Friday, August 31, 2012

Why Are We Surprised by Answered Prayer?

Several months ago my husband asked me to pray
 about a matter with an individual that he needed to handle.  He asked me to pray for him to have wisdom to say the right words and handle it the way God would have him to.  It was a delicate situation that could turn very ugly if not handled right.
 
 
I will admit several times the situation angered me and I asked my husband when he was going to deal with it.  He simply told me he was still praying about it and God had not given him peace yet.  He asked me to continue to pray with him and I prayed about it many times a day.
 
This issue came to a head Wednesday night and my husband asked me to fervently pray for he was going to address it Thursday morning.  He stayed at the church for several hours Thursday morning praying before coming to the house and again praying with me.  As he left to take care of the situation I went into my room and knelt by my bed and prayed for him to have strength and wisdom and understanding.  He came back into the house a mere five minutes later, and told me he had simply said the words God had given him this morning and the person he talked to accepted what he said.  My husband had expected backlash, anger and even violence from this person but instead he received a soft spoken 'okay'.  My husband and I were actually shocked that the situation had ended so peaceably and without incident as this is not the nature of the person involved.  Of course we knew why it had gone smoothly, we had asked God to be at the center of the situation and lead and guide my husband and God answered our every prayer.
 
I have been saved for over 30 years and prayed for many things and seen God answer time and time again but there are still times or situations that I pray for that when God answers I am shocked and amazed that He has answered so fully, totally and completely.  What an awesome God we serve!
 
John 14:13 - And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
 
Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
 
 


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Rocking Chair Cushion

I love this chair!  As long as I can remember this chair
was in my Uncle's living room and I sat in it every time I visited. 
It is a swivel rocker so it spins and rocks and sometimes if you sat in it wrong you would halfway fall out!
 
 
A couple of years ago my uncle did just that, took a spill
when trying to sit down and thus they decided to get rid of it. 
My dad took it and it sat in the backroom of his house until he died.  When we emptied dad's house I took it home and decided the first thing, because my dad was a heavy smoker, that the cushions needed washed.  Bad idea!  The cushions disintegrated in the washer! 
 I have kept my eyes out for new cushions but either they have been way out of my price range or just plain ugly!
 
I told Saraina she could have it when the baby came and I would figure out how to make cushions for it.  Since Saraina and baby Keith just got home I knew I had to get sewing and came up with this idea.

 
I bought two pillows for $2.50 each at WalMart and then bought the fabric Saraina had fallen in love with last time we went shopping.  It was on clearance for $1.50 and I bought three yards.
 

Measuring the pillows and the chair I cut the fabric to match
 the size of the chair and the idea in my head. 
 

For the seat I made sure the pillow was longer than the fabric so I could stuff the pillow in and make it more squarish to fit the seat and less rectanglish.  (I am pretty sure squarish and rectanglish are words!)
 
 
I folded and sewed three inch lengths of fabric inside out and then pulled them right side out to make the corner ties.

 
I also covered four buttons with the same fabric.
 
 
After sewing the bottom cushion closed, I added the corner ties
 and one button to the middle of the seat.
 
For the back cushion I made the fabric fit the pillow perfectly so it would be rectanglish enough for the back of the chair.
 
 
I then sewed three buttons on the back cushion
and sewed ties to the top corners.
 
 
I love it and think it turned out so cute! 
(I love it even more because it cost me less then $10 dollars to make!)


Monday, August 27, 2012

Crockpot Week

My poor husband told me that he is starving!
The last few weeks have been so busy that I really have not cooked at all. 
We have eaten out quite a bit and then just grabbed whatever we find in the fridge or freezer.  I told him that I would do better this week and make sure I cook every day this week!  I actually hate to cook because it takes so much time and makes too many dishes!  I do love to crock pot though as  all I have to do is throw some stuff in the crock pot in the morning and it is totally done but dinner time.  No mess and takes no time!
 
Sunday I put a chicken and potatoes and carrots in the crock pot.
 
 
It was done after morning services and was a wonderful lunch.
Church was great yesterday and we had a full house even with a few families sick or on vacation!  We had several visiting families come Sunday morning and we were thrilled to see them again that night!  We also had a family join our church.  So exciting to see the House of God so full of people wanting to worship Him!
 
