Birthday

 I turned 60 today.  I'm feeling weird about about it because it only  seemed like yesterday I turned 50 but I honestly don't remember my 50th birthday. So today was a great day.  My family loved on me. Even an Amazon package that was scheduled for delivery over the weekend arrived today. I bought myself a gift a new soft crochet  hooks thanks to my gift card. I love these  types of hooks because they are gentle on my hands.

Well Happy New Year to you and your family.  2020 is winding down in our time zone and  I'm praying 2021 will be a year of  hope for us all.

Merry Christmas!

 I hope you all have a blessed Christmas! It doesnt matter that He wasn't born on December 25th.  The fact is He came and like the angels and shepherds who rejoiced at His arrival, may we also rejoice that He was born and will one day return for us.

Are You Glad He Came? Christmas

I'm sorry for the long absence. I've been pondering about what to write regarding Jesus and His birth. Our church has been going through the book of Luke for about a year now because our pastor doesn't rush through a book. He takes us verse by verse and really explains it. My small ladies' Bible study is going through the book of Matthew and my husband's men's Bible is going through the book of Mark. As we study more and more about Jesus and His ministry the more I'm so glad He came. I've been reading for the past few days a YouVersion Bible app devotional called "The Songs Tell the Story: An Advent Devotional. Each day it gives a history of a Christmas carol we sing at church. As I read about each song's history and what the writer was going on in his or her life at the time and caused me to really think about what I was singing. I felt challenged by the lyrics to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", the last stanza in particular: 

Hail the Heav'n born Prince of Peace

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! the herald angels sing:

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Ladies, Jesus came as a humble little baby who grew up. He taught the disciples. He healed the sick and raised people from the dead. He died a terrible death but was raised on the third day.  Jesus did this all for us because He loved ( and still does!) and paid for our sin. 

So our family will celebrate the birth of Jesus. We will remember His death on the cross and we will rejoice that He rose from the dead.

So are YOU glad He came?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the not so fun part of my post.  I've seen over the years Christian bloggers being shamed by commenters  because they choose to celebrate Christmas. 

Our family, as I mentioned above will be celebrating Christmas and I would kindly ask 

that comments not be left about how wrong we are.

And to keep  the peace  such comments will not be allowed to go through. 

Happy Thanksgiving Dear Sisters!

I want to wish all my friends a Happy Thanksgiving! Be safe and enjoy your time with those whom you are able to spend the holiday with.

Quick Explanation for Friends Outside USA

For my reader friends who live outside the USA I should explain what I mean by donkeys and elephants. Here in the US the Republican Party is represented by a elephant and the Democratic Party is represented by a donkey. I hope it's obvious that the Lamb ( L capitalized) is our Lord Jesus.

Where is Our Hope?

It's election day here in the United States. This seems to be the only thing our nation is united in. This country has been so divided it's rather sad. On our local Next Door group one person posted a long list of why to vote for one candidate and another person posted a counter list in all caps as to why to vote for the other candidate. It's just plain stupid! So where do we as Christians put our hope and our faith? Our pastor reminded us on Sunday that our hope is in Jesus. Psalm 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in there is no help. The behavior I've seen from people who call themselves Christian has been deplorable! No matter what happens ladies, (and I know this sounds like a cliche)God is in control and is still on the throne. So my question to you ladies. Is your hope in an elephant or a donkey? Or better yet is in The Lamb? I've been struggling writing this post all day. I started it this morning and it's now almost 4:00pm. I tried to post pictures of donkeys, elephants and a lamb to make my point but I'm having trouble with the pictures loading.

Well... Sigh...Unhappy

I well ladies it turns out my finger is fractured from the sewing machine needle going through. I suspected the needle did hit a bone though the doctor at the urgent care clinic didn't think so. I'm not very happy with this at all. I'm being referred to an orthopedic doctor hopefully in town and I won't need to go down to Phoenix. So I've been instructed to keep it immobilized. I glad I'm not left handed but now this puts a damper on doing any sewing.

My Newest Dress

This is the jumper dress I sewed last month. If you're following me on Instagram you might have seen it. I paired with a cozy sweater. It's actually blue but for whatever reason the color is weird in the photo. I left out the side pockets this time and attempted to sew gathers which I regretted due to obvious mistakes but it's part of the learning process.

Book Review:Sense and Sensibility -Jane Austen/Karen Swallow Prior

This edition of Sense and Sensibility stays true to Jane Austin's book but Karen Swallow Prior gives readers an opportunity to read the book and discuss it as Christians. Discussion questions are provided at the end of each section of the and at the end of the book. She includes a note to the reader which Karen says is to "enlighten and assist those who have read Sense and Sensibility and those who have not". Since she is aware that there are readers who have never read it before she is careful to avoid spoilers in her introduction to the work. There are also footnotes throughout the book to define or explain most archaic words and usages. I found this most helpful. This is a very nice edition of Sense and Sensibility with a beautiful hardcover and ribbon bookmark. Scriptures used are from the ESV (English Standard Version) so if you are not a fan of the ESV then feel to use the Bible version you prefer. I received a copy of this book from the publisher ( B&H) in exchange for my honest review. I apologize for the formatting of my post. I still can't get Blogger to cooperate.

Thank You ☺

Thank you all for your kind comments and prayers from my last post. I appreciate you all so much. An explanation as to what happened is in order. But if your are squeamish you might not want to read any further. I had replaced the regular sewing foot with the walking foot which is what you see in the picture in the last post. Neither I nor my daughter noticed that it wasn't on correctly. I had set my machine on zig zag and when I started to sew the foot came loose and the needle went through my fingernail straight through my index finger as I was guiding the fabric. The needle had broke in half and was sticking out the top and bottom of my finger. After a visit from EMTs (who aren't allowed to remove foreign objects) I went to urgent care where the needle was removed. My finger doesn't hurt nearly as bad but oh what an inconvenience having my finger wrapped and a finger guard on to prevent me from accidentally banging it into things.☹

Breathe -Five Minute Friday

What I planned to write for today's Five Minute Friday turned out way different from what I'm writing now. Today while sewing using a walking foot, something I've used before the needle decided it would go through my finger. Oh how all I could do was breathe because I was in so much pain. And breathe through the pain of doctor sticking a needle in my hand to numb my finger to get the needle out. And then breathe again at the pharmacy to get a tetanus shot. And I breathe a prayer that the needle didn't go through to a bone. I don't know if my sewing machine needs repair now. The other half of the needle is still in the machine and the walking foot looks wonky. Breathe Regina! Five Minutes are up.

