Tuesday Testimonies

September 11, 2017

Greetings from SC on this Tuesday – Irma made her way through this area overnight with lots of wind and rain, but we are okay, unlike so many in Florida. We will pray in the coming days for the residents, so many elderly that have to rebuild from practically nothing.

I am joining up with Jessica over at Live Randomly Simple for her Totally Terrific Tuesday link up. Her blog is full of my favorite things I can’t wait to go back and read some previous posts about DIY, essential oils and other crafty things to name a few…sounds perfect!

Today I’m going to offer some Tuesday Testimonies about varying things from week to week and give you my 2 cents on products, websites, decorating, recipes – I’ve always got opinions…lol!

The pictures of the coastline in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma where the water has been pulled back from the shore by the force of this massive storm. I read this on Facebook yesterday and it REALLY struck a chord with me! I hadn’t really thought of it this way – I’m not one to go about making comments about the end times as I feel like that’s more that I can comprehend, but how neat of a mental image is this?! “Many people are reporting, with video, the phenomenon of water being sucked out of the ocean beds. There are numerous accounts of dry beaches where there was once 20 feet of water. When I watch the videos of this and see how fearful and awestruck those people are encountering it in person, I can’t help but think about the Israelites as they stood fearful and combative toward Moses as he lead them through the Red Sea. God is revealing himself to us. I believe seeing this with our own eyes is a miracle that shines through Irma’s devastation. I believe it is encouragement from our Lord that punctuates the infallible and literal truth found in the Word. This is what we cling to when the storm rages. “Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere.”Psalm 84:10. Exodus 14:1515 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” Linda Merck (taken from a shared post by my friend Lisa)
A girl has to have chocolate, right? Even on a low carb diet, chocolate is important. Finding it without yucky stuff like maltitol some other artificial sweeteners I can’t pronounce is tough. I learned about Lilly Bars on a message board and it was a game changer. They aren’t available everywhere (Publix and Earth Fare in my area) and can be about $5 each, but it is well worth it for a little sweet something after supper! I loved the coconut and almond best, but I’ve like every flavor I’ve tasted. Earth Fare had the chocolate chips that I’ve been using in a protein ball mix I made up. All of the Lilly’s products are made with stevia and are really, really yummy!
Clutter is currently overwhelming me. When we were preparing for the sale of my childhood home that we had lived in since 1979, the sheer amount of stuff that was collected over the years with a full basement is crippling. All of that had to be gone through, thrown away or boxed up. I worked off and on for a while before we finally got to the point where I was out of time and the house needed to be sold. So we boxed up the last of it and brought it to SC. And now its staring me in the face again. I’ve got to come up with a plan to work on it a box at a time, a little every day. I genuinely want to live a life with less stuff, no panic cleaning if someone decides to drop by unexpectedly. Last year I did the Minimalist Challenge and it was crazy good for the soul. The idea is you get ride of one item on day 1, two on day 2, 3 on day 3 and so on…at the end of the month, you’ve decluttered so much out of your life. Go check it out and give it a try – it’s a bit daunting towards the end of the month when you have to get rid of so many things each day, but I had a pretty big pile of stuff to draw from…lol. I’ve got to get it started back again…it’s good accountability, but a bit embarrassing if you post to Instagram with the destash.
I’m chomping at the bit for fall decor this week. I want to make the canning ring pumpkin and the aluminum dryer pumpkins this year. I’m sure you’ve seen them on Pinterest or FB and they don’t look too difficult. What other DIY projects are you trying this year? I’m always looking for something to make!
I confess that every single one of these bottles and containers was expired, out of date or moldy and in my fridge…surely I’m not alone in letting half full bottles get shoved to the back of the fridge into never see them land and never use them again. I’m always torn about wasting water to wash them out for the recycle and wondering if it’s better to run the water (we’re on a well) and be able to recycle vs throw them away. I have no idea what the right answer is. But I washed them out today except for one that was too disgusting to be opened. Sorry about that, environment.
On Saturday my husband’s office had family day at Carowinds, a big amusement park here in NC/SC. I haven’t been there in many, many years and haven’t been on a roller coaster since I rode the indoor rides at Mall of America in the 90s. I was determined not to leave the park without riding something. So this is a little kid roller coaster (imagine 3rd grader size that adults who are short enough can also ride). Stand in line to ride and the man and his son behind me were subjected to my nerves about riding a roller coaster for the first time in a long time and the little boy actually laughed at me. He did finally say “good luck” once we were strapped in and then said “don’t fall out”….bless. NOT helping, kid….not helping at all. But I was able to confirm what I already knew to be true, that my roller caoster days are long over. I didn’t fell adrenaline once the ride started, I just felt fear. Get me off of thing right now fear. So yeah, there’ll be no more of that.