God Supplies My Needs

That is a basic tenet that I rely heavily upon. The Lord asks things of me, frequently things I am not excited about doing because I am tired, lazy, selfish, busy, hard-hearted or just plain rebellious, but I usually kick myself into action knowing that I am His to command and remembering that He will supply my needs.

Of late I have been blessed by the amazing generosity of the Lord in response to some simple obedience on my part. After some small willingness, there has immediately been a result that I didn't anticipate. I have been made humble and joyful by:

• The satisfaction of a powerful time of prayer for a family in need of divine intervention.
• The pleasure of playing a softball game after a 14 year hiatus. (So. Much. Fun.)
• An unexpected pizza party with most every young person I get to associate with.
• The relief of being not just secure in a treasured friendship, but loved perhaps more, after communicating hard but needed things.
• Being witness to the overflowing joy and passion of a couple newly walking with Christ.
• Recuperation in the Spring and Summer not only to do what needed to be done, but also to do what I REALLY enjoyed and finally seeing my home come together (after 6 years).
• Recent realization after 3 months of said enjoyment that I am ready to do something more meaningful than work around my house.
• The nudges of God to move forward and the potential to see a dream fulfilled while dragging as many people as possible through the unexpected provisions and joys with me.
• Admiring the sweetness of two who are now one, meeting a new friend, and eating Strawberry Pie at the reception of dear newlywed friends.

Like Strawberry Pie in lieu of bread, is how the Lord has supplied me lately. I have expected the basics, the austere satisfaction of knowing I did what He asked or what I should, but then in a breathtaking flow He lavished me with riches.

My God will supply all your needs...

... according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:19

Why do I think that the One who stripped Heaven of its greatest treasure, willing to abundantly suffer and die to secure my salvation, would be any less generous with His day to day provisions? Why does it surprise me to realize that He is equally blessed to bestow complex joys as well as simple satisfaction? His are all the riches in the heavenly places and He takes joy in sharing, especially with those who will recognize His kindnesses. I am so blessed to be His.

I know enough about life to realize that the sense of this season of abundance will not likely last. It is not to be arrogantly demanded, but humbly enjoyed; it is sweetest that way. In life, it is His table and He serves up what is best. Sometimes it is bread, but sometimes it is Strawberry Pie.

After

I don't know how this wall color looks on your monitor, but on mine it's close. Should be a dark teal.

I like it.

And here is that fabric C found for me. It will be valances in the breakfast room and stripes on the bathroom towels.

Before

I have never been satisfied with the caramel color I used to paint the downstairs bathroom. Around here though, once a room gets a coat of paint that means it's time to move on to the next To Do.
(And we have our share of To do's being the creative, broke, DIYers we are.)
So like a man behind a steering wheel, there was no turning around, going back or asking for directions, it was simply time to MOVE ON.
A few years have passed now, and last week my son C and I were in Hobby Lobby and he found this piece of fabric and called me to it. He said I had to have it. And he was right, it just made me...happy. (Maybe even a little giddy.)
I adore it.
And it was the perfect excuse to change out that nasty caramel color.
Oh, did I change it.
I'll put it up tomorrow.
:)

Forward Progress?

Sometimes I feel like the caterpillar on the rim of this bowl: I know I'm moving forward, and I feel like I'm making significant progress, but then when I look around I realize I'm really just going around and around and around.
As a wife and a mom, certain tasks bring on this feeling more than others.
Dishes.
Laundry.
Dusting.
Vacuuming.
Dishes.
Laundry.
(Did I mention dishes and laundry?)
I find myself reflecting--"Wasn't I just here yesterday? Boy this seems familiar. Wait! I just had this clean!"
Sometimes I wonder if I'm really getting anywhere at all.
And I can be sure that when those thoughts overwhelm me, like the caterpillar, I am being very, very short-sighted. Because unlike the caterpillar, my life consists of more than eating, avoiding predators, reproducing and dying. And it holds much more than my least enjoyed tasks.
Thank You, God!
In addition to my laps around the household track, I have a life that is full of created wonders, interesting and loving people, divine appointments, eternal value and through the intercession of Jesus, a permanent relationship to the One who created and sustains it all.
(And in addition, I do realize that if I didn't do those jobs listed above my personal habitat would be much less pleasant, too.)

