The offender

Impressed our own gymnast!

Marme will head out later today to put longer string on the feeder, lets see just how acrobatic this squirrel is!

My little, well not really that little anymore, sketchers really enjoy their Sketch Tuesday assignments.  Honestly, since starting to participate with Harmony Art Mom’s weekly sketch assignments I find my children sketching frequently, beyond the assigned project.  They are encouraging me with their enthusiasm to give it a try myself soon!

To see the slideshow of all this week’s great sketches, go here.  And if you want to join us next week, for FRUIT SALAD sketching, go here to learn the details.

gifts appear everywhere, too often to write down each one, too numerous to remember all at the end of the day…

#s 466-482
This day
Afternoon quiet time

Miss Sunshine made it for our St Patrick Day lunch of Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread and Apple Cobbler.
Healthy chicks
Hot Air Balloon over the house on a beautiful quiet morning
Saturday morning walk with the dog
Easy Nachos for lunch, delight 3 girls
Kitchen Aid mixer that also grates cheese 
Field trip opportunity arises during an afternoon walk
Green haze atop a neighbor’s tree
Robins all over the place!
Gentle brisk walks with a pup that is learning.
Planning and dreams
Sensing we may be “home” at the neighborhood church
Warm welcomes
Daughters who like each other
Mercy new everyday

 A while back I posted about Emilda and the needed funds to send her to the Special Olympics in Athens, Greece this summer.  Our family decided how much we were able to give and began brainstorming in how we could further contribute or raise funds.  About a week ago I checked the Compassion International site to see how things were going in fundraising for Emilda’s opportunity to attend the Special Olympics in Greece this summer.

How delighted I was to see that this opportunity is now fully funded!

It’s exciting to see how God moves in the hearts of His people and things happen!  And I am looking forward to an update from Compassion when the Olympics happen this summer.

a sketch of Marme wearing the Daughters’ Heart necklace, by Chica

So I come from a long line of bitter women.  And from a childhood of horrid abuse and neglect.  And the roots of bitterness sunk deep within my own heart as a young woman, choking the life right out of my life. I am so thankful, daily, moment by moment, of the journey of forgiveness and choosing of JOY that my HEAVENLY FATHER and precious husband are walking me through!

Over the last week I alluded to the fact that some scars had been rubbed raw, and were sore once again. 

But as I came out of that time of pain remembered, something new had sprouted from my heart.  Fresh roots of peace.  What happened is in the past.  What happened is forgiven and healed.  BUT, it is still a part of me.  Woven into my BEing like a part of the pattern in the fabric of a beautiful dress.  So the garment of life I wear is woven of all of my life.  And all of it, together, is becoming something beautiful.

Thank you for sharing your story Maribeth. And ANN, thank you for sharing yours daily and through your book. You are part of the landmarks and standing stones the LORD is walking me through on this journey of laying down bitterness and embracing joy, grace, mercy, gratitude.

  linking up with the gratitude community…

a few pieces of gratitude from my growing list #459-468

Hearing that my husband has placed his children’s hearts over his career.
Seeing that his employer moved the meeting.
Witnessing that God honors these priorities.
Hearing the harmonica play Silent Night (in March)
Hearing the harmonica and piano play When the Saints somewhat together.
Reading delightful stories from Mae’s pen.
Wearing the beautiful beaded bracelet of 3 strands, made in an evening by sisters.

Book Description

Best-selling author Calvin Miller has written an in-depth, biblical based study on the Fruits of the Spirits (Galatians 5:22). This unique study guide, part of the Fruit of the Spirit Study Guide Series, which is focused on cultivating Spirit-given character can be used as a personal study or in a small group setting. Companion Fruit of the Spirit Study Guide Series that are available include: Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodnesss, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.

Features include:
•Lesson overview of each 6-week study
•Questions for reflection
•Character studies
•Bonus parable study
•Questions for small group discussion

LOVE.  We use the word so easily, so often, but do we really know what it means?

This six week study is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit Study Guide Series by Calvin Miller, as already stated.  It is a gentle, but deeper discussion on the definition of love, as defined by God’s word.  I really enjoyed the Scripture references from both the Old and New Testaments.  In this season of my life, I usually avoid topic studies, but I appreciate the opportunity to read this book as I look for materials to use in discipleship opportunities. 

Each week’s lesson is broke into 6 days of looking at different aspects of that week’s topic (The Evidence of Love is Giving, Love Forgives, The Definition of God, God’s Passion for His World, Unconditional Longing of God, The Incarnational Force of God) and a 7th day option for group discussion.  The lessons include study questions for personal reflection and group discussion questions.

