I do believe I have the cutest baby brother. Right now I is happily talking,squealing and giggling as I type. He loves the computer and he loves to talk! Although it’s a bit harder to get work done with him being so cute I think we’ll be buddies forever.
Only because of His Love,
Beth Joy
Today is one of the most special days of the year for my family for two reasons. The celebration of Christ birth and the celebration of the birth of my oldest sister, Bekah Lynn. Bekah joined their life this day twenty years ago and a four years down the road Bekah and I met for the first time. Through the years, Bekah and I have become the best of friends and have enjoyed many special and silly moments together. Crawling across the hallway at night to talk about “confidential things”, trying to eat two packs of sour candies and a couple bottles of soda as fast as we could and then laughing about our stomach aches later, riding and racing our faithful horses together, talking ballet, horse training and life into the early hours of the morning. I have been blessed many times through the years by Bekah and I am sure I will continue to learn more from her in the years to come.
Within the new year, my sweet sister Bekah will be marrying the love of her heart and starting a new chapter in her life. Here are some pictures of her and Jacob.
With love and many Holiday wishes,
Beth Joy
In two days we will be celebrating one of my favorite holidays and my sisters birthday. We have always celebrated Christmas on Christmas eve because when we were younger my papa had to work on Christmas and what had started as a necessity has become a tradition at our home. However, we all have to be patient to get our stockings on Christmas because Santa (Grandpa) fills them the night of Christmas Eve.
Well, where should I start? I suppose the beginning is the best place to start.
Deciding and Traveling to California-
I honestly enjoy helping people. My passion is medicine and natural healing. However, I’ll help where ever I am needed and with whatever I am needed to do. In this case it was Madera, California. It was a long trip to California but as usual, I enjoyed the time with my papa, brother and sister-in-love.
California Visit-
As most of you know, I have been visiting my grandparents for the past 6 weeks and helping around their home. We organized closets, cabinets and drawers. We also worked on some craft projects and organized my grandmother’s office. My cousins had the chance to visit. It was quite a lot of fun! We talked about ‘old times’ and shared a wonderful few evenings together.
I learned more, laughed a lot and even cried a little. It was a wonderful time!
The Long Journey Home-
I do believe that the words “Topeka, KS” or “HWY K-4” never sounded so sweet. The drive seemed unending and the playful banter really was. The car was packed and I am positive that Santa’s sleigh has never even been that full. After many long hours we arrived home last night at 9:06 PM. Dogs barking, children shouting and lots of hugs and kisses awaited us. It was a wonderful greeting!
A Promise to Remember-
I could not contain my excitement as we were greeted by the children, dogs and my parents. I missed everyone a great deal! The greatest surprise awaited me still. As we walked around the home chatting and talking about all the decorations I noticed one thing, the extreme excitement of my mother. She could hardly contain herself and I was almost sure that it wasn’t entirely because of our return home. After watching my momma and papa whisper for a moment I was called to the living room and seated beside my momma. She handed me a purple folder and told me with a smile that lit her entire face that she couldn’t keep my Christmas gift a secret any longer. I opened the folder and in the folder was a letter from Maria telling me everything I needed to know about a little paint filly and congratulating me on my new Sweet Heart. I stared at it in disbelief and asked if I could go out to the barn to see her. Of course I was followed by Bekah and the other children and what awaited me was a beautiful little paint filly with a tender little heart. I’ll have to share more details about my little Promise and pictures in the weeks to come but for now, that is the end of a recap on a very delightful 6 weeks.
With Love and many Holiday Wishes,
Beth Joy
Our family enjoyed the most wonderful Autumn walk today. We went on a couple different trails and enjoyed laughing, running and bounding down the trails as a family.
The light was simply beautiful as it streamed down through the colorful autumn leaves and the bright smiles all the children wore were just as beautiful. I enjoyed every bit of it!
Since we don’t have our camera back from the shop yet I’ll just have to paint the picture for you with my words.
We drove down a long dusty gravel road with brightly colored trees hanging there branches down over us. There was an occasional farm home with a cute barn or cows grazing in a field as we passed by. The car was filled with excitement and each of the children talked of one thing or another that they wanted to do or see. After 5 minutes of this sort of atmosphere we pulled up to a field with a wooden fence around it and a sign that said “Green”
All the children poured out of the car and into the windy and fresh prairie air. They all quickly grabbed their coats and water bottles and headed down the beautiful trail. We stopped to visit a gravesite or two of the settlers that came here and did their best to survive (their story is amazing but I must save it for another day). The path was covered with leaves of every shape color and size. Some were large and round while others were long and pointy. When I looked up, the trees and bushes were colored in some of the most stunning colors. Purples, reds, yellows, greens, browns and many more other colors! As we headed down the trail some of the children raced each other to try and reach the end of the trail at the fastest pace. I played “peek a boo” with sweet Daniel as he cuddled with his momma. The entire walk was simply perfect and I couldn’t have asked for more! Now I sit at home with Daniel resting in my arms. What beautiful day it has been! Thank God for parents that have taught our family to invest in the important things in life (like summer swims in water troughs or autumn walks as a family).
