Merry Birthday!

There was another special baby born whose birthday we celebrate this time of year. It was a baby girl, born on December 22nd. The year was 1992 and she came as a very special gift to us on the day after Christmas that year. She continues to be a special gift to her dad and mom and whole family. So today is the fifteenth anniversary of her birth and we want to say to her:

Happy Birthday, Neesie!

To the rest of you I say "Merry Christmas" from my house to yours. I wrote a brief meditation about the most wonderful baby of all over at my devotional blog if anyone would want to go read it. God bless you all with a wonderful holiday.

A Break!

Now I know I need to take a break for a bit. Maybe a week, maybe more--we'll see. I do most of my blogging and comments on my laptop, which is having wireless connection problems. I can't get it figured out, so I hear the Lord telling me to get away from it for awhile. Besides, I have a bunch of writing and editing that's being neglected and that should be my priority anyway. So I need to get myself together here, which means I won't be around. Blessings to all of you until next week. Lord willing, I hope to be back before Christmas!

Behold, a Branch is Growing

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah 11:1

Jesus thought of as a flower in winter? That's what this hymn is calling Him, and that is such a perfect metaphor. And to think He came at midnight. In other words, He came at the darkest hour; He came when when sin had thoroughly enveloped the human race. This is another one of those Christmas songs which we don't hear much. I doubt if you've heard it played in the stores. But, oh, what beautiful sentiments we find in this one. "This flow'r whose fragrance tender, with sweetness fills the air." That's our Savior. This lovely, lovely hymn came to us from Germany; the translation of the first four stanzas were by Harriet R. Spaeth and the last by John C. Mattes. Friends, don't we have a wonderful Lord and Savior? A flower in winter. Sounds like a good title for a book.

Behold, a Branch is growing
Of loveliest form and grace,
As prophets sung, foreknowing;
It springs from Jesse's race
And bears one little Flow'r
In midst of coldest winter,
At deepest midnight hour.

Isaiah hath foretold it
In words of promise sure,
And Mary's arms enfold it,
A virgin meek and pure.
Through God's eternal will
This Child to her is given
At midnight calm and still.

The shepherds heard the story,
Proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of Glory,
Was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped
And in the manger found him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God;
From sin and death he saves us
And lightens every load.

O Saviour, Child of Mary,
Who felt our human woe;
O Saviour, King of Glory,
Who dost our weakness know,
Bring us at length, we pray,
To the bright courts of heaven
And to the endless day.

Listen here

Sneaky Nutrition - Turkey Soup

Well, it's snowing outside again. According to the Farmer's Almanac and some "expert" who made a recent prediction, we're going to have a mild winter again this year in our area. But according to the squirrels in my backyard, we're going to have it rough. You see, they're quite fat. For the last two seasons they didn't get very fat and it was a mild winter. Since they're fat again as in years past, I think they're forecasting a lot of bad weather coming up. Let's see who's right--them or the experts. God willing, I'll come back in April or so and let you know.

Soooooo, it's a good time to give you a nice recipe for a meal to serve on a chilly, nasty-weather day, sneaking a bit of nutriments in as you warm the bellies. And you need just one big pot! If you have any turkey bones left from Thanksgiving like I do, it's time to make some soup for your family, especially if there are any stuffy noses or people coughing in your house. The most important thing to remember is that you should cook the broth well ahead of time and chill it in a cold place so that you can skim off the fat before making the actual soup.

My turkey soup recipe is very simple. Some people may want to add their favorite herbs. For some reason, I like it better without a lot of herbs. Also, some people prefer it with cut up potatoes. I prefer it with noodles. The key is to cook the bones for a long time, and you'll have a lots of flavor! Here is what I do:

Put in large pot:

turkey carcass and leg, wing and other bones that no one ate off of (I leave a lot of meat on my bones !)
3-4 celery stalks, cut in large pieces
1-2 onions, cut up
1-2 carrots, whole
8-10 cups water, depending on how many bones
1 Tablespoon salt
5-6 peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer slowly for three to four hours. Make sure the lid is on tight. After cooking, let it cool for a while and then take a slotted spoon or strainer and take all of the bones from the broth, with the celery, carrots, peppercorns and bay leaves. This can take a while because the bones can be in small bits . Leave the meat!!!

After cooling the broth (usually overnight) and skimming off the fat, bring to a boil again and add:

a couple of cut up boiled eggs
1 celery stalk, diced or sliced
any frozen mixed vegetables of your choice
about half head of a small cabbage, shredded (or zucchini)

Ten minutes or so before serving, add:

whole grain noodles

Sorry measurements on the vegetables and noodles are vague, since it depends on how thick you want the soup to be. I make it quite thick but it's more like a thick soup than a stew. My younger daughter eats it with a fork (remember that ad?), but for some reason that irritates me. But I certainly don't make an issue of that! I'll also mention that someday if I want to be a very nice wife to my husband, I'll put okra in it--you know how nutritious okra is, don't you? But I haven't gotten to the point that I've been able to do that (I hate okra and he loves it!), so I guess that says something about what kind of wife I am. ;-)

Well, I hope you make some of this soup soon, adding and subtracting as you see fit. Soup is one of those flexible dishes that we do with as we like. Enjoy the winter weather, guys. Oh! and don't forget the homemade cornbread or wheat bread that goes so well with your soup.

