A phrase has continued to roll around my brain lately......the phrase is 'going without knowing'.  The quote  comes from Hebrews 11:8  .. "Abraham went out.. not knowing where he was going". My thoughts though have not been centered on Abraham so much .. but on his wife Sarah. For where the husband goes.. the wife (should) follow. Abraham was called to go out to a place.. he went out not knowing where he was going... and Sarah followed. 

Now ... my present situation ... in no way compares to the rigors that Sarah endured in her years of desert tent living. Yet the Lord has used her life to encourage me in my present situation and I have found strength as I've meditated on the details of her journey. 

For whatever was written
in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through
perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope" Romans 15:4

Sarah followed Abraham. She left her family, friends and the comfort of her home...  (otherwise, why the mention of tents?) to follow her husband into a land of uncertainty. I've wondered what she felt as she was leaving her homeland and her family knowing the likelihood of never seeing them again this side of heaven. Would she miss her home? Was she fearful of the unfamiliar and what lie ahead? Did she question Abraham's decision? Yet, she left and followed her husband into the unknown. I have felt many of these same emotions the past few months yet God has given me my assignment... to submit to my husband... to go where he goes. 

I made a vow to my husband  more than 25 years ago. I promised .. for better or for worst... in richer or poorer... in sickness and in health... till death we do part. I made this covenant not only with my husband but before the Lord. I've lived in low conditions with him in the early years of our marriage. I've followed him into the land of prosperity where we lived a very abundant life. I'm now following him into a land of uncertainty...one filled with many unknowns concerning his health and what our future will hold financially now that he is disabled. I have found God's grace to be (over the top) abundant and sufficient. 

When the Scriptures mention Sarah in 1 Peter 3:5 they state that she put her hope (trust)  in God.  You know...I personally believe that submission is 99% (100?) trust in the sovereignty and character of God.   Our hope cannot rest alone in our husband's wisdom, strength or ability but in God's power to order even the smallest details of our life... down to our very next breath... out of His great love for us and for His glory.  Our hope must remain in God and the fact that He is sovereignly leading us through our husbands.. especially as we are 'going without knowing'. 

The bottom line is that we exist for God's glory. 1 Cor. 10:31 So, ultimately our marriage is not so much about our needs being met but about obeying God's Word in order to bring Him glory. Sarah brought glory to God as she submitted to her husband and followed him into the unknown. 

I would imagine that a wife's contentment in her lot in life must be of great comfort to her husband.

So with that introduction....

Many of you have asked if we're settled.  Bless you! Yes, we are 99% settled into our new little 'bungalow'.  We are comfortable, happy and content. God's grace is sufficient. My husband is still suffering from a lot of pain but since he is not working he is able to take his medication regularly which keeps things manageable. We received our first denial letter from the disability department. We were told to expect this but I must admit that my heart sank when I first read it. I dug my heels into the Scriptures and drew strength from God's Word. We've already sent for the appeal papers.

I promised pictures ....

This is my kitchen.... the door to the left is our entrance from the barn. The door in the middle of the wall is the restroom. You can't see it from this picture (I've shown it below) but my 'office' is to the right ..next to the sink. The door leading to our living room/dining room/ bedroom is behind the office.  I've had to become VERY creative with my space since we're living in a place that is smaller than our garage was in our last home. Normally I would not put a bookshelf in my kitchen but it was the only place I could fit my beloved friends (books).   I used to own 2 smaller bookshelves and another one this size filled with books. I narrowed them down to my favorites (which are double stacked) to fit on this one bookshelf.

This is my 'office' below. I have some of my office supplies in the cabinets above. My file cabinets are in our clothes closet. The printer is down below the table. I paid bills in my 'office' this past week and amazingly enough my 'system' worked just fine.

This is our LIVING ROOM / DINING ROOM/ BEDROOM!  

I'm sorry the picture turned out so dark. The table to the left is my Aunt's which was a blessing since our table was too large. We stored our couches and love seats. I was able to fit a bench under the window for extra seating. If you look in the right hand corner you'll see the tip of the bed.

...and here is the rest of the bedroom. We had to block off an entrance because our bed was too big. I'm thinking of ways to use a backdrop on the wall behind the bed to cover the door. Any ideas?

