Rosilind Jukic's Blog, page 95

Dreams of my Yard

I've been absent all week.  It's been a long two weeks.  A hard two weeks. But I will not write about that right now - maybe never.

Despite the difficulties my family and I have experienced lately, we have also been very productive. And I felt it was time for a "house update".

As you all know, last fall we bought our first home.  A renovation project that we love...and sometimes love a little less. 

This is what it looked like when we bought it.


This is what it looks like right now.  Just before the first snowfall of winter, we were able to insulate the outside of the house.  When I say "just before the first snowfall" I mean, snow began falling just as the crew finished up the last day!  

Here are some before and "during" pictures of our yard (after is yet to come)
Before
During
A month or so after we moved in, we added the gravel drive. 

Before
DuringZ cut down those horrible bushes and the neighbor cut down his beautiful willow tree.  The willow tree was lovely, but way too close to the house.  Every time the wind blew hard, we were afraid it would damage our roof.
The dead leftovers of the bushes are coming out and in their place I will plant blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  That little tree there is our plum tree.
Before

During
 We are are adding a fence where that canal is, and the dirt is going along side our drive where we are adding some flowers. Behind the big dirt hill is where my garden will be.  It is slowly being dug up by your's truly.  Here are some pictures of what I fondly term my "haphazard garden".  In other words, seeds and seedlings go where ever I find a spot.




My mother-in-law brought these lettuce and swiss chard seedlings to me last fall and planted them. While I trust her gardening skills (for she truly is a garden guru), I admit to be skeptical because of the snow. But, the snow is gone, we are all in sorts and tanks, and look at my lettuce and swiss chard!! Almost ready to pick and eat!
Now - this is haphazard, because they are located behind the shed.



She also brought onion bulbs. And look at my onion!!!  
Now these are located in the original place where Z began digging my garden. Clearly, we need to put a layer of top soil down, but we just haven't got that far yet.  Apparently the onions don't care.  They are growing like crazy!

Next to the onion, I turned over some clay  soil for some more lettuce, cabbage, carrots and parsnips. 


I have lettuce sprouts!



And cabbage sprouts!


And a friend brought me tons of strawberry shoots. So, I dug up a spot for them.   


And I already have a blossom!!
After the first of May, I will be planting tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, spinach and goodness knows what else!
But look at what else we have...

Apple Tree

Plum Tree


Cherry Tree
And I leave you with some sweet stuff....






  Linking up with some these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home Th: Thrive at Home, Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday 

God Hears

Breakfast Biscuit Surprise

I saw a recipe on Facebook for something that gave me a wild idea one morning when I didn't know what to make.

It turned out so good that my family gobbled them right up and we all declared that they should become a regular meal in our home.

Plus it is these are so easy to make!


Here we go:


2 cups of Bisquick (I make my own following this recipe)
1/2 - 3/4 cup of milk (enough to moisten the dough so you can roll it out)

Cheese cut into narrow cubes
Ham sliced into strips

Mix together
2 TB melted butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 TB grated Parmesan

1. Kneed the dough about 5-6 times and roll out on a floured surface

2. Cut out biscuit rounds

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you have used up your dough.

On one biscuit round, place a cheese cube wrapped in a strip of ham and top with another biscuit round.

Pinch the sides well and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Repeat until all biscuit rounds are used up.

Brush the tops with the melted butter mixture

Bake at 375 until tops and bottoms are golden brown.



Linking up with some these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home Th: Thrive at Home, Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday 

The Holy Spirit In Me

The topic conjures up images of people swinging from the rafters or rolling all over the floor.  It induces a feeling of mysticism and a lack of control. 

But the Holy Spirit is none of these.

God is a God of order, not disorder.

When we mingle the mystical with Christianity we have an impure form of Christianity.

And while as God's children we must surrender our lives to the control of the Holy Spirit, it doesn't mean that we lose control of our faculties begin acting wild and crazy.  


As I have pondered how to delve into this deep and somewhat complex topic of the Holy Spirit; I almost gave up completely.  I could spend the rest of my life sharing with you about how the Holy Spirit works through us, in us; encourages us, helps us, and uses us to build up and encourage the body of Christ. Then there is the topic of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.

Needless to say, I felt overwhelmed and feared that I could not possibly do justice to these topics - I am the least qualified to instruct on the Holy Spirit. Plus, I feared that I would lose sight of this series of Beyond the Grave. 

So, what I would like to do is address three areas the Holy Spirit works in and through us and then recommend an excellent book for you to read that does far better justice to the this topic than I ever could.


The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of heaven

"You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13c, 14

"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us [is] God,who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Jesus was taken up to heaven, leaving His disciples in a country ruled by harsh dictators, at a time when persecution threatened - and eventually took - most of their lives.  It would have been very easy for them to lose faith in Jesus as God's Son and hope in the message of their reward in heaven.