Hopefully we will have our camera back so I can share a few pictures with you but for now, a thousand words will have to do.
Have a blessed day, dear friends!
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
This is a song my sister and I were listening to today. It is from Vivaldi and played by Liya Petrova on the violin. It is called Four Seasons –Autumn.
Proverbs 10:25
As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
Here are some of Matthew Henry’s thoughts..I thought they were too beautiful and true not to share!
“ The prosperity of the wicked shall quickly end, but the happiness of the righteous shall never end, Pro_10:25. The wicked make a great noise, hurry themselves and others, like a whirlwind, which threatens to bear down all before it; but, like a whirlwind, they are presently gone, and they pass irrecoverably; they are no more; all about them are quiet and glad when the storm is over, Psalm 37:10, Psalm 37:36; Job 20:5. The righteous, on the contrary, make no show; they lie hid, like a foundation, which is low and out of sight, but they are fixed in their resolution to cleave to God, established in virtue, and they shall be an everlasting foundation, immovably good. He that is holy shall be holy still and immovably happy; his hope is built on a rock, and therefore not shocked by the storm, Matthew 7:24. The righteous is the pillar of the world (so some read it); the world stands for their sakes; the holy seed is the substance thereof.”
~Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.~
I often enjoy reading the Matthew Henry commentary after Bible study. Today I thought I would share his thoughts on Proverbs 20:22.
“Those that live in this world must expect to have injuries done them, affronts given them, and trouble wrongfully created them, for we dwell among briers. Now here we are told what to do when we have wrong done us. 1. We must not avenge ourselves, no, nor so much as think of revenge, or design it: “Say not thou, no, not in thy heart, I will recompense evil for evil. Do not please thyself with the thought that some time or other thou shalt have an opportunity of being quits with him. Do not wish revenge, or hope for it, much less resolve upon it, no, not when the injury is fresh and the resentment of it most deep. Never say that thou wilt do a think which thou canst not in faith pray to God to assist thee in, and that thou canst not do in mediating revenge.” 2. We must refer ourselves to God, and leave it to him to plead our cause, to maintain our right, and reckon with those that do us wrong in such a way and manner as he thinks fit and in his own due time: “Wait on the Lord, and attend his pleasure, acquiesce in his will, and he does not say that he will punish him that has injured thee (instead of desiring that thou must forgive him and pray for him), but he will save thee, and that is enough. He will protect thee, so that thy passing by one injury shall not (as is commonly feared) expose thee to another; nay, he will recompense good to thee, to balance thy trouble and encourage thy patience.”
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
First, I would just like to say that this is probably one of my favorite Psalms!
Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
~The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. ~
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Today, I helped momma with some PDF files, did some photo editing, a little bit of cooking but my favorite part of the day is when I went outside and saw my ever faithful beasty, Miracle. I don’t know how I came around to calling him beasty but it is his nickname as of the moment! Anyhow, Miracle and I went on a mile run together. Up and down the fence line we went. Laughing, galloping, shouting and tossing manes as we went! I don’t believe I have ever ran a mile that fast in my life…and while laughing! I could hardly breath afterwards and felt rather lightheaded but I delighted in every moment of it.
~He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.~
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
Proverbs 8:17
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
Rather long….but it couldn’t be more beautiful and true!
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I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
I don’t deserve the smiles he brings me each time I look at him. I don’t deserve the laughter he has brought into our home. I don’t deserve his little hand holding mine ever so tight. I don’t deserve any of these great blessings yet, the Lord has seen fit to give me an abundance of them in my life. Thank the Lord for such sweet gifts!
Daniel loves to hear the beating of someone’s heart… it is just precious!
Aren’t those feet just perfect!? I love kissing his sweet little feet and counting his toes as we play together.
Oh, how I love that sweet little face. So very precious he is!
How he does love the camera!
And his contagious smile! I cannot help but smile and laugh when I see his sweet face!
Until next time my dear friends…
To God be the glory!
Beth Joy
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”
So many woman have forgotten this verse. we often get caught up in the bright lights, flowing yards of fabric, sparkles and pleasure and forget it will all pass away. The beauty within us is what last.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
When Bekah started photography she just loved finding Lady bugs and taking tons of pictures of them.. it was kind of funny to see her out in the yard chasing a lady bug. Well, I don’t have a obsession with Lady bugs but I am close to having one with raindrops… silly but true! I just love water. I love the way the raindrops drip off the flower petals or slide off the vegetables in the garden. Rain is truly a blessing and that is part of the reason I love taking so many pictures of it! Today, I want to share with you some of the pictures I have taken of it.
