Abundance

Cleaning up.

Posted by ~Melissa
4:13 PM, January 4, 2009 .. Posted in Our Decluttering Journey .. 2 comments .. Link

I am slowly going through old posts and deleting some off my blog, the ones that have day to day nonsense that friends enjoy hearing, but a year later... no one really cares. So far, I started on page 18 and eliminated a half page of entries, I am now down to 17 pages, having deleted another half page or so of entries today. My posts are now down from 372 to 339. The number will continue to decline as I go through more of the old entries.

I limit myself to one page a day so that I don't get bug eyed! Afterall, I've got more to clean out than just my blog!

Freecycled: 3 child sized sleeping bags.

Warmly, ~Melissa

Junior Class

Posted by safords
07:09, Saturday, January 3, 2009 .. 1 comments .. Link

Class went well. Steve and I have never taught juniors before. I've taught kindergarten, cradle roll and primary forever, but never junior, so this was a totally new. I thought I would make use of the bells and we will learn one song per quarter and do it for special music. We do it first thing so it's kind of an incentive to be on time as kids love to play the bells. These kids don't really have any trouble with being on time, though. One girl was missing and we missed her, but she was able to come for church and potluck and the baptism, so that was good. Notice we have one boy in the class. He's pretty used to that :-)

We are using the My Bible First Junior curriculum and it's really interesting. Right now the study is on the Reformation so we are making use of a lot of timelines and great stories from the life of reformers. I am speed reading through the Great Controversy to brush up on all the history. I think we are really going to enjoy this class. I hope the kids enjoy it as much as the teachers.

One of the two girls baptized today.

OK Ladies, this is must have!

Posted by Kitty
1:11 PM, Saturday, January 3, 2009 .. Posted in Something Special .. 5 comments .. Link

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a Ped Egg. It was given to me by my wonderful daughter. She put together a beautiful gift basket of different lotions, brushes, powder, soaps, and this great gadget. I waited a day or two before I had time to use it. But I finally used it and I just have to tell you all that it is fantastic.

I have always had bad feet because I love running around bare foot and we all know that isn't very good for our little tootsies. My heels were almost always dry and cracked, and most times I was embarrased to wear sandles or backless shoes. Well not anymore. This wonderful little invention has cured all of that. I'm telling you ladies, its fantastic. A friend of mine has one and I watched her use it on herself and to be honest it kinda grossed my out at first, you know, dead skin and all, lol. But it really works.

So next time your at the store and you pass by this item, and you have problem feet, pick this up. It is one of the best buys for your $10. This not a commercial and I'm not being paid for this, LOL it's just me wanting to share a good thing with friends.

Question is, WHO is HE?

Posted by safords
07:59, Friday, January 2, 2009 .. 2 comments .. Link

Holly's belly is practically dragging on the ground.
The first words out of our mouth when we saw Holly after our big trip was, "Wow! She sure is fat!"
She huffs and puffs...
and waddles like a duck.
If you put your hand on her belly these funny little lumps wiggle.

We were thinking she was getting a little too old for this!
Poor dog!

Another one has come and gone

Posted by Kitty
8:31 AM, Friday, January 2, 2009 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 3 comments .. Link

Another year has come and gone, and I have to say, I'm kinda glad. I don't usually say that 'cuz with each passing year and/or day, I get a little older, but 2008 wasn't a banner year for me. The whole thing with mom's Alzheimers taking over her life poor heart and me having to put her in a home wasn't a good thing to say the least. Not too mention the hurricanes that hit us, the lost of several people in my life and last but not least, my husband wanting a divorce, well as I said, I'm glad it's over. I do hope and pray 2009 brings a much better outcome. I do see good things ahead for me if God willing.

The last couple of days were busy ones for me. Not long ago my husband came home with two little pigs and on Tuesday we slaughtered one for a New Years gathering here at our home. So I have been getting ready for that, cooking and baking, and yesterday we had 27 people here for lots of good food and a good time. It didn't take as long to cook the little fellow as I thought it would. We put him on the rotisserie around 6:30 yesterday morning and it was done by noon. Pretty good. We still had lots of fire so I ran to the store and bought four chickens to cook. I figured I wouldn't have to cook for a couple of days. Well to my surprise, most of it all went. There is no chicken left, what didn't get eaten here was taken home by some family members. Not fair! LOL

The guys are out fishing this morning so I will be working on school plans for the rest of the year. I do half in August and the other half now. This is just incase we get off schedule or Zach falls behind in something that we need to keep working with, which is the case in Math this time. So with that said, let me get off of here. I have a batch of clothes to put out on the line and one to fold, then off to the lesson plans.

I do hope everyone had a wonderful New Years and that everyone HAS a great new year filled with blessings and prosperity.

Vitamin D

Posted by safords
08:47, Thursday, January 1, 2009 .. 2 comments .. Link

A couple years ago someone sent me an article on vit. D and the flue. My family and some friends started taking vit. D and we did not know if it was a coincidence or not, but we didn't have the flue that year. I kind of took it sporadically because I always forget to take such things. I also really didn't know what the dosage should be so I guessed and guessed kind of low.

