A Wise Woman Builds Her Home: Vision Forum Giveaway! The New Family Strategies a...

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home: Vision Forum Giveaway! The New Family Strategies a...: "I can't wait for March 1st!  Do you know why? That is when Family Strategies begins, remember when I first shared about it here yester..."

Faith and Prayer

Passage from Faith and Prayer over at Consecrated Families:

Jesus asked “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”Luke 18:8.   Why would He be looking for faith? Jesus knew that without faith it is impossible to please the Father. It is impossible to grow. So does Satan. Prayer without faith is powerless, and faith without prayer does not exist.  They cannot function separately. The devil knows that the Father will reward those that combine diligent seeking and faith, by giving them access to all of heaven’s power. Together, prayer and faith can move mountains, they can save souls.  Every problem facing the human heart and every flaw that mars its character can be overcome.

To finish reading go to Faith and Prayer at  www.just4homeschoolers.com/lets_talk

I want to thank my daughter, Meghin, for writing such an inspiring article.

Life in Christ

A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His matchless love --this is the subject for the soul's contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness.

From Steps to Christ pg. 46

Whiter Than Snow

This is what I think about when I see snow:

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Ps. 51:7

So, I thought I would share some pictures around here of the snow.

Here's Max, the king of his "Snow Castle" :

Here's the garden--I guess we won't be planting anything here for a minute:

Here we are tucked away in our little valley:

This is coming down our drive:

Some days are just picture perfect.

Which road do I take????  Remember this picture a couple of post ago?   How the landscape has changed.

Can you actually guess how cold it is???  Very!!!

Pure beauty!!!!

See more beautiful winter pictures at Consecrated Families

Inspired Prayer

This prayer INSPIRED my soul while reading it:


Friday, Feb. 14, 1896

I awake at half past two, and seek the Lord, as is my practice, for wisdom and grace, mingling my prayers with thanksgiving for His tender, loving compassion toward us. The words of Isaiah 40:28-31 seem appropriate and impressed upon my mind.


Isaiah 40:28-31 (supplied)

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.



My prayer is, Help me, O my heavenly Father, to trust wholly in Thy wisdom and not to lean to my own understanding. Guide Thou my pen and direct my speech that I shall not sin against Thee with voice or pen. I must have grace. I plead, Teach me Thy truth, that I shall not err from Thy way. O my Lord, I am weakness itself, but Thou art strength, fortitude, and courage to Thy people if they will only diligently make Thee their trust.

Sabbath, Feb. 15, 1896


The Lord is good and merciful. I want my gratitude offering constantly ascending to God. I long to have a deeper sense of His goodness and of His changeless love. I long daily for the waters of life. I must continually have my strength in God. My dependence must not waver. No human agency must come between my soul and my God. The Lord is our only hope. In Him I trust, and He will never, no never, fail me. He hath hitherto helped me when under great discouragement.


I will thank the Lord and praise His holy name. I will praise the Lord that in Him I can trust at all times. He is the health of my countenance and my strong tower into which I can run and be safe. He understands my necessities and He will give me the light of His countenance that I may reflect light upon others. I will not fail nor be discouraged. I look to Thee, my heavenly Father, to give strength and grace. I will praise the Lord at all times and not wait for a happy flight of feeling. Then praise the Lord, for He is good, and His mercies will attend me morning, noon, and night. A happy flight of feeling is not evidence; His Word is my assurance.


Taken from: That I May Know Him pg. 266

God's Perfect Love

Contemplating 1 John has been an awesome experience. I just can't seem to move on. The book itself seems to be a book of contrasts.

Light::::::Darkness
Spirit of Truth::::::Spirit of Error
Keeping His commandments::::::Not keeping His commandments
Confessing that Jesus is the Son of God::::::Denying that Jesus is the Son of God
Sons of God::::::Children of the devil
Loving your brother::::::Not loving your brother
Righteousness::::::Unrighteousness

It lets us know, that we do have to make a choice. There is no straddling the fence but a "one side of the fence or the other". A firm decision for one or the other. Keep in mind that no decision is actually making a decision.

BUT...

The overall theme that really caught my attention is such a simple thought yet not deeply contemplated by many and I think just simply overlooked...

God's perfect love.

God manifesting this love by sending His Son to redeem us

Not that we loved God, but that He loved us

God is love

Because of this love that God has toward man, this is our duty:

• Loving God
• Believe that Jesus is the Son of God (we have been given enough evidence)
• Keeping His commandments
• Don't love the world
• Confessing Jesus Christ
• Love one another in deed and in truth and perfecting that love

Just a thought

Fall Beauty

 

 The last lingering sunflower colored just right to remind us of fall...

 A nest used and laying wait for next year...

A road leading to where???

A butterfly out of nowhere.  Isn't too cold???

 A girl and her dog...

Which road do I take???

I think I'll take this one...

I think I'll walk up there.  Maybe not today...

God's beauty is everywhere!!!

 

 

Wherever we turn, we hear the voice of God and behold His handiwork. From the solemn roll of the deep-toned thunder and old ocean's ceaseless roar, to the glad songs that make the forests vocal with melody, nature's ten thousand voices speak His praise. In earth and sea and sky, with their marvelous tint and color, varying in gorgeous contrast or blended in harmony, we behold His glory. The everlasting hills tell of His power. The trees that wave their green banners in the sunlight, and the flowers in their delicate beauty, point to their Creator. The living green that carpets the brown earth tells of God's care for the humblest of His creatures. The caves of the sea and the depths of the earth reveal His treasures. He who placed the pearls in the ocean and the amethyst and chrysolite among the rocks is a lover of the beautiful. The sun rising in the heavens is a representative of Him who is the life and light of all that He has made. All the brightness and beauty that adorn the earth and light up the heavens speak of God.   
     Shall we, then, in the enjoyment of His gifts, forget the Giver? Let them rather lead us to contemplate His goodness and His love. Let all that is beautiful in our earthly home remind us of the crystal river and green fields, the waving trees and living fountains, the shining city and the white-robed singers, of our heavenly home-- that world of beauty which no artist can picture, no mortal tongue describe. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9.