May I Choose To Be Gentle

art by Sandy Clough

"Nothing is won by force.
I choose to be gentle.

If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it be only of myself."

~ Max Lucado ~ 

I'm not here yet, but it is the desire of my heart :)

"I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those 

on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens 

but just those that bring simple little pleasures, 

following one another softly, 

like pearls slipping off a string." 

~ Anne of Green Gables ~

* ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *

This is one of my favourite quotes from LM Montgomery's wonderful book and it was and still is, a favourite mini-series made in the 1980s that I watch every year!

A few days ago I received an email from a local boutique requesting a few of my PRIDE + PREJUDICE 3D Butterfly creations as they already had someone asking to purchase one and wanted at least another for their store. 

I also created one using some pages from an old ANNE of GREEN GABLES novel and will post photos on Monday as soon as I'm able to take pix in bright light :o)

Blessings,

Does What I Believe Make a Difference?

Until Then Sweet Rose by John Waterhouse


Our conduct has a direct influence

on how people think about the gospel.

The world doesn't judge us by our theology;

the world judges us by our behaviour.

People don't necessarily want to know

what we believe about the Bible.

They want to see if what we believe

makes a difference in our lives.

Our actions either bring glory to

God or misrepresent His truth."

~ Mrs. Carolyn Mahaney ~

"Let your light shine before men in such a way
that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

~ Matthew 5:16 ~

A Privacy of Storm

"Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the withered air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, and housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

* * *

The middle *window* of the collage is what I look through when I'm sitting at our kitchen table, either studying, reading or eating a meal ~ I've always loved the view and it's especially breathtaking right after a heavy snowfall as seen in these photos taken a couple of days ago :o)

A New Year

"Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness;

and Thy paths drop fatness."

~ Psalm 61:11 ~

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow;

for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

~ Proverbs 27:1 ~

May each of you know something of the Lord's guidance and strength for the days ahead ...

Praise be unto God that we KNOW the One

who holds all our tomorrows in His hands!

What a Treasure!

What a treasure is the Word of God!

Here we have ...

• Light, to dissipate our darkness;
• Truth, to guide us amid the mazes of error;
• Consolations, to gladden us in a world of misery.

The Bible is ...

• the Revelation of our Father's love;
• the Expression of Jehovah's grace to sinners;
• the Depository of heavenly blessings;
• the Charter of our highest privileges;
• the Religion of true Christians;
• the Glory of our churches;
• the Poor Man's Friend.

Everything sublime in conception, and tender in expression, it is to be found in the sacred Scriptures. 

The Eternal Jehovah has there revealed Himself as . . .

• clothed with majesty and honor;
• glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders;
• of purer eyes than to behold iniquity;
• in whose sight the heavens are not clean.

In the sacred Scriptures, He has manifested forth His glory, as mighty to save; forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. 

In that blessed volume, Mercy is seen to arrest the arm of Justice, and all the tenderness of the Father is displayed in the person of the Son. 

Love breathes throughout its sacred pages.

from Thomas Reade's, "Christian Experience"

Cherish a Habit of Goodwill

from my personal collection of old cards 


"Kindness does not require us
to be blind to facts or to live in fancies,
but it does require us
to cherish a habit of goodwill,
ready to show pity if sorrow appears,
and slow to turn away, even if hostility appears.

~ Alexander MacLaren ~

A Joyous and Triumphant Wedding

I'm sure others have already seen or read this but I only came across it this week and it was so inspiring and touching that I wanted to share it!

On Valentine’s Day 2002, Katie Kirkpatrick, then a freshman at Rochester College (a small Christian collage in Rochester, Michigan ), was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. 

Undaunted, Katie strove to keep up with her studies, but she suffered another setback in 2003 when she was diagnosed with an inoperable lung tumor wrapped around her pulmonary artery. Nonetheless, in 2004 the resilient Katie took part in champion cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Ride for the Roses cancer fundraiser.

On January 15, 2005, 21 year old Katie -- the girl “with a contagious smile and unrelenting optimism” who had been battling cancer for 3 years -- married 23 year old Lapeer County sheriff’s deputy Nick Goodwin, her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, at Church of Christ in Hazel Park, Michigan.

Her name is Katie Kirkpatrick, 21 yrs old. Next to her is her fiancé, Nick, 23. Katie spends hours in chemotherapy. Here Nick awaits while she finishes one of the sessions...

Even in pain and dealing with her organs shutting down, with the help of morphine, Katie took care of every single wedding plan. Her dress had to be adjusted several times due to her constant weight loss.

An expected guest was her oxygen tank. Katie had to use it during the ceremony and reception. The other couple in this picture is Nick's parents, very emotional with the wedding and to see their son marrying the girl he fell in love when he was an adolescent. 

Katie, in a wheelchair, listening to her husband and friends serenading her

In the middle of the party Katie had to rest for a bit and catch her breath. The pain doesn't allow her to stand for long periods of time.

Katie died just 5 days after her wedding at the McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Michigan

The photos and text are from snopes.com which verified Katie’s story. Photos were taken by Romain Blanquart..

A Part of Our Domestic Happiness

It's a beautiful, warm, sunny crisp autumn day in my neck of the woods and since I have lots of apples to use up quickly, I made a 9" Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie . . .as well as a small 2 crust apple pie especially for my dear husband's *take-to-work* lunch tomorrow ~

After all, Jane Austen did say that "good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness!"

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if mine qualify :o)

My Shadow

 "Every one of us casts a shadow. 

There hangs about us, a sort of a strange, indefinable something, 

which we call personal influence --
that has its effect on every other life on which it falls.

