the one another commands

in bible study last night we were reminded of the "one another" commands. {thank you dr. del tackett- the truth project} oh my, do i fall short of what God has commanded of me. i thought they were worth posting.

here they are....

Love one another (1 Peter 1:22)
Bear one another's burdens ( Gal 6:2)
Pray for one another (James 5:16)
Forebear one another (Eph 4:2)
Be kind to one another (Eph 4:32)
Admonish one another (Col 3:16)
Build one another up (Rom 14:16)
Give preference to one another (Rom 12:10)
Live in harmony with one another (Rom 12:16)
Encourage one another (1 Thess 5:11)
Submit to one another (Eph 5:21)
Serve one another (Gal 5:13)
Accept one another (Rom 15:7)
Be devoted to one another (Rom 12:10)
Teach one another ( Col 3:16)
Comfort one another (1 Thess 4:18)
Forgive one another (Eph 4:32)
Be of the same mind with one another (Rom 15:5)
Regard one another as more important ( Phil 2:3)

heavenly father, i fall short of these commands so much. please forgive me for not loving the way that i should or not considering others before myself. Lord, help me to shed my selfishness and fill me with your Holy Spirit, so that i may live in obedience to you.

faith like a child

mia was at kids games this week at church. there were close to 400 kids in attendance. each morning all the kids would gather for worship. it was so beautiful to see all these kids singing, raising their hands, and dancing. ( i left most days in tears )

pure and simple.....



heavenly father, thank you that you make it so simple to enter into your prescence. forgive me for all the times i'm distracted and full of myself. i want to have faith like a child, a faith that sees you for all that you are. thank you for these children that desire to sing your praise, may they always seek to please you.

found!!!

i found the most exciting budgeting tool. we'll actually, i didn't find it, i read about it on simplemom. so, i literally spent 15 minutes setting it up and it's user friendly. goodbye quicken!!

check it out. they also have a free trial for 30 days after that it's only $3.00 a month. less than one latte at.... (well, you know where).....

pear budget here i come!!!

with being better stewards of our resources, we will be able to spend more time here.

and give more here.

hope international
gospel for asia
focus on the family

lord, help us to see your people and give with a cheerful heart. thank you for the resources you've provided and may we please you in all that we do.

missing the lake....

lake winnipesaukee that is............ we're praying that we will be able to make it back this summer, or fall, maybe winter, or hopefully next spring.....(these photos were taken last summer)

canoeing with daddy on the lake

swinging at the playground that far helped to build

chowda!!! yummmm- i can almost taste it

going for it

playing in the sand- at camp

loving it

lunch at wolfe's tavern..... (i'll have the rattlesnack, please)

oh lord, you know our hearts and if it's your will, please direct our paths back to new england. we trust you and continue to commit this to you.

on or off?

since it's summer and because we live in the desert, we need to turn on the air conditioners often. we live in incredibly dry heat, so many people have swamp coolers, but due to my mold allergy, we turned it off and bought two window units. one unit is downstairs and can cool the entire 1st floor, the second unit we put in our bedroom and the air cools the 2nd floor. refrigerated air is just not in the budget this year.

my sweet husband gets hot easily and will remain hot, and make a point of letting me know that it's hot and are you hot?, wow, it's really hot. i can hear it until something changes.

as for me, i grew up back east and dealt with summers of humidity. yes, it's hot here, but not uncomfortable. i usually can get through it without any complaint.

so, here's where the battle begins.......

the battle of whether to keep the air on all day or just when it gets warm. i prefer to open the windows in the morning and let the breeze in and maybe turn the air on late in afternoon. justin prefers the air on ALL day. even when he's not here, he has said on many occasion, "it's so nice to come in to a cool house." ok- i'll give him that. but the battle rages at night as we sleep, when we wake up, when we leave the house. it can go on for the full summer.

now, this is the point of my story..... submit kari, submit...... i know that sometimes this is a hard word for many to hear. but, for me lately it's been a word that brings freedom. i think the world has bought into the lie that this is a word that shows weakness. let me tell you, that's far from the truth.

in bible study last night, we were going through God's social order (the truth project). boy, was it powerful and convicting. i know in my life that when i fall in line and obey what God has asked of me, He is blessed and I AM blessed. He's given us such an incredible gift in His word and it's so simple. not easy, but simple..... God is a god of order- not disorder, so it should not be a surprise to us that He ordained things just so. if we believe that what God has said is truth, then why do believe the lie the world is telling us.

