Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

I love, love, LOVE, this classical arrangement of this beloved hymn. I've posted this video before on my other blog and I know a few others who have too. But I felt the urge (or need) to post it again. Dear friends, it's worth the six minutes or so of your time to listen. I NEVER tire of it. Turn up the volume and let it resonate the beauty of praise in your home. You will think you are in glory. That's the way I feel every time I listen--this is what we'll be doing together in heaven, folks. Praising His great name. Come thou fount--tune my heart to sing thy praise! We'll be weeping tears just as the young lady is towards the end of the video. How can we not? Even though we've been "prone to wonder," He has forgiven us and redeemed us. Hallelujah!

Spelling Bee

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the National Spelling Bee tonight, while wondering how these kids can be so smart! In the entire two hour plus program, there was only one word that I've seen before and I wouldn't have been able to spell that if my life depended upon it. This young lady was the winner in a hard fought battle. Her name is Kavya Shivashankar (she got a head start early on by learning to spell her own name), and she seems like a sweet young thing. It's always a blessing to see something good in the news and to see young people achieving something worthwhile. So this was a nice break from all of the bad news we have to read and hear about every day.

Well, no spelling bees here. Believe it or not, today was the last day of regular classes on our home school dvd's and after a study/work day tomorrow, next week is finals. I CANNOT believe the year is almost over! We are so excited. Pray for my student if you think of it. She's had a good sophomore year, so pray that she ends well.

Still Thankful for America

There may be more concerns and worries now; we're not and never have been perfect; and we desperately need to turn back to God. But having said that, I'm still proud (and thankful) to be an American. For me, it's the best country on this planet, and I wouldn't want to have been born anywhere else. Remembering today those who have given their lives and who are currently risking their lives for the freedoms which we enjoy day after day. Praying those freedoms continue. God bless you, America.

Summer Eating

My day was considerably brightened following my weekly visit to the supermarket. The fresh corn at ShopRite was delicious-it was sweet and tender, rather unusual for so early in the season, wouldn't you say? Not only that, they have watermelons at a great price; only hope I got a juicy sweet one. This is the time of year when we often try to shed a few pounds, and summer eating really does help out. And think of all the good nutrition we're getting in the summer fruits and vegetables! Following are my favorite food items which are in season during this time of year into the fall. I look forward to their arrival every spring and summer:

corn on the cob
watermelon
cantaloupe
strawberries
zucchini and yellow squash
fresh garden tomatoes
blueberries
fresh green beans

later on, peaches

I live in the Garden State and many of these foods are grown in abundance around here. A trip to the road stand is a favorite activity for us to get fresh corn,squash tomatoes, and other goodies during the hot weeks. If the birds and squirrels (which I feed) were not so ornery, I would attempt to grow some tomatoes and cucumbers in my little garden patch, but those days are gone. I've mentioned before how those critters have shown their appreciation for my winter feeding by including anything that I grow in their summer menu. So I gave it up, and have resorted to flowers. They even bother my poor helpless marigolds sometimes, so I may just give up gardening altogether and resort to hanging flowers only. Actually, I'm not the best gardener anyway.

What do you look forward to for your summer eating?

Cast Thy Burden on the Lord

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

I took note of this verse in our family Saturday night Psalm reading, and immediately thought of this hymn. This hymn was not one of the ones I knew from my growing up years, as many of the old familiar ones were, but I fell in love with it when I discovered it. It's been quite a while since I've sung or heard it, so I thought it would be good for a Saturday evening prelude to worship. Meditate on these precious words, especially if you have any burdens, as most of us do at one time or another. Then, listen to the beautiful melody here.

Cast thy burden on the Lord,
Only lean upon his word;
Thou wilt soon have cause to bless
His eternal faithfulness.

He sustains thee by his hand,
He enables thee to stand;
Those whom Jesus once hath loved
From his grace are never moved.

Human counsels come to naught;
That shall stand which God hath wrought;
His compassion love, and power
Are the same for evermore.

Heav'n and earth may pass away,
God's free grace shall not decay;
He hath promised to fulfil
All the pleasure of his will.

Jesus, Guardian of thy flock,
Be thyself our constant rock;
Make us, by thy powerful hand,
Strong as Zion's mountain stand.

Anon.

Race Walker

Fan Benno-Caris is a champion race walker. We hear of lots of "champions" who do this and that, but what caught my eye (and ear) about this lady is the fact that she's 91 years old. Now she's running for her city council, because having lived through the Great Depression, she feels she has the experience to help out with the current recession. Sometimes I feel as though I'm slowing down because of getting older. This story inspired me: I'm not so old! See the short video here. You may be inspired too.

My Mother

Who fed me from her gentle breast,
And hush'd me in her arms to rest,
And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?
My Mother.

When sleep forsook my open eyes,
Who was it sung sweet lullaby,
And soothed me that I should not cry?
My Mother.

