Who Can We Trust?

 

We live in frightening times and we do not know what will happen in our country or our world. What do we do? Who has the answers? Are they telling the truth? So many questions and uncertainties. What looks like absolute truth, can be twisted to be shown as nothing more than cleverly concealed lies.

Who or what can we trust? Even while watching carefully, we can be fooled. Oh, how we need God's wisdom and direction. I am so thankful for His Word that never changes. It is always true and He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The God who made this beautiful world is the only One who can fix the problems in it. Will we trust Him? Will we search for another to trust? We tend to stay so busy in our lives and find there is "no time" for God ... and some think He isn't necessary anyway. What a sad way to look at life. Sometimes we stay so busy to avoid thinking or facing difficulties. 

     The beautiful fall colors add extra drama to the natural beauty of the scene. Peace and bits of order can be found in the colorful display of a variety of trees, bushes and other parts of nature. There is a richness in the blend of beauty, color, sounds of nature and gentle breezes. It is delightful to bask in the wealth of time in God's creation and talk with Him.

    Many times when alone in nature, my heart spontaneously sings, Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder. Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made........   and finish with the chorus of How great Thou Art. I ponder the words as my heart, and many times my voice, sings the words of the song in praise to the God who made such wonder. 

     The time in a natural setting can be restorative and healing as my focus returns to the more important while I turn my attention from the less important. 

What a beautiful world. No, I do not worship nature, but I sure enjoy it. I do worship the One who created nature and people. What a wonderful God He is.  

      Thank you for visiting today. I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Feel free to follow my blog by email or on google.

                                                                    

New Book by Katherine J Master -  A feel-good Christian fiction book with quirky characters, some mystery and light suspense along with the history of an old house and the family who lived there. A fun read that has wisdom from various sources, woven through the story.  

                                         

                                        Ordering information on the link below:

                                               New Beginning at Rosewood: 

                                   Finding Hope While Exploring an Old House

Have Faith? In what?

 

Beautiful time of year, beautiful colors...  and winter is on the way. 

God made that beauty and we are to praise Him in good times and in bad.... in nice weather and not so nice...  in good economic times and bad... in good leadership and bad.... 

God knows the future, He knows ME and what I need, and I am so thankful to know Him as my Savior. I hope you also know Him and are growing in faith. We have many scary times we live in and many things out of our control. I'm thankful nothing is out of His control. 

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6

Other Posts you may be interested in reading: 

Running the Race

We ATE the Hammered Dulcimer!!!

Is It Really Just Innocent Fun?

Rejoice! .... Even In Troubled Times?

Today is Easter Sunday and a time to rejoice, even in this time of uncertainty and fear.  We do have a Saviour and He has already defeated death and hell. What a blessing!

I went outside this morning early, and enjoyed the sunrise and couldn't help but to praise God for His creation. I love the early morning when the animals and birds are waking up and yet there is a quiet stillness also. It is a wonderful time for reflection and prayer.

.

We live in a time when everything is uncertain … we are experiencing things we haven't even seen before with a virus we are told is dangerous and causing death to many. We are told to stay home, as a nation, and are restricted from regular activities - even meeting with believers at the church. Many are laid off of their jobs and the "temporary" time of quarantine is stretching out more and more. Businesses are failing and though the hope is to open them in a few weeks or a couple of months,  many will never open again. 

We have seen people in panic buying all of the toilet paper, hand sanitizer, paper towels, baby wipes and more as they frantically tried to deal with the fear of the threat hitting the whole world. It was a "Me First" time for many as fights over things in the stores showed. Panic ruled as information was given in bits and pieces with no real source to check for what the new rules were.

Even now, some form of martial law is in effect in many places, though thankfully it is a "soft" martial law which requires us to stay at home and only go out for essentials. Businesses not considered essential have been closed and many fined if they do not comply. So many things cancelled and the schools are closed for the rest of the year though they are trying to do some online teaching. A few months ago, we never could have imagined what we are now living. 

Probably not many have escaped the feeling of fear at some point... fear for loved ones as we hear of death and dire predictions, fear of having enough money to pay the mortgage or enough food to feed our family. Some face the fear of having no graduation, no prom, a wedding postponed, or having a loved one die and not being able to be with them in their sickness or even to say good-bye.

