Quench not the Spirit...

...Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~1 Thessalonians 5:19-23

I read and pray. I study and think, think, think. I always have so many questions and things I am still learning, daily, while studying the Word of God and walking with Him. I am starting to figure out I need to stop over-thinking and focus more on prayer! For my thoughts end up, at times, getting me confused and over-whelmed. This is not from God. He is not a God of confusion. So instead of always relying on my *own* thoughts....I am going to spend more time in prayer and let God answer me in His way and His time (Oh, how patience isn't my strong-point)!

I find these verses to be so encouraging. They all come from Psalm 145:

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and great in mercy.

The Lord is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

~Psalm 145: 8-9

The Lord upholds all who fall,

And raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look expectantly to You,

And You give them their food in due season.

You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He also will hear their cry and save them.

The Lord preserves all who love Him.

~ Psalm 145:14-20a

We went down to water the garden the other day (although thankfully, it has rained the past couple days so the plants are enjoying a nice drink!) and I snapped a few pictures of the growing plants! You can also see where we put newspaper and shredded paper around the plants to help keep the weeds down!

Here you can see how our corn is growing (freshly watered)...

Tomatoes, onions, peppers and potatoes are all growing well!

Some of our rows are a little crooked from when the children drove!

At home, we have a couple new "old" things to share!

We have a claw foot tub in our bathroom. I have been on the look-out for a soap holder that hangs on the side. I hadn't been able to find one until recently...so I snagged it!

And in the kitchen...our island was falling apart. Chris had already had to screw a board under it to keep it sturdy, before, and now the drawers were falling apart. It wasn't a solid piece, so after years of a lot of use, I guess it is to be expected. Since the kitchen is such a central place in our home, I was anxious to find something (solid but as inexpensive as I could find) to replace it. After looking a couple of places, I was happy to be able to find this...

It's solid and is a good storage place! For such a sturdy and nice piece, the price was wonderful, as well! The drawers are great for holding silverware and such...

And underneath, doors open to reveal a great place to store bowls and other baking necessities!

It's a bit smaller than our last island...but that is good because it makes the kitchen seem much bigger! It gives us more room to walk around it, too!

**And** I was excited to find that slid in slots above the drawers are these wood boards! They come all the way out. I am not sure if they are cutting boards or pastry boards...? Or maybe they were meant for something else entirely! I really have no idea! But it's something I thought was really neat!

I am still having a lot of mouth pain...continually hoping and praying they will be able to get me in to have these teeth out before July 19th. But for now, I am just trying to grin and bear it. Thanks, so much, for the continued prayers. I *do* so appreciate it!

I appreciate you taking the time to visit today. I'm sure you, like us, are keeping busy this summer. I am so glad you had a bit of time to stop by! Do say *hello* if you can! :)

Warmly,

Katy

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand... and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late."~Marie Beyon Ray