The Good-O-Meter

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

I thought this was a very interesting video that my son shared with me, so I thought I would in turn share it with all of you on here!  Very thought provoking, and a neat, simple way to illustrate Jesus stepping in for us.

Enjoy!

Susan

World's Most Accurate Pie Chart

Hi Everyone!

Some of you have probably seen this picture that went around on Facebook, but it gave me a real chuckle so I thought I would pass it along here.  It's good to smile! :D

 Now that you have smiled, go have a wonderful weekend!  And Happy Sabbath!

Susan

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week 26

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I am a bit late this week with posting a verse!  Got back last week from a trip to see family and seems like I am still trying to get caught up!  It doesn't help matters that I was sick with a cold all last week either, and just about the time that "I" start to feel better, BOTH of my kids are now sick!  Eek!  As they say, when it rains it pours!  I am thankful that it is "only" colds--but it is still bad enough to make you miserable.  And when the little one wakes me up at 4:00 a.m. to tell me she doesn't feel good, it is enough to make one tired as well!

This week brings us to the half way mark--can you believe it?  We are half way finished with this new year.  That is hard to believe for me.  I am still trying to get used to writing 2012 on my checks!  But hard though it is for me to believe, it is still very true.  How fast time flies.  Makes me wonder--am I making good use of my time?  Am I wasting this precious gift on things that are not important?

I have a very dear friend who finds herself in a very difficult situation right now.  She is weak and very spent both emotionally and physically.  Her resources are almost non-existent financially.  She needs help, but the one human who should be her help is her foe.   It is for this dear friend that I am claiming this verse for this week's memory verse.  It is good for us all--when we have nothing, if we have God we have what counts.

"He (she!) trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him (her).  Let him deliver him (her), since he delights in him (her)."

Psalm 22:8  (parentheses mine)

Beautiful verse.  Even more beautiful Savior.

Happy Days

Hi Everyone! I was recently given an old church cookbook from way back, and have been enjoying looking at some of the recipes in it. Ran across this recipe for "Happy Days." I must make this recipe for sure--we all should! Happy Days TAKE: 1 cup of friendly words 2 heaping cups of understanding 2 heaping teaspoons of time and patience ADD: A pinch of warm personality and A dash of humor MEASURE: The words carefully with a heaping amount of patience. Keep temperature low. Do not Boil. Add a pinch of warm spice of life. SERVE: In individual helpings and garnish with smiles. This recipe is guaranteed never to fail. By Violet Ellsworth

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week 25

Happy Sabbath Everyone! This week I have been reading through a book that I read years ago. I don't know what happened to my copy, but I saw my mom had bought it and it was even "revised and expanded" now! She graciously offered to loan it to me, and I have been so blessed as I have been reading this week. The book is called "Too Busy NOT to Pray," and I have to say it is every bit as good as I remember, and even better. The author is Bill Hybels, and I highly recommend this book if you are wanting to deepen your relationship with God. Anyway, while reading this morning, the author was talking about what Godly people are like, and quoted this verse: "Their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season and their leaves do not wither." Psalm 1:2-3 Isn't that beautiful? That is what I want to be like. Delighting in God's law day and night. Never withering. I need more God--for He is my food. Have a beautiful week!

Home made Triscuits!

Hi Everyone!

Just thought I would share a little idea we tried that we thought turned out really nice.  My hubby has a real savory munchy tooth.  While I always lean towards sweets, he will lean towards salty/savory things.

So--the other day we were discussing how we would like to find a healthy recipe for crackers.  Specifically, something that did not have oil in it.  I had already tried one of my home made cracker recipes, and just substituted water for the oil that is in it--and it did not exactly turn out the way we liked.  It tasted good, but just had no "crunch!"  So that oil is giving crackers the "crunch" of them.  Anyway, my husband had what I think is a brainstorm.  He looks at me and says, "I wonder if we could season unfrosted mini wheat cereal, and it would be similar to a Triscuit."

Well, that sounded like a marvelous idea to me, so I tried it and it turned out GREAT!  :)  Basically, I spread out a layer of unfrosted mini wheats on my cookie sheet.  Next I very lightly sprayed with Pam olive oil spray.  Yes, I suppose this is sort of adding oil in, but according to the labeling on the spray it is not adding any fat in--I assume because it is such a light layer?  Anyway, I lightly sprayed with the Pam spray, then sprinkled with onion salt and rosemary powder.  Last step is to bake at 225 degrees for an hour.  Maybe they wouldn't take this long to toast, but that is just how long I had mine in for.

Everyone in our family has given this recipe both thumbs up, and will much it down the second they come out of the oven!  We look forward to other flavor experiments!!  Hope you enjoy playing around with this idea as well!

Susan

Blessings you can eat!

Aren't these pretty?

O.K.  I know they are all different sizes.  And there are lumps and bumps.  And a few stray ants here and there.  All right, so they actually aren't all that pretty after all.

BUT--

They are ours.  They grew from trees that we planted in our yard when we moved in several years ago.  So to us--they are beautiful.  (And they really are quite tasty too, once you cut out all the bad spots!)

Do I look this way to God?  Filled with lumps and bumps.  Some things spoiled by sin.  But He loves me anyway.  Why?  Because I'm His.

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week 24

Hi Everyone!

I hope you have all had a wonderful week!  We have had beautiful sunshine and summer weather, but boy have we been busy!  You know how you always think that once I get through X, then things will slow down?  But then X comes and goes, and life is STILL just as busy--maybe even more so?  Well that is how life is feeling for me right now!  Nothing bad--just super busy!

I did run across one Bible verse this week that I never remember reading before, and it really struck me with it's beauty.  I must have read this verse sometime, because I know I have read through the entire Bible several times before.  But somehow, this verse did not stand out to me then like it did this week when I read it.

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders."  Deut. 33:12 NIV

Isn't that phrasing beautiful?  "Rests between his shoulders."  Can you not imagine God carrying you over the rocky parts of your life?  That's what I want.  I do not want to be the small child who insists "I can do it all by self!" as our daughter used to say when she was younger!  No--I do not want "all by self."  I want Jesus to carry me.  Because He loves me.

Have a beautiful week!  And let Jesus carry you.

In a Jam!

Help!  I'm in a JAM!

Alright, alright.  Just teasing.  But I AM in a jam--literally!  But it's a very sweet tasting jam, so I don't mind. 

When we moved to our house five years ago, we knew we wanted to plant blackberries.  They are tough plants--just the kind I need.  They don't kill easily, and even if you WANT to kill them off, it's well nigh impossible to do.  That's the plant for me!  Our friends from California where we used to live think we are crazy, because back there the blackberries grew wild EVERYWHERE.  You hacked at them to keep them from taking over your yard--literally!  And whenever you wanted fruit, you just went out and picked.

Not so in other parts of the country.  So ever after, whatever state we moved to, we planted blackberries in our yard.  While we lived in Texas, I found a variety that was very much "Texas Tough," which is just what I needed.  No coddling, no spraying, no fussing.  Just throw them in the dirt and they grow.  O.K., the first year I did spray them with water occasionally.  But no watering after that--really, they need to survive my lack of care!  So, when we moved to THIS state, I actually mail ordered the very same Texas bread blackberry root cuttings--ordering them from a plant nursery in Texas.  Fortunately for me, they seem just as happy growing in this state as they did in Texas.

 Blackberries need around three years to start producing.  The third year, we got "some," but we knew the harvest the following year would be GREAT.  And it was.  For the deer.  We had deer eating the blackberries in California, but there was always PLENTY for us as well.  Guess there was just more plants growing wild in that area, because we never noticed a lack of berries for us.  But here in our yard we sure did.  Last summer we saw scores of blackberry blossoms, and new it was going to be a GREAT harvest.  Our mouths watered as we watched the berries turn a deeper color.  We got to eat a few.  But then would go out to pick and the berries had turned invisible.  They just. weren't. there.  But there WERE plenty of little green stems sticking out with nothing on the end of them.  DEER.  Those dear little deer.  I don't mind sharing some with the deer, really.  But they did not exactly leave any to share with us.

So this year we knew we needed to do something, but what?  The bushes are not really planted in an area where they can be easily (or cheaply) fenced.  Besides that, deer can jump fences--they have even been noted to jump six foot fences upon occasion!  Dogs help, a lot. But our dog does not run free in the front yard since it IS unfenced, so she would only be helping to keep any deer out of the back yard.  Finally a friend of mine suggested that we try bird netting.  I didn't have much hope, but it was worth a try.  Well, so far, so good!  Maybe the netting just is kind of scary to the deer, so they aren't messing with it too much.

SO.  Back to my jam.  First, you need to start with some blackberries rescued from the deer!

 I follow directions in the low sugar pectin box.  It tells how much crushed fruit for each variety, and how much sugar to measure out.  You take a little bit of that sugar, and mix it with the pectin and that gets stirred in with the crushed fruit right away.  You also have to add in just a tiny bit of margarine, to keep it from over foaming.  I forgot once--and was amazed at how foamy it was!!!  The directions say to add in 1/2 tsp.  I personally do not want to add fat to my jam, so I put in probably closer to 1/4 tsp. and it seems to work just fine.  I asked my chemist husband about it, and he said it worked as a surfactant.  He said I could also use soap, if I didn't want to use the margarine.  I think I will continue using the margarine!

