Thursday, January 29, 2009

Another Example...

of God's amazing provision!

I bought some clothes a while back. After I started wearing them I just wasn't very comfortable. They just weren't 'me.' But I continued to wear them because they were cute. Somewhat fashionable. I liked the way a friend of mine dressed and so I had her go shopping with me and help me pick out the clothes. I don't know why I ever cared about 'in style' clothing because I just wear what I'm comfortable in.

The Lord had been dealing with me about these particular clothes. When I bought them, they were borderline too short. And I couldn't wear them anymore because, ahem, they were too small. They've been just sitting in my closet collecting dust. I had told the Lord that I would get rid of all of the clothes but it was getting around to doing it that was the problem.

Last week, I finally decided to clean out my closet. Four days later I was approached by a lady in our church. She asked me if I wanted some clothes. They weren't just Kmart clothes. They're designer clothes! I've never had designer clothes. She brought me 'some' of the clothes last night and it's just about a closet full to include 2 leather jackets, a suit jacket, some skirts, blouses, cashmere sweaters, and lots of everyday sweaters and shirts. She told me if they fit, there's plenty more she can bring me. Wow!

I did need some clothes because I didn't have very many since my weight gain. The Lord knew. I didn't tell anyone except for Him and even at that I only prayed about it once or twice pretty much just in passing.

I can't help but think that because I finally decided to obey, the Lord met one of my needs. But He went way above my thinking on this one! He provided beautiful things that I never would have paid the price for and it is all FREE!

Why is it so hard to just obey the things God asks of us? I don't know but He continues to prove to me that He knows and cares about me in every single area of my life.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Hunting?

Yesterday we had another guest speaker at church. His name is Jeremy Picker. He and his family were with us all day at church.

We spent the entire day with them. They have 3 kids. Their son, Travis, is basically the same age as Phyllip and Tyler. The boys were instant friends.

L to R - Phyllip, Travis, Tyler
After lunch, both families came back to our house. The boys wanted to play outside and we told them to have a great time.

Apparently, Travis is quite a hunter. He's killed snakes, quail, bunnies, deer, etc. He's even skinned the animals, too. Of course, his dad has taught him these things.

We let all six of the kids go play in the fields. The boys were trying their best to get a quail or bunny. But, to no avail.

Fast forward to this morning.

The first thing out of Phyllip's mouth this morning was the following:

Phyllip: "Mom, after school can we go into the fields and hunt quail?"
(notice that he didn't even say good morning to me!)

Me: "What are you going to hunt them with?"

Phyllip: "Rocks."

Me: "You need to talk to your dad about that."

A few minutes pass by and he decides he wants to talk to his dad and the conversation went like this:

Phyllip: "Dad, can we go in the fields after school and hunt quail?"

Dad: "What are you going to hunt them with?"

Phyllip: "Rocks."

Dad: "That's going to be pretty hard to kill a quail."

Phyllip: "Then can we take your gun?"

Dad: "NO!"

I just about busted a gut laughing because the conversation went from rocks to guns in about 2.2 seconds!

Dad went on to tell the boys that he will take them target shooting to get their skills sharpened. The boys don't realize yet that it's going to take a while to get the hang of shooting again.

Travis invited the boys to go camping with him and his dad over his birthday in May. They're going hunting during the trip. I guess we better get to teaching these boys a thing or two about the great outdoors before then!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Chalk Another One Up To the Kiddos

My sister (Nancy) called me today and shared this story with me.

She had to take one of her cats to the vet today and have him put down. He was just too sick to keep anymore.

Nancy's two girls, Rebecca and Katie, wanted to go to the vet with her so they could say their last goodbyes to Sylvester.

Both of the girls were understandably upset on the drive home. However, both girls grieve completely opposite of each other. Rebecca cries quietly. Katie cries very loudly. Nancy couldn't hear Rebecca crying although she knew she was. Katie let everyone know she was upset.

Here's where the funny part comes in.

