Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and hearts and chocolates have been appearing all around us since January. For those of us without a "Valentine", this particular holiday can be awkward, depressing, and just plain boring. Yet over the past few years, God has used this season of "singleness awareness day", as my brother calls it, to cause me to pause and contemplate His love for me.

The first year He sent me sweet little piano students with homemade cards and candy. The next year it was flowers --snowdrops, to be exact-- along my walk to and from work. Last year, it was violets. We had just moved, and I was delighted to find three colors of my favorite flowers growing in my yard, just in time for Valentine's Day!

This year, there are violets, and there may be snowdrops, and perhaps even piano students with homemade cards, but the greatest blessing God has given me this year as Valentine's Day approaches has been by way of a song He caused me to be working on.

I played it last Sunday as an offertory, and in the process of arranging and practicing it, I memorized the words so that I could better express them through my playing. Thinking upon the words of this hymn has given me such joy by reminding me of the greatest blessing God has given --not to me alone, but to anyone and everyone who will accept it: Salvation.

It was love that prompted Christ to leave His glory and be born in a stable, to grow up in a poor family, to minister to those who would reject and eventually crucify Him, to endure the agonizing pain of the cross, and to die, paying the penalty for our sin. It was love beyond anything mere mortal man has ever known. --And it was love for you and for me.

This Hymn, called The Love of God has been such a blessing to me, I decided to post the words. Perhaps it will be a blessing to you, as well.

The Love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled

And pardoned from his sin.

*

O Love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forever more endure,

The saints' and angels' song.

*

When years of time shall pass away

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;

When men who here refuse to pray,

On rocks and hills and mountains call;

God's love so sure, shall still endure,

All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam's race

--The saints' and angels' song.

*

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure,

The saints' and angels' song.

*

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made;

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Tho' stretched from sky to sky.

*

O Love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure,

The saints' and angels' song.

~

Have a blessed Valentine's Day everyone! : )

Making "Improvements"

Since my brother moved out recently, I have been getting his bathroom cleaned up so that my students can use it when I'm teaching. Unfortunately, it had atrocious wallpaper that was so bad, I had to do something about it. I had originally thought to paint over it, but as I was masking everything off, I began to peel off a corner of the wallpaper, and found that all of it came off with relatively little trouble!

Today I painted on the primer, and tomorrow I will be finishing up with the topcoat. The dark little room already looks brighter with the dark wallpaper gone, and I think that once the last coat of white is on, it will look so much better! --And my brother gets to see how well he taught me about painting and masking. : )

I suppose painting is a good skill to have, in case I ever live in a house that needs a new coat of paint! : )

Gifts

This Christmas I decided not to spend any money at all on gifts.

Now, before you start thinking I’m a scrooge, let me explain a little further. Instead of going out and spending money I don’t have to buy my family and friends things they don’t need, I used the materials I already had to make something for each person that they will (hopefully) like and use.

It was quite a challenge to figure out what to make everyone. (Rather like a puzzle, but I like puzzles, so it was actually pretty enjoyable.) : ) It caused me, however, to stop and think about each person on my list –their likes and dislikes, favorite colors, whether they would most want a practical or impractical gift– and it surprised me to find that the gifts I came up with this year were much better (at least to my mind) than the ones I bought for each person last year.

There is something about a handmade gift that makes it special. I don’t know exactly what it is, whether it is the thought and time and love that go into it, or the personal touch it adds to the gift, or what it is, but I do know that whenever I have given a handmade gift to someone, it has always been received with that precious look that comes across someone’s face when they receive a gift they really appreciate.

But all this thinking about gifts and people drew my mind to ponder the reason we give gifts at all. I know there are those who find giving Christmas gifts a stressful and tiring experience, as I have in the past, and it seems to me that if we remember the reason for giving, it becomes a more joyful and peaceful experience.

The gifts we give at Christmas time reflect the gift God gave to man by sending His only Son, Jesus, to earth as a baby, who would later die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and be raised to life again, showing His victory over death. Last week in my devotions I came across a verse that helped me to remember the reason for Christmas gifts:

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet he became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”
2 Corinthians 8:9

When we give Christmas gifts, it is to remind ourselves and others of the gift of salvation, a gift that cost Christ unimaginable pain and suffering, yet willingly given out of love for us.


May the reminder of His amazing gift bring you all great joy and peace this week!


~Merry Christmas!!

My First Award!

My dear friends at Ebenezer Forest Farm have very kindly bestowed upon
my little blog the honor of the "One Lovely Blog Award".
Thank you, Strang family!

I have awarded the following blogs:

Diary of a Country Girl

Country Diary of a 21st Century Lady

Heirloom Gazette

Home Living

Holiday

Safely To Arrive at Home

According to the award rules, I was supposed to award a total of 15 other blogs, but... I guess I'm picky. : ) (That, and I haven't explored blogger enough to have 15 newly discovered blogs.)

But, for those of you who were awarded, here are the rules:
1. Accept the award (post the picture on your blog, along with the name of the person who has granted you the award.
2. Pass the award along to 15 newly-discovered blogs
3. Don't forget to contact the bloggers to let them know you awarded them!

The Proverbs 31 Entrepreneur

“She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.”
“She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.”
Proverbs 31: 19&24

For about 10 years now, mommy has had a small business selling various things she has made. It’s technically a family business, but she is really the only major producer for the business. She designs her own patterns for knitted, crocheted, felted, tatted, woven, and braided items. Everything we sell in our online shop or our booths at farm festivals is handmade from original designs. Knowing that, I think anyone who looks at our booth would agree –my mother is amazing! She is always learning new techniques and figuring out new designs, and seems always to have some project with her to work on in spare moments.