I've always been a migrainer and it seemed to be getting way worse every year. Winter was a real drag! Every day was grey and foggy - whether the sun was shining or not! Reading became a chore as the letters wouldn't stop jiggling on the page. My head hurt ALL the time. Come spring things would gradually get better and summer was basically headache free. My dad once suggested vit. D but I probably brushed him off because I took vit. D whenever I remembered to.

Then one day during a rare visit to the doctor I found out I was profoundly deficient in vit. D. She suggested I take this enormous amount of vit. D and retest in 3 months. I wasn't very excited about the prescription vit. D since I am vegetarian and I am concerned about taking something that comes from fish considering the problems with polution, etc... So, I contacted a Dr. friend. He told me that he regularly recommends vit. D to his patients and that he has his wife and children on a weekly dose. He recommended this company: www.lef.org At his suggestion I began taking 5,000 IU a day to bring my stores up to normal.

An amazing thing happened! After a month of taking the vitamin my brain fog cleared and I went a whole 10 days without a migraine! WOW! Winter is not so bad after all. I still have the odd headache and I still get a little foggy once in awhile, but not all the time like before. I don't take it in the summer and I didn't take it in Africa. Interestingly, I didn't take any when I first arrived home and just the last few days I have been having headaches and I finally realized that I needed to if I wanted to enjoy another migrain free winter.

The Real Reason Flu Hits In Winter And How To Stop It Naturally

Dr. Robert J. Rowen, MD

Second Opinion Health Alert

12-15-6

For decades we've heard the myth that flu strikes in winter because of the

colder weather. But numerous studies have all debunked that theory.

Studies have shown that flu hits the tropics in their "winter" when it's

still quite warm (usually during the rainy season).

No, there's another reason flu hits in winter. And it gives you an easy way

to stop the flu before it hits. And it doesn't involve getting a flu shot.

We already know that our bodies produce a lot less vitamin D during the

winter. But is it possible the reduced vitamin D levels in winter

contribute to the flu?

The evidence is there. Years ago, an observant British general

practitioner, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson, connected influenza epidemics in the

northern hemisphere with winter solstice. So, flu hits right when vitamin D

levels begin to plummet. Conventional medicine has largely ignored his

work, until now.

Just this year, two major medical journals released a report written by Dr.

John Cannell, a California psychiatrist at the Atascadero State Hospital in

California. This is a maximum security facility for the criminally insane.

In his report, Dr. Cannell noted that wards all around his got hit hard

with a severe flu-like outbreak in April 2005. None of his 32 patients

caught the flu - even after they mingled with infected inmates from other

wards.

Dr. Cannell wondered why his ward avoided the flu when it hit all the

others. He soon realized it was the high doses of vitamin D he prescribed

to all the men on his ward. He had found that his patients, like most other

people in the industrial world, had a deficiency. (He must be one of the

very few psychiatrists that pays attention to nutrition!) His efforts to

correct the deficiency boosted their immune system and completely protected

them from the flu.

Why does it work? Science recently discovered that vitamin D stimulates

your white blood cells to make a substance called cathelicidin. Researchers

haven't studied this chemical on the flu virus yet, but they have previously

reported that it attacks a wide variety of pathogens. These include fungi,

viruses, bacteria, and even tuberculosis.

So, it turns out that my suggestions for you to have your vitamin D levels

checked this time of year were right on target. But now, armed with this

new information, I don't even think it's necessary to spend the money on a

test. Vitamin D is cheap. And it stimulates your body to make what might

be the ultimate antibiotic! One with no toxicity at all and only kills

those organisms invading you (not your own cells).

Arm yourself with the incredible protection of vitamin D. Get sunlight when

you can. Just be sure not to burn. If you are mostly indoors, I strongly

suggest that you add vitamin D to your daily regimen. I recommend 5,000 IU

per day. I see no downside to this dose, especially in the winter months!

Yours for better health and medical freedom,

Robert Jay Rowen, MD

Ref: FASEB Journal July 2006; Epidemiology and Infection, online, December

2006.

New Buttons

Posted by safords
06:58, Thursday, January 1, 2009 .. 0 comments .. Link

Brianna is devoted to birds; birds of all kinds; birds of all sizes, but especially the kind of birds that live in hen houses. She has had a variety of banty hens and specialty roosters and has loved each one of them. She is intrigued by their personalities and has always taken great delight and taking their pictures! In fact that was her sole purpose in owning a camera. She looks forward to each and every issue of the Game Bird Gazette like her sister looks forward to her horse magazine. She has had a variety of quail over the years. Bob whites are they cutest and she found chukars rather hard to manage. At the moment she has button quail. When we left for Africa she had two pairs. One of the little hens swallowed a string and now there are 1 and half pairs, so how did we end up with 9 buttons?

