No Canyon Jump Required

I want you to know I am not slamming the door. I am trying to build a bridge rather than making you all leap across a canyon. 

I changed my blog theme (lord willing for the last time. I was having more issues with the font, and the background color on my cell phone was orange.) Oi Vey, it's never-ending.  

I attempted to place the WP blog on a Blog List to the side, but it never updated, and it was 2 days. 

I'm still here with Tuesday Four, A Hodgepodge, Wordless Wednesday, and an occasional "This and That." But the new writing will happen on my WordPress Blog. https://frommyshastahome.com 

You can always reach me on WP. I’ll also be around, commenting on your blog. 

I’m feeling at peace about everything, and it’s all starting to make sense, and I’m happy about that. I’m enjoying experimenting over at WP and learning as I go. I’m glad I’m beginning to understand it, something I thought I wouldn't be able to figure out.  Though I had to push myself to get there. When I run into something I cannot figure out, the support I get walks me through it. Mostly, it’s about how the blog looks and how I want it arranged. The actual writing part on the blog is as easy as Blogger. 

I hope you are all enjoying a nice weekend. 

Until Next Time, 

Debby

Just Moving to the Next Town Over… Slowly

I'm not leaving yet. In fact, I'm thinking of keeping this blog for the Tuesday Four, Hodgepodge, and all the familiar weekly fun. I'll keep it here until it totally shuts down, and honestly, that might not ever happen.  But at least now I have an alternative for my writing, where I know my hard work is actually going through.

You all have been too good to me throughout the years. I won't abandon you. The friendly connection we've built here isn't going anywhere. I'm just moving to the next town over.

I can't explain or even make sense of why Blogger seems to be picking on me lately. It never used to be this way. Around 2021 or so, I started running into more and more issues. During that time, I tried two times to move to WordPress, but I just couldn't get it. Truly. It was like I had a mental block. One attempt took nearly the whole summer before I finally threw my hands up, gave up, and came right back here again.

This time has given me hope. Like my old brain finally gets it. Which is a plus when you're in your 70's! It's giving me the confidence that I can make this work. 

Ironically, I’ve had a genealogy research blog since 2007 using my regular email and never once had an issue with it. But I don't want to transfer this blog over to that email.  A new email? No, thank you. At this stage of life, I'm actually trying to minimize things.

Although when I stop and think about it... Having a Substack and now two blogs isn't exactly simplifying, is it?

But hey... I love to write. 

https://frommyshastahome.com/

Go ahead and give it a try. See if you can leave a comment. You shouldn’t need to sign up. You’ll just have to enter your name and email, but like on my computer or notebook, those are saved, so it’s not an issue. I follow and comment on a couple of WordPress blogs myself, and I’ve never found it hard. 

It’s different, but definitely not difficult.

When reading this blog on a computer, the WordPress blog feed appears on the left-hand side. 

➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️

I don’t think it shows up when using a phone or notebook.

That’s it for the day, buried waist-deep in the chaos of my craft/sewing/storage room, while the husband wraps up his grand rock project in the front yard. Work, work, work. Apparently, we find this sort of madness enjoyable. 

Thank you for all the support. 

Debby

Looks like Three's the Charm

See post My Shasta Home: New Roses on a Monday

Hey everyone,

It seems I had no choice but to switch from this Blogger to WordPress.

Behind the scenes, blogging has felt like an uphill battle lately. I love writing and sharing posts with you, but the constant technical issues on this platform have simply gotten out of hand. Right when I start to get on a roll, posts don’t update, don’t publish correctly, or disappear altogether. It has become incredibly frustrating and, honestly, discouraging at times.

Third Time’s the Charm

BUT FIRST, during this transition, I’ll still be posting here. I just won’t stress myself out anymore if posts don’t go through right away. I’ll also place the new blog link on the sidebar for anyone who would like to follow along there. Of course, it would be using a Blogger Feed, so I’m not confident it would post correctly.

Some posts have taken anywhere from 12 to 36 hours just to update, and that completely interferes with sharing content in a timely way. Worst of all, it began tanking my momentum. I watched my page views slowly fall from hundreds each week down to barely a dozen at times. That’s heartbreaking when so much time, thought, and effort go into writing. I will no longer be posting my Bible Reviews here. 

And honestly? I’m tired of complaining about it, and I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about it too. It was simply time to take initiative. I need a platform with reliability and actual customer support instead of constantly wondering which way the Blogger wind is going to blow.

So… I headed back to WordPress.

I signed up yesterday morning, and I’m happy to say I think I’ve finally figured it out after two previous attempts over the years! It only took me a full day.  There’s still a bit of fine-tuning to do, but by George, I think I’ve got it this time. Change can be tough, and I understand the sentimental attachment to following favorite bloggers. The last time I switched platforms, the change didn’t really stick, but this time it will. 

For now, I’ll be writing posts there while cross-posting one of two posts back here so nobody gets left behind overnight. However, once I feel completely comfortable on WordPress, the permanent move will happen. I'll still be around to read your posts. 