P.S. It occurred to me after I posted this that I forgot to add the link for Five Minute Friday https://fiveminutefriday.com/2020/10/01/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-breathe/

If I Could

If I could just cover and my eyes and make this whole mean world go away I would. So hard to believe it's been 19 years since that horror on September 11th, 2001. I remember the terror and fear in people and I wonder if it could ever happen again. Well in some ways it has happened again only this time it is in the form of COVID-19, riots, violent protests, and more. And it isnt just happening in the US but the world. I read a post recently that said something like this though I can't remember the exact quote: "If Adam only knew what eating the forbidden fruit would cause". Indeed if only he knew. *********************************************************************** I'm linking up with Five Minute Friday. You can read and join the link: https://fiveminutefriday.com/2020/09/10/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-could-free-training-for-writers/ P.S. Thats our sweet cat Kirstie sleeping in her favorite postion 😻

Its National Sewing Month!

First thank you for putting up with my ramble post yesterday. I just needed that short ramble. So as I said yesterday September is National Sewing Month and my goal is to sew each day for at least ten minutes. Lord willing I will sew another jumper, some more headcoverings, lengthen a hem on a old dress and refashion a couple of skirts I had hoped I would lose enough weight to fit into but it never happened. I also plan on doing some sewing lessons on setting in sleeves. I attempted it last month on a baby dress lesson and ended up just leaving it sleeveless. Do any of you sew and if you do will you be sewing anything this month?

Crying is Good

I've been away from my blog posting for awhile and I apologize. Between dealing with family issues, several losses in our church the weirdness of new Blogger ( which has gotten weirder since my last post) and the troubles in our nation I've had some depression. I don't like being depressed because I don't like to cry. I hadn't always allowed myself to cry. I did when we were in lockdown because everything was just so overwhelming. Last week was very bad because of a disaster that happened back in March with a family member who will remain unidentified. I will just say she is believing many of the world's ideas though she says she hasn't lost her faith. So last week I spent a good portion of the week crying or had teary eyes but crying was good for me. I was able let go of the bottled up feelings I was holding on to for months. I've been spending much time reading God's Word, listening and singing hymns and of course praying. One of my favorite hymns is Great is Thy Faithfulness. I was listening to it last week and someone shared on her blog the same hymn. That was a blessing from God. Please keep our family in prayer. I truly desire for each of my daughters to embrace a Biblical worldview and not the lies that the world and carnal Christians are believing. On a more positive note, September is National Sewing Month and I'm so excited. I'll share more about that tomorrow. Until then...

This and That

I'm sorry for the absence but I'm having issues with the new Blogger. I'm not a fan. I would be tempted to switch to Wordpress but that would require my reader friends to create an account there. I had to do that a few years ago when I wanted to comment on a WordPress blog. So anyway, I will just try to get used to the changes. I've been teaching myself to sew which has been fun but at the same time frustrating because I seem to spend more time ripping out seams than I do getting things sewn. I hope somewhere below is a jumper dress made last week with help from my daughter. I've some bloggers are having issues with photos. Its a The Kings Daughters and its the Laura Jumper. I bought the pattern at www.candleonthehill.net

As far as my decluttering confess I haven't done anything. I still have a ton of stuff I really should take to the thrift store. I don't enjoy holding yard sales so thrift store they go. Thankfully my sewist daughter is teaching herself to knit and crochet and is taking some of my extra yarn. I'm crocheting a prayer shawl for a friend who lost her husband and I'll post a picture when it's done. Well that's about it for now. I hope you all continue to stay well and let's be careful out there.

Using Descretion With Social Media

In my last post I mentioned I signed up for Instagram. When I first signed up not knowing how it works, I immediately disabled my account because in the recommended sites to follow there were all these yucky celebrities.  I'm think ewwww gross I don't want to follow those icky people!

However, my daughters told me you get recommend sites based on who you follow and who follows you so I enabled my account and the rest is history. 

As I learn( and still learning) how Instagram works I want to share the following advice and caution for having any of the popular social media sites for all of us who are new to these sites. These are the things I've observed on Instagram as I know nothing about the other social media sites.

1. Be mindful of who you follow particularly if they claim to be Christian. I've noticed there is a lot of false teaching out there.

2. Use caution when receiving a "Follow" request. Check their site for information about them. Some accounts are private but they will have a small bio in the introduction. If it doesn't seem right then just delete the request. There are some that create accounts for the purpose of spamming users.

3. I highly recommend you set your account to private so  you approve or delete  follow requests.   I don't know if they will receive a notice it was deleted. I highly doubt it. This way only your followers can see and comment on your page.

4. Guard your time. I'm having fun I must admit and it's been a joy connecting again with old friends from my old homeschool group and MOPS group ( Mothers of Preschoolers) in California.  But too much time on social media can better be spent reading God's Word and in prayer.

  

Online Clutter

I had planned on writing about social media clutter but I realize just whole online experience can be a problem for many of us so I'm just going to share my experiences.

I will divide into categories my online clutter

Email and Email Newsletters:

When I got my first email address back in probably 1997, I was on cloud nine. I felt like we had finally caught with the 20th century! Back then we had dial- up internet and what a pain that was. For you young whipper snappers who don't know what dial up is, you had to use your phone line and there were phone numbers your internet provider supplied to connect to the internet.  Our was America Online now known  as AOL . Back then America Online would send you a free disk to download to your computer and then sign up for their service.The problem though because you had to use your phone line, people couldn't get a hold of you because your line was busy. 

 Anyhow as I was learning more about how the internet works I found several free email account services so I was signing up for no reason other than to have fun user names like tea4two, crochetmama and threegirls4god just to name a few. Before I knew it, I had so many email addresses on so many sites, I couldn't keep track of them all.

I eventually deleted most of my accounts though I'm sure there are some still out there collecting spam.

So now I still have four email addresses but they each serve a purpose.

There is also the problem of those email newsletters.  I can't even tell you how many newsletters I'm subscribed to and I ask myself why. Why am I letting all this clutter flood my inbox?

Last week I decided to unsubscribe from Bed, Bath and Beyond, Walgreens, Sally Beauty and more. I don't know when or if I will shop these stores it's silly for me to have the newsletters coming to my inbox when all they want is for me to buy, buy, buy.

