Living the Good Life

When you move to the country you have several different choices...

You can decide to "stay" in the country while working in the city.

You can choose to study nature and enjoy the scenery.

OR....

You can embrace the adventure and run "full throttle" into the time of your life!


What does it mean to "live the good life"?
Jesus said it this way:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10

a·bun·dant

[uh-buhn-duhnt]

–adjective

1.

present in great quantity; more than adequate; over sufficient: an abundant supply of water.

2.

well supplied; abounding: a river abundant in salmon.

3.

richly supplied: an abundant land.

Our land is abundant.

Our life is abundant.

Our God is abundant.

I think I'm running full throttle!

Welcome!

Welcome to Has Anyone Seen My Purse!

It's been a while since I posted, but Thrifty Homemaker has inspired me to begin again! She asked for regular homemakers to do an interview on the ways we thrift at Christmas time.

As I read her questions it occurred to me that I might have more to share than I thought!

I guess sometimes you need a catalyst to get you going again.

Take a look around at some of my past posts and just know that I will be posting again soon!

Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful Christmas!

A New Little Lamb in Glory

A new little lamb has entered Glory and I'm rejoicing and grieving at the same time.

A new little family is opening up their most vulnerable selves and sharing a most intimate moment.

Don't miss this lovely, precious article and video from:

The Father's Delight

I Know

???????????????

As we close the year of 2010 we all have questions.

Did I accomplish what I wanted to in the last year?


Did I achieve my goals?

To be honest, I'm not much of a goal setter.
Never have been.
If I put myself to the test my questions would sound more like:

Did I spend time with the ones that the Lord has given me?


Did I make any difference in someone's life at all this year?

This year has been one of the hardest of my entire life.

Tests, trials, suffering, persecution.

I would not have chosen the year that the Lord ordered for me, but I would not exchange what He has done in my life for anything.

Joy, satisfaction, peace, rest.

So what do I know about this year? What questions have been answered?


I know

the true friends that the Lord has placed in my life,


what it is to be forsaken and I know what it is to be able to count on someone and


what it means to forgive without resolution.

"I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day..."

period............................ any questions?

Breezy and Emily Rose

I just wanted to share about a two lovely young ladies who make little girls lives just a little sweeter these days.


If you enjoy history and you have some young ladies in your lives that will be receiving gifts from you this year don't miss Daughters of His Story Series, a paper doll series of virtuous, noble women of the past generations.

The work is entirely original. Breezy is a talented artist and her sister, Emily Rose is truly gifted in computer design. They make a brilliant team!

I am not getting paid to recommend this work, nor have I been given any compensation for this post. In fact, I have purchased all but their newest offerings. I simply love seeing young people working hard and looking for ways to use their talents to bless others.

I will, however, tell you that right now at Raising Homemakers all of Breezy and Emily Rose's collection will be given away to some very blessed individual. All you have to do is comment.

I certainly hope that I win!

A Tea Party Every Day

My little girl and I
Have a tea party every day.

My little girl and I
Are sharing with each other
All along the way.

My little girl and I
Love Jesus with all our hearts.

Cheese and crackers
Spilling tea.

Time for you
and time for me.

We'll look forward joyfully
to our tea party
every day!

This is the little song I made up for Lydia when we have tea together each day! Wish I could sing it to you!

Blessings on your day!

Gathering Manna

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

Exodus 16:4

Pain.
Sharing in His sufferings...

Depression.
Wearing praise like a garment to replace my spirit of heaviness...

Illness.
By His stripes, I am healed...

The Bread of Heaven.
Jesus desires to meet with me every day. He draws me in and speaks my name, giving me grace to meet the day.

Gathering Manna. Each day. Every day.

For the rest of my life.

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Living Blameless

...the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God: walk before Me and be blameless." Genesis 17:1

This morning I had a wonderful time of study with my dear sister, Donna. She brought to my attention the word blameless.

In the Hebrew this word means

"not missing any part, complete, whole, without blemish, innocent, having integrity."

The only other man that I have found so far that this word is used to describe is Noah.

"This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God." Genesis 6:9

Does this sound like an impossible task?

Yes!

Why would God ask something of a human that is clearly impossible?

I believe that He desires to show Himself faithful and to show His glory.

Are you walking in a delicate, difficult situation. A time of soul searching. A time of being misunderstood. Perhaps even a time of judgment.

A time of trying to walk with integrity and forgiveness.

blameless...

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one..." Romans 3:10

So, how do we walk?

We choose.

I choose...
to deliberately seek the Lord's guidance, assistance, His power...

to do it through me.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as [being] from ourselves, but our sufficiency [is] from God, 2 Corinthians 3:5

God told, even commanded Abram to walk before Him blameless.

Why would God ask something of a human that is clearly impossible?

He wouldn't.

Abram fell on his face before God as He was talking with him.

I believe that Abram knew right away his inability to do this thing.

But, if you read the rest of the passage, God tells Abram many things that He will do.

