HOT! Hanging Out the Laundry and Cooking Outside

                                             (One of our two clothes lines here on the farm)

Good Morning friends,

Welcome back to the farm.  We are so glad you stopped by, and look forward to spending some time with you!  Yesterday it was so HOT here!  It was 92 degrees with 100% humidity.  The heat index was around 105.  I was melting most of the afternoon!  That's why the first thing I do each afternoon when I come in is to make a gallon of sweet tea.  You know how southerners are about their tea!  Also, to keep the house from being so hot, I hung out the Grandboy's clothes on one of our clothesline, which I usually do; and cooked dinner outside.  This I do occasionally, but not everyday.  If it stays this hot, I will start! 

Yesterday was the most unusual day.  I got a text from Daughter #3 at 5:30 that morning saying the Grandboy needed to go to daycare.  Usually when he is here he stays all day.  What almost-three-year-old boy wouldn't want to be on a farm?  But yesterday she decided she wanted him to go to daycare.  Pappy wasn't feeling well, so I didn't argue.  I had to get Grandboy some clothes out, pack his "pack pack" as he calls it, and fix his snack.  I asked Daughter #2 to take him to daycare, since she didn't have to be in class till 10:00.  She agreed, because Grandboy was asleep when she got home and she wanted to spend time with him.  I was running about 10 minutes late, so I called my boss and said I would be a few minutes late.  I was about 10 miles from home, almost at the interstate, when Daughter #1 called.  She had a fender bender, and was upset.  So I called the office, checked in again, and turned around to see about Daughter #1.  Then Daughter #3 called to say her teeth hurt and she needed to see the dentist.  I wondered if the day would ever end?  I got to work about an hour late, but all was well at home. 

I left work early to go the the FEMA event I mentioned yesterday.  I thought it was a lecture, but it was a "stop in and chat" kind of thing.  So I missed a little more work (when I really could have waited till I got off), only stayed at FEMA about 20 minutes, then was on my way home to check on the family again.  Not my run-of-the-mill day.

When I cooked dinner, I set up a single electric eye on the carport.  I got everything ready and started a pot of potato soup out there.  The soup was made of potatoes, onion, water, milk, butter, and velveta.  It turned out really good, and the kitchen didn't turn into a steam bath!  Pappy thought this soup would taste good to him since he was under the weather.  We also had cornbread (from scratch, my suggestion) and dumplings (his request, again).  This weekend I'm going to poke around the farm, and find a fan for the kitchen.  Hopefully I won't have to steal it from the rabbit house.  Pappy wouldn't like that because the male rabbits won't breed if they are too hot! 

It was raining and thundering outside last night.  Maybe it will be cooler today.  Stop back by when you're in the neighborhood!  Honey

Bible in 90 Days - Day 3 - And Farm Living

Hello friends! Welcome back to the Farm. We are so glad you came. Not a whole lot going on here today. Blackberries are about gone. Grapes are coming a long, but still green. The plums are done. We still have green beans, squash, and cucumbers in the garden. I'll be working on that this weekend. Along with our FEMA package. Since we were in the tornado in April, we are eligible to apply for loans and grants. The deadline for turn in is Monday. I'm going to a FEMA workshop tomorrow.

Today the Grandboy came for church and to spend the night. His mom, daughter #3, got a second job, and she is working tonight. He is very taken with popcorn, the Happy Birthday song, and asking "Why". The last item is very annoying. He doesn't just ask one time. No, it is always three times. Why that is, I don't know. I don't remember this so much with our girls. Tonight Grandboy let the rabbits loose. The dachshund and kitten hunted one down and made a meal of it. That was not pleasant. I hope that doesn't happen again!

When I got off work at 2:00 today, I had a 2:30 appointment to pick up rent. I met with two tenants, in total. And got one rent envelope in the post office box. The I picked up Grandboy and came home.

He is conked out now. I hope he sleeps till about 5:00.

