April 2017 - Part 1 - Trip To Branson

I miss sharing the everyday happenings of life here in southwest Missouri with my readers, so I thought I'd spend some time this afternoon to share a bit about our happenings in April. This will be the first of a three part series.

APRIL 2017 - Part 1 - Trip To Branson

In early April my husband, John, and I took a much needed, long awaited trip to Branson, Missouri. Branson is only a couple of hours or so away, so it makes for a nice get-away within easy driving distance from our home.

Our trip started with a stop on the way down to visit my longtime friend, Dorothy, her children, and grands. Dorothy and I met in the fifth grade and have been friends for going on 45 years now. It was great getting in a good visit with her and her family.

After leaving Dorothy and her family, John and I headed on to Branson where we got checked into our hotel, then enjoyed supper and a show at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. It was the first time we had ever been and we really enjoyed it. My favorite thing, of course, was the bison! 

After breakfast the next morning we went to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery and, in the afternoon, to the Titanic Museum. I have pictures taken at the hatchery, but none of the Titanic as picture-taking was not allowed.

That evening we attended the first of six sessions held over a three-day period of the 2017 Branson Victory Campaign held at Faith Life Church in Branson. While there we ran into friends from our own town and they just happened to be seated with us on the last night. It was an awesome time of faith, fellowship, teaching, and learning. It is our hope to attend again next year.

On the way home from Branson we stopped at the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield near Republic, Missouri. My great-grandfather fought there during the Civil War, so this has been someplace that I have wanted to visit for a long time. I'm so glad that we finally did!

While there my husband got his National Park Senior Pass which, not only saved us money on that particular visit, but gets us into all national parks for free from now on for the rest of his life, which is pretty cool! We sure are hoping to do a lot of traveling in the days ahead!

Well, that's it for Part 1 of my April 2017 series. I hope you've enjoyed spending a little of our vacation time with me and I will see you again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

For Part 2 of this series - April 2017 - Part 2 - Spring on the Hearth and Home - click here.
For Part 3 of this series - April 2017 - Part 3 - It's All In A Day's work - click here.

Celebrating 25 Years Of Being Smoke Free 1992-2017

I just realized that April 12 has come and gone and I missed it! The 25th anniversary of God's deliverance...the 25th anniversary of being smoke free!

It was April 11, 1992 and I was smoking four packs of cigarettes a day (I had been smoking since I was 15, and I was 31 at that point)!!! I had tried to quit smoking many times, but couldn't. Even though we weren't doing a very good job of it, John and I had committed our lives to the Lord, and were serious about getting our lives, and our household, in line with His Word. (Needless to say, we are still working on it!)

On the evening of April 11, 1992 I was sitting in a chair in the corner of our bedroom reading my Bible. I heard a voice just as clear as day say, "Throw your cigarettes and lighters away and wait 24 hours."

I immediately picked up all my cigarettes...I had an open pack, an open carton, and an unopened carton...and all my lighters and went carrying them through the house. John was in the livingroom and, when he saw me, he said, "What are you doing?"

Anyone who know my husband knows that he HATES cigarettes (he always has), and he hated me smoking them, but he was skeptical. He knew how many times I had tried to quit smoking before...and how often I had failed. He knew how awful my lungs were. Not only did I smoke like a chimney, but I had chemically burned the lining out of my lungs a few years earlier when I mixed sulfuric acid and Clorox in an attempt to unclog the toilet. I ended up in the hospital. After that I could hardly breathe most of the time...I couldn't even blow a balloon up for my children to play with!

Anyway, I threw the cigarettes away, and I waited. That 24-hour period was one of the longest...most awful times of my life, and I never thought I'd make it through it...yet, somehow, I knew, if I did, that the Lord had something very special waiting for me on the other side. I knew that He was going to do something very special for me!

Well, sure enough, the next night...on the evening of the 12th...I was sitting there reading my Bible. All of a sudden I had the most horrendous pain in my stomach. I looked up at the clock, and it was 11:00 p.m. I jumped up and had to get to the bathroom. I was there until 4:00 a.m. My stomach hurt so bad! It wrenched in pain, and I kept passing this black, tarry-like substance. When it was over, I KNEW that the Lord Jesus had, literally, cleaned me out, and, to this day, I've not been able to stand the thought of smoking another cigarette. I can't even stand the smell of one! It's been 25 years (and 5 days) and I still stand in awe of what the Lord did for me!

Do you have an addiction? If you do and you'd like for me to join you in prayer for deliverance from your situation, please, feel free to e-mail me privately at proverbs31heart@yahoo.com (please put PRAYER on the subject line so I don't delete it by mistake) and I will be happy to join you in prayer over whatever it is that might be holding you in bondage today. Be assured...the Lord is able! I've experienced it first hand! Blessed be the name of the Lord! And God bless YOU!

Until Next Time...

~Rebecca 

Resurrection Cookies

Photo Credit

This is a great recipe that can be used to teach your children the story of Resurrection Sunday...that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is not dead but has risen. We serve a Risen Savior......

 

You will need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
a pinch salt
1 cup sugar
a zipper baggy
1 wooden spoon
scotch tape
Bible

 

Instructions:

These are to be made the evening before Easter.  Preheat oven to 300F.
*** (this is very important --- don't wait until you are half done
with the recipe). Place pecans in zipper baggy and let children beat them with the
wooden spoon to break into small pieces.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested.
He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.  Read: John 19:1-3

 

Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing
bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar
to drink. Read: John 19:28-30

 

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Explain that Jesus
gave His life to give us life. Read: John 10:10&11

 

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand.  Let them taste it and
brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by
Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read: Luke 23:27

 

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1 cup sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.
He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read: Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

 

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff
peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of
those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read: Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

 

Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper covered
cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body
was laid. Read: Matthew 27:57-60

 

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven
OFF.

