Summer Fun! Happy Homemaker Monday 7/27/2020

Posted on by Mary

Good evening everyone I had high hopes of getting this done this morning but last night was a a TRIP! I was home alone with the two dogs and Hubby’s pooch Nugget was not loving the idea that dad and the kids were away! Needless to say I didn’t get very much sleep and have been fighting a raging headache all day. I am feeling better now but boy am I excited for bed time!

So here we go!!

♥♥The Weather♥♥

It’s another hot start to the week and I’m ok with that!! It’s rare we see so many hot hot days here in this part of NY and I am loving it. Tonight though we will have a change after some thunder storms roll through and it gets cooler.

Monday – 90
Tuesday – 80
Wednesday – 79
Thursday –  76
Friday – 76
Saturday –  79
Sunday – 77

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

I kinda already told you how I was feeling this morning. Right now I am just exhausted and when hubby gets home I will be heading directly to bed.             

♥♥On my mind♥♥

I have a dear friend who has some major health concerns. she has been battling hard and I have been praying for the things that weigh heaviest on her heart. she is always thinking about others even in the midst of her struggles.                  

♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥

coffee and a sandwich

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

  • Choose Joy
  • My personality tree
  • The second book in the Wingfeather Saga (with the kids)
  • A Rose in Bloom
  • My Bible

♥♥On my tv♥♥

Nothing really

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

Monday -Chicken Stir Fry
Tuesday – Taco Soup
Wednesday – Hamburgers and Fries
Thursday –  Chicken with roasted beets, zucchini and summer squash
Friday –  BBQ Pork sandwiches and potato Salad
Saturday – Chicken Tenders and sweet potato fries
Sunday – Homemade subs and leftovers

♥♥From the camera♥♥    Summer SUNSET

Summer
This was taken last night by hubby while he camped with 7 kiddos in the woods not too far from our house.

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

Everywhere I look this week there is a bunch of fine tuning. Not anything huge BUT a lot of decluttering. This seems to happen a lot during the summer when we are doing more hanging out with friends and doing some summer-y fun things.

♥♥Chore I’m not looking forward to today, or this week♥♥

I need to take care of some stuff in our bedroom but it’s hard during the summer because I would rather be outside.

♥♥To relax this week, I will♥♥

Enjoy the summer sun while ……. reading, some painting and finish the fine details in my craft room

♥♥Something I want to share♥♥

The past few weeks we have been getting a box of veggies each week from a local farmer (friends who go to our church). Our box costs right around 25 dollars and we have had the chance to try some amazing new things like fennel and white cucumbers. The cool thing is we are supporting local business and it’s something that benefits the health of our entire family.

♥♥On my prayer list♥♥

  • The friend I mentioned before
  • Friends and family who have been sick and battling various illnesses
  • so many more

Love this post Check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom!

Teachable Spirit 101

Posted on by Mary
Teachable

Have you ever heard someone say that we need to have a teachable spirit? As a kid I heard this a lot. from teachers both at school and church but as with so many things from childhood many people said lots of things that sounded great but they never explained what they meant.

A few months ago I was in a conversation with hubby and I said something that made me stop and think about what I said. I said , I really enjoy working with people who have teachable spirits.” and as the day went on I began to ask myself what does that mean? What makes someone have a teachable spirit and some don’t?

So that’s when I started to really evaluate what it means. it’s taken months. Much longer than I had ever thought it would take. But in the end I have come up with 5 areas of teachability. I want you to really prayerfully seek out what God has to say about these areas of your life. after all it’s not about what we think about our lives BUT what God thinks about them!

(1) Are you more interested in taking in as much information as you can or are you eager to take what you learn and apply it to your life?

It’s not about how much you know (or think you know). What really matters is what you do with what you know.

Proverbs 1:5 ?NIV

let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—

(2) Are You willing to Learn in every situation that comes your way? Are You willing to ask God to show You what He wants you to learn from your current circumstances before reacting to them?

When it comes right down to it it doesn’t matter what we think about our circumstances OR what others think bout them. God has a very specific plan and purpose for our circumstances. This goes from the very minute to the extreme

(3) Do You have a spirit of humility? Do You go into any teaching with an attitude of what can I learn from this. (HINT : YOU CAN ALWAYS LEARN SOMETHING BUT IT’S COMPLETELY UP TO YOU!!)

