Stuff that Makes the Time Pass. .

I can hardly believe that over 2 weeks have passed since I have checked in. .

So many places we've been, things we've done, and stories I have missed telling!

Of course, Easter has come. .

And gone!

I was privledged to be able to share my testimony of conversion. .

from going to church every Sunday because I knew I should. .

To becoming a true daughter of the King. .

At our Sunrise service on Easter morning!

I read through the testimony that I put on my little 'ole blog last year. .

If you didn't get to read it then and are interested click here

We did all our usual traditional Easter things too. .

colored some eggs, attended an Egg Hunt, church all morning Easter Sunday with the traditional HUGE breakfast feast, and ate Bacon Egg Sandwiches! On Good Friday I transported kiddos from youth group to the city for the day. We bowled and shopped and attended a MASSIVE 10 band Christian Rock concert that evening! The only bummer was the part where I ran the red light I didn't see in the row of stop lights that were close together. .and ended up getting T-boned by a poor family who didn't expect someone to be in their lane. .

Thanks to the GOOD LORD. .

Not one of the 10 people were injured. .

and my car was still driveable for the 2 hour trip home. .

AND. .

My AWESOME hubby is able to do the repair work himself. .

Since we carry liability only on my Yukon!

I guess all the time he spent rebuilding cars and trucks has come in handy :-)

It's starting to look like spring around here. .

Grant and I are trying a new gardening technique this summer. .

We planted potatos (yes, in APRIL. .my St Patrick's day planting grandma would have had a fit!!) last weekend. .

In these tomato cages.

We put straw in them and made a nest. .

For POTATOES, you silly cat!!

and planted the little eyes outward. .

covered with some of our own compost and more straw.

Each layer had about a foot of space filled with straw in between.

We tried Purple Majesty variety as well as some type of bulk red potatoes eyes that were clearancing out of the farm store. .

another hint that we waited a l-i-t-t-l-e too long!

We watered them in. .

Hopefully they will be in a spot that can easily be attended to this summer.

We'll let you know how it works out!

We also tied them to the fence. .

Wind is the rule here in Kansas. .

And we sure didn't want our potential harvest blowing away!

The most exciting thing that we have been up to is visible in the background. .

This is how I found my bedroom when we returned from Vegas. .

With a straight thru view of Camille's room on the other side. .

The 100 year old lathe and plaster walls and nasty shreds of black insulation came out. .

And new walls are going up. .

The most fun aspect, though is this. .

A new sunroom/family room that will be entered from my bedroom. .

You can see it as the wall went up last week.

It will be a major change from the outside as well. .

This will give me a nice big chunk of good gardening space for things that need a little afternoon shade. .

And another little patio area to sit and watch life go by from. .

Here's the inside view of the new room. .

The back wall will contain some narrow french doors to open out. .

and plenty of nice big windows to view wildlife (and the animals I claim as children)!

The plans have changed already about 50 times. .

but, as they always do, for the better!!

We also decided to put in a second door to access the room from the large room that we use as the porch and laundry room. .

This door will come in where the little green window is on the left.

This will facilitate some entertaining in this big room as well as just private enjoyment!

Yesterday found me in the city picking up flooring and many of the odds and ends needed to keep progress going forward. We have the two bedrooms in the middle of the living room, which is about to finally wear me down. .

And the boys are all upstairs with J and I sleeping in Grant's bed and Cami on a love seat. .

Hoping that we'll at least have Cami's room painted and moved back into by next week. .

On the agenda for the rest of this week. .

Golf meet on Friday. .

Prom on Saturday. .

This lucky mom gets to help with the after-prom party. .

So if you are up at about 3 am Sunday morning. .

So will I be!!!

I am hoping to post some pictures of how the gardens are looking soon!

We're buckling down for some winter weather tonight here in Southwest Kansas. .

Hope spring has sprung wherever you might be!

Blessings to you all!

A Life Saved. .Mine

This post is a little different from most of the things I put up for all to read. This post is deeper. .more thought provoking. .with sensitive information. I have actually been working on this story for months. Twice since early December. .I have started. .and finished. .a 28 week (hours actually) bible study on the book of Revelation by James McDonald during my travel time to the health department. I have heard him say in several of his studies. ."If you don't have a conversion story (to Christianity). .you don't have a conversion."

