Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!


God has been speaking to my heart about his love, and his desire for unity. Love and unity go hand and hand, they cannot be separated.

1 Corinthians 13

1 If I speak in human or angelic tongues,[a] but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

God is love, and his greatest desire is that his children that we would walk in love and unity. That we would not let things get in the way of fellowship with him, or with each other.

It is one thing to read about love and unity; It's another thing to walk in it. It is hard to turn the other cheek at times, it's hard to love that person who is treating you like garbage. There is a safe place to run to, where you can find rest. This life is not easy, and relationships can be hard...but I know that with God, all things are possible. I know that He brings healing and restoration. He brings peace, and joy. His love endures forever, and his arms are always open wide. I want to walk in the Love of Christ, and love others even when they are acting in a way that is unkind. I don't know what is going on in their heart. I don't know all the pain they have suffered...all I know is that Jesus loves them, just like he loves me...and He is not easily offended.

Give me eyes to see, and ears to hear, understanding from you God. Help me to see others with your eyes, and love hem with your love.

Redneck Smoken

There is no denying it after everyone reads this post, and I am sure most people who know us have already figured it out. We have redneck in our blood, and it shines through in many ways. I wanted to share with you just for fun, how we made our homemade Redneck Smoked Salmon.

First thing you have to do is going fishing and catch your self some fresh Salmon out of the river. Next you have to clean your fish, and make a dry rub to put on it. Some people use a liquid brine, but I like the dry rub the best.

Dry rub Recipe:
four cups of dark brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
15 cloves of garlic minced

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, and then lay some out on the bottom of a pan. I used a casserole pan. Lay the salmon skin side down on the mixture, and then put the rest of the mixture on top. I found that this recipe was enough for four medium size fillets. Let it sit in the fridge for 12 hours, I let it sit overnight. Before you put it in your smoker you have to rinse all the rub off of the fish, and be careful not to drop it because it is really slippery. The dry rub will turn into a brown slime. Could be a science experiment all in it self.

Now onto building the smoker. This is how we built ours: 1. Cut down about four maple saplings, make sure you do not drop them on a bee hive like Joshua did. Unless you want some more excitement in your life! 2. Strip the bark off of the saplings.3. Take the two straightest and set them aside to use later. 4. Cut the rest in one inch pieces and then cut the one inch pieces in half using a hatchet. Be careful not to cut any fingers off. 5. Put saw horses on each side of your fire pit. 6. Lay your two straight maple sticks between the sawhorses and nail them down to make them secure. 7. Take a metal grate (we used our bbq grate) and lay it on top of the maple sticks, directly above the fire. 8. Find all the pieces of plywood laying around your yard, and put them up against your sawhorses, leaving one side open to tend to your fire. 8. Make sure you check direction of the wind with your wet finger, so that you know what side to block with the plywood...the whole point being you don't want your smoke to blow away. 9. Build a fire using hardwood. (cherry, maple, apple) Let it burn until you have small flames then add your maple chips. 10. Put your salmon on the metal grate. 11. Since we used our bbq grate, we covered the salmon with the lid to the bbq. It worked great! 12. Keep tending the fire. You don't want it to hot, and you don't want it to go out. 13. Ours took between 6 and 8 hours to finish.

Fishing on the Stilly

The men in my house were counting down the days until fishing season. September first was opening day, and they headed out right after Larry got off work. They went fishing all of September, but only caught four fish. On the Stilly it is illigal to have barbs on your hooks, which results in lots of fish getting off the hook. They still had a wonderful time, and I decided since they are fishing all of September let's study Pacific Northwest Salmon. They have been reading books, watching documentaries, doing online searches, and now they are culminating everything they learned into a binder, complete with pictures, diagrams, and information they learned. Here are some of the pictures they took.












Some how they were posted in the wrong order, but oh well, I don't have time to play with it today, because I am helping my young men put their report folders together. It has been a wonderful way to learn about God's creation together as a family.

Our garden efforts

Our garden share has been a wonderful experience this year, and has blessed both my parents, and us so very much. Everything has really grown really well. We have been blessed with lots of snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, and beans. It has been wonderful not having to buy any of these at the grocery store this year. Here are some pictures from early in the season.

Our humble garden beginnings

A few months ago we read about George Washington Carver. Where do you even begin when talking about this amazingly creative, and God honoring man. I would highly recommend reading about his life with your children. The book we read was from YWAM, because we love their books, and they also offer unit study guides.

