Valentine's Day Giveaway

Come Home!

"My suffering child! thy days of grief are o'er,
Come home to Me, and rest for evermore."

Jesus! Thou Lord of all! I dare not go;
No work well done for Thee I have to show.

"Great deeds I ask not; but some act of love,
One word for Me thy righteousness may prove."

Alas! I do remember no such word,
Nor one such act! Pardon me, oh my Lord!

"Yet come, my child, 'tis I who bid thee come,
Nothing I ask from thee; come home, come home!"

I cannot, dare not! Call me not Thy child,
Behold my hands, my heart, with sin defiled!
Behold my wasted life, my barren years,
Behold my murmurs, my rebellious tears;
See how myself I love while cold towards Thee,
My conscience seared, my hardened heart, oh see!

"I see. And since thou nought hast done for Me,
I have done all, poor, sorrowing soul, for thee;
The word that thou for me hast never spoken,
The word I spake for thee with faith unbroken;
The loving deed thou didst not, I have done,
And interceded for thee near the throne.
Thy sins, thy wasted life, thy heart defiled,
Better I know than thou dost know them, child,
And freely all that sin I have forgiven;
Come home, my child, come home to Me and heaven."

My blessed Lord! My Saviour and my All!
Weeping no longer, I obey Thy call,
I come, to praise Thee with my heart and voice,
I come, with blood-bought sinners to rejoice;
I bless my dying day, I bless the grace
That gives me with Thy ransomed ones a place.
Now for eternity that grace to see,
Now for eternal songs to sing to Thee!

--Golden Hours, Elizabeth Prentiss--

The Broken Wing

Have patience and have faith

The surgeon saith,

Suffer awhile this irksomeness of pain;

This broken limb shall soon be well again;

Yea, what is more,

Be stronger for all service than before.

So come I, broken heart,

To ease thy smart,

With promises the future shall make good.

Bear thou in patience Sorrow's solitude,

For she, at length

Will lead thee forth in manliness and strength.

Yes, and in strength unknown

When joy alone

Held thee within her nerveless arms, until

Thou hadst lost courage, lost all force of will.

God will restore

That which He brake, and give it strength the more.

Will make thee strong and wise

To sympathize;

For thou wilt know to soothe, with tender hand,

The sufferings thou hast learned to understand;

And to the weak

What words of inspiration thou wilt speak!

Thou wilt be strong in love;

Soft as a dove,

Yet hovering as on eagle's wings around

The spot were loneliness and grief are found,

And healing bring,

In grateful memory of a broken wing.

Thou wilt have strength unpriced

To work for Christ!

To testify of Him who pain alone

Could to the human soul Himself make known;

To watch and pray,

Stronger upon each morrow than today.

--Golden Hours, Elizabeth Prentiss--

The Battle of Life

The wintry storm was raging loud without,

And to and fro,

The angry winds flung carelessly about,

The falling snow.

Luxuriously before the ruddy fire

I sat at ease,

The only object of my heart's desire

Myself to please.

A voice aroused me from my idle dreams;

"Rise, rise, my child!

Shake thyself loose from these unfruitful schemes,

These fancies wild.

"Come forth with me, and buffet wind and storm

And icy cold;

Come as thou art, nor stay thy shrinking form

Thus to enfold!"

IT was the Master's voice.  It could but yield

To its behest,

While dread repugnance lay but till concealed

Within my breast.

Behind me closed my sheltering door; I faced

The tempest rude;

Wild, savage winds my shrinking form embraced

While thus I stood

Upon the threshold, casting longing eyes

Back to my home,

Reluctant from my childhood's Paradise

Enforced to roam.

Then plunging onward towards th' appointed way,

I madly went,

And night and day, yea, many a night and day,

My figure bent

Beneath the blast.  Assailed with shuddering dire,

By fears opprest,

Despairing, hopeless, stript of all desire,

I onward prest.

Until I heard above the thunder's roll

The Master's voice

Arise once more.  It cried : "Oh, faithless soul,

Behold thy choice!

"A life-long childhood, basking idly on

The lap of ease,

Or manhood's strength by long endurance won

In toils like these.

