Preparing

"The Berry Pickers"

With the fall, comes a sense of needing to get prepared. Whether its simply evaluating what winter clothes are needed, or cutting back plants and flowers in the garden, there are many things that must be done to prepare for the winter.

My prayer and plan is, Lord willing, next year I would grow enough to harvest and can for the following winter.

However, that is not the kind of preparing that has been on my heart lately.

There is a potential for an economic disaster (maybe its a reality, and no longer a potential. I have to admit, in my area of the country, the economy is pretty good. Houses continue to sell. My husband, who is in the building industry, just received a lot of work; he was told that the people in their company do not need to worry about losing their jobs! All that to say, is often times I wonder if this is all media-driven worry). I read of many stocking up their pantries and getting other things in line, similar to what many did for Y2K. I don't suppose that is a terrible idea.

However, that is not the kind of preparing that has been on my heart lately.

I'm talking about spiritual preparedness. The Bible tells us in Matthew to not worry about what we will eat or where we will live or what we will wear. How God takes care of the birds and the flowers, that fade away, how much more He will take care of us - His children. I think most Christians know of this passage, yet don't lean on it like a crutch, like their lives depend on this. Do you have a child who is a worrier? My oldest is - cut from the same cloth as I. It is so easy for me to reassure him he has no need to worry - I know the end result so many times and I know he has absolutely no reason. Sometimes I even chuckle, because I know, I KNOW, everything is gonna be allright!

You know what? God knows my end result, and He knows that I have no need to worry. I need to just stay snuggled in my Father's arms, trusting in Him. If I can offer my imperfect assurance to my son, surely I can rest in God's perfect assurance!

I know there are families who are out of work. My heart and prayers go out to you. Right now though, I want to speak to those, to me, who still have income, where life is really no different than 5 years ago when the economy was not a worry as it is today.

What if your husband was to come home today, and was laid off. If you work, what if, you were laid off today. What would happen if, your car broke down and you had not one cent or open credit to get it fixed. What if, your husband became terribly ill and you lost his income. What if, your home was foreclosed on. What if ____________ (fill in the blank).

Would you be prepared spiritually to be confident in Your Father to know that He will take care of you, His child? Would you be spiritually strong enough to cast all your cares upon Him? Would you start blaming God for taking these things from you and lose faith completely? Or would your faith only become stronger knowing that God refines and builds us through trials.

While I think it is very good to prepare yourself for the future, over the last few years we've been doing that - we relocated to a different part of the country where the cost of living was less, we sold my husband's car so as not to have any car payments, among other things - this all is for nothing, if I think I'm in control of my future. I am not in any way, shape or form, in control of my future.

I can prepare my family until I'm blue in the face - have a perfectly stocked pantry - have no debt - have savings to carry my family through a lifetime - but if I'm not leaning on God, and His promises, none of this will do me any good, no matter how good these things are in and of themselves.

So, instead of watching or reading the news, hearing how terrible our world economy is, let's pray to God, throughout our entire days; let's read His Word daily, seeing all the promises of provision and protection He has for His children (for me and for you if you are a believer) - let's get on our knees with our children casting all our fears upon Him. Read this post from Jewels at Eyes of Wonder, a sister in Christ for more on that.

And after we've done this, let's chose to be a little blissfully ignorant, and take our time to learn other things that will in fact get us through the tough times if or when they hit. Things like cooking from scratch, cutting back on electricity and gas, etc. I think there is nothing wrong with being blissfully ignorant on worldly matters - believe me, it is impossible to not know what's going on with the economy and such - I trust that I will find out the information I need when I need to.

Evaluate what is truly a need. A friend of mine and I did this a few weeks ago when she was over for coffee. Here is a little list that we came up with (and I'm sure some would disagree - that's okay in times of real need I don't think there can be an argument that these are not needs! I think others can also add to the list, and would appreciate if you did!):

Haircuts and colors are not needs. Think of the long romantic hair of the old days - personally I love that, and I know my husband, and it seems other men, like that too :) My friend and I know many large, single-income families where the wife and the girls never get haircuts, and they have simply beautiful hair!

