Give Thanks!

"O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever."
Psalm 107:1

He is good! How wonderful it is to know that His mercy endureth FOREVER! As a sinner in constant need of the Lord's mercy, this is truly something marvelous that I am thankful for!

Today while we prepare to celebrate the official Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow my children and I are challenging ourselves to spend the day contemplating the goodness of the Lord and thanking Him for all His many blessings.

May your day be blessed!

Bridal Shower Wisdom

Early last month I attended a bridal shower for our elder's second daughter, Blair. It was a joyful time of fellowship. After the last gift was unwrapped and oooed and awed over, a time was opened up for the ladies to share some words of wisdom in regards to marriage. Much of the advice given was truly valuable and I should have taken notes. I don't remember everyone's exact words, but I'll try, nonetheless to share as much as my memory holds.

1. Encourage your husband when he is feeling down or fearful by loving on him.

2. One dear lady whom I admire just said one word, "RESPECT."

3. No matter how busy your day, get the things done that please him, such as having the living room clean (if this is what he wants) so he can have some orderly place to sit and relax when he returns home from work. Prioritize and make important those things which are important to him.

4. Don't over analyze his words towards you. Don't try to think there are hidden motives and thoughts behind his words. You don't want to go there.

5. Be free with your love with no thoughts of restraint.

6. Pray to the Lord to give your husband insight into the areas of vision in which he should be leading. Sometimes upon presentation of certain ideas of vision your husband may not always capture it, but do not be dismayed. Instead of nagging, take it to the Lord in diligent prayer. The Lord will help your husband to understand the vision he needs to have and the vision or idea you presented will become his "own" idea!

7. Be merciful and forgiving with your husband. He is not perfect, just as you are not perfect. If you are generous with mercy, when the time comes when you need to be shown mercy, your husband will be free to be merciful and gracious with you.

I'm sure there was more advice given but this is all I can remember. Since the invitation to the shower asked everyone to come prepared to share some advice or encouragement to the new bride, I was prepared to share a tiny nugget or two, however, I was too shy to do so and thought it best to just gleam the wisdom from the more experienced wives!

I asked my husband beforehand what things I have done throughout our marriage that have been a blessing or encouragement to him. This is what he shared with me and what I had thought of sharing should the sharing have been mandatory and not by volunteering:

1. My husband loves coming home. The warm welcome we give him is the highlight of his day. I have trained the children to view his coming home as the best and most exciting part of our day. When the children see his car coming up the driveway, they all yell, "Dad's home! Dad's home!" We all run to greet him and hug him. I always freshen up and make sure my hair and clothing are in order when I know he will be home shortly. And I always give him a big kiss at the door! "Make your husband's arrival from work the highlight of your day. Greet him as if you hadn't seen him all week." (I'm not sure how this would work out if he works from home!)

2. He appreciates that I have always been kind and loving to his family. "Love his family."

3. He appreciates and is blessed by how I manage his money by being frugal, always striving to buy what we need at the best possible price. "Manage his money well. Be frugal and appreciate how hard he works to provide money for his family."

Anyone care to share a "nugget" or two of their own? I'd love to hear from you! Ask your husband to let you know how you have blessed him. You may be pleasantly surprised at what he mentions. I was so pleased to hear the things my husband mentioned and encouraged to seek out new ways to bless him.

My Neglected Blog

I must admit, dear readers, that I have been neglecting my blog. In fact, all of my family has neglected their blogs. Looking back, I don't even know where we found the time to blog the entries we posted. We've been so busy these past few months, with school in general. However, blogging is important to us and I will take time this month to rearrange our schedule and set aside time for myself and my fellow bloggers here at home to post.

It's hard to believe that we're in the month of October and I didn't even blog much about our summer and some important events that took place. I'll be posting some photos and small posts about those events since one of the reasons I started my blog was to maintain a type of journal of our lives. Hopefully, I can catch up this month and start blogging on a more regular basis.

Until my next post...May you be blessed!

Our 14th Anniversary

Ready to spend the day with my love.

Lunch with a beautiful ocean view. I had a bowl of lusciously creamy lobster soup, a fresh garden salad, and of all things, fried fish and chips. ( I should have had grilled fish with veggies, but the fish and chips called my name!) The fish was very tasty and I enjoyed my delicious lunch immensely. Food tastes so good when you are happy!

MeMy husband of 14 years.

In front of the lovely restaurant where we had lunch.

Last month my dear husband and I celebrated 0ur 14th anniversary! We spent the day at the beach. We had a WONDERFUL time together. We walked up and down the beach, sat in the warm sand together to watch the waves, and then had a late lunch at a restaurant with an ocean view. Lovely, lovely, lovely! After lunch we took a walk through the quaint downtown. Before getting out of the car my husband surprised me by asking me to stay seated. He then went to the back of our car and brought me a gift! After I opened it, he then went back and brought me another one and after I opened that gift, he brought me the final gift! I delighted in the surprise gifts and appreciated my husband plans to surprise me. I also loved my gifts! One of the gifts was a beautiful silver purse. Receiving a purse as part of my anniversary gift has now become a tradition. Six years ago my husband started giving me a purse as part of my anniversary gifts. I love using and wearing the purses that he chose especially for me...he has good taste too!

A trip to an old fashioned candy and ice cream shop was in order after the gift giving and receiving. I had a small piece of walnut chocolate fudge and my husband opted for ice cream.

We walked around quite a bit talking and looking at the interesting shops and restaurants. We saw a restaurant that we would like to try on our next day out together. Too soon it became time for us to leave for home. It was a lovely romantic day, a special celebration of our love. Te Amo, mi Amor.

