He Leads, I Follow

 

This! This is where I am right now. 

I have been a believer and follower of Jesus for a very long time, since I was 16 and let's just say I'm a long way from 16 now. I have trusted God through some pretty rough times throughout my life but this past year has been the hardest.

As you know, my husband passed away about a year ago and that is one HUGE change I wasn't ready to make. In fact, let's say I have been struggling with God about that one. I mean, we were married for 35 years. I was looking forward to him retiring and spending more time with him and enjoying each other. Now, I'm alone. I miss him. 

Anyway, back to this passage in Psalm 143. Let's start in verse 7, 

Answer me speedily, O LORD;

My spirit fails!

Do not hide Your face from me,

Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.

This has been my prayer for a year. A YEAR! And truthfully a lot of this year I have felt like God was hiding His face from me. I know you can't trust your feelings and He has been here with me the whole time, but I have been teetering on the edge of the pit, crying out to my Father, my God, my Rescuer, my Saviour.

Verse 8,

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,

For in You do I trust. 

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,

For I lift up my soul to You.

I have made it a practice for years to spend time in God's word daily, in the morning. I do this because it starts my day off right. I am reading God's word and hearing from Him and I am spending time in prayer telling Him what is on my heart and asking for His guidance and leading through my day. This past year, even though I felt far away from God, I felt it was more important than ever to spend this time with Him. It hasn't been easy either. With having to go back to work and help take care of my grandson, I have to get up earlier and plan my time out better. Without this time at the beginning of my day though, I would be lost and unable to function. So everyday I open my Bible and read God's precious words to me, I have spent a lot of time in Psalms because they speak my heart, and I offer myself to God to use and lead as He sees fit. I also seek His strength.

Which brings us to verse 9 and 10,

Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;

In You I take shelter.

Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God,

Your Spirit is good.

Lead me in the land of uprightness.

I don't really have any physical enemies but Satan has been attacking me spiritually and every which way, so he is the enemy I seek deliverance from. Everyday I reach out to God and ask Him to take care of me and protect me. I want to do His will. I don't want to be that depressed, sad sack person who no one wants to be around. I want people to see Jesus in me. God's spirit is good. He has been leading me. I thank Him daily for His Son, who died on the cross for my sins, even though I was so unworthy. God sustains me. He fills me with His strength everyday so that I can get out of bed because I am broken and have no strength of my own. Without God, I wouldn't have made it through this year because let's face it, it has been a crazy, change-filled year that has been extremely hard to navigate alone. Thankfully I am not alone because I have Jesus.

Now the last two verses, 11 and 12,

Revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake! 

For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

In Your mercy cut off my enemies,

And destroy all those who afflict my soul;

For I am Your servant.

I do ask to be revived for His name's sake. I ask every day for relief and the enemy to be defeated because I am His servant. Let me get real here, I have struggled tremendously this past year with the path I am on. I have begged God to change the things that have happened and are happening. I have felt crushed and defeated. I have just wanted to give up. But every day I wake up and grab my Bible and seek God. I seek His will. I seek His strength because I don't have any. He is what gets me out of bed every morning. He is what gets me out of the house every day. He is what gets me through the day at work. I cannot do it without God.

I know this is very introspective, but I also think about others. There have been others who have lost their spouses or children or house or job or a combination of any of these. I lift them up to God because He is the only one who can ease their pain and strengthen them. I know my situation could be worse and I am so thankful it is not. I, like all those other hurting people, am ready for a break. For some good days. Some stress free days. A day where we can feel God's strength and know everything is going to be okay because God is there beside us. But even if this day doesn't come soon, I WILL follow my God.

Beth

 

CHANGE

Change. Normally I like change. The changes over the last year...I don't like. To catch you up, last spring my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. That was earth shattering and brought a lot of changes. I had to go back to work, my grandson had to go into childcare/preschool full time, and we, or course, wanted to spend as much time with my husband as possible. Then in September, September 7th to be exact, we said goodbye to my husband. It has been rough. We miss him more than words can say, but he is now healed and with Jesus.

So, things were moving along and then the coronavirus hit. Wow! Talk about stressful. I work in a preschool/childcare center. One day we are business as usual and then boom, very few children at school. We didn't know if we were going to be able to stay open. I am now my only source of income so this was so scary. Then of course the shutdown of the state came. My boss was on top of things and we were declared an emergency childcare center. A lot of our teachers took a furlough but I was able to stay. There were changes it seemed like daily. Even how we did childcare/preschool changed. We stayed open, but a lot of changes. I am beginning to not really like change. 

Throughout all this craziness I have felt like I should move back to Montana. With my husband gone my sense of home has gone. We had plans and this was our home, together. I have my kids, but Kenny was my best friend. As long as he was with me I really didn't care where we were. He was my home. So, I am going back to really simple living, homesteading as it were right here where I am. I have always wanted to do this, not always where I lived. When we moved from the farm we chose to live in town but we still kept it pretty simple, but it wasn't the same as in the country. We even thought about moving to the country quite a few times. The close friends we have chosen or been lead to have always lived in the country, so we kind of lived vicariously through them. Now, I want to go back to living in the country, raising animals, and keeping it simple. It is calling me. My mom, dad, brother, sis-in-law and nephew live there and a bit more family. I am feeling more of a connection there than here. So we will see where God leads in this.