In between services I worked on painting our Bible Adventure wall
and also cuddled our new little man!  He is definitely going to be spoiled but I could not pass up some grandma time!
 

 
He was so sweet and slept the whole time I painted! 
Still quite a bit to do on the wall but it is coming along quite well.
 
For dinner tonight I made barbecued beef short ribs which is simply short ribs with barbecue sauce poured over them.  They were so good and the meat was just falling off the bones!
 

  I also tried two new recipes, one which was Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
 
 
For the potatoes I simply put two pounds of potatoes in the crock pot, cut and quartered with their skins on, poured 1/4 cup water on them, added 3 tablespoons, 1 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.  After cooking them on low for 7 hours I beat them with my beater and they were ready to go. 
These were really good and the bowl was almost licked clean!
 
Then I also tried Banana Loaf for which I mixed together 3 bananas,
 1/2 cup margarine, 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar,1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon baking soda.  I greased my 2 lb. coffee can and put the mixture in it and then put the coffee can in the crock pot.  I then put 6 paper towels over the coffee can and then put the crock pot lid on.  The paper towels absorb the moisture in the crock pot during cooking.
 
 
This is what is looks like if you forget to put in the baking soda! 
 I was trying to get the banana loaf in and talking to my husband on the phone who needed me to hurry and run an errand for him, so I was hurrying and totally forgot to finish reading the recipe and put the baking soda in.  Even without the baking soda, this was so good and we definitely will make it again!
 
Chep says he loved dinner and is looking forward to tomorrow night!
 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Marker + Wall + Paint = Headache!!

First thing this morning, after Bible Study and prayer,
we went to see our new little man.
 
 
He is simply adorable and so sweet! 
They got released this afternoon and are excited to be home and get settled.  I called all the ladies and arranged for dinner to be taken to them nightly for the next week.  What a big help it is not to have to worry about fixing dinner for your family but simply concentrating on loving your new little one!
 
After we left the hospital we ran to Home Depot to get oil based primer.  Last year when I painted the castle walls for Bible Adventures, I outlined the castle bricks with black marker before painting them.  BIG mistake!!!
 

Yesterday I spent HOURS trying to paint the wall but no matter what I painted it with, no matter what color I painted it, the black marker bled through. First I painted the wall with white primer. The black still bled through. Then I painted gray over the lines and the black still bled through.

 
 
Then I just went wild and painted the wall every color I could find
 in the church shed.  I thought I had finally covered the lines but this morning, this is how it looked.  It bled through again!

 
I went online and searched for a solution and found that the only way
 to cover marker is with an oil based primer, so we bought Kiltz oil based primer and it covered those ugly black lines perfectly!
 
 
I painted the wall 'electrifying lime" and let me tell you, it is bright!  My husband could not look at the wall straight on because it is so bright!  I love the color because it fits this years theme and it will look great after we get everything else painted on the wall.
 
While I was painting the wall,
my husband was taking the forms off the front step to the parsonage. 

 
The front step was falling apart when we moved in two years ago. 
It was crumbling and had huge craters all over the surface, very uneven.  When they poured the foundation for the new church building, they brought some cement over to the house and poured a new step. 
It looks awesome and feels wonderful and totally flat and smooth. 
Love it!
 

The power and gas company came out today also and totally dug up the lawn  all the way to the street.  The gas line we had was not big enough to support the new furnace we will be putting in the new building, so they took  the old line out and put new line in.
 
For dinner we went to Outback with a young military couple from our church.  The lady was saved just a few weeks before we got here two years ago and the man got saved last year.  We have watched them grow, mature and change their lives over the last year as they have come to church and learned more and more about God.  They received orders to Florida and will be leaving in a month and we are so sad to see them go!
 
Of course, before we came home for the night we stopped
 by Chandler and Saraina's and loved and cuddled our little man. 
What a wonderful end to a long busy day!
 


Thursday, August 23, 2012

He is Finally Here!

Keith Abram arrived at 1:30 this afternoon!
 
 
He is simply adorable and we are so in love with him!
 

 
 
He is an alert little guy and was watching everything going on around him.

