“redeemed”
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Author Archives: Shanda
JR Miller quote and moments from my week
WRITTEN BY JR MILLER:
We cannot do what we desire to do. Many of our purposes are thwarted. We desire to do good and beautiful things, and we try — but our actual achievements fall far below our desires. Our clumsy hands cannot fashion the loveliness which our hearts dream of. Our faltering weakness cannot do the brave things our souls aspire to do. No artist ever paints on his canvas — all the beauty of his ideal. No singer ever expresses — all the music which burns within him as he sings. No eloquent orator ever utters — all that he feels as he pleads for truth or for justice.
So in all our life — we do only a little of what we strive to do. We set out in the morning with purposes of usefulness, of true living, of gentle-heartedness, of patience, of victoriousness; but in the evening we find only little fragments of these good intentions actually wrought out!
But God’s plans and intentions are all carried out! No power can withstand Him — or frustrate His will. It was in this thought, that Job found peace in his long, sore trial: all things were in God’s hands, and nothing could hinder His designs of love! Our God is infinitely strong. In all earthly confusions, strifes, and troubles — His hand moves, bringing good out of evil for those who trust in Him. He executes all His purposes of good. He is never hindered in blessing His children.
“I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted!” Job 42:2
JR MILLER
Happy Friday, my friends!
yesterday……
…..we went to the park
…..Jacob and Ethan spent the day at a friend’s house
…..we took naps
…..we let the new flock of chickens go outside in their fence all day long
…..the kids swam in the pond
…..my kitty caught me a frog
…..I read my book
…..Rich spent the day at the park with work
and when he got home
he and the kids put together a new trampoline!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daddy says life is such a crazy mess
He gotta jump on your chances for some happiness
We all see what daddy means
From way up here on this trampoline
Rich is a quiet, orderly leader and teacher. They had everything out of the boxes and lined up together. The back of the truck had tools and the small pieces. They played music from the truck radio as they worked. It was a calm and pleasant work environment.
Seth was begging me to play with him. We played catch for quite a while. Every time he had to chase the ball I did cartwheels.
At one point Grace was busy with fitting the pipes together and Ethan was busy working on another section. Emily and Jacob had nothing to do so they were fooling around….Grace reprimanded, “Why don’t you guys HELP ETHAN?” There was a short pause before Emily retorted, “Why don’t we help YOU?” Grace thought about it and said, “Point taken.” The answer? They don’t WANT HELP.
The whole process took several hours. At this point I was sitting on the back of the truck reading my book and keeping my eagle eye on them. What a blessing to have a willing work crew.
Almost done!
Emily and Grace were the first to jump. This was about 8pm last night.
Then Caleb had a turn.
This trampoline is a little smaller than our old one. We had to take the old one down because we had it for so long it wasn’t as bouncy as it should be and the net was gone. It was basically, in my humble mama’s opinion, an accident waiting to happen or perhaps even a death trap. I begged Rich to take it down before Jacob’s party and he did…but he and the kids were so sad that he ordered this new one the very same day. It’s rectangle shaped and the net is secure all around the bottom, I can rest easy knowing that my babies are safe as they bounce.
Are you guys patient mamas at the end of the day? I had to walk away after this picture because I was going crazy telling them exactly how to take turns, nagging them not touch the foam on the pipes (knowing if everyone pulls on it, it will eventually tear and rip) or the blue fabric, breaking up petty arguments “Mom Seth said he can jump better than meeeeeeeee.” and so on…I went in the house and said I was too tired to be a referee and Rich agreed that it was best for them to learn to work things out on their own. So then I happily yelled about everything going on it the house, “Who left this bowl of leftover salad on the counter I am not a kitchen maid????” “Someone please take out the garbage and don’t put it on the ground BY the can this time, I had to pick trash up this morning because someone didn’t take the tiny next step to put it in the can!!!!!!!!!!”
I’m just saying, we do have our limits.
The trampoline was a job well done. Caleb just asked me what we were doing today and the answer is: JUMP.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy Luke 6:23
we waited all day for this
MY SOUL IS IN THE SKY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
We were in the living room watching Shark Tank at about 8pm last night when Jacob jumped off the couch and said “Mom come outside and see the sky.” It was so funny….everyone (five kids) in the living room followed him out the door in one big group, and I brought up the rear.
All day long we had been hearing about the possibility of a storm and a slim chance of a tornado. It was a humid, hot and sticky day as we watched and hoped the skies would break to bring in some coolness.
I am so thankful it held off until the end…the lighting was stunning..moody..powerful.
golden patch of sky.
smoky
Large drops of rain began to fall, one by one. The girls looked up at the sky. “Ow! A drop of rain just hit me in my OPEN EYE!” Emily cried as we laughed.
Once the thunder began and rain started coming down in a torrent we all went up on the porch to watch. We ran inside after one particularly loud lightening strike and saw the dog trotting briskly around the house in fear.
