Is the Storm Blowing You Away? Ordinary Duties Are an Anchor.

I am thankful for the simple duties of life that help me keep going instead of just worrying about the corona virus or the government's taking advantage of it to seize more power--

and more money.

Laundry, for example, that ends up blowing furiously in the Colorado wind.

Cooking. 

I pulled out a recipe-in-a-jar that my sister-in-law Regina had given me back before Christmas, 

which unfortunately had gotten stuck in the pantry.

It was a delightful Cherry Crumb cake, just needing butter, (we used homemade butter that had been made and frozen a while back) eggs (from Timmy's hens) and a can of cherries.

Thanks, Regina! It was so good with ice cream!

And of course, there is daily school which we keep doing whether others are in school or not.

Timmy is nearly done with his geometry.

Grading papers so I can fill out report cards for third quarter.

Rose, Timmy and I survey a spot where we want to plant a garden.

It has to be fenced in and covered by hail screen if we want to even hope for anything from it.

Rose pulling the water hose over to water the rhubarb and mint.

Finally we had found a spot where rhubarb and mint thrive--at the corner of the house.

That rhubarb is just starting to show itself!

Here I'm sauteing onions and red pepper for barbecue sauce for on beef ribs.

And here I'm making about three gallons of homemade laundry soap.

I do this every couple months, whether there is a corona virus scare or not.

It saves a lot of money on laundry detergent.

Another sister-in-law, Ruth, gave me this bag of homemade laundry soap supplies since she couldn't use them...

...and I turned the bag of shredded soap into several jugs of detergent

by melting it in one gallon of water with half cup each washing soda and washing borax,

which I get usually at Walmart in the laundry section.

Here is my kit that I keep in a shelf above the sink. 

An old shredder to shred the Zote soap bar from Walmart or the Fels Naptha soap bar from Ace Hardware (0r the orange Mexican style soap Ruth shared). The soda and borax and old empty jugs.

And here are the full jugs ready to stow in the basement after leaving one on the laundry machine.

Making soap, washing dishes, cleaning the counter, cooking the next meal, hanging laundry,

planning a garden, watering the rhubarb, stacking wood, tarping hay, and checking schoolwork--

ordinary duties that are an earthly anchor when ordinary life is facing a storm.

Lord, thank You for ordinary duties!

I'm so thankful for them right now!

What the Wise Old Owl Says About Covid-19

A couple weeks ago, we were just starting to hear how serious things were getting about the corona virus.

That Sunday afternoon, I took my two youngest children a few miles away to the Peyton Cemetery to look for birds. They have been wanting to go see if they can find any new birds there.

And one of the first birds the children discovered was this big old owl peering out at us

from a bushy evergreen tree.

 I don't know how the children found him, except that they were looking.

He was so well camouflaged!

After he (or she) flew away to another tree across the way, Danny climbed up the tree to see if there were any eggs in the nest.

No eggs.

Just a very big nest.

A very big nest of twigs, hidden right there in that tree. 

No one would have known it was there if they weren't looking for it.

The owl flew away to one of these trees and hid itself away again.

But my children found him (or her) all over again--because they were looking for him.

Here they are taking pictures of Wise Old Owl hiding up in his tree.

While Covid-19 is scaring the whole world, Wise Old Owl continues living his life, 

sleeping in his own nest, peering out at visitors, and flying to another place of refuge when strangers come too close. 

Nearby, doves of peace perch on the bare limbs of deciduous trees standing in the middle of the quiet place.

There is peace, away from the panic of the world. 

Wise old owl has found a refuge, a nest in an evergreen tree, hidden away from the noise and clamor and fear of the world.

I think Wise Old Owl is telling us something--

Fly away to your Refuge!

Build your nest near His heart, where no evil can harm you.

God will take care of you!

Ordinary Duties During Extraordinary Days

One of the best things we can do during these extraordinary days
is simply to do the ordinary--
laundry, mopping, vacuuming, tending the animals, filling the dishwasher (over and over again), and the list goes on.

Ordinary duties end up being a blessing when you don't know what to expect about what is going on in the world. 

One day I patched four holey knees in Danny's two pairs of black jeans.

(The first day he wore one of those patched pants, he wore another hole above the patched ones!)
Here is my sewing machine at the end of the table where the younger children are doing school.

View from the other direction--with Rose behind everyone by the woodstove, checking on the baby chicks in the box by the woodbox.
(So happy for three baby chicks hatched in Timmy's incubator from his own hens' eggs.)

Ordinary duties are the stuff of which life is made--even unusual life.
While others are glued to their screens, pacing the floor, wringing their hands, and calling certain politicians choice names, someone has to see that snow is shoveled, houses remodeled, plumbing fixed, packages and mail delivered, floors swept, meals cooked and served and cleaned up after, clothes washed and ironed and hung, vehicles power washed after driving on icy and slushy roads, coats and boots picked up and put away.

In these days of wondering if we can stave off the virus,
(and also wondering if we didn't already have it a few weeks ago), good hot borsch with garlic toast is one of our favorite healthy meals.
Just an ordinary meal for extraordinary days.