My next topic is social media which I will include blogs and popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

a. Blogs- Can I tell you how much I love reading Blogs? Not just the ones I'm subscribed to but the random blogs I'm come across while surfing the net. Most of them are faith based but sometimes I come across a blog that people have left rude comments or spam and I want to "put them in their place" by pointing out how wrong they are.

So, I've made a conscious effort to follow the advice in this verse " Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. (Proverbs 26:4 KJV)

b. Social Media Sites (Facebook,  Twitter, Instagram etc)  I told myself I would never ever get Facebook, Twitter and the like because there is just too much drama.  Enter stay at home order  in our state in March and boredom.  Then  at the end  of a sewing newsletter I get  had these four words "Follow us on Instagram".   Words I've seen on almost all my newsletter. Went to the site and the next thing I knew I had created an account. Now you see another reason not to have so many newsletters . 

I admit I do like Instagram and I thought it would be safer than other sites as far as drama is concerned.  Well I was wrong and once again I found myself arguing with someone on a friend's site or are they are called pages?

As I learn more about how Instagram works (thanks to all my daughters and their expertise, I'm  seeing how it can become a true time waster.  It's so easy to get caught up in multiple Instagram stories, click  the "Follow"  button on a recommended site or engage in an argument with a commenter  on a friend's site/page.

I realize this post is getting a little long so I  want to talk a little bit more about popular social media sites and some words of caution on my very next post.

 

To Be Young Again-FMF

Today writing prompt for Five Minute Friday is Young

https://fiveminutefriday.com/2020/07/23/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-young/

I can't remember if I explained what Five Minute Friday is. 

Each week we get a writing prompt via email  and we write for five minutes only. Its rather fun.

Click on the link above for more information. 

I'm also working( in my head) a post on social media clutter but I keep deleting in my brain .

My five minutes start now.

There was a time when I really wanted to be young again. To be a child playing and enjoying being a child.

But then I also wanted to be a young mom again and go back and fix mistakes I made when they were growing up.

But I wouldn't want to be a child and a young mom in these troubling times. People have turned away from God and have called what is sin, the most awesome thing in the world.

Things when I was growing up people would frown upon such as immodesty, same sex relationships, blasphemy against our Lord.

No I wouldn't want to be young again. It's too scary!

Timer beeped. Five minutes are done.

Bonus extra one minute sentence-

The photo above was taken so long ago when I was sort of young but not really.

And the Winner Is

Drum roll please..... Becky! Congratulations.  I will be in touch to get your mailing address so that Cheryl can mail your book.

If you didn't win, you can order her book through Amazon in the link from my giveaway post.

My next post I hope to talk about social media  "clutter".

Our Moving to AZ Experience and Biblical Minimalism Giveaway Date Extended

First off I will say preparing to move was on of the most stressful experiences of our lives. We sold Tim's childhood home and it held so many memories not just of his childhood but our girls grew up there too.

The process of  going through stuff and trying to decide what to keep and what to donate began. There were sixty years worth of things to go through. Things that belonged to his parents, things that belonged to him not to mention my stuff and the girls.

Can I tell you all how hard it was to give up things like my Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit book that I got as a baby shower gift when I was having my first baby( she is now 25) and so many other books from when my girls were little? There was vintage Christmas decorations that belonged to my in-laws, items Tim's maternal uncle sent his mom from when he was in World War II, old dishes and more. We even found an old rationing card that belong to his mom which is also from World War II.

  When were going through all the items in the house we were just couldn't believe we had so much (for lack of a better word) junk. We rented those U-haul pod things that you pack and U-haul comes and and takes them away and drives them to your destination. Since we didn't have a home to move to when we left California we used U-haul storage. We rented about three pods(we all couldn't fit in a moving truck) plus a large trailer. We also rented a large dumpster for things that were either too worn out or broken.

We got rid a lot of things we didn't need but it was very difficult. What's even more is we were still packing and loading pods the week we were moving. Actually the day escrow closed and we were supposed to be out of the house we were still packing and loading pods. We  were even  stuffing  things into our car which at the time was a Mountaineer.

 We had so much stuff we weren't willing to let go of  we ran out of room in the pods and trailer. Now this is the shameful confession. As a result there were many items that got left. Things like a large toaster/convection oven, my microwave oven, artwork on the walls and some furniture and who knows what else.

Now sitting in our garage in our current home there are boxes and bins in the garage that I have never unpacked that will probably never make it into the house such as my porcelain dolls I got when I used to sell Avon back in the late 1990s. As I type this I'm looking at all the stuff we brought to our new home and I ask myself "Why did we bring that?"

So now after reading Biblical Minimalism, I realize  we really need to rethink our "stuff".  I have to ask myself "Why do I need to hold on to all the Keepers at Home magazines or An Encouraging Word magazines?" "Do I really need all those teacups?" And don't get me started on the bags of yarn and fabric AND sewing patterns I will never use.

Does any of this stuff glorify God?  Can I bless someone else with some of this? Oh and did I mention  duplicate kitchen utensils? 😮

I'm learning that none of this "junk" is important when it comes to eternity. We can't take any of these things to heaven. And besides who wants to be tripping over a bunch of useless items in heaven anyway.

I think I've rambled long enough. I just want to share my story and I hope it will serve as a warning to me and anyone who may be struggling with excess.

I'm extending the giveaway to Wednesday.  There's much going on with my family and church family  so I haven't had time to collect names.  If  you'd would like to have a chance to be entered to win a signed copy of Cheryl Smith's book Biblical Minimalism enter here 

https://coveredwifeoftim.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-review-biblical-minimalism-by.html

Apologies if this post is disjointed and subjects are out of order. As a former homeschool mom, If I were turning this in for a grade I'd give myself a C or possible a D.

 

Five Minute Friday-Smile

I haven't done a Five Minute Friday linkup in quite some time. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's where you take five minutes to write on whatever the writing prompt is for the week.

Here's the link for this week if you'd like to check it out

https://fiveminutefriday.com/2020/07/16/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-smile/

My time starts now:

The funny thing about wearing a mask out in public is you just can't see anyone smile. I love to smile at people if they smile first. However, I know if someone smiles at me because their eyes are smiling.

And you know what? That  eye smile is just what many people need and that's a  a simple way of showing the love of Jesus. So many want a simple gesture to let them know things will be alright and that there are still people who care.

My time has ended. I hope you enjoyed this short little post.

