Friday Favorites {edition fourteen}

Happy Friday, friends!  I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals, and her friend Erika, for this blog post. 

It's been an alternately busy and slow week.  All the men in the house have been busy, so that's made it go by fast, and that is a great thing.  It's always good to stay busy in times like these. 

So, about this week...

Bonfires are always a favorite pasttime around here, and this was how we kicked off last weekend.  Not too long after this whole shelter in place thing took effect, we bought this firepit.  It's been used several times throughout these weeks, and it's been a nice little getaway from the typical activities inside.  The boys have been used it several times on their own, but last weekend Todd started this one.

A lot has changed in the backyard this week, and that is always exciting.  That first picture you see above this is from last Friday.  My stepdad came over and he and Todd mapped out where the new deck would be.  And we are minus one tree now in the backyard.  The picture right above this is the truck that hauled off the dead tree we had cut down last Saturday.  That was kind of a mess, because we had to take down a section or two of fence (that needed to be repaired) and the piece of equipment they used to grind down the tree stump made big tracks in our yard when they came back on Monday.  But, it's finished now, and as soon as this first project in the backyard is done, hopefully we'll put back that fence that we had to take down.

And by "we", I mean "them".

Our second major project has been the new deck.

My stepdad is such a talented carpenter, and a huge blessing to us.  He, Jonah and Noah built the new roof structure over our front door and stoop back in the fall to replace the old and tired awning that had been there, and now he and all the men here in our house are building this new deck.  They made a ton of progress yesterday, even though they had to re-do part of what had been put down on Wednesday.  They're about to get out there and get back to it today, and I can't wait to see how far they get.  It'll be so nice once it's finished.  I snuck this picture of Jonah yesterday as he measured that board he was about to cut with the saw you see in the picture.  All the boys have been operating that thing this week.  I love that they've learned new skills in this process. 

Last up for today is this podcast series I've been listening to this week.  It's my new favorite series, and it's all about having transformed speech.  One day in particular was so good, and mentioned a couple of my favorite passages in the New Testament about how we speak and act: Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3. 

Other things we've done this week include shopping for toilet paper (we struck gold on the third attempt), shopping for groceries, making lunch AND dinner for everyone all week, seeing a couple of friends at six feet apart and having a picnic style dinner in the process (in our church parking lot), losing Todd's keys, and about a million trips to Lowe's for supplies. 

I also finished the series I was watching on Hulu and am need of a replacement.  I was watching Counting On, a show about the adult Dugger family kids as young marrieds and parents, and would love a similar show.  I am not watching the news at all anymore, and this is for me to watch early in the mornings and at night when the guys in the house are occupied.  I'm open to suggestion!  I love fictional shows, but I am really loving documentary series and cooking or home design type shows right this moment.  We have Roku, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix, so please comment with some suggestions!

Well, I will wrap up this post with that.  Thanks for reading!  Love to all. 
 

Hello Monday/ weekending

Happy Monday, friends.  I'm linking up with Tanya from The Other Side of the Road for this blog post.  It was a good weekend, with more of the same as the last few.  This quarantine life is getting pretty old around here and I know you all feel the same.  Here is a glimpse of our time spent at home this beautiful weekend.

My stepdad came over and he and Toddley mapped out the plan for the new deck.  They measured and talked and laughed and laughed, and it was a great afternoon.  When Bill left, Todd and I ran to Lowe's to pick out stones to border our new flower beds, and we bought all the lumber we'll need for the new deck and we also bought our new porch railing.  It's getting delivered today!

I can't wait to have porch rails again.

Jonah asked if we could have tall posts so that we can hang those Edison lights from, and we were all on board with that idea.  I am glad he mentioned it, because I had meant to but kept forgetting.

I had leftovers for dinner, and all the boys went and grabbed food to eat at home.

We also did this.

It was much cooler here on Friday, and we took full advantage of the nice weather and sat around this fire.  I came in early, but Toddley was out there till close to midnight.

On Saturday, I survived a needed trip to Costco and then made it back home in time to watch them cut down a giant tree in our backyard that we shared with our neighbors.  We split the price to get it cut down and it's gone!  They have to come back to grind the stump, but it's nice to have peace of mind that it won't fall on our roof.

That's it that you see in the back of this truck.  I was amazed at how fast they worked, and they had a crowd watching them.

