Mark of Divine Approval

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)

Yes, he is blessed while he is enduring the trial. No eye can see this till he has been anointed with heavenly eye salve. But he must endure it and neither rebel against God nor turn aside from his integrity. He is blessed who has gone through the fire and has not been consumed as a counterfeit.

When the test is over, then comes the hallmark of divine approval—"the crown of life." As if the Lord said, "Let him live; he has been weighed in the balances, and he is not found wanting." Life is the reward: not mere being, but holy, happy, true existence, the realization of the divine purpose concerning us. Already a higher form of spiritual life and enjoyment crowns those who have safely passed through fiercest trials of faith and love.

The Lord hath promised the crown of life to those who love Him. Only lovers of the Lord will hold out in the hour of trial; the rest will either sink or sulk, or slink back to the world. Come, my heart, dost thou love thy Lord? Truly? Deeply? Wholly? Then that love will be tried; but many waters will not quench it, neither will the Roods drown it, Lord, let Thy love nourish mine to the end.

C. H. Spurgeon

Isn't this so true?  I have been through the fire (and probably will again!) and while it's not pleasant while there, after I come through it, I know I am refined and, hopefully, better equipped to do the work the Lord has called me to do.  I always pray that I will be closer to the Lord during the hard times and rely on Him.  More importantly, I pray that I will continue to walk with the Lord in the easy times. 

The week in review:

More fall decorations were put up, although, not all my fall decorating is complete.  Hopefully, I will finish it up this week.  It's been so much cooler here and our family is so enjoying the crispness of the mornings and the cooler days with the windows open to allow cooling breezes into the house.  It's so nice to have the house aired out.  We've also had some gentle rains in the evenings on a couple of days and that made the air even more sweet smelling.

We had our first week of school and while everything didn't go smoothly (does it ever?), it was a good week and we accomplished a lot and will be able to tweak our schedule even more.

My youngest son decided (with our encouragement) to give up playing football for the local high school.  This has been a difficult thing for my husband and I as we knew he enjoyed playing, however, we could also see what was happening to him.  He was going to practice every day and coming home so sore (and at times, injured) only to stand on the sidelines during the games.  We have been greatly concerned that he would get injured permanently.  In the position he was playing he was using his hands to tackle, and since he is a mandolin and fiddle player, this was of great concern to us.  Of course, we always worried about neck or back injuries, too.  Our son in the smallest boy on the team and seemed to take quite a beating.  We finally decided it was creating a problem for our family and talked to him and asked him to give it up.  He did.  I know this was a very difficult decision, but he knew it was right.  I was even more convinced it was the right thing when he admitted to me the next day that he has had pain in both hands and in the fingers on one hand.  He hadn't told us because he knew what our reaction would be. 

God has given this child (actually, both my children) a gift of music and he touches people so much with his music.  I know that God intends him to use this gift and to put it in jeopardy was not worth it. 

I got a call on Thursday that my doctor approved a new MRI and was able to go in on Friday to get it done.  I took my pain pills before going and my younger son drove me to the appointment.  I also took a Christian CD by Fernando Ortega with me to listen to.  I'm so glad I had taken the pain pills as I was in so much pain by the time the MRI was over, I don't know what it would have been like had I not taken them.  The tech that did my MRI just loved the CD I brought in and told me he was going to go and buy it. 

While I was waiting for them in the waiting room, a lady came into the waiting room to wait for her test.  She started talking to me because I could tell she was frightened.  I reassured her that the test she was having done wasn't painful and we talked about the pain she was having.  I finally asked her first name and told her I would pray for her.  I would have prayed right then and there for her, but they called me back.  I am so glad I was brave enough (for once!) to share my faith!  I've been praying for her and she's been on my mind.  I know the Lord is working in her life and I pray that she is comforted.  I can see how important it is to always be ready to share our faith and prayers with others!

I'm starting my new Ladies Bible study this week.  I was so happy as my leader called me and she's an old friend from homeschooling.  She has been done homeschooling for probably 4-5 years, but she was one of the leaders of our homeschooling group when I joined.  I also used to sell her Stampin' Up stamps when I was a demonstrator.  I also know the co-leader of our Bible study group and she is still homeschooling her children.  It will be so nice to see some familiar faces while also meeting new people.  I am looking forward to this study!

