Christmas Eve 2010

It was Christmas Eve.  I had spent a few hours out with Mom doing some last minute shopping.  When I got home I wrapped my heart out until Wizzy got into a bag full of shopping bags and ended up scattering them throughout the spare room.  Silly cat!  I put together one of my most favorite gifts for Keith, something I knew he’d treasure.  As the clock ticked, I was getting more and more anxious for Christmas.  I baked a cheesecake and then proceeded to clean the living room and dining room.  I put a sparkly table cloth on the dining room table and moved the tree there where we could stash the gifts.  I turned down the lights, put on some Christmas music, and got out some Champagne.  Why not!?!? 

When Keith got home I insisted that he change into his jammies.  If we were going to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, we were going to do it in true style… in our jammies!  Next he popped the cork on the champagne and we had a Christmas toast. We took turns giving each other gifts, hugs, and kisses.  I got him cool jeans, shoes, a couple games, a movie, and two frames with very heartfelt pictures in them.  He got me pink fuzzy slippers (love love love), a necklace with a Cross that has chip diamonds in it.  (love love love some more)  He got me some stuff to make my own jewelry… something I had said I wanted to try.  He also got me the jewelry box I wanted.  I gets mounted on the wall, holds 9 photos on the cover, and is large enough for lots of jewelry.  YAY!!!  I LOVE IT!!!  I love ALL of it!!!!

I found cat-beds for cheap at Ross.  I was so delighted to have a gift for the kitties.  He played some games while I read the booklet that came with the jewelry stuff.  When I looked up, there was Crystal, curled up in Wizzy’s camo-bed.  Grrrr…. I got her the frilly pink bed.  Soon enough she was in her bed, with a little convincing from me.  It was too cute.  We, ourselves, eventually climbed into our own bed with thankful hearts for special moments with one another and the multitude of blessings on the day we celebrate our Lord’s birth.  I think every Christmas is a little bit better than the last for us. 

Favorite Photo

 

It was rather chilly this week…  Bringing the horses into the barn before I start my chores is a good idea.  It raises the temperature nicely. 

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Biblical Example

The Bible is a reflection of present day… in so many ways.  It’s full of stupid people that frustrate God.  The commit the same sins over and over, find them selves distant from the Lord, suffer consequences, and then cry out to the Lord for help.  The Lord’s grace covers over their sinful ways and his mercy saves them from Hell.  Why?  Because of Love!!!! 

Slightly Festive

 

We have a small tree, but it sparkles just right. 

Tuesdays With Jen… My Memoirs

I walked into one of the upstairs bedrooms where Amanda was burning a candle.  I told her that her candles stink.  She said that my candles stink.  In sisterly fun we sparred… she kicked at me and I blocked it with my hand.  She broke my middle finger on my left hand!  “IIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!!!!” I screamed.  She got me some ice.  She was apologetic.  It hurt BAD!!!!  The next day I had it x-rayed.  Yes, it was broken.

 

She was really sorry to hurt me so badly.  She helped me many days with my farm-chores because she was ‘sorry.’ 

 

A few weeks later it was time to unload a wagon full of hay.  She helped until it was done.  Then she sat on a bale of hay and said “J.J. you’ve used up all your sorry.”  It was very funny… I don’t think she’s been in the barn much since!

 

What can I say???? I love her, but her candles STILL stink!!!!

Blessings Monday

This morning I’m counting the blessing of gainful employment.  Let us not take for granted the fact that we have jobs and get regular paychecks.  For the past year Keith has been driving approximately an hour each way to and from his job.  Along that way he would spend $13/week in Turnpike tolls.  He drives a nice big 4x4 truck a good 200 miles/week and only a small portion of it was highway miles.  He was spending a mint on gas. 

 

As it goes he has undergone a change with his employment.  He is no longer the Assistant Manager at the Rochester store.  He is now a Team Leader at the Gibsonia store.  This all comes to fruition on our first real day of snow this winter!  His commute is a measly 3.25 miles from home.   Via Yahoo Map directions it should take him approximately 8 minutes each way.  He’s looking forward to working a regular 40 hour week instead of the 50+ hour week he’s been working for the past year.  I’m so delighted!  I will actually be able to see him more!  He was off at 10PM the other night and he was home by 10:15PM and I think he even took time to fuel up that night too.  Yay!!!!!

