Leviticus 26:3-17

Hi all.

I read this Scripture a few days ago and it just struck me. I thought it was worth sharing. Read the entire chapter if you wish.

Promise of Blessing and Retribution

³ ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
⁴ then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
⁵ Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing;
you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
⁶ I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil beasts,
and the sword will not go through your land.
⁷ You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
⁸ Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;
your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

⁹ ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
¹⁰ You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
¹¹ I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
¹³ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves;
I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.

¹⁴ ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,

¹⁵ and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant,

¹⁶ I also will do this to you:

I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart.

And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

¹⁷ I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies.

Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

(Biblegateway.com- online scripture)

Blessings,

Lesya

When A Guilty Reality Hit

Hi all.

 Life has pretty much been mundane lately. It's the same ol' church, school, homework, and work; I've had this schedule for the past few years of my life. I'm used to it. I know I'll miss it one day. But on days like this past Monday-late at night, I was doing my work and just started crying! I cried because I felt like such a bad daughter, friend and mostly sister! It all started when Lena told me she did not understand her homework because she missed school, and she forgot that night's homework-she was almost crying because there was a possibility she wouldn't be able to participate in Friday Fun Time.

The three sisters.

I just looked at her, lectured her, said I was sorry I couldn't help her with the math she didn't get because I wasn't home. A few hours into the night, when all were sound asleep I just started to think about how fast time flys by and how sad that I spend it all on myself and so little with my family, and doing other meaningful things: sitting down with the kids to do their homework with them, take Andrew to the store, read with them, etc. (all basically family related). I just know the kids will all grow up so quickly, and I want to treasure this time and use it wisely. It just breaks me heart when Andrew asks me to take him somewhere and I can't because I always have something else "important" going on.  As an added bonus, my homework was extra difficult that night and so I started to feel like I just might not be able to do this college thing (here I go again...) so not only was I failing my family, but myself as well. It felt better to cry and cry. I felt guilty for things that are beyond my control right now-I realize that now.

Then all of a sudden, I realized I was humming a song. Seriously, the Lord put that song on my heart because I didn't consciously decide to hum it. I decided to repeat it because I wasn't sure what I was humming. 

 

Then I realized it was one of the kids worship songs that I had learned and planned to teach the kids, but haven't gotten to it. It's the words of Proverbs 3:5-6 sang to a simple tune. 

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

As you can imagine, I wanted to cry even more after I realized I was humming this song!

The moment was such a God moment because He came to comfort me and put a song on my heart that I didn't know I needed. God gave me peace once again, showing me that He will get me through these mundane college years, even when they feel like you've forsaken so much in life, for it. 

Blessings,

Lesya

The Never Ending Story Blog

Hi all.

Quite a while ago I started following a blog called The Never Ending Story. This family adopted all of their 7 children from Ukraine. I myself (and the majority of my readers) are Ukrainian, so I thought I would share this. Hope y'all check it out!

Click here to view the blog

Blessings,

Lesya 

Fall Excitement

Hi all. 

It won't technically be fall until the 21st of September but it sure does feel like Fall around here! 

The weather is changing, the nights seem longer, school is in sessions...and the leaves will soon be falling!

This fall I am looking forward to a few things.

 via  

There is no dessert better than a slice of homemade pumpkin pie. I found the best pumpkin pie recipe two years ago. It is so good. I've had soo many different pumpkin pie recipes and the one I use beats them all. Of course, it is very unhealthy considering some of the ingredients, but in this case-who cares!

Sunday School! How funny-I just went on google to get an image and the first image that came up said "Dee Cee." I clicked on it, and surely it was from Diana's blog. Anyway, I am really excited about Sunday school beginning this fall. We had our first class, and boy the kids were a handful, but so much fun! I pray we will have a year to help the kids grow in Christ and to love Jesus.

 

 via

I've been loving fall decor- especially do it yourself little projects. If I had more time, there would be so many little fall accents around our house.

Blessings,
Lesya

  

Lesya's Bridal Shower

Hi all. 

