A Weighty Issue............

***warning, this post may be triggering..........................read at your own risk***

Also, I would like to add to this, that you should not feel sorry for me, but for the poor man who obviously needs some lessons in not being a bigot!

So, I am tearfully recovering from what I think was one of the most hurtful experiences that I should ever hope to be a part of. About a year ago, Adam got a customer at his other job who was a real peach of a woman. Literally. She and her husband own a fruit farm. She mentioned that they were going to sell it in the next few years. So of course our vivid imaginations ran wild at the fact that we could someday own a fruit farm. An apple orchard was actually more what we were always thinking............come'on, our names are Adam and Eve:) Over the last year

we have cultivated a relationship with the woman, we even sell her grape jelly in our shop. Not in an attempt to buy her farm, but simply because we met. And I am not sorry that we did.

Out of sheer curiosity, today I called her to ask a few questions about the place. She said I better ask her husband. So I asked the asking price, which, after that I should have stopped, because the truth is, there is NO WAY I would pay that even if I had it! But I figured I would just ask a few more questions......

after I finished with them, I said, thank you for your time, we just thought we should know a bit more as we enter into prayer about this.

Wouldn't it just have been great if that is all that was said? Wait, it gets really interesting from here on out:

He said, "well, I have something to say to you. I won't even consider selling it to you with how obese you are. If you can lose about a hundred pounds, I might consider it. But I just can't sell it to someone who is as obese as you are. Now, I am sorry if that hurts your feelings, but I just have to be honest with you."

I think I have a pretty grown up beef with these comments. I understand that he thinks his farm is a lot of work. And I also understand that it is not good to be extremely overweight. It is hard on your body and it does make life more difficult. But, I believe that I am a very hard worker. There are many days each week when I do not even sit down. I am baking, cooking, cleaning, and waiting on customers for the entire time we are open at the shop, sometimes up to 10.5 hours. Now, every day is not like that, but some are and I think that is hard work. I am tired at the end of the day. I don't even get paid for what I do. If I am blessed enough to have kind customers give me tips, they go in my gas tank. I know that it will be easier as I continue to lose weight. But I have to keep taking it slow, or I will just do what I have done my entire life, and that is put it back on and then some. Weight issues are not always about deeper issues............I have worked though a lot of my deeper issues, now it is time to make good choices. I don't eat for comfort anymore. That is a huge thing! I just need to make good choices when it is time for a meal. We have been working on that. It is working. I have gone down one size in my jeans in the last month just from the changes we are making. I think that is great! I am going to keep going. But am I going to do it because of what he said? No. I am going to continue on and hope and pray that all discrimination will end someday.

I sure am glad that God doesn't look at us the way the farmer guy does. I am glad that he sees our hearts. That he knows our thoughts. That he loves us anyway:)
and...........

I hope the farmer watches who he say this to, so he doesn't have a lawsuit on his hands.

Randominity

Yep, I am pretty sure that is not a real word, but hey.......

So, 2 weeks ago we had "church" at the coffeehouse with my dad, step mom, brother, and the twins, this is what we discussed:
Maddy shared and talked about what Jesus looks like. (1peter1:8)
Haylee talked about how important we are to God and that he wants us to take care of what he has made.
Then we all said one thing that we thought we could do to help:
1. Be less selfish
2. Love your neighbor
3. Meet practical needs
4. Spread the word
5. Feed the poor
6. Pick up litter and Recycle
7. Give
8. Be wise with your money
9. Count your blessings

I think this is amazing. This is the church (us, as believers, in action).

John 16:31-33 says
"Jesus answered them, "Do you finally believe? In fact, you're about to make a run for it--saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I'm not abandoned. The Father is with me. I've told you this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world!"

Rest

This picture is of one of my god-daughters. Her name is Grace. She was aptly named. She loves unconditionally. She takes care of people. She is beautiful and an absolute joy to be around. She is smart and confident. I hope to be like her when I grow up:)

Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burnt out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you will recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

These are red letters. These are Jesus' words. Today, I am laying it down again, at his feet. I am remembering, that nothing is going to happen to me, that Jesus and I cannot handle. I am going to learn the unforced rhythm of grace! I am going to live free and light!

Dear Lord, may my friends and family bring their burdens to you today, and know that they can find rest in you.

It was a Merry Christmas:)

Well, 2009 is going to go down in the books as a great Christmas. It started out with a ton of rain and a lot of hoopla ab out some snow.........and ended up with the Packers kicking the pettuties of the Seattle Seahawks.
All in all, it was wonderful. We ended up staying at my mom's for 3 nights. We drove a bit, ate a bit, saw a lot of family, talked a lot, watched too many episodes of What Not to Wear, and got to encourage one another. Back to the real world tomorrow though. Back to making lattes, soup and scones. I hope you are all well.

Email and noisy neighbors

Today I realized that I have 1500 unopened emails. Yeah. 1500. I also have like 3000 in my spam. So, what do I do about that? As I searched through all of them, looking for names that I recognized, I noticed only a few. So if you have emailed me, and I haven't responded, chances are I didn't notice the email you sent me. Sorry Shari:) Weird. I think I will set up a new address.
The store next to us is doing construction. They have been for quite some time now. Anyway today, they were going through the ceiling to put in a vent system. Yeah. the ceiling. It all seemed so unreal, the whole place was shaking and the pictures on the wall were almost falling off. And then, okay, I am going to stop the rant on this one. It is over. No need to beat that dead horse.
Hope you have a great Tuesday.
Jenny, Stefano will be here soon. Don't worry.

Snowed in.........