 

I’m happy to also be gainfully employed.  I’ve worked in the same office for going on 10 years now.  I have a fantastic boss, which I am very thankful for.  I think I make a fair wage.  I enjoy my job most of the time. 

 

We are so blessed to have jobs that are fairly secure.  We are better equipped to keep a budget than in years past.  That feels so good.  Thank you Lord for these blessings!

YAY

Tree is up with the help of my Handy Hubby!

Almost all of the gifts on hand are wrapped. 

 

Living room is swept. Thanks to HH. 

 

One load of laundry is done… more to be done. 

 

Christmas cards mostly all written-out.  Just need mailed. 

 

Did some work-work…  need to get ahead!  Don’t want to have to do that tomorrow!

 

Researched some gift ideas online. 

 

All in all, not bad.  Still a few things to do, but definitely feel like I accomplished something today.  Yay!

I need a plan…

So much to do… never enough time.  I’m about 3/4 done with Christmas shopping.  Haven’t put up a tree yet.  I’d like to do that WITH the Handy-Hubby if possible.  I ordered one gift for him, but need to finish with something else.  I need to mail some money for our nephew’s gift and buy two more presents for nieces.  There are gifts that need mailed to persons afar.  Each year I say the postage cost is enough to make you just send a gift-card or money next time, but it’s so much more fun to send presents in a big box and really… it’s probably worth it to do so.  I just regret that it’s rarely ever on time from us.  

 

I need to find the ads for this week and plan our weekly meals and grocery needs.  I admit I have not done any grocery runs for a couple of weeks.  I have not been making wholesome meals as much the last couple of weeks.  We’ve had a few dinners out with friends or family and other than that we’ve been fending for ourselves, mostly left-overs and quick easy grabs like soup.  We MUST get back to reality before we fall off the wagon and start eating out too much.  Got to keep the budget in check, especially this time of year! 

 

Speaking of budget, we’ll need to revisit that soon too.  Keith’s new job title comes with a new expectation for his paycheck.  We’ll soon be into a new year as well so managing that budget will be at the forefront anyway.  It’s good to start fresh and to be deliberate about discussing the budget at least once or twice a year (at minimum).  We should probably do that more often.  He asks me often “is this in the budget?”  I’m thinking, why doesn’t he know what the budget is?  Communication is the key.  Time to get creative.  I was thinking of getting a white-board and mapping out the budget either via week or month on it and then crossing off when we have emptied that expenditure allowance.  I haven’t fully developed this concept yet.  I’m just looking for something visible that we can share and that will be easy to see.  Hmmmm… 

 

There is housework to be done here, which I’ve really neglected lately.  There is a blanket to make for my sweet niece who will be collecting them for someone less fortunate to keep warm.  There are gifts to wrap and pack and mail.  I finally have tape again.  I had run out last weekend.  Not because I’ve gone overboard with gifts.  Not because I’ve wasted it.  Just because I’ve been using the same tape for so long that I cannot even remember when we bought it.  Laundry needs washed, dried, and folded…

 

Wait a sec… Haven’t seen my hubby much lately.  Wrapping it up here as time with him is more important than this…   

Favorite Shot of the Week

This is my favorite photo of the week… Taken last Sunday at McConnell’s Mills.  It’s my Handy-Hubby lookin lika gangsta!  LOVE IT!