I know many people who will come away from a message or a Sunday school class saying they got nothing from it. OR they will say Oh I do hope so and so was listening to that. They really needed to hear that. the problem is we all need to really hear what is being said. I find it amazing that some people even feel the need to be insulting. This shows a severe lack of humility. Considering God has chosen that man to teach it shows a severe lack of wisdom as well.

Proverbs 11:2

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.

In Bible College this was seen frequently in young cocky students who came in thinking they knew more that the professor who has been preaching and studying God’s word longer than those students had been alive. There was a vast difference from the students who sought to learn from the professor verses the ones who sought to distract and argue with the professors. One group enhanced the learning process and the others created disunity and frustration. It kept the others from learning where the others fostered deeper learning usually by asking helpful questions..

James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

(4) Do I let my emotions, attitudes, or preferences get in the way me learning what God wants me to learn? Do these things distract me and others from focusing on the greatest purpose of our lives: reaching others for Jesus?

I can’t tell you the number of times I have watched people spout off in anger just to eat their words later when they realized someone unsaved or new was watching them when they “sweated over the small stuff”. In one moment of the person being upset they ruined their testimony? was it worth it? Probably not. the Bible tells us again and again to put away all kinds of anger…and to be slow to speak and quick to listen.

Proverbs 14:29 ESV

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.

Colossians 4:5-6 ESV

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

(5) Do we seek understanding in situations rather than jumping to conclusions?

So many times we fail to think or see that God is doing something far beyond ourselves. We get angry. We pound our fists on the table and we stomp our feet and we raise our voices and generally act like toddlers having a temper tantrum..

Many times if we just took the time to ask some well thought out questions AND then LISTEN to the answers and the heart that goes behind it. The reality is we are small minded people. To quote Mary Poppins “sometimes we can’t se past the end of our own noses. ” We become self absorbed by our rights and preferences that we forget that God tells us to lay them down and die to ourselves.

So How do I make a change? How do I become a teachable spirit?

Well if you are asking that question you are headed down the right path.

Here are three easy things you can do to change our attitude

  • Start asking questions AND listen with an open heart to the answers.
  • Start asking ourselves what can I learn from the person teaching me?
  • Ask God to show yo what He wants you to learn and then listen to HIM because He WILL answer.

James 1:5-8 NIV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

One of the greatest things I have learned on this journey of becoming a teachable spirit is that this all comes down to a choice we need to make. Do we want to be used by God or. do we want to be used against God’s purposes. Satan doesn’t want us to be teachable. he wants us to be angry and stuck in our ways. When I think of a person who was transformed the most from t unteachable to teachable is the apostle Paul. He couldn’t see the truth because his eyes were blinded by anger and contempt for the “new way God wanted things to be done. He was angered so much by the gospel that he persecuted and murdered people because of their faith in Jesus..

It took Jesus striking him physically blind for his eyes to be opened and for his heart to be transformed to a teachable person. What’s it going to take fr you and I to be transformed to being teachable. It doesn’t have to be so hard. Will you choose> Or will God choose for you? OR will you go into eternity feeling angry , bitter and unfulfilled. The choice is ours to make.

Happy Homemaker Monday 7/13/2020

Posted on by Mary

Today IS a HAPPY day… Today’s the day that I get to pick the winner to help celebrate my 1,000 blog post here on this blog. You can enter that Giveaway by clicking here. I’d love for you to celebrate with me! Now let’s jump into today’s Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy

♥♥The Weather♥♥

Cooler this week which make the hubby SUPER happy!

Monday –
Tuesday – 75
Wednesday – 81
Thursday –  80
Friday – 80
Saturday –  86
Sunday – 88

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

FExhausted I slept in til 730. I never do that I am up between 5 and 6 every day

♥♥On my mind♥♥

Im tired. Honestly since the whole heat exhaustion incident Friday might I have found myself wanting to sleep lot. we have some friends going through some horrible losses and some terrible illnesses.

♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥
Bullseyes except mine are made with egg whites

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

  • Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (kindle)
  • The WingFeather Saga: On the Sark Edge if the Dark Sea of Darkness (with the kids)Kindle)
  • Your Personality tree by Florence Littaur Hard Copy)
  • Choose Joy by Kay Warren (Hard Copy)
  • Coffe Shop Conversations (Kindle)
  • 2 PDF books (not sure what they will be but they will be hard copies as well)
  • My Bible Specifically the book f Philippians

♥♥On my tv♥♥
nothing really. whatever suits my fancy on PureFlix

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

Monday – Burgers and fries with cheese and bacon and fresh cucumbers
Tuesday – Chef Salads
Wednesday – Spaghetti Dinner. (salad, garlic Bread )
Thursday – baked Chicken and roasted veggies
Friday –  Chicken Patties Sweet Poatoe fries and fresh veggies
Saturday – Loaded Nachos
Sunday –   Smoked Chicken and baked potatoes

♥♥From the cameral♥♥

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

I have some fine-tuning to do The weekend was terribly busy.

♥♥Chore I’m not looking forward to today, or this week♥♥

My bedroom for sure.  (I know I know it’s the same as last week)

♥♥To relax this week, I will♥♥

sleep and replenish my body with liquids (I may have had a bout with heat exhaustion late last week.)

♥♥On my prayer list♥♥

  • hurting and sick friends and family
  • our country
  • our church
  • friends and family

For more Happy Homemaker Monday posts check out  Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Thankfulness Challenge : Summer Edition

Posted on by Mary
Thankfulness

Hey everyone welcome to the new season of the THANKFULNESS CHALLENGE! I have been falling behind on the thankfulness challenge and as I have been praying and working I have come to the realization that the attitude of gratitude has fallen to the wayside and I am seeking to put this back into practice and I am seeking to refocus. so this is one way I am doing that.

The other way I am seeking to do that is by using the gratitude pages included in the LOVE THE WORD BIBLE STUDY BINDER giveaway I am hosting on this blog post..

Let’s be Honest….

Sometimes thankfulness falls to the wayside as busyness and other life concerns get in the way. AN sometimes we need to take a few moments and be grateful for all the small amazing blessings that are sprinkled throughout our days like glitter.

The Goal

The goal os for me to snap pictures of little things that bring joy (my word for the year) to my everyday life. Things that I pass by. Things that I take for granted. I want to slow down and see each of those things as they are …..BLESSINGS. Will you join me?

Flowers

thankfulness

This beauty is one of many circling our little heart shaped frog pond. That little gem was a hidden surprise. We owned our house for about a month before we discovered the frog pond was just off the main yard. So many fun and amazing things happen around that frog pond. It is full of my first love in the animal department ….FROGS!

A Great View

thankfulness

Some days I forget to open the windows so I can take in the view from ALL of our back windows. And sometimes I forget to take walks around the backyard so I can soak in the painting that changes every couple of hours.

Clouds

I have always loved clouds. From my early childhood laying in the grass deciding what each cloud formation looked like. This one in particular looks like a squid. I love checking out all of the unique cloud formations. Even now as I sit out n the front patio with book in hand I can find myself getting lost in the clouds.

Planting things

One upon a time we had a big garden. Gardening wasn’t y thing. I just didn’t have the time with all of our involvement in church and other various ministries. that’s who I was and I am not really a gardener. and that is ok. I do however really enjoying planting things and watching them grow and then using them in my food that I took. so this year I planted this little herb garden. It sits right out my from door and I can just take a few steps from my kitchen and grab some fresh herbs to add to my meals I prepare for my family.

The Picture I never took.

Earlier this week I was at church while a meeting was being held there. I was bustling about. I was helping hubby with something and I was helping other people with other things. I was doing LOTS of things. And one thing I can say about our church is if you are there at sunset time you are in for a real treat. I don’t know why but it always has an amazing view of every sunset.

I remember at one point coming out of hubby’s office walking down the hall to the Welcome area and catching a glimpse of this AMAZING sunset. It was one of the deepest plum purple sky gradually changing to a rainbow of colors as you move closer to the horizon. I remember thinking oh in a few minutes I will run and grab my phone BUT I forgot. Before long I was sitting at my hubby’s desk typing away and I glanced over to the window and it was hard to believe but it was an even deeper purple. I have never seen anything quite like it. I turned back to my sentence I would take the picture as. Soon. As. I. Typed. That. Last. Sentence. I sat back in my chair wrapped my phone and turned to the window……and it was dark!

