LOST and FOUND!

Late last night, I discovered something that shocked me.
My blog had been removed, lost.
Imagined shocked silence as I stare at the message, "This blog has been removed."

Deep intake of breath, then panic no, not panic!  I actually did not freak out with worry.  I didn't even drag my computer savy husband out of bed to deal with it.  I prayed, I accepted that the nearly five years of memories, devotions, recipes, encouragements, reviews, and friendly comments were just gone.  Mind you, I was not happy about it, I felt a sense of loss, but I didn't get all upset.  I was calm.

First, I thank God that He gave me peace in this situation.
Second, I thank God that He helped me to pray, "Thy will be done", and mean it.
Third, I thank God that it was a Blogger glitch of some sort. They called me with a code, I put the code in, hit continue, and my  blog was found!

This tested me.  I passed the test and did well.  Thank you for changing me, Lord.

Guess what I'm going to learn to do this week?

Yep, I'm going to learn to back up my blog!

If you read this, I do wish you'd leave me a comment.

Laura
Relieved and Blessed


I wrote that early Saturday morning.  As I hit publish, the blog disappeared again!  I got to practice what I preached to myself.  My husband worked and worked and worked on it.  Nothing worked.  I prayed.  I asked God to restore it.  I also asked God to help me to accept it and go on even though it was going to cause some trouble with reviews.  In spite of prayer, I felt a deep sense of loss, almost a mourning.  What I didn't do is give into anxiety.  I actually gave it all to Jesus.  Thank you God.  So, I did pass the test, even if I didn't get an A+. ~smile~

Thank God He doesn't require us to make an A+.  He only requires us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him to be saved.  Saved from Hell, yes, but saved from our own sinful nature as well.  Be sure you know Him so that you, too can weather the disappointments and trials of life.

God bless you!

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
So very happy to still be here with you

Shared with:
Faithful Fridays with Joy
Women Living Well

I've Been Sew Busy.

That's it.  That's what's keeping me busy.  This is the Women's Panel Dress from Common Sense Patterns. So far, I've made two dresses with this pattern and am working on a third.  I think it has a flattering fit.  I have to admit, there a few places where I have to fudge it a bit because the pattern pieces don't seem to fit together quite right where the front sides attach at the arms.  It does work out fine though.  Sometime soon, I'll post some photos.

Well, it's back to my sewing machine!

By the way, if this sounds like a review, it's not.  I'm just sewing away.  A friend (Hi Laura!)  gave me this pattern for my birthday and some fabric, too.  I'm just stitching through my stash!

Laura
Happy at Home

~~~~~

May I suggest?

Something to Think About... Minutes and Hours

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"Were You Affected by The Tornado?

So many people have asked me, "Were you affected by the tornado?"  I always hesitate before I answer.  Was my family directly in the tornado?  No.  Did we lose friends, property, or a job?  No.  Did it change our lives dramatically?  Yes.  The Joplin Tornado changed all our lives.

Our focus for the last 15 months has been on helping the Joplin community recover.  We've done so through Joplin Family Worship Center.  Our "help" has taken many forms.  We've housed volunteers at our place, cooked for hundreds at a time, cleaned, unloaded trucks, pulled massive pallets of supplies into our church sanctuary on pallet jacks, organized supplies for distribution, prayed with victims, given out furniture, supplies, clothing, food, and other things in our church's distribution center, and basically helped whenever we were needed. 

My husband is the Director of Operations and Community Liasson for JFWC Resource Center.  That means he's basically the go between church and community.  He attends lots of meetings, runs our distribution center with as many as 30 employees, coordinates building projects, coordinates volunteers, up to 500 at times during the summers, coordinated giveaways of CROCS shoes, wooden toys at Christmas, thousands of wrapped Christmas gifts for needy families, an Easter outreach with Kenneth Copeland Ministries.... You get the idea.  Our family has been affected.  More importantly, our family is helping to effect change for the better in our community.

God, our creator, is amazing.  Jesus is amazing.  The Holy Spirit is amazing.  They have done amazing things in the Body of Christ throughout the Joplin area and throughout the country.

Even FEMA has noticed a difference in how Joplin is recovering in comparison to some other major disaster cities.  They recognize that it is the Faith Community.  We know who that is.  ~smile~

Amazing things have been done. Amazing things are yet to be done.  I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord how you can be part of the amazing.

I'm ask you to pray earnestly for the people of Joplin.  A social worker told our pastor that post traumatic stress has lead to an increase in divorces, child abuse, and suicides in our community.  We need to pray for mental as well as physical recovery for our community.  People need the Lord.  Nothing and Nobody else can bring forth full recovery.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your support.

Laura Lane
Trusting in the Lord

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May I suggest?

Meet Jesus

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Green Beans in the Garden....

I love everything about this West Ladies video—the music, the location, the momma and daughters harmonizing, the beautiful clothes, the family values during hard times. 

Enjoy some green beans in the garden with me!

We do have so much to be thankful for!

Laura

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May I suggest?

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly 

& 

Salsa

~~~~~ 

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week…
Busy with church, cutting out a new dress, and putting up the harvest.  I made salsa and jalapeno jam.

