Christmas projects? You want Christmas projects!!

Started these Christmas/concert cloths numerous weeks ago, and the boys looked good in them. They were very excited at concert time, as it was Hans' first one. He spoke very clearly and Judas was proud to be in every play.

Seeing this brings me to tears of thanksgiving at the Wonderful Artist who has touched up my window pain after I tried to touch up mine for Him below. It makes me think of His humility coming into the world as a baby. It is about 2 inches wide and I compared it to my huge, flashy, colorful one that I spent a few hours on. His is small, simple, and delicate...but oh my! Take a closer look and see the detail and the sparkle that the sun works into it, and it's like a miracle. The same thing happens when we examine his coming to earth more fully, it's a miracle. This story is the most incredible one I have ever heard and I never tire of hearing it, the virgin birth, angels, wise men, prophet, priest and all. It is simply wonderful!!

Just for Me

From rich to poor

From being The Helper to being helpless

From King to peasant

From honor to humility

From royal robes to nakedness

From glory to wretchedness

From peace to turmoil

From strength to weakness

From ruler to servant

From righteousness to sinner

Just for me

-Nelda Baer

This is one of my projects, these gloves are gifts for my sons and little nephews and nieces. They are studded with diamonds and the inside is cammo for the boys. The leather is imitation, but I had a great time making them.

These are also gifts for the families that I love. We also made these type of sides for the lanterns that we made for our Christmas craft project. It would have a candle burning inside it to make it glow, where as these glow from the sunlight.

This is my front window this year, it turned out a bit on the pale side...but we are enjoying it nun the less. It says "Arise and shine for your light has come." Is. 60

Merry Christmas Friends and God bless you all!!

For Katie, Wingham

Heavenly Joy

You could only see her when the weather was good

And then, just like the sun, she would come out to light up our world.

Bright, happy, full of jolly chit-chat

You could always count on her to let you know that she loved you

By her kind gestures...

a pat on the shoulder...

a touch of her soft old hand...

a whisper in your ear...

a comment or two of her memories.

She left behind some tearful folks

Who long to see her again

But somehow it's easier to let her go

When we picture her enjoying her heavenly rest

From the way she lived her life,

We know that her joy will go on,

Become greater and more full.

-Nelda Baer

Butterfly Grove 09

I'll never forget stopping at the entrance of Butterfly Grove this year soon after my Birthday in April. Rodney had put up the swing in my absence and I just stood there breathing in the invitation to fellowship that an empty park bench always gives me. I was there with my sister Melissa and I feasted my eyes and heart, reveling in its beauty.

Rod and I have this thing about me being a month older then he is. I always tease him that I'm boss until he catches up with me, so I have the pants on from April to June and have the privilege of having my requests granted for a while. This year I asked him to please have the swing ready for my birthday, and it was so.

I have the sweetest memories of that place to count thanks to Rodney and his kindness. The first of them being the time when the three apple trees at the center of the grove began blooming in the spring. I remember sitting there listening to the oodles of bees buzzing in the bright sunlight. Then a week later watching as the petals fell much like snowflakes softly to the ground.

Those few weeks that Melissa was here, also in the spring, she got me all interested in the many kinds of birds she found back there. Chickadees, Song Sparrows, Red Wings, just to name a few of the more common ones. We would sit with the binoculars and chat.

After the garden was full of plants, generously given to me by Susie the gardener and her daughter, there were the night sights. June brings the most beautiful lightning bug show you could possibly wish for. Rodney and I would sit on the swing and watch them come and go on moonlit nights.

Having the pleasure to bring Dora back there was one of the highlights of the year as well. We both brought an instrument along and let that music lift us. We climbed the huge old oak tree with it's reaching branches, and caught up on the last 15 years.

Now being fall, there is something very special to me there that I haven't ever seen before - a squirrel. He scurries and scampers to grab some of the apples that are covering the ground right under the swing. You sit there and hear a "plop" ever so often as the apples fall, but the squirrel has the tree branches loaded with half eaten ones. He chirps and fusses and seems busy as anyone at harvest time, it is a delight to watch.

I'm also very pleased that the Winghammers have taken a shine to the place. There is always someone there and it has been suggested that we should have a guest book to sign there, or find and way for people to book it. This is music to my ears as that is what it is intended for.

I FOUND DORA!!!

Look who I found! A great person I met in the east when I was there in about 1993 for 6 weeks. Dora Alexander is someone I never forgot and have been asking about ever sense then. We got in contact through the McAdam family in Crystal Spring and had a short visit there about a month ago.

It was wonderful to see her again, and getting to know more about her is a pleasure. We are communicating and she has awakened that artistic part of me again, that seems to have died sense I was hospitalized 5 years ago. She helped me see that being an artist isn't just turning out a painting ever so often, but a way to live. Getting every bit of juice out of every sweet moment that we live on earth.

