The Oldest, Friendliest Thing in Anybody's Marriage

The bed is the heart of the home, the arena of love, the seedbed of life, and the one constant point of meeting. It is the place where, night-by-night, forgiveness and fair speech return that the sun may not go down on our wrath; where the perfunctory kiss and the entirely ceremonial pat on the backside become unction and grace. It is the oldest, friendliest thing in anybody's marriage, the first used, the last left, and no one can praise it enough.

~Robert Farrar Capon

Thankful Thursday~A Crawling Sarge, Happy Eleven, and X Marks the Spot

"What am I, that the Lord should do thus and thus for me! 

O that ever so great and holy a God should thus be 

concerned for so vile and sinful a worm!"

~John Flavel

I'm thankful my temporary crown is still on! Only a few more days to go!

I'm thankful that God shines His light on the deceitful places of my heart, often using friends as instruments of His truth. I'm thankful for the good news of the Gospel, which reminds me that I am forgiven.

I'm thankful for numbing agents (even that excruciating shot to the nose that leaves you teary-eyed and wanting to leap off the table), for biopsies to rule out cancer, and for liquid nitrogen. Yesterday I saw my dermatologist and endured some cutting and freezing. I was a wimp on the table--shots to the nose are just WRONG. The good news is that the doctor did mark the right spot and then cut properly. The bad news is that the other spot she planned on freezing--well, she missed that one and froze something different instead. The good news is that it will all heal in the end. (I'm thinking that if I had to watch these procedures when I was a teenager and had been given just one shot to the nose, sun-bathing would have lost its charm.)

I'm thankful that teething is not a permanent condition, and that sleep will be in my forecast again one day. I'm thankful Sarge has done everything slowly, so that I don't feel too painfully the rush of his growing up.

 Yay! Sarge, knowing his 9 month birthday is fast approaching, decided he wanted to be on the move, so he crawled TODAY, ditching his former G.I.Joe efforts for the real deal. This is his victory smile. Sweet!

These baby feet are growing too fast, so I'm capturing them at every turn. There's something precious about tiny toes peeking out from covers.

I'm thankful for 11 years with our dear son, Luke! Yesterday he celebrated his birthday, and we enjoyed a mother/son date and then opened his gifts last night. This weekend we'll have a special birthday dinner and dessert.

I'm thankful for Luke's giving heart, for the thoughtful questions he asks, for his gift for drawing, for his inquisitive spirit that wants to know how things work, and for his spontaneous hugs and kisses!

There was a bit of muffin mania going on this week. This recipe was only supposed to make 24 muffins, and I ended up with 24 regular-sized muffins plus 24 mini-muffins plus 3 oversized muffins. It reminds me of what God does with our meager efforts, how He blesses and multiplies beyond our reason and expectations.

May you be overwhelmed as God brings to your mind His many mercies.

With love,
Trisha

The Many Faces of Claire

An Ark of Refuge for the Weary

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

~Matthew 11:28

Unrest is one great characteristic of the world. Hurry, vexation, failure, disappointments, stare us in the face on every side. But here is hope. There is an ark of refuge for the weary, as truly as there was for Noah's dove. There is rest in Christ, rest of conscience, and rest of heart, rest built on pardon of all sin, rest flowing from peace with God.
~J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel, Matthew

Florilegium

Florilegia means"flowers of reading." It was the medieval term for commonplace books. I've written before about keeping a commonplace book, and one of my favorite articles about them can be found here.

My pastor uses his blog as a sort of commonplace, and my friend Becky recently set up a new blog just for recording borrowed words. Then Ink followed suit and encouraged me to do the same.

So, Florilegium is my on-line commonplace "book." It won't replace my pens and paper, but it is a delightful way to share treasured words with others.

With love,
Trisha

**Becky's site is www.goodwords.me
Ink's is www.ipocblog.wordpress.com

Thankful Thursday~Like A Music Book

"The whole course and series of divine providence towards the saints is like a music-book, in every leaf whereof there is a song ready pricked for them to learn and sing to the praise of their God. No passage in their life of which they can say, 'In this I received no mercy for which I should bless God.'"
~William Gurnall

****

It's been an emotional week, and it's only Thursday! I'm thankful God has seen me through a dentist appointment to get fitted for a crown. Have I mentioned that I despise dental visits? My current dentist is a gem, though, and he makes the miserable tolerable.

I'm thankful for a delightful mother-daughter date with Emma.

I'm thankful for sweet moments like this...

I praise God for safe flights for my Beloved as he traveled to the east coast on business.

I'm thankful for Ella's declaration of joy in knowing her Daddy will be home tonight: "It doesn't seem like home without Daddy."

I'm thankful for the wildflowers that grow in our desert land and for the precious hands that bring me bouquets of them.

I'm thankful for my sister, who is watching her husband suffer from the horrible effects of colon cancer. I'm thankful she's crying out to God, not surrendering to bitterness, and is keeping a teachable heart.

I'm thankful for the kindness of God is exposing our sin and the sins of our children, for not leaving us "there," but rather faithfully refining us and making us more like Christ.

I'm thankful for friends and family who love me especially at those moments when I am so unloveable and who are quick to forgive me when I sin against them.

With love,

Trisha

What Happens in That Small Church Out in the Sticks?

"What happens when a small group of saints gathers in a clapboard community church somewhere out in the sticks? At their call to worship, they ascend to the City of God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. They walk into the midst of innumerable angels (Heb. 12:22). They come to general assembly of the universal Church and into the presence of God Himself (Heb. 12:23). Scripture says this understanding should rattle us--we should start working out our salvation together with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12-13). When we understand what is actually happening in a worship service, our contemporary flippancy evaporates."
~Doug Wilson, A Primer on Worship and Reformation

Chocolate Chip Scone Nibbles

Scones, scones, and more scones. Now I know the secret to the glaze that was on my favorite Starbucks scones.

Don't let the detailed instructions scare you away from this recipe. You don't have to do all of the extra cutting, although the the smