Revamp

Wow.

It's me, blog.

Yeah, I know I haven't written in almost a year and a half. You'll forgive me, won't you? I'm talking to you, blog, because I don't know if anyone else besides me ever visits you.    ...Not that I have done much visiting either, in many months.

It's been a crazy year and a half. I have learned so much about myself - and about life. That's why I'm writing again, as a matter of fact; because I've learned so much. It's all sorta spilling out of my heart, and I need somewhere to share it.

Did you know that you don't stop "growing up" once you hit your twenties? Really. I used to think my major developmental time would be in my teens, and then once I hit my twenties I would be a settled, mature, stable person, without stretching and growing times. Definitely without growing pains.

WRONG.

Now that I'm half-way through my twenties, I'm beginning to think that this is the richest, most difficult, most educational, most exhilarating, most frustrating, most rewarding time of my life. I feel so incredibly blessed despite all the challenges. I have cried many, many tears, and had many sighs and groans, yet I don't regret any of the battles. That's the difference between these adventures and those of my teens. Back then I thought the world was falling apart and I was going to die. Now, it may sound strange, but just being alive, to be able to feel, and be able to fight, to be able to fall on my face, or soar and conquer - either one is a privilege. I'm ALIVE. And I'm on the winning team. That is enough.

I'm sitting here wanting to burst into tears. Maybe it's because I'm sitting here having a conversation with you, like an old friend. Maybe it's because I'm listening to Christmas music in November. Maybe it's because memories from the past two years are flooding over me, and I feel like a veteran looking back at a war and I'm a bit shell-shocked.

Nobody told me life would be this challenging. Nobody told me that things wouldn't go as I planned.

Nobody told me that my heart could hold this much happiness and not burst.

Nobody told me that I could be so stretched and still not break.

What has happened in the last two years? I can't fill you in on everything. It would take too long. Nothing would seem so significant in writing, anyway. But that's the tough part of life, isn't it? The little day-to-day battles. Let's just say I've spent the last little while doing a lot of "being still and knowing that He is God."

What has happened while we've been apart? Well....

- I've said goodbye to several friends, and made many new ones.

- I've come out of my shell that I used to crawl into like a turtle, claiming that my years of battling depression had scarred me and that I couldn't face certain things. My motto this year has been "try as many new things as you can!" It's been thrilling. I feel alive, and I've opened rooms in my brain I didn't know existed. I've found out crazy, funny little things about myself, like that I like coffee, and I thrive on interaction with people, and I love to listen to music, and I don't like strawberry ice cream.

- God has made it possible for me to purchase my own car, (debt-free!) with all the freedom and responsibility that involves. 

- I've made a wedding dress with a friend. We both nearly had a nervous-breakdown doing it, but created memories that are going to stay with us for a lifetime.

- I've started working for other people as well as continuing to be self-employed at my own business (two of them, actually),  and I've discovered I enjoy both worlds. I've grown as a business woman, I think, learning how to be professional with my clients.

- I've become an adopted "big sis" to two girls from a non-Christian broken home, and my heart has been captured. 

- I've known for a long time how to say "no" to myself, but I'm starting to know how to say "no" to other people. Valuable skill!

- I've learned that living on 5 hours of sleep a night actually will slowly kill you, and that 9 hours of sleep is a gift from Heaven. :)  And I discovered what adults have always known - a good sleep routine can make or break your day.

- I've lived in another country for 3 weeks, and absolutely adored it.

- I've begun to learn a new language.

- I've gained a sister-in-law!

Lessons I've learned:

- God's Word is more valuable than I ever thought it was, and time to read it should not be taken for granted, but rather pursued like a lifeline.
- Real, true, strong Christian friends are a blessing that you can't put a price tag on.
- Siblings are to be cherished every moment, because they grown up way too fast.
- Parents do WAY more than they get credit for.
- Being content is a lot more important than looking perfect.

I hope to be back soon, friend, and share more of my life with you. I'm still sewing, cooking, and doing other labors with my hands, but I think this blog name should be changed a little bit - instead of just being about the fruit of my hands, I would be really happy if it could be about the fruit of my life.

I'm BACK!

Deep breath....

I'm writing a blog post.

I'M WRITING A BLOG POST!

It has been way too long. Are you even still there?

I feel like I owe you an explanation - like when your phone battery dies in the middle of a conversation, and you have to find a different phone and call the person back to explain, so they won't think you are the rudest thing born since Henry IIX. Yes, I'd definitely like to offer both an apology and explanation. The only problem is that I'm still figure out what all I would say.

I could say that my schedule has changed and blogging time has fallen way down on the priority list. That sounds good. It even sounds mature, as if I'm finally learning to manage my time better. (The only problem is, how do you reconcile the image of a reformed time-manager with that of a blogger saying "I don't have time"?)

I could say that I haven't had post ideas.

That would be a lie. Scratch that explanation.

I could say that I didn't feel like writing. That would only sorta-kinda be true.

I could say that I began to ask myself "why bother sharing your thoughts? Everybody out there is tons more brilliant than you anyway." That would be a lot closer to the truth.

I could also say that I have a stalker.

Creepy, I know. Not dangerous - not this particular stalker (thank the Lord!). But creepy enough to make me highly un-inclined to post anything where they can read it. I'm sure you can imagine. I just don't feel like sharing my thoughts with someone like that.

But I've decided to ignore this passive, tame, but slightly creepy situation and post anyway - when I can (that first explanation up there wasn't that far off from the truth!). That being said, let me dive right into a post without wasting any more precious blogging time.

I have so much to say! Where to begin? I have post ideas about hospitality, new recipes, a entrepreneur-related announcement, recent projects, stories about my puppy...

Um....let's see....

I'd like to tackle a subject that God has been laying on my heart for awhile now. It can be a highly divisive topic, though, so I am a bit nervous about bringing it up. I just feel like I can't not say something. I want to share the blessing God has been showing me.

Let's talk about the sabbath.

Just that word alone strikes the ear as old-fashioned, doesn't it? It conjures up associations with various things. Some people have had very legalistic experiences with the word, and it makes them cringe. Others automatically think "that's Old Testament" or "That's Jewish." Others ask "huh? Sa-what?"