Man does not live by bread alone!
Sometimes he needs garlic bread!
And always, he needs God's Bread--the Word of Life!

Boys' Bible Study and Day of Prayer

A week and a half ago, this was a precious sight to me--

nine boys and young men (my two youngest boys included) praying after having Bible study together at a friend's house.

I had gone that day to spend some time with the mom, sensing in my heart that it might be a while before I could go again, with news of the corona virus causing restrictions. And so we ladies and girls visited while the boys had their study and prayer time. The boys didn't just have a prayer. They prayed, and prayed, and prayed.

It was so good for my boys to be there. I am so thankful for this good influence, that piety and love for God's Word and prayer does not have to be relegated to old people and women!

The last service we attended in Denver, the Walker's little girls sang a little special.

It was precious!

Since President Trump had called for a day of prayer that Sunday, our family gathered that evening to sing a couple prayer hymns and pray together. 

Did you know that our national anthem, "God of Our Fathers" is actually a prayer?

From the third verse:
"From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,

Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defence.

Thy true religion in our hearts increase,

Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace."

Then the children gathered at the table to play a quick game before heading to bed.

How I love my children!

Empty Shelves at Our Walmart, but God's Shelves are Full

I had to take a picture of them at our Walmart--empty shelves that used to contain toilet paper.

I was glad I had gotten several packages last week, .

We might have to ration them, though!
With a family our size, how long will these last?

Today Danny cleaned under his bed, finding dozens of old socks. He matched some of them, and Jonathan looked for any that might accidentally belong to him, and the big, holey ones Hannah and I cut into rags, several "squares" per sock.

Just in case.
I got that idea a long time ago from somewhere online where it talked about managing without our usual commodities. It suggested keeping on or near the toilet a carton for small rags (cut from old socks, washcloths cut in quarters, or old flannel sheets or shirts or whatever) with which to pat dry, then also a covered bucket or carton to contain the used squares of rags. For rags used for more than patting dry, obviously immediate rinsing and scrubbing will be necessary by the person using it. Launder with the rest of the underwear, etc. with a splash of bleach, and reuse.

My kids were a little grossed out when I told them about this suggestion, as typical American kids are, saying, "Let's use up our TP first!"They are quite sure there will be more at the store by the time we run out!

I told them about Ukraine, where people had no toilet paper at all when I arrived in 1993.

The people washed with a little water from the back of the toilet when necessary, the lady with whom I lived explained when I asked in consternation.

There were no diapers either. Babies got potty-trained within months, I guess. 

Just sayin'.

You can do without.

Last week I texted our friends whom we've tried to help with firewood each year, and came to find out they only had enough wood left for four days. 

With the uncertainty about closures and all due to c o r o n a virus, I decided to get Timmy out that very day to help me with getting some of our firewood ready to share. 

The boys and Jonathan had just taken down two more trees at a job in town, and so we had some extra wood.

I can't describe the joy it gives to bless someone else. Our friends were gone when we arrived to stack it along their fence, but I think they have enough for the rest of the winter now. I did not want to wait around because a winter storm was coming in, and I didn't know what was going to happen.

God had provided extra for us out of His abundance, and now we could share!

I also left a few groceries that I'd gotten on sale or clearance, and I'm only mentioning that to go on to say that God gives back one hundred fold--literally!

The same day I placed a couple bags of groceries on the doorstep of our struggling, elderly friends,
God worked it out that Jonathan was able to get an outdated payment check re-written to us that had been for payment of his work way too long ago and gotten misplaced.

The story is too long to tell, but that was such a HUGE blessing!

You can't outgive God!

His shelves are full and overflowing and abundant,

and they never, never run out!

Not All Rainbows Are Created Equal--and Walter's Eleventh Hour Prayers

Today I received a phone call that made my day! But before I write about that, I want to share this photo of what Jonathan called an albino rainbow that we saw this morning over our road nearby. At first, I was going to just stay home because I was busy, but not all Rainbows are created equal, and just because it's a white rainbow in the fog of winter, doesn't mean it's not a beautiful rainbow! So away I hustled down the road to see it for myself and get a picture!

 And then later, I got a phone call about an 11th Hour opportunity to seek God. I had heard that a friend's brother had passed away, and I had called a friend out-of-state who I thought might be going to the funeral. Today that friend called back and when I asked if Walter was ready to go, she said that earlier his family had been concerned about that. But the amazing thing was, my friend was working in the nursing care center where Walter was struggling through his last days. She got to be the lady who prayed with him when he was asking God to forgive him!

Nurses aides had come to her a few days earlier saying that Walter was begging for forgiveness, and they thought he needed a minister. The local holiness pastor was gone and every time Walter's brother came to pray with him, he was not responsive.

   But a few days later, when my friend arrived at her job, a nurse's aide told her about Walter again.

  "Are you good at praying?" the nurse's aide asked my friend.

   My friend did not brag about her abilities, but she simply went into Walter's room and began to pray for him and with him. She prayed that God would help him to repent of his sins, to know that they were forgiven, and to help him make it to heaven. And all the time she was praying, the patient who at other times had been hallucinating and unresponsive and suffering, was saying, "Yes! Yes!Yes!"