This is actually a picture of one of last years' snowfalls. My camera is in need a a new battery so that is not allowing me to take a picture of all the craziness that is happening outside today. But, at some point, I will get a new battery and hopefully the snow will stick around:) I talked with our former pastor yesterday for almost 2 hours. I love him. But he still thinks we are sinning by not going to a traditional church. I don't get that. If we are effecting people positively and fellowshiping with like-minded believers, how are we possibly sinning? WE ARE THE CHURCH! As a christian, YOU ARE the church. The church is not a building you go to 2 times a week for equipping and corperate worship. The church is talking about Jesus and being his hands and feet in everyday life. I am just going to keep praying that he will understand that he is not right about everything. Not that I am either, but the truth is, we feel that God is calling us to this, not to that. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

What does a building have to do with "church"? Anyway, I am going to get a lot of work done now, of things that I normally do not have time to do. Thank you Lord for the snow.

:)

My thankful day.................

I guess I just wanted to say that eventhough things are a little stressful right now, I am thankful for so much. I have a wonderful, handsome husband who loves Jesus, I have beautiful people who constantly enrich my life and challange me. I have been blessed. I hope you all take time to remember the good things today.

Fights and Misunderstandings

So I am "fighting" with someone I love very much right now. I don't want to fight, but they are very mad at me for being honest with them. I have decided to attempt to not let my feelings get in the way here and simply not fight back, and allow the Lord to help us here. I am not saying that I am right, or that the other person is all wrong. Just that I cannot do this on my own, and I really need the Lord to give us wisdom here.

I come from a long line of defensive hot-heads. We get mad when people try to call us out on things. We jump quickly to conclusions that are often wrong. We get mad if someone doesn't answer us right away if we ask them a question (even if they didn't hear us). We get mad when the Packers don't win. :)
That being said, I have come to realize that our immediate defensiveness has got something deeper at it's core. I believe it is a fear of rejection. A fear of rejection that the devil has made grow and fester more and more since we were little children. For instance, if someone doesn't answer me, i take offense at that, "well, whatever! Don't answer me then! I knew you really didn't love me. I knew you were just using me."--this is what actually goes through my head sometimes when Adam doesn't answer me right away. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! Sometimes he just doesn't hear me. Sometimes he has to think about his answer longer. Sometimes, I just need to learn to be patient. To sum all this up, we are selfish people. We just assume that everything is about us. We just don't take the time to say, "hmmmmm, I wonder what is really wrong here?"
A great fear of humankind is being rejected. We will be rejected by many. That is just a part of life. What I hope i can focus on, is that I need to continue to strive to find my worth in the Lord. And know that He has never and will never reject me. In fact, he was rejected for me. And I need to try to help others understand that too.

Spook, I love you. I don't want to fight with you. Pray. Ask for guidance though this.

Quickly a rant......

I WILL NOT BE SUCKED INTO GLEE.
I WILL NOT BE SUCKED INTO GLEE.
I WILL NOT BE SUCKED INTO GLEE.
I WILL NOT BE SUCKED INTO GLEE.
I WILL NOT BE SUCKED INTO GLEE.

So, since two of the like 10 blogs i follow have mentioned GLEE today, i have to vent. *warning the following will reflect the opinions and convictions of the writer ONLY it is in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM intended to force an opinion on anybody that reads it. It also is in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM meant to belittle anyone who doesn't agree with what is written.

At the end of the last American Idol season, a new show was being touted as the next big thing not to miss. It was previewed one night after American Idol. Yes, I was an idol junky. I even voted numerous time for numerous people. And no, I will not be watching it this year because of what happened with PAULA, blah, blah, I digress......
okay so I watch this exciting new show. And I will not lie, I was VERY EXCITED! But then, they said that it was only a preview and that we would have to wait until the fall for the show to start. So for 3 months I himmed and hawed about the fact that I had to wait to watch the show that had so quickly tickled my fancy. Then, at the end of July, it started. The doubt. The cynicism, the dread.......
i just knew............
and sure enough, a month later, when the first show of the season was on, my worst nightmare (in tv land) had come true.
IT HAD TURNED RAUNCHY!
in the very first episode (after the pilot). and it was then and there that I knew no matter how much I wanted to watch this show filled with beautifully rich character and story lines that even hit close to home (as I myself was a show choir girl) I could not in good conscience begin to get addicted to a high school night time soap opera filled with fornication and lies. It was yet another reminder of the dog poop brownies. If you know this story, don't read the following paragraph:

These two children wanted to go to a movie with their friends. All of their friends had seen the movie and they were very eager to go even though they knew that there were a few scenes of questionable content in it that their parents would not approve of. But they asked their father anyway, emphasizing that there were only a few questionable scenes. Their father said, "okay, and you know what? I am going to make you my special brownies too!" The kids were very excited about the movie and the brownies. They really loved dad's brownies. So, hot out of the oven came the brownies and the kids came rushing in from play, and Dad said, I have an extra special treat for you, I put some dog poop in the brownies. Not much, just a tiny, tiny bit. You won't even taste it with all the extra chocolate I put in it. The children were grossed out. There was no way that they were going to eat dog poop brownies! Even if they couldn't taste it. Their father told them that he did it as an illustration about the movie they wanted so badly to see. There might only be a little bit of junk in it, but eventually you get more and more desensitized to it to the point where you are eating straight poop!

okay i added that last part.
but even though I want very badly to get sucked into the cult of GLEE, I am going to restrain myself. and pray for help.
rant complete.

Bad Tip Day and a Renewed Faith in Humanity

So the only thing not really good about today is that it is a bad tip day. Everyone must be broke today. Most of them are paying with credit cards. All in all though, we are learning much and really shocked at the new developements in our relationships with the Good Lord. I love calling Him the "Good Lord," not just because He indeed is good, but because it reminds me of Adam's Dad and Grandpa who both referenced to God that way.

