Joyfull Living

As we enter the month of November, I'm going to particpate in the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by  Leah .  A running daily list will be in my sidebar. As a homeschool assignment and to hopefully ingrain a spirit of thankfulness in the heart of my son, he will be doing a thankful journal for the month also.  Graham Family Ministries offered a free month long journal for children.  Gratitude in the heart sometimes gets buried under the stresses of life. It takes practice and diligence to seek out and remember our blessings.  But " daily, our Lord loads us with benefits' and what a beautiful act of worship to train ourselves to thank Him for all He has done. 

Nothing helps my home run more efficiently than order.  When things are in order, clean and tidy (at least presentably son), I can relax and enjoy my day. The opposite can happen when there is no plan for the day, for meals or cleaning, for that is when things can get piled up, out of control and total chaos can follow!! Now, I would love to adapt a family schedule that would keep me and my family in total order!  But with two teenage sons at school and working jobs and a husband who works a rotating shift, a rigid schedule just won't work for us.  Plus I enjoy the freedom of being home and am learning to embrace the interruptions that come into my day as opportunities to give of myself and hopefully bless others.  I dont' want to miss out on anything, because my schedule demands that I move on.  The next best thing to a schedule is a routine.  A routine is simply doing the same thing at the same time each day with the flexibility to step out of bounds once in a while!  A rou

A friend sent an email to me entitled:  ”My Owner Is An Idiot”.    I don’t think I would go this far to dress up my animal, but there are some original and cute ideas here!    

I'm over At the Well today, talking about the right way to use a Q.T.I.P.!  By the way, it's not what you think!!  Come over and see:  At the Well.

I waited patiently for the Lord;          And He inclined to me,          And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,          Out of the miry clay,          And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—          Praise to our God;          Many will see it and fear,          And will trust in the Lord. Psalms 40:1-3 Often times it is easy to look around and find others who seem to be stuck in a pit.  Pits of addiction, evil, violence and sin are all around us.  I love the power of this verse that shares that the Lord is able to bring those who call upon Him, out of the miry clay and set their feet upon a solid rock. It is also a beautiful thing for Christians to realize that we were once in a pit of sin. When we called out to the Lord as our Savior, He set our feet upon a rock, He has established our steps and our mouths can be filled wit

Here is a pretty interesting list of foods that Reader's Digest shared that tend to add a lot of extra expense to the grocery budget.  I'll admit I'm guilty of buying several of these for convenience sake.  My plan is to try to spend a little more time and avoid the trap of spending more money just to go easy on myself. 1. "Gourmet" frozen vegetables. Sure, you can buy an 8-ounce packet of peas in an herbed butter sauce, but why do so when you can make your own? Just cook the peas, add a pat of butter and sprinkle on some herbs that you already have on hand. The same thing goes for carrots with dill sauce and other gourmet veggies. 2. Microwave sandwiches. When you buy a pre-made sandwich, you're really just paying for its elaborate packaging — plus a whole lot of salt, fat, and unnecessary additives. For the average cost of one of these babies ($2.50 to $3.00 per sandwich), you could make a bigger, better, and more nutritious version yourself.   3.

Have you ever noticed how a small change can create a big effect?  Oftentimes I overwhelm myself when wanting a different or new thing for my home.  It gets stuck in my mind that I need a complete overhaul!  Then realizing that is not possible, it is easy to get discouraged.  But a recent refresher course showed me it doesn't take a whole lot of change to get a big effect. Recently my neighbor showed me some nice touches she did in her home that made a big difference.  One of the things was new curtains.  They looked great and gave the room a whole new look.  The best part?  She purchased them at a local dollar store for a very reasonable price.  One day this week while running errands, I stopped at a local discount store Fred's.  They are not known for great quality products, but for their low prices.  They had some curtains that I loved.  Great price, great pattern, a great change for my living room!  So little effort, such a big change. Many times I want the atmosphere of

Although summer offers a season of fun, here in the deep south, it seems to last forever!  One of the signs of summer’s end around here is when we clean up the property. Look how  in summer, the grass and weeds really grow! My oldest son began the big clean up by mowing our field:   Then once the grass was mowed and the ground harrowed up, we made a spot for a fall garden: This weekend we planted broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, mustard greens and a few herbs.  Getting the seed into the ground and eagerly ready to tend to the garden brought me much joy this week!

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.  James 3:17-18 In the book of James, it is asked, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”   That kind of question  makes you want to raise your hand and say “ME, ME, I want to be wise!!” doesn’t it?  Being wise and understanding and having it being shown through our daily life…sounds wonderful! But this verse follows with some specific characteristics of true wisdom.  God’s Word tells us that the wisdom that comes from above is not just knowing things, but has qualities of pureness, loves peace and avoids strife, is submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.   That’s a pretty tall order!  But as we seek the Lord for His wisdom, He will fill our

  Here is a list of bible facts and trivia you can use to quiz your family and friends and see if they know their Bible.  Can you believe it that the Bible is the number one most shoplifted book in America? Don't you wonder if the shoplifter knows the ten commandments? Of all the books in the Bible, the book of Esther never once mentioned the name of God. According to Genesis 1:20-22, the chicken came before the egg. So, now we can stop pondering which comes first, the chicken or the egg. Throughout the world, 47 bibles are being sold or distributed every minute. That is a lot of bibles around the world. Shakepeare was believed to be 46 when the King James version of the Bible was written. That is nothing to be awed about. However, the following fact might really make you wonder if it's just a coincidence or a design on the part of the writers of the King James version. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is "shake" and the 46th word from the last w

Don't you just love a home that is filled with a beautiful scent is?  Where you walk in and scents welcome and draw you in?  I do, and in my home I do everything possible to keep it smelling good.  Plug-ins, candles, potpourri, sprays...I have them all! This week I tried a little nighttime routine that brought scent and comfort alive!  A few minutes before bedtime, I sprayed my sheets with Jasmine Vanilla pillow spray from Bath & Body Works.  Then used the room spray Creamy Nutmeg also from Bath & Body Works only in the bedroom. (This is not a review for Bath & Body Works, these are just a few product I really like!) These are high quality product that bring a strong, beautiful scent - just the way I like it!  I usually don't spend extra money on items like this and actually used a coupon on one and found the other on Ebay!   When it was time for bed, the room and the sheets smelled wonderful.  Through the night, the scent stayed on sheets revealing a calming, re

Friday With Friends over at Jennifer’s is all about fall in our homes.  Last week I shared a few of my fall decorations, but here are a few more.  I love the colors and decorations of fall and like to put some a fall touch in many areas of my home. Above mirrors: On Shelves:   On top of the TV: On the wall: On mantle and in front of the fireplace: In the kitchen: And in the yard: Of Course on the door: Yep!   I love FALL!!