Roses.....

Hello Everyone!

Sorry for the absence of posts this weekend!

This last week has been so busy, but very enjoyable!

On Thursday I was able to go and help a momma with a lot of little ones organize and clean her house for company.

Friday we had a wonderful time celebrating a friends birthday.

And Saturday was spent helping another sweet friend get ready for a fellowship time!

We had a great time being with them and another sweet family!

It was a very encouraging too be with other like minded people.

Anyway, that was my weekend!

I thought I'd share some rose pictures I took the other day!

These roses were so big and they smelled great too!

I really liked this red one. It was as big as my hand!

When you see a rosebud, you know that if you are patient,

soon a beautiful flower will open up and be an enjoyment to all who see it!

But, if we are impatient about seeing this flower bloom we may force it to bloom to early by trying to open it our self instead of letting nature do it.

If this happens the bud is no longer an enjoyment to anyone, because it did not have the proper time to mature and grow.

I see young women this way as well.

If we are patient and let the Lord guide us and mature us in His own timing, we will bloom under His hand.

But if we are impatient about growing up or getting married or whatever, we will end up taking matters into our own hands and trying to force something to happen.

When this happens we take it out of the Lord's hand and we can no longer grow and mature how He had planned. We can end up blemished and broken. God can still fix a broken life, but think of how much time was lost just by our impatient acts.

So, with that being said let us as young women guard our hearts and give the Lord complete rule over our lives. Don't try to act older than you are, be humble and be open to learning. If you are still single, wait on the Lord for your husband. And wait patiently! Don't go "looking".

I think this can be applied to all areas of life really! If we try to make something happen. We usually end up with a big mess and lots of disappointments.

This can be big things like getting married or having a baby, to small things like trying to make a get together work or anything to fill a void in your life.

If it doesn't seem to be working out it is usually not the Lord's timing for it yet!

Finding Joy In Your Work......

Everyone has at least one chore or job that they really dislike doing. For me its cleaning Baby Girl’s cloth diapers. If you have ever had to wash out poopy cloth diapers you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you have not lets just say it quite unpleasant!

Recently I have been given an opportunity in growing in the area of enjoying my work.
Not just doing a job because it has to be done. But really taking enjoyment in what I’m doing and seeing it as an opportunity to be a servant.

With Baby Girl’s diapers I can be thankful that we can save money by using cloth, that she was born into this family, that Dad installed a wonderful huge sink in the laundry room to make cleaning easier, etc.

I have found that when I am content in what work I need to accomplish it is so much easier to find things to be thankful for, rather than only thinking about what a drudgery it is.

I’m learning to find joy even in Mondays! I haven’t liked Monday very much in the past because it is the beginning of another long, full week and the end of a restful Sunday. However, the Lord has encouraged me to be thankful for Mondays! They are the start to a wonderful week in which I can be a blessing to my family, enjoy the beautiful things the Lord made, and to learn new things!

It is really easy to enjoy something you like doing. But it a wonderful thing to be able to find joy in a task that isn’t your favorite!
My Dad once taught us that instead of having the attitude that we “have to do something” (i.e. work); say “we get to do……….”!
Like, this next week I get to wash Baby Girl’s diapers! Saying it this way changes that whole way you look at the work.

So, tomorrow is Monday…….I get to wake up and milk the goats, make breakfast, wash the dishes, file Dad’s paperwork etc! I’m going to be thankful for all that the Lord has provided me with.

Sisters, I encourage you to look at your work in a new way! Whether you are cleaning the house, mucking out the barn, washing the mountain of dishes or whatever jobs lay ahead of you, find joy and contentment in what is before you! Be thankful for all that the Lord has provided, instead of seeing it as a drudgery!


Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Col. 3:23-24

Do everything without complaining or arguing. Phil. 2:14

What The Wildflowers Reminded Me.......

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

"Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?'

For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things". Matthew 6: 25-34

The Lord put this scripture on my heart these last couple of days.

I have been really anxious about different things in my life. Little things like making sure I have what I need to go on my trip, to lifetime things like will I ever get married?

I found that I was becoming a worry-wort!

Always thinking about what was coming (or lack there of). So much so that I was finding it hard to just rest in Jesus, and letting Him take care of tomorrow.

