Status Report: January 2025

It's a little hard to believe 2024 is already over, but here we are. With Christmas already a month in the rear view mirror I've been thinking a lot about the 2025 garden as well as all the projects I'd jotted down for myself in my journal to take care of over the winter months. I know a lot of people use the new year as a jumping off point for all sorts of things, and recently I saw a comment "with 2025 they hit the ground running!"  I read that and just had to laugh. At my age, if I hit the ground for any reason, I'm at least a week with extra visits to the hot tub and easy things for dinner, like soup or "check the freezer y'all, fix what you want". 😂 There will most certainly be no running, whatsoever. 

I've started the year off a little slower than usual but there are several project on the go. So getting right into it:

Sitting: Finally, after an already long day of working on various projects.  I told myself last spring that before I plant seeds again this spring, I'd tidy up the grow room, paint the floor & make my space more enjoyable to work in. My grow room is the south end of my laundry room that I converted last year and while spacious enough, it's kind of ugly.  It has a concrete floor and the previous owners must have used that room for various projects that they didn't mind if they stained the concrete floor because it's very, very stained. My solution was a good cleaning and dark gray floor & porch paint. I'm about half way done with a couple of coats of paint and it already looks like a brand new floor.  

Been busy with: A completely unplanned furniture flip. I bought this old dresser from a thrift store many years ago, knowing "some day" I'd strip it and see what kind of wood was under all that ugly paint.  I knew it was solid wood because of how heavy it is but at the time I just quickly sanded & sealed the top and tossed on another coat of paint on the rest of it, and then put it into use in one of the kid's bedrooms. Getting the grow room cleared out & tidied up meant I needed to move some extra things in there and this was one of them. I'd already planned to turn this into a coffee bar eventually, but since I needed to move it I figured now is as good a time as any to strip it, and see what we've got. So far, things are looking promising!  (In the first image, there's that nasty laundry room floor I mentioned).

Excited about: Garden plans. Regardless of what I said last week or 6 months ago, the garden plans tend to change all the time and I'm okay with that.  I do still plan to keep things much easier this year but it seems like every time I turn around I find something else I'd like to try growing! 

My garden is a rather compacted, wee plot of land behind and beside my house.  There's a lot going on out there in such a small space so it's really helpful for me to plan it all out like this, before I ever plant anything.  I have 3 new beds going in this year and I'll be tackling bed #6 (finally) with some sort of shade loving plants. 

Thinking: Quite a lot about Titus 2, once again.  The "Titus 2 woman" subject comes up rather often in the circles I'm in. Recently someone on social media made the comment that if older women in the church were took being a Titus 2 woman seriously, then there'd be no need for women's conferences (highly paraphrased, but that was the gist).  Well, as you can imagine, many had thoughts. 😁 I know many older women in the church that take it very seriously, but that certainly doesn't stop women from enjoying their conferences. I don't think a lack of mature Christian women in the church is the reason women's conferences exist, but I do think (as long as they're teaching sound Biblical doctrine) they can certainly be a great encouragement to all women who are able to attend. 

Some had thoughts about the whole Titus 2 Woman premise in the first place. To me it's very simple. Paul writing to Titus instructs him in the very specific qualifications of elders (chapt 1 verses 5-9) and then goes on to tell him why those elders must be qualified in these areas because of the sinfulness and deception that abounds - to be able to both encourage in sound doctrine and to refute those who try to pervert it.  Moving on to Titus 2, Paul shifts and speaks of how we live our lives is proclaiming sound teaching. For mature Christian women particularly (verses 3-5), for young men (verses 6-8) and for slaves/servants (verses 9-10) and then exhorts all to remember the grace of God in what Christ did for all of us, and that should be more than enough to motivate all of us, elders, women, young men, servants to live a life that honors God and proclaims sound teaching.   How we do that will of course look a little different based on our station in life but that we do it, is the entire point. 

Wondering: how I lived until 60 years old and never knew you can actually make cream cheese at home with just... milk & lemon juice. Someone on social media posted that she was making cream cheese and suddenly I was reminded of a recipe I'd recently come across but hadn't tried yet. So, I decided to try it.  

