He Is Faithful...



"Picket Fence" by, Jean Smith
I made this little picket fence using twine and small branches.  This was part of my front garden at one of our other homes.



Here is a poem that a dear friend gave to us...

When you are the neediest, He is the most sufficient.
When you are completely helpless, He is the most helpful.
When you feel totally dependent, He is absolutely dependable.
When you are the weakest, He is the most able.
Ween you are the most alone, He is intimately present.
When you feel the most useless, He is preparing you.
When it is the darkest, He is the only Light you need.
When you feel the least secure, He is your rock and fortress.
When you are the most humble, He is most gracious.
When you can't, He can.

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13 KJV

Until next time,
Jean

His Timing Is Never Wrong...

This is a poem that I just read off the cardboard insert from a calender that my daughter bought....

When the time was right,
the sea parted,
the walls fell down,
the lions went hungry,
the sun stood still,
the star appeared,
the waves were calmed,
the stone was rolled away,
the Lord ascended...

God is never early and He's never late-
He's always right on time and His plans for you are good.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Quoted from DaySpring.

Until next time,
Jean

The Beauty Of A Sunrise

Photograph by Daniel Miller, used with permission, Copyright 2006
"Sunrise at Oscoda, Michigan on the AuSable River"

Have you ever just sat totally still and quiet and watched a sunrise come up over the calm of the water...
It's almost reverant... it feels like a holy moment... God shining His light upon the day...
Gracing us with another moment in time that only He can give...
... the sounds of the morning birds calling out to any that will listen...
good morning they call


Life is so short and we don't know what the day will hold for any of us.
I heard a furneral sermon once where the minister pondered the question of..
"would I be ready when the head lights shine in front of my face?..."

will we?

Until next time,
Jean

Love Song...

Love Song...

How tedious and tasteless the hours,
When Jesus no longer I see!
Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers,
Have all lost their sweetness to me;
The midsummer sun shines but dim,
The fields strive in vain to look gay;
But when I am happy in Him,
December's as pleasant as May.

His name yields the richest perfume,
And sweeter than music His voice;
His presence disperses my gloom,
And makes all within me rejoice;
I should, were He always thus nigh,
Have nothing to wish or to fear,
No mortal so happy as I,
My summer would last all the year.

Content with beholding His face,
My all to His pleasure resigned;
No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind;
While blest with a sense of His love,
A palace a toy would appear;
And prisons would palaces prove,
If Jesus would dwell with me there.

Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine,
If Thou are my Sun and my Song,
Say, why do I languish and pine?
And why are my winters so long?
O drive these dark clouds from my sky;
The soul-cheering presence, restore;
Or take me to Thee up on high,
Where winter and clouds are no more.

Author Unknown

Until next time,
Jean

"When We Are Weak" A Poem

Here is a poem that a dear friend gave to us...

When you are the neediest, He is the most sufficient.
When you are completely helpless, He is the most helpful.
When you feel totally dependent, He is absolutely dependable.
When you are the weakest, He is the most able.
Ween you are the most alone, He is intimately present.
When you feel the most useless, He is preparing you.
When it is the darkest, He is the only Light you need.
When you feel the least secure, He is your rock and fortress.
When you are the most humble, He is most gracious.
When you can't, He can.

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13 KJV

Until next time,
Jean

A Hard Day's Work

I love working with my children.  The boys are hard workers, tilling, hoeing, weeding, planting, hauling wheel barrows of straw from the barn for me to mulch the beds.  I love my children, they bring a joy to my heart that only a mother can know...

Today we planted another row of asparagus and a new patch of raspberries... how exciting to me. We mulched the grapes and one of the asparagus rows... Ryan and Evan picked up weeds to dump and Ethan tilled away... it was a good day! 

Taylor is with the youth today in Chicago at The Museum of Science and Industry.  They were going to go into the coal mines... she was nervous... I don't blame her, you couldn't pay me to go into that thing... claustrophobia... no way!  I told her to use me as an excuse and say that I told her she wasn't allowed to go in... she is eighteen now, but I told her that she can always use me for an excuse whenever she doesn't want to do something.  I don't care if any of her friends like me or not... it is her that I care about.  Now don't take this wrong, I am not worried about her friends trying to get her to do bad things... I just want her to know that my only concern is for her well being because I love her so much...

Isn't that what we as parents need to be for our children... their advocates right?  After all no one will ever love your child as much as you do... they will never know the depth of that love unless they have a child of their own.

