Prayer Request Sunday

Trust in him at all times,
 O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
 Psalm 62:8

Hi Friends!!!

Thank you for the love via prayer, as I took a MUCH needed break from blogging. A super big thank you for those who took the time to check in on me and even blessed me with gifts, you guys are so sweet.  I definitely felt cared about, missed and loved. (good work!)

  It was a good break and I am so thankful to God, for the refreshing that it brought me.

I was very weary and am feeling so much better.  Sometimes we find ourselves in up to our eyeballs, sometimes life becomes too heavy and everything seems to be coming upon us too hard and too fast.  Parenting, homeschooling, friendship, running a household, adoption, my walk with God...it all seemed to be calling for me, and there wasn't enough of me to go around.  So I kept chipping off bits of me, until I found myself very chipped and feeling like I was not a vessel that was road worthy.  A tune-up was in order...will share more on what I did another post...

I am going to slowly approach blogging...a little here, a little there, making sure that I keep it in balance.  I think that sounds good.  I want to do some blog updating, but it seems daunting right now.  (it is almost like I never blogged before...weird, but a true feeling for me.) Pictures need to be updated, perhaps a new banner, a few less of this and a little of that, but boy just thinking about it makes me tired. I am totally self taught in everything this blog has become, now there are even more options out there and it seems like such a big thing to manage.  (does anyone have a blog designer they'd recommend?)

Looking forward to catching up with all of you...you've been on my heart!   I've been praying for you, as God brought you to mind.  What a joy it has been to get to know you over the past several years...oh how I missed you while God *rested me up.*

  May our love for each other grow and may our friendships flourish!

How about some prayer...
what could I share with you this week in prayer?
 Leave me a note in comments and let's get this ball-a-rolling!

Prayer Request (and a bit of a sabbatical...)

 

Welcome to Prayer Request Sunday-

Hope you stopped by to say, "Hi,"

 but also to drop off the things weighing on your heart,

 so we can lift them up to the Lord together.  

I love that about blogging, being tied to the heart, though we've never met face to face most of us.

 I'd love to pray for you this week.

and on to other business...

I am going to take a sabbatical from blogging for a while.  Now I am not sure if a while means a week or much longer than that.  I just feel that I need to be refreshed and stepping away will hopefully be the trick that works the wonders that I am hoping for.  

I really have felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to take 'a break of silence.'  

At first I thought, how can I do that, I am surrounded by people pretty much 24/7.  I thought maybe a week in isolation might be what God was calling me to, but as I don't see how that could be possible with the responsibility I carry here ...then I thought, well maybe I could stay and just be silent (which I guess God might ask of me still). I am not sure how that would work, with our homeschooling, and the kids need for me to help throughout our school day.  So, I pushed that thought aside too.  Then I thought, well maybe 

 a day...

but so far it hasn't gone beyond thinking.

However, the more that I think, the more I think I need to push away from the table of this blog.  I don't think He is asking me to stop, but maybe in the quiet I will know for sure.  I know nothing is forever, but I know that if somehow I even touch one heart, then it is all worth it.

Have any of you taken a retreat in silence?

  I'd love to hear about it.  

I could use some refreshing. Do you feel this way too?  

God has been in a season of some heavy duty closet cleaning in my life.  He has been removing things left and right, family, friends, more friends, even animals.  My heart is somewhat in denial, but I can see that He is clearing out, hopefully preparing me for an exciting new season that is coming.  Loss hurts.  It is easy to slip into the "why me's" and into depression.  I have been fighting it, trying to find the bright side to each new disappearance and what it could mean for the future.  

Can't say I am getting a lot of answers, but the clearing away seems to be pretty dramatic. I've never had a season like this before, boom, boom, boom...one loss after another, piling up like wreckage at a terrible accident scene.  It really has left me spinning and not sure that I am equipped to go on in the journey.  Perhaps a rest stop, "pit stop" to get fixed up and emerge better equipped for the race God is calling me to. 

Please ...KNOW....

Know that I am thinking about you.  

Know that I am so glad that God brought our lives together. 

 I hope He blesses you mightily as you seek His face.  

I covet your prayers! 

Psalm 46:10

"Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 

and I leave you with this from Parker Palmer~

 The soul is like a wild animal—tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, self-sufficient.  It knows how to survive in hard places.  But it is also shy.  Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense underbrush.  If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods yelling for it to come out.  But if we will walk quietly into the woods, sit patiently by the base of the tree, and fade into our surroundings, the wild animal we seek might put in an appearance.

xoxoxo

Kimmie

Encouragement for Friday!

