Her Price is FAR ABOVE Rubies

"And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels:..." Malachi 3:17a.

This is a piece of jewelry John made and gave me a couple of years ago... A ruby jeweled ring made with electrical tape and a key ring. Isn't it precious?
I treasure this ring not only because John made it, but because it serves to remind me that one day John will desire a wife.
I pray often that all three of my sons will be patient to wait for the Precious Jewel God has preserved for them, the one He's made His own, and knows they'll need to complete them.

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies"(Proverbs 31:10).

"For her price is far above rubies; showing the value Christ her husband puts upon her, the esteem she is had in by him; who reckons her as his portion and inheritance; as preferable to the purest gold, and choicest silver; as his peculiar treasure; as his jewels, and more valuable than the most precious stones: this appears by his undertaking for her; by doing and suffering what he has on her account; the price he has paid for her is far above rubies; she is bought with a price, but not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ; the ransom price paid for her is himself, who is more precious than rubies, and all the things that can be desired, 1 Peter 1:18" (John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible).

"She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her" (Proverbs 3:15).

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7).

Meekness Training

"Meekness is teachability.

'The meek will he teach his way' (Psalm 25:9, KJV).

It is the readiness to be shown, which includes the readiness to lay down my fixed notions, my objections and "what ifs" or "but what abouts", my certainties about the rightness of what I have always done or thought or said.

It is the child's glad "Show me! Is this the way? Please help me." We won't make it into the kingdom without that childlikeness, that simple willingness to be taught and corrected and helped.

'Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls' (James 1:21, KJV).

Meekness is an explicitly spiritual quality, a fruit of the Spirit, learned, not inherited. It shows in the kind of attention we pay to one another, the tone of voice we use, the facial expression."
(Elisabeth Elliot, Keep a Quiet Heart)

Cotton: Clothed in Righteousness

Recently, while traveling, we saw field after field of cotton! I was captured by the beautiful expanse of white!

I begged Mark to stop, so I could get closer. My family couldn't believe I jumped out, but John understood and joined me. : ) He loves me!

This is what we saw up close...
The first beautiful reward of a thriving plant, producing what is longed for. This required 80-110 days of patient waiting.
What beauty to behold!













Within 12 hours to 3 days, the bloom turns from white to creamy yellow, then to pink, and the older the bloom, the darker the pink.














After the bloom falls to the ground, leaving the developing boll on the stem, 50-80 more days are required for the pod to mature. The very fibers working within are hidden, set apart from the world, but finally, the pressure and fruit of its stem burst forth...













Oh, it is my prayer that the very fibers within us will burst forth to reveal HIM...that we'll be clothed and empowered by His Spirit, and our lives will bear HIS beauty and HIS glory!

"God is holy with an absolute holiness that knows no degrees, and this He cannot impart to His creatures. But there is a relative and contingent holiness which He shares with angels and seraphim in heaven and with redeemed men on earth as their preparation for heaven. This holiness God does impart to His children. He shares it with them by imputation, and by impartation, and because He has made it available to them through the blood of the Lamb, He requires it of them...'Be ye holy, for I am holy'. He did not say, 'Be ye as holy as I am holy', for that would be to demand of us absolute holiness, something that belongs to God alone."
(A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy)

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations" (Isaiah 61:10-11).

One Thousand Gifts

A Dear Friend, Leslie, introduced me to Ann's blog last year.

I have received MUCH spiritual encouragement from this mother's journal of life as she experiences it on a farm in Canada with her husband, The Farmer, while home educating their six children. Her words capture me. Her thoughts are transparent and humble, given by the One who allows brokenness to be expressed so beautifully.

HE makes all things beautiful!

Ann's thoughts have been published in a book by Zondervan, which is now available from CBD, Amazon, and Parable Bookstores.

(Note: The links I attempted to include to the direct pages failed to work, so please insert "One Thousand Gifts" in each website's search engine, and you'll be directed properly to the book. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.)

