Thoughts from reading Jonah...

I am reading through the Bible in my One-Year Devotional Bible and have just finished the book of Jonah. Something stood out to me that I don't remember noticing before -- I noticed the things that God is said to have "prepared" in His dealings with Jonah.

* He "prepared a great fish" (Jonah 1:17)

* He "prepared a gourd" (Jonah 4:6)

* He "prepared a worm" (Jonah 4:7)

* He "prepared a vehement east wind" (Jonah 4:8)

It occurs to me that God is every bit as thoughtful and purposeful in His dealings with all of His people. Everything that enters our lives is for a specific purpose, to grow us in some way and, ultimately, to bring glory to God.

I was reminded of something that William MacDonald wrote: "Everything that God allows to come into our lives is purposeful. We should not detest it or despise it. Neither should we shrink from it or give up under it. Rather we should be concerned that God's purpose is achieved through the discipline, and thus we reap the maximum profit from it. God's ultimate purpose in the disciplines of life is that we become partakers of His holiness."

Living Room Challenge Update

Here's a quick update on the great Living Room Challenge. I dare say Carrie is making greater strides in her living room than I am in mine, but I have accomplished some of what I planned.

* I thoroughly dusted and decluttered three shelves of books plus the top of the bookcase. It does look much, much better.

* I decluttered a pretty basket which I use for storage of note cards, addresses, etc. and it also looks so much nicer and neater.

Hopefully I can accomplish more (if not all) of the challenge today and tomorrow. We will be away for Friday evening and most of Saturday, so I can't expect to get anything done at home in that time frame.

Living Room Challenge

I've decided to join in on the Living Room Challenge that Carrie is doing over at Life on a Back Road. My living room looks sort of OK on the surface, but the storage areas are in serious need of decluttering, so I'm going to focus on those for my own challenge. Carrie listed the areas she'll be working on and about how long she thinks each project would take, so I'm going to do the same.

* Straighten, dust, and declutter 6 shelves of books (1 hour)

* Declutter 3 storage shelves in bookcase cupboard (45 minutes)

* Reorganize cross-stitch books and materials (30 minutes)

* Declutter a storage basket (15 minutes)

* Declutter a storage chest (45 minutes)

Anybody care to join in on this living room challenge with us? I'll keep you posted as to how I do with this.

Sew Crafty Friday for August 22

Here's just a quick post to show what little bit of craftiness I've been up to this week. On Saturday, I needed a quick hostess gift to take to a friend. I wanted it to be a nice gift, but a consumable one. I came up with the idea of packaging my homemade laundry soap as a gift. I put enough for 6 loads of laundry in a quart size zipping bag. Then I placed it in a brown paper lunch bag and -- using red thread -- sewed the folded-down top of the bag in place, attaching a label with the instructions/ingredients in the process. I was really pleased with the way it came out. I was striving for a sort of old-fashioned general store look, but one could change the look of the packaging entirely by making a prettier or more whimsical label and changing the thread color.
By the way, if you are interested in reading about how I did this, along with the formula for the soap, check my Christmas blog -- the link is in the sidebar. I just did a post about this.

I made this pretty summer tag to give to my friend along with the laundry soap. I'm quite pleased with the way it came out.

In other crafting, my blueberry potholder is nearly finished. Just a tiny bit of green back-stitching left to do.

How about you? If you have managed to accomplish or even start any crafting this week, then head on over to Waiting for Him and share your projects. Shereen and others will be eager to see what you have to share.

Happy Crafting!

Show & Tell Friday for August 22

Just a quick post to show some of my ocean themed items. A friend told me she puts seashore-themed items all around her house in August. What a wonderful idea! I own quite a few items like this because we have made many trips to the ocean, especially Maine and Prince Edward Island. And one of my daughters chose "seaside romance" as her theme for decorating at her wedding, so we have quite a few items left from that as well. I decided to borrow my friend's idea for August, but I chose to take my items from all around the house and assemble them on one shelf of the hutch in the dining area.