"Whether to gird thyself to walk with Me

Mid conflicts dread,

Or back effeminate to ease to flee--

Living--yet dead."

Already by my labors stronger grown,

I stood and cried:

"Master and Lord! with Thee, with Thee alone,

Let me abide.

"Let me but know I buffet wind and storm,

With Thee, with Thee!

Upon my path Thine own divinest form

But let me see!"

Thus in the hour of battle choice was made!

Choice of unrest!

Thus Christian manhood seeking, undismayed

The storm I breast.

No leisure now, no dreams, no idle time;

I wrestle on;

Beat, icy winds, oppose, oh adverse clime,

Till victory's won.

For I shall win!  I shall come forth at last

Not lost, but found!

A Christian warrior whom each stormy blast

Hath victory crowned!

--Elizabeth Prentiss, Golden Hours--

Zuppa Toscana with Yogurt Cinnamon Muffins

Yum! Just the title makes me hungry! :)

Here is a link to the soup...  Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

All right, for the soup I mixed things up a bit.  When I cook I like to do it by eye.  If it looks like I want more meat, potatoes, water... you name it... whatever it is I will add more, less or whatever makes me feel good.  Good way to follow recipes, hu? Anyways, I will show you how I adjusted the recipe and I must admit, it turned out pretty good! 

________________

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!

** I used 1lb of Italian sausage, like it says, but I used about 2 generous tsp of peppers. When I make it again I will definitely use less pepper flakes due to the fact I felt like a dragon afterwards. Plus, my family isn't exactly fond of hot stuff.  I'd say maybe a generous 1 1/2 tsp would still pack the heat.    I used 1 large diced white onion, a VERY generous 4 T of bacon pieces and also 2 generous tsp of fresh garlic. For the bacon I would suggest frying it well before adding the onions and also cutting it into small pieces.  If you don't fry the bacon before hand it makes it slightly mushy while eating.   I used about 7-8 cups of water instead of the 10.  I used 4 generous tsp of chicken bouillon.  I used the whole cup of heavy cream and also 3 large potatoes.  I used a little over 1/2 a bunch of kale. Also, I put the kale in shortly after I put the potatoes in so that it would have time to soften.  I'm not particularly found of crispy kale in my soup. 

________________

Here is the book that has the muffin recipe in it... Mad about Muffins

Here is the recipe for the muffins:

• 2 cups minus two tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

 Heat oven to 400 degrees.   In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt.  In a large bowl, combine the egg, yogurt, butter, and vanilla extract.  Beat together until blended.  Add the dry ingredients and stir just until they are moistened.  Fill greased muffin tins.  Bake 10- 15 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned.  Serve warm.  Makes one dozen muffins.

* I doubled my recipe when I made it.  Very good, especially if you put some butter and honey on it.  :) YUM!

Hello All, it's been a spell since I posted last.  So, I'll post a couple highlights from lately.  :)

First of all I finished the Voice of the Martyr's Extreme Devotion.  VERY good book!  Now I'm onto  My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. 

Second, I started reading Leave it to Psmith by Wodehouse.  Phenomenal! :)

A small maid-of-all-work appeared in answer to the bell, and stood transfixed as the visitor, producing a monocle, placed it in his right eye and inspected her through it.

'A warm afternoon,' he said cordially.

'Yes, sir.'

'But pleasant,' urged the young man. 'Tell me, is Mrs Jackson at home?'

'No, sir.'

'Not at home?'

'No, sir.'

The young man sighed.

'Ah well,' he said, 'we must always remember that these disappointments are sent to us for some good purpose.  No doubt they make us more spiritual.  Will you inform her that I called?  The name is Psmith. P-smith.'

'Peasmith, sir?'

'No, no.  P-s-m-i-t-h.  I should explain to you that I started life without the initial letter, and my father always clung ruggedly to the plain Smith.  But it seemed to me that there were so many Smiths in the world that a little variety might well be introduced.  Smythe I look on as a cowardly evasion nor do I approve of the too prevalent custom of tacking another name on in front by means of a hyphen.  So I decided to adopt the Psmith.  The p, I should add for your guidance is silent, as in phthisis, psychic, and ptarmigan. You follow me?'