Doesn't she just sparkle?? This is one beautiful woman and I'm so glad that we could get in touch. She sent me a butterfly all the way from South Amarica, it is just too beautiful!!
Sorry about the no show pictures. Need new batteries.

Delishious Dirt

Judas' Birthday was a few weeks ago and I made a big fuss about dirt, that was the theme of the party anyway. We had a muddy tug of war in the water filled sandbox and his side won. There was a prise for the most warms found and the best mud sculpture. We were almost rained out but it came down just after presents were opened and the food was consumed. Lucky. We had planned to have a sleepover and a swim with the boys after the party, but had to postpone that for the day after when things dried out.

I made a delicious dirt desert and put a worm on every cupcake and topped it off with ice tea (muddy water) with gummy worms crawling at the bottom. It was great fun!!

JBK is growing into a fairly responsible young man, he is very helpful and kind hearted, just like his Papa. He is mastering his reading skills at 7 and has a good handle on his math as well. The kids are taking some more swimming lessons at Southport and I call him 'The Fish' to boost his confidence.

There is one thing that I'm struggling to teach him as he is smack dab in the "Me" stage and that is being good or doing good not just because someone is watching or praising him. I'm working on having him doing his best just because God sees everything we do. It's not as simple to a 7 year old as it sounds, but I can see the progress in his taking some of the responsibility of caring for himself and others when no one is around.

He listens to an endless array of stories that build his character and I sure knot his responses to some traets like honesty and caring even when he is the center of his world for now.

I was pondering yesterday as I watched my sons giggling and eating their night lunch out on the porch in their PJ's that if this was the only blessing I ever had, being the mother of two beautiful boys, it would be all I'd ever need to know happiness.

Last season pics

Not Cronologic

Boys in winter

New additions to family


Bench at park that Rod made for my birthday.

Had very special friends over for my birthday, they brought me bright tulips and carnations. It was my aunt Lana and her two beautiful daughters, Sonya and Debra.

Slapped a cake together for B-day.

These are my two treasures.
Thanks Deb for the pic

Boys at my house got me some flowers for Mothers Day.

Elisha play at the school.

Sonya this is for you, who helped make the alter.

Happy with it??

Look what I found!

WWOOOWW!! Ask God for a little wisdom and He just pores it on you. You have to read this if the past post spoke to you in any way. It is a quiz as to how humble we are in our relationships. My friend and cousen Selma always talked about brokenness and I never really know that it was just another word for humility. Here is the link.

Pride or Humility

My faults humility
I’ve been exploring the difference between real and faults humility. Since Jesus was washing feet with a towel and basin at the last supper, I’ve been asking about what it really means in that light. Here are some of my ideas, and I sure wish that you would add or take away according to your wisdom.
Pride

The inability to take a complement

Constant need to mention good deeds, even when no one asks

Rejecting help, service, or gifts

Putting myself down

Criticizing others to try to make myself look better

Ranking jobs

Doing good to be seen by others

Real humility

Realizing my desperate need for God

Being obedient and able to be led

Realizing my own weakness

Giving others the chance to fail

My Vows

Today is the day we consider the vows we made when we were baptized. Rod and I reread them this morning in preparation for the meal of remembrance. Here they are:

Before the prayer:

1. Do you recognize the teachings of Jesus, which have been laid before you, to be the truth and the true foundation of blessedness?
2. Do you believe in and agree with the twelve points of the Christian faith, and will you diligently witness to them?
3. Do you desire the intercession of the church so that God may forgive and remit the sins you have committed either knowingly or in ignorance?
4. Do you desire to yield, to give, and to sacrifice yourself to God the Lord in the covenant of Christian baptism?

After the prayer, each one is asked the following six questions while kneeling:

1. Have you now understood enough of the Word of the Lord to recognize it as the way to eternal life?
2. Are you sorry with all your heart for the sins you have committed against God, either knowingly or in ignorance? And do you henceforth want to fear God and never willfully sin against Him anymore, but rather die than willfully do anything against Him?
3. Do you believe that God, through Christ and the intercession of His people , has forgiven and remitted your sins?
4. Do you desire to accept brotherly admonition and discipline and also to use it toward others when necessary?
5. Do you desire to give and sacrifice yourself to the Lord in Heaven with body and soul and all that you have, and to yield yourself in obedience to Christ and His Church?
6. Do you desire to make a covenant with God and with all His people and to be baptized on confession of your faith?

Now that Easter is upon us we like to check ourselves and see that we are still keeping them. The hardest one for me besides keeping the faith is to use brotherly admonition. When I use it, my own house has to be clean, and I always have to keep my motives pure and humble. That's not easy, but it does serve to bring us closer to each other and to God.