And just like that it was gone….a fleeting moment. and I could have take a picture and kept it longer Now it’s just a faint memory. And this moment got me thinking ….how many other little moments have a missed?

WHEN COVID SHOWED UP

Life changed for everyone ! Most of our lives came to a screeching halt…..Some lives got busier and more stressful BUT everyone’s life was different. And every part looked different. We took the menial taks in life for granted. One of the things hubby and I have decided is that our lives were not going back to the way things were. we have learned to say no. And we have learned to say yes more to our kids.

We have made some really great memories and soaked up some amazing family time. We have conversations, and family meetings and generally the house os full of laughter…GENERALLY. The reason for this I believe is that we made a choice at the beginning of all of this not to miss the little things….this unique opportunity. How quickly I have forgotten as things are slowly coming back to normal. s

So I am taking the lesson from that miss picture and I am striving to make this a serious practice to see the little things. the amazing things God gives us to make our lives just a little sweeter. The simple things that bring a smile to our face without us even realizing it.

Will You Join me?

Not a blogger don’t worry. You can post your pics on Facebook or on Instagram and take me in them

The bLog facebook page is Here

And the Instagram handle us @walkingbyfaithmary

I want to challenge you to really take a hard look at all the little things that God uses to bring a smile you your face. Let me know in the comments what some of those things are.

Blessings Mary

Happy Homemaker Monday 7/7/20220

Posted on by Mary
Happy

Hey all I know it has been a hot minute since I have showed my face here on Happy Homemaker Monday! And can I just tell you I am so excited to be back and I just wanted to let you all know I am hosting a giveaway until next Monday. Why You may ask. Well that is the coolest part of all Last week I posted my 1,000 blog post. it has taken me a little over 13 years BUT HEY I’m cool with that. A LOT has happened in the last 13 years. You can check it out by visiting HERE. Have a Happy Monday!

♥♥The Weather♥♥

we are in a “heatwave” of sorts here in NY and I love it. I am a lover of heat and humidity (weird I know. but I relish in the heat of summer since our winters are so LONG

Monday –
Tuesday – 94
Wednesday – 91
Thursday –  95
Friday – 93
Saturday –  84
Sunday – 83

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

Feeling pretty good. workouts are good but a tad exhausting. I’m almost two weeks in but I am REALLY enjoying it ! I have been able to get up and get 30 minutes in and then demos before the kids get up.     

♥♥On my mind♥♥

Oh I have lots of stuff going on I have a bunch of homeschooling prep I am working on on top of virtual VBS stuff. plus all my other normal things. We are settling back into a somewhat “normal” routine though I think for the most part we’ve all enjoyed a lot more time together

♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥
Coffee with sugar cookie creamer Egg Whites with a touch of a salt a bunch pepper and parmesan cheese

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

  • Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (kindle)
  • The WingFeather Saga: On the Sark Edge if the Dark Sea of Darkness (with the kids)Kindle)
  • Your Personality tree by Florence Littaur Hard Copy)
  • Choose Joy by Kay Warren (Hard Copy)
  • Coffe Shop Conversations (Kindle)
  • 2 PDF books (not sure what they will be but they will be hard copies as well)
  • My Bible Specifically the book f Philippians

♥♥On my tv♥♥
Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural
Homemaking vlogs
Gardening vlogs
The Chosen 

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

Monday – Philly cheesesteak Pasta
Tuesday – Chicken Tacos
Wednesday – Chicken bacon Ranch Bake (in the Crockpot)
Thursday –
Friday –  Ham and split pea soup
Saturday – Sloppy Joes and Potato salad
Sunday –   Smoked Chicken and baked potatoes

♥♥From the cameral♥♥

Happy
Our super bright moon on the 4th of July

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

It’s mostly clean. I have some work to do in our bedroom area        and my craft room is an utter disaster but outside of that we are in good shape  

♥♥Chore I’m not looking forward to today, or this week♥♥

My bedroom for sure.

♥♥To relax this week, I will♥♥

BLOG!!!!!!

♥♥On my prayer list♥♥

  • hurting and sick friends and family
  • our country
  • our church
  • friends and family
  • fellow pastors families and missionaries

For more Happy Homemaker Monday posts check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom