Greetings!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Walking in Grace...
Hello Friends!
I am online doing some things for my Joe and thought I would share my heart for a moment, I do hope my thoughts come out clearly.
I just received a call from a precious Sister in Christ sharing her pain because she heard others were speaking evil about her. She isn't aware of what or how she has offended others and has such a precious and sweet heart. I tried to encourage her because truthfully, I think we have all been there and it is important how we respond to those that chose to neglect love and pass judgement instead. My Joe and I have walked through similar situations where we have become aware of others "talking about us" (sometimes I want to box some ears of those that feel they need to call and tell me about it all!) we must carefully pray on how to respond. For us the Lord often leads us to show love and not confront the issue I keep hearing the Lord's voice say, "live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:2) I am not saying the Father doesn't ever call us to confront issues so please don't get me wrong however, for Joe and I most often He simply asks us to continue sharing love, smiles and ignoring the cold shoulders we sometimes recieve in return. Yet some days I just wish I could shout from my roof top, "HEY! what are we doing?!? We're Christians! NOT canabals! We are all Family in Christ. Our Father is watching and tenderly cares for each of us!! We must not bring sorrow to the Father by our conduct with each other! We must walk in Grace and Love toward one another and treasure our differences knowing the Father uses each of us for HIS purpose!
With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood (Jeanette)
I am online doing some things for my Joe and thought I would share my heart for a moment, I do hope my thoughts come out clearly.
I just received a call from a precious Sister in Christ sharing her pain because she heard others were speaking evil about her. She isn't aware of what or how she has offended others and has such a precious and sweet heart. I tried to encourage her because truthfully, I think we have all been there and it is important how we respond to those that chose to neglect love and pass judgement instead. My Joe and I have walked through similar situations where we have become aware of others "talking about us" (sometimes I want to box some ears of those that feel they need to call and tell me about it all!) we must carefully pray on how to respond. For us the Lord often leads us to show love and not confront the issue I keep hearing the Lord's voice say, "live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:2) I am not saying the Father doesn't ever call us to confront issues so please don't get me wrong however, for Joe and I most often He simply asks us to continue sharing love, smiles and ignoring the cold shoulders we sometimes recieve in return. Yet some days I just wish I could shout from my roof top, "HEY! what are we doing?!? We're Christians! NOT canabals! We are all Family in Christ. Our Father is watching and tenderly cares for each of us!! We must not bring sorrow to the Father by our conduct with each other! We must walk in Grace and Love toward one another and treasure our differences knowing the Father uses each of us for HIS purpose!
With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood (Jeanette)
• 2 Comments
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Important Science lesson....
Has anyone else ever been just "strolling through life" thinking that you're doing a good job teaching your children what's important only to have life SLAP you in the face and remind you that you forgot to teach them something so basic as writing their name? Okay, so maybe there aren't many of you like myself but I know I can't be alone in this issue! Today I had one of those situations come up- It went like this:
I woke up to the sound of thunder and the flashing of lightening and decided that it was such a comfy day to spend a few extra moments in bed. My Joe even pulled the curtain so that the room had a dark and cozy feel to it. I thought to myself (Mistake number one), "Today is such a cozy day. I think I'll send the children out for barn chores and just putter around the house a bit before I get breakfast started." I actually thought that was a good idea and under normal circumstance (ie: no thunder storm) it may of been just delightful. However, today was not the day to send the children outside unsupervised! After about 10 extra minutes in bed (mistake number 2) I made my way to the kitchen table and looked out my great windows to watch the children. To my horror I found that my toddlers had metal poles running across the field in the middle of the THUNDER STORM! The toddlers were screaming from fear of the storm, the middle aged children were running with smiles on their faces that went from ear to ear, the eldest children were just strolling down from the barn, and my Joe and I couldn't get to the door quick enough to tell them all to throw the metal poles down and take cover! The lightening was flashing violently and the thunder shook the house, this was no little storm. Finally all 7 of my little ones that had ventured out into this storm made their way safely back into the house. We immediately sat down and had a science lesson on electricity and metal poles and what exactly we should do in a storm and what we should NOT do in a storm. Once my pulse returned to normal, I couldn't stop shaking my head thinking, "Didn't we cover this sometime in our schooling?" I think this year I will write out some important safety skills I want the children to learn now that we live on the farm. Until today, I hadn't realized just how many more opportunities we have for danger. I praise God that He is our protector and it is He that will ensure no harm comes near our dwelling place! What a wonderful refuge we have in Him!
