Happy Easter!

Romans 6:8-11: "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Happy Easter!  I hope everyone has had a great day.  I had a nice, relaxing long weekend with my husband, who didn't have to work on Good Friday.  It's a nice little bonus holiday for him.


Tomato Seedling Update
Well, I lost my patients.  All but one of the tomato transplants have withered and died.  I was so sad when I saw them the next morning...one of the plants was doing well until a few days ago, when it too began to wilt, and there was no recovering it.  One plant remains, and it's better than none, but I had hoped for a better outcome.  Lesson learned, sadly.

There is still hope for the tomatoes.  Click on this post to see what happened!  Tomato Seedling Surgery 2.0


Gluten-Free...For Now?
I have had quite an eventful week this past week.  After a month of having strange stomach and intestinal problems, I visited my doctor, who thinks I have a gluten allergy.  Not the greatest news for one who lives for gluten-based foods like pizza, pasta, breads, cereals, cakes and cookies.  I have been ordered to remove any gluten from my eating choices for a month, and then return for a check-up.  I haven't had stomach problems up to this point, so I'm hoping that the diagnosis is not accurate.  Honestly, I have really struggled with this, because that completely destroys all of my meal planning for the month.  I have no idea what to make for meals now.  I don't have the time or interest to make every single meal from scratch...I, as most people do, depend a lot on convenient pre-packaged grocery items to help me with cooking.  I spent $56 on baking and cooking substitutions of rice flour, gluten-free all-purpose baking mix, gluten-free bread crumbs, gluten-free quick oats, and a few other things.  Gluten-free items are very expensive.  Should it be determined that I'm allergic to wheat, or that I have celiac's disease, I'm  honestly not sure how I will afford the new grocery bills.  It's a huge adjustment in lifestyle, and one that I really don't want to make unless I absolutely have to.  I'm sure that I'll post more about this at a later time.  For now, I ask for prayer, that God will heal me and my life won't have to drastically change.  It's not just my life that will change; my husband will be affected, too.  It's difficult to know that you will suddenly become a burden or annoyance to others.  I know that those who love and care about me will be understanding, but those people are few, and the world is a huge, unaccommodating place.

If you are interested in more information, visit this page: Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

For some gluten-free recipes, visit my Pinterest board: Gluten-Free.  I have tried the pizza crust recipe posted there (not terrible), and I hope to try more of these these recipes soon!

Another Project
Hubby and I spent Friday and Saturday having fun together.  While we were out on Friday, we went to the local antique shop to look for something specific.  However, I walked out with another set of sleigh bells!  Oops, I just can't help it.  These are smaller bells than the last set I purchased, but I will be restoring these myself.  I sent the last set away to be restored, but I feel confident enough now to want to try this on my own.  These bells are quite a bit smaller than the others, only about 2" wide, and will make a nice small decorative strap in the future.  I'll post the process on here when I have time to start working on them.

Happy Easter...He is Risen!!

Holidays and Politics...An Odd Combination!

Easter...Or Do You Prefer Resurrection Sunday?

Hello!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter/Resurrection Sunday last weekend.  Ours was quite nice and relaxing, despite more rain.  We attended our normal Sunday church services, then went home and had a nice dinner comprised of roast turkey breast, stuffing, boiled buttered potatoes, and asparagus.  For dessert, a chocolate pudding pie in a graham cracker crust.  Yum!  Hubby and I did some housework while waiting for the turkey to roast.  I'm still behind from when I was gone for a week.  It was funny, because it was cool and rainy out, and the house smelled like Thanksgiving, and I think it confused my senses a bit!  But overall, a nice day.  A great day, as is any day, to remember the hope that God gave us when He sent His Son to die so that we could live in Him!  May every day be Easter to you who are saved!

Below are photos of the Easter sand sculpture that a local ministry creates every year.  It's an enormous display carved completely from sand and housed under the shelter of the farmer's market area of the fairgrounds.  It takes many people many hours to create it, and it usually remains up for quite a while after Easter.  Click on the pictures to enlarge them!

Politics...No, I Won't Bore You
We were invited to a neighbor's house earlier this week to listen to a mayoral primary candidate speak.  Our town is going to elect a new mayor in the fall, and there are four Republican candidates running in the primary (and oddly enough, no Democratic candidates), so the race is becoming interesting.  We will vote in the primary next week.  I am not extremely political, although I do have strong opinions when it comes to the rules and laws of this city, state, and country.  I do not proclaim to be either Republican or Democrat, nor am I interested in debating the pros and cons of each side.  I simply know what is right or wrong, and most of those views come from Biblical teaching.  Anyway, I have to say that the candidate we heard last night seems like he would be a good leader for the town.  He has quite an impressive private resume, and does not seek higher political office (according to him).  He claims to want to do the job because he is capable, not because he wants to be mayor.  I won't bore you with details, but I thought it was fun and interesting to listen to someone who seems to genuinely care about the future of the community, and I will probably vote for him.  Perhaps someone I vote for will actually make it to office!

Vacation

I am very ready for our vacation.  That's all I have to say about that.

Flooding

I am so tired of rain and flooding.  That's all I have to say about that.

I took this picture earlier this week as the sun was coming up.  This is a church behind our house, and the sun was at a perfect angle to shine through the stained glass window.  It was so beautiful and vibrant that I had to take a picture...it made me think of just how beautiful everything is that God has created, especially right now as the flowers are blooming and everything is becoming green and lush again.  Everything seems so alive!  God created that, and God loves everything He created, especially us.  Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,  for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."  We do not deserve the love and compassion that God has for us, but He gives it anyway, and He gives it freely, if we want to take it.  I would suggest accepting anything that God gives us--it's always going to be awesome!