Pure Providence

Well, I definitely will not receive the blogger of the year award! :-)

Where have I been?? Busy! A very good busy. Thank you to each of you who have prayed for me and sent emails and comments during my absence from the blogosphere. Each word was a very welcome encouragement and treat for me to read.

I just had to share a quick update on life in our home, and, most importantly, I wanted to share about the awesome Heavenly Father we have. The way He provides is so humbling.

Here's a quick update: My husband is home! Praise God! He arrived home safely and in good health last month. Thank you to all who prayed for him and for us during his deployment overseas. Needless to say, we are all overjoyed to have him home, and we are very grateful that God took care of us all during that time. Seriously ~ amazingly well. Being pregnant, I had so much help from my parents, my brother and his wife, my church family, and my neighbors. All of our needs were met, and I seriously had hardly any discomforts at all during the majority of my pregnancy. Ok, so onto finishing the update here...my three amazing kiddos (yes one is still on the inside but due to arrive next month!) have been such a tremendous blessing to me. My 7 y.o. son is a huge helper. My 3 y.o. daughter is full of life and joy. My baby in the womb has been easy to carry. :-) Only recently have the effects of weight and gravity begun to cause me some discomfort in my back. But seriously, this pregnancy, like my others, has given me very little to complain about physically.

Prayers and Providence: God is so good. We serve an amazing Lord, and I just know that I deserve none of the goodness he bestows upon me. My children are amazing testaments of His love ~ true blessings like no other. Well, as I mentioned in the update, God took care of my kiddos and I abundantly and surrounded us with help from loved ones. He also took care of my husband in the Middle East, and there were very few days we were unable to communicate somehow, whether it be email, skype, phone, or snail mail. I could list so many ways God provided over the past several weeks, months, and years, but I wanted to describe four recent neat ways God has providentially blessed our family.

#1: As I've mentioned, we are expecting a baby very soon. Well, I guess over the past couple of years, my husband and I thought we were probably finished having children. We found out this past March the Lord had another plan! :-) Nonetheless, prior to March, over the past few years, we have given almost all of our kids baby/toddler clothes to my niece/nephews and friends' children. Well, instead of having to go out and dig for bargains at garage sales and consignment stores, my awesome sister-in-law gave me six huge bins of baby clothes, containing a few sets of clothes in which I had given to her in the past, but just a mixture of all the baby essentials and more for not only the first year but through age 4!! I think we have more baby clothes now than we did when either of our other two kids were born! What an amazing blessing to be so prepared and have that burden lifted.

#2: One baby item that I have been wanting to purchase is a baby front pack. I have never used one before, but I figure with a toddler and an infant, this would be an ideal item to have. Well, I wrote it down on my 'wish list' about a month ago, and the very next week ~ the mother of a family in our church asked me..."Would you have any use for a baby pack? I've used this with all of my children (they have 8 kids), and we can't have anymore." I was floored. Seriously, how neat is that? I was looking into purchasing them, and some of the nicer ones are not cheap!

#3: As we are preparing to be a family of five, we have been doing LOTS of organizing. I have had organizational projects on my to-do list all summer and fall. Well, one specific organizational project my husband and I have been praying for the Lord to help us with is adequate and funtional storage for the kids' clothes. We do not have a dresser in the kids' bedroom. We utilize the closet as best we can, and we made the changing table into a 'make-shift' dresser over the past couple of years. So we decided a dresser would be a good option for us. When he first arrived home last month, we went to IKEA to check out the selection. While many were nice and functional, these dressers were just not in our price range right now. I had been looking at garage sales and consignment furniture stores periodically all summer with nothing turning up. I decided to pay attention closely to our local classifieds. I think over the past few months, I've seen maybe eight or so advertisements for dressers of varying dimensions and styles. Well, by the time I made a phone call to the owners, all but one of them had sold this summer. And the one that hadn't was very small and not what we were looking for. Well, just this afternoon, I, once again, decided to check out the classifieds in our free paper that came yesterday. There was an ad for a dresser with almost the exact dimensions we had been hoping for. Also, it just so happened the people who were selling it lived a mile away from the church we go to in the neighboring town. I called them as soon as I told my husband about it and asked if it was available. It was! They said we could come look at it tonight before church, and it was perfect!! It is a really solid piece of furniture and seriously exactly what we had in mind. We bought it at bargain price, and we thanked the owners so much (in which the dresser had been in their family since the 1950s) and told them this would be a huge blessing for our family.