Anyway, so you take the crushed fruit with the sugar/pectin mixture and the margarine and this gets brought to a boil over high heat.  You have to stir it constantly, and I will warn you that it will splatter hot jam at you, so I always wear oven mitts when I am stirring jam.  After it has come to a rolling boil, you add the rest of the sugar that you have already measured out and then stir it as it comes back to a boil again.  Things can get tricky at this point as you need to move fast, so have everything laid out and ready that you are going to need.

 I keep my clean, washed jam jars in hot water in the sink, where they wait for my jam to be boiled and ready.

 I have already boiled my lids, and they are sitting in their hot water just waiting on the counter where I will bring my hot jam.

 Then you ladle the hot jam into each jar, filling it to within 1/8th inch of the top.  Next you wipe off any jam that spilled onto the top part of the jar, and place the lid on screwing the band tight--but not over tight, just hand tightened.

I wish I had a picture of the next step, but my computer messed it up so we will have to do without.  But I use the "inversion" method for sealing my jars.  After the lids are hand tightened, you literally flip the jam jar upside down so it is sitting on the lid part.  You let it sit this way for five minutes, then turn them back right side up.  As the jars cool, you will start hearing a "pop" sound, which is a VERY happy sound, as it is the sound of the jars sealing.  If for some reason a jar does not seal, you can either stick it in the fridge to use right away, or you can water bath can it to get it to seal.

And there you have it--my assorted sizes of jam jars!  I was scraping all around in my cupboards for more jam jars to fill--almost did not have enough, as this canning session filled 27 jars of jam!

Praise the Lord!  A gift from above.  Only He can make those berries grow, I cannot.  We sure are going to enjoy this jam through the next year!  If you have never tried canning before, jam is a great item to start with.  You can even make freezer jam, which is even easier as you get to skip all the boiling and sealing part.  Freezer jam is uncooked jam, and ends up with a fresher taste, though it will also be not as firm and a little on the runny side.  Great to use as a fruit syrup on waffles and pancakes though!

 If you don't have fruit growing in your yard, go check out some farmer's markets.  I was even able to purchase strawberries at a discount grocery store this year cheap enough to make some of it into jam.

Hope I helped give you some ideas for summer canning!  It is so nice to enjoy frozen fruit or jam during the rest of the year, when it is not in season.

Butterfly Time--Final Update!

O.K., I realize it has been a LONG time since I updated all of you on our butterfly caterpillars, but better late than never, right?  

Our three caterpillars stayed sleeping for around two weeks.  Sadly, one caterpillar never made a chrysalis, so we knew he (she?) wasn't going to make it.  Of the two remaining, one hatched out but had a deformed wing.  I've seen this happen before, though have no idea why.   An enemy did this.  I hate sin.

HOWEVER,

in spite of this sin filled world, there is still plenty of God's grace and beauty all around us.  Caterpillar #3 hatched out just perfect.  What a thrill it is to hold a butterfly on your hand.  Of course, this only lasts until their wings dry enough for them to fly!  But the brief moment of time makes it all the more special.  In heaven, we can hold them all the time.  

Watching a butterfly fly around in the air that you were able to watch hatch is like seeing a piece of laughter take wing.  Like a piece of God's smile.

A week after this beautiful butterfly took wing, I was watering a friends garden while she was away for two weeks.  Guess what I found devouring her parsley?  Yes--two more Black Swallowtail caterpillars!  I knew my friend was more interested in growing parsley, NOT feeding caterpillars--so I decided to relocate those two caterpillars from her yard to our indoor container.  Currently one is in his (her?) chrysalis and the other is still munching away on the food we feed it.  And soon, if we are fortunate, we might be able to hold a piece of God's smile again!

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week 23

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

I am actually posting this week's verse "on time!"  Aren't you all proud of me???  We have had the most beautiful weather today--truly delightful.  Our little one woke up with a cold, so she didn't feel up to going to church with a runny nose and sneezing, so I stayed home with her.  While I was sad to miss church, it was also nice to have a quite morning just the two of us.  We watched some children's Bible programs, listened to kids Sabbath songs, and played a few Bible games.  I even caught the end part of our church service on-line--the wonders of live streaming!

As I read in a book this morning, I ran across the most beautiful verse.  I just had to choose it for this next week's verse.  It kind of reminded me of last week's verse, about being anxious for nothing.  Really, this is just repeating the very same thing--in slightly different words.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?
     "The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?"
                                                                     Psalm 27:1

See?  Isn't that almost identical to last weeks verse about being anxious for nothing?  And there are so many other verses similar.  Kind of makes one wonder why God felt the need to repeat it so much.  Hummm. . . just like a parent.  I can just hear Him saying "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times. . . !"

How frustrated he must be when we continue to worry.  How hurt He must feel when we don't trust Him.

And I just love how the words are put together in this version--the NIV.  My favorite part--"the stronghold of my life."

That's what God is.  The stronghold of my life.  My Fortress.  My Protector.

My Life.