First, one of my favorites… The beautiful Lilies that grace our garden.
Watermelon…one of my favorite fruits…and RAINDROPS! Does it get better?
I do love sunflowers too.. such bright and colorful flowers. I can’t help but smile when I see them!
Now, don’t you agree? Raindrops and flowers have got to be one of the best blessings!
To God be the glory…
Beth Joy
One of my favorite dips that my grandma makes for me is artichoke spinach dip. I often hear people complain about artichokes or spinach but I think that they just don’t realize what they are missing out on!
I decided to make artichoke spinach dip to go along with lunch. I found a recipe, thought it sounded good, didn’t like all their ingredients so I threw that out the window and made up my own (that is the way I come up with most of my recipes).
Artichoke Spinach Dip:
1 cup grated Raw milk Cheddar cheese (#CH063)
1 pkg. thawed spinach (#FG453)
24 oz. canned artichoke heart (#GY686)
3 cloves of minced garlic (#QP324)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated finely (#CH028)
1/2 Mozzarella cheese (#CH185)
1/2 tsp. Salt (#BP064)
1/2 tsp. Pepper (#HS263)
Now your going to love this… Simply mix together all your grated chesses, garlic… and everything else and pop in the oven at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until all the cheeses are melted down nicely. I love this dip on pretty much anything but tortilla chips (#SN156) or veggies are perfect for this!
I hope you all enjoy this as much as my family did!
Until my next kitchen creation…
Beth Joy
Another kitchen creation! A recipe coming soon, go to www.azurestandardblog.com. 
With cherries at the peak of their season and Azure picking 5000 lbs. a day, I decided to start using them! Tonight, we made a delicious cherry pie made from organic cherries and whole ingredients. This was actually my first time using almond flour and I really like the way it looks so far. We are enjoying reaping the blessings of these cherries. We have enjoyed sharing them too!
Here are some pictures. 
Our sunny little Rainer cherries! 
The delicious Bing cherries! They also have the nasty habit of disappearing…
To God be the glory.
Until our next chat….
Beth Joy
Well after seeing Miss Victoria sew so much it made me realize how much I missed it! So, I went digging through my supplies and found a old dress that I was supposed to repair but forgot about. I decided to practice a bit of embroidery and this is what I ended up with.. I think it turned out pretty well!
My little brother picked a flower for my momma and I thought it looked quite beautiful floating in the water…
We also have a artist in the house (well I mean another one). I really have enjoyed seeing Victoria’s beautiful sketches.
Becky also planted some pretty little flowers… I think they look just lovely!
If you haven’t already guessed… I love taking pictures of flowers! 
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
Horses are herd animals. They know there is safety in numbers and they naturally just want companionship. Horse training is quite a interesting process. There are the days when you both feel like you could win the World Championship and there are days when you would just like to throw in the towel. There are days when riding comes natural and there are days when you find yourself sitting in the dust wondering if you should bother getting back on.
Miracle and I are doing some Clinton Anderson/Bethany Wood horse training program. This one is better than just Clinton Anderson for two reasons, 1. I throw out everything I don’t want to do and 2. because I really like my ideas… Hahaha… well that is less than true but I have learned that one horse is normally completely different than the next so I kind of change things around a little bit to fit Miracle best.
Three things to remember while training…
1. Be Confident! I know who my God is and so does my horse so he can’t get away with anything.
2. Have fun with it. I can make this into a power struggle (not a good idea because he weights roughly 1400 lbs more than me) or I can choose to learn from what is going on and fix it.
3. Never let someone tell you that you can’t do it. Here I am 16 years old, training a horse that grown adults were afraid of. Now he is this beautiful, rather wonderful, kind and loving horse (that just happens to have outburst of energy).
So there is a little more on Miracle and my training. He is getting better each day and I am learning to LOVE it.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
We have some a very dear friend from out of state visiting us for the wedding. She has been such a blessing.
We recently got a YMCA membership so our family has been enjoying the benefits! Bekah and I are hoping to get a little more in shape (although I did try and explain to her that circle is a shape) by doing some water exercises.
We are preparing for weddings, gardening. horse training and we were even asked to be in a movie (we declined their offer)… Life never seems to slow down for me. It seems to keep moving on whether or not I want it to. I am enjoying the sweet moments of this week though. From swimming in water troughs, to deep cleaning the house, chasing chickens and training horses… Life is sweet, the sun is hot and I am blessed!
Hope you all are staying cool.
To God be the glory.
Beth Joy
