"like nothing in life that I've ever known"

Driving home from work, it was weeks ago now, the song has stayed with me, I hadn't heard it before, the words brought tears and such gratitude for such an incredible God. He is like nothing in life that I've ever known. His love...it's amazing!

You can listen to it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8BBCYFAYRI
Some of the lyrics that stayed with me..

"..you call me to walk
On the edge of this world
To spread my dreams and fly
But the future’s so far
My heart is so frail
I think I’d rather stay inside
But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known

It took more than my strength
To simply be still
To seek but never find..

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
Yes You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway
See now, I am the man who yelled out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with a smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life,
But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
Oh Lord,
How You love me!"

 

                                                        ~ sidewalk prophets

                                       Isn't God incredible! What else can I say?

A Fluffy White Blanket

The snow came today. Brought along the feeling of winter and the holidays.
It was a nice feeling to wake up to the first beautiful blanket of white outside the window.

Our backyard this morning :)

 First time driving in the snow this morning and I survived, and so did everyone around me. ;-) 
I'm happy tomorrow I can rest and I'm so thankful for friends and the blessing they are in my life.

Smiling inside out

      I am amazed once again by the beauty around me. I am in awe of the blessings in my life.

      When there are heaps of things I can be stressed, upset or worried about, instead God has given me peace. I'm thankful for the grace He gives to take joy in the wonderful things however little and leave the tough things, little or big, in His hands.

       Today I worked hard, and it will feel so good to crawl in bed because I did.  I'm so thankful for a job!  I love being a nurse and it's so good to be back in those scrubs. :)
     
       There was a stunning sunset while I drove home this evening.  Watching the flaming sun turn the clouds brilliant pinks and reds while the moon peaked out from charcoal grey clouds on the opposite horizon made me smile inside out.

        So my question tonight is...

      
"What can I give back to God
      for the blessings he's poured out on me?"

- Psalms 116: 12




Have you asked this question before and if so what answer did you find?

What do you think it is that God most wants us to give back to Him?

      

Not as we planned and yet just how we wanted

          Without regular internet access the past few months I lost my habit of blogging. It seems like unaware the months have slipped past and it's coming on the final month of this year.

           I've had so many thoughts and ideas to blog about that I'm not sure what to even write now. No use trying to catch up on it all but here's the basic idea.

        We've moved continents this summer. Another country, and culture. A new place, with many new faces and a few familiar ones. Heading back to work as a nurse in just a few days after almost 2 years. It's been a ride.  Nothing has gone just as we planned and I'm so thankful.

        God has a thousand ways to provide for our needs, to lead our lives, and I'm so grateful that He has brought us here just the way He did, even with all the questions and the changes and last minute struggles. I wouldn't want it any other way.

        So Thank You God, You are incredible!

Hope in His Faithfulness

"But this I remember, and so I have hope.  It is because of the Lord’s loving-kindness that we are not destroyed for His loving-pity never ends.  It is new every morning. He is so very faithful.  “The Lord is my share.” says my soul, “so I have hope in Him.”  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the one who looks for Him.  It is good that one should be quiet and wait for the saving power of the Lord. 

It is good for a man to carry the load while he is young. Let him sit alone and be quiet when God has laid the load on him.  Let him put his mouth in the dust. There may be hope yet."

                       Lamentations 3:21-29

"The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
   on those whose hope is in his unfailing love." 

                                   Psalm 33:18

"You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas."

                           Psalm 65:5

Catch us if you can

The busy summer is quickly blowing away with the chilly autumn winds. Our three weeks of vacation this summer was oh, so essential and how we soaked it up! Time to be together, apart from responsibilities and pressures.

The highlights of this holiday:
Seeing family and friends,
A trip up the coast to Oregon,
Cool evenings sitting in an outdoor hot tub,
Admiring the redwood trees towering overhead,
The crashing waves of the Pacific ocean,
Falling asleep to the sound of the frogs croaking and coyotes howling,
Seeing a bald eagle fly just over head,
Soaking up the California sunshine,
Picking big juicy sun-ripened blackberries,
All the home grown fruit;  pears, grapes, apples, and the list goes on.

Wouldn't mind doing that all over again.
But as holiday time came to an end we had some big changes in our plans. Instead of making our way across Europe to join the British again we found ourselves driving across the US to the State of Michigan where we're now attempting to make our home. The job search is on and the pressure and responsibility is all coming back after such a lovely break. But that's a blessing. An important reminder of our dependence on God and also of His never changing care for us.

A day in the countryside

He landed just in time :)

 

This guy was quite the poser!

Just loving all the fresh veg from our garden!! :-)

Good morning, it's August!

Yesterday must have been July and the day before, wasn't that June?
This is how summer has felt.

Sundown on the Island of Hiiumaa

I love summer; the sunshine, the warmth, the garden fresh veggies, the long summer evenings. I'm soaking up each summer day I can and this explains my lack of blogging. Sitting inside on the computer is not my idea of making the most of a summer day. But I have taken my camera with me quite a bit this summer so I'll have to do a post of my summer in pictures :) That post will have to wait for a rainy day though.


Today I am  here to say:

~ I am ecstatic that my hubby has finished his one year of civil service here in Estonia! (woohoo lots of celebration for that :)

~ We've just had a fantastic week full of traveling around Estonia, camping, lots of relaxing, good company, good conversations and wonderful weather as well! So happy our friends from England came to visit us. :-)

~ And in just a week my feet will be on American soil. :-)

And this week ahead, well it's going to be full ~
More application/visa paperwork to complete.
Many goodbyes to be said.
Everything must be packed.
Little decisions ...What to leave here. What to take there.
Along with more life changing decisions to make.
It's no surprise that life is bringing changes again for the Nõmmiks, change isn't exactly foreign to us.
A year here, a year there, it does keep life simple in some ways and yet incredibly complicated in others.
The days when I feel overwhelmed and I turn to God, laying my heart open for him, I find comfort. And there seems to be something to learn from those moments of weakness.