Our bathroom does not have any closed storage so I found these baskets at a discount store. I also added the curtains. My granddaughter gave me the picture below with Scripture on it for Christmas. It says to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS"! A good daily reminder!

The picture below is my 'extended kitchen' which is outside our 'bungalow' in the barn. There was no room for the fridge in the kitchen. I'm using my fabric cutting table (right hand corner) as my kitchen 'island'. Instead of dragging everything into the kitchen to chop I will use my cutting board and chop things near the fridge. There is a sink behind the cutting table. I have our food stored in both cabinets on the sides of the fridge. Cooking in my kitchen(s) reminds me of a cross between camping and hotel living. I'm making the same meals.. I'm just doing things a bit differently.

So there you have it! Home Sweet Home! I'm learning HUGE lessons of contentment in my SMALL home!

Since my husband and I are living in such close quarters these days it kind of has the feel of a second honeymoon.

Have
you ever attended an inspiring seminar on the family and as you left
for home you felt as if you were lifted to a higher spiritual plane?
You floated home determined that you were going to be different and
that your family life was going to be an oasis of peace and
tranquillity. It would be heaven on earth. But within the first half
hour on arriving home the children are fighting and knock over a
favorite lamp which causes you to lose your patience and raise your
voice. You come to the conclusion that if your spouse, children or your
daily circumstances were different then your family would be able to
reach that wonderful ideal that was just presented to you at the
seminar and your family would be holier.

This is not an uncommon
dream. One thing that I have noticed, though, in the old writings is
that they did not separate the spiritual from the secular the way our
generation does. For instance, it would have been thought irreverent to
put scripture on a math book to make it holy. The application of math
became a holy duty when done neatly, accurately and for the glory of
God. Duty was given a much higher standing that it does today. It was
taught that one of the first principles of holiness was to trust that
our days were given to us in exact portion from the hand of the Lord.
That our Lord has placed us here,in this home with this husband and
these children, and here will we glorify him in our daily duties.

Resting
in the sovereignty of God as our day unfolds is truly a rare grace
called ‘contentment.' We all know the scripture where Paul says that he
had ‘learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content’
Phil.4:11. This scripture is most commonly used when teaching on money,
or the lack thereof. Think on that scripture for a moment, in light of
our topic. If Paul’s circumstances provided him money, in that he was
content. If his circumstances lacked money, he still was content. He
trusted the hand of God in his life. It was something he had to learn,
not something that came naturally.

When our souls have learned
their lessons in contentment, taking pleasure in God’s disposal of what
He sends our way, our eyes will look upward and not at the instrument
or the means by which it comes. The crosses of the present moment
always bring their own special grace and consequent comfort with them;
we see the hand of God in them when it is laid upon us.

There
are so many temptations each day to grumble and complain against the
hand of God. We do not see God’s sovereignty in the child who will not
cease from his crying. Our nerves are spent, we are tired and we feel
anger rising up against this child as he refuses to fit into our plan
for the day. Look up, tired maiden of the Lord, can you see His hand?
Can you see that He is ultimately sovereign, that He is God and no
power of circumstance is above or out of His ultimate control? He has
foreordained that whatsoever comes to pass He will work for our good
and His glory. (Eph 1:11,Romans 8:28). Can you see His hand in the
never-ending piles of laundry? The unending 'WHY' questions from your 2
and 3 year olds? Do you see the cross being worked in your life as you
submit to these duties out of obedience? Can you see the fruit of
self-control being manifested from the life of Christ within you as you
die to your own selfish desires to have an easy life that goes just as
YOU planned? There is patience being learned and displayed as you look
upward towards the Lord of your days, as your child spills his drink
for the third time in 10 minutes? There are lessons to be learned,
minute by minute, hour by hour in each and every trial.

An old
puritan saying is that ‘trials do not make us what we are but that they
expose who we really are.' God tested the Israelites that they might
see what was in their hearts.

Every inconvenience and
affliction of our days will be used for our good in changing us into
the image of Christ if we constantly remember that the Lord’s loving
eyes are upon us and that He only has our good in mind. Offer
everything up to Him. Turn to Him, trusting that He has ordered your
day and that in His wisdom He knows the exact portion to serve you.
(Psalm 16:5)

Georgene

Copyright 1998. Georgene Girouard. You may reproduce this article in it's entirety.

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion."
— Revelation
14:1

The apostle John was privileged to look within the gates of
heaven, and in describing what he saw, he begins by saying, "I looked, and, lo,
a Lamb!" This teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly
state is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." Nothing
else attracted the apostle's attention so much as the person of that Divine
Being, who hath redeemed us by His blood. He is the theme of the songs of all
glorified spirits and holy angels. Christian, here is joy for thee; thou hast
looked, and thou hast seen the Lamb. Through thy tears thine eyes have seen the
Lamb of God taking away thy sins. Rejoice, then. In a little while, when thine
eyes shall have been wiped from tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb exalted
on His throne. It is the joy of thy heart to hold daily fellowship with
Jesus; thou shalt have the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; thou shalt
enjoy the constant vision of His presence; thou shalt dwell with Him for ever.
"I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" Why, that Lamb is heaven itself; for as good
Rutherford says, "Heaven and Christ are the same thing;" to be with Christ is to
be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be with Christ. That prisoner of the
Lord very sweetly writes in one of his glowing letters—"O my Lord Jesus Christ,
if I could be in heaven without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in
hell, and have thee still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the
heaven I want." It is true, is it not, Christian? Does not thy soul say so?

"Not all the harps above
Can make a heavenly place,
If
God His residence remove,
Or but conceal His face."

All thou needest to make thee blessed, supremely blessed, is "to
be with Christ."

Charles Spurgeon

I've been sorting through items as I pack them away for our move. As
I've been organizing and sorting, I've been doing a lot of thinking
about what I should keep and what I should toss. The more I thought
about it the more I realized that there is generally a motive behind
much of what we do. As Christian women our motive should always be for
the glory of God.

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking and
meditating and praying about what the biblical motive should be behind
what I keep and what I toss. The consistent thought that continues to
come back to me is this... what kind of life do I want when I move to
this new house? How do I want to spend my days? Do I want to spend my
days dusting a lot of knickknacks and pictures? Do I want to spend my
days shuffling around stuff from one room to the next? How much time do
I want to spend on my housework? And by simplifying my days as far as
housekeeping goes, what would I plan to do with the time left over?

I
am so eternally grateful that God's Word addresses these questions.
Yes, God calls us to be keepers at home, but He has not given us just
this one command. We are to be lovers of our husband and children. We
all have gifts that we are to use to benefit the body of Christ. We are
told to visit those in prison and those who are sick. We are to take
care of the orphans and the widows. These are just a few of the duties
that God has assigned to us.

Each of us has a different
situation where God has placed us. There will be a difference in how I
spend my days since my children are grown and gone compared to a woman
who still has her children left at home to minister to. I may have
neighbors living next door that God has called me to minister to, where
other women may live miles from their nearest neighbor so the
opportunity to minister may be more of a challenge.

I guess
what I am trying to say is that I want to think deliberately about how
I want to spend my days this coming year and not just blindly take each
day as it comes without any thought of eternity. If I were to stand
before the Lord tomorrow and give an account for today and how I spent
my hours would I believe that I had spent them for His glory?

I'm
reminded of an innocent last summer where I spent 5 or 6 hours making
fruit cocktail to only end up with 5 jars. And to top it off... my
husband doesn't even care for fruit cocktail and my children aren't
home to help me eat it. So, WHY did I choose to spend that amount of
time on something that ended up being useless? Because I didn't wisely
think through the best way to use my time. There are things I can do in
my home to save a good amount of money to make it worth my while but
this was not one of those best uses of my time.

Our escrow is due to close in a week. We've either sold, given away or stored all of our items except just the basics.

A friend
recently asked me what I would take if I knew I was packing for the
mission field. I had to really stop and think about that. What would I
take? I'd want to take study tools, books, bibles,etc. that would help
teach others about His Word. I'd need clothes, of course, but I
wouldn't be taking as many as I have now. I'm still trying to think
through that question to decide what would be the essentials. And if I
could live with so much less on a foreign land, why do I think I need
SO much stuff here?

So, as I am going through each drawer to
pack away items for our new home, I am asking myself if this item is
something that is really going to help me in serving my family or
others or is it something that is going to require time to maintain,
pack, move or dust that could better be spent on something or someone
else. I'm making a choice each time I handle an item. There will be
many things I keep. But, my hope is that there will be much I give
away, sell and throw away, too.   Will I end this year having served my
'things' or served the Lord by ministering to those He has put along my
path each and every day.

Love to you all! May God teach us to redeem our time and days for His glory!

Georgene

Our house is in escrow.  The realtor said it should close by the 31st.  That is fine with us because it gives us a longer time to prepare and pack. We've moved most of the boxes we won't be using on a regular basis into storage.  Our home looks bare but it's sure easier to clean. We've given away a LOT of stuff. I'm hoping once we are actually in our home to go through things again and downsize even more. It's hard to know what to keep and what to get rid of.  We're not sure if the Lord will allow us to be in a home again so I don't want to get rid of everything. 

Here is a picture of the road leading up to the barn where our little 'bungalow' is.

The 'retreat' (we're trying out new names ) is in the barn to the left and this road leads to my aunt's home. I hope to post pictures once we are settled.

Kevin is doing so much better since he is not working. He is still in pain 24 hours a day but he can rest and change positions often which helps lessen it.  He is back to spending more time in God's Word. Thank you, Lord! We received his first disability paperwork this weekend and spent quite a few hours filling it out. Our prayer (will you pray with us?) is that his case will have favor with whoever is processing it and that he will be approved within this next year. God is able!

*~*~*

I have some extra cans of pumpkin and needed a dish to take to a funeral this past Saturday so I made Pumpkin Spice Bars. It's a family favorite.

Love to you all and thank you for your prayers!

Pumpkin Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. veg. oil
1 can (16oz.) pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup nuts

Bake 350 degrees in jelly roll pan (15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 in). I don't have a jelly roll pan so I use a standard cookie sheet pan.

Beat eggs sugar, oil and pumpkin. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour in pan. Bake until light brown apprx. 25-30 minutes. Let cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 oz. cream cheese softened
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla

Gradually beat in 2 c. powdered sugar(sifted) until frosting is smooth and spreading consistency.

I like to sprinkle crushed walnuts on top after the cake is frosted.

I am so enjoying my study on the names of God. How rich, full and personal this study is turning out to be!  I'm finding that the Lord is using His Names to increase my faith during this season of so many changes in our lives.

A few weeks ago I started studying the name, El Shaddai.  The name literally means 'God- the breasted One'.  Any mother who has breastfed her children will immediately understand this definition. She knows that her child depends on the nourishment from her breast to supply all of her needs.  This is the meaning behind El Shaddai. 'El' means power and 'shad' means ' breast' (or more specifically a 'woman's breast').

Last Sunday, God made Himself known to me as El Shaddai  through the generosity of two of our dear friends. We had decided  to stay home from church (a rarity in our lives) because my husband had been in extreme back pain the day before and had to be given a morphine shot in his hip. He was still dealing with quite a bit of pain the next morning even though it had lessened. The minute I got up and checked my email I saw that my friend Yvonne was waiting for me. She wanted to know if she and her husband could come and help us pack and move. Boy, could they!!!

I remember coming home from taking my husband to the Dr. the night before and crying out to God, "Lord, my husband will not be able to help me do anything else on this move because of his back! How will I ever get everything moved and packed on my own? Yet, I know you will provide and I'm trusting you!" And He did!

Between the two of them and my son helping on the last move we made 5 loads. My daughter and daughter-in-love and my mother have offered to come help this week. And then several other friends offered their help along with trailers and moving trucks plus one dear friend has brought me several loads of boxes.

What a faith-builder! What a God! He has provided AGAIN!  These acts of provision draw my heart closer and closer to my gracious, gracious God.

Oh, how I love Him!

*~*~*

This is a picture of my first grandchild as an infant! Joshua's head now reaches the top of my shoulder (and Grammy's hair is much more gray)!

I pray that God will continue to change my Americanized view of money to reflect what the bible teaches about our possessions and our money. Hard lessons to learn but oh.. so rich.. so valuable!

Go deep, dear Lord! Please make it a lasting change in my heart that I would value your kingdom above all that I own or desire.