The recipe calls for whole milk and what I had was 2% so I went ahead anyway, and what I ended up with was... a cup of lovely cream cheese 😋  It was much easier than I expected it to be.  Here's the recipe, along with a video. I did a quick cost breakdown and where I live if I bought a 2 liter (8+ cups) carton of whole milk at $5.44  I could make 2 cups of cream cheese for $2.72 each. Compared to a 250 gram (1 cup) of store bought cream cheese at $4.49.  Clearly it's much less expensive to make it at home and I'll definitely be trying this again, and adding some lovely herbs or maybe even some berries.  

Looking forward to: Winter being over so I can get to work outside! I'm a little grumpy if I can't be barefoot in my garden so our long winters are a challenge for me. It's a good time to stay busy with all sorts of indoor projects while I wait for the warmer weather. 

And with that, this month's status update is a wrap. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an incredible, blessed and fantastic day. 😊

If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel welcome to leave a comment. 

Status Report: December 2024 - Final Post of The Year!

After the festive Christmas rush of activity it's quiet again, and time for the last status report of the year. I like status reports - they're mini versions of blog posts & rando thoughts all wrapped up into one. So, here we are:

Been busy with: all the Christmas things.  From decorating to shopping, baking to basket filling and everything in-between. Somehow this year December came out of nowhere and Christmas was here long before I was mentally ready. Even with all that, there was plenty of laughter, lots of great food and I'm blessed that almost all of my people were able to be here with family this year. 

Contemplating: Writing out the story of Mrs. Dudley. Who exactly is Mrs. Dudley, you ask?  Yes, well she's among the top 3 most profoundly, godly, influential women in my life in my 60 years on this earth. It's always felt like her story needed to be told, for some reason. I have her name on my project list and it keeps staring at me. 😎

Feeling: nostalgic about Oregon. My twitter friend Beth humorously commented recently that "Oregon is home to Tillamook cheese and Bigfoot".  Well, yes. This is truth. But immediately my brain said: "And the Vortex, and the Sea Lion Caves, and Wildlife Safari, and the Dunes and mom's old house on the Umpqua River and all those amazing things." 😂

My family spent so much time there over the years it's really like a 2nd home vibe for me. I spent a lot of time there as a kid, then as an adult I've been blessed to take all my kids there too & relive some of the amazing adventures that we went on as kids. 

Oregon is a fantastic place to visit and explore. Highly recommend 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 😊

Thinking: How incredibly enjoyable it is to actually have my very own "pretend" wildlife documentary show. I know it sounds funny and it really is, but with the technology of my simple little Ring spotlight cams and a free video editor I can document the urban wildlife in my very own backyard. It's also partly funny because 'wildlife photographer' was sort of my dream job if I ever had to pick.  

I'm often quite surprised by what I see on the cameras each day and until I actually had cams installed, I had no idea my back garden was as busy as it is at night. If you're curious and haven't watched, my wee little channel is Barefoot in the Garden on YT. So funny how 1 security cam turned into 3 wildlife food/drink camera stations around the back garden and pond. 😁  

Re-evaluating: My garden layout & plans for 2025. Nothing on paper (yet) but some big ideas. In my ongoing effort to refine what I'm growing and where, it's more of a simplified garden layout this year than it's ever been before, and I'm really looking forward to that.  

This will only be my 6th year of attempting to grow my own produce section of the grocery store 😄 and now after several trials and errors over many seasons, I know what grows well for me, what doesn't, and what I have room for. This year, I'm also leaning heavily into more perennial fruits to add to the ones I added last year. No such thing as too many berries. 

And with that, this month's and this year's Status Update posts come to a close. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an incredible, blessed and fantastic day. 😊

If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel welcome to leave a comment. 

Status Report: November 2024

Technically, this post will double as a short(er) version of my Social Media Comment Section that I haven't really bothered with since last summer. So, I'll just go ahead and add my disclaimer for that:

Because I've set a boundary for myself in my activity on social media to contribute nothing but encouragement (hopefully), I choose to not get involved in the comment sections there in what may be considered to be controversial issues. So this is my space for sharing some expounded thoughts on what I see there. 

Although to be honest, I have left a couple of comments here and there. In any event, on to the update:

Sitting: At my desk, with uncomfortably cold feet, giving side-eye to the dusting of snow I can see out my window. While I don't like to complain about the weather (God knows what He's doing with our seasonal changes) I also don't like the discomfort of cold related pain all winter. Some folks can't handle the heat, while other folks can't handle the cold. I'm the latter, and praise God for wool socks & heating pads. 😊

Been busy with: prepping & packing Christmas gift baskets going in the mail and going locally. Lots of goodies this year with freeze dried items, dehydrated & powdered items, and home canned items. Time got away from me this year and I didn't get the chance to experiment with homemade soaps, candles & lip balm as I had loosely planned for.  Those three DIY homemade projects will be on my list for learning & perfecting for next year's baskets - Lord willing. 