Through the family effort of starting and running this small business, my parents have taught each of us children to have an entrepreneurial mindset which is probably why the three of us each have at least one small business of our own.

Mommy has been to me an example of the Proverbs 31 woman especially in this area of business. There are several verses which always make me think of her.

“She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” (v.13) To my knowledge, Mommy hasn’t done much with flax, but she often works with wool. : ) More significantly, she works willingly. She finds delight in the creative aspect of her work, but takes the time to do the more tedious tasks on her own initiative. –Which is a lesson I still need!

“She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.” Mommy is pretty picky about the quality of the materials she uses in her products, as well as the quality of her work. She is not content with “good”; she strives for “best”! She also has had many late evenings getting ready before a show, but she perseveres until everything is ready.

“She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.” (v.19) –She is always working on something. : ) She uses every spare moment, not wasting time even when she would seem justified in doing so.

“She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.” (v.24) Mommy has recently started an etsy shop (www.mountainmistfiberworks.etsy.com ) and has worked very hard to learn the ins and outs of the system, as well as how to promote her items so more people will look at them.

“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.” Even though the business keeps her busy, Mommy still faithfully attends to the ways of her household. In addition to her housework and business work, she always has time for her family. She would get so much more accomplished if she didn’t stop to listen to me chatter! : )

It is because of Mommy that my sister, my brother, and I each know how to knit, crochet, spin, and weave. It is also because of her that it usually feels like cheating to me to use a pattern. : ) She has instilled in us the creativity and ingenuity that learns the basics, then takes those and uses them to make something much more complicated. That principle shows up in many areas of our daily lives, whether cooking, crafting, music, teaching, or anything else. Mommy has taught us by example to learn the basics well, and then implement them in new and creative ways.

Thank you, Mommy!!

Gentling Influences: Part 1

My brother will often have me accompany him to social events for which I have no other reason for going than the fact that my brother will be there. Usually he has a reason for bringing me, sometimes because he wants me to be friends with his friends, but more often because my presence with him would prevent some sort of awkwardness from occurring. The other day was just such an occasion, and I went with him to have dinner at his friends’ house. If it weren’t for my brother, I would not have gone that night, and as it was, I spent the evening trying not to look as uncomfortable as I felt. On the way home, I told Tris that if I had known how superfluous I was going to be, I would not have gone. Tris answered and said that he was glad I was there, because my very presence had a “gentling influence” on the conversation, keeping it from turning in directions it ought not to go. Suddenly, I was very glad I had gone.

That got me to thinking, though. How does one accomplish such a thing? It seems to me that there are several factors that make one a gentling influence, the first of which is the matter of dress. Do I look gentle? --I certainly don’t mean that we ought to be merely ornamental, or to seek to seem weak and fragile, but there is a gentling effect that comes from the presence of a modest, feminine girl or lady.

One time as I was on the bus, a man across from me began a conversation with the heavily-tattooed man in the next seat. As their conversation progressed, it became apparent that the tatooed man had a rather entertaining way of phrasing things, and was very friendly. Before long, he had most of the passengers listening to a description of the tattooing process. In the course of the conversation, this colorful man used some colorful language. I continued to stare out my window, (very carefully giving no indication that I had even heard him swear) and he kept on with his story. When we came to his stop, he stood and began to say goodbye to all his new friends. On the way out of the bus, he stopped in front of me and said, “Sorry about the swearing.”

There were many other women on the bus, and even a few children, but he only apologized to me. I believe it was because I was (sadly) the only wholesomely and femininely dressed woman on the bus. The presence of a lady who looked like a lady had enough of a gentling influence on this man to make him think twice about the language he used in front of me –enough to make him apologize.

The way women dress has a definite effect on the way they are treated. I know this from personal experience, because I used to dress in a very different way than I do now. –But that’s another post for another day. The point is, if I don’t look like a lady, I can’t expect to be treated like one, and thus am not likely to be the gentling influence God created me to be.

Emotions

I have been thinking about the way I make decisions. There are a few pretty important matters that I need to get settled this next week or so, and while I was thinking about these upcoming decisions, my thoughts turned to the process of decision-making. So many times when I need to make a decision, especially if I don’t have much time to decide, I am tempted to rely on what I feel, rather than figuring out what I know. I suppose it is partly a product of intellectual laziness; I don’t want to take the time to think and determine the facts of the matter, so I go by feelings, which take less effort to determine.

Yet emotions are not necessarily a viable means for making decisions. The Bible tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all else...” (Jeremiah 17:9) and I know from personal experience that emotions can easily be misleading or even false. While the Holy Spirit sometimes uses emotions to speak to us or guide us, it is important to be very careful to make sure that the “leading” we feel lines up with God’s word. I have been tricked by my emotions enough times that I am somewhat distrustful of them now. One way I have found to discern between mere emotional “fluff” and the leading of the Holy Spirit is to pray and ask God to make His leading more clear, to confirm that what I feel is truly His leading. –And He always does!

Emotions are indeed tricky things. So often, it is not what one feels that is most important; it is how one responds to those feelings that truly matters. Today was the first day of a piano camp I am teaching, and I noticed that so many of the problems my students had stemmed from the students being so preoccupied with the things other students were doing, that they ended up doing something worse. It’s important even for adults to remember that we are not responsible for the actions of others, but we are responsible for the way we react to them.