Call to Prayer for Linda Stotzfoos

Hello my friends.  I'm asking you all to join in prayer for missing Amish teen Linda Stoltzfoos. She has been missing since Father's Day.  The Lancaster County community is meeting at 7:30 Eastern Time to pray for her return. Though we can't be there to pray we can gather at our time zones to pray. Some of you won't see this post in time, however please pray anyway and add her to your church's prayer chain. For some reason I'm unable to copy and paste her picture.

Reading the media reports makes think the Lord has taken her home but I'm praying for a miracle. 

Thanks prayer warriors!

Book Review-Biblical Minimalism By Cheryl E. Smith and Giveaway

 Today I'm pleased to post my review of Biblical Minimalism. I was so happy to be a part of Cheryl's review team and receive a copy of her book.

In her book Cheryl shares about testimony of how the Lord led her and her family to sell their home, letting go of unneeded physical things and move into a rental property. 

She talks about the difficulty of letting go of things and the Lord asking her " Do you love this more than Me?"

Her experience with moving and trying to hang on to not just physical items but also relationships that were damaging emotionally and spiritually. 

This book really made me think about our experience moving and trying to figure out what to keep and what to let go. That's the topic for a separate post.

There is so much meat in this book with lots of scriptures that I think would be good for memorizing and I highly recommend Biblical Minimalism. I'm planning on reading it again.

Now for the giveaway. It's simple if you would like to win a copy of this awesome book, just leave a comment below. The winner will be announced next Tuesday. Due to shipping costs giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.

"Cheryl Smith is the author of the book “Biblical Minimalism,” the story of her family’s journey from a life of abundance to a more abundant life. She is the author of the blogs Biblical Minimalism, where she writes about minimalism from a Biblical perspective, and Homespun Devotions, where she writes devotionals and conducts “Inner Views.” She loves to spend time with her husband and son in the mountains, sing and play Bluegrass music, and write."

Remember to Still Stay Safe

Some of you are in states that are coming out of lockdown but please remember to practice your state's social distancing rules and wear masks in public.   I know people are upset about having to wear a mask in stores that require it. I noticed here in Arizona that COVID-19 cases have risen since our  stay at home order was lifted and many people are not practicing social distancing. I noticed several other states have the same problem.

So as Sgt. Phil  Esterhaus on the tv show Hill Street Blues used to say "Let's be careful out there." You don't want to get this this terrible illness.

All Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter

White Lives Matter

Brown Lives Matter

Blue Lives Matter

Spider Lives Matter- Uh scratch that one!

Asian Lives Matter

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Everything is Beautiful by Ray Stevens

https://youtu.be/0a45z_HG3WU

Dr. King Is Turning Over in His Grave

Dr. Martin Luther King would never have approved of the violent and looting protests over George Floyd's death. Never! Yes people have a right to be angry. People have a right to peaceful protests but no one and I mean no one has a right to throw a temper tantrum ( yes I called it a temper tantrum!) and damage private or property and loot stores! 

Our governor has now issued a statewide curfew from 8:00 - 5am until June 8th.  I'm angry about that but I'm not angry at our governor. I'm angry that because some protesters don't know how to behave and now the rest of us are being punished.  

 I'm angry because I keep coming across social media outlets saying " Justice for George!" even though the officer involved has arrested and the violent protests and riots continue. Yes, this officer (now former officer) should be punished for his crime and the other now former officers who allegedly stood by too.  Also if George Floyd had survived he would have been punished for his crime too.

I get dismayed at the Black Lives Matter movement.  If they really truly believe that Black Lives Matter, then try a peaceful protest in front of an abortion clinic where black babies are slaughtered violently in the womb all in the name of "pro-choice".  Do  those black lives matter? 

And how are we as Christ followers are to respond to these protests? How are we to respond to protests against stay at home orders? We respond with prayer. Prayer for the protesters and for safety of police officers that have to try to keep the peace. 

I think if I weren't a Christ follower  I'd stage my own protest against the violent murder of Sasha Krause. I believe her killer should be charged with a hate crime due to his hatred towards Mennonites and probably all Christians.  "Justice for Sasha" my signs would say! But instead I'm praying justice for her. Her name will be added to my copy of The Martyrs Mirror for  I believe she was truly martyred her faith.

 And I will be praying for peace and calm with all the protests that is going on.

Wrist Pin Cushion Directions

I'm finally posting directions on how to make a wrist pin cushion.

To make one you need:

Scrap fabric scraps of your choice 

Lid ( I'm using a canning jar ring and lid because that's all I have)

Needle and thread

Elastic or hair elastic

Trim (optional)

Not pictured glue gun and polyfill. Some sewists like fabric scraps but you have to make sure the pins will go through your finished pin cushion. 

Start by tracing a circle larger your lid. I would recommend using a saucer as I discovered while making this tutorial my original circle was too small.

Cut out your circle and sew gathering stitch around edge.

Put your polyfill in the center. 

Gently pull and as you pull your circle will start to gather.  Add as much polyfill as you need and make sure there's enough that it's  nice and round.

Gently pull and sew shut.  

Carefully hot glue your pun cushion to the inside of your  lid. I say carefully because the hot glue  is very hot and you can get burned. Ask me how I know!

Now carefully hot glue your trim around edge of lid. This can be optional if you are using a really cute lid or you just want to skip this step altogether.

Now regarding using a hair band my daughter says the elastic is better because the hair band might be too tight so use which ever you prefer.

Measure your wrist with a measuring tape and cut your elastic. Keep in mind though it will stretch so don't cut too small or too large. Make sure it fits comfortably around your wrist.

Sew or hot glue ends together and glue to bottom of your pin cushion and you're done!

I'm posting two pin cushions fails as these were the first ones I made about a month ago. The brown one is a fail because it was made a little sloppy but works really well for holding pins. The purple one is a complete fail because I used fabric scraps and the puns refused to go through. I used fabric scraps in the brown one too but for whatever reason it worked better.

Things I Learned During Lockdown

First of all thank you all for your lovely Mother's Day wishes.  They warmed my heart! Second I hope to get the wrist pin cushion tutorial up some time next week. This week got away from me somehow.

So getting back to the topic at hand on what I have learned during lockdown in our lovely state of Arizona. 

 1. God really is in control. I've known this fact ever since I became a believer.  I don't have the answers to explain why God didn't stop this pandemic.  I do know that people are fearful and are seeking answers from Christians.

2.  People can't make up their minds.  They demand the governor give a stay at home order and then they change their minds and demand he reopens the state.   I saw in the news Some here gathered in Phoenix last month to protest. Many didn't wear masks or practice social distancing. 