Re-evaluating: the entire layout of my walk-in pantry (also known as the back half of the laundry room).  I created it and built all the shelving during one of the many covid lockdowns, entirely with discarded lumber & shelving I had on hand.  It's never been pretty to look at, but it's been incredibly functional so I'm redesigning it with both elements in mind. I have a few sketches already done & a short list of materials made up and I'm hoping to get it started immediately after Christmas.  I'm planning on doing a before/during/after pictorial series on the project with simple tips & tricks on how to start one & keep one stocked for your family's needs. 

Feeling: Satisfied that I have finally been able to replace all seasonings, spices and spice blends from their plastic containers, into 36 wee glass 4 ounce Mason jars.  I loathe plastic, so I've been trying to get it out of my kitchen storage as much as possible.  All the left-over containers have been replaced with glass, and all of my bulk items such as flour & sugar have all been replaced as well.  All of my dried fruit snacks, dried veggies, honey blends, syrups, fruit & veggie powders, rice, herbs, nuts & seeds are in glass as well as the last of of the spices.  I'd be over the moon if I could replace all plastic with glass, but I'm happy with what I've been able to do so far. Funny thing is, it was Beth's post on twitter about how often you should replace your spices that reminded me that all my spice blends were next on the list to be replaced with glass jars. You just never know where your twitter posts will end up having an impact 😂

   

Thinking: Quite a lot about this quote I saw on social media recently:

"By God’s grace I have lived my whole life in community with other women who are jolly, and joyful, hardworking, kind, smart… and for the most part so busy with the things they love that they don’t care about the internet fussers." - Rachel Jankovic 

Several things stand out to me about this quote.  First, that there are women who have this testimony of being part of a faithful Christian community their entire lives.  I did not have that, and I love it so much that some women have had that. It's incredibly encouraging to me. In my own family, two of my grand daughters have been growing up in the same local church that both of their grandmothers are in. I can only hope and pray one day they both have a similar testimony as Rachel Jankovic.  

Secondly, the way she describes these women in her community: jolly, joyful, hardworking, kind & smart.  In our age of social interaction online being what it is, it's very very easy get drawn into this big deal or that big issue. But to be a woman described as jolly, joyful, hardworking, kind and smart, means these are the ladies who are directing their attention, energy & creativity to worthwhile things in their own homes or communities (both offline and online). If you'll notice, there are certain ladies on social media that you'll never see embroiled in any of this sort of thing. Never leaving unkind, catty, antagonistic comments. These are wise women.  This is an example I try very hard to pursue.  Which brings me to the third point she made in that quote that stands out to me, that also coincides with my next thought that falls into the category of the Social Media Comment Section. 

Wondering: If "internet fussers" is an accurate description of those who (while not exclusively, it's usually women leading the charge in this) also often tend to be involved in some type of internet "ministry" for lack of a better phrase, where the entire point of the ministry existing, is to point out all the things wrong with all the people they think are wrong, about, well, all the things. Or at the very least, supporting and promoting those ladies doing that.  If you've read this far, you probably just had someone come to mind. 

[Disclaimer: I'm partially qualified to write about this only because for a short time in 2005-06 I was part of a group of bloggers collating resources & articles of all the different leaders & churches that were part of the Emergent Church movement. Initially the goal was to educate on this new movement within Christian circles. After a short time, the goal shifted and I could no longer be a part of the group blog and it shut down shortly after. This was a few years before watchbloggers was even a thing, but our own blog was headed in that direction for sure.]

 

These folks usually have their "ministry" named after some variation of their own name like "The Carla Files" or named after the person or church they've targeted such as "Investigating Joe Heretic".  Back in the early days of blogging in the mid 2000's these folks were called "discernment bloggers" or "watchbloggers", a play on the phrase watch dog. Tim Challies wrote a really good article on this 10+ years ago: In The Crosshairs of the Discernment Bloggers that is still quite timely, as it describes the length some of these folks will go to even in 2024.  While blogging isn't the platform it used to be, this kind thing is definitely still around. They just use a different tool to get their messages out there: social media.  

