Wake Me Up When September Ends

Family:
So yesterday kinda sucked. I went home feeling ill. My hubby brought my dad to his colonoscopy. Bad news, there's cancer. Good news, they caught it in time. He sees the surgeon on Thursday. I think there's some chemo involved after surgery but all will be well...I believe that with everything I have. I'm suppossed to look at his insurance policies today. He has a couple cancer ones. Good, because the cost of the chemo drugs are astronomical. My mom is doing ok through this. She was taking it tough at first, but is ok. She wants to be healed from Fibromyalgia so badly so she can be a bigger help to him. I'm not going in today. I look like I ate my pillow and my guts hurt big time.
At work:
I got my vacation approved!! I took time off: Thurs 12/25-Sunday 01/04...eleven sweet days in a row, it only took 5 pto days of mine, I get two holidays, and two weekends. I'm so excited! This is the first real vacation I have had in 4 years. I am long overdue, really I am.
Homeschool:
School is flowing once again in the Skoviera home. I just corrected Nikki's Accounting lifepac 1, she is really doing well! I'm impressed. The Great Courses have some highschool classes and we took advantage of an amazing sale last month. The history dvds are a little cheesy but they'll work out well. Science goes over a lot. The algebra seems very well put together but a little confusing, hopefully that'll help out. I'm still ordering Consumer Math Lifpacs for Nik. Michael has Geometry dvds too which are very good.
Kid Stuff:
Mike and I know that our lovely offspring have a lot of freedom. Nikki is 17 next month, Michael is 15. My kids have quite an amount of responsibilities for their ages in which they do very well. They are dedicated to their Yeses and stand on their Nos. They make very good choices most of the time. Lately though it seems as though they are really pushing their limits with Mike and I. And as they have both admitted, they haven't been consistant when it comes to honoring their parents. We've clipped their wings for awhile now. I don't see rebellion but there is too much taken for granted. That happens, but consequences follow bad choices. That's in everything. If we choose to consistantly eat a big old beef burger vs a turkey or soy one, our cholestorol numbers and waistline will grow. If we ignore our friends, we'll lose them. If we stop reading the Bible, it'll be really hard to hear from God. Then we gotta do damage control and fix things up. As long as we learn, it's all good. But if we keep staying on the wrong course, who the heck knows how bad it can be where we're headed. Mike and I fine-tuned where we are aiming the kids. Parenting can be quite a trip sometimes! lol
Church Stuff:
www.lfcironwood.org
The firepit went well. I love the extra time with people there. We bond at these things. Service was good Sunday. Nikki, Micheal, and Alycia led the worship service. It was nice. Pastor Tom is leading us into the land of More Than Enough, I'm hanging onto his every word. It's so much more than just money, but some are saying it's all he talks about. It's kinda funny: it's really all they are talking about and they don't even see it! Pastor Tom is going to be on Harvest TV! He leaves for Indiana Oct 6th. How exciting! He'll be with Pastor Solomon who will be back with us on Oct 11th. Janny Grein will be here Oct 15 and 16. I get to do her sound again. I get a little worked up. imagine that. but it'll be good. :-)
Well, I am healed in Christ so I am going to go and rest in that healing right now. Life is good. Eternal life is better!
Love,
Nancy

It's Fall!

We have been crazy busy at home but accomplishing much. Mike has just completed week one of his vacation time, he has one more week off of work. He has insulated our huge play room and our attic. He enclosed the front porch. He changed the brake pads and oil on the Toyota. He got the plow truck ready for the SNOW season! :-) He cleaned the dog kennel(fun,fun...I know you're jealous) lol and abunch of other putsy things that needed to get done.
In the last couple days, I've washed and hung out sheets & bedding, towels, reg clothes. I've made good use of the crockpot. I made a carrot cake. I made Irish Cream! IT's soooo good! I'll post the recipe soon.
Saturday was SpaDay for the dogs! I brushed and brushed and brushed them, washed them up good and used Aussie three minute miracle to condition their hair, mmmmmmmm...it works so good. We blow-dried them and brushed some more. Their eyes and eyes were cleaned and I clipped their 'tail feathers'. They look and smell fabulous.
I cleaned the house up and down stairs. Ran computer scans and cleaned up junk on both computers. The laptop is still stupid.
I'm making Jay Louvier his very own Myspace! :-) I just love him and his wife Wendy. They are beautiful people.
We're having a Fall Firpit on Saturday for the church family. We're pretty stoked about it! We have so much fun doing these.
Gotta get ready for work....so much going on there. Lots of praying and speaking positive words of God. He can turn things around in a flash! Yes, yes He can.

Jesus is the love of my life.