At the end of the day, I just want a place where I can write consistently, connect with others, and enjoy blogging again without fighting the platform every step of the way.

Thank you to those of you who continue to read, encourage, and support me. It truly means more than you know.

The new blog combines my previous two blogs: From My House, which Blogger unpublished the whole blog, going back years! And this one, My Shasta Home.  

From My Shasta Home. 

I’m already enjoying the process of creating it and coming up with fresh ideas.

PS. I’m only transferring the month of May and a few other special posts.  Uploading the whole blog just isn’t manageable for me. I used Google Take Out to back up my blog to my external hard drive. 

Oh, kinda funny - My testing post got triple the amount of views than the last 6 posts. Go figure. 

Sharing Day, Auto-pagination, the Future of Blogger and Blog Themes

Let's try this again...

 

Wednesday was a beautiful but emotional day for me. I felt sad as I said goodbye to my leadership role and the friends I had made. Each hug and smile carried both joy and sadness. We will still see each other occasionally in passing, but it won't be the same. You know us women, we get emotional...I wasn't the only one stepping down - there were eight of us.  Some were leaving to take on a greater role in their church, others were moving to be closer to their grandchildren, and some were finally retiring. 

I appreciated all the gifts that I received, 

and they certainly weren't expected. 

It was also Sharing Day - held during both the leaders’ brunch and with the broader membership. The women took the microphone to share the remarkable works God had accomplished in their lives over the past year. Among them were young children, just three and four years old, eager to thank their leaders -though, truthfully, many simply wished to hold the microphone. Their tender, heartfelt words brought tears to my eyes. What a generation of little ones being raised in the Lord, grounded in the knowledge of Scripture. May they grow and flourish as they walk with our Lord Jesus.

Needless to say, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. 

I had to change my Blogger theme, and I’m not thrilled about it. The problem was caused by auto-pagination, which happens when the post limit is reached due to size, programming, or template settings. I had no idea there were post limits! Some themes don’t have this issue, which makes me wonder about my previous blog. I’ve been reading up on ways to work around it and am still figuring things out, but I’ve noticed that some Blogger themes are definitely more troublesome than others.

The Simple template is the best for stability. 

I was using the Soho template with large text and plenty of extra-large photos. I noticed that some of the fonts I experimented with were messing up my posts, and I couldn’t get them to look right. Eventually, it seemed to crash - at least that’s how I interpreted it. Some ideas to make the blog run more smoothly include 

• using a jump break (which I’m considering), 
• avoiding pasting from Word or Google Docs, 
• compressing large images, 
• and switching to a different template.

The Future of Blogger

There’s really no future here. The platform hasn’t seen an update in eight years, and they don’t respond to complaints—in fact, they shut off the comments. No one knows what’s happening or if anyone is even running things. Are they just waiting for us to fade away? In the meantime, back up your posts and start exploring another platform now so you can get comfortable with it. I’m not giving up blogging. I’ll find a new spot and just keep checking things out.

That’s it for me today. My husband is out front, digging in the yard, while I’ve spent nearly the entire day trying to figure out this blog. I’m done, and though I’m not thrilled, at least it’s working for now.

Until next time, have a great evening and enjoy your weekend, in case we don’t catch up before then.

Debby

☘️ From Snowfall to Spring Hope

 

No, I’m not back early from my blog break. I just wanted to poke my head in to say hello, do a little March decorating around here, share a quick February update, and let you in on what’s been on my heart.

I am so very much enjoying this break from daily blogging. I have to admit, I never thought I could stick with it, but I must have truly needed this pause. It has been such a gift.  A season of rest, reflection, and quiet, and I’m savoring every bit of it.

I want to reassure you that I am not closing down this blog. I’ll still be here, just in a gentler, slower rhythm. I’m prayerfully considering scaling back my posting, though I haven’t yet decided whether that will look like once a week, once a month, or something else. Hopefully, by April, I will have come to a decision. 

In this quieter season, I’ve been writing on Substack, and it has become a meaningful outlet that allows me to study, research, and write in the way I feel God is currently leading me. Some of what He is placing on my heart feels very personal, very tender, and not quite right for this blog space, and I’m learning to honor that. I want to write in obedience, freedom, and peace, rather than out of habit or expectation.

I have so much swirling around in my heart and mind -  thoughts about discipleship, mentorship, serving God, evangelism, the Jewish roots of our faith, replacement theology, and everything in between. It’s definitely a stretching season for me. 

And without boring you all to tears, a few new opportunities have come my way that I’m carefully considering and, of course, praying over. For now, I’m thankful for this pause, for God’s gentle leading, and for each of you who continues to walk alongside me here.

👇👇👇

February UPDATES

In the last post, I was hoping for snow, and it came the very next morning. It was lovely. The flakes drifted down from the sky like manna from Heaven, falling softly for about four hours. Then it stopped. I was sad to see it end, but an hour later the sun appeared, the temperature rose, and by mid-afternoon every tiny piece of that snowy manna was just a memory.