3. Lemon Oreos are really delicious! Now before all you original Oreo purists   get upset and hit the unsubscribe button let me explain.😊

I've always enjoyed the original Oreos. There is nothing like that yummy chocolate cookie with the vanilla cream.  We frown upon weird flavors like Tiramisu , Salted Caramel and the others out there. We do like to buy Mint Oreos occassionally. 

So about Lemon Oreo, my friend from Bible  study dropped off a care package that included Double Stuff  Oreos and Lemon Oreos. I had never heard of  this flavor but I tried them and my family tried them and now we are all hooked.

3. I really like sewing again.  I've enjoyed sewing masks and improving my sewing skills.

4. I hate sewing. I get frustrated when I keep making the same mistakes and ripping out seams. But I in reality  do enjoy sewing. ☺

5. It's okay to dress up to watch your live stream church service. I gave myself permission to wear my Sunday dresses even though I would just change when the broadcast was over. 

6. It's hard not worshipping with my  church family but it's even harder on our church leadership and I'm sure it's that way with all your pastors too.  Our shepherds long to see their flocks again. Some pastors are even getting mean emails, texts etc from impatient church members and to me that is just plain wrong.

7. I love Walmart pickup.  I had seen the funny ads on YouTube so when Walmart started limiting the amount of customers in the store we decided to give their pickup service a try. We like this service and it's so nice to have someone else do the shopping. You shop and pay online, go to pick up your groceries and they even load your car.

It's also helps prevent impulse buying.

8. YouTube has exploded with how to sew masks videos, COVID-19 song parodies and misinformation about the virus. It's funny how many of the masks videos claim to be the "easiest mask ever" to make.

 

9. I still don't understand why people were hoarding toilet paper. 

10. I'm a wimp and I can't say no to guests.  People ( though very few) were coming and going here at my house for the past several weeks so I just gave this issue to the Lord.  All are various  young people who  either have poor home lives or no local family so I am trusting  God would bless our hospitality efforts and protect us from the virus. 

Happy Mother's Day

Photo courtesy of Krystina Rogers via Unsplash.com

A Few Things

 I got an email from Plain People in the News,  and I want to let you know that there have been two arrests made in the Sasha Krause murder case.  One suspect ( the actual murderer) was arrested a couple of weeks ago and the second suspect (accomplice) earlier this week.  I'm not mentioning their names because quite frankly these people aren't worthy enough to have their names mentioned here. But please pray for Sasha's family.  I think this is going to be an extremely difficult time for them as they go through learning what happened to her before she died.

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer so I encourage you to take some time to pray for the leaders of whatever country you are in since I know  not all my readers are  from America.  Pray for the governor of your state as some are starting to lift the stay the stay at home orders and allowing some businesses to open up. Please  pray that opening up doesn't cause a sudden increase in virus  cases.  Also pray for recovery of those who are sick from the virus and for those who've lost their loved ones.

I'm well aware of people who are lacking good sense that are spreading false information about COVID-19 being fake and others  whining about their "rights" being violated. Honestly,  I want to take each person who says that over my knee and give them a good (as we called it growing up ) whoopin!😠

Getting back to National Day of Prayer there are going to be several live stream services and  I ask that you use discernment regarding which one you decide to participate in if your church isn't having its own live stream.  There are some being held that have false teachers or having doctrinal beliefs that I believe are wrong so please be careful.  I know you may be thinking that it shouldn't matter what a person believes but it does matter.  It's so easy for a person to be led astray by elegant prayers that include name it, claim it or the prosperity gospel or other false doctrine inserted in their prayers.  Again please be wise.

I want to do a short tutorial on making a easy wrist pin cushion since I've gotten back into sewing again. I know their are plenty on YouTube but I thought it would be something fun to teach you all . I'll let you know when I decide to do that one.

 I've been sewing masks and it seems everyone I know who owns a sewing machine has been doing the same thing. My daughters and I went to get a new sewing machine at our local sewing machine sales and repair shop.  I'm not in the market for a new sewing machine myself but oh did we see so many nice machines.

They had an increase the number of machines that needed repairing lately.  I guess either because people want to sew masks or they needed something to do while being at home. The owner said they were backed up and had over 200 machines that needed repair! I've learned from my daughter Shannon that most  sewing machine problems 

are caused by incorrect threading.  She figured out that was my problem when I thought my machine was broken. So it's been working like a champ ever since she "repaired" it.

So anyway Shannon ended up buying a BabyLock Jubilant sewing machine on sale. It's a lovely machine  with so many stitch choices and other features.  I think she will get many years of sewing out of it.

I'm still having  Google Blogger issues with fellow bloggers posts coming in odd order, or not at all until a day later. But then I've noticed I'm not the only one having issues. 

So I hope the problems will go away on its on. 

Book Review-The Kingdom That Turned the World Upside Down- David Bercot

 

I was very excited to receive this book for review.  His book really challenges my beliefs

 about Jesus teaching on the kingdom of God and His Sermon on the Mount. David Bercot explains how the early Christians lived according to Jesus' teachings and somehow over time the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount started to be ignored or compromised.  Issues like not loving money,  loving your enemy, not swearing oaths, etc are discussed.  I'm going to be honest, if you are not familiar with Anabaptist beliefs and church history, you most probably will not like this book. In fact you might just hate it,however David Bercot is only teaching what Jesus says in His Word and as far as I know, God has not changed.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Scroll PubPublishing in exchange for  my honest review.

Minor Blogger Problems

Is anyone else having problems with their Blogger Following list either out of order? For example Susie Blogger( not a real blog just an example) will come and the time stamp will say it was posted maybe two hours  ago. Then above Susie Blogger it will have  Mary Blogger( again not a real blog) 25 minutes ago. When I go to check for new blog posts later in the day  there will be a blog post for Lucy Blogger between Susie Blogger and Mary Blogger which wasn't there earlier and now it will say that Mary Blogger posted ten minutes ago her post was earlier in the day. No one has edited their posts so I'm thinking it's a Blogger issue and they are having difficulty with their post timing and maybe "hiccuping" their posts. There was a post that came in on a Sunday but was repeated the next day and it wasn't an issue with the blog author it just simply repeated itself. Does my post make any sense?

I don't think it's a Daylight Saving Time issue as Arizona doesn't observe it.

Resurrection Sunday

He is Risen!

Good Friday

                                            Jesus paid it all

Keeping Busy

I decided to change my blog page to a books background because I'm going to do a lot of reading while we are on stay at home order. I have books for review and books that are ones I started but haven't finished.