It is a dark time in so many ways and a heaviness seems to hang over our world. We wonder... when will things return to normal? Then we also wonder … WILL things return to normal? Maybe we wonder who is at fault and want to blame someone. Maybe we suspect we are not getting the whole truth but are being manipulated like puppets and we fear what is next. There are SO many ways to fear. 

What are we to do? Many are playing online games with each other answering questions about their life, or coming up with ways to entertain children at home and wishing to send them back to school. Time at home is precious, but as it goes on for so long, many yearn for a bit of normalcy. Some parents are "homeschooling" their children as they try to keep their kids from getting behind in school and come to the conclusion that they HATE homeschooling though this is an inaccurate picture of true homeschooling.

Many jump on the bandwagon of vaccines being a type of "savior" and are suspicious of any who don't go along with the program, so they allow a hatred to fester against those who make a different choice, convinced those people are endangering their children. There is so much misinformation and a crowd mentality has formed to get "anti-vaxers" to comply and the rights of people who choose natural ways of being healthy are trampled on because of fear. Real information is being limited and other information is being pushed - hard. Could it be part of a bigger plan? Could it be that we are being used to complete some not so noble purpose? 

Many probably feel helpless to change things and caught in a twilight zone type of experience where life looks normal, but then suddenly it doesn't. Everything is changing so fast and what and who can we even trust? 

"In the fear of the Lord is great confidence, and His children shall have a place of refuge."

 Proverbs 14:26

What a great verse! In these troubled and changing times, God is constant. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is worthy of trust. He can calm our fears, even if things really do stay bad for a long time. He has a plan and His plan is not being messed up. He is not helpless to change things. We have been a nation who feared God, yet the slide into darkness started slowly and has accelerated greatly. 

Who would have thought murdering babies would become so commonplace that it would be considered an "essential business" in a time of lockdown, but church isn't? Law enforcement has had trouble gaining new recruits for years because of the lack of respect given to officers and the high danger of the job. A noble job, yet one that can make officers an object of hatred with a target on their back. Who would have thought the debate on which bathroom should be used could ever be a real discussion?  Things are happening now that were unthinkable just a few years ago and they have become part of the "norm". 

Could it be that we are part of the problem? Are we praying for our elected leaders? Are we praying for pastors and teachers? Are we turning our hearts to the Lord in repentance and searching for any sinful ways in our hearts? Are we accepting that the sin in the world is just here to stay and there is nothing we can do? Are we giving up?

Maybe we need to repent and search our hearts, confess sin - little or big, and seek God.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

I hope you will join me in praying for revival, starting with our own hearts. 

How are you handling the stresses and fears? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.  Thank you for visiting.

You may also enjoy reading this post... just click on the link: 

Searching For Happiness

Living in the Country!

We have had a dream for many years.... of living in the country. The Lord didn't allow it until just a few months ago. What a blessing to be here and to be putting in our gardens, blueberry bushes and more. In this post, I am simply sharing some of the beauty of country scenes that we enjoy.

Living in the country has been a time of discovery for us... discovering our own woodland area... it is small, but new to us. Also as spring is finally here, we are seeing what is growing wild on our land... like gooseberry bushes (we have never had those, so we will be learning), may apples (another new thing) and more. 

The purple fields are not ours, but they are so beautiful to see. 

 We have tire swings now.   :) 

 Sunsets, early mist or fog, early morning shadows, old barns, new barns, animals, birds, fields.... I love taking pictures of all of them!   :)

If you have read my blogs for any length of time, you know that I LOVE to take pictures. It is fun to have so many new scenes to see and enjoy!















 We do have a small barn - actually it is a shed built to look like a barn, but it's great for pictures as well as storage.

 This guy was on our property... about 30 feet from the house when we saw him. He left quickly, but I was glad to get a couple of pictures of him.


















 The bird songs are amazing and we are hearing more of them now that spring is finally here.

 We have finches, mockingbirds, blue birds and more. They are beautiful.

We aren't nearly as excited about the large numbers of blue jays (19 on the front yard one morning!), black birds and starlings.  We accept the good...and the frustrating though. :)

 The farmland is beautiful (and smelly in the spring, but that is part of country living!) .

 Another photo of our large buck....

 We have 2 1/2 acres which is 10 times the land we had in the city. We are loving it.... and staying very busy!  We are already using this property a lot and look forward to what we can do with it.

 There have been many unexpected expenses since we moved .....frozen pipes and flooded driveway in the deep cold, very high electric bills for heating in this very cold winter, and more.... so we are really hoping to save some money with harvesting our own fruits and vegetables. There is a lot of work involved and we are tired, but it is exciting too.

