Monday, May 30, 2022

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - May 30, 2022

Good morning! I trust that you and yours are enjoying a lovely holiday weekend and that your Monday is off to a great start! Happy Memorial Day! 💓☆💙

Memorial Day Parade

The past week has been busy, but full of family and fun. The first part of the week was spent working around the place. I worked Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday evening, daughter-in-law, Nicole, went into labor. After a long night at the hospital, labor was stopped and Nicole was sent home. They're hoping the baby stays put for, at least, another week. 

Thursday morning daughter-in-law, Angie, rode to town with me. We had lunch together and went grocery shopping. Thursday evening daughter, Amanda, and her girls came down. Amanda was only able to stay one night, but the girls are still here.

Friday we went to the state park. We walked the picnic and campground area and played in the water at the low-water bridge. 

Granddaughters Alysia and Kayla

After we got home, we built a fire and watched the sun go down. The girls started nature journals and we played several games of Splendor. We also managed to burn up a tiki-torch! It was blazing, but not where it should have been! LOL! 😅


Saturday morning I took the girls geocaching, but their experience was not a good one. I'm hoping to take them again before the weekend is over to an area where they might have a better chance of enjoying it. We will see.

Saturday evening we had supper at Patrick and Amber's. The girls spent Saturday night there and went to church with Patrick and Amber and their family Sunday morning. They played with their cousins in the afternoon and were back at my house for the night last night. Before dark we ran out to the park to look for bison (which we found) and enjoy a prairie sunset.



Now, we're getting ready to relax and enjoy the holiday with family and friends. It is the first time in 34 years that I've celebrated Memorial Day, and remembered the many that have fought for, bled for, and died for our country, without my husband. I pray alone now for those that serve today and for those in leadership that they would wake up and remember the high price that has been paid.

My Great-Uncle, Milton Fox

What about you? How do you and yours celebrate Memorial Day? What memories and symbolisms of it do you hold dear?

Let's get on with this week's post, shall we?

White Spiderwort and Cardinal by Birdbath

This week's master to-do list...

- celebrate Memorial Day with family 💖🤍💙
- clean house 
- do laundry 
- answer a couple of letters
- visit with my friend, Carla
- figure June budget and bills 
- go to the bank and post office 
- pay bills 
- take a food inventory
- plan June menus based on what's in the house
- get the yard and garden back in shape after all the rain
- harvest and dry chives
- work

House Finch

This week's menu plan...

Monday - Hamburgers, hot dogs, and other traditional holiday foods with the fam
Tuesday - Broiled salmon, baked sweet potato, and fresh asparagus
Wednesday - Turkey tetrazzini with peas and carrots
Thursday - Homemade pizza
Friday - Cheesy Chicken Pasta with fresh asparagus
Saturday - Fish filet on bun with oven fries
Sunday - Leftovers

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

That's it for today, Ladies! I'm wishing you and your family a beautiful Memorial Day and a great week ahead!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Hard Times Ahead?

I've shared the story before...growing up, my lifestyle was very different from that of my friends. My parents were very into self-sufficiency...wind generators, solar heat, wood heat, gardening, canning, grind your own grain, chickens, goats...the whole nine yards. It was kind of like growing up on a 1960's/70's commune without the commune. BUT...all the things that I learned growing up have come in handy at one point or another throughout my lifetime and I'm thankful. I wouldn't change that upbringing for anything in the world now.


My dad was a visionary. In looking back, even though they're both gone now, I think that many of the things that he and my mother saw, and prepared for, back then (and instilled in anyone who was willing to listen), were more for the times in which we're living now, than it was for back then. Although there wasn't anything big or fancy about the way we lived, all that commune-type living paid off big-time during the late-1970's and early-80's when our nation was plunged into economic hard times under the failed leadership of Jimmy Carter (an energy crises followed by a recession), and I believe that there's a good chance that some of what my parents taught me back then is going to come into play in the days ahead. 

Much of what we're experiencing today under the leadership of Joe Biden resounds with what we were experiencing back then...bad news on every front, record inflation, exorbitant food and fuel prices, food and product shortages, and the list goes on and on. 


In the midst of hard times, ultimately, it is God, Himself, that sustains and delivers us, and the only way a person is going to make it in the end is by having a real and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and sustaining it through prayer and the careful, daily study of the Holy Scriptures (the Bible)...BUT...also in the midst of hard times there are many practical things that we can do and, in the days ahead, it is my goal to share some of those things with you here. 


In order to get an idea of where I want to go with this I'd like to start by asking...

...in what areas are you and your family struggling the most right now? 

...what adjustments have you had to make in order to just make ends meet? 

...in the midst of hard times what are you most thankful for?

You can share your answers in the comment section below or you can email them to me privately at proverbs31heart@yahoo.com. Please put HARD TIMES in the subject line. 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Until next times...
~Rebecca

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Monday, May 23, 2022

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - May 23, 2022

Another week has fairly flown by and I didn't accomplish half of what I had hoped to last week. Am hoping to make better progress this week.



