Happy Thanksgiving week to you all! The Fall has been beautiful and the few snow showers make me look forward to winter and Christmas. 
However we in our home and you in yours will take time to thank our God for the many blessings He has given us, not just on this day the government has Proclaimed as a National Day of Thanksgiving, but every day. 

I've heard it said...

"What if we woke up tomorrow 

with only the things we thanked God for yesterday?"

Do we cultivate a thankful heart in our selves and in our home and live it out in front of others? Count your many blessing, count them one by one, and give thanks to our Father in Heaven who gave each one from a loving heart because He loves us.
Then, when and if things are not so tight again, remember to continue to give thanks. It is with a heart of gratitude that our House and all in it will gather together to sing His praises one more time, as we look forward to His soon return. God bless you and yours at this special time in History...with little or much... we have much to be thankful for.




© Monika Hardy

A grest Christmas Giveaway!

Hisbeloved is giving away a chance to win 3 sets of Christmas Cards through Shutterfly! Follow the link for your chance to win a set!

Christmas will be here before we know it!

Contest Giveaway at Hisbeloved's! 

Winner's to be chosen on November 1, 2011

© Monika Hardy

Proverbs 31 Practical Helps

 After a few years of caring for family and after turning 50 this year, and blogging here for quite a few years I find myself in a new season of life. God has seen fit to turn this online ministry while caring for my Mother in law with Alzheimer's to a local outreach ministry. 

I am not ending this blog, but have decided to share the new one with you all for now as it has a more local definitive direction.

Instead I'll be intertwining the two sites for now. 

It will still entail the Titus 2 command of older women teaching the younger women, creating relationships that will lead to lives walking with Jesus,

by both the older and younger woman. 

Also teaching the younger women 

to love their own husbands and children,

and encouraging Domestically Inclined Hearts. 