For those of you in that last category, let me explain. The word "sabbath" literally means "rest." It is used in the Bible to describe various holidays/holy days (same thing, right?) that God ordained for His people. Sometimes it is used in the singular form (sabbath) and sometimes in the plural form (sabbaths). In each case, it refers to a day or days that God commanded His people to use as days of rest from specific things.

For those of you just approaching this subject for the first time, it is important to have a clear understanding of the distinction between "the sabbath" and "sabbaths."

"Sabbaths", in the plural form, can mean any number of feasts and holy days that God set in place for the nation of Israel. They had - and many still have - multiple days throughout the year that they celebrate by resting from ordinary labor and pursuits.

"The Sabbath," distinguished from the rest both by the article "the" and the singular form, is a specific holiday. It comes once a week - and this is the sabbath referred to in the famous Ten Commandments. This is the day that God said to "remember" and to "keep holy." This is the day of which He also said "in it, thou shalt do no work."

For the Jews, the Sabbath was a memorial of two things; Creation and Redemption. That is reflected in the Ten Commandments; God says one of the reasons for the command for sabbath rest was "for in six days the Lord made Heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is. But He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." At the beginning of the Ten Commandments, God mentions that the reason He is giving them these laws is because He "brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." So we see creation and redemption out of Egypt both given as reasons for the Jews to keep one day out of seven set apart for worship and rest.

Let's take a little history tour:

Throughout the Old Testament, we see the Israelites breaking God's sabbaths over and over again. The books of the prophets are full of references to this particular sin. In fact, God gives their neglect of the sabbaths as one of His primary reasons for destroying the land of Israel in the days of Babylon, around 600 BC. He declared that, one way or another, His land would get its sabbath rest (referring to the "sabbath year" of rest for the farmland that was supposed to be carried out every seven years. That was one of those "plural sabbaths").

When the people finally got to come back to their land, 70 years later, we see Nehemiah involved in helping rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. Do you remember how the men of Tyre peddled their wares and sold fish and other things in Jerusalem on The Sabbath in chapter 13 of Nehemiah? Whoosh, did Nehemiah get mad! He shut them out of the city, and they camped outside once or twice, hoping folks would come out to them, since they couldn't get into the city to sell stuff there. Nehemiah said, "If you do that again, I'm going to lay hands on you!" And he didn't mean hands of blessing, either. :) He talked to the elders and nobles of Judah and basically said "What?! How could you allow this to go on? Isn't this what we got sent out of the land for in the first place - polluting the sabbath by carrying on normal business days instead of worshiping and resting?"

Then we have a break of 400 years between the old and new testaments, and Jesus comes on the scene. At this point, and new role of spiritual leadership has risen in Israel; the class of "Pharisees." Yes, those same bad guys that handed Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified. We think of them as the worst kind of hypocrites and sinners, (do we not?), but in their day they were THE highest of all spiritual ideals. The populace had been convinced that the Pharisees were the spiritual experts, and whatever they said was right....was right.

Enjoying this power, the Pharisees did what all humans do when they are trying to "be spiritual" on their own, without the spirit of God or the grace of God. They created lists; rules and regulations about HOW to keep the law. Before long, their lists WERE law in the sight of all the people.

Gradually, Sabbath activity became more and more restricted. You could only walk a certain amount of steps on the seventh day of the week. You could not help the sick. You could not lift anything heavy. Specific, nit-picky rules that the Pharisees created were put side-by-side with the Ten Commandments, and upheld as revelation from God Himself.

No wonder it made Jesus angry. The Pharisees had taken His holy day, a day of fellowship with God, a day of worship and rest, a day designed to celebrate two wonderful acts of God - Creation and Redemption from Egypt - and turned it into a day all the common people dreaded.

I think we can all understand why Jesus harped on them so much for adding to the law, and making it a burden instead of a delight. In the book of Isaiah, God had promised "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth..."

...That verse shows His heart! But the Pharisees had become lost in a list. So Jesus told them that the Son of Man (Himself) was Lord also of the sabbath, and that man was not made for the sabbath, but the sabbath was made for man. It is for man's benefit!

The next big event on the time line of history was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection - that grand and glorious event - happened on the first day of the week; Sunday, the day after the Jewish sabbath. That very same day - the first day of the week - Jesus appeared to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). He appeared later that day, in the evening, to the gathering of disciples in a closed room (John 20:19). But Thomas wasn't there. ...That turned out okay, though, because they were assembled again, exactly a week later, on the first day of the week - and Thomas was there. Again, the doors were shut tight, and again Jesus came into the room. ...On the first day of the week (John 20:26).

After being with His disciples for 40 days, Jesus ascended up into Heaven. 10 days later, "the comforter," the Holy Spirit, was sent to the disciples in fulfillment to Jesus' promise to send Him. How do we know it was 10 days later? It's very simple: this event happened on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost happens 50 days after Passover. Jesus was resurrected during the Passover celebration. 50 days between dates - 40 days spent with disciples = 10 days the disciples waited alone.

Brief explanation of Pentecost:
This was the end of "the feast of weeks." Barely harvest lasted 7 weeks in Palestine, and there were ceremonies of worship and offerings at the beginning and end of the harvest time. The first day of harvest started on the first sabbath (Saturday) after Passover and ended exactly 50 days later. ....on a Sunday.

Are you seeing a pattern here? It becomes more and more clear that the early church had a habit of meeting together on the first day of the week.

They had good reason to; they were celebrating two things; new life in Christ, and redemption from sin!

...Does that sound familiar?

Yes, it seems that Christ's resurrection moved the date of the sabbath, for the church, from the seventh day of the week to the first. But it still celebrates Creation of life, and Redemption.

Whoa - hold on. ...Is Amber saying that the sabbath is still binding today? That we are still obligated to obey that command about "keeping the sabbath holy"? But that's so "Old Testament!"

May I gently remind you that ALL scripture is given by God?

"But the law was set aside when Christ came!"