Sisters, it is very easy to get bound up in our issues and worries. But if we can learn to turn all our plans, our problems and the like over to Jesus do you know how much freer we will be?!

Let us not worry what tomorrow brings, but let us focus on rest fully on the Lord!

picture taken by myself

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands ~Part 7~

Here is the final part to the Ministry list!

If you only have a few minutes:

~ Be a prayer warrior! Everyone needs prayer, have your heart open to the Lord and pray for people as you go about your day.

~ Write an encouraging note to other sisters. I know what a blessing it is to get a sweet letter in the mail, especially if I’ve had a hard day. Even a postcards telling them you are thinking of them is nice! The Lord will put a special person on your heart, just when they need it.

~ Leave a comment on a sister’s blog letting her know you were thinking about her.

~ Call someone up whether it’s your Grandma, Mom, friend or whoever and let them know they are special to you! Or even text them! (technology is so nice for this)

~ Send out birthday cards to widows, singles or mommas. These people don’t usually get cards. I know it is a great blessing when I receive a birthday card in the mail! It makes me feel really special!

~Even just picking a pretty flower, putting it in a vase and giving it to someone will make their day!

Stay tuned for the next list I’m putting together, about furthering your education ideas and ways to make money from home!

I was so blessed to see that I got over 200 hits on my blog this week!
Thank you to all who commented and left ideas for me!

( I will be adding you suggestions to the lists by the way. )

If you can, please take a few minutes and let me know what you thought about the whole list. It would really be a big blessing to me to know if posts like
this are helpful or if there is anything that might need to be changed.

Thank you so much!

I look forward to reading your comments!!

"No one is uesless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."

~Charles Dickens

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands ~Part 6~

Misc. things to do for ministry:

~ If you like to garden: plant one or add on to the one you have for the purpose of giving it away. Give the vegetables and fruit to a family who might be struggling financially or to the elderly you know who are on a fixed income.

~ Help by schooling your siblings or other children you know. I did this for two years right after I graduated. The children I schooled were my little brother and two other children whose mother had left them. Ask your Mom about this, she might not want you to take over all the schooling on a child, but might like a hand for a few subjects.

~ Just being available to the people in your community or church is a great thing! Sometimes the head librarian at the library in town will ask us to come in and rearrange to books because we have made it known to her that if she ever needed help we were available to help. Letting people know that you are willing to help wherever needed is a wonderful ministry!

~ If you can play an instrument well, why not set up with the nursing home in your community to come in and play for the people living there. I know the elderly love this! Again, it is a great way to get to know them.

For Tomorrow: If you only have a few minutes......

To read the rest of this list click here for:

Part One,

Part Two,

Part Three,

Part Four,

Part Five

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands ~Part 5~

If you like to knit or crochet:



~ Knitted or crocheted preemie (or babies in the NICU), hats and blankets are very much of a blessing to the families who receive them. I wasn’t able to find an organization that is dedicated to just this. But one place did suggest just getting in touch with a hospital in your area to see how to get these items to the families. Be sure and pray for the baby and the family as you are creating the item!

~Prayer Shawls 4 Fallen Soldiers is an organization that sends knitted blankets to the families who have lost a family member in the war. Go to www.webpages.charter.net/ps4fs/shawls/ for more information. You can also visit http://www.shawlministry.com/ for more ideas on where to send knitted and crocheted blankets.

~ The homeless shelters can use knitted or crocheted hats, gloves, scarves and blankets. If you started now just think of how many you could donate by wintertime! And think about how

special it would make a person feel to receive something from a person they didn’t even know!

This list was a little short too. So if you have any other ideas for blessing someone with your knitting and crocheting let me know!

If you haven't read the other parts to this list go here for:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

For Tomorrow: Misc things to do for ministry

Painting by Mary Cassatt

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands ~Part 4~

If you have a heart to help out Mommas:

~ I started a ministry using Preschool Activities In A Bag a couple of years ago. I really enjoy putting them together and I know it blesses the Mommas to receive them! To learn more go to http://www.activitybags.com/ or if you have any questions about doing this just leave me a comment. I’d love to tell you about them!

