And I'm Back!

Hello Dear Friends!

What was an unintended mini hiatus has turned into two months away from my Blog-dom. Yikes!

Between the packing, unpacking, settling, learning, searching, vacationing, adjusting, gardening and all the living that has been happening around here the Blog had to be put on that back burner for a bit. We also squished in a wedding, two family reunions, a visit with great grandma, multiple softball and baseball games, a bit of sewing, a whole lot of a homemaking, and an enormous amount of yardwork. We are very blessed to have found a beautiful rental farm house on the edge of a town the size of pig's eyelash and I couldn't be happier with it. 

God is Good.

All the Time.

 Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily bears us up;    God is our salvation. Selah

~Psalms 68:19

Pictorial Time Line: (May through June, including our vacation that was pre-emegency-have-to-leave-your-home planned. :))

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use,to bring forth food from the earth,

~Psalms 104: 1,14

Blessings, Gretchen :)

For the Bible Tells Me So

What I have been up to..................

Packing!

We are moving to a beautiful rental farmhouse on the edge of a pretty little (and I mean little) town just a few miles down the road from our current home.

We had been looking for a new home for some time due to my husband's job which takes him out of town. The thought had been to find a home in a more central location. With our blended family things like a move are never an easy decision. We weren't in  a huge hurry but we had been discussing it. 

We have found ourselves in a bit of a pickle.

This move was not however to get us all that closer to The Hubs but instead to move us to a home that is more rural (which we wanted), puts both Pirate Rob and Princess Peony in the same high school (life will be easier), gives us a transition house while we decide what our next step is with his job (there is a possible promotion in a city even farther away than he is driving now), and most importantly because what we thought was a small fix-it problem in our house has turned out to be a HUGE hidden problem. 

A problem we actually can not fix and must in fact leave our house so as to not potentially damage our bodies. We are leaving behind or throwing away many of our things. We are having to clean and vacuum everything that can leave with us. It has been a taxing, frustrating, humbling, exhausting, and emotionally wrenching experience. We are having to trust God, trust others, and ride out this storm to keep our family intact and healthy. 

Through it all, God is in control and we as a family will grow closer to Him and each other as we sort through the next few months. My mantra has been Philippians 4:13:

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

and Matthew 19:26

 But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

In my darkest moments when I was snot nosed crying out to God for a deliverance of this mess, when I was a swollen, red-eyed mess begging Him to wave His hand and make it all go away and disappear for me, I could not hear Him. My heart was so full of pain and anguish and frustration that I could not see a light at the end of this dark cave we are in. My pain, my hopelessness clouded my vision and deafened my ears. I was trying to fix it myself, to find anyway to keep us from having to give up our home, our things, and all the  stuff. 

I was trying to protect my pride. What will people say? What will they think? Is this mess my fault? Why didn't I know? I can't let anyone know... It is humiliating.

I believe what He was saying was simply... Wait. Wait and let Me work. Wait and let me lead. Wait for I know what is best. I will keep your family together. I will get groceries on your table. I will find you furniture. I will find the funds you need. I will grow your love for me.

I Will.

My job is to obey. Though it seems crazy. Though it is painful. Though I can not know the end result or even hear His voice there is a knowing. 

A knowing that it will be okay.

How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me this I know

For the Bible tells me so!

Little Ones to Him belong;

They are weak

But He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus Loves me, 

The Bible tells me so!
 

For He Will Take Care of Everything Because He Loves ME.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. ~ Matthew 6:25-34

Surviving

Always Blessed,

Gretchen :)

Possibly Linking With:

Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

Modest Mom Blog 

Deep Roots At Home

The Better Mom Monday Link Up

Frugally Sustainable
Raising Homemakers
Far Above Rubies
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home 

Wisdom Wednesdays and Link Up

No Ordinary Blog Hop

Frontline Moms Friday Fun
The Welcoming House

 Domestic Randomness~ Friday Fascinations

Courtship Connection
Living In the Shoe
Homemaking Linkup 
A Proverbs 31 Wife
All Things With a Purpose
 Our Days Homeschool Link Up 
Mama Moments Mondays 

Sound the Retreat

source

Sometimes I need to retreat. To pull back from the hurt and pain that comes with life.

Retreat from the confusion of my own wants and desires. My weak attempt to make things work out.

Sometimes I want to hide from everything. To cover up my head with my grandmother's quilt and not surface.

Usually this is after I have railed aloud at God,  screamed at the top of my lungs for an answer to my needs, my wants, and cried until I am spent.

