I Choose Truth

After attending much of 

the TrueWoman'18 conference 

by live-stream 

(more about that soon), 

I signed up for the 

Revive Our Hearts

 I Choose Truth Challenge! 

Will you join me?!
Sign up by October 2nd 

by clicking here.

Pesto!

Fresh basil from the raised beds...

... a little lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and artichokes...

... and we have little jars of pesto frozen to help make delicious meals through the next year.

Whereabouts in the Wilderness

My current audio book recording project is The Life of Rev. Henry Martyn by John Hall. I will share more about him when the project is finished. For now, here is an excerpt that goes along with my previous posts about our afflictions in life being likened to a "wilderness."

"In my evening walk enjoyed great solemnity of feeling, in the view of the world as a mere wilderness, through which the children of God are passing to a better country. It was a comforting and a solemn thought, and was unspeakably interesting to me at the time, that God knew whereabouts his people were in the wilderness, and was supplying them with just what they wanted."

Photo credit: snapped by Dad with his phone on a recent camping trip 

Early Apples 2018

Our early apples ripened earlier than usual this year. For several weeks we have been enjoying the creamy sweetness of our Red Barons.

Amazingly, the tree still has branches after several years in a row of overloaded fruit cracking them off. This year Dad propped up the endangered limbs with 2x4s and PVC pipes.

To our taste buds the apples are already so sweet that we just add lots of cinnamon...

...top with a combination of coconut flakes, coconut flour, and coconut oil...

...bake, and enjoy!!

They also cook down quickly to a yummy, chunky applesauce or dehydrate in a day and a half into crispy, cinnamon-y chips.

 The cores and peels will be great for our compost pile which then nourishes our vegetable gardens in years to come.

After two full rounds through the dehydrator, I was ready to give the last box away. Some friends stopped by for it, cleaned up the last windfalls, and had all this sauce made a couple hours later!

Photo by K.P.

I Wish Thy Way

Lord, more and more  
I pray Thee, or by wind or fire, 
Make pure my inmost heart's desire,
And purge the clinging chaff from off the floor.

I wish Thy way;
But when in me myself would rise
And long for something otherwise,
Then, Holy One, take sword and spear, and slay. 

Oh, stay nearby,
Most patient Love, till, by Thy grace,
In this poor silver, Thy bright face
Shows forth in clearness and serenity. 

What will it be
When, like the lily or the rose, 
That in my flowery garden blows, 
I shall be flawless, perfect, Lord, to Thee?

"Is it not good to know that of His work in us on earth, even as of His work through us, there will come a day when He will say, "It is finished"; the chaff will be all winnowed, the I slain - never to take life again - the silver cleansed from the scum of earth, the soul perfect as a flower, and we shall be like Him then, for we shall see Him as He is? [1 John 3:2]"

Entire post quoted from Rose from Brier by Amy Carmichael

Winter Teas

Herbs and flowers are drying all over the house for our winter cups of tea.

Gomphrena makes beautiful, red tea.

Mojito mint is a new flavor for us to try. 

Peppermint is already a daily staple as the temperatures drop. For that matter, we drink plenty of tea in summer as well -- something we learned from our friends overseas. 

Below the peppermint are a couple trays of herbs drying for cooking: thyme and rosemary. 

In Every Season...

"In every season, in every circumstance,
His grace is sufficient for me."

This is the beautiful artwork we now see many times a day on our September calendar. The quote is from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's book Lies Women Believe: and the Truth that Sets them Free.

When the calendar flips to September, I always feel the shift accompanying the beginning of a new school year. Even with very few students during this illness, my year is clearly defined by the school calendar. 

This year I am making new goals for the school season - including returning to a bit of "school" myself! I ordered boxes of exciting curriculum and have begun to work through a self-imposed assignment each day or two. While my daily abilities are still unpredictable, this is a big mile-marker after years of being unable to read and process anything at depth and being unable to count on consistent strength to set any sort of schedule. 

More about my studies another time. For now, I was struck with another devotional from Jan Markell's book Waiting for a Miracle.

