"My first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord." 

George Mueller

Quilt #2 and 3

Is He a Man and a King? Be Careful Young Ladies...

A Woman’s Question

By Lena Lathrop

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing

Ever made by the Hand above?

A woman’s heart, and a woman’s life-

And a woman’s wonderful love.

Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing

As a child might ask for a toy?

Demanding what others have died to win,

With the reckless dash of a boy.

You have written my lesson of duty out,

Manlike, you have questioned me.

Now stand at the bars of my woman’s soul

Until I shall question thee.

You require your mutton shall always be hot,

Your socks and your shirt be whole;
I require your heart be true as God’s stars

And as pure as His heaven your soul.

You require a cook for your mutton and beef,

I require a far greater thing;

A seamstress you’re wanting for socks and shirts-

I look for a man and a king.

A king for the beautiful realm called Home,

And a man that his Maker, God,

Shall look upon as He did on the first

And say: “It is very good.”

I am fair and young, but the rose may fade

From this soft young cheek one day;

Will you love me then ‘mid the falling leaves,

As you did ‘mong the blossoms of May?

Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,

I may launch my all on its tide?

A loving woman finds heaven or hell

On the day she is made a bride.

I require all things that are grand and true,

All things that a man should be;

If you give this all, I would stake my life

To be all you demand of me.

If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook

You can hire and little to pay;

But a woman’s heart and a woman’s life

Are not to be won that way.

Quilt #1

Over Christmas break, my mom and I have been making a whole bunch of baby quilts for the new little ones just starting to arrive.  We've been working on five of them on and off the past few weeks.  The two of us together can really cruise.  I hate binding, she hates the quilting, we both cut and piece together . . . We're a pretty good team I think.  Here's the first one that we actually got completely finished!

"Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth . . ."

Starting My Year Right Means Starting My Day Right

One of my favorite times of the day is the early morning when I meet with Christ.  There are days of the week when Hubby leaves earlier than I can pry my eyes open, but I like to drag myself out of bed by 6:00 AM.  That usually leaves me an hour of blessed peace and quiet (with coffee of course).  It hasn't always been this good.  I have struggled with my devotions most of my adult life.  Through years of trying to figure out the best way to pray and read the Word of God, the Lord has shown me through trial and error some "best" ways for me.  They include:

1. The reading of an old (as in dead) Christian of the faith.  At present I am reading our beloved brother      Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together.

2. Reading through the Bible. Unlike my hubby, I don't get through it every year.  My plan is more like "Read the Bible in 3 years".

3. Journaling my prayers.  I do this on my laptop simply because I type almost as fast as I think.  When I write my thoughts down, I focus much better.  My prayers follow the old ACTS model as well as some daily urgent prayers for others.

• A - Adoration
• C - Confession
• T - Thanksgiving
• S - Supplication

4. Memorization of Psalms.  I only just started this in the fall of last year, and its slow going for this lady.  But, I did manage to get Psalm 90 memorized and am now working on 34.  What a joy it is to have these words hidden in my heart when fear and doubt come calling! 

 So that's what I do.  I'm always looking for ways to better my time with the Lord.

"For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work.  At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it.  All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word.  All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him.  Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to Him to whom our whole life belongs." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Merry Christmas to all my friends from Russia and Ukraine!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  

~ John 1:14

My Little Man

C. S. Lewis thought it offensive to call a young man "little man," but I can't help it.  My Natey Boy is my little man.  If only he wasn't my brother and a little older . . . Oh well.

Here's my little man trying to be a big man like his Papa.  We heard him outside the other morning as he was getting firewood ready for the family.  It was cold and we had the stove blazing.  The yelling is a trick he learned from his Jui-Jitsu professor.  "Ki-ah!" is what they yell before striking.  "Makes me hit harder," he told me later.  Seemed to work pretty well for him.

Grilled hamburgers the way I like them.

Birdseed Bread

When we lived in Montana, we had some good friends there, the Hollies.  The daughter, Char, was my sister's best friend and made delicious bread.  She passed the recipe down to my mom who made it a lot in Alaska and has recently begun to make it regularly again.  