Jesus Himself said, "think not that I have come to destroy the law. I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it." He also said that not one jot or tittle (the smallest letter, and smallest part of a letter in the Hebrew alphabet) of the law would pass away.

Now, all that being said, we must remember that we HAVE been set free from the law. Isn't that what Galatians is all about? We are no longer bound by the law!  But what law is Paul talking about?

The Old Testament contains three different categories of law: #1) Ceremonial Laws for the worship in the temple, and connected activities, #2) Judicial Laws for the nation of Israel, and #3) The Moral Laws of God, showing His character and setting His standards of what is right and wrong.

The second category does not apply to any other nation, and the first category was set aside when Jesus made the final sacrifice on our behalf (as it obviously explained in Galatians). What then should we do with the third category of law?

These moral laws are contained in the Ten Commandments, but were not invented on Mt. Sinai. Murder was wrong way back when Cain murdered Able. Adultery was wrong way back when Abimelech stole Sarah from Abraham. Having other gods besides the LORD was wrong way back before the great flood. And the sabbath was mentioned in the second chapter of Genesis. These moral standards have existed since before time. The Ten Commandments merely collected them all in one place and set them down in stone.

No one argues that murder and adultery are still wrong today. God's law is written on our conscience. Why then is the fourth commandment so attacked?

Is it really such a burden, to set aside one day a week for worshiping our Lord?
Do we have so little faith in His ability to provide for us that we feel we must work 7 days a week?
Do we care so much for our own pleasure and entertainment that "not thinking our own thoughts, or seeking our own pleasure" for one day is too much to ask?

Perhaps the answers to these questions are too sad to even speak. But they are questions I have been asking myself.

I have become more and more convinced, the older I've become, in the blessing of the Lord's Day. I strive to keep Sunday holy with the same effort I give to not lying, not killing, or not dishonoring my parents. I believe it is that important. It's not about "lists," or a fear that God will curse me if I don't honor His day. ....No, indeed. It's simply that I believe Him when He promises a blessing for those who call the sabbath a delight. And I want that blessing. I want it with my whole heart.

That is why I am choosing to share this with you. That is why I've written this lengthly chatter about the history behind the sabbath. I love to talk about His day. I love to look at verses that show how highly He esteems this holy day - this holiday. I love to read about the blessings promised to those who keep it holy.

Are you willing to think about it with me? Have we really embraced all there is to know about the Lord's Day? Are we really reaping all the benefits from it that God has for us there? He said the day was made for us - for our benefit. What is still there that we haven't yet learned?

The next time I post, I hope to talk about ways to keep the Sabbath - and I don't mean a list of rules. I mean talking about ways to celebrate. Yes, celebrate! We are celebrating His resurrection every Sunday. We are celebrating His redemption and creation of new life.

...Or are we? Are we really celebrating? Or are we just following a routine, and fighting traffic, and hanging out with friends, watching TV, and sleeping in? Do we really celebrate Sunday? Where is the joy?

That's what I want to talk about next; ways to CELEBRATE Sunday. :) :) :)

I haven't deserted you...

...I've just lost my computer! Viruses are nasty. What diabolical mind would create something like that and send it out to ruin the lives of total strangers?

My laptop is in the shop right now, and I'm praying that I haven't lost all my files! I have stuff on there that I really, really, really don't want to lose. I've had the computer for 5 years, and I write books and run two businesses from it, so there's quite a bit of data on there!

I praise the Lord for what He is teaching me through this experience. Patience. Trust. Time management. Trust. Priorities. Trust. I am thankful for His loving heart, and His tender teaching!

But I'm still praying that I'll get my files back. Would you pray too?

Meanwhile, maybe you'll get a post or two, from my parent's computer....but not right now. :)

New Recipe and a New Blog

Well, I'm doing it again.

Going without sugar for 2 weeks, that is. This time my two younger sisters are doing this with me, so it's been much more fun.

Last week I invented a new recipe for a breakfast without sugar, and I thought you might enjoy trying it, too:

Pumpkin Raisin Oatmeal
(Hey, you like Pumpkin Raisin cookies, right? So try it before you say "huh?")
(serves about 4)

- 2 cups quick oats
- 4 cups water (you can do less or more, depending on how thick you like your oatmeal.)
- 1 TBS kefir (or other acid substance, like lemon juice or vinegar, but if you use those decrease the amount to 1 tsp.)
Combine the above in a sauce pan with lid. Stir, cover, and let soak at room temperature overnight.
In the morning, uncover, place on burner over medium heat, and as it starts to warm, add the following:
- 1-2 capfuls of imitation vanilla extract
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 1/3 cup molasses (you can do a little less, but I really love molasses)
- Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
Now, you should add the spices to taste, but remember that because oatmeal is mostly liquid, you'll need to add a LOT of spices to carry through the taste. Be very generous. I do about 1/2 tsp. each of ginger and nutmeg, and probably at least 1 TSB cinnamon....but I never measure, so those estimates may be wrong.

Anyway, add those ingredients, and cover the pot again until it begins to "pop" bubbles. You want it to boil, but keep an eye on it, because as soon as it starts boiling, uncover the pot and begin to stir constantly. You can turn the heat down. Stir for 2 minutes. The oatmeal should turn from looking like soup to...well...oatmeal.

Once you remove it from the heat, stir in a LOT of raisins. This is where you are really sweetening your oatmeal, and they are yummy, so add as much as you like!

Serve hot. Add milk if desired.

Let me know what you think! Don't expect the sugary sweetness of your typical store-bought flavored instant oatmeal packs. This is heartier, and packs more of other flavors, but I like it. If you really can't stand the absence of sugar, you could add a tsp. to the top of each bowl, and pour milk over it, and I'm sure it would be really yummy.

My sisters? One says she likes it as long as the raisins are there to sweeten it. The other doesn't like raisins, but she does love to add peanut butter to her oatmeal. I got her started on that, but I don't like peanut and pumpkin together. Oh well. Each to her own!

Oh yes - my post title said new recipe AND a new blog, didn't it?