You know what? It is not hard to be a Christ follower. Jesus was a simple man, preaching a simple gospel filled with love, acceptance and forgiveness. You know what else? I am going to focus on reading the Bible and praying. There are no magic formulas. There are no meditative states that I can enter to the Holy of Holies. I just have to come to God, and talk to Him. I don't want fake highs, they do nothing for us but eventually let us down.

Yesterday, a few women were in and they did not like the idea that I had Cream of Mushroom with Barley soup. In fact they stood there making "eeewwww" faces and I assumed that they would not be getting the soup so I ignored them and continued on with my other customers and they left. Now, these women were at least 75 years old and I would think that they would know better than to make faces that will hurt someone's feeling, but they didn't. Anyway, this morning I decided that I REALLY have to stop letting those things get to me, because they are not full frontal assults on my ability to bake or cook, but just simply people who react in an unkind way, or simply people who lack social skills. Just a few minutes ago, a man came in and asked what soup we had today, (his age=aprox.70) I told him Tomato Basil, he said, "You know, I am not a tomato fan, but I will come back another day."
Yeah, now that was a response that could renew my faith in humanity:) And just another reminder that, people are, just people.
Ain't it grand to be human?
more later................

Never What You Expect

So I gotta say, that God just never gives you what you expect. I say God here instead of Life because, well, God is life. Anyhoo, our over-filled weekend with family was, how can I put this, nice. Seriously, we were anticipating, severe pain, but it was not like that at all! Praise thee Lord!
more later on this...............
have a blessed Monday

Ask, Seek, Knock

So yesterday, I was complaining a bit of the fact that I had no help this week. Then this morning my lovely friend Cindy left me a message saying she could help me with whatever I needed. AND my mom just called and she is like 30 minutes away from Rochester coming on her day off to help me deep clean behind the counter and in the backroom. You know, it is so funny to me how God helps us even when we are poops. He is our father. He is good no matter how we are.

Matthew 7:7-8
Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for, keep on seeking and you will find, keep on knocking and the door will be opened unto you, for everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and to everyone who knocks the door will be opened."

chew on that:)

be blessed

Absenteeposting.............

Well, I am making up words. But you see, I am tired. My knee is twisted. My right foot is definately fractured. And to top it all off I don't have any help this week. Normally Adam is able to work at least one day with me, but he is not this week and I am sad about that. Not just to have the help, but because I really love being with him.

I am a whiner-cry-baby-butt. I am going to stop complaining now. There is a song we used to sing called "Count your blessings."

It goes something like this:

Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done. Count your blessings. Name them one by one, and you will remember what the Lord has done.

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

So, I am going to try to spend the remainder of this day counting my many blessings. I know that they are too numerous to count.

A few of them are listed above:) (in picture form:)

Icky Customers and what to do with them...

Just try to love them. I have had them coming out of the woodwork for the last few days. But you know what? Our job is just to love. I say just, like it is an easy thing. Believe you me, I know that it is no easy thing. But, why let it ruin your day? Why let it affect you negatively?

More later. Quick post today.

Learning so much

Okay, I am learning so much lately, I don't even know where to start. First off, did you know that "kindness" is a fruit of the spirit? :) So, I think that I had forgotten that. I prayed with my lovely on Sunday night that we would be more kind to people. Then realized that when I think of the Fruit of the Spirit, I think, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience...............and that is as far as I get. I forget: Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. Wow! There are 9. How many am I exhibiting. I am not trying to be hard on myself here. I know that I can indeed show these on any given day. But are they soaking up my existance? Are they overtaking all that I am so that people see Jesus more and more? I am not sure. But I am more and more glad to be aware of it so I can try.

Yesterday when I was praying with my sweetie, I just really realized that for years, I have been tricked into thinking that I am not praying correctly. "You know, we don't know God's will so we have to be careful how we pray." "We need to remind God of his promises and of his word." this non-sense goes on and on. this is a bunch of crap! We don't have to have any formula. Except for the following:

Our Father, who art in Heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give me what I need for today. And forgive me of my sins as I forgive those who sin against me. Keep me from temptation. Deliver me from evil. Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the Glory forever and ever. Amen.

Something else that we need to remember, is that God is our father. Now, I in recent years, have been getting to know my father. It has been hard until now, he was not around when I grew up. I think that is why it took me so long to understand God's fatherly love for me. Because I just really associated it with earthly father, who was far off from me. But things are better now and I am enjoying my relationship with my earthly dad. okay, back to my point, God is a great dad. It is okay for us to ask him for things. We are human. We want, we need, ext...but the truth is, If it is not in our best intrest, or the best intrest of the person we are interceeding for, God may not answer the way we wish him to. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask.
Hopefully this will make more sense with an example. Adam's uncle John has cancer. We want uncle John to live. So we pray that God will heal him. We love uncle John and don't want him to die. That is not selfish, that is normal human emotion. So we ask our father to help. He will do what he sees fit, but he is not annoyed with me for asking him to heal uncle John.
My friend Cindy's mom Linda is also sick with cancer. We want her to live and see her grandchildren. That is okay:) We will continue to ask for God to heal Linda. If he does, it is a brilliant testimony of God's gracious gift of life. If he doesn't, he has another plan. I know both John and Linda are in God's arms though, and so whatever the outcome, he will be glorified.

Bit of a rambling post. Hope you have a great rest of your week.

People For Peace?