So He sent the Holy Spirit.  The way Paul describes the Holy Spirit in these passages is that the Holy Spirit is like a guarantee of His promise of our inheritance.  Very much like when you go the bank to take out a loan, and the loan officer needs some guarantee that you are "good for it" and can make good on your promise to pay back the money you borrowed.  The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that God will make good on His promise of our inheritance of Heaven and the reward that awaits us there!


The Holy Spirit gives life and power to our ministry

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:11

Have you ever really read this verse?  Imagine it!  The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead...the Holy Spirit can literally dwell in you.  

Let that sink in for a moment.  

And when He does - He will give life to your mortal bodies. What would that mean for us if we all lived in the full power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us?  What would our homes be like?  What would our churches be like? 


The Holy Spirit comforts and prays through us the will of the Father

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit [is], because He makes intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God." Romans 8:26-27

Have you ever felt burdened for someone or a situation and began to pray but found you didn't have the words?  Have you ever asked yourself if you were truly praying according to God's will?  One of the most beautiful roles of the Holy Spirit is that He prays through us.  And since He is the 3rd person of the Trinity, He knows the will of the Father and by praying through us, we can always be certain that we are praying according to God's will!  

Not only that - we can be comforted knowing that He intercedes for us before the Father.  Isn't that wonderful??  So, we have Jesus who "always lives to make intercession" for us (Hebrews 7:25) and the Holy Spirit who makes intercession for us.  Truly we can say, "If God be for us, who can be against us!"  


Dear readers,  This is a nutshell version of the Reader's Digest version of the topic of the Holy Spirit. I don't even consider this adequate - but there is not nearly enough room or time here to cover all the aspects of the function of the Holy Spirit.

If you would like to read more on the Holy Spirit -  in particular the aspect of speaking  in tongues - I would recommend "The Beauty of the Spiritual Language" by Jack Hayford.  This book is balanced and thorough.  It takes all of the mysticism and lack of control out of the this gift of the Spirit and offers a completely normal view of why this is important for every believer today!



Linking up with these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Today Is Monday, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Tell Me A Story, Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Th: Thoughtful Thursday , Thrive at Home, Life In the Comments;  Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday 

Family Devotions with Toddlers

One thing I recently decided to do in our home is move our family devotions from bedtime to morning. Family devotions are actually one of my tasks because of my husband’s shift-schedule.  He is never home at the same time everyday.  Family devotion time has become one of our favorite times of day. Even with two toddlers!  We have worship, the Word, Memorization and Prayer.
I have found the following 4 things have helped out a lot in having an effective devotion time with toddlers.
(Today I am writing over at Simply Helping Him.  You can read the remainder of the article here) 

Homemade Freezer Meatballs

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know how much I love being organized and finding ways to make life just a wee bit easier.
Last week I just happened to see my sister comment on someone's request for some freezer meals.  She gave this person a recipe for freezer meatballs that I knew I had to try.  Mine usually don't turn out so well - and she claimed that these were the best ever.  She wasn't joking.
But me being me, I had to add some extra stuff to make them mine.  And let me tell you, these will be finding a permanent home in my freezer.  
They are super simple to make.  I made them up in less than 1 hour last night: please note that a) Z is graveyard this week so life is more complicated and b) I had already made one dinner  - this was additional cooking. Believe me, the effort was very minimal, especially considering how happy I am to have some easy meals in my freezer!

This recipe made 13 portions (I count 3 meatballs per person). 
2 lbs of beef2 cups of dried bread crumbs1 md onion sauteed6 cloves of garlic I like lots of garlic2 eggs1/2 cup Parmesan cheese1 1/2 t salt1/2 t pepper2 Tb parsley1 Tb Italian seasoning1 t paprika
enough flour for rolling2 TB lard for frying
Throw it all in a big bowl, and with clean hands just mush away until it's all mixed.
In a skillet, heat up lard on med-low heat.  Make small balls out of the meat mixture, roll in flour and fry in lard until browned and firm.
Remove from skillet, drain on a paper towel.
Once reasonably cooled, line them on a cookie sheet or plastic tray and place in the freezer overnight.  Place frozen meatballs in a ziplock bag and return to freezer.  Frozen meat can usually remain in the freezer for no longer than 3 months - but I doubt they'll last that long.
Do you have a favorite freezer meal?  Please comment below and share!





Linking up with these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Today Is Monday, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Tell Me A Story, Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Th: Thoughtful Thursday , Thrive at Home, Life In the Comments;  Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday 

The Holy Spirit's Power

The change in him was dumbfounding.

