What is the sphere of woman?

"What is the sphere of woman? Home. The social circle. 
What is her mission? To mold character, --to fashion herself and others after the model character of Christ.

What are her chief instruments for the accomplishment of her great work? The affections. Gentleness, sweetness, loveliness, and purity are the elements of her "power".

Her place is not on life's' great battlefields. Man belongs there. It is for him to go forth armed for its conflicts and struggles to do fierce battle with the host of evils that throng our earth. But woman must abide in the peaceful sanctuaries of home, and walk in the noiseless vales of private life.

There she must dwell, beside the secret springs of public virtue.

There she must smile upon the father, the brother, the husband, when, returning like warriors from the fight, exhausted and covered with the dust of strife, they need to be refreshed by sweet waters drawn from affections spring, and cheered to renewed struggles by the music of her voice.

There she must rear the Christian patriot, and statesman, the self-denying philanthropist, and the obedient citizen.

There, in a word she must form the character of the world, and determine the destiny of her race! How awful is her mission! What dread responsibility attaches to her work!

Surely she is not degraded by filling such a sphere. nor would she be elevated, if , forsaking it, she should go forth into the highway of society and jostle with her brothers for the offices and honors of public life. Fame she might occasionally gain, but it would be at the price of her womanly influence." ~Dan Wise (1857) 
[Slightly edited.]

'Never Alone' by Lady Antebellum (Youtube)

                                 I heard this song the other day. It is wonderful! :D

         Lyrics:
     
            May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you
            And heaven accept you when it's time to go home
            May you always have plenty, the glass never empty
            And know in your belly, you're never alone

May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having
As every year passes, they mean more than gold
May you win and stay humble, smile more than grumble
And know when you stumble, you're never alone

Never alone, never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown
Wherever you fly this isn't goodbye
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone

Well, I have to be honest as much as I wanted
I'm not gonna promise that cold winds won't blow
So when hard times have found you and your fears surround you
Wrap my love around you, you're never alone

Never alone, never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown
Wherever you fly this isn't goodbye
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone

May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when it's time to go home
So when hard times have found you and your fears surround you
Wrap my love around you, you're never alone

Never alone, never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown
Wherever you fly, this isn't goodbye
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone
My love will follow you, stay with you, baby, you're never alone

Friendship Bread and Pineapple

Hey y'all!!
So my one friend gave me a starter for Friendship Bread (more like cake/pound cake). It was fun, every ten days you do some baking...But then I had nobody to give the starters to that I got from my original one..
So I ended up baking lots of loaves, (Chocolate chip) and freezing some loaves. I am now baking more loaves (French Vanilla Pecan) and am going to freeze them as well.

I am thinking about doing strawberry or apple next time...This should be FUN! :D I also am going to do some Pistachio ones as well.
 I have five starters now!  I am going to freeze three, keep one, and the other one I found a home for! Yay!
 Thankfully I do like baking, so it isn't that much of a chore for me. ;-)

Reminds me of  Proverbs 31:27~"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."  That is so true! There can't be idleness when you make food.

I just took a picture of them baking.

Oh, the joys of baking/cooking...The delightful smell it makes in the kitchen! :)

God has greatly blessed me (and many other women) giving me these wonderful skills, to be a homemaker!

We finally bought a pineapple, I haven't had it fresh in a long time. It is so flavorful!
I am going to take a picture of it. ... Okay, here is one for y'all!

It is 10:48 p.m. here, so I should be going...to read the Bible, sing the Psalms, and pray with my family. :D


God bless you all and have a blessed nights sleep and rest of the week.

"I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me."~Psalm 3:5

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." ~Numbers 6:24-26


Cheers!

"Be fruitful, and multiply"

  This video brings me much joy. I don't care for some of the pictures in it, but other than that it is a great video. :)

Hopeful expectations for my future! But then again, I don't know God's plan, maybe I'll only have two...I don't know, but I will forever keep Genesis 1:28 on my mind, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply..."
That is God's command to us; may we not do anything to hinder pregnancy. 
Yes, this includes Birth Control and "family planning". 
The Earth is NOT over-populated, so don't try that one with me.

I really appreciate taking care of babies, helping children do school, helping mothers out with whatever they need done, talking with mothers about their children, ways they educate them and the different ways they  "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord"~Ephesians 6:4, so I can learn from them.


I hope you enjoy this video as much as I have. :D 


~Blessings!

Created to Be His Help Meet (youtube)

I just watched a nice video on Youtube and thought I would share it with you.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDChwS8igzo&feature=related

~Blessings!

Psalm 63 (Youtube)

 Here is one of my favorite Psalms done by 'charlottepc' on Youtube. Enjoy!
Everyone have a blessed rest of the Lord's Day and may He strengthen you.

