Friday, July 31, 2009

could we stay please


That is what we always feel
as we drive away from the
beach. No different this after-
noon. We bring back a sense
of timelessness. That is worth
going there to get!!!

I finished my third reading of
Hannah Coulter by Wendell
Berry. I highly recommend it
for a first, second , or more times
of reading. He constructs the most
beautiful sentences. I still awaited
them like seeing the dawn rise ( well,
I'm not an early riser so how about
a sunset!!!). It always is extraordinary.
It always brings sighs because beauty
demands sighing. Praising.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Glorying in the Sea

"Anne and Henrietta, finding themselves the earliest of the party the next morning, agreed to stroll down to the sea before breakfast. They went to the sands, to watch the flowing of the tide, which a fine south-easterly breeze was bringing in with all the grandeur which so flat a shore admitted. They praised the morning; gloried in the sea; sympathized in the delight of the fresh-feeling breeze--and were silent;"

Persuasion, volume 1, chapter 12

Heading out in the morning for the beach!


Thursday, July 23, 2009

Chopping, slicing and mixing


Preparing food to take to
GA this weekend for my
husband's mother's birthday.
You know when you try a new
recipe you hope it tastes as good
as it looks in the cookbook. I have
two good looking cookbooks from
the library: Dinner at My Place
by Tyler Florence. Guess he has
a cooking show and I loved reading
this book. He loves food and life.
The other is The Sweeter Side
of Amy's Bread. This is from a
famous bakery in NYC. Emma and
I are making a Choc. Cake that has
white icing and mini choc. chips on it.
It's on the cover. I asked Emma to find
a recipe she would like to eat!



There it is! Not sure ours will look so
pretty but we will frost it in the morning
with high hopes.

Made the Savoy Coleslaw with Cilantro
from Tyler's cookbook. Will post it
another time when it's not near midnight!
Time on the bottom is wrong!

Dinner at My Place




Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Worship


"And worship in such a way that it
is yearning toward the day wehn the
world will be full of the Glory of God
as the waters cover the sea."

N.T. Wright

Monday, July 20, 2009

Lay Your Hand Upon


Corrie Ten Boom learned
from her father as he taught
her watchmaking that her
character was being formed.
Watch repairing was training
in patience.
She would pray " Lord, will You
lay Your Hand upon my hand?"
And He always did as she worked
on fragile parts of a watch.
Today I'm praying for the things
I need to do.
She write " our joined hands
worked securely. Jesus never fails
us for a moment. I experienced
the miracle that the highest potential
of God's love and power is available
to us in the trivial things of everyday."
Lord, lay Your hand upon my hand
today.

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam
http://thisisgodsblog.com/hands.gif

Sunday, July 19, 2009

The Beauty of..........


This kind of day and weekend has
to be what Grace is made of!
Cool and giving thoughts to Fall.
Amazing to have windows open
to bring in that cool , clear air
inside. Amazing Grace.
Gratitude!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Levenskunst


From Corrie Ten Boom's
In My Father's House:

"When Bessie told a story, she
wove threads of brillant color
through the word pictures she
created. When she moved into
a room, or dressed for a meeting,
it was with special flair. She knew
"levenskunst" ( the art of living)!

This is the second time Corrie has
used this word. Here she contrasts
her sister to herself in a chapter
called Seventeen, and So Much to
Learn. She said KNEW , not was.
Bessie must have developed that art!
Corrie used the term "the art
of living" in the first chapter entitled
Inheritance. She ends with a description
of her father giving her aunt one
guilder ( about 30 cents) as she nursed
Corrie's sick mother and took care of
4 children. Finances must have been
serious for he would have to ask for
the guilder back by Weds. after giving
it to Anna on Sat. It was "blessed
money." Anna always had it to give
back.

"This was the beginning of my rich
inheritance. When I remember my
family life, I realize that my parents
and my aunts had truly mastered the
art of living. They enjoyed life and
they loved the children.

"We never laughed so much as when
you children were small," Tante Anna
said.
In our hearts we must have stored up
some of the memory of laughter to
be brought out in later years, when the
sounds of happy laughter were scarce
in our beloved land."




Friday, July 17, 2009

A Dozen years ago


Our
girl
was
born
to
a family
of 4 boys
and an
earlier loss of a girl. God was merciful
to us because I had lost a baby ( female) at
3 months pregnancy. We found out from some
tests that she had Downs Syndrome.
We rejoice that our Emma came
to us without any complications, 12
years ago today within a year of that
pregnancy.

And the doughnuts are about gone!
On to the party this afternoon.
Last night was Harry Potter's new movie.
I loved the scene where Hermine shelves
books in the library. She lifts the book
in the air and it magically shelves
itself! Oh my, how would housework
be with that! She seemed to be working
though! She is a deep thinker in her
character as her mind is always at work.
Hmmm...........!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Youngest turning 12


I usually get a dozen
doughnuts for any 12
year old that is having a
birthday. So when my
almost 12 year old ( tomorrow)
looked for a package of
Krispy Kremes , they had
a bonus of 3 extra! Thus
15~~ well, she looked around
to see if there was a dozen box!
I thought about grace.
Amazing grace.
Like 15 for the price of 12.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Good news


Answered prayer for my
son to hear from the very
long application process for
the Police Academy. We prayed
to hear by today. Yesterday he
was called to come in next week
for an interview to hopefully
be one chosen for the
Sept. new hires. It's been a 6 months
process. I prayed this morning after
reading this from Tim Keller for
God to provide jobs for the
unemployed especially to prosper the
city. GRATITUDE in my day yesterday
as I praised God, singing in my
heart that what we asked He answered.
Isn't it lovely to see Him work?
How has He done that today in His
love towards you?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Feasting


To have a pile of books to
read is like Thanksgiving.
So much to digest! So much
to ponder and grow upon.
It's like good vitamins!
It's wonderful to find books
that I've read before and reread
them at another time in my life.
One is The Summer of the
Great-Grandmother by Madeleine
L'Engle. It makes me think of
the 3 months before my mother
passed away. We cared for her
and depended on grace to abound
in each detail. Who was going to
stay with her when the nurse was
off?

I love her beginning to this book that
at her mother's 90th birthday it felt
like a toboggan ride.

"My mother's plunge into senility
reminds me of that
toboggan ride."

"It's a good thing to have all the props
pulled out from under us occasionally.
It gives us some sense of what is
rock under our feet, and what is sand.
It stops us from taking anything
for granted. It has also taught me
alot about living in the immediate
moment. I am somehow managing
to live one day, one hour at a time."

I find myself taking in those words to
pray. Another act of Gratitude.


The Summer of the Great-Grandmother (Crosswicks Journal, Book 2)




Saturday, July 11, 2009

ahh....Sabbath rest


Nice to think of the Sabbath
and not filling it with much.
Church and rest. I went to
a Book Fair these past two days.
It has a wonderful used book dealer.
I spent hours looking at the shelves.
It about wore me out!
He has the most incredible
eye for books so it was like
being in a candy store as a child.
Then an afternoon
wedding with dinner. Seeing
an old neighbor's daughter grow
up and get married really warmed
my heart but also what the Lord
said "to number our days." They
grow up fast and we too!
Thus tomorrow is one to rest!
Thank you Lord for the Sabbath.


Posted as a part of the Gratitude Community at Holy Experience

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Rain and Gratitude



Thank YOU for the comments
on our anniversary. You deeply
bless.

Thinking of the Gratitude
Community through Holy
Experience as it rained this
morning and through out the
day!

GREAT news that a friend's husband
sold a house! I praise God for His
faithfulness to provide as we ask for
His mercies new every morning.

Spurgeon's Evening Devotion
yesterday:

Have you had no deliverances?
Have you passed through no rivers,
supported by the divine presence?
Have you walked through no fires unharmed?
Have you had no manifestations?
Have you had no choice favors?
The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart,
hath he never listened to you and answered
your requests?
That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang,
“Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things,”
hath he never satiated you with fatness?
Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures?
Have you never been led by the still waters?
Surely the goodness of God has been the same
to us as to the saints of old.

Let us, then, weave his mercies into a song.


Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness,
and the jewels of praise and make them into
another crown for the head of Jesus.

Let our souls give forth music as sweet and
as exhilarating as came from
David’s harp, while we praise the Lord whose
mercy endureth forever
.


Wednesday, July 8, 2009

7-8-78



K.L.B. married B.A.B!
31 years ago, we were headed
on our honeymoon after
our afternoon wedding ( in
Southern Pines) to
spend the night in Raleigh
and then off to South Dakota
to see the wild west, home
of my husband's heritage.

We're headed off to eat dinner
at the Cheesecake Factory!



Monday, July 6, 2009

well, that turned out GOOD

I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal
Scones from The Sweeter Side of
Amy's Bread. They are so , so good
and I already have several good
scone recipes. This made a huge
batch, so on this summer day I
put a bag in the freezer. Not too
hot today to bake, so here's the
recipe:

1 3/4 c. + 1 tbsp unbleached flour
2/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp B. powder
1 tsp. salt ( which I omitted)
1 tsp cinn.
3/4 tsp b. soda
1 1/4 tsp. unsalted butter, 1/2 inch dice
7/8 c. old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 c. cranberries ( I used a dried berry mix and some with Choc. Chips)
3/4 c. walnuts
1 1/2 c. buttermilk ( I used sour milk)
1 large egg.
sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 400. Combine flours,
sugar, b. powder, salt, cinn, and baking
soda. You can use a food processor to
mix. I used a spoon. Cut in butter and mix
to small pieces in flour. Stir in oats,
berries, and walnuts.
In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and
egg. Save a tiny bit for the top coating.
Add to dry mixture. Don't overmix.
Drop dough on sheet pan ( can use baking
parchment) . I used a stone with nothing.
Dab with milk mixture and sprinkle with
sugar.

Bake for 15 mins , then reduce heat to 375
for 10-15 minutes.
Makes 12 large scones or many more
small ones.
The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread: Cakes, Cookies, Bars, Pastries and More from New York City's Favorite Bakery



Also made Roasted Squash and Zucchini
from Tyler Florence's
cookbook:

Dinner at My Place












Saturday, July 4, 2009

Prayers for the nation


One of the things to do
today: pray for our nation.
We felt like we live in
a parish, a smaller town than
the suburbs of Charlote, a bit
of Mitford AS we went to the
local Farmer's Market this
morning. So many of the farmers
were talkative. I have my
favorites. In those small conver-
sations , I found out one had
had a hip replacement and one
taught me more about herbs.

We mulched our garden after
returning,
which was put in late with the
wedding and graduations and
May being so busy. April then
was even more! To my surprise
were some cucumbers growing
under the leaves. I praised God
for that fruit to harvest. Now
to pray for that for our nation.

Happy 4th.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Feels like a beach trip


Here at home , it feels like we
live at the beach during a vacation.
We get up later, eat later, stay up
later and there's not much looking
at the clock! Restful.

Today I found this book at B&N for
5.00. It looks very good for narration,
reading a bit, writing a bit, for Emma in
the Fall . Now wouldn't you have loved
to have met C.S.Lewis at age 8!
I love the beginning of the first chapter.
Look inside:


Jack's Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis






Thursday, July 2, 2009

PTO


These days are ones that we
are thankful to have jobs. Today
my newlywed son has a Paid Time
Off , mandatory. AND Monday too.
Tomorrow being a paid holiday!His
dad just has tomorrow off.
It's probably a way to reward their
workers after the June 15th tax deadline
that demanded overtime.
We don't hear so much
of that to give us hope. Gratitude.
It's more of no jobs, layoffs, and
firings in this financial city.

Beans, squash and banana peppers
in abundance came to a kitchen of
a friend in need by her brother!
"Call to Me and I will answer" saith
the Lord in Jer. 33:3. Jeremiah had
prayed "nothing is hard for You , Lord,
who shows lovingkindness to thousands..
great in counsel and mighty in deed"
( Jer. 32: 17-19)

My heart enlarged with hope reading this
this morning.
"A thank offering to the house of the Lord
( 33:11)... I will restore....and make it a
habitation of shepherds who rest their
flocks." I'm looking for those shepherds
amongst us! Seen any?

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Alice in Wonderland

Due out in March 2010:

Johnny Depp as the Madhatter
Ann Hathaway as the White Queen
Alice is Mia Wasikowska


Alice in Wonderland Concept Art

Pray.........Gratitude


Thinking about the Gratitude
Community today amidst prayers
for those out of work , health issues,
our children's lives and plans, and
the Word of God sustaining.

This week brought news of
two cars given to the
need of when a transmission died.
I told that friend to SING when she
looks at the cars. Amazing grace.

Another friend is out of work and
has a free townhouse to live in for
whenever the job comes. It hasn't come
yet, yet all her needs are taken care of.
Amazing grace.

I'm thankful for fortitude given to
each to stand strong.

Amy Carmichael writes about "Mr.
Standfast" by John Buchan:
" One of the men here was speaking
about that kind ( courage that keeps on
when there's no fun nor profit, that never
lets go when your insides are empty,
trouble's not over in an hour or two but
lasts for months and years)
and he called it 'FORTITUDE.'
I reckon fortitude's the biggest thing
a man can have ~~just to go on
enduring when there's
no gut or heart left in you.
And Peter went on enduring , nourished
by the strong meat he found in his two
only books, his Bible and his Pilgrim's
Progress; and he wins through
and makes a gallant end."

http://feedbooks.com/book/43.png