Men shaving is not a need. I wouldn't mind if my husband stopped shaving :) He grew a goatee (sp?) many years ago, and I thought he looked rugged and handsome :) Do you pay attention to how expensive razors are? **By the way, as I was going about my day, it occurred to me that some may take this and go suggest to their husbands that you will no longer be buying razors! NO! I'm not suggesting that in the tiniest of bits! I would never dream of telling a hardworking man, one who more than likely brings in the bacon, or at least his share, and telling him what he should do in this or really any area. We were just making an observation!**

TV and computers are not a need. I hope there is no defense needed there!

Magazines are not a need. I think this reason is what got me hooked on blogs! View some of the beautiful blogs on my side bar - and when you are at their blogs, look at the blogs they have listed. Simple and beautiful.

Two cars are not a need. Have you ever lived for even a few weeks with one car? When we sold my husband's car, and before we bought his little "beater" (it is a good car, one that we thank God for), I would either take my husband to work or he'd take the van. Thankfully I was already used to being home a lot, so it wasn't a shock to my life, but had it been 5 years ago, boy that would have been a great lesson for me! I was most certainly under the impression then that I had to have a car - what if I needed to bring the kids to the doctors? Oh the worry! Well then, if it was that bad, I'm sure my husband would have come home anyway!

Buying name brand food is not a need. I've returned to shopping at Aldi. You just cannot beat the prices there for perfectly fine food. Yesterday I just spent $98 for one week of groceries. Included in the $98 was tissues and some food to give to a local food bank that will be providing Thanksgiving meals for families in need. I will have to purchase a gallon or two of milk, but that still falls well below our weekly budget. There are some items that I struggle with buying store brand - but I have to prepare myself to either go without it, or to buy the store brand (or to take the time to cut coupons, something which I do not have a good handle on whatsoever like so many, very wise women do!)

New clothes are not a need. God has blessed us tremendously with this. An old friend recently asked how on earth I am able to stay home with three, soon to be four, children. I think many assume my husband makes oodles of money. He doesn't. The Lord provides, just enough, and its up to us to be good stewards of that. One huge way that the Lord provides for us, is through hand-me-down clothes. Almost all of my maternity clothes are hand-me-downs. I also am not hesitant nor ashamed to go to Salvation Army if need be. With the extra money I had left from the grocery budget yesterday, I bought all this for $15.00 at the Salvation Army. The Lord is so good!

A vest for my oldest son, a maternity jean skirt (new with tags!), a knitted, 100% wool winter hat for me, and three pairs of pants for my daughter to wear under her dresses this winter. Certainly this isn't the best price of all (free is the best price!), but my point is, even at a discount store like Walmart, I could not have picked up clothing with this quality for $15.00. So, new clothing is not a need.

However, what is a need, is to prepare my spiritual life to be ready to weather the storms that are inevitable, whether or not the economy is bad. As I read God's Word, I am more able to think what God would think of as needs, and pare down my expectations accordingly.

Remember, while all things are possible with God, that is not a promise that it will be comfortable, at least in our sense of comfortable.

When the Lord Calls You to Move

Acts 17:26 (NIV) - From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Two years ago this fall, the Lord led us to move. We moved from my husband's childhood home area (actually, the literal land - we subdivided a parcel from his mother, and built a home, pictured above.)

Nothing, but an impression from the Lord, prompted us to move, really. Yes, there were things that prompted us to pray about it - finances being the main thing. As I've written before, our oldest son has asthma, and because we did not have prescription coverage (meds were to the tune of $200-300/month!), our budget was in the red every month! And it wasn't in the red because we were tithing either. That was simply out of the question. Other than that, we lived by loving family, my husband had a wonderful job, we attended a good church, and we all had dear friends.

