If your fed up with face book, check this post out, I am switching myself. It takes a little doing but it will be worth it. If Privacy Matters to You, It’s Time to Leave Facebook – Modern Alternative Mama. You can find me here: https://mewe.com/join/correnas_thoughts
Garden Fresh Salsa Recipe
(4 pints)
5 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
5 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
2 large onions chopped
6 oz. tomato paste
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp sugar
2 jalapenos cut up very fine
1 green or red pepper chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Mix all ingredients well. Put in a large kettle and bring to a slow boil. Turn heat down to lowest setting and simmer uncovered for 2 hours until desired consistency. Can it or freeze it from there.
I was intimidated by making jam, till I tried it and it really is easy. Here’s the recipe I used to make Blueberry and Strawberry Jams:
Blueberry Jam
4 cups prepared blueberries (1 1/2 quart fully ripe) 1 box of sure jell pectin 1/2 tsp butter 4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl Stem and crush blueberries with potato masher Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit into 6-8 quart saucepan. Stir pectin into fruit in saucepan. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full boil, and boil exactly 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with metal spoon. ( I did this and I didn’t have any foam to remove!) Ladle immediately into prepared jars. fill to 1/4 inch of top Process 10 minutes in water bath Note: a full rolling boil is when it is still boiling while you are stirring Strawberry Jam 5 cups prepared fruit (2 quarts fully ripe) 1 box sure jell pectin 1/2 tsp butter 7 cups sugar Instructions are the same as blueberry jam above I realize I am not putting canning directions itself on these posts, but I figure if your canning you already know them, so I am just putting the recipes I am using to can things. More to come!
Today’s canning recipe is:
Bread and Butter Pickles
The soak: 12 cups (4 lbs.) 1/4 inch thick slices of pickling cucumbers 2 medium white onions, thinly sliced 6 TBSP pickling salt 4-5 cups crushed ice The brine: 3 cups cider vinegar 2 cups sugar 2 TBSP mustard seed 2 tsp turmeric 2 tsp celery seed 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp peppercorns Layer cucumbers, onions, and salt in large bowl. Cover with ice cubes, weight it down with a heavy plate. Put in fridge for overnight or up to 24 hours. In stainless or nonstick pan combine the brine ingredients and bring them to a boil. Drain and rinse cucumbers and onions Add to vinegar mixture and return to a boil. Pack pint jars with 1/4 inch head space and remove bubbles with wooden handle of spoon. Wipe rims, cover and process in water bath for 10 minutes.
Hello everyone, as you, I am sure have noticed, I have not blogged in quite a while,I have still been reading blogs I follow but have not been doing it myself. I want to get back to doing it a little and thought I would start with what I have been doing lately: Canning!! I have been canning different things and I thought I would share some of the recipes I am using in the next few posts. These are the recipes I am using this year. This one is:
Cucumber Relish
2 quarts chopped cucumbers 2 cups chopped sweet green peppers 2 cups chopped sweet red peppers 1 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup canning salt 2 quarts cold water 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 2 sticks cinnamon 1 TBSP mustard seed 1 TBSP turmeric 2 tsp whole allspice 2 tsp whole cloves 1 quart vinegar Combine cucumbers, peppers and onions; sprinkle with turmeric. Dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold water and pour over vegetables; let stand 3 to 4 hours. Drain; cover vegetables with cold water and let stand 1 hour. Drain thoroughly. Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag; add to sugar and vinegar. Heat to boiling and pour over vegetables. Cover and let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Simmer until vegetables are hot. Bring to boiling. Pack, boiling hot, into hot pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes about 6 pints (This recipe came from the Ball Blue Book)
Check this out and be encouraged. Happy World Card Making Day!!!!!!!
With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart: Easter Butter Lamb.
This is adorable, but I love the poem at the end, so please check it out! and have a great Easter.
Easter is God’s promise
which His Son came to fulfill,
A promise of eternal life
for all who seek His will–
Season of the budding trees,
the lily in its glory,
The greening hills, the daffodils,
the holy Easter story.
Easter is the joy of spring,
God’s gift and triumph, too,
Reminding us of Jesus’ love
in which we’re born anew.
I pray you all have a Wonderful Easter in Christ!
God bless you.
The Greatest Event in History!.
A MUST READ!!
I just love these awards and I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by heatherraye at Never Lacking Zeal
What is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. HERE ARE THE RULES FOR RECEIVING THIS AWARD:
- Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
- Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
- Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
- Go to their page and tell them.
- No tag backs!
About Me:
1. I live in the country and I love it
2. I love ice cream
3. My favorite color is red
4. My favorite bird is a black capped chickadee
5. I am a paper crafter, card making is my favorite
6. I am on a quest for having better health
7. Pansys are my favorite flower
8. I love taking pictures and capturing things and people who make me
happy
9. I don’t keep a written journal of my thoughts because I learned in 7th
grade to never write anything down you wouldn’t want read in a
newspaper, so I have always had trouble writing down my feelings
because of that memory
10. I absolutely do not like cranberries or cherry flavored stuff
11. I love to blog, but have been very busy with spring cleaning and such
and apologize for being so slack on it lately but will get back to it more
regularly as soon as I catch up on things.
Okay now for the questions I have to answer from Never Lacking Zeal:
1. What is your favorite side dish?
macaroni and cheese, only because it can’t be ice cream!
2. Where is the best place you’ve been on vacation?
I haven’t been too far away but I love Vermont
3. What is your least favorite color?
I love almost all colors but I just don’t like lime green
4. How many siblings do you have?
5 – -3 brothers and 2 sisters
5. White or black socks?
black most definitely
6. What inspires you to write?
wanting to share the love of Jesus
7. What celebrities house would you want to live in?
I don’t have a clue, can’t think of anywhere else on earth I would rather be than right here in the country
8. If you could ask Santa for one gift for the rest of you life, what would it be?
Santa could never give me what I really want!
9. How many fingers am I holding up?
Hopefully all of them!
10. Do you ever talk to you self? And are the conversations to your favor?
oh yes, and most definitely, otherwise why bother?!
11. Who is your favorite book character?
David in the book of Psalms in the Bible
Okay, here are the questions for my nominations to answer:
1. Are you a happy person?
2. What is your favorite time of year and why?
3. If you could be any where in the world right now, where would it be?
4. Do you go to church?
5. What are your favorite pizza toppings?
6. What is one thing you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?
7. What is your favorite bird?
8. What is you favorite way to relax?
9. Do you like love ice cream? whats your favorite flavor?
10. What is your hobby?
11. Do you know if your going to heaven someday?
Now for my nominations:
1. Seasonsgirl
4. ContadinaK
8. StoneGable
9. Cindy Knoke
11. Can’t Stay out of the kitchen
I hope you will play along and just have fun with this, I did!
How to set priorities in our lives – Teaching What Is Good. Please read this post. It is the absolute way to begin any thing we need to do in our lives. I for one needed to hear this. Thank you Kate.
I am so excited again!!! Yes, I am. I was awarded the Illuminating Blogger Award by Athina at Kicking Back the Pebbles.
