Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder

Greetings dear sisters! I hope you all are well and growing in our dear Jesus! He IS such a faithful and good conselor and friend. . .He is living!

I have a confession. . .have have two warts. I would not share this aweful news with you if it did not beautifully correspond with what one of my dear day care children said.

Drew: “What is that thing on you?”

Me: “That bump?” (I knew what he was referring to, but was wanting to make sure before I began pointing out an embarrassing thorn in my flesh).

Drew: “No, that circular thing.” (I did not know 3 year olds knew about the word “circular.” :)

Me: “Well, that’s a wart.”

Drew: “What’s that?”

Me: “Well, um. . . (a quick pause while I ponder how to explain warts to a three year old) well, its a virus that gets in the body kind of like how kids get sick.”

Drew: “Do I have them?”

Chuckling me: “No, you don’t have them.”

Drew: “Only big kids get them, not little kids.”

Me: “Well, no there are some little kids who get warts.”

Me: “It’s ugly isn't it?”

Drew: “What?”

Me: “My wart is ugly isn’t it?”

Drew: “Why do you think it’s ugly?”

Me: “Well, (a second pause while I try to put my distaste for warts in words--while I try to put meaning to the insecurity my unwanted guest gives me) its just a bump. . .

Drew: (Offended that I would think myself ugly) Well I don’t think it’s ugly. . .I THINK IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!” :)

Dear sisters, is not that the sweetest thing you have ever heard? My warts give me great embarrassment and make me quite self-conscious. . .they have made me feel ugly. Do any of you have a physical feature that you dislike? I had one dear friend who hated her freckles while I thought that they were what made her her! While some things are changeable (like my warts. . .I shall not have them forever!), other things have been placed specifically on our bodies for a special purpose. Freckles, light skin, dark skin, curly hair, straight hair, little noses, big noses, red, blonde, brown, and black hair, certain body types. . .whatever you have God has perfectly and purposely designed!  Mrs. Dora Esh spoke in a tape series titled “The Making of a Princess” Here is a paraphrase of some lovely words she spoke: You see, He never makes mistakes; He knew you while you were in the womb! God does not like to make His creation with cookie cutters. . .He made each person different from any other! And you know what, dear friends? I believe that what you may dislike about yourself your future husband will love.  . .for it is that which make you you!! :) Finally, our grumblings show complete lack of thankfulness for God’s good creation. When He made man and woman He said that it was very good! He loves you and wants you to be able to trust in Him.  If you struggle with your body, talk to the Lord about it. He is never above listening to us. .  .ask Him to give you peace with how He made you. If it really bothers you, ask the Lord to change it according to His will. If you truly desire God’s will in your life, you will be able to accept whatever He gives you. Sisters, God does care about “even the small things.” Let us learn to rest in His love for us and how He made us!!

Lord Cromwell 

And so, I end this post with the well known phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” While I do not believe that is completely true, I do believe that true love will over look faults and even think them beautiful—like Drew considering my warts lovely. As Lord Cromwell put it when Sir Peter Lely was painting his portrait, "MR LELY, I DESIRE YOU WOULD USE ALL YOUR SKILL TO PAINT YOUR PICTURE TRULY LIKE ME, AND NOT FLATTER ME AT ALL; BUT REMARK ALL THESE ROUGHNESS, PIMPLES, WARTS, AND EVERYTHING AS YOU SEE ME; OTHERWISE I WILL NEVER PAY A FARTHING FOR IT.”  I love that quote! :) It simply reminds me that we are to accept how God made us, warts and all!! :o)

May the Lord bless you continue your week!!

With love,

Frannie

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;” Isaiah 44:24

A Few Things I Love. . .

Hello dear sisters in Christ! If you were to peep in on me these last few days you would find me spending time resting, thinking on Jesus Christ, and enjoying a fall candle (which smells so good!). Basically, I’ve been enjoying the tiny things which make life pleasant. . .and I wanted to share some with you!

