Make Your Home a Haven Challenge ° Day 17

       Ah, another day of prayer for family and friends .. 
        Today I awoke sick . . some crazed germ had invaded and finally taken hold in my system . . I was gross and my thinking was foggy . . But now, after a long day of rest, I am more me . . and, as much as I am further behind in my cleaning duties at work, this time of rest was quite healing. .. 
       Prayers for health and the promises of His love to your family from mine!
       Stay safe and warm, folks, and reach out to someone in need this week. .  .

My First O.R.T. Jar

  Almost Full!

Vitamins and a Sick Day

      Hey, sorry I'm not posting much today. I've been catering to a gross stomach for a week or so and it finally overtook me last night! I had nightmares I can't explain/refuse to contemplate and woke wishing I could flush my system Quick. 
       So today, beyond a quick necessary trip to the office, I'm taking it easy. I'd so love to get the million things running through my head done, but my body isn't cooperating with my brain. I can see a final concept, but can't piece together the preliminary steps . . .
       A day to take my vitamins (mega-multivitamin, gingko and St. John's Wort) and rest quietly . .
      Tomorrow I take over the world!!!

Our Evening ~>

   A few minutes of cleaning the car at Kiss Wash . .
    Quick trip to El Ranchito for sugar . .
      Sharing hand knit hats with a good friend and select Joliet homeless . .
   Playing Pokémon in downtown Joliet . .
     And a pause to pose in front of the city's Christmas tree . .

   An average family evening. .
         How about you?

Day 334/366

  A bit of mopping . .
   There is something about taking a floor from filthy to sparkling clean!!

A sunny day to draw dreamers outside . .

   Beautiful skies to sooth our day . .

10,000 Step/Day Challenge * 93%

I walked 9,355 steps today.

Exodus 1:12-14

"1611 KJV. Exodus 1:12-14
[12]But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew: and they were grieued because of the children of Israel.
[13]And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serue with rigour.
[14]And they made their liues bitter, with hard bondage, in morter and in bricke, and in all maner of seruice in the fielde: all their seruice wherein they made them serue, was with rigour." 

       Sometimes our lives today can feel like this. In those times it is important to remember who our God is and that obedience to Him brings blessings!!

"Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast . . "

  1) true love lives in our hearts forever
2) "Obey God and let Him deal with the consequences" Dr. Charles Stanley
  3) people can be sincerely nice
   4) safety and security
  5) respect
6) naps

Joy Dare ~ November 28, 2016

    3 gifts in community ~~


   ~ that one friend who totally gets it
    ~ shared suffering and joy
     ~ a gentle hand up

Stitching and Praying . ?

       Hey, how are you? I must say I'm moving forward yet, on some levels, I'm a hot mess. Have you been in this situation?
        As I sit planning my next 5-10 years I feel like, as long as I'm obedient to His Will, I'm set. Everything is falling into place (although that may not be evident to others).
       But then there's the here and now. That's another story. I feel as though I'm surrounded by chaos. I hear one thing being said to me but, not seeing proof yet, I am soooooo stressed! I mean stressed to the point of fear . . of insanely upset stomach . . of tears when I allow myself to care. I'm so tired of waking in a sweat and walking on eggshells.
      I definitely need more prayer, fasting and Bible study!!

300,000 Step/Month Challenge ~ 93%

I walked 261,833 steps so far this month . .
Two (2) days left  . .
Hmmm . .

10,000 Step/Day Challenge ~ 115%

I walked 11,570 steps today .. 
  Barely hobbling, but still moving!!

Make Your Home a Haven Challenge ° Day 16

  An evening of prayers for our home and family. . .
    Prayerfully looking ahead . .
      All in His hands.

Joliet's Historical Upper Bluff Cathedral Area

  We went from quiet to a lot of activity. This block seems to be busy lately!

Joy Dare • November 27, 2016

A gift handmade,
                 held,
                      happy . .        

      * peaceful home
        * teen son's heart
          * quiet day 

48*F in Joliet, IL

   A great day to open the windows and get some fresh air~ before winter remembers to kick in with subzero temperatures!!