Hope everyone has a blessed week! Come again soon! Honey

Open Heart Open Home - Chapters 5 and 6

Welcome to our home! I'm so glad you could come, and I hope you are able to stay and visit with us awhile! Today I am going to talk to you about the book Open Heart Open Home by Karen Mains. This book is being discussed over at The Common Room. You may want to stop by and check out what everyone has to say.

Chapter 5 is about being a Servant. What stood out to me in this chapter is the story that tells of a Ladies group working on a big project. One of the members was in need. She stated to the group she was in need. And not one lady helped her. Sometimes it is easy to do good deeds for those we don't know. It is harder if it is a person standing beside us, someone we know. Some people want to think the receiving person will be embarrassed if we reach out. But I think really, the giver may be embarrassed. They may be afraid of not doing enough, or just simply may not know what to do. But if this happens, we should pray that we respond as God would have us to. We should give what we have, and give it cheerfully.

Chapter 6 is called On Serving and Being Served. I remember when my children were little, we went to a small church and every Christmas season the church went caroling and then went to one of the Elder's home for hot chocolate and finger foods. My girls were probably 3, 4, and 4. Maybe younger. But I remember we got there, and the his wife had a beautiful spread in her dining room. She wanted everyone to be in the dining room together, on her White Carpet! I remember panicking. I asked her could I have some towels, and let my children and I eat in the kitchen. She was mortified. I tried to explain to her that the girls would make an awful mess on her white carpet. She kept telling me she didn't mind, she didn't think ahead about this. I knew she was very particular, and I just couldn't deal with it. My girls and I ate in the kitchen, sitting on the floor, and then joined everyone else. Looking back, maybe I didn't handle the situation correctly. I should have gone along with her plan, and prayed hard! Maybe I should have let her "serve us". But I was young, and so worried about what others thought of my gang of girls. Probably no one remembers this instance except me. I hope not any way.

But back to serving others. I have offered to help people in need before, and rarely do they accept my offer. About the only time I can think of someone accepting are for meals to be brought in. Also one other time a young husband in our church passed away suddenly. I called the mother and offered to keep their two daughters, about 5 and 8. The girls came, and stayed several days. It was a surprise, but they were no trouble at all. I felt at that time that I was really able to help the family in a difficult time.

Come back tomorrow. We'll be here! Honey

Media Monday: Media and Our Walk with God

I am following a new series at Women Living Well called Media Monday. This series is about how the social media and Internet type activities in general affect our lives today. The age we live in has appliances and apps to perform just about any duty or action we need. We can hire people to do what ever we want. Accountants, lawn services, house keepers, you name it. But still we are rushed. We live in one of the most stressful times ever. With all the time saving devices we have today, we have trouble fitting in the things in our lives that are most important. Quality time with our children, alone time with our husbands, worship time with our Lord. The easier our life is supposed to be, the harder it seems it is to make time for the important things.

With progress, comes distraction. Computers allow us to talk to friends and relatives far away in a second, but we forget to spend time with the people in the same room with us. We can schedule a trip on line, but we forget to spend real time in The Word.

The Internet has really opened my eyes spiritually. I never knew that Christianity could look so different, and have so many different beliefs until I started spending time with others in blogland. I have an access to meet like-minded women who share my beliefs and feel the same way I do about important things. That is hard to do in real life sometimes. The Internet makes comparing several versions of scripture so much easier than it would have been just a few years ago. But sometimes we get distracted too easily by what our friends posted they are having for dinner, or by playing the latest video game.

Phones buzz and ring anywhere and everywhere, even church! I feel drawn to check my texts in church, because I have young adult children, and I think "what if they are hurt and need me?" But for eons of time, people have been able to sit through an hour service without being in touch with the outside world. I need to work on this distraction in my own life.

My husband and I make a conscious effort to limit our time on the Internet. My husband would laugh at that statement, because he never gets on the Internet. But we have boundaries to protect our family and our marriage from the distractions found in this world bombarded with media and the like. I think we all need to be extra careful to "Seek first the kingdom of God" and the put our families next. I plan to think about this over the next coming weeks. Maybe you will decide to, too.