I am so thankful to her for thinking of me again. She has a wonderful blog and a beautiful cat named Captain that you just have to check out!
The Rules:
Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you
Say a few words of gratitude on your blog and follow the link
Share a few words about yourself and pass on the award to at least 5 other bloggers
A few words???!!! Well, lets see, I am Christian, married to a wonderful man. I am a Sunday School teacher, and our church pianist. I love paper crafting, art journaling, cooking, bird watching and gardening. I love to go for long rides, photography, walks, sightseeing, and fishing. I love animals, I have a dog, 2 cats, and a guinea pig. I live in the country and love every minute of it.
Now onto the nominations!
ibeatovcai
because she has so much joyful inspiration to share with her wonderful spirit as a cancer survivor and her love for God
contadina k
because of her wonderful creative spirit and her encouragement to try new things in art, her wonderful videos and her upbeat spirit in creating
Unshakable Hope
because of his courage during physical difficulty, his belief in miracles whether they happen his way or not, and most of all his inspiration to keep close to God
Two Saucy Sisters
because of their inspiration for trying new ways to cook food, and they always work together and bring happiness into others lives
Seasonsgirl
because of her inspiration to take time and enjoy the beauty God has made, and her love for animals and her beautiful photos
There is so much inspiration to be found in so many different blogs and in so many different areas of life. I hope you enjoy just the few that I have named that inspire me above. There are many others but these seem to be the ones I keep going back to check my email for that are on WordPress. Thank you again Athina for nominating me. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.
Well, I just realized I haven’t posted anything since last Saturday when I did my first blog review. I have been pretty busy this week. It was my second anniversary of being married to my most wonderful husband Scott. We were married 2 years ago Valentines Day. Yep we had a Valentines Day Wedding! I so much love being married to my Scott. He is a wonderful, caring, understanding man and I have been so blessed to be with him.
I am honored today to share with you a very inspiring blog.
ibeatovca
Life as a cancer survivor
It is a blog about a lady who has had ovarian cancer. She shares her life as a cancer survivor. She gives a scripture and a song for the day on most all of her posts. She has a wonderful uplifting spirit. She tells her story on her about page and shows her spirit in her blog posts such as:
How Majestic – my favorite for this week!
So much inspiration here and I just love that she has such a joyful spirit about her even tho she has had some really tough days., but she knows who holds her in His hand and shares her love for God and for life in her posts. Please check out her blog and just rejoice with her as she tributes her life to God as her Healer and Guide and Lord. I promise you wont leave her blog without being blessed! Enjoy in inspiration.
Well, today is the day!!! I mentioned before that I wanted to start doing blog reviews at least once if not twice a week, and I decided for now on once a week on Saturdays, till I get into the swing of it. So, today is Saturday and I woke up crabby, yep, sometimes it happens!!! I was reading through my Word Press Reader this morning and wouldn’t you know I found a blog that always cheers me up when I read it. And it did just that this morning. The blog is:
– Morning Story and Dilbert
best read with a cup of coffee or tea and an occasional kleenex
In order to understand where this blog is coming from it is best to read their “about” page, which explains Dilbert! The author searches the internet for stories that touch the heart. If it tugs at the emotions, then it is Dilbert material. The characteristics of the stories reflect strong Christian Values which is what we really need in this society today!
Here are some of the recent posts that you will enjoy: You will love the cartoon strips on top of most every post.
And one of my favorites most recent posts: Christian One-Liners
Those are just a few, A blog to definitely check out and enjoy. I am sure they would love the company.
I have a special post I would like to add today. We have a newsletter in our church, and our Pastor writes a message each time. This message is “The War Has Heated Up” and I would like to share it with you. It is written by Pastor Lee Call, from Faith Baptist Church, in Warrensburg, NY.
PASTOR’S CORNER
THE WAR HAS HEATED UP
Chuck Swindoll recently wrote a book entitled, “The Church Awakening”. The subtitle of this book is “An Urgent Call For Renewal”. In this book he exposes the reality of what is going on in America today and in particular in the church, the body if believers.
He states, “The challenge is given that we need clear headed discernment in the church. And along with discernment we need an equal supply of courage.” He clarifies the problem “…with the embracement of postmodernism which has caused us to slide into the murky waters of a post-Christian swamp”
To define the term postmodernism he provides a description of it as follows, ” Postmodernism thrives on chaos. It desires to destroy all moral criteria and replace it with no criteria, It seeks a world where everything is relative, where there is no truth, and perception is reality. Since God’s eternal truth has no place in such a world, with the rise of postmodernism we witness a commensurate decline in biblical knowledge.
The way this has evolved is interesting. Postmodernism began in the rarefied atmosphere of the academic literary community. It soon began to ooze from the erudite eggheads in academia to virtually everyone in any position of leadership. It has morphed from the halls of academia, to the halls of Congress, to halls of public schools, and finally into our private homes…..The great tragedy of all is that the church of the 21st century has capitulated.” [Found in the Introduction of his book]
I encourage you to get a copy of this book. It is good reading for good thinking. He does not only show the problem and how serious it is but calls on true believers of Christ to have the courage to obey the Lord and realize that the Christian World view is superior to the World View and we alone have the words of hope for real change.
One great fact we cannot escape is that God is in charge. He is sovereign over the affairs of man.
The world view may not want to hear from God and has the erroneous belief that we don’t need God in public life.
The church, we who know the Lord Jesus, are targeted by Satan daily to yield ground to the World View of life. This world view denies God, the Bible and all that is holy and true. It is destroying our world around us. It is a faulty view with no good end in sight. Many are turning their back on the church, the home and truth as they rush headlong into a chaotic blackness cause by such a view of life.
As a member of the body of Christ we have a promise from the Lord, Himself, as regarding the church. 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH; AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. [Matthew 16:16-18]
One more quote for the moment from Chuck’s book is important regarding the church historically speaking. He quotes from another reminding us….”Eighteen hundred years or so of Hebrew history capped by a full exposition in Jesus Christ tell us that God’s revelation of Himself is rejected far more than it is accepted, is dismissed by far more people than embrace it, and has been either attacked or ignored by every major culture or civilization in which it has given its witness: magnificent Egypt, fierce Assyria, beautiful Babylon, artistic Greece, political Rome, Enlightened France, Nazi Germany, Renaissance Italy, Marxist Russia, Maoist China, and pursuit of happiness America. The community of God’s people has survived in all of these cultures and civilizations but always as a minority, always marginal to the mainstream, never statistically significant.”
Indeed the church has been under attack since Christ created us. He is our head and He cannot be defeated by the enemy no matter what.
I agree with Chuck’s statement that, “It is high time for today’s church to awaken to the gathering storm upon us…. To realize the invisible war around us… and to apply discernment, decisiveness, and passion for appropriate action.
