The

So, this is what I have been up to. My daughter and I built a few raised beds this year to raise more of our own food. It has turned out very pretty. My photography skills don't quite show how pretty this garden really is. I am drawn to my garden daily and love to sit here and relax. My backyard still needs a lot work, but this part is amazing.

My tomatoes are doing great. As you can see I am even getting some red tomatoes. I do have a two-legged critter that keeps eating the ripe tomatoes before I can get them. I may have to set a trap and catch him.

These are the critter's favorite tomatoes.

Some friends who live close gifted me these raspberries. It took us awhile to find the right spot so we weren't sure if they would make it, but they have done amazing. The have produced a few raspberries all summer long. I'm going to miss this variety when I get moved.

One of my squash plants. I can't tell from the picture which one. When I planted my squash I spread them out throughout the garden and then forgot to write down what I planted where. We now have mystery squash until they get big enough for me tell what they are. This could be an acorn squash. What do you think.

I don't remember the name of this bush. Anyone out there know and want to help a girl out? Leave the name in the comments if you do. I love this. The bush gets covered in these beautiful flowers. Another plant I will miss when we move.

My peppers are putting on fruit. Woohoo. These poor plants have had a hard time. I'm not sure what has been going on but I am thankful for the peppers.

The pear tree. It is so loaded.

I didn't get all the wild blackberry bushes cut down in the spring so we are enjoying a few blackberries now. I would love to have blackberries growing but thornless and contained. These take over everything.

I am so excited about my spaghetti squash. In all my years of gardening I have never grown squash. I don't know why.

Another favorite squash, Delicata. This one is ready to harvest and eat. I can hardly wait.

This is a patio apple tree. It grows in a column. It is going with me to Montana when I go. There are five apples on it this year.

Another dwarf apple tree. This one will also go with us to Montana. This one and the patio apple trees are planted in pots so they will be easier to move.

Well, this concludes my garden tour. The tomatoes continue to ripen, the peppers are getting bigger. The cabbage is making heads and I just have to wait. In the meantime I will continue to supplement from the local u-pick to put up for winter and dream of the day when I will be in Montana and raising all my veggies and some of my fruit.

Have a Blessed day,

Beth

 

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

'Tis the Season

O come, all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him;

Born the King of Angels;

O Come, let us adore Him,

O Come, let us adore Him,

O Come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.

Give to our Father glory in the Highest;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning,

O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Starting Saturday our family will officially start celebrating Christmas. The Advent Calendar will be up for The Kid. We will be getting our tree and decorating it. I am planning some fun things for The Kid to do like decorating a gingerbread house, and Grinch rice crispy treats to name a few.

How do you celebrate the Advent season?

Beth

The Valley

Here are some pictures of my lovely Umpqua Valley for a fun Friday.

I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful, fun-filled, family-friendly area. It is a small place, but a lot of adventures can be had here. I love it.

Beth

This is the Day!

This is the day that the LORD has made.  Let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it.  

I love spending time with God.  He is my best friend, my father, my LORD.

I love reading His Word.  My favorite part of the day is when I get up early and the house is quiet, I make a cup of tea and sit with my Bible and have a nice visit with God.  What a way to start the day.

How do you like to start your day?

Beth

Bullet Journal Update

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Well, I have been at the bullet journal for a week and a half and I'm still undecided if I will continue with it. I mentioned before I have used planners/journals off and on for a long time. Sometimes it is hard for me to keep it up, I don't know why. I am intrigued by the bullet journal and the adaptations people are making to it. I love the creativity and keeping track of everything in one place. So maybe with a little more time I will really get into this, especially as I add more things to do/jobs to my life.

Here is a look at my journal. It isn't fancy or decorative...yet.

I am just using a simple composition notebook for now. If I really like this I may buy a better journal, but for now this works. I am going to put a Bible verse or inspirational quote on the front to cover the white part.

My index page. I may cover the inside of the cover with some pretty paper and quotes.

My month-at-a-glance or future planning page. I used colored pencils but may change to a fine-tip marker or pen of some sort so it is easier to see.

My first week of dailies or I suppose this could be a weekly. It is broken down by day, but you can see the whole week. I copied this from Boho Berry (I think). I like the days like this and the little weather symbols. I may also add high and low temps if I remember to look them up.

I left one page blank. I don't remember why, but I will probably doodle on it. This page is my doodle practice which if you follow Kari Denker at Stone soup for Five she has a Wednesday practice page of doodles you can download. I love her Bible studies. If you haven't tried one, you should.

This is the tracker for my Bible reading. I like to read through the Bible every year. This year I am following Bible In One Year 2017 on YouVersion. There is a commentary by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. Nicky Gumbal is the Vicar of HTB in London and pioneer of Alpha. (taken from the YouVersion introduction to the plan). So far I am enjoying the commentary and then the daily readings. It does of course track what I have read, but this gives me an at-a-glance view.