On the drive home, while Katie was boohooing loudly, she would suddenly yell out, "Slug bug blue" and continue boohooing. Then another, "Slug bug silver." All the way home!

Apparently, Katie wasn't upset enough to keep her from playing any games!

Watch Out for Exploding Pots!

There's nothing like learning something new the messy way!

I was in the process of making tapioca last night. I usually make the minute tapioca but I had this in the cupboard and I'm almost always up for a new recipe.

It's actually easier to make than the minute tapioca but it takes a lot longer.

I was making a large bowl of it and also needed to use a double boiler. I thought I could just put my 2 stock pots (they are the same width except for one is an 8 qt. pot and the other is a 6 qt. pot) together and it would work. Did you catch the word 'thought'?

The recipe said to cook the mixture on very low heat for 1 hour. No problem - except that my pots decided to get completely stuck together!

I let it finish cooking before adding the eggs and sugar. I added the next ingredients and turned the heat to medium. All was going well until I heard an explosion in the kitchen! I ran into the kitchen to see the top pot now sitting sideways with the tapioca mixture moving back and forth quite rapidly. As I entered the kitchen, I saw water everywhere and tapioca pudding all over the stove.

Apparently, there was a vacuum created between the two pots which was ok on very low heat but when the heat was turned up the steam needed to escape but it couldn't. Hence, the explosion!

The pudding turned out great (my family says it's better than the Minute Tapioca) and I learned a valuable lesson.

Note to self: Buy a bigger double boiler set!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I know He loves me!

Guess what I woke up to this morning! Ok, so you don't really know.

It was my most favorite sound in the world! It's a sound I haven't heard in quite a while.

My favorite sound in the world is a dove cooing. If you've never heard a dove coo, it's the most relaxing sound. If the doves would do it all day, I would be much obliged to listen to them. I just love it!

We are so blessed to live here in SoCal. We have so much wildlife around our home. Doves, quail, roadrunners, bunnies, lizards, mockingbirds and coyotes, just to name a few. We enjoy watching all of them and we even saw a snake in our front yard once. For the record, I wasn't thrilled with the snake (Those of you who know me know I told my husband when we moved down here that the first snake I saw, I was taking the kids and moving back to WA. I've come a long way in 10 years!). It wasn't a poisonous snake (the name of the snake escapes me at this moment) so I was ok with it being in my front yard.

God knows the dove cooing is my favorite. He loves me so much! I am so thankful that God takes an interest in the things I love and provides them for me! I know it's not anything huge, but God does this each and every time just for me. He has even provided a family of doves that lives in our front yard. Now, how perfect is that?! Wouldn't you agree that God has given me something I love?

I was awake this morning but I hadn't forced myself out of bed yet. And then the doves started cooing and it put the biggest smile on my face! It was a great start to the day!

Hope your day is as great as mine!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Peanut Butter Pie

I got this recipe from an elderly woman years ago (before we were married). Phyllis was very hesitant to give it to me but because of my dear husband (whom she adored), she gave it to me. This happens to be one of his all time favorite desserts.

Crust:
3 cups graham crackers, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (can use crunchy also)
2 cups powdered sugar
4 cups cool whip

Mix crushed graham crackers and sugar in a bowl. Add melted butter and mix well. Pour into pie plate and press firmly into bottom and up the edges of pie plate. Whip cream cheese til smooth. Add peanut butter and mix. Add sugar and mix. Add cool whip and mix well until smooth. Pour into pie plate and refrigerate about 2 hours. Keep uneaten portion in refrigerator.

That's the recipe I was given. However, I think 3 cups of graham crackers is too much. Try cutting it down 1/2 cup or so until you think it's just right.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Death by Potatoes Casserole

Here's another recipe that we really like. I can't take credit for it, though. I got it from my friend, Laurie.

