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Celebrating Moms
Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms out there!! You are very much appreciated for all the things you do from day to day. When thinking about mothers there are many ways to celebrate them. You can go all out and take them out for dinner or give them a spa day or massage or send flowers. Those options are very thoughtful and nice, but we can always just keep it simple. I have two girls and the oldest is a wonderful cook, who cooks totally from scratch and doesn’t always need a recipe. As simple as it sounds, for me, having my oldest cook the meal is a…
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Book Review: The One Year Pray for America Bible & The History of the National Day of Prayer
I’ve always said that parenting is about 99% prayer. Mothers pray. A lot. In honor of that, this month’s book review focuses on supporting a mother’s prayer life through daily Bible reading. But, I have to admit, I have not completed the book for this month’s book review. However, since tomorrow, Thursday, May 6 is the 2021 National Day of Prayer in the US, it seemed a good time to review this month’s book, The One Year Pray for America Bible (Tyndale). First, a little bit of history on the National Day of Prayer. Prayer has a long and valued heritage in American history. Even before we became the nation…
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A Devotion for Mothers
Scripture: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of the household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:25-30 (ESV) Devotional Thought: As mothers, we are revered as the caretakers, the one who has it all together. When…
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Seasonal Purge & Renewal
I love this time of year! I always get an extra bounce in my step and a new sense of energy with the new signs of spring. This is the time of year I also think of cleaning out seasonal stuff. It’s time to put away the winter attire and get out the summer shoes and clothes. Putting away our seasonal wardrobes makes it a great time to purge items we didn’t wear or won’t fit next year with the growing kiddos. It’s also a great time to open the windows in the house and let the fresh air in while spring cleaning. With the start of each new season,…
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Finishing Well
“and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” (Hebrews 12:1c) I am not a runner. In fact, I’ve been known to jokingly say that running may be a sin since the Bible never portrays Jesus as running anywhere:). Despite not being a runner, I do know a bit about running races. As Hebrew 12:1 states, as a Christian, I am on a race to eternity and I’m called to run it well. Unfortunately, I struggle with the “endurance” part. Looking back, it is easy to see that I have lived my life as a series of intensive sprints, some longer, some shorter. As one can imagine, a lifestyle…
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Calves and Spring Planting
Living on the farm, April is a wonderful time of year with the beginnings of spring and new life on the farm. We start calving and with the baby calves comes a new kind of energy to the farm. It is an energy of rejuvenation. It’s time to get the equipment ready for spring planting with anticipation of what the crop year will look like. Being a farmer and getting a first-hand view of mother nature’s renewal and the life cycle of new beginnings is definitely a great benefit. With the change in weather, it means we get to spend more time outdoors enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. Farm…
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Summertime Sunshine
Summer is a time when we think of hot days, short nights, being outside most of the day, picnics, and mosquitoes buzzing. I remember summer days filled with the activities of going to grandma and grandpa’s house hanging out. We would help with house cleaning, cooking and baking, and gardening. One of my fondest memories was sitting outside with family. While sitting outside we would cut and eat huge watermelon slices while trying to see how far we could spit the seeds. With all the seeds we spit I’m surprised grandma and grandpa didn’t have a watermelon patch growing. In today’s day and age, summertime for kids is very different.…
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My Fingers are Itching: The Renewal is Coming!
No worries….I do not have any strange health concerns and haven’t had a run-in with poison ivy. My fingers are fine medically, but they are filled with anticipation to start digging in the dirt! I love to garden! Yes, it is rewarding to see the garden grow, the beauty of the plants, and of course eating and cooking with the beautiful produce. However, the greatest reason I find to plan, design, and sow my garden each year is it renews my soul. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” and continues on from there that there is a time for…
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Book Review: “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss
At Rhubarb & Rubbish, we are continually reading and reviewing books that peak our interests. Our mission is to cultivate an intentional life, right? Meaning we take out the fluff and junk to focus on our values and what is most important to us. This book offers advice on how to take your business or career into something that will give you the time for what is important to you…whatever that may be. Although the author focuses on how the principles allowed him to travel extensively, the principles work for anything. It can be used to have more time for family, hobbies, leisure and more. For myself, I am always…
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Celebration Stress Busted! A few tips to manage spring celebration season.
I love spring! The earth is coming back to life after a season of rest. Families are planning summer vacations and kids are looking forward to sleeping in and no homework. Amid all these plans, spring also boasts a host of celebrations: Easter, graduations, confirmations, Mother’s day, and more. I have worked my entire adult life in higher education, and, as a result, experience graduation every year. In fact, in my previous role, I planned the graduation ceremony for my university. I loved it! To celebrate the accomplishment of hard work is amazing, but it always made me super excited to celebrate young people commencing another phase of life. My…