~ Another way to help out Mommas is to offer to take care of their other children when a new baby is born. This too is what I do as a ministry. I’ll go to their house sometimes a few days before the baby is born, usually when the momma feels like she is ready for some extra help. While I’m there, I will watch/play with the children, cook meals, help with cleaning or any other things that need doing. Once I ended up staying with a family a whole week, because they needed some extra help. So be ready to be a big blessing!

~You can also offer to help watch the children if Mom has a big project going on that she needs her full attention on. Like spring-cleaning, school planning, garden planning etc.
I put together a special baby-sitting box that I take with me when I go help out. It has craft supplies, games, books, puzzles and outside toys in it. It is a big hit with the children!

I didn't have as many ideas for this section. So, if you have any other ideas on helping mothers let me know!

To read the rest of this list go here for Part One, Part Two, Part Three

For Tomorrow: If you like to knit of crochet

Painting by Mary Cassatt

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands ~Part 3~

Part 3 of the Ministry List

( go here for part one and here for part two)

If you have a heart for the Elderly:

~ Become a driver for some of the elderly people you know. Many times when a person gets older their vision changes and they don’t feel comfortable driving around anymore.
You could drive them to the store, doctor appointments or just around town.

~ Help out with cleaning around their house or go the store for them (sometimes places like Home-Health won’t do this). My Great-Grandma has trouble getting around because of a bad leg, so housework, laundry, etc. is hard for her to accomplish.
She lives over 3 hours away, so I can’t help her with this. But, if she were closer, I definitely would!

~ Even just being a companion to an elderly person, is such a blessing to them! I love to listen to them talk about their lives when they were younger. You can learn so much from them. And what a great way to practice Titus 2!

~ Volunteer at a nursing home or at a home for people with Alzheimers. Many times these place are packed full and the nursing staff isn’t able to take time to visit with the patients all the time. So having someone come in who enjoys visiting with them is a great blessing to the staff and the patients!

~Sometimes these faculties are quite short on money and time that they don’t have the funds to update the paint, magazines or wall decorations. Becoming a volunteer is a great way to help with this. At the Alzheimers home we have in town, the planting boxes outside are broken and the plants were dying, the magazines had been there for a very long time too. The fish tank they have in the foyer is in need of monthly cleaning also. So, my family is thinking about asking if we could come in and help out with those things.

~At the nursing home, you could also volunteer to do the lady’s hair and nails. I know it means a lot to them to look nice and it makes them feel special too!

~ Reading to the elderly is another way to bless them! I can’t imagine life without reading books, but as people get older sometimes it gets harder and harder to see small words.

If you have any other ideas on howto bless the elderly please leave a comment!

Or if you thought it was helpful let me know!

For Tomorrow: If you have a heart to help out Mommas

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands ~Part 2~

Here is the second part of the Ministry list!

(To read part one go here)

If you like to cook or bake:

~ Make a couple of meals (frozen or fresh) for a family who might have a sickness going around. Mommas are very tired during this time and don’t have a lot of time to think about what to cook.

~Or make meals when a new baby arrives. When Baby Girl was born several people brought meals to our house. It helped tremendously since Mom could not come down stairs for a week and I was very busy with the other household things.

~You could also bless a family with a meal or two if you hear that they have a very busy week ahead of them or if they are going on a trip. You could bless them with a freezer meal for when they get back. I know its always a hassle to figure out what to cook right when you get back from a trip.

~ Bake a birthday cake for a family who just had a baby. When Baby girl was born, a sweet sister brought us a cake their family had made for her. It was such a special gift!

~ Do the cooking for an elderly person/couple. The elderly have so much knowledge to give and usually they love people to come and visit. So what better way to build a relationship, than to help with their cooking! You could make up some dinners for them once a week that they could pull out of the freezer. The dollar store has cheap individual sized meal containers you could put their meals in. Be your own meals on wheels!

~ You could even make up a bunch of freezer meals for your own family. This is a great blessing to my mom, especially during the summer months when we are outside most of the day. Its really nice to be able to get a meal out of the freezer and go on with other things and have dinner ready in an hour! A great place to get freezer meals recipes is in the 30-Day Gourmet Cookbook ( http://www.30daygourmet.com/ )

Be sure and comment if you have any other ideas or if you were just blessed by it!

For Tomorrow: If you have a Heart for the Elderly

Idle Hands vs. Helping Hands

When I first started this post, I was mainly writing it for young women who were graduated from school and single. But as I went along, I found that there is such a need for all young women whether still in school, graduated or married without children at home to be productively using our time!