In this particular season the ministry takes on a Practical Helps Workshop form. There are two workshops this summer on Home Food Preservation and Frugality. There is much more info on the new site, and if you are interested and in the area, come join me. If you are not local please pray that God will show Himself strong through this weaker vessel. 

~~~~Proverbs 31 Practical Helps~~~~

© Monika Hardy

Where to turn?

Ever consider making some changes in your life?

If you have where is the first place you turn for advice?

• A friend
• Google
• Neighbor
• Classifieds
• Blogs

It is so easy to be distracted from the real issues in life, or look for advice in all the wrong areas.

God who created the heavens and the Earth, who knows the end from the beginning, is all wise and the best place to seek wisdom or guidance is from Him! 

So as I am still, I can hear Him speak through His word, or others exactly what He wants me to do and be. 

Along with the guidance from Him I can walk in peace knowing that I am in His hands and exactly where He wants me to be. It's not always a popular place, or a comfortable place, but it is the perfect place. 

So as you ponder your next step, stop, drop and roll into the arms of Jesus, and lean into Him and listen to His heart beat, listen to Him speak to you, and act on it.

Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life! Proverbs 4:23





 © Monika Hardy

Something new

I found a new Pearl in the Ocean of Blogging

God is there for you

She has posted some answers for those that are 

asking questions concerning life on a lovely new site.

© Monika Hardy

Memorial

Thanks to the many members of our military both past and present, we were able to go to church and freely worship this past weekend and I hope and pray it stays the same for the future of our children and grandchildren. My heartfelt thanks to all the families who are still forging forward in the details of everyday life with a loved one not at their side, but across the world standing guard and fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others!
Almighty God is still on the throne, and He is in control! Stand firm those of you who sacrifice so much for this Lands freedom, and may God Bless you and your families and keep us all safe while we are apart.

© Monika Hardy

End of world on the 21st? NO

I posted this on my face book page but wanted to share it with you all. Mr. Camping sounds sincere, but he is sincerely wrong.

According to the highest authority... no man knows the day or the hour of the end of the world except God! and that comes after the Rapture, and seven years of Tribulation a lot worse than we see now, and after the Millennium (1,000 years of God ruling on earth with the Bride at His side) THEN ....a "new heaven and a new earth" Read Revelation 19, 20, 21 and 22...oh, just read the whole Bible :)

I am thankful that God took the time to inspire men to write down His love letters to us and that He thought it important enough for us to know, a long time ago I might add, that NO ONE knows the day or the hour of Jesus return to the Earth, except the Father Himself, for His Bride! That way His Bride, the true believers will be expecting Him at any moment!

Are you clothed in the righteousness of Christ, or or still wallowing in the filthy rags of self works? A Bride makes herself ready to meet her Bridegroom. Be prepared for Jesus is coming soon...He promised!

© Monika Hardy

Spring! I think

Spring has sprung! I think. I hope I didn't miss Spring last week on the one day the temp rose above 60 degrees. At least I was able to pant some seeds and a few plants that were getting leggy just sitting indoors waiting for some sun.

There is the hope of renewed warmth at the end of the week. I missed the local Farmers Market this past weekend, as I was enjoying my grandchildren! Good reason to miss the Market. I will be looking for some chocolate mint the next time I make it to the Market. The chocolate mint makes the most wonderful tea.

After the weekend of rain I see the little sprouts popping up already
Radishes
Loose leaf lettuce
Cilantro
Tom Thumb Lettuce

Even the peas I planted a month ago finally sprouted now that the temps have gone up a bit.

But as every good or bad gardener knows...the weeds grow the fastest!
I don't want to use any chemicals so there will be much pulling of weeds in my future.
Thankfully I've found that on a warm afternoon, a bottle of vinegar can kill the toughest of weeds!
Just don't use it on the lawn, or it will soon be a two toned lawn...you don't want to know :)

So on the agenda...
In the Laundry room...loads to wash and hang in the warm breeze today
In the Kitchen...A fridge to clean and pots to polish, and plants to keep alive until we reach some warmer temps.
What I am reading...A book my son and Daughter in law gave me for Mother's Day...Verses of Virtue by Beall Phillips. I just love poetry and especially poetry that focuses your mind on what is pure and good and lovely and of all things of virtue!
In my heart...Thankful for answered prayer, restoration, healing, and a future of Hope!
In the craft room....a wonderful way to help others right now on a link from my Daughter in law, to help those in Alabama and other states that have been hit hard by tornadoes...
Sewing Love
During the week...Time with some friends and hospitality

May your week be filled with sunshine and the Son of God!

© Monika Hardy

Quote of the day

"The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly."— Søren Kierkegaard

Updated links

In answer to some of your requests I've updated the most popular post on Domestically Inclined.

I've had to update some of the links to make them available once again.

This post was originally written in September of '08,

but could easily still be useful today. 

Enjoy and happy homemaking! 

 Old Fashioned Homemaking Skills 

© Monika Hardy

Wordy Wednesday

The wettest season on record, ever, has left skies gray and dreary. Yet, I see the hints of Spring outside.

Soon the weather reports will actually forecast sunshine...I hope! 

The seedlings I've planted indoors are getting spindly looking for some source of light, even though I've got grow lights. I've also planted a second crop of seedlings, and waiting for the first peas to pop up outside.

• The tulips are peeking through the ground
• The trees are budding
• Weeds are growing! 

In the Kitchen: Still working on some organization to clear the counters.

What's for dinner?: Something quick and nutritious without high fructose corn syrup 

Reading: Latest edition of Country Living Magazine.

Thrift store find: Just found a pattern for Pantaloons for the grand girls!