Once in Royal David's City

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

I cannot tell you how much I love this wonderful Christmal carol. I think this choir sings it beautifully, don't you? All you need to do is listen to the words to capture your heart for our wonderful Savior. What a blessing this is. The third stanza sung here is different than in our hymnal and we have a fifth stanza, which makes me want to shout "Hallelujah!" This hymnwriter, btw, is one of my favorites, for she loved to teach children about God through her hymns. I hope you'll teach this to your children. These are the words which appear in our hymnal:

Once in royal David's city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

And, through all his wondrous childhood
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden
In whose gentle arms he lay:
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as he.

And our eyes at last shall see him,
Through his own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heav'n above,
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see him, but in heaven,
Set at God's right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned
All in white shall wait around.

~Cecil Frances Alexander

The Preacher's Wife

I made another addition to my Listmania list that I wanted to share with you. Since it's the Christmas season now, it's time for our family to keep our tradition of watching this movie over and over again. Sometimes we leave it on while we're doing other things, like wrapping gifts or making cookies, along with "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street." This movie is the modern version of "The Bishop's Wife" and I actually like it better. The major difference is that it's set in the black community and the church culture is very similar to the one that I grew up in. Denzel Washington plays Dudley, the angel, (Cary Grant was Dudley in the Bishop version) and Whitney Houston is the preacher's wife, Julia (played by Loretta Young in the original). Putting aside the sadness of Whitney's life now (she needs prayer), she plays the part beautifully and Denzel is so funny, especially his interactions with Henry, the preacher, who is played by Courtney Vance. David Niven was the bishop in the first.

This is classified as a romantic comedy and we do laugh every time we watch it. It's funny how certain movies will make you laugh even after seeing them over and over. The "h" word shows up a couple of times, but there will be little else that you would find offensive, even though it was produced in this day and age. One reason I like it is that even though the church culture is clearly there, it's done tastefully, and not foolishly. Also, even though it takes place in an urban setting, the harshness of inner city life is not focused on as it is in many other movies. Sure, the hard stuff is a reality, but there are some pretty nice folks in the city too. If you do get this movie or rent it, tell me if you don't agree that Henry and Julia's son Jeremiah is adorable.

I like all these Christmas stories and have watched them so many times, but like most, this one has no clear gospel message of who Jesus is and why He came. The closest we get to it is during the children's musical near the end. How I wish someone would produce a good Christmas story with good acting and a good plot, and somehow incorporate the true meaning of the first coming of our Lord and Savior. If you know of any, please let the rest of us know about it.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Well, for another year we find ourselves in the midst of the Christmas season. We put our tree up today and from now on until December 25th, I have to fight with myself, once again, not to get caught up in all the commercialism. (Did I spell that right?)

Maybe posting a favorite seasonal hymn/carol each week will help keep us on track and focused. Let's start with this one by Charles Wesley, who you may recall wrote over 6,500 hymns. These are wonderful words to meditate on as we remember our Lord's first coming and anticipate His second one.

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear Desire of ev'ry nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us for ever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

By the way, what's your favorite Christmas carol and what words in it mean the most to you?

Happy Thanksgiving

It's hard for me to find words these days for some reason. But I didn't want this Thanksgiving to go by without expressing my thanks to my God for all He's done for me. Last year, I had a lot to say. I even did a series of posts, one for each of the days during the week preceding this holiday which I love so much. In these posts, I thanked the Lord for seven specific blessings. Thanksgiving Day was the seventh post, and I've decided to copy and paste it here. You see, I have no more to say now then I did then. My sentiments are exactly the same. So here is my post from November 23, 2006. May the Lord bless each and every one of you this Thanksgiving and every other day.

Well, it’s Thanksgiving Day. Today, I complete my list of blessings. Of course, you know that I would save the best for last. If I had a calculator and would start adding them up, I could name so many more than I have on this list. My home, my health throughout the years, my dog Frodo, certain relatives, all of God’s provisions of food and clothing, and other material possessions, are all things I’m thankful for.

The other day I looked up the word “blessing” in dictionaries in our home. Today I looked it up on Dictionary.com. (After all, I’m a modern day grandma.) There were six results, and the second and third meanings are the ones that apply here. The second meaning is “a special favor, mercy, or benefit” and the third is “a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.” Nothing fits these descriptions as marvelously and wonderfully as my salvation. Of all that I could stand up and proclaim as blessings from God, none can compare to what He has given me in Christ. My salvation is a special favor, mercy and benefit. It is a gift bestowed by God, which has brought me happiness beyond measure.

Those of you who know and love the Savior, stand up with me today, Thanksgiving Day, and praise the Lord for this, our best blessing. The others that we have will fade away, or die, or disappoint, or leave. Jesus never will do any of these. He’ll never leave us or forsake us—He’s promised us this and He keeps all His promises. So as thankful as I am for the six blessings which I have outlined during these past seven days, I am not resting on them for eternity. I’m only resting on Jesus.

Thank you Lord, for my salvation.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Fairest Lord Jesus,
Ruler of all nature,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
Thou my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.
~Munster Gesangbuch, 1677; tr.1850, 1873

Rejoicing and Weeping

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15

I know I've been missing of late and if I haven't been to see you, it's because my heart hasn't been into blogging. I hope to be back next week.