Then David, Emily, Jacob, and Grace went right back out to sit until the sky was too dark to see anymore.
thirsty?
I’ve been pondering my hydrangea bush. I counted 25 blooms on it this morning as I leaned over the porch railing.
This summer is the first time it has bloomed…..in years.
It bugged me a great deal to see it year after year, all green with none of those big puffy flowers that are so beautiful. I did a little research about hydrangeas this spring and guess what the solution was?
Water. Lots and lots of water. Therefore, I’ve been watering this plant religiously day after day.
It just simply needed water.
As a believer, I can’t help but compare this plant and it’s need for water in order to bloom to my soul and how much I need Jesus, Water from the Rock. I also need His Word, the Bible. I need church services, I need prayer, I need spiritual songs, I need to praise and worship, I need to meditate. Another way to say “need” is to say “thirst”. I thirst for these things…..and as I drink deep they satisfy my soul.
Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.
If I neglect these spiritual disciplines, I won’t flourish and grow. I’ll still be alive, but I’ll be stagnant. I’ll still be HIS, because nothing can ever take me from His strong hand, but life will lose some of it’s beauty, it’s peace, it’s abundance if I’m not drinking long and deep from the streams of living water. I thank God for the thirst He gives me that causes me run to him.
Let but your heart become a valley low,
And God will rain on it till it will overflow.
“I will send down showers” Ezekiel 34:26
“He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.” Isaiah 49:10
*****
Sarah and I discovered the first Tiger Lily blooms this morning.
My cat followed me around as I weeded. I had to pick him up out of the zinnias.
My children are on summer vacation. Now is the time when I remember how content I felt when we homeschooled them years ago. There is nothing like the feeling of a child wanting waffles for breakfast and saying yes because you have all the time in the world…….
Grace wants to be like Beatrix Potter. She came downstairs for breakfast with these things in her hands….sketch book, drawing pencils, her latest paperback, and a horse (her model for the drawings)….I encouraged her to try to be HERSELF and not a copy of an original. “I don’t know how.” I can so relate. We live in a world that is full of information and great ideas, it’s hard to even know who we are in the midst of so many people. Well, we do have similarities, but God made us unique and different, too. The little something he gave to Beatrix Potter is apparently within my daughter, too. We’ll see what she does with it.
Speaking of growing, Sarah is steadying gaining new marks on her growth line. I do need to wash this wall a little though.
Conversation during Waffle-Making:
David, chewing on waffle: “I wonder if we’ll ever get a new baby.”
Me: making waffles with my back toward him: “Um.No, the baby factory is closed. The baby factory is tired.”
David, finding my answer unsatisfactory: “Hmmf. Just think of all the babies that will never be born because YOU do not have the COURAGE to have them.”
*****
Look up today, you who are dried and withered plants. Open your leaves and flowers and receive God’s heavenly watering. Charles H. Spurgeon
dad with his five children
Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
This picture was taken by Mom yesterday at Jacob’s graduation party.
It is a photo of our dear dad and his five offspring. Isaac is the youngest in the green shirt, he was married a year ago to a wonderful girl and is Dad’s pride and joy. I (Shanda) am in the green blouse and am his firstborn and possibly the favorite. Next is David with the awesome beard, and Dad’s first son. Dave is Dad’s steady and true right hand man and they can get each other laughing so hard. Amanda is the third born, his little dimpled blond daughter with the happy personality. She is also possibly the favorite. Nathan is Dad’s fearless athlete, throwing himself into every sport, and life itself. He is the Dad of two awesome kids, including a son named for our father. GREGORY. We love you, Dad!
Happy Father’s Day!
Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13
graduation pictures from last night
tallest
“Mom. Guess what. Out of our entire class I have to get my diploma LAST.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they have us organized by height and I’m the tallest!”
baccalaureate service
I am this sentimental about all seven of my babies, mark my words, but as this is the Week of Jacob, he is constantly on my mind.
I spent hours and hours at the end of our first hand-me-down couch with my first born baby. I remember those hours like they were yesterday. Most of the time he had my undivided attention, but sometimes I would watch TV as I held him. Other times I would read a book. There was very often a cat snuggled with us. We were cuddled under a quilt made by my husband’s grandmother and I would put a glass of water up on the top of the couch. All day long, whenever it was time to eat, we were there, no hurries, no worries. In the evenings my husband sat with us, too.
He was born the very last day of 1996 and we had one solitary year together before his beautiful baby brother joined us. Everything our baby did was amazing to us, my husband and I were both so proud. As he said recently, every parent thinks their child is someone extra special and it is the same for us. What a cherished gift children are and worthy to be given everything they need to grow and learn.