Thursday’s Thankful Heart

 

Ok – December is a NEW month.  I love newness.  There’s just something FRESH about a new day, a new week, a new month, and very soon… a new YEAR!!!  I’m going to start a new spreadsheet in 2011.  In case you don’t know how this works, I’m keeping a daily journal of things I’m thankful for… things in general and also things specifically about my husband.  I’m devoted to keeping a thankful heart and thank God each and every day for all the blessings and provisions in my life.  Here’s a few examples from the week past:

General:

• TURKEY
• Family time
• Sunshine
• Worshipful heart/Song
• Prayerfully keeping my attitude in check
• New month
• New found trails clearly marked
• Furnace = warm heat
• Leftover soup compliments of my Mom
• Gainful employment
• Sweet pets that enjoy my company

About my husband:

• He went hiking with me
• He gave special attention to making sure I had good footing while out hiking
• He kissed my forehead
• He didn’t get angry when I was on the brink of a mental melt-down
• He has a job change that should lend itself to better hours which is good for us
• He took my car and had the winter tires put on and had the oil changed too… well winterized now
• He let me drive his truck for a day
• He called me from work to check in
• He loves me and he shows it (he’s so precious)

 

If you’d like to join me in quest of deliberate thankfulness, feel free to copy and paste my logo, but please leave a comment and link back to my blog. 

Wednesday’s C.O.W. (Coupon of Wisdom)

 

Here are a few random thoughts on my mind of late…

• Don’t live in fear.  Trust in the Lord.
• Replace discontent with praise and thankfulness.
• Joy is the product of righteousness…. strive for it!
• Peace is the reward for faith.
• Tithing is just the very beginning of giving and may involve more than just money… we can offer a tithe of our time and talents too!
• Church isn’t about being fed/taught but about worshipping with the Body

Tuesdays With Jen… My Memoirs

Monday was the start of deer season, rifle anyway.  It brings back memories.  When I was in my late teens early 20s I had the itch to hunt.  I met a guy who had that same itch.  We left in my truck at 530am for his favorite hunting spot.  On the way we hit a deer, a doe.  The words from my mouth were “Ohhhh MARTHA!”  (not expletives) We pushed her a good ways and when the truck came to a screeching stop she did somersaults down the road in front of us.  She busted out the grill.  The fender was pushed back into my door.  I said “Get out and bring your gun.”  I think that was a shock to this guy.  She was dead so we tossed her off the road.  The radiator was leaking pretty bad, so we went back home.  I didn’t get to finish that hunt, but he did.  He got a doe behind the house.  Her name was Martha too… of course. 

Dan-Dan & Martha 1992

Fun times!

McConnell’s Mills: Sunday 11/28/10

The plan was to HIKE.  McConnell’s Mills would be the destination. Thought we’d zip down the PA turnpike and pick up I-79…. ohhhh not so fast!  A couple miles shy of the exit we hit TRAFFIC.  We were only traveling ONE exit!  It took us 40 minutes!  I was NOT happy.  By the time we got where we were going we had but ONE measly hour of daylight to hike.  None the less we made the most of our visit. 

Keith lookin all “Gangsta!”

Me wishin it was Hilton Head Island!

It was COLD… frigid… overcast… I was sad!  It was muddy.  It was slippery.  It was gloomy.  There were ICICLES!!!  Ugh. 

The water was raging and the rocks were amazing.  Some of the enormous rock piles we wondered what in the world held them up.  Surely they will eventually topple.  I love hiking at MM.  There is so much to take in.  I just wish we’d had more time. 

Hartwood Acres

I’m blessed to live only a few miles from several parks. All of them have hiking trails.  Today I hit the trails at Hartwood Acres.

I didn’t have a hiking buddy today as nobody showed an interest and Keith was working.  He doesn’t like me to hit the wilderness alone, but I could not help myself today.  It was about 30 degrees outside… brrr!  The wind was wicked, but as long as I was in the woods it wasn’t that bad.  Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.  Can’t wait to do this again!  I didn’t have a map.  Note to self:  print a map!  The nice thing about Allegheny County Parks is they have maps that you can access online and print for all the hiking trails.  I found a trail marked with blue blazes and decided I’d follow those.

Unsure of where that might take me, I also tried the red blazes for a bit.  Those led right to The Mansion.  That was cool. 

It’s such a beautiful building.  Of course there is the Celebration of Lights going on every night up there this time of year.  I had a sneak-peak of that, although there were only a few things lit mid-afternoon. 