When I read Rachel Jankovich's quote the part of about "internet fussers" really, stood out to me mostly because at one point, I would have been called one and it would have sadly been most accurate.  When I see a post from one of these folks now I always have to wonder... if they spent half the time in prayer asking God to reveal their own sinful opinions, attitudes and motives and helping them to overcome that and grow in grace, as they do pointing at other people, if they'd even have time left at the end of the day, to be an internet fusser?   

When the blog I was a part of began to shift from education to (graceless, uncharitable, antagonistic, argumentative, ugly, opinionated obnoxiousness) condemnation I had to ask myself the same (very uncomfortable) questions.  And because the answer was so painfully convicting, I knew I had no business being part of anything like that.  

I guess you can call this short thought-ramble "Confessions of a Former Internet Fusser". 😊 I sure don't have all the answers, but I know Who does, and humbling our hearts and seeking His guidance, wisdom and conviction is always the best way to begin finding those answers. 

And with that, this month's Status Update/Social Media Comment Section comes to a close. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an incredible, blessed and fantastic day. 😊

If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel welcome to leave a comment. 

Status Report: September 2024

 September almost zipped right past without a status report so here we go...

Sitting: at my desk, listening to a dog down the street barking, kids talking as they walk to school, and birds chirping in the trees. There won't be too many more days I'll be able to sit at my desk in the morning with the windows open, so I'm enjoying it while I have it.

Been busy with: all the fall chores of putting the garden to bed. Pulling up plants that are done for the season, pruning back plants that need that and beginning the process of mulching fall leaves to give all my raised beds a nice, thick blanket for winter. 

Feeling: rather heavy hearted with the footage coming out of the south, after Hurricane Helene. Some of those little Appalachian towns are completely wiped off the map. One after another of reports of entire families deceased or missing, and so much destruction and heartache. It does my heart a little good to see so many civilians & private companies stepping up to help with food, water, shelter, etc. All of those affected are in my prayers.

Thinking: Quite a lot about so many different issues that have come up lately. In no particular order:  

• Christian Nationalism 
• Busybodies on social media 
• Bible reading challenge To the Word
• The Steve Lawson issue
• Being the kind of Titus 2 woman you wished you had as a young wife/mother

I think some of these things might be in my next Social Media Comment Section post. Maybe not so surprising, some of them are completely connected.  

I will elaborate though on the Bible reading challenge To The Word. From their site:

"Imagine a great table, loaded with the best food, perfectly prepared. This is how we view the Word of God, and it is our joy and privilege to encourage Christians to find their seats and share the bounty of it with us. The reading plan is simply the menu, the challenge is to become Christians who live and breathe the Word of God."

This is the Canon Plus 2024-2025 Bible Reading challenge that you can find here. I had no intention of starting a new Bible reading program until almost everyone I see on social media started mentioning it and then I thought "sure, why not?".  While I've studied entire books of the Bible over the years I've never been able to follow a "read the Bible in a year" all the way through.  I'm really enjoying the audio version and hope to be able to follow it through the entire year. 

Looking forward to: finally processing and/or canning all of the harvest I haven't been able to get to yet. Carrots, apples, berries, peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.  Some will be canned, some frozen and some freeze dried.

Well that wraps up this month's status report (in just the nick of time!).  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an incredible day. 

Social Media Commment Section: Smiling Wives & Choosing Cheerfulness

Because I've set a boundary for myself in my activity on social media to contribute nothing but encouragement (hopefully), I choose to not get involved in the comment sections there in what may be considered to be controversial issues. So this is my space for sharing some expounded thoughts on what I see there. 

Over the last few days someone posted this church brochure/hand out and all sorts of people got really upset & typed all the words & made all the declarations.  Much to the surprise of many other people. Such seems to be the atmosphere of social media. 

I'm one of those people who was surprised to see so many people say so many negative things about this brochure.  Mostly it just made me feel sort of sad for those who immediately saw something off-putting about it. But I also sort of understood, in a way. 

I hope you'll follow along and indulge me as I weave together why it seems sad, and also why it also, sort of makes sense. 

