Encouragement for Christian Sisters

Greetings sisters! But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain...  (1 Corinthians 15:10)  I didn't finish the verse because I cannot claim that I have labored more than others.  I just wanted to give our Father praise to the fact that I am not who I used to be. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6) Amen. Just yesterday we witnessed a drunken man sleeping in a public place, about to tip over off a chair.  The staff were concerned he would fall and hurt himself so they called the police to see what to do.  The police showed up and we heard them talking, at one point he cried then kept trying to reassure them he would do no harm.  He didn't want to leave so they had to cuff him, thankfully he didn't resist and he calmly walked out the door with them. It made us sad. The world looks down on people l

Greetings again Sisters! Today I'm enjoying catching up on blog posts, sharing what's going on and finding some of the old posts from our homestead.  On days like this, rainy and cold, my mind goes back to those days remembering how warm it was to come in from the weather outside and smell the soup cooking on the woodstove, bake some fresh bread and curl up on the couch in the living room to enjoy it.  But we have left that life behind and now our house goes with us everywhere. Here's our house (the van) in the parking lot where we are working online in ministry this afternoon.) My husband, brother Jim, is a preacher and our lives have transitioned to be traveling so he's a traveling preacher....and I go everywhere with him.  It wasn't always that way when he was working in the world but we worked hard in our own business to set him free and then worked hard to set ourselves free to be able to be together all the time, travel and go where the Word of God nee

Greetings sisters, I found another post from my old homestead blog that you might like. ********************************* Living out in the country affords us the opportunity to obtain many skin issues such as cuts, scrapes, bites, rashes etc so instead of suffering we've decided to combat it using God's herbs He so graciously provided mankind.  It's amazing what simple things like leaves, roots or flowers can do to help heal a body. One of our 'go to' salves is what we call the skin salve.  Simple name for a simple salve because that's what it's for.  It's not complicated to make but with anything it takes some time but oh so worth it! I recommend people use dry herbs when infusing with oil as using fresh can result in molded salves.  (Ask me how I know:-) This is the recipe we like best as it helps all sorts off skin issues.  We've had many testimonies from people who are amazed at what it can do...we of course give all the glory to Go

Greetings again sisters! I found this in my old homestead blog and wanted to share it with you.  I hope it is a help to you:-) ********************************* As we live our daily lives there are times we need some pain relief (more often than not:-).   I enjoy making this salve because it's such a pretty color when warm and it really works to soothe aching muscles and tension. INGREDIENTS: * 1 cup Arnica flowers * 4 heaping teaspoons cayenne pepper (the more the better) * Olive oil * Vitamin E * Beeswax * Tea Tree oil * Essential Oil (your choice) To start you will need a large glass container.  Put in your herbs in the jar.  I don't have measurements because it all depends on how much oil you want to make however much salve you need.  If you want to make a big batch, use a big jar, if you want just a couple tins of salve, then use a very small jar.  Cover the herbs with oil so the oil is a few inches over the top of the herbs.  Let it sit 6 weeks and gent

Greetings sisters,  Here's another post from my past homestead blog that might be of encouragement for some of you... ******************************* All too often we hear of people cleaning out their freezers and tossing out food that has been there longer than someone deemed necessary.  For some reason there is the conception that food that has been in the freezer for (___fill in the blank with a time__) months or years, that it is inedible?  Dangerous?  Should be thrown away?  I wonder who came up with this idea? Seems pretty wasteful to us but then again sometimes people just do things because that's what they've heard or been taught but they don't seek to see if there is any truth behind it. Well, I'm here to say that we don't throw out (waste) food just because it has a bit of freezer burn/ frost on it, or a date beyond what someone told us and we encourage you think twice about doing it yourself. Here are a few ideas for you to do when you find s