Don't worry - I'm not quitting The Fruit of Her Hands. But I have started a new blog! It's all about....well, I'll let the title speak for itself:

In My Mirror

Please check it out and let me know what you think!

I've seen it done before.

Many times.

The girl starts a blog in her mid-to-late teen years. She blogs avidly, on every topic that catches her fancy. She posts often. She posts energetically.

Then life starts to get busier. For awhile, she posts even more often, trying to explain to the world how revolutionary this new concept of busy is, and how the "busy" that she used to complain about really was sunshiny childhood, and not true business at all.

Finally, when the posts have dwindle into the rarity of a worm in a chicken pen, she announces to her few remaining loyal readers, "I've had enough. It's plain to see that I can't upkeep a blog and live at the same time - not in this season of life, anyway. It's not fair to my readers. I am shutting down my blog for now. I'll return in a later season of life; when I have more time. (Whenever that that mysterious and golden time of life is.)"

About that point, I feel like plunging my hands through the computer screen, grabbing the said blogger by the throat, and screaming, "What are you thinking?!?! You can't leave now! I was just starting to like you! You've become a friend - how can you walk out on me? How can you upset my routine this way? I demand that you continue to blog!"

Yes. Many times. Many blogging friends have disappeared...sadly. I miss them.

That being said...

I'm determined that I won't put any remaining readers of this floundering blog through that kind of wistful sadness. I'm stubbornly refusing to admit that I really don't have time to blog. Because you know what? I bet you "really don't have time" to read my blog. But you do. And I love it. We encourage each other.

We're gonna make it through this crazy time of life, and we're going to make it through together - even if we talk less often. I'm not going anywhere, Lord willing.

Not to imply that anyone who quits blogging - or reading - is somehow less together or somehow less time efficient. Even though I get mad at them, in my heart I take my hat off to the ladies who know when to evaluate their priorities and call it quits for anything that is not necessary to reach the goal. They're an amazing breed. I applaud them. And if you have to do it, by all means do it. Even if it means I lose a reader.

Who knows - someday I may reach the point where God tells me, "that blog of yours is not profitable to you anymore. Set it aside and pursue a new path." I hope that if that time comes, I can obey with as much stubbornness as I'm using right now in facing my time shortages.

But, for now, with all my quirks and oddities, I'm sticking with ya.

So I hope you're set for a bumpy ride.

Highly Recommended

Hey, folks!

For those of you who get tired waiting for me to pop around and write my next blog post, I'd like to recommend a fun cooking/budgeting blog for you to read in the meantime: Once a Month Shopping for Couples.



Don't let the title fool you; you don't have to be married to read it. If you like to cook, you'll enjoy this blog. Nice pictures, yummy treats, witty writing, and a blog author who has a wonderful personality.

Did I mention she's related to me?

Go on over and check out my sister's blog. Heather will be delighted to see you; she's always been good at hospitality.




P.S. (One disclaimer; though I LOVE devouring her treats, she's never been known to skimp on the sugar. :) :) :) But, hey, we all need a little sweetness in our lives!)

Starting a Web-based Business, Part 3 (Finally part)

Welcome back. This is part 3 in "how-I-stumbled-into-web-business-and-didn't-drown." (For part 1, click here, part 2, click here.)

If you haven't caught on by now, let me repeat that I'm not expert in this field. My sister and I started into web businesses with our online thrift store, Simply Modest, and we're learning as we go. It's been a trial-and-error process, but I do believe it's been an upward climb.

So far in this series, we've discussed what to think about before you get into web businesses, and traits to develop in yourself to help you in your endeavor. Today, we get more practical.

How do you actually take your business online? Well, first things first.

Let me assume that your business deals with items, rather than services. That's the type of web business I'm most familiar with, because that's what I do.

You need to set up a website. Thankfully, it's much easier to do that now-a-days than it used to be. You don't really need to know HTML to set up a site; many companies exist solely to help people like us - who don't know HTML - get websites up and running. Running a website with these companies is like blogging - you click on what you want, and the program takes care of the HTML. If you can blog, you can run a website. If you are starting from scratch, and haven't done any blogging, it might take you longer to get the hang of it, but, trust me, it's not impossible.

When you have a website, you'll be paying for two things; a web host, and a domain name. I've heard of free web hosting, but I'm not familiar with it, and, as you may have noticed, I'm trying to stick to discussing things I've actually done, here.

I investigated many web hosts before we bought our business, but in the end I didn't chose our web host because we bought an already-established business, and kept the original host.

Papa Shop is our web host. I've had a wonderful experience with them, and have nothing but good things to say about their service. I've had site trouble only twice, I think, since being with them, and both times I got to chat online with a representative, and they fixed the (minor) problem in a couple of hours or less. They are also very reasonably priced.

Most hosting companies that I've checked out charge by the month or by the year, or by several years at a time. If you're determined to be in it for the long haul, I strongly recommend going "in bulk" - it's usually cheaper. But if you're not sure this is all going to work out, don't pay for 5 years in advance! Start with 6 months or so. We pay for our hosting on a month-by-month basis, but we've committed to a long term, so we get the cheaper rates. In most cases, you can set up this fee to be paid automatically (so you don't forget one month, and shut your website down for several days!) but be sure to keep track of that in your bank account!

Your web hosting company is where you will get the tools to design your website. This is where you pick colors, fonts, and set up shopping carts. I've found most of this to be very self-explanatory. Think of Blogger. If you can blog, you can do this.

The web host you choose must have an option for an online "catalog" or "shopping cart" if you are going to sell on it. Most hosting companies offer this, but not all, so make sure you double-check that the options available are what you need to sell on this website you're creating. Once you start designing the site, you'll learn how to list items, enter shipping fees, etc. Always do a test order on your shopping cart to be sure it works!! Also, get a web host that offers free support for when you have questions...because you will have them.

You will also need to buy a domain name. Think of it as the copyright to your website; it's a guarantee that only you can use your website address. Nobody's going to steal it. This is usually paid for in 1-year, 3-year, or 5-year chunks, or something like that. It's no big hassle; just be sure to do it on time! Your web host will usually recommend places to buy a domain name (from THEM, quite often!), but you can have a domain name with a different company than your web host. It's up to you.

