Farewell to Old Faithful

Back in 2014 my family made the great Eastward journey and it was not long before a new arrival came into the family. 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited was its name and it enabled us to go to work and shopping. My brother owned it first and I later bought it off of him. I was pleased to have my own wheels (if not the type) and I enjoyed many fun times with my friends and family, listening to music with the awesomeazing stereo system. Then I entered a new chapter in my life and my boyfriend began adding to my memories in this vehicle. We drove to lakes and rivers, through country and city and put many miles on it.
In Fall of 2017 my poor Jeep hit a semi tire and the rear axle snapped. A lot of jarring and fright but I managed to get it parked at a Speedway off of the interstate and there it sat til we came back with a trailer to tow it to my boyfriend's stepdad's shop. We began the search for a new axle but grew discouraged as I was between jobs and so was my boyfriend. So it sat until, finally, in the summer of 2018, we got the old Jeep on the road once more...not without obstacles and many headaches and greasy fingers. It just wasn't the same, however, for it's old creaky joints were groaning and popping and rather scaring me to death. The tires were cracked and bald, the transmission slipping and the taillights worked only when it suited them.

Finally, after spending hundreds in repairs in an attempt to keep Old Faithful on the road and crying many tears of frustration, the decision was made. It was time to part. The search for a new vehicle was not easy having no credit to our names and not being successful in getting a loan from any banks. Then, one day in January, my eyes were dazzled by a lightning blue Ford Mustang. I am not a Ford fan at ALL but the color and sporty look of this car was just what I wanted. So I took a ride and the smooth drive was heaven! It was not my dream vehicle but definitely an improvement from what I had. So we have begun the payments to the end of owning this beauty and in return we had to bid farewell to Old Faithful and say hello to the new Mustang.

On the Treatment of Offspring

Let me start by saying that I am not writing this post as a way to point fingers or make issues arise between family members. I am merely expressing my thoughts on this matter. Be patient with me, read through and be kind in your comments.

My dear readers,
Many of you are parents or even are not there yet but planning to be. In raising your children, keep in mind that not all of these darlings respond to the same corrections in the same way. Some children may jump right to obedience by a simple, quiet word while others may take some pursuasion by stimulating their will to move. But no matter what method you choose, pay close attention to the way your little one responds to the correction. If things worsen it may be time to soften your approach and have more patience. Think about the fact that you are raising the men and women of tomorrow, parents to be. I don’t care how frustrated you might be or how much you feel like your child is just not doing what you think they should be doing with their life at the time you think they should. Yelling at them, putting them down and acting like a juvenile yourself will NEVER help the situation. In most cases (no matter what age your child is, including an adult), it will make it worse! Telling them they will never do good or telling them they are lazy or whatever will only make them feel that they can’t rise above their current state. Whether it’s schooling, job hunting or even just cleaning their room....it may be they see it as a mountain that is nearly impossible to get over! Just be patient...and encouraging when they do right. THAT is what will make them WANT to do more!

My mom often told me that sometimes certain children look around their room they were told to clean and see an endless ocean of mess that they will never push through. So they most likely won’t even try. Not out of rebellion so much as discouragement. Yelling and screaming at them will accomplish nothing. In my opinion these same children, if not encouraged in their good pursuits, may have trouble later trying to get through school or find a job. Hand them a stack of homework papers or a thick application packet and they with all intentions to finish. Yet they may get halfway through and feel overwhelmed. Again, yelling and screaming, putting them down and telling them how lazy or worthless they are will absolutely never help the situation. Once they reach the age of accountability they need encouragement in the way of right but without having their wrongs constantly pointed out. Show them you love and appreciate them, make them feel that they can trust your love as being real. Don’t say “I love you” and follow it up with a not so subtle barb that sticks in their heart. You make rude comments directly after the affectionate comment the only thing that will stick will be the negative. It’s just the way of humans.

Now there’s a middle of the road. I don’t believe in restraint from correcting your child altogether or handing them a candy just to quiet them. I don’t believe in giving children their way for everything nor do I agree that you always need to keep from yelling. Sometimes you just can’t help a yell. Just don’t correct out of anger.

If the child’s been raised to the best of their parents’ abilities and they were gentle and encouraging they may still not move in the right direction. Just take it to God and LEVE IT THERE! Don’t keep bringing up their faults and please do NOT post your disappointment and frustrations about your children on social media. They will, at some point, read it and, no matter if you directly say their name or not, they will know exactly who it’s about and it will do more harm than good.

In closing, your children are in your family tree whether adopted or birthed into your family naturally. Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes but a healthy dose of genuine love and grace will go a long way to keeping that tree healthy and all the limbs intact. Prayer and patience are just two of the powerful tools God gave parents to raise their children. Whether your children are all natural born obedient ones or strong willed leaders, God gave each one to you. And it doesn’t matter how they came to be either. Planned or not they’re yours and it’s in your power to raise strong, responsible and loving individuals who will be strong adults someday.

With love and respect,

Welcome to The Shire

Today I started work on my first little fairy garden. It was inspired by the Lord of the Rings' "The Shire"... I'm so excited how it's turning out!

I did add a little green evergreen cutting beside the bench after I took the pictures...

 Do you see the Hobbit's clothesline?