It is high time for us to believe the Biblical Truth that we are engaged in a Spiritual War. We do well to heed the advice given by Paul to Timothy in his second epistle in the third chapter where he describes the condition and attitudes of the world in the end times… But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. [2 Timothy 3:13]
We must recognize the fact that we have to have a realistic understanding of the times we live in. Evil is the defining word in the above passage. We live in evil times and we must not allow ourselves to be deceived bywhat is going on around us.
Also we are reminded from this passage that there are seducers [imposters]. These lead many to turn from correct sound biblical teaching into error. There are many charlatans. We must watch out for these phonies. Paul reminds us they go from bad to worse.
Today we see too many churches caught up in this mentality in that they have become entertain ing churches with a shallow, superficial, feel-good message which can never prepare one for real life situations. They have twisted scriptures to conform to the culture. They lack depth and are as Swindoll says, “They are papiermache facades that crumble under stress.”
Indeed in the description of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 it is obvious the early church fathers new what they were up against and God inspired Paul to remind us of the truth-We are in a Spiritual War. We will be in it till Jesus comes for us. Time to gird our armor on and fight with courage.
The victory is ours and this should cause us to have a mindset that causes us to be convinced of the truths we have been taught through the Word are just that—they are truths. Our faith stands on solid ground because it is based on Christ the Solid Rock.We need to lean on the everlasting truth of God. All Scripture is inspired of God and is given to enable us to experience victory.
The church is God’s idea. We are a part of it and God has placed us together for His purposes.
We must never forget that the Church is His idea. It is His. He is the Head and He is the one who is growing His church. The gates of Hell cannot stand against it successfully.
So let us fight the good fight of faith with courage. Let us hang onto the truth of God’s Holy word All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
WE ARE ON THE WINNING SIDE. PRAISE THE LORD FOR OUR SALVATION AND HIS DIVINE PROTECTION IN THESE DAYS OF INTENSIFIED SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
Written by Rev. Lee B. Call
Cheesy Baked Vidalia Dip – and how to stay sane 🙂 | Southern Plate###. This is a great post. Love this thought she put on at the end:
What are your little foxes? – Teaching What Is Good. This is a very encouraging post I would like to share with you. Kate has written a wonderful little post on the foxes in life. Do you know what yours are? Go check out what she has written, you might be a little suprised at what the foxes really are? I was very encouraged by reading her post this morning and it has got me really thinking. Thanks Kate!
I am honored to be nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by Connie at ibeatovca She has a beautiful blog, she is a cancer survivor and has a beautiful perception of God and who He is. She has wonderful posts and would be very happy for you to check out her blog. She blogs from her heart!
Now I am to tell 7 things about myself and then nominate 15 other blogs. So here goes with the 7 things:
1. I am a born again Christian who loves Jesus and makes Him number 1 in my life. I love my church, the Pastor and his family and serving as a Sunday School Teacher.
2. I am married to Scott who is the most wonderful man in the world to me. He is so supportive and loving, is always there for me and he’s just the best!
3. I have a dog named Zeke, 2 cats named Idget and Granny, and a guinea pig named Winstin, I love animals to pieces, they are so enjoyable.
4. I am on a learning to eat whole, healthy, preservative free, lifechanging adventure! And my husband is supporting me!
5. I live in the country and love, love, love it!!! I can’t say enough about how much I adore living out here!
6. I make all my own cards, do card challenges and am learning about art journaling and love that!
7. Blogging has changed my life, I have learned so much from all you bloggers and always look forward to my emails to see whats new in blogland!!!
Okay, now here are the nominations which are not in any kind of order, in fact there are so many more I could add to this list but can only do 15 so here goes: (At the end I will post the guidelines for this award)
These are just some of the blogs that have helped change my life. They are encouraging and inspiring, I have learned so much from them. I have new friends here in these blogs and would love for you to check them out and see how they can encourage you too! Have fun exploring, and hey, you can always comment anytime! We all love to be encouraged by the comments that are given.
Okay, now here are the guidelines for this award
- Thank the person who gave you this award, and include a link to their blog.
- Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. Link to their blogs so others can check them out.
- Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award and let them know in a comment somewhere on their blog
- Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself
- And don’t forget to grab your badge!!
That’s it. I hope you enjoyed getting to know some other bloggers!
I have one more quick note to tell you. I think, no, I am going to start doing some blog reviews very soon. I will post at least one a week, or maybe every few days. I will start with the blogs I follow which will probably take quite a while as so many of you out there have really neat blogs. I won’t do them in any specific order, just whichever one hits me when I write! So keep in touch and I will get started soon!
I have never known how to photo edit before, but I am learning! This is a picture of my cat “Granny” that I photo edited in Picassa this afternoon. It was interesting and thought I’d share it with you all.
This is the second time I have been nominated for this award and I am so thrilled to be able to participate in it yet again. I was nominated for the “Wonderful Team Member Readership Award” by Athina at Kicking Back the Pebbles. You must go and check out her blog. This blog is about her little apartment, home organizing & small DIY projects, some food and traveling. She also has a great pizza recipe here. Wonderful blog!! The only rule to accepting this nomination is to nominate 14 more blogs for this reward!! I am so thankful for all those who like, comment, and follow my blog, and I have picked the following 14 blogs to nominate for this award:
Lesley Carter – Bucket List Publications
Mayasingredients – for food lovers
Serving Joyfully – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. Romans 15:13
Rigmover – I work, I travel, I take photos
Canadian Hiking Photography – photographer
dahlhouse-designs – my paper crafted world
Hold the Sugar – Discovering the benefits of an anti-inflammation, “real food” life!
Sethsnap – Photographs from my world
Finding Balance Blog – My horse is a mirror reflection of my journey
Of Dust and Kings – Reflections on God, His Kingdom, and what it means to be human
Gabriel Lucatero – writer
ALIC3INWOND3RLAND – Thoughts from the rabbit hole
Delusion 24.7 – You are suffering from Delusion, If you want everything to change start there
Barbier Family Blog – Personal Blog of Raymond Barbier
This award is very simple, if you choose to accept all you have to do is Find 14 blogs you want to highlight. In a post provide a link back to my blog, then link each of the 14 blogs you want to award this nomination to. After you do that go to each of these blogs separately and in their “about” section or other post, notify them of the award like I did for you and provide them a link to the post you published linking their blogs. Then you also notify me when it’s all done. Copy and paste the logo (badge) icon and use it in your post as the featured image.
Now, this is COOL!! I got this idea from Kate at Teaching What is Good. She put one her blog in the form of JOY with a Bible verse she wanted to use. Go check it out, she has an awsome blog besides, many good things to learn and read. This is really neat, It is located at http://www.tagxedo.com It is fun to do. I used my favorite Bible verse of Psalm 121. Try it out!!
I just wanted to share a card I made for my mom, just a card to let her know I care about her. I have never explained directions before so please bear with me. I got the idea from watching a tutorial from Christina on Cardmaking Magic. She has tons of video tutorials on all kinds of card making. She has a blog called Flowers, Ribbons and Pearls Cardmaking. Check them out, you will like them. Anyways, I was watching this video and since I don’t have the cd’s for the printed out words, I had to figure out how to make them myself and add them to the cardstock I wanted to use.
