My Garden Cottage

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Artful interior...

I can't tell you why, but I love these vignets of home interiors.

so restful!

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Williams Brothers - Move In Me (Official Music Video)

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

What's New!

I let the kitties out....and got one back...

the story is... we have neighborhood cats, and they have kittens. They are as wild as can be.

We captured 2 kittens last fall, and had them neutered and co-existed with them for October, November December, January, February, March and most of April. The kittens would allow us to pet them on occasion but mostly stayed up at night and slept in the daytime.

We never really tamed them apparently, but Fluffy took a liking to me, and spot took a liking to my husband. Well yesterday was a warm day so I let them outside again, and they ran off. Fluffy came back, but Spot did not. boo hoo.

update...both girls came home. yay.

Whoo hoo! It's that time of year again,

The beans have sprouted very well and I got them planted this last weekend.

I almost missed it because of my leg, but I'm glad I didn't. The early spring is just pure heaven at this time of year in my backyard.

What a joy it is to have fresh garden vegetables. It almost makes it worth the aggravation of noisy neighbors.

Looking out of my greenhouse window we see my pear tree loaded with blossoms, it is loaded with little green pears. ...amazing how it happens almost overnight.

I'm pretty sure there is a tiny fairy hiding in this picture somewhere...

Not quite the time to crave ice'd tea, but you know it will roll around soon. This quaint recipe brings that to mind:

Dandelion Syrup

4 cups dandelion tops Just the yellow petals from fully open blossoms
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 quart water
2 pounds sugar

Place tops in water and bring to a boil. Let boil for one minute, cover, and let stand overnight. Next day, strain in cheese cloth and squeeze out all water. Discard flower tops. Mix with lemon juice and sugar and simmer until most of the water evaporates. Do not bring to a hard boil.

Let mixture cool, then simmer once more until the thickness of maple syrup. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal. Store in cool dark cupboard.

Sending you happy garden thoughts! (If I don't think of my noisy neighbors)

Monday, April 15, 2013

Monday Monday

It's....Monday.

http://aprilandaugust.tumblr.com/post/44931609033

you're welcome!

My whole life, I always wondered what it felt like to have a beginning to the week. You would have to have an end to have a beginning, it was always a raging river.

Here's the kind of Monday I plan on having today...

wow. check it out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carolinepaintings/4723373869/in/set-72157624206356383/

http://bockel24.blogspot.com/2013/04/swing-into-spring.html

I love collage, good old fashioned stick it down with glue collage.

I'm pretty sure this one is digital, but I think it's very clever. Time to swing!

http://lovesicknotes.com/page/3/

Found on a blog...

Dear body of mine,

I wanted to first say I am so sorry for the way I have been mistreating you over the years. I go from being really aware of all your flaws to completely ignoring you all together. We have been on a bumpy ride the two of us, never quite comfortable together. I know part of this was no fault of ours but now it is time to get back on track and learn to live together in a healthy and loving way.

I want to say I love you to my upside down bowling pin legs, my over 40 belly, my bumpy toes and old man lined hands. I want to say forgive me to my smile for neglecting it for fear of judgment over a front tooth which is crooked due to a beloved niece knocking her head into mine.

I want to promise you that I will try to always fill you with nourishment and love and forgive me for those days when only grilled cheese and chocolate will do. I want to start moving with you more, getting into the flow of an active life. And though we may have some health concerns to deal with I will do my best to keep us as healthy as I can and respect and love you as I would a dear friend.

But most of all I want to say thank you for always being here for me even when I felt unsafe and unloved. May we have many healthy and happy years ahead of us.

Love,
Karen

Why Are So Many Christians Practicing Witchcraft?

http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/the-plumb-line/17355-why-are-so-many-christians-practicing-witchcraft

When you read the headline of my column you probably had one of two thoughts:

“Christians are practicing witchcraft?” or “I’m not practicing witchcraft! I don’t read tarot cards, mix potions or cast spells!”