31 Qualities of a Godly Woman

By Luke Otterstad

1. She handles herself gracefully (Proverbs 11:16)

2. She loves and embraces children (Psalm 113:9, Titus 2:4)

3. She speaks with wisdom (Proverbs 31:26)

4. She has discretion (Proverbs 11:22)

5. She is able to be fully trusted by her husband (Proverbs 31:11)

6. She desires to be her husband’s most faithful companion and closest confidant (Malachi 2:14)

7. She joyfully embraces being a woman and abhors feminism (Psalm 113:9, Romans 12:9)

8. She can manage her home well (Proverbs 31:27, Titus 2:5, 1 Tim 5:14)

9. She is diligent to accomplish anything entrusted to her care (Proverbs 31:13, 1 Tim 5:10)

10. She is firm in her convictions and desires to teach younger women the virtues of godly womanhood through her example and instruction. (Titus 2:4)

11. She desires for, and encourages men to be leaders in their families, churches and society. (Isaiah 3:12, Eph. 5:23, Titus 1:5-6)

12. She desires to build up and strengthen her home (Proverbs 14:1)

13. She desires to raise and train the next president, not BE the next president (Proverbs 31:1, Isaiah 3:12)

14. She believes children are a blessing from God, not a burden (Deut. 7:14, 33:24, 127:3)

15. She has a humble spirit (1 Peter 3:4)

16. She looks up to, follows, and respects her husband as the leader of the home (1 Cor. 14:35, Eph. 5:33)

17. She has a quiet spirit, and influences others through godly conduct (1 Peter 3:1-2, 4, 1 Tim. 2:12)

18. She desires to be a mother of nations, not a leader of nations (Genesis 24:60)

19. She has a heart to open her home to hospitality and service to others (1 Tim. 5:10)

20. She cares for the saints (1 Tim. 5:10)

21. She is capable and skilled to clothe her family and decorate her home (Prov. 31:21-22)

22. She desires to model the examples of holy women in Scripture (1 Peter 3:5)

23. She has skills to prepare meals for her family and bless others through hospitality (Prov. 31:15)

24. She is able to teach her children with practical, life instruction (Proverbs 31:1, 26, 6:20)

25. She desires to please her husband and do him good all his life (Prov. 31:12, 1 Cor. 7:34)

26. She is able to manage a business from her home (Prov. 31:18)

27. She can be trusted with wise discretion in spending (Prov. 31:16)

28. She cares for the poor and the needy (Prov. 31:20)

29. She clothes herself in modesty and good works and does not desire to attract or distract men’s eyes (1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Tim. 2:9-10)

30. She has a kind and helpful attitude (Prov. 31:26-27)

31. She is prudent: intelligent, productive, skillful, wise and has understanding (Prov. 19:14)

A woman such as this is priceless: her value is far above rubies. Her husband will exalt her, praise her, love her, give up his life for her, and her children will call her blessed. The man that finds such a woman, is truly undeserving of such an honor, as God has bestowed upon him a blessing only few will find.

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I read this list and decided that I had to post it. It is an inspirational reminder of the qualities, character and deeds of a Godly woman set forth by Scripture that I fervently desire to emulate and call my own.

This was written by a young man, Luke Otterstad, to describe what a Godly woman looks like to his friends. Wow!

Nourishing Choices - Part 2

In Part 1 of my mini series, Nourishing Choices, I wrote about sweeteners and the new choices I've made in that area. For part 2 of this series I think it is fitting to now write about salt, just because salty is the opposite of sweet :).

Our new choice for salt in our home is Celtic Sea Salt. After reading about the many benefits that Celtic Sea Salt offers I made the big purchase. And yes, it is a big purchase, as compared to what I usually purchased before, Morton Salt (26 oz.), which costs around $0.80. Celtic Sea salt (8 oz.) at Whole Foods costs around $10.00. Despite the huge difference in price, I am very happy with our new choice as the salt is nutritious as well as delicious and really brings out the flavor in the foods to which it is added.

There are many brands of Celtic Sea Salt available including certified organic brands. I buy the brand pictured above and I'm satisfied with it.

Here are some of the benefits of Celtic Sea salt as listed upon healthfree.com:

• Celtic Sea Salts are a prime condiment that stimulates salivation, helps to balance and replenishes all of the body's electrolytes.
• It provides renewed energy
• It gives you a high resistance to infections and bacterial diseases
• It supplies all 82 vital trace minerals to promote optimum biological function and cellular maintenance.
• It balances alkaline/acid levels
• It restores good digestion
• The natural iodine in these salts protects against radiation, atomic fallout and many other pollutants.
• It can aid in relieving allergies and skin diseases
• And overall greatly reduces toxins and to help prevent ill-health
• Properly stored, salt keeps virtually indefinitely.

Tea With My Daughter

The Olde English Tea Room.

At our lovely table.

A hat is a must for tea, darling.

Let's take pictures!

Sweet One.

Lovely.

Just the two of us.

This hat was my favorite. I love it!

Time to go.

A few weeks ago I decided to take an afternoon off with my daughter (I only have one) and visit a Tea Room that we had been wanting to visit. We had a lovely time together, talking, sipping our tea and eating our delicious lunch. This was the first Tea Room that we visited that served actual plates, or platters, as they were called on the menu. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich with fruit and my daughter chose a Chicken Divan platter which included Chickan Divan (of course), fruit and a croisant. For tea, my daughter chose vanilla and I chose a flower/herb tea (I forgot the actual name itself.)

After tea we tried on the large selection of hats that were displayed and available for use. We had so much fun taking pictures of each other and laughing at how we looked with some of the hats.

After taking pictures we headed on over to a shopping plaza that we passed by on our way home. We had fun browsing and bought a few items.

All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon, just the two of us enjoying each others company.