I watched several movies this weekend: Bridget Jones' Diary, Dirty Dancing, Good Will Hunting, and Murder on the Orient Express.  Our next movies are Dead Poet's Society and The Greatest Showman.  We streamed our church service online yesterday and had a lazy, easy afternoon at home.  It poured rain, so it was the perfect day to stay home.  And then I made a good dinner last night for Easter to celebrate, and fed my people and my nephew Tyler.  It was a great weekend.

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.

Good Friday

I'll never forget when Noah was about seven or eight, he asked me on this day, "Mom, why do they call this day Good Friday, when it was the day Jesus was crucified on the cross?"  I thought that was such a great and wise question from such a young person.  I told him the answer was because the day was good because Jesus didn't stay dead. 

Before I start, I want to let you know that there are certain people I'm writing this for.  It's for the ones who I know who may see it on social media, who are not believers.  I don't just mean they're not believers in that they don't believe in God; I mean they've never placed their faith in God and they've never surrendered their lives over to Him.  One way a friend of mine always put it when he was the children's pastor at our church is that when you do this, believe and place your faith in Jesus, that He becomes the boss of your life.  If this is you and you're reading this, I am praying for you right this very moment. 

I'll start at the beginning and show you an illustration that Noah drew several years ago.

When God created this world at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis, He made it perfect.  This is the story of creation in Genesis, and God walked among Adam and Eve in the garden.  They had their pick of any tree to eat from in the garden except for one~the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  A serpent (Satan) came and tempted Eve, though, asking if God had REALLY said not to eat from that tree, and when she justified that surely He had not meant what He said, she took some of the fruit and ate.  She convinced Adam to do the same, and the minute he did, their eyes were opened and they were aware of their nakedness, or shame.  And that minute that their eyes were opened and they were aware of this, that is when sin entered into the world.  God called for them and asked why they were hiding.  When they said it was because they were naked, He asked them who told them that.  He knew, though.  We read that God made them coverings to wear, and that is when we first see that the blood of the innocent must be shed to atone for the guilty.  Meaning that when that innocent animal was found by God, He killed the animal and skinned it to make coverings for Adam and Eve.  The animal had been innocent, Adam and Even were not, but He made those covering to cover their shame.

The perfect world before sin is represented by that circle with the heart inside of it.  Looking from there to the right, that is when sin entered in, and this is where we've been trying to get back to perfection since those days of creation.  The arrows you see on that top circle on the right are ways we've tried to fill up the void in our lives caused by sin.  Have you ever heard the phrase that everyone is born with a God-sized hole in their heart?  Nothing but Him could ever fill that hole, and the same is true for us trying to fill up our sinful lives with other things to cover up that sinfulness in our lives. 

The next circle on the bottom is where Jesus entered the picture. 

If you read in Genesis, you'll see that Jesus was always around even from the beginning of creation.  You'll see the usage of words like "we" and I believe that it is the Trinity that is talked about there, and scholars agree, or maybe it's that I agree with scholars.  The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and while I'll probably never understand all of this until the day I get to Heaven, they are all One and the same.  Jesus left the glory of Heaven to be born of a woman and to enter into the world as a baby.  He grew up like you and I did~He had other siblings and He had to learn to walk and to talk, but He never sinned.  He was perfect.  He was different, and I love the recounting of how when they were making a pilgrimage back home, His parents couldn't find Him and it was because He had never left the synagogue.  He chose to stay behind and to sit among the teachings of the rabbis in that day and time.  He did leave, though and go back home with his mom and stepdad.  (Have you thought of that before, that Jesus's Father was God, making Joseph His stepdad?) 

When He was around the age of thirty-three, He was betrayed by one of His disciples (Judas Iscariot) and handed over to governing officials to be tried and crucified on a cross, and though Pilate wanted to let Him go, the people chose to save a criminal and crucify Jesus.  And He willingly went to the cross, because He always knew that would be what would happen.  He went like a lamb to be slaughtered, we read in Isaiah 53, and He endured the shame of the cross.  He could have escaped it any time, He could have spoken one word and the whole crowd could have been obliterated in one second, but He hung there and when He cried out to ask God His Father why had He forsaken Him, it was then that we see that God poured out His wrath upon His innocent Son and Jesus breathed His last breath and released His Spirit back into Heaven. 

It's then that we read that the earth shook and the curtain was torn into, and that is when a high priest was no longer needed.  Until that time, in order to access the Father, a high priest was needed to enter into the Holy of the Holies in the tabernacle, but the second Jesus breathed His last breath, that curtain dividing the Holy of Holies from the other parts of the tabernacle was torn into.  We read about the recounting of this in Matthew 27:11-54 or in three of the other gospels. 