Open Heart, Open Home: Chapters 3 and 4

I'm sorry, but I am very late in taking part in this post. We had company for the 4Th. ALOT of company! But it was a lot of fun. It seems the older I get, the longer it takes to recover from things like that. But that is OK. I believe that I relaxed and enjoyed this more than I usually do. I tend to fret a lot and want everything to be perfect. But this time I let some things go, and it all worked out OK.

Over at the Common Room, the Head Mistress posted some questions we could use if we chose. I'm going to use them, because I feel like I tend to not comment on the chapter so much if I just ramble.

Question 1. What does the Holy Spirit have to do with your hospitality? I pray each day that I will recognize the opportunities the the Lord and the Holy Spirit put before me. Too often, too many people confuse "entertaining" with "hospitality". I think entertaining should be a part of hospitality, but hospitality is done because we recognize a need in some one's life. Even if it is inconvenient, hospitality should still be offered. There is always need, and opportunities will become apparent to us if we are open to them.

Question 2. Is, "I don't have the gift of hospitality" a valid reason for a Christian not to practice hospitality? No. Many times in the Bible God has put tasks before someone that they did not want to do. But they still had to do it, and God showed them a way. God sees in us talents that we don't realize we have. But regardless, if the need of hospitality is there, the recipient will not care if you are not "good" at it. They will just be glad you offered and shared what you have.

This just happened in my own kitchen, just this afternoon. I heard knocking, and a neighbor couple was knocking on my door. The next thing I know my husband was leading them inside to sit in my kitchen because it was too hot to visit outside. I looked at them before they even got inside and said "I'm glad you came by. Please have a seat, just don't look at my dirty house!" They laughed and acted as if I were joking. But I proceeded to pick up, rearrange, and wash dishes the whole time they were here. We had a big gathering at our home on the 4Th of July. We are still putting up platters and large bowls we only use for times like that. Plus, even thought dishes had been done that night and the next day, we are still gathering bowls, and glasses, etc, to be washed and put away. I had it on my list today to work on the kitchen, but the neighbors arrived just as I was getting in from church. My husband apologized later, and explained to me what had happened. I told him that it was perfectly fine. I would rather the kitchen been neat, but I was doing a Bible study on hospitality and I could not allow my pride to keep me from offering to share with our neighbors. My husband is not a believer (Christian) yet. I think he was impressed that I would swallow my pride in the middle of a kitchen of dirty dishes and make these friends feel welcome. Maybe this was one of the days that the "Lord worked in mysterious ways" in my home.

I think the older I get it is easier to offer hospitality to others. I don't know if it is because we have more to offer, we have more room now, I have no small children, or because I'm just more comfortable with who I am. But what ever the reason, I find it easier at this stage of my life.

Question 3: How do you develop the gift of hospitality? The only way I know to develop the gift of hospitality is to be hospitable. Practice makes perfect, I always told my children. It will get easier the more we do it. As my children got older, they sometimes would be quicker to notice a hospitality need. When they would ask me about it, I never wanted to discourage this action in my children, so I always tried to make an effort to offer hospitality, even if I wouldn't have on my own. I wanted my children to know that with God, we can do anything!

Before you have people in your home, it would be a good idea to pray about the evening and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and show you how to proceed. I think wonderful things will happen if this path is taken.

If something comes up and you feel led to ask someone to dinner, do it. Don't worry if you haven't cooked enough. I'm sure there is something you can add to make enough for dinner, Everything will work out fine. Recently I asked some children what they were doing after Easter service. They said "nothing - there is nothing to do!". I said go ask your Grandma if you can come home with me. So they did, and our egg hunt for one Grandboy stretched easily for four other children. They didn't care what we ate. Regardless it was festive, and something they weren't going to do at home. So I felt glad I could share with them, and wished I had planned it from the start.

I look forward to the next chapters in this book, and will try to be more prompt in the future!

Please come back to see us. Love, Honey

Check out this Give Away at Raising Arrows!

Getting ready for the 4th of July celebration!