The first photo shows most of the items I've placed on this shelf. The following photos will show more in detail.

This shows the center of the shelf. A gorgeous hand-painted sand dollar which we bought in Pensacola, Florida takes center stage. We've had it 15 years or so, and it was looking a bit tired. I took a chance and wiped it gently with a Mr. Clean magic eraser. It worked really well for the texture of the sand dollar. In front of the sand dollar are a few pieces of (purchased) sea glass. My daughter has picked up many, many pieces of sea glass over the years, but I did buy these for crafting.


We made the shell-trimmed candles for the wedding, just hot-gluing assorted shells to inexpensive pillar candles. My daughter had seen some very expensive votive candle holders similar to the gold-trimmed one here, so we made our own, frosting regular votive holders and adding the gold mesh ribbon and seashore charms. There's a starfish on the lower left and a shell on the right toward the middle. The sand dollars in the front were picked up in Maine.

Here's the other end of the shelf. Another shell-trimmed pillar, another pretty card, a small assortment of pretty shells, and a sand dollar painted by one of my daughters many, many years ago following a trip to PEI.

So that is my show & tell for today. To see what others have shared for Show & Tell Friday, head on over to There is No Place Like Home

and check out the links. Happy Show & Tell Friday, everyone!

Menu Plan Monday for August 18

A hot sunny day here in northern New England. (See the post below to see what the weather was like Saturday! You'll see why here in New England we say, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute." I do have a couple of repeat menus that didn't get used last week. Here's my menu plan:

MONDAY: Mushroom Oven Omelet, Home Fries, Fruit Salad

TUESDAY: Mini Meat Loaves, Potato Salad, Green Beans

WEDNESDAY: Calzone, Pasta Salad

THURSDAY: Pork Chop Supper (in crock pot with potatoes, carrots, barbecue sauce), Cucumber Salad

FRIDAY: Chicken Caesar Salad, Italian Sweet Bread

SATURDAY: Spinach Quiche, Corn on the Cob, Carrot Salad

SUNDAY: Italian Sausage & Vegetables, Italian Sweet Bread

If you would like to see menus which others have shared, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the links. Usually close to 200 people -- sometimes many more! -- share links to their weekly menus. You'll find some great ideas and often recipes too.

Lessons from the storm...

 For Building Our Homes Together today,  I thought I would share a post I wrote just about three years ago, in August.  An unexpected storm taught me (and my husband) some important lessons about getting through the storms of life.  The "life storm" we were in the midst of then is still swirling about us in some ways.  It has taken some twists and turns, some ups and downs, and more storms have come and gone, but the precious lessons remain.  Maybe these thoughts will be an encouragement to someone else today.


Lessons from the storm...

Saturday afternoon we headed out for what promised to be a wonderfully relaxing time at the lakeside home of friends. I was to bring my stitchery, and my friend planned to do some sketching as we relaxed on the beach. They live about 20 minutes from us, and the sun was shining brightly before we left home. About halfway there, we saw a few sprinkles on the windshield, and it was in fact raining when we reached our destination. But we enjoyed a nice chat on the porch anyway, and, when the shower seemed to be over, we ventured out for a walk.

Toward the end of our walk it began to rain again, so we put up the umbrellas we'd brought and headed back to our friends' place. Just as we reached their porch, the hail began. Now, we've seen hail in conjunction with summer thunderstorms before, but this was an amazing amount of hail! The hailstorm lasted 15 to 20 minutes and was accompanied by a very strong smell of sulphur. While it hailed, the noise on the metal porch roof was deafening. Conversation literally could not be carried on -- in fact, we had to plug our ears because the sound was so loud. The hail covered the ground, looking incongruously like snow. When the hail ended, the rain, thunder and lightning all continued for quite some time.

After enjoying a delightful early supper, we decided to go out for another walk, since things had cleared off. What a difference! The sky was bright blue, with fluffy white clouds, and the lake was serene and calm. People were swimming and boating once again. It was an amazing transformation.