This recipe will fit in a 9X13 baking pan
5 lb. potatoes
1 24 oz. tub of sour cream
1 can cream of celery or chicken soup
4 cups shredded cheese (any kind)
1 bunch green onions
1 small bag plain potato chips
1-2 sticks melted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch squares. Pre-cook potatoes so they have at least 1 hour to cool down before putting casserole together (the potatoes must be cold). DO NOT USE FROZEN HASH BROWNS. Mix the first 5 ingredients well (this can take several minutes). Add salt and pepper and mix again. Crush potato chips and put on top. Drizzle butter completely over the top. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until top is golden brown.

variations:
add 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
add any meat - bacon, ham, chicken, sausage
my friend uses cornflakes instead of potato chips on top - we like it better with chips

You can always double the recipe (except for the butter - you won't need more than 2 sticks) and you will need a big lasagna pan.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Prayer

I've been reading different blogs and a lot of people ask for prayer.

I get the impression that most people think God only answers prayers the way we want them to be answered. In many cases, God does just that.

But not always. If God chooses a different answer than the one we're looking for, we consider it an unanswered prayer. Nothing can be further from the truth! God ALWAYS answers our prayers. God is not on our time schedule. Just because our answer doesn't come in our time, we think He's not answering. See, everything is done in God's due season. That's what the Bible says.

I think of the story of Joseph starting in Genesis 37. God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph was hated by all of his brothers. They hated him so much so that they wanted to kill him. They decided instead of killing him, they would sell him to a company of Ishmeelites and make a profit from the sale. Joseph was carried away captive into Egypt. I can only imagine the prayers Joseph was praying during all of this. Once he was in Egypt, he was sold to a man named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh.

"And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured." Genesis 39:2-6

God was still with Joseph even though his brothers meant him harm.

Later on, Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph refuses and she concocts a story against Joseph. He ends up in prison because of it.

But the Lord was still with him. "But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper." Genesis 39:21-23

Soon after that, Pharaoh's butler and baker are thrown into the prison in the same area Joseph was. Both the butler and baker dream dreams that they don't understand. God uses Joseph to interpret both man's dreams. The baker would die and the butler would be restored to his position in Pharaoh's house. Joseph says to the butler in Genesis 40:14-15, "But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." The butler forgets about Joseph for 2 years.

Pharaoh dreams a dream that cannot be interpreted by anyone. The butler then remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh. Joseph is brought before Pharaoh and he interprets the dream. Pharaoh ends up making Joseph his #1 man.

I know this is long. But my point is this. God is not on our time schedule. Think of how many prayers Joseph lifted up to the Lord for those 2 years while he was in prison. I wonder if Joseph thought God had forsaken him. God didn't and still doesn't forsake us today. Joseph's brothers meant to do him harm by selling him to the Ishmeelites. But God allowed it to bring about His will. God heard Joseph and I believe He heard every single one of his prayers. God answered Joseph in His 'due season.'

I got a phone call the other day from a very good friend. She's been gloriously saved for 27 years. For all of those 27 years she has prayed for the salvation of her mother. This past Saturday, her mother was wonderfully saved by the blood of Jesus Christ! Now, don't get me wrong. I don't believe God wants ANYBODY to wait 27 years to get saved, but that IS an answered prayer! God wants everybody to be saved right now! We must not give up.

God used Joseph to save his family from the drought. They left Canaan and journeyed into Egypt in search of food. Joseph was reunited with his family and they were saved from starving but the reunion happened many years after Joseph was sold to the company of Ishmeelites.

My husband and I have been wondering why God had given us a 'no' answer to one of our prayers. We had concluded we might never know the answer. However, just the other day, God showed us the reason He said 'no.' He was protecting us from something that would have been very damaging.

My husband and I prayed for 4 years for our second child (there are 6 1/2 years between our first and second child). We couldn't understand why God was not allowing our family to grow at that time. However, God has shown us the answer and everything was meant for our good and His will for our lives.