'Y-yes, sir.'

'You don't think,' he said anxiously, 'that I did wrong in pursuing this course?'

'N-no, sir.'

'Splendid!' said the young man, flicking a speck of dust from his coat-sleeve.  'Splendid! Splendid!'

And with a courteous bow he descended the steps and made his way down the street.  The little maid, having followed him with bulging eyes till he was out of sight, closed the door and returned to her kitchen.


Alright, moving on.  At the beginning of this year some of our very dear friends bought a house just down the street from us in town.  :) You can read about it here at Katie's blog... or here at Olivia's.  We have been helping prepare the home when we can.  It's so very exciting to have them just a couple minutes way! :)
 

Next, I got a hair cut! :) Much shorter, perhaps, then would have liked. But, it will grow...eventually. :)

 Next, we have had a TON of snow.  Probably quite literally.  :)

We had a hawk in our backyard just a little while ago.

 

And, I finished a dress I was working on.  This is just some left over material that I needed to get rid of so I used it up on a "test" dress.  :) I can't wait to get the real material! :)

Simplicity Pattern: 2917

That's what's up for me lately.  How about you??

Hold Fast~ Another Giveaway

Giveaway

Grandma's Box

***Happy 2011***

Christmas

Grilled Steak, for Christmas!

Click above for pictures from my Christmas.

Extreme Christmas Story

Have you ever smelled fresh hay?

Aristar, the farming lad, began his story.  "It's like someone captured the essence of spring and bundled it before it could lose its newness.  Mary and Joseph must have smelled it when they arrived at the manger after their long journey."

The other prisoners listened intently as Aristar spoke naturally of the nativity. "The horse's ears would have turned towards the Savior's cry as soon as he was born.  They are great listeners, as we should be when Jesus speaks." 

Outside the Romanian prison of Tirgul-Ocna, the snow was six feet deep on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve.  The prisoners had few clothes, little food, and barely one blanket each.  They all missed their families and turned to listen to Aristar's story of Christ's birth for comfort.

He continued, "The light of the star must have been brighter than the moon.  It may have shone through the stable's doorway and made the rooster crow announcing Christ's birth."  The prisoners listened and wept.  After the story, someone began to sing, gradually swelling to echo in the clear, crisp air.  Everyone stopped to listen to the beautiful sound.

Even in the harsh prison, the story of Christ's gift warmed the hearts of many. Because Christ is the foundation, one can never lock out the spirit of Christmas.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

-- Luke 2:11--

--Voice of the Martyrs, Extreme Devotions Day 360--

Weaknesses

O SPIRIT OF GOD,

Help my infirmities;

When I am pressed down with a load

of sorrow,

perplexed and knowing not what to do,

slandered and persecuted,

made to feel the weight of the cross,

help me, I pray thee. 

If thou seest in me

any wrong thing encouraged

any evil desire cherished,

any delight that is not thy delight,

any habit that grieves thee,

any nest of sin in my heart,

then grant me the kiss of thy forgiveness,

and teach my feet to walk the way of 

thy commandments.

Deliver me from carking care,

and make me a happy, holy person;

Help me to walk the separated life with

firm and brave step,

and to wrestle successfully against weakness;

Teach me to laud, adore, and magnify thee,

with the music of heaven,

And make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude 

to thee.

I do not crouch at thy feet as a slave before a tyrant,

but exult before thee as a son with a father.

Give me power to live as thy child in all my actions,

and to exercise sonship by conquering self.

Preserve me from the intoxication that comes

if prosperity;

Sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes

not from thee.

Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,

not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.

I request only to see the face of him I love,

to be content with bread to eat,

with raiment to put on,

if I can be brought to thy house in peace.

