Established Steps

Six year old Marshall received his John Deere scarf today after he got out of school. He called me and said with much enthusiasm in his country voice "Thank you so much for that! And it's in a pattern. Yellow, green, yellow, green. It's neat!" "You're very welcome Marshall. I'm glad you like it." "Yeah, I'm going to wear it every day it snows." He was real excited and it brought a big smile to my face. :)

I went to town today to run errands. On my to-buy list was super glue, so I headed toward the office supply isle in Wal-mart. I turned down the isle and a lady approached me and asked if I could help her find the white out. She had looked up and down all the isles and couldn't find it. So I started to walk down the isle - and praise God, there it was. She said she had walked by it a couple times. I told her "I know exactly how you feel!" She thanked me and started to walk off. I reached into my purse and pulled out a gospel tract - "Here you go mam." She took it and paused for a second. I told her it had a gospel message on the back. She got a big smile on her face and was so grateful. She is a Christian too! We chatted for a little while about how God sends you one of your siblings in Christ just when you need them. Our steps are laid out before the Lord! :) She was familiar with Way of the Master and was so encouraged to hear that we put that into practice. She told me that she professed Christ at a young age, but not 'til much later did she really start living for Him. She is now 50 years old and regrets it - but is so grateful that God is raising up a younger generation. She was so sweet!!! And I am grateful to God that He crossed our paths. It is also neat to think back on the event that led up to my need for super glue. A couple weeks ago the strap on one of my much loved Crocs broke. Sad day. So I am going to try and glue it back together. Lord willing that will work.

Tony's Thoughts from Saturday

Saturday morning we approached the killing mill to find a circle of believers out front, on the sidewalk praying, lifting up petitions to the God of all creation, asking Him to change the hearts of those getting abortions. As the morning progressed, George was preaching truth to the blind-those who walk in the path of the woman called folly. George is there along with many others day in and day out, faithfully calling out to the lost.

As the proverb says, “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.” This is exactly what George and others, who faithfully preach the truths of God’s kingdom, are doing. I picture King Solomon writing this proverb as he hears prophets of God warn Israel and sojourners in the markets, streets, and city gates of Jerusalem. What a blessed thing to hear truth proclaimed outside the 4 walls of a church building.


From there we joined four others at the St. Patrick's day parade. Many gospel tracts were passed out to the people along the parade route. May hearts be changed by the preaching of the glorious gospel.

“I’m going to give away $20 to whoever can prove to me that they are a good person. We’re going to use a good standard that most everyone agrees with, the Ten Commandments ….” By this time I had a few takers to the challenge. Just that quick … it’s amazing how money instantly draws a crowd. I chose a participant from the crowd and began to ask 3 simple questions to find out if she was a good person. “Chelsea, the first is question is, have you ever told a lie?” “Yes.” “What does that make you? What would you be called?” “A liar.” “That’s correct. Second question, have you ever stolen anything?” “No.” “Even it its small, something from a brother or sister. Something you’ve taken without asking?” “Yes.” “What does that make you?” “A thief.” “Third question, have you ever disobeyed your parents?” “Yes.” “Chelsea, by your own admission you are a liar, a thief, and a rebellious child at heart. You’re not a good person according to God’s law. Chelsea, if you were to stand before God would you be innocent or guilty of breaking His laws?” “Innocent.” “Why is that?” “Because I believe in God.” “Imagine this Chelsea, you are standing in a courtroom, all the evidence is laid out, you are guilty and in a lot of trouble. And you say to the judge ‘your honor, I believe I’m innocent because I believe in you.’ Do you think he is going to let you go Chelsea?” “No.” “It is the same with God; He can’t just simply let you go. The fine for breaking the law must be paid. Chelsea, would you be innocent or guilty of breaking God’s laws?” “Guilty.” “Do you deserve to be punished in hell or rewarded with heaven?” “Hell.” “Let’s go back to the courtroom a second. You’re guilty and a fine of $100,000 has been placed on you, and you don’t have the money to pay for your crimes. Without the money to pay your fine, you are being led off to jail, just then someone that you do not know rushes in to the court room and pays your fine. You are free to go, not because you earned it, but simply because of pure grace. This is what God has done for His people in Jesus Christ. You broke the Law and Jesus paid the fine. Now, it is evident who are God’s people, because they will bring forth fruit of repentance. You must repent (turn from your sins) and trust in Jesus for forgiveness of your sins. Chelsea, you did not prove to be a good person according to God’s law. No one is good but Jesus. As a demonstration of grace, something that you do not deserve, I’m giving you this $20. In the same way, God gives saving grace through his Son Jesus Christ. Folks, there is no hope in yourself. You must repent of your wickedness and hope only in Jesus Christ. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Repent and trust Jesus . . .”

