Jesus, I am Resting

 I  have been contemplating what it means to rest in Jesus,

and this sweet old hymn came to mind over and over. 

                                        Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art;
                                             I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.
                                  Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, and Thy beauty fills my soul,
                                      For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.

                                      What does this look like in the day of a mom of many,

with likely no length of time to sit at the feet of Jesus in undisturbed solitude?  

By taking every thought captive,

making the most of every moment,

I can concentrate on my Lord and Savior in the midst of household tasks, children or distress.

The Lord promises He will gently lead those with young,

if we but look for Him and walk with Him each step of the way. 

Hanging clothes on the line, I can thank the Lord for each child as I hang their clothes,

praying for them regarding their day. 

Thanking Him for washing me and making me clean.

                                  Changing a diaper I can thank the Lord for his cleansing work in my life

and pray that He will do the same work in the baby’s soul.

   I can recall what or where I would be without His cleansing forgiveness in my life.

                             Even wiping a snotty nose can become a moment to praise the Lord

for taking the everyday icky out of my life, 

and remind me not to resist Him like the baby resists my simple act of help to him.

                                               I am resting in Jesus when He is my vision.

  His character traits, His names before me through out my day,

 remind me and help me turn my eyes on him. 

 

 O how great Thy loving kindness, vaster broader than the sea!
O how marvelous Thy goodness, lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise, and have made it mine.


Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love so pure so changeless, satisfies my heart;
Satisfies the deepest longings, meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:  Thine is love indeed!

                                      Rest is not just a physical state, it is more a focus and trust.

Counting blessings several times a day, 

small prayers as I notice each gift He has bestowed on me today,

resting is also a state of mind.

                              I think of my dear friend Tracy at The Legend of Thousand Hills Farm.

Her circumstances are less than quiet and peaceful, 

yet she exhibits a serene tranquility even though her home recently burned to the ground

while she and her husband were at the hospital with their very ill newborn who has a serious heart defect.  Baby Jethro will have his second major heart surgery this week. 

It is risky.  But Tracy trusts in the Lord with all her heart. 

She is not anxious, but peaceful. 

 

She knows every day with Jethro is a blessing. 

Whatever happens, Tracy understands and comprehends that God has her best interest in mind and 

she can trust Him with the outcome.

                                                                 She is resting in Him.

 

 Ever lift Thy face upon me as I work and wait for Thee;
Resting neath Thy smile Lord Jesus, Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory, sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting, fill me with Thy grace.

                              I think resting is a lack of anxiety because we are so focused on Jesus,

who He is and what He has done,

that our current circumstances do not affect our peace.

  Revisit the thought that He loves you.

He is smiling at me, singing over you.

He is delighted, simply because you are His child. 

Remember Who He is, and what He has done.

Keep Jesus right before your eyes.  

                                  “I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand,

I shall not be moved (anxious).

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices,

my flesh shall also rest in hope.” 

Psalm 16:8,9

 

Dear one,

let go of the worries and stress

and rest in the One who loves you deeply, 

and wants what is best for you.

  He is the trustworthy Friend.

We are not the answer.  He is the Answer. 

He is the Fixer, the Mender of Souls

and the Bridegroom who calls people unto Himself. 

The One who offers peace and rest, if we just turn our eyes and heart on Him.

                                 “Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art,
                                          I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.”  

Pruning Flower Baskets and Souls

 My husband bought me the most beautiful hanging flower baskets for Mother’s day.  

They grace our porch with astonishing beauty, lovely fragrance, and abundant flowers,

but they need tended every day.

  About once a week I give them a haircut, as grandma Gladys used to say when she trimmed her flowers.  This haircut, or pruning, needed to be done for several days before I actually got to it. 

By that time, I had to spend about an hour on each basket.

 

 Very carefully, I lifted the vining trailers to prune dead plant underneath.  

I used scissors to cut back  each and every wilted flower. 

