Ask for Forgiveness

 The Lord showed me this while praying and listening for the Holy Spirit:

He showed me to ask for forgiveness from everyone that you need to in your life, and also to forgive everyone that has hurt you or offended you in any way, so that God will be able to forgive you when you ask Him. (see Matthew 6:14-15) He doesn’t want us to carry around any unforgiveness which can fester into bitterness. (see Ephesians 4:31-32)

Matthew 5:23-25

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown in prison.

An easy way to forgive and release others is simply to hold out your left hand with your palm facing up. Then take your right hand and place it on your heart. Then say “I forgive and release__(name of person)__ for __(offense)__.” Take your right hand from your heart and remove the unforgiveness and place into your left hand.  After you have forgiven and released everyone that you need to and placed all unforgiveness into your left hand, hold your left hand and arm out.  Next brush left arm and hand off with your right hand and say “Lord I release this all to you.  Take it far from me never to return in Jesus name, Amen!  Thank You Heavenly Father.”

Apple Picking

My four children and I went apple picking this past Thurday. It was a bit cold and quite muddy since it had been raining very often for over two weeks..........and it's still raining today!! This was our second trip to the apple orchard this year. There is nothing like a fresh apple right off the tree. My little ones will gobble up two or three of them, skin and all, but it seems getting them to eat the store bought ones only works if they are peeled, cut up and smothered in peanut butter.

We picked some empires and some priscillas.....mmmm. Those two varieties tasted the best this year. The apples were very high on most of the trees, so we used the picking poles. So far we've made some applesauce, and some apple spice cake, and will probably make some apple pie next. I don't think we'll do any canning this year. (we've made canned applesauce and apple butter previous years.....or should I say, my husband did......love you sweetie!)

The funniest part was when we arrived home. I said, "Wow, we are quite muddy!" My 17yo said, "Not me mom." (he was the only one to wear boots.....good thinking) My 4yo said, "I am mom, I'm dirty as a whistle!" What a laugh we had over that!

Attack of the Fruit Flies

I'm not sure what happened, but it seems that overnight, our home was attacked by fruit flies. The other day I noticed maybe 2 or 3 flying around, but this morning, there seemed to be about 50. Yuck! They were everywhere! I had to put all of our fruit in the fridge (I like to keep some out to ripen) They were even after the fresh bread we had wrapped up on the counter. They are ruthless.............and hard to catch. They even seemed to like the fruity smells in the bathroom! Little buggers!

Soon To Be Fall Days

The kids and I took advantage of this pleasant clear day and went outside to play. I thought to myself, we'd better get outside there before winter shows up and we won't want to go out as much.

We tried some kite flying.....not quite windy enough. My daughter didn't seem to mind the lack of wind. She just kept running and giggling to keep her kite in the air. My son was in the tennis courts in front of our home happily playing golf by himself for a bit. Then he called us over and we all tried some golf.

After a little snack and a drink, we headed to the park. The park by our house is nice and shady and always filled with new people to meet. My daughter was doing quite well on the monkey bars today. She is already stronger after only two dance lessons.

Next it was home for lunch and a nap. Well, I guess everyone needed a nap today. Even I fell asleep with the kids. My teenagers in school came home with no homework and decided to take naps too.

More later............

Proverbs 31

As a mom of 4 children,(two preschoolers and two step-teenagers, one who moved here from the south this past June) I have been trying my best to adapt to the recent changes in our household. I try, with the Father's help, to be the best I can be in all areas of motherhood. He's still working on me in some areas. :-)

I have been reading Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow. So far, it focuses a bit on the virtuous wife mentioned in Proverbs 31. Also it teaches how to prioritize the people and things in your life. God, husband, children, home, self, others...in that order. Makes sense. I've found that starting the day without putting God first turns quickly into chaos. When I do put Him first and continue to put him first throughout my day, things are peaceful and my paths are smooth.

I long to grow more and more like the virtuous wife of Proverbs 31, and with God's help, I will.....because the Bible says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That's another thing I've learned; to only speak and believe the positive and to build people up..........to try not to entertain negative thoughts. I am becoming better and better at filling my mind with scripture and prayer to push out all the negative things Satan likes to throw at me.

It's wonderful how quickly the Lord comes to our aid if we give Him just the smallest bit of our time and energy. If we just show Him we're interested in Him and His Word, he is so quick to let us know He cares and to bless us more abundantly than we could imagine.

Thank you Jesus!

Family Saturday

Today has been a stay at home day with the entire family......wonderful. I look forward to these days all week..........more later............