It was a great day. Tracts were passed out, the gospel was preached, and the fellowship was sweet.

Shades of Green

I started a batch of GREEN apple butter last night.

Our GREEN mint leaves are springing up - along with some weeds.

Tony scythed some of our tall GREEN grass last night. ;)

I made a John Deere scarf for our nephew,
per his request. "GREEN & yellow please."


This past Saturday we proclaimed the gospel at the St. Patrick's
day parade. So you can imagine all the GREEN we saw there.


Oh, and I just ate a GREEN avocado for lunch. :)

Ruffles, Bows, and Flowers

Spontaneous Date Night

Thats us after our wonderful dinner at Outback. :)

I am sooo blessed to have such a sweet, silly husband!

Take note of the french fry hanging behind my head. Haha!

Rainy Days

Our little construction project has been wrapped up in plastic going on five days. :) Along with the rain, we recieved a nice little cold of sorts. So Friday I spent most of the day in bed. Sleeping. Reading. Crocheting. Sipping on hot tea. Tony & I usually always do everything together, but that evening he went to a Bible study and I stayed at home to rest. Saturday we had plans to go minister at the abortion clinic and the St. Patricks Day parade in Raleigh. But the parade was postponed due to the rain and we didn't think it would help with the healing process to stand in the cold wet weather outside the abortion clinic. So we just spent time together here at the house. :) Sunday we went to church and then had a wondeful mexican lunch with some friends. Yum!! That evening we visited at my parents house and enjoyed very tasty carrot cake made by mom!! Yesterday, Mom, Brittany, and I ventured to Wilson and ate lunch together at the Carolina Cheese Company and then looked around Marshalls. It was a fun little girls day out (thanks to Brittany's planning)!

A quote by Mark Driscoll that rang true in our ears this weekend:

The problem with both syncretism and sectarianism is that they

deny the clear teaching of the Scriptures that the power of God

unleashed through the gospel of Jesus Christ can transform anyone.

Sectarians do not live by the necessary faith in the gospel and therefore

believe that evil hearts and sinful actions and worldly social structures

are more powerful than God, unable to be redeemed, and therefore are

a waste of our energies because they are destined to be meat on God's

grill anyway, so why bother? Likewise, syncretists do not live by the

necessary faith in the gospel and therefore believe that the hearts of people

aren't that bad, their actions aren't that sinful, and since people are doing

the best they can, we can't expect any sort of radical transformation,

and so we should simply bless them with a sentimental love.

Dandelion Jelly

View of our clover patch!! Nice and green it is! :)

The shed is coming along nicely.
Tony's scedule the past couple days has been
work. dinner. build. school.

sprinkled with just a little bit of sleep.
Lord willing he'll be able to catch up on some much
needed sleep over the forcasted rainy weekend.


And pretty dandelions enjoying the sunshine.

I've been reading through a book titled "Good Old Days in the Kitchen"
I found it at Ollies for $2.99! Reading the back cover brought a smile
to my face so in the cart it went. Back in the Good Old Days life revolved
around the kitchen table - not the television. There we brought the fresh
vegetables from the garden for cleaning and canning. There we folded hands
and gave thanks for the good things the Lord had provided. There we shared
bread and time with one another. This look back into the kitchens of yesteryear
is sure to warm you just like the old wood cookstove. I have very much liked
reading about the "kitchens of yesteryear" and find myself wanting my kitchen
to resemble theirs in certain ways. There is much to learn from generations past.