This , grandma taught me, would help the plant to continue to flower nicely all summer. 

There were so many spent blossoms that the process took much longer than I had anticipated. 

If only I had tended the plants earlier, each pruning would not take so long and be so tedious.

 

 

When I went to bed that night, I had a niggling feeling of something not being right. 

A slight discontentedness that was agitating me. 

I just couldn’t put my finger on the source of the irritant.  So, I prayed and sat quietly, waiting.

  Just as I was nodding off to lala land, I hear a whisper in my mind….

”You need a thorough pruning, it has been too long.” 

Sleep claimed my fatigued body for the night, but when I awoke, there was that thought right away,

like the tapping of the woodpecker in the tree outside my window.
“OK Lord, what is it?  I feel like something isn’t right, and I am ready to deal with it.”

I AM THE VINE AND YOU ARE THE  BRANCH.

Quietly and gently, I knew and understood that I had been critical and disrespectful of others,

maybe not out loud, but certainly inside. 

Like a smear of grease across my chest,

my attitude was creating a harshness in my soul that was starting to effect my behavior.

 

 EVERY BRANCH THAT DOES NOT BEAR FRUIT HE TAKES AWAY AND PURGES IT THAT IT MAY BRING FORTH MORE FRUIT.

Garbage.

Dead branches. 

I had garbage I needed to take out. 

Branches that needed to be cut away. 

The blessed thing is that the Lord faithfully forgives and renews 

every time we come before him with a repentant heart. 

Like my flower baskets, the pruning was good for my soul. 

The death in me had been cut away, causing me to be refreshed, renewed, 

and the foul smell of a bad attitude no longer lingered ,

but a fresh scent filled my heart and caused me to sing.

NOW YE ARE CLEAN THROUGH THE WORDS I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO THEE.

 The baskets emerged looking better than ever,

vibrant, full of lovely flowers with a beautiful aroma for others to enjoy. 

And they will as long as they have a good daily watering with careful frequent pruning.

ABIDE IN ME AND I IN YOU FOR WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.

I reached out for my Bible and settled in for a good watering.

 

 
 

 

Summer Simplicity pt 2

 Nothing says summer to me quite like leisurely sitting on the porch 

sipping a cool glass of homemade lemonade. 

In summer, our porch is our outdoor house. 

One side is the living room, chairs, side table, baby swing, flower baskets, and dogs basking in the heat.  The other spacious side is our dining room, with bbq, table and benches.  

When the summer sun warms us too much,

we retreat into the shockingly cool house.

Our log home keeps a very cool temperature, I often don my sweater.

 These hot afternoons, when children tend to get tired from heat,

boredom is a tempting inclination, but, the ever intent homeschooling 

mama recognizes an apt opportunity to educate. 

This I do daily, by requiring 30 minutes of reading or, a nap. 

Summer reading is an uplifting and soothing activity. 

I willingly admit that I bribe, no, reward sounds better,

yes, reward the children for completing each chapter book they read. 

I have also been known to begin to read a book aloud, and then put it down, unattended and lonely,

in a sneaky manipulative move to lure a hesitant reader. 

Seeing the child tentatively pick up the book and begin to peruse the pages, 

eventually getting completely lost in reading, 

sets my heart to singing.

 

 Classical music softly graces the house as we tie on our aprons for a day of baking to last us the week, or wash up the morning dishes.  

We clean on Saturdays, so if it isn’t Saturday, only the minimum necessary amount of cleaning gets done. Without school work to accomplish, 

each day has so much more time and margin to enjoy activities 

we just can’t seem to have time for during the school seasons.  

Sewing, baking with the younger ones, making herbal salves together, 

making a craft together to give for a Christmas gift or enter in the county fair next month, 

or playing with kittens on the porch are all just extra helpings of pleasure for a summer day.

This too, is the ideal time for me to teach the little ones to read. 