Then I take cover.

Retreat to the quiet of my head.

Which is never really quiet.

So I fill it with audio versions of the Book of Psalms because I am too weak to even read. 
I listen. I breathe. I fill myself with the words of David:

Psalm 4

Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
    You gave me room when I was in distress.
    Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

² How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
    How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
³ But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴ When you are disturbed, do not sin;
    ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices,
    and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶ There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
    Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
⁷ You have put gladness in my heart
    more than when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

There are times when my enemy is myself. My own thoughts that seek to bring me down. 
To be distraught and saddened beyond outside control is a mournful thing. 

So I sound the retreat.

When crying out appears to be met with deaf ears.
When Hope is a splendored thing that it seems is not meant for me.
When life has brought you to the place of a tauntly stretched guitar string and all you can hear is that high-pitched whinning and vibrating sadness; It Can Feel Like Just Too Much.

Retreat to God's Word. 

Psalm 6

Prayer for Recovery from Grave Illness

To the leader: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
    or discipline me in your wrath.
² Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
³ My soul also is struck with terror,
    while you, O Lord—how long?

⁴ Turn, O Lord, save my life;
    deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of you;
    in Sheol who can give you praise?

⁶ I am weary with my moaning;
    every night I flood my bed with tears;
    I drench my couch with my weeping.
⁷ My eyes waste away because of grief;
    they grow weak because of all my foes.

⁸ Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
    for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹ The Lord has heard my supplication;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
¹⁰ All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
    they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.

Find Solace in another who has cried for help. Who has been brought low by life and it's circumstances.

It may feel like God doesn't hear you. It may feel like you are alone. It may feel like all hope is lost. It may feel like He isn't helping. It may feel like you are drowning in your tears and that your string is going to break. 

Find peace in His Word.

 Psalm 17: 6-8, 15

⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
    incline your ear to me, hear my words.
⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love,
    O savior of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸ Guard me as the apple of the eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,

¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
    when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Understand in your retreat, that He is still there. He still loves you. 
When your guitar string breaks, and sometimes it will, that is when He can restring you with newness. He can lift you up and hold you in an embrace of such Father Love you are once again whole. 

For it is in the Breaking that we are than able to start to heal. It is in our weakness, our sadness, our faulty attempts that He is made greater.

2 Corinthians 12: 8-10

Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, ⁹ but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰ Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Sound the retreat. Heal. Thank Him. And Move On. 

I shall be in Retreat for now.....

Always Blessed,

Gretchen :)

Possibly Linking With:

Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

Modest Mom Blog 

Deep Roots At Home

The Better Mom Monday Link Up

Frugally Sustainable
Raising Homemakers
Far Above Rubies
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home 

Wisdom Wednesdays and Link Up

No Ordinary Blog Hop

Frontline Moms Friday Fun
The Welcoming House

 Domestic Randomness~ Friday Fascinations

Courtship Connection
Living In the Shoe
Homemaking Linkup 
A Proverbs 31 Wife
All Things With a Purpose
 Our Days Homeschool Link Up 
Mama Moments Mondays 

Easter Worship~ I See the Lord

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ² Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory.” ~Isaiah 6:1-3

Happy Resurrection Sunday!


Now because the lyrics are amazing and I have an eclectic choice in music please check out 116 Clique as well. Even if it isn't your preference you can be blessed.

LYRICS:

I See The Lord lyrics

(feat. Sho)

[Verse One]
Cast down my crown to worship you in spirit and truth
As I see You on the throne, I see Your train fills the roof
I'm on bended knees, hands extended closed eyes
Holy, Holy, Holy is Lord the Most High
Woe is me, I'm a man with unclean lips
And I live amongst a people whose on the same trip
That when one Seraphim flew to me with coal in his hands
He touch me on my lips, said I was a brand new man
As the foundation shook He's asking, who shall He send
I said, "Send me Lord, I commit to faithful men"
Sometimes Lord, I feel like I don't give you enough
The kind of pure joy to persevere when times get tough
So I keep a concentrated relationship fixed on you
I keep my eyes to the hills so I can have a right view
I stand in awe of You
How You measured the earth with the palm of Your hand
and yet, and still you want to be friends with such an unclean man
So like John I fall prostrate on this island of life
I worship You, recognizing you are power and might
Glory and light, eternal in sight, blameless and right
Creator of life, thief in the night, Jesus the Christ

[Chorus]
I see the Lord, seated on the throne, exalted
And the train of His robe, fills the temple with glory
And the whole earth is filled, and the whole earth is filled
And the whole earth is filled, with His glory