 
We are praising God for Saraina's safe delivery of Keith and praising God that Keith is healthy!  So glad to have this new addition to our family and are looking forward to helping raise him for God. 



Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Coupon Shopping Trip

Today was a slower day so I was able to take some time and go shopping.  Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite hobby, my favorite activity, my favorite sport, is shopping! 
 
I started my shopping trip this morning at Safeway.
 
 
Some very awesome deals today and I only paid 14.49 for all this! 
 I try to keep extra cereal on hand to keep the prophets chamber stocked.  Also, whenever I can find soft soap for a good price
 I also grab it for the church. 
 
 
I spent under 2 dollars at Walmart for deodorant and sunflower seeds. 

 
And then at Target I found Eggo's on clearance,
 so with my coupons I got all four boxes for $2.72. All in all a very good shopping trip with me spending less then $20!
 
The Bracketts had their next meeting in another church here in town
 so they spent the day packing their vehicle up and left before evening services started.  I planned on cleaning the prophet's chambers tomorrow and restocking it with food and needed items for the family we have staying next week.  Right before our services started we had a family come that were missionaries to Thailand.  The Yarbrough family were on their way to Oregon and stopped to join us for services. 
 

My husband asked Emanuel to speak and share his families burden for Thailand and preach for our church services.
 
After services my husband offered to let them stay in the prophet's chamber so I ran and stripped the beds and remade them with clean sheets, cleaned and scrubbed the bathroom and tided up the rest of the rooms the best I could in such a short time.  Mason was so sweet and ran and got me milk to put in the fridge and I put several boxes of the cereal I had bought today in the cupboards and also put out the new soft soap.  (So glad I went shopping today!)  They thanked us as they said it saved them so much money not having to get a hotel room. 
 
I now have the bedding for the prophet's chambers in the washing machine and will clean and get everything ready tomorrow as soon as these missionaries pull out.  We just never know someone else will come through and need a place to stay!
 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

No Regrets

Two years ago today we said goodbye to my daddy.
I still miss him terribly and think of him often.


I remember sitting by his bedside just a day or so before he passed away
 and my aunt came over and sat with us for a little while.  She told me that after the funeral was over and after everything calmed back down, that I would have regrets.  I would have regrets over not being there more, not doing more for him and just not being as good of a daughter as I wished I had been.  I told her I didn't have any regrets and I didn't think I would later either.  She just sadly shook her head at me and told me I would.


I have thought of that often over the last two years
and I truly can can say I have no regrets.  I loved my dad with all my heart and I was there as much as he would let me be.  I did everything I could for him but in many ways, and time after time, he pushed me and my siblings away.  My dad loved us kids with all his heart but he was a very quiet and private man and as we all do, he had issues he had to deal with everyday.
 He was depressed and unhappy and drank heavily to try to cover up his pain.  We all tried to be in his world but you can not force someone to live
the way they do not want to and as we saw in the end, you could not force my dad to do anything he did not want to do. 


There is actually one thing I regret and do dwell quite a bit.  It was the day the above picture was taken.  It was just three months before my dad would leave us and I was sitting with him alone as the others were off doing stuff.  He opened his wallet and took out a Million dollar bill tract from The Way of the Master.  The last time he went to town someone had given it to him.  I had witnessed and witnessed to him for many years until he told me that he was not a mission field and told me I was never again to talk to him about God.  After that I prayed and prayed for someone else to tell him about Christ and for someone to give him a tract.  When I saw him pull that tract out of his wallet it was an answer to my prayer.  As we sat there he asked me, "Is this true, is what this tract says true?" 
Now comes my regret as I answered in an exasperated tone,
"Yes Dad, this is what I have been telling you for years." 
"Okay, I just wanted to ask, I just wanted to make sure." 
And that was the end of the conversation as he put the tract back in his wallet.  God had given me another opportunity to witness to him and because of my tone of voice he shut down and I never got the opportunity again.  Did my dad get saved by reading that tract? 
 I will not know until I get to heaven but my siblings and I are praying he did.  Other than this one time I truly have no regrets.


We had some awesome times, made some treasured memories and shared
a wonderful life that I would not trade for anything and I would do every moment over again.  The good as well as the bad, the happy along with the sad.
I love you Daddy and miss you so much!



Happy Birthday To My Love!