"'One day at a time' certainly has the ring of a cliche, and yet it is a mandatory philosophy with which the afflicted must come to terms. For now, long-range goals must be set aside. Even short-range plans must be put on the back burner, for our lives are temporarily on hold. Again the reality of illness underscores the limited power we have over our lives.

"Like toddlers we take a few small steps forward each day and try to relish the moments. By focusing on one day at a time, eventually we can look back and we are amazed at how far we've come on this bumpy road. No, it's certainly not the rat race speed of modern time... Rather, it's being content to deal with the immediate, and that is a foreign way of life to nearly everyone.

"Hope for tomorrow must be there, but the focus of attention must be on today. Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is not yet ours. Rather, "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" - Psalm 118:24"

Late Summer Bouquets 2018

Waiting Tests Faith

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. 

- Psalm 130:5

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 

- Hebrews 11:1

The following excerpt is from Jan Markell's wonderful devotional book for the ill and their caregivers and friends: Waiting for a Miracle.


"Sickness turns our lives into a waiting game. Early stages of affliction are particularly difficult as we wait for test results, for a diagnosis, and for a pattern to our dilemma. Then we wait for medication to take effect, or for a cure, or at least for a medical breakthrough. ...And we wait for answered prayer to bring us the miracle we often need.

"We become rather adept at waiting and hoping, although not naturally. It takes work to let faith and hope be in charge. ...Humanity in general is lousy at waiting.

"...Waiting--often waiting until problems have reached a climax--has always been a plan of God. Jesus worked this way with his disciples when they were in great distress during the storm at sea. God could have calmed the first wave but then the disciples would never have become acquainted with the power of Jesus. God often lets those waves rise high, as he did for the children of Israel at the crossing of the Red Sea, so his name can be magnified. [Also remember the account of Lazarus, Martha and Mary in John 11.]

"God leads us into the school of waiting. There he wants to give us so much that could be learned no other way: patience, humility, steadfast faith, and much more. God really wants to give us more than just the help we are asking, but he may first ask us to graduate from the school of waiting. 

"But remember, well people must go through this school as must afflicted people. Our courses may be a bit different, but every one of us lives in the world of waiting."

The word hope I take for faith; indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith. 

- John Calvin

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
    and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Ecclesiastes 7:8

Labor Day Tradition

After at least four years off, Maren helped

 revive a fun tradition at the lake: 

Labor Day camp-out!

Sisters and Mom finding a warm, sunny spot on the beach

Playing with cousin's kids.
Dad gave sailboat rides to relatives for two days.

Maren and Jason set out for their first ride with Dad...

... and the wind dropped before their return.

The new, collapsible paddle came in handy!

The most memorable part of our tradition is ending
 Sunday evening singing around the campfire and 
praying together before roasting 
marshmallows for s'mores.

Only a few of us camped out overnight
while others made the drive for both days.

Despite many layers, including one of Grandma's 
log-cabin quilts, I awoke chilly every hour 
all night to add more layers.

Monday was a relaxed morning of visiting and handwork,
with more family joining us for brunch.
My uncle was inspired to get his sailboat out 
for the first time of the year.

We missed having Grandpa and Grandma with us as in past years, but what a blessing to still have all these relatives that love to be together!

Glorious "Waste"

Gloriously wasteful, O my Lord, art thou!
Sunset faints after sunset into the night,
Splendorously dying from thy window sill-
For ever. Sad our poverty doth bow
Before the riches of thy making might:
Sweep from thy space thy systems at they will-
In thee the sun sets every sunset still. 

And in the perfect time, O perfect God,
When we are in our home, our natal home,
When joy shall carry every sacred load,
And from its life and peace no heart shall roam,
What if thou make us able to make like thee-
To light with moons, to clothe with greenery,
To hang gold sunsets o'er a rose and purple sea!

We make, but thou art the creating core.
Whatever thing I dream, invent, or feel,
Thou art the heart of it, the atmosphere.
Thou art inside all love man ever bore;
Yea, the love itself, whatever thing be dear.
Man calls his dog, he follows at his heel,
Because thou first art love, self-caused, essential, mere.

From George MacDonald's Diary of an Old Soul,

March 2, 3, and 5