Thankful Thursday-This is My Purpose

God has blessed me in amazing ways this week. He's stretching me and refining me and moving me to choose to do what honors him regardless of my feelings. The blessing in all of that is that eventually the feelings do come...but often the obedience must come first. 

I'm especially grateful to those who took the time to let me know they're praying for me. I can tell, and I thank you over and over! I received a precious e-mail this past week from a woman I've never heard from before but who reads here. Her kind words were such a gift from the LORD, and I praise Him for the perfect ways He moves the body of Christ to encourage one another.

I've been waiting for years for the Extreme Home Makeover crew to show up at our door. You know, "Well, Poff Family, a neighbor tipped us off to the fact that you might be able to use a bit more room for that delightful family of yours." But, since the show has been canceled, I guess we'll have to settle for doing some things ourselves. 

So, crazy woman that I am, I decided to start painting our kitchen cabinets. It's a SLOW process, but it's coming along. Guess what the name of the paint is? SUGAR  and CREAM. I know. It's perfect for me.

And tomorrow we start the insane task of installing laminate wood flooring in a couple of rooms. The difficult part is figuring out where to put two rooms' worth of stuff while putting flooring down. One truly doesn't know the weight of her book collection until she has to move it from here to there and back again. :)

I praise God for the work He's doing in me and for His infinite patience.

I'm thankful for the snow He gave us this week. How greatly we needed the moisture!

I'm thankful for the joy of gathering with ladies from my church for prayer and for the way the Lord knits our hearts together during these special times.

I'm thankful for Luke's first attempt at soap carving...a lovely heart that he gave to me.

I'm thankful for sweet birthday celebrations and good books and happy faces.

I'm thankful God made me to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever.

"It is not worth while to live for any other purpose than to declare the works of God, for His honour and the encouragement of others to serve Him and trust in Him."
~Matthew Henry

With love,
Trisha

Soft Almond Sugar Cookies

If you can eat only one of these, you have amazing self-control. These turned out just as described, although I did have to bake the later batches a bit longer (in spite of the warning not to exceed 8 minutes). No coarse sugar to roll them in? That's ok. I didn't have any, either, so I just used granulated sugar, and they still tasted delicious!

Soft Almond Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 c white sugar

2/3 c cold butter 

2/3 c shortening (room temp)

2 eggs

2 tsp almond extract

2 3/4 c cake flour

1 c all purpose flour

1 T cornstarch

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

sugar in the raw 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheet.

Cream sugar, butter and shortening.Stir in eggs and almond extract.Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt and add to butter/egg mixture.Use electric mixer to ensure dough is thoroughly combined.

Chill dough in fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll 2 tsp of dough into a ball and roll in raw sugar.  Place on prepared pan.

Bake cookies for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and gently press rounded tops of cookies flat with the back of a spoon while the cookies are still warm and pliable.The cornstarch will keep the dough from spreading,so this step just makes them look better!

Return remaining dough to fridge in between baking each batch.

Allow to cool on pan for 1 minute.  

Remove to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

~DO NOT bake longer than 8 minutes!!  They may seem under-baked, but when they cool they will firm up.

You can find the original recipe with a printable option at Confections From the Cody Kitchen.

Misplaced Expectations

For He is the only one from Whom we can never expect too much, and yet, He is often the only One from Whom we expect so little. How well our God provides and satisfies, to overflowing!

One great secret of unhappiness is the habit of indulging in exaggerated expectations. From money, from marriage, from business, from houses, from children, from worldly honors, from political success—people are constantly expecting what they never find—and the great majority die disappointed. Happy is he who has learned to say at all times, " My soul, waits only upon God—my expectation is from Him" (Psalm 62:5).
~J.C. Ryle

And Lord, Please Bring My Son a Perfect Woman

We pray regularly for the Lord to bring our children godly spouses. Obviously that is not negotiable. But, I'm a bit concerned by what many are defining as "godly." I fear we're searching for perfection. Goodness! When I read some of these lists of what young men and women are looking for in a spouse, I'm thinking, "I'm not even there, yet, and I've been married almost 26 years."

