All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,
And hast refreshed me while I slept.
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless light partake.
Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say;
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.
From “Awake My Soul and With the Sun” by Thomas Ken
The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis is the second book in “The Courtship of Nellie Fisher” series. The local Amish church has split between two factions: the Old Order group who wants to keep to the strict rules they have always had and a new group who believe one can know they are saved and that they belong to God. There are some in the new group who are primarily interested in being able to use more modern conveniences like tractors and cars, but the core group began by reading the Bible on their own (something frowned on in the old order) and finding truths that they were never taught. They have found joy and peace in trusting Christ, but the old order folks believe it is prideful to feel sure of salvation.
Nellie is caught in the middle. Many in her family have become believers, and she can’t deny the changes in them. But her beau, Caleb, is very much Old Order and his father one of its strictest and most stubborn members. Caleb’s father has forbidden him to see Nellie, but they still manage to find ways to be together while hoping Nellie’s continuing to go to the Old Order church will convince Caleb’s father of her stand.
In one of the subplots, Nellie’s friend Rosanna, who has not been able to have children, has been given the gift of twins by another cousin, Kate, who already has several children. Yet it is obvious that Kate is having trouble letting go, and on top of that, the two women find themselves on opposite sides of the growing rift in the church.
In another subplot, Nellie’s sister Rhoda’s life shows that though every outward vestige of “the world” is removed from the life, worldliness is a matter of the heart.
I always enjoy Beverly Lewis. Her Amish grandmother’s influence and much research make these stories real, and it is easy to love these gentle, hardworking people and to long for their eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel. Lewis also weaves many truths of life, character, Christianity, and family within her stories.
Theme: Time | Become a Photo Hunter
This the clock tower downtown, picture borrowed from my son. I used it a few weeks ago when the theme was “High,” but it fits this week’s too.
The Idaho clock was made for us by my husband’s former pastor. My husband’s family moved to Idaho when he was in his early teens, I think, and the pastor of his church there did woodworking as a side hobby. He has given us several lovely gifts over the years. This was used previously as a “Show and Tell Friday post,” but it fits here as well.
Come over to TN Chick’s place to join in on the fun.
Some time back, I noticed my good blog friend Susan‘s links to a friend of hers, Jungle Mom, who was a missionary then to Venezuela, and clicked over from time to time. One day as I was reading Jungle Mom, I noticed her husband’s name, and then it clicked — our church supported missionaries in Venezuela, and these were they (them?)! Jungle Mom/Rita’s name was right there on her side bar but somehow I had never noticed it. So it has been fun over the last several months getting to know her through her blog.
She and her family are on furlough now, transitioning to a ministry in Paraguay. They were due to be at our church last weekend, and I was so looking forward to meeting Rita! The last time they were in the States on furlough, only Clint and oldest daughter Jackie came to our church. I enjoyed meeting them, very much, and hoped to meet the rest of the family this time.
But it was not to be. Rita has been having back problems and couldn’t come. I did enjoy renewing acquaintance with Clint and meeting their middle daughter Jewel.
Rita sent me, via Clint, this basket, which is woven from a vine that grows in Venezuela, if I understood correctly.
Here is a close-up detail:
Clint said the top row shows monkeys, the second row birds, the third row frogs. He said each family has certain distinctives as to what it weaves in its design.
Here is a close-up of the inside:
I think it is fascinating that every culture has its artisans and crafts that are unique.
Thank you, Rita! Maybe we’ll catch you next time!
Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.
The 5 Minutes for Mom site is hosting a series of contests to celebrate Mother’s Day, and this one is being sponsored by Egg Beaters: entrants can post or send a picture of what motherhood means to them, and it can include their own mothers or oneself as a mother.
This is one of my favorite pictures from my children’s childhood. With all the ups and down and challenges of parenting, this is what I hope stands out and what I hope we carry with us: the love and the joy.
For more information on this contest, click here.
I am “rerunning” this post because…I need it! Yesterday I received an e-mail asking me to do something way beyond my comfort zone, and then in the afternoon I got a phone call along the same lines but a bigger and scarier opportunity. My first inward response was panic and the thought, “Who, me?!” So many other people would do a better job. But the principle in this post had been instilled in me. Plus I have been somewhat dismayed when I’ve asked someone to do something ministry-related and received a panic-stricken “no” as an answer when I had hoped that they would give God a chance to help them and work through them.
This was originally posted Feb. 21, 2007, so some of my newer readers might not have seen it, and it is something I need to remind myself of often.
Any article or book you read or talk you hear about managing time will include this point: you have to be willing to say no to some activities. Especially in this day and age when opportunities to do things or have your kids involved in things abound on every hand, sometimes we just have to put our foot down and say “No” to maintain our sanity and keep some kind of reasonable schedule.