Who sat and watch'd my infant head,
When sleeping on my cozy bed;
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.

Who lov'd to see me pleased and gay,
And taught me sweetly how to play,
And minded all I had to say?
My Mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell.
And would some pretty story tell.
Or kiss the place and make it well?
My Mother.

Who taught my infant heart to pray,
And love God's holy book and day;
And taught me wisdom's pleasant way?
My Mother.

And can I ever cease to be
Affectionate and kind to thee,
Who was so very kind to me,
My Mother?

Ah, no! the thought I cannot bear,
And if God please my life to spare,
I hope I shall reward thy care,
My Mother.

And when I see thee hang thy head,
'Twill be my turn to watch thy bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed,
My Mother.

For God, who lives above the skies,
Would look with vengeance in his eyes,
If I should ever dare despise
My Mother.

~Author unknown.

A blessed Mother's Day to all of you who are mothers and/or have a mother. If your mom has gone on ahead of you, as mine has, cherish your memories.

There are always some for whom Mother's Day is painful for one reason or another. To those I say, having Jesus makes up for any lack you may have or have had in your life. Draw near to Him and seek Him with all your heart. If you or I have Him, we have all we need, even when the pain is there.

Well, Hello!

Guess who I think I just saw? Let me tell you, it's been ages since he showed his face around here. I was beginning to think he was mad at us about something. Did you guess who? Yes indeed, it was Mr. Sun! I just saw him. At least I think I did. Lately, it's only been that weepy Miss Spring Rain who's been showing up. Now, it's not that I have anything against her, as I know she has her good points, as everyone does, but she's been making somewhat of a pest of herself. You know what I mean: some people don't know when enough is enough. And it's one thing when Spring Rain drops her sweet little showers of blessings on us, but for the past few days she's been, well now, how can I say this? She's been pouring it on, I'd say. Also, unfortunately, when she hangs around for the number of days that we've been seeing her, she tends to let Mr. Gloomy and Miss Down in the Dumps slip in and hang around too.

Hopefully, Mr. Sun is making a gallant attempt to chase these folks away this afternoon. I really do think I'm seeing him. Even though those folks who think they're prophets are telling us that the aforementioned lady is determined to return this evening, I'll wait and see if she does make a comeback. So what if she does? One thing we all need to remember around here is that if she comes, or if Mr. Sun stays, or whoever makes an appearance in the coming days, the dear Lord sent them, meaning we should welcome them and ask Him to chase away that other guy and gal who often show up with the weepy lady.

The other day, when Miss SR was having quite a day, Neesie asked me about this soup that our pastor's wife had made last week, a soup which we all loved. I checked it out with Wendy (pastor's wife) and checked online and realized that this Chicken Shaker Soup, while great for company, was much too rich for our family to have on a regular day. So I went searching for a recipe that I could "adjust" to my liking, that is cut down fat and calories, and sure enough, I found one. I made it on Monday and absolutely love it! I thought I'd do my good deed for the day and pass it on to you. I'll give you the ingredients for my version and then give you a link to the original recipe, for any folks who'd rather not make the changes I did. And another tip: make it plenty ahead of time because it's much better after it sits awhile. We liked it even better for yesterday's lunch than we did for Monday's dinner. And you HAVE to have homemade bread with it!

Bev's making it today, but we enjoyed it so much better when Miss Spring Rain was around!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Tablespoon butter; 1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (breast)
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted (Healthy Choice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (Healthy Choice)
5 cups chicken broth
1 scant teaspoon of poultry seasoning (or sage)
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas,carrots, green beans & corn)
1/2 cup evaporated whole milk, undiluted
1 cup evaporated skim milk, undiluted
4 oz. whole wheat linguine, broken into thirds (cook first if you want)

In a large pot, melt butter and oil and saute celery and onions until tender. Add the parsley, broth, soups, chicken, and seasonings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer for approx. 20 minutes. [Next time I may simmer longer on low.] Add the frozen veggies, cover and simmer for ten more minutes. Stir in the milk and cooked noodles. [I would say you could put the pasta uncooked into the soup and add milks when the pasta gets done. May try that next time.]
Heat through after adding milk and serve. [They say salt to taste, but I didn't need any salt. I used Goya bouillon to make the broth-two packets for five cups- and it was just right.] ENJOY!

The link to the recipe I used: About.com Southern Food

Uh-oh, while I was typing this Mr. Sun took off again. Is he showing his face where you are today?

Book Giveaway!

See this book? You can get a signed hardback padded edition of this book over at my friend Susan Skitt's Adventurous Living blog. She actually has had three devotionals published in this book and I am SURE they are fantastic! Go over and make a comment to have a chance to get a copy. All you have to do is tell Susan who your favorite woman Bible character is. I'm sure once you go to her blog, you'll go back. I seldom go without being pointed to Jesus in some way, and who doesn't want that?

God bless. I'll be back with a post later.