Another Beautiful Day & Trusting Yahweh!

It rained last night and today is dawning cooler than the last couple of days. We awoke to hear the sounds of so many different kinds of birds. It is amazing! We are surrounded by so much life!

We have been talking about what we need to try to accomplish today. There are so many things that it becomes hard to know how to prioritize. Since gas is a huge issue right now, Dave is going to check out his motorcycle and see if it is ready to start riding. Then he needs to build something to get it across the creek since the creek crossing is not done yet.

We have a meadow that was bush-hogged for us a while back, but it is almost getting too high to mow now. So, he also needs to get our mower going so he can at least do the section where we have some things.

I tend to doubt that we will get much more done outside since it may take a while for him to build something strong enough to ride the motorcycle across. He is thinking that, if he can finish one side of the creek crossing today, he will only have to build something to go across the other side. Right now, there are two trenches going through the creek.

I am going to work on getting the blue insulation sheets out of the rv. We had put them down on some of the floor area to help keep the heat in. They are now thoroughly torn up from walking on them and it is time to rip them out and vacuum really good so we can spray for ants and other bugs inside. Dave also needs to spray outside. We have seen ticks up close to the RV, even though we don't have any brush close by. I wonder if they are living in the bales. Which is another thing we need to do...sort the bad bales out and get rid of them. Then we need to make sure the good bales are neatly restacked. They got a bit scattered with the digging for the leaks. But that will have to be for another day.

And the list goes on. An unfinished laundry room. A hill that is sliding. A space that needs to be cleared out for a garage type tent to be put up. Mildewing stuff under tarps that need to be sorted out in that tent so we can get rid of the bad stuff and store the good stuff in the upper floor of the laundry room. A leaky RV roof and a need to have a regular roof built over it. And on it goes.

When I opened my email this morning I found this quote:

Everything does not depend upon us nor on man. We do what God requires of us and leave the outcome to Him. We live by this faith. The more faithfully we live by this faith, the less our anxiety.
-- Romans and Galatians by R.J. Rushdoony

It was followed by the following scripture:

Matthew 6:25-26
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

As usual, Yahweh sends me just what I need to be reminded of. The tendency to look to man or to ourselves for our provision is a very human one. However, that is not what Yahweh wants. He wants us to look to Him and to trust Him for whatever we need.

In our situation, it is something we need to keep addressing. There is always that balance of making sure we are doing what God requires of us and then trusting Him for the outcome. This life is a passing thing...so quickly gone in the light of eternity. Are we trying to build a kingdom here in this life? Or are we learning to be content with what God has provided?

That is not saying that we should not have goals and work for things. However, are the goals we set the right ones? How do we know? I need to be diligent about training my heart to hear His voice...to listen to what He is saying is for ME to do. Then I must be diligent to do it.

It is wise to recognize needs and then to work for them...as best we can. I think that is the key..."as best we can". We must do what we can and trust God for the outcome. We must do what we can to take care of the things of life and then let it go. There are times when we simply cannot do what needs to be done...we need help. Again, we must trust Yahweh that He will bring the ones alongside of us that we need to have. If He is not bringing anyone, then we must learn to be content with that. It is about trusting Him and His love for us.

That is huge. It is much easier said than done. I am not going to pretend that I have it down. This I know...none of us could have lived in our tiny space this long without His grace working through us. It is just not in us to do this. Yahweh is providing us the ability to keep our "sanity"!

We must live one day at a time. We cannot look too far ahead or we will be overwhelmed. On the other hand, we NEED to look ahead. We are hoping that our setup will be better for winter by the time winter comes. That means we must start on it now. We must always be working on it in one way or another. One of the hard things about that is that it means we don't have much of a social life. We need to take advantage of every opportunity to get those minimal things done to help us make it in this living environment.

This scripture is one we really need to focus on.

Beautiful Day!

What a beautiful day! The weather is warming up, but it is not hot. The sun is shining. What a wonderful day to be outside.

I am doing laundry today. Dave replaced the quick disconnect between the washing machine hose and the hose to the outside faucet. It no longer leaks. Yay for that! I was wrapping foil around the hose and attaching it above the disconnect so that the water would drip into it and run to the outside. Now, I no longer need to be concerned about that.

The hose carrying the water leaving the washing machine goes through a hole in the wall and into a pipe outside the laundry that runs toward the septic tank. The hose apparently does not go deep enough into the pipe. The force of the water onto the side of the pipe causes some of it to run back out the top of the pipe and down the outside of the wall of the laundry room. We need to fix that.

Well...the laundry is calling, as is the sunshine. I hope that the sun is bringing you a beautiful day wherever you are at.

From our little RV on the hillside to your home...shalom and blessings!

Beautiful Day, Butterflies & the Mail Box!

It is cold today...freezing...literally...as the thermometer reads 32 degrees. But the sun is shining. I love the sunshine! It is much harder on cold days when they are gray. But when the sun is shining...it just does not seem to be as cold. Of course, I guess it also helps that the wind is not blowing, so there is no wind chill factor.

I actually walked down to the mailbox today. I know...that probably sounds kind of silly...like, what kind of accomplishment is that? Well, I have noticed that living in a place where there is no place to walk...the tendency is to sit a lot. And it all contributes to a kind of inertia. It is hard to get going. And when the weather is icky, it becomes even harder to move around and easier to just sit. And yes, I am VERY out of shape. I won't deny it!

So, walking down the driveway to the mail IS an accomplishment...for me. But the sun was calling and it really did not feel that cold. Of course, I did have to be careful on one part of the driveway. Lately, there has been so much ice that I did not want to dare to walk down it if I did not have to. But today there was only one place I needed to be careful. It actually felt good to be outside walking around!

Oh, Spring...hurry up and come! I love winter...but what we have had is NOT winter. It is more like what the transitional weather between winter and spring is like...except that it has been like this ALL winter long! Ick!! I am tired of mud and ice! I love snow. But I do not like winter rain and ice.

I am thinking about our meadow and wondering if we will mow it or not this summer. I am so torn. When we did not mow it last summer we had so many butterflies all around that they would actually fly into you when you walked down the driveway. I like the idea of a mowed meadow...but I also like the idea of a butterfly sanctuary! *smile*

So, today is a beautiful day!