The Shepherds House

Snow beauty

theshepherdshouse — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:03:57 +0000

Abbie captured this beautiful sunset the other day…and now our sunny days have turned into snowy days!

And while I must admit I’m not much of a winter girl, there is such amazing beauty right outside my window on days like these.

I love the lacy look of the tree branches!

My ponderings this time of year are already taking me to the garden ~

where a fresh new canvas awaits upcoming possibilities for beauty and productiveness!

I am hoping to learn more about growing and harvesting herbs now that I have my own little herb garden. Chamomile is one thing I am especially looking forward to trying this year. Do you grow it?

May your week be filled with loveliness & beauty!

Simple beauty in the home

theshepherdshouse — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:42:39 +0000

Don’t you especially appreciate beauty in the winter months, when days are shorter and much more gray. We have alot of gray days here in the Pacific Northwest. Lately though, we have been enjoying some sunshiny days and it is wonderful ~ it almost makes you forget it’s wintertime, except that it’s chilly!

Simple beauty in my home definitely makes me happy ~ and I love that it doesn’t have to be expensive!

A simple primrose in January brings an abundance of color and joy! I am always so excited to see them in the stores this time of year! This one, a gift from my sweetman, makes it even more special!♥

Homemade cheeriness!♥ I love these potholders and hope to make some more soon. The color and cheeriness of these remind me of you, Pom Pom! Although small, these potholders are so handy and also the perfect size to put under a bowl of hot oatmeal in the morning. For the inside batting part, I used some older potholders that weren’t very pretty, so they are the perfect thickness and gave me the satisfaction of making something new out of something old. The instructions were found in this book: Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures

Abbie has completed a couple also for Home-Ec.

A recently thrifted chair (when all furniture was half off ~yay!) with an afghan made by my great-grandmother.

Glass jars ~ it is a special treat to have a few older ones!

But this one especially brings me joy ~ a recent thrift store find for 20 cents!!

And jar storage in the garage ~ yes…beauty can even be found in not so pretty places!

Fresh food beauty ~ a lovely splash of color for this time of year ~ and delicious too!

“Many people…seem to think that we can secure beauty only by profuse money outlay–that beauty is in the ratio of expense. On the contrary, beauty is largely independent of expense.”

The Complete Home

What kind of beauty in your home brings you joy?

Weekend blessings!♥

Sunday’s thoughts

theshepherdshouse — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:27:31 +0000

Till we see Him face to face…

I was listening to and pondering the song You Are Awesome In This Place this morning and it spoke of this idea. One day we will stand before Him face to face.

Will I have loved Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? Will I have loved my neighbor as myself? (Mark 12:29-31) Will I have lived by His every word? (Matthew 4:4) Will I have offered myself as a living sacrifice? (Romans 12:1) Or will I have lived for self with a little of these things mixed in giving me a mere form of religion?

Oh, how my heart yearns for more than a “form of religion”!

Until that time when we meet Him face to face, what kind of people ought we to be? (2 Peter 3:11)

These are some things that the Lord is speaking to my heart ~ isn’t it so good to hear the voice of the Shepherd calling us to come and follow Him each day?

December Delights…

theshepherdshouse — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:58:25 +0000

♥Wood stove love

♥The lights of Christmas

♥Making special Christmas treats

♥Opportunities to share His love

♥Spending time with little ones

♥Wrapping gifts ~ this has long been a special joy of mine!

♥Frosty mornings ~brrr! but beautiful!

♥The Great LOVE of JESUS!

Merry Christmas Sweet Friends!

May your celebrations be filled with an abundance of JESUS and the blessing of His joy and peace!

Sharon

Creating

theshepherdshouse — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:20:38 +0000

It has definitely been quiet around here blogging wise ~ somehow I wonder how it can be that almost a month has gone by since I last posted! Are you enjoying this joyous season so far?

I have been working on a couple of gifts ~

A fabric covered notebook and matching pen ~ I found this tutorial last year and it is one of my favorite things to make for gifts!

And this is a tutorial that I found recently. I think this little bath mitt is so cute! I’ve added some bar soap to go along with it, but there are probably lots of possibilities for gift giving with this. It is a quick project too, which is especially nice.

Are you working on any projects?

I hope you are all doing well since we last visited!

Joy & blessings to you!

A blessing…

theshepherdshouse — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:51:10 +0000

How sweet to be able to go out and pick a bouquet of lavender in November!♥

May your day be one of abundance ~ enjoying all the blessings from His hand!

Joy to you!

Rainy weekend days…

theshepherdshouse — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:17:43 +0000

Those pretty blue skies from my last post have disappeared and today has been a rainy Saturday. There is still beauty…I love how the leaves are making a yellow carpet on the grass ~

This seemed like a perfect day to work on some crafting and I finally made my first embellished flour sack towel. I did this one in a fall print, but I found some homespun material with hearts on it in my fabric stash and I think I would like to use that one to make one of these for a Christmas gift. Like they showed in the instructions, I think one of these towels and a jar of jam would make such a simple yet lovely gift.

Here is a link for the towel tutorial:

Have you started any handmade Christmas gifts? Oh, how I need some ideas!!

I hope you are enjoying a lovely Saturday at your house.

Simple weekend blessings!

Beauty…

theshepherdshouse — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:54:55 +0000

♥ in the changing seasons

♥ in the garden

For just a little longer I’m sure..but oh, for now, the joy!

♥ in the ordinary

♥ in the making

♥ in the unexpected

I had been enjoying this book from the library after seeing it on Faye’s blog. It was a book Annaleah liked as well and one day she told me that she had ordered a copy. She had the order sent to our house as they don’t have a permanent address while they are awaiting the closure of the house they are buying, and when she came to get the package and opened it up, she pulled out two copies ~ one for her and one for me ~ what a sweet surprise!

♥ in simplicity

We are enjoying such lovely blue skies here in the Pacific Northwest today

♥♥♥♥♥♥

“Fortunately, beauty is easy to invite into any home, for beauty has many faces. Beauty can be found in a hand-colored photograph or a hand-stitched quilt, or in shelves lined with bright-hued jelly jars. A pot of graceful ivy can be beautiful, and so can a sweet-potato vine growing in a jar…What is beautiful to you? What makes you smile in delight or makes your spirit soar?…Surround yourself with beauty.”

Emilie Barnes ~ Welcome Home

I hope you have been enjoying the gift of beauty today!

A little treat

theshepherdshouse — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:28:28 +0000

If you enjoy making your own granola bars ~ these no bake energy bites are a wonderful treat! This is the recipe that I used. I didn’t have any flax, so I substituted some wheat germ. They were delicious and I definitely want to make them again!

Happy Tuesday friends!

~Fall pleasures~

theshepherdshouse — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:32:33 +0000

Here we are almost a week into fall already ~ the weather is cooling, new routines are taking the place of the relaxed days of summertime, and the days are seeming much more cozy! Days for…

♥Hot chocolate

♥The homey smell of an apple-cinnamon candle

♥Crafting time again ~ my first lavender sachets with lavender from my garden

♥Time for planning more projects to work on ~ I bought some flour sack towels on sale awhile back and I am especially looking forward to trying these

♥Settling into our school routine

♥Stocking up ~ although I am finding it difficult to find many good stock-up sales at the grocery stores these days!

♥Homemade soup

♥Enjoying the end of summer’s beauty & planning for next spring

I am definitely looking forward to enjoying the simplicity of this season and some quietness of heart as well.

What do your fall days look like?