Enjoy~

Thank you, Dear Friend~

"Jesus Throughout the Bible"

Originally this post included a wonderful Godtube video which I received from my brother, Mark, via email. If you'd like to see it, click the link above and enter the title of this post in the search engine.
Although I've removed the video, the link remains available with hope that it would inspire all of us to get to know Jesus as He is known throughout scripture.

I also searched the internet to find a resource that might provide something similar, and found this ... click here. I've printed this resource and shared it with my family.

I hope you'll find this website helpful.

We depend on resources to encourage us, yet do we really know HIM as He desires to be known?

Nothing Between

Nothing Between

Nothing between my soul and my Savior,
Naught of this world’s delusive dream;
I have renounced all sinful pleasure;
Jesus is mine, there’s nothing between.

Refrain:
Nothing between my soul and my Savior,
So that His blessed face may be seen;
Nothing preventing the least of His favor;
Keep the way clear! Let nothing between.

Nothing between, like worldly pleasure;
Habits of life, though harmless they seem,
Must not my heart from Him ever sever;
He is my all, there’s nothing between.

Nothing between, like pride or station;
Self or friends shall not intervene;
Though it may cost me much tribulation,
I am resolved, there’s nothing between.

Nothing between, e’en many hard trials,
Though the whole world against me convene;
Watching with prayer and much self-denial,
I’ll triumph at last, there’s nothing between.

Words and Music by Charles Albert Tindley, 1905

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable." (John Piper, Hunger for God)

The timely receipt of both the quote and song this week has given me much to think about...

I can't seem to put my thoughts to words at the moment, but thought I'd share this anyway and hope you are stirred to consider and discuss with those around you.

Elisabeth and Karen, thank you for sharing John Piper's quote.

NO VACANCY~

We should have known!!

The water dish was filthy, needing daily cleaning and refreshment!

The cat food dish needed to be filled over and over again! UGH!

The screen door needed repair, then needed repair again, and still now again needs repair!

Hmmm.......
How long has this little critter been coming and going?

John discovered him, I took his 'blog photo', and Matthew ran him off~

Needless to say, we no longer leave cat food on the back porch.
Uh-oh, I wonder if he's discovered the spinach in our garden?

New Addtion to our flock

Aren't they beautiful?
After spending a couple of weeks in quarantine, our three new parakeets have been added to the aviary and are loving their new home. Now the aviary doesn't appear so big and empty. The saying is true, 'the more the merrier'!

We've not finalized their names, but are trying out these...
Sterling... lt. grey male
Sugar Pie-d...a sky blue pied female (I think)
Sunbeam...yellow beauty female (I think)

My name is Karen, and I collect birds~ (''>

Have a happy day!

Surprise visit...The Music Man~

A couple of days ago, we heard the welcome sound of a familiar knock at our door...Mr. Taccati, our family's music teacher, was in town and stopped by to check on us.

After 9 years of weekly visits, he'd become like family to us, but sadly, we had to say goodbye in mid-August before he moved to another state.

On that last day of lessons, I was able to capture a couple of photos before my battery went dead...













After nine years of lessons, Matthew demonstrated the skills he'd gained from Mr. Taccati's flare for creative performance...ha!



















When Mr. Taccati began teaching Mark and Matt, Katherine was 2 1/2 and John was an infant. Nine years later, all four children have taken piano lessons, and both Mark and Matt learned to also play the guitar. John was hoping Mr. Taccati would one day teach him to play his daddy's trombone...oh well.
John, maybe you should begin asking the LORD to bring Mr. Taccati back to town...ha~













Needless to say, it was a thrill to welcome Mr. Taccati back, especially when he motioned towards the guitars for the boys to join him in playing a few songs together. What a delight!

Tonight, the delightful sound of music continues to strum from the living room, and I'm grateful for all Mr. Taccati taught and encouraged our children re: their love for music...

"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in this world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits" (Martin Luther).




















"The aim and final reason for all music should be none else but the glory of God" (J. S. Bach).














Thank you, Mr. Taccati, for investing many years of your time and love for The Creator of Music in to all four of our children. We're grateful your influence continues!
May the LORD bless your work with others as He's blessed His work here through you~














"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms" (Psalm 95:2).