Rainy day thoughts

Spring is here. It has rained the last two days. The world is wet and brimming with life. Our apple blossoms are ready to burst open, the peas are growing great guns, and bird songs fill the air. The hill behind our house is shrouded in a heavy mist. The leaves are bringing their color to the landscape. There is an eerie, peaceful sort of feeling that comes from looking at the mist. It reminds me of "Much Afraid" as she is climbing the mountain. She is nearing her journey's end. Like "Much Afraid" I too am on a journey. I want to be shrouded by the mist of God. Not to act like a Christian, but be one. Letting Jesus live through me, obeying His spirit, listening for that still small voice and acting upon what I hear.

The battle for our lives seems to be raging hotter as we seek to obey the Lord and forsake our own agenda. The misty hill brings a sense of calm, coolness, refreshing. Sleepless nights, financial stress, and growing children stretch us, weaken us. Yet God is pleased, for we are where we are supposed to be- in our weakest state. Through our weakness He is made strong. When we run to Him and give Him our weakness he is whispering "Yes, this is what I have meant for you to do all along. Let me live through you." Why is it we think being a Christian makes our life easy? That if we manage our lives properly everything will turn out okay? "If I could just get enough sleep I would be cheerful" or "when I have enough money I will give". This is the way we think, but not what God thinks. He says "let me turn this impossible situation into something beautiful and let me work through you. Would you be my broken vessel?" The Lord will use anything to draw us to Himself. When we see the Lord work through our weakness, when we know it was not our own doing, but His alone, then there is a refreshing of the spirit, a joy that lifts the heavy heart. We have been emptied and Christ is living through us. That is what being a Christian is all about, our hearts desiring to live for Him, to be like Him. To let Him live through us.

Through trials, the Lord is opening our eyes to give thanks in ALL things. Though we do not often see the purpose or plan of God, we know what He has said to us, and we know that He is good. Nothing is wasted with God! Let our eyes continually be opened to the work He is doing in us and around us.

What will be, will be

Spring has come and we are so... busy! Some happenings around the Powers' house are:

Dirt successfully brought to the back yard. Our rake broke, so we are sill smoothing and not quite ready for grass yet.

One of our hens is sitting on about 18 eggs. Her nest has so much down on it.

I can't wait for the little ones!

 We have continued to plant and dig and dig some more. Here are some of our "guilds".

 We are creating a self sustaining habitat around our trees.

Different kinds of plants are added that perform different functions.

I have been cleaning and organizing up a storm. It feels good!

Here are a few of the wonderful books I am reading right now.

Can I just say how wonderful "Large Family Logistics" is! It would be a wonderful read for any mother, or mother to be. I would go as far to say for anyone who wants to run their household efficiently.  I was so encouraged by this book written by a mother with 9 children and who has a solid biblical perspective on what that means.

"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" lets just say there will be a post in the future about how that book is changing the way I think about food! A real joy to read!

Last, but not least, is our new car!

Let me just say that this has been a.....trial....yes. Ugh. After seeking the Lord's guidance to buy this car we went ahead and bought what seemed the best choice for us.  



We are still getting it fixed(need I say more) . Our "new" car didn't come with all the wonderful expectations we thought it would.

Somehow it seemed more magnified because of our previous year long car trial(that is still in limbo).

At the end of it all, we still praise God and thank Him for his provision, and we hope to enjoy our car for many years to come!

Dirt and Ducks

Jules and Emily, you have inspired me to make my blog a reflection of what is happening in life, not just tidbits of information. Thanks for sharing so intimately the happenings of your life!

What have we been up to? Well, allot :-)
Dirt, trees, ducks, life, life, life!

Soggy back yard.

Some new developments on the Powers estate (hehe). Two dump truck loads of dirt that are raising our soggy back yard. Seth has been working tirelessly to bring the dirt to our back yard from the front yard. Our very generous neighbor has let us use his tractor to do so(wow, what a blessing) We have trees coming this week and we have to have our dirt project mostly done... We feel so blessed to have been able to take this step to heal our land and get it done so early this Spring.

This is where 3 of our pear trees will go.