The county fair starts this week.  They are taking projects today and tomorrow and I'm trying decide if I want to take my crochet projects I've been making this year.  I always enjoy doing that, but not sure I can do all that with my back pain this year.  My children will be going on Friday to ride the rides all day.  We let them do this every year.  They have a special discount pass that is unlimited and lets them ride all day.  They always look forward to this.  I used to have to go with them for the entire day when they were younger, but must say, I'm so glad they are old enough to go on their own now! 

I hope you have a very blessed week! 

                                God bless you ~ Julie

We've returned from our camping trip.  We had intended on staying for a week, but my mother-in-law got sick and we felt it was best to come home.  I was sick the day before we left and she was, too, but while I felt better, she didn't. It's not good to be away from home when you're sick, but when you're 84 years old, it's really not good.  We knew it was best to get her back.  It ended up that we only were gone for 3 1/2 days and 3 nights.  We had a nice time while we were there and we did catch some fish.  I caught one and my younger son caught two.  They were not the usual Rainbow Trout, but Crappies.  We've never had those, but I've been told they are delicious.  I sure hope so since cleaning them was a total pain!

The views were gorgeous there and it was nice to get up into the mountains.  It was very hot, though, and I sure wasn't expecting that.  I thought it would be much cooler than where we live, but it really wasn't.  Thank goodness it cooled down enough that we were able to sleep at night.  I hung my Hummingbird feeders and was delighted to have many Hummingbirds visiting our campsite.  I also hung a regular birdfeeder, but there weren't any visitors to that.  It usually takes longer for the birds to scope out the feeder.  Maybe this Fall we will be able to take another camping trip and can stay longer.  Hopefully, it won't be as hot either and the Trout will be biting again!  All in all, we had a good time and I'm glad we were able to get away.  My mother-in-law is fine, now, and so we're relieved about that, too. 

It's late, so I'm going to get off here.  I need to get back to work on catching up on laundry tomorrow.  It's amazing how much laundry a family of four can create in just a few days on a camping trip!

                                       God bless you - Julie

THE WAY TO KNOW
from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers

"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine . . ." John 7:17

The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.

No man ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test over it. We disobey and then wonder why we don't go on spiritually. 'If when you come to the altar,' said Jesus, 'there you remember your brother hath ought against you . . . don't say another word to Me, but first go and put that thing right.' The teaching of Jesus hits us where we live. We cannot stand as humbugs before Him for one second. He educates us down to the scruple. The Spirit of God unearths the spirit of self-vindication; He makes us sensitive to things we never thought of before.

When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don't shirk it. If you do, you will become a religious humbug. Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually. First go - at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you.

Oh, that I would be obedient to the Lord and not do my own thing!! I want to be spiritually filled by the Lord day after day and, even though it's not always easy, be obedient to His will.

It's been another busy week around here! The new little puppy has a name and got her first haircut! We named her "Cookie". The name seems to fit her as she is a sweetheart and just so cute! Here's a picture of her after she came home from the groomer.

Isn't she a doll? She has the sweetest personality and such a nice disposition. The other dogs have accepted her and she and my Cocker Spaniel play together all the time. It's very cute! We are thrilled with our new puppy!

My youngest son had his football camp this past week. The first day he forgot to take sun screen and, evidently, so did every other member of the team and they all got sun-burned. *sigh* I really get worried about sun-burn and so was pretty concerned when he showed up that evening all red. He did take sun screen the rest of the week and ended up sharing with most of the team. I was so glad he had it to share! I hate to see those kids get so sun-burned. He really enjoyed the camp, but is really sore and tired. I think it was even harder on him because yesterday and today he had a weed cutting job he had to get done. It was a huge job and he's really worn out! He'll sleep good tonight, that's for sure! He has the week off from football this week and it will give him a chance to rest up and be ready for the new season.

I almost finished my latest cross stitch project. I only have about 6 more stitches and I'll be done! Pictures to follow soon. I'm going to work on my youngest son's birth sampler (I know - he's 17, but I got busy and am just now able to work on it! LOL) and a new Little House Needlework project like the one I just finished. It came out SO cute. I'm really happy with it and like that a lot of her designs honor God. I still haven't finished that afghan I almost had done. I only have about 1 1/2 rows to finish it, but it's been so hot, I don't like having that blanket across my lap while working on it. It may be Fall before I decided to finish it.