If we set our children up to think that their spouse should have already reached these certain levels of spiritual maturity, perhaps they'll end up married when they're 40. And even then, they're still marrying a sinner. They'll still battle silly things like dirty socks left on the floor or the cap not being put back on the toothpaste. They'll still battle hard words spoken in haste or grievous actions done without thought.

It is wise to have goals, and it is also wise to remember that marriage is about growing together in the Lord and in wisdom and knowledge. It's not about marrying the perfect man or woman. If the checklist becomes the focus, no matter how "godly" the checklist might be, we're setting our children up for failure. Before we know it, no one is good enough, and we've forgotten our own redemption stories.

With love,
Trisha

Give to the Winds Thy Fears

"We can draw no deadlines for God. He hastens or He delays as He sees fit. 

And His timing is all-loving toward His children."

~John Piper

****

I had mentioned some time ago that sadness has been my second skin. Well, it's still with me. It's not that there aren't many moments of joy. There are. Who could live with these nine delightful children and be void of any joy? Even more, who can meditate on what Christ has done, on His amazing redemption of us, and not rejoice? But, that sadness, that darkness, is still hanging around. Perhaps only those who've experienced this know what I mean.

This morning I was reading again in 1 Corinthians how we're to run this race for the prize. We're to beat our bodies into submission. Such encouragement this is! Too often Satan whispers that life shouldn't be so hard. How untrue! Every day we struggle. Every day we battle something...worries, fears, our own besetting sins.

Right now, I'm simply overwhelmed, by the sadness, by my own flesh, by a host of "little things." I can't focus. I can't even seem to complete a thought, which is one reason any posts shared here are quite sporadic, and why my poor children are learning to interpret "that thingy" quite well. "Clairesy, please get...um...that thingy." Did I mention I'm absent-minded, too? Last night I misplaced my Kindle, and I was sure I had put it in the oven or the freezer. Thankfully, I was wrong.

Everything I do requires conscious effort and will, akin to having to remind myself how to put one foot in front of the other. At end of the day, I praise God for every ounce of grace He's given me just to get done what I've gotten done, as I quietly struggle to squash the thought, "It's still not enough..." But the good news is that there's lots of fight in me. By His grace, my boxing gloves are on, His mercies are new every morning, and He's working every bit of sadness for my good and His glory.

Today I plunged myself into Piper's When the Darkness Will Not Lift and came across this gem. Maybe it will encourage you, too. And if you think of it, I'd be so blessed to have you pray for me.

Give to the Winds Thy Fears

by Paul Gerhardt (1656), translated by John Wesley

Give to the winds thy fears, 

Hope and be undismayed. 

God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears, 

God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves and clouds and storms, 

He gently clears thy way; 

Wait thou His time; so shall this night 

Soon end in joyous day.

Far, far above thy thought,

His counsel shall appear, 

When fully He the work hath wrought, 

That caused thy needless fear.

Leave to His sovereign sway 

To choose and to command; 

So shalt thou, wondering, own that way, 

How wise, how strong this hand.

With love,

Trisha

Have I Ever Told You About the Time God...

Our sweet Clairesy is FOUR today!! Happy Birthday, precious daughter! 

There's a reason this super Cutie-Pie is named Claire Jubilee. Her story is included in the Poff History of Ebenezers, Otherwise Known as an Account of the Marvelous Deeds of Their God (sounds a bit Puritanesque, doesn't it?). All of us have stories like this in our history books. The question is do we remember them? 

Matthew Henry reminds us that God's mercies aren't wonders to be mentioned and never remembered. Rather, we are to MEDITATE on them. They become the stories that start with, "Have I ever told you about the time God..." I think it's one of Satan's great victories that he's convinced us others don't want to hear us recount the marvelous deeds of the LORD, that we prefer to speak of the weather or our favorite new recipe more than of what God has done and is doing every day in our lives.