My friends and I used to remind each other now and then about how quickly our children would grow and leave us. Those crazy days when we had a bunch of little ones, healthy, busy, impossible to predict, we were exhausted trying to keep up. “Soon they will be gone” was our mantra to get us through those days but we said it with a laugh because it still seemed so far off.
We had plenty of time.
Last night at 5:30, the family–all 10 of us–were dressed up and in the vehicle, driving to the little league field to drop off Caleb for a game, and then heading for the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in town for the Senior Baccalaureate Service of Evening Prayer.
I sat on the end so I could lean over into the aisle…all the better to see our boy. Although their handsome Dad did his best to keep them in their seats, by the last hymn my two youngest were hanging off my back. Sarah’s soft hands holding my arm, Seth twirling my pony tail.
Our Jacob was one of the students selected to read Scripture.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
The service had a special meaning for me personally because I have chosen the word “light” as my word of the year and it was the theme of the service. In fact, as we opened with Versicles, the whole room was saying these words together:
Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
The light no darkness can overcome.
Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,
And the day is almost over.
For with you is the fountain of life,
And in your light we see light.
It touched me to the depths of my soul. Thank you, Jesus.
Do you remember that part in the movie “Anne of Avonlea” when Diana is about to get married and Mrs Barry is carrying on because she’s “losing her firstborn forever”. Aunt Josephine, in her typical bluntly comforting way quickly says, “Don’t get all sentimental, you still have Minnie May”…..that’s what I think of when I see this picture of me and my Minnie-Sarah.
After the service we all went downstairs for refreshments. Seth, the one who is just victoriously finishing up Kindergarten, had two buttered rolls, bypassed the pasta and salad, and then ate four cupcakes. The people of the church were all so kind and thoughtful, and happy to serve the community and class of 2015 in this way.
“You’ve been a blessing from the start,
I love you, my son, with all my heart.”
So thankful for these wonderful, priceless moments!
Jacob, day 1: a special day for a first year
There is something about watering a garden with buckets of water from the pond (because the hose doesn’t work) throughout a dry spring to make a woman deep down grateful to wake up to a fresh morning of drenching rain. If I close my eyes, I can almost see the water trickling down-down-down into the dry earth. I can almost imagine the rate of growth on the next sunny day in our small vegetable patch. How satisfying it is to be a part of all that is happening outside.
Meanwhile, inside the house this morning I have been busy cleaning and thought I would take a break to type up a little blog post. This will start a week of my oldest son Jacob as the main subject of this little corner of the internet.
Yes, this is Jacob’s week, with so many blessings unfolding for him. It really all began on Friday when he went to the store to do this:
Yes indeedy, he gave gifts to his sweetheart to mark their anniversary. One year ago he and Emily started their relationship, and such a sweet couple they make. In fact, they are currently both on the couch watching “International House Hunters” right now. 🙂
Their anniversary was Friday and we planned a beach day for Saturday. Rich was gone last week on business so I was a bit on the *worn to a frazzle* side. He would not have minded making it a family day but I asked him if we could leave six of the children home and just take Jacob and Emily. It was a most brilliant idea…the whole day from start to finish was wonderful.
(I just had to leave and come back from the school. Ethan and Grace are now home after a morning of finals).
We went to Panera for breakfast. Everyone was happy and goofy, including my husband. It was nice to see him relaxed and enjoying a day off from work. After breakfast we continued to the shore. We arrived at about 8:30 in the morning.
That’s Jacob and Emily making a sandcastle together.
I sat in the beach chair for a while reading magazines. It was such a treat to relax and not have to worry about children wandering off or getting pulled into the ocean.
The finished sandcastle.
Rich and I went on a walk down the beach. The water was cold but the weather was lovely, warm with a cool breeze. The sun didn’t start blazing down on us until later on.
They showed us their bucket of sandy crabby creatures when we returned.
We dozed in the sunshine….again, I was so grateful to just melt into the towel, knowing that there was no one that needed to be watched.
We took a foursome selfie before we left the beach for lunch.
So thankful to have kids who enjoy being with us!
Buttery lobster roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Salt potatoes and an ice cold Pepsi (a rare treat)! Wonderful lunch. We were all good and famished and enjoyed every bite.
Then we headed into Madison, CT, just a few miles down the road, to our next stop.
R.J. Julia Booksellers…a wonderful bookstore.
There were signed celebrity photographs all over the walls. I bought a paperback, a magnet for the fridge, and some yummy chocolate.
I stopped to admire these beautifully leafed geraniums.
We drove on home because the kids had to be back by 3:30 for further adventures. But just before our outing was officially over, we stopped at Carvels for some cones. I had the Reeses soft serve. Yum!
Our day, which is a highly recommended itinerary if you get the chance to visit the CT shore. 🙂
(Panera, for breakfast)
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Joe and Lenny’s Fish Tale, for lunch
R.J. Julia Booksellers
(Carvel)
Good to be Home 