He really is. Circumstances are not the most thrilling right now. Work is a very large challenge. Maybe the rapture will come. lol But it makes me appreciate my family and church more. Jesus being my center makes life so much more balanced and happy no matter what is going on.
Yoga tonight. I'm counting weightwatcher points. Jay Louvier is excellent. My hubby is on vacation. We have a date coming up. I think I should reopen a daycare. or a coffee shop. I think I'm approaching a crossroad...and I'm turning on the evangelical road. but I'm not ready. so that is that.
What else...lots but I got to get ready for Grandview.
My chin is up and I am smiling because no matter what I do I am doing as unto the Lord...no other reason.
WHy does God love me so much? Maybe coz I got His good looks and sense of humor. lol He's no respector of men(and ladies) thank Him and I please Him with Faith and I speak His Word and He just loves that! :-) He's LOVE, He's awesome ... He's so awesome.

coffee and toast

So far this week:
drove home from St Paul (amazing time...later blog)
church
wood raffle drawing
hubby time
yoga
work
cook and bake
overtime
school
first aid for hornet stings, hot spots and a paw injury, poor dogs
killed a hornet nest
ordered cookies and a cake for Mike's big 60th birthday Sunday (sat party)
planned the menu
Church tonight! I haven't been in a service because I've been bizzzzzzy so I'm so excited! Going early to get the sound right, I hope they sing Say So (my myspace song right now)
My brother, Danny was here last night and will be coming to church with me tonight. I invited a sales gal from Hurley Honda and Toyota to our church. SHe wants to get involved with helping the new youth building and volunteering in any way. That's cool.
Well, more work to do at the hospital. I am pushing my productivity level to the max lately. I'm feeling the burn too. Hubby's on vacation for two weeks starting friday night. i wish i was too. but it's all good. :-)

St. Paul

We're getting ready to leave for Seal America in St Paul, MN. This is my first Seal America event at an actual state capital building. Our church holds communion in conjuction with S. A. every Saturday. I've included some information on my blog about Seal America in case you haven't heard about it.

God bless you all today!
Love Nancy

The greatest is LOVE

This is about church life.
WHAT does it take to motivate people? We have some amazing volunteers in our church, then we have the majority that do nothing but take up space and air but want to reap all the benefits. It reminds me of the children's story of the Little Red Hen. In the tale, the little red hen finds a grain of wheat, and asks for help from Duck, Dog, and Cat to plant it. No one is willing to help. When the wheat matures, she asks for help to harvest it, then thresh it, then mill it, and finally bake the flour into bread. At each stage she gets no volunteers. Finally she asks who will help her eat the bread. Duck, Dog, and Cat eagerly volunteer, but she declines their help and eats it with her chicks, leaving none for others.
The moral of the story is that those who show no will to help contribute to an end product, do not deserve the end product.
But, here's what happens in church life: those ducks, dogs, and cats get the benefits anyway even if they do not deserve it. It gets the hard working hens' feathers a little ruffled! But then I was thinking, how does this relate to how God works things? It always seems to be so different from our world's ways. Unlike the story's moral, God's grace is opposite. We don't do anything to deserve His grace, he just lets us reap the benefits out of His love and for no other reason except that. Maybe the church's hard workers are just on a different spiritual level. and instead of letting frustration enter in (from the devil) we should let the Love of Christ enter in and the feeling of accomplishment work instead. Because then our works are working with love and accomplishing much! Here's what the Bible says:
1 Corinthians 13 (New International Version)
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

So now I am humbled by the fact that walking in love REALLY means walking in love always. It's doing what is right between me and God, paying no matter to what may be right between others and God. and loving them anyway. Why? Because Love never fails.

Vegan Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup Earth Balance (non-vegans can use Smart Balance or butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbs rice milk
6 tbs apple sauce (I use Raspberry flavor which works out EXCELLENT)
2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups oats
1 cup raisins or dark chocolate chips which are usually always vegan (non vegans can use milk chocolate chips or butterscotch chips which are VERY good in this recipe)-or- experiment: We've tried cranberries and pecans recently which were very yummy. It's a cookie for Pete's sake, they're gonna be good so get creative. :-}
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Combine margarine and the sugars and beat until creamy.
3) Add in vanilla, rice milk, and apple sauce and beat some more until it's all distributed evenly and creamy and yummy.
4) Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to the wet ingredients and mix together until all is well.
5) Add the oats and raisins (or whatever you decided on) and mix 'em in.
6) Evenly place clumps of cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7) Put in the oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes, until they no longer look raw, even in the middles.
8) Remove from cookie sheet soon after removing after the oven -- don't let them cool on the sheet or they'll stick.
9) Repeat steps 7-9 until you're out of cookie dough or you're sick of making cookies.
10) Lick the bowl. No worries about salmonella or whatever it is you're supposed to be able to get from raw eggs! haha

Nunavut

See where Grise Fiord is on this map?? This is where I am going to go someday. sigh. soon,soon,soon.

good workout(s) tonight

Oooooooo, tonight was good, I worked out on the Gazelle for a little bit then did Namiste Yoga for a half an hour and then I went for a walk with my son ....we did laps around the driveway using ankle weights. I feel well tonight but now I'm tired. a good tired. I'm off to study my Bible, studying about grace. grace and love. walking in love. loving in your walk. loving to walk...hahaha lol I'm tired. So ya, well, gonna go. Our curriculum comes in tomorrow!