Singing...

 Songs

I have many favorite songs. 

There are songs that excite my soul, songs that draw my mind to heaven, and songs that do a great many things to my heart, mind and soul.

While doing my GED program I have had to write "papers" on things. One such paper was "What is your favorite song?".

That has set my heart to roaming through songs and officially landing on the same song over and over again.

"It is well" that song has set my heart to pondering more often than I dare say.

So to share my thoughts with you seems fitting.

"It is well" was written by Horatio Spafford

The words sink deep into your soul and cause you to really think about the circumstances you are in.

The wellness of your soul is not dependent on the outside world, nor is it dependent on you. It is ultimately dependent on Christ. Christ has given us every way possible to be able to say of our souls "It is well".

We have many ups and downs in life and we can choose to be well in our soul or not.

God has placed each one of us here right now at this point in time for a reason, He has called us to find our peace in Him regardless of our circumstances. He has offered us a way to remain with him forever by sending His Son to die on a cross for our sins so that we could be reunited with Him in glory.

The song "it is well" shows us many things that point us to Christ's peace.

"When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say it is well, it is well with my soul"

That part speaks to me. Death is a part of life, we don't have to like it but we need to find peace with it.

Sorrow when it comes rolls over us like a wave. One moment we can stand and handle it and in another moment we are bowled over by it. In time we rise above it and move forward.

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate And hath shed His own blood for my soul."

Satan attacks us whenever he can, in any way he can, and he tries to drag us down to his level in every area of our lives. He wants us miserable and listening to his ways driving wedges between us and our relationship with Christ. But God has seen to it that in every circumstance we have a way back to him should we choose to abandon the sin we wallow in and seek Him. He longs for a relationship with us, and we have to daily make the decision to follow after Him in every area, regardless of the circumstances. Christ came to earth, shed his blood for our sins and wants to fill our heart and soul with His grace and mercy to overflowing.

"My sin- Oh the bliss of this glorious thought- My sin not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord O my soul!"

My sin, MY sin has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more! He has come to take all my sin(and yours) away, and cleanse me from all sin so that I can live with Him in glory! That in itself is a reason to sing loudly IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL!!!

"And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul"

The day of the Lord's return will be a glorious day! The clouds rolling back, trumpets sounding, and the Lords return will be the most blessed day any of us will ever experience.

I know there are more verses to this song, but these ones are burned in my mind the most. The others are just as good and heart filling as these I have shared here. They bring you to a point of thought, that the wellness of your soul is fully dependent on God, and your relationship with Him.

So My friends if you dont stop to think about anything else today, stop to think of the wellness of your soul. Is your heart right with God? Is your mind drawn to Him in times of struggle? Are you awaiting His return?

And most of all are you prepared for His return?

"Blessed hope, Blessed rest of my soul" "Thou wilt whisper Thy Peace to my soul"

 

End of school and Summer fun!

End of School and Summer fun!

The end of school has come and gone, And Summer fun has just begun.

I love time with these 4 kids.

Will graduated Kindergarten and is headed for 1st grade come fall.

Isaiah completed 3rd grade and is headed for 4th.

Jeremiah finished 5th grade and will be in 6th grade at the middle school.

Jackie finished 8th grade and is headed for high school big 9th grader.

Ok that last one was hard to type. I CAN NOT believe we will have a highschooler come fall.

But on another side of it, we NOW have 2 teenagers living among us.One is 13 the other 14. Kinda freaks me out a bit. But they grow when you are not looking, and honestly they grow when you are looking. There is no stopping them unfortunately.

As much as I would like to keep them small and enjoy the little people phase again, I am thankful they are growing up and showing us that they are learning well. And that they are growing in their faith in Jesus as well. I look forward(tho I am in NO rush) to see what each one becomes in life.

On another note.....

Shane and I celebrated 19 years of Marriage on sunday. I am thrilled to be spending my life with him.

We celebrated with the kids and had pizza.
We want to show them that marriage relationships are worth working on, and that their Daddy and Momma love each other and are committed to each other. Even tho there are a few moments they say EWwww. They see daily the love that holds us together.

Shane in the spirit of celebration put a 19 on our pizza, lit for me to blow out. And of course make a wish.  His sense of celebration thrills me.

Incase you are wondering...Yes we celebrated our anniversary on the floor of our livingroom.

As the diningroom table had puzzles going on all over it. And we didnt want to destroy the fun being had there. So down went a table cloth and we had our dinner on the floor.

On June 3 Jeremiah(13) was Baptized at church. He was so thrilled to be getting that done. He was super Excited and made sure the world around him shared in his excitement.

He wants the whole world to know that he is a christian and that Jesus is his savior. This boy makes us thrilled to be his parents.

His heart is huge and his love for others is deep and tender.

Well that is all I have time to share today. 

Children call, and summer is going by at rapid pace. So I must go and enjoy every moment I can now as one day they will all be grown up and the days of summer vacation fun with these precious kiddos will be gone, and new adult adventure will start.

But for now the innocent child like fun is raring to go and they want Momma to join them....right NOW! LOL

God Bless you all this summer!

(I will sneak in more blogs as time permits!) 

For the Beauty of the farm....

For the Beauty of the Farm.....

Life here is good.

The beauty that surrounds us is something I treasure.

The pictures I am sharing with you today are some of the things I find the most beautiful

living here at Vue-du-lac farm.

The snowball tree

The Song..

Wills trike

 "For the beauty of the earth"
Comes to mind as I walked around
the farm this morning.
That is one of those songs that when the beauty is overwhelming comes to mind and all I can do is sing. My heart is so full and overflowing with the beauty God has blessed us with all around. I can not contain the song just in my mind, it slips right out my mouth and before I know it, I am singing praises to God because of the beauty around me.