Lately Adam and I have been focusing on creating an environment of peace. We have found that since both of us don't like to pick up after ourselves, and both of us are very clutter-prone people, we have little peace. We are making efforts to not only get rid of 1/2 of our house, but also to not buy things. Just because it is on sale, does not necessitate my need for it. Yes, it is nice, yes it is a great bargain, but do we need it? Will we use it immediately? Wow, I could leave the Kleenex on the floor, or I could just take the time to bend over and pick it up now. Cleaning up after yourself saves a lot of time and emotional stress:) If you are so led, please pray for us about this.

Okay, more on being people of peace:

Saturday, Adam, Haylee and I were driving home from the coffee house. We were in a long line-up at the stop lights and a man behind us (who apparently thought we were blocking him on purpose from not getting into the left hand turn lane, even though we were simply at the back of the line making it so that he would have to patiently wait to turn) started honking his horn. We turned to look because we were not aware that we were doing anything wrong, and as we did, we saw a very grumpy face giving us the finger. He just sat there staring at us, waving his arm angrily with his middle finger up. We laughed nervously a little because we were in shock. Then, the shock turned into astonishment as he passed us on the left and we saw his bumper sticker. It said "People for Peace."
I started laughing so hard, I started to choke, and I almost threw up! The irony.

So, my moral of the day is, don't put bumper stickers on your car. You just never know about yourself:)

Make it a great Tuesday!

Soup

So, it is really funny to me how much a pot of homemade soup can make a difference in a business. Recently my chicken wild rice soup was picked as one of the top 4 in the city. The local newspaper took my picture and featured us in the article. People are crazy for soup. I can hardly believe it.

Growing up, my mom and grandmom were always cooking. Everything was made from scratch. I remember that it was a real treat to eat out:) Now-a-days, we are lazy people we eat out everyday. I guess that is why everyone is so nutzy for my scratch soup. It just feels good. It is a comfort. Comfort food is in:)

Anyway the fall has turned into winter here in Minnesnowda. We have had 3 inches so far, none of which has stayed. But none the less, snow.

Refreshed by the endorphins

So, all my life, I have HATED to sweat. For one whole week now, everyday for 2 hours I literally sweat like crazy, wiping my forhead trying to keep up with all the soup eaters here in Rochester. (thank you Post Bulletin)! Yesterday when we got home, we just put the dog on a leash and headed out the door for a walk, knowing full well that we all needed the excercise and that if we sat down in a chair, we would be gonners. The endorphins kicked in in 5 minutes. It was amazing. I just can't believe how good it feels to excercise like this. I am very tired but not. Hopefully that makes some sense to someone. Anyway, with the increase of business, we are starting to pull out of the hole. i don't think that it will be that much longer before Adam will be able to work here too.
"Casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you."--1Peter 5:7 the first verse I ever memorized from the Bible.
Have a great weekend!

Quick note

So all of the publicity from the local newspaper has done wonders. We are very busy and I am very tired. But, i am not complaining. Thanking the Good Lord for yet one more answer to prayer instead!

Sickness

So, for the last 4 days now, I have been sick. So sick that my lovely store has been closed for 3 of those days. I am very glad that i am getting better. It is hard work being sick. You have to drink lots of liquids, sleep a lot, pee a lot, and you are so sore. My whole body still hurts, but i think it hurts mostly from all the coughing now. I have been very dizzy. I have been having very strange dreams about my hometown. I have been feeling like I am literally going to crawl out of my skin. My head has been pounding and I have been spinning. But, eventually, I will get better and then, I will really appreciate my health. You never appreciate something more than when you have lost it.
More later, when the shaking subsides...............

the past and the future

So, this lady named Becky came in today to get coffee and scones. She said, "I heard that your husband is a pastor." I said, "yes, he used to be one." That felt weird. But that is what "used" to be the case. Then she said, "yeah, I used to be a Catholic, but now I am studying to become a Lutheran." She stopped going to the Catholic church when they wouldn't let her take communion anymore because she got a divorce. She still loves all the tradition, but she was bothered by the communion thing. I guess getting divorced is called breaking a sacrament. Now she feels alive. She said that this summer she finally found out what Grace was. She had never understood it before. She always has believed that Jesus died on the cross for her sins, but has never understood grace. She said she literally feels that she is filled with the Holy Spirit now too because she can finally understand the scriptures. She loves reading her Bible. She is in 2 Bible studies. She is one happy camper. It is so great to hear the testimony of another believer. So encouraging. So reasuring.

Motherless Children

"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

A long way from home.

A long way from home."



Sometimes I get this song stuck in my head. Not because I really feel like a motherless child.

I have a wonderful mother. She is quirky and can really get under my skin, but she is an exceptional woman. I am very blessed to call her my friend. But I think I sing it because I am really longing for Heaven. I think the more I realize that I am really just a visitor here and not a resident, the more I desire for Jesus to come back for us. Even so the more I see in the world in how bad everything has really gotten and how selfish and awful people act, the more I realize my own humanity and am continually thankful that I am an alien here. That is why I feel like I don't fit in. Because I don't. But someday, I will not be a long way from home. I will be there.

New Perspective

So yesterday Adam and Mercy and I went up to my Aunt Kathie's house in Blair, WI. My mom met us there and we had a Bible study and ate and watched the Packers lose:( We stopped at Ecker's Apple Farm (where our wedding dance was held) on the way home and got some amazing apples. Today I made Apple Walnut Pie-Kuchen with the Cortlands from Eckers.

My new perspective has come in the form of customer encouragement today. My second customer of the day sat down on the couch and said, "I am just going to bath in your peace now."
later....
another customer was asking how things were going and I honestly replied to her that it had been a tough month of customers. She said, "well, just think, there maybe are 3 or 4 bad ones from last week that could spoil things, or you could think of all those of us who come in here to enjoy the peace that is here."