Amy at Raising Arrows is having a wonderful give away today. She is giving away a one year membership to Connections Network. This is a blogging community designed to encourage you and energize your blog. I DEFINITELY can use this! I made a decision this week that I am going to be dedicated to getting this blog up and running, and checking out alternate ways to make income from home. This prize would be a blessing to me, I'm sure.







I have been self-employed for the last 16 years. One of our daughters learns much differently than other children. I was always having to re-teach her a home, what they were covering in her class. It got to the point, that I could no longer do her homework over the phone. When the opportunity came for me to take a layoff and cash in my retirement (all $2,500 of it, you know this was a while ago!) I did it. My husband was a third shift police officer at the time, and I really needed the flexibility of being self-employed to care for my family.







So anyway, back to today. About three years ago, I made $36K working for myself and being available over the years to parent my children, be supportive of my husband, and manage our residential properties. About two years ago, one of my clients cut my hours. Over time, I have reached a point, where I can only depend on about half the amount I used to make regularly. I have been thinking of new clients to target, but my husband retired in October. He would like for me to retire, too. But I like working. So working from home would be nice for both of us, and I hope he will feel it is an acceptable compromise.







So after our annual party Monday in honor of Independence Day, I am going to rework my schedule so I can make time daily for promoting my new work at home ideas. Wish me luck, and pray that I will benefit from this great give way from Raising Arrows!







Tomorrow we will return to life on the farm! Love, Honey

Open Heart Open Home Week 1

If anyone is still here, I have been away a while. I got away from posting daily during the spring Bible in 90 Days reading session with Mom's Toolbox. A new session starts soon if you'd like to sign up. I was a mentor, and also a reader. Those activities took up more time than I planned. When that group ended, I immediately went into another B90 Days reading session with Raising Olives and family. More about Bible in 90 Days in another post. So here I am, back again.







Today at The Common Room, the Headmistress started reading a book entitled Open Heart Open Home by Karen Mains. I believe I already own this book, but since I couldn't find it, I had to order another copy. I find myself purchasing duplicates a lot lately! One day I will have a large library room so all my books can live together and I can find them. But that day will have to wait.





When Pappy and I bought the farm house and land we live on today, we looked forward to being able to entertain and share our home with others. Each year we have a Large 4th of July celebration. Our family and friends, our daughters' friends, and lots of police officers are in attendance each year. People are in and out all day. Some just come in time for the fireworks show at dark. Pappy spends way too much on fireworks each year. But it is his favorite holiday of the year, so I turn my eyes and try not to notice.





On other holidays we always have extra people around our table. Some times it is people who don't have family here. Other times it may be "friends of friends". But they are always welcome at our table and we can always add another seat. A friend of mine once said that if I had left overs each night, I cooked too much. I said "no, if I didn't have any leftovers, I'd think I didn't cook enough! I always want enough to feed any "angels" who show up at my table.





One time when my youngest was in high school, she asked me if she could bring home "a girl and her baby" that she met at work. She said the girl was living in her car with a baby. I said, yes, bring them home. Imagine my surprise when the "girl" turned out to be a 30+ year old woman and her new infant son. They stayed with us about a week. That is an interesting story for another day. But my daughter wanted to share what we had, and I didn't want to discourage her from that. I was proud that she noticed their need.





This week we covered the first two chapters of the book. These chapters were titled "Company's Comin" and "On Entertaining". One of the stories shared in this book talks about the young preacher's wife always taking care of others in her home, and learning how to let them serve her as well, by preparing a meal, sharing in the cleaning, etc. I remember as a young bride away from home with my army husband in a place far from the South where I grew up. Other soldiers would come home with my husband each weekend and hang out at our home. My husband was one of the few married guys in his group, and we lived off post. The soldiers would bring steaks, or other food items, and say "Ms. Cindy, do you mind if we have ..." Of course I didn't. And they would clean up, and do a better job at that than I did. My husband told me not to be uncomfortable when this happened, because the guys were used to doing this at the barracks, and wanted to be able to come back to our home, and come often. And so they did. Watch for the next installation of "Open Heart Open Home! Come back soon! Honey