I have always loved plants, and have always wanted my own vegetable garden. I have done little pot gardens every year, but nothing to extensive. Our yard is not set up real well for a vegetable plot, and with having boys, big dogs, and a cat...garden's don't have much of a chance. We are going to garden share with my Mom and Dad this year, and hopefully be able to grow enough produce for both our families. I will grow tomatoes and peppers at my house because I do have a very hot place that warmth loving plants thrive.

We have been moving pretty steadily though our botany study...this is through Apologia Science. We are learning so many fascinating facts. To many to list here, but I highly recommend Apologia. We have done a lot of hands on experiments and activities and that is always enjoyable. Here is a picture of our miniature green house. It has two grow lights, and a special warming pad for the germination process. The guys had fun putting it together and we have all enjoyed watching our plants grow. We have started Broccoli, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and peppers so far.

I have not blogged in such a long time. We have been staying busy and I rarely find time to sit for a while in peace and quite to collect my thoughts and write. I guess these are just the days of activity, and I am happy with that. One day my boys will be grown, and I will miss the conversations that we have, I will miss the questions, and the jokes and stories they tell me. One day they will be grown and have families of there own to care for. Then it will be quiet and I will have more than enough time to sit and reflect on my thoughts....

We have studied wars that involved the United States for the last six months, and the the men in my house have really enjoyed learning about it. I have had my full share of blood, guts, and dying men for a while. I have a new appreciation for our military men and how much they truly sacrifice to keep us safe and free. I also appreciate their families who are left at home waiting for there husbands, sons, or dads to come home...and the ones that have had to endure them not coming home...Thank you is just not enough...sometimes there are not words to express something to deep, and costly.

We have started a new study on botany and I am really enjoying it. So far we have made a miniature green house for seedlings, planted tomato seeds, cabbage, and broccoli. In a few more days we will be planting onion, leek, and pepper seeds. We plan on building a cold frame to keep the plants in while the temperature outside is still to cold for them to be totally exposed. We are also in the process of enlarging a vegetable garden at my Mom and Dads house, that will hopefully supply enough produce for two families. I am really looking forward to the warmer days of working in the garden.

We have also been learning how to shoot hand guns, and have had many wonderful trips to the woods, and to the shooting range together. My men are excellent shots, and I am doing pretty good....but I know I need lot's more practice. For my birthday my Dad bought me a nice little gun that I really enjoy shooting. It fits nicely in my small hands, and the slide is easy for me to pull, and I can load it easily myself.

Well, this has been a little of what we have been up to lately. I hope I can find time in the next few days to post some other things. Right now my dinner is going to burn if I don't go attend to it.

Merry Christmas!

It hard to believe it's Christmas time already! It seems like we just did this not that long ago. As I get older time seems to go faster, and the years start to blur together. I do love Christmas time with my family!

Over the years we have done different things to celebrate the birth of our Savior. In the years past we have always taken a month off of regular school work and focused on learning about the Christmas story. We have done Unit Studies on Christmas, and have made our own Christmas books filled with scripture that tells the the story of a world in need of a savior. We have made ornaments for our tree that have to do with different aspects of Gods word, and his promises. It has always been a wonderful time of learning, and fun.

This year we decided to push through half of December with regular School work, and take a week off before Christmas to get all our shopping, baking, and present making done. We are also taking the week after Christmas off because Larry is only working two days that week. Although we are busy, I love the relaxed atmosphere in the house. No one is grumbling about their math, or grammar lessons...we are just having fun baking cookies and making gifts.

There is so much I could say about this year, but I don't have the words. It has been a really tough one, but God is faithful. God has had to do some trimming on us as a family, and it's been painful...yet the pain has brought healing in so many ways. I am glad that in a few weeks we will be able to put this year behind us, and I look forward to all He will do in our lives in the coming year. I do not want to forget the lessons that have been learned, but I am ready to start fresh. We are much lighter now, we have gotten rid of a lot of stuff that was dragging us down...So I think we may be ready to start running for the Lord....but we are waiting for his direction. I know he has much more work to do in us, and probably more pruning...I don't like to think of the pruning...but if it accomplishes God's plans for us...then I lift up my arms....

I am so glad that God has given us good friends to share our lives with. I love my brothers and sisters in Christ...you know the ones that stick around even when you have messed up pretty bad. The ones who pray with you and encourage you in the Lord. I am thankful for my Sisters who encourage me when I am having a really hard school day as well...and they take the time to talk me through it, or take the time to pray for me. I am thankful God has given me a wonderful family who goes out of their way to bless us, and loves us. I am so blessed, We are so blessed, and I hold you all in my prayers!

Merry Christmas everyone!!! May this season draw you closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. He is our hope, and the reason why we sing!!!!