On the other hand……sometimes we say no without really considering what the Lord would have us do. All we know is that we can’t take on another thing.
Some years ago I was on a committee of ladies at church who took turns putting up bulletin boards to highlight 2-3 of our missionaries at a time each month. This committee was a part of the Ladies Missionary Prayer Group at that church. At that point in time they elected officers every year, and at one fall meeting, the president told us that that nominations had been made for the following year and the officers would be contacting those ladies who had been nominated to let them know and find out if they were willing and able to accept. She then said with a smile, “You can’t say no until you pray about it.”
Well, Debbie, the officer over that committee, told me I had been nominated for that office. My first response was, “But….I’ve been waiting all year to get off this committee!” That was not very encouraging to Debbie, I’m sure. 
But I just didn’t feel the liberty to say no, so I said yes. A week or two or so later Debbie came to me and told me that the other nominees had not accepted, and therefore I was “it.” She remarked that that must have been the Lord’s will. I responded, “No…the other ladies are out of the Lord’s will for not accepting the nomination.” I was so spiritually-minded, wasn’t I? 
I think she thought I was teasing, or else she would have rethought my nomination.
I did fulfill that year, and even though bulletin boards are not my forte, I really saw the Lord give some great ideas and some great people to help on the committee. I learned something about leadership. I learned to seek Him when frustrated because I couldn’t find help. I learned about the ups and downs of working with people. I don’t know if I can say I “enjoyed” that year, but I did learn a lot and I grew spiritually and as a person.
A few years later when an opportunity came along that was more scary and involved more work, I was able to face it with the confidence that if the Lord wanted me to do it, He would enable me. And He did, marvelously.
For a while I went too far the other way, thinking that anything that anyone in the church asked me to do must be from the Lord. We can get in over our heads really quickly that way.
Since then there have been times I have felt completely free to say no and have seen the Lord bring in someone else for that opportunity who did a wonderful job, much better than I would have done if I had taken it out of a sense of duty.
But the important thing is to pray over it first, before you decide it’s out of your comfort zone or that you don’t have the time or the skills. Sometimes the Lord delights in pulling out of our comfort zone and into dependence on Him for the abilities and the time. Sometimes He wants us to lay something else aside to do what He wants us to. Look in Scripture at people who were happily minding their own business when God came to them with something He wanted them to do (Moses, Noah, Peter, Paul) and think not only what history would be like, but what their lives would have been if they had said no.
One day when Jesse was about 5, we spotted pillows that looked like animals in K-Mart, and he fell in love with this one.
One of the joys of his young life was when his pillow was washed and dried and came out plump and fluffy.
He carried that thing everywhere: to our bed or the couch if he wasn’t feeling well, to camp, on trips. Once as were were boarding a plane, one of other passengers saw this little boy carrying his big dog pillow and smiled.
It has held up better than any pillow we have ever owned. He’s had it for almost ten years.
But he is 14 now and has been in the gradual process of “putting away childish things” over the last few years. When we hosted his twelfth birthday party, we took the last of the bear pictures off his bedroom walls before the kids in his class came over. We’ve been pulling books and toys off the shelf a little at a time that are no longer receiving any attention. I believe he took a “regular” pillow to camp last year. And just recently he told me he wanted to put away his dog pillow and get a normal one.
That’s a good step, a right step, an expected step. I wouldn’t want to him to cart his dog pillow off to college or his honeymoon.
But as a parent, there is a bit of a pang as each vestige of childhood is laid aside bit by bit.
When they are little we so anticipate the next step in their development; we sometimes even devise ways to “help” them sit up or begin to walk, and we coax that first word out with great enthusiasm! But after the long days and sleep-interrupted nights of babyhood, the blossoming curiosity of toddler days, and the busy school years, it seems like their growth is a train hurtling ever more quickly to that time when they will stand on their own two feet as an adult. We know that’s the desired end result of our years of love and training, but it comes all too fast.
There is nothing we can do to stop it, and we don’t really want to hold them back. But we smile wistfully as we remember a little boy’s delight in a warm, plumped up dog pillow fresh from the dryer.
Thanks to those who prayed for the luncheon and my leg!
Everything went really well with the luncheon — everything came together nicely with all the scores of little details involved. The only glitch was the air conditioner. Only a few people are authorized to and have the knowledge to set it, and one of those was supposed to have pre-programmed it for our event, but it wasn’t working and none of us could figure out how to reset it. It was too warm, but not sweltering, so overall we were ok. Our speaker was great and brought out some meaty points to meditate on, the food was great and there was plenty of it, there was plenty of help for setting up and taking down, and as far as I know everyone seemed to enjoy it.
And I am glad and thankful to the Lord — and also glad it’s done for another year!! It’s one of those things I love, but there are aspects of it I dread. This one was not at all as labor intensive as others we have had, but there is still just a feeling of pressure til it is all successfully done.