My daily load of work is lighter, we mostly spend the day outdoors rambling about at play,

yet the little ones desire that one on one hands on attention just as always. 

Reading together through my favorite phonics book,

‘Pathway Phonics”

in the kitchen filled with morning sunlight,

their eager little eyes and grubby fingers following along

create  mutual moments of bliss that doesn’t seem at all like school work, but more enchanting.  Inspired, they hop off to practice writing their letters at the table. 

Gabriel, 19 months, wants to be big and a part of everything,

so in the highchair he must climb,

grunting and urging me to give him paper and a pencil too.

 

 The boys are occupied building a log cabin of their own,

creating new weapons of destruction from scrap wood, 

inventing dangerous scenarios in which they must battle. 

Over heated from their industry, disheveled,

they come bursting forth into the lodge looking for the lemonade they suspect is there, 

and crash land at the table to draw or color the hero they were just imagining

with all his various weapons. 

They consult the Encyclopedia of Weaponry. 

Soon they are upstairs building Lego ships and battle crafts. 

I love summer.
 

 

 

Pampering my swollen ankles,

I prop my feet up for a few moments of quiet contemplation, 

which may get interrupted by a variety of small ones wanting a book read,

a shoe tied or just some lap time with mama. 

I count my blessings.

  Just to sit and relax with a little one pinching your nose and saying “beep”  is a joy to my soul. 

Each moment is one to delight in, if I so choose. 

We can do anything we want, after all it is called summer Vacation. 

 

It really isn’t all play though, the lawn (or weeds in our case) must be mowed . 

Our boys start mowing when they are 8.  They begin weed eating at 10. 

Also about 10, they can chop wood with the splitting ax, or a hatchet for kindling,

making kindling bundles for winter. 

The younger boys (8 and under) collect the cut weeds in the wheel barrow,

help water plants, stack the split wood, feed and water the animals,

do all the vacuuming in the house, put the dishes away, clear the table, clean out the van, 

help mama by teaching the baby how to play in the dirt,

and all sorts of helpful little jobs in the house.
 

Still, we keep housework to a bare minimum, and cooking less involved.  

If there is a project to be done, I aim at a few hours per day

instead of the work -till- you- drop mentality I have held in the not so long ago past. 

It amazes me sometimes that with that attitude my children still like me. 

We joked about me being the slave driver.  Now, I shudder at the thought. 

I don’t even remember what was so important to get done,

just the ever present drive to be productive.  As if productivity was next to Godliness. 

Thankfully, I have realized my mistake

and taken great measures to carve out a balanced, loving, serene lifestyle

that will become cherished memories in years to come. 

Together delighting in each other, enjoying the youth of our children, taking long walks,

with barefoot children scampering around us,

just as homespun  as a bucket of cream, 

these summer days transcend all others I remember. 

There have been so many wonderful moments, I will never be able to scrapbook them all,

and it is just July!
 

 Simple Summer Italian Chicken

Cook 6 cups, or so, of chicken in saucepan with a ½ onion chopped, and as much garlic as you like.
 Salt and pepper to taste.
Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.
Add a can of diced tomatoes with juice,
 two handfuls of fettuccini, and cover with water.
 Cover pan with lid and cook on medium until pasta is done.
  Removing lid, add in 1 cup, or more, of sour cream
 and 1 cube of butter,
 stir together to mix.
  Serve.

This is a huge family favorite, an easy one dish meal to fix.
 If you are having company, just add more pasta, and a lot of French bread.

 

 “A porch is an outside extension of the love that is found inside."

Front Porch Lemonade

1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 quarts water

Stir thoroughly, chill, or serve over ice.

Summer Simplicity part 1

Summer has been romantically labeled the season of ease. 

Carefree,

laid back,

lazy summer days

alluringly beckon us to take time to celebrate and enjoy the season. 

But living a life of abundance,

beauty and peaceful tranquility in the shadow of the savior shouldn’t be seasonal. 