After being out for at least an hour, I ventured my way back to the blue blazes and followed those past where I originally found them.  Back beyond the open dog run and down the road behind the theatre, I eventually found a posting of the trail map.  I followed trail #1 for a bit, then trail #2 where a biker called a “heads-up” that scared the bejeebers out of me!  Then back on the pavement and around the perimeter of the park… a two hour hike total, not bad, but my face was SO COLD for the last part of it. 

 

I need new hiking shoes/boots sometime in the near future.  My poor old tennis shoes have all but worn completely out. 

 

Trying to decide where to hike tomorrow.  Keith is off and we have a date… church, then lunch at Luca’s Bistro, and hiking.  YAY!!!

Thursday’s Thankful Heart

 

Happy Thanksgiving!  This is my FAVORITE holiday.  I like to keep thankfulness in the forefront of all my days.  I don’t think that enough people are deliberately thankful.  I have SO much to be thankful for:

• Answered prayers.  Keith’s employer is transferring him to another location is about a week.  It’s closer to home!  I’ve been praying for this for a year!
• Good health.  My bosses wife is battling cancer.  Her struggles remind me of how fortunate I am to have good health.
• Loving husband.  He is kind and sweet and simply self-less when it comes to taking care of me.  He’s a gem!
• Adequate home.  Our rent is quite reasonable.  The home is bigger than we need. Keith recently updated the bathroom.  I’m delighted that it’s now fully functioning.  Yay!
• Gainful employment.  My boss is an honest, family oriented, Christian man.  He appreciates my contribution at work. 
• Penny.  I love her so much.  I love her sassiness and her beauty.  I rode her a good bit this summer and she has grown SO much!  I’m very pleased.  I’m also grateful for Rene’e helping me bring her home and for Janet’s generosity providing her a home that is affordable. 
• Our kitties.  Crystal is so pretty and soft and likes to cuddle.  (most of the time)  She is totally in love with Keith.  It’s very sweet.  Wizzy is spunky, wild, and crazy.  He keeps us on our toes.
• My God-Lovin, Bible-Studying, Prayer-Warrior Gal-Pals.  They help keep me focused and pray with me and for me all the time.  I love them and their precious families.
• Hiking.  For years I’ve been begging Keith to just go for a walk with me.  He does not appreciate the mundane task of walking in circles, not at the track nor the park.  Then one day my good friend, Tammi (and her family), took me Geocaching and it’s been all fun since then.  I knew Keith would love it.  He needs to have a destination and this is actually more challenging than the usual walk.  I’ve spent much of the summer hiking with Tammi and Keith.  I’ve even taken my niece and nephews out.  It’s great exercise.  I love being outside.  I love drinking in the beauty of creation.  I crave it now! 
• Family.  I’m glad to live close to my family.  We enjoy dinner with Zombecks as often as we can, usually every couple of weeks.  My parents are close by too and are hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  They enjoy hosting family get-togethers often in their new home.  I miss seeing Keith’s family, wishing we could travel more frequently.  I understand that his Grandma Vulhop is ailing and in Hospice care now.  We need to visit soon.  We are grateful to be welcomed to stay with his Mom when we are in town there.  We have 11 nieces and nephews, each one a joy in their own way and growing up so fast.  I love them all.   
• Quietness.  Many mornings I enjoy coffee or tea in the quiet of our home.  By quiet I mean without the white-noise of television or other distraction.  This morning I’m enjoying the sound of rainfall, the birds singing (the ones in the cage), my kitty meowing for attention as she cuddles next to me.  Some days I watch the sun rise & have a little devotion time.   I love mornings.  The only thing better would be to have a nice porch to sit on with my pony in the back yard… maybe someday.

There is just SO much!  I could go on and on all day long. 

Roller Derby Anyone?

Joyce said she'd like to go ice skating, so Keith met us at the ice rink.  She changed her mind and suggested roller skating instead.  Sooooo... that's just what we did.  This was Joyce's first time roller skating.  She did quite well.  I'm proud of her.  Uncle Keith stayed right with her the whole time.  She said it was fun and that she’d definitely do it again if the opportunity arose. 

 

A Date With My Niece

I was looking for a volunteer to hike with me on Saturday. Joyce was my happy hiking pal this week. I took two of her brothers geocaching a couple weeks back. This was her turn. We hit a couple in North Park. She hiked and sometimes ran out ahead of me, but eventually stopped to wait for her slower-moving Aunt. Thanks Joyce for not deserting me in the wilderness. :)

We saw a couple doe crossing the road on the way in. One ducked under the guardrail and the other jumped over it. That was odd.

She worked the GPS easily and found the cache's with a slight hint, but little difficulty. She found herself a neat sparkly wood chip to pocket and a Darth Vader thing that her brother's would enjoy. She carefully re-hid the containers each time and off we went on to another adventure.

A Great Weekend Almost Over

Saturday started EARLY.  Up to feed the ponies at 4:30AM.  I love the sound of my Penny greeting me first thing in the morning.  It was well before the crack of dawn, early enough that eyes were blinking “bright lights bright lights” when I flicked them on.   They gulped down their grain in a fury and then with a flick of my wrist they burst out into the new day… frisky and feisty.  Loved it!  I took a video with my Blackberry but I can’t figure out how to upload it.  :(

 

So after chores it was off to work.  My office was hosting an educational symposium for medical professionals.  I needed to be there at 630AM.  It was a great success with a very good turnout. I left there promptly at 2pm.

 

Run back to the farm.  Let the doggies out.  Rush over to pick up Paul and Daniel for a play date.  This was their first time geocaching.  We hit the one at the Old Stone House first.  The instructions said to follow the North Country Trail.  We did not follow it the right way.  We completely missed the “this way” sign.  They wasted no time bush-wacking their way through the woods in the right direction.  Paul led us with the GPS.  I had to keep telling them to slow up and stick together or else they would lose their Aunt J.J. in the wilderness.  LOL  We overlooked it a number of times, but eventually found the treasure in a really neat spot.  They sat on a huge rock dissecting its contents and decided to take a couple little trinkets.  We left some trinkets too, and then set off to find another.  Unfortunately we did not find the others and we had not enough daylight time to do the puzzle cache in the area before dark.  The coolest thing my nephew ever said to me “Aunt J.J., when can we do this again?”  I’m looking forward to taking them again… and hopefully in the not so distant future.

I’m really proud of Paul.  We picked up a map at Jennings and he very successfully led us on a very nice hike.  We stopped a couple times to get the map out and assess which way we should go and he was the one that decided for us.  I’m impressed at his map-wise-ness.  We talked a little bit about the North Country Trail and I explained how to follow the “blue blazes.”  It was a great time!

 

This morning I was awakened at 4AM.  Tootsie, the big brown lab, jumped up on the bed, on top of the covers, on top of me.  She was straddling me and I was mummified.  I couldn’t move my arms.  She had me pinned.  She was breathing her doggie-breath in my face!  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!  I kept telling her “OFF!”  “OFF!”  It took a while but I finally broke free.  She just wanted to go outside.  Ugh! 

 

Here they are…  Riley on the left.  Tootsie on the right.  At that point I was UP, so I made a cup of tea and sat down on the couch with a blanket.  They were a constant audience.  Silly dogs!  A few hours later, the cat was at the front door, pining to be let in.  He had already been in.  HE wanted out before 4AM, so these little buggers had me up several times throughout the night.  I thought it would be cute to take a picture of Scampers begging to come in, but amazingly he looks like something right out of a cartoon!  I laughed out loud immediately.  This is too funny not to share!

 

And this was all just this morning.  We have dinner plans with our cousin for later this evening.  Should be fun.

 

Have a great weekend!!!!!

Memories No Longer In Motion…

October 26th is my Gram-ditties birthday.  She would have been 96 years old this year, but she passed away several years ago.  I wonder if anyone will remember my birthday as fondly as I remember hers?  She is the single-most influential person of my lifetime.  She spent more time with me than any other adult.  Everything she did was looking out for my best interest.  She was an example-setter.  She spoke the truth of scripture and lived humbly.  God was first and family was extremely precious to her.  She walked me through disappointments and danced with me through joys.  She was such a precious gem and I miss her so very much.  I hope that in my lifetime I can exhibit but a glimmer of her reflection.   Fortunate for her, she’s tending the gardens of Heaven now and enjoying the constant and glorious presence of Christ!  Awesome!  Some people bid their lost loved ones Rest In Peace… I say LIVE the Peace Grammy!  Live it up!    