That concept nagged in my head for years. .since the first time I heard him say it. .and has continued to perplex me as I have listened to his commentaries again over the last 4 months. .it has provoked a lot of thought for me. .as to what MY story (also known as a "testimony")REALLY was. You see. .I have always believed in God. .always gone to church. .and always considered myself a Christian. .but since I couldn't ever look to a time when I made a drastic change in my life to follow God. .I could never decide where my "conversion" took place. .until recently. .when I came upon a scripture that nailed it for me. The tradition of our church on Easter Sunday over the years has been to listen to the resurrecting "new life" testimonies of others. I always felt uncomfortable that I couldn't describe mine in words. As I have searched my heart and soul over the last several months I have been feeling the need to write down MY personal testimony of faith. .for myself. .for my kids. .and for anyone else that just might be interested.

I was raised in a Catholic family and we went to church every weekend. We attended every special "holy day" mass. My siblings and I attended Sunday school and Wednesday night CYO meetings. .I even taught Sunday school to a group of 5 year olds a year or two.  As is the Catholic custom. .I was baptized shortly after my birth. That was where my difficulty began. I assumed that because I was baptized. .that all was good. Somewhere in my high school years, all the kids of the right age take a "confirmation class." To remind us that we are followers of Christ. I truly didn't remember what that was all about. .but assumed that is accomplished the repent of my sins command and "confirm" what took place at baptism. Not until I did some research on a Catholic website recently did I understand what confirmation was all about. As it seemed, that sacrament was so God would allow me a deeper understanding about what He was all about. .but somewhere I missed the point about needing to read the Bible to "see" what He was about. .and pray enough to develop a relationship with Him. Needless to say, I didn't know anymore about God. .His character. .His love. .or His expectations after confirmation than I did before. .my own fault?? Possibly!

So . .as a young woman in her early 20's did I ever find myself confused. Jeremy and I had gotten married. We had fallen away from attending any kind of church. He didn't agree with some of the things that we recited in the Catholic masses that I faithfully attended. And I was committed to my selfishness. .that I had given up a lot of hopes, dreams, and good shopping to get married and move, as far as I was concerned, to the "end of the earth". .and I wasn't ABOUT to be the one who would change my religion.  I didn't find much comfort in going to mass here by myself. .and I wasn't exactly embraced with open arms. .so I just stopped going to church too. I still believed in God. .but no relationship existed there.

As we were expecting our first child. .I decided that we needed to bring up our child in a church. By this time, I was willing to compromise my "religion". .if it meant that we could go to church as a family. We tried several different churches before we ended up attending the one that Jeremy attended as a child. A little country community church. .I had NO idea WHAT a community church was. For those of you like me, it is a Bible-teaching. .no affiliation type of church. It doesn't have higher ups deciding what you believe with a bunch of rules. .It has one preacher. .and one board. .both accountable to God. .and they encourage people to open up the pages of their bibles to confirm what they teach. .which. .at that point, was a whole new concept to me. I had never opened up a bible. .because I didn't need to, they read parts of the bible every week in the Catholic mass, and it was printed out for us in a little book. I really didn't have any idea what I was missing!

I don't remember a lot from those early years in our church, probably because of the overwhelming task of being a new mom. .and the fact that it was easy to mentally check out, once I was in the pew. I didn't really attend Sunday school because there was no nursery for our little ones. I did, however go with a good girlfriend to a Women of Faith Conference in Wichita when Tristan was just over a year old. That was when some change happened.

From the point of hearing Jeremy tell me that "just because I had been baptized as a baby DIDN'T mean I would go to heaven if it hadn't been my willful choice" to the point of this conference. .I know I prayed the "sinner's prayer" a hundred times. .wondering if it was THEN that He would hear. I never really "got" the "gift" part. .always thinking that I had to be "good enough" to go. .you know. .always be nice. .do good things. .go to church every Sunday. .and say enough Hail Mary's to count! By now, I was also feeling the guilt from the sin of disbelief. .knowing that I had prayed the prayer. .but still wondering if I would go to heaven.

