I'm so glad that Sabbath is here!  I was blessed by this special Sabbath poem and I hope that you all will be too!  Shabbat Shalom!

Don't Forget The Sabbath
Hymn written by Fanny Crosby

Don’t forget the Sabbath,
The Lord our God hath blest,
Of all the week the brightest,
Of all the week the best;
It brings repose from labor,
... It tells of joy divine,
Its beams of light descending,
With heav’nly beauty shine.

Welcome, welcome, ever welcome,
Blessèd Sabbath day,
Welcome, welcome, ever welcome,
Blessèd Sabbath day.

Keep the Sabbath holy,
And worship Him today,
Who said to His disciples,
“I am the living Way”;
And if we meekly follow
Our Savior here below,
He’ll give us of the fountain
Whose streams eternal flow.

Day of sacred pleasure!
Its golden hours we’ll spend
In thankful hymns to Jesus,
The children’s dearest Friend;
O gentle, loving, Savior,
How good and kind Thou art,
How precious is Thy promise
To dwell in every heart!

I am always blessed by Pastor Prince but this morning his thoughts were just the perfect reminder that I was needing.  I may know in my head that God works ALL things together for our good but it may not necessarily feel that way in my heart.

 These words strengthened me to obey God even when I may not like it at the time!  He IS shaping me to be the woman that He wants me to be in the future, just like He shaped Ruth.  I was especially blessed by this thought and I pray that you all will be too.

He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger!

Dear God, thank you for keeping me safe all my life!  Thank you for carrying me through all of the wretched storms that I needed to pass through to become the woman that I am today.  PLEASE keep me safe through the current storms as well and I thank you in advance for the wonderful plan that you have for my future!!!  Please place me at the right time; at the right place to meet the right people so that I can do the right things that you want me to do and PLEASE continue keeping me safe forever and ever. AMEN!

Happy Sabbath to all,

Dawn

Right Place, Right Time

Ecclesiastes 9:11 11… the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

God’s Word tells us that being faster, stronger and wiser does not automatically make you a winner in life. No, it is actually being at the right place at the right time that causes you to receive blessings. And God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time. He did this for Ruth. She trusted God for favor when she went looking for a field in which to glean. (Ruth 2:2) Then, the Bible tells us that “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech”. (Ruth 2:3) Of all the fields in Bethlehem, she happened to end up in Boaz’s field, and he was a close relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. This meant that Boaz was her potential kinsman redeemer, someone who could redeem her from her plight as a young, childless widow in a foreign land. Boaz also happened to be “a man of great wealth” (Ruth 2:1), and as it turned out, he was willing to redeem Ruth. (Ruth 4:9–10) All these right happenings could only mean that God had placed Ruth in the right place at the right time. I believe that the very day Ruth told her mother-in-law that the God of Israel would be her God (Ruth 1:16), God took note of it and made everything happen right for her. Today, God also wants you to know that because you have said, “God, You are My God,” He will be your God of divine happenings. He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger! You may not know where all the great opportunities are, but God does. He was the one who put in you the skills, talents and gifts that you have, and He knows where you need to be, when you should be there and what you need to be doing to be truly fulfilled!

Fun with friends

I suppose that I ought to finish my Canadian trip series but I just HAVE to share with you about Prairie Days which was at the Mark and Lynette Dagley farm this past weekend. It was wonderful, as usual, and here are some of my favorite photos from the event.
I had volunteered to teach a puppetry class.  Lynette has been asking me to get folks started with puppets for years so I thought, "Well, I really DO want Christian families to know how to share the love of God through puppets," so I agreed to do it.
In the morning I taught the simple steps of how to make sock puppets.  It was a ball to see the creativity of everyone!  This is my friend, Louisa, who is married to my friend, Tim, modeling her cute creation.  Lynette, our hostess, has on the black hat.  Lynette is always interested in what is going on.  She enjoyed the puppet making process even though she had her own puppets--one from girlhood.
In the afternoon, I taught basic puppetry and we practiced our songs.  After supper, young and not so young, gathered together under the tent to praise God with our hands.  Puppets are sooo much fun!!!!  It made me so happy to see the children walking around that evening with their puppets on their hands.  One even had her puppet on at the campfire! 

Andrew had made these huge feet for races.  Three people are needed and it really is quite difficult, and a whole lot of fun, to try to coordinate efforts to move forward.  Turning around to head the other way is a HUGE challenge.  Thanks, Andrew, for this new contribution to Prairie Day fun!

As usual, the zip line was a very popular attraction.  This little girl found the courage to give it a try knowing that her grandfather was waiting for her on the other end.  Hang on tight!