Only 50 days before he was an insecure man who rarely thought before he spoke. He was braggadocios  but had no boldness to back it up. And now we see a completely different man. A man who speaks with profound wisdom, boldness and deep assurance; who is stands strong in the face of persecution and who followed the Lord's call despite being misunderstood by his peers.

What could have caused such a dramatic change to occur so quickly?

The night before Jesus' death, Peter had denied he even knew Jesus - not only that, he denied it so vehemently that he even used a few indecent words to drive the point home!

And yet, less than 2 months later we see him preach a sermon before a crowd of people who were mocking them.

The very first event that occurs after Jesus' resurrection and ascension is foundational to the formation and success of the early church; and is essential to today's church, if we want to be effective in carrying out Jesus' instructions to make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus' final instructions to them, before ascending into heaven, were for them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the power from on high (Luke 24:49)

In Acts 1 we read what that power is: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you".  And only one chapter later - only 50 days after they had sat at the table with Jesus for the last supper - they are gathered together waiting for that power from on high to fill them.

I wonder if they tried to imagine what that would look like.  I wonder if they asked themselves if they'd recognize when they were "filled" with that power.  Surely they could never have imagined the event they experienced. A sound of a wind, flames of what looked like fire on each of them and then speaking in other languages.  

While it may not be popular to speak about the Holy Spirit and about the baptism of the Holy Spirit - one glance at scripture and the early church proves very different results than we see today.

After Peter's sermon 3,000 souls were added to the kingdom.   In one day.

There wasn't a concert to attract the unsaved. 

There wasn't a celebrity to draw a crowd.  

There wasn't a special program or attraction that would "bring in the world".

There was only the power of the Holy Spirit that attracted people and changed their hearts while Peter preached.


We may use all kinds of entertainment to draw crowds; invite our friends to Christian concerts or show them Christian films - but without the power of the Holy Spirit to speak through us and change their lives all of our efforts are in vain.


And yet, unsaved people may walk through the doors of our church, where we have no special programs, our worship team may be "off", our pastor may preach a dry sermon and yet their hearts are deeply moved and radically changed.


The answer to winning the lost and seeing lives radically changed isn't in programs, great music, an interesting sermon, self-awareness, or inspirational books - we wont see greater results by being more polished or professional.  The answer is in the power of the Holy Spirit who takes over our lives and infuses us with a power greater than we could imagine or dream.

Beyond the grave is a promise for us that "...if the Spirit [the Holy Spirit] of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11)



Dear Reader, over the next couple of weeks I would like to attempt to tackle this enormous topic of the Holy Spirit and what He means to individuals and then to churches. I hope you will join me as we take a balanced look at the Holy Spirit's function today, what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means to us and our churches and how the power of the Holy Spirit can transform our personal lives and local congregations to extend God's Kingdom here on earth.  After that will move on to see what more lies beyond the grave!


Linking up with these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Today Is Monday, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Tell Me A Story, Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Th: Thoughtful Thursday , Thrive at Home, Life In the Comments;  Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday 

Ultimate Blog Party - A Little Bit About Me!

Dear UBP Visitor, welcome to my little bloggy home.  I hope you kick your feet up and enjoy A Little R & R while browsing around.  Feel free to poke into any nook and cranny that your little heart desires.  Here is a little glimpse of what you will find.
This is my 3rd UBP and I have been eagerly waiting to party again since the last one ended!

I am an American transplant from the great Pacific Northwest living in Croatia.  I've been here for nearly 9 years.  I married a Bosnian guy in 2007 and we have a 3 year old boy and an 18 month old boy.  In other words, I am the lone female in this home.


My Main Heart-throb!
Z (my heart-throb) and I are both musical people.  We love to sing - Z loves to make up new words for songs. For example, the theme song to Texas Walker Ranger: "And the eyes of the Ranger have responsibility, you must knoooooow thaaaat".  Why on earth his eyes "have responsibility" is anyone's guess. But that's Z.  The words don't have to make sense.  And that's what I love about him! Never a dull moment. 

Z plays drums and I play piano.



My Lil' Monsters!
My boys are fun and crazy.  They love each others and play so well together.  They love Tellytubbies (to my chagrin) and singing to Gaither Homecoming DVDs.



Last fall we bought our first home.  It's a 750 sq ft renovation project.  So far we've add central heating, city water, insulation on the outside (which is why it is that grey color), PVC windows, a gravel drive, and soon we will be walling in the terrace to make a giant mudroom. There are many more plans for the future. But what I'm most excited about is getting to plant my first garden this year and the half-dozen fruit trees and berry bushes we're planting!

In my spare time {haha} I have actually found time to author two ebooks and edit my dad's book!  All are available on Kindle!