Crunchy Dinner

Red Lettuce, roasted chicken, finely grated parmesan cheese.

Chef Hunky

Hunky is the best husband.
The guys were away at camp this week and the first day of our 'empty nest practice run' I said, "Honey, I would really like to not prepare very many meals this week if that's ok with you."
He responded by making the most amazing Baby Swiss, Bacon and Mushroom omelette in the history of the world.

That is not hyperbole. We topped it with Greek yogurt and enjoyed culinary bliss in a very quiet house.

Crunchy Lunch

A Praying Mantis is FAST. I saw this one munching on a spider. The spider still had 6 legs as I ran in the house and grabbed my camera. By the time I got back, the spider was down to 2!
When my oldest children were quite young, and I didn't know much about mantids, we sent two of the insects together in a jar for my daughter to show her young preschool friends. When I returned to collect her, there was only one mantid left, unless you count the head rolling around in the bottom of the jar...oops.

The Thinker

My Fault. God's Faithfulness.

I suppose because of my own faithlessness to God, I am often surprised by His ongoing faithfulness to me. Yes, I am aware of how very egocentric that is, and if I thought myself to be alone in that kind of thinking I might worry more, but the scriptures and life itself are full of reminders that I am in like-minded company everywhere I go. It is a condition of my fallen humanity. When I take the time to think on it I know full well to expect His ongoing presence, guidance and support; it's just that I just don't take the time to think on it enough.
Last night was fairly miserable in the sleep department, much because of the injury I sustained to my back recently. And I am more than a little annoyed by this ominous pain in my spine. Someone might wonder how I did it. Moving too many huge rocks? No. That last load of gravel. Uh-uh. Tossing 40lb bags of goat and chicken feed? Child's play.
No, I tried to jump a ditch from the uphill side to the downhill side--the same ditch that I have jumped that way many times, but this time the weeds obscured the edge, I ignored the still small voice that said "Wait." and I then missed, falling an extra two feet into the ditch. And while trying to keep my balance I threw out my arms and arched my back which was the position I was in when I landed hard, and bolt upright, in the bottom of said ditch like a steel rod being slammed into the ground by a pile-driver, with the exception of the sound, which went crunch instead of clang.
Annoyed, yes. And irritated. And mildly anxious. Grumpy, too, and less than happy with my own stupidity and its result.
Enter the sovereign hand and encouraging character of God, via the writings of Elisabeth Elliot Gren, and today's devotional in my email inbox.
The Lord is good and knows precisely what is needed and when. My back may be injured because of my own foolishness, but I still have the Lord's love and ready help. Since I did not stop this morning to read God's wisdom and writings He reminded me of it by the wisdom and writings of my older sister in the faith.
And I was surprised by the obvious application to my current problem, but then again, not really.

Elisabeth Elliot, from A Lamp For My Feet

My Own Fault

Someone who is suffering as a result of his own foolishness or failure may read these words. These griefs are hard indeed to bear, for we feel we might easily have avoided them. We have no one to blame but ourselves, and there isn't much consolation there. Sometimes we imagine that we must bear this kind of trouble alone, but that is a mistake. The Lamb of God, slain for us, has borne all of our griefs and carried all of our sorrows, no matter what their origin. All grief and sorrow is the result of sin somewhere along the line, but Christ received them willingly. It is nothing but pride that keeps me from asking Him to help me to bear the troubles which are my own fault.

Beans

We had a lot of mouths to feed Taco bar to,

so I cooked my own beans.

Loved how they looked in the pot and it reminded me a bit

of the picture I took while going

through the underwater tunnel

in Norfolk VA when we went to Williamsburg.

(Looks like there are only a couple of beans

 in that pot, though.)

While on the subject of things that are cooking. I am finding that when I am working hard around the house or yard each day, and really moving, that the brain does the slow cooker routine. I'm expecting a quieter week starting Sunday and I think some of those 'back burner thoughts' will have the opportunity to be served up.

By the way, the consensus is that canned refried beans will from now on be for emergencies only.