Being filled up

Amazing how life can take over – YOUR LIFE!!! 

I love to make time to update my blog – kind of my running journal.  One I do not have to find to update.  But every so often, it seems life just takes over so much of my real time I have very little cyber-space time to do much of anything!  I have not been looking at blogs, not been updating mine, and who the heck knows what is going on in Facebook-World?  I sure do not these days!

I am happy if I can reply to those few urgent emails that come in, and otherwise, we are living.  Planting, building, tiling, cleaning, teaching, cooking (lots of this), reading, praying, and lots more living. 

But here I am  - a few moments.  I still need to run and sand my bathroom walls – I am DREADING this – but it needs to be done to move further on my bathroom.  Instead, here I am.

Yesterday was fun – I made another, much more successful, batch of tamales – really 2 batches.  I made almost 3 dozen pork and then almost 4 dozen Green Corn (our favorite).  I am looking forward to sharing them with some homeschool friends on Thursday night!

I finally made some great masa and the tamales were pretty good!  Now, I need to write down what I did so I can do it again – another thing to do…..

Robert is currently building our 3rd chicken coop – gotta move that new brood out. 

They are some wild chickens – I am hoping that moving outside will calm them, somehow.  Maybe with grass to eat and grasshoppers to catch they will chill a bit.  The are kind of mangy looking these days as their little downy feathers are being replaced by bigger ones.  The are cute – but I know they are getting closer to being really pretty!

Our boys are getting bigger too and just plain ugly!!  But that is okay.  J is still planning to show 3 of them through 4-H, should be fun!

 

Our other girls – the big ones – are thriving, but no eggs.  Bummer!  I am so ready for some eggs!  Soon hopefully!  Meanwhile we try to let them out daily to just get out and eat some bugs and get a change of scenery.  They love it and we enjoy sitting out and relaxing while we watch them!

God has recently blessed me in a big way.  I stood in church the other day realizing how so often our cup needs to be emptied in order to be refilled – and refilled with something better.  Too often I try to fill my cup with something that is not the best for me, but something that will be okay.  And then I watch as God empties that cup – often through lots of pain – but then turns around to refill it with His best!

I have made some friends since moving here, and getting to know many very well.  I know that God has chosen this place for me to grow and flourish, but sometimes it is still lonely.  I am not a big phone person, but I miss talking with some friends almost daily.  And I do not have any new friends that I am there with yet.  I have not found a mentor-type woman, and that is an area I have always really valued.

Well, Sunday God poured someone into my cup.  His choice.  His way.  I met a woman in our church who recently joined.  I waited in the line leaving church that filed through to shake her hand.  I usually do not do the hand shaking thing – I mean, she does not want to meet me, who am I?  let’s just go.  And I almost ducked out another door.  But I didn’t.  We shook hands, her friend told her I homeschool (so now she knows I am weird) I smile and we meet.  Then I went home.  NO biggie.  I assume she is from here, just changing churches, she has her life together, sure looks like it!  Very pretty lady, very well dressed, very together. 

God does not look at the outward appearance as man, he looks at the heart.

The following week, I greet a lady behind me and she greets me.  She leans forward and remarks something about the kids, asks my name again, then remembers that we homeschool and we met the week before.  After we talk about moving here, and so on, she shares how she moved from a small town (first time really) and moved far away, and knows very few people here.  She is almost in tears as she shares how she knows God moved her here but she is lonely.

As I feel God stir my heart, I asked her if she would like to get to know our family – we have no family here either and really do not know very many people.  I told her I have yet to find a mentor-like woman to get to know. 

So, as I worshipped that Sunday singing praise songs, God really touched my heart.  He reminded me that he empties us.  He does.  For a reason.  He allows us to remain empty sometimes longer than we like, I think so we appreciate even more when he fills us up.  He filled me up on Sunday – and I am excited.  I think my friend and I have a blessed path ahead of us, because He brought us together.  Does it get any better than that?

I am not saying that the people who have been in my life before were the ones he was emptying out.  I have been so blessed with amazing mentor ladies in my life going back to my time in West Point as well as fantastic friends along the way.  I love those ladies.  But each time I have moved, I have had my cup emptied, those close in-proximity  friendships change.  My friend is about to experience this same thing.  She is moving and it is going to be hard for her to relocate.  But knowing that God goes before us is such a peaceful thought.  He does go before us.   He has people there to bond us with, it just may take some time to find them!

I know making new friends takes time.  I do not like to take time though, I like to jump in and just be there.  Be close, know each other.  I have been blessed to have that relationship here in Malakoff with a few – and it is really precious to find that!

So, forgive me for being away, life has been busy and good.  It feels good to be right where he wants us right now, and feel his blessings pour out on me and my family.  Not perfect, but very blessed!