Praying for: Wisdom for our National Leaders

On my heart: "If I slip into the place that can be filled by Christ alone, making myself the first necessity to a soul instead of leading it to fasten upon Him, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” 
~Amy Carmichael




© Monika Hardy

Seedlings-Week 2

Ok this is strange but I am not complaining. I've had trouble for quite awhile seeing any photos on my blog and others Blogger Blogs, but the new video upload works! Yay!
The video is of the non Genetically modified organic seeds I purchased from Baker Street online for this season. It has been so much fun waiting for these little ones to pop up and visit.
It will be even more fun when the rain stops and I can plant them outdoors when it is warm enough...soon!
It is such a joy to plant your own veggies and watch them grow, and with all that is going on in the world it seems only responsible of us to grow our own and share what we can with those who don't have enough. 

© Monika Hardy

Wordy Wednesday

It may not look like it but Spring really is here according to the calendar. I've enjoyed the winter, but am so ready for spring to bring the earth back to life again. I miss seeing another color besides white everywhere. Ok, so maybe I've seen a bit of brown recently but I'm looking forward to green and all the pretty flowers colors to go with it, and a sky that is as blue as my husbands eyes, instead of the dreary gray sky that has been hanging around here. 
What have I been up to?
Spring cleaning, trying to gather up all those dust bunnies that have hidden behind doors and under furniture in the dark dreary days of winter. 
In the kitchen?
Working on organizing all the "stuff" on the counters and rearranging the few pieces of furniture in the kitchen.
Special projects?
Indoor seedlings have sprung forth to make me happy. Just a bit of green against the dirty brown dirt makes this heart happy. I've also been up to a bit of sewing in the craft room after Dear Honey brought home some shelves...yay!
What have I been reading?
Revelation and writing up my notes on the Devotions page. Also re-reading 

Christ Indwelling and Enthroned, by J. Oswald Chambers   

Seven messages given at the "Keswick" Conventions in New Zealand
What is going on in the heart?
Many ponderings like Mary. Some about Jesus and how wonderful He is, some about the sufferings around the world that I know God is in control of but sometimes I think that self can help Him. He reminds me to pray and be faithful and continue to trust my Jesus with everything.
Outside?
Like I said, rain and more rain! BUT, I am reminded... all sunshine and no rain makes a desert!







© Monika Hardy

Revelation 10

It's been quite awhile since I've posted a chapter of the Revelation study notes on the Devotions page..

You can find Revelation chapters 1-10 there now,

and Lord willing I'll be adding more soon. 

It's been so good read Revelation again, 

for along with it comes a special blessing...

remember chapter 1?

Revelation Chapter 10

© Monika Hardy

Jesus loves me

The following is an email that my mom sent to me, 

and I thought was worth sharing with you all.

 

92 YEAR OLD PREACHER

While watching a little TV on Sunday, I watched as a church in Atlanta honoring one of its senior pastors who had been retired many years. He was 92 and I wondered why the church even bothered to ask the old gentleman to preach at that age. After a warm welcome, introduction of this speaker, and as the applause quieted down, he rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gait to the pulpit. Without a note or written paper of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to speak....

"When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50-odd years of preaching. I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials..The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me... the only thing that would comfort was this verse........

"Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
we are weak but He is strong,
Yes, Jesus loves me....
The Bible tells me so."

The old pastor stated, "I always noticed that it was the adults who chose the children's hymn 'Jesus Loves Me' (for the children of course) during a hymn sing, and it was the adults who sang the loudest because I could see they knew it the best."

"Here for you now is a Senior version of Jesus Loves Me":

JESUS LOVES ME

Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.
(CHORUS)
YES, JESUS LOVES ME.. YES, JESUS LOVES ME..
YES, JESUS LOVES ME, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.
(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song..
Telling me in words so clear,
"Have no fear, for I am near."
(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand His love.
(CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.
(CHORUS)

© Monika Hardy

Love... the attiude of the heart

Ladies,

as the world reminds us of a "day" of love,

remind the world of a "life" of love.

The fruit of the Spirit in a persons life is Love...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contentment and patience,

self-denial and submission,

humility and subordination,

prudence and discretion are all virtues,

the seeds of which you should sow early in life.

Benevolence of heart

and kindness of disposition

must be among your foremost studies,

the most prominent objects of your pursuit

and most laborious endeavours.

--John Angell James

Green Fabric Covered Storage Boxes

Upcycling, recycling, re-purposing, green, call it what you will,
it is a wonderful way to

• stretch the home economy
• create storage
• and beautify your home

Country Living Magazine has some easy instructions.
No sewing necessary
Just save those boxes

Fabric Covered Boxes

© Monika Hardy

Children are a blessing!

Children are a blessing!

If you are going to speak for God...make sure you know what HE says on a subject!
I take great exception to someone who purports to speak for Him on a National radio program, and yet calls having more than one child... gluttony!
Of course my opinion or her's matters not!
It is what God's word that will stand forever!
So before you ridicule

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Psalm 128:3
“Shall be as a fruitful vine.” To complete domestic bliss children are sent. They come as the lawful fruit of marriage, even as clusters appear upon the vine. For the grapes the vine was planted; for children was the wife provided. It is generally well with any creature when it fulfills its purpose, and it is so far well with married people when the great design of their union is brought about. They must not look upon fruitfulness as a burden, but as a blessing. Good wives are also fruitful in kindness, thrift, helpfulness, and affection: if they bear no children, they are by no means barren if they yield us the wine of consolation and the clusters of comfort. Truly blessed is the man whose wife is fruitful in those good works which are suitable to her near and dear position.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:5