 I have had a very blessed Lord's Day and I hope y'all have as well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCEqNaWLfV8&list=UUSO3nQGLd7V7XzoFwP3dxNQ&index=10&feature=plcp

Goodnight! :)

This is what happens when I don't blog for a while ;)

I can't believe how little I do on here...But the truth is I have been busy. I don't do a whole lot online now that spring has come around. I did see that my blog got 35 views just this morning! Thank you guys for stopping by even though I am not consistent with my blogging.

Friday I picked a lot of mint. I have already "stripped" like over 16 cups and I have way more to strip, but I don't know if I will be able to manage stripping mint with all my other Saturday chores, but I will see!
I might just use the mint I already stripped. I am planning on filling a big pot full of water until it boils and then putting the mint in to steep for half an hour or so. Then I plan to save some of it for my family to drink now and the rest I hope to freeze.

I am doing Friendship Bread (more like cake) that I will have to bake on Tuesday. I hope to make four large loaves, keep one for ourselves and freeze the other three or I could keep one for ourselves, freeze two and give the other one to a couple of our neighbours, but I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Tabitha and I have started our garden. I always  look forward to spring because of this fact.  We, at the moment, have planted: lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, peas, kale, greens (bitter ones), beats, summer squash and winter squash. So excited for harvest time to come around! :D

Oh, for your information, Stink Bugs taste like Cilantro. Heehee.

I really want to start canning this year! I got  wax/regular green beans and pickling cucumbers from seeds to plant, for just this. I figured I must plan ahead, aye?

I was cutting onions while my sister asks me if I want a TV in my home when I get married; I answered with 'absolutely not!' I want to have time together as a family, not staring at a television for hours on end. Especially with today's culture of inappropriate things on the television I do not want to have one in my home to have my children exposed to it.
My family has had a TV on and off for years, we got one and then got ride of it and got one and got rid of it...Then finally in the beginning of 2009, I think it was, we got ride of our TV permanently and I don't regret it one little bit! I am so happy we got rid of it.

We then started discussing movies. I personally want educational movies, like; historical, creation and nature, and maybe movies based on real stories. Other than that I don't really want in my future home, but I would have to discuss that with my husband of course.  ;)

I then started talking about children books. I don't like books for children that have animals talking like humans...Animals DON'T talk!!!!! I don't want my children to read things like that. I really want to give my children books like science, history, and manner books that are also fun to read! It is amazing how children actually pick up, so why not give then some that will benefit them in the future. :) Maybe I am being to extreme, I don't know,  but it makes sense to me.

 Yesterday, Tabitha and I went shopping. We first stopped at a Farmer's Market, and then Walmart. It is always fun and a blessing to spend time with my sister.

Tabitha made some pasta salad and fruit salad today and last night, so she and I went to where we had our car collision earlier this year and brought the fruit salad, pasta salad, and some of our flowers to the woman who stayed by my side during that time.
She and her husband were very glad to see us and that we are doing well.

I am going to make bean salad today for the Lord's Day. Maybe I'll put the recipe on my Food Blog. I haven't put anything up there in ages...I have pictures ready, but I just haven't got around to putting up them and the recipes. Lord willing I will have more time next week.

Everyone have a blessed rest of Saturday and Lord's Day tomorrow! May you praise Him with your whole heart, soul, strength, and mind.

Here is a Psalm (from Scottish 1650 Psalter) for y'all.



~Blessings!

Psalm 144

with Notes by John Brown of Haddington

A Psalm of David.

This psalm was probably composed by David upon the occasion of his advancement to the throne, 1 Chron. 12, 2 Sam. 5, as Psalm 138, 75, etc. In it we have, (1.) Thankful acknowledgements of God's relation to him, and condescending kindness towards him, ver. 1-4. (2.) Supplication for divine deliverance from his enemies, who still threatened him, ver. 5-8; and for prosperity to his kingdom, ver. 11-14. (3.) Triumphant joy in God, as his and their deliverer and portion, ver. 9-10, 15.
While I sing, let me admire the relation, the kindness of God to me, who am so mean, so frail, so sinful! Let me rejoice in him, as my all in all; and commit my way to him, that he may bring it to pass. And let every external benefit lead up my heart to God himself.

1    O blessed ever be the Lord,
          who is my strength and might,
     Who doth instruct my hands to war,
          my fingers teach to fight.

2    My goodness, fortress, my high tow'r,
          deliverer, and shield,
     In whom I trust: who under me
          my people makes to yield.

3    Lord, what is man, that thou of him
          dost so much knowledge take?
     Or son of man, that thou of him
          so great account dost make?