Not long ago I was having a discussion with someone about bitterness, and what causes people to become bitter. I suspect it's at least in part, a lot of personal experience with being disappointed, betrayed, disrespected, etc. Regular life stuff, relationships, workplace issues, family issues, etc. that were terribly negative experiences.  I believe these things naturally bring some heavy, painful emotions that can be overwhelming and change the way you think, and cause bitterness. Along with that bitterness, comes the habit of seeing almost everything, whether intentionally negative or not, with a jaundiced eye because of the past personal experiences. Because we all have a story and some of us have way more painful stories than others, this is something that really hit home with me.  A lot of what I see on social media is this kind of heavy, emotionally charged negative stuff. It's that classic "garbage in = garbage out" paradigm. 

By contrast, the Bible tells us one of the fruits of the Spirit that Christians have is that of self-control. Over all things, including our emotions & emotional reactions. We're not to be lead around by our emotions at all. We're supposed to be sober minded (calm, temperate) and thankful and let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. 

It may sound silly or cliche but actively & intentionally engaging in an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness the way the Scriptures teach us, really does radically bless you. A friend online in one of these discussions about the brochure nailed it when she pointed out the importance of "the goodness of cultivating a disposition that is cheerful".  If you've ever been around someone who always seems to be in a good mood, it's likely not because they live a blessed life free from all the garbage. But instead, it's because they've chosen to focus on what builds up and encourages, and that's a blessing and setting a tremendous example. Not only does it bless and set an example for you, but it does the same for everyone around you. These are very, very good things to encourage one another toward.

So what does any of that have to do with this church's handout? Glad you asked 😊 and if you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. I promise I'm getting to the point. 

A couple of years ago I'd read something online somewhere about Christian attitudes, and one of the questions was something along the lines of "what are you known by" and another was "what do you think defines you?"  

Great questions. Really great questions.

I thought about my own life and how those questions apply. I have just as many heavy, painful stories as others. Far less than some for sure, but way more than others, or so I've been told.  But I certainly don't want to be known by those heavy, painful, emotional events and how bitter they might have made me were it not for God's grace. I definitely don't want to be defined by that because it's not encouraging or helpful to anyone. 

I'd definitely much rather be defined as someone who chose to practice what it looks like to be thankful & cultivating a disposition, a reputation of genuine cheerfulness, and someone that has the peace of Christ ruling in my heart. Because I am thankful, cheerful, filled with peace and hopeful, despite all the awful this life has offered.  More than anything I hope this is what defines me, and ultimately, what I'm known by. 

So... when I saw this church's handout, even before I saw all the commentary, it just made me smile. Because, this is exactly the kind of "list" that sets a great example for all of us to aspire to. 

Despite all else let us all aim to be known as those with:

Smiling Wives, Obedient Children, Loud Singing, Strong Handshakes, Young Marriages, Good Manners, Biblical Preaching & Reverent Worship. 

And to God be all the glory.

Thanks for stopping by and reading.  

I hope you were blessed by what you found here. Please feel free to leave a comment. 

Social Media Comment Section: Homestead Bashing

Because I've set a boundary for myself in my activity on social media to contribute nothing but encouragement (hopefully), I choose to not get involved in the comment sections there in what may be considered to be controversial issues. So this is my space for sharing some expounded thoughts on what I see there. 

Recently I was standing in my dining room at the table, picking individual basil leaves off their stems from four different kinds of basil plants to lay out on a tea towel to dry.  I have a dehydrater, but certain plants I like to let leave air dry instead, so the task at hand was to pick off leaf, after leaf, after leaf, one at a time. Just part of the deal, if you harvest and process basil.

As I was doing this, I began to think about bits and pieces of a public conversation I read with a Homestead Basher (yes, it's a thing) and some other folks that were commenting on this person's opinion.  

First, I'll explain Homestead Basher.  I didn't even know this was a thing until I re-opened my long dormant account on twitter/X about a year ago.  I quickly discovered there is a group of folks that seem to enjoy making fun of and making condescending comments about those who homestead.  I'm not entirely certain why they do this, but the same folks also tend to loathe "the patriarchy", disrespect those who hold traditional opinions of gender roles, openly promote/embrace some form of feminism and almost always put "homesteading" in scare quotes. I don't have much in common with these folks but their comments come up from time to time as it happens to do on social media, so that's how I discovered them & saw this conversation. 

In this particular incident, The Basher had made a comment in reference to how some modern day "homesteaders" (and yes, it was in scare quotes) tend to romanticize the past, and then informed the reader that it was terribly hard work and that they would much rather be spending their time & using their gifts, skills and abilities elsewhere,  instead of "on the homestead". 