The weekend was good...busy with family, friends, and work...and this morning has started off in a whirlwind. The day is getting away from me. It's already early afternoon and I have leave shortly, so I'm going to make this post short, sweet, and to the point. 

Let's get started, shall we?



This week's to-do list...

- clean house
- do laundry
- wash bedding
- clean the fridge
- weed the garden
- weed-eat around flower beds and edges
- work
- clean and organize the Van Gogh room
- go through and organize nature journal supplies (in preparation for an upcoming class)
- get the rock tumbler going
- wish daughter-in-law, Angie, a Happy Birthday
- go grocery shopping
- enjoy some time with my youngest daughter and her girls
- mark a couple of things off my spring bucket list



This week's menu plan...

Monday - Chili with crackers 
Tuesday - Oven-roasted chicken, baked potato, and oven-roasted carrots
Wednesday - Broiled salmon, baked sweet potato, and coleslaw
Thursday - Italian sausage stuffed peppers in sauce, pasta, homemade bread and salad
Friday -  Breakfast for supper
Saturday - Stuffed pepper casserole with oven-roasted carrots
Sunday - Leftovers



That's it for today! Have a nice day and a lovely week ahead!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, May 16, 2022

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - May 16, 2022

Last week just whizzed by and here we are...it's Monday again! How was your week and weekend?

My week and weekend was great here and jam-packed with friends, family, and fun!

Monday was spent working around the place...cleaning house and working in the yard. The irises are in full bloom and, I noticed this morning, that the peonies are starting to bloom. So pretty! 

Purple Irises

Pink Peony

On Tuesday, friends, Melissa and Sam, and I went to Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, Missouri. 



We walked around Bass Pro (Melissa had never been there, so that was a real treat for her), then, we had lunch at Hemmingway's. Afterwards we did the whole wildlife museum and aquarium. By the end of the day we were exhausted, but we had so much fun!

Wednesday evening friends and family caravanned to Lamar to attend the final session (actually it was the only session that any of us were able to make it to) of a three-day, several session presentation put on by Creation Truth Foundation and view the dinosaur bones in their Mobile Museum of Earth History. 




They do an excellent job of presenting earth history from a Biblical worldview and we greatly enjoyed being there. 


I worked Friday...my first school groups since March of 2020. We were shut down in 2020 because of COVID. Then, by the time we reopened in 2021, my husband was sick and I was home with him. 





It was great getting out on the prairie with groups of school children again. It was a lot of fun and we made some great discoveries together!

On Saturday my friend, Nancy, and her husband came down for the day. (Nancy and I went to school together.) I gave them a tour of the park, then we visited the eagle tree and had lunch together in Lamar. It was a great day! 


After church on Sunday, I met Amanda and Aaron and Alysia at Rich Hill for lunch. Patrick and Amber and their family goes to church in Rich Hill, so they joined us, afterwards. We grabbed food at Swope's, then went to the city park to eat and visit.




The day was cool and rainy, so the boys built a nice fire in the shelter's outdoor fireplace. It was nice and we enjoyed it!



Now, here we are, back around to Monday and I'm ready to start a brand new week! How about you?

Wave Petunias

I've got to work a couple of days this week, but, I ran so much last week...TOTALLY enjoying and exhausting myself...but I hope to settle down and dig into some stuff that needs done on the home-front. 

White Spiderwort
Let's get started on this week's master to-do list and menu plan, shall we?

This week's master to-do list...

- clean house
- clean fridge
- do laundry
- wash bedding
- weed-eat and trim the edges of the yard
- de-weed the garden
- figure mid-month budget
- put the brakes on spending
- make a plan to use up food on-hand
- get together with Carla
- work
- meet granddaughter for lunch 
- visit a friend in the nursing home

Petunias

This week's menu plan...

Monday - Broiled salmon with sautéed zucchini and baked sweet potato topped with sautéed garlic and greens
Tuesday - Turkey burger and oven fries
Wednesday - Homemade pizza
Thursday - Breakfast for supper
Friday - Soup (jarred and sealed in fridge) and bread (freezer)
Saturday - Bison and noodles (jarred and sealed in fridge)
Sunday - Leftovers

Blue Star

Well, that's it for today! You have a nice day and a great week ahead and I'll be with you again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, May 9, 2022

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - May 9, 2022

Good morning! It's Monday! 💗

Did you all have a good Mother's Day weekend? I had a great one here! 

I worked a special event (Truman Days) at the Harry S Truman Birthplace State Historic Site in Lamar, Missouri on Saturday. My job, along with a couple of other ladies, was to make, and teach others how to make, corn husk dolls. My helpers and I made (and helped make) dozens of the dolls and, even though our fingers were sore afterwards, we had a great time doing it! We had a lot of proud and happy attendees, as well! It was a great experience for all! 






On Sunday, I heard from all my children, saw most of them, and received many sweet offerings of love and honor throughout the day. Mother's Day 2022 was a great one!

