Life in Nebraska ....

Life is filled with so much extreme.   Just in my little bubble I have the extreme of tears one minute and hysterical laughing the next.   Or joy and pain right next to each other.     The extreme of surrendering and  worry.     In world news it's killing and hate but the world news that doesn't get put on is about kindness and love too.   Today, I'm tired and  if I really admit to myself my issue it's fear again....    But I read in Psalm 139 that light and darkness are the same to God, and that HE knows everything and is everywhere.   He knew me before I knew myself.  So it's surrender and remembering that this moment isn't the whole story.   But this moment is the part I'm in and God is here before me....He knows the story.   Rest.   And memorize what I have now.   Because now is pretty amazing. Because God has provided so much . Because this...

Last night I crawled into my bed next to my good man and I smiled inside thinking about what a pile of good things God has blessed us with.   Yesterdays list was this: My kind husband who cares for me and us so much. Our four babies (Who are not babies anymore) but ours!   A fun day for Keagan and Jeanie and I going to many garage sales with the rest of the Burkey women. Lots of good finds including Old Navy Jeans for my eldest. A smooth easy grocery shopping adventure afterwards at Aldi's. (All stores need to be like Aldi's. Smaller is always better.) The dishes were ALL done last night when I went to bed.   The house was relatively straightened.   Mathias had, had a fun day playing with Bryce and Conner. Zerrick had, had a good day with Matt. Matt was able to clear away a few more dead trees from the yard and hauled in piles of dirt to begin the garage building. And what makes me smile too is thinking back a yea...

We've been busy.  In the last week we got the garden planted, we've gone to the zoo for a day, we've had over night guests for three days, and we've had a baby with ear infection in both ears.   . Matt and his cousin Mike planting our garden. * A batch of second cousins.... guns and boys... Spring time 2015.  And now we have a beautiful rain to get that garden going  and the grass is getting green and  I have a wonderful life with health and a nice home and so blessed.  I am noticing how good I really have it.   I thank God!

I've been thinking about the people who fight a sensitive conscience.    I don't believe living with a sensitive conscience is a life lived in victory.   I do really actually believe that living with a sensitive conscience is indeed a fight.   There is a verse in Romans.   It says....    Ro 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.    There it is!  God makes us acceptable of His love   While we were YET sinners!    THAT  is when Christ died for us! Not when we had all our past issues straightened out. Not after we did everything right in every situation.   Not when we said the right thing every time. Not when we had the perfect attitude every time.  And it certainly is not going to win any one salvation by making sure we followed all the rules to the letter.  The Pharisees tried that .   The weren't the mo...

So  it's a little after three pm and it's as warm as summer out there.  The kids and I wound up the school work in a rather haphazard way and called it good enough.  How can one stick to school work when there is bb guns to shoot and tire swings hanging from tall trees and dirt to dig in?  Lots and Lots and Lots of dirt!   I throw my hands up in defeat!  It's impossible to keep the dirt out and it's impossible to capture it all inside.  We live on a dusty Nebraska dirt pile.  7 acres of it.  And to the boys it's the best play ground ever.  So I should be not complaining!  Jeanie even loves it.      Jeanie gave me the scare of my life yesterday.  I'm still writhing inside about it.... I feel so bad for her!  She got her big toe and part of her foot in the beater part of the vacuum cleaner while it was going.  Our vacuum cleaner is the epitome of  roaring power.  She has a very bad bad burn fro...

Two very mischievous boys scarfing down fresh warm bread and fresh strawberry jam.   The one who painted the main of the furnace/storage room.   We were frugal and pulled out many cans of leftover paint and dumped them all together to make whatever color we ended up with, to paint the room.  Turned out fabulous.  Kind of a  green color of some sort!   We were out of bread and jam both.  I used my trusty ole bosch and mixed up six loaves.  And then I remembered I had a container of strawberries from my last trip to Sams left in the fridge.  So I did a batch of jam quick.   And having a cleaned up kitchen kitchen with bread baked and jam made all happening in the middle of the day is VERY unusual!  I can clean or I can bake but I NEVER have both at the same time!   Two very important items to notice.   The Pizza Peel and Cutter from Jay  and my new dishwasher.  

     People all over are writing these articles about 10 things  you need to know for...Or 7 unheard facts about something.   One I read yesterday was someting about 10 habits of an organized person.  I've been in a twist ever since. I find it rather annoying to myself that I am not organized.  And then I read this article and confirmed it. I badly want to defend myself.  I would like to write an article called 10 characteristics of a controlling person.  But that's reacting.     In defense of us non organizers......  I say that we are more flexible.  We are more relational.  And we can give and take easier. And the stories not all told.  We might actually get that organization thing down yet.  As long as there is life there's hope right?        I do indeed organize at times though.  And this week I've been working on cleaning.  Corners.  Feels so good.  I dream of...