 I liked how this photo turned out even though it isn't a usual photo. I am enjoying snapping many pictures and experimenting.












 Peach blossoms, apple tree and the beds for our blueberry bushes. This picture shows a few that are planted and my husband is trying to get 6 in the ground each evening after work. I would love to take you on a tour of our whole property... and I'm sure I will over the next few months.  :)  

We had many gardens in the city and I brought many plants to our "new" home..... sadly, we lost almost all of them as we didn't realize the garage freezes things and so I lost my starts to my herbs, flowers and more. There were no real garden beds at this house... just a decorative one in the front that had some grasses and shrubs, so we are really starting fresh. We have put in a garden plot that is rather unusual, but I think it will work for us... no pictures of that yet, but they will be coming in a future post. You know how much I blog about gardening!!!!   :) 

Anyway, it is so good to be back... thank you for joining me today and I look forward to reading your comments. Have a great week!

I'd Love To Have a Gazebo!

A gazebo is attractive... and a wonderful addition to a garden or park.

We enjoy them and their beauty and have dreamed of having one in our garden. We still talk of it, but it just doesn't seem that important any more... life is so full and rich... and busy!  We so enjoy our family and our gardens and yard.

How nice, though, to see and enjoy this one. 

 We have talked of putting one in our yard or garden, but haven't...we don't have the time or the money or the space for one.

I haven't even considered having a gazebo for the last few years...  I haven't cared that much, but I still had that old dream of having a gazebo "someday".

We were on a trip to visit family and saw this beautiful gazebo in a park.  My husband pointed it out to me since he knew I loved them. I was surprised to notice that it was pretty, but I was more interested in the bridge, the river, the river barge and more.

The view of the bridge and the river from the gazebo was appealing.

 The beauty of the gazebo can nicely frame a scene like the one shown here.

 This gazebo isn't as ornate as some, but I do like it just like it is. It is pretty, but not overdone and it fit the location.

I love this picture of the gazebo and my husband as he was walking away from it and heading back to our kids who were at the river.

It was fun to have a pretty place to sit and enjoy the view.  Maybe one day we will put one on our property, although I am content to enjoy them at other locations.

I also realize that even a small gazebo would seem quite large on our little 1/4 acre property.... and I would choose NOT to have one. Isn't it interesting how our dreams can change?  I would much rather have some room for my kids and neighbor kids to play in the yard...  or to have gardens and a bench than to have a large structure out there.

What a blessing to see a gazebo... and enjoy it... and get pictures.  I will continue to enjoy them while also being thankful that I do not have one of my own. Years ago, I wouldn't have been able to say that because I REALLY wanted to have a gazebo. Now, I have to say that I don't really care if I ever have a gazebo or not... there are so many more important things in my life now and a gazebo doesn't really matter that much although I can still enjoy them.

I wonder what else there is that I have "always wanted" and think I would "love to have"... but is no longer that important to me. Maybe it would be helpful to review our dreams... and sift through them.... and discard the ones that don't apply anymore... and learn to be content and happy with what we do have.

Could it be that God wants us to abandon some of our old dreams, so that He can give us new ones or allow us to really see the dreams He has already provided?

Thank you for visiting... I hope you have a wonderful week.

"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."  Psalm 126:3

HERB LIBRARY- 5 Reasons To Start Your Own

 Herbs are helpful... and they are plentiful in most parts of the world.

In a time when the internet is in great use, WHY do we need to have a "book library" of herb books?

Am I saying that everyone should have one? No, you will have to decide if you want one for your home or not, but in this post, I am giving 5 reasons why it is a good idea to start your own Herb Library.





1.  Identification....

      Herbs can be of great use in our health, but it is important to correctly identify the herb you use. Sometimes there can be plants that look very similar to an herb we want to use, but the other plant can be quite dangerous. Small details can show the difference.

      I like to have a book, or actually several books, that give good illustrations of the herb. A drawing or painting of an herb can be helpful, but I also want actual pictures so that I can compare what they really look like as they grow. I also like to see pictures of the plant, as a whole... and a close up, so that there is no doubt I know what to look for.
 

 I have quite a large library of herb books... is that necessary for everyone?   Of course not!

I use herbs and enjoy them....  I grow them in my garden and I collect them from the garden and from other places.