I will bless you.
I will give you land.
I will give you an heir.
I will make you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful.
I will establish my covenant with you.
I will bless your wife.
I will bless your children.

Do you see the operative word here?



God Almighty, He Himself will do this mighty thing.

I'm so glad.

Nothing to Fear

“Fear not for I am
with you, be not dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will
help you, I will uphold you, with My victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10,
RSV).

How easily and quickly we forget that we have little to no control of what each day will bring.

How easily and quickly we forget that it doesn't matter in the slightest.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:28-31

I covet your prayers for me and mine today.

I Will Seek You in the Morning

Before I begin let me first add a disclaimer.

My intent is not to condemn, frustrate, belittle, smack, judge or intimidate anyone who does their devotional time differently than I do.

There! Now I can share fearlessly and unashamedly. :)

Oh, God, You are my God and I will ever praise You!

I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways

And step by step You'll lead me

And I will follow You all of my days.

I do my devotions in the morning. If I don't, I don't get to have them. Too much crowding of home duties, of business, of Life happening.

I also find that if I don't spend time with the Lord first, I simply don't have much to share that is not stale. Like serving the leftovers from dinner at breakfast the next morning. Yuck!

My family however, does not do devotionals together at breakfast time. When we worship together it is in the evening when things are winding down. I'd love to have time during breakfast, but that is not where we are right now. Perhaps someday that might happen, but not now.

I used to envy other households that had that idyllic time of feeding on the Word before hitting the dusty trail of Daily Duties. Now I understand a little better that God wants all of us all of the time.

It's not about a schedule; it's about a relationship.

It's not about condemnation; it's about unity.

I can get into that!

Ephesians 4:13
...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Are You a Member or Are You Just a Person?

Sometimes I go into the big city with my husband.

I meet with a dear friend of many, many years and have a joyful, cathartic lunch.

I then go into a mainline denominational church (think mega) and spend the rest of the day sitting, reading and pondering the goodness of the Lord.

While resting there one afternoon, I suddenly needed to use the restroom. Badly! I walked down the hall to the nearest bathroom, but, unfortunately, it was being cleaned.

Oh dear!

I got on the elevator and went to the seventh floor where I knew that prayer room existed thinking that there would probably be another bathroom available, but to no avail!

I then got back on the elevator and went down one floor. When the door opened I found myself looking into a waiting room area with a receptionist behind glass windows. Timidly I approached the glass and waited for the lady to acknowledge me.

"Excuse me, but I was looking for a restroom and the one on the first floor is being cleaned. Would you be able to direct me to another?"

"Ummmm. Are you a member or are you just a person?"

I'm afraid at this point, I almost didn't need to find a restroom anymore. I burst out laughing and shared that I was "just a person." I got back on the elevator and waited for the bathroom to finish being cleaned.


Oh, Church! Awaken from your slumber!

Matthew 10:42 (New International Version)

⁴²And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Whole Grain Pancake Mix

My beautiful friend and sister, Donna, wanted this recipe so I just thought that I would share it here.


1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. other whole grain flour (I usually use oatmeal ground up into a flour in the food processor or Vita-Mix but any other grain will do)
2 t. sugar (optional)
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt (I use sea salt.)

This part of the recipe can be doubled, tripled, whatever. I usually make eight times. That gives me enough for eight recipes. If you decide to double then just scoop out 1 and 1/3 c. of mix for each recipe.

To the above, I add:

1 generous cup kefir
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs if large or 3 if small
1 T. oil (I use olive)
1/4 t. vanilla (I never measure)

If you want to, you can also add ground flax seed, blueberries, apples, pears, cranberries, sesame seeds or whatever suits your fancy. You could even add apple sauce for the milk and oil if you wanted to.

As you can see, you can be very creative with this so that your family doesn't get tired of it, but it is still essentially the same mix. I keep the mix refrigerated.

This Little Light of Mine

I am not eloquent in my writings.

In fact I'm just plain short and sweet when it comes to saying things. Ask my friends.

Sometimes I'm not even sweet...just short.

But, I beg you. With all sincerity, do not miss this article by my dear precious Sister, Lygia.

The Burning Light

If you desire to fan the flame. If your pilot light has blown out...even momentarily...please take a small moment

and read.

'Tis the Season...To Be Thankful

When my dear friend D'Ann (at Five Bazillion and One) began blogging on a daily basis about thankfulness I thought to myself, "I'll do that too!"

I didn't.

What with an unbelievably quick house sale (five days) and a closing of twenty-five days, I haven't been blogging at all.

I have instead been up to my eyeballs in boxes, bags and furniture.

I even did a Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 1 so that we could have a real dinner with my entire family without the added stress of getting everything unpacked and settled.

Even so, I am thankful.

I'm thankful for the closing of one season and the beginning of another.

I'm thankful for friends who love me even when I'm too sensitive and stressed out.

I'm thankful for family that doesn't blast me for starting a new adventure out here in the country.