I've been busy with others--preparing for a happy event as we put together a bridal shower for some close friends who are to be married next month. A time for rejoicing. And in the meantime, praying and ministering to friends whom I spoke about in the last post. Today was Ben's funeral. A time for weeping.

Such is life, isn't it? I refer you to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which was read at the funeral today.

Hope you are all well and that I might visit you next week. Blessings.

Come, Ye Disconsolate

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel:
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrows that heav'n cannot heal.

Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, in mercy saying,
"Earth has no sorrows that heav'n cannot cure."

Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above:
Come to the feast prepared; come ever knowing
Earth has no sorrows but heav'n can remove.

Stanzas 1-2, Thomas Moore, 1816

Stanza 3, Thomas Hastings, 1832

For our dear friends, Ken and Wendy, whose son Ben was killed in an auto accident early this morning.

My International Day of Prayer post is at my other blog.

Listmania!

I don't know how many of you have the struggles that I do with tv, but I would imagine that some of you do. Mine have gone on for many years now, and at times I have wished I could throw the old "boob tube" out the window. I've long ago given up the idea that I can find anything decent on it during the evening hours on the regular networks. We don't have cable or anything, so we're limited. Well, videos and dvds to the rescue! I am so thankful that we can have them; they have been so helpful to our family. I strongly appreciate the control they give us, and like many other families, we have compiled our own little library, which is made up of the ones we enjoy watching more than once.

Today, I was on Amazon for another reason and discovered that you can make your own list of Amazon products that you want to refer to others for whatever purpose you might have. I thought this was a nice forum for me to make recommendations from our little home "library." I've thought about doing that here at the blog, but this is even better because I can just leave the list there and add to it now and then. So I started it today.

So far the list has one item on it! That's as far as I could get today as I can only squeeze in computer time here and there (as I am now) throughout the course of the day. You know how it is, right? No longer do I wait to get a block of time to blog or comment. I just take quick snatches of time in the midst of household duties, which means that sometimes a post may take all day to finish!

Well, this first recommendation on the list is The Waltons series. Please, if there is any family oriented tv show that you'd like to have in your home to watch together, this is it. I would imagine that most of you are familiar with this show and like me, are thankful that it is now being made available on dvd. It's being recorded a season at a time and I believe they've just finished with the fifth season. We have the first four and I guess season 5 will be a Christmas present to ourselves! My daughter gave me a book last Christmas entitled Goodnight John-Boy by Earl Hamner and Ralph Griffin. It's Earl Hamner's stories about his childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia which inspired the pilot film "The Homecoming" and then this beloved television series. Here is a quote from the back of this book:

"For nine years The Waltons entertained America and the world. But this television series was more than just entertainment. Each episode combined wonderful stories and 'teachable moments' in which adults and children alike learned the importance of honesty, hard work, respect, responsibility, self-sacrifice, and kindness."

I agree. And I say this is a worthwhile investment for your family to make. I'll be adding to my list as soon as I can, so visit my Listmania! list sometime. My hope is that it might be a help to someone at some point. Also, I'll probably post about some of my additions from time to time, especially when I make new discoveries.

Now, gather the family and bring out the popcorn! I hope you're prepared for the cold snowy nights that are coming!

A Special Testimony

Earlier this year I made a post about Johnny Farese, a man who puts all of us to shame as he bears up under his affliction. Today, I ran across a video of Johnny and I WISH you would please go look at it. While you listen, keep in mind that here is someone who is living a USEFUL life for Christ. I felt so convicted about having complained of my little discomforts of this day. Christina at Baptist Girl has posted this video and given me permission to link to it. Also read Christina's powerful words about the sovereignty of God.

We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought

It seems like a long time since I posted a hymn from my original Thursday Thirteen listing that got me started on this weekly Saturday venture. There are only four more hymns left from that list, and this is one of them. It may not be familiar to you, as it wasn't for me until the last fifteen years or so. It's a hymn of repentance, and it has become one which I dearly love. The lyrics are so powerful, and unfortunately, so true. Read them carefully and tell me if these aren't words that each of us could utter in prayer to our Lord. Apparently, there are several melodies, but I particularly like the one we use at our church, which is the one found in the Trinity Hymnal of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Even though we are Baptists, our church uses this hymnal and I'm glad for that because I've learned so many hymns I didn't know before which are so rich in doctrine and meaning.

Meditate on the heartfelt words from this hymnwriter, as they could surely be expressed by each one of us:

We have not known thee as we ought,
Nor learned thy wisdom, grace and pow'r;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing thee.

We have not feared thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath thine awful eye,
Nor guarded deed, and word, and thought,
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

We have not loved thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and own the love thou art.

We have not served thee as we ought;
Alas! the duties left undone,
The work with little fervor wrought,
The battles lost, or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For thee to toil, for thee to fight.

When shall we know thee as we ought,
And fear, and love, and serve aright!
When shall we, out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light!
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see thy face, and serve thee there.

Newest Sox Fan

This little lady, who was born last Thursday at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, was named on Monday, one day after the Boston Red Sox World Series victory. She will officially be known as "Sox" in honor of her home team. At birth, "Sox" weighed 154 pounds and measured 6 feet 2 inches tall. Isn't she a darling? If you like kids and babies (and who doesn't?) go to this photo gallary and see some other really cute little Red Sox fans.