The barn

 Another song that comes to mind is
"It is well with my soul"
That song holds great meaning living here. My soul is at peace with where our lives have taken us. Living here at the Farm is a special thing. And the peace I feel just stepping out on the porch and taking in the beauty that is all around us. God made a gorgeous place when he created this valley.(St. Joe Valley)
This homestead holds special meaning for me.
This is where my family chose to settle down and plant roots. Build their homes and livelihoods. They chose to follow Gods leading to this place. They built homes, barns, and churches. The 3 most important things they needed aside from Gods leading.

The house

View from my favorite spot, the deck swing

The lilac bush

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL....

When peace like a river attendeth my way....

.....It is well with my soul......

My sin, not in part but the whole,

is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more...

Praise the Lord Oh my soul.....

Good Morning from the Farm!!

Good Morning from the Farm!!

I Love a quiet morning. 

I am not a early morning person usually.

I do greatly enjoy seeing the sun come up, the foggy mist over the mountains,

 and the soft light that graces the hills around us.

The peaceful sounds of early morning and the smell of coffee brewing.

The smell of coffee says someone is about to get up, and start their day.

Comforting cozy corners, soft fuzzy blankets, smells of breakfast cooking, soft music playing

and the sound of "Good Morning Momma" and those gentle hugs.

Kisses from my loving husband and "I love yous" whispered.

There is nothing quite like morning on the farm.

With no farm animals to feed(at this point!) just cats and dogs and kids.

Life is just right.

With soft light filtering in from outside, kids preparing to go to school, Shane getting his things together for work. I am once again reminded how precious time is and I pray for a good morning.

 Before my feet hit the floor, I have already prayed about my day.

Before my family leaves for school and work, I've prayed for their day.

As my peaceful morning gets under way once the kids and Shane are tended and out the door. 

I look around at what needs done and plan my day. I find that once I have my plan figured out and I get started time drifts by quickly.

Before I know it the morning is gone and the afternoon is here and I am stopping to reevaluate my plans. See once our kids are picked up from the bus my time becomes theirs till Shane gets home.

And when he is home then dinner is made and evening plans are made.

Life never stops here it is always in motion.

Just because my mornings are set to my pace, doesn't mean that they don't go by quickly.

With springs arrival life's pace picks up quickly. More to do, More beautiful things to see.

Its just the way it is here on the farm!

Blessings to you all this Morning from the farm!!

Welcome to Vue-du-Lac Farm!!

Welcome to the Family Farm.

I am so glad you have come to check out life on a family farm.

This place was originally homesteaded by J. Alfred Jacot

My great great Grandpa.
This place has changed so much in the last 100+ years.
I have lived or temporarily resided in various places.
But when it all boils down to it, "The Farm" is home!
We have lived here for over a year now and I have had plans
 to start a blog about our adventures here on the farm.
So Welcome to
Vue-du-Lac Farm!
Watch for weekly blogs and photos.
And feel free to subscribe to the blog and follow my posts.

Ford on the Farm....

FORD on the FARM.

So My Wonderful Husband (Shane) bought for my birthday my Adopted Grandpa Burt's Pickup.

Ok so quick back story....

I decided to do a random acts of kindness day(which exploded into 2!) And in my randomness(is that a word?) I stopped by to see Cindy(Grandpa Burts daughter) And Grandpas old Ford was out where you could see it and we got to talking about it. Well, I shared that cindy still had it and that I was interested in it with my hubby, and we went out the next night and checked it out, and my hubby bought me, Grandpa Burts Ford. 

So...Now his baby is my baby and I am working to get it cleaned up and ready to be driven again.

It needs basic maintenance on the motor, cleaned up and polished. 

I plan to keep it just as he had it because frankly it is a nice old ford. And in pretty good shape for its year.

So here is the run down on it...

1972 Ford F-250 with the 360 and its a camper special. It has a automatic transmission. 

It has original radio, heater controls, and all knobs seem to be original as well.

 And the interioris in excellent shape!

It came with a canopy, spare tire, seat cover(still in box), CB, and trailer brakes.

It also has a tool box that is in  great condition. And it runs smooth.

This red and white baby is going to shine, and sound great.

And be drove at random times, because why not!

So without further ado Grandpa Burt and I's Ford....in photo form.

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung!

Here on the farm spring is in full swing.

The grass is green, the trees are sprouting leaves

The flowers are popping up, And the ducks are here quacking about.

The Cats are basking in the sun when the dogs are not bugging them.

The dogs are playing in the water in the field, and trying to catch the ducks.

The kids are already begging to play in the sprinkler and also riding their bikes about, making  jumps and playing in the mud.

Rigs are being cleaned, and old ones fixed with the hopes of driving this summer.

The garden is being planned, the flowers to plant are being eyeballed in the store.

Oh spring,  a favorite season.

I love new growth, fresh earth smells, all the colors, and the mud.

Ok, I don't like mud on my floors or on or in my rig, but mud, it is a true sign that spring is upon us. And I love it!

The robins are out peeking in windows, and dancing upon the fences.

The woodpeckers though annoying are pecking away to make new homes.

The eagerness to do something has returned.

The want to be outside not inside is so strong that the kids bedtime keeps getting later and later.

Sunshine calls to us like a baby bird calls for its momma.

And we are all about answering that call. Being cooped up during the winter gets boring, and the toys that are inside are becoming not as much fun.

So WELCOME SPRING!!

 We welcome you with open arms, and look forward to what you bring, and all the beauty you share with us.

May God Bless your spring with many flowers and beautiful grass.

And may you see Gods beauty in everything as well.

Blessings from the Farm!!!