It's been a busy week in my hubby's office. I got a new desk from a family friend (it's Oak!) and it was so much better for me and my writing than the one I had in my bedroom. I write in my bedroom, but the desk I had was really too small. So, I ended up moving the small desk to the office and donating the desk I had in there to the Goodwill. I put the new desk in my bedroom and it's so perfect! I'm really happy with it and it just suits my needs so much better. The smaller desk works great in the office because most of my work in done on the computer and I have a computer desk that I use. The smaller desk holds the phone and filing that I need to do and also gives us so much more room in the office. Getting that desk was such a blessing!! I had a lot of computer work and filing to do for hubby this week and the phone was very busy, too! It's always a blessing to hear the phone ring!

It is still horribly hot here! I'm thankful that it's almost the end of July and so we will only have about 2 more months of this hot weather here. By October, things cool down considerably here and sometimes we even get snow by then. Not that I'm wishing for snow, mind you, but cooler weather would be a huge blessing. Keeping the house cool is a big expense and you can't really go outside and enjoy nature because you'll bake. Also, the stores around here don't keep their buildings cool enough and you just swelter in the stores while shopping. I dread shopping during the summer months. I don't understand why some of these big chain stores refuse to keep the stores cool! I always do less looking around when it's hot in there and I'm sure other people do, too. It doesn't make sense to me.

I received the new Greg Laurie book in the mail. I can't wait to read it. It's called "Lost Boy" and is about Pastor Greg and his life story and how he came to Christ. You can check it out here and it's available from the Harvest.org website for a donation. Such sad news regarding Pastor Greg Laurie - his son, Christopher Laurie was killed in a car accident last week. He was only 33 and leaves behind a wife and small daughter. His wife is also expecting their second child due in November. This has to be such a hard time for their family. Keep them in your prayers!

My sister's birthday is Tuesday - Happy Birthday, dear Sister! Have a wonderful and blessed day!! May God bless you always!

That brings me up to date. I hope all of you have a wonderful Sunday and remember to say your prayers and read your Bible! God loves us all so much! What total joy that is to me!

God bless you ~  Julie

Implicit Trust

For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 39:18)

Behold the protecting power of trust in God. The great men of Jerusalem fell by the sword, but poor Ebed-melech was secure, for his confidence was in Jehovah. Where else should a man trust but in his Maker? We are foolish when we prefer the creature to the Creator. Oh, that we could in all things live by faith, then should we be delivered in all time of danger! No one ever did trust in the Lord in vain, and no one ever shall.

The Lord saith, "I will surely deliver thee," Mark the divine "surely." Whatever else may be uncertain, God's care of believers is sure. God Himself is the guardian of the gracious, Under His sacred wing there is safety even when every danger is abroad. Can we accept this promise as sure? Then in our present emergency we shall find that it stands fast. We hope to be delivered because we have friends, or because we are prudent, or because we can see hopeful signs; but none of these things are one-half so good as God's simple "because thou hast put thy trust in me." Dear reader, try this way, and, trying it, you will keep to it all your life. It is as sweet as it is sure.

Today was a really lovely day.  I didn't fall apart in front of the church, stumble, faint or any of those things I was afraid I would do when I got up to the front to speak!  Actually, we were supposed to speak before the sermon, but my Pastor forgot so I had to sit through the service with my mind half on his sermon and half on the fact that I still had to get in front of everyone.   It went really well, though, and I wasn't as afraid as I thought I would be once I got up there.  However, I'm really glad it's over!!

After church, we took my Pastor and his wife out for lunch at a local eatery.  It was really nice and relaxing.  We didn't talk about any church related stuff (which I'm sure they were glad of) and just talked about our backgrounds and our families.  We also shared how we came to the Lord and that was really nice, too.  The guys talked sports a lot as the place we ate at has about 50 TV's everywhere!  It's hard for them not to talk about sports when it being blared at them from every angle.  It was really nice, though, and I'm glad we finally were able to get both of them to lunch at the same time.  Usually, they are busy or we've only been able to snag the Pastor during the week. 