I keep learning and becoming a better herbalist as I read and use herbs. I do want to be very careful to have correct information, so I like having a variety of books to compare.









2. Learn New Herbs....

There are some herbs that are quite well known and others that can be useful to get to know. Learning a little at a time can help solidify that knowledge.  In this post, I am showing pictures of the herb Echinacea.  It is a well-known herb and in many places, it grows well. I have much of it in my garden and it is great for pictures.

What other herbs are there? What about plantain? Plantain is wonderful to identify and know how to use. It can work well for bee stings and is readily available to apply to the sting, but where do you find it? How do you use it?

There are so many herbs all around and when you start to look at pictures in the herb books, you may realize that you have seen many of them without realizing they were herbs.

We all know of the dandelion, but there are also so many others. You may have seen chicory on the side of the road in the summer and wondered what those purple flowers were.  Some other simple plants are purslane, lambs ear, yarrow, chamomile, and there are so many others. Learning to see these "weeds" as herbs can expand your knowledge... and your ability to use them.

 Do I use ALL of my books often? No, I don't.

Sometimes, I scan them and other times I compare. Sometimes, they sit on the shelf for long periods of time without being used at all.

Sometimes I find that a certain book just doesn't fit what I need, so I remove it from my library. I have been building my Herb Library for many years and it is helpful to me.









3. Know HOW to use an herb

 Some herbs are quite easy to use... like plantain's helpfulness when it is applied to a wound. Other herbs must be used differently. Sometimes there are cautions.... for instance some herbs are not safe for use during pregnancy.  Others may be helpful in small doses.  It is important to know facts about herbs.

If you have read my blog for very long, you know that I like to experiment... and I do it with herbs also.  I make herbal tinctures, salves, teas, infusions and more. I put herbs in our salads and I try new things, BUT I do not want to make foolish mistakes and endanger my family, so it is important to be wise in how I experiment and my library can help me know what herbs are safer to do that with than others.

An important point is to double check your information! Some books or internet information may blacklist a certain herb as toxic and caution to never use it.... when the reality is that a certain part of the plant can be toxic while others are fine to use.

Caution is good, but to just knock out a whole plant for a small portion seems excessive. I want to know the bad... and the good and then make a wise decision.  For example, cherry twigs are toxic, so do we stop eating cherries because of that? No. Tomatoes are from the dangerous nightshade family, so do we stop eating tomatoes? That was done in the past, but we can still enjoy tomatoes. It is important to know and be careful.

Do I need to spend a lot of money for this Herb Library?  NO!

I am quite frugal and it is rare that I would buy a book like this new and for a large price. I have found it helpful to use a book from the library... to see if it would be helpful to me. Then sometimes, I would order it for my own library.

Some places to check for herb books are garage sales, library book sales, ebay, Amazon, etc.











4.  A personal Herb Library can be a place to highlight information.... to mark pages so you can easily find them... to jot notes that will be helpful to you. 

So many times, I have learned great information.... and later when trying to go back to the source, I sometimes wonder, "Where did I read that?" Maybe it was the internet.. or a book... or I heard it from someone. It is more helpful to have a library to collect that learning... so that I can refer back to it. Sometimes I want to double check the information... or sometimes I found the information so helpful that I want to see what else the person says.

I also find it helpful to build on what I learn and having my own books can help that process.

Do I recommend all of these books? NO... some I don't know enough about them to recommend. Others I like some parts, but not others.

There may be some herb books I would love to add to my library, but cost prevents me from doing that.

My library is still a work in progress and I will keep adding to it.














5. If there's no internet....

I know this is the answer for many... just check the internet... just ask the internet.
What if the internet is out? What if you are where there is no internet? Think it can't happen? It does.... especially when there are storms or large problems, like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornado damage, flooding or other disaster situations.  In a time like that, those herb books could be very important as there may not be access to the nearby emergency room or doctor's office.

Another issue is trust. Is everything on the internet true? No, and books are not always true either, which is another reason to double and triple check your information. When I find a book I feel I can trust, I am still careful with the information, but tend to trust it easier than an unknown website.




Maybe you don't like or use herbs and so none of this post applies to you. That's okay, I am not pushing herbal use.... it's an individual choice.  I know what a blessing my herbal library is to me, so I am sharing why it may be helpful to others also.