I thought it was neat that 2 customers said the same thing. And interesting that we pray that God's love and peace will be very evident to each person who walks in the door.

Thank the Good Lord for lessons learned and new perspectives.

ps. I finally mailed Jessieh's packages they weighed 15 lbs. each:)

Taking care

Imitate God therefore in everything you do because you are his dearly loved children.--NLT Ephesians 5:1

I have been working on this today.

Yesterday Adam had to work the closing shift at the Max so I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out what it was that I was going to do to try to make more money in the store. Then I re-packaged Jessieh's care packages which will finally go in the mail by the weekend and thought, well, I think now is the time to start taking care of my skin. I am an AVON lady for cryin out loud!

So, i took a shower washing all my major body parts with an amazing body clay product, scrubbed my feet with a special foot bar of soap, shaved:), brushed my teeth, flossed, cleansed, toned, and moisturized my face. Then I brushed the dredds out of my hair--(which was NOT fun) put in a leave in moisturizer and even put lotion on my arms, legs, and feet. I normally opt for the 4 minute shower because I feel guilty wasting water forget the shaving and all the face stuff and lotions because I think I am too busy. But you know what, from start to finish, even getting through my nappy hair, it was only 20 minutes. I can take 20 minutes everyday to feel better about myself.

I will continue.

Please pray for my friend Cindy's mom. Her name is Linda which means Beautiful and from what I have heard of her, she certainly is that! She is going through chemo treatments now and is facing tough decisions.

John 15 - Passage Lookup - New Living Translation - BibleGateway.com

John 15 - Passage Lookup - New Living Translation - BibleGateway.com: "9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other."

Earlier today I read this, then Adam came to help for and hour and a half and all pandamonium broke loose here at the shop. It got so busy that it was hard to keep up and my attitude started to really go South. I was swearing, like What About Bob? swearing, not even under my breath swearing out loud (i don't think anyone heard me) and I told Adam that I thought the devil (or one of his counterparts) was testing me. Even if there is no test going on, it took me saying it out loud before I snapped out of it and realized that my attitude is a choice. i can choose to be a hater, or I can choose to be a lover. I started to love again. Then I came back and read this again. Jesus, chose me, and has appointed me to go and produce lasting fruit------I am going to love. I don't have to let little things get to me. I can choose this day to love.

When I was in college my friend Jenny had a teacher whose name was Will. I don't remember anything about the man except for the fact that one day he said, "I lean towards love, all the rest are distortions."i wrote this on the inside cover of one of my Bibles, and everytime I see it I am reminded how true it is that love is the only truth, all the rest is distortion! ---Well mister Altbrinker, at this moment, that is what I am doing, LEANING TOWARDS LOVE!

Tuesday is the new Monday

So yesterday I woke up sick. This is nothing new as I have been waking up sick for pretty much the past year (the amount of time the store has been open). But usually by the time I walk downstairs to let the dog out and then walk back upstairs I am better and it is just a groggy morning thing. But this time it didn't take. I prayed and said, "Okay God, I don't want to stay home if that is not the right thing to do. I know people are depending on me and the store. " I prayed for about 10 minutes and was confirmed by the Good Lord and Adam that I should just stay home. I sent out a massive e-mail, tweeted, and blogged that we would not be open, then prayed again that people would not come in so that they would not be disappointed that we were not open. And I went back to sleep. I slept for 5 more hours until I heard Adam calling to tell me that he was going to take his lunch break. Went downstairs, put some leftovers in the microwave for him, and sat there groggy for the next 2.5 hours. Then when he got home, we took a 4 hour nap. Then, I called www.artconstellation.blogspot.com, thinking that I would be able to listen to her and catch up a little as I have not spoken to her in too long. Well, that was not what the Good Lord had planned. She encouraged me with an amazing story. I just want to thank her publicly as I seriously don't know what I would have done without her wonderful words of wisdom. Then I skyped with another amazing woman who is going through some tough stuff right now. www.jessiehspeaks.blogspot.com. Please pray for both of these women who truely mean the world to me.
Today is a good day. I have a full bakery case, the soup is done--but there are no customers so I am trusting they will come in later, and for now, I will just clean and organize.
And I will keep going.
Because I have to.
And I want to.

an actual rant

So this last week has been a definite test for me. I think an actual test. One that I didn't do so well on a few days and now I think after a bit of studying, I may actually get pass. Having your own business is hard. Of course you want to please and serve the customers who keep you open, but sometimes, you need a break. 2 ladies came in to just use my bathroom and I politely let them know that the loo was for customers only, they were snotty, I was snotty back-but i don't think that they heard me. Another customer yesterday was rude, and to be honest, i thankfully don't even remember what happened. Today someone called in and was ickie and you know what? It just isn't worth it. Please, i plead with you not to be one of those people who thinks they are right about everything, none of us are. We are all works in progress.

Today the neighbors are doing construction on the wall and I had to take all our pictures off so that they don't fall and break. Which is actually good because it will give me a chance to dust them and also to get things organized a bit so that we can get more pictures up.

Even Jesus took breaks. In fact, Luke 5:16 says, "Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." I am withdrawing this weekend. It starts at noon today when I will get to have a Bible study time with my new beautiful friend CC. I am excited to learn and talk about just how good God is! Next, I will sleep, clean my house, enjoy the company of the two most beautiful twins in the world, talk some Norwegian with my Dad, visit the most peaceful place on earth--my in laws house--I am not joking, you walk into their home and you want to fall asleep:), pick some apple, kiss a very old man on the cheek, hold my husbands hand, and not have to put my dog in the kennel for 3.5 days. Thank you Jesus for rest.