Hmm...what else?

- Keep your passwords, log-in information, user names, etc. written down somewhere OFF computer (as in "ON AN ACTUAL PIECE OF PAPER") in case your personal computer crashes.

- Set up a business-only email, to avoid having all the junk mail a website generates delivered to your personal email. But do check your business email every day.

- Be prompt when shipping orders.

Oh yes - advertising. This is a whole post in itself. Proper exposure for your site is crucial to its success. Send an email out to everyone in your address book. Facebook it. Start a facebook fan page. When creating pages in your site, do type words in the "keywords" box. Those are the words that will trigger your site to pop up in searches, when people type in those words. Talk about your site. Get business cards printed up professionally and place them wherever you can, all over town. Have a newsletter. Anything you can think of.

I'm running out of time right now, so I'll close this post with a hearty "best wishes!" to any of you embarking on the adventure of a web business. I'd love to hear thoughts on this matter - both from newbies in the field and those of you who know tons more than I do. What do you think is most important in choosing a web host? What will you be looking for? Companies you recommend?

I've enjoyed doing this series. I'm sure I've bored some of you, but I hope at least some of you found it to be beneficial.

Bye for now! Talk to you soon!

I'm not dead...

...I'm just busy.

I have a delicious recipe - with pictures - to post for y'all, and also a more "theological" post in mind, too, but life is keeping me on a fast-moving treadmill right now, so I just have time to pop in really quick and say hello. I hope you are having a wonderfully blessed day.

I'm sending you a great big hug, and a prayer, through this post!

Amber

Valentine Dinner

I promise I'll be back soon.

I'm coordinating a couple's dinner, "in honor of love and marriage," at our church this week, on Friday. All the young people will be serving a sit-down, fancy, homemade (well, almost all of it) dinner to the married folks at our church.

We're expecting 36-40 people.

Decorating
Shopping
For forty people!!!!
Baking:
~ 6 dozen rolls
~ Cheesecakes
~ Frosting for a cake
~ Appetizers
Music
Menus
Organizing volunteers

So much to do.

I love it, and I'm totally thrilled to be able to praise and honor the godly husbands and wives in our congregation.

But don't expect me to be around for awhile longer. Normal blogging schedule will resume when I recover. :)

Have a splendid week!

I'm Launching!

That's right - I've got a new project up my sleeve, and I'm finally ready to share it with you.

Ready?

I've got a new blog!


(You may be thinking "what?! This girl who can't find time to keep up with one blog is starting another? Well, truth be told, this is my tenth blog. {I don't make all my blogs public.} And I truly am starting to get back into the swing of blogging, I think. I also think that the very nature of this blog will make up-keeping easier. You'll see what I mean.)

Now, for more info:

As most of you know, I'm a writer. This new blog, "Doing it Write" is all about encouraging fellow writers to do their best, for the glory of God. I'm looking forward to developing a community of writing friends, and learning from their input.

Doing it Write is still in its beginning stages, and I would love for you to pop over and make it really feel alive, by reading and commenting. If you are a writer, and have a writing blog, please leave me a link to your blog, and maybe I'll add you to my blog roll!

Even if you don't write....stop over anyway. You're such nice readers that I love to have your company anywhere I am in the blog world.

I wish you all a warm, cozy evening, and lots of joy tomorrow!

Um, hello there....I'm Amber

I just want to let you know that I am still alive.

Blogging has not been a priority for me, lately. When I get on the computer, there's just so much I'd rather be doing. And - believe it or not - writing has not been flowing easily for me lately.

I wrote 901 words in my manuscript today, so maybe a turn-around is around the corner for me. I hope so, because theoretically I have lots to blog and write about.

But I thought that maybe you could help me get back into blogging. What do you want to hear about? Sewing - my latest projects? Cooking - new recipes? Fashion - the basics of assembling a new wardrobe for fall? Relationships - what I've been learning lately? Interior design - pictures of the new bedroom I've helped my younger sisters put together? If you let me know, it will help me focus on what to write.

This isn't the greatest post I've ever written. I feel very out of practice.

But it's a start.

So there's hope. :)

A New Website!

Whoever would have thunk it? ...As certain friends of mine would say. :)

I am pleased to announce that I've got a new website!

All of you know that I love to write, and most of you know that I've published a book. Ask Thy Father was published in 2008, and has been well received by those who have read it. It was this book that led to my speaking at the Celebrate the Glory Conference in October, as some of you may remember.

Though it's gone over quite well locally, in the two years it's been around I've never been very good at marketing it anywhere else; I should say that's rather a weak point in my personality. But I've always wanted to sell it on a larger scale, and finally that has stopped being a dream and started looking like a reality!

I also plan to sell other books on my site, as fast as I can get them written and published....and maybe someday branch out into selling books for others. (Did that make any of you writers perk your ears? :) :)

Oh yes - one of those books I hope to publish in the near future is being written because I finally decided to take your advice. Remember all those stories I've written here at The Fruit of Her Hands, based on Bible characters? And remember how you told me I ought to try writing a book along those lines? Well....I'm trying it!

I've gotten stiff shoulders from hunching over my laptop for two days, but it's been great fun. I love designing things! I can't believe I own a website.

But it's more than that. Yes, it's cool to think that I've got a book with my name on the cover being sold on a real, live website....but it's not truly a huge deal. It doesn't matter that much to me - it's only a passing novelty. What really excites me is the thought that maybe, through this avenue, I'll be able to share my heart with more readers. You know that is what my writing is, don't you? It's my heart.

So this day is more than "exciting" and "cool." It's precious to my heart. It means I'm holding my breath, waiting to see if I'll contact any new friends through this venture. It means I'm praying for God to use ink and pieces of paper. Will you pray for that, too?


Oh yes - just in case you want to see the site .... (I told you I'm bad at advertising!):

Visit Better Books!

And just in case you like it and want to help me out:

Copy this code to your website to display this banner!
<a href="http://www.betterbooks4you.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xYnEv.jpg" alt="'Create" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.mybannermaker.com/">Make your own banner at MyBannerMaker.com!</a>

Blessings to all of you, ladies!