Hope you are having a great Friday.  

We are snow bound again...

another 14 inches and falling!

Would love some love notes today!

Herbal Tea Recipe

At my house we enjoy a good cup of herbal tea.  Sometimes mid-morning, as pick-me-up.  Sometimes in the afternoon, as a relax-n-enjoy. Sometimes as a won't-keep-me-up, late at night when caffeine might become a problem to good deep sleep.  Young and not so young (ahem) enjoy this tea at our house.

We have played with adding different things to our tea kettle.  

Here is our latest discovery~

trusty teapot ready for her adventure!

whole cloves

 black peppercorns

vanilla

everyone afloat and ready to meld together for some yummy herbal tea

Ginger Spice Tea

This tea warms both heart and soul we think!

ginger- we used about 4 inches of a finger of ginger, sliced

 (good for a teapot full, but feel free to use more or less to your taste).

20-30 whole cloves (yum!)

10-20 black peppercorns

1/2 of a lemon (this time all I had was lime...but usually we use a nice juicy lemon), sliced
a Tbs. of pure vanilla (can omit)

fresh cold water to fill the teapot

Directions:

Fill teapot with desired amount of water.  Slice ginger, peel if you want or not. (I peeled some, left some unpeeled as I was being lazy). Throw in your cloves and peppercorns.  Slice your lemon or lime.  Squeeze the lemon or lime into your teapot, throw in the slices.  

Turn pot up to med-high and heat until it boils.  Pour into cups through a small strainer to avoid chunks in your tea.  Add honey or sugar if desired.   Drink to your hearts content. 

This can be reheated if you don't use it all up at the first sitting.  Refrigerate if it will be longer than a few hours.  Refrigerate in a glass covered bottle, no need to fish out the ingredients, 

unless you'd like the extra work.

Great for a sore throat, great for a cold, great for a pick-me-up just about any time! 

* If you want a little caffeine boost, just add a caffeinated tea bag(s) to the pot.  Remove tea bags after it has been brought to the boil, allow 3- 5 minutes for the tea bag to steep. The rule is one tea bag per cup, with one extra thrown in for good measure ;-)

Prayer!

Praying for America- Moving Mountains Monday!

Hi friends, how was your weekend?  Ready for another week set before us?  Well, do you have some time to join me in praying for our country?

Today I am going to be focusing on giving thanks.

 1 Chronicles 29:13

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
 

Join me or add what the Spirit has put on your heart for today...

Father,

Today we come before You to thank you for Your Goodness!  Lord, You are so very good to us.  Your favor indeed does last a lifetime and Your mercies are new each day.  Father, we thank You for our nation, for it's leaders.  We thank You for Your protective and guiding hand on our behalf.  We thank You for the provision over our lives, our families and our friends. 

 Lord, we thank You for our churches, for our Pastors and for all they give to us, because of their love of You.  Holy Spirit, please help us through today to give You thanks.  Remind us of the good You have so generously poured out upon us. Enrich the ones You have called so they can teach us and grow us into a people who will follow You with all of our hearts.

 We ask for Your hand upon us today, upon our President and those in authority in our country.  Father, we have such abundance in America.  I am afraid that having so much has made us forget how very good You are to us.  Lord, so often it takes sickness, troubles or death to make us fall on our knees before You.  Forgive us, for our short memories of Your faithfulness and provision to us. 

  We know You have made our country great.  You have guided our steps and protected our borders.  Lord, we thank You for Your hand upon our military and that You are giving the leaders wisdom and power to keep this country free and safe. We thank You for Your generous Spirit and that we haven't even been faithful when You show Yourself so faithful on our behalf.

Thank You Father for Your love.  Help us to receive it and to live in it.  Lord, open our hearts before You, cleanse Your people and draw others into Your family by softening their hearts.  Make Your name bigger before our eyes. 

 Ultimately Lord, we confess our absolute need of Your power, love, and Presence in our lives, and in America.  We ask for You to move mightily and to glorify Your matchless name!

In Jesus' Name...

amen!

p.s.- if you have a prayer need, drop it in the comments or send me a private email and I'd be happy to pray for you and with you this week!

