Happiness is....

....speckle-dy eggs =)




Yes I have been raising chickens for several years. Yes I have been getting fresh eggs for that long......and yet for some reason when I get those occasional speckle-dy eggs, I just can't help but smile. My heart is filled with joy by the smallest and strangest of things.

but nontheless....I still love those speckle-dy eggs. :)

A Wonderful Memory and Georgia Snow!

This Christmas was so very special to me. Everything about it was wonderful. There was one incident that positively blew my mind, made me cry, and reminded me how remarkably blessed I truly am with such a wonderful family.

It was dark. The day had passed with such a joyous fervor that everyone was finally beginning to grow sleepy. Daddy told all of us to head to the living room, sit down, and get comfortable. So we did. He turned on an instrumental Christmas song, turned the overhead lights off, and came to join us in the living room. He was holding a piece of paper. We all were there, sitting, waiting...perhaps slightly confused and certainly curious. There we were, all six of us...sitting in a warm home, together, with the lights from our Christmas tree shedding a little light there on Daddy. And outside, yes, out there were huge, beautiful snowflakes quickly making their way to the ground. It was beautiful. Then Daddy took that paper and began reading. I cannot even begin to tell you what he said. All I can say is that his love letter to his family, each one of us, from the youngest to Mama, had us all in tears. Happy tears. Tears of peace and joy and the realization of such wonderful love. It was incredible.

Yes, Christmas, it is a lovely day; but when you receive a gift like that...a gift that tells you how much you are loved by your father, and how special it is to be in such an amazing family, well, all I can say is that this is something I will always....always... remember...


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but yes, as I said, it did snow! I thought I would share a few photos of the pretty white powdery stuff we got to see the next day. =D







:) :) :) :) :)

"It's that time of year, when all the world falls in love..."

Note: this blog post is for my followers who happen to be un-spoken-for and un-married young women... :)

Yep, it's that time of year......when all the world falls in love! Well, so they say. And I think there is some truth in that. Well, you know...IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME! The time that you most certainly would want someone in your life to share in the magic and joy of the season. Right?

Right.

I have a confession to make.

I am lonely. I am bona fide lonesome.

How many of you other young ladies out there are feeling the same way I am right now?

I'm about to become really transparent here. Okay? Just bear with me.

I don't like it. I am having a hard time with the fact that the Lord has not brought my man into my life yet. I don't like the fact that I am still un-spoken for. I am struggling with the fact that it seems like EVERYONE around me is courting, or becoming engaged, or getting married. I feel like a barren woman around a lot of women who are with child. I don't like it.

I am human, a female human at that, and so I am prone to self-pity. I am prone to doubt, to fear, to insecurity, and to psycho-analysis. :P It's hard. Yes ma'am, it is quite hard. I simply cannot and will not sit here and pretend to be content; pretend like I am a perfectly patient woman and will be all smiles until God brings me and my man together. I refuse. That is not healthy. It is not natural. I have cried myself to sleep I don't know how many times...and that's all right. It's okay. There is a reason we have tear ducts. See, almost every time I have cried, I have been in prayer. When I express myself and my feelings to my Savior, I cry; especially when it concerns things of this nature. He hears me; and He cares. I know He does. After all, He is the one who made me a woman. He is the one who has called me to one day be a wife and mother...He is the one who has put those desires and affections in my heart. It's the way we are programmed!!

and that's when He catches each one of those tears...and He leads me to a passage of Scripture. He has His own ways of putting His hand on my shoulder, of hugging me, of telling me that it's all going to be all right. He whispers "Fret not" into my ear. And then I am covered in peace.

Until the next time something reminds me of just how lonesome I really am, and how badly I want that kind of companionship....and how everyone else around me has it, and then I get to thinking "well then, something must be terribly wrong with me..."
a million miles a minute....thoughts...fears...insecurities...boom, boom, boom...
back at square one...........where did that peace go? Where did that contentment run and hide?

Ha! It's ridiculous!! It really is.

I am sharing all this in hopes that I am not the only one who has these feelings. These swings. These loony ups and downs. I am just stating the fact that I am a very imperfect human who is struggling right now.

Yes you need to keep yourself busy while you wait for your man. Yes, you need to be filled with the joy of the Lord. Yes, you do need to pray and seek and pray and read and pray. Yes, you do need to help your family and be a blessing to those you do have in your life currently.....I am by no means dis-crediting those things! By no means! I am just trying to communicate that it is not easy waiting. It ain't easy a'tall! That it's (hopefully) normal to struggle, to have ups and downs, to be a crazy loon at times. Just keep seeking God and His will and ask for the grace to pull through.

And that's the thing. It WILL happen! It will! One day I will be very happily married to the most amazing man in the world.....I'll be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen...I will have several other young'uns all running about me, and I will be incandescently happy. It will be my dream come true. And I'll say it one more time! it will come true. One day. And that's where the problem lies....we females don't like it when we don't know things...and in this situation the question is WHEN? It's enough to drive us mad. Right? Of course. That's one of the reasons we cry ourselves to sleep. Yep. Oh dear....

but like I said, it will happen one day and that is EXCITING! Very much so! :)
The waiting will be all worth it.

So, in the meantime....l

--love those you have the ability to love! Your parents, your siblings, your godly companions

--find ways to bless others

--explore and persue your personal interests--it's okay! I promise! I like chickens and gardening, SO, I am going to have fun this Spring with chickens and gardening!! =D

--smile, and find joy in the little things we take for granted every day...get drunk on sunshine....catch sight of a bluebird...get lost in the eyes of your youngest sibling...take note of every time your mother blesses you...and sigh often...sigh contentedly with the overwhelming-ness of the love you already have in your life

--pray
yes, pray, and pray hard. Pray for God to bolster your heart with hope...to give you the grace to get through the ups and downs, to lead you by the hand...to speak to you...to cover you with peace.

and pray for your man. No, you still don't know who or where he is. Neither do I. But we can pray nontheless. Pray for the Lord your God to keep him...to pour out His love on him, to abundantly shower him with His blessings...and one day, in His perfect timing....well, you'll know that you know that you know. :)

So ladies, be strong and of good courage. But don't be afraid to cry. Breakdowns are expected and Mama's hugs are remedial. Read the Word of our Lord. Ask Him to hear you; He does. And one day......one day.....we will all be happily married and expecting our sixth child and we will smile...and think to ourselves...."oh Lord, why did we ever doubt you?" :)

Psalm 37:5
"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass."


oh, and go read Psalm 139 while you're at it. :)