I so love being with children.  I must have spent an entire hour listening to this group of children from 3 different families.  They were sheltered in a little tree fort that somebody had built just for little people.

Can anyone guess who this is?

I enjoyed visiting with Liz Dagley who was selling home made lemonade and goodies.  I had to chuckle when she said, "I'm not a very good business woman.  You'd not believe how many little people have begged me for free lemonade or cookies and GOTTEN them."  I chuckled but noticed that some of them were proud to pull out their wallets and shell over their quarters like this fine gentleman.  ;)

These 2 sleeping beauties lay beside Liz's lemonade stand totally impervious to all of the activities going on around them.  :)  I told Liz that they reminded me of Cora and her cousin who is 40 days older than her.  We have several pictures like this of those 2 precious girls.

 This was our neighbor in Dagley Park, Carrie.  Now Carrie's family are dear friends of the Bartletts so it was very nice meeting them.  It sort of made up for the Bartletts not being able to attend, but not really!

Now, these 2 young ladies with Cora are our new neighbors.  Cora had, at the last minute, invited them to come along with us.  We were pretty surprised when they said, YES, but totally delighted.  Loretta and Sarena are from a home school family about 150 miles from here.  Both girls added much to the weekend.

 The boys and I slept in the tent because all 3 girls wanted to sleep in the girls tent.  We camped far enough away from them this year so we didn't hear them giggling half the night.  The only problem was that I was coooooooold most of the night and woke early to warm myself by the fire.  Kristi--I MISSED YOU!!!

 There was a time to dress up like someone special from the past.  Can you see Dianna and Anne here or is it really "Just" Miranda and Cora?

 Here I am with "My" old friend too.  Nancy Balyeat and I are Prairie Days friends for 10 years now.  I was so excited when she shared with me how to make water keifer.  I got really inspired to make my own probiotics instead of paying a dollar a piece for the "Very best," from the health food store.  Thanks for sharing with us all, Nancy!

 Andrew snapped this of me right before he asked me to take over the picture taking function using his camera.  In other words, my iPod camera is a piece of junk in his opinion.  ;)  Why should I complain?  I had great fun playing around with his VERY expensive camera all day.

 I wonder how many happy hours I've spent in this lady's kitchen?  The answer to that question just has to be, "Not enough."  Thank you Mark and Lynette for opening up your home to all of us every year for Prairie Days--and at other times of the year too!!!  I am so happy for you to have such a lovely home and so greatly blessed that you share it so openly!

I always enjoy visiting with my old friend, Steve.  He was living up at Paulette's health center when I was up there convalescing 6 years ago and has been a special friend ever since.  Steve is FULL of ideas to build community and to sustain life in an emergency.

 Jacob, Chris, and I enjoyed visiting and listening to Steve.  I was sad to have missed Chris's herb walk this year but I was busy in the dining room helping everyone who wanted to learn how to create a sock puppet buddy at that time.  Maybe next year?

Lynette begged Cora and I to play some piano duets on Sunday morning--so we did.  Playing with Cora is like jumping into a swimming pool on an immensely hot day OR drinking a cup of hot chocolate after freezing during chores in the Winter.  Either way, it is IMMENSELY refreshing!

There was lots of good wholesome music outside! Here are our friends, Tim and Jonathan, who have played together forever.  They did some really awesome songs and some really corny ones.  Either way, I loved them.  I especially enjoyed bidding with Andrew in the auctioneer song. :)

Are there ever pretty girls at Prairie Days and many of them love to sing praises to the Lord.  If you know me at all, you know how much I love hearing the Lord praised through singing.  Something about hearing young people praising the Lord gives me hope for the world.

To summarize then-- the men visiting together;

the women of all ages helping with the food duties;

the children of all ages playing together for 2 whole days,

This is Prairie Days to me!

Maybe next year you all can join us at Dagley Park for more wholesome family fun and fellowship?
From what Mark and Lynette tell me, EVERYONE IS WELCOME!  Thanks Mark and Lynette, and  your awesome family, for all that you do to make us feel special in your lovely neck of the woods!!!

 In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us--every one." 

I would add, "He already has!"

I thank you in advance!

I am longing for the time to write a nice, long post about the wonderful time that I had at Prairie Days spending time with those whom I love.  Between Andrew, Cora, and I we have LOTS of pictures to share with you all. 

However, much work lays before my eyes so it will have to wait until Sabbath.  However again, I truly do love writing here and sharing my heart with you.  When I read Pastor Prince's meditation this morning, I knew that I just HAD to share this one with you.