I would like to take this opportunity to humbly admit to my several friends who were on the side of the winners that they do indeed have the better team. I have a feeling that one fan in particular is going to try to make my life miserable over this whole thing, but he will not succeed. Congratulations to Boston, who I understand also has quite a few Christians on the roster, as do the Rockies. I admit to that also. (Sorry, inside joke.)

Maybe next year at least one of the teams will win that I root for in the playoffs. My goodness, this was a bad post season for me. Well, there goes October--I was so hopeful when it started.

A Halloween Note

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God... I Corinthians 10:31-32

Just a few years ago when I was a young girl, Halloween was a big holiday in the small town I grew up in. We had a big parade down the main street with all kinds of costumes abounding. Adults took part in it too. Late in the evening, after the parade was over and kids were in the bed, it was a big thing to have some silent masked person come to your home wherein an extended "guessing game"took place. You would actually let this "unknown" person into your house! I have to admit that this holiday was a good deal of fun for me and putting together a costume to wear required a good bit of creativity--it was before the factory made ones were as readily available as they are today. Normally we would use items from around the house.

Well, those days are a thing of the past. After becoming a Christian and thinking about the true nature of this day, especially now, my husband and I made the decision that we could no longer celebrate it with a clear conscience. Our oldest daughter was four then, so it has been her lot and that of her sister not to have this day be one that was on our yearly list of celebrations. Others I knew made a different decision and I'm not here to discuss the controversy over whether we should or should not observe this day. Like everything else, it's something we should pray about and make sure that we want to follow the will of the Lord as we pray.

But I am here to make a suggestion if I could. It may or may not be useful for someone, but I thought I'd tell you about something we did in the early years of our abstention. There were lots of children in the neighborhood then, and we had a general friendliness with the people on our street and those bordering us in the back. The gospel can be an offense to the unsaved in and of itself, yet we didn't want to be offensive. So, here's what we did: A lady we knew offered pretty pencils to children who would come back on Thanksgiving (which they never did), and we decided to expand on that idea. When our many trick or treaters came to the door, we would tell them as nicely as we could that this was the one holiday that we didn't celebrate, but if they would return on Thanksgiving, we would give them a little gift for that holiday. Of course, they didn't come for their gifts, but on Thanksgiving morning, we would go to the homes of the ones whom we knew well, and take little gift cello bags of novelty toys, a pencil or bookmark, and a lollipop. A simple gospel tract with a Thanksgiving theme would be included. We'd give the gift(s) to a parent, and I tell you, each and every time there was a positive response. We felt we had made a stand for our convictions, but were still leaving the door open to share the gospel with our neighbors.

I don't know what God ever did with all of that, but for us, we firmly felt that we were serving Him. There are very few children around our neighborhood these days, at least none that we know well. I think most of the people in our area only take their children to parties or to the homes of friends. So we don't do it anymore.

I hope some of you may be able to use this idea in your situation, or think of some other way to seize the opportunity to witness for Christ, without taking part. If you have any ideas, let others know with a comment. For our family, even if we didn't take our kids out and only gave out tracts when others came to the door, we still felt that we would be taking part in it so we took this route instead. Hope this helps someone who is struggling over the whole matter. And, of course, I'm not suggesting that there's anything wrong with doing nothing at all, to the glory of God. Many folks are most comfortable with that.

Standing in the Gap

Our friend Sparrow has done it again. You see, she has this gift which enables her to create beautiful banners and images. This time she has used her gift on behalf of the persecuted church, by creating the lovely image displayed above. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is fast approaching and we're recruiting prayer warriers and bloggers who'll help make this known to others. Won't you help? The Day of Prayer is set for November 11th and our persecuted brothers and sisters surely would appreciate it if there were a multitude of saints storming the gates of heaven on that day. You could make a post about it and/or you could get a banner to put on your sidebar. Please skip over to Sparrow's site for more details and to get the banner.

I'll not post a hymn this week, because I want this post to stay on top for several days. I did run across a hymn that is called "Home of the Soul" recently. I have never heard it sung, but I was touched by the words of the final stanza. Some of our persecuted brethren have already been martyred; some are imprisoned; others live in fear in their homes. These words are for them and for us:

O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,

So free from all sorrow and pain,

With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,,

To meet one another again.

~Ellen H. Gates

Everything But the Kitchen Sink!

Everything has been working in our house this week--except the kitchen sink. We've had a TERRIBLE jammo deep in the pipes and the sink has been unusable. We couldn't use the washing machine either because when the water would spin out, it would go all over the kitchen floor! That's exactly what happened to me Monday night when I was making my corn muffins! What a mess! But now I'm happy because it's fixed!! My husband and his nephew got the the pipes unplugged, during which time pipes broke, etc. etc., but as of now my handyman hubby has done whatever and now I can use the sink again!!! (My husband's not a plumber, carpenter, mechanic, or electrician by the way, but he will hang in there with any of these things here in our own home until he gets it. Usually, he does, even though I often worry it will never get done. And often it happens after much frustration on both our parts, I must admit.)

But do you know what? This has been a blessing. During the past forty-eight hours my thoughts have gone to the people in California who have no homes left at all, let alone a kitchen sink. Then I turned my thoughts to so many people in all parts of the world who have never had running water. And now that I can use the sink and washing machine again, I ponder afresh how merciful God has been to us to give us what we do have, we being no more deserving than those who don't. So, I thank the Lord for having taken away my sink for a couple of days to help remind me how nice it is to have it. At least tonight, I won't take it for granted.