Over the years, at different times, my husband would want to move, then I would - but never at the same time. My husband didn't want to up and move us without us being on the same page, and I respect him greatly for that. I too didn't want to push him, during the times I felt I wanted to move. It was something we kept in prayer for several years. There was no real clear YES or NO from the Lord. Then one weekend, the same exact afternoon, the Lord impressed upon both our hearts, quite heavily, that it was time to move.

It didn't make sense, the housing market was already terrible. The real estate signs went up around us, but were not coming down, as nothing was selling. The next week when we met with our realtor, he said, had we put our house on the market just six months before, we could have listed, and most likely received, at least $50,000-75,000 more. Gulp.

Although we had fear at times, and many gave advice to not move then, but to wait (their reasons being that it was foolish because the housing market was so terrible and we would be loosing money), we just took the next step anyway, trusting in the Lord, and we put our house on the market, listing it at the lower price our realtor suggested.

Let me rewind a little - a headhunter had been pursuing my husband, to the point of annoyance :) After a few years, my husband had to finally ask him to leave him alone, and Brian did so at my husband's request. That was about six months before we were readying the house to put on the market. My husband remembered Brian, and called him back, saying he was ready to see what was out there. My husband gave him the area where to look (he gave him a WIDE area about a 5 hour radius really) - and don't you know, there was a job opening in the exact area where we were hoping to be.

In a matter of two weeks, our house sold (full asking price, I might add), and my husband had the job (the salary was an increase from where he left - because the cost of living here is considerably less than where we left, it was as if he received a raise). Our Lord took care of us, and blessed our act of obedience, far more than we were even hoping.

There were bumps along the way. Our initial contract fell through. We had literally just dropped our children off with my sister so we could go home to pack without the children under foot. We had just left our home inspection for this home, and were so excited! Then our realtor called with that awful news. This was a Friday, and my husband was set to start his new job on Monday. We felt sick. He already was committed to his new job, here, three hours away. That weekend was a blur. Honestly I don't even remember if we actually packed. The tears flowing on Sunday evening as my husband left were heavy, and our hearts were broken. We started doubting the choices we made. After praying, and literally begging to God, my husband said goodbye to me and the children, with heavy tears by all of us (the kids too, that was SO hard). Honestly it felt as if we were saying good bye forever.

The housing market was worse than it had been just a month before. There was no way our house would ever sell. EVER.

One-half hour after my husband left, on a Sunday night, after 8 p.m., our realtor called again. He had a new offer. I told him, he better not be joking, because we weren't in that kind of mood. He was serious praise the Lord! Thank God for cell phones, as I was able to call my husband. I'm not certain, but I think it made the drive, and him starting his new job the next morning, much easier, it certainly did for me.

It wasn't easy or perfect from there on out. I had to say goodbye to my husband during the week for a while. I had a 4 year old, 2 year old (who turned 2 when Daddy was away), and a 6 month old. But with the Lord it was possible, and we learned to lean heavy on the Him. I learned an important lesson that has helped me - while with the Lord all things are possible, its not always comfortable - its possible.

It was difficult to leave family and friends. With family though, you know you will see them again, but with friends, you just never know. I had moved before. Where we lived was not my childhood home area. I knew the reality of moving, and that despite your best intentions, you don't always keep in touch. I remember a very dear friend of mine, who is a missionary in Central Asia, told me that I would be surprised at who kept in touch and who didn't. Boy were those words of truth. There are some I was certain I would always keep in touch with, that I haven't heard much, if anything, from. No one is to blame, their life continued as did ours. Yet others, who I didn't even realize I made much of an impression, have kept in contact. What a blessing. And yet again, there are others, that years can go by, and when you meet up again, its like no time has passed at all, and you just pick up where you left off. To me, its those people that are the greatest blessing. No guilt, just pure friendship. Its not even that you e-mail or call much at all, but its just that you are kindred spirits, like family, and you just understand the busy-ness and different seasons of life and love eachother through it all.