Tonight I went out to sit outside as it's really nice and cool from the rain showers and I was sitting by the fire pit when I saw something move.  Oh. My. Goodness.  A HUGE black widow spider was weaving her web in my fire pit.  I wasn't sure at first if it was a black widow, but then it turned upside down and there was the red hour glass on her abdomen as big as life!  I yelled for my boys, who acted ridiculous and were moving the rocks she went under with their hands!  I got upset about that, let me tell you!  Finally, we decided to get the lighter fluid and just start a fire where we had seen her go.  After many flames and much smoke, I'm happy to report that she is no longer with us.  Bleah.  We get a lot of those here and I'm never brave around them.  I'd much rather deal with a Taranchula  than a Black Widow anytime! 

I'm almost done with my cross stitch project.  I only have to finish up the butterfly and the border and I'm done!  I'll post a picture as soon as I have it completed.  I'm really happy with it and am anxious to work on another project. 

I'm sure I'll sleep much better tonight since I won't be worrying about making a fool of myself in front of the church!  LOL  I'm going to bed now, in fact. 

                               God bless you ~ Julie

Tony Snow

1955-2008

Tony Snow and I had something in common.  We were both diagnosed with cancer in 2005.  

I can remember listening to his radio show during those hard days listening to a man who's faith in God strenghthened my faith in God.  I could totally relate to everything he was going through and in the process, it made me a stronger person.  

I didn't know Tony Snow personally, but he made me feel like I did.  He said it like it was and he wasn't afraid to wear his faith on his sleeve.  He shared it and told you what his beliefs were and didn't worry about whether you liked it or not.  He was just that kind of man. 

When he left his radio show, I felt like I was losing a friend.  I tried to tune in to the new show, but couldn't relate to the new guys on there and soon gave up listening.  They weren't Tony, but then, who was?

I feel so blessed that I survived my cancer and have been cancer free for 3 years.  I feel very sad that Tony was not.  However, even in my sorrow of losing what I considered a friend in arms against this horrible disease, I have joy that he is with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ - free of pain and suffering. 

I know his family must be grieving horribly for him and let's keep them in prayer and ask the Lord to give them the peace and comfort that he gave Tony through the past 3 1/2 years. 

God bless you, Tony Snow!  I will always remember how your fight with cancer helped me get through my fight with cancer.

                          God bless you - Julie 

First, let me inform everyone that we found no bullet holes anywhere that we could see.  My fear is that we will one day be walking along and find one that we didn't see before, but as of now, we don't see any.  The house where the shooting took place from, was all boarded up, but today I've seen someone taking the boards off the windows.  I guess our neighbors are back.  I do hope that they decide to lead a quieter life and there will be no more shooting in the future.

I've been nursing my poor knee.  About six weeks ago, I did something to my knee.  It was really quite strange - I was reaching for something and must have planted my foot funny and felt something go in my knee.  It didn't hurt a lot right at first, but then it swelled up like crazy and I was completely off it for a week.  It seemed like it might be getting better, but then if I walked on it or moved it in a certain way, it really hurt again.  I went to see the doctor, who thought perhaps I had pulled a muscle and it would heal.  However, after another almost 2 weeks, it still isn't better, so I'm going to see him again on Wednesday and I imagine an MRI will be the next step.  It it's what I think it is, I'll be looking at surgery.  *sigh* My sister just went through this surgery on both knees (not at the same time) and I know it's not a huge ordeal, I'm just not happy about any surgery.  Frankly, I've had enough of hospitals and surgeries for a lifetime, but I'll do whatever I need to do to make the pain go away!  LOL

The weather has been SO hot!  It's really miserable.  We've had to have the air conditioning on in my bedroom because it's too hot to sleep (for me, anyway).  Making the heat even worse, is a HUGE wild-fire that is blanketing our valley in a thick, dense, smokey haze.  It smells horrible and reminds me of when I was in Colorado in 2002 and Denver was blanketed in a horrible smoke from the wild fires there.  In fact, it was so horrible there, it looked like it was evening out.  Horrible.  I hope the fire gets under control soon. 

I've been working on projects for my new shop I'll be opening on my website soon.  I will be unvieling a couple of the projects here soon for you to see, so be watching!

                                          God bless you - Julie