 My Grandpa is visiting and he helped me find rocks to make this little staircase so the Elves, Hobbits and other folk can get up to Bag End. I would like to add a tree to the hill so it looks more authentic but we'll see what I find that will be okay outside. As it is, some of this I'm crossing my fingers about hoping it won't get badly ruined if it rains. I love it though!

 My little river... :)

The Prayer of Sir Frances Drake

I recently listened to an audio narration of the book "Dear Kate" and was very much intrigued by the story... but that's not what I want to write about... In the story Kate quotes a lot from this poem and she really broke it down to where I really thought about each part. It's amazing! I loved it so much I thought I'd share it.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

~Sir Francis Drake

Answers to Questions from Anna Pyatskowit

1. Field trip! Ask someone close-by for two words to describe you. Dramatic and helpful

2. Thinking of Bible characters, who are you most like? Well, I guess I’m a little like Ruth and a little like Zipporah. lol

3. Your favorite song? “Be Still My Soul”…among others!

4. If there were no calorie-counting involved, what dessert would you run into the kitchen and make? Hmm….that’s a hard one… probably a lemon meringue pie. I love it!

5. What's something you've always dreamed of being? I’ve always dreamed of being a housewife.

6. What's something you've laughed about today? Something my brother said.
7. You're shopping at the mall. You've found a super-cute shirt that looks absolutely radiant with your complexion. You've also found a to-die-for pair of shoes - but you don't have enough money for both. Which would you pick? Probably the shirt.

8. When you're feeling blue, what cheers you up? Talking to a friend who sympathizes with me.

9. What's something wonderful that's about to happen in your life? Lol.. I’m about to take another trip to Ohio. Idk!

10. How would you encourage someone who is reading your blog? You have three sentences. Ready...Set...Go! Keep pressing onward and don’t look back at what you were.

11. What's one thing on your summer bucket list: Create new outfits so I don’t wear the exact same ones this year at BYC.

I nominate.... Serenity at Beautiful Girlhood

Anna at The Daughter of the King
Abigail at Prairie Princess
Zoe at The Little Girl
Katie at Legacy of a Writer

The rules for those of you who would like to participate....

Fill out the list questions ((below)), then nominate ((up to)) eleven people. Be sure to post the link to your blog post in the comments! Have fun!

The questions...

1. If you could go back in time, to which era(s) would you go?
2. What is your favorite composer?
3. If you had a million dollars, name 1 thing you would do with it.(Besides paying tithes, of course.)
4. You've just won a ticket to any place in the U.S.! Where would you go?
5. Name 5 people you admire.
6. What instrument(s) do you play? What instrument(s) would you like to learn?
7. If you could learn 2 languages, what would they be?
8. Name 3 sermons of Brother Branham that you have found especially helpful this year.
9. What are your favorite things to do iiiiin summmeeeer! :D
10. Give us your favorite combination in coffee (or smoothie, if you don't like coffee).

Giveaway- NuMe's Curl Jam set in black

There's a giveaway at Legacy of a Writer! Enter to win a  NuMe's Curl Jam set in black!

Here's Katie's link!
http://katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com/2014/03/hairstyling-with-nume-curls.html

From Arizona Territorial Cookbook- Weight Loss

This was too funny not to share!

How to Reduce One's Weight

"A woman weighing 200 pounds called on a physician for advice. He gave her the following instructions:
1. For breakfast eat a piece of beef or mutton as large as your hand, with a slice of white bread twice as large. For dinner the same amount of meat, or if preferred, fish or poultry, with the same amount of farinaceous or vegetable food in the form of bread or potato. For supper nothing.
2. Drink only when greatly annoyed with thirst; than a mouthful of lemonade without sugar.
3. Take three times a week some form of bath in which there shall be immense perspiration. The Turkish bath is best. You must work, either in walking or some other way, several hours a day.
4. You must rise early in the morning and retire late at night. Much sleep fattens people.
5. The terrible corset you have on, which compresses the center of the body, making you look a good deal fatter than you really are, must be taken off, and you must have a corset which any dressmaker can fit to you-- a corset for the lower part of the abdomen-- which will raise this great mass and support you.

She followed the advice for six months, and trained herself down to 152 pounds."
~From the Scrapbook of Nellie von Gerichten Smith

Fat All My Life, and How I Got Rid of It

"First captivating plumpness begins to steal upon a woman in her twenties. Plumpness is followed by- oh, horrors!- fatness and shortness of breath, and heart flutters. Then, alas, comes the chin that is double and the comical lumbering waddle of the overfat. Fine sarcasm to tell such a  woman to exercise. Why not counsel flying? She is as able to do the one as the other. It's another keen cut to suggest dieting. When ladies are just so fat they haven't an ounce of will power or energy to spare for extras- just living is hard enough work for them.
What then? Are these unfortunates condemned to be fat for life? No, believe it or not; a simple home recipe easy to get at a drug store will take that fat off and keep it off. Listen!

1/2 ounce of Marmola
1/2 ounce of Fluid Extract Cascara Aromatic
3 1/2 ounces Syrup Simplex
mixed at home and taken in teaspoonful doses after meals and at bedtime will take off sa much as a pound a day in some cases. Get the Marmola in the sealed packages- you are sure it is fresh that way- take the mixture a month, and you'll see. The fat seems to drop off and leave nice, smooth, firm flesh, while the health and complexion improve wonderfully."
~From an untitled advertisement, circa 1880s in the Journal of Nellie von Gerichten Smith