I am hoping to get into the wilderness everyday this vacation to get a jump start for next week.

Thank you

So I have been thinking about this post for a long time. I am confused with Thank Yous. I don't understand why saying it and being thankful is not enough. I don't understand why there is a protocol for people to follow. I don't understand it at all. The whole point of giving a gift or making something special for someone is to do it unselfishly. There are a lot of things that I have not gotten thank yous for. In fact, most parents go though this every day. I just don't get it. Did I mention that?
My family is bad at this. They think that it is rude to not send thank yous. They actually get mad at the person that they so thoughtfully remembered if there is no reciprocation. I find this just crazy. The fact is, that because of their insecurity they need someone else to praise them for their kind efforts. It is NOT right for us to force our insecurity on others. I think sometimes people do nice things just to be called nice. In 1 Tim 5:25 it says "The good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light." I am gonna believe that.
Now don't get me wrong, I think that if the Spirit moves you, send the thank you. But if you do something nice, just do something nice. Don't expect men and women to give you praise. Take it from God instead. Do good just to do good. Don't do it so someone will call you good! Even Jesus said, "why do you call me good? Only the Father is good."
Just a little meat to chew on.

to make you smile

blessings

So for the last 2 weeks I have been giving away money. Not a lot of money as I really don't have any but some and only when I felt the Lord really leading me to do it. Yesterday there was $25 rolled up like a cigarette in my tip jar. And today: there was a ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL in it!
How does this happen?
God.
That is all I have to say.
He shall supply my every need. Not want. Need.
Thank you God.

Too much coffee

Coffee, tea, and a little bit of me.............................
i drank too much coffee today.
iced tea is refreshing.
i am so tired that my feet feel like they are literally going to fall off. i need to sleep now. more later.

Saturday in the Park

THis morning as with most Saturday mornings Adam and I were late getting here to get the 17+ gallons of coffee and tea prepared for the farmers market. We still get there in time, but along the way there is always a sense of panic and frustration on my part and about 8 oz of spilled sweet tea on my skirt and my flip flop......But all in all, we are fine. I made vegetarian chili and cornbread for today. Maddy made fresh peach (sorry Jessieh, we can't send them to you) and Haylee just finished frosting the cinnamon walnut scones. Well, not much here, just a continual burning desire to be a good human:)

New

Today I feel new. I don't know how else to describe it. I had weird customer situation this morning as a guy put out his own speakers and listened to his own music. I had to tell him he would either need to plug in his ear phones or turn it off as we already play music and it didn't need competition.
More on the newness later......................
a song from my past,
"He's still workin on me, to make me what I aught to be. It took him just a week to make the earth and the stars, the sun and the moon, and jupiter and mars. How loving and patient he must be, He's still workin on me!"

Thanking Jesus

So today, i realized that I have been very happy with our business for the last three days and I haven't even thanked the Good Lord. So I did a lot of that today. We started selling homemade soup on Tuesday and it has been going VERY well. Even though Minnesota is in the middle of the hottest days we have seen all summer. I have however learned that I will probably not make cream of broccoli again as I can't stand the smell of it. All in all I just want to give a shout out to Jesus for all of the answered prayers.
I have had some really nice customers lately and I want to be thankful for that too. I gotta get blogging more, I will work on that.
Lesson learning lately: do everything as though you are doing it for the Lord. I think that is why I am more tired:) I am trying.
more later
ps. I use a lot of cream in my soup and I actually told a lady that I wouldn't sell it to her because I knew it wouldn't be good for her cholesterol. She seemed sad but like she knew I was just looking out for her.

Signs of the times..............

I know that this is a kind of gross thing to talk about, but I hope you will find it amusing. When I was a kid, the life guards at the Whitehall Public Pool, (where Neal and I spent about 20 hours a week) had a sign that read:
"We don't swim in your toilet, So please don't pee in our pool." they also told all the little kids in swimming lessons that they put a chemical in the pool that would instantly make turn red if you peed in the pool. Therefore, if you peed, a stream of red would follow you and everyone would know that you let it flow in the public pool. Now, I know that a few times I indeed did pee in the pool and it never turned colors, but believe me, I looked to check make sure!

Adam's Step Mom has a sign in her bathroom that reads:
" If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie, wipe the seatie!"
Now this one is brilliant! I want to put this one up at the shop! I just don't understand why you wouldn't look at the toilet after you flush to make sure that you have not "left behind" a little something for the next person. I actually have a few people that I go into the bathroom after on purpose because I know that they sprinkle. I follow them with the disinfectant spray. Ewe!!!!!

So, my tip for the day for you is to make sure you don't pee in public pools and if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.

Thank you!

What is Sunday?

Today, Sunday meant Ikkers showing me his Lego-Batman tee-shirt. I woke up at 8, did the dishes, made bacon, a perfect omlet (a feat that has NEVER been accomplished by me), american fries, and coffee, listened to the Billy Graham crusade on the radio, ate and talked with my husband, went to the dollar store only to not find what I needed and then run into a beautiful friend who I have not seen or heard from in over a year (and by the way, the Lord has been putting her on my heart lately to pray for:), and then headed over to Hayfield, MN where I went to a family picnic for Adam's Mom's side. Ikkers, (which he preffers to be called instead of Isaac) is a middle child. His older brother Logan (Logie) is very smart and his baby brother Ben is mostly giggles as far as I can tell. I remember Niki (Adam's sister and mother of the three cuties) telling us that after Ben was born, Ikkers said, "where's his momma?" I am sure that was his 3 yr old way of indicating that he didn't want to take the baby home:)
I sang the whole way to Hayfield and back. I enjoyed the sunshine and all of God's creation.
Today Adam and I discussed how we are selfindulgent people. We have the Burger King mentality of having it our way RIGHT AWAY. But, we are praying now to ask God to burn that out of us. I really want to learn what it means to be self controlled. i think for far too long, we have put it off, thinking that it was falling again into legalism, but that is just not the case. I am going to make a late dinner now instead of drive to Culvers like both of us would rather do:) Yes, we have the freedom to NOT eat fast food. I am have just been converted into the slow food movement!