the lie here is that i don't have to listen to my husband, that i can do what i want and that i can change him. when i think about the wasted years of believing this, it makes me sick. as i've taken time to seek God in this area of my life, He has revealed many things to me. i believe His word and it says, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to Lord." (Eph 5:22)- do you see that as to the Lord, not unto Justin, but as to the Lord. i'm submitting because i love God and that He asked me to. simple. not always easy, especially when i think i'm right. but, i have found that when i do, our lives go much smoother. justin is ultimately responsible for the decisions in our home and i know that through much prayer he is seeking God's wisdom and direction. why do i want to get in the way of what God is doing? plus, when i question him, it shows him that i don't trust his decision making and leads to a disagreement. we all know where that can take us....

just as the Son submits to the Father, i am to submit to my husband in such a way that brings God glory. this was HIS design, HE created the family, HE created order in the home. Dr. Del Tackett states "social order is based on His nature, it's a divine imprint of who HE is." i want to remember this when the world tells me that i don't have to be accountable to my husband. that would be going against the very nature of God.

although, there are times that i want to turn the air off right after justin has turned it on. i will submit to my husband, because i'm doing it until the Lord, my desire is to please Him. when i do, i show justin that i love him and respect him. i do this in the little details to the big decisions we make. an added bonus to this is when justin comes to me and asks me what i think, or let's pray together about this, or when he quietly turns the air off because he know that it's bothering me. that's his way of showing love to me. it's a beautiful design when we obey what God has placed before us.

thank you Lord, that nothing is by chance, that you designed the family structure to work perfectly when done according to your will. i pray Lord that i seek you daily in this area and that you continue to show me areas that i will submit to you and to justin. i thank you that you're refining me into the woman you want me to be.

Do you not know?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 41:28-31

Oldemor's Strawberry Jam

i have such wonderful memories of my grandmother's frozen strawberry jam. just the smell of it brings back all the fun times we shared. so, today we decided that it was a perfect morning to get messy and make some tasty jam (as lissie calls it). we wish oldemor was here with us, but i know that she'd be proud of her little sugar baby lambs.

got the gloves on.

the goods



a little distracted, but trying to get the job done.

okay, lis got a little tired from mushing the strawberries, this works better...

the finished product! yummy!! we can't wait for peanut butter and jam!
(by the way, mia had to wear her glasses)

we love you Oldemor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kari, mia and lis

sweetness and chaos

i had a talented friend take a few photos (okay maybe 400) for me so that i could frame a few for justin's office. tish did an amazing job. she really found away to capture the gang.


this is definitely a little sweetness in the midst of chaos


anxiously awaiting the apple mommy had in her hand.-( see the patience)

my moment with my pooh

believe it or not, but her daddy calls her bubba

i love this shot



our sweet little man.

memories were made and captured that afternoon. next time we need daddy in the picture........

kari

the sun is out!

ok, so the last time i posted, i was feeling very overwhelmed and incredibly intimidated. i knew in my heart that i wanted desperately to be running this home more efficiently and with more of a frugal mindset. so, i spent much of the day on saturday, researching a way to help me be more of a good steward with the resources the Lord has given us. instead, of feeling inspired, i felt discouraged. for many reasons, but the one i kept coming back to was, the fact that i just didn't know where to begin. how do i start? how do i find the time to do all that i need to do, plus, all that i want to do.

so, after committing this to the Lord and asking Him for direction. this is what happened. i woke the next day to read such an encouraging comment from mommy snacks.
-"Hey, everything is in God's timing and you wouldn't want it any other way, I know! So, just remember that - you could have saved lots before but now with God's will and work in it, you'll be even more prosperous!!!"

she's so right, it's all in God's timing and since He's laid this on my heart just recently, I want to obey. so, thank you mommy snacks for all the hard work you do to make it easy for moms like me to be more aware of my spending and look for compiling lists of printable coupons. i'm starting with that!

after feeling encouraged and excited about this new adventure, i checked out simple mom.
this is another one of my favorite blogs. this site is full of helpful tools to better equip me as a mom. her post for today was productivity in the home. HELLO! could she read my mind.... i've been trying for a long time to work on this area in my life. my lovely husband who so enjoys time management has for awhile now tried to convince me to color code a calendar and stick to blocking out chunks of time for certain tasks. i know... i know..... that just doesn't work for a busy mom of 3. he means well, but oh dear! so, i thank you simple mom for doing the leg work and now there is freedom in knowing it IS possible.