Tonight

I'm finally going to sleep in my new bedroom!

It's quiet in here, and it's odd to be able to keep the lamp on without worrying about keeping anyone else awake who wants to go to bed early. It's odd to be able to talk aloud and know that no one overhears me. (Well, unless they're standing in the hallway, in line for the bathroom.)

My new mattress is oh-so-comfortable, and I can't wait to assemble my new bedstead tomorrow and see it in my room instead of the basement. It's not really completely new; I (with lots of help from Curtis and Dad) made it from 2x4s, 2x2s, and the headboard Mom used when she was a little girl. Once my bed is all put together, I'll just have to build 3 more shelves, sew two curtains, and pick up and organize my clutter; then my new room should be done. It will be nice to not have a 3-foot long To Do list that centers around my room. I love interior design, but I do have a life to lead that concerns other, more important, things!

I just came from my younger sisters' bedroom. I was comforting them because they were feeling lonely. I walked the fine line of encouraging them, while not making myself teary-eyed. Heartache is still so close; just a arm's reach away, if I were to reach out and pull it in. But I don't want to. I want to "let go and trust God," as the saying goes. I feel as if I've been on a long journey during the past month. So much has happened inside my heart.

Have you ever tried to keep a journal? I have several journals, and I consider myself fairly good at keeping up with them, but it wasn't always so. I remember trying to keep a journal when I was little, and I was under the mistaken impression that some unwritten rule exists that says if you are going to keep a journal, you must write in it every single day of your existence. If I missed a day...or two....or three....I felt compelled to go back and write about each one before I could continue on; but before I had caught up, I had missed yet another day, which set me back even farther. Before long, I had so many days to catch up on that it overwhelmed me and I just gave up journaling....until the next time I spotted a cute journal in the Dollar Store.

That's exactly the way I feel now; there's so much to catch you up on, and yet if I take the time to go back and fill you in on every little thing that has happened, I won't get to tell you about now...today. The things that filled my heart on Sunday will be cold and stale by the time I get around to writing about them. The little jokes that happened around the supper table two nights ago will be gone from my memory by the time I get to writing about that day.

What I'd love to do is write a veeeeery long post, to catch you up to present-day, and then continue on very orderly. I love order. But sometimes order isn't very practical.

Like now. If I insist on catching you up on all the yesterdays, I'll never write about the todays.

But you must hear about the yesterdays. They were so full. So amazing.

I've been holding myself in, lately. I haven't written about what's going on now because I haven't finished telling you about what happened then. I still have wedding pictures to post! And I still must tell you all about the week following the wedding. But by trying to "catch up" before I write about the "here and now," I'm missing out on telling you all sorts of fabulous things.

So I think I'm going to give up. I'm just gonna write what's on my heart, and in-between I'll post pictures and memories of Heather and Eugene's wedding. Those pictures and memories aren't going anywhere; the memories are too strong, and the pictures are stored on my computer.

I feel better, having written this post. I've written too many posts, lately, that promise "wedding talk coming soon!" when what I wanted to write was "guess what I thought of in church this Sunday?" and "guess what's happening in the garden this week?" and "look at this cool idea!" My life is starting to get back to normal, but my blog is stuck in journal-catch-up land.

No longer. From now on, I'll just forget about proper order and write what I feel like writing. I'll still get those pictures and wedding stories up here sometime, but I'm not gonna swallow perfectly good blog posts because they "haven't happened yet." It isn't fair to you, and it's bothersome to me.

Anyway. It's getting late here, and I must be up early tomorrow. That's the story of my life, lately: no time for computer; must be up early tomorrow! Ah, well, I've been getting a lot done! Wonderful days of business.

Can't wait to tell you all about it.

I missed it.

Yesterday was The Fruit of Her Hands' second anniversary, and I missed it.

I've been watching the calendar for weeks, now, and when the day actually arrived I was so busy I didn't even notice.

It's been a great 2 years here at The Fruit of Her Hands. I've loved it, even if no one else has. I enjoy my blog as a spot to putter away at the keyboard and let some thoughts out, a place to post memories of little things I might forget next month, a place to get up on my soap box every once in awhile.

But I like best the chance to meet so many wonderful people. I'm convinced I have the kindest group of readers of any blog on the web. Y'all are that great. (If you're new here and don't believe me, just read back through some of the comments in my history!) Of course, even if you're new here, you're a part of that group of great readers. :)

Anniversaries are a good time to step back, evaluate how things are going, and set new goals.

I've found out that my blogging time has decreased a little this year. I'm okay with that, because I'm getting other (more necessary) things done (though I feel bad for those of you who tell me you want more posts!). I've also seen that my topics have shifted around a little bit. I can see, even if no one else has noticed, glaring evidences that I've been without a good camera for a good portion of this year (aka: lack of pictures), and many of my project "show and tells" just haven't made it to the web. :( :( I'm not so "okay" with that, but I do hope to fix the problem eventually.

I've gained some readers this year (whoopee!!!!!) and have gotten to know old ones better (whoopee again!)

Goals for this year? To post more "project" posts. To challenge myself spiritual with what I write. To mention the gospel more often. To be more uplifting to fellow sisters in Christ. To reach out to my readers more. To see this blog as less about "me" and more about the Lord. To be able to look back on my 3rd anniversary and see a girl who's done a lot of growing. To become a better writer. To depend more on God in everything. To blog as an outreach, not so much an out-pour.