So this is the front page, closed it spells out MOM, obviously! I also did not have the rings to bind it together, so instead I stapled the pages together and covered them with ribbon. I cut out the letters from white cardstock and then just glued them to the end of each cardstock sheet. You have to line up the letters how you want them and then trim the cards to the length of the last one before stapling it together. The images are pictures I copied off line and cut out and put on with foam tape. I curled the butterfly wings with a pencil, and put the foam tape just in the middle to make it look like it moves.
On the inside I added some embellishments. The pocket with the strips in it is made from a piece of vellum with a ribbon around the 3 sides to hide the glue because it shows through the vellum. I put a tag across the front that says many thanks and the little strips of paper each have a thought of what I am thankful for about my mother on the fronts and backs of each strip. The rose is cut out from the front of an old card. The little butterfly stamp is an old stampin up stamp that someone gave me a long time ago. I realize my pictures aren’t as clear as they should be, I am still working on learning how to use my newer camera. Anyway, that’s the second page.
The third page has some embellishments, of a tag I made, sticker gems, my moms favorite Bible verse on the left and then I cut out an appropriate sentiment from an old card on the right, with a raised bird sticker I got from some stickers I got at the Yankee Dollar Store. On the back is where I wrote her a note telling her how much I appreciated her.
I wanted to show you this because I know there are people who want to make cards and don’t realize that they don’t have to have all the fancy stuff, equipment and such to make a card for someone they love. Most of the cards I make are from pieces of this and that. I watch videos and follow many papercraft blogs and get inspiration and instructions and then I adapt to using what I have to try to make my cards. There is a ton of places to learn to make cards. I have quite a few links on my blog on the side where you can link up and learn!!!! I have not been able to afford fancy equipment (hopefully someday, I will be able to get a few things) but in the meantime, I love making cards and do it with what I can get. I like to go to places that have single sheets of scrapbook paper on sale and pick up a few here and there, like the piece I used on the second page with the roses. Cardmaking doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. The dollar stores always have tons of stickers and if you pick up something here and there like a stamp, or ink, or little bits and pieces and don’t throw away scraps of papers, you can make cards. I started out making Christmas cards a few years ago (2009, out of need and no income, with construction paper and stickers that my mom gave me. As these last couple years have gone by, I have purchased items when I could, and have built my supplies up some, but not on equipment I can’t afford, mostly papers, glue, stickers and bits and pieces. I get plain cardstock from Wal-mart when I can. I have been given a few gifts which have been incredible and I love them, and that adds to my supplies. My husband bought me this past fall a scoreboard, it was on sale, and I was so pleased. I see all the crafters online use them and really wanted one, I folded everything by hand with a ruler and it was like receiving gold, it is a wonderful tool. The other tool he bought me last year was a paper trimmer and that’s a wonderful tool, but other than that I cut out everything by hand with scissors and sometimes an exacto knife. From what I hear with all the gadgets that die cut everything for you, what I do, is called fussy cutting!! Funny name since that’s how I cut most everything for my cards. But, those are the only 2 pieces of equipment I have. I now have 3 punches, thanks to a friend online who sent 2 of them to me and I bought a corner punch at Wal-Mart a few months back. It takes time to build up supplies like many crafters have, but you can still make beautiful cards, if you want to. I don’t think my cards are beautiful by any means, but some people that I make them for like them, so I will keep making them and learning new things about them. Anyway, I just thought I would share a little about it to hopefully encourage someone out there. Do you make cards? How did you start out? I would be interested to know how some of you papercrafters started out in making cards or whatnot!! Please let me hear from you! Have a great day.
I have a special post I would like to add today. We have a newsletter in our church, and our Pastor writes a message each time. This message is on “The Greatest Gift Ever Given” and I would like to share it with you. It is written by Pastor Lee Call, from Faith Baptist Church, in Warrensburg, NY.
PASTOR’S CORNER
“FOLLOW ME”
When Jesus began to call His disciples note his words as recorded in Matthew 4:19 “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus said later, to his disciples, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24″
It is vital that God’s people follow Him. Jesus made it clear that His disciples were called by Him to follow Him. We are not to lead Him nor run ahead of Him and tell Him the way. Our Lord, alone, knows the way that we ought to go. Our obedience is the key to rightly following Him.
He is the head of the Church. We are His bride and He is the Head. Following Christ is not a 50-50 proposition but is to be 100 percent following as He leads. His way is the one and only way.
It is God who calls us. He called the disciples. He had His plan for why they should follow. They would be His witnesses.
The Gospel is not something negotiable. He alone is the Way. He is the Gospel. “12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even tothem that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-3
To follow Him implies we are truly on of His. In the passage above it is quite clear that salvation, yours & mine and anyone’s is possible because He made it possible. He alone, devised the way for man to have his sins cleansed and be saved. That is obviously why Jesus said: “…….I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6″
Jesus stated:
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain……” John 15:16
Since He is the author of our salvation He has every right to demand we follow Him. He has every right to tell us what He expects us to do.
He had given us His Word. The Bible is His idea. It is His communication to us. In it we find the Truth. He is Truth and His truth alone can liberate us. Jesus reminds us of this”
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
In this day and age we find people want to follow their own ways. They want to do their own thing. Our generation seems to feel that they do not need Him.
Many have turned their back on His body- the Church- and in so doing have turned their back on Him.
Our society is rewriting our history to the tune of the revisionists and unfortunately many are doing the same with the Word of God. We are finding many who have a form of Godliness but their lives deny the power thereof. [See 2 Timothy 3:5]
Jesus made it clear that to follow Him is expected. To follow Jesus we must, therefore, truly be His disciples. Jesus said: ”The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Matthew 10:24″
The whole ministry of the church is involved in discipleship. Every time we have a service in the church we have an opportunity to practice discipleship.
God has placed us in the family of God to be a part of His body – the church. He says; “12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
As we look at the context of this passage we are reminded that the Lord gives each of us some gifts to be shared and used in the local body. No one has all the gifts. He designed it so we would be one body. We need one another. We should be using our gifts, those abilities that He has imparted to us for the edification of the body.
Remember in Ephesians 4: “4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
He ends this section in Ephesians 4 with the reminder that even our leaders are given to the church for one purpose: 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, MAKETH INCREASE OF THE BODY UNTO THE EDIFYING OF ITSELF IN LOVE.” Ephesians 4:11-16
As we labour together in our local body we should praise God for His perfect Word.
Let us seek to follow the great advice of our Lord as seen in His Word and Follow Him with our whole being. Let us seek to edify {build up} one another.
We can do this by our faithfulness to:
1. Personally spend daily time with Him in His Word.
2. Pray daily. {For our needs and for one another}
3. Share His Word with others. Some need to be born again. We should witness faithfully to these. Some need encouragement to obey His Word. As a true disciple we should seek to edify others in the body.
4. To Assemble together to hear His Word. We need to assemble to together as His disciples if we truly will follow Him. {Heb 10:25}
Let us keep looking up. He is coming soon.