I've been wanting to make birdseed bread for a while now.  I didn't have the guts to try it by myself in California, and it's a good thing I didn't.  This stuff is intense!  Yesterday my mom showed me how to make it.  Without a captain america kind of guy on hand or the handy dandy kitchen aid, this would be nearly impossible.  As I have not been blessed with a captain america kind of guy, we used the kitchen aid.  I love love love this bread!  It calls for around 3-4 cups of whole wheat flour which would make it super dense and heavy, so we went for only about half of that (previous bouts with this bread and 4 cups of whole wheat flour broke the kitchen aid).  

The most delicious thing about this bread is that you can add whatever kind of grains you so desire.  I chose bulgar wheat, sunflour seeds, brown rice, whole flax seed, and wheat germ.  By now you're either thinking that sounds superb or super nasty.  It's the former, I assure you.  The finished loaves couldn't have turned out any more beautiful.  They taste as amazing as they look too.  After baking them yesterday, we cut into them, put a little butter on top, and enjoyed the warm bread.  They were also outstanding toasted for breakfast with, of course, a little butter on top.  

Happy Birthday New Year!

Holes In Our Pockets?

With Christmas behind us now, my thoughts turn to the new year.  What things in my life may God be changing?  What disciplines am I finding myself lacking?  Good questions for me to ask.  Good questions for everyone to ask.  For starters, I am looking at my devotional times.  Are they as they need to be?  Has my life in Christ grown significantly in 2012 because of my daily times with Him alone?

Then there's the question of common devotions.  When the family (and friends) meet together in community around the Word.  Can we make changes to encourage our loved ones more in Christ?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together says, "But every common devotion should include the word of Scripture, the hymns of the Church, and the prayer of the fellowship"

These are the things I am pondering as the new year presses upon us.  May we take time to query ourselves to see if there are holes in our pockets.

How can it be that Thou my God . . .

". . . let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.  So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Jesus was human.  Jesus was a man . . . fully, totally human.  [We should] bow in worship, that God would go to such great extent to understand us, identify with us, represent us to the Father.  God gave him a heart beat so it could stop.  The Father gave Him breath so He could stop breathing.  Blood so it could be shed."  
Rick Holland, Uneclipsing the Son: Getting Jesus Right

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:11

Peppermint Bark

This is always a hit, and Christmas wouldn't be the same without it.

17 oz. white chocolate chips or white almond bark
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
7 oz. chocolate chips or chocolate almond bark
6 Tbls. whipping cream
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Cover baking sheet with foil.  Mark a 12" by 9 " rectangle on the foil. Stir white chocolate until melted and smooth and candy thermometer reads 110 degrees F.  Remove from water if in a double boiler.  Pour 2/3 cup white chocolate onto foil and spread to fill the rectangle.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup crushed peppermints.  Chill about 15 minutes.  Stir chocolate, cream, and extract over medium low heat until just melted.  Cool 5 minutes.  Re-warm white chocolate.  Working quickly, pour white chocolate over dark chocolate and spread to cover.  Sprinkle with peppermints.  Chill about 20 minutes.  Move chocolate onto a flat surface and trim edges.  Cut it crosswise into 2 " wide strips.  Slide candy off the foil and onto work surfaces and cut into squares.

Holiday Gift Granola

Cooking oil spray
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/1/2 cups light brown sugar
6 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup raisins
1 cup craisins

Place rack of oven in the center and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Spray two 11"x17" pans.  In microwave safe bowl mix oil, syrup, and sugar.  Microwave until sugar melts.  Whisk until lumps go away.  In another bowl mix oats, walnuts, wheat germ, and coconut.  Pour the syrup over the oats mixture.  Bake 10 minutes.  Stir.  Bake 10 more minutes.  Keep your eye on it though to prevent burning.  Cool until room temperature.  Add raisins and craisins.  Store in airtight containers.  Best if used in 2-3 weeks.