I woke up to the sound of thunder and the flashing of lightening and decided that it was such a comfy day to spend a few extra moments in bed. My Joe even pulled the curtain so that the room had a dark and cozy feel to it. I thought to myself (Mistake number one), "Today is such a cozy day. I think I'll send the children out for barn chores and just putter around the house a bit before I get breakfast started." I actually thought that was a good idea and under normal circumstance (ie: no thunder storm) it may of been just delightful. However, today was not the day to send the children outside unsupervised! After about 10 extra minutes in bed (mistake number 2) I made my way to the kitchen table and looked out my great windows to watch the children. To my horror I found that my toddlers had metal poles running across the field in the middle of the THUNDER STORM! The toddlers were screaming from fear of the storm, the middle aged children were running with smiles on their faces that went from ear to ear, the eldest children were just strolling down from the barn, and my Joe and I couldn't get to the door quick enough to tell them all to throw the metal poles down and take cover! The lightening was flashing violently and the thunder shook the house, this was no little storm. Finally all 7 of my little ones that had ventured out into this storm made their way safely back into the house. We immediately sat down and had a science lesson on electricity and metal poles and what exactly we should do in a storm and what we should NOT do in a storm. Once my pulse returned to normal, I couldn't stop shaking my head thinking, "Didn't we cover this sometime in our schooling?" I think this year I will write out some important safety skills I want the children to learn now that we live on the farm. Until today, I hadn't realized just how many more opportunities we have for danger. I praise God that He is our protector and it is He that will ensure no harm comes near our dwelling place! What a wonderful refuge we have in Him!
• 2 Comments
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
Monday, August 20, 2007
Monday news
Hello Friends!
If today is any indicator on how the rest of the week is going to be we all better buckle our seat belts and hold on tight! LOL
The fire has been resolved and the roads are open to the public again. I praise God for His faithfulness to us! However, we are still trying to clarify with the insurance company what they want done in order to reactivate our insurance. We had done everything they originally told us and now they decided the home has to have a different roof and another railing has to be installed on the stairs. Keep in mind these are the same stairs and the same roof they approved last year. Dealing with things like this can be quite frustrating to me- it seems to take so much emotional energy! Thank you Cheryl for the name and email of your insurance agent, I sent an email to them today and hope to hear back quickly!
On the homeschool front, I am working on getting all my paperwork in order to file our affidavit. I have mentioned in past posts that the Lord is renewing our vision for our home education. We have always felt that our purpose for home education has been to grow and learn with our children to walk with them daily and teach them as we live out our faith. Yet, sometimes life seems to interrupt this process. For our home the Lord is reminding us of the freedom we have in Him. How His yoke is easy and His burden is light yet, in my foolishness I can make what should be a joy and a delight simply difficult! This year, I have recommitted myself to truly seek Him and His leading daily. I use to be so diligent about asking the Lord what math page to do or not do with each child daily. I know that He is the one that knit my baby in the womb. He knows exactly what to require from them each day. He will never require too little or too much. There is such freedom when I let go of all my own goals and desires and seek His!
On a different note, Bekah has her friends from out of state here with us and they are quite a joy! We have really had some good times with them. I pray that they can return home and feel blessed by their stay here with us. This year as been busy for the Wood family with guests. We don't normally have such a busy life. I know that sounds funny coming from a mommy of ten but truthfully, Joe and I monitor our activities closely and have found that our family does best when we have quiet schedules. Sometimes life doesn't allow as much as we would like however, the Lord is always faithful to lead us to those green pastures eventually. Friends did you ever notice that it is not in those green pastures that He anoints our heads with oil rather it is on the battlefield-it is in presence of our enemies? Retreating is not an option for the Christian Solider yet we are promised that He will bring us to those green pastures if we faint not in well doing. Oh how refreshing those times are, don't you agree? I know I enjoy when my pastures here on the ranch are green. They seem to call me to take long walks through them, smelling the freshness and hearing all the new sounds of life. I love green pastures both spiritual and physical! My heart seems to cry out for them and yet I take comfort in knowing that it is HE that anoints my head with oil in the presence of my enemies. If God be for me then who can be against me?!
