Perseverance

 

 photo credit

We recently attended a family camp and the theme was perseverance.  Wow, no word could have been more applicable to our lives right now. 

You see, we are in the process of building our own home this summer and my amazing husband is doing the majority of work himself.  We started the building process in May and we’re in great need of the reminder to persevere even though it’s getting tough.  For the last, honestly I don’t even know how many weeks it’s been, my husband has been working on the electrical and plumbing.  We knew these areas would possibly be the hardest because we are not familiar with how to do either, we would be learning as we went.  And since it’s taken so long it’s easy to begin to lose heart, to lose motivation, to lose the desire to keep going.  But we know winter is coming and we need a roof over our heads because a camper will not be sufficient to live in during our Northern winters. 

We must persevere even though we don’t feel like it. 

It’s not easy. 

It doesn’t feel good. 

It’s uncomfortable. 

Again, we are faced with a choice.  Do we persevere or do we give up and quit? 

Jesus tells us in Romans 5:3-5, “but we also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” 

We have a Helper, the Holy Spirit, and He is doing a work in our lives as we make the choice to persevere.  He is molding and shaping our character and making us more like Him if we allow Him to.  No it may not feel good for a time.  Yes it’s probably uncomfortable.  But we have hope in Jesus Christ, that no matter what we are going through He is with us and He is doing a work and because of that we can persevere! 

What work is the Lord doing in your life right now?  What is He teaching you through this situation?  Are you allowing Him to mold and shape you into who He desires you to be?

Teaching your children their ABC’s and the Bible Part 1

I came across a wonderful book that we have used while teaching our little one’s their ABC’s.  It is so important to teach our children about Jesus Christ and who He is and teach them about godly character along with their academic learning.  So when I came across this book that teaches them about Jesus and their ABC’s, I was sold!

click here to purchase this book through my store.

My children have memorized their ABC’s and they have memorized the names and attributes of Jesus and these truths are being hidden in their little hearts and minds as they learn and grow.

What are you choosing?

I was recently encouraged and challenged by a friend’s facebook status.

She wrote: “I sure loved watching the sun rise and sitting with the One who created it, but now my eyes are a burnin'!!!”

I smiled as I read her comment but then I began to really consider what she was saying, what she was doing. She was making a choice. A choice that was sacrificial.

She is a mom of little ones and as a mom of little ones myself, one being an infant, I know how precious sleep can be. But I had to ask myself if it was more precious, more important than spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning. I knew the answer in my heart. The answer is no!

And so I was challenged.

Challenged to examine my heart.

Challenged to examine my choices.

What are you choosing? Are you choosing to make Christ your first priority, no matter what you have to sacrifice, even something as simple as a few extra minutes of sleep and you’re left with your ‘eyes burnin’ for a little bit? Or are you choosing to surrender to the desires of the flesh and the pressures of life?

Personal time with our Lord is precious, the most important thing we can choose to do!

My challenge to you is to make the choice to spend time with the Lord in the word and in prayer over a few extra minutes of sleep, a busy schedule or any other number of things that can fight for your time.

It will be the best choice you make every morning.

What do you do to make sure you spend personal time with the Lord every day?

Diaper Cake

Feeling crafty lately!

After a friend and I finished making homemade soap we decided to put a diaper cake together for a another friend who is due to have a baby soon. It turned out too cute not to post.

Homemade Soap Tutorial

This past Friday I spent the day with a dear friend and she showed me how to make homemade soap! I had been researching and trying to learn about making my own soap but I was a little nervous about trying it myself, so when I realized I knew someone who made soap I jumped on the opportunity to learn.

There are many different ways to make soap, different recipes, and you can be creative to your hearts content with how you'd like to personalize each batch of soap with scents or liquids or add-ins. I'm looking forward to making more batches in the future but for now here is what we did:

We made a couple batches, the first was made with raspberry tea (for the liquid), melonberry scent and we added dried raspberry leaves for look and texture.
The second batch we used coffee (for the liquid), vanilla extract for added scent and coffee grounds.

The recipe we used:

4 c. Water (or goat milk or herbal tea)
Stainless Steel Container
48 oz. Shortening (non-hydrogenated)
32 oz. Coconut Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
12 oz. Lye (slightly heaping 1 1/4 c.)

(*have vinegar on hand to neutralize any lye that gets on skin. *Coconut oil makes it lather nicely and makes the soap harder)

First get everything together.

Grease pan, waxed paper or molds with extra shortening.

Cut shortening & coconut oil into smaller chunks to make them easier to add.

Put 4 c. liquid into pot (water or tea at room temp., goat milk cold.

Carefully pour lye into liquid.

**Never pour liquid onto the lye and wear gloves to protect your skin. If the lye touches your skin flush with vinegar immediately. Also, because of the chemical reaction between the liquid and lye and the fumes that it creates you may want to do this part outside.

Stir carefully with a stick blender.
The chemical reaction from the lye & water heats the liquid.


Add the shortening a little at a time while stirring.

Add coconut oil at room temperature and continue stirring.

Add olive oil and continue stirring.

Add any extras such as oats, essential oils, spices, etc.


Use stick blender to stir until soap begins to "trail" or "trace".
Be watching carefully as it sets up quickly and you want to pour into pan or mold while still liquid.

Finally, pour into greased mold or pan.

Cover with a lid and blanket so it cools slowly.
Check every 30 minutes.

Cut into bars when it is solid enough.
Cover again until soap is completely solid.
When soap is completely hard, stack and let them cure for at least 2 weeks before using.
Enjoy!

Orange Tapioca Salad

My first post and it's about food, a little ironic considering I'm not a huge fan of cooking.  You can check out my 'About Me' section to read more about my aversion to cooking.

But, I am going to a friends house tomorrow to make homemade soap (stay tuned for a post on that!) and I'm bringing this little treat along with me, so I thought I'd share it with you too! 

Growing up I was unaware that there were "salads" that tasted this good!  I remember most of my salads having lettuce in them, well not this one!  And to be honest, my husband and I would consider this a dessert, but if you would like to consider it a salad, for that is it's name, be my guest.  I hope you enjoy!

Orange Tapioca Salad

1 sm. box Tapioca Pudding

1 sm. box Orange Jell-O

1 sm. box Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding

2 c. Boiling Water

*Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Let cool.

2 sm. cans Mandarin Oranges

8 oz. Cool Whip

*Mix in mandarin oranges and cool whip.  Chill until ready to serve.  (best if chilled overnight to allow it to thicken)