Pretty Porches...

Out on the Porch

Come sit with me out on the porch in early morn,

And watch a new day struggle to be born.

A tinge of orange upon horizon's breast

And stars now tired--flicker low and rest.

Look through dark leaves to lighter skies in space,

At patterns that resemble finest lace.

So quiet hear the beating of our hearts

As slowly day arrives--and night departs.

The moon now pale high in the sky,

Watch morning birds as they begin to fly.

Tranquility abounds, air crystal clear,

A moment stopped in time, devoid of fear.

To feel the warmth of rising sun,

Another day for us begun.

Reach out your hand for me to hold.

Together, watch this day unfold.

--Written by Patrick Joseph Hubauer

I pray our day has time worked into it to sit on our porches and think about God and about beauty and the blessings He has showered upon us. Love, Amy

I Love A Good Parade...

Halloween...Hmmm...

Colossians 1:9-13

New Century Version
Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we have continued praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what He wants.

We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things

so that you will live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way.

You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.

God will strengthen you with His own great power so

that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.

And you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who has made you

able to have a share in all that He has prepared for His people in the kingdom of light.

God has freed us from the power of darkness, and he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

For some reason this scripture just seems so rich and real and powerful to me.  Knowing that we CAN have the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord.  That He gives us strength through His power so that we can endure troubles and we will be patient in them. I suppose that is why His people can have joy in the midst of troubles through Him.

We are FREE from the power of darkness...and brought into the kingdom of His dear Son...

Wow!!

Speaking of darkness...

Whenever this time of year rolls around (Halloween) I am struck by lots of conflicting thoughts.  Our kids participated in Trick or Treating and it was fun. They dressed up and had cool costumes and ate lots of candy, but...there was always a side of me that just wanted it to hurry and be over.  Now, as the years have gone by I have even more of a distaste for Halloween.  I think there is enough "scary" in this world without trying to make everyone scared. Not sure what God thinks but I wonder at this feeling in my mind and heart and attribute it to the "Spirit" living in me. It is an uneasy feeling.

I do think that these scriptures speak something about it:

Gal. 5:16-19

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Deut. 18: 9-13
When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

Many years ago we had some very interesting things go on in our family over the Harry Potter books and Pokemon cards.  I won't get into it because I would probably get lots of ugly comments but it was clear, so very clear, that that realm of entertainment was something that we were not to take part in in any way.  So...I will let it go at that but just ask...how do you feel about Halloween?  I love this recent post at "Smelling Coffee" about spreading the sweet name of Jesus during Halloween...check it out-

http://smellingcoffeetoday.blogspot.com/

These days we just skip right over Halloween and move on to Thanksgiving. By the way I saw this gorgeous pumpkin decoration on the door of a local B & B yesterday.

I only had my phone but snapped a picture.

So beautiful.

I am also already listening to this cd in my car.

Yes, it is early for Christmas music. Just can't help myself.

Blessings on your day and thanks for listening! Amy

Morning Fog and Fall Swap...

Good morning! What a gorgeous walk I had yesterday. It was foggy with the sunshine streaming through. Beautiful. I love walking for my health but even more it does great things for my mind and spirit. Just seeing the beauty around me is such a great blessing.

 Ok, truthfully, I am feeling a tad bit overwhelmed. Why is it that when I feel this way I just want to stop and crawl under the covers and take a nap? Weird.  I started packing yesterday. I am trying to do it slowly and methodically. Of course anyone that really knows me knows that I am not methodical but random and somewhat scattered.  I put all the knick-nac patty wacks on our big table and all frames and signs, etc. on another table and will start the boxing up with those items. We will see how it goes. 

 I think I need sign therapy. Can you believe how many cute signs are lined up there? Not sure what to think about that. I am sure it says something about my personality but I have not idea what.

 Oh, by the way, don't you love getting fun things in the mail? I participated in a Fall Swap and my sweet friend Leslie and I swapped.  I got her box in the mail yesterday. It was so cool! She sent the items above and I love each and every one of them.  Can't wait to try some recipes from the cookbook and her own personal couple of recipes that she sent. Coffee, mug, wonderful note cards, lip balm (I needed that!), Banana Pepper Mustard...thank you SO much Leslie!  You can see her sweet blog here: http://brazleblogger.blogspot.com/
She is an amazing person.

 So, I am off for another walk with time to talk to my Maker and take in the loveliness around me.

My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." 

And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."

Psalm 27:8

Then, of course there is the packing...whew. Prayers appreciated. Amy

Boys Will Be Boys...

We LOVED having our boys home this past weekend.  They brought good friends and we LOVE them too. What a blessing it was to be able to spend time with the friends that our boys spend lots of time with.  God has surely blessed the Walker boys with great guys to be around. These five men are Mighty Men. They are not only awfully handsome and strong and smart...they are God's men. Wow.

When I think of them I think of:

2 Samuel 23:13-17

 During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.  At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.  David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”  So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD.  “Far be it from me, LORD, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

I know that our boys don't have many chances these days to do the brave, life threatening, honoring things that David's mighty men did but in their hearts they long to do such things.  I pray for our Christian young men that they will stay grounded in the Word and that they will ask God for opportunities to be Mighty Men for Him.  Our men are warrior's at heart and long to do extraordinary things for God and I believe they are meant to do so. They are also meant to do the everyday,
day after day hang in there and do the right things too.
As mother's of Godly boys, let's encourage them and let them dream about being God's men and not just like millions of other boys that are only taught to live for themselves. I pray we are being very intentional about exciting our children to live for God on earth and about taking people with them to heaven. 

 

Lazy Sat. morning breakfast. That is a happy Dad right there.