But wait, there is One...  Have you ever thought about the depth of that love... I often think about God's love for me and the depth of His love... giving His only son to die such a horrible death as the cross... for me... what love, what unsearchable love the Father has bestowed upon me...  and you.

Until next time,
Jean

The Daisy

I love to be in the gardens... walking through and viewing all the beauty that abounds... listening to the birds chatter and watch them chase one another...

I just saw the first bumble bee in the front garden the other day... I was figuring out where I was going to plant the new patch of raspberries... I just put in another row of rhubarb, yummy rhubarb crisps that are much loved by this family, especially the male population.

The grapes are finally growing to where I can begin pruning and training them... kind of like children you know... we need to train them in the direction we would want them to go when they are young and tender... moldable and teachable... willing to listen and soft in spirit...

Children are the laughter of the home... the joy of our old age I have been told... I like that...

Children reflect us... what kind of parents we have been... the love that they have been shown... the respect they have witnessed... the tenderness, the forgiveness, the nurturing...

the life they choose to live will be a reflection of what they have lived...

I love my children, but they are only given to me for a short while...

A gift from Him above... to train for His honor & glory...

Something that we can give back to Him

Until next time,

Jean 

A Poem...

Continue On

A woman once fretted over the usefulness of her life.

She feared she was wasting her potential

being a devoted wife and mother.  She wondered if

the time and energy she invested in her

husband and children would make a difference.

At times she got discouraged because so much

of what she did seemed to go unnoticed and unappreciated.

"Is it worth it?" she often wondered.  "Is there

Something better that I could be doing with my time?"

It was during these moments of questioning that she heard

The still, small voice of her heavenly Father speak to her heart;

"You are a wife and mother because that is what I have

called you to be.  Much of what you do is hidden from

the public eye.  But I notice.  Most of what you give is done without remuneration.  But I am your reward. Your husband

cannot be the man I have called him to be without your support.

Your influence upon him is greater than you think and more

powerful than you will ever know.  I bless him through your

service an honor him through your love.  Your children

are precious to Me- even more precious than they are

to you.  I have entrusted them to your care to raise for Me.

What you invest in them is an offering to Me.

"You may never be in the public spot light.

But your obedience shines as a bright light before Me.

Continue on.

Remember, you are My servant.  Do all to please Me."

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ."

COLOSSI ANS 3: 23-24 KJV

Author Unknown

"Peonies at Cotswold Cottage" by Jean Smith

Spring is filled with so much beauty... We often spend much time at Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford Museum.  The photo opportunities are breathtaking there.
Today is market day...

My Front Porch

This is one of my retreats as mentioned in the earlier blog entry.  This was taken in late spring last year.

I love my porch and the relaxing moments our family has shared on it. We have spent many evening watching the lightening shine through the dark night sky... listening to the rolling thunder boom overhead and feeling it shake the ground... listening to the rain fall on our steel roof and feeling a mist upon our faces... my porch is a haven of rest for me.

Cold day...

The air is crisp, cool and breezy... the breeze may feel nice to some, but not to me... I'd rather feel a warm, gentle wind blow my hair gently across my cheek as I am caressing the soil, planting something with the anticipation of certain growth, then bloom and harvest.  I am an August baby and a gardener, I love the heat... feeling the warmth of the sun shining down on my body gives me quick rejuvenation, even with my forty-some year old body, achy back and hip, the sun makes me move tirelessly.

My front porch and patio are where I go for personal retreat (there and a hot shower that is)... lounging on the hammock with little Evan on lazy Sunday afternoons... no need for guilt on the Lords day... just cuddling, looking up at the fluffy clouds, telling stories, listening to the robins song and the 'caw-caw' of the crows on top of the tall pines in the woods across the road... the mooing cows and chatter of my guineas... oh the sounds of these glorious warm days...

I am hiding in the house today... my confession... well, I do have things to do for market tomorrow, so it is probably a good thing otherwise I would find a reason to be outside. So I guess I shall go...
Until next time,
Jean

Frost & Sunshine and Kissing Boo boos...

The grass all around this morning is covered in a white frost and is glistening... It appears lovely but is a silent killer to the tender plant... The rhubarb, one of the heartier plants is white... once the sun touches it the tips will probably be blackened and burnt looking... what an oxymoron eh... the cold burning...