4    Man is like vanity; his days,
          as shadows, pass away.
5    Lord, bow thy heav'ns, come down,
          touch thou the hills, and smoke shall they.

6    Cast forth thy lightning, scatter them;
          thine arrows shoot, them rout.
7    Thine hand send from above, me save;
          from great depths draw me out;

     And from the hand of children strange,
8         Whose mouth speaks vanity;
     And their right hand is a right hand
          that works deceitfully.

9    A new song I to thee will sing,
          Lord, on a psaltery;
     I on a ten-string'd instrument
          will praises sing to thee.

10   Ev'n he it is that unto kings
          salvation doth send;
     Who his own servant David doth
          from hurtful sword defend.

11   O free me from strange children's hand,
          whose mouth speaks vanity;
     And their right hand a right hand is
          that works deceitfully.

12   That, as the plants, our sons may be
          in youth grown up that are;
     Our daughters like to corner-stones,
          carv'd like a palace fair.

13   That to afford all kind of store
          our garners may be fill'd;
     That our sheep thousands, in our streets
          ten thousands they may yield.

14    That strong our oxen be for work,
          that no in-breaking be,
     Nor going out; and that our streets
          may from complaints be free.

15   Those people blessed are who be
          in such a case as this;
     Yea, blessed all those people are,
          whose God Jehovah is.

Abortion Stops a Beating Heart (A Baby can live without it)

I am wearing one of my favorite shirts today. (The back says "A Baby Can Live Without it".)

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply.."~ Genesis 1:28 
 May we keep this to heart! 

May the Lord grant you with as many children as HE wants for His GLORY! <3 
You have no say into it...ONLY GOD DOES! 

"Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table." ~Psalm 128:3


God bless y'all!

You are mature...Right? (Get out the bubble-wrap!)

;)

Follow me on Pinterest! (Or just take a peak at my boards and pins.)

Here is the link to my Pinterest. Enjoy y'all! :D (You don't have to be signed up to look at it.)

http://pinterest.com/harmlessasdoves/

Seventh Commandment

The seventh Commandment is very important to keep in mind and follow when interacting with those of the opposite sex:

Q. 137. Which is the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Q. 138. What are the duties required in the seventh commandment?
A. The duties required in the seventh commandment are, chastity in body, mind, affections, words, and behavior; and the preservation of it in ourselves and others; watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses; temperance, keeping of chaste company, modesty in apparel; marriage by those that have not the gift of continency, conjugal love, and cohabitation; diligent labor in our callings; shunning all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto.

Q. 139. What are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the seventh commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are, adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts; all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and affections; all corrupt or filthy communications, or listening thereunto; wanton looks, impudent or light behavior, immodest apparel; prohibiting of lawful, and dispensing with unlawful marriages; allowing, tolerating, keeping of stews, and resorting to them; entangling vows of single life, undue delay of marriage; having more wives or husbands than one at the same time; unjust divorce, or desertion; idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, unchaste company; lascivious songs, books, pictures, dancings, stage plays; and all other provocations to, or acts of uncleanness, either in ourselves or others.

'A Letter to My Children About Marriage' by Kelly

I found this wonderfully written "letter" here

Great words...God is good! May this letter get straight to your heart and may you keep it with you forever throughout your marriage!<3

May the Lord bless and encourage you all!

Let me know what you think about it.

           Dear Children,

Should the Lord give you the good gift of a husband or wife, and I hope He does, there are a few things I want you to know. Things that you may not hear from anyone else, and certainly not on TV or other media. Sadly, your church may not even tell you.

Marriage, sweet little people, is not for the purpose of your happiness. Happy as I want you to be and hope you will be, you must yet understand that marriage is God’s design and His purposes must be pursued in order for you to be truly happy. His end is holiness and He will use all things in a life devoted to Him to fulfill that end.

To my girls:

Marry a man whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, he is not hard to please. Admire him, cheer him on and show gratitude, and he will fall over himself trying to please you. Smile often, speak well of him always, and do whatever necessary to try and maintain a pleasant mood about you so that it transfers to your home, making it a place where he and your children love to be.

You’ll have bad days of course, crying days even, and that’s when you go to your bedroom, kneel on the floor and beg the Lord to carry you. Then get up, get a fresh perspective (crayons will come off the wall), and try again. Above all else, make a home.

To my boys:

Marry a woman whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, she may be hard to please only if you don’t know “the secret”. What is that? I’m glad you asked. The secret to pleasing your wife is to make her feel safe and treasured. You may have to move out of your comfort zone to do this at times. She won’t always readily translate the oil change to love, though it means that. But let me give you a “secret question”–a question you need to ask her often. It’s not just in the asking, though. Be sure to focus your eyes on hers, maybe even touch her shoulder or face, and then ask: “What’s on your mind these days? “ And then be ready to listen. She wants you to draw her out. She will perceive this as your protection over the matters of her heart. Tenderness, listening, protection. That’s what she wants.