Yesterday

Okay, so yesterday I had the priveledge of taking my seventeen year old sister in law's senior portraits. It reminded me of many things. 1. I need to think younger. Gabbi was so free and just seemed to be having so much fun. I didn't have to coach her and I barely ever had to tell her how to pose. 2. I want to live in the country. Sheila and Roy truely have found a little patch of Heaven out in Pilet Mound. 3. I have to take more pictures---it is MY art. 4. I love God's creation more and more. I just enjoyed the fresh air, the excercise (walking back and forth all over their property) and just being with a really fun kid.

All thanks to God who gives us exactly what we need at exactly the right time. And, as a ps, I even got to talk to my other favorite teenager on the way out to the farm. Jessieh, I am very proud of you. Gab, thanks for the fun. I love you crazy beautiful teenagers!

Someday!

So i think someday is here! I have been saying that "someday-this" "someday-that" and I think that it is finally here. More on this later.

Red Velvet

So, i am on my way to make some red velvet cake. I have no time to blog today:) More later

the perfect meringue

So, today was a weird day. I had ample opportunity to sit. Which normally I would beat myself up over but today I have been enjoying it. I needed to rest today. I have been going non stop and wearing myself out. When I get home from work (usually around 6:30 by the time I am done with shopping and the bank) I am too pooped to pop. I put this picture up here to show that life is like a good piece of lemon meringue pie. Flaky-crusted-mouth-puckering-sweet-tart-light-fluffy-with a smooth finish. I gotta make this pie again soon.

Temporarily Disconnected

So today I had a group of 11 elderly people come in for lunch. I made tuna and egg salad sandwiches, broccoli/pea/cauliflower salad, and apple kuchen. I am just going to be honest, usually, I have a very hard time with older folks. I find them crotchety and demanding. These people were far from that. They were the nicest older folks I have had the pleasure of serving in a very long time. I think it is funny how we tend to always think the worst. I was expecting quite the run-a-round from them, and instead, it was completely delightful. I sure am glad that God doesn't judge me by my outside appearance. I pray that I can stop doing that. You know, one thing I have really been learning is that we are all works in progress. We are not going to all like each other, or be best friends, but we can learn to co-exist. Remembering that we are unlovely sometimes too! In the movie What About Bob? Bob says to Anna, "If I find someone who I don't think likes me, I just treat them like they are a telephone, and i say, this one's just temporarily disconnected." Wise advice.

church

So today is Sunday. For almost three months now, Adam and I have not gone to a traditional church service. It has been an odd transition for us. Especially after spending the last eight years thinking we were sinning by not going on a Sunday morning to service. Today we met Neal and Haylee and Maddy at the coffee shop at nine fifteen ish. We drank coffee and ate donuts, sang, Adam shared what the Lord had shown him yesterday about growing up in the Lord instead of always drinking milk, you know, eating actual food instead of the same old stuff day after day after day. Hebrews chapter five if you are interested in following up with this. We shared talked, and then we prayed. Have you ever listened to a child pray? It is priceless. Maddy prayed that God would touch the kids in the trailer court where they live and help them to know that they shouldn't swear, even when they get mad, she said it was not the right decision to swear:) Haylee prayed that God would keep helping her with her attitudes which she thinks are getting better! I want to keep learning from them. At one point, Haylee looked at me and whispered, "this is fun". I think it is because they actually felt like they were contributing to the time we shared in fellowship. Thank you God for Sundays! May there be many more lessons to come.

Can we USE our inside voice please?

No, I am not talking about the voices in your head or the Holy Spirit .......I mean come on, WHEN YOU ARE IN A PUBLIC PLACE, DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE UNLESS IT IS TO STOP SOMEONE FROM EATING POISON OR TRIPPING OVER SOMETHING! Yesterday I had this guy in here who was talking to one other person, he was so loud, I could hear every word he was saying even though I was in the backroom. Okay, there were other people in the store too, so after about 15 minutes, I just said, "Could you just use your inside voice?" He seemed mad and embarrassed. But I was nice about it so that is going to have to be something he deals with. Also this morning we had a group of lively men who met for a Bible study, one of the guys was SO loud that I almost said the same thing to him but one of the other guys in the group actually said, "okay I think we need to quiet down." Right before he was told to bring his voice down, I mumbled under my breath, "Hello, can we USE our inside voice please?"--notice the stress on USE, and think Chandler Bing from FRIENDS.

Okay, so we are getting ready for the farmers market. It is very overwhelming, but very exciting. I have been making these amazing cinnamon twists lately. They are too good to be true. I actually said to Laura yesterday, "I think I am in love with myself:)"--

Which leads me to my sobering thought of the day, Narc ism. So I have concluded that we as humans, are all very selfish people. We do things, say things, blah, blah, blah..........with us in mind. (most of the time) When people cut us off on the highway, we get mad because it has inconvenienced us. Yes, I know, "they could have killed us!" Is often something that goes through our heads, but in essence, we really just are mad because we someone didn't do something our way. How many times do we say, "I hope they get pulled over the way they drive?" What are we really saying? I can't wait till they get punished! As Christians I think we do that all too often too. "Well, just wait till that liberal so and so faces God at the end of his life." Don't lie to yourself, we have all thought it at some point. First of all, it is okay to be liberal:) It is okay to be conservative:) I think I will call myself a revolutionary liberservative a with a smidge of armpit shavin hippy thrown in for good measure! Second of all, why do we want people to "pay" for what they have done wrong? We need to start giving people a little slack and remembering that, at times, we are all pains in the buttocks of humanity. We are all sinners saved ONLY by grace. Next time someone cuts you off or drives like a maniac who has had 2- large-quad-shot-iced-soy-lattes-with half shots of vanilla and almond-shaken-not-stirred, pray that they will slow down and that they won't kill anyone, and then thank God for the angel (s) that were surrounding you in your car.