At the Women of Faith conference, I prayed that prayer again and filled out a paper admitting that I had made that choice. After the Women of Faith Conference I recieved a New Testament with a letter. It talked of the need to confess my role as a sinner and ask God to take over my life. .and congratulated me for my decision to become a true FOLLOWER of Christ. I finally understood. .and in September of 1997. .I prayed that prayer for the last time.

Until. .that doubt began to take over my mind again over the last year or two. Because by now, I had heard many bible teachers and preachers talk about that still-elusive concept to me. .the testimony. I wasn't a thief. .nor was I a murderer. I was a nice kid. .respected and obeyed my parents. .went to church regularly. .a good neighbor, nice friend. .blah. .blah. .blah. Yes, I knew that I was a sinner. .the same little 'ole sins everyone else had. .said some mean things, little white lies, curse words. .you know. .the usual.  I had always believed in a GOD. .THE God. .the same one that saved everyone else. I just couldn't believe that it was THAT easy. .what if my heart hadn't been right, what if I hadn't meant it. .what if, what if, what IF! Except that. .my heart had been right, I had meant it. .it was just Satan's way of keeping me confused.

And things continued from there. As I was able to start attending Sunday school, my learning and understanding really started to happen. I found myself more eager to read in the Bible. .and see for myself. .with my OWN eyes. .what God really wanted us to know. .The incredibly wise advice for life. .the demonstrations of what happens to people when they listen. .and when they don't. .the chance to read about people that were human. .just like us!! I learned so much from reading. .and from bible teachers like Beth Moore, James McDonald, Francis Chan. .and the other women in our Sunday studies.

I knew that I was learning and growing and comprehending and even shepherding others. But, I was still discouraged that I didn't have a big, fabulous story. .that one day I was, all of the sudden, a completely different person because I had asked Jesus into my life. So. .was I REALLY saved??

Mark 9:24b Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.  

Finally, over the last year. .as great change has occurred in my mind and in my heart. .I have been able to stake claim on my place in heaven!  As I continued to study and learn. .I was finally able to get out from under my mis-information and misconceptions. .and accept the fact that Jesus accepted ME a long time ago.

The scripture that I came across was this one. .

Philippians 3:9

I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me.

 For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

AHA! Finally, a reprieve from the notion that if I missed church, or I screwed up, or if I didn't confess my sin of the day before I died I would burn in the fiery lake of Hell. Thank God that He didn't make things as difficult as I always thought they were!! God KNEW that I couldn't do it by myself. .and my faith in His ability was all I needed!!

Ephesians 2:8-9

God saved you (ME) by his special favor when you (I) believed. And you (I) can't take credit for this; it is a GIFT from God. Salvation is NOT a reward for the good things we have done, so NONE OF US can boast about it. (bolded and parethesis empasis mine)

I have finally accepted that I can't. .and shouldn't try to work for it. .it is mine to claim. .and I have accepted it.

There were a few concepts that I struggled with more than others. .and part of the reason that I just couldn't recognize my need to change. .and I share them as part of my testimony, because I believe the Bible is clear on them. .and until I personally read the words from the Book, I wasn't able to completely wrap my head around those concepts that I learned from an early age.

Concept #1.) God will not save us by SOMEONE else's choice. .it must be OUR willful choice. .We must be able to mindfully understand and acknowledge WHO God is. .and then we MUST be able to admit and repent of our personal sins!! That leaves babies and comatose or dead people out. While I believe that there are many people who were baptized as babies that have taken this second step of willful repentance. .I was not among them.

Brethren, what must we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-38

Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

I was baptized a second time August 8, 2004. Tristan was baptized the same day.
I know now that I can't spit on a mortally injured person and baptize him and expect him to arrive in heaven because of my deed. .as much as I know I can't pray for someone who has already died to get their soul to heaven. I understand and realize that there is only a window of time for people to choose the road to heaven. .and I want to live in a way such that people who haven't chosen that road already. .may find my life different enough to want to pursue the heavenly road themselves.
Romans 3:23 says. .For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And even born-again Christians sin. .continually. .it's how we were made. .it's our sinful human nature. Repentance isn't something that you can really just do once. .Part of my Christian growth has been reading and studying God's word. .and continuously. .I find parts of myself that have fallen short of God's desire for me. .and I must confess to God again of my sin. .and ask forgiveness. .and then rely on Him to help me fix that particular problem area, and sometimes that takes a LONG time.