Day 333/366

1000 Marble Challenge ~ Week 829

"An expensive rock because we had such an important week because we had so much fun working on getting our apartment more and more setup."

Do You Know the Real Me?

  Sometimes I pretend to be normal-ish . .
     This is for all those too stuffy to like me as me .. 

  Sometimes I'm me . .
     Crazy ..
         Funny . .
                 Adventurous!

    Who are you?!!

A Backup Plan?

   Have you ever sat quilting and praying when you suddenly realized you don't have a solid backup plan? That's where I am right now. I'm sitting on a pallet of blankets on the floor of this studio quilting and watching Hallmark channel with Matt. Watching our candle burn, praying and thinking. As I sit here my right foot is in incredible pain even up into my calf. I need to see my doctor, but know full well I'll be told, at minimum, to stay off of it as much as possible. Yes, that is what's necessary for whatever damage I've done to fully heal. . but . . that will mean a serious lack of income ..  a lack to the point of having to live in the car a while again.
  Okay, so this is a serious situation and wake-up call to get a backup plan. Time to begin planning. Once things are correctly in place, and only then, I can see a doctor . . hopefully a good one.
  What's your backup plan?

Make Your Home a Haven Challenge ~ Day 15

   A candle lit and serious prayers for guidance. You know, sometimes you reach that point where, no matter what you do, things aren't quite right. I'm at that point right now .. 

Ooo, Supper a la Matt!!

My Hope Quilt Top

   A break to quilt and pray . .
    Where?
       When?
             How?
Why has been established . .
  All must only be His Divine Will . .

Joy Dare ° November 26, 2016

          3 gifts preparing .   . .

      • cleaning
       • sorting locker
    • Matt up for anything

Day 332/366

  Joliet's Historical Upper Bluff Cathedral Area under heavy fog .. 

70,000 Step/Week Challenge ~ 77%

I walked 53,924 steps last week . .
Not my expected outcome . . .
An odd week . .
A busy week. ..
 
Here's to next week and praying heavily.

10,000 Step/Day Challenge ~

I walked 8798 steps yesterday . .
Busy sabbath day . .

Candles . .

  Hey, for day 14 of the Make Your Home a Haven Challenge we are using a candle we made over the summer. How fun to be reminded to pray for our home and family while looking at a candle that reminds us of a family adventure and new skills learned!!

10,000 Step/Day Challenge ~ yesterday

I walked 14,393 steps . .
Long day. .
Couldn't walk once I got home and got my shoes off. Whatever I did to my right foot, it's really really bad!

Quilting and Praying . . .

 

Joy Dare • November 24, 2016

                   3 gifts humble~ 

                        ~ prayers
                         ~ plans
                       ~ dreams

Cheese and Quilting

  A hunk of cheese to munch while quilting . .
   Protein packed comfort food . .
    Pre-turkey sammich appetizer!!

My Paid Workout Program ~ 9% so far . .

I walked 916 steps so far today . .

1000 Marble Challenge ° Week 828/1000

  This was a fun week because "we got settled into the apartment and got it all cleaned."
  Okay, so after sharing this fun project with a neighbor who just had a new baby girl, I began to wonder, " how many weeks since Matt was born and how many weeks until his 1000 are up?"
   He has been alive 828 weeks and I must confess I've not used all well. If he weren't autistic he'd have only 172 weeks left at home. With he autism he'll be around a bit longer to forever. We have many spectacular weeks ahead of us!!
   Although this is week 162 of tracking well used weeks, it's week 828 of his life.

     This week's rock of choice!

162 rocks/marbles . .

10,000 Step/Day Challenge 7%

I walked 770 steps today. . .
My weekly goal is ruined . . .
   But my day with Matt was blessed!!!

My Hope Quilt Top

  Quilting and praying .. 
   A day with Matt . .
Quiet time to just be . .
   Planning a future where we are both safe to be ourselves . .
    And . .
  Thinking about my quilts . .
I need to raffle some to raise money for Matt's service dog . .
And donate others to be raffled for charity . . .
  Today has been a day to sit back and take a good long look . .
      Where am I?
     Where should I be?
  How do I get there from here??!
  Stay tuned as I pull all of this together.