Now we're all a bit weary, but hope to relax this evening with the first World Series Game. Rooting for the Rockies!!!

Unstoppable Force

News reports are mind boggling as we read about the fires in Southern California. Fed by intense winds, these fires are chasing people from their homes at a rate that has never been seen in the state at any prior time. I think almost a million people so far. There is so much to pray for these days, isn't there? I have no close family in California, but request prayer for the people there. I have a very good bloggy friend at my other blog named Mishel who is very much impacted. Her husband is a firefighter and has been off fighting the fires in one area and their daughter Ashleigh is expecting a baby any time now. They are keeping us all on the edge of our seats in their family. Please pray for them and for the families of other bloggers who I know of who are out there too. Don't know if any have lost their homes yet.

Better Late Than Never

My son-in-law doesn't have a blog, but he sure does read ours!! In fact, we get teased a lot by him about it. He called me this evening to tell me they're adopting a new child, named "www." Even though he gets on our case (his wife, me and his sister-in-law) about our blogging, I know he enjoys reading what we've got to say.

Well, he had a birthday today and Mom forgot to give him his due here. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. S! The Lord bless and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you. We love you! If you want to read the cute little poem and picture his wife posted for him, visit over there.

Note: This is not a picture of my son-in-law, but a picture of men who are in his line of work. (He's a land surveyor, working in an engineering firm's office.)

Now It's Nigeria

He seems like a nice young man as we look at his picture here. Just 24 years old and a Sunday school teacher. The breaking news today at the Persecution blog is that he can be added to the list of Christian martyrs for this year. And it wasn't just him--there was another one too. They have been in Turkey, Pakistan, India, Sudan, Afghanistan, and many other places. Now it's Nigeria. Just thought you might want to go and read about it here. Some people skim over posts like this one; it's not pleasant to think about these things. Unfortunately, though, these are signs of the times and I think the Lord wants us to be aware and to beware.

Come Thou Almighty King

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14

We worship a triune God. The Trinity is a difficult doctrine to understand, but how can we understand an infinite God with our finite minds? Following are three important questions from the Catechism for Young Children, which we use in our family. (We sell this little booklet at our home business--see the information on the sidebar.)

Q. 6. Are there more gods than one?
A. There is only one God.

Q. 7. In how many persons does this one God exist?
A. In three persons.

Q. 8. What are they?
A. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. [Holy Spirit]

How can we explain such a thing? Our God is one, but yet at the same time He is three. It's a mystery. We can't explain it or rationalize it. It "transcends human reason and fleshly wisdom" as one person put it. But we'll humbly believe it and teach our children this doctrine because it's true. It's clearly taught in God's Word and we accept it by faith. So this week, let's worship our triune God through the words of this beautiful hymn:

Come, thou Almighty King,
Help us thy name to sing,
Help us to praise:
Father, all glorious,
O'er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of days.

Come, thou Incarnate Word,
Gird on thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend:
Come and thy people bless,
And give thy Word success;
Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.

Come, Holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour:
Thou who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart,
And ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

To the great One in Three
Eternal praises be,
Hence evermore.
His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.

It's a wonderful sound when this hymn is sung by a church full of worshiping saints who don't hesitate to lift their voices high in praise to their Lord and King. That when it ministers most to me. The tune is here.

What shall I call this?

I think maybe the Globetrotters would like to sign him up. Got a title for this one? I really can't think of one. As you've probably noticed, sometimes I have trouble with titles and names. He's a parrot by the way. This occurrence took place in China, which was having a week long National Day holiday.

Persuaded!

Who Shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persauded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Like most Christians, I have certain passages of Scripture that are particular favorites. But if I had to single out one, this would be it. This is the passage I love most in all of the Word of God. I just felt constrained to post it today. My husband came home from a preaching service last night and he made my heart burn inside me. He had been so gripped by the sermon that he had just heard that he could barely contain himself as he was trying to relate it to me. You may remember the two missionaries whom we knew who were murdered several weeks ago in the country they were serving in. Well, the man who preached the sermon last night was a close friend of theirs and had seen them just hours before their death. His sermon was from this text. You can just imagine. Apparently, when Pastor D. finished preaching, nobody got up. Nobody said ANYTHING. Only the sound of people blowing their noses was heard. Finally, another pastor got up and said that probably the best thing for everybody to do was not to engage in idle chatter, but to go home and pray with their families. My goodness. I wish I could have been there to hear it too.

Guess what Pastor D. pressed hard on the people's hearts? THE PERSECUTED CHURCH. THE PERSECUTED CHURCH. Now I know I wish I'd been there. Folks, we have no idea what some of our brethren are going through because of their love for Christ. People are actually WILLING to suffer for Him. And they ARE suffering for Him. That's because like the Apostle Paul, these saints are PERSUADED. If we can't suffer--at least not yet--let's remember our commitment to prayer. Let's have them in our hearts, so we can REALLY pray.

I missed going to our church's ladies Bible study today, so I didn't get to pray with my sisters about some of the needs in the Voice of the Martyrs magazine, which we do monthly. (You might want to think about doing that in your ladies study.) Also, I'd like to suggest that you make a note on your busy church calendar about the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This is no time to split hairs over some of the many petty arguments we have in the Church here in America. Let's get on our knees and pray for our brethren together.