 

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus tomb was sealed. Read: Matthew 27:65-66

 

GO TO BED!

 

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven
overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read: John
16:20&22

 

On Resurrection Sunday (Easter) morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read: Matthew 28:1-9

Five Minute Friday - ABANDON

Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."

This week's prompt is: ABANDON. 

Go!

Living life with abandon. During our children's' growing up years it's what we did. However any particular day fell...that's the way we went!

We viewed each day as an adventure and couldn't wait to see what opportunities and encounters that the Lord had in store for us and we were never disappointed. There were many of them. Our family was so free-wheeling! So spur of the moment! So full of life!

Oh, sure! We had a schedule that we tried our best to adhere to (that is what we referred to as Plan A), but we were always open to God's Plan B...and we had fun!

As the years passed and the children grew, things happened that changed all that. Life became far too serious. Our adventurous spirit was squelched and our free-wheeling, spur-of-the-moment ways came to a screeching halt. Life became hard and it became even harder to understand why. The enemy had had his way.

The ties that bound us together were stretched beyond capacity and broken. No more living life with abandon. Now just abandonment...lost in the endless pursuit of money and things...things that mean more to some than family loyalty.

It's sad, yes, but we're tired of being sad...tired of trying to figure it all out. Life's too short!

No matter what choices others choose to make, my husband and I are renewed and refreshed. We are committed to rekindling our spirit of adventure and to living out the lives that God created us to live...with abandon!

Stop!

Until next time.
~Rebecca

Celebrating Purim

King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther

This evening we were invited to celebrate Purim with our daughter, Amber, son-in-law, Patrick, and our grandchildren, Audrey, Silas, Isaiah, Esther, and Mercy. Our youngest son, Anthony, and his girlfriend, Nicole, and our daughter's uncle and his girlfriend joined us, as well.

Amber made a delicious feast...soup, vegetables, challah bread, and hamantashen (Haman's Hats)...and Patrick read the beautiful story of Queen Esther from the Bible. After studying the holiday, and in keeping with Jewish tradition, every time Haman's name was read aloud, the children (AND the adults) would stamp their feet, shake their graggers, and boo the villainous character. It was a lot of fun!

The Evil Haman

To learn more about Purim and the story of Queen Esther, I suggest reading the book of Esther from the Holy Bible. The book tells the story of a young Jewish girl named Hadassah who is taken from her guardian, Mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. Hadassah wins the contest, is crowned queen of Persia, renamed Esther, and in the end, saves her people from certain death. Purim is still celebrated today to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther.

The Faithful Mordecai

  "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)

Letter From A Reader

I received the following e-mail in response to a Five Minute Friday post that I had posted months ago. I feel that the author makes some valid points and I want to pass on her thoughts to others who might be struggling with some of the same issues. I also encourage all of us to heed her admonishment to be careful of the way we treat others...especially the strangers that we meet along life's way.   

My Own Five Minute Friday - 

by an anonymous Hearth and Home reader

This is just a rambling from an overflowing spirit that needs perspective. It could be that I have been short on patience lately or that I am continually baffled by our society. But it seems every time I venture outside my door I find myself longing to be back home with my family so that I can shut out the madness and feel “safe”. Am I beginning to sound like a crazy?

I think that we underestimate the affect that we have on people, even strangers, by our words, attitudes and conduct. We live in a selfish, me-based society that seems to be getting worse. And the things that seem deplorable or that once were deplorable are becoming the norm and accepted, while the old fashioned values and salt of the earth people seem to be treated hostile.

I have had several experiences lately, all similar, and rudeness seems to be the new norm. We have a large family, not large compared to a lot of the people I know, but large for today's standard where the average for an American family is 1.9 children. (Don’t ask me about the .9 I have no idea.) 

I try to not be a super sensitive mom that won’t take criticism about their children. And if a child is misbehaving I agree that they should be corrected. But my older children are very responsible in stores and my younger ones are still in training and stay with me. If they misbehave their father or I take them outside to the van and they don’t get to be in the store.

Despite however hard I try I still manage to have someone from the store approach me and make comments such as “children need to remain seated while in the cart” (while I am taking care of the problem) or “you need to have your children within an arms reach of you!” or someone yelling across the room at me “don’t let your children in the clothes rack!” 

I don’t mind someone correcting my child, but in most of these cases we were just quietly shopping in the store and they made me feel bad for even walking in with my children. The topper was one thrift store that supports animals, which I am fond of...had cats roaming around the building...cat hair on items....and the cats were acting like animals, if you know what I mean. I look up on the wall and there is a sign...Animals Welcome...please keep children on leashes.

 

Animals are more welcome with all their animal tendencies than a child is. It makes me wonder about the hearts of these people. But for all this the verses come to mind how our words matter. Proverbs 12:18 - There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword...Proverbs 15:1 - A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue:

 

We can make someone’s day or we can be that final nail in the coffin that sinks their countenance and ruins the day. All this negativity has made my soul to look up and ask that the Lord would make me to be a blessing to those around me. I don’t want to be affected by the negative attitudes of those out there. I am going to memorize and meditate upon Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”

 

So, next time you’re out, try to think of something encouraging to say to that stranger. They just might be needing to hear a word of encouragement and that would make all the difference.