--Valley of Vision--

Sugar Cookies

Little Girl Blanket

::Decembries::

Christmas basket full of play-dough for our little cook.  :)

Harvest Banquet

I know, I know, I haven't been posting my A Woman's Call to Prayer like I should.  Truth is...  I've been super busy around here it being Christmas and all ya know.  Then, if you go and add the blizzard that we had the last 2 days and the 7+ inches of snow and a good bit of rain that instantly turned to ice on my vehicle making it practically impossible to drive anywhere or even open the door for that matter, ya get my current state of being.   But, God is still faithful, and He is working wonders in my life.  I have been drawing strength and grace from Acts and Job the last week or so.  They are so full of God's Awesomeness I can't even begin to describe it to you.   Tomorrow I have the day off of work so, maybe, between some last minute Christmas shopping, the laundry, making dinner, finishing up a blanket, and editing pictures... I am HOPING to get a post or two up.  But, if not... God knows!  He's still in control and I am so EXTREMELY glad that He is.  If I was in charge I think the world would be in utter chaos.  Or at least look a lot like my room, which at this particular unfortunate moment in time slightly resembles a... well, let's just not go there...

Hannah Ruth recently posted about her vacation to Florida and it makes me so happy!! You MUST go and look.  This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of the series.  

Florida {Part 1}

I asked for strength--

and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom--

and God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity--

and God gave me brain and brawn to work.

I asked for Courage--

and God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for love--

and God gave me opportunities

I received nothing I wanted--

I received everything I needed.

My prayer has been answered.

--From the Family of Michael Job, an Indian Christian Medical student who was killed in June of 1999 because of his father's evangelistic activities--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where there is no cross, there is no crown.
This lesson cannot be learned from books, and
men do not usually taste this sweetness. This rich
life does not exist in a comfortable environment.
If the spices are not refined to become oil, the
fragrance of the perfume cannot flow forth; and if
the grapes are not crushed in the vat, they will
not become wine.

-From a Chinese Christian-


-From Voice of the Martyrs "Extreme devotion"-

A Woman's Call to Prayer :: Chapter 10

Chapter 10:: When You Are Overwhelmed... Pray!

One groan,

one sight from a wounded soul,

excels and prevails with God.

-William Penn

First, when you are overwhelmed, you have the Bible, which is God's guidebook for dealing with all of life and its every challenge (2 Peter 1:3)

Second, you and I can thank our Lord that through the act of prayer we can seek the heart and mind of God in our difficult situations.  

 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Romans 8:26-27

A word for you-- Again I say to you, "Thank God!" Thank Him that He knows your weaknesses, that He knows your heart, that He knows your suffering, that He knows your desire and your need to pray.  He also knows when you cannot pray, so He, through His Holy Spirit, comes to your rescue and prays for you! Thank Him that He has so graciously allowed this avenue of prayer, this whisper, this sigh, this groan of prayer by the Spirit, for those times when words and understanding fail you.  You can pour out the contents of your broken, confused heart as best you can, if you can(!)... and leave the rest of your efforts to communicate with God to the power and ability of the Holy Spirit.

Checklist for Prayer

• Do your best--Sometimes your heart cries out, "It hurts so much! It's so bad I don't think I can pray!" What are you to do when this happens?  First, remember such feelings are okay! They are normal.  They are common (1 Corinthians 10:13) This happens to everyone.  This is not an indictment against your spirituality.  You haven't failed.

Just begin.  That's your part.  God's part is to "join in and help" you pray.  He will perfect your fumbling attempts to do the right thing--to pray even when your heart hurts so badly that you are not sure what to pray or how to pray.  He will intercede and groan for you.  As explained by a Greek scholar, "The Holy Spirit lays hold of our weaknesses along with us and carries His part of the burden facing us as if we were carrying a log, one at each end."

• Try to pray-- At other times, we throw our hands up, turn our heads and hearts up to heaven, and say to God, "I don't know what to pray!" Once again, remember this too is okay.  It's normal. It's common.  It happenes to everyone.  Again, your confusion and inability are not indictments against your spirituality.  You haven't failed.