Aaron just woke up and is scampering over to me.... oops wipe out... another boo boo, yes mom will kiss it all better.  He is only twenty months old and he is so sweet and innocent... he cups my face in his wee little patties, looks me deep in the eyes, oh so lovingly and kisses me back...  The innocence of a small child is not to be reckoned with.  I think that is why Jesus said to have such a deep faith, one must think as a child... innocently, not thinking people are out to get them, the world is still a beautiful and trustworthy place.  These small children look to us for total care... they are born into this world unable to care for themselves, completely dependant upon their parents for food, warmth, shelter and love... There is a tenderness that a mother has toward her child... holding them, nursing them, nurturing them with an unfailing love.  Mother is a word that should always be said with a sweet kind of remembrance... Oh how I long to be that kind of mother.  Yes we fail and fall short, but as we go to our children and repent of wrongs, forgiveness is typically there ready and willing... "I'm sorry, please forgive me..." just a few small words...

"Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails..." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Until next time,
Jean

Raised Beds and Boys

Friday when the boys got home from school we got busy with finishing our farms new 'Sasuage Raised Bed Garden'.  My boys are handy young men that I love to spend time working with...  Our daughter enjoys the inside stuff, but will meander out for nice walks down the wooded path into the neighboring woods, or take her little brother down to the bridge over the river... sit and dangle thier feet as they watch for birds and deer to go down for a drink.  My sons are my joy and my daughter is my hearts love... I am so very blessed.

The wind has been howling all day... the sky is filled with storm clouds in one direction and big white fluffy ones up aginst the beautiful blue sky in the other.  "Look at the hole in those clouds Evan... look how you can see the blue sky through and behind the white clouds?"  He is our four year old... he is so sweet and innocent and filled with wonder... "yes..." he said so dreamily... I told him that no matter how grey the sky looks filled with storm clouds and even when it is snowing or raining, the sky is always blue behind it all.  He just looked up with his beautiful, big, blue eyes... gazing up and wondering how this could be...

Life is filled with grey cloud days... but no matter what, the sky is always blue... we have to be able to look beyond the grey and remember the beautiful blue... I can only do this when I am looking far past the blue... up into the Heavens, where my Jesus is...  He is always there, looking down on me, on my grey cloud days, loving me through it all...

Until next time,
Jean 

My Guineas and Jesus

"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, and robes the mountain in it's azure hue." 

Thomas Campbell

My guineas were having a meeting this morning over by the pergola... the one male seemed as though he were trying to convince the two females of something.  I love my Guinea's, my children & husband don't think much of them... I.P.M. (Insect Pest Management) isn't on their minds as much as mine I guess.  They are bug hunters to the extreme and they never touch the fruit- they are good birds and one of a gardeners best friends.

There was a frost on the ground this morning and the air was cool... the sun came up in all it's majesty this morning reaching higher and higher to shine brightly on me... I love the sun and the way it makes me feel... warm, comfortable and alive, rejuvenated and ready to do the tasks on hand for the day... it is so warm... the warmth is deep and healing... touching to depth of the soul and reaching in creating strength where I feel weak...  

the burdens of life are so heavy some days and as I look up into the blue sky, through the expanse of clouds and beyond into Heaven... God is there watching over me, caring for me and healing my heart... as I let Him... healing must take place before one can move forward... I am learning this as I grow older and experience life more fully... as I turn to Jesus and He heals my hurts, He cares and speaks softly to my soul... "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee..." He whispers.  I know it's true...

"In quietness and confidence shall be your strength..." Isaiah

Until next time,
Jean

Today and every day...

Life on the farm holds it's challenges... but the joys that come with this life are far beyond words. We hold part of nature around us... we can hear the breeze as it lights softly through the trees lifting and teasing the leaves... the whizzing of the humming birds wings as he chases his female in and around the front porch.  Life is so good and is filled with such an incredible amount of fullness.

As each day draws longer, the sun seems warmer on my cheek, the air has that smell that only can be had in the earliest of spring... when the spring peepers in the pond start their song each evening... the bats swoop over head to gobble up all those pesky mosquitos... pulling over wintered onions, oh that earthy goodness!

I love my life on the farm...  I love the sky at night when all you can see is the apparently never ending stream of stars... then suddenly there is a falling star... quick make a wish...knowing and never doubting that God is in Heaven and that everything is all right...

I love watching my children climb trees, roll in the grass, chase butterflies, dig in the dirt, play sword fighting with branches, hear the crack of the ball when it hits the bat.  I love that my children can hear all the sounds without the distraction of traffic, television, radio and the like.  I love that they play and make believe... that they make snow forts and snow men... that they know the good morning song of the robin and the dee-dee of the little chickadee and the caw of the blue jay.... I love that my children can be children...

on the farm,
Jean