The little ones are needing mommy to tuck them in bed. Sammy is so excited that his birthday is in two days he can't wait to go to sleep so it comes faster! What a Joy he is!!!
If today is any indicator on how the rest of the week is going to be we all better buckle our seat belts and hold on tight! LOL
The fire has been resolved and the roads are open to the public again. I praise God for His faithfulness to us! However, we are still trying to clarify with the insurance company what they want done in order to reactivate our insurance. We had done everything they originally told us and now they decided the home has to have a different roof and another railing has to be installed on the stairs. Keep in mind these are the same stairs and the same roof they approved last year. Dealing with things like this can be quite frustrating to me- it seems to take so much emotional energy! Thank you Cheryl for the name and email of your insurance agent, I sent an email to them today and hope to hear back quickly!
On the homeschool front, I am working on getting all my paperwork in order to file our affidavit. I have mentioned in past posts that the Lord is renewing our vision for our home education. We have always felt that our purpose for home education has been to grow and learn with our children to walk with them daily and teach them as we live out our faith. Yet, sometimes life seems to interrupt this process. For our home the Lord is reminding us of the freedom we have in Him. How His yoke is easy and His burden is light yet, in my foolishness I can make what should be a joy and a delight simply difficult! This year, I have recommitted myself to truly seek Him and His leading daily. I use to be so diligent about asking the Lord what math page to do or not do with each child daily. I know that He is the one that knit my baby in the womb. He knows exactly what to require from them each day. He will never require too little or too much. There is such freedom when I let go of all my own goals and desires and seek His!
On a different note, Bekah has her friends from out of state here with us and they are quite a joy! We have really had some good times with them. I pray that they can return home and feel blessed by their stay here with us. This year as been busy for the Wood family with guests. We don't normally have such a busy life. I know that sounds funny coming from a mommy of ten but truthfully, Joe and I monitor our activities closely and have found that our family does best when we have quiet schedules. Sometimes life doesn't allow as much as we would like however, the Lord is always faithful to lead us to those green pastures eventually. Friends did you ever notice that it is not in those green pastures that He anoints our heads with oil rather it is on the battlefield-it is in presence of our enemies? Retreating is not an option for the Christian Solider yet we are promised that He will bring us to those green pastures if we faint not in well doing. Oh how refreshing those times are, don't you agree? I know I enjoy when my pastures here on the ranch are green. They seem to call me to take long walks through them, smelling the freshness and hearing all the new sounds of life. I love green pastures both spiritual and physical! My heart seems to cry out for them and yet I take comfort in knowing that it is HE that anoints my head with oil in the presence of my enemies. If God be for me then who can be against me?!
The little ones are needing mommy to tuck them in bed. Sammy is so excited that his birthday is in two days he can't wait to go to sleep so it comes faster! What a Joy he is!!!
• 3 Comments
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
Sunday, August 12, 2007
A tetanus shot waiting to happen!
Dear Friends,
Well, first things first..... I must say that I appreciate each of you dearly!!! Many of you have large families or know our family "in real life" and are so sweet and understanding about the delays in my blog posts. I love sharing with others about the Lord and how He is working in my heart and home yet at times, that "work" that He is doing keeps me from being able to post daily as I would like. It is a huge relief to me knowing that you understand and the little emails that you send to encourage me to make my way back to "blog city" are simply precious!! I truly enjoy each of you!!