Make Your Home a Haven Challenge * Day 13

     A candle lit . .
       So prayers are lifted . .
  

Prepping after Losing Almost All Our Preps

   At one point we were almost totally prepped. We were ready for all but floods and fireballs!! With having our tiny homestead we had a place for a huge garden, fruit trees and room to store more than a two (2) year supply of food. We had a shed full of hand tools (non-electric) and were honing our skills in each area.
   And now? Well, we are in an apartment with nowhere to garden.   All our canning supplies and garden tools are gone as well as over $1000.00 of groceries.  The above picture is all the nonperishable food we have on hand!! We are truly starting our prepping journey from scratch.
   At first this un-prepped prepper scenario gave me a Huge stomach ache! I mean there we were. I'd spent so much time making sure we'd be okay. Crazy government puts us on martial law, we'd have a garden to live off of. Power grid finally collapses, we had antique hand tools. I was ready for almost anything.
  So here we sit. I can't let my situation suck the life and hope out of me. It's too easy to let evil win and become a mindless clone, an unthinking blob.

   As I begin the process of quietly re-prepping I'd like to take you along with me. But, I'm changing my blog. What you're seeing now day-to-day will stay the same. However I will also be adding premium content over time. I am still in the process of planning how this will work, so bear with me.
   But, as a preview, let me say that I plan to include: 
~ videos of where we explore/hike
~ tutorials of projects I'm working on
~ ideas for prepping if you're stuck in an urban setting

     I know there will be at least one premium post a week and that, eventually at least, access will be dependent on how much is paid in a subscription.
   For right now, I am asking for some serious feedback as to what you'd like to see more in-depth. I must say that these posts will share more, but I will also be taking greater care with our privacy and safety. 
   As I am barely starting this project I may make all premium content available to all subscribers initially then create tiers later. What will happen with tiers is that people who pay more per month will have access to more. So, for example, someone who decides to pay less than $5/month may only have access to premium blog posts. However someone who pays $20/month may have access to all lower levels as well as my videos on YouTube.
   Please, as my blog grows, I need to hear what you think.

Day 329/366

  A quiet day in Joliet's Historical Upper Bluff Cathedral Area.

Happy Thanksgiving . .

     As we enjoy a paid day off I have to sit back and remember our Cherokee heritage. For many years after visiting a powwow in Point Place (if you can attend only one powwow this should be the one) I simply didn't want to celebrate a day commemorating land stolen from Native Americans.
   Then over time, although the truth of the holiday didn't change, I moved on. Yes, I still share this truth, and how it can, and is, easily repeated globally. My son knows the truth of what pilgrims gave thanks for. True, they were thankful for their safe passage across the ocean. BUT, they were also thankful for land they intended to take for their own. This acquisition of another's land I can't celebrate any more than I celebrate Indian Reservations!!
  And so, what does today entail for us? It is definitely a day to sleep in (apparently only an hour extra sleep for me although Matt is still snoring!!). It is a day to eat as every year I use this as a tool for teaching Matt one more cooking trick.
   It has also become a day to go hiking and exploring. This is a small tribute to our ancestors. Getting out into the woods all bundled up and spending time as a family away from TV and internet gives us a chance to connect with nature.
   Are we still thankful for all we have? Definitely, especially after being homeless earlier this month! Every day we are thankful. Thankful for those who sincerely care (not as many as we thought and our previous estimate was almost microscopic!!). Thankful for an apartment . . for full tummies ..  the ability to reach out to those in need . . for freedom to follow God . . and for the ability to move ahead, wherever God leads us!!! 
   And your family? What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

My Pedometer App ~ 95 miles

I walked 223,621 steps so far this month . .
  That's still 97% . .
      94 hard won miles!!

70,000 Step/Week Challenge @ 74%

I walked 30,042 steps so far this week!!

10,000 Step/Day Challenge ~ 83%

I walked 8,354 steps today . .
Not bad considering I was sick.