Harvest Lane Cottage

One of the wonderful things about being a mother is watching as my children become young adults. Yes. I miss my little kids, but I marvel as I watch who they are becoming. My son, 17, plans to become a police officer. Not only is it one of the most dangerous jobs in America now, it's one of the lowest paid professions. He plans to get a college education prior to entering the police academy.  This mama will have reason to pray to Jesus. ~smile~ Strangely, God has put a peace in my heart about it. It's simply who my son is. As a two year old, he was in physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The doctor told me that he was borderline cerebral palsy, but he wasn't going to write that diagnosis on the records.  In prayer, God told me that by the time he was six years old, no one would know. I held onto that word in faith. God was true to His word. Now, my son's 6'4, strong as an ox, is a natural protector, and he loves Jesus. He's a miracle. I must d...

It's a chilly day in Southwest Missouri.  I'll be cuddling up with a good book in a little while.  I'll have to put on a kettle for tea first. Constant Comment by Bigelow is my favorite. I'll be reading Grow in Grace by Susan M.B. Preston. It's the second book in The Apostle John Series. Right now, Hold the Faith , the first in the series is free for Kindle. Read my review. Do you need a good book for your winter day? See Bethany House's Free or Reduced E-Books. Happy Winter! Laura Happy at Home ~~~~~ You might enjoy... Keeping the Shivers at Bay... Keeping Warm

Peace It can mean different things at different times for each of us. One thing is constant. Finding Peace in Troubled Times Jesus is the source of true peace. I pray for you that you will find  Philippians 4:6-7 peace. "Be anxious for nothing,   but in everything by prayer and supplication,   with thanksgiving,   let your requests be made known to God;   and the peace of God,   which passeth all understanding,   shall keep your hearts   and minds through Christ Jesus." That, my dear readers, is peace.   Father God, I thank you that you care about everything that we care about. I thank you that you can see beyond our fears, our anxieties, our fretting to our future. I thank you that you have our lives and our world in your hands. I ask you, Father, to help us to be anxious for nothing, to trust you and pray, and to leave matters in your hands that we might have your peace Jesus....

Hello Ladies! So good of you to drop in today.   I've been thinking of things I would like to get done over the next week or so.  You know how it is. Always something to do. So, here are some things I hope to do this week. I think I'll come back here and change the items to italics as I do them just to give myself a little encouragement along the way. Planning: menu     assignments for kids blog posts birthday dinner for my son projects Cooking:    Birthday dinner & dessert Start my Kombucha tea  Make a sourdough starter Try a new dessert Reading:   YouVersion's  Canonical Reading Plan. I'll finish Exodus and start Leviticus. I'm way ahead of the reading plan.  Most days it calls for 3 or 4 chapters. I'm accustomed to reading or listening to several chapters at a time. Sometimes I use Bible Gateway and listen until I need to do something else. ~smile~ I'm also reading 31 Verses t...

  Hello! So glad you dropped in for a visit. Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways I save money, and my blessings from Jesus.  I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight! ♥♥♥ Hello! May God give you peace and tranquility in your heart whether your candidate won or lost. Please pray for our new president and our leaders on all levels. May God bless America, and may we turn to Him with our whole hearts. I am hoping to enjoy filling my bucket this weekend!    ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~~ Here's my thrifty week: My Emily was able to find the notebooks and folders she needed for her classes this week in my school supplies stash that was bought on sale or given to us months ago. I found a ball of red yarn in a container of cast-offs  treasures that a lady at church gave me a few months ago. I used it to make my new red dishcloths for February. I just did a simple garter stitch casting on 18 stitches. The ...

6 Things to Love About Blogging Harvest Lane Cottage What do you love most about blogging? I love the creative freedom to write without the approval of a few elite publishers.  Making new friends surely would top the list as well.  The ability to reach readers around the world still bloggles  boggles my mind.  I can encourage others through sharing my own trials, struggles, blessings, and thrifty ideas. I can share the hope that I find in JESUS even when life seems too hard. Writing my  thrifty week   posts   and     bucket lists really help me keep doing . Truthfully, there are so many things I love about it, it's hard to choose! Sharing my faith and encouragement with others is my passion. ஐღLauraღஐ  ...doing what I can  with what I've got where I am  on a short shoestring budget! ~~~~~ You might also enjoy... God's Perfect Timing Sometimes Life Isn't Very Happy Saving Money With Jars...