Jesus Christ—my Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Redeemer, Father, King, LORD, Friend, and Leader, my dear family, a cold winter day with blue skies, a good cup of coffee topped with whip cream, candles, kittens and puppies, inspiring books, singing, cute mugs, godly older people, crescent rolls, old-fashioned movies, the song “Truly Scrumptious,” Fanny Crosby, receiving letters, hymns, little children and their hugs and smiles, gazebos, candy, breath, holidays, Louisa May Alcott, Scripture, sunshine, true Biblical teachings, cookie dough, the ocean, snowflakes, Biblical non-resistance, grandparents, obedience, shopping, fall leaves, rivers, Alaska, family time, Christmas, primitive decor, square dancing, Beth Moore, a clean home, love, white curtains, Austria, sweet and godly friends, afternoons spent drinking tea with fellowship, working, cauliflower, flowers, antique stores, snow, South America, ice cream on a really hot day, my Bible, feminine skirts, my “Lisle” shoes, weddings where the couples love God, Charity Ministries, playing games, hide ‘n seek, pretty fonts, sitting with my Momma, going to school, good quotes, Little Women, paintings of feminine ladies, trees, forgiveness, the Proverbs and Psalms, mowing the lawn for Daddy, farm land, hydrangeas, mums, girls in white dresses, my hair (crazy though it may be), conversions, missions, Christ’s resurrection, China, surprise birthday parties, picking apples, clogs, morning glories, butterflies just new from their cocoons, dresses, sweaters, head coverings, finding constellations, blogging, seeing lights in side homes and churches, climbing trees, old post cards, honesty, watching my brother and sister grow in Christ, spending time with Pastor, prayer, zoos, coffee shops, Swiss Family Robison, outside night lights, animals. . .

 

How about you? :) May we learn to give God thanks for even the tiny things!!

Have a lovely night!

Frannie

                                                                                                                                                                        `

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

²O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

³O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁴To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁵To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁶To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁷To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

⁸The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

⁹The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

¹⁰To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

¹¹And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:

¹²With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

¹³To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

¹⁴And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:

¹⁵But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

¹⁶To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.

¹⁷To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

¹⁸And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

¹⁹Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:

²⁰And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:

²¹And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:

²²Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

²³Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

²⁴And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

²⁵Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

²⁶O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalms 107

A Lovely Giveaway!

Greetings friends! I just wanted to invite you all to join Eden’s lovely giveaway! Growing in Him is Eden’s wonderful blog where she encourages Christian girls in the Lord, gives information about her Bermuda home (which I love learning about!), and shares lovely photos. Eden has been blogging for one year and is having a fun giveaway. She will be giving away two prizes to two different winners! Please go and visit!

May the Lord bless your day,

Frannie

Preparing for Jesus

Greetings dear sisters in Christ! I hope this finds you all well.
Today has been a blessed day for me. I was running an errand when I bumped into a dear friend working across the street. After many smiles, a hug, and friendly conversation we agreed that she and her family would try to stop by after work. As I walked toward my car I felt a skip in my step, a joyous energy. . .company was coming! Once home I knew I had to get the house in order, pull the fall decorations out, and make cookies. I flew about the home setting fall knick knacks here, swiffering dust bunnies there, and lighting candles. Even though my guests would not see the laundry room, I worked on flipping loads. I worked with fervor all the while keeping one eye on the window; are they here yet? :o) Perhaps you too know this joyous feeling of waiting and preparing for someone you enjoy? Needless to say, we had a pleasant and good visit and I was so thankful for their time!
 While preparing for my guests, I wondered if I would act the same if I ever had a “Jim dear” coming home to me. Will I anxiously prepare for my husband and lovingly bring him into a clean, orderly, and pretty home? Will I sweep away cob webs and fetch my decorations from the spider-infested garage without complaint all to please my home-coming prince? I then wondered if this is what Christ intends in my life, both physically and spiritually.   1 John 3:2-3 reads, 

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

Christ gives hope (hope of eternal love and life, forgiveness, victory and power, the hope to be holy and to be the sons of God, and so much more!). Because we have hope we are to purify ourselves. Webster’s 1828 dictionary has a very interesting definition of the word purify.

PU''RIFY, v.t. [L. purifico; purus, pure, and facio, to make.]

1. To make pure or clear; to free from extraneous admixture; as, to purify liquors or metals; to purify the blood; to purify the air.