Every day is an opportunity for us to enhance beauty,

celebrate life with our Lord,

appreciate the creation, and each other, 

and enjoy His peace and rest. 

Sounds like perpetual summer to me, except the weather changes from time to time.

I have aspired to leave the hectic rushed lifestyle I used to live far behind me

in exchange for a narrow road less traveled, with grass growing down the middle,

where the pressure of the world to be significant and busy falls heedlessly to the side, 

and the words in Titus to be a keeper at home, loving my family, truly take root in my heart and lifestyle.  Thus, the essence of summer's effortless ease and charm has become

an ideal I try to live out daily,

continually simplfying and streamlining

that I might create an enchanting and endearing childhood for my 8 lively blessings,

as well as a haven of rest for my husband and myself

that is focused on God's goodness to us, and the joy of an abundant life in Christ.    
 

 

In this journey to uncover the serenity my soul longs for,

I have come to understand that simplicity is an acquired skill. 

How does a family with 8 children manage to live a simple life?

The first thing we changed was how much we were on the go.

Many wonderful opportunities were wreaking havoc by keeping us running to and fro. 

Instead, we have made home a fun, relaxed and happy place to be,

with abundant possibilities for childhood adventure every day. 

Living in the country has it’s advantages,

like picking berries,

swimming in the pond,

campfires,

tree forts,

gardening, 

tending animals, 

trapping varmints, 

shooting bow and arrows, 

and playing in a dirt pile.
 

 

  

As I have prayed for wisdom and creativity, the Lord has faithfully answered. 

“Lord, I desire that our home be a beautiful and peaceful haven.

Enable me to create a gathering place for family and friends-

a place where people want to come and be together. 

Work in my life so that my home is a welcoming place for the new acquaintances that are made

and for the strangers whom you bring into our lives. 

Help me, Father, make it a caring place where the needy can find help

and the hurting can find comfort. 

Most of all, may it be a loving place,

where all who enter will sense the sweetness of Your presence.”
 

The second thing that happened on our path to simplicity,

was a creative notion to take the realm of outdoor living literally,

a divine epiphany that revealed open doors to simplify cleaning and cooking for the summer. 

Taking meals outside on the porch or at the campfire, helps keep the dining room clean.

  There surely is no better way to begin a wonderful bright summer morning than lingering with coffee on the sunny porch.  The briskness of the morning air casually recedes into warm sunshine as we set a table for my choice of a uncomplicated homemade summer breakfast. 

Fresh fruit and muffins in a basket,

along with a pitcher of milk at the table outside couldn't be sweeter. 

Crumbs need no sweeping, and the fruit has very little mess. 

Whatever mess there is can be swept back into the basket for the easiest of cleanup. 

This is a meal that can certainly get by without plates or utensils. 

To keep things as uncomplicated as possible,

each person has a his own drinking mug or glass that is used through out the day,

making less dishes to wash.

My favorite muffin recipes are those that have received great compliments from my family, 

use basic ingredients, and store well. 

My premise for simplicity in baking is to do it once a week in mass enough to last.

  I bake a big batch of muffins, usually bran or poppy seed, along with a variety of sweet bread, 

such as zucchini or banana, pumpkin, blueberry or lemon. 

The bran muffins are truly delightful, and keep well for four days if kept in a airtight container. 

The sweet breads keep nicely in the freezer, so we have been known to bake several loaves at once. 

This has come in handy more than once, as we can snatch a loaf out for a quick picnic, 

or spur of the moment hospitality.

Big Batch Bran Muffins

5 cups flour
5 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp allspice
2 ½ cups bran
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup veg oil
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
 2 tsp vanilla
Mix everything together in a big bowl, use ½ c batter for each muffin, in paper lined or greased tin.    Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. 


“A house becomes a home when each room is clothed with peace, each wall is covered with laughter, and each heart if filled with love.”