  Hello! So glad you dropped in for a visit. Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways I save money, and my blessings from Jesus.  I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight! ♥♥♥ Hello! May God give you peace and tranquility in your heart whether your candidate won or lost. Please pray for our new president and our leaders on all levels. May God bless America, and may we turn to Him with our whole hearts.    ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~~ Here's my thrifty week: ~ I made homemade vanilla. A friend gave me a pretty glass bottle with a cork and vanilla beans for Christmas. Thanks Georgia! My son bought some Vodka for me a couple years ago to make vanilla with, but I never did it. It was so easy. I slit open the beans, cut them into short pieces so that they would be covered, and poured in the Vodka. I gave them a swirl and put them in my cupboard. I'll swirl the bottle every day or two for the next few months. I found recipes...

The blogging world is all abuzz about decluttering, cleaning, getting organized, housekeeping, and homemaking. Why all of the sudden? It's January, of course. We've just spent the month of December doing too much, eating too much, and accumulating too much. It's a wonder no one's called it Toomuchmas. ~grin~ January comes in with a new year, a new hope that this year can be different. It can. It will. Every year is different. The question is whether we will actually be different. After a January of purging, will we be different? There is no end to awesome articles about the hows and whys of decluttering. Here's one I read last year that really inspired me. It's from Judith at Wholehearted Home. What I'm realizing, though, when I try to declutter, is that some decisions are really hard to make, so I put them off. I just stuff the stuff right back where I found it. Why? I believe it's because it's not just stuff, it's memories, dreams,...

 "And the LORD, He is it that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:  fear not, neither be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8 That promise is just as near as accepting Jesus Christ as your savior. That promise is just as near as surrendering your life to Christ.   He gets to be the leader, the boss, the Lord.  You get to be saved from Hell, saved from your sins, saved from yourself, and loved beyond anything you can imagine.  So, what do you do? Accept Jesus as the Son of God, you must also truly believe that He is who He said He is and can do what He said He would do.  I invite you to read the book of John in the Holy Bible.  You can get to know who Jesus is and what that means to you. Laura Blessed to be Known and Loved by my Jesus You might also enjoy... God's Perfect Timing Sometimes Life Isn't Very Happy Saving Money With Jars... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

MY WINTER BUCKET LIST 2017 Write my Winter bucket list Put up the Winter tree with snowmen Sort through my Christmas decor for discards Put out all my snowmen Decorate the house for January  Smile and spread good cheer Curl up with a terrific book Make new Snowman decorations Drink hot tea Enjoy candle light Make chili Make candy cane cocoa Double feature movie night Try a new soup Spray paint an old metal cart Set up a hot tea and cocoa cart Invite friends for soup  Celebrate my son's 26th birthday Make new Valentines dishcloths for February Make new Valentine's decorations Decorate Winter tree for Valentine's Day Invite friends for dessert Use my teapot—white sprinkled with cherries  Help Emily , Michael, and Amy practice hospitality Make some Trim Healthy Mama treats Gaze into the fire in the woodstove Bake cookies Finish my Emily's quilt  Read by candle light  Make snow ice cream  ~ No snow. Cue music. S...

Dear Ladies, I wrote this, along with a prayer, to a lady who contacted me for prayer last week. I was impressed that my response was not just to her, but to me, and to many of you, too. Here is my open letter to a lady struggling with housekeeping and homemaking. ~~~~~ When I married, I was the most horrible housekeeper you can imagine—well, maybe not that bad, but the house was usually messy. I've progressed over the last thirty years, but I'm still not nearly as consistent at keeping things tidy as I need to be. I've still got piles that drive me and my husband crazy. Part of that is three kids still at home. We homeschool, so we are here most of the time. If I'm honest though, those are excuses.  I'm feeling impressed that there are a couple of keys to improving my homemaking. First, I've got to get rid of a lot of clutter —we live in a small house with 5 people 15 and up. We don't use everything we own. Second, I've got to develop rou...