Pondering Pastor Prince's thoughts every day has totally changed my life.  Instead of sitting around waiting for good things to come my way, I'm learning to thank God in advance for the things that are surely coming.  I think that's what they call FAITH in the Bible.

Being I was so blessed with this meditation, and so burning with a desire to share my heart with you, I decided to let Pastor Prince bless you too.  I realize that, to those of us who were raised in condemnation, it takes a while for the thinking to switch to grace, so perhaps you'll need to read this 3 or 4 times before you "Get it."  It truly is worth the effort so I bless you with many thanks for your taking the time to read my thoughts here!

Have a great day!

Dawn

See The Miraculous When You Give Thanks

John 11:41 41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving. He always thanked His Father for what He had and for always hearing Him when He prayed. That was how He released miracles in His life. In the story of the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–13), Jesus’ attitude was one of thankfulness. He took a little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish, gave thanks and had them distributed. He gave thanks for the little that was there and the little multiplied. Not only did the people eat as much as they wanted, there were 12 baskets full of leftovers! So when you see the meager balance in your bank account, thank the Lord for what you have. That’s your “five loaves and two fish”. When you give Him thanks that He is your provider and the source of your supply, in spite of the little you have, your little will become much, with leftovers! Even when faced with the impossible, the solution was still, “Father, I thank You…” When Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb, and the people took away the stone that was covering the tomb, He did not see the situation as hopeless and impossible. He simply lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” Then, He proceeded to call forth Lazarus, and the man came forth alive once more! The raising of Lazarus, who had been dead for more than four days, was one of Jesus’ greatest miracles. And He accomplished this by saying, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” He thanked His way to an awesome miracle. My friend, the next time you find yourself praying, “God, please do this for me! Please give me...” stop! Instead, say, “Thank You God, for hearing me. And because You have heard me, I thank You that I have what I asked for.” And when you thank God, the little that you have will multiply. Your impossible situations will turn around to reflect God’s provision. And resurrection life will hit you!

The children and I are heading to Prairie Days early tomorrow morning with 2 guests.  Robert has once again offered to do chores for us so that we can get a break from the constant duties of farm life.  Thanks, sweetie!

I'll share photos later but for now all I can share is that we are all excited to have these lovely young ladies tag along with us.  In the meantime, you know how I can't ever forgot those who are hurting.  I just found this and I urge everyone with plenty to share with those who don't.  I know that it's hard for many of us to imagine hungry people in America, but it's true.

God bless all who think of others!!!  Have a great weekend and perhaps we'll see you at the Dagleys too! 

Dawn

Creativity is a plus

For some odd reason I volunteered to teach a puppet making class this weekend at Prairie Days.  This will be on Saturday morning.  In the afternoon, I'm going to teach a puppetry class.  I've asked Andrew to help me demonstrate the techniques.  That night, all of the puppeteers who take my class will perform a song or two for the group.  Sound like fun?

Well, my puppet book did NOT have a chapter on how to make puppets so I went online.  This was such a cute video that I decided to share it with you all just in case you're in the mood to make a puppet.  Perhaps you'd like to join me at the Dagleys this weekend and take my class?

Watch for a video of our performance here soon. 

Dawn

PS.  Got any socks without partners that you'd like to donate? 

Not wasted time

Andrew is back and I am so happy.  We had our typical head banging last night as we have often rubbed each other the wrong way.  We were both tired, though, and this morning things went much better as we started to get used to being together again. 

I think the main trouble is that Andrew is STRONGLY left brained and I am STRONGLY right brained.  I'm sure that's why God put us together under the same roof--so that we can cover each other's weaknesses.  It doesn't always work out that way, though, as I'm sure is true in your household too. 

This morning Andrew and I talked about money and he said that he refused the $50 a day that Jared offered him.  He said that he also refused to take anything for his expenses as Jared is down quite a bit himself.  If anyone feels led to help pay Jared for his professional services, I'm sure that they'd still take donations at: southdakotaforliberty.org.

The thing that we need to remember is that God has a reason for everything.  Just think of the friendships that have been formed by fellow Ron Paul supporters across the country.  Still, I was a little discouraged about the email that Ron Paul wrote to me last night stating that he now knows that he won't get the nomination with the current loses.  Still, he said, much has been done to wake up the masses.

Then I watched this video and I shook myself free from the doll drums.  My goodness, look at how the people listen to Ron Paul.  Look how many people love the freedom message!!!  Look how many people came out to show support for conservative values; for bringing home the troops; for cutting government spending and getting them out of our lives.  Just LOOK at the people!

Dawn for freedom