It goes with us wherever we go.

It is not something we can have when we want to have it -- 

and then lay aside when we will, as we lay aside a garment. 

It is something that always pours out from our lives . . .  

as light from a lamp, as heat from flame, as perfume from a flower.

The ministry of personal influence is something very wonderful. 

Without being conscious of it, 

we are always impressing others
by this strange power that exudes from us.

Others watch us --
and their thinking and actions are modified by our influence." 

"Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, 

making the most of every opportunity." 

Ephesians 5:15-16 

~ J. R. Miller, "The Shadows We Cast" ~

~oOo~

The ministry of personal influence is not only something very wonderful, but something full of responsibility.

When I first read this quote by JR Miller, it spoke loudly to my heart and made me more aware of the effect that my shadow has on those around me, whether they know me well, are only acquaintances or simply see me once in awhile at the market.

May the Lord help me to keep my eyes focused on Him so that my shadow reflects Him in a dark and lost world.

Blessings,

Farewell to Rainbow Leaves

Playing Trains by Stephen Darbisher

When the bold branches
bid farewell to rainbow leaves ---
Welcome wool sweaters.

~B. Cybrill ~

Autumn Moonlight

Autumn Moonlight by J. Rodney Reveal

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.  

For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.  

 

~ Edwin Way Teale ~
We had a lovely, full, harvest moon like this
shine several nights ago and it was breathtaking!

Missing a World of Loveliness

Found via Google images

I am sure it is a great mistake 

always to know enough 

to go in when it rains.  

One may keep snug and dry

by such knowledge, 

but one misses a world of loveliness.  

  ~ Adeline Knapp ~

It's been pouring here since the middle of the night and isn't easing up at all. 

My gout acted up beginning in the middle of the night Wednesday into Thursday and was so painful that for the past couple of days, I've stayed inside and have been keeping a very low profile . . . it's somewhat better now :o)

I find it so very easy to take feeling well for granted and how often the Lord has to remind me that each and every moment of every day is a gift from Him!

Blessings to all as you spend time with loved ones this weekend,

 

 

Don't Carry Tomorrow's Load

"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load
with today's strength - carrying two days at once.
It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.


Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow,
it empties today of its strength."


~ Corrie ten Boom ~

My husband and I recently watched The Hiding Place once again!  It is a movie that I would encourage all to watch because it is an amazing story where the Lord's hand is evident throughout ... especially during Corrie and her sister Betsy's time in the concentration camp.


Blessings,

Childhood's Garden

Growing Seasons by Jean Monti

"There is a garden in every childhood,
an enchanted place where colors are brighter,
the air softer, and the morning
more fragrant than ever again."

~ Elizabeth Lawrence ~

by Eloise Wilkin for Little Golden Books

My Character and Reputation

Art by Charles Edward Perugini

Character is the one thing we make in this world
and take with us into the next.
The circumstances amid which you live
determine your reputation;
the truth you believe determines your character.

Reputation is what you are supposed to be;
Character is what you are.
Reputation is what you have
when you come to a new community;
Character is what you have when you go away.

Reputation is made in a moment;
Character is built in a lifetime.
Reputation grows like a mushroom;
Character grows like an oak.

Your reputation is learned in an hour;
Your character is does not come to light for a year.

A single newspaper report gives your reputation;
a life of toil gives you your character.
Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor;
Character makes you happy or makes you miserable.

Reputation is what men say about you
on your tombstone;
Character is what angels say about you
before the throne of God.

Your character is what God knows you to be.
Your reputation is what men think you are.

~ William Hershey Davis ~

Caring for Hearth and Home

Daffodils by an Open Window by Stephen Darbishire

"The act of taking care of our homes
brings comfort and consolation
both in the enjoyments
of the fruits of our labor
and in the increasingly rare freedom
to engage in worthwhile,
unalienated, honorable work."

"No one is too superior or intelligent
to care for hearth and home."

~ Cheryl Mendelson ~

I am so blessed to be able to stay home, caring for our hearth and home and having the freedom to do as the Lord leads in my daily life.

Once our *children* were grown and gone, I often wondered how I would fill my days and now that I'm in the midst of that time of my life, I find that my days are full and often, I don't have the time to do or accomplish all that I'd like :o)

Blessings,

A Lingering Season

"Winter, a lingering season,

is a time to gather golden moments,
embark upon a sentimental journey,
and enjoy every idle hour."

~ John Boswell ~

The Living Room & First Impressions

The Rose Room by Susan Rios

"The Living Room is the "room that gives our guests
their first impression of our home,
the room that speaks of the *mood* of the entire home,
-- perhaps your most important room.

Here you will entertain, relax, read,
listen to music, converse.
Are the chairs comfortable?
Can you read easily by the lamps you have?

Do you think it is an inviting room?
Is your family's taste expressed in this room?

Home to the Heart by Susan Rios

Your home is your paradise;
no matter how old or how new,
how small or how large;
let it reveal you, your family
and most of all -- your faith.

Do the pictures on your walls, the music ...
the magazines on your table witness to your visitors
of your faith in Jesus Christ
as Lord of your life and your home?"

~ Charlene Johnson in Beautiful Homemaking ~

Content to Accept HIS Solution

"Hope's appearance this morning, was, in truth, an answer to prayer. She had asked God to send help, and with the memory of how quick and skilful Hope's hands had been as she smoothed the tumbled bedding and bathed her hot head, Eleanor realized that this helper was indeed God's gift to her.

Why a girl of such character and refineness was doing such work she did not know. But it was not hers to question.

She had called -- God had answered. She was content to accept His solution to her problem."

"The Light in My Window" by Francena H Arnold