FOLLOW HIM. FOLLOW HIS WORD.
Scraps of Darkness: Welcome to our January Blog Hop!. Check out this blog hop. If you like scrapbooking or cardmaking you will enjoy this hop. Join us and have fun.
I have been busy paper crafting and working on some challenges! I really enjoy making cards and I have 6 cards to show you!! yipeee!
For the first one I made a card with a Hampton Art Stamp that I received from a winning pkg I received back at the beginning of December from Contadina K. This little owl is so cute, I just love him, don’t you? I am entering this card into CAS(E) this Sketch! Here is the full post.
The next card “You’re SNOW Cool!” I am entering in at My Craft Spot for the Frosty Days Challenge. You can see the full post here.
The third one I did was for CASE study. I just love hearts! The full post for this one is here.
Number 4 is for the Come and Get It Color Challenge. Here is the full post for this one.
The fifth one is for Try Stampin on Tuesday challenge. Here is the full post for this one.
And finally number 6 is for Merry Monday #44 at Always Playing with Paper. And here is the full post for this one.
In the full posts you can see what the challenge was as well as the card and all the links that go with it. So I have been busy making cards and doing menu plans and now it’s time to take down the Christmas decorations!!?! Well maybe in a couple more days. I put them up really late this year for me and ….yep I will take them down on Monday!!!! Guess its time! When did you take yours down??? Anybody still have theirs up???
Black-capped Chickadee
The Black-capped Chickadee is a small, North American songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada.
This is my favorite bird. They are so cheerful and make me happy!
What is your favorite bird?????
I took a longer break than I had originally planned, but a much-needed break, but I am getting back in the swing of things. Today I am sharing something new for me, but probably not for you. I have seen many blogs doing weekly or monthly menus, and I have been going to start this. Last fall I was going to start one, but just couldn’t seem to get into doing it, but, I sat down yesterday and made a menu out. Mind you this is fairly new to me, I used to do a menu years ago, but that was easy because it was before I learned about real food vs. processed food and used a lot of packaged stuff. So, this past year I have been learning about real food and how to eat for better health, and am still learning. But, anyhow, I made a menu for the month, because I shop for the month. I think the hardest part was breakfasts and lunches, I have been doing really bad at eating the right stuff for those, even skipping lunch most of the time, so this is the main reason I decided I better start planning a menu, so my menu includes all 3 meals. This is how it turned out, and if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. I am posting the menu and later I will add the recipes for some when I get a chance.
I used a 4 week, 4 theme menu idea for dinners. Here are the themes first: (I just put down the basics, veggies and sides are added after I decide what they are!)
Monday thru Saturday (Sundays we are not home, we eat at my moms, except for breakfasts)
week 1, Eat out, beef, fish, casserole, pizza, beef
week 2, chicken, fish, crock pot, italian, stir fry, casserole
week 3, comfort, noodles, fish, pizza, beef, stew
week 4, chicken, italian, soup & Sandwich, beef, fish, casserole
Okay, so here is my menu:
Week 1
Breakfasts – cold cereal, baked oatmeal, hash brown sausage casserole, cold cereal, omelet with blueberry muffin, cinnamon pancakes with eggs and sausage.
Lunches – skipits! (making menu!), BLT’s, Pea soup, PB&J sandwiches, tossed salad, carrots and celery sticks
Dinners – Out shopping, Burgers, Fish, Goulash, Pizza, Meatloaf
Week 2
Breakfasts – cold cereal, baked oatmeal, cold cereal, pancakes with eggs and turkey sausage, Eggs and coffee cake, hot cereal, omelet with veggies and toast
Lunches – carrots and celery sticks, hotdogs, toasted cheese, beef barley soup, BLT’s, tossed salad
Dinners – Chicken & gravy over rice, fish, crock pot roast, spaghetti, Beef sausage with peppers and onions stir fry over rice, chicken pot pie
Week 3
Breakfasts – cold cereal, omelet with veggies and toast, Blueberry pancakes with eggs and bacon, cold cereal, baked oatmeal, Eggs with ham and apple struesel muffin, hot cereal
Lunches – hot dogs, carrots and celery, tossed salad, tuna sandwiches, chicken noodle soup, toasted cheese
Dinners – Macaroni and Cheese, Swedish meatballs over egg noodles, fish, pizza, bacon cheese burgers, stew
Week 4
Breakfasts – cold cereal, hot cereal, omelet with veggies and toast, pumpkin pancakes with eggs and sausage, cold cereal, baked oatmeal, french toast and eggs
Lunches – hot dogs, egg salad sandwiches, carrots and celery, tossed salad, PB&J sandwiches, tomato soup
Dinners – Baked chicken, lasagna, ?soup and sand?, burgers, fish, cheesy chicken casserole
My hotdogs are beef and nitrate free, the bacon is uncured and nitrate free, sausage is turkey sausage, beef is no antibiotics and hormone free, eggs are as well, ham is uncured and nitrate free, soups are homemade, bread. pancakes, muffins, pizza dough are homemade, cheese is real-not junk, fish is wild caught frozen-not farmed, and the peanut butter is organic.
I would welcome any ideas!!! Please let me know in the comments how you do your menu planning!!
Teresa at Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen has nominated my for the Blog of the Year 2012 Award! Thank you so much, Teresa for nominating me for this wonderful award and always “liking” my blog. I am just so happy and excited to receive this award. You have to check out Teresa blog – Can’t Stay out of the Kitchen – She has oodles of wonderful recipes with the most amazing pictures, many, many pictures. She must be in the kitchen all the time.
Thank you to all my followers, who are always stopping by and “liking” or commenting on my thoughts. I have gotten lots of “likes” on my recent endeavour of Countdown to Christmas Days. Thank you all so much for your support, it has been a fun year in blogging. I have learned so much from you all. Thanks again.
The ‘rules’ for this award are simple:
- Select another blog or other blogs who deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award;
- Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award;
- Include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Awardat theThought Paletteand provide these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
- Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
- You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook groupand then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
- As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…
There are stars to collect! Yes, there are stars to collect!
Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different!
When you begin you will receive the 1 star award, and every time you are given the award by another blog, you can add another star! There are total of 6 stars to collect.
You can check out your favorite blogs, and even if they have already been given the award by someone else, you can still award them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!
For more information check FAQ on The Thought Palette
Here are the blogs I chose for this award:
Teaching What is Good
contadina k
Paper Craft Nut
The Verses: “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The rest of the goals: Today is your last-minute day, do all those chores, shopping and wrapping that’s left before Sunday, because Sunday is the Lords Day again and I am sure you will hear the Christmas story and wonderful messages about it, so Sunday is a day of rest. Then on Monday, Christmas Eve. is a nice time to exchange one special gift with someone special, relax and enjoy the lights on your tree, take a ride and look at lights, just do whatever is on your heart for Christmas Eve. And of course “Have yourself a merry little Christmas day”!