This is where Good Friday comes in, because He didn't stay dead!  When one of the women went to check on His tomb, Mary Magdelene found that where they had placed His body inside and rolled a stone in place of the opening, that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty.  He had risen from the dead and appeared again on earth for a short while and walked among the disciples, and then He ascended into Heaven.  And it's where He is right now~sitting at the right hand of the throne of God.  Scripture tells us that He intercedes on our behalf.  He won't stay in Heaven~someday He will return once more to the earth, and that is when His second coming will occur.  Revelation tells us that when that day comes, He will come riding in on a white horse, and the words "FAITHFUL" and "TRUE" will be written on his thighs.  And someday, we will reign with Him in the millenial kingdom, or the "new Heaven".  When that happens, the earth will once again be like it was when God created it~it will be perfect and without sin.  That's where those arrows lead you back to in that picture that Noah drew. 

What does all that have to do with having a relationship with Jesus, you wonder?  Well, first you must believe that all of this is true.  For the skeptical person, who wonders if I'm wrong about all this...wouldn't you rather to believe and have faith like me, than to NOT believe and not have faith  and find out I was right?  Secondly, you must acknowledge that you're a sinner.  In Romans, we read that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Sinners need forgiveness, and that's when you would ask the Lord to forgive you of your sin, to change you, and to give you a "new" heart.  And then you just place your faith in God.  You believe all of this to be true, and you start praying and reading your Bible.  Much like a friend must communicate with another friend to have a relationship, so it is with us in our relationship with Jesus.  He speaks to us through His word and He hears every prayer we utter.

Know this: the Bible is clear about what happens after death.  You'll either go to Heaven, or you will go to Hell.  Hell is real, and it is a place of unending torment forever and ever.  It is an easy choice, in my humble opinion.  Why not trust me and act today?  Let TODAY be the day of your salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).  Life is still going to be full of ups and downs~just because I'm a believer doesn't mean I don't struggle.  I still have issues with anxiety from time to time, I may experience trauma of some sort in my life, but here is the difference: I know that even in spite of all that I struggle with or all that could happen, God is good, He is sovereign, and He loves me.  And for the ones who have died before me and who had faith like I do, I know that I will see them again!  Isn't that sweet and full of hope?  Life with Jesus is hard still at times.  But life without Him?  Oh, friend.  It would be impossible.  I cannot even imagine living one minute of this life without Him.  He is my hope, my salvation, and I trust Him and His perfect plan. 

I leave you with a couple of questions, and after that, a powerful video. 

If you died today, where would you go?  Heaven or Hell.  Think about it, and if you feel a quickening in your heart or spirit, that could be the Holy Spirit drawing you to Him.  I would love to pray with you or for you, if that's you.  Reach out in any way you choose to, I promise to stop whatever I'm doing and talk. 

Is anyone reading this that is a believer, though, and struggling in their faith?  Have you neglected your relationship with Him, or just not walking with Him on a daily basis?  Or are you stuck in a rut and haven't thought about Him in years?  If it is, take some time right now to pray and renew your relationship with Him.  Ask Him to help you have a fresh start with Him.  And commit today to start over in your walk with Him, making Him the priority once more.

I have so much more to say, but I'll wrap this up.  If you need some help with what comes next, I can help there, too.  Just reach out to me or to someone. 

For that video, click here to watch it and spend some time with the Lord today.  For the rest of you still around, I want to encourage you to read in one of Gospels about the recounting of all that took place on this day a couple thousand years ago.  Google it or use that reference in Matthew I mentioned in one of the paragraphs above.  And spend some time with God today, thanking Him for all that He did for you and for me.  It was our sin that held him that cross, He literally took the weight of the sin of the world upon His shoulders so that we could live with Him someday eternally.  And though thank you might seem inadequate, say it anyway and really ponder what took place.  Just a hint, though: if you make it through that recounting of His crucifixion without shedding tears, read it again and again and again until the gravity of His death hits you.  Maybe read it out loud a few times...I promise, you will see more clearly what He did for us when you really take the time to consider. 

Listen to some Good Friday worship music today~Spotify has several playlists to choose from.  The point is, spend some time with Him today.

Love to all. 

the weekend/Hello Monday

Happy Monday, friends!  I'm linking up with Tanya at The Other Side of the Road for this blog post.  It was a really good weekend around here, and somehow, it all felt normal.  We had things that kept us busy, so I know that's why it felt that way.  Also, it was GORGEOUS outside all weekend!  Two times the forecast had rain in it, and both times it missed us.  I'm so grateful for that, because our yard is more dry right now than it's been in weeks and weeks. 