We have 3 new ducks. They are Muscovy ducks. They are going to be good mothers and raise their own ducklings. We plan to have a nice flock of ducks to use for meat and eggs this year. Muscovy ducks are wonderfully large meat birds and they are wonderful at foraging for their food. Our other ducks are Khaki Campbell ducks and they are good foragers too, but they are mostly for egg production as they are much smaller than the Muscovy. We were thankful to find a good deal on Craigslist, and they were not too far away either. Praise God for another provision this Spring!

Muscovy ducks.

Ducks enjoying the water.

Are your ducks in a row?

Poor ducks, they thought it was dinner time because I went to the pen :-)

Those are just a few of the busy things going on these days. God has been showing us so much from His word. I don't even know where to start, but He continually woos us to Himself and is showing us the delights of trusting in Him and allowing Him to change us from the inside out. I have been continually struck by the Pharisees in the gospels. (I am reading a chronological Bible, and I highly recommend trying one)They think they have it all together, that they are even doing things the best and right way, yet their hearts were so far from God. It has been my hearts cry to keep from being like that, to love God so much that He pours out and effects all of my life, not because of a bunch of rules, but because of love.

Raising children continues to be one of the hardest endeavours of my life. There is never a dull moment. If only there would be one once in a while ;-) Somebody is crying, or fussing, or needs something. Sacrifice and growth are the name of the game as God stretches me and teaches me about relationships mattering more than the externals and every day responsibilities of cooking and cleaning. My task oriented nature says, torture, but it is so rewarding to have a sweet smile or a hug from one of my children because I spent time with them. They love it, and what good have I done if I loose their souls and gain the world. I have been so blessed by these two little people, I couldn't imagine life without them. Their personalities already shine so brightly. God has good things for them, and I hope to be a part of that!

Speaking of kids.. I guess they need some dinner :-) A woman's work it never done they say. Humn, I think it's true :-)

DIY canvas print

I had a lot of fun making this simple distressed canvas print for my living room.

Here's how:
8x10 artists canvas or larger if you have the printing capability
http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ This website to find your print
Figure out your printing options and size it properly to your regular 8x10 printing paper
I then water colored my prints. You could skip this step and get a different look.
Then make a paste of flour and water(not too thick or too thin)
Use a medium size paint brush and coat the canvas, then lay your dried print onto the sticky surface. There might be some creasing(I thought it added character)
Then do a coat of the flour/water mixture on the top and edges till it seems really well adhered.
The flour will mute your picture and give it more texture, if you were looking for a cleaner look, modge podge could be used.
When it is damp rip the edges off to create a greater distressed look.
While drying take some plain black tea bags and put a little warm/hot water on them.
Dab/rub/paint on your canvas, this will give it that lovely old look.
Completely dry and then hang on the wall!
I seriously did 6 of these in an evening. The possibilities are endless!

Back to eden film

What a neat video to watch about gardening. 
http://backtoedenfilm.com/
I love this man's enthusiasm for God.
There is nothing like working outside and being close to the Lord.

How to make cream cheese

How to make cream cheese

I recently made my own cream cheese! You will not believe how easy this is.

Take a medium size bowl

A flour sack type cloth or cheese cloth(a couple layers thick)

Lay the cloth over the bowl and then pour at least a pint of yogurt in it.

Collect the edges and tie a rubber band around it several times to keep it closed.

Here comes the fun part :-) Now hang your little bundle by the rubber band on one of your cabinet hinges or knobs over the bowl. The whey will start to drip out.

Let your yogurt continue to drip until it drips no longer(usually a couple of hours).

Then take down your bundle and open it up. You have cream cheese! If you want, add a little finely ground sea salt and put in a sealed container in the fridge. Super creamy and delicious!

Save your whey- it is so nutritious for you, and you could try your hand at some lacto-fermented veggies :-)

Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by William Davis

This is a great book. This will awaken your brain to the nitty gritty details about our food(primarily wheat). Unfortunately in this day and age we have to investigate everything. Science is revealing shocking results about how our food is effecting us. It is time to rethink the American diet and embrace food that nourishes and protects our bodies.