"Jesus said to His disciples:
I tell you not to worry about your life! Don't worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing...Can worry make you live longer?  If you don't have power over small things, why worry about everything else?

God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't he do even more for you? You have such little faith!...Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need.  But put God's work first, and these things will be yours as well...

Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it.  Your heart will always be where your treasure is."

~ Luke 12: 22-34

Summer is....

Flowers and Sunshine

Fresh veggies from our garden

Holidays

Homemade apple pie with ice cream

Fresh wild strawberries from the forest

Graduations

Days at the beach

What has your summer been filled with?

I'd rather be..

"I'd rather be..."

        ...shopping, fishing, dancing, reading, sleeping, at the beach, etc. It's on license plates, bumper stickers and usually on our minds in the midst of a task we dislike, or when we're having a particularly rough day.

        Thinking of better days and better places is part of who we are. We dream, and have hope for better things. But what about today? Doesn't it deserve some thought and thankfulness?!
I received a letter from a dear friend with a quote which is really what inspired this blog today. Here it is:

"Normal Day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow." ~ Mary I.

           So thank you my dear friend ( you know who you are ;)  for reminding me to take from today all I can. Today has been special and it's not yet half gone.

          Today it's - the rain that's pouring down outside, the new words I learned this morning, the smiles on the little neighbor girls faces at my attempt to play the piano while they sang, the muffins we made together, and now they've come back to play here because it's raining outside.

"This day belongs to the Lord, Let's celebrate and be glad today!"  Psalm 118:24

It's Natural

So I have been wanting to share this for awhile now.

  This is my sisters shop and I am incredibly proud.

Khushi Organics

         

Simple and natural, perfectly safe, no chemicals or harmful ingredients, effective and affordable.

How easy is it to find skin products that meet all of the above criteria? 

       Well, I haven't found it that easy. And that is why I am so happy that my sister has started this shop and that I can share this with all of you.

So if you are interested in treating your body, especially your skin with natural products, I'd suggest you take a look at Khushi Organics products. :-)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KhushiOrganics

        
         My sister sent me a package with some things and I loved all of them.  I really fell in love with the Moroccan red clay facial masque, it made my skin so smooth and soft. And I am eager to try a new coconut face cream with green tea that she is working on now.
    Instead of using harsh chemicals on your skin I think you would really love these completely natural skin products. You can keep updated on new products and special sales here on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Khushi-Organics/198899443482837

Pet Peeves and Piles of Paper

(try saying that 10 times really fast :) 

I have a pet peeve.  That shouldn't come as a surprise.  I'm not sure who doesn't have at least one.  And I must admit I have more than just a few.

When it comes to keeping a house clean there's one thing that drives me nuts.  It's not the dishes, it's not cleaning the toilet, it's not even the clothes my hubby leaves lying out, (although this is pretty high on the list of annoying ;).
 The one thing?.... Little pieces of paper.

That's right, my pet peeve is little piles of paper, laying around my house.
These papers just seem to come out of nowhere, have no purpose and yet cannot seem to be thrown away in a timely manner.  How do these piles of papers stack up so quickly and take over my previously clean house?  The piles are in the living room, the dining room, the bedroom, and even make their way into the kitchen. They collect almost anywhere there is counter-space.  They start so small but when left for just a day or two they seem to magically transform into mountains.  The idea of tackling these mountains of papers leaves me feeling like I'd rather run and hide. 
But today I sat down behind one mountain of paper - Two hours later I emerged a conqueror. :)  The papers were gone, some in the trash, some saved in the file, some moved to another pile for my hubby to sort through.  But the horrible thing is that by next week there will be another pile probably just as big and fierce.

Receipts, mail, reminders, magazines, recipes, coupons, notes from language study, a map of Prague, a letter from a friend.  Some of the things I found in the pile today.

The pile was much larger before I took this photo. =P

 Am I the only one?  Or does anyone else find their house being taken over by bits of paper?

Lilacs and radishes..

White lilacs

Blogging or not life goes flying past.
It's June!  
I'm sure you were aware of that though.

Estonia has become like a different world. It amazes me how drastically different it can be from one season to the next. Lush green has replaced the white landscape and birds have come flocking back to spend a few short months here. After months of barely seeing the sun it now rises at 4 am and stays til after 10 pm.
Talk about contrast of extremes, bipolar maybe?!
I haven't been inside on the computer much these days. I'm taking the chance to soak the sunshine up while it's here.

First radishes from our garden that we picked several weeks ago.

 

We’re loaded with them now and can’t seem to eat them fast enough…so radishes anyone??!!! Come and get them!! :)

Spontaneous is the word

     The sun is shining, all the windows in the house are wide open, the grass is green, flowers are blooming, red, yellow, blue, orange, white, purple. Even the apple tree has buds starting to come out. And me, well I am out soaking up as much sunshine as possible. My only question...Why can't it be like this all year around?!
 Once in awhile everybody needs to do something spontaneous. Spontaneity is the spice of life. Well maybe not everyday but I think the best moments are often the ones that just happen, no planning or preparation. 

      Driving out the the countryside one Saturday a few weekends ago we stopped by a field so I could take some photos and the others jumped out of the car and started playing ball in the middle of the road.  :)

 Another shot I got stopped at the side of the road a few weekend ago was these sheep, aren't they all so cute?!

But the cutest of all was this little lamb who started to kick and jump as they ran away!