Granddaughters Ruth and Hannah Observing
Tadpoles In The Pond Sunday Afternoon

I've got a full day and a busy week ahead, so, I'm not going to tarry. Today's post will be short, sweet, and to the point! Let's get started, shall we?

 Dickcissel
(Laura Ingalls Wilder's unforgettable "dickie bird"
of Little House on the Prairie fame)

This week's master to-do list...

- clean house
- do laundry 
- get the air conditioners uncovered and ready (it's supposed to be 🔥 HOT 🔥 this week!)
- weed-eat and do some yard work
- tend the garden
- wash car and check fluids
- answer a few cards and letters
- go to Springfield with friends
- go to a special presentation on put on by Mobile Museum of Earth History
- work (school group)
- get together with friends from back home
- get together with my youngest daughter and her family for lunch and a short visit

Grassland Bird Nest and Eggs

This week's menu plan...

Monday - Beef and bean tostados
Tuesday - out
Wednesday - Ground turkey and sweet potato skillet with brown rice
Thursday -  Oven-roasted chicken with baked potato and fresh asparagus
Friday - Broiled salmon, baked sweet potato, and fresh asparagus
Saturday - Turkey burger and oven fries
Sunday - Leftovers

An American Toad Caught By One Of The Grandgirls
(Look at that sweet little face!)

That's it for today! You all have a nice day and a great week ahead and I'll see you again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Visiting The Voice of The Martyrs Headquarters

Recently, on the way to Tulsa, my family and I stopped at the Voice of the Martyrs headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.



The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is a nonprofit, interdenominational missions organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. It was founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand. 

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand was an evangelical minister who endured 14 years of Communist imprisonment and torture in his homeland of Romania. 


In 1945, when the Communists seized Romania and attempted to take control of the churches, Pastor Wurmbrand began an effective, vigorous "underground" ministry to oppressed believers as well as to the Russian soldiers occupying his country. He was arrested in 1948, along with his wife, Sabina, who was imprisoned for three years. Pastor Wurmbrand spent three years in solitary confinement and was, then, transferred to a group cell, where the torture continued for another five years.

After more than eight years in prison, Pastor Wurmbrand was released, immediately resuming his work with the underground church. A couple of years later, in 1959, he was re-arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Pastor Wurmbrand was released through a general amnesty in 1964, again resuming his underground ministry. A group of Christians in Norway, realizing the probability and danger of a third imprisonment, negotiated his family's emigration from Romania.

In May 1966, Richard Wurmbrand testified before the U.S. Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, where he stripped to the waist to show 18 scars from torture wounds covering his torso.


His story was carried in newspapers throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Pastor Wurmbrand was warned in September 1966 that Romania's Communist regime planned to assassinate him, but he refused to be silenced.

As co-founders of The Voice of the Martyrs, Pastor Wurmbrand and Sabina traveled throughout the world establishing a network of more than 30 offices that provide relief to families of imprisoned Christians in Islamic nations, Communist nations, and other countries where Christians are persecuted because of their faith. Their message has been, "Hate the evil systems, but love your persecutors. Love their souls, and try to win them for Christ."


Voice of the Martyrs is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission - no matter the cost.

Being at the VOM headquarters was, not only sobering, but humbling and emotional. 


Outside of the main building, is the Martyrs Memorial.


The  polished black marble shined like glass and reflected our faces as we read through the names of Christians that had been martyred throughout the centuries.


Some of the names we recognized...


Dietrich Bonhoeffer...


...William Tyndale and others.

Some of the martyrs were killed long, long ago...


Others...not so long ago at all...




Once inside, the story of the Wurmbrands and the history of VOM unfolded. There were a number of artifacts and a replica of the cell that held Pastor Wurmbrand in solitary confinement. 






Additionally, stories were shared, as were Bibles (or remnant pages of Bibles) and other personal items from members of the persecuted church around the world.





There were also very old copies of the works of Josephus and Foxe's Book of Martyrs.







The grounds at the VOM headquarters were beautiful and we were grateful to have had the opportunity to visit. We hope to go back someday and volunteer in their distribution center. 




To find out more about Voice of the Martyrs and to subscribe to their free magazine click HERE.

I also highly recommend reading Tortured For Christ by Richard Wormbrand and watching the movie of the same title on Amazon. You can also find the documentary Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand there, as well.

The movie Sabina:Tortured For Christ The Nazi Years was recently release and was showing for free on VOM. I don't know that they're still running it for free at this point, but it can be purchased through the site. It is so good!

Above all else, I'd like for you to just take a moment to reflect on, and pray for, the persecuted church. 

As Christians, here in America, we've not known the kind of persecution that the Wurmbrands and countless others around the world have experienced. Our day may very well be coming, but, for now, let us realize how truly blessed (and protected) we have been. Let us seek the heart of God as to how to how He would direct us in assisting those that are under the gun right now for their faith in Christ, for there are many. 

"When others are bent on revenge, on ways of doing more evil than their neighbor, God gives the ability to return good for evil." 
                                                                ~Sabina Wurmbrand

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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