Hello sisters! Here is another blast from my past post.  For those of you on a homestead, trying to live a simple and maybe off grid life, you might appreciate this: ******************************************** After we sold the farm at the back of the property and moved up here to our little cabin, we thought about going totally off the grid and therefore tossed out the electric stove that came with the place. Our plan was to add a small wood stove out in the back canning and processing kitchen but based on the heat in an enclosed area, in the summer....well, I decided that a bit more convenience (at this point) would be nice.  So we found a propane stove that does not need electricity to light it, only a match. It's a few years old :-o but in great shape! It's a very sturdy, hard working piece of equipment. The most fun aspect about this stove is that the oven takes some finesse to keep the temperature at a constant level so what I've found out, in dealing wi

Greetings sisters! Make a joyful noise unto the  Lord , all ye lands. Serve the  Lord  with gladness: come before his presence with singing.    Know ye that the  Lord  he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the  Lord  is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (Psalm 100) If we read and obey such scriptures, even when we go through trials, we are lifted up and strengthened.  Amen. Today I want to encourage you sisters who are married (doesn't matter if he's a believer or unbeliever) to praise your husband if he is a hard worker, providing for his family. Brother Jim suggested this letter to you because we are constantly coming across professed believing men who are lazy and not working to provide.  Most are claiming some sort of injury and a

Greetings sisters! Are you standing strong?  Do you thank the Lord for each day?  Do you fill yourself in His Word? Let us press one another on, through the trials and struggles of this world.  Some days you will be stronger than others, then your day comes and you are weak.  Through Christ we can do all things though.   I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ( Philippians 4:8) We are traveling east across the country and along our journey we have been blessed with the opportunity to have fresh fruits in season.  Peaches happen to be one of the favorites and at this point, the season is almost to an end.  (We got an awesome deal on the last batch here.)  At the end of a harvest season there is a beginning of another. It makes me think about Ecclesiastes 3. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;    A time to

Greetings sisters! How many of you remember these long gone days? We were coming out of a building and saw this. It brought me back a few years and then I realized it was MANY years ago. How time flies. I'm 51 and I remember one time as a child, my grandma said ' I think it was 50 years ago....'   I recall my eyes getting wide and my mind going in places to try to comprehend being alive 50 whole years!  Now I've bypassed that by 1 and Lord willing, many more. I wasted most of those years on myself.  In my ignorance I was not serving God, although I was searching for something all my life, I still wasted it on vile, disgusting sins.  It reminds me to redeem the time because the last 12 years of being born again have flown by so fast and I hope to be able to also redeem the ones ahead for the glory of the Lord. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16) As I type t

Greetings sisters! I pray this day is filled with peace and joy in the Lord!  Brother Jim was just saying that serving the Lord is not boring.  It doesn't matter if you travel like we do or have a house or homestead, if you are an obedient servant, He will use you and keep you busy.   Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. (Psalm 119:127) As we traveled lately we went from big city... ...to country... We definitely prefer the country :-) but there aren't as many opportunities to witness there so we need to be in the city where people are. (We enjoy it in between though.) What a contrast from a man made city to God's creation in the country; one is stressful and loud and the other is peaceful and quiet.  We see that in our spiritual lives as well.  Those who are not of Christ are struggling through this world fulfilling the lust of their flesh, never satisfied and always needing more yet the life of a tr

Greetings sisters! I pray you are pressing on, standing strong in the Lord.   But let all those that put their trust in thee  rejoice : let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. (Psalm 5:11) I want to share how God's timing is perfect.  We pulled into a town and were trying to find our place to park for the night and ended up taking a different road because gps was not working right. As we finally pulled into the parking lot, my keeper at home eyes saw a sign that said 'Coin Laundry' and I asked brother Jim if we could take some time to do ours.  We discussed if we wanted to do it tonight or tomorrow morning and decided that tonight would work best.   I put the clothes in the washers and brother Jim said we should walk into the store for a bit and so we did.  As we were walking around looking for sales I overheard a couple words from a man, down the aisle speaking to another man about God and