The last couple years have been rough birthdays for my dear sweet husband.  Two years ago on his birthday, my dear sweet husband
 moved to Cheyenne by himself as I sat by my dying dad's bedside.
My dad died a few minutes after midnight so while it technically wasn't my husband's birthday anymore, the night had not ended and still felt like the 20th.  Last year my husband was again left alone on his birthday as I had to return to Idaho to settle my dad's estate. 

This year I wanted to do something special for him
so we took him to the Denver Aquarium.


We had so much fun and enjoyed the time we spent there!



Mason, measuring the size of the trout they had there.  Yep, the one he caught and had stuffed is twice the size of the ones they had.


Saraina was so fun to take!  She had never been to a aquarium before and was amazed at everything she saw.



I liked this ugly, little guy! 
He was so fun to watch and stood on his fins at the glass watching us.


The jellyfish are one of my favorite exhibits!


Mason loved this guy and tried to get him to talk to him.


Mason made friends with this stingray when he got a few fish and was feeding him!  He kept jumping up out of the water and trying to get more!

After the aquarium we went downtown to the 16th Street Mall. 
I had never been there before but fell in love with it. 
The whole street, block after block after block are lined stores and shops.  The only traffic on the street are the mall buses that will carry you for free, up and down 16th Street.  We had so much fun walking and going in shops and buying little things here and there.  Chep loved the Rocky Mountain Chocolate store and bought chocolate covered caramel apples and chocolate covered Twinkies.  So yummy!  Raina got a lot of walking in so we will see if that helps the baby come soon!

To end the night we went to Cracker Barrel where Chep ordered his favorite meal with country Ham steak.  We got back into Cheyenne very late but very happy that God had given us another day to love each other and to enjoy the time He had given us as a family!




Sunday, August 19, 2012

Last Night of Revival

I am so tired!  It has been a long weekend but a truly amazing weekend though!  Brother Brackett preached three times today and although I only heard two of them, they were so good!  This morning he preached on 1 Peter 5 and how we are to be sober and vigilant no matter if we are going through good times or times of suffering.  And then tonight he preached on Luke 15 and the prodigal son.  In tonight's message, he brought out that both sons were prodigal and that even though the oldest was at home working in the fields, his heart was not truly there.  We can be the same way and come to church every time the doors are open, serve in different ministry's and look like we are the perfect church member, but the question is, is our heart and our life in a close relationship with God.  Very, very convicting!


We had a fellowship after tonight's services and ate the last of the
Stone Soup.  We wanted to have a fire pit and singing to end Revival
 but because there is still an open fire ban, we set some tables outside and enjoyed some good food and fellowship.


I love the places the kids go to sit and eat their food with their friends!

I love revival and hate to see it end.  I have been challenged to grow and change some things in my spiritual life and am praying for God to help me in the areas he has convicted me of.   Praising God for giving our church this time of Revival and praying we continue to seek revival in our own personal lives even after the Brackett family leaves.


Psalm 51
 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.   Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.   Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.   Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.   Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.   Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
 




Saturday, August 18, 2012

Another Awesome Night of Revival

My husband left early to take Brother Brackett out to breakfast
 and then they went to a gun show.  Not really a fan of gun shows, I saw that they were having an Art Festival downtown so I asked Kristie Brackett and her kids if they wanted to go.  We had so much fun seeing the various local artists and their work.  They had a huge tent set up for the kids where they could do art projects taught by some of the local artists that had work in the show.


The kids did several projects including painting sunflowers with watercolors.  I think they their pictures turned out beautiful!


Before Revival services we all enjoyed another night of Stone soup. 



Everyone loved it and said it was better than last night!  After we ate, we still had a little time before services, so while the women talked the men decided to go out and start pulling the forms off the cement.


So funny seeing all the men in their best clothes
 out working on the building!


Revival services were amazing again!  Brother Brackett preached on being a mighty man (woman) of God and it was so challenging and convicting!  Looking forward to tomorrow's messages!

After revival services we cleaned up the church for Sunday services and took the Brackett's out to Sonic for milkshakes.


We had an awesome time laughing and joking and talking about God and the Bible.  There is nothing like having fellowship with other believers and we are loving the time we are able to spend with the Bracketts!