The last of the Cookie Recipes:
Oh Henry Bars
4 cups oatmeal
2/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp vanilla
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
chopped nuts (optional, but so good)
mix oatmeal, butter and sugars; press into buttered 9×13″ pan. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350*F, dont bake too long.
Melt chocolate chips, add peanut butter and nuts. pour over bars and spread like frosting while still hot.
Caramel Nut Bars
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
24 caramel, unwrapped
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
Preheat oven to 350*F. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and egg; cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts.
Reserve 2 cups crumb mixture. Press remainder firmly on bottom of greased 9×13″ pan. Bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile,
in heavy saucepan over low heat, melt caramel with sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1/4 cup butter. Pour over
prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Cool, cut into bars.
Shortbread Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
Heat oven to 350*F
In large bowl, stir butter and sugar until well mixed. Stir in flour (if dough is crumbly, mix in 1-2 TBSP more of softened butter.)
Roll dough 1/2″ thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into small shapes with knife or use cookie cutters. On ungreased cookie
sheet, place shapes 1/2″ apart.
Bake about 20 Minutes or til set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool.
Special thing to do: I am not going to post any more of these, as it is so close to Christmas now and I am sure you already have many things to do, Just remember to spend a little time each day with someone you love and don’t forget the reason for the season!!!
Extra note: I am taking a break from my computer until New Years, when I will be back and ready to post, post, post!!!! Back into doing card challenges, blogging with my favorite people, and doing, learning, and trying new stuff!! May you have a
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
See you all in the New Year.
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!
Todays Verse: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. Matthew 2:1-4
Todays Goal: Today, before you get to far into your day, take a few minutes, and a cup of coffee, a notebook and a pen. Go and sit quietly somewhere where you wont have any distractions and reorganize your thoughts, write down what you still want to get done in the next couple of days. Give your list to God and see what he helps you accomplish! You will have a clearer head and be able to get more done.
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Chocolate Jumbles
1 cup molasses
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
5-6 cups flour
Add enough hot water to soda to dissolve then fill the rest with cold water to make 1 cup. mix all ingredients together.
Roll and cut, make a hole in center (like a donut). bake at 350*F til done
Frost if desired.
Special thing to do: I am not going to post any more of these, as it is so close to Christmas now and I am sure you already have many things to do, Just remember to spend a little time each day with someone you love and don’t forget the reason for the season!!!
Todays Verse: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrata, though you are small among the clansof Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2
Todays Goal: If you have not already done this, then take some time and make some cookies to give away, not as a Christmas gift, but just as an extra gift to make someone smile. Make some cookies and give them to the mailman, or drop some by the bank you go to, you could bake some cookies and give them to the neighbors children out playing, or the Salvation Army people standing out in the cold ringing their bell. You get the idea. Have your kids help make the cookies then they can help share them with someone they choose too. Warm someones heart as well as their stomach by showing Gods love and sharing what you have made. I am sure you can think of many other reasons to make cookies, so have at it!!!!!
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Candy Bar Fudge
1 (6oz pkg) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 can (or equivalent to if homemade) chocolate fudge frosting (I make my own)
2 snickers candy bars, cut up (any flavor candy bar can be substituted)
Line 8″ square pan with parchment paper, extending it over edges, lightly butter paper. Set aside.
Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Stir until smooth. Stir in frosting and all but 2 TBSP candy bar
until mixed. Spread in paper lined pan, sprinkle with reserved candy bar.
refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
Remove fudge from pan by lifting paper; remove paper from fudge, cut into squares. 64 squares
Something special to do: Remember those cookies you made today? Well I hope you saved a few, because one special thing to do with someone or someones you love is to sit by the tree, have some candles lit and a plate of cookies and glasses of milk (or snowman soup!) on the table and take turns telling favorite moments of Christmas past then when the cookies are done and the milk is gone, sing one favorite Christmas Carol and then go to bed early thinking about the wonderful memory you just made with someone you love. You will need to relax a little, Christmas is on your doorstep and about to come in!!!!! Only 5, really only 5 days to go!!!!!!!!! What have you got left to do before Christmas Day?
Fantastic ideas here, it is a must read. We all need to implement these into our lives if we haven’t already. Way to go Seasonsgirl!!! Family focus on a busy day….
Toays Verse: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6d
Todays Goal: Todays goal is to spend some time in prayer this time praying for the homeless. There are so many people who are out there that have lost jobs, and homes, and any security they might have had and they need our prayers. There are orphanages with homeless children around the world that need our prayers. We have missionary’s that run orphanages in Haiti that lost the housing when that huge storm hit, they are very poor people and need our prayers. I know if you think about it, you will know of what to pray for. Take some time to reflect on how much we have that others don’t and while you’re praying, take a minute to thank God for what we do have.
Todays Cookie Recipe:
The Ultimate Cookie – my own creation
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all together (dough will be stiff)
Add: 1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup m&m’s
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Preheat oven 375*F
Drop 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or til lightly brown. (Centers will be soft) Cool slightly
Remove from sheets. 4 dozen
Something special to do: Get together with your family and build a gingerbread house!! It is fun and you can be creative and sneak bits here and there!!! SHH don’t tell!
Betty Crocker has a homemade recipe that looks like a lot of fun. If you build it, let me know, I would love to hear how much fun you had.!
Todays Verse: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14
Todays Goal: Todays goal is to spend some special time with someone, doing something that they want to do. Let them choose the activity and just enjoy the time with them, even if it is something you’re not crazy about doing. You will be glad you took the time, and doing what they like to do gives you a better look at who they are!!
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Pineapple Sponge Cookies
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp lemon extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
Cream shortening with sugar; beat in egg. Sift flour with baking soda and salt and add to creamed mixture.
Fold in pineapple, (drain some of the juice out), lemon flavoring and mix lightly. Drop by tspfuls onto a lightly
greased cookie sheet and bake at 375*F for 12-15 minutes.
Something Special to do: Have a Bible drill with your family and see who can find the most verses about the birth of Jesus and His growing up years. It will be a blessing to reread these verses again and again. Sorry this post is late in the day today.
This is a beautiful post: Gather Them Close, and Let Them Know.
Todays Verse: And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:20
Todays Goal: Just a simple reminder today, if you haven’t finished mailing your Christmas cards, today would be a good day to make sure they are already to go into the mail by tomorrow so that they arrive in time for Christmas.
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Peanut Brittle
1 cup raw peanuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Combine peanuts, sugar, syrup and salt in a glass bowl, microwave on high – 5 minutes
Stir
Microwave 3 more minutes
Add butter and vanilla, stir
Microwave 2 more minutes
Add soda and stir until foamy
Pour onto cookie sheet sprayed with butter flavored spray (or I just lightly use butter on the pan)
Break when cool.
Something Special to do: We can’t forget the birds!!! An idea to include the birds for Christmas is give them a tasty treat gift. Not only will the birds be happy but so will your Christmas spirit be happy watching these feathered friends eat the treats you set out for them. Here is a couple of ideas to make these treats. 1. Find a few pinecones and hang a string on it, plaster it with peanut butter and hang on the tree. 2. Day old bagels are great with peanut butter smeared all over them and then rolled in birdseed, oh don’t forget the string! 3. String some popcorn (unbuttered of course) and hang on a tree or bush. You could string cranberries with it too, birds love berries! 4. take a wooden kabob stick and thread raisins onto it and put a string on it and hang it in the tree. Okay, now your turn, any ideas on feeding the birds for Christmas?
Todays Verse: But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:18
Todays Goal: Today is Sunday again, Gods Day. We should honor Him and worship Him today by going to church and fellowship with other believers. We need each others support and we need to hear Gods message. Listen with your heart, Praise with your lips, serve with your hands, and bless those around you with Jesus love!
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Chocolate Coconut Mounds
1 square Bakers unsweetened chocolate, melted
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 3/4 cup shredded coconut
Add chocolate to milk and blend, stir in coconut. Drop by tspfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake in 350*F oven for 20 minutes.
20 cookies
Something special to do: There is something on my mind that I believe God would want us to do, it is not Christmasy, but now is a good time to start. Make a list of all the children’s names that are in your church, then make a list of children’s names that are in your family, then one more list of names of children that you know that are not in your family and not in church. Now take these lists and if there are a lot of them, you could split them up between you and your family members, and then take time every day to pray for these children by name. Why by name when God already knows their names? Well because it will help you to remember them and when you pray for someone by name you become burdened for that one. The children need our prayers in this day and age and although I have no children and can’t have any, I am burdened for the ones in my Sunday School class that I already pray for. When I started praying for them by name, I noticed more about them, and I now have a burden for them. So I am also going to add other children that I know to my list. Won’t you join me in praying for our children. If everyone who reads this post did this, how many children would be prayed for? If you have any children that you would like me to add to my list to pray for, I would gladly do so, just leave me a comment and let me know. May God bless you if you choose to do this special thing.
Please read this post: Evil has descended on our Nation « Vine Of Life News. We must pray for our nation!
I am skipping todays countdown. The only thing I can post is to PRAY FOR THOSE FAMILIES THAT LOST ALL THOSE CHILDREN AND FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE CONNECTICUT SHOOTING. It is a tragic, horrifying incident and these families need our prayers.
I am on WordPress and I found this new theme to use for Christmas!! Hope you like it! Let me know what you think.
Todays Verse: And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. Luke 2:16-17
Todays Goal: Spend a little time doing something with someone special in your life, but the thing is today that something is finishing up your decorating! Yep, a little more decorations are always great! Okay, so today with that someone special, you are going to make paper snowflakes, and paper chains, and any of those other little decorations you used to make as a kid, oh, and string popcorn, and then your goal is to decorate a room that you don’t normally bother decorating. When you go in that room after decorating it, you will have a wonderful memory of that special time with that special someone doing something fun. Which room doesn’t normally get decorated for Christmas?
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Snicker Snacks
Graham cracker squares
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup or more chocolate chips
1 cup salted peanuts
Place graham crackers side by side in an ungreased jelly roll pan. In saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar and cook
over medium heat, stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a boil, about 3-5 minutes. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Immediately pour over graham crackers and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Let stand until melted, about
1 minute; then spread around with a knife or spatula. Sprinkle with peanuts and lightly press into chocolate.
Cool and break into pieces.
Something special to do: Since you are now, undoubtably really busy and Christmas is only 11 days away, and you feel like you will never get everything done, you need a break!!! One way to relax, really enjoy the season and get your family time in is to take an evening and make snowman soup, turn the lights down, light candles and turn on the Christmas tree, and then turn on some quiet Christmas music and sit around together and RELAX!!!!
Todays Verse: And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. Luke 2:15
Todays Goal: Get alone! Take some time out of your day today to just sit quietly! Listen to the sounds around you, listen for Gods voice, notice the little things God wants to tell you. We need to take breaks now and again to refresh our minds and quiet our spirits and meditate on God and His love for us. Psalm 46:10a says: Be still, and know that I am God: The best way to renew our spirits is to just listen!
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Vanilla Wafer Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 TBSP vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture
and mix well. Drop by tspfuls 2″ apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 350*F for 12-15 minutes til edges are golden brown.
Remove to wire rack to cool. 3 1/2 dozen
Something special to do: I found a really neat idea to do with all those Christmas cards we get every year. If you save them by the year, that will help, or if you just want to start this year, you can do that to. But, the idea is easy. You just take a hole punch and punch 2 holes making sure all your cards are punched in the same place and connect them all together with clasping metal rings. I am going to make covers for mine with some heavy cardstock and decorate them with the dates on them. This may even be a great idea for birthday cards too!
Here is where I got the idea. Close to my Art
December 13, 2012
High Fructose Corn Syrup: What is it? And is it really that bad? « Don’t Waste the Crumbs!Don’t Waste the Crumbs!
Please read this and pass it on!
I have a special post I would like to add today. We have a newsletter in our church, and our Pastor writes a message each time. This message is on “The Greatest Gift Ever Given” and I would like to share it with you. It is written by Pastor Lee Call, from Faith Baptist Church, in Warrensburg, NY.
Pastors Corner
“THE GREATEST GIFT EVER GIVEN”
For years we have been seeing our world become more and more secular to the point political correctness has taken over common sense and basic reality. Stores that once used to decorate and play Christmas music now only promote holiday music which to be politically correct will not include carols of our faith. Manger scenes are not politically correct. Christmas trees are holiday trees, merry Christmas has become happy holidays, Santa is the symbol of the season, not Jesus’ birth and on and on we go as our world continues to shun its creator and only Savior.
To those of us, who know the truth (The Savior), we know Christmas to us will always be a special time of year as we take time to remember our Savior’s birth. Indeed, He is the greatest gift we could ever receive and we should be ever grateful for this precious gift that God has given. It was the most unique and greatest gift ever given. As we are reminded in John 3:16 God gave us this special gift because He so loved us. (For GOD SO LOVED the world, that he GAVE his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.)
The Bible uses the word give some 880 times. As Christmas draws near many people in our nation think of receiving gifts. Stores often make the bulk of their sales at Christmas time. Many people are caught up in buying and giving beyond their means. Often gifts are given more to impress than meet any real practical purpose. When I was a young boy I remember going back to school after the Christmas vacation and often the first words out of some of the fellow students was, “What did you get for Christmas?” For many it was an opportunity for them to brag about their gifts and try and say that they got something bigger, better and more expensive than anyone else.
Today, many adults merely see Christmas time from a material point of view in terms of giving and getting. Many never really think of Christ and the one central person of Christmas. The world, of course is happy with this secular humanistic attitude as great efforts are made to exclude any public awareness of Christmas as a Christian holiday.
If someone asked you to think back over the years and think of the best gift you ever received in your life, what would your answer be? For some the answer would be based purely on a materialistic value. Gifts can be useful and probably the best gifts are those that remain useful long after they have been unwrapped.
In thinking about God’s precious gift to us, the gift of His Only Son, we can say it really is the perfect gift.