Geocaching 10-23-10

Happy Hikers we are… We didn’t have much time before dark, but we did find 5 cache’s yesterday.

I spotted this owl peering at us from his bird-box. I think it’s a horned owl??? I wish we had a better zoom on our camera. I got a pretty good look at him with binoculars while Keith tried to move in closer for a better picture. I saw the little guy duck back into his box… Keith spooked him. Alas, we did NOT get a better picture. :(

This is on Irwin Road aka Mysty Blue Road, which is supposedly haunted. The internet has some information on it. I’m not into that kind of stuff, but it was still daylight anyway, so we meandered down this road to find a cache. The whole way Keith is asking me what is “haunted” about it. It didn’t look haunted. I didn’t do any checks on that until we got back, but… when he found the cache this little black rat was staring back at him from inside a log. He jumped and I thought he was just joking… trying to spook me, but it didn’t work. I had a good laugh when I saw what it was so we couldn’t resist taking some pictures of it.

It was a fun time… can’t wait to go again.

On The Move

It’s that time of year again.  They are moving in!  From the outside to the inside!  Ahhhhhhh!!!  This one’s coming from outside the barn towards the inside if they can.  They creep me out!  I found one in the washing machine – dead, but still seemed rather large.  Now how did that happen?  Did I load it into the washer with my laundry?  WHAT!?!?!?!  I found another in the basement that looked dead, kind of curled up.  Ohhh… that is just a defense mechanism!  I reached for it with a rag and it took off.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!  I threw a plank of laminate floor on top of it and walked on it a bunch of times.  I hate spiders!

Hiking October 2010

October 17, 2010 I went hiking with my friend Tammy.  We hit the North Country Trail between Moraine and Jennings.  It was LOVELY.  What a gorgeous day to hit the trails! 

Wildlife sightings were at a minimum, not surprising considering all the leaves on the ground.  It was not exactly a quiet hike through the woods.  We did happen upon a squirrel head stuck on the end of a tree branch.  That’s not a funny prank.  It’s gross!  We did spot a few squirrels and chipmunks, but nothing big and nothing slithering.  Yay!

 

About 2 hours into it my hip started clicking.  Today it is sore.  I wonder what that’s all about?  Hmmm…

 

I’m so blessed that Tammy enjoys hiking with me.  We both like to gawk at things as we meander through the wilderness.  I can’t wait to go again!    

Before I Forget

This past week Keith’s Mom and Step-dad Jim were here to visit.  For the few weeks prior, we worked HARD to restore the functionality of our upstairs bathroom.  Well… KEITH worked HARD and I followed his lead.  We are still getting used to the added option.  During the visit we went to a Fall-fest in Zelienople, which was lovely.  I realize that I had never been to such a thing before.  Odd isn’t it?  Keith took them to Pittsburgh while I worked another day.  They took us out for a nice dinner at TGI Fridays so I didn’t have to cook, YAY!  Mom and I shopped together.  She bought us some cool stuff for our hiking-hobby for Christmas.  We visited the stable to pet the ponies.  We visited my folks for a lovely spaghetti dinner.   It was a grand visit.  I’m so grateful to have this time with them.  Our visits are always WAY too short and WAY too infrequent!

 

On Thursday I was afforded the opportunity to hit the trails at Moraine with my precious pony.  I’m sorry to have not taken any photos on this jaunt.  The season at its peak is so lovely and what better way to enjoy it than to share with a friend on horseback!  This too was TOO short as we only had a couple hours after work to squeeze it in.  The last half hour was dark in the woods and we rode out via moonlight.  A little creepy, yes, but very cool just the same.  I’m very proud of my Penny.  She turned over a new leaf this year.  I think since I’ve put many more miles on her that she’s really settled a good bit.  Maybe she’s more fit and able to keep up better?  Maybe its simply maturity?  Any way you see it… I just love her!  She’s sassy and chubby and just bursting with personality.  I’m so thankful to have her!