The answer to the first thought is, yes, Christians are practicing witchcraft. As for your insistence that you are not practicing witchcraft, well, you may not be moving in divination, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t engaging in witchcraft.

Consider what the Bible says about witchcraft. It may surprise you to learn that what the world—or even what the Wiccans—call witchcraft is not always one in the same as what the Bible calls witchcraft. For example, when you think of witchcraft, you probably think of black magic or conjuring the dead. Those abominations are covered in the Bible.

But witchcraft is not always so mysterious. Indeed, rebellion, word curses and works of the flesh also fall into the realm of witchcraft. However you define it, though, practicing witchcraft is a serious sin, and far more Christians are experts at sorcery than you may realize.

Rebellion Compared to Witchcraft
Remember when King Saul was ordered to utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they had: man, woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass? Saul found victory in battle against Israel’s enemy by the grace of God, but failed to obey the voice of God when the dust settled. He spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and kept the best of the livestock (see 1 Sam. 15:1-9).

Saul proposed that his intention was to sacrifice the animals to the Lord, but there’s no excuse for disobedience. Saul was so stubborn that he at first refused to admit his disobedience. He actually justified his actions. Only after Samuel rebuked Saul did he catch the revelation that obedience is better than sacrifice (see 1 Sam. 15:22). In that rebuke—and in Saul’s response—we find one way Christians are practicing a sin that's in the realm of witchcraft: through rebellion that arises when the fear of man is greater than the fear of the Lord. Let’s listen in on the exchange:

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice” (1 Sam. 15:23-24, KJV). Unfortunately, Saul didn’t learn his lesson. He continued disobeying God and eventually lost his kingdom. Fear of man was at the root of his rebellion, but rebellion grows from many roots. If you see rebellion operating in your life, find the root and rip it out!

Jezebel’s Word Curses
Then there’s Jezebel’s witchcraft. In 2 Kings 9:22, right before the wicked queen’s demise, Jehu offered insight into an open door for the Jezebel spirit when he told her son, “What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” The spirit of Jezebel is essentially a spirit of seduction that works to escort believers into immorality and idolatry (see Rev. 2:20). And this spirit uses witchcraft against its enemies.

Jezebel’s witchcraft was rooted in rebellion, but the type of witchcraft in this verse refers to incantations and spells. In the modern church world, we call them word curses. Jezebel released a word curse against Elijah that carried a spirit of fear when she sent him this message: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time” (1 Kin. 19:2, KJV).

In modern times, word curses aren’t always so dramatic. When we speak negatively over someone’s life—“They will never hold down a job acting like that,” “Their marriage is bound to fail the way he treats her,” “The doctors said he’s going to die in 30 days. Isn’t that sad?”—we are agreeing with the enemy’s plan and giving power to it with our anointed mouths. The power of death and life are in the tongue (see Prov. 18:21). If you are inadvertently—or purposely—releasing witchcraft over people with the words of your mouth, repent and get your mouth back in line with the Spirit of God.

Works of Your Flesh
Make no mistake. The Spirit of God is against witchcraft in whatever form it takes, from divination to magic to rebellion to word curses—to works of the flesh. Paul explained that the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. What are the works of the flesh? Galatians 5:19-21 lists them: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.

Notice that witchcraft is listed right alongside adultery and fornication. Witchcraft is a serious offense in any manifestation. As a work of the flesh, witchcraft violates the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The flesh opposes the move of the Spirit and resists all things spiritual. This is a serious struggle because Paul assures us that those who practice witchcraft will not inherit the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:21).

But there is yet good news. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (see Galatians 5:16). How do you know if you are walking in the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When you walk in the Spirit, this fruit manifests.

If you know you are disobeying God in an area, repent of this sin, which God views in the same way as witchcraft, and get back in line with the Spirit. If you are cursing people with your negative words of gossip and death, stop practicing this witchcraft and begin blessing. If you are flowing in fleshly witchcraft, crucify your flesh with its passions and desires. If you live in the spirit, walk in the Spirit—and walk free from the practice of witchcraft. Amen.