To you all:

If your wife or husband does something really stupid, forgive. If they do it again, forgive again. Forgiveness must be the propelling force in your lives each day. Dwell on the strengths, push out thoughts of their weaknesses. Take every thought captive–choose to love.

Here’s that part you are not going to hear often:

If you find yourself “not happy”, having lost attraction, disinterested, etc., you are not permitted to even think about a divorce. If you find yourselves arguing more and more, don’t think for a minute that “the children will be better off out of this”, because they won’t.

The vows you took on your wedding day were not suggestions. They were covenant vows, before a Holy God, family and friends, to stay with this person the rest of your life, even if you don’t feel like it. You swore a solemn oath and if you can’t live up to it, don’t get married. Decide up front that your marriage is irrevocable. There is far more motivation for getting along if your “marriage house” has no door.

Do not share intimate thoughts or feelings with anyone of the opposite sex. Do not find yourself alone for any length of time with such either.

Divorce is not a “private option”. It will affect multiple families for many generations. When you “separate what God has joined” you permanently injure far more than just yourself.

Guard your marriage as fiercely as you would guard your own life. Treat your spouse as an extension of your flesh, just as God sees you. Treat your spouse like other family members. You know, “you gotta love ‘em, they’re the only family you’ve got”.

I want you to be happy, I surely do. But I will pray for you to be holy.

"Cinderella"~Steven Curtis Chapman

Here is a song by Mr. Chapman that expresses how fast life goes...
Kinda makes me tear up...
Well, here it is.
God bless. 

"Whom Should I Marry?" by Rev David Silversides

 A good friend of mine (thanks Iain!) gave me this sermon to listen to a while ago. Great sermon. Much food for thought!

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2111751184&fb_source=message


~Blessings!

THUNDER!

Today I bent down to pet my one dog, Hoss, when my other dog, Thunder, came up behind me and jumped right on top of me... Haha! He is so funny.
I asked Tabitha to take a picture, so here it is. (After she took the pictures my back was all stiff.)

I hope y'all are having a blessed day and also had a blessed Lord's Day! :)

Psalm 67 A Cappella [video/audio]

After over a month of colds and getting over colds my sister and I finally recorded a "Psalm video" last night. It is such a blessing to be healthy and to know that God always protects us when we have colds.

Here is the video of the Psalm we did last night. I hope y'all enjoy it and may the Lord bless you.

 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." ~Philippians 4:8

Life is Fleeting...Fill it with What Matters...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86GTxOw4p1E

I am blessed...

Waking up to a warm (finally!) morning...Being greeted with a "good morning" from my family...

Getting water and food for my pig and I walk by a gorgeously blooming honeysuckle bush...Oh the sweet smell of honey suckle! We have two big bushes were we live.

Being near my four huge pigs that oink really loud. Sometimes they run around just for the fun of it!  You wouldn't understand until you have seen it.
Such a marvelous sight! (Well, at least that is what I think.)
 On hot summer days they like to play with their water dish bumping it dumping all the water out until it turns into a muddy mess and then they roll all over the mud. I like to bring a water-hose to them when it is especially hot out and spray them down.

        
     As seen here below they really enjoy it! Is it just me or does it look like she is  smiling?                         

A pig yawning.

A big laying down.

Pig coming over to me. 

Our goats eating pasture grass.

                      Enjoying our cats and kittens. They are just darlings!

                                                         Kitten

 

                                                        Kitten

                                                           Cuddles

Went to one of my friend's Bridal Showers. Just so you know...yeah, I took a picture of a picture. Isn't that picture just sweet though. <3

                                     Smiling bread, Tabitha did it.
                                           (Yeah, that was epic!)

                                       Watching my "Zinger" tea brew.

                                       
                           Miss Tabitha catching Tommy our male turkey.

                      (I sooo want to eat him! Lol. My sister thinks other wise.)
                                                             


                                        I made Baked Sweet Potato fries!
                                         (You know you want some!)

                                  Tonights dinner: "Freedom Ranger" chicken
                         (And no it isn't burnt. That is all the spice on top.)

                    


                        And finally some more pictures of God's magnificent
                                                creation that I took.

                                    
                                      Rainbow. It is not that bright.

                 
                

 

Well, thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my pictures!

 "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."~John 1:3

  "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."~Revelation 4:11

~Blessings! 

P.S. If someone hands me a camera I just "have" to take pictures! Photography is one of my favourite hobbies.