Still.  I feel dry. Disconnected.  I want to hear Him, to know Him, to see Him.

Then I remember Martha. Busy doing many good things. Yet missing the most important. And Mary. Who chose to stop. To sit at His feet and just be quiet. Staring into His beautiful face. Though there were many other people in the room (for He was followed by a great crowd everywhere He went), I suspect Mary saw and heard no one else but Jesus.  All because she CHOSE.

To be still.
Stop her busy hands.
Take a moment for herself to breathe.
Shut out the world’s distractions.
Close her mouth and open her ears.
and LISTEN.

I think she knew. These were sacred moments. Cherish them. He wouldn’t be with them – at least not physically – for long. Others through the ages would imagine. Dream. Of sitting with Him. Face to face. Hearing His voice. Feeling His embrace. His breath as He hugged and greeted her. And yes, His praise for choosing the ONE THING.  The better part.  And it was not taken away from her. She would remember His words, cherish the memory and be glad she stopped doing good things.

I too have the choice…to quiet myself. Stop doing and just LISTEN. Just BE with Him. These too are sacred moments, and they are mine for the taking.

With a quiet house and some extra time on my hands, I decided to make a go of it.  I did some reading about Aladdin Lamps, watched a video from Lehman’s, then took the plunge.

The lamp I wanted to light has a metal finish and beautiful shade with pink flowers.  The body of the lamp had some damage (which is one of the reasons my dad got such a good deal on it).  Unfortunately, I was unable to get the burner to screw on securely enough.

So, I went with plan B and got out the Genie II shelf lamp.  I don’t think they’re meant to have as large a shade, but I like it anyway

After getting it lit, I realized why these oil lamps were so prized by the pioneers.  When turned up all the way, the lamp shines forth with the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb!  Last night I turned off all the lights, shut down the computers and spent some quality time in the Word and in prayer by lamp light.

Part of my motivation for learning homemaking and other “survival” skills, is to be ready for more difficult days.  I want to learn and know how to do things BEFORE I’m in a situation where I HAVE to do them.  Living in a hurricane-prone area, we face a reality of being without power for days at a time.  Having such a bright, easy-to-use light source will be a blessing.  Of course, I’ll need to keep oil and an extra mantle (the part that glows so bright) on hand.  But one quart of oil will last 2 – 3 hours.  If you’ve ever considered buying a quality oil lamp, I highly recommend the Aladdin!  I did learn that they burn very hot, so they should never be left unattended.

Another off-grid lighting solution I’d like to get are solar panels to charge a battery w/inverter so we could use a lamp or a fan.  In the event of a prolonged power outage, I also wonder how solar yard lights would work – they could charge up during the day, then we could bring them in to provide light at night.  I think some models come with an on/off switch, but I’m not sure.

Even as I focus on learning skills, living a more simple life, and preparing for the future, I was reminded again last night to not become dependent on the things of this world and my own abilities, but to stay close to my heavenly Father; trusting Him to light my path.

“Thy Word is a LAMP unto my feet, and a LIGHT unto my path.”
Ps. 119:105

My husband’s job is slated to end on 1/31 – we are watching and praying to see what the Father has in store for us in this area.  One thing is for sure, we will be cutting back even more and I’m so glad we have at least started on the road toward self-sufficiency!

I now have two raised beds, and we’ve enjoyed some small harvests of green beans and peas.  I’m realizing that we need to have LOTS of plants in the ground in order to harvest enough for meals and preserving.  The second raised bed has a few herbs and tomato plants.  We have the wood for framing two more beds that I hope to have built, filled and planted next week.  I have not done well about starting my own plants, so we’ll have to use plants from the nursery.  I need to lay out a schedule for succession planting.

The door has opened for me to sell soap at our local Farmer’s Market on Thursday mornings!  In some ways I feel a bit inadequate, but my soap has received rave reviews from friends that I’ve shared with, so I press on!  Last night I made some wonderfully scented Citrus soap with a bit of oatmeal as an exfolliant.  Smells good enough to eat!  Selling at the market will be a great experience for my youngest son (age 14), since he will be helping and earn some money to put toward his upcoming mission trip.

The weather is beautiful down here in SW Florida and I’m looking forward to eating more and more homegrown or local grown food all winter long.  As a family we’ve talked about the belt-tightening that will be taking place, and the boys have promised to be open to trying more veggie and bean dishes   Even as we face uncertainty, we are so blessed to have so much and to be together as a family!  Earlier today I was meditating on a wonderful promise from the Word.  I pray that it is a blessing to you as well:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”
Isaiah 43:1.

Sitting out with the bugs and the breeze blowing definitely helped us to be grateful that this world is not our permanent home – our Savior went to build us a new home, not made by the hands of men.  Also, our bodies are just an “earthly tent” – someday we will have perfect, glorified bodies.

The weather was nice, but this being SW Florida, there were plenty of mosquitos.  We endured and I think the kids (and moms who attended) definitely took home a new understanding of this wonderful celebration.

Bible Study in our Sukkah!

Last Wednesday my hubby and I had a great discussion about how to live our lives like we believe things are going to go downhill, but yet still keep going with our current lifestyle.  We need to balance the many homesteading things we’d like to do with the reality of our life as it is now.  We’re not gloom and doom at ALL – but we are aware that things are probably not going to get better soon.  Anyway, we decided to continue toward debt retirement, but to judiciously use some of our funds for items we need on our journey.  Of course, I am always looking for items on Freecycle and Craig’s List.

One of the big items I have on my wishlist is a solar oven.  I have tried several different homemade versions, watched tons of videos online, and read lots of articles/tutorials.  I have yet to have one of my homemade versions perform consistently enough to reliably cook food.  We agreed that it will be handy to have in a variety of circumstances – especially with a loss of power after a hurricane (the weather is typically great after a storm has passed).

The next day I received an email from my business credit card company reminding me that I had earned points toward airline miles.  I did some investigation and found that I could also redeem these points (that I didn’t even know I had) for gift cards and/or CASH!  I can request a check and the amount was enough to buy – you guessed it – the solar oven!  So, now I am anxiously awaiting my Sun Sport Oven!  I am amazed and thankful for YHWH’s provision!

I’ll post pictures as soon as it arrives