I was going to add a "But Wait There's More" photo because I have  even more books, Lord willing, I will be reading but I decided not to overwhelm you all. 😊

I removed my Followers gadget on my blog in hopes that it will reduce the amount of spam comments you all receive on your blogs and in your email.

I hope you all are staying safe and obeying your stay at home orders if your area has one.

God Will Take Care of You

Hello my dear friends! I was a recent guest post author on Cheryl's  Homespun Devotions. She asked her readers to write words of encouragement so I wrote a post called God Will Take Care of You. I do hope you will check it out and read the other stories that some of the other ladies wrote.
I plan Lord willing to write  more Women of Faith posts and book reviews. A long as this COVID-19 crisis continues we might as well get some book reading in.

I Just Don't Get Spammers

I guess I'm in a talkative mood right now so I apologize for my what appears to be rapid fire posts.
Like I said I don't get why spammers hit blogs that comments are moderated. I'm guessing they hit and run and don't notice their post didn't go through.
So far this month I've gotten spam from several people wanting me to click on some dumb link about finding my " hidden name meaning" as if I didn't know Regina means queen. There were a couple of ladies telling me how "Dr. Help Me Scam This Blogger " (okay not his real name) helped her with her marriage by giving her a spell to put on her husband and now her husband just adores her. Those ladies must think  I was born yesterday! And some dude pretending he reads blog posts  by mentioning the topic but in reality he a p*rn blogger  who has hit a few of my friends unmoderated blogs and let's not forget the blank  ATM card  scam.
I'm thinking because the spammers  are stuck at home they need something to occupy their bored little minds. Also I they are hitting faith based blogs for the "shock value".

So be on the lookout for more spam comments than usual.

How to Survive Covid-19 Crisis Without Losing Your Mind

I originally wasn't going to post on this because  most my other blogging family members already did but I figure why not?

Here are some things that came to my mind as of late.
1. I know you've been told to practice hand washing but all that hand washing can dry our skin so use a nice hand lotion to keep them nice and soft.

2. Paper towels are hard to find now so consider using hand towels to dry your hands.  You can make cleaning rags out of old ripped towels or old t- shirts which makes a nice alternative to paper towels.

3. For napkins there are lots of YouTube videos on making cloth napkins including no sew ones.  You can get some inexpensive fabric and cut them napkin size with pinking  shears.

4. Most schools across the nation are temporarily closed so activities you can do to keep your children busy include baking, using printables from the internet, plant some seeds in the garden or if you don't have a garden, plant in pots. Scholastic.com  is offering free online activities for grades Pre-K-6+.

5. Consider canning foods for longer storage.  You can water bath foods like fruits, jams and jellies but foods like meats, soups and veggies must be pressure canned. If you try to water bath these foods COVID-19 will be the least of your problems. The Ball Blue Book is available on Amazon and is one of the best books on preserving food.

6. If you have babies that rely on store bought baby food, try making your own.

7. You may be in a place where are asked ( and in some areas told) to stay home and avoid crowds so perhaps take this time to learn a new craft. Amazon has many craft items like crochet hook and knitting needles, yarn, paper crafts, and more.  Again YouTube has many videos to learn these activities.

8. If your library isn't closed pick up some books for yourself and your family or read unfinished or unread books from your personal library.

9. We come to the awkward issue of the shortage of toilet paper. I don't understand the craziness of that. I mean it's not like people are going to get bored at home and go toilet papering homes.
 If you do happen to have any I would suggest using less and ask your family members  to  do the same.
Toilet paper alternatives I've read around the internet have ranged from practical to downright bizarre.
Now a word of warning: Please, only flush toilet paper or flushable wipes. Plumbers will already have their work cut out for them because folks are flushing items they shouldn't flush.
Here is what I've seen online  but I will leave out the weird stuff.
Disposable wipes. Though baby wipes are nice, unless you are very desperate let's leave the baby wipes for mamas with little ones. Opt for adult wipes instead.
Homemade cloth wipes. I know this sounds yucky but you can cut up t-shirts,  soft towels or expensive fabric. Put used cloths in  diaper pails or buckets with lids like empty Tidy Cat litter pails. Sprinkling baking soda and essential oils should hopefully cut down on the smell or you can use vinegar and water though I like that option better. And wash them often in hot water.
Bidets- I know nothing about them but they apparently are selling like hotcakes.

10. Buy only what you truly need. Don't buy cold medicine unless you are having cold symptoms. Leave those item for people who really need them. I think pain medicines would be better because probably many of people may be suffering from stress induced pain. I know I am.

11. Please get your COVID-19 information from reliable sources like Centers for Disease  Control at cdc.gov.
There is a lot of false information from the media in order to get higher ratings. And I might add reduce the amount of time reading about COVID-19. As I mentioned there is much falsehood that can cause much stress and anxiety.


Most of all dear friends in addition to those I mentioned remember to pray. God is still in control.
 Pray especially before you go shopping. I don't mean just shopping that you get what you need but that customers are gracious. Please thank your cashier. They are under extreme stress because customers are mad they can't buy 5 packages of toilet paper. Okay maybe that was an exaggeration but you get the point.
This morning we needed to pick up a few things from Safeway and I was feeling really anxious about shopping. I normally look forward to shopping but I was just too anxious so I asked Tim to pray. By the time we arrived at the market I was much more relaxed.  The shopping trip was quite pleasant and I found all I needed on my list. Except toilet paper.

Women of Faith- Gladys King

Note- I apologize for my lack of posting lately in this series. My goal originally was to post daily but currently I'm dealing with family issues and staying calm with this whole COVID-19 crisis.


Gladys King ( March 17th 1934- February 10th 2008) had an incredible faith.  She suffered many trials throughout her life but that didn't stop her from trusting God to see her through.  She couldn't  get to church on Sundays when her children were little so she instead would listen to church services on the radio( Los Angeles station KGFJ) both in the morning and evening. It was a joy to her and her children learned many gospels songs but gospel music was way better back then.

She was a nurse and loved watching medical shows on television and would complain about  inaccurate medical  procedures she would see.
She'd make sure her daughters had new Easter dresses on Easter and new shirts for her son even though they didn't get to go to church.

There would be occasions when she and her oldest daughter would butt heads over issues like scriptural basis for women being pastors, whether some televangelist were false teachers or not and whether to follow a recipe or just wing it.
She would tell her children that when you come across disagreeable people, just pray for them.