I'll start right now. Let's hear from YOU. :) (You knew it was coming, right?) What blogger doesn't ask to hear from their readers on their anniversary? I think it's all just a clever way to get a lot of comments. :) I don't want comments for comments' sake. I just plain want to talk with you! Shall I list you by name? (That's the great thing about having a smallish list of readers; I know your names!) I'm very tempted to do so....the only thing that keeps me from it is the fear that my memory may fail me on some names, and then I'll hurt somebody's feelings 'cause I left them out. But rest assured; I could probably list your name. ...If, that is, you're not a lurker. If you're a lurker, I beg you to de-lurk! (And I promise not to embarrass you. :)

Oh yes - and this is a day I get to tell you what to write in your comment, too, right? I think last year I asked for your favorite Bible character. This year I'd like to know what you are; a seamstress, a baker, a cook, a gardener, a writer, a big sister, ....what is it we have in common? Or do you not do any of those things, but just hang out here for the novelty of it? :)

I think it will be fun to hear what we all have in common with one another...and if there's something that makes you TOTALLY different from me (for instance, you can't stand home cooking), then feel free to share that too. :) :) :) :)

Before I end, I must tell you all how thankful I am for you. I wouldn't write without readers. It just isn't fun. You make this place possible. So thank you, thank you, thank you, for a wonderful year!

Just Because

I thought I'd let y'all know that there's a sale on all ladies skirts going on over at Simply Modest (from now until February 20th). You may want to check it out! All normal prices are under $10.00 anyway, so a sale on that is sure to be a good deal!

...Sigh. Okay, yes, my conscience makes me admit it. I'm part owner in the store! But that really has nothing to do with why I'd let you know about a sale. Really. :) :)

...Sorta.

The Secret is Out!

I'll admit it; there's been something going on in our lives that I haven't told you about.

I've wanted to tell you about it. ...But it wasn't really the right time.

I have a friend - a really good friend - who loves the Lord with all her heart. He has shown His love for her, too; He's directed her steps throughout her life, and blessed her with a beautiful smile, a generous heart, and a wonderful plan for her life. He's led her through trials that have perfected her character, and influenced everyone around her.

This friend and I have grown up together, and I love spending time with her. It's her name that's on my lips when someone asks me who my "best friend" is.

But girls don't stay little girls. That part of our lives is left behind now. We've gone through childhood together, into young adulthood, and are so excited to see the Lord directing our steps as we grow older.

And I've done a lot of watching lately. Our dear Heavenly Father has been transforming this friend of mine into a precious young woman, and He has been showing her what His plan for her life is.

In short, He's brought into her life the man she will work alongside 'til death parts them.

The journey has been fascinating to watch. God's hand has been so clear, so loving, so exciting. The young man is the perfect match for my friend, and they make a complete team together. They have both grown in faith, in love, in kindness, and everything else good.

I've been on my own journey too - only mine has been more internal than external. I've truly realized that there is a human relationship higher than all other human relationships, and that it mirrors the love Christ has for His bride. I've realized that I have to grow up whether I want to or not, and I've learned that Christ wants me to face the future and meet it head on, joyfully, full of energy, and full of faith.

You know what? He's faithful. He gives you the grace to meet new things, new changes. He gives you joy when you weren't expecting to feel joyful. He amazes you.

And so I'm allowed, by the grace of our wonderful, precious, Lord, to make an announcement with a heart full of joy, and with a face that looks toward the future with faith and loads of excitement:

MY SISTER IS ENGAGED!!!!!

Heather and Eugene are the dearest couple you could ever hope to meet. Their courtship has been a rippling stream of joy - a few pebbles in the way, but no waterfalls. They have trusted the Lord and sought His guidance at every turn, and He has rewarded them.

The pictures I've posted above were all taken during Heather and Eugene's courtship this year. (They started courting near the end of the summer.) I don't have their engagement photos on my computer yet, but they look great. :)

Eugene fits into our family better than any custom-made brother-in-law or son-in-law we could have designed. We are excited about him truly becoming part of the family, but, honestly, he's been a part of the family for months now. :) :) :) We love him!

We all first met when he joined our gospel bluegrass group, The King's Strings as a banjo and dobro player, ....and what better introduction could he have had? He and the musicians in our family spent a lot of time together playing music and passing out tracts at the flea market this summer.....and the rest is history.

Needless to say, this news in our family has taken up a lot of our thoughts, and so now you know one major reason I haven't been posting as much the past couple of months. We are busy now, planning a spring wedding, but I hope to be on The Fruit of Her Hands more frequently, Lord willing.

It's been a joy to write this post because I know you dear ladies will rejoice with me. God bless you all!

P.S. I love you, Heather, and I'm so happy for you!!!!!!

Whay hasn't Amber been posting much lately?

Why?

Well, it's not because I'm busy. I know that's the favorite excuse of blog authors; "I'm so sorry, but I've been SO busy!!!!" I have been busy, but I can always find time to write if I want to. :) :)

No, the reason I haven't written is more complicated.

When I first started this blog my parents were a little unsure about the whole "blog" thing - they know me well enough to know that, while I'm very reserved in person, I most often forget caution while writing, and tell my entire life history and current emotional status to the page.

That's all very well and good when the page is my hidden journal. It's not so advisable, however, when the page happens to be a screen, and anyone around the world can read it.

But (obviously), my parents consented to my having a blog, so long as I exercised caution in writing on it.

That, my dear friends, is why I haven't been posting much lately. Because I couldn't write and exercise caution at the same time. My heart has been so full lately...for several months, which seems to be a lifetime. I feel as if to do a post about cooking, or sewing, or something light-hearted would not be real. It wouldn't be.

I've been terribly busy with such things - and other things, too - but that's not where my mind is dwelling most of the time. And, despite my blog title, I write here what's on my mind, not just what's coming out my fingers and hands.

What do you do when your heart is full and you're not sure where to spill it out? Do you keep it precariously balanced, hoping you won't spill a drop for fear it will ruin whatever it spills on? Do you lose all caution and spill it out to the first acquaintance who asks how you're doing? Do you seek your bosom friends - your closest dear ones?

What do you do if you can't find them? What do you do if you tell them and they don't understand? Or what do you do if they understand but can't do anything about your problems?

Talk to Jesus, of course.

I think that's why we go through rough times. You are close to your dear ones because you've gone through thick and thin with them. Mere acquaintances haven't cried with you. They haven't seen your faults and flops. And we get close to Jesus when we cry in His lap.

I read a verse this morning that I know was written for me. It's from Romans. I don't remember exactly where, and I'm typing this from memory, so forgive me if it's not word-perfect;

"...we rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope maketh us not ashamed, because the love of God is spread abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost which is given us."

