I think Spurgeon nailed it when he said,

"One reason the church has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the Christian."

I know without a doubt that this is true of me!

I posted this a year and a half ago somewhere else, and came across it again recently. Sad thing is . . . it's still just as true of me!

Here is Romans 12:2 in the classic KJV: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

It's not all fun and games

hoof picking - and notice that nasty pile at the business end of things - horses do that - a lot.
brushing caked mud off bellies . . .
aww, but isn't Gumdrop sweet?
. . . and Harmony the horse is a cutie too, not that you'd know it by this picture!

Meanwhile, here's middle daughter- I took her picture the other day while she was washing the window screens for the season. You can just see some of the fall color in the background. It is really beautiful in our neck of the woods these days.

Will work for riding time

We are so fortunate to have this option available at the Christian-owned stables near us. Youngest participates in the work-to-ride option. She helps with the early morning watering, feeding, turnout, and mucking stalls - about 4-5 hours of work, one morning per week. She'd like to do more, but that's my limit - I have to drive her there! Anyway, it's good, hard, honest work, but she loves it.

"It's NOTHING like doing chores at home, Mom." Well I should hope not. The housekeeping standards are not up to snuff right now, but we aren't quite at barn stage yet.

Seeking Serenity

Life has been especially hectic recently. Today I had 3 different appointments, with lots of driving in between. Fortunately I carry a huge purse - a real bag of tricks with all kinds of things to keep me busy and happy - like magazines and notebooks and snacks.

For the past few days I've been carrying around the most recent issue of TEACH Magazine. To Encourage And Challenge Homemakers is what TEACH stands for. Anyway . . . today after sweeping some aisles of the horse barn while waiting for the girls' riding lesson to be done, I found a quiet corner and pulled out my TEACH magazine.

I laughed out loud when I read on the cover "This Issue's Theme - Seeking Serenity". The fact is that most mornings I've been seeking socks since it's suddenly gotten cold, and the laundry is kinda behind. Serenity would NOT describe our current lifestyle. At least that was my first thought.

But, I was pleasantly surprised to read Lorrie Flem's explanation that "serenity is not . . . a destination . . . serenity is a character quality. How about that?

There was lots of good reading in this issue, including a piece that listed over 40 specific ways to foster serenity. Here are a couple of examples that appealed to me. "Be kind to unkind people. They probably need it the most." and "Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe."

An article by Cindae Hull about a day at their house was reassuring to me. NOBODY gets it all done every day. Whew. That's a relief. If YOU do, I don't want to hear about it!

I loved the description of "Oven Roasted Rosemary Potatoes". Yum! I'll be trying that recipe. And my tired feet and arms (remember the sweeping the horse barn part) were loving Lori's "Stress Busters from your Kitchen" piece, with recipes and tips for a homemade, healthy spa experience. I'll definitely be using some of these ideas.

My 1/2 hour with TEACH this afternoon was such a pleasant pocket of refreshment in a way-too-hectic week. I look forward to reading the rest of the magazine, and putting some of the great ideas into practice!

A little black spray paint. . .

can be your friend. I had a pair of these very old, very ugly, tarnished brass lamps that I got for free, and I was truly sick of looking at them. My friend, Jan, convinced me I could spray them with flat black paint for a whole different look. So I did . . . and added the oversize rick rack trim to the dated shades using plain old white glue. Quite the transformation for these former ugly ducklings. I LIKE them now.

So when you're looking to "fluff the nest" for fall - take a good look at what you already have! It's amazing what a couple of cans of black (or red, or green, or brown, or whatever you please) spray paint can do.

Quirky News

I've started buying a Sunday paper - purely for the coupon inserts. Coupons are my new passion, and while I get some good natured ribbing from my family about it, they are seeing first hand how much money I'm saving. They aren't totally thrilled to hear things like "No, you can't have xyz super miraculous scented anti perspirant this time - I have a coupon for abc fresh lilac scent, AND it's on sale this week at Giant Eagle, and since they double coupons, that means I can get it for 79 cents." At which point I'm talking to myself because the young lady in question has already wandered off. But I digress. Back to the newspaper.

I only glanced briefly through a couple of sections this week, but this headline caught my eye. "Amish leading the way on embracing solar energy". Now, how cool is that? (article written by Fabian Loehe of the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Apparently "small black and purple panels have sprung up on barns and houses. . . " Now, you see I think that's really neat. An Amish expert quoted in the article says:
" . . . using the sun to charge . . . batteries is acceptable, at least for some purposes. . . It's like tapping into God's grid instead."

What's especially intriguing to me is the relatively low cost to get into this - the Amish generally buy small systems, costing between $3,000 and $4,000. The local Amish community decides what the power can be used to run based on two criteria - how it will affect their community, and their separation from the world. So, they will use solar power for refrigerators, washing machines, water pumps, and the like, but not for ipods, TVs or laptops. Nuts. Just when I thought I could almost live like the Amish. The ipod and TV I could certainly do without, but I couldn't work without my computer! (Obviously I'm not bound by Amish rules - I could use the solar power to run whatever I want.) It's a concept worth checking out for future possibilities.

It's interesting, an Amish man who was interviewed said ". . . it's hard to maintain your culture if you have a TV. . . eventually it would erode our culture, and ultimately destroy it." Sad but true. We've watched it happen in the mainstream.

Wrapping things up.

Some of us are watching our pennies a bit more closely these days - probably the way we should have been watching them all along!

I like frugal finds that are fun. Frugal can be happy - frugal can be fun- frugal can be green - and this link is a perfect example. Sometimes frugality inspires the best creativity. When I'm forced out of the box I take a good look around at things I can't see when I'm stuck inside!

Skip to My Lou is one of my favorite blogs to visit for inspiration. Here she shows great, fun, ways to package gifts. These ideas have inspired some projects of my own. This summer I picked up a bunch of brand new canvas tote bags for a quarter apiece. Look for them here soon - all decked out for gift giving.

And speaking of giving, and receiving - I enjoyed a verse tonight at Bible Study from 1 Corinthians 4:7. The KJV says it like this: For what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? That's a bit of a mouthful, but it's a pretty straightforward meaning.

So what do I have (forgiveness, acceptance, family, friends, health, comforts, talents, and all kinds of other good stuff) that I have not been given? Nada. Nothing. Everything has been given to me by God. So much for a "self made woman". What kind of goal is that, besides unattainable and totally inappropriate?

God forbid that I should glory, and think that somehow I have earned or created any of the blessings that I have.