Onward, Christian Soldiers

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3

I could tell I wasn't feeling very inspired today, so I decided I would choose for my Saturday hymn whichever one happened to be today's devotional in my Kenneth Osbeck book. This is such a helpful devotional for anyone who likes hymns as much as I do. It's entitled Amazing Grace: 366 Hymn Stories for Personal Devotions. It's a nice way to go through the year--reading the stories about the authors and the writing of many of our familiar hymns. I've gone through it a couple of times and now I use it as a reference.

So, you already know the title of the hymn and you can see I can't seem to get away from this soldier/warfare theme. That post I made on "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" back in September probably impacted me more than it did anyone else who may have read it. I guess it was mostly because of the recent killings of the two missionaries I knew, but also because of what I keep reading in the news and at the Persecution Blog. It would be much easier if we didn't know about what's going on with Christians around the world, but I think our Lord doesn't want us to "bury our heads in the sand," as my husband often says about things.

This hymnwriter is not particularly well known, but what an offering he has made to the Church! His name was Sabine Baring-Gould, a Church of England minister. Here is his account of the writing of this hymn:

"It was written in a very simple fashion, without thought of publication. Whitmonday is a great day for school festivals in Yorkshire, and one Whitmonday it was arranged that our school should join forces with that of a neighboring village. I wanted the children to sing while marching from one village to the other, but couldn't think of anything quite suitable, so I sat up at night resolved to write something myself. "Onward, Christian Soldiers" was the result. It was written in great haste, likely in less than 15 minutes."

It was written for children! You know how much I love hymns which were written for the young, don't you? Have you ever tried singing these familiar words while marching around your house wih your little ones in the rear, perhaps even taking turns as leader? The front runner can wave the Christian flag as the marchers weave through the rooms. Look at what wonderful truths their young minds will be assimilating as they go! They'll be learning that Christ is the real leader against a real foe, that there is a real battle going on, and that the Church is a mighty army. Do you want your children to know these things? Well, let this song help you to teach them!

Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before:
Christ the royal Master
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See, his banners go.

The rest of the lyrics and the tune are here.

Nanna's Love

Thanks to my friend Sparrow for this very sweet surprise gift!!! I had to show it to everybody!

Young Fan

Don't you think that it's a shame that they put a Philadelphia Eagles shirt on my poor unsuspecting granddaughter? This was the doing of her father, who purchased the shirt at an Eagles training camp earlier this year. There's nothing I can do about it, since her Nanna is the only New York Giants fan in the family. Her PopPop, a devoted Eagles fan, of course would think it's great, but I think she'd look much better in a Giants navy and white shirt. Well, I must admit she did look cute on Saturday when we went out, and her pink bow on her head and her pink flowers on her shoes did make her look very girly.

My first week in October did not go quite as well as I'd hoped when I made my post on last Monday. The Phillies were eliminated, the Yankees lost their first two games (but came back to win one last night, thankfully), the weather has been hot and humid, and the mosquitoes are still abundant. But how important is all this anyway, right? We enjoy sports in our family, but no matter what the outcome, we were able to go to church yesterday and worship our God. This will never be affected by who wins any baseball or football game.

The blessing of knowing Christ and what He's done for us can never be taken from us by any of life's circumstances, be they a small matter such as sports or one of life's many trials. That's why I encourage all of us who know Him to not let anything hinder us from going to worship each Sunday. In the midst of all that life brings, we are surely going to hear something that will point us heavenward. The morning message yesterday was entitled "Up to Jerusalem", and I wrote a few of my thoughts on this on my other blog, if you'd like to go there to read it.

So, I intend to keep rejoicing in the Lord, no matter who wins or loses in sports and no matter what the weather is like. AND even while I'm still enduring my mosquito bites!

About Awards and a Hymn

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

The World Book Dictionary in our home gives this definition for the word "award": "Something given as a reward, payment, or the like, after careful consideration; prize." I am very thankful to Barbara of Tidbits and Treasures for kindly giving me the above Excellence in Discipleship award, which originated at Dan King's Management by God blog where you can learn more about it.

Awards are one of those things in life that are blessings. We all like to receive them; they are good things. And I would venture to say that we all like to give them as well, because we like to give good things to others. At least as Christians, we should. But the last time I received one of these good things, I struggled. I wrote a post about it on July 30th, which expressed my heart about the whole matter.

This current award has to do with being a disciple of Christ. It was originally given to five recipients who "share the message in their own creative ways." Again, as before, I know so many bloggers who are sharing the message in innumerable creative ways: some are sharing the message by writing beautiful poetry; some by posting hymns and Scriptures; some tell interesting stories and apply them to the things of God; some are telling about happenings in their families, making application to biblical truth; some are writing fantastic devotionals; some are honoring God in the midst of trials; some are even using photography to honor the Creator; and on and on. So, I'm chicken. I don't want to pick out just five of these folks and I do NOT want to name names, because sure as anything, I'll leave out somebody that I'll kick myself for not mentioning.

One of the nice things about this is that eventually most folks will be picked for a particular award as it circulates, and usually it does finally reach most of the deserving blogs, but I can't bring myself to pick out just a few. So, my apologies to Barb and to Dan for not passing this on properly. I'm really thankful for it, and again, I think it's a good thing.

