Only He Knows

The past few months of my life have been rather revealing. At times I just have to sit down and shake my head at the wonder of it all. Sometimes I don't really understand why things happen the way they do or why they even have to happen at all. Today I was talking with someone and they ask me the question " Who says we don't have to go through hurts and troubles? No One ever told us that we wouldn't have to deal with the things that we have seen hurt other people so bad."
Yesterday I watched my closest friend cry tears of rejection and loss, Tears that one should never have to cry.
I hurt for my friend, My heart breaks at the thought of what she must be feeling, I sit and try to figure out what to say, what to do, and as I sat here wondering, my mind racing, I hear a still small voice that says "I know what to do, I know whats going on and I am still in control."
I am reminded of the tears of rejection Jesus cries every time someone turns Him away. I can picture in my mind, Him standing there with arms outstretched just waiting for me to turn to Him, waiting for me to rest in His arms, waiting...
He knows how it feels to be rejected, He knows how it feels to want to be loved, and to have those He loves turn away from Him. I stand up and all around me I feel peace, That this loving, merciful and gracious Saviour knows,(beyond what I can even comprehend) how to help my friend. So I do the one thing that I know will be the absolute best thing, I pray. I pray to my Father above, I pour out all my hurt and sadness and ask Him to help.
Only He knows what tomorrow will bring, Only He knows.

Wonderful Wednesday!

Here are a few shots, I want to share with you guys, of some the wonderful little cowboys and cowgirls in my life. They make me smile with their enthusiasm and genuine love each other and their ponies!

The Quiet Time just before the big race to settle the nerves. ( She is settling her nerves anyway, He on the other hand is planning his revenge)

The huddle before the big run!


Obviously, these boys are having a great time on our new and improved jungle gym!

And these, well lets just say that this, is the ZOO Crew!

These little guys, are the up and comers, Buddies, All 3 of them

"I am Wind in Hair" ( dances with wolves)

Miniature Horse Whisperer! And he does a great job!!

Em and m&m;) Quite a Team!

And last but not least

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Ponies!!!

I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I just put

them both on here!!

These are just a few of my favorite things! So let me know what are some of your favorite things!! Have a great day!

Thoughtful Tuesday

Well its raining here today and we are very excited about that! I was out with the kids the other day and we went down to the creek at my grandpas and he said that if we didn't get some rain soon that the creek would be dry in about 2 weeks. Well I don't guess it will be going dry now.

Do you ever feel that way in your christian life, Do you ever go through droughts? I have, and then it seems like I'll go through times when I have floods of trials. Or at least that is what it seems like lately. James 1:2 says My brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: v.3 knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience.v.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. I really do love these verses of scripture, but boy they sure can be hard to live by sometimes.

Around my house lately patience is so hard to come by, The word perseverance comes to mind today, It sounds like such an ugly word, but in parenting its a word that I need to use more often, to keep me focused on the latter end, because to give in just once is to lose a battle, that more than likely you will have to fight again.

So today I am choosing to smile in the downpour of trials, to find those raindrops of patience, and to persevere through all the puddles of whines and complaints. To let the Joy of the Lord flood my soul, and fill me with His goodness. In other words I am going to laugh in the face of laundry, let dirty dishes lie in wait and enjoy the rainy day with my kids whether they like it or not! I hope you have a great day in the Lord!!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

Summer Sunsets with cooler evenings!

My pretty (new to me) canister set, my mom found for me!!

Golden, Warm, Fresh from my oven, loaves of bread!!

Little Cowboys and Cowgirls, All of whom are great friends!

Mr. Potato Head, (Ain't He cute:)

Watermelon! I may have mention this before, but hey this country girl loves watermelon, and so do these country boys!! On a hot summer day you just can't beat a big ole slice of cold watermelon, Notice the salt, in the bottom picture, you just gotta have a little salt, or at least my littlest one thinks so.

For these things and many more I am thankful today. How about you what are you thankful for today? Drop me a line and let me know. Have a great Thankful Thursday.

