Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

This winter has been incredibly cold, but we've not seen very much snow at all. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx it...) The little bit that we've had is almost gone now, but because of the cold temperatures, the ponds in our backyard are completely frozen.  They're solid enough that our variety of wildlife has been using them for shortcuts across the property. Some are tiny and adorable, and some are large enough that we can see them from the deck. Right now on the property we have about a dozen deer, including four bucks at last count, so many of our tracks are hoof prints. When the grass was covered with snow, there were deer tracks absolutely everywhere, and it was fun to see where all they had been. We also have acres full of squirrels, a couple of bobcats came through a few weeks ago, and the beavers have been out in force. The neighbors have all the otters, there are plenty of rabbits, and we've seen a handful of turkeys recently. All of them have left some prett...

 Imagine my excitement when I found this gorgeous kids' book on Benjamin Franklin at our last community book sale. It's a 1952 story by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft with the best illustrations by Edward A. Wilson. I fell in love immediately! Unfortunately, it also smelled like someone's smoky basement. It was a challenge just to flip through the pages, let's put it that way. There was no way I was letting that stop me, though! After a little research, I learned that after you let the book air out, preferably outside for a few days, you can put dryer sheets between every few pages and seal it in a plastic container. I put my box together on September 2, and I pulled it out on December 14. I couldn't believe the difference - having an odor absorber in there pulled out all the stench and left behind a clean-laundered smell. Then all I had to do was wash out the plastic container, and it was ready to use again, too. Now my sweet little book has its own place in my Revolutio...

For the past couple of weeks and for probably a few more, everyone has been talking about all the newness of the new year. This is that moment when you can stop all the old stuff, start all the new stuff, and hit the reset button on life in general. On a side note - it has been months since I redid our church bulletin board, and I loved every minute of it. I even got Danny's help, which made it even more fun! It's super shiny, and the noisemakers actually work, so we'll have to figure out a game for the teens with them when it comes down in February. While everyone's planning out what to change and what to do better now that 2025 is here, it's so important that we look at the one person who is never going to change in any way, shape or form - our Lord. We can talk all we want to about human nature and heart conditions and determining to do better this time around the sun, but we have to remember that we serve a God who has never and will never change. Lord, you have...

Every single time our youth group reads a Bible verse with the word "all" in it, we ask them the same question... What does ALL mean? Normally we don't let them define the word with the word, but this is the exception. ALL means ALL. Every one. All of it. Every last unth. All. But does all really mean all in our own hearts and in our own lives? We'll give it our all until it gets difficult, or we have to sacrifice something special, or there's something better or more important to be doing. Then all doesn't really mean all at all. But if we're sold out, completely surrendered to Christ for everything in our lives, then all means absolutely everything.  Can you put that definition surrendering all into the well-known hymn, and does the Holy Spirit speak to your heart? All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I sur...

It's been strange to go back to a three-dog house after losing Callie this summer. These six months have been an adjustment, but everyone is doing great and enjoying a not-so-cold winter.  Molly, our Great Dane-German Shepherd, turned 11 in November. She has the joint issues that come with being an older, bigger dog, and she's moving a little slower like the rest of us. Her favorite things int he entire world are treats, dinner time, and cuddles. Her least favorite things are rain, lightning, flashing lights, and not getting enough treats.  Diesel has done so well without his sister, and I'll admit I was incredibly concerned about him at first. He had a seizure a couple of days after she died, and we thought we were losing him, too. He's always been a velcro dog, but now I don't get to go anywhere without him, ever. He's seven now, which doesn't seem possible because he's still my tiny boy dog. Parker is our little old man, and he's turning 13. The v...