Gladys King passed on to her heavenly reward on February 10th 2008 from breast cancer. I miss my mother and wish she were here. I could sure use her godly wisdom right now.
Happy birthday in heaven Mama!

Wome of Faith - Elisabeth Elliot

I think many of you may be familiar with Elisabeth Elliot (December 26th 1926- June 15th 2015). Her first husband Jim Elliot and four others were killed in 1956 by members of the Auca ( now called the Huaroni) tribe while trying to make missionary contact with them in Ecuador . There was a 2006  movie made about this tragic event called "The End of the Spear".

I didn't learn about Elisabeth Elliot until about two years before she passed away and I didn't know her husband was Jim Elliot.
What I find interesting about Elisabeth is she became a missionary to the tribe that killed her husband.

Elisabeth Elliot was more than just the wife of Jim Elliot. She was an author and speaker who spoke at many women's conferences .  She had a radio show called Gateway to Joy which is still heard on some stations and she wasn't afraid to stand up for the gospel.

Elisabeth had her share of suffering.  Not only did she lose her first husband but she lost her second husband Addison, to cancer.  Dementia ultimately stole her brilliant mind during the last ten years of her life.

I'm not sure how many of her books are still in print, but many can be found on Amazon and Lifeway publishers.

Women of Faith- Corrie ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom (April 15th 1892- April 15th 1983) was a shining example of forgiveness after suffering terrible loss of four family members at Nazi concentration camps.  Honestly there is so much I want to write about this godly woman but it would take several posts.

She grew up in a Christian family who had a deep love for the Jewish people and saved many from the Nazi Holocaust.  Corrie's book The Hiding Place chronicles their efforts and her imprisonment at the concentration camp.

The hiding place was a secret room in Carrie's bedroom behind a false wall that would hold six people.
Whenever there was a security sweep in the neighborhood someone would sound a buzzer to warn the refugees to get into the room as quickly as possible.

The entire ten Boom family was arrested on February 28th 1944 and sent to different concentration camps for helping the Jewish refugees.
While imprisoned at the Ravensbrück womens concentration camp Corrie and her sister Betsie(who became ill and died at the camp) held worship services at the end of the day. They had a Bible they used that had been smuggled in.
It was these worship services that helped Corrie keep the faith and hope in Christ. I wonder though if she had moments of doubt especially after knowing friends went to the gas chambers.

Through a clerical "error" Corrie was released in December 1944.  A week later all the women in her age  group were sent to the gas chambers. Ladies, Carrie's early released was not an "error" on God's part. He had special plans for her.

The remarkable thing is Corrie forgave the Nazis for all the hurt she and her family went through. That is hard to imagine because  the Nazis were such evil people and so many people across all the concentration camps died.

Like I mentioned earlier there is so much I want to say about her.  The thing you need to know is, she loved the Lord with all her heart and she wanted all to know the gift of salvation.
I would encourage  you to read her biography The Hiding Place. It was required reading when I was in junior high and I plan on reading it again. 

Women of Faith -Fanny Crosby

Fanny Crosby  ( March 24th 1820 - February 12th 1915) is one of my favorite hymn writers. She was blinded shortly after birth  but that didn't stop her from writing more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs.

Some things I read about her I wasn't aware of was she was married to man named Alexander van Alstyne who also was blind. They had a daughter named Frances who sadly died in her sleep soon after birth possibly of what we now know as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) which inspired Fanny to write the hymn " Safe in the Arms of Jesus".

Fanny Crosby wrote  many hymns that have touched my heart and encouraged me and I love when our church sings a Fanny Crosby song.
My absolute favorite that I actually found out this morning Fanny Crosby wrote is "Praise Him! Praise Him!". We were singing it this morning and I checked to see who the hymn writer was and saw her name.
Anyway if you have a  hymnal in your home or if your church has hymnals, see how many songs there are by Fanny Crosby. I'm sure you will find many.

Womens History Month- A Different Focus

March is Women's History Month but I'm not going to focus on the political reasons for Women's History Month because some of the political reasons I completely disagree with so instead my focus will be on Christian women who have made an impact on my life in one way or another. Some women are well known and others not as much and perhaps some of the women you might not have heard of at all.

 So my plan throughout March is to write a post highlighting a different Christian woman. Some of these women will be before our time but I will also include women from more modern times.

With that being said my  first post coming up next will be on hymn writer Fanny Crosby.

My Heart is Broken

My heart is simply breaking for the family of Sasha Krause.  If you are unaware of who Sasha was, she's a young 27 year old Mennonite woman who went missing on January 18th from Farmington, New Mexico and her body was found a few days ago here in Arizona.  She had been murdered.
So many us outside and within the Mennonite community had been praying for her safe return. I really want to be angry with the person or persons responsible but, it's their eternal soul that's at risk now. So my prayers will be first for Sasha's family as they prepare for her funeral. I will also pray for whoever did this and that the person will confess to the police. And finally I'm going to pray for the person's soul( or I should say, the willingness to pray) that they will come to know Jesus. I believe this is something Mennonites are known for and I'm guessing Sasha's family and friends have already forgiven the person responsible. Only God can help do that.
So please pray for her family and if you feel led, for her killer also.

Birthdays, Anniversary, Valentine's Day

Our cat Kirstie would like to join me in  wishing  you all a Happy Valentine's Day and that you share the love of Jesus with those around you even though this is late.( Okay so now it's four hours later from when I started this post so hope you had a nice Valentine's Day ) Kirstie likes to sit on our tall bookshelf in case you're wondering what she's sitting on.

Yesterday was mine and Tim's 27th wedding anniversary.  Our car is in the shop and we didn't get to go out so my youngest daughter  Kaitlyn helped make homemade pancakes and scrambled eggs.
But we were able to have a nice Valentine's Day dinner of Pizza Hut pizza. For Valentine's they did heart shaped pizza and brownies.

Tim celebrated his 64th birthday in January ( cue the song When I'm 64!) So for his birthday he wanted a Cherry Dr. Pepper Cake.  I met to post this last month but I forgot.

I'll post the recipe tomorrow because it's getting late. Oh and very behind in replying to comments but I will try to catch up somehow.

Super Bowl Half-time P*rn Show

I didn't watch Super Bowl  since I gave it up many years ago. Our church had a Super Bowl party on Sunday. I hope they turned off the half-time show. I heard from Christian vloggers and fellow Christian bloggers how horrible it was. Even unbelievers were horrified by the half-time show!