There are no excuses to use before God because He sees into my heart and knows my deepest secret thoughts. It appears that if I don't keep my vows then I am a lier and Gods word says that the devil is the father of all who lie. This pretty much sobers us up at this time of year.

Sign

I finally finished my sign, it is carved into the wood. I've never tried carving before and it was an exciting venture.
The paint is acrylic and I hope it weathers well as it it is going outside. It has a few coats of varnish.
It's funny how I have trouble knowing when to stop paining, tossing the question "When is it good enough?????"

Blessed

Last week Rodney came in from work and joined me in the sewing room and asked me this question: "Nelda, Do you like it here?"

Well, first thing my fingers came up and I started counting.

#1 I have a wonderful husband who I can’t seem to get enough of.
#2 I have two lovely children, healthy, full of fun, and intelligent.
#3 I have more clothes then I can store.
#4 I have enough food to keep me slightly overweight.
#5 I have a huge house that I can barely maintain.
#6 I have a pretty healthy body and mind.
#7 My children still have grandparents on both sides of the family.
#8 I have some beautiful friends who refresh my spirit.
#9 I have the opportunity to spoil my kids with gifts if I so choose.
#10 The bank doesn’t own any of my possessions.

… I ran out of fingers, and those are only physical blessings. I would have to be ungrateful not to like it here. Counting my blessings can be a never ending task. It would be sinful if I had a case.

More important are always the spiritual blessings. So let me employ my toes for the job.

#1 I have God’s love, forgiveness and the promise of heaven.
#2 I have knowledge of the way.
#3 I have freedom to practice, preach, and learn God’s word.
#4 I have almost daily prayer meetings with the church.
#5 I have a preacher who teaches not only what I want to hear, but also walks before me as a good example.
#6 I have a voice that can be used to praise God with.
#7 I have a body of believers to help me should I fall into sin or get sick.
#8 I have the opportunity for good works and deeds that help the poor and blind.
#9 I have Gods spirit living in me the moment I was reborn.
#10 I have Jesus’ example of how to live and give my all.

Two Years

Second blog Birthday today

Reevaluating

It is my second blog birthday and I have a few things that I have to ask myself. I have some fears too.

I fear giving impressions that are not reality.

I fear standing up for or speaking about principles that I don’t always live up to.

Do I become a hypocrite as soon as I verbalize virtues what I don’t quite measure up to? Am I better off never talking about them? Should I chuck my blog because there is the opportunity to show only some things and not others?

There are the times when this blog challenges me to attain what I profess and there are times when I can see my mistakes and how I am growing and learning from them.

I do have many struggles that I couldn't begin to share, but once they have been fought through I know I own a gold mine. This I am not afraid to write about.

I kept this quote from Dr. Laura’s book Ten Commandments that I found interesting. It was from the chapter on bearing false witness.

“The reality is that one can believe and live by standards…but imperfectly. That is not hypocrisy, that is the reality of the limitations of all human beings to attaining divinity.”
-Dr. Laura Schlessinger

“Under the new rules, you can be called a hypocrite for upholding old standards of virtue that you don’t exemplify perfectly; but you can’t be called a hypocrite for sinking into utter moral squalor, as long as you profess to believe there is nothing wrong with it. So the defender of traditional morality is kept constantly on the defensive, since only he can be accused of hypocrisy…and you may look hypocritical when you’re only human.”
-Joseph Sobran

Anyway is it not something I am about to take lightly as it concerns me. It comes up frequently in Ernie’s sermons and it always makes my ears pop up. As Jesus said it is much better to go silently then to say you will go and not go.

Two new additions to our little family

Our Lovebirds finally hatched a couple of eggs and out pop the two ugliest things you have ever seen. The kids loved it and we all got plenty excited. They were cute at first but now they're all full of pins with a eagle's beak. It is a bit too dark for a picture in their coconut nest....otherwise, I have learned to love them quite a bit.

Job 12

Cickadee by Joni Walder

Ask the Creators

My troubled soul prayed to The Lord,

"What shall I do?"
God said “Ask the creators and the earth,
And they will tell you.”

So I asked the whistling chickadee
and he replied,
“Let your voice be heard, even in the cold
singing praises to God.”


Next I quipped the majestic tree

“Stand tall like me.
Don’t be afraid to be all you are,
and let the whole world see.”

The fence warned softly“Guard fast, my friend
what’s been given you to keep.
Guard fast, until the end."

The stone said “stand firm,
and don’t be moved. "Stay pure and undefiled,"
came from the snow.


A gentle gust caressed by cheek just then,
And the tall grasses advised, “Be flexible to the wind and will of the spirit,
For the spirit is like the wind."



If I hadn't turned my head just then
I would have missed the quail, He whispered "Keep silent for the footprints show,
Just how you walked to all.”


A tiny evergreen joined in
with a hearty, “Stay green
in summer's sun and heat, in freezing cold, stay green."