Do you have an Herb Library? Even one book can count as the start of a library.... and one book may be all you want or need. I would love to hear in the comments if you have a real book library of herb books... or one book. Are you still adding to it? Do you have other reasons it is helpful to have an Herb Library? Please feel free to share in the comments.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have a great week!  🙂

Other herb posts you may enjoy:

Quick Healing With Plantain

Are There Any Uses For Columbine?

Allergy Tea-Homemade Herb Tea

Pinecones... Are They Edible? Hmmm...





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Table Top Becomes Courtyard Patio!

Our new Patio- Courtyard... made from a salvaged patio table top.

We had a patio table top someone had gotten rid of... it was metal with tile and was beautiful, but there were no legs.

There was a broken tile on one side, which was why the people didn't want to bother with it. We figured it would still be good as a table if it had a base.

After all, it was a beautiful table top! 

 We were going to sell it, but then I had an idea. I tend to think "outside the box" especially for garden ideas... and I wondered, "What about turning this tabletop into a small patio?" I knew my guys would shoot the idea down, but I voiced it anyway.

 I was surprised when I mentioned it first to Son #2 and he thought it was a possibility.. then to my husband and he liked the idea.  They checked it over and agreed it would be strong enough since it was metal with tile on top... and they agreed it was a good idea. Wow! So we looked for a good place.

 We decided on the area outside of the back garden... it's an area I just haven't ever figured out what would be nice there. We have some surprise lilies at the back, but it's just one of those areas we don't use much at all.... SO... I asked about putting it there.

You can't see it very well, but it's the best picture I could find.

 I drank tea while I contemplated how this project should be done. I enjoy tea on the deck in the morning.

 What fun that my husband was willing to do the project... and started right away.  :)

 The digging has started!  First, my husband put the table top on the ground where we wanted it and then cut into the grass all around the edge, making a pattern.

After he lifted the table top off, he started digging out the center and put the dirt into the wheelbarrow.

 Son #4 was working on the project also and here he is putting the table top down on the dug-out area to test it. They did this a few times.. and that table top is HEAVY!

They took it back off and dug some more.

When they had enough dirt off, they added sand. (They used sandbags that were leaking from being carried in the back of a pickup all winter. Then new ones can be used next winter.)

Another test... getting closer.

By the way, the center of the table top has a hole for a patio umbrella, so my husband used a can lid and caulk to seal it to the bottom and it is working well. I plan to paint it to match the brown in the center section, but haven't yet.

Dirt was added under to finish up the leveling process.

Okay.... it's done...  now what? It looks okay, BUT now it was time to make it look nice.

It's not a large patio... only 5 feet in diameter.....  so there isn't a LOT of room, yet I wanted to add something to make it inviting... and useful.

I added a chair and table... both are plastic. I didn't want to take a chance on using metal that may be too sharp or heavy for the patio. It is a table top, after all.  :)

I also didn't want a leg to get stuck down in the spot where the hole had been for the patio umbrella.

That was better... but it needed something.

Next I put a hanging basket of flowers and some lilies. That was better, but the hanging basket of flowers was newly planted and didn't show up much. Plus, overall it didn't look right yet. More brainstorming..

 You can see the small patio out there, but it looks uninspiring... and it NEEDED something.....

We had an old gateway arbor not being used.... it's not in perfect shape, but I really liked how it tied the area together. We opened the gates and left them open so it provides a nice backdrop to our new little patio area.

I also put a hanging pot of purple petunias ( a gift from my husband!) in place of  the other hanging pot and it added that "pop" of color that really helped.

I have thought of putting a wrought iron decoration on the fence inside the arbor area, but haven't found anything yet... it will have to be something I already have or something at a very cheap price from a garage sale. I will wait and see what God provides... or will use it the way it is. Either way, I like it.  :)

 Here you can see the patio area with some long thin garden beds in front.. that "bush" is our peas! They did great this year!  :) 


 The next picture shows looking through the pea plants. 

We like our new little Patio Courtyard area. Now, the area that was a bit of an eyesore, has an appeal all its own.

I have looked out the window two different mornings, so far,  to see my husband using the new Patio Courtyard to read his Bible.  :)

I'm really enjoying our new little Patio Courtyard and I love how it looks.


There's always something to do when you own a house.. something to fix... or to fix up. It's amazing how sometimes just a small change can make a big difference. It's also nice when the supplies are free! It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it is extra special.  :)









The morning sun on the backyard gardens is so beautiful. I love this time of the year. Thank you for visiting....  I hope you are enjoying gardens and growing things also.

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