And here we are, nearly two years later! We actually made all the contracts in October and November, but didn't actually move until December 22 :) That was interesting, our house was in shambles, boxes everywhere, but we quickly made neat our family room, put up a Christmas tree, and put up some Christmas lights outside. I'm so glad we took the little time to do that :)

The Lord has been good to us, and we sure have learned much since we've moved here. For one, I have learned the absolute importance of having my heart at home. Period. I was so busy where I used to live. I was always going to this and that at church, going here and there visiting friends, and honestly, my family came last. That was a sin I believe. Moving forced me into being home and being busy here, not everywhere else. My family and I have only benefited from that. I wish I learned that lesson long, long ago.

I'm including another picture to show our new roof - see above to see the difference!

It feels so good to have the house buttoned up before winter!

Acts 17:26 (NIV) - From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Going back to this verse, there have been times, where we think we should have taken our time and looked around the whole area. There are certainly cheaper places to live even 10 minutes from here. But in seeking the Lord in this process, He opened the door for this exact home, and we believe that with our whole hearts.

We used to be totally involved and immersed with Christian families. This was a blessing, no doubt, but it also took my focus off of the hurting world around me. As we were visiting churches, our neighborhood and community reached out to us first. They are not Christians. I was able to get to know what average Americans worry about and struggle with without God. I feel sad for the many years where I was overly busy with Christian friends alone, and didn't have any time left over to reach out to the hurting world around me, friends and family alike.

So, we KNOW, WE KNOW, God has us here at this exact place, even if its for the one family next door. I have not had any earth-shattering theological conversations with them, but our prayer is that God would use our life as a witness, and open doors to conversations. God has already answered our prayers in that respect and we look forward to seeing where God leads as the years go by.

Thankfully, in the two years we've lived here, we have found a wonderful church home. There are many differences from where we came. Not that any are better than the other, but the Lord again, watched out for us, and led us to where we need to be. Because we are more surrounded by non-Christians, we need our church family more than ever to help us turn our focus back on God to make it through our days. What a blessing this has been. The preaching and teaching is nothing but straight out of God's Word. Many do not come from a Christian upbringing, so their walk with the Lord is serious and so much appreciated. They do not take their eternal life for granted, as I had for so many years. They do not forget from where they came. Every single week people are asking Christ to be their Savior, with nothing but the gospel being presented to them straight out of the Bible. Not the latest Christian best sellers, no fancy programs, just the simple Gospel and truths from His Word. Again, its right where we need to be, thank you Jesus. We have grown in Christ more than any other time in our life, and its not because we're involved in more Bible studies, or programs at church. In fact, its the opposite. Its been truly and simply sweet with all glory going to God alone.

I don't know where God has you today. It may have nothing to do with moving, but maybe my story here can help you see that sometimes you need to pray for several years about something. Maybe it is to listen and obey the Lord's impression (make real sure it is perfectly in line with Scripture - God will never lead anyone to do anything contrary to His Word). Perhaps it is to follow the Lord's leading to make your heart be at home. Only you can seek the Lord when it comes to you. It takes getting your life very quiet sometimes in order to hear Him. When it came to this move, I had been forced to be at home more than ever in my life. I had recently had my daughter - she is only 17 months younger than her brother. It was then, when I had nothing to do but be at home, that I began really hearing the Lord. That is still how it is. It takes turning off the TV, getting up before my family (I fail at this often!), and just "being still, and knowing that He is God" (I paraphrased Psalm 46:10) when I hear Him the most. Its always worth the sacrifice.

I pray this week we can in fact be still and know that He is God and look for nothing else.