Every answer we get, whether it's the one we want or not, is "God answered." Every trial we find ourselves in, whether we've caused it or not, is "Father filtered." God means everything for our good. Every trial is designed so that we might grow in our spiritual walk with God and at the end of the trial, God uses us to help someone else that's going through the same or very similiar trial. Don't give up on God. Keep praying! He's listening to each and every prayer and He will answer at just the right time in just the right way!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My Little Girl...

It seems like yesterday Daddy and I found out you were growing inside of me. Where did all the time go? Today we celebrate your 18th birthday.

You have been a joy from the moment you were born.
It's so hard to believe that you are now a young woman. My, how time flies. So many people told us to make sure to cherish every moment of every day with you because in the blink of an eye, you'd be all grown up. And that's exactly what happened.

I think of all the mom and daughter nights those two years you were in tap dance. We had so much fun. I then think of the three years of swimming practice four nights a week and swim meets several times a year that we had together as a family. Those have been very precious times with you. Then I think of the times when Dad would stay home with the boys so we could have a girls day out and all the conversations we've had. The late nights we've stayed up and talked about everything under the sun from just plain silliness to very serious topics.

Getting a dog has brought so much laughter into our home between you and me.

I love your sense of humor and your smile lights up a room. You have beautiful eyes and a beautiful personality.

You are a beautiful lady. I am so proud of you.

You are such an encouragement to me. I see your love for the Lord and it encourages me to keep serving Him. Your zeal for the Lord is incredible. I love knowing that you desire His will for your life.


Happy 18th Birthday, Lyndsey! I love you very much! No matter how old you get, you'll always be my little girl.


Monday, January 5, 2009

Roasting Marshmallows

Tonight was family night. It was Tyler's turn to pick the activity.

He wanted to roast marshmallows. We've not done this before at home. I've only done it around a campfire.

The boys decided they would figure out how to get the "campfire." They went out to the fields above and below the house and gathered up wood. They put it in a crate for storage and turned the bbq grill into the firepit. When Dad got home, he put the finishing touches on the firepit and voila, a "campfire" was started.

All 3 of the kids roasted a whole bag of marshmallows and had a great time doing it. I'm sure this won't be the last time we do this, either.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

A Little Extra Money?

Lawrence was with us for 4 days straight this week.

On Monday, the 3 boys decided they wanted to earn some money. They wanted to wash the neighbors cars for extra money.

I told Phyllip and Tyler to call their dad and ask if it was ok. Dad said yes, but first they needed to practice on our car. They happily obliged and we got a free car wash. Tyler rolled up the hose and grabbed the scrub brush. Phyllip carried the towel. Lawrence carried the squeegee and they were ready to take on the neighborhood.

I turned the van around and sat in it so I could watch them.

They were so excited. They had dollar signs in their eyes!

Unfortunately, they weren't able to wash one car. They were soooo sad.

They wanted me to drive them down the street and watch them wash cars down the street. I said, "No, not today. It's getting late. I need to make dinner, etc. Maybe Saturday." The boys quickly concocted a plan for Lawrence to come over Saturday.

Maybe a lemonade stand would have worked better??????

Friday, January 2, 2009

Silliness

We rang in the new year at a friend's home. We got home somewhere around 12:30 a.m. The kids were really tired. The following conversation took place.

Lyndsey: Tyler, there's a cricket in the sink you need to catch and throw outside (Tyler is our resident bug catcher).

Phyllip: Just flush it down.

Lyndsey: Phyllip, you can't flush anything down the sink!

Phyllip: Why?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Praise the Lord!!!

It's only January 1, 2009, but the blessings are already flowing!

Our refrigerator is almost 11 years old. The ice maker quit working a while ago and there are other little things about it that have been telling us we're going to need a new one soon. *sigh* Those things are not cheap!

Lo and behold, we got one today for FREE! It's only 1 year old! Our old one was a Frigidaire and this new one is a GE Profile (way better quality)! The ice maker works (woo hoo), etc.

That was about a $1,200 blessing!

All I can say is "Praise the Lord!"