• Watch your heart--Don't worry about your words.  It's your heart that counts! But God is not as interested in your words as He is in your heart! Man looks--and hears--on the outside, but God looks at--and hears--the heart (1 Samuel 16:7)

Answering God's Call to You

Romans 8:

--The Holy Spirit intercedes for you (verse 26)

--God is for you (verse 31)

--Christ makes intercession for you (verse 34)

So my prayer for you at this moment is that you will let the prayers of your heart flow! When you are in pain... pray!  When you are speechless...pray!  When you are heartsick...pray! When you are suffering, beaten up, or beaten down by life...pray! When you are troubled or perplexed...pray! When you are overwhelmed...pray! Your heavenly Father knows what you have need of before you ask (Matthew 6:32)... so ask.  Use any fumbling words or wails you can muster up out of your hurting heart.  Just to be sure you pray... and leave the rest to God.

pg. 106-115

A Woman's Call to Prayer :: Chapter 9

Chapter 9 :: When You Are Worried...Pray! 

The way to worry about nothing

is to pray about everything.

God commands, "Do Not Worry!"

Did you know that over 300 times in the New Testament God commands us, "Do not worry" or "Be not anxious"? Just one of these occurrences, which we considered earlier, is Philippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer

and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests

be made know to God; and the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding, will guard your

hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

The Command- "Be anxious for nothing"

The Scope of the Command- "Be anxious for nothing" I once heard a Bible teacher ask, "Do you know what 'nothing' is? It's a zero with the rim kicked off!"

The Solution- Prayer! "Let your requests be made known to God."

By Prayer- Prayer is not only worship but prayer is where all true worship begins... and all worry ends!

By Supplication- Do you have a need (Or, more accurately asked, Do you think you have a need?) Then pray! Petition God by supplication.  Boldly go before His throne of grace in your times of need...
and with your needs (Hebrews 4:16). 

We can ask and not worry... or we can worry because we don't ask.  It's one or the other--and the choice is ours.

With Thanksgiving- Praise, gratitude, and thanksgiving accompany all true prayer.

By Requests- Present your requests to God with utmost confidence.  Keep nothing back, neither great nor small.  Withhold nothing--none of your concerns--from God.  He wants your everything, your every concern! So present them to Him. Leave them in the lap of the Almighty.

The Result-- When you and I are obedient to God's command to not worry, and when we're faithful to pray instead, and the peace of God comes to our rescue and "will guard [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  In other words, as a tribal missionary so beautifully and simply translated this truth, Jesus will make your heart sit down.

And once your heart sits down, peace keeps watch over it.  Like a soldier, God's peace guards your heart--and mind!--against anxiety, doubt, fear, worry, and distress.  And the result? The battle against worry is won!

Checklist for Prayer

• Don't...miss a day of prayer-- If you play hit-and-miss with your daily prayer time, you will most certainly discover that your worry level is higher on the days when you don't pray.  Prayer is God's surefire solution for elimination worry.  If you pray, then you won't be anxious.  If you pray, then you will experience peace of mind.  And the opposite is true, too.  If you don't pray, then you will be anxious.  If you don't pray, then you will not experience peace of mind. 

• Do... memorize Psalm 23

  Psalm 23

   ¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
   ²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
  He leads me beside still waters.
   ³He restores my soul.
  He leads me in paths of righteousness
     for his name’s sake.
   ⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
     I will fear no evil,
  for you are with me;
     your rod and your staff,
     they comfort me.
   ⁵You prepare a table before me
     in the presence of my enemies;
  you anoint my head with oil;
     my cup overflows.
  ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
     all the days of my life,
  and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
      forever.

• Do... determine a "worry day"-- A man who was unable to put his troubles aside completely decided that the next best thing to do would be to set apart a single day, Wednesday, to do all his worrying.  When something came up that disturbed him during the week, he wrote it down and put it in what he called his "Wednesday Worry Box." When the time came to review his high-anxiety problems, he found to his great surprise that most of them had already been settled and no longer generated anxiety! He discovered that most worry is unnecessary and a waste of precious energy.

"The riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7)

an inexhaustible reservoir to draw from.

"The riches of his glory" (Ephesians 3:16)

an inestimable wealth to count on.

"The riches of His goodness" (Romans 2:4)

an unfailing resource to rely on.

pg. 94-103

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 ²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
 ³He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
   for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23

Yellowstone, Wyoming

Sometimes...

I just stand in my door way and look in at the beauty...

Storm Day with Family

I just love how her toes rest oh-so-close to the edge of the stool.  :)