2. To free from pollution ceremonially; to remove whatever renders unclean and unfit for sacred services.

Purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day purify all your raiment. Num.31.

3. To free from guilt or the defilement of sin; as, to purify the heart.

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Tit.2.

4. To clear form improprieties or barbarisms; as, to purify a language.

PU''RIFY, v.i. To grow or become pure or clear. Liquors will gradually purify.

Interesting, eh? To purify means to make clean, to prepare. This is similar to the preparation frenzy which occurred earlier today; I swept away the old because of the hope of fellowship, friendship, and company. In my Christian life I also need to prepare myself. Is my thought life lovely, pure, and pleasing to God? Am I seeking the lost knowing that their time is short? Do I really love my neighbor? Is my future laid before the Lord? Am a truly following Christ? To prepare for Christ means so much for the Christian. Let us seek His will and lay our lives fully in His awesome and capable hands!

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” II Corinthians 7:1

Oh, I have so much to learn! I am so thankful the Lord gave me a glimpse at what I need to be doing. . .by His grace, may He find me faithfully preparing myself for His coming!! :o)

“The king's daughter [is] all glorious within:” Psalms 45:13

May the Lord richly bless you sisters! Thank you to all who visit my blog, I hope that I may be a blessing and light in your busy day!

With much love,

Frannie

Beauty

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.”

Psalms 19:1

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Hebrews 11:3

The Goodness of God

Greetings my dear friends and sisters in Christ! I hope all is well with you and that you are growing and trusting in our merciful and faithful Father.
Ah. . .At this moment I am really enjoying a good cup o’ coffee (topped, of course, with some whip cream) and reflecting on the wisdom and power of the Lord. How good Jesus Christ is! Our Savior is also our Brother, Friend, and Husband--a loving and ever-faithful LORD and Master. Recently, the Lord has been teaching me with Romans 6. There is so much in this chapter, but here are a few verses which have begun to mean the world to me.

¹What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

²God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

³Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

⁴Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

. . .

⁷For he that is dead is freed from sin.

. . .

¹¹Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹²Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

¹³Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Dear sisters, I was once a servant to sin; I literally was in bondage to various sins and no matter how hard I tried I fell short of the glory of God. Since I became a Christian, the Lord has done much in my life. But, I did not realize the work that He did in me. I would fall into sin and often battle with temptation not realizing that the work has already been done! When I became a child of God, He became my new Master. . .by His blood He bought me. This does not mean that temptation and sin will never happen, but it does mean that I now have the power to to yield myself to holiness instead of as “instruments of unrighteousness.” Isn’t God good? His grace is sufficient for us! Let us choose to obey the Lord and His Word.

♥  ♥  ♥

On a separate note, all is well on the home front. :) I truly miss Mum and Bub. The house seems so quiet with half of my family missing, but I’ve been enjoying being the little “keeper of the home.” On Tuesday I prepared several croissant rolls (which are oh so yummy!) and yesterday I used left over spaghetti sauce to make two little lasagnas. I also got some mopping done! And so, I am a happy camper simply resting. :o) I praise the Lord for allowing me to learn a few basic things at home (such as mopping. . . ) I also praise Him for wisely giving me a mother who took the time to teach and instruct me! I LOVE you Mommy! Tonight at church we quickly discussed Proverbs 11:16 which reads,

“A gracious woman retaineth honour; and strong men retain riches.”

the NIV version reads the following,

“A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.”

I so appreciated discussing this verse because I have never understood it! I normally use KJV, but some fellow Christians read from the NIV. I was so blessed to see that a kind woman gains respect. That makes sense! :o) How often do we admire and desire to imitate kindhearted ladies? One other thing I found interesting were the words “retaineth” and “retain".” I have heard that “eth” signals that it is a constant thing, something that is done more that once. So, a gracious/kindhearted woman constantly or often retains honour. But a strong/ruthless man will retain riches once. Isn’t that interesting? And it is true too!

Well, I had best retire. :o) May the Lord bless you as you continue seeking Him! His way Is the way, the truth, and the life!