We had the joy of celebrating Claire's birthday a bit early yesterday with our Pastor and his family. Yesterday was cake. Today there will be gifts. Every day there is the reminder that God is longsuffering and abounding in mercy, that His bounty of provision and blessings and kindness are beyond counting, but that we are responsible to declare what we can of them to our children and to the world.

Take time to read her story if you don't already know it. Had the initial diagnosis come to fruition, our little Jedediah and Elijah would most likely not be here.

The Story and the Name--Part 1
The Story and the Name--Part 2

With love,
Trisha

Snow Cocoa

This gem of a cocoa was a hit here. I didn't have enough time to use the slow-cooker method, so I just warmed the ingredients up on the stove. About 15-20 minutes later, we were drinking this...

It's VERY sweet, so only small doses are needed. Yes. Needed. :)

Enjoy!

Snow Cocoa

2 c. whipping cream
6 c. milk (whole or 2%)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 ounce package of white chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Heat on low for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until mixture is hot and all chips have melted.
Stir well to blend.
Top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate, if you desire.

With love,
Trisha


***a Pinterest success...original recipe found here.

The Best Home Improvement Project of the Year

It's only February, and I've already completed the best home improvement project of this new year. No, it's not painting my kitchen cabinets or replacing our worn carpet. It's not knocking out a wall to make space for a bigger dining room table.

All of these are great, but if they're done to a home that houses ungrateful people, people who have forgotten what their God has done for them, then they're not improvements at all.

No, THIS is my best home improvement project, a display of God's mercies from 2012. Every choice favor we could recall is listed here. We'll display it all year long to remind us of God's wondrous works.

"And still it has been the pious and constant practice of the saints in all generations to preserve the memory of the more famous and remarkable providences that have befallen them in their times as a precious treasure."

~John Flavel, The Mystery of Providence

With love,
Trisha

The Mama and the Glue Gun

There once was a Mama, and crafty and artistic she was not. She admired the handiwork of her fellow Mamas, how they could whip up curtains and pillows and dresses, how they would teach their children to sketch portraits and model architectural wonders with mere polymer clay.

She made grand attempts to make that crafty love flow through her veins, to come as naturally to her as her love for buttery biscuits. But, she'd always forget some key material, or fail to find the pom-poms and wiggle eyes. She secretly muttered, "I hate glitter," as she perused craft projects, distracted by dreamy visions of the next theological tome she'd tackle alongside her children.

And then she met a glue gun...


Mama+glue gun+Little People+fabric+foam+buttons+little bench from Hobby Lobby=

Yes, this Mama is a bit proud of herself and her little cottage-inspired creation. The secret is to not turn anything over, lest the attempts to wrap this foam like a Christmas package are exposed. It's a start, and maybe one day, my daughters I will learn how to do this with needle and thread.

With love,
Trisha

A Wise Comforter

When we come across those who for good reason are in terrible despair, we must cut them some slack. It would have been wonderful if one of the "friends" had put an arm around Job's shoulder and wept with him, saying, "We love you, Job. We do not pretend to understand. But we love you, and we'll do whatever we can for you."

~D. A. Carson, For the Love of God, Vol. 2

The Inchworm and the Covenant

I left Elijah on our bed for a few minutes, making sure he wasn't near my book, 'cause books and drooling babies don't mix well. When I returned just a few minutes later, I discovered he had inchwormed (of course, that's a word) his way to The Presbyterian Doctrine of Children in the Covenant. How can you miss the beauty of THAT? I'm sure his smile was declaring, "Great book, Mom. I highly recommend it."

(C'mon, my credo friends, you can laugh at this, too.)

With love,
Trisha

Smashing and Dashing

...when your head grows to fit your driving cap, and all the ladies think you are simply smashing, and the gentlemen think you are dashing.