14 Days of Agape










Worship the Father

Discovering True Identity










Discovering True Identity Facebook Page!
Twitter

{Click here for more information on each of them.}What you will find here at R & R are articles about:Cloth Diapering
Nursing

Homemade Cleaning Recipes

Food Recipes, and kitchen ideas.

Motherhood,Babies, and Toddlers
Crafts and Activities for Kids

But what I mostly like to blog about is what God is speaking to me from the Bible.
Next week I am starting a new series called "Beyond the Grave" - about what lies beyond The Cross.


Do you have a burning question about missions?  This summer I will blogging about the mission field.  I'll be answering questions and pulling from my own experience on the field, as well as hitting up some fellow past and present missionaries to share from their experiences as well. If you have a question - or know someone who does -simply send your question(s) to alittlerandr[at]outlook[dot]com.
You can also find me on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest.

So, grab a cup of coffee, be a bit nosey, and click away.  And feel free to follow me.  I follow back!

Beyond the Grave

Easter is over.

The sermon is done.  The hymns have been sung. The children have consumed too much chocolate, as have we - among other fattening foods.  The last of the ham is cubed and waiting to be put in the crock pot with some beans and veggies.

Easter Sunday has passed.

Our lives have gone on.

But the Bible didn't stop with Jesus resurrection. Nor did it stop with His ascension. Actually - Jesus resurrection and ascension marked the beginning of a new era.

The Early Church.

If you are not Jewish by decent, this is where you come in!


Beyond the grave lies a whole new aspect of the church that we often forget.

Pentecost

The Holy Spirit

The Apostles' ministry

The gospel that reached the gentiles

Persecution

Martyrdom


These are all topics I'd like to explore starting on Monday in the weeks to come in a series called "Beyond the Grave" - an extension of my 3-blog series on The Cross.

I hope you'll join me in exploring what lay in store after Jesus' resurrection!



Linking up with these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Today Is Monday, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Tell Me A Story, Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Th: Thoughtful Thursday , Thrive at Home, Life In the Comments;  Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday 

The Long, Long, Super Long, Extra Long, Extremely Long Winter

Unedited pictures of our long winter.

The first snow on December 8
It snowed so much the first day that Zlatko, who left that morning around 4:30am for work, didn't get IN the house until 9pm.
When he finished work at 2pm, he couldn't even get his car out of the parking lot.
He walked to the nearest store and bought a snow shovel.
He shoveled his way out of the parking lot,
managed to get near our street,
parked on the main road,
walked to our driveway,
and shoveled his way to the door.



It melted and we had a rainy Christmas and New Year
Then January 14th it started again and we had to postpone Robi's birthday party because no one could get to our house.
Zlatko was 2nd shift this time,
2 days in a row I shoveled snow after the kids went to bed, so that he could get in the drive when he got home.

We ended up setting a record that day.

2 feet. 
Since 1861 - since they have been recording snowfalls - we'd never had that much snow fall in one day.


It melted some (not all) and a week later we got to celebrate Robi's birthday with his friends

Snow was still on the ground for my birthday
And three days later it started again...
After which it warmed up and melted...
...and a week later, more snow.  


It snowed again 3 days later

And despite occasional flurries here and there, it completely melted.
The boys even played outside for a few days.  The sun was shining, and birds singing...

And then on March 14th we got hit with another few inches of snow


Which quickly melted and after a few days we were out enjoying some fine weather.  The boys were playing outside again...


And then we got more snow
And again on March 24th - about another 4 inches.
This was a bit of a bummer because Zlatko took vacation time that week to work in the yard and get our garden ready.
But by the end of the week had melted and was raining profusely.



And this morning - on April 1st - it's snowing some more.  No, this is not a joke.
And we're supposed to have snow mixed with rain for the next two days.
They say we will get spring somewhere toward the end of the month.  



I hope they're right because I have a major case of cabin fever with a side of spring fever!
It has been the strangest winter, and longest winter, of any I have ever known.
And yet...
While I do hope spring will show her pretty face soon, I have learned that it really does no good to complain about the weather.
I am reminded of a series of blogs I wrote on the 5 Keys To Contentment. The first was never to allow yourself to complain about anything, not even the weather.
So while I ache to get out of the house, start my garden, and enjoy some sun; and while my kids are bouncing off of the walls and need to burn off enormous amounts of energy, I choose to be thankful...
...even for the ADD weather we have going on right now. *grin*
Because it has taught me a deeper level of contentment!



Linking up with these blogs: M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Today Is Monday, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word   T: Tell Me A Story, Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women, W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Th: Thoughtful Thursday , Thrive at Home, Life In the Comments;  Serving Joyfully F: Faith Filled Friday, Favorite Friday Things, Just For Fun Friday