What You Must Do in Hard Times

 "I will bless Thee while I live...."

Psalm 63:4

When God has set us in hard places, often our first response is to look for an escape while we grumble all the way.  We acknowledge He's sovereign, but we look for a way around it.  "Thy will be done.." is easiest said when livin' is easy and things are going just as we planned.  Sometimes He leaves us in hard places for awhile...we see no end in sight, and discouragement sets in.  Daily giving thanks for all of His mercies, and yes, there are too many to even name, holds us back from walking in those bitter places, and it's our privilege, our duty, to do so no matter where His good and loving Hand leads us.

"Praising God must be the work of our whole lives; we must always maintain a grateful sense of His former favors and repeat our thanksgivings for them.  We must every day give thanks to Him for the benefits with which we are daily loaded.  We must in every thing give thanks, and not be put out of frame for this duty by any of the afflictions of this present time.  Whatever days we live to see, how dark and cloudy soever, though the days come of which we say, "We have no pleasure in them," yet still every day must be a thanks-giving-day, even to our dying-day.  In this work we must spend our time because in this work we hope to spend a blessed eternity."
~Matthew Henry

Love,

The Three Week Photo Shoot

~Growing a bit weary of the continuous flashing in his face and concerned about his quickly doubling chin, Jedediah doesn't look too thrilled when Mommy shouts with glee, "You're three weeks old today, Jedediah!  Let's take more pictures."

~After hearing Mommy explain how quickly time passes and the importance of capturing these soon-forgotten moments and that family is just waiting to see more photos, Jedediah agrees to offer a more agreeable pose.

~A nameless misfit invades the photo shoot and slips a baby doll in Jedediah's lap.  Is that a look of terror?

~A sympathetic by-stander notices Jedediah's concern and quickly changes the baby for a gun.

~Exhausted from all of the excitement, sweet Jedediah decides to take a nap.

~Mommy captures his tiny hand for those who won't hold it while it's this small.

~THE END

He's Got the Right Idea

                               ~Yes, I'd say this is one of the sweetest ways to read your Bible....

July 4th

~a little shootin'

~hot dogs and chili

~lemon bars

~blondie brownies

~sparklers and fireworks

~the wonder of it all

Goodnight

Last night a Godly wife and homeschooling Mom (really an understatement because she and her family have made such a huge and positive impact for homeschooling) passed away.  Sono Harris was diagnosed with cancer just a few months before she died.  Time is truly short, and none of us knows if God will grant us tomorrow.

Her son posted this wonderful song...truly a comforting reminder of the hope we have as Christians.  It's just been a year since Mountain Man's Dad passed away as well as my cousin's father, and my own father is so frail.  I ask myself more and more if I'm redeeming the time for His glory.

(You can hear the song here....just remember to turn off the blog music first.)



I journey forth rejoicing
From this dark vale of tears,
To heavenly joy and freedom,
From earthly bonds and fears;
Where Christ our Lord shall gather
All His redeemed again,
His kingdom to inherit.
Goodnight, goodnight till then!

Why thus so sadly weeping,
Beloved ones of my heart?
The Lord is good and gracious,
Though now He bids us part.
Oft have we met in gladness.
And we shall meet again,
All sorrow left behind us.
Goodnight, goodnight till then!

I go to see His glory,
Whom we have loved below:
I go, the blessed angels,
The holy saints to know.
Our lovely ones departed,
I go to find again,
And wait for you to join us.
Goodnight, goodnight till then!

I hear the Saviour calling,
The joyful hour has come:
The angel guards are ready
To guide me to our home,
Where Christ our Lord shall gather
All His redeemed again,
His kingdom to inherit.
Goodnight, goodnight till then!


You can purchase the song here.

BBQ Review

Summer Salad and A Steak Marinade

Kicking off our July 4th weekend, we enjoyed a simple but delicious dinner last night that included two new recipes.  Being just 2-1/2 weeks post-partum, these recipes had to be easy, and they really were.  They were so enjoyed by everyone that they'll be going in the permanent file.

Green Bean Salad

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed

1 small red onion, sliced

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

12 pitted ripe olives, halved

1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese

2 T. bacon bits

1/3 c. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp. ground mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

dash pepper

Cook greenbeans until crisp-tender.  Combine beans with onion, tomatoes, olives, cheese, and bacon.  In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper.  Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat.

**I actually used frozen green beans and left out the olives. 

~here it is with the dressing

I rarely use marinades...just because I haven't tried many and don't have quick and easy recipes to use.  This one is a keeper....not overwhelming, but very flavorful.  The combination of the green bean salad and steak in this marinade even earned me a "Cheers for Mommy!" from my Beloved.  :)

Marinated Sirloin Steak

3/4 c. apple juice

3/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. olive oil

1 T. each minced fresh oregano, rosemary, and thyme

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 beef sirloin steak 1-1/2 lbs.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine all ingredients and then add meat.  Turn to coat and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Drain and discard marinade.  Cook meat as desired.

***I used this on petite sirloin steaks (7 of them) and marinated them for about 7 hours.  Instead of fresh herbs, I used 3 T. of Italian seasoning which included the above spices.  The marinade was delicious and would taste good on chicken and pork, too.

~both recipes from Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious with adaptations


Enjoy!

Delight

The actual flower is the plant's highest fulfilment, and are not

here exclusively for herbaria, county floras and plant

geography: they are here first of all for delight.

- John Ruskin

God is GOOD, so GOOD to give us moments like this....two sisters just delighting in a flower....priceless.

Happy 2 Weeks, Jedediah!

~Our little guy had a rough two-week birthday yesterday after his circumcision, SO, I wasn't able to get him in a happy picture until last night.  With eight years in between sons, I didn't remember the first day of the surgery was so miserable.  :(

He's looking great, though, and gaining weight.  Yesterday he measured 1/2 an inch longer than just 9 days ago, and he's already pushing a whopping 7 lbs. 5 ounces.  His doctor even commented on a "double chin."  I think you can see a bit of it in the picture below. :)

~My Beloved and I, so silly we are, decided we'd enjoy lunch out together yesterday, but sweet Jedediah had other plans.  We had just been seated and ordered when precious Son started his "Mom, can't you tell I'm in pain here?" intermittant wails.  One of the blessings of being this far along in parenthood is that you learn to adapt and take things in stride.  

So, I just went to the car to comfort Jedediah, my Beloved ate alone, and then sweetly brought my steak dinner away as "take-out."  :)  I have to say, there was a very happy camper in the house who enjoyed that steak and potato when we got home.  Can you guess who that would be?

Jedediah was feeling so much better by last night, and he slept wonderfully.  Two weeks already?  It feels like he's been with us forever and yet, it seems like he arrived just yesterday.  Oh, we're so blessed!

Love,