 I realize that this soup does not look to appetizing. I agree...but it really is so very good. I will put this in the recipe section soon. It is one that several people keep asking me to add. It is called Southwest Soup. Yum.

 Will was out talking to Sid during this picture. Love the smiles.

 Timed pictures are always fun and goofy, especially when I request that everyone hug.

Getting guys to hug for a picture is pretty hilarious...see?

 Boys will be boys...what can I say?

Blessings on this new week! Let's make it a great one! Love, Amy

In The Morning...

Psalm 5:3

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

Psalm 59:16

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 90:14

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

They Are Coming Home!

Aren't the mum's gorgeous right now? I forget from year to year how much I love them. I strolled through the garden entrance at Wally World just so that I could admire them. So lovely.

They are just happy flowers.

Our boys are coming home this weekend. This is first chance they have had to travel back since school started. They are bringing friends and we have food for an army. So. Excited!

The toilet bowl brush is not so attractive though is it? Just a fact...you gotta have one and a new one every now and then is much better than an old one if you know what I mean. :)

Thinking about the menu and cooking and where to sleep them all. Can't wait for football watching and coffee drinking. I can't wait for lots of noise in the house with fellowship and good conversation all around.

Oh, and much laughter and tons of hugs. Lucky us.

Blessings! Amy

It's About Abortion, but More About God...

Gianna Jessen...I heard her speak last night. I still do not have the words to express how I felt after I listened to her words. I still even this morning am crying over what I heard.

It is not just because of the crime and horror of abortion but more even about how she spoke about her Jesus.  It was inspiring and heartbreaking and heart filling and it made me dream of a better world and men that can be Brave hearts and Uncommon men and women that can love themselves because of who they can be through the Lord Jesus Christ.

She made me want to know God better and to dwell more closely with Him. 

Her proclamation of her love for Jesus is heart freeing. She does not ask for forgiveness for being straightforward and politically incorrect. She is standing loudly for Him. I want to be more like Gianna because she wants to be more like Jesus. She is God's girl. I am too. Be blessed as you listen to this video. Be blessed and let's live our love for Jesus out loud. Let's not be afraid of being politically correct. Our world in my opinion, is being politically corrected straight into hell.

We need to stand up with great love and tell the glorious story of our Savior.

Blessings. Amy

(please pause the blog music at the bottom of the page.)

Changes...

Gypsy-

1. a. a member of a people scattered throughout Europe and North America, who maintain a nomadic way of life in industrialized societies.

Our house has sold. We put it up for sale in July just to see if we could down size and save a little money because both boys are in college.  To those of you that have lived in the same house for years and years this seems very strange I am sure.  But you see, for Gypsy's it is not strange.  For people that love to live in new houses and like change it is not strange.  I know that we fall into that category.  Ask our friends from anywhere that we have lived.  Most of them will roll their eyes and agree. But truly, this house is just too empty and kind of lonely without two big ole boys bouncing around in it. So...we are going on an adventure. After all, we are crazy, empty nester's. 

 In a housing market that is at the least very slow here where we live, our house has just up and sold. Thank you God. This new adventure will take us into the world of leasing for the first time just to see what it is like.  We are SO excited that we have been blessed to have the opportunity to live in an old historical building that dates back to the 1880's.  It is a large open (except for two bathrooms) loft area. What fun it is going to be. So...right now I am thinking about packing up and all the work that goes with changing everything over to a new address and also getting to paint the new walls and how our furniture will work in this large open space. I love this. The picture above is the hallway entrance to the loft. The picture below is one of some exposed brick and paint colors. I would love any advise on historical paint colors from the 1880's to early 1990's.  I have probably bitten off more than I can chew but here goes...

Oh, and by the way, Sid is only about 3 weeks away from finishing his doctorate work, so he is very focused and I am kind of in this on my own for now.  That is ok and I am SO thankful he is about to conquer these last few weeks of hard work spanning now years and years. So proud of you honey!

 There is a very cool end of this loft that has this built in bookcase area. So quirky and cool.

Kind of reminds me of  the Professor's study in "My Fair Lady".  (Seeing how many times I can say "cool" about this place...)

 The kitchen is so pretty. The cabinets are beautiful craftsmen looking cabinets.

Lots of storage room. Can't wait to cook our first meal in this kitchen. 

 So, we will say goodbye soon to this lovely, sweet house.  But, after all it is just a house. You can make a home anywhere.  I remind myself that this world is not my home.  I don't want to get too comfortable in it.

Blessings on your Monday! Amy

Love these scriptures from my quiet reading time this morning:

Is. 50: 4

He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

Eph. 4: 32-

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

Big Fat Pumpkins...

Merry Autumn Days

Author: By Charles Dickens

‘Tis pleasant on a fine spring morn

To see the buds expand,.

‘Tis pleasant in the summer time

To see the fruitful land;

‘Tis pleasant on a winter’s night

To sit around the blaze,

But what are joys like these, my boys,

To merry autumn days!

We hail the merry Autumn days,

When leaves are turning red;

Because they’re far more beautiful

Than anyone has said,

We hail the merry harvest time,

The gayest of the year;

The time of rich and bounteous crops,

Rejoicing and good cheer.

 An Autumn Day

Author: Unknown

Pumpkins in the cornfields,

Gold among the brown,

Leaves of rust and scarlet

Trembling slowly down;

Birds that travel southward,

Lovely time to play;

Nothing is as pleasant

As an autumn day!

 God has a purpose for your life, and no one else can take your place.

The Lord is faithful in all His words, and gracious in all His deeds.
Ps. 145:3

Blessings! Amy