So many young women are unsure what to with their time that we end up spending a lot of time focused on what we don’t have yet. Such as counting down the days until you can be done with your school forever, waiting around for Mr. Right to show up or feeling incomplete because you haven’t been blessed with a baby yet.
These are all things that can hinder us from truly pouring ourselves into the Lord’s work for us.
There is so much more life in blessing other people than being focused on what we don’t have.

Sisters, do you know that we have been wasting a wonderful opportunity that the Lord has given us?
For those of us who don’t have a husband or family to take care of yet what a wonderful time we have been given to fully embrace the ministry the Lord has called us to!
We don’t have the responsibilities of a family on us yet, and some of us have older siblings who can take care of themselves and share the household workload so then you have even more time to give the Lord!

For those of you who are married but don’t have a baby yet. You will have more to tend to than the singles. But there is still time during the day after the household things are done and your husband is still at work, to dedicate to the Lord!

Let us embrace the in between times and prayerfully consider what the best use of our time could be!

So, with all that said………..
I’ve put together a list of all the ministry opportunities I could think of hoping that it might help you find something you would like to do as a ministry.
I researched some websites to go along with the ideas to help you get started.
(I do not endorse these websites; I’m just using them for ideas)

I hope that something on this list will spark an interest for you!

Because of how big this list is, I broke it up into seven segments and will be posting one everyday this next week. So be sure and check back to see the newest one!

If you know of any other ministry opportunity that I didn’t add, please leave me a comment and I’ll add it to the list. I will be updating this list regularly so the more ideas I have the more help it can be to all of you!

If this list blesses you at all, please post about it on your blog (you are welcome to copy the list as long as you add a link to my blog). Or if you know of someone who would be blessed by it, please send it to them! There are so many sisters who feel unsure of how to minister from home. There is such a need for this.

PLEASE get this list out there!!!!

If you Like To Sew:

~Sew baby clothing and blankets for families of newborns in the NICU or their baby died. There are many organizations that deal with this ministry. Pray for the family and the baby while you are sewing the items.
Try this Christian site, http://www.threadsoflove.com/

~ Many moms don’t have the time to sew dresses or clothing for their children or themselves. You could have her buy the pattern, fabric and offer to sew it for her.

~ I recently found out Downy has program that delivers handmade quilts to sick children receiving treatment in the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. What a wonderful way to pray for the child receiving the blanket and for the families of the sick child! Go to http://www.downy.com/ to find out more.

~ You can sew prayer blankets for cancer patients. While taking chemo, patients get quite cold, so having a blanket to wrap up in is helpful. Pray over the person receiving the blanket while you are sewing! http://www.prayerquilt.org/

~ I found several organizations that do sewing for children in orphanages. One was Come & Sew Ministries International( http://www.comeandsew.org/ ). They sew blanket sleepers, quilts, coloring bags, etc. for children in the Russian orphanages, as well as some other places. If you don’t want to send the items you’ve sewn thru an organization, most churches have a missionary they support. You could contact them and ask what kind of sewn items are needed and send it directly to them.

~ Many homeless shelters will take donations of sewn items. Items that might be enjoyed are baby clothing, quilts, bags and children’s clothing. Check with the homeless shelter nearest you to see what their needs are.


For Tomorrow: If You Like To Cook or Bake

Prayer.......

I recently had an opportunity to grow in the area of prayer.
A sweet friend passed away not long ago. He had been quite sick. Many people were praying that he would be healed. Well, a few days later he went to be with the Lord. I had a really hard time understanding why even though we had prayed for his healing the Lord took him anyway.
“What ever you ask for in prayer”…..Right?

However, I had forgot the most important thing about praying, that it is all is the Lord’s hands. I can’t make Him do what I want.
I had been demanding toward the Lord, I wanted Him to do things my way. If I had prayed with an open heart then I wouldn’t have gone to the place of questioning the Lord’s will later. I still would have been sad that our friend was gone, but I would have been in a good place in my heart about what the Lord had chosen.

I would encourage you sweet friends to remember that the Lord is like a father, our own fathers wouldn’t like a demanding child, so do you think our heavenly Father would?