Wednesdays Cry for Help

Okay, So I love the Homeschooling, everything is going great, BUT,(such a big little word ain't it), How do I possibly keep everything accomplished? Can anyone answer that question for me? I know that it is still summer and that I still have had alot of canning to do and that always leaves my kitchen in such a mess and the rest of the house well, it just ain't much better and I am trying, really I am, To keep it all done but then I fall into bed at night absolutely worn out and I'm sure my husband is tired of hearing how tired I am every time he asks about my day. Now I am not complaining, not at all, I don't mind the messy house or being tired BUT I would rather get more done in a day except for schooling. I feel bad for my hubby and kids, for having to deal with a tired out mom and a messy house, Anyone out there know what I mean??

So this is my cry for help, if anyone has helpful tips or knows about helpful websites or books then please let me know. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice.

Also, So sorry about the gap in my blogging, We have had a wonderful crop of tomatoes this year and so I have been busy putting up spaghetti sauce, tomato juice and whole tomato's. I hope to be finished in about 2 days with all my tomato canning and then I can use my early morning tomato picking time to write more exciting blogs, well I hope to anyways.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am so Thankful for:

An older sisters support and encouragement even amidst our differing opinions
You'll never know what that means to means me big Sis.

A younger sister who makes me laugh with her competitive nature, You bring Joy to my life.
(Ha, Ha )

A husband who understands me, and lets me have time with my horses(therapy really;)even when it interferes with his time. You are the best;)

My three precious children, sometimes I think I am going to pull my hair out if I have to listen to you guys fight anymore, but then you go and show me how much you love each other by helping one another when you need it and playing together with Eli and I realize that you are going to be alright, and that my hair can stay where it is for today!

Grandparents who understands a child's need for watermelon! They know just how to make my kids smile on a hot summer day:)

Great Grandparents who are always so excited to see great grandchildren pull into the driveway everyday.

Most of all I am thankful to my Heaven Father who blest me with a caring and loving family to make this journey downhere so much more enjoyable. For His mercy and grace that brought me up out of a horrible pit and set my feet on the solid Rock, who has never left my side, even when I move away from His, and then gently draws me back to Him, whos chastening hand lets me know that I am His, whos love never fails, His plans are always right and He is always Good!!!

These are just a few of the people that I am Thankful for Today, Who has blest your life lately? Go tell someone your thankful for them today.

Hello

Well I guess you guys thought that my housework swallowed me whole HUH? It almost did, I kid you not!! Boy have i had an exciting few days! I don't have time to tell you all about it right now, but I will try to over the next few days.
I do need to say, Thank You to every one who prayed for me and my family and our debate over Homeschooling. My husband and I both agree that this is what is best for our children! Yep I said it right MY Husband and I agree on this. PRAISE THE LORD FOR ANSWERING THIS PRAYER!!! He is so good to me!!
So this is about all I have time for today, I hope to have more time in the next few days to chat with you guys!! Tell me What has the Lord done for you lately, leave me a comment and let me know!

Mondays Mess

Is it just me or do the weekends wreck havoc on every ones houses. My house is a great big mess again today, but I have a plan. I have a to do list for the things I want to accomplish today. Maybe my writing them on here will miraculously help me get them done, You think!
So here they are:

My laundry, I want to get all my laundry put away.

My kitchen, I would just love to have my kitchen perfectly clean for at least 15 minutes today. Don't know if that will happen, as everyone lives in the kitchen around here these days, My kids are always hungry or thirsty.

My floors, I hope I can get my floors mopped today before they start growing something. I am just ashamed at how messy they are.

And so there it is, not to much to accomplish for a Monday. Of course there is more to be done but these are my main ones for today. Well I'm off to get to work. Hope you all have a blessed day.