Of course, Laydee could hardly wait to get outside and do what dogs do best in the snow. 

The trees looked especially beautiful dressed in white. 

We probably had about an inch and a half, though there were some big flakes - nearly two inches across. Not being very knowledgeable about snowflakes, I was quite impressed.

It wasn’t like our bigger storms from years past, but we loved every minute of it. There were lots of texts flying back and forth, sharing snow photos with friends and family.

After a crane swooped down and ate all our fish, we decided not to replace them and just let the frogs be. Right after I took this photo, I went outside and saw a frog resting under the frog couple. It was pretty cute!

Yesterday was such an amazing day! We were able to attend a fantastic all-day conference hosted by Friends of Israel. It was uplifting - full of hope - especially with everything going on right now. Plus, connecting with so many like-minded people from all over Northern California made the event special and enjoyable! 

Many events and holidays are coming up in March. ☘️☘️

✅March 3 is Purim, which starts at sundown on March 2, 

✅St. Patrick's Day, March 17 ☘️

✅ Spring, March 20. 

✅Palm Sunday - March 29 🌴

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you again in April. 

AND a Happy March and Spring to everyone. 🌷

1. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17

2. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24

3. "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

John 11:25-26

4. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14;6

5. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Mark 8;36

An Update and Blogger issues once again

My echocardiogram was initially set for August 12, but I got a call Thursday about a cancellation and was able to come in the next morning.

Lying on my left side, the technician moved the probe over my chest. I saw my beating heart on the screen and heard its steady rhythm. I closed my eyes and prayed, trusting her as we remained silent during the procedure.

As I dressed afterward, the technician reassured me, saying, “To ease your mind, I didn’t see anything of concern.”

 What a comforting gift! It truly felt like a blessing. 

Feeling lighter, I left the office and will look forward to the final results of all tests combined on August 21. I'm hoping they call with another cancellation so I can get in sooner. This entire experience has taken up far too much real estate in my mind this summer. 

__________________________

Here we go again...

I'm having trouble with Blogger once again. My posts aren't updating on feeds, so no one knows I've posted unless they make the effort to visit my blog and check. Thanks to a few of you who did just that and let me know. I honestly don't know how to get around this.  I'm not even convinced this post will get seen. It's affecting my enjoyment of blogging, it's making me sad, and Blogger's customer support is unreliable, which is really frustrating.

I can't keep posting photos and pouring my heart into a post if my feed isn't reaching you all. 

 If you’ve linked to my blog on your blog, could you take a moment to verify that it’s up to date? You might need to remove the link and then add it back in. The last post I noticed that was updated is 

"Embrace Contentment," 

And there is another post after that one that didn't update. 

Any ideas? I'm not going to throw in the towel - been there, done that before, and regretted it. I'm unsure how to resolve this issue. 

Uncle!

 

The phrase "say, uncle" is a widely recognized expression in North America that signifies admitting defeat, surrendering, or giving up. It is often invoked in contexts where an individual is losing in a competition, argument, or physical struggle. When someone exclaims "Uncle!", it indicates their readiness to cease the effort and concede.

Okay, okay I tried to stick to that "blog hiatus," but life just had other plans, and I felt the urge to share! I'd be in the shower, and all these blog ideas kept bubbling up in my mind. Just when I thought I could take a break, a wave of inspiration hit me. I'd say: 

I had so much to do, but the ideas just kept coming. After yesterday, I realized it was a losing battle—I truly need to blog for my own peace of mind! 

So, instead of writing one super-long post, I’ve decided to break things down into smaller, more manageable pieces over the next few days. Once I start unloading my brain,  I might lose those sparks of inspiration again. Those are the risks! 

Have you ever tried to take a break from blogging and found it impossible?

 Honestly, I think I’d have to be completely off the grid in places like Papua New Guinea, Lapland, or Mongolia to really pull off a complete hiatus!

I really missed these relaxing afternoon moments to write a little something to you all. It's currently 3:34 p.m., and what a gorgeous sunny day it is at 85 degrees! It's been a bit windy in the mornings lately, which has made it messy to paint outside, so we stopped. 

Tomorrow marks the final day of BSF, a time cherished as "Sharing Day." It’s a beautiful opportunity for the ladies to express how profoundly God has enriched their lives this year through the study of Revelation. An hour filled with emotions and testimonies of transformation among these young women, moms, and the Titus women.

I feel a deep sense of emotion. This year has been a blessing as I’ve embraced leadership and connected with remarkable women who are strong in their faith.

Over the past year, Revelation has reinforced my faith, reminding me of our victory in Christ, His promised return, and the hope available in life’s challenges. It inspired a more profound commitment to biblical worship and enriched my relationship with God. The messages to the seven churches motivate me to persevere in faith, recognize the false churches that serve a different Jesus, and know God rewards endurance for keeping the faith!

Until tomorrow,

Debby

PS. Just a few of my flowers 

blooming in my yard today