He makes all things beautiful

Last night my friend came over. She is not happy in her marriage. We shared heart-to-heart about our struggles. Throughout the course of our conversation it became clear that the Lord was revealing the beauty he has made from the ashes that were in our marriage. It was a wonderful experience to re-live some of the darker hours in our past and see the Lord's hand weaving a beautiful tapestry out of it all.

Lord, You are so wise and all-knowing. This morning I've been thinking a lot about loving You and loving others. Jesus said that is the most important thing and my experience can testify to that fact. I remember when our marriage was so awful. I did not love Tomo, but I did love You to the best of my ability and I wanted to love him. That was enough for You to work with! How my heart rejoices in the power of God's love which is greater than any other force in the world.

And, to celebrate the miracle of God's love in our home for Christmas this year, I have made Tomo some Anne of Green Gables pictures and placed them in thrift store frames. Here are the photos:

If you like, please feel free to print it out, crop it, and put it in a 5x6 frame for your husband.

Birth of the Shalom Acres Blog

Hello friend,

My heart is heavy this Christmas season now that the presents are all bought, made, and wrapped. As usual, I have realized--all too late--that something is missing. This video created by David's roommate and friend from film school in Jerusalem pretty much sums it up:

Let me back up a few weeks. . . David decided to make a digital timeline scrapbook for our Christmas present this year. He needed old pictures and asked me to send him some. In the process of going through the old pictures I realized something was missing in my face but could not clearly identify what it was. My dear husband declared that I had lost my faith. He is right. Between the death of my father in 2001 and our oldest son completely turning his back on his God and his family in 2012, my faith seems to have faded into the busyness of life. Sound familiar? See Matthew 13:7, "Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants." It is time to reclaim the lost ground! And that not only for myself, but for anyone who wants to join my journey back to faith. Along the way we will be exploring creative ways of sharing with others our faith, fruit of the Spirit, missions opportunities, and simply loving our Lord and Saviour as He displays His glory in creation itself (especially obvious when you live on a farm).

And that, my friend, is a short introduction to my life and purpose for this site.