I thought I'd share some highlights from the weekend.

We ordered this for dinner Friday night and it was so good!  It helped make Drew's birthday a little more special, I feel like.  And it was really nice not having to clean up any dishes.

The guys pulled out some of the old sports equipment over the last few days.  This was them one day in the afternoon throwing the baseball around.

Todd was finally able to put up this flag pole!  This took up a lot of the time on Saturday.  I love how it turned out! 

Here it is at night, with the light on top shining. 

The new and normal online church service yesterday. 

Please note all that was going on in this picture.  This was during the communion part of the service yesterday and they were irritating the daylights out of me.  Just being honest here, friends.  Also, please notice the sunglasses Drew was wearing and the fact that all the dogs were in there and trying to steal their communion elements. 

I loved this image I saw on another blog this morning.  I think it's really important to always look on the bright side of things, but especially right now.  I don't want to complain about these times too much, and I really try not to do that, because I know I'll look back soon and miss all of us being together so much.  This just resonated deep within me today when I saw it, and I wanted to share it here. 

Well, I need to go get dressed for a Zoom meeting I have in half an hour.  Thanks for reading!  Love to all. 

Friday Favorites {edition thirteen/still quarantined}

Happy Friday, friends!  I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals, and her friends, for this blog post.

Today is my Drew's twentieth birthday.  Twenty!  No longer a teenager.  It's weird, when they pass from one decade to the next.  It's a strange birthday, and one he will never forget.  He was struggling with the thought of it last week, as he found out that his work was closed for another week, but this week he seems better.  I think he's just accepted it, because he knows there is nothing he can do about it. 

I appreciate the fact that my family is still making him feel special, and that they're making the effort to get him their cards in person.  And the same is true of his friends.  On Wednesday afternoon his friends Emma and Leah dropped this off.

This kind gesture made me want to bawl.  I really appreciate thoughtfulness! 

Speaking of birthdays and favorites, this handsome fella turned 89 on Sunday.  My sister Trish and I met at his house to drop off cards, and we sat and visited with him and Sandy from a safe distance.

I love him so much and cannot wait to be able to have him back over on a Friday and to hug him. 

Wednesday was one of my favorite days of the week.  I got to "see" my sweet friend Amy, and I enjoyed hearing her teach on Psalm 24.  After I watched the live video on Facebook, I went back and read the chapter and made notes in my own journal using the HEAR method: Highlight, Explain, Application, Respond.

Pictures of my bible are always my favorite, because I love my She Reads Truth bible.  I love the wide margins, because writing notes in my bible is my favorite thing.  I had one that was falling apart, and then just a couple of months ago at a Lifeway women's event, I won this one!  I'm still in shock.

Also, in my quiet time right now, I'm currently in the book of Judges, and this is the artwork at the beginning of that book.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book in the bible.  And how scary are those words you see pictured above?!  It's amazing how quickly God's people would forget Him-just from one generation to the next.  There would be a generation of people who would walk in His ways, and the next generation would forget Him. 

Here is what I'm reading currently.  These are my favorite books.  She is one of my favorite authors, and this month she's coming out with a new book!  I can't wait. 

Online church services are one of my favorite things right now, and my oldest son picked this up in preperation for our Sunday service.  We will watch and take this together.

I loved the way Graham's truck looked Wednesday night when I walked to the mailbox.  I took this and sent it to him right away.  His truck is NOT my favorite, but I'm glad he loves it.  😂

I saved my favorite for last.  On Tuesday, Todd and Jonah spent the day out in the garage building that new shelf you see up high, and hanging the ones to the right of the fridge.  Since I took this, we also got rid of the baker's rack you see on the far right of this picture and added more of the same white shelving.  I love how it turned out!

Clean garages are my favorite.

I'm also loving this new Scripture writing plan for April.  Have you started yet?  We have nothing but time these days, so let's spend it wisely.

Another thing that isn't necessarily my favorite but necessary is good quality nail polish colors.  My go to brands are OPI and Essie.  I soaked the dip powder off of my nails last Friday and have been keeping them polished with an Essie color that's my current favorite. 

Share some of your favorites from your week with me, I'd love to hear them!  Thanks for reading.  Love to all!

another post while we're quarantined

I know you must be bored of me, and I get it~I am bored with myself!  Do not feel like you have to read, or like and comment on every blog post I share.  I always share them on social media just because it's habit, but sometimes I forget and don't do that, which was the case for yesterday.  Or I don't share them, because they're more for me.  Remember how I always say that these are more for me than anyone else, because I love to document life. 

