, has worked 2 jobs this past year in preparation for college. One of the places of employment is a local music shop where he teaches piano.  There are a few believers who work at the music store and they have become fast friends.  Rhett decided to invite those young adults over for a Mexican dinner, Martens' smores and a jam session before he leaves for college in 2 weeks.

Ten of us started off with green chili enchiladas, rice, chips & salsa and watermelon. Squeezed around the dining room table we had our family, Ryan & Chelsea (an engaged couple) who shared their romantic courtship story with us, and the Gold Sisters: Tori, Jocie, and Shelby - three very sweet and talented young women.  (I couldn't get over the strong resemblance between Tori and "Mary" the oldest sister on Downton Abbey. Two beautiful girls!)

After dinner we moved out to the fire pit to eat smores the Martens' way - forget the graham crackers, bring on the chocolate chip cookies!

Here's Tara eating the Martens' smores a couple of years ago - roasted marshmallow and chocolate smooshed between two homemade chocolate chip cookies. Trust me, you'll never use graham crackers again!

After our gooey dessert we moved to our "music room" (aka - office or place that houses the piano).  Ryan and Rhett took turns on the piano, Tara and Rhett played the bongo drums, Tori played the mandolin, Jocie, the guitar and Shelby, the fiddle. Mark, Chelsea and I sang along with everyone else. We all sat in a large circle singing whatever came to mind - love songs for the engaged couple, hymns, and worship songs.  The Gold sisters also sang some of their own music.  You can see their beautiful faces and hear their wonderful music here. 

I wish life were slow enough to have evenings like this every week! It was so fun and relaxing.

This morning I'm still fondly remembering the stories and music; time well-spent.  Wish you could have joined us too!

Blessings,

.