And our real reward is in heaven, right? Our Savior is the One who deserves all the glory and honor! All praise to Him! Hallelujah! I think I'll use this opportunity to post my Saturday hymn a day early and the second stanza of this one seems just right. For the rest of the stanzas of "Look, Ye Saints, the Sight is Glorious" and the tune, go here.

Crown the Saviour, angels, crown him;

Rich the tropies Jesus brings;

In the seat of pow'r enthrone him,

While the valt of heaven rings:

Crown him! crown him!

Crown the Saviour King of Kings.

~Thomas Kelly

It's Not Fair!

This is an addendum to my last post. I and quite a few other people are very agitated with Major League Baseball (MLB) right now. Did you know that the playoffs are not being telecast on regular TV but only on paid TV, such as cable or satellite or by whatever other name it may be called? Once again, MLB has shown itself to be more concerned about making big bucks than it is about fans or about the sport itself, which once could accurately be called America's favorite pastime. It can't be called that anymore. Through the years, more and more people have gotten tired of what has become of professional sports with the high priced superstars and massive stadiums, and baseball is taking the biggest slide in that area. Well, this TV thing is not going to help.

Since we are folks that do not have paid TV, we'll be listening on the radio. But then I thought about it: Do you know what? This is a hidden blessing. This will take me back to the happy days of my youth. I grew up in a household where sports were a big deal. My mom and I, don't ask me why, were the only Yankees fans in a household and in a neighborhood of Dodgers enthusiasts and it was a lot of fun! But those memories include a roomful of people crowded around the RADIO to listen to every pitch with intense excitement. If you ventured out to go to the corner store, gas station, neighbor's house, etc. the same sound of the radio tuned into the World Series could be heard. So listening to the game today and in the days to come will be reminiscent of my childhood. AND it will also be better because I can continue on with my dinner preparations and other household chores without being tempted to park myself in front of that TV monster. And I don't have to look at any commercials!!!! If I had time, I could even do some needlework without having to look up!

So, as is true of all of life, oftentimes the thing we think of as being unfair, is just another of God's blessings. In my Bright Gems book I have a chapter called "Not Complaining" and one of the devotionals in that chapter has the same title as this post. I need to preach the same message to myself as I do to the children: We should always trust the Lord to do what is best for us, even though sometimes it will not seem to be fair. And I must say that includes whatever happens in our lives, including matters as unimportant as baseball.

Welcome, October!

Yay, it here! My favorite month of my favorite season. Crisp cool weather, rich warm colors on the trees and elsewhere, mosquitoes begone (they love me), our bird feeding operation returning full force, and the BASEBALL PLAYOFFS!

And in case you didn't hear and in the event that you care, THE PHILLIES ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS! There is a lot of celebration going on in my neck of the woods since this is quite an unusual occurrence. Just to set the record straight, I am a long standing Yankees fan (Giants in football), but I always root for the Phillies unless they're playing the Yankees, which never happens because usually the Phillies never make it far enough to play the Yankees. As I'm sure EVERYONE knows, The New York Yankees have won more World Series than any other team with a whopping 26 and they've been in the World Series 39 times! Ahem. You must admit that's impressive. But hurray for the Phillies, my next favorite team!!! They took advantage of a tremendous collapse by the Mets (my condolences to the Mets fans) and now they're in! Go Phillies! To help explain better why I'm also a Phillies fan, read this post from earlier this year. Oh, and I wonder what the Phillie Phanatic is doing right now. I heard he fainted behind home base this past Thursday when the Phils went into a tie for first place.

Oh, and by the way, the Yankees are in the playoffs too--again. Let's see if either of my two teams make it through the first round and if by some miracle they end up facing each other, I know my heart will be torn!

Have a good week folks. Talk to you soon. Now off to homeschooling and housework wearing my red and white in celebration! (I guess tomorrow I better wear the old navy and white.)

Not What My Hands Have Done

For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2: 8-10

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;

Not what my toiling flesh has borne

Can make my spirit whole.

Not what I feel or do

Can give me peace with God;

Not all my prayers and sighs and tears

Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,

Can ease this weight of sin;

Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,

Can give me peace within.

Thy love to me, O God,

Not mine, O Lord, to thee,

Can rid me of this dark unrest,

And set my spirit free.

~Horatius Bonar

This hymn was definitely laid on my heart tonight. Do you know this one? I never knew this particular hymn until about twenty or so years ago. This, like so many of the oldies but goodies, as I call them, is solid doctrine and theology. Expressing the truths that we are not saved by our works, but by the work of Christ, its final stanzas contain utterances of praise to the God of Grace and His Son. For me, it's difficult to sing these words without getting all teary. Mr. Bonar is one of my all time favorites. His writings minister MUCH to my soul! I like him because he can write about deep things, but with simplicity. He was concerned for children and wanted them to learn biblical truths from his songs, so I like him for that also. If your children don't know "I Was a Wandering Sheep," I encourage you to search for it and teach it to them. I think I'll write about it one of these hymn posts.

I'm so thankful that my salvation is not dependent upon my work, but on HIS work, aren't you? You and I have no good in ourselves, no righteousness, but He provides it for us. Now isn't that worth all our praise?

I strongly encourage you to read all the verses while listening to the tune at the Trinity Hymnal.