Psalm 127:5
Children are God's gifts, a heritage, and a reward; and are to be accounted blessings, and not burdens: he who sends mouths, will send meat, if we trust in him. They are a great support and defense to a family. Children who are young, may be directed aright to the mark, God's glory, and the service of their generation; but when they are gone into the world, they are arrows out of the hand, it is too late to direct them then. But these arrows in the hand too often prove arrows in the heart, a grief to godly parents. Yet, if trained according to God's word, they generally prove the best defense in declining years, remembering their obligations to their parents, and taking care of them in old age. All earthly comforts are uncertain, but the Lord will assuredly comfort and bless those who serve him; and those who seek the conversion of sinners, will find that their spiritual children are their joy and crown in the day of Jesus Christ.
Well said Matthew Henry!

The Bread of life

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Our lives are not sustained just by the fuel of food. Our souls need to be fed from the words of God It is the the bread of life that leads and guides and nourishes our souls. When digested this food helps us to respond to God in His ways and not our own in the choices we have before us.

• Whatever is true, whatever is just, pure...think on these things
• Be ye holy, as I am holy
• Though your sins be as scarlet, they can be as white as wool
• By the finished work of the cross we have hope for the future
• Thou shalt not covet
• Vengeance is mine saith the Lord
• Little children love in word and deed

• The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Later in Titus 2 Paul tells Timothy to speak and exhort these things and rebuke those who deny them)

I do not write these things to argue or fight, but to share the truth...so now if I write and speak the truth am I your enemy? Well, am I?
My hope is that is not the case, but that the word of God would inspire to live in His ways, and that you would be blessed.

Jesus said... I am that bread of life....taste and see that He is good!

In the kitchen: Easy Artisan Bread
I've used this recipe and love the ease and taste of it. I now use whole wheat pastry flour and honey instead of white sugar. (You will need to add a bit more whole wheat flour to the recipes and it will be a bit more dense, but much more nutritious)

From the heart: Prayer is a wonderful way to travel all the way to the throne of God on behalf of anyone on this Globe in an instant!

A season for everything

Three D- The Daily Domestic Dispatch

Time is a precious commodity. We are all given the same amount of time in a day, and we are responsible for how we spend it. To keep life organized so there is room for what God may redirect, begin to look at your year now. Use a paper calendar, or a Microsoft Outlook Calendar, or any other paper or software of your choosing. Choosing your priorities now will help make it easier to accept or decline future invitations.

Begin to mark off all the important dates throughout the year for you and your family. I keep a schedule down to the hour even while at home so I can track my time spent, and know what is available for the future. After the yearly look is done, I refine with monthly to weekly to hourly.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

If things aren’t going according to your schedule…not to worry, for God makes all things beautiful in HIS time!

Time to scrub the kitchen cabinet doors and do a few loads of laundry today as my inside schedule was deeply interrupted by snow that had to be shoveled outside.

Take time to smell the roses…if they are blooming in your area. Look on the bright side…I’m sure there are some roses in the local market if you can get there.

Make time to call that special someone today.

© Monika Hardy

Well? Am I?

Three D- Daily Domestic Dispatch

Speaking the truth in Love…

Religious expression is still a freedom we enjoy in this country of ours. If we choose to say nothing when those rights are whittled away we will pay for it when our own liberty is taken away.

Dispatch for the day…

Stand up for the truth!

Know what truth is, and share it with others.

Immerse yourself and your family in the word of God so that truth will be shared from generation to generation.

Remember the old adage; Keep the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other to

filter the news through the eye of truth contained in God’s Word.

Helpful hints:

• Use Vinegar and old wadded up newspaper to clean windows, they sparkle when cleaned.
• Recycle the newspaper if you have no use for it.
• Save the newspaper over the winter months to cover the garden in the spring to keep the weeds down.

Continue to speak the truth in love, no matter how you are treated, for we are to seek the approval of God, not of man.

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? Galatians 4:16

Well, am I?

© Monika Hardy

3D- The Daily Domestic Dispatch

The sun streams in the window this cold January morning, after a dark and snowy trend. The sunlight illuminates the dust on the wooden floors that we put in the home a few years ago. Off to sweep them soon, then clean with a solution of organic cleaner...

• One cup warm water
• One cup white vinegar
• One squirt of dish washing detergent

Shake in the spray bottle, spray in small sections on the floor and scrub with a long floor push type cleaner

Let dry, and buff with a clean dry push type cleaner

As vinegar to the teeth,

and as smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to them that send him.

Proverbs 10:26

Organizing comes to mind when the New Year comes to mind. The year ahead is always filled with plans, and when my surroundings and schedule are organized I can enjoy the duties at hand. Little things can sometimes irritate us when our plans are interrupted, but if we look at these moments as ways for God to direct our steps it is easier to be more flexible. For you just never know when you might meet an angel in disguise. Be on the look out for those in need who cross your path.

In the Kitchen: Begin sharing all unneeded supplies with others. Organize for kitchen sake to make cooking for the family easier, healthier and fun. Toss out all the sugar from the holidays.