Brianna has a special bond with a lady who shares the same attraction for birds that she has. Grandma Wallace shared her love of button quail with Bri... and she took very good care of them while we were in Africa, (the string was pure accident!) and when we went to pick up the birds they had somehow multiplied and there are six tiny little chicks. I think it might be a good thing that not all 2 dozen eggs in the incubator hatched.

While we were in Africa Brianna saw some fabric with chickens on them. Right away she thought of Grandma Wallace. Then when we saw the salad tongs with little chickens carved on the top we knew they belonged with the fabric. I was tired of bargaining so Teresa had to "joy" of getting the price down to reasonable. She was successful and the fabric made a nice apron as you can see.

Here are one of the new babies.

Making preparations...

Posted by ~Melissa
5:41 PM, January 1, 2009 .. Posted in Devotional Thoughts .. 3 comments .. Link

We had a New Year's Eve party last night. Five from our church showed up. One youth and 4 adults. I'm not sure why the decline. In past years, we've had quite the full house. However having only 5 guests... and 5 home from my family (Dh was on a transfer for work) caused us to focus more on just each other than perhaps when we have a full house and everyone is running around.

The pastor played a game of ping pong with my daughter and a friend. And a couple others played mario cart on the Wii. I made supper which consisted of hot dogs, baked beans and potato chips... so I really didn't cook... just warmed up what needed warming. After we ate, we played Apples to Apples. The Pastor's family really enjoyed this game. About this time, the one youth that came over started feeling sick and got a fever. She spent the night, but spent most the night curled up in a blanket on the couch or curled up by the fire. We played a couple rounds of scattergories, but by 9pm the guests were ready to leave.

At about that time, a friend who lives almost 2 hours away showed up for the party and the girls were so happy to see him. (He's the son of a previous pastor). They all stayed up to see the new year in. Steve finally got home about 12:30 AM and talked with the kids for about an hour and then all went to bed... I went to bed around 11:30 PM with little Paige.

Anyways, I noticed something... the disappointment of so little showing up for the New Years party really bothered the girls. They've enjoyed hosting this party every year for several years now and this year was quite low in numbers. It got me to thinking about other church events... when we show up... we're 5 in number usually, so when we don't show up, it's a small crowd. I'm sure many others have spent many hours preparing for guests, only to be disappointed that so few or none at all showed up.

Oh what a lesson for our hearts! Jesus is preparing for us to come home! He is making preparations and is so excited and wants all of us to come. Yet we linger, find something else to do instead of making our own preparations for the trip home. We find something better to do rather than attending a celebration that we are invited to. While we were happy for the few guests that came, we also felt for those that didn't come. I am almost sure that Jesus will do the same. Oh the disappointment of those that choose not to come, yet eager anticipation over those that are planning to come and the joy to see them when they arrive.

Something to think about. I want to be sure I am ready for Jesus to come take me home... and my family, too.

Warmly, ~Melissa

Ropes of Sand?

Posted by safords
01:38, Thursday, January 1, 2009 .. 1 comments .. Link

It's a new day, a new month and more importantly, a new year. It's exciting and energizing to start off the new year with a clean slate. There are no splotches on the page, no regrets, no apology, no misgiving; nothing to mar the fresh start. We look forward to putting into action all those new year resolutions.

Ah, but if you think for a bit you might actually become discouraged before you begin. After all... where did the last year go and what happened to last year's new resolutions? My last year's resolution lasted until about May, which actually was a record for me. My resolution was to read through the entire Conflict of the Ages series systematically ...and while I haven't given up on reading all the books in order, I long ago gave up on following any kind of schedule. Going by my experience, I bet 99.7% of all new year resolutions last about a week. They are nothing but good intentions; our promises and resolutions are nothing but ropes of sand. Maybe we shouldn't even bother and save ourselves the embarrassment of defeat.

Or should we? I mean, isn't this a wonderful opportunity to look forward and start afresh and deepen your commitment to Christ? Is there any hope that we can carry these new and redoubled commitments and life changing declarations through to the next year?

I believe there is.

"You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak... Your promises are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair! What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The Power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can CHOOSE to serve Him You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.

Desire for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing! Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now CHOOSE to be Christians.

Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith." SC 47

Today I CHOOSE to serve Christ and commit my whole new year to His service and I can't think of a better way to say than the way it is said in this song:

I cannot be content with just a part,
of the blessings that You give to fill the heart.
I accept Your invitation to come boldy to the throne;
to claim all that the cross has made my own.

Since Jesus had to pay so high a cost.
Not a fragment of His blessings should be lost.
Lord, let me be the vessel that gathers every part,
of the fullness that is flowing from Your heart.

I want the fullness of the joy of knowing You.
The fullness of Your peace to see me through.
The fullness of Your presence to flow through every part.
And the fullness of salvation in my heart.

crafts all types..

Posted by haflinger
01:30, Thursday, January 1, 2009 .. 0 comments .. Link

This looks pretty interesting.. here is a link to this craft site..

Enjoy:Blessings Brenda

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://busymitts.com/

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