Man and the Garden vs. Deer

Recently Kirstin posted about keeping the deer out of her garden. I could totally relate. We have been plagued with them in our garden since we moved into this home almost five summers ago.

They are fun to watch and have around until it is time for the garden and landscaping. I have tried many deterrents such as human hair, raw egg spray, animal scent..... nothing seemed to work.

One of the activities in our recent busy schedule was this surprise from my husband.

He put in a 50ft. x 30ft. deer fence around my garden area. The fencing is 6ft high. With the string and streamers it puts it at a total height of 10 feet.



No more deer in my garden! Now, if only I had a way to temper the unseasonably high rainfall that we've been having. It rotted out some of my plants. *sigh*

My regular landscaping will have to just consist of plants that the deer don't like. I can't see putting fencing like this around all of those areas.

Do you have a garden... or landscaping? Do you have trouble with deer, rabbits or other critters? How do you keep them out?

Do Not Delay

If you have not yet entered to win these 5 CD's that I am giving away, do not delay!

This giveaway will end tomorrow... Wed., June 30 at noon (PDT). The randomly selected winner will be announced on Friday, July 2.

If you are not interested in entering the giveaway, receive a 20% discount and get 2 for the price of 1 when you order these CD's using the discount code MYQUIETCORNER at checkout. With only 179 days left until Christmas, it's not too early to start your shopping.

Listening Myths

Some time ago I was invited to speak about my personal journey of learning to listen for God. This is not a topic I consider myself an expert in, however, developing my personal walk and relationship with Him is something that I have become quite passionate about.

It is something that I have immersed myself in, finding challenge and growth inevitable in the process.

I began my presentation addressing some myths about listening. The verses I included are only a sampling of what God's Word says. I had to be selective as this subject could have taken days to discuss rather than the time that I was provided.

Myth 1. Hearing from God is not common today. It always happened in Bible times.

I Sam. 3:1 (NLT) "...Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon."



Myth 2. I have never heard from God.

If you are a believer you have already heard and responded.

I Peter 2:9b(NLT) “...For he called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.”



Myth 3. We have no guarantees that God will reveal Himself.

Ps. 25:14 (AMP) "The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning."

Prov. 3:32: (AMP) "For the perverse are an abomination [extremely disgusting and detestable] to the Lord; but His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him)."

Amos 4:13: (NIV) "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name."



Myth 4. There is no guarantee of what will happen when I do or do not listen.

Deut. 13:18 (NLT) "The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him."

Prov. 8:34 (NIV) "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway."




Myth 5. Choosing to listen is really my personal choice.

Mark 9:7 (NIV) "...This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"

Luke 9:35 (NIV) "...This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."

Deut. 13:4 (NLT) "Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. "

Prov. 3:5 (MSG) "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track."




Myth 6. It is too difficult or beyond my abilities to listen and hear from God.

Deut. 30: 10-14, 20 (MSG) " But only if you listen obediently to God... Nothing halfhearted here; you must return to God, your God, totally, heart and soul, holding nothing back.

This commandment that I'm commanding you today isn't too much for you, it's not out of your reach. It's not on a high mountain—you don't have to get mountaineers to climb the peak and bring it down to your level and explain it before you can live it. And it's not across the ocean—you don't have to send sailors out to get it, bring it back, and then explain it before you can live it. No. The word is right here and now—as near as the tongue in your mouth, as near as the heart in your chest. Just do it!

And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him..."




Myth 7. God doesn’t really care if I listen or not. It doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things.

Luke 8:21 (NIV) "He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

John 8:47 (AMP) "Whoever is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the words of God.] This is the reason that you do not listen [to those words, to Me]: because you do not belong to God and are not of God or in harmony with Him."




Myth 8. Once I know the formula and the checklist for listening, I’ll be good to go.