So with that HUGE THANK YOU out of the way... let me share some photos of what my little warriors have been up to the last few days. I am so richly blessed to be a mommy, I know you all can understand the joy of watching your little ones grow and being overwhelmed with gratitude that the Lord picked YOU to be your childs mommy!!! This last week we have been busy getting the home ready for pictures that our insurance company is requiring in order to keep us as clients. Our home was in such bad shape they only gave us a year of coverage unless we made specific improvements in order to continue coverage. We are down to the wire and photos are due on the 15th of this month however, we are confident the Lord is going to help us and the projects will be complete!
The boys have found a "new" treasure here on the Ranch- our scrap metal pile! While I am trilled with their creativity and the smiles it has brought to their faces, the mommy part of me cringes! I have to confess to you that my first response was not one of encouragement, rather a screech that proceeded my comment, "Son, you realize that is a tetanus shot waiting to happen don't you????" His response was, "What's a tetanus shot?" Then the smile came to my face as I realized he was weighing his options... Was the fun he was having worth the pain of a shot? Just how big would the shot be and how long would it hurt? I giggled at his reasoning and then I knew I had to get photos to treasure the moment.
The metal pile that is still waiting to be taken to the dump has given my boys so much fun this last week and each of them have made their armor. The first photo is of baby Matthew proudly wearing the helmet his big brother Elisha has made for him. The metal pile is in the background, now keep in mind we have already made SEVERAL trips to the dump and still have many more to make. All of this was left by the previous owners and at times it can get a tad discouraging if we don't keep our eyes focused on how far we have come and how good it is looking. In fact, I think I will do another post with just pictures showing you all the improvements thus far! Enjoy these photos and let me go find some others to post of the house.
Have a wonderful weekend dear friends!!!
Elisha wearing his "new" armor!
Well, first things first..... I must say that I appreciate each of you dearly!!! Many of you have large families or know our family "in real life" and are so sweet and understanding about the delays in my blog posts. I love sharing with others about the Lord and how He is working in my heart and home yet at times, that "work" that He is doing keeps me from being able to post daily as I would like. It is a huge relief to me knowing that you understand and the little emails that you send to encourage me to make my way back to "blog city" are simply precious!! I truly enjoy each of you!!
So with that HUGE THANK YOU out of the way... let me share some photos of what my little warriors have been up to the last few days. I am so richly blessed to be a mommy, I know you all can understand the joy of watching your little ones grow and being overwhelmed with gratitude that the Lord picked YOU to be your childs mommy!!! This last week we have been busy getting the home ready for pictures that our insurance company is requiring in order to keep us as clients. Our home was in such bad shape they only gave us a year of coverage unless we made specific improvements in order to continue coverage. We are down to the wire and photos are due on the 15th of this month however, we are confident the Lord is going to help us and the projects will be complete!
The boys have found a "new" treasure here on the Ranch- our scrap metal pile! While I am trilled with their creativity and the smiles it has brought to their faces, the mommy part of me cringes! I have to confess to you that my first response was not one of encouragement, rather a screech that proceeded my comment, "Son, you realize that is a tetanus shot waiting to happen don't you????" His response was, "What's a tetanus shot?" Then the smile came to my face as I realized he was weighing his options... Was the fun he was having worth the pain of a shot? Just how big would the shot be and how long would it hurt? I giggled at his reasoning and then I knew I had to get photos to treasure the moment.
The metal pile that is still waiting to be taken to the dump has given my boys so much fun this last week and each of them have made their armor. The first photo is of baby Matthew proudly wearing the helmet his big brother Elisha has made for him. The metal pile is in the background, now keep in mind we have already made SEVERAL trips to the dump and still have many more to make. All of this was left by the previous owners and at times it can get a tad discouraging if we don't keep our eyes focused on how far we have come and how good it is looking. In fact, I think I will do another post with just pictures showing you all the improvements thus far! Enjoy these photos and let me go find some others to post of the house.
Have a wonderful weekend dear friends!!!
Elisha wearing his "new" armor!• 0 Comments
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Late tonight...
Hello Friends!
It is late here tonight and I am getting ready to call it a day. I have praise music playing, the children are all tucked in, the lights turned off and my sweet husband is outside hiking around the property that God has given us! I treasure moments like this, when my mind can reflect on the day and my heart can worship Him that is worthy of all praise!