I really am starting to understand what he means about "rejoicing in tribulation." Can I tell you a secret? There actually have been several times when I've seen trials coming and gotten excited because I thought, "Oh goody!! How is God going to change me through this one?" I couldn't wait to be more like Jesus when emerging from the other side of the valley. Yes, I actually was excited.

And you know what? I was embarrassed by my excitement. I knew very well what was expected of me - I was supposed to dread this trial! (Yes, they were actual trials, and I wasn't blind or naive; I knew they were going to be painful.) I was supposed to struggle and cry and be miserable! I didn't want to.....but I gave it my best effort, for the world's sake. It wouldn't be proper to be happy in such circumstances. If I clasped my hands and smiled, they would look at me as if I were crazy!

This morning's reading freed me. I suddenly realized that the Bible says it's okay to rejoice when you see trouble coming! I know - I should have known that before. I mean, I did know it....but I didn't really internalize it.

Now where was I going with this train of thought? Oh yes - trials.

Well, I guess I'm in the middle of one. Have been, for several months. Some days I feel like rejoicing...but it's as if, since I gave in to "mourning," like I was "supposed" to, it's hard to work back out of the pit. But in my heart that verse still rings true....I know without doubt that trials teach patience...and patience gives experience. ....And experience teaches me HOPE. ...And somewhere mixed up in that hope will be joy. :) :)

Isn't that lovely? How does God know so much about real life? Oh, what a silly question.

Forgive me for not posting oftener. I've had very "fruitful hands" lately; many projects...so maybe there will be an actual interesting post here in a few days. I'm not making any promises, but we'll see. :)

In the meantime, hello to all you dear friends, and may you have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow!

Just thought you might like to know...

Vision Forum is having a huge sale right now. Often, when I get promotional emails, I simply ignore the sale/special/deal, but I'm glad I popped over there today, because now I can tell you that there are some good deals over there!

For example:

~ The League of Grateful Sons, a very moving documentary about the fathers of the World War II generation, is on sale for ONE DOLLAR. (Yes, you read that right!)

~ Lots and lots of CDs are on sale for $5.oo a piece. (Including The Making of Return of the Daughters ...ooooh, tempting! Don't you love "the making of" info?)

~ There's a 135-page biography of David Livingston that's tempting me; on sale for $3.30

~ There's an in-stock-but-limited-supply of John Bunyan's book Prayer. A must-read...for $7.00.

~ Several DVDs reduced to $10.00

~ Organic growing kits of some sort for $4.00. Haven't tried these, but they look interesting.

...and lots of discounted books.

Of course, these are just the things that caught my eye. You may spot other treasures.

No pressure, of course, but for those of you who have a little extra spending money...you might want to check it out. If you plan to buy something, you might click on the link below to go check out the sight:

(Go to the "Clearance" section)

If you do, I'll get a little something from anything you buy.

Now, how's that for a shameless plug? :) :) :) :) No, seriously; I don't usually promote much on this blog, but I thought there were some good deals on there, and wanted to let y'all know. I really don't care if you use my link or not. :) :) ...But neither will I get upset if you use it. :) (See what good friends we are? I trust my readers explicitly.)

Happy browsing, and have a lovely day! I have another post up my sleeve that I hope to have on here before the day is over....

Will you come visit with me?

I've often wished I could invite every one of my readers to have pizza with my family and I one evening. Unfortunately, I don't think very many of you live across town. (And I also don't think our cupboards contain more than 8 pizza pans.) ...But, seriously, wouldn't it be fun to get together and talk in person? You sweet ladies and girls have been the most wonderful readers I could imagine. I feel like I'm friends with you all.

I can't invite you all to our home, but I do have an event, on October 17th, that I would like to invite you to attend - my family and I will be there, and I would so love to meet some of you there!



Celebrate the Glory. That's what the event is called. CTG for short. It's a conference, a gathering of families, who are coming together to celebrate the glory of God's word. Speakers will be there who want to encourage families to read the Bible together every day, and study God's Word together.

The simplicity takes some getting used to. CTG is not about "how to preserve your marriage," "how to raise amazing children," "how to grow your church over 5,000," or "how to witness to 20 people a day." It's just about celebrating the beauty, uniqueness, holiness, and sufficiency of God's Word. That's it.

My family attended the very first CTG, and we're pleased to be going back again for our third year. The meeting is held in the lovely foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the fall colors show promises of being gorgeous this year. We look forward to listening to speakers and visiting with old and new friends during the 2-hour lunch break. Meeting new friends is one of my favorite parts of the day!!! I hope I'll get to meet some of you this year.

For information on what speakers will be there (we know some of them from past years, and are looking forward to hearing them again!), expenses (registration/attendance is free - lunch is available for those who want to buy it), times, location, and other such details, click here.

Oh yes - one more thing. When you visit that info page, you might want to click on the "Guest Bios" link. Way down at the bottom of the guest bios, you'll come to a bit about a father-daughter team who will be speaking at the conference. The daughter has written a book about family devotions, and about children having the right attitude about being discipled by their parents. At CTG, her father will speak about leading devotions in the home, and then she'll say a word to the young people there, trying to encourage them in their role as disciples.

I do hope you'll say a prayer for that daughter and father and their family. They have a heart to see families loving God's Word, and they so want to be a blessing at this conference. If you are able to make it to CTG, be sure to stop by and talk to this girl. I know she'll love to meet you. In fact, she'll be thrilled.

You see, that girl is me.

The rest of my guest post

The rest of my guest post at Keeper of the Home is up today! Check it out if you'd like. I'd love to know what you think of it!!!!


P.S.
Thank you SO much to those of you who prayed for our evangelism/musical outing on Saturday! ALL of our players ended up being able to come after all, which was wonderful. Several of us (including me!) were burnt to a crisp by the sun, but our time out there was a TON of fun. Dad says he and our other "tract distributors" passed out several hundred tracts, which is great! I'll try to post more of an update as I have time. I just wanted to thank y'all for the prayers. :):) We need them!