God communicates in ways unique to us. There aren't any set formulas. However, we find and discover principles and guidelines to listening as we seek God and what He would have for us.


~~~~~~~~~
Can you relate to one of these myth's? What other myths can you think of?

Family Worship

I am so excited that you have stopped by to join me today! I have something to not only share with you, but to offer you.

Between soccer, track and end of the year school events, the last couple of months found me spending more time in my car. I didn't mind it so much. I had three of my very favorite things to join me.

Music, Children and God's Word

When they contacted me and offered to send me their music, I was thrilled. I thoroughly enjoy music to begin with. However, when that music is the Word of God set to a tune, there is no music that can beat that. To hear the voices of children singing out the truth is an added blessing. And that is exactly what Seeds Family Worship offers.

Seriously, these songs are not just about God. They are not about Bible stories. They are verses taken straight from Scripture.

I put those CD's in my car, and as we drove all around town we listened to not just fun music, we were filling our minds and mouths with the Word of God.

Our little guy already has his favorites in which he is joining along. Even when he is not joining along verbally, he is moving to the beat of the music, and all the while I know that the words he is hearing and learning are hiding God's Word in his heart.

There was even one morning that I was alone in my car. I was feeling discouraged and depleted. I thought, "Wow. I could sure use an extra dose of truth from God to my heart this morning." I glanced down and there were the CD's.

I put one in and found my own heart lifted as I was reminded of His precious promises. Even though the words were being sung by children, my heart was encouraged and lightened in the process as I knew every word in each song was directly from Scripture.

To learn more about their music head to Seeds Family Worship: whose mission is: Planting the seeds of God's Word in the hearts of families.

They have a link for kids that includes free verse memory cards that accompany each of the CD's. They also have a verse memorization checklist.

Their families link gives family worship ideas as well as an abundance of additional resource links. You can even sign up for their newsletter which will have these types of things e-mailed to your inbox directly.

There are also pages for worship leaders and children's pastors (leaders).

Your Turn

Seeds Family Worship has sent me 5 CD's to give to one of you! The CD titles I have to give are:

Seeds of Courage
Seeds of Faith
Seeds of Praise
Seeds of Purpose
Seeds of Encouragement

Here's how to win:

Comment: I absolutely love the Word of God. Please share with me a favorite Bible verse, Bible story or book of the Bible. (Be sure to include an e-mail address so I can contact you should you win.) You do NOT need to be a blogger to enter.

Extra Entries:

Receive one extra entry for each of the following. Leave a separate comment for each.

* Facebook, Tweet, and/or Blog this giveaway. (Let me know you did.)
* Become a subscriber and/or follower. See sidebar to the right. (or tell me you already are)
* Become a facebook fan. (or remind me that you already are)

This giveaway will end Wed., June 30 at noon (PDT). The randomly selected winner will be announced on Friday, July 2.

Another Opportunity

Seeds Family Worship has been extra generous in their offer. Even if you are not the randomly selected winner for the 5 CD package, you can still be a winner with the additional opportunity they are extending to you, my readers.

Beginning today, receive an additional 20% off your purchase of cd's (not including Clearance cd's) from their web store (www.seedsmusicstore.com). Just use the coupon code: MYQUIETCORNER at checkout to receive your discount. This offer will expire October 14, 2010 so don't delay. It's not too early to start your Christmas shopping!

Double Your Money

Get 2 CD's for the price of 1! The new packaging for Seeds Family Worship is unique. Each package contains two identical CD's. That means with any CD purchase you make, you will receive not just 1 CD for that price... but 2! One to keep and one to give away.

Okay, enough of my talking.

Comment and share a favorite verse for your chance to win.

Shop at Seeds Family Worship for your chance to save 20% (don't forget to use the coupon code: MYQUIETCORNER) and get 2 CD's for the price of 1!

Who Defines You?

I looked into the mirror and didn't recognize the face looking back. It startled me. That person I thought I knew so well was now experiencing something so unfamiliar.

I didn't realize it at the time. Or at least I didn't want to admit it at the time... but I had allowed something very dangerous and destructive to happen. Of course it happened so slowly, so very slowly.