thank you Lord, for giving me the desire to be more of who you want me to be.

kari

feeling overwhelmed...(sigh)

as a stay at home mama of 3 children, and the wife of a pastor. i'm trying really hard to budget more, spend less, drive less, be more organized, and enjoy the blessings God has given us. but, i'm having a hard time at starting this.... there are a mix of feelings right now. like how do i even start? at all of it.... ugh... i'm feeling discouraged right now. and probably having a bit of a pity party.

i've spent the afternoon, searching, reading, researching and enjoying some great women out there (in the blogging world) who have compiled ways of saving money. but, honestly, i'm intimidated. where do i even begin.. i had no idea that i could print coupons, that there was a walgreens game, ebates, rebates, surveys, and more to help you save and earn money. i feel like i've cheated our family for not having started any of these.

so, i'm ready to take on this new world. i'm excited about the possibilities and i look forward to what i hope will be a journey to new heights.

however, i'm still intimidated about this whole process, so, i'll be using this outlet as a way of keeping my sanity.

my prayer is that someone else out there is a beginner as well, and maybe we can venture together.

this is picture of my husband looking at our garden. he's a tad discouraged at the lack of growing tomatoes. i think he's praying over them.

just like my husband praying over the absence of our tomatoes, i too commit this new endeavor to the Lord and trust that HE will guide. i thank you Lord, for your faithfulness in providing for us in many ways that we don't even deserve.

whether it's a new morning, an afternoon break, or start of something new- first we have coffee.........

kari

so i moved things around....

so, i moved things around a bit. what do you think? better?


the floating couch- i like it better. i hate that the front door opens into this room. oh well, what can you do.. the pillows are from the master bedroom- is it too much white background.

a shot of the living room from the hall.. do you see the high windows. what's a girl to do?
another shot of the couch. a little different angle that shows the fireplace. do you know if i can paint the black and gold on the fireplace? also, my husband is planning on framing the mantle out with trim. it will look a lot better.
the tv cabinet angle .
moved the wing chair to where the couch use to be.
the chaise in the corner on an angle- next to the wing chair ( where the couch use to be)

i think this works for now.... when we bought the home, the family room was off the kitchen, but there was only the counter to eat at, and the formal dining room. so, that's why we did the switcheroo.. since we spend so much time in the kitchen, it only made sense to move the tv to the living room. it works for now....

thanks again nester!!

kari

oops, forgot these..

oops, i forgot to add these to the earlier post...

this is a shot from the landing- looking down at the living room.

this is a shot of the front window. yikes, forgot to fluff the pillows... (everything looks a little crammed together- what's that about)

thank you for your kind words. i am grateful- i think i needed that reality check. isn't it that we always want what we don't have...ugh... the lessons never stop coming...

kari

can you work with this?

ok, nester, am i looking at a lost cause?

Living room- notice no pillows, can't decide on a color, pattern, etc..... the pony wall behind couch separates the living room from the formal dining room (which we converted to a sitting room)
Living room angle from the front door. Hutch in corner is TV, i have my grandmothers silver tea service on top. why? fireplace is off to the left, ugh...

These high arches separate the two rooms- very high ceiling in living room. notice the pillows, i snagged them from the master bedroom. yes, no?

This is what we so affectionately call the "sitting room", my brother in law designed and made these benches for us. take notice of the different fabrics going on in there, i just can't decide... actually, i don't think i like any of them. oh bother......this is a wider view of the entire room. i hate the window treatments- hate! i'm just stumped. this room has a high ceiling as well. as i stated before - it use to be the living room. we decided that since so much goes on in the kitchen, we would switch things up a bit.

another view of sitting room and wall which i would like to either have bookshelves OR a family photo wall? any thoughts...

a desk that i use for photos, etc...

a not very attractive view of the kitchen through the sitting room...

well, as you can see, it's a work in progress. i like our home and trying to be content with what God has given me, but, it's a real struggle right now, because i'm not in love with our home. i come from a very traditional new england background, and i do appreciate that style, i'm looking to mix it up a little. i throughly enjoy what you've done in your home...

this is just a start.. i will post more tomorrow, now that i have a hang of this blogging world.

many thanks!
kari