Now for the really good part of the story. You see, although the afternoon didn't go according to the plans we had made, it did go according to God's plan. And, amazingly, He used that storm to reinforce some important lessons and to encourage me. I hope these thoughts may encourage someone else today, too. Here are some of my thoughts:

1) God's awesome power was seen so clearly in that unusual storm. It reminded me of something I had just read in Elizabeth George's book Finding God's Path Through Your Trials. She wrote that an important step for staying in our trials is to remember God's power: "When your trial gets harder and the steps grow steeper, you struggle. Remind yourself, 'Is anything too hard for the LORD?' (Genesis 18:14) and remember the answer: 'Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.' (Jeremiah 32:17)"

Interestingly, before I read those words this week, I had already been working at memorizing Jeremiah 32:17. God used that hailstorm to remind me of His limitless power and might.

2) When I mentioned to our pastor about the deafening sound of the hail on the metal roof, and how we couldn't hear one another, he remarked that sometimes the storms in our lives become so loud that we have to listen extra carefully for the still, small voice of God. How true! In the storms of life, I have found it so important to take extra time with the Lord and to pray for sensitivity to His leading.

3) The contrast between the raging storm and the serene calm of a few hours later was so vivid. It was such an encouragement to me as I thought about the storms of life and how there will eventually be a calm. No matter how the storm rages, the Lord will bring us safely through to the other side. The verses that came to mind immediately were these:

"Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses.
"He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
"Then are they glad because they are quiet; so He bringeth them into their desired haven.
"Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"  (Psalm 107:28-31)

Truly, there are precious lessons to be learned in the storms of life.

Sew Crafty Friday for August 15

Not much new to report today, but I thought I would show you the progress on my blueberry pot holder. The one bunch of berries (on the left side of the holder) has all the back stitching complete. I've begun back stitching the berries on the second bunch and should complete the back stitching soon.

How about you? If you have managed to accomplish or even start any crafting this week, then head on over to Waiting for Him and share your projects. Shereen and others will be eager to see what you have to share.

Happy Crafting!

Show & Tell Friday for August 15

For Show & Tell today, I will share just one thing -- this pretty little dish shaped like a bunch of grapes. I know almost nothing about it. It was given to me by my mother, but I don't know where she got it. It has "Italy" stamped on the bottom of the dish. This photo shows the dish with its matching spoon in place...

And this one shows it with the spoon alongside so you can see how cute the spoon is.

So that is my show & tell for today. To see what others have shared for Show & Tell Friday, head on over to There is No Place Like Home

and check out the links. Happy Show & Tell Friday, everyone!

Menu Plan Monday for August 11

Another cool rainy day here in northern New England. Showers, clouds, and thunderstorms are in the forecast for most of this week. We've had a great deal of rain in the past week or so, with some flash flooding and associated tragedies. This is not the norm for our area in the summer, so everyone is finding it a bit difficult to cope. Here's my menu plan:

MONDAY: Cream of Broccoli Soup, Cheesy Onion Focaccia

TUESDAY: Sweet & Hot Sausage Potato Salad, Green Beans, Cornbread

WEDNESDAY: Philly Cheese Steak Pizza, Pasta Veggie Medley

THURSDAY: Fish Chowder, Multigrain Biscuits

FRIDAY: Chicken Caesar Salad, Italian Sweet Bread

SATURDAY: Spinach Quiche, Corn on the Cob, Tomato-Cucumber Salad

SUNDAY: Round Steak Italiano, Baked Potatoes, Italian Mixed Vegetables

If you would like to see menus which others have shared, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the links. Usually close to 200 people -- sometimes many more! -- share links to their weekly menus. You'll find some great ideas and often recipes too.

Show & Tell Friday for August 8

Better late than never with show & tell, right? This week I am showing a few more of my strawberry items.