With much love (honest, truly),

Frannie

Picture credit: "Gathering Roses" was painted by Daniel Ridgway Knight. You may find at this link!

Ah, the struggles of a blank mind

 Greetings dear sisters and friends! It feels like many moons have passed since I last wrote, but these are the struggles of not knowing what to write. I hope I’m not the only one who suffers from blank mind! So, to break my silence I thought I would just share a few things going on in my heart, mind, and home. :)

♥  First, fall is coming. . .at least it feels like it here in Missouri! While the leaves are not changing we’ve had a dramatic change in temperature and it is such a blessing! It is a great joy to have our windows open, work outside without a heavy humidity drenching our bodies, and being able to enjoy a walk. Truly, our Lord is a kind God who gives us lovely summer, but also a refreshing fall!

♥  Working at the daycare is teaching me so much. I’m learning necessary things like when to change a diaper, how to judge fairly between two squabbling pre-schoolers,and  how to feed an infant without painting his face with carrots. I’m also learning important things like patience, how to snuggle with a little one when they’ve woke up from their nap, and how to forgive a naughty attitude. Truly, God was serious and wise when He said that we young women need to learn how “to love their children.” Titus 2:4 I have so much to learn it isn’t even funny! But God is good and patient with me and I thank Him for making children understanding and patient too. :)  Here are some of my favorite quotes from the kiddos:

1. Me: “DO you like your new motorcycles?” Little boy: “Yes, Daddy let me get them since they are not too many dollars.”
2. Three year-old boy: “Will you help me pick out a name for my new baby?” Me: “Well do you like any boy names?” Little boy: “Well, something like Grandpa.”  :D 

♥   My family and I are doing well despite my having a cold, Momma an ear ache, and Daddy battling with allergies. :) Tomorrow, Momma and Jeremiah will be leaving for a trip to Alaska, and so I’m preparing to be the keeper of the home (although I will not be able to fill the lovely shoes my Momma has!). :o) That means I get the challenge of scheduling myself to do some chores and preparing dinners. A definite learning experience! Beyond having dinner prepared and a sparkling floor, I hope to be a blessing and joy to Daddy. . .for home keeping is so much more than physical things, but a chance to refresh and bless our families! Please pray for me that I may use my time wisely and be a blessing! 

♥  Lately, the Lord has been teaching me how to lean on Him—to lean on His everlasting love and grace for trials and temptations. The Lord has also been using Romans 6 and 8 to teach me that He has conquered sin and that He has given me the victory over it.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” Romans 6:1-5

We do not have to be worried or feel hopeless against sin or temptation. If we are born-again Christians, we have been given the same power that Jesus used when He rose from the dead . . .we have victory! Oh glory! What a lovely reality! I have found it so hard sometimes to fight against temptations, but by God’s grace, I hope to rest in the victory Jesus has provided for me. And when we are able to live victorious lives, we will be a light and example to others. Another thing my Lord has been teaching me lately, is that He is a good and benevolent wise God. His wisdom is unsurpassable and we can trust in Him. What a lovely thought! Illness, death, family problems, and any other difficulty cannot separate us from the love of God and we can safely rest that He will work out all things good for those who love Him. I’ve been clinging to Proverbs 3:5-6 which reads,

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

I don’t know about you, but I have heard that verse all my life, it is almost cliché', something we write on graduates cards or for those who are ill. Lately, however,  the Lord has given it real life and meaning to me. If I trust in the Lord with all my heart and if I don’t lean on what I understand (which is often very limited), He will lead my paths. Lately, I’ve been facing some unknown possibility and God has been allowing this verse to comfort me. I don’t understand why and I don’t know what my future holds. “Will I be able to be a missionary?” “Will I be able to go to school?” These kind of thoughts float through my mind and I praise the Lord that, if I rest in Him, He shall direct my paths. Whatever those paths are, He will be there. What a glorious thought! Sisters, let us wholly lay our futures, dreams, and paths down at Christ’s feet and allow Him to lead us. He is good! (And His path is the only one worth walking!) :o)

♥  Well, I best be going. I hope you all have a blessed week with Jesus.

With lots of love and sweet thoughts,

Frannie