I also pray that we can take joy out of the simplest of things, like my boys did this weekend with the leaves. There is MUCH to be learned from these little friends of mine :) (and boy do they have the greatest Daddy :) Last fall and this, he just keeps one big leaf pile so there is always one to jump in :) What a great man he is :) )

One-Hour-To-Sew Dress Tutorial

Yes, from start to finish (and I mean including taking these photos!), this dress took me 1 hour to make (I started at 12:50, and ended at 1:48). I have so many possibilities swimming in my head! Even baby-doll empire waist type shirts for myself. You see, the hardest part about sewing (for me) is the neck and sleeves. I can do it, but lets just say its at that point, every time, I get frustrated. I like sewing to be fun! And this was certainly fun!

I managed to take photos along the way. Unfortunately the pictures are not the best quality (I should have had my son do it!), but its good enough to get the idea.

First, you need a shirt and fabric. I purchased 1 yard of flannel for a size 3T (I don't know how to advise how much to purchase for a particular size, but take the roll of fabric at the fabric store, and unroll it until you think you have enough, and then purchase a little more ;) )

I made a dress from the shirt and fabric pictured above, but to follow is all the shirts and coordinating fabric that I have left to sew. Be creative - uniqueness is wonderful! I'm finding the most important thing with sewing is to wash, dry and iron the fabric before you cut and sew. Really, its that important! Its made a tremendous difference in the way my projects turn out.

Take the shirt and hold it up to your little girl (or yourself). Wherever the seam will look best, add about an inch (for the seam allowance), and cut across (see below). I like to fold the shirt in half and cut, so that the sides under the sleeve are the same. Once I unfold the shirt, I straighten the front and back if needed.
Take the fabric, and again hold it up to your little girl. Add about 2 inches from where you would like the hem to be - remember, its better to have too much fabric than too little! You can always cut a little more off, but you can't glue it back on!

Then VERY loosely stitch across the top of the fabric (I do it as loose as my machine will let me). Take one of the pieces of thread, and start gathering the fabric. I will warn you that flannel is not as easy as cotton! But it worked out fine, it just took a little more patience :) Gather it as much as will be needed to match the circumference of the shirt. In other words, gather the material, and then match both gathered ends together. With your fingers, pinch where the seam will begin (the seam that will be sewn down the back, to make a skirt out of the fabric), and match it up to the shirt. You may have to let a little gather out, or gather it a little more. Prepare to play with this for a little bit.
Once you have it right, sew on what will be the back seam (pictured below). One fabulous secret with flannel, is you can almost iron it with your hand! I was able to open up the seam as pictured below and just press it open with my fingers, and it stayed open. That was pretty handy and came in handy when I sewed the hem! When I made t-shirt dresses this past summer, I ironed the cotton, before I cut it, but also as I sewed - ironing all seams and the hem. I would not skip that step ever again when sewing with cotton, and possibly other fabrics. But with the flannel, I was able to skip that step.
Take your shirt and put it inside the fabric (pictured below). Have the fabric turned inside out, but keep the shirt regular (not turned inside out!). Match right sides together, and make sure the center of the back of the shirt is matched with the seam (pictured above). The seam will be down the back of the dress when finished.
Sew the shirt and the fabric together. Be patient sewing over the gathering. Its not the easiest part of sewing, but certainly not the hardest if you are just patient. As you will see below, my sewing is not the cleanest nor the straightest, but the job gets done just fine. I like to sew two times around for reinforcement (a toddler is wearing this afterall). I allow enough fabric, so that once the sewing of the shirt to the fabric is done, I can trim around it to make it look a little neater.

Then its time to hem the dress (oops, I didn't take a picture of that!) I do that with the machine as well. I like to double-fold the fabric before sewing. In other words, I fold the fabric up, and then fold it up again, so you don't see the frayed edge. Pinning isn't a bad idea, and I did that when I ironed the cotton, but because the flannel stayed put so well, I didn't pin it this time.

And there you have it! You're done!

Some pictures of the finished dress:

I'd say I have a happy customer!