"She never let one green tomato go to waste... she appeared to find her task [of feeding
her family frugally] challenging and satisfying... our mother was a willing baker and a very accomplished maker of pies and cake ... big golden oak table... a demanding monster
of a garden in which we all labored according to our ages and capabilities... "

There are recipes scattered throughout these stories - green tomato pie, pecan sandies,
grandma's ketchup, prepared horseradish, five-egg sponge cake, and even dandelion
jelly. Yep. Those little yellow flowers that are blooming right now and usually sprayed
with some sort of weed killer were used for food in kitchens past.

*Dandelion Jelly*

Pick one quart of fresh dandelion blossoms. Quickly rinse blossoms with cool water to remove any insects. Snip off green collars. Combine cleaned blossoms in a saucepan with 2 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. Strain liquid, pressing petals with fingers to extract juice. Measure 3 cups dandelion liquid into a saucepan; add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 package Sure Jell. Bring to a boil. Add 5.5 cups sugar, stirring well. Boil for 2.5 minutes, stirring well. Put in jars and seal.

Excited about dirt and other things

Our bradford pear trees are blooming beautifully and I am l.o.v.i.n.g. this spring-like weather we've had the past few days. I do not think it is here to stay yet, but it has been nice. Saturday morning we made our way to Goldsboro to return plywood to Lowes and pick up some starter pots for our seeds. We were also very excited to get a truckload of nice rich soil! Never thought we'd be so excited about dirt. Ha! Tony & his dad started on the shed, while I shoveled the dirt into our garden box and started our sweet pepper seeds. The guys were able to complete the floor of the shed early afternoon. Most of the day was spent outdoors in the wonderful sunshine ... thence Tony & I both received some pink highlights on our white skin. ;) After a nice big salad we made our way back to Lowes to pick up more wood. It took a looong time to weed through all the warped pieces of wood, but we were finally able to get what we needed. Praise God! Then homeward bound we were after a quick stop at the grocery store to get ingredients for homemade pimento cheese with Irish soda bread - dinner. It was a late night, but it felt sooo very good to lay in bed!! Oh yes, and spring our clocks up an hour.

After a few hours of sleep our alarm started going off, noting it was time to get up and get ready for church. :) It takes us a good hour to get to church from our house - plenty of time to talk and sing with my sweet husband and/or listen to a sermon. Sweet moments of togetherness. A song that continually came to mind while listening to this weeks sermon was "Behold the Lamb of God" by Andrew Peterson - if you turn your volume up you can hear it playing in the background.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away our sin.
Behold the Lamb of God the life and light of man.
Behold the Lamb of God who died and rose again.
Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away our sin.

I was able to get a good start on a girly baby blanket; there it is pictured below and you can see the tote bag I sewed with Tony's mom. It makes for a great traveling bag. Oh how I like being crafty!!

Yesterday afternoon we went to Tony's parents house to celebrate Wes' 21st birthday. Theres a picture of two of our cute neices and a nephew below. :)

We came home and sat on our porch enjoying the nice Sunday afternoon breeze. Tony read. I crocheted. Then my parents stopped by for a visit. They brought us two yummy bagels that dad had made the day before. Very tasty!! Then we just sat and chatted about various things. :)

Wonderful weekend!!
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!!

Because Biblical religion is a total faith,

and our God a total and sovereign Lord,

we must claim every area of life and thought for Christ,

and the area of education is a central one,

and, next to the family, most basic to the life of man.

--RJ Rushdoony

Thai for Dinner

A couple weeks ago a friend treated me to lunch at a local Thai restaurant. I ordered a dish that consisted of rice with pineapple, cashews, tomatoes, onions, celery, raisins, scrambled egg, and other veggies. It was really tasty! So today I decided to recreate it here at the house. Yum!!