#4: Lastly, I just wanted to mention another neat way God provided something that we never would've expected. My husband is really a do-it-yourself, fix-anything, make-anything kind-of guy. Well, it has been one of his goals to put together a nice play set/swing set for the kids in our yard. However, all of the playset kits he had been looking at ranged anywhere from $200 - $1200. Well, since this is not something we *need*, we just always were content with taking the kids to local parks and finding other ways to keep them busy and having fun. However, when my husband arrived home after being gone all summer, he was kind-of anxious to jump in on some home-improvement projects and was still really looking forward to getting something out there for the kids to play on for future years. Well, we had mentioned this idea to my folks. A couple of weeks later, my dad emailed us that a coworker of his was selling a playset he had constructed some years ago for his kids, who have now outgrown it. They were only asking $100 for it, and it is a really solidly built sound-structure made with green-treated lumber and has two swings, a slide, a fort on top and a sandpit down below. Ideal for our kiddos. Well, just this afternoon, it was brought to our house and family and neighbors helped unload it into our backyard. $100 was the total cost, which was way less than anything my husband had been looking into and worth a lot more. No labor involved. Just another creative way we felt so blessed. It definitely was not a need of ours, but God knew that my husband didn't have the time right now nor did we have the money to get something else.

So are all these incidences a result of good timing or good luck? Certainly not. God knows what we need even before we ask. He is just amazing. Pure providence. As I close, I just want to leave you with a couple of Bible verses that speak of this great providence our Father so graciously gives to His children.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh within us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all the ages, world without end. Amen." ~Ephesians 3:20-21

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" ~Matthew 6:25-26


Blessings to all of you,
Katie

Hidden Veggies

Hello dear blogging friends!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer! It's been busy around here (you may have been able to tell due to the lack of posts). :-) I hope you also had a wonderful celebration of our nation's Independence Day. Our family talked a bit about the history of why we celebrate the day and how our nation was founded ~ so important!

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Quick family update: Hubby is still deployed. On Independence Day, I was especially thankful for him and all of our troops. Baby (on the inside) is growing and moving. :-) My children are having a very fun activity-filled summer with lessons and sports and picnics and such. We are all staying busy while missing daddy around the house. God had blessed us tremendously this summer in special ways with family, friends, and neighbors. His providence and love is so amazing!
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And now on to my topic for this blogpost....."Hidden Veggies!"

I had a lightbulb moment today and thought this would make a neat blog post to share. (It is sort of a very late contribution to my blogging friend Carrie's post here.)

During my pregnancies, I have craved "smoothies" - not the kind with ice cream, but the kinds with all varieties of yummy fruits. If you go back to this post, you will see the kind I am talking about. Well, this pregnancy has been no different. Some dear folks at our church gave our family some strawberries this past Sunday, and they were perfect in today's smoothie! But as I was making this one, I was pondering, "How can I make this even healthier?" So I decided, why not add some vegetables to this! So I added some carrots, and this smoothy was soooo delicious!

Then I got to thinking about how much my children LOVE yummy fruit smoothies, and then the light bulb went off! I can add carrots, cucumbers, broccoli....all sorts of veggies in with the fruit and they can get some veggies for the day that way! Wow, why have I not thought of this before? My kids are OK about eating their veggies, but it is usually not their first choice. I'm sure there are some blog posts out there somewhere in blogland about fruit/veggie smoothies, but today, it just was one of those moments that you just want to share with others. And it's so easy for them to consume as they can drink it - even my youngest from her sippy cup!

Today's Smoothie Recipe:

2-3 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
2 cups ice cubes
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2-1 cup carrots
1/2 cup water
1/4 - 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Optional: Sugar to taste (but it is perfectly yummy without!)

Smoothies are so great!! You can adjust the amount of all the ingredients above to your desired taste and texture. I plan to come up with more recipes using other vegetables, but the strawberries and carrots were dee-lish! I love using bananas, grapes, cherries, juice, and berries usually also. I'm looking forward to being creative with the blender for the rest of this summer! Who doesn't love a smoothie in summer??

Blessings to all!
Katie

Thank You

Thank you to all of our current military members, Veterans, and to all who sacrificed their lives fighting for our freedom. May God protect those sacrificing so much right now to protect all of us here at home. I love you dear hubby ~ praying for your safe return.

Blessings to all military members and their families,
Katie

Where does the time go?

Two months have passed and not a single post! Yikes!

If anyone still stops by this lil' corner of the web, here's a brief summary of what's been going on around here:

My hubby deployed for the summer.
My son is finishing up first grade and beginning baseball and swimming lessons.
My daughter is potty training and learning her numbers, shapes, colors, etc.
We are expecting another baby!

That's my life in a nutshell right now. Don't know how much I'll be posting in the days to come. I always think of posts and then never get around to them! I'm a terrible blogger! :0)

I hope all of my blogging friends are well.

Until next time, praise Him!

Blessings,
Katie

Homemade Bible Tracts

Greetings!

Have any of you ever been out at the store, restaurant, or had a visitor come to your home...and the topic of faith came up and you wish you had a Bible tract to share after you witnessed to them? Well, that has happened to me.

When I was first saved, my brother really got me fired up in the area of apologetics ~ defense of our Christian faith. He suggested I memorize 1 Peter 3:15 which commands believers to always have an answer ready to give for the hope that lies within us. I take that command very serious, but I have come up short of answers more often than I'd like to share. I think early in my Christian walk, I was fired up to witness to anyone and everyone. Over the years, I've been up and down in terms of witnessing. It just so happens we are having revival meetings at our church next week, and this business of witnessing has really been laid on my heart. The sermon this past Sunday was to "be prepared" and focused on that same verse, 1 Peter 3:15.