At some point I may stop my ramblings, or maybe it will be a never ending process that doesn't end till Jesus comes back for us..................anyway

till tomorrow,
Eve

Another Day, Another 10 bucks..........

Okay, on the retail front today I had a lady that was a real doozie. I have to say though that I think I may have scored a major victory in the calm department with this one. I had a witness, Sharon who thought that I handled it all quite well considering the circumstances.
Lady: i will have a 16 oz iced soy chai blended
Me: I'm sorry I can't make that
Lady: Okay then, can I get a blended 16oz mocha with some white thrown in it?
Me: Sure that will be $4.08.
I then ring her up and take payment. BTW, when she said---"with some white thrown in there" that was code for, "I want white chocolate too, but I don't want to pay extra for it." I charged her for it. I have to.

Lady: Um, so my drink is $5.00?
Me: Let me check, the total was $4.08 you had a 16oz blended mocha with an extra shot of white chocolate, so with tax, that is $4.08.
Lady: So, this is why I wouldn't stop here, I can't see spending $5.00 on a small drink.
Me: Did you want your money back ma'am? I'd be happy to refund it.---with God and Sharon as my witness, I was very sincere with what I said.
Lady: Well, no, I just can't see spending that. I mean, at Java, I would have gotten a large for that.
Me: Are you sure you don't want your money back ma'am?
Lady: No, not if you can make it quickly, I am on my way to Hayfield.

I then proceeded to make her drink and say thank you as I handed it to her. OKAY, FOR THE RECORD, I LOOKED IT UP AND JAVA DETOURS SAME DRINK WITH THE SAME AMMOUNT OF SHOTS AND FLAVORS WOULD BE $4.24...............................NOW THAT WAS THEIR PRICE LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS NOW AS I DO KNOW THAT ALL THE PLACES IN TOWN RAISED PRICES THIS YEAR. Rant over:) i am glad I didn't try to correct her, it wouldn't have mattered. Maybe she was just having a bad day.

Ah the joy of retail.

Anyway i feel like that was a growing experience. i don't need to correct everyone. i just need to give them what they order and love them. One day, this will come naturally for me.

Had some nice new customers today. Denise and her kids--really nice kids, Joy, and Patty, i think they will all be back.


More tomorrow,
Eve

The Very First Rant

So here we go again, in a feeble attempt to blog. What is blogging all about anyway? Basically it is our deep-rooted desire to be heard I guess. Hopefully this will keep the very few of you that ever read this updated on our lives and maybe offer a bit of humor along the way. So we have owned a coffee and tea house for the past year. In that time, we have seen a lot of strange things. I have had someone come in my store to poop in my toilet without buying anything, and then call to complain that i was rude to him because I told him the toilet was for customer use only, I have seen at least 3 people ALMOST every single day come in "just to check us out," I AM SORRY, IF IT SAYS COFFEE AND TEA HOUSE ON THE SIGN, WE HAVE COFFEE AND TEA-----BUY SOMETHING ALREADY! I have seen moms let their children have scones on my beautiful couch, and not clean up after them. I AM SORRY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE COME FROM? CAN i COME TO THEIR HOUSE AND LET A 2 YEAR OLD HAVE A SCONE AND CRUMBLE IT ALL OVER THE PLACE AND THEN NOT CLEAN IT UP ?? On the bright side, i have a new mom who comes with 3 really great kids, one on the way too, who actually offers to clean up after her children, which of course I don't let her do, because she is totally genuine and I appreciate the fact that she really does not want to leave the place a pit. Her name is Jodi and she is a jem. Thank you Jodi! I have had more advice thrown at me than i can even count. "You guys should sell sandwiches, have you ever thought about soups? You should really advertise. You should market these people. You should. You should.........ENOUGH ALREADY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD INTENTIONS, BUT PLEASE, PRAY FOR US INSTEAD, THE SUGGESTIONS ARE MAKING OUR HEADS HURT! I think my favorite is the salesmen and women. They come in and want you to buy something, but they don't buy anything from you. A word to the wise, if you want to sell someone something, BUY SOMETHING. We have taken to only entertaining offers from those who have actually cared to support us. I will try to think of some other good remembrances over the next couple of weeks to catch you up on the past year.
In the meantime, we are going to be down at the farmers market peddling coffee, cold brew, tea, and iced tea starting this Saturday. I hope you are all having a fantastic time in this short life we have. Last week we really contemplated closing the store. Our sales are slow and far from paying the bills. We pray, ask God for guidance, and wait. One day that started out particularly frustrating led me to Bible Gateway.com where the verse of the day was Ephesians 3:20-21---paraphrased it said, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine........" And I thought, okay God, I will keep going and trust you. I mean IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN WE CAN ASK OR IMAGINE, come on, that has got to be one God we can trust, believe in, hope in! Being a store owner is great practice in trying to love people. It show us just how much we really can't do it on our own strength, we have to rely on Jesus.
PS. drop any prayer requests you have on the comment section, when I am done ranting, I will lift you up. and then repent for the ranting.....................
much love,
Eve