Concept #2.) That by believing in God, and Jesus as a Savior to the world automatically gets you into heaven. .Research articles show that many people "believe" in God. .but not everyone that believes in God, will find themselves in heaven. I don't believe (and the bible confirms my theory) that a person can pray the "sinner's prayer," ask for an eternal life in heaven. .and then go on about their lives as they did before. .never reading or studying God's word. .and praying once in a while, if they find time. .living their "saved life" on their own terms. .and feeling totally secure in their eternity. That question has haunted my soul for the last 5-6 years. I believe that our place in eternity is completely about a relationship with Jesus. And the more I read and learn. .the more this seems to be correct. .God speaks of the "lukewarm Christian" in Revelation 3:15-16. .

  I know all the things you do, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth.
And Jesus himself told us in Matthew 7:22-23
On judgement day many will tell me, Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name. But I will reply, "I never knew you. Go away, the things you did were unauthorized."

Some people do have earth-shattering, complete life makeover type stories. .mine wasn't. I was a church goer. .who believed in God, and Jesus that died to save sinners. .I pursued God's word and a relationship with Him. .I acknowledged. .and still acknowledge my role as a sinner. .and I asked and accepted His gift of eternal life in heaven. And though my good work on earth will not get me into heaven. .it is my desire to DO good work, because God wants that from me. God wants me to pray. .go to church (as a way to remain strong in my faith and make our relationship a priority). .and to read His word. .I still do things wrong. .I still make mistakes and sin on a daily, even hourly basis. .but with the increased desire I have to do God's will. .the more He makes changes in my heart and mind. And the more like Christ I will become. .and that should be our whole goal. .
John the Baptist said of God in John 3:30
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

The season of Christ's death on the cross to bear the shame of the sin of the world has come to a close. .I am thankful for Christ's sacrifice. By now, all those with hardened hearts have checked out of this post. .which is fine. Those of you still reading. .are either part of the choir, intrigued to learn more about my deeper self, or curious about your own salvation--searching my words for some insight. If you have never asked Jesus to be YOUR savior. .or you did long ago, but find yourself NOT living your life for God. .please. .PLEASE take a minute to humble your heart, and profess with your mouth that you want Jesus to rule your life. .our time left to do so is severely limited. .don't wait until tomorrow. .for it may never come to you!!
When you are reborn. .you get a new spiritual nature. .but you don't get rid of the old nature. .
As you start understanding the Word of God, and it speaks to your heart and convicts you of your sins. .you can overcome that sinful nature as you grow in grace and knowledge of God.
And when you start looking for more of Jesus in your life. .you will start noticing less of yourself!
2 Peter 3:18
Grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and forever

He is Risen!!

Halleluia!!

Happy Easter and many blessings to you and yours!

Oh, My Achin' Back

  We had a superb Easter weekend.  Wonderful weather. .lots of activities. .great food. .family fun. .and joyous church services!! The kids are getting too fast for me to get pictures at the egg hunt!! Cami (who doesn't have a shy bone in her body) decided that she was too shy to hunt eggs Saturday.  She finally got going and I got a picture or two before she was done. .and by then. .

Devin had all the loot out of the eggs he found. .so the only photos I got of him. .was with his loot. .which included $7 in gold coins and a kite! Great huntin'.

Easter egg coloring was a family affair this year. .even dad got in on the action.  We made tie-dyed eggs.. which were pretty. .but very messy!

We turned those eggs into Bacon and egg sandwiches for supper tonight. .only half the batch left to eat now!

How sweet is this!! Aside from a family dinner Sunday evening, and church from sunrise until lunchtime. .I had a lot of garden time! 

I worked on cleaning out the greenhouse. .I've plugged in all the marigold and zinnia plants.  I started several packets a month ago or so. .I have better luck with spacing and germination when I can control stuff. .like the weather!  Probably 40-50 plants of each.  I also planted some mammoth sunflower seeds last night when I thought it really might rain on them (it did. .finally. .1/2 inch last night. .the first real moisture in months!) Today, as Cami napped, I hauled 4 wheelbarrow loads full of my own composted material to the waterfall.  I haven't been totally happy with the way the fast falls resevoir has looked after installation.  Thankfully, I had several large rocks that needed relocating. .so I shoveled on the dirt. .and added rock for retaining the soil. .to make the soil line even with the water fall.  I added a few more rocks to make a couple stair step planting areas on the way back down toward the pond.  NOW, it looks like it has always been there!! You'll note in the top photo, that you can still see a bit of the plastic. .but I am hoping to pick up a flat rock in Wichita this weekend, foam the underside of it, and have the water come over the top of the stone.  We'll see how it works out!  I will love the new planting area. .and so will the earth there. .it has been terrible soil, and rock hard. I transplanted some of the zinnia plants to grow in the compost enriched soil.  And hope to add a few short grasses to it to add some winter interest.   

The miniature hostas planted last fall are coming up, as well as the toad lily. This small garden sits beneath the large elm tree on the east side of the pond.  I left black plastic at the bottom of the bed, and added soil to the top. .I did poke a few holes for a little drainage.  I am hoping that this method will keep the soil moister for the hostas. .without rotting them. Can you spell. .experiment?? 

LOTS of mulch has been dumped on!! I've hauled home 40 bags. .and think I might still be a little short. I can't believe the difference in the soil where the old mulch has been deteriorating over the last few years. It really doesn't take much mulch to put around on the existing beds. .it's the new areas that I keep digging up that are consuming the most mulch! The line of grasses along the sidewalk are blue fescue.  I also ordered a number of native wildflowers from High Country Gardens which were planted along the pond and sidewalk and within the bed shown above.  They are doing well, and I can hardly wait to see what they will do!

We've been working REALLY hard to get some grass to come up where the dirtwork was done following the sidewalk endeavor. .as well as the HUGE stump he pushed out of the ground.  It's been terribly hot, dry, and windy here for several weeks. .until the last few days. Finally some grass is sprouting!

Things are starting to bloom here!! The white spirea bushes in the first picture are beautiful! I transplanted all three of them from the rows of spirea that my mother in law encloses her yard with.  We snagged 3 small ones and you couldn't even tell where they were removed from. .but they make a nice impact on my yard! The pinks are blooming. .this one is firewitch. .in its second blooming season. I love the bright pink next to the bluish foliage! I cut a few to put in a vase with some blue flax for dinner last evening. Lovely! By the way, it's xeric!! (doesn't need much water. .which is great around western Ks!) 

Here's a new columbine that I had to bring home from Lowes a few weeks ago!! I intended to dig some clumps from a friend, until I read that they don't transplant well.  This will add a punch of bright color to my shady north flower bed of hosta. 

Speaking of punch. .The same trip to Lowes rewarded me with the ability to check off a "wanted" plant from my new notebook.  This is Burning Heart bleeding heart.  It is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!! 

I also moved a couple of succulents out of the greenhouse. My friend Jennifer salvaged them, frostbitten, from the local nursery last fall. She knew I loved plants and brought them to me.  After cutting off the areas that died from the cold, they made a great comeback! I put this one in an old pressure canner that has been taking up space in my yard.  

The varigated one went in an old enamel bucket.  I think they will be happy on the deck! I can't wait to move my houseplants out. .but will have to wait till night time temps warm up just a bit! The veggies are sprouting well!! We have potatos, beets, carrots (a first for us), onions, swiss chard, and cilantro coming up in the garden.  I put out lots of basil plants today (purple and sweet). Grant and I will have to thin the beets out this week. .and the carrots soon too.  It's hard to believe that school will soon be out. .and summer will be in full swing! Wishing everyone a terrific week!! 

Happy Easter!

On the Mount of Olives, Jesus prayed to His Father. ."Father if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours, be done Luke 22:41. He was asking God, His Father to spare his life, praying so earnestly that his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. I can hardly even imagine that, can you??

Today, I'm thankful for Jesus' great sacrifice.

I'm thankful that He has risen from the dead.

I'm thankful that, because of His gift, I will see Him in heaven one day.

And I'm thankful to live in a nation in which I can unashamedly call on His name. .or worship Him as I please!

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast!! For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Halleluiah, Halleluiah

Christ our Savior has risen today!!

Happy Easter everyone!!