I'm thankful for children who are so willing to embrace new challenges and hard work.

I'm even thankful for the boxes, bags and furniture that have to be put away somewhere (although I wish there weren't quite so many).

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I Thessalonians 5:18

I Will Love Them Freely

"I will love them freely."
Hosea 14:4

Surprising, isn't it?

With all my sin, with all my foibles, that the LORD God could love me "freely."

Without restrictions or interference...

Nothing can come between me and the Lord. No power is able to keep Him from me. Not even me. When I hesitate to come, when I think that I have pushed Him away I am only fooling myself.

In copious or generous amounts...

He lavishes his love upon me. There is no stinginess in His love, no favoritism, no special children. He does not worry that another one of His children will feel slighted because of the attention that He give to me because they in turn have all His notice.

He (unlike me) can give undivided attention to all His children equally and at the same time.

Opening and honestly...

His love does not leave me in my sin. He turns His attention to me and draws me back to Himself, changing my heart and my desire to do what is right.

Willingly and readily...

Without reserve, without holding it over my head until He feels that I have "paid enough," He forgives me. Forgiveness flows over me without hesitation and I am clean.




To read someone who can say it infinitely better than I, click HERE.

I Thought That I Knew Pain

I have fibromyalgia.

I absolutely hate putting that into words. It makes it so real.

I also have quite a bit of pain.

I absolutely hate admitting that to anyone outside my family.

But, before I let myself focus on my disabilities let me introduce you to someone.

Becky Black.

I have no pictures, no bio, nothing to tell you about this God-fearing, beautifully righteous woman except her own writing.

Please read what she has to say about PAIN. When you are finished, come back here.


I have nothing to fear, rail against or complain about.

But, I have so much for which to be thankful.

¹⁵ For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:15-16

Losing Confidence

In my younger days, (wow, I am getting older when I can actually say that and not feel silly), there was nothing that I would not attempt.

Any new idea or project that struck my fancy was fair game!

One dear friend certainly dreaded the continual chant, "You know what we could do"?

I'm feeling a lot less confident these days.

"Though a host should encamp against me..."

Actually, I'm just about worn down completely.

"my heart shall not fear..."

Where has the joy in living gone?

Each critique, each criticism, each helpful hint has begun to feel more like brick blows on my soul.

"though war should rise against me..."

Why?

I believe that I have been listening to too many voices.

Yes, much wise counsel is a wise, advisable, much needed blessing.

That isn't what I'm talking about...

I'm desiring to regain Godly confidence.

"in this will I be confident..."

Hmmm, perhaps my confidence is so easily shaken because I'm relying on man's approval instead of seeking this ONE thing.

"that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon the rock."

Where do I seek this joy?

"this ONE thing"

How does the strength return?

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

Where is my confidence found?

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ..."

Thank you, Lord.

Psalm 27:3-4;14
Philipians 1:6

What If I Were THAT Honest!

For all of you wondering about my pledge, let me say that I have NOT purchased anything new and that I have made the following:

a pillowcase dress

a "cow" print apron

an apron for a friend's birthday

a skirt for Lydia

and a jumper dress

all from fabric out of my stash or from recycled items! Don't ask me for any patterns because I just made them up....(when I can get some pictures taken, I will share them with you)!


BUT, for today, I am wondering if I have the real courage, even the audacity to be completely honest.

As I read other ladies blogs (perhaps even a few gentlemen on occasion) it often occurs to me that I don't share my life quite as openly or vulnerably as many.

Sometimes I even read articles that I could easily have written myself.
My life experiences.

So similar. So exactly where I have been.

I even enjoy and agree with the fearlessness of many of these writers.

Why do not write those same things?

Perhaps, it is because they so often involve other people. These stories are not just MY story, but the story of others' pain, fears, or foibles.

I was reading one of my favorite books today. As the author shared testimony of things that had occurred to women at conferences where she had spoken, she never shared names, but she did reveal things that they had said.

I wondered if they liked seeing their ugliness, comments or problems "hung out on the line."

I wouldn't.

I guess, for now, I just can't be THAT honest!

"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
I Peter 4:8

The Pledge

I've taken a pledge!

Boy, this one is really scary to me!

I've made a promise not to buy anything new to wear for two months.

Is this scary because I love to go clothes shopping?

No.

This is scary to me because I'm taking a pledge to allow myself to be creative and to even make a bunch of mistakes.

Oh, how I hate making mistakes.

Oh, my pride!

I'm going to strike it a (hopefully) fatal blow.

I will be posting the things that I try to make. You may get to see some really ridiculous things here for a while, but here I go.

My husband has been hoping for this for a long time. He thinks that I may have a creative streak in me.

I surely hope he's right....

I __________________ pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 / 4 / 6 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed__________________.

(Disclaimer: I have not personally viewed every entry on this site. Please view with discretion.)

I Agree with Elizabeth

On Motherhood and Profanity

I completely agree!