Today the children and I sat and enjoyed our waterfall that God blessed us with. I did tell you that our waterfall was full didn't I? It has been such a refreshing gift from the Father! Once we are there, tucked in the shade of the Blackberry bushes with my feet in the water, I forget how terribly hot I was in the house! Words can not express how thankful I am for each gift the Father blesses us with! I can be working outside in the heat and feel the coolest breeze come through the property. I've told the children that we don't depend on PGE for our A/C any longer now we depend on God for our relief from the heat! Amazing how you appreciate the little things so much more when you live life closer to "nature."
I was speaking with another Christian Sister the other day about why we live the way we do. She also enjoys living off the grid. We both have a passion and desire to learn more and more about how to do things ourselves and not have to expend the financial resources for services we can provide for ourselves. You know some may be confused and think that we live this way because we are "tree huggers" or some type of environmentalist however, they are mistaken. For our family we have chosen this lifestyle because of our worship for the Creator! We want to be good stewards with ALL He has given us. We want to embrace work and not hide from it. We want to become stronger in our Faith as we learn to trust in Him more, we want to become more thankful as we find JOY in things we use to take for granted. Simply put, we want to grow spiritually!
Does that mean I couldn't have grown spiritually in the city with my microwave and A/C? OF COURSE NOT!! God has fulfilled a prayer and desire of my husbands and mine by allowing us to be His care takers! Acres of Blessings! God has lead us to such a good land- truly it is flowing with blessings and it is our prayer that when others come to visit us they find a sweet place to visit, graced by HIS presence and leave refreshed to face whatever the Lord calls them too!
I am learning so much about hospitality. It is a new area of growth of me since we normally stay pretty quiet however, this is a season we are confident the Lord has brought us too and I am excited to see how I grow and what I learn!
I think that is enough rambling for tonight. Good night dear friends!
With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood (Jeanette)
It is late here tonight and I am getting ready to call it a day. I have praise music playing, the children are all tucked in, the lights turned off and my sweet husband is outside hiking around the property that God has given us! I treasure moments like this, when my mind can reflect on the day and my heart can worship Him that is worthy of all praise!
Today the children and I sat and enjoyed our waterfall that God blessed us with. I did tell you that our waterfall was full didn't I? It has been such a refreshing gift from the Father! Once we are there, tucked in the shade of the Blackberry bushes with my feet in the water, I forget how terribly hot I was in the house! Words can not express how thankful I am for each gift the Father blesses us with! I can be working outside in the heat and feel the coolest breeze come through the property. I've told the children that we don't depend on PGE for our A/C any longer now we depend on God for our relief from the heat! Amazing how you appreciate the little things so much more when you live life closer to "nature."
I was speaking with another Christian Sister the other day about why we live the way we do. She also enjoys living off the grid. We both have a passion and desire to learn more and more about how to do things ourselves and not have to expend the financial resources for services we can provide for ourselves. You know some may be confused and think that we live this way because we are "tree huggers" or some type of environmentalist however, they are mistaken. For our family we have chosen this lifestyle because of our worship for the Creator! We want to be good stewards with ALL He has given us. We want to embrace work and not hide from it. We want to become stronger in our Faith as we learn to trust in Him more, we want to become more thankful as we find JOY in things we use to take for granted. Simply put, we want to grow spiritually!
Does that mean I couldn't have grown spiritually in the city with my microwave and A/C? OF COURSE NOT!! God has fulfilled a prayer and desire of my husbands and mine by allowing us to be His care takers! Acres of Blessings! God has lead us to such a good land- truly it is flowing with blessings and it is our prayer that when others come to visit us they find a sweet place to visit, graced by HIS presence and leave refreshed to face whatever the Lord calls them too!
I am learning so much about hospitality. It is a new area of growth of me since we normally stay pretty quiet however, this is a season we are confident the Lord has brought us too and I am excited to see how I grow and what I learn!
I think that is enough rambling for tonight. Good night dear friends!
With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood (Jeanette)
