Worn

I’m tired I’m worn my heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on breathing
I’ve made mistakes I’ve let my hope fail my soul feels crushed by the weight of this world
And I know that you can give me rest so I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart
That’s frail and torn
I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that’s dead inside can be reborn
Cause I’m worn

I know I need to lift my eyes up but I’m too weak
Life just won’t let up and I know that you can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart
That’s frail and torn
I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that’s dead inside can be reborn
Cause I’m worn

My prayers are wearing thin yeah, I’m worn
Even before the day begins yeah, I’m worn
I’ve lost my will to fight I’m worn
So, heaven come and flood my eyes

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart
That’s frail and torn
I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that’s dead inside can be reborn
Cause all that’s dead inside will be reborn

Though I’m worn
Yeah I’m worn

 

“Worn” by Tenth   Avenue North

Back to School

Wow, it has been quite a while since I last blogged….

We are now three days into our school year. This week, we have been learning all about different ways of measuring. We had a comical discussion of measuring using feet…my feet, E’s feet, baby doll feet, cat feet, etc. We have weighed, compared and practiced giving hypotheses to many things. Then, I remembered our Measure Up Cups from Discovery Toys.

I love these! Since they are volumetrically correct, I knew it would be a great introduction to kitchen measuring. So off we went to have some water play (and call it school at the same time). I got E started and then ran to switch some laundry. As soon as I make it to the laundry room, she starts shouting excitedly that 3+6=9! She loves math anyway and so far, she has not had any problems understanding basic addition/subtraction concepts (and we use math blocks). But somehow the Measure Up Cups helped her to actually “see” the math problems. She eagerly showed me many more math equations.

 

We will be pulling out these cups much more often!!

delayed promises and snowflakes

I know it seems like two completely different topics, so okay, they are, but bear with me and maybe it will make sense.

I have been reading through “The Christian in Complete Armour” by William Gurnall. It is a daily reading type book so I can dwell on and attempt to digest a page or two of truths at a time…currently, I am reading about hope in hardship, especially when it seems that God is delaying His promises. The Scripture passage referred to is Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

After attempting to summarize, I decided to just quote Mr. Gurnall…
“God does not take up the ax of His sovereignty into His hand to make chips. When He has pruned severely and driven His ax the deepest, His people may expect some beautiful piece of work when all is finished.” The promise (of Romans 8:28) assures the believer that the heavenly Father intends no harm, only good, as He rebuilds the ruined frame of your soul into a glorious temple. And afflictions have a hand in the work. This insight frees you to pray, “Lord, cut and shape me however You will, that at last I may be framed according to the pattern which Your love has drawn for me!”…Hope quiets the Christians’s spirit when God waits a long time before He comes to perform promises…patience is the back where the Christian carries his burdens, and hope is the pillow between the back and the burden. Now patience has two shoulders, one to bear the present evil and another to wait for the future good promised but not yet paid. And as hope makes the burden of the present cross light, it makes the longest delay of promised good seem short.”

Knowing that our Lord does not sift and prune us haphazardly is so reassuring! He does not blindly chip away at us, yet He has the “beautiful piece of work” in mind every step of the way. Oh that I would be able say with confidence and complete readiness “Lord, cut and shape me however You will, that at last I may be framed according to the pattern which Your love has drawn for me!”

The Lord brought this to mind while E and I were cutting out paper snowflakes. We had done a little google research, but really, we were just enjoying cutting and seeing what turned out. It is so comforting to know that our Father takes tremendous care when He makes the necessary “cuts” in our lives.

Some of our snowflake creations….we found a great link to some photographs of God’s snowflakes here

 

 

Scavenger hunt

This morning we went on a scavenger hunt of sorts….

Two hours later, we had a wagon load of sweet potatoes 🙂

 

 

Apple Spice Tea

The past few weeks we have been busy putting away pumpkins and apples. Our house has the lovely aroma of fall, so yummy! While we were making applesauce, we were trying to come up with some ideas for the apple peels and cores. It seemed such a shame to waste them, and there was no way we could eat all of them. After a little “google searching” we found two great ideas. The first was to sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on the apple peels and dehydrate them. We have used these for snacking, or as toppings for oatmeal and ice cream. The second idea was apple spice tea. This is basically apple cider, but “apple spice tea” sounds better 🙂 I did some experimenting and found that the tea tasted great using either apple peels or cores.