Well, around Christmastime, I got this idea to make up "homemade" Bible tracts with the plan of salvation. Sure there are ones you can order or buy from Christian book stores, but I don't have much extra money sitting around, and I thought it would be neat to personalize some and make my own!

I just did this morning. Nothing real fancy yet, but I plan to get more creative as time allows. It's about the size of a 4" x 6" picture.

For now, this is what I came up with:

(It includes the following Bible verses: Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, 10:13, and 8:1.)

I plan to add a personalized note, poem, or testimony on the back. I also plan to have my kids help me decorate them.

I know we've had folks come to our door who are trying to share their faith and ideas about truth with me. I always have told them I am a born-again, Bible-believing Christian and begin to share my faith with them. But I've thought afterwards that it would've been nice to give them a little something more to take with them and may have been more meaningful if they knew without a doubt how firm in my beliefs I was and had something all prepared to share with them! Well, now I do! I'm embarassed it's taken me this long (this has come into my mind quite a few times), but the Lord is faithful in His reminders! :-)

Now, I have a little stash right in our entryway organizer by the door:

Do you keep Bible tracts in your purse or other items to share with others about your faith? I would love to hear your creative ideas of how to share the Gospel! :-)

I hope you all have a blessed week!!

Blessings, Katie

(CONGRATULATIONS to my bloggy friend, Carrie, on the birth of their new baby girl!!)

Fashion Week at SAHM!

If you haven't already, go check out the modest feminine goodness going on over at Joy's blog:

I am so inspired by the ladies who have been posting there! Thank you Joy and to all the ladies for seeking to the honor the Lord with this part of your lives and helping others to do so as well! That's actually one of the first reasons I wanted to begin this blog...read this post (my very first one!) from the archives. :-)

Blessings to all for a wonderful weekend!

Serve Him!

Katie

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God." ~ 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Praying with your children

Greetings! :-) I hope all my bloggy friends and family are doing well!

In an effort to be more faithful in praying for family, church family, friends, neighbors, missionaries, our government leaders, and other people we know ~ I started something new in our household.

The three apple canisters you see below on our counter weren't being used for anything really useful. I found they did not have a tight enough seal for me to store the usual flour and sugar items for which they are intended. So they started to be a "catch-all" for whatever needed to be cleaned off the counter ~ or ~ a candy trap. :-) Well, I took out all of the clutter one day and then came up with an idea.

I decided to type up the names of people we wanted to be praying for on a regular basis. I printed the lists of names on cardstock and cut them out. I placed the names in the smallest canister on the left.

In the mornings, my 6 year old son and I pick 5+ names. After breakfast and our devotional time, we pray for the people we chose for that day. Then their names go into the canister in the middle. When the smallest canister is emptied of names and the middle one is full, we put all the names back in the small canister to start the whole process over again ~ this may take several days.

My son closes his eyes when he selects the names, and then I allow him to choose who he wants to pray for from the names that were drawn, and I pray for the rest. He thinks this is pretty neat. It's something we both look forward to. I love that it helps me be accountable in praying for others regularly (something I definitely need to be more faithful in!), and I love that my son is actively participating in this with me.

Now I can't imagine any other use for the apple canisters in our kitchen. [I confess the third canister on the right is still our "treat jar" with miscellaneous goodies. One is better than three!]

How do you stay faithful in praying for others? I would love to hear what you do!

Blessings,

Katie

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." ~James 5:16

Trivia Answer and Update

Happy Tuesday morning!

TRIVIA ANSWER to yesterday's question:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) served for four terms in office. The limitation of the President of the United States of America to two terms in office by the 22nd Amendment of our Constitution was not passed until 1947 ~ two years after FDR died in office.

As for our President's Day celebration yesterday, we began our day with the Pledge of Allegiance after prayer, as is our daily custom. We then selected and read many books filled with fun presidential facts and stories. Last year for Kindergarten, we focused on George Washington. This year, we focused on Abraham Lincoln, as we just 'celebrated' his 200th birthday last week as well! :-)

We checked out a few children's books written about Honest Abe and read them together. My children colored a portrait of him, and we also did a craft project to put together a depiction of his log cabin ~ an adaptation of something we found online. We also made these neat presidential pendants to wear yesterday. After all that reading, writing, and creating, we then went to a neighboring town's library ~ which was offering a celebration of Lincoln's 200th Birthday for kids in K - 5th grade ~ to do some more!

My son really likes these 'themed days' of school. :-) I was keeping an online journal of some of our experiences on my homeschooling blog, but I haven't posted on there in ages...so I just thought I would share some memories of that nature periodically on here, as I do feel it applies.

Off to another fun-filled day with work for my family and the Lord!

Blessings,
Katie

"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul." ~Joshua 22:5