Fridays Ramblings

TRUST
Such a big word sometimes, ain't it. I don't always have the trust thing down pat. Oh I have trusted the Lord for my salvation and I trust in Him to do what He says He will do, and to keep me in His hands. I trust in His Word and I trust that He will answer my prayers. Or do I?
Do you ever have those moments that you wonder if you really are trusting Him for all things? Maybe I'm the only one who does this type of thinking but I really do have to take a long hard look at myself and ask Am I truly trusting that God knows best, that His Will will prevail and that He will keep His promises? Then I have to go and pray and ask God to forgive me for not trusting, for not having the faith of a mustard seed, for asking but not believing. Is it only me that does this? It doesn't really matter if it is, I was just wandering. I trust in the Lord to keep His Holy Word, in that I have no doubts. But when it comes down to the things in my life, thats where I sometimes lose confidence, Not in the Lord, mind you, but in myself, Am I praying right, am I right with God, or do I have things that need to be cleaned out, am I so far down that He can't hear my prayers, these are the things that I am dealing with this morning.

This week Prairie Chick has began doing a bible study on her blog and it has been very enjoyable, and I have really needed it . The one thing that I saw in the first 2 chapters(Gen.38, and Judges 14) read this week is that God has a plan and a will, that He is going to accomplish, and that He will fulfill His plan even through our failures. He knows our imperfections, He knows our wrongs and He knows that we will fall, But he can use me in spite of that. Now He doesn't use my sins, He uses me, through His righteousness, because in Him I am made righteous. This has been a big help to me to see this again, this week has been a particularly trying week, and I have been plagued with thoughts about my many, many, many ( you get the point) misgivings and shortcomings, and I needed that reminder from Gods word that I can trust in Him. His will reigns supreme and I am not trusting that everything will work the way I want it to, just because I have prayed it, But I am trusting in what Gods Will is in my life!! I have no doubts whatsoever, that Gods Will will be fulfilled, when we are trusting and obeying Him in our lives.

Now when it comes to the day to day things, I begin to have this little trust battle all over again. I am sure that at some point in your life you have dealt with this too. Do we truly trust God with those things. I have a deep desire to homeschool my three kids, a desire that I believe God has given me, but you see my husband is NOT of the same frame of mind. Now he will agree that a christian education would be better, but not enough to let go of his worries about whether or not I'll be able to do it well enough, if I will get everything else done that needs to be done everyday, you see where I'm going with this. Well this summer we agreed that we would pray about this, and let God show us His Will. Well, I have been praying and I have seen things that I believe only God would be able to do, We haven't argued about it, and my mother-in-law( who is not a homeschooling supporter) actually talked to me about it this week and she agreed that it would be a great education for the kids, she had no discouraging words to say to me about it. Now if that ain't God doing a work!!! I believe that it is. But even with that my husband still won't give in. This has caused a ripple effect if you can imagine, it makes me feel like I'm waiting on his permission and I don't like that at all, but ain't that just what the enemy wants, to cause division, to get me and him to be at odds on this. You might be wanting to know where I am going with this, so let me say Can I trust God to work this out? Yes I believe that I can, I know without a doubt that this is right, that homeschooling our children is want He would have us to do., But I do have a problem trusting my husband to make the right decision, (did I just say that out loud) Well anyways, I guess this is a major part of the problem. I can trust God with many many things, why can't I trust Him with my husband? Just being Frank today!! This is something that I have been praying about, for help with this. I know that I can trust God in all things and with all things, I just need help with this more often then with other things.
I maybe the only one who ever deals with these type of issues and maybe I am wrong for writing about them, but i don't think so. I know that it is helpful to me to be reminded that I can trust my Heavenly Father with every thing in my life, I can even trust Him to help me overcome the battles that I face with my flesh(my husband, I really mean no disrespect). I know that this has been some weird ramblings but I hope that this has been encouraging to some one else to.

Trust- confidence, faith, hope. I have confidence, faith, hope and trust in the Lord today. I know that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.(eph.3:20) Unto Him be all glory !!!! Thank You Lord for hearing the prayers of this child of yours, Thank You that I can put all my trust in You for all things, even things that to others may seem small, to You they are special. I am so grateful for You unfailing Love. You are worthy of all Praise, Blessed be the Name of the Lord.