And, this is a my second week of dailies/weekly.

Well, it isn't fancy or pretty but I did get started and so far I am enjoying it. I hope if you are looking for something this at least inspires you a little bit.

Beth

Journaling Inspirations

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I'm trying some new things this year. One is bullet journaling. What is a bullet journal you ask? It is essentially a planner, only more fun.

I have used a planner off and on for years so when I heard about this I decided I needed to check it out. Kari Denker from Stone Soup for Five is who inspired me to get started. She follows Kara from Boho Berry. Here are some videos from Boho Berry:

I think this is going to be a fun way to keep track of my crazy life. It isn't that I'm horribly busy (only on Tuesdays) but there are things I want to accomplish and I lose focus. I'm hoping this will help keep me on track. As with any tool you actually have to use it to get any benefit. I am hoping it will also help me keep track of things I want to blog about. You all have missed a lot of good blogs because I procrastinated and then forgot what God wanted me to write about.

Kari from Stone Soup for Five is my inspiration for Bible study. She does the Doodle and Journal Bible studies. I will post more about this and share some of my studies with you at a later date. I've started Hosea and I would like to add some doodles and deeper digging. 

I mentioned in a previous post about a possible Bible study and I am still thinking on that one so stay tuned.

Anyway, I pray you all have a wonderful, blessing-filled day.

Beth

Reflections

Here is a post from a few years ago when I was reflecting on my life. Sometimes I still wonder and the country/farm life still calls to me. I would still rather be in God's will and where he wants me to be than give in to nostalgia. Plus, I love it here in the Umpqua Valley.

Beth

Lately I have been a little reflective or nostalgic or what iffing...Certain times of the year I just do this I guess.

I have been thinking about Montana, big, beautiful Montana.

 From the snow-topped mountains of the West...

To the rolling hills of the prairie...

What would my life be like if we hadn't moved?  Would we have started farming again?  Just run cattle?  Would I be spinning?  Knitting?  Would I still be a transcriptionist?  Would we have tried something wild like  a market garden?  RV park?  Bed and Breakfast?  Would I be blogging?

Those questions will always be questions unanswered, BUT THAT'S OKAY.  We all have what-ifs.  I do know I wouldn't be the person I am today without having left Montana.  I have grown so much, become a much better person, developed a closer relationship to my LORD.

I have met people here who have reached out and embraced me and brought me into their lives and enriched my life.  I have great friends who encourage me to try new things, develop the skills I have, and just be me.

I have no doubt in my mind WHATSOEVER that God brought us here.  He has guided our every step since we have been here in Oregon.  AND as much as I miss living in the country sometimes, I LOVE living here, in town, in my cute little house, with my all my guys.

Yes, I have been reflecting and what-iffing...but it helps to look back at our lives to see where we were and what God has done for us, and look to the future, watching to see what HE has in store for us next, and it will be amazing!

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

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth

Restoration

Restore me to the JOY of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:12.

Restoration. What does it mean. This what I found on Google:
1.the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition.
"the restoration of Andrew's sight"
synonyms: repair, repairing, fixing, mending, refurbishment, reconditioning, rehabilitation, rebuilding, reconstruction, overhaul, redevelopment, renovation; informalrehab
"the restoration of derelict housing"
2.the return of a hereditary monarch to a throne, a head of state to government, or a regime to power.
synonyms: reinstatement, reinstitution, reestablishment, reimposition, return
"the restoration of democracy"

According to reference.com it means more that just putting back to original condition. Take a look...

Unlike the regular dictionary meaning of "restoration," which is to return something back to its original condition, the biblical definition of the word has greater connotations that go above and beyond the typical everyday usage. Repeatedly throughout the Bible, God blesses people for their faith and hardships by making up for their losses and giving them more than they previously had before.

So looking back at the past year, year and a half, sometimes I feel like I have given up a lot. For one I have very little alone time, which I (as an introvert) crave, more than crave...need, desperately to stay a somewhat pleasant person. I gave up a job I loved (a little too much). I gave up a warm bedroom in the house to continue having a bedroom in our semi-converted garage with no heat. Other things too, but right now these are the biggies on my mind, especially the bedroom since it has gotten colder than normal this winter.

Anyway, what has been restored, my joy for one. Since I gave up my job I have not had SAD. God has also blessed me with working with children again by my church hiring me as the nursery director. He has restored my creativity. I have started knitting again, crocheting, and sewing. I even managed to take our smallest bedroom (almost too small for a bedroom) and turned it into a sewing room. (Maybe a post on that when it is completely done and cleaned after the pre-Christmas sewing fest that went on in there). And best of all, I may have a cold bedroom but I have a warm, cuddly little grandson to make up for that. 

What a blessing that little boy is. This is my heart.

He is a nut.

Thank You Father for your gifts and blessings and my family. Bless my readers abundantly and grow them in Your Son Jesus every day.

In Jesus Precious Name,

Amen

Beth