Saturday’s Savings & Meal Planning

I’m trying to return to the routine saving and stock-piling.  I sort of fell off the wagon a while back, but I’ve been slowly picking myself back up again and re-focusing. 

 

This week RiteAid has some deals.  If you have a coupon for Gain dish detergent, it’s FREE.  They also have an entire page of FREEBATES.  I already picked up 4 of those items saving more than $10. 

 

I have at least a dozen coupons to use at Giant Eagle this week.  Most are stock-pile items.  Additionally they have a BOGO special on Boneless Sirloin Tip roast, plus we get 10% off too.   I usually keep one to roast and cut the other for stew. 

 

So what’s on the menu at the Vulhop household this week?

• Chicken noodle soup and Salad
• Stir-fry (either chicken or beef) w/ rice
• Chili with cornbread
• Egg-sandwiches
• Grilled chicken salad
• Left-overs

Wednesdays C.O.W. “Coupon of Wisdom”

Random thoughts from my Bible Study of late…

 

By the power of the Holy Spirit, brought on by prayer, break free from the bondage that holds you captive!  We are slaves to sin.  Make efforts to train yourself to recognize the opportunities to overcome such obstacles.  Familiarize yourself with the Holy Spirit. 

 

Don’t just SAY a prayer, PRAY a prayer.  It’s great that we memorize prayers, especially as children.  It’s one way that we write the Word on our heart to recall in times of need.  The heartfelt meaning is frequently lost in simply reciting prayers.  Next time you recall a memorized prayer… give it some umph from the heart.   

 

Don’t just believe because someone told you so… Believe because the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD told you so!  I don’t discount Biblical scholars and teachers, but if you are going to argue with me on something… there is only one source… the Bible… His Holy Word.

 

Thinking on generational blessings… I learned what humble is from my Grandmother.  I learned what discipline is from my father.  I learned about generosity from my mother.  I learned to PRAY from my Grampy.  Do you ever consider what generational blessing you are passing on to your children?  Imagine if we were cognizant of it? 

 

Some people just go through the motions of Christianity, never developing an actual RELATIONSHIP with Christ… How boring!  It’s way more exciting to be actively involved, interacting with Him. 

Tuesdays With Jen – My Memoirs

 

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the loss of my good friend Ed.  Throughout my early 20’s I spent many a night helping him milk his cows.  He often spoke fondly of my grandfather and told stories about him that I hold dear to my heart.  We ate ice cream almost daily.  I would often come prepared to tell a joke, the punch line of which he would repeat for hours thereafter followed by a jolly good laugh.  He would laugh so hard that I couldn’t understand what he was saying.  Then I would laugh because he was laughing and he’d laugh harder thinking that I was laughing at what he was trying to say and it would go on until we were both in stitches.  I so enjoyed my time with Ed.  He was an honest soul, a man of little glamour except for his heart of gold.  He was humble, hard-working, and a kindred friend.  I will cherish so many memories of him until we meet again in Heaven.  

Bathroom Project

We haven’t been able to use the toilet in our upstairs bathroom for about 2 years now.  It had a plumbing problem that caused it to leak through the living room ceiling.  That CANNOT be good.  So we finally decided it was time to fix it. 

Keith removed the old toilet.  The floor was really bad. 

Here is the view looking up from the living room.  He had to replace a portion of the plumbing pipes.

Here is the view looking down the hole.  He had to replace about half of the subfloor in the room… It was not surprising that it’s nowhere near SQUARE!

New laminate floor… DONE!

New sink & faucet!  YAY!!!

Now we need to put in the replacement toilet and put in some trim… more pictures to come!

Selfless Sunday

 

Plain and simple, my husband DESERVES to be spoiled!  He spent his only 2 days off this week fixing the bathroom.  He had no time to relax at all.  What might he appreciate?  He asks for something sweet every day.  I’m going to bake him a cake!