Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Teach me to pray

Elisabeth Elliot says it all...again...

Source: A Lamp For My Feet

Because I am "of the earth, earthy," I find that my prayers for the people I love are mostly bound by very earthy concerns--Lord, help P. to find a good wife, show G. which college to attend, provide money for W.'s house and E.'s car, help T. with his book, give X. a better job. It is meet and proper to pray for such things, but not to pray only for such things. There are prayers of far more lasting import which we must also learn to pray. We can find words for those in the prayer of Jesus for the people He loved:

that they may be one;
that they may find his joy completed in themselves;
that they may be kept from evil;
that they may be made holy by the truth;
that they may live in Christ;
that they may grow complete into one;
that they may be with him;
that the love which God has for Christ may be in their hearts.
If we learn to pray that kind of prayer, it will perhaps amend the "lesser" prayers.

Lord, teach me to pray. Open my eyes to see beyond the earthly to the heavenly. Let my primary concerns be heavenly ones, that your kingdom may come on earth, your will be done in me and in those I love. Teach me to pray with Jesus, for his sake. Amen.

This encouraged me this morning...hope it encourages you!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Detour...

I've been off this weekend at a speaking engagement and a Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Contest...more on that later!

I need to spend today putting things in order and spending time in my greenhouse so I am sending you on a detour...take a quick trip over to the The Deliberate Agrarian's blog (Hope for a Troubled America) - it is an exceptional post!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

And the winner is....

McGregor Scott! Not only a wonder at baseball but definitely has the makings for a career in marketing!

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Congratulations McGregor! Email me at shfarm@comcast.net and let me know what your choices are for your soap!!

Thank you to all who submitted names. There were some great ones and it wasn't easy choosing! I appreciate all of you :)

Blessings,

Cheri

Monday, April 21, 2008

Soap contest!

I have been busy creating a new soap. I finally have it just like I want it. But...I need your help to name it! The winner will receive two bars of soap, your choice, from my website...my gift to you for your help.

Here are the rules. Contest ends at midnight on Wednesday of this week. Name will be chosen by our family.....and although there *is* a winner, we are not under obligation to use your name....after all...we might come up with one of our own!

Here is a picture of this soap...

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It is such a beautiful shade of green! And, most importantly, this soap has a purpose! This is my "poison ivy relief" soap. This soap is made with olive oil infused with Jewelweed and a touch of Plantain. The essential oils are Patchouli (for it's astringent qualities) and Lavender (for it's soothing, anti-itch qualities). Jewelweed is a natural antidote for poison ivy. It has the ability to break the bond that the urisol oil forms with human skin. Plantain is a close second for relief.

Each year I make huge quantities of Jewelweed tincture and a special salve with Jewelweed for poison ivy (which is going up on the website in the next week!). When I feel that someone has been exposed to poison ivy, they either wash with the juice of the Jewelweed plant (if in season) or wash with the tincture and then they use this soap for bathing. After bathing, we apply the Jewelweed salve and find that the rash clears in a very short time. No more battling the itches for weeks! You can search the archives here on my blog to see pictures of Jewelweed and to learn more about using it in your home!

Isn't our Father so faithful to supply plants to counteract the adverse effects of poison ivy?! As I have said before, I firmly believe that in His loving kindness, He has supplied all that we need....we've just lost the know-how that was second nature to our forefathers. I pray that we can regain what the locusts have eaten over the years.

Now...it's your turn to get busy...leave a comment or email me your suggestions. Winner will be announced Thursday morning!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Marci got it!

Marci was the first to figure it out....a lettuce bed! Gwen came in with the right answer too :)

Just about the time each summer that tomatoes are in full production, my lettuce bolts. Ya'll know that NOTHING tastes better than a lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese sandwich on toast....but my lettuce ALWAYS bolts in July. Even though I succession plant, the heat is too much and even tiny little lettuce plants become bitter. By the time the weather has cooled off and lettuce is abundant again, then many of the things I like to eat with it are waning in the garden.

This year I will try to keep this little bed going under the shade of the tree. The fence panels are to keep the chickens and banty hens out. If this is successful, then next year we will create a permanent bed on a much larger scale under a tree.

This was fun! Next post....I need your suggestions on naming a new soap....I"ll post a picture and describe it. This time there will be a *real* prize for the winner!

Monday, April 14, 2008

An experiment!

I am trying something new...can you guess what it is? Here is a picture up close...

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I have wanted to do this for years...finally I get to try!

Here is the big picture...

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Does that give you a better idea? It has to do with heat :)

Can't wait to see what you come up with...

My yoke is heavy..

but His is easy. I need to engrave this on my heart.
Time for God's Will by Elisabeth Elliot

One reason we are so harried and hurried is that we make yesterday and tomorrow our business, when all that legitimately concerns us is today. If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.

Lord, help me to take your yoke on my shoulder, not a yoke of my own making. May I learn from You to be gentle and humble-hearted. May I find that your load is light.

I have so many responsibilities right now: garden, home, cooking, laundry, financial struggles, schooling, legal issues, business....I feel like I have become a juggler....and I keep dropping the balls...

I need this as a daily reminder...how many of these balls have my Father's name on them? How many can I lay down?

What about you?

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

I survived...

....taxes that is!

I got caught this year needing to do taxes unexpectedly. It was the first time in 20 years I've had to do them. Before this, the only form I had ever filled out was the 1040 short form. Wow, what a difference! This journey I am on is requiring me to learn many new things - some fun and some...well... not so much :)

I took some advice from friends, and used Turbo-tax. What a WONDERFUL program. If you make less than $54,000 per year you can use it for free from the IRS website.

So, now it is back to normal life....I have neglected email, website and blog trying to get taxes done. I don't do well with distractions when I am doing something I've never done....especially if math is concerned.

Today we are having a rare day of sunshine and I plan to spend the whole day in the garden. Tomorrow when the rains come again, I will get caught up with email and hopefully have some pictures to post of our progress.

Thanks for your patience.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Praise and continued prayer requests!

Tricia is sitting up and BREATHING ON HER OWN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 MONTHS!!!  Isn't our Father the most amazing, wonderful, loving, caring Father?

Please continue to pray that her body will not reject her new lungs and that infection will not be something they have to deal with.

Thank you all for keeping them in prayer!

Shipping woes...

My website is having some *issues*...hhmmmm.  Evidently shipping costs have gone up 300%....NOT TRUE!

The "powers that be" have recently added USPS shipping rates to my site....I was excited!  I have asked for this for a long time.  However the next order I received, after this addition, showed up with extremely high shipping rates!  I haven't figured out what exactly is going on but just wanted  you all to know that before you keel over with sticker shock...I am refunding anything over the actual cost of shipping until this glitch gets fixed....of course *they* say they are working on it....

Thanks for your patience!

Cheri

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Urgent prayer request!

Please be praying for Nate and Tricia....that these lungs would be a match, that surgery would go well, that the Doctors would have wisdom and that Father would guide their hands!  They had a false alarm within the last week - the hoped for lungs didn't match....pray that this one is a go.
Nate's birthday was yesterday - what a gift this could be - life for his wife.  They love our Father and they have an incredible testimony!  What a gift to Gwynth Rose - to be able to grow up with her Mama...

Please remember to pray for the donor's family and peace that surpasses all understanding to all those involved on both sides - receiving and giving  the gift of life.
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