Yesterday was another really good day.  It started as usual, and my friend taught on Psalm 24 at 9:30, so it was good "seeing" her and being taught by her.  (If you are interested, let me know and I can invite you to our women's ministry page on Facebook where she does the teaching.)  That helped make the morning go by, because when it was over I went upstairs to get dressed and to fold laundry and make the bed. 

After that I came downstairs and started more laundry, and I ate lunch.  Todd and Drew left to take Crash to the vet again and they went to the chiropractor.  While they were gone I finished a book and watched a show or two on Netflix.  They came home and Todd started another project in the garage with Jonah.  They added more shelving to where the stairs are in the garage that lead into the house and they threw away the old baker's rack that was there.  That was the first thing Todd ever bought me, by the way, but neither of us are super sentimental with things, so we just tossed it.  (And it's broken~I should add that bit of info, lest you think I'm heartless.)

Here's the book I started reading last night.

I just love all these Sisterchicks books!  My bestie and I are reading them simultaneously almost, and when she finishes each book, we're going to have a book club phone date.  I love this idea!  Also, I miss her.  (I'm listening to her teach as I write this blog post on Wednesday night.  I'll take seeing her in any form I can, and I'm loving her chronological bible teaching.)

While Todd and Jonah were working on the garage shelves, Drew's friends came by and dropped this off for him, in honor of his birthday that will be on Friday. 

I think this is the sweetest thing ever!  Emma and Leah have been really great friends to him, and I love that they helped make him feel so treasured for his 20th birthday.

Another thing that happened yesterday was that when Graham was coming home from a job here in town, he stopped by our church and picked this up for us to take together this coming Sunday.

Never in my life did I ever think we would be at this point in life.  I am not naive, it's not that I don't think bad things won't happen to us.  I am a realistic person; that being said, these times are just unprecedented.  I'm so thankful for the fact that we have social media to use as positive outlets to stay connected to friends, and I am so thankful for all this wonderful technology!  I never thought I'd say that, but it's true.  Here another little piece of advice for you~if you're not on social media, now is a great time to be there.  I love seeing my friends and what they post each day, whether it's a story or pictures.  I had gotten to where I tried not to overly share on there, but I've thrown all that out the window.  I think I posted four times yesterday alone.

Maybe more.  Who knows?  You can scroll on by, if it's too much.  Anyway, we will be taking this communion you see above together as a family this coming Sunday.  I can't believe it's Palm Sunday!  I'm so sad about not meeting collectively on Resurrection Sunday, that is my favorite Sunday of the entire year. 

The day we reunite will be that much sweeter though.  I'm looking forward to that time! 

Thanks for reading, friends.  Love to all. 

Garage Project

If you're on Facebook as my friend, you can stop reading this now, because you know about it already. 

Tuesday was a great day around here!  Todd, Graham, and Jonah kept busy all day and that made the day go by really quickly.  Graham had a job to do here in town, and he just went and picked up the piece of equipment and brought it here to work on.  And Todd and Jonah worked on the new shelving in the garage that Jonah dreamed up last week. 

They had bought the material prior to this, so all they had to do was wait on a nice day, and yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day, so it was perfect.

Before they did this, they had thoroughly cleaned out the garage.  They worked on this the week before last, and Jonah actually went through and cleaned it out a second time.  They started by pulling everything away from the back wall in the garage and cleaning the floor.  They swept and wiped up a couple of stains and got to work. 

I couldn't quite see the vision of what they had in mind, especially when they started nailing things into the wall studs, but as they worked, it all started to come together. 

It's built into the studs of the walls and ceiling.  Jonah was finishing up the last part of the project.  Todd got up there too and helped do the other side. 

We also had this wire shelving that they built for shoes before they called it a night. 

All put back together.  This may not seem like a big deal to you, but for the six of us living in this house and with as much stuff as we all have, this is remarkable.  They all love to play basketball, they have tools and work stuff out here, the lawn mower, leaf bag holder, leaf blower are all out here, along with extra dog food, camping gear, detailing products and tools, rakes, shovels, and ladders.  Everything has a very specific place now, and hopefully this will help it stay organized.

Chip and Crash had to come check things out.  They approved. 

It was a long day, but it sure feels great to have it finished, even if Todd is paying for it for the next few days.  It was about an eight hour project. 

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.