In our homeschool this week…
We're easing into school.  Math, Bible, Reading, and for  Emily, Time 4 Writing's High School Essay Writing.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share...

Not started yet?  Don't worry.  Nothing can make the beginning of your school year frantic as quickly as worrying about the start date.  Nearly every year, we ease into school with math, Bible, and reading.  Other subjects are added over the next week or two as they arrive (if ordered late) or as we're ready.  The transition is not as shocking to our systems that way.  ~smile~

My favorite thing this week was…
Receiving my new sewing machine.

What’s working for us…

100's.

I call out to my children, "I'm calling a hundred!"  Then all four of us scurry around the house calling out the numbers as we put things away.  Book returned to the shelf, "ONE!" Glass put in sink, "TWO!"  Dishes put away, "THREE, FOUR, FIVE!"  We tidy our way to 100.  The house always looks so much nicer afterward.  If things are really looking shabby, I call 200.  Gasp!  I know, your house never looks that bad.  ~smile~

Things I’m working on…

I'm trying to finish up my selections for curriculum for the fall semester.  I'm just about done.  I may have to buy a few things. 

I’m reading…
Ten Girls of American History is our current read aloud.
I'm getting ready to read A Sound Among the Trees.

I’m grateful for...
cooler temperatures, if you can call ninety cooler, and air conditioning.

I’m praying for…

RAIN!

A photo to share…

Join other homeschool moms at The Homeschool Mother's Journal.

~~~~~

May I suggest?

Advice to a Young Mother

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I'm Rich!

I’m Rich!

I’ve got a great big three ring binder full of recipes. I’ve got a great big tall stack of cookbooks. I’ve got a shelf of cookbooks. I’ve got two full recipe boxes and another box started. I’ve got loose recipes in a drawer waiting to be filed in a box or binder. I’ve got recipe pamphlets in the same drawer. I’ve got recipes on my blog. Did I mention that I’ve got recipes?

As I look about me, I realize a couple of things. First, even though I’m surrounded by recipes, I tend to prepare the same meals over and over. Second, I’ve got more recipes surrounding me than I could prepare in a lifetime.  Let's not even talk about Pinterest!

I was looking through my big binder for a recipe to share with you all. I found that most of the recipes in my binder are ones that I’ve collected off the internet or from friends. Most of the recipes are untried. Now, if I’ve had this binder for two or three years, and I haven’t tried most of the recipes yet, why am I keeping them?

Does it make one a good cook to have lots of recipes? Does it make one a good homemaker to have lots of cleaners, recipes for cleaners or books about cleaning? Does it make one a good mother to have lots of books about child rearing? Does it make one a good Christian to have lots of Bibles and Christian books?

I think not. I think that there are many areas in our lives wherein we do not see the clutter. The truth is, I can go through my recipes and just keep my favorites and a few that I’m sure I want to try. I can go through my cookbooks and save my favorites and just write off the ones I like from the books I want to discard. The same holds true for other things in my life as well.

What about you? Are there things in your life that you are holding onto just in case? Are they things you really need? Really want? Are there things that are just clutter?

Now, I really cannot write all of this without sharing a nice salsa that you can make during the winter that is just delicious.

Kitchen Cupboard Salsa

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 medium diced onion (I prefer sweet.)
1 small can of chopped green chiles
1 T sugar
1 T dried parsley
½ t freshly ground pepper
½ t salt
½ t ground cumin
½ t garlic powder
Stir all this together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Laura
Recipe Rich
Happy at Home

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May I suggest?

Old Fashioned Oatmeal to Pecan Steelers

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*This was originally shared on Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage.

Shared:
Mix It Up Monday - Backyard Farming Connection - Wise Woman - Fridays Unfolded - Sweet & Simple Fridays - I'm Lovin' It Party

I Have a Lot of Sewing to Do...

I mean a lot of sewing...
I know because my decisive, loves to spoil me, husband just ordered this for me!

It replaces my old machine which served me over 15 years.
I could have put the decision off for ages.
Thanks so much honey!
I promise to sew and mend!

(Imagine sounds of excitement!)