This study is probably more suitable for the new believer, or for the young believer.  I am considering using this series with a group of middle school girls in the near future, as a tool to help them sort through all the messages they hear from the world, through media, from the Church as to what Love truly is.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review, but was asked to give my honest opinion.

Waiting…a few years ago a dear friend shared a song with me, While I’m Waiting.  That song became my song, my breath, while  I’m waiting I’ll be hopeful.  While I’m waiting I will praise You.  While I”m waiting, I’ll keep waiting here for you.

And friends, I want to tell you, KEEP hoping, KEEP praising HIM, KEEP waiting.  Sometimes the wait seems so long, but then, when the answers are given, the fulfillment of the hopes come, the satisfaction is  complete.

Not that I have done this gracefully.  Not that I haven’t wavered.  But even while I wobbled in my waiting, the ONE I waited on is steady, full of GRACE.

These are my thoughts “on waiting.”

Linking up with The Gypsy Mama for 5 Minute Friday.

“Here’s how the game works: you simply stop, drop and write. Set your words free. Don’t edit them, don’t fret over them, don’t try to make them perfect.”

(Can I tell you how hard that is?  The not editing, not fretting…)

Anyway, to join in, click here.  And if you have a few minutes, wander around and get to know LisaJo a bit, I think you’ll be encouraged.

 

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes! (a sisterchick’s novel)

by Robin Jones Gunn

From the back cover:
“A sisterchick is a friend who laughs with you till you cry and cries with you till you laugh; a gift from God.

A multi-tasking mama, Summer Finley has found ways to handle whatever life throws at her with grace and a grin. Until now, that is. An “abnormal” medical test result sends Summer into an emotional tailspin and prompts her to fulfill a life-long dream of “meeting” her best friend and pen pal since fourth grade, Noelle Van Zandt, face-to-face.

Their blissful week together in the Netherlands finds Summer and Noelle floating down a canal in Amsterdam, visiting Corrie Ten Boom’s Hiding Place, sipping decadent Dutch cocoa in Delft, and bobbing merrily along through a sea of brilliant, spring-fresh tulips. Each day takes them further from midlife anxiety and closer to trusting God in deeper ways.

As their week of adventure comes to an end, the two friends find they needed to be together more than either of them realized.”

It has been a couple of years since I read a Sisterchick’s Novel.  After doing some pretty heavy reading in this first 2 1/2 months of 2011, it was good to read something a little light hearted.  Robin Jones Gunn has a way with these Sisterchicks books, of weaving the delights of friendship, the trials of life, the day to day struggles and the truth of God’s love in a way that ministers while entertaining.  I am so glad I got to read this book, this week!

Summer and Noelle are friends who have never met, pen pals since the 3rd grade, knowing each other only 2 dimensionally.  When Summer get the “abnormal test results” call she decides to put off the further testing, to do what she has always wanted to do.  Summer books a flight to the Netherlands to finally meet her dear friend Noelle.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is the characters.  I Corinthians 15:3 tells us “Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals.”  Summer and Noelle have been company to keep with as this week wrapped up and I found some quiet hours to relax and read.  I love the relationships each of these women have with their husbands, and vice versa, it’s very good to hear husbands being esteemed and wives supported emotionally, even if it is in a fictional read.

I love the way the truth and love of Christ is shared, woven all throughout this story.  Real, just like life between friends and family ought to be.

Another enjoyable part of reading this book was touring the Netherlands with the characters.  Robin Jones Gunn’s descriptive language helped me to see the tulip fields, the beauty and starkness of the cathedrals and to think on the story of loss and forgiveness while visiting the home of Corrie Ten Boome in Haarlem.  A little bit of Dutch Culture & History is an added bonus.

If you are looking for a little fun fiction during spring break, I recommend Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes!

Thank you, WaterBrook Multnomah for providing this book for my honest review.

 
Little Miss Itty Bitty

The chicks have been with us 4 weeks and 3 days!  It’s so fun to see how they change, to watch the fuzzy down be replaced by those beautiful feathers.  We are being able to recongnize the Lace Wyndottes and the Giant Black Jerseys now that the white is disappearing from the Giants and the Wyndottes are getting the lacy white markings on their wings.

The chickens are enjoying the warmer weather we’ve had.  It’s fun to see them running around and stretching out their wings. 

Ninja,  Petal Rose’s Black Jersey Giant, before the black feathers replace the white down

And what fun, the chicks have started finding places to roost!