Ruth 2:12

 
May the Lord, the God of Israel, 

under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.

A Strange Kind of Happiness

Sometimes happiness comes unexpected.  It can sneak up when one is unexpecting any such surprise from occuring.  I know because it happened to me today.  There I was standing over a frying pan carefully eyeing some eggs that I was waiting on, when my 11 year old daughter stood next to me holding a pair of my new dark wash jeans.

"Are these yours?" she asked rather unsure.

"Yes, they were in the dryer with the boys' stuff."

"Oh, well Princess Sunshine (age 14) tried them on and they fit her.  She wants to know if she can wear them to church tomorrow."  

There I stood not quite believing what I was hearing.  REALLY, my fourteen year old wants to wear my new skinny jeans?  I laughed and told her to relay that they were 'not being shared quite yet,' as they were brand new. 

 Some of you know how that goes, 

Mama is the last one to get something new, so the wait is usually quite long.

Then I realized that something good had happened...

something that puts a jig into your step and a hop to your walk...

not bad for a Mama of 8,

and a girl who has been married for 26 years!

Today if you bump into me you might notice me smiling,

 at unusual moments, 

sometimes that happens

 and today is one of those days!

And someone might be a bit sad that Mama said, "No!"

Going Down Hill...Fast!

After a blizzard that dumped 3 feet, it was perfect conditions to go-a-sledding at my mum's house.

The kids all gussied themselves up in winter gear and my father-in-love prepared the driveway of all places (helps to have really cool farm toys...bulldozers, backhoes, dump trucks...)  The snow was too deep and unpacked on their hill, but the driveway was more than perfect.

Sweet Grampie M & M gives a push!

my lovely mum! Grammie M & M

The bigs and littles all took turns.  

This boy is a daredevil, he was flipping off the driveways cut edges!

fun times!

the excitement and wonder if there will be another flipping incident before the sled stops near the pond....

still smiling, getting wetter

can one have too much fun?

danger or too much fun?

okay, the Knight had to give it a few test runs too.

Wipe out!

And the Mama gave it a-go with the crazy Ethiopian bob-sled team

 

Another fun visit to Grammie's House!

Thanks Grammie and Grampie we had a blast!

Praying for America (Moving Mountains Monday)

Hello my praying friends!

 Hope you had a sweet weekend and that you feel rested up and raring to go today!

What is on my heart for today's prayer focus is asking God to increase the Light.  As Believers we are filled with the Holy Spirit and are Light carriers.  As much as the world (and definitely America) feels dark and growing ever darker...I know that the Light is much more powerful than dark (evil).  So let's ask God to increase the Light, for a movement among His children (those saved by grace)

 to shine into the darkness.

Father,

 We thank you for another beautiful day and the opportunity to serve You in it.  We stand here today asking for You to bless our nation, to speak to Your people, to bring change by increasing the Light. 

 Lord, we know that the darkness is supposed to increase before Your return, but I also know that the Light bearers ought to be overpowering the darkness (by Your Spirit).  

Father, forgive us for complacency.  Forgive us for not living as Your children and actually being Light dispensers,  I ask that You give us a fresh touch of Your Spirit.  Revive Your people that we might live boldly and do Your will.  

Come Holy Spirit and bring change in America.  Let it begin in us and help us to take it out and make a difference. 

Please Father bless our President and the leaders You have put into place for this time.  Let their knees bend toward You and direct their steps today Lord God.

I pray too for those who are serving our country, put Your loving hand upon them and draw them to Yourself,  Father move mightily and bring Your beautiful name glory!

I ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen!

 

Prayer Request Sunday...Confession...

Today I am going to share something...

maybe you've been here before, 

maybe somehow you didn't hear or understand...

but today I want to make it clearly known 

(the confessional part of this post)

I am LOVED...

before I ever became a Christian, (which doesn't mean that I go to church, but means I follow and live my life for Jesus)

 I was loved. 

 Wondering what I am talking about?

  Well, it goes something like this, you've probably heard this or read it before...

but it says:

For God so loved the world (meaning people and all He so beautifully created)

that He gave (a free gift!)

His only Son

(my beautiful Jesus)

that whoever (me! me! me!  and I hope you too!)

believes in Him

(makes Him Lord and Savior)

will not perish

(die, waste away, have eternal separation)

but will receive (again the gift being offered)

Eternal life.