So after you have washed and peeled all of your apples, you dump the cores and peels into a pot. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. I had about 5ish cups of apple peel and maybe 2TBSP of cinnamon. Then fill your pot with water enough to cover the peels/cores.

Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes, basically until the peels/cores are mushy but not falling apart.

Then strain the entire mixture through a mesh strainer.

If you are planning to use the tea right away, you can add about 2TBSP of honey (give or take depending on taste preference). You can also water bath can. If you are canning this, do NOT add the honey until you are ready to drink it. The processing time is 10 minutes rapid boil in a water bath canner.

Enjoy!

 

Exploring the Blue Ridge and Conference recap

Last week my family and I were able to spend a few beautiful days exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway and beyond in the Ashville NC area before the White Unto Harvest conference.  The colors were at their peak and every overlook on the Parkway was even more breathtaking than the last.  The leaves danced in the wind.  Many times we were struck with the majesty of our Creator and His greatness.  We were also reminded of how small we are in comparison.

We tried to accomplish as much as possible in a few days…from Craggy Gardens, Linville Falls/Cavern to Chimney Rock and many stops for overlooks on the parkway…there are pictures below.

Now for the conference…it was AMAZING!!!  All of the speakers were very challenging/humbling and uplifting at the same time.  We were brought back to the Gospel, reminded of who we are as sinners and that there is nothing we could ever do to even come close to earning salvation.  We were challenged to extend this same love that the Father has given us to those that are lost.  We were refocused on what the Great Commission really is and encouraged to begin living it.  Saturday night, we were blessed to be a part of a hymn sing put on by some fellow conference attendants.  It was so encouraging to be around like-minded believers!  There is so much more I could share, but I think the best thing to do is to join us next October!  The next conference will be on worship and I am sure it will be wonderful!

I think this was from Linville Falls (they are all starting to blur together now)

Chimney Rock

View from Chimney Rock

Hickory Nut Falls

This little salamander was found by some other children at Hickory Nut falls…he was pretty fast so I couldn’t get a good picture…in real life, he was about 3″ long.

White Unto the Harvest

Just over a week away….can’t wait! The line up of speakers is amazing!!! I know it will be very challenging and encouraging.

Priorities

8:30, calm sigh. She’s in bed.

Then I hear the call, “Mommy, are y’all going to do devotions now?”  “Yes, we are, but we just did your devotions, now you need to go to bed.”  “But I want to do devotions.”  I know, I should have jumped with enthusiasm her response, but I didn’t.  She stayed in bed and I went to the living room.  We read through the Proverbs we are studying and every verse (though it did not have much to do with my sin, was pressing me hard).  I had to get her up.  She needed to be a part of this.  Why did I prioritize bed time over God’s Word (again).  Why do I keep prioritizing little things over important things?  So I went to her, confessed that I was wrong to keep her from the Word.  Her response, “I was praying you would know that.”  Ouch!  Thank you Lord for making my heart soft to hear you tonight.

So, as she sat in my lap, we had the following whisper conversation~

E~ “Mommy, why do you love me”  me~”Because you’re my little girl!”

E~ “Well, why do we love God?” Mommy~ “Because He loves us, made us and died for us.”

E~ “Oh yeah.”

I would have missed that if I continued to be so wrapped up in my own plan.  Lord, help me to stop hanging on to my priorities.  Teach me to be open to Your plan.

Cutting layout for sampler fabric

This is a video for those in my beginner sewing class. It better explains how to cut out the fabric for you samplers. If you have any other questions, please let me know 😉

See you soon!

Tutu Sale

This summer, my 5 year old learned to make tutus….she liked it so much that she has begun selling them.  They are posted on my etsy site and right now, she is having a sale with all tutus 25% off.  She does take custom orders, so let us know what you have in mind….

http://www.simplymallory.etsy.com

The coupon code is TUTUS25