This doesn’t mean, not to put our prayers before Him, but to do it such a way that it is with an open heart to what ever the Lord has.
Lord not my will, but yours be done!

A sweet sister sent this quote by Amy Carmichael to my family. It’s really encouraged me as I go through hard struggles or even just the everyday things. I hope this speaks to your heart as much as it does mine!

“All that grieves is but for a moment.

All that pleases is but for a moment.

Only the Eternal is important. A trial comes. It will pass. In a few days, or months, or years, we shall have forgotten it.

But the way we face that trial—our inner attitude towards it—belongs to things that are Eternal. All that we are, all that will ever be, in us and in others, in the entire universe—past, present, and future—is effected for all eternity by how we respond to temptations, or trials, or victories, or defeats.
The issues themselves are irrelevant. The eternal—how we respond in our inner hearts—those are the only things that matter. All else will pass and be forgotten and trivialized by time and space. It does not seem so now.

We feel, ‘If I could only have________.

If only this problem would go away, then_________.”

Yet, we must be reminded of what we know…

The pleasures pass. The trials, though they seem long and difficult, are a vapor. If we could have what we desire, or shed what we disdain, we would, with that attitude, only suffer dreadful loss in the Eternal realm.

The scriptures say, “He gave them their [demanding, insistent] request, but sent leanness into their soul.” Let us look to HIM and invest in the Eternal, not that which only passes away.” ~Amy Carmichael

Having Rebekah's Heart

Being a single woman hasn’t been the easiest thing for me, anyone who knows me well can tell you I have struggled with this for sometime.
A sister once encouraged me to be like Rebekah, to be busy while I wait for my “Isaac”.

So, I started reading her story and one thing really stood out to me, she was a willing and diligent worker!

“And it came about before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder.
And the girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and she went down to the spring and filled her jar, and came up.
Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar."
And she said, "Drink, my lord"; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink.
Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking."
So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.
Genesis 22:15-20

Rebekah wasn’t mopping around the house, waiting for the “ right one” to show up or just working enough to get by.
No! She was helping in her father’s house and I’m sure doing many other things to bless the people around her.
When Abraham’s servant showed up, she offered to give water to not only him, but also all his camels!
(That is not an easy thing to do I’m sure!)
She had already learned to see where there is a need and then do it whole-heartedly.

I think this a wonderful thing to learn now!
It pains me some much to watch young ladies being only concerned about things for their hope chests or planning their weddings ect.
These things are fun to do or plan, but it is very easy to become consumed with them.

At one time I was consumed with those things.
Let me tell you, that being wrapped up in this only leads to discontentment and impatience in waiting on the Lord.

It came to the point with me that obviously the Lord has other things during this season then marriage or even planning those things. It hurt really hard at first to let them go and hold them with an open hand, but I'm so glad that are better now! (I still have to lay this issue down very often :) )


I do believe that season will come around at some point, but now isn’t the right time. I do still want to be married, be a wife and mother and run my own home, but the Lord is the only one who knows when I’m truly ready.

Meanwhile, I’m working on pouring all my energy into helping my family and blessing those around me. Being aware of things that need doing, and doing them. Even it’s not my favorite thing to do, putting my whole heart into them.
This is not an easy feat; I have to lean on the Lord daily to even partly accomplish this with a smile on my face.

Remember sweet sisters to adopt Rebekah’s heart.
Be aware of those around you who need a willing heart to help where needed and a sweet smile to go with it!
Blessings,
Laura

To All My Sisters......

Hello to you all!!!!
I’m very excited about this blog! I pray it is an encouragement and a blessing to you.
I look forward to sharing with you the things that I have learned over the years, things I’m learning now and things I will find out in the future!

I started this blog, because the Lord put the desire in my heart to have a place where single ladies who are still at home would be able encourage one another and also to be an encouragement to the younger girls who will be in our position soon.
However, I hope it is an encouragement to all ladies, married or single, older or younger!
I look forward to getting to know you and pray that we can learn to grow to be godly women, helpmeets to our husbands, loving mothers and to excel in the things the Lord might call us to.

I love to hear about what the Lord is growing my friends in, so I hope you will leave many comments about things that are encouraging to you also!
I hope you all have a very blessed day! And I look forward to writing to you again very soon!
Much love,
Laura