I attempted to watch a clip of the two performers( I refuse to mention their names!)  who were on the show and I just was mortified but what I saw. I couldn't watch anymore.  I was even more shocked to see young girls on stage shaking parts of their body they shouldn't be shaking.

There was a time when dressing and dancing like a harlot was only seen in strip clubs. Now it's become acceptable because the feminists cry it's their right and their freedom to do so and if men lust after them it's the man's problem.

Our society  has become a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.  What God calls sin and abomination is now accepted as good. If you disagree with those who practice such sins you are called judgemental, a prude, homophobe, sexist, stupid, Bible thumper, living in the 1800s etc.

How God must grieve over the sins His creation is committing. And the children are growing up believing the filth of the world.  We need Christian, Bible believing and Bible obeying parents raising their children in the ways of the Lord and rejecting Satan's lies that sin is good and parents who are not conforming to the world because " everybody else is doing it".
  Oh how I long for our nation to turn from her wicked ways and turn to God.

Homeschooling and Taking Care of Our Marriages

First of all thank you to all of you who are praying for the loved ones of all those killed over the weekend in the recent helicopter crash .
Also I want to apologize for my strongly worded warning to spammers you see in the comment section. Usually I just roll my eyes but what set me off was the person who left a long spam comment ( who obviously didn't read my post) on my prayer request post. I doubt if I'll stop getting spam but I hope it will at least reduce the amount of spam comments that come through. As a matter of fact a spam comment came in this morning. Delete!

I've been thinking about writing about marriage and homeschooling for the past several days and asking the Lord what He would have me share. This post won't be long and I realize not all who read my blog homeschool but know moms who do.

Back in Santa Barbara, CA our family was part of a great Christian homeschool group. We had lots of activities and believe me, our children were very much socialized. But what I find upsetting is that several marriages over the years ended. Now please, please understand! I'm not blaming homeschooling on the destruction of these marriages. I know Christian couples who have sent their children to private and public school and have divorced.

So I want to offer some  marriage tips for those who are in this homeschool journey or are thinking about it.

 The first thing I believe is to pray with your husband about this issue. It's much easier if you both are on board when it comes to homeschooling because it is a lot of work.
If your husband is not a believer you still need to talk to him first and let him know what you would like to do. If he is absolutely against you homeschooling your children, then you must submit to his wishes and leave him in the hands of the Lord.

Another thing I really need to press upon homeschool mothers is Make. Time. For. Your. Husband.
You've been with your children all day and he needs to know you are still there for him. Grading papers can wait.
 Have date nights. Dates don't always have to cost a whole lot of money. That is something I wish I had learned during my earlier years of homeschooling.
Go for walks around your neighborhood.
Make a pot of coffee or tea and go sit at the park or beach and talk. Take this time to pray for each other and the children.
Put the children to bed early so you two can have time alone together.
Make a special dessert for just the two of you to share. If you are not great at making desserts you can get those single serve brownie in a mug desserts. Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker makes them and they are really good. Ask me how I know.😄
If you both like board or cards games then by all means go for it. 
Something else that just came to mind is ministry.  Our first priority is to our families and is our ministries. Ministries that involve us spending a lot of time away from our husbands and children can have a devastating effect on our marriage if we are are not careful.
I'm not saying we shouldn't get involved in activities like Bible study, teaching children's Sunday school etc but we just need to be careful we aren't choosing these over our family.
 So these are just some things I want to share with you homeschool moms and even if you don't homeschool, I hope you have been encouraged to spend more time with your husband.

Please Pray for the Families of Those Killed in Helicopter Crash

You probably heard that Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash today.  Please pray for all the families of those involved in the crash and that they will give their grief to the Lord.
I'm not a sports fan at all but I do often pray for celebrities and I'm sure this news is devastating to Lakers fans.

A Little Snow is Always Nice

We got a little bit of snow last night and it actually stuck around so I can get a few pictures this morning.

 The sun was " photobombing"  so I apologize for that.

One More Post- New Family Members

My daughter is momma to two sweet little guinea pigs.

Meet Biscuits the brown one and Kiyoko the black white one. Aren't these the cutest?

A Few of My 2020 Goals

Each year I post my goals for the year. Prayer and Bible reading is something I do all the time now so I will be excluding that from my list.
Here are some of the things that Lord willing I hope to accomplish this year:

1.Reduce the amount of sweets. This is a big one for me because I love desserts. My doctor says sweets are okay in moderation so my plan is to control portion size and not grabbing a cookie or piece of candy each time I go into the kitchen.

2. Exercise more. I have got to lose weight so I plan to use the XBOX games we have that my girls bought a couple of years ago. I also want to walk more. The weather hasn't been favorable for walking also I have a little bit of fear of walking lately. Recently we were coming home in the early afternoon from errands and there was a coyote running around. I texted my friend who lives around the corner asking her if her little daughter was outside and warning her about the coyote. Not sure what I would do should I encounter one on my walk.

3.Write regularly on this blog.  I have a hard time posting so even if it's once a month I want to write here more often.

4. Read more books for pleasure. Most of the books I read are for posting reviews.  I don't mind that but I have a ton of books on my shelf that I haven't finished reading.

5. Show intentional kindness. This is the theme of this year's  Homemaker's Friend Planner by Sue Hooley.
For the most part I do practice kindness but I would like to include more little things like bringing my husband a cup of coffee or sending a card of encouragement to a friend. There is a space in the planner for writing how I would like to express kindness each week.

6. Declutter.  I have been procrastinating getting rid of stuff. I have too much clutter and I plan to do get rid of and donate many things. This leads to number 7 below.

7. Get back to the Flylady plan. I had been doing Flylady and following her plan for cleaning  my home but I somehow got off the plan and so my home is slightly messy. I think once I get rid of clutter I will feel better about my home

8. Have daily tea. I love tea. I love taking time to have a cup of tea so that's my goal. And there are many health benefits to drinking tea. So my plan is to enjoy a cup of tea either in the afternoon or evening each day.

9. Cook from scratch more .  Convenience foods are nice but they can be expensive and I have many cookbooks so my goal is to find a create healthy meals for my family.

10.Ask for help more often.  I don't like to ask for help because I want to do things myself.  When I hurt my back, I didn't want to ask for anyone to set up Meal Train for us.  When I clean I won't ask for help from my family and then I get resentful.  So I  need to get rid of my pride and stop trying to be "Super Mom".

So that's it. These are just a few things I want to do this year.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this will play out.

Happy New Year !

                          Happy New Year my friends! May you all draw closer to the Lord.