[Verse Two]
The sun suspends in the air
I can feel Your winds everywhere
You care to the grains of my hair
Divine works all around me
I can't get past the evidence
The fact that your invisible, to me, is irrelevant
I know your heaven sent, straight to the virgin birth

Gave me a second chance even after man's curse
A third, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth
You wore my crown of thorns, you took my licks as they spit
In ya face, off the cross a sinner you embraced
Now I understand whats the meaning of grace
I war against the flesh, can't wait till the day that you come
Cause everday I'm rewriting Psalm 51
From the weak to the dumb
You make us shine like Pearls
Got a new engagement, broke up with that girl named world
The relationship was unfruitful, I was Satan's pupil
They told me you was an unfair God, I believed those lies
I know the truth now, cuz you've been fair since creation
Man fell, and then you gave man emancipation
I know the saying one sin can make man fall
But with one drop of blood, he can save us all
I'm a living sacrifice, I lay my life upon the altar
I pray to have faith that don't forsake you, like a martyr
I have a desire, thats to know you more
I have no choice to live holy cuz I see the Lord

[Chorus]

[Isaiah 6]
For Whole earth is full of his glory
And the foundations of the threshold tremble
At the voice of him who called out
While the temple is filled with smoke
I said to myself Woe is me
For I am ruined
Because I'm a man with unclean lips
And I live amongst a people with unclean lips
For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Hosts
Then one seraphim flew to me
With burning coals in his hand
He touched me on my lips
Said my iniquity is taken away, and my sins forgiven
Then I heard the voice of the Lord say
Who shall I send?
Who will go for us
Then I said
Here I am, Send Me

Always Blessed,

Gretchen :)

 

Tuesday's Gifts ~ Light

Light.
Here from the very Beginning of time.

For our benefit. So we can become time keepers.

Alpha and Omega

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ~Genesis 1:14-18

So we remember His Power.

His Protection. His Encompassing, Covering Love.

Trinity Lights

 ¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you established the luminaries and the sun. ~Psalm 74:16

Enduring forever. 

Sunrise, Sunset. 

Sunrise, Sunset.

Warm Embrace

 7 who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁸ the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night,    for his steadfast love endures forever;

~Psalm 136: 7-9

In the End, we will Be Again. 

We will then Shine like the sun.

El Fin

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! ~Matthew 13:43

 And Our LORD will be all the Light we need.

²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ~Revelation 21:23

Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)

All pictures are courtesy of my sister Sara Rose Nissen. 
Check out her artwork over at  as seen through my eyes.  

Possibly Linking With:

Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

Modest Mom Blog 

Deep Roots At Home

The Better Mom Monday Link Up

Frugally Sustainable
Raising Homemakers
Far Above Rubies
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home 

Wisdom Wednesdays and Link Up

No Ordinary Blog Hop

Frontline Moms Friday Fun
The Welcoming House

 Domestic Randomness~ Friday Fascinations

Courtship Connection
Living In the Shoe
Homemaking Linkup 
A Proverbs 31 Wife
All Things With a Purpose
 Our Days Homeschool Link Up 

Tuesday's Gift ~ Hope

Hope. 
 
Hope in the Lifting Up.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand. ~Psalm 37:24

Survive.

Hope in the Assurance of our God.
 

Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God. ~Psalm 42:11

Turn your face unto the LORD.

Hope in the LORD as my God and My Ultimate Help in all circumstances.
 

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God, ~ Psalm 146:5

Stretch.

Hope is a gift given by our LORD himself to encourage us on this journey called LIFE.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17

Every Good Work

We must only Seize Hope as we accept Christ as our Savior...

...we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever... ~Hebrews 6: 18b-20a

Anchored Safely

I am Thankful for the Gift of Hope, an anchor for my soul to rest upon.

Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)

All pictures are courtesy of my sister Sara Rose Nissen. 
Check out her artwork over at  as seen through my eyes.  

Possibly Linking With:

Cornerstone Confessions

Raising Arrows 

Modest Mom Blog 

Deep Roots At Home

The Better Mom Monday Link Up

Frugally Sustainable
Raising Homemakers
Far Above Rubies
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Wholehearted Home
Growing Home 

Wisdom Wednesdays and Link Up

No Ordinary Blog Hop

Frontline Moms Friday Fun
The Welcoming House

 Domestic Randomness~ Friday Fascinations

Courtship Connection
Living In the Shoe
Homemaking Linkup 
A Proverbs 31 Wife
All Things With a Purpose