Now, those who read this blog know I am a follower of Christ. I seek God for guidance. I trust God to be my help. He has helped me. He has brought me through the death of my husband, going back to work, the coronavirus, and keeping the preschool open. He has been there every second. I feel like He is leading me back to Montana, but slowly. I am not just packing up and heading out. My daughter wants to go as well. She has to finish college. My son wants to go and he has to get some things finished up. We need to do a little upkeep on the house so we can sell it. I like to charge in and go, but right now God is saying wait. So I will wait and trust and believe that if God leads me to Montana or to stay here He will be with me every moment and will do what is best for me.

So, I am taking up this blog again. It may be changing some. I will still be talking about my faith and growth in Christ and for now the Umpqua Valley, but this will also include things on homesteading from my urban homestead and eventually, possibly my country homestead. I will be sharing what I know and teaching and sharing what I am learning because even though my husband and I homesteaded for a long time, there were some things we didn't do or know how to do that I am learning to do. Boy, that is a lot of do's, but that is what I am going to do...do! So, you can find me on Facebook and Instagram as Simply Milk-n-Honey and my daughter and I are going to start a YouTube channel so we can document our journey and share what we know with others.

Change...it is exciting, scary, heartbreaking at times, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. It happens, every day whether we want it to or not, but one thing is true...God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and I will trust in that.

                                                                       Blessings,

                                                                        Beth

Confession

It is so easy to let sin into our lives.  Sometimes not intentionally, sometimes very intentionally. Letting even what we would consider a little sin in is never a good idea.  We tell ourselves, "just this once", or "it won't hurt anyone.  But, each time we give in it gets easier to do it again and again and again and sin starts to take root in our lives, a little like moss does on our roof.

When we let one little sin to take root in our lives and then water it by not confessing or repeating the sin, then it will grow and spread.  Just like moss.  Just one little piece from who knows where, a little rain, and viola, a moss covered fence, wall, path, you name it.  Now moss in general is not harmful, but when it gets on a roof it can break up your shingles, it holds water and pushes your shingles apart, then your roof starts to leak.  Just like when we let sin take root.  It might start out little, but each time we push the boundaries.  Soon, we are doing things that are destroying our lives and our families.   We need to stop feeding our sins, repent, and let God dry them up.  1 John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".

           

It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and putting what we want before what God wants for us. If we put Him first, He will be faithful to heal our relationships and lift us out of the sin.

Father, 

Forgive me for the thoughts I have that are not glorifying to you, forgive my ugly actions.  Help me Father to become more like Your son Jesus Christ.  

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Positives

Recently someone wrote five positives about me.  They are smart, loves learning, courageous, strong, and logical. I haven't decided how I feel about them yet.  Weird huh?  I mean who wouldn't like to be thought of as smart, loves to learn, courageous, strong, and logical?  Maybe they would seem more like positives and a compliment if that is how I felt about myself.  Let's take a look and compare:

Smart:  Well, a smart alec maybe.  I know a lot of stuff, but it is just stuff.  I have knowledge, but what I need and desire is wisdom.  Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline".  Proverbs 3:7, "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil".  James 3:17, "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  I may have knowledge (or be smart) but I need wisdom to know what to do with it.  The Bible tells me in James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him.  Thank you Father.

Loves to learn:  Well, yes I do.  I like to be prepared.  Sometimes I just like to know things.  Again, this builds knowledge, but I still need wisdom.

Strong:  This is not the first person to tell me this.  In fact a couple months ago a dear lady I know told me how strong she always thought I was (as she held me while I sobbed in her arms).  It has been a rough season in a lot of ways.  The way I see it, I put on a good show.  I am strong willed, which is entirely different.  Most of the time I just want to curl up and cry.  I like to avoid things.  But, Jesus tells me in Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak".  Psalm 119:28, "My soul is weary with sorrow, strengthen me according to Your word".  Isaiah 40:30-31, "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.  One last one, Habakkuk 3:19, "The sovereign LORD is my strength, He makes my feet like the deer, He enables me to go on the heights".  I love how God's word makes me feel.

Courageous:  Oh my, I am anything but courageous.  Inside, I'm terrified.  I'm afraid I'm going to fail at whatever I try to do.  I'm afraid to be alone, but also afraid of people.  I'm terrified to let anyone know the real me, to know how needy and imperfect I am.  My main verse to get me out my door and through the day is, Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.  It is only through Christ that I can even let anybody see this much of the real me.

 Logical:  I don't know where that one came from, but I'm about as logical as a 4 year old.  I have learned some logic and to try to think through things, but mostly I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal.  I'm spontaneous, a fliberty-gibbit, mind-changing women.