Saturday afternoon was my friend Lesya's bridal shower. It's interesting that every bridal shower I go to is unique, but they are all special to me because I am so happy to see my friends so happy!

A pinterest sort of set up.

 

These were so good-Angela the host made them.

 This is Angela-one of the hosts. She hosted in her soon to be home because she too is getting married this fall. Our group made her dress (out of toilet paper) and Lesya liked it the most. Anyway, we won prizes for Lesya having picked out our dress.

 The bride-to-be opening gifts! She is so beautiful and has such a sweet heart! Her fiance helps out in our Sunday school class-hopefully she will join him in serving with the kids after all the wedding bliss is over. 

Blessings,

Lesya

Coconut Macaroons

Hi all.

This recipe is a hit every time I make it. I first discovered it in high school, and have been making it ever since.

You will need:

2 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar 

2 cups coconut* (I put a 14 oz package in, that way you get the flakiness in)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Beat egg whites until small peaks form. Gradually add the sugar. Add in vanilla and salt. 

Beat until stiff peaks form. You should be able to flip the batter upside down and it stays in place. 

Stir in coconut. Drop onto a cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 min.

*I prefer the store brands because the coconut is drier and seems to work better than super moist coconut.

Blessings,

Lesya

First Day of School (for everyone)!

Hi all. 

My first day of school was last Tuesday. I had Mark take a picture of me. I kind of wanted it for the memory of "this is the last first day of school as an undergraduate student." Basically, if I wanted to, this could have been my last day of college (ever) if I knew I wouldn't be teaching in NY, but I have to go to grad school.

More importantly though, Andrew, Victor, and Lena started school Wednesday. 

I was able to get a picture with them before I left for school. This is Lena's last year in Elementary school-she's in 6th grade, Victor in 4th, and Andrew in Kindergarten.

My mom sending her youngest boy to school. She was so so sad. She loves her babies! Andrew did so well at school. The teacher called to tell us how surprised she was with his abilities even with a broken arm. My mom went in to school that morning as well to have piece of mind. What about Leah? She does not care that she is by herself during the day. She has always been so independent. 

Then there are these two high school boys. It is Nick's last year, and Mark's sophomore year. Nick seems like he is scared to go to school ;) (or maybe he is protecting Mark?) He has so many decisions to make this year, concerning the future. 

 I love the variety in the family:high schoolers in the family, college students, full time workers, married kids, toddler at home, and elementary school students. What a fun and blessed family experience I have! Sometimes I need to slow down and remember to enjoy the "controlled chaos" that comes with such a range of ages.

Blessings,

Lesya

Heart of a Teacher

Hi all.

I saw this today and loved it. I thought I would share. 

I've been praying and still pray that God helps me to be the kind of teacher and role model that all students deserve and to serve my students from the heart both in Sunday school and academic/regular school.

Blessings,

Lesya

The Smiles, The Bruises

Hi all. 

Happy back to school for everyone!

Leah has recently been wanting to sleep with me. She is growing up so quickly and is becoming such a sweet little girl. Also, look at that smile! She was hiding from the flash. I asked her today, "Leah, what are you going to do tomorrow when everybody is going to go to school? You are going to be all alone and it will be so quiet!" She responded with, "I will be with mommy." You can never stump this little one. She has an answer to everything!

Sweet Andrew is starting school tomorrow. He has been practicing his letters, numbers, and writing his name. We bought this wonderful program for the computer. Leah will soon have the alphabet down with it. Also, Andrew broke his little left arm. So sad. I feel so bad for him because he is such a good boy and had to go through all the pain. He got a cast on today. Basically, he feel off the playground at Parma park-walking on a balance bean thing. My parents were so sad because nobody has ever broken a bone in our family until now.

We've also started our annual salsa making season. This is Mark's silliness.

And of course, for me it's been back to school. My last year as an undergrad. The Lord has been so so good to me regarding school. I never thought I would make it this far-but God truly blessed me. Now I am about to do my first educational readings for the semester. 

Blessings,

Lesya