We had decorated Friday night, then I had a few things to finish up when I got home (making the schedule, getting the checks ready, copying a few more programs, etc.), then I crashed on the couch, leaving the dinner dishes. Saturday morning I had to keep one eye on the clock but I do like to allow for a leisurely morning and plenty of time to get ready so I am not frantic and stressed before I begin. When I got home, hot and tired, I found my husband had cleaned up the kitchen, had the dishwasher running, and was out at the grocery store. Isn’t he a sweetie? It was so nice to have that stuff done. I did some laundry but otherwise just took the rest of the day easy, with Papa John’s pizza for dinner.
The last few days my leg has shown a marked improvement, and I know it is due to the Lord’s grace and your prayers. There is still a bit of redness, but it is not as bad and seems to fade more quickly when I get my feet back up.
I had an interesting experience Friday afternoon…I hadn’t gotten my spring and summer clothes out yet, and there was one dress in particular I wanted to wear for the luncheon. I didn’t have time to do the whole closet changeover from winter to summer, but I went up to the attic just to pull out a few things. Our attic ladder has always scared me because it has never seemed terribly sturdy. I never go up into the attic when I am home alone and always put my cell phone in my pocket ever since a neighbor fell through her attic and became paralyzed. I went up and gathered a few items of clothing and dropped them down the steps to the floor, then began climbing down. All of a sudden the bottom part of the ladder broke. Looking down, a nail had come mostly loose that held the second rung from the bottom into the sides. I was three rungs from the bottom, and though the ladder was still touching the floor, I didn’t think it had enough support to hold me, and it was a little too high for me to just jump. Even though it wasn’t that far, the balance and footing problems I still have as a result of the TM made it disorienting. I held on with one hand and dug my cell phone out, but everyone was outside doing some yard work…without their cell phones. After a short while I called for Jesse – his dad had asked him to do something outside and I figured he was probably done and had come back inside, and, thankfully, he was inside and heard me and went out to get Jim, who helped me down. Unfortunately as he checked around all the pre-made attic ladders were not the size we had, so he had to rebuild the bottom part. But I am still distrustful of the rest of it!!!
Then Jim had some kind of little bug this past week, with a fever, sore throat, congestion, headache, and nausea. He was trying not to pass it on to me, but Thursday I began having a sore throat and headaches. I thought, “Oh, no, please, not until after the banquet!” I realized I had been thinking that about my leg and other little issues, too, an thought, “Wait a minutes….I don’t want everything to hit when the banquet is over!” Thank the Lord, everything didn’t hit … I still have a bit of sore throat but overall feel pretty well. He’s doing better, too, though still not completely up to par.
This week I need to work on our monthly ladies ministry newsletter/booklet, due out Sunday (but has to be ready to be copied Friday since the church office is closed on Saturday) plus do a lot of catching up. A lot of my housework has just gotten by with spot cleaning here and there the last few weeks. My bathrooms need a thorough cleaning and there are a couple of stacks of clutter and a pile of mail I need to attend to. Plus my mind has been buzzing with different projects I want to get to — pulling out things that need to be given away, working on curtains for two rooms, some ideas for opening an Etsy shop, and various other things. I probably need to jot down all of those kinds of projects so I can prioritize and plan a little bit.
So it looks like I’ve got plenty to keep me busy! How about you? Hope you have a good week.
Savior, while my heart is tender,
I would yield that heart to Thee;
All my powers to Thee surrender,
Thine and only Thine to be.
Take me now, Lord Jesus, take me;
Let my youthful heart be Thine;
Thy devoted servant make me;
Fill my soul with love divine.
Send me, Lord, where Thou wilt send me,
Only do Thou guide my way;
May Thy grace through life attend me,
Gladly then shall I obey.
Let me do Thy will or bear it;
I would know no will but Thine;
Shouldst Thou take my life or spare it,
I that life to Thee resign.
May this solemn consecration
Never once forgotten be;
Let it know no revocation,
Registered and confirmed by Thee.
Thine I am, O Lord, for ever
To Thy service set apart;
Suffer me to leave Thee never,
Seal Thine image on my heart.
~ John Burton, 1850
Theme: Unique/Funny Signs | Become a Photo Hunter
Oh, I wish I had taken pictures of some of the funny signs we have seen over the years! One of my favorites was a street sign that said “Old Old Hwy 11.” I don’t even remember where we were when we saw it.
I didn’t really have time this week to go looking for unique signs, and the only one remotely funny I have on hand is from a trip my husband and I took to Charleston, SC over 20 years ago. We were with a tour group that visited, and one of the stops was the military base there. I think this sign was outside a women’s restroom.
Do you think that’s enough emphasis or do they need a little more? 🙂
You can find more Photo Hunt entries at the site of our hostess, TN Chick.
Stray Thoughts 