Basically all the comments agreed, more or less listing off all the exotic places they could be or incredible intellectual things they could be doing instead of dirty, sweaty, back breaking physically demanding work. 

As a work-at-home mom, and an urban, modern day homesteader... I had thoughts. 

First, I've never known of a homesteader to romanticize the work involved so I don't know where that comes from.  Homesteaders are in fact more familiar with the hard work involved than anyone else.  Because we do it and live it every day. We're also quite thankful that we have many incredible modern conveniences that homesteaders of the past only dreamed about. We talk openly about what we're growing, what animals we're raising, which ones are coming, which are breeding, which breeds do better for our situations, what we're getting out of, what we're getting into, what failed, what was a success, what's being built, what needs repairing, etc. Our physically demanding lifestyle is something we just happen to love, and we also love talking about it quite openly and honestly with fellow homesteaders, or those interested in the lifestyle.  

For some homesteaders raising animals as well, this is year round and for others it's a seasonal gig depending on their growing season and greenhouse availability. Either way, it takes an incredible amount of dedication to working hard, to achieve the goal. For some folks, there is just nothing more rewarding and more satisfying than feeling physically exhausted from doing all that work, planning and building, to provide for their family. 

No romanticism whatsover: if you're unwilling or unable to work hard physically, homesteading is simply not for you. I have very limited mobility due to my broken neck and my property is too small to have any animals so my urban homestead is very low-key compared to many, but it's still a load of physical work every single day of the growing season. 

The second thought I had was the idea that being somewhere else, with other people, doing other important things, than being at home working hard for your family, was far more appealing. 

As I picked leaf after leaf off the stems of the basil and then tossed the stems into one pile and the leaves into another pile my only thought was: what's more important than what I'm doing right now in this exact, dull, tedious, repititious, blessed, grateful, thankful moment, processing basil leaves that will bless my family in the way of meals, beverages and more? Is there anywhere else I'd rather be, or is there anyone else I'd rather be with, than the people God blessed me with as family? 

The answer was a resounding NO. There is literally nowhere else on earth I'd rather be. 

I think maybe this is where the dividing line might be for those who find this lifestyle deplorable and worth mocking. For the bashers, they believe their gifts, talents and intellect is wasted away if "merely confined" to the home as they put it. They have so much more to offer, they say, than just being relegated "to the home".  

For most homesteaders, we tend to believe our gifts and talents and intellect were given to us specifically to bless the home, and all who dwell in it. Instead of seeing the home as a place we're limited to, we see the home as the place of foundational blessings where we choose to invest all our talents and hard work into, and then hope our kids take some of that with them when they grow up and move out on their own, and then bless their own households.

So, that's the long version of a social media comment on this particular topic. 😊 

If you're someone looking to get into homesteading and you come across this sort of negative attitude about it, please know that there are folks loving this lifestyle and that most (if not all) the criticisms you may hear about it, are simply not true. And also, we'd be happy to put on a pot of coffee and then spend the next four or five hours telling you how amazingly blessed this life really is. 

Thank you so much for stopping by this old blog and reading my rambly thoughts. I do hope this has blessed and encouraged you in some way. 💖

Man's Chief End

One of my favorite playlists for the last year or so has been Brian Sauve's Westminster Shorter Catechism Songs. I recalled when we used to homeschool and taught this to our kids and thinking how much I would have loved to have this version back in the day when our kids were learning it. I think singing it together would have been loads of fun, and much easier to memorize. 

These days, any time I have a household project to do, I put this playlist on. It's been the background music for canning in the kitchen, graphic design work in the office, seed starting in the grow room, laundry, dishes, building projects in the shop, making breakfast or starting dinner... too many times to even count. It's replaced any other music I used to listen to in the house or shop, because it keeps my focus where it should be and keeps my thoughts engaged with what Scripture teaches about living the Christian life.

If you hold to the Westminster Shorter Catechism as I do, you know that first question is:  

"What is the chief end of man?"  

With the answer being: 

"man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever". 

How does that play out in the day to day interaction with all the things we find ourselves discussing or catching our attention? The first seven words of that answer sets the entire stage for every day, and every way we use to express ourselves. Even if it's just our own private thoughts about something.

"Man's chief end is to glorify God".