Here is a set of Yankee Candle strawberry votive holders which I bought on clearance. There is a sugar shaker and matching spoon -- those were from Avon, many years ago. Then there is a little strawberry dish someone gave me, and a tin of Wedgewood strawberry tea.

A few more. In the back is a strawberry cookbook -- a gift from one of my daughters. The strawberry candle holder on the left was given to me by some dear friends and has a strawberry scented votive inside. The container on the right is a little jam jar. Sometimes I use it to serve strawberry jam with biscuits, etc. And the two strawberries and blossom in the foreground are from a set of ceramic wind chimes someone made for me many years ago. The string part rotted away and one day the chimes just fell down. But we salvaged several of them and I display them with my other strawberry things.

Hope you have enjoyed the strawberry show & tell. To see what others have shared, visit There is No Place Like Home

and check out the links. Show & Tell Friday is a highlight of my week!

Sew Crafty Friday for August 8

Here are just a couple of items to show for Sew Crafty Friday. The first one is my blueberry pot holder. All of the cross stitching is done now, and I have started the back stitching. You can see several of the completed blueberries to the left of the photo. I think they look so real!


And these are two tags I made... one to keep and one to give to a special friend. This is my second attempt at tag making. I used a photo my friend had sent me of a favorite place in New England. I then added part of Psalm 23, because the road in this picture made me think of the Lord leading us. The only thing I wish I had done differently is that I think a smaller size font might have looked better. I wanted to make the photo look like a screened window, so I covered it with a small piece of self-adhesive vinyl screen "repair" patch. We've had this stuff kicking around for ages and it didn't work for its intended purpose, so I thought I would try it for this tag. The frame around the window was cut from a Susan Branch sticker bookplate. The tiny dragonflies (stickers found at the dollar store) add pretty much the finishing touch. For my friend's tag, I used a ribbon in an unusual shade of blue that just matches the dragonfly wings. For my tag, I used some silver-gray cord I had on hand.

How about you? If you have managed to accomplish or even start any crafting this week, then head on over to Waiting for Him and share your projects. Shereen and others will be eager to see what you have to share.

Happy Crafting!

Blessed encouragement from the Psalms...

In my Bible reading not too long ago (I am working my way through a one-year devotional Bible) I read Psalms 107, 108, and 109. What a blessing they were! I have always been impressed, in Psalm 107, by the way God delivered His people from distresses when they cried unto Him. Today I was noticing particularly what He did when He delivered them from the various distresses they were calling to Him from.

"Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way..." (verses 6-7)

"Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder." (v. 13-14)

"Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses. He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." (v.19-20)

"Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still."

What an encouragement to me today! The last verse, 43, comes to the conclusion: "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD."

In the Treasury of David, Spurgeon noted: "In a thousand ways the lovingkindness of the Lord is shown, and if we will but prudently watch, we shall come to a better understanding of it. To understand the delightful attribute of lovingkindness is an attainment as pleasant as it is profitable."

Spurgeon quotes a man named William Romaine: "[Whoso is wise] observes what is said on this Psalm concerning those things; and he knows it to be true, by his own experience. And therefore the lovingkindness of the Lord here recorded is to him a subject of exceeding great joy, because he has tasted of it. Whoso is wise will bring his knowledge of this Psalm home to his own heart, and he shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord, he shall be able to apply what he understands to his own benefit, and shall therefore be continually praising the Lord for His goodness, and declaring the wonders which He has done for the salvation of men."

For those who prefer their commentary to be in less archaic language, J. Vernon McGee gives a simple illustration about God's lovingkindness. He writes: "A little girl has defined lovingkindness. She said, 'If you ask your mother for a piece of bread and butter, and she gives it to you, that is kindness. But if she puts jam on it without you asking her, that is lovingkindness.' My friend, the lovingkindness of God is lavished upon us who belong to Him."