If it had happened with any speed at all I surely would have recognized it. I would have fought it. I would have recognized the danger in it. But it didn't. It was silent... until it exploded.

I had given away something so very valuable and precious. I had given permission for others to determine something that only one should have the power to determine. I had allowed many others to give a definition that had already been decided and written in black and white... and even in the red of the sacrificial blood of love.

I knew better. It was not intentional. It just happened. I did not keep my focus. I allowed others to define me.

It was not good! It was not right! It was not healthy! It set out to destroy me! It had the potential of stealing from me the very person that God created me to be!

I have since reminded myself that no one has earned the right to define my worth and value. Not even myself! No one should be allowed that role except one... God Himself. He created me. Surely He is the only one who truly can define the value and worth of me.

My identity is NOT:
* how co-workers define me
* how my boss defines me
* how my church family defines me
* how my children's teachers define me
* how my children's friends define me
* how my neighbors define me
* how my friends define me
* how my family defines me
* how my parents define me
* how my children define me
* how my husband defines me

It is NOT even in
* how I define myself

My identity alone rests in how God defines me.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."


Now that verse in the words of Dennis Jernigan:

"The eternal self-existent God, the God who is 3 in 1, He who dwells in the center of your being, is a powerful and valiant warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe and to bring you victory. He is cheered and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in your presence. He has engraved a place for Himself in you and there He quietly rests in His love and affection for you. He cannot contain Himself at the thought of you and with the greatest joy spins around wildly in anticipation over you… and has placed you above all other creations and in the highest place in His priorities. In fact, He shouts and sings in triumph joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing. All because of you."

I encourage you to take a look at yourself. Who has the keys to your identity? Has it slowly and silently drifted from it's rightful owner without your intent or knowledge?

I was surprised to learn where I discovered the keys to mine. It has taken tears, heartache, pain and chaos and confusion of spirit to locate the problem and return the keys to the rightful owner.

If you find it is anyone other than God Himself holding your identity keys... it could potentially destroy everything He created you to be. It almost did to me!

Neglected

Hello?....... Is anyone still here?.......

This little corner seems to have been recently neglected. Not intentionally mind you.

Life just came steamrolling in. The hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks before I even realized the speed at which time was truly passing. The few moments I did have were absorbed by family and other activities.

If you've noticed a draft or slight breeze the last few days headed in the direction of the Pacific NW, it was probably the effects of filling my lungs fully with air in the realization and relief that yet another busy season has come to an end.

The process of recent evaluations for my daughter is nearly complete. Soccer and track competitions have ended. School has drawn to a close. My son's 8th grade graduation and high school orientation are finished. We even threw in some home remodeling, cleaning and organizing in the middle of it all.

Yes, taking a few deep breaths indeed.

Today is my second morning of not having to wake and rush out the door. I could get used to this quite quickly! In fact, with the children sleeping a bit longer than usual, it has allowed for extra quiet time for me. Something I truly treasure and have not taken for granted these last couple of mornings.

For those of you still here, thank you for being patient and hanging around while I focused my full attention on matters and people here at home.

I can't say that I regret one minute of it, but I can say that I have missed our chats in the meantime.

Planning and hoping for moments to settle back here once again.

Would love to hear what's been happening with you.

The Recent Things of My Days

I haven't had much time for this lately:


In addition to normal, everyday tasks that the weekly schedule holds, as well as wrapping up everything related to the end of another school year...

When it's not raining, I've been busy doing some of this:



And extra moments find me being drawn to, encouraged and challenged reading this:


Many evenings have found me outside relaxing and just enjoying time with my family around this:


And any moment that the little guy notices I am sitting, he grabs a book of his and requests my lap and full attention for a lot of this:



Just for the record...I wouldn't change any of it one bit.