Now this gift and eternal life isn't only for the old, the sick, those who are desperate...but for any who will accept it. It is freeing, it is life changing, it is amazing...and I am IN!  I've been in (His Family)

and am so thankful to be loved.

YOU see He is offering a gift. 

 The gift is Jesus. 

He came wrapped in humanness.

Have you unwrapped the gift of Jesus...

He lived, He died, He paid the price with His  blood to bring you into His family.

There is only one way to become a Christian and it is through accepting Jesus.

I love Him, because He first loved me.  

Because of this love, I am a leaker of LOVE.  If you get close to me, I will inevitably leak on you.  You see, I am a lover of all things Kingdom related and want to be sure that you get a touch of Him, when you are with me.  

Light is in me, (Jesus is the Light of this world)...you can not get near me without having this Light seep out of me (because I am a leaky vessel).  He made me to be leaky on purpose.  He doesn't want me to contain this LOVE He has so freely blessed me with, He wants me to give it, to share it, to grow it.

So there...now on to the next part of this...

are you still an orphan...?

do you know the One who died to give you life ?(real life, not the stuff this world offers)

do you have His joy...?

do you know His goodness...?

He is most definitely GOOD...

if the answer is 'Yes,'  then Hurray...!

But if the answer is, 'No,"

 then don't waste another breath without joining the Family.

You have a Father (nothing like the earthly one you were given, whether that father was good or bad or somewhere in between)...and He loves you. 

 A LOT.

  He wants you, He desires you, He is waiting for you, He thinks you are beautiful, wonderful and you are pleasing to Him. He has plans for your life...come and see.

Please, please, please...say Yes to Jesus (leave me a note if you want me to pray with you.)

And if you do know Him,

 leave me a "I'm totally in too," note!

Let's be LEAKY this week!

Need a Little Happiness? (bluebirds!)

 

Happy?

 

Aren't bluebirds the cutest? 

 For years we have been waiting for them to come and nest in our bluebird box.  A few times we have seen them, but they never stay for long.  I'm afraid we are a little to forest-y in our yard and not quite field-y enough for the little hearts of bluebirds.

With the nasty blizzard 2 weeks ago, 2 mating pairs came to our window feeder.  We didn't know that they were willing to snack on homemade beef suet, but are so happy that they are.  We have seen them several times now.  Each time there is so much excitement in our house.  The fact that they are up close and personal, right at our kitchen window is beyond making my heart pound with LOVE!

I have always had a love for my Father's creatures, but bluebirds hold a special place in my heart. 

 What a heart-picker-upper they are in the midst of winter. 

 Spring must be coming...the bluebirds are pairing up and are working up an appetite!!

 I am feeling happier...how about you?

Praying for America (and a little God story!)

READY?

Moving Mountains Monday, is a day where we purposefully set aside, to pray for our country.

  This is not a special club, but open to anyone who feels the desire to join us.  We pray for our President, we pray for our leaders, our towns, our schools, our neighborhoods...basically anything that sits down here within the boundries of the good U.S. of A. can be covered....no set order, just pray.

 For fun...and to remind my own heart of God's goodness...
the end of this, is a little sharing time of what God is up to behind the scenes in my life.

 

Let's pray for our nation today.  Let's allow some time to listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead us in how to stand in the gap for our beloved America.  

Let me know if you are willing to be a gap-minder 

(if you're British the signs near the Tube will flash before your eyes

...Mind the Gap!

...which makes me smile every time I remember.)

Love to you and to yours...thanks for stopping by  (((hug)))  Kimmie

PS- My friend Beth is out house hunting in South Carolina this week with her hubby and child...would you pray God helps them to find what they are desiring?  Beth would want you to pray for God's will for them ;-)

And on the *HOW COOL IS MY GOD*  note....

the same day my sweet dear friend left, I got a love note in my mail. 

 As I am a God-girl I know why the love note came yesterday of all days...

my Father wanted me to know He has doors i don't know about. 

He has plans that i haven't a clue about...

do you want to know about the love letter I got and who it was from??

Well...

an old Christmas card was found,

in it I shared this little love letter (my blog)

...my special best friend from childhood

 (Stori, I think we became friends around 12 years old? ) 

contacted me.

 And we have begun to play catch-up!

  We are both excited  (maybe me more so).  

Anyhow a little God story thrown in for fun!

*a little reminder that God knows what we are going through

 and that He is always watching out for those who love Him.