Every word, every thought, every action, every text, every social media post, every intention, every attitude, every mood,  every everything that we do or think or say is to glorify God. No exceptions and no excuses. That's a really tall order, and one I find myself falling short of, often.

In every day life, both offline and online, it's so easy to get caught up in the emotion of a thing we've read about, or the injustice of a thing we've heard about or something heavy we might be dealing with in our own personal lives.  But to reign in those emotions or outrage over a thing and to glorify God with our lives means we take the time needed to respond or react with grace, truth, patience, kindness, wisdom and with encouragement and edification to bring our thoughts and our words about those things fully into alignment with what honors God.  

The Scriptures have much to say about practicing self-control, and one of the best ways I've found to steer me in that direction and cause me to meditate on it, is to sing along with these Catechism songs that remind me what it means to literally live out my faith, and hopefully in the process, truly glorify God. 

I hope you'll check out that playlist and be blessed by it! 😀

Life Seasons & Titus 2 Calling

When I decided to begin blogging again, I made the choice to archive all my old posts here from 2004 through 2023. I didn't archive them because I'm ashamed of anything I wrote in those 19 years (although some of them may actually be quite cringe, or outdated for sure), but because I wanted a completely clean slate for writing about this season of life. 

When this blog began I was a 40 year old homeschooling mom with a houseful of kids from toddlers to teens and my oldest had already moved out.  Over the course of the lifetime of the blog back then, there were all sorts of trials and joys, bumps and surprises, mountains and valleys that the Lord graciously brought me through to the other side.  But now I'm in a brand new chapter and things look much different from this new perspective.

At the end of this year I'll turn 60, and that idea is sort of surreal, if I'm being honest. I've never really sat around and thought about what a 60 year old me would look like to me, but if I did, I think I would have hoped that she'd be smart, kind, compassionate, patient, and had allowed her life's many dark and painful trials to refine her into a more Godly woman. Someone that I'd want to be friends with, and be encouraged by. So then a short while ago when I had the opportunity to have a conversation about growing in grace, spiritual maturity and being an example to others, I realized that without even really knowing it, I'd sort of been waiting around for some official timeline to start being the Titus 2 Lady.  

It's kind of funny when I think about it now but then wondered if Titus 2 Ladies just suddenly realize "it's time" as I realized it's time I begin intentionally being the example I hoped the 60 year old me, would eventually become. Specifically, I want to be the person that always has a word of hope and encouragement, knowing how much it's needed in dark days. 

And that's so much harder than it sounds. Quite often these days the temptation is to respond in a less than grace-filled manner when someone says something inappropriate, incorrect, insulting or just something else you disagree with in some way (whether in person or online in social media settings).  It's disturbingly easy to blast someone for saying something ugly, while it takes far more grace and far more self-control to respond in a manner that takes the sting out of their words and infuse something sweet-smelling into the conversation that makes people stop and think. That last part takes a lot of intentional creativity and prayerful thought. Instead of a knee-jerk reaction, you have to literally stop yourself and think carefully before responding, and that's not always an easy thing to do.  But it's so incredibly valuable. And sadly, in an incredible short supply. 

While thinking about this today, I saw comments from several people on social media (on two different platforms, and several different conversations - which tells me that many others are struggling with this) talking about this subject, and it really hit home. The comments essentially said that it's quite often the prideful, arrogant and immature who constantly correct, criticize and scold, while the spiritually mature and wise are the ones who tend to exhort, encourage and build up. I thought that was a pretty interesting observation that multiple people seemed to be in agreement with.  

In one of the short conversations a woman stated she was so tired of being constantly told she's "doing it wrong" (referring to herself being a young, Christian mother), being criticized and insulted, and would be leaving social media, as that has ruined it for her to be able to enjoy anymore. I don't know the person who said this but it made me sad to see how constant criticism & scolding truly tears a person down. I hope she finds someone who will come alongside her and be an example of Godly grace and encouragement that she needs in her life.  Honestly, how many of us as young Christian moms needed this in our lives?  I know I sure did.   

So, as I begin chapter 60 this year, my hope and my goal is to be the person I hoped I'd be. The one Scripture calls me to be: 

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Titus 2:3-5

While all of it applies of course, these attributes I've bolded make it obvious that this is exactly the kind of conduct us older women are to be busily engaged in, to both glorify God and be examples to younger women. 

I hope this blesses and greatly encourages you.