   I was getting goosebumps as my friend told me this story. She said, "We have hope because of this."

   I feel something stronger than hope. I know! Not because I got goosebumps, not because my friend prayed, not because Walter said yes, yes, yes, and agreed in prayer, but because God promised that if we would call on his name, we would be saved. He promised that if we confess our sins, he would be faithful and just to forgive us our sins! Because of this I believe that we will see Walter in heaven!

 Sometimes people are hindered from coming to God because of something that has been said or done, sometimes by another Christian . It's no excuse, but sometimes there have been hindrances. But when they stare death in the face, God enables them to get past the hindrance, and simply call on his name. For some reason, God In His Infinite Wisdom, did not permit a minister to be available, but He used a simple little lady to pray with Walter in his last hours, whose simple, truthful  words helped him find the hand of God. 

   Yes, not all Rainbows are created equal, and not all salvation experiences happen the same way. It may not seem fair to us humans that someone who has not been serving God gets into Heaven by the skin of their teeth, but God's heart is to save everyone, not just the ones who do good most of their lives. Our salvation is based on the grace of God, not on our good works. Today we rejoice with the angels over one more sinner who repented!

Ladies Retreat in Western Colorado

 Last weekend, Jonathan drove us ladies to the ladies retreat held by the Western Colorado Holiness Church. You can just barely see the lodge where it was held, right in the center of the picture back in the boonies.

Last summer when Jonathan and boys attended the men's retreat, Jonathan insisted I attend the ladies' retreat in February. Imagine me driving over Monarch Pass in February!!!

So he insisted, and said he would drive me and stay with our friends the Saylors while I was there.

On the way over the mountains, we passed a bunch of antelope.

And aspen.

This lodge was near Needle Rock, which you can see out the window.

Carrie,  Rose, Katie Saylor and I roomed together in one room. 

There was no lack of food!

I wasn't able to get a picture of the tray full, but here are some left over, cute jars of parfaits, I believe you call them??

Loved the decor there. It's a new place, and the owners are Christians, and searching for a good church.

A book I discovered when I was looking through the bookshelf on second story. 

I promptly sat down and read a few pages. I hope I can find this book at the library, about prayer being more about relating to God than about asking for what we want.

Not a real great picture, but it's the dining room where the sun shone in the morning and in the evening through all the many windows! Needle Rock in the distance.

 Rachel England was the speaker, and I was thankful to get to know her a little better. She even was okay with letting me get a picture of us two together! Sorry it is so blurry. My phone does not take good pictures in dim light, and the flash is poor. 

Rachel is from a God's Missionary Church in Pennsylvania, where our friends Will and Darlene Byler attend.

Her theme was called "Purses of Purpose," using purses simply as an object lesson to talk about having a purpose for our life, just like we carry along a purse.  We need to take our purpose with us wherever we go, using the gifts God has given us for His glory.

Door prizes were given each session to whoever had the most purses along, or who had the most purses altogether, or who had their purse the longest! (The lady who won that one had this same purse for 20 years!)

Rachel shared a video clip of how Anuschka handbags are made in India,

with the artists preparing the leather, sewing it, painting it beautifully,

and loving the piece of work--just like God works on us but loves us the whole time.

God loves who He has made and how He has made us.

Rachel talked about how we have to learn to say no to many things in our lives in order to have room for what God wants us to do. We ladies cannot do everything, so even if we have to cut back on good things, we must do it.
She told of someone who had several children and had to let relatives know that her family could only travel back to visit on Thanksgiving or over New Years, but not both. That family was the "black sheep" of the family for a loooong time, due to the limits they set on their time and travel, but it was one of the things that family had to do to keep their priorities straight.
Not everyone will be happy with us, but we must please God and do what He wants, not try to please everyone around us.

The ladies signed and wrote notes on a card to Luhre Edwards, who spoke at last year's retreat, and who lost her daughter Jacinda since then.

More food.

The girls playing a game with new friends.

The warm fireplace with wood fire.

Scene from above.

Horses in the distance!

Bear hide on the wall.

Putting furniture back where it belonged after the retreat was over.

Carrie and Katie Saylor playing together just for fun.

One encouraging story Rachel told was about a mother, a teacher, who was on a public school board for many years. Then a new superintendent came on the board who was an atheist. This new superintendent hated the Christian lady. The lady tried to love her, forgive her, and pray for her, but finally after years of struggle, she and her husband felt that because of the stress, the lady should resign. She was so worried about who would ever take her place as a Christian on the board, but imagine her amazement when she found out that not only one Christian ended up coming onto the board, but two!

One of those conservative Christians was a lawyer who knew the laws, and immediately gained the respect of the superintendent and more! It was so much better that the mother of several children resigned from the board, for it gave God a chance to replace her with someone who was stronger and had better gifts.

Rachel's point was that we may think God can't replace us, that we are indispensable in some situations.

Instead, if we listen to His voice about doing too much or not being where we can serve with joy,

He will have something better for both us and the people we serve.

That was a blessing!