And of course, four times throughout Psalm 107 (following each instance of God's deliverance of His people) we read, "Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

I love what William MacDonald wrote about this Psalm. He says,

"There is a common behavior pattern in the lives of God's people which can be summarized [as follows]:

Rebellion
Retribution
Repentance
Restoration

First of all the people stray from the Lord, walking in disobedience to His Word. Then they suffer the bitter consequences of their backsliding. When they come to themselves, they cry out to the Lord in confession of sin. He then forgives their sin and brings them back into the place of blessing once more. It is the old story of the prodigal son and surely no story is more familiar, more relevant, and true to life.

Two basic facts emerge from the contemplation of this ever-recurring cycle. One is the perpetual proneness of the human heart to wander away from the living God. The other is the seemingly inexhaustible mercy of the Lord in restoring His people when they come to Him in repentance."

I was also greatly encouraged today by some verses from Psalm 108 and 109:

"Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that will tread down our enemies." (Psalm 108:12-13)

"I give myself unto prayer...
"Do Thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for Thy name's sake: because Thy mercy is good, deliver Thou me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me...
Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to Thy mercy: That they may know that this is Thy hand; that Thou, LORD, hast done it." (Psalm 109:4b,21-22, 26-27)

Favorite Ingredients Friday for August 1

Today's theme at Favorite Ingredients Friday is appetizers and snacks. Here's a recipe I've made for years. It's a different and quite inexpensive version of a cheese ball. Hope you all enjoy it!

TUNA CHEESE BALL

1(8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 (6-ounce) cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced celery
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Crackers
Combine cream cheese, tuna, egg, celery, onion, lemon juice,
mustard, salt and pepper sauce; mix well. Chill this mixture for 2
hours.
Shape chilled mixture into a ball. In a shallow bowl,
combine the pecans and parsley to mix thoroughly. Roll cheese ball in
this mixture to coat well. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until serving
time. Unwrap and serve with assorted crackers.


Yield: 1 cheese ball

This festive-looking cheese ball is a different way to serve
tuna. I’ve been making it for years for family and church
get-togethers.


To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Show & Tell Friday for August 1

For Show & Tell today, I thought I would share just a few things from my collection of strawberry-themed items. I have strawberry wallpaper in my kitchen, and for years people have thought of me when they see strawberries and have gifted me with all manner of new, used, or handcrafted strawberry items. Here are a few of them.

This beautiful, oversized teacup was a recent addition to my collection.

Here are a few more things people have given me: a tea ball with a tiny strawberry teacup attached; a heavy glass strawberry; an antique sauce dish; 2 bone china napkin rings decorated with strawberries.

This is the top shelf of my baker's rack. There's a handmade strawberry sugar/creamer set, a little wooden crate of strawberry tea, and a metal measuring cup with a strawberry design. Don't miss the "strawberry bug" clinging to the top of the rack. He was a recent gift as well.

Hope you have enjoyed my Show & Tell for today!

To see what others have shared for Show & Tell this week, go visit visit There is No Place Like Home
and check out the links. It’s so much fun to see what others have to share!

Sew Crafty Friday for August 1

Today I have just two things to share.

This bib was something I acquired unfinished. It was accompanied by a partial package of bias tape. I bought more, with an eye to finishing this and two matching children's aprons that were with the bib when I got it. Unfortunately, the new bias tape doesn't match the old (faded, I guess) so I had to just use up the older tape on the bib and hope that the ties will be long enough. They still don't look quite long enough to me, but other than that I like the way it came out.

And here is how my cross-stitch pot holder is coming along. I wish I had put the lettering just a little bit higher up. (Adding it was my own idea, it wasn't part of the pattern or chart, so I had to decide where to put it. I'd like it better if it were placed higher up on the holder, but I'm not about to move it now! I still have a few berries and leaves to stitch, and then the back stitching to do. The letters are finished; they will not require back stitching, which is exactly why I chose that particular alphabet!

How about you? If you have managed to accomplish or even start any crafting this week, then head on over to Waiting for Him and share your projects. Shereen and others will be eager to see what you have to share.

Happy Crafting!