I still haven't decided for sure how to take this, they are all good things, but it just shows how little this person really knows me.  How little of a relationship we really have.  It is sad really that I haven't gotten so good at hiding me that someone who I see every day hasn't even scratched the surface of who I really am.

Oh, I will keep working on things.  Trusting God.  Growing in Him.  I will also take comfort in the knowledge that God knows exactly who I am, how weak I am, how scared I am, how flightly I am, how unwise I am (even though I have some knowledge, it is all fluff).  Since I do love to learn, I will learn to trust Him more and learn to depend on Him more.

Father,
I thank you for making me, me.  I know I have a long ways to go and a lot to learn, but I put my life in Your hands and trust You will teach me and give me wisdom, strength, and courage.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

What's in a Name

So, the name of this blog is a little misleading.  It is not a food blog, which explains why I haven't talked about food.

When I named this blog, I was going to blog about where I live here in the Umpqua Valley, a land truly flowing with milk and honey, but God had other plans.  Those plans worked right into the title.  How do you ask?  Let me tell you.

The phrase flowing with milk and honey makes me think of God's word, particularly a verse which would go great with a blog about the Umpqua Valley.  It is Numbers 13:27:  "Then they told him, and said: ""We went to the land where you sent us.  It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.""  This is the account of when Moses sent the twelve spies to spy out the land God had promised them.  Unfortunately for them it took them another 40 years to get there, but that is a different post, and maybe I'll throw a little Umpqua Valley in there too.

Anyway, there are other references to milk and honey in the Bible that talk more about God and Jesus and how we can grow from His word.

Let's start with Psalm 119:103-"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth".  Have you felt that way after reading God's word.  I have.  I love reading His word, studying His word, and thinking on His word.  It is like having a good meal with a sweet treat thrown in (and I said this wasn't a food blog, lol).

How about 1 Peter 2:1-3- "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious".

Just as an invite, Psalm 34:8-"Oh taste an see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts Him.  These verses just make me want to shout GLORY HALLELUJAH!

Feasting on His word, resting in His promises, knowing how much He loves and cares for us.  OH GLORY!

Now that is a land flowing with milk and honey, God's Word.

Father,
I thank you for Your word.  I thank you that You said it would not return void.  Fill our hearts with Your love.  Guide us as we read Your word and learn to feast on it.

In Jesus Name
Amen.

The Unseen

SAD, seasonal affective disorder.  I have it and it does make you sad.  Sometimes very sad and you don't understand why, and neither does anyone else.  No, this is not going to be a poor me blog.  Why?  Because I am not the only person with SAD, or the only person with any problem.  There are a lot of you out there that are going through some very tough times.  So, I am not going to "whoa is me" you.  I want to offer help, comfort, understanding, a listening ear.

It is disheartening to feel so blue and have no one understand what is going on (me included).  To have people think you are a drama queen, having a bad day (that turns into weeks), a crybaby.  Do you know what  I mean?  There are so many illnesses out there that effect not only our bodies, but our emotions and personalities as well.  There are no scars or sores or marks of any kind.  They are invisible.  They are inside our bodies like those cancer cells growing, our brain chemicals that are not being produced in the right amounts, our nerves that send pain signals to our brain.

Now I'm no doctor and I can't fix what you are going through anymore than I can fix myself, but I do have words of comfort.

So, after I have let you read this far let me say, I am a Christian.  A born-again believer in Christ Jesus.  He is my comfort.  When I am sad he tells me "casting all your cares upon Him for He cares for you."  1 Peter 5:7.(KJV)  Easier said than done.  I know He cares for me, but do I immediately feel better after reading that?  No.  It takes more than just reading the words, it takes listening for that still small voice that says, "Beth, I've got your back.  I'm here and I understand what you are going through.  Trust me".  Trust Him and that peace that passes all understanding will come, no matter what you are going through.

Will we always be healed, miraculously or otherwise?  No.  Has God inflicted us?  No.  It says in James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows". (NIV)  So our pain and sorrow is not from God.  He gives us good gifts.  Can He use our pain and suffering?  You bet.  Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose". (KJV)  So, if you are reading this and have given your life to Christ, then you are called according to His purpose and He will use your trials to strengthen you and refine you.

If you have not given your life to Christ, it isn't hard.  It is an act of faith, of accepting His free gift of salvation.  How do you do it?  Romans 10 : 9-10 explain it very well, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". (NKJV)

If you are ready to trust Jesus please pray this prayer:

Dear God,
I am a sinner, I've done things that weren't right and I'm sorry.  Please forgive me God for all that I have done.  God, I believe that Jesus is Your son, that He was crucified, buried three days, and rose from the dead on the third day.  I believe that He is now sitting at Your right hand.  I believe that His blood has covered my sins.  God, I give my life to you.  In Jesus Name Amen.

If you prayed the prayer, leave a comment, I would love to hear about it.  If you are already a believer, leave a comment, I would love to hear your story.  If you just want to leave nasty remarks, don't leave a comment.  If you do, I will delete it.

A new adventure awaits.  What will it be?  I don't know, but God is constantly surprising and amazing me on a daily basis.

                                                                              Beth