Sneaky Nutrition - Cinnamon

I'm sure that cinnamon is by far the most used spice in this house. We wouldn't dare eat applesauce or oatmeal without sprinkling some on; it's a must for any recipe with pumpkin, apples, peaches, or pineapples. And rice pudding has gotta have it, in my book. Next to vanilla, it's my favorite smell. I had a "cinnamon bun" candle burning in our house a little while ago, and what a wonderful aroma to comfort the spirits, particularly on a cool fall day. For me, I think of nutmeg as cinnamon's most faithful companion, but there are times when allspice or cloves are a better choice, or even all three. Have you ever tried sprinkling some cinnamon and nutmeg on baked yams? Try it--I think you'll like it and realize that you don't need all that sugar and syrup that we use for candied yams.

Well, today I thought of making a post about this wonderful spice, because I was told it was good for diabetes. This immediately got my attention because my husband and I are both candidates for this malady. This sent me to Google (which is celebrating its ninth birthday today if you're interested) to check on this. I found out that tests have pretty much proven that cinnamon is helpful with blood sugar levels and other factors which would make it beneficial for a person with Type 2 diabetes. It also has many other health benefits such as aiding in food digestion, helping blood circulation, boosting brain activity, and quite a few others.

Then, at one site, I was checking on its nutritional stats. Here's what I found listed there for daily percentage values:

Iron 211%
Vitamin C-47%
Calcium - 122%
Vitamin K - 52%
Potassium - 20%

This was pretty exciting until I saw the serving size: 100 grams! To put that all in perspective, a teaspoon equals about 2 grams. In other words, we get very little nutritional value in the spoonful or two that we put in our pumpkin pie, but from what I've been reading today, it certainly has other benefits which hopefully add up over a period of time. So I would recommend that you sneak some cinnamon in every chance you get.

So my recipe this time is a good one for this season, my favorite time of year. Anything pumpkin goes well from now until January (and beyond), so here's a healthy cookie for your kids to snack on. Plenty of Vitamin A, C and fiber. Just so you know, I cut back on the honey and butter, substituting applesauce for some of the butter:

PUMPKIN COOKIES

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspon ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins (opt.)

1 cup chopped nuts (opt.)

Preheat oven 375 degrees.

(1) Cream together honey and butter in a large bowl. Add egg and pumpkin, mixing well. Add vanilla.

(2) Sift together baking powder and soda, flour, allspice, and cinnamon. Graduallymix into butter mixture. Fold in raisins and nuts.

(3) Drop by teaspoonfuls onto sprayed baking sheet; flatten with back of a spoon.

(4) Bake until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks.

They may not be as popular as the chocolate chip ones that you get at church socials, but you feel better about serving them to your loved ones at home. Hope you enjoy them!

Sweet Babies

Thought you might enjoy seeing these sweet young babies with their parents. Most of them are being cared for by their mommies; only one is being tended to by the daddy. Can you guess which one? (Top to bottom: rhino, flamingo, dolphin, giraffe, leopard, elephant.)

Note: I added the rhino later, so he doesn't count. He was just born three days ago!

An Anniversary

Wishing a Happy Anniversary to our daughter and son-in-law. If you get a chance, go over to her spot and read their story. Three years and one baby later, these are still precious memories for all of us.

I am posting calla lilies in honor of the occasion. They were in abundance that day in 2004, as was the above picture. I hope they will be a reminder to our family of the mercies of a kind and benevelent God, from whom comes every good gift and every perfect gift, which we heard about in our sermon on Sunday.

So, we count our blessings and I hope this finds you and your family doing the same.

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Matthew 6:26

According to a chart I just read on a website that should be knowledgeable, the Autumnal Equinox for the year 2007 occurs on September 23rd in the continental United States. That's tomorrow, right? And if my understanding is correct, that means that autumn, a/k/a fall, a/k/a my favorite season of the year, begins tomorrow. Well now, that is something nice to think about after many weeks of hot, sticky weather, mosquitoes, and other unpleasant things. I feel a coolness, crispness in the air and up go all my windows. Ahh, feels good.

My dear feathered friends are busy now. The robins were all over the yards in our neighborhood this morning, filling their bellies with seeds, worms and whatever else it is that they eat. They have congregated in huge numbers, many of whom just began life this summer, as they start their journey southward. I always marvel at the migration of birds. Last year I did a post about it if anyone cares to go read it. All of the birds are busy now, knowing that their difficult days are coming. You see them fluttering about, often with their young following behind begging for food. Since the juveniles have to learn to fend for themselves, they are now being ignored by their parents. Danger has returned to the ones who come to my feeder. I saw a sizeable clump of feathers down near one of the large trees--an indication that a morning dove had met its death. So the hawks have returned from their summer in the nearby wooded areas along the interstate.

Well, the Lord will be their help and guide through the winter. Some of them will make it and some won't. It's all up to Him. Of course, it will be the same for mankind. It's all up to Him. Knowing that our future and our well being rest with Him should help us to face all of the seasons of life with quietness of heart. I'm praying that for myself and for all of you. After all, His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for heav'n and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant Friend is he:

His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled,"
His tender Word I hear,
And resting on his goodness,
I lose my doubt and fear;
Though by the path he leadeth
But one step I may see:

Whenever I am tempted,
Whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing,
When hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to him,
From care he sets me free.

This wonderful trusting hymn was written by a woman named Mrs. Civilla Martin. My new bloggy friend Sparrow should appreciate this one!

Listen here.