FIRST AND FOREMOST Christ was born because “GOD SO LOVED”. God’s perfect love was the sole motivation factor that motivated Him to send His Son to be born of a Virgin. Love is always behind the best gifts. When we give to others because we love them it makes the gift more precious. It reminds them of us. Indeed, Christ reminds us of the Father’s love.
SECONDLY we can say that receiving the Gift of God’s Love, our Savior, is a PRACTICAL GIFT. Practical gifts meet specific needs and have usefulness. Think of Jesus. He alone meets the very real need every human being has. That is, we need cleansing and forgiveness of our sins. We know the truth is that all have sinned and all are under condemnation because we are born with a sinful nature. We know this is true. Man can’t stand before God and say”It was Adams fault”. There is no one to pass the buck to. We are personally accountable to a righteous God. We can’t play the “I am only a victim” game with God.
Jesus meets this most basic human need we have. When we receive Christ as our Savior our sins are cleansed. We can read, John’s Gospel and his epistles and we can read the book of Romans or Hebrews or just plain read the Bible and we learn what God has done for us through His Son.
This gift is practical because once we are born again we realize God gives us His Word which gives us practical counsel on how to grow, live and serve. We know we have all that we need in Christ, just as Peter stated in the opening of his second epistle as he gives thanks for his salvation in Christ…According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 2 Peter 1:3
THIS GIFT IS PRECIOUS. In Christ alone do we have forgiveness of sin. To know Him is to have and assurance of a place in Heaven forever. Only Christ saves and as He said…In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2-3) Nothing this world or anyone in it can give to us that can match this.
LASTLY IT IS ETERNAL. It is the precious gift that endures all time and all ages for it is the only gift we can receive that will endure through all eternity. Think of this one gift, the gift of the Father to us, His Only begotten Son, Jesus, is the one gift that meets every need we can think of and to top it off we have eternity to be with Him. WHAT A GIFT For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT OF GOD: (Ephesians 2:8) It lasts forever.
One last thought is that WE CAN SHARE THIS GIFT WITH OTHERS AND STILL ALWAYS HAVE IT OUR SELVES. This gift has so many benefits and blessings for all who receive Him. Jesus, indeed, is the greatest gift we humans could ever receive. God has given us the privilege of sharing the good news with others. He wants us to tell the lost that His Gift of Love, His Son, Jesus Christ, died for them too. He wants others to receive this precious gift which alone can set men free from the bondage of sin and condemnation and cleanse their sins and give them eternal life.
Christmas is indeed the reminder to us of God’s great love to us. Jesus loves us perfectly. Let us keep Christ at the center of our home this year and always. Let us remember that He is the one gift that can transform our lives and give meaning to all we do (Romans 12:2) (! Corinthians 15:57)
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
Pastor Lee Call
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Do you know This Great Gift?
Todays Verse: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:13-14
Todays Goal: Todays goal is to pray for a stranger. Maybe you have seen someone on the street, or in a store, maybe a cashier, or gas station attendant, or just some lonely soul walking in a park that doesn’t look very happy. There are many people who aren’t very happy this time of year, people we don’t know, have never met, but we have seen their face. Take a few minutes today to pray for that person! Pray for God to be in their lives and to make Himself known to them this Christmas.
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Fruit Swirls
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raspberry preserves (or strawberry)
Preheat oven to 375*F
In large bowl, cream shortening, with both sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; blend well.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to cram mixture, blend well until smooth. Stir in preserves
just until blended. Do not over mix. Drop batter by tspfuls about 2″ apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen.
Something special to do: Make snowman soup!!!! Make some for little gifts to give out to kids that come to your house to visit, or take them to church for kids there. I am making them to put on my gifts for my kids in my Sunday School Class. Now adults like hot chocolate too!!! I know I do, so maybe you could make a few for some special adults too! Anyway, I have a couple of websites for you to check out to see how to put it together:
Shady Tree Diary She has directions with some pictures to show you how to do it.
And if you go to Organized Christmas, she has directions and free printables for the tags.
You can look at these websites and come up with your own all together if you are creative. There a quite a few websites for Snowman Soup if you want to google it. These are the easiest I could find! Have a wonderful day and tell me: Have you ever made or had snowman soup?
Todays Verse: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-12
Todays Goal: Todays goal is to make a phone call to a relative that you haven’t heard from in a long time. Do you have any family that lives away maybe and you don’t get to talk to very often? Call! How about a family member that is so busy and hasn’t had time to do anything extra? Call, leave a message just saying hi! How about someone in the family that you need to make up with? Call first and surprise them! Call someone in your family that you just need to hear from, it will make all the difference in your day and probably theirs as well!
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Fudge Mallow Candy
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 cup any style peanut butter
6 1/4 oz pkg mini marshmallows
Melt chocolate with peanut butter over low heat until smooth, fold in marshmallows. Pour into greased
9″ square pan. Chill until firm. Cut into squares. 2 dozen
Something Special to do: SING!!!! Yep sing every Christmas Carol you know!!! Sing with your kids, your spouse or just by yourself, but sing to your heart’s content!! It will lift your spirits! I don’t know if you play an instrument but my husband plays the trumpet and starting this week he goes out on our front porch in the evening and plays Christmas songs on his trumpet, we live in the country so the sound carries and we have had people in the area stop and tell him how wonderful it is to hear it and that it is so peaceful to just listen to (which in turns blesses him for doing it) So….yep, you know what I am going to say… if you play an instrument go on out and play some Christmas Carols and be blessed by blessing those who hear it!! Do you play an instrument? Tell me about it, I would love to hear if you have or will do this!!!
Todays Verse: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:8-10
Todays Goal: Get your family together and sit around, or near the tree and read the Christmas Story in Luke 2 to remember the reason we have Christmas. I know some of you may do this on Christmas Eve, or on Christmas, but Jesus came to earth for us, He came that we could have life. Everything about Christmas has to do with Christ and remembering Him and reading His story more than once during the season would make Him smile!!! It would be great if we took the time once or even twice a week to read His story during this season. After all, as I keep saying, Jesus IS the reason for the season. So take a little time to read His story over again!
Todays Cookie Recipe:
Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup quick oats
Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt, set aside.
Beat shortening and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Blend in flour mixture. Stir in the rolled oats. Chill.
Shape dough into balls about 1″ around. Place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F 10-15 minutes
Remove from cookie sheet while warm.
Something Special to do: Plan a birthday party!!!! Everyone loves birthday parties, so why not plan a birthday party for Jesus. Make a cake to Jesus, a Happy Birthday Cake!!! Invite your family, friends, and others to fellowship with you in celebrating Jesus’ birthday! It is a good way to share about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas. We do this in our church after the Sunday School Christmas program. I know a friend who does this with their kids and grandkids, they even put candles on the cake a light them, blow them out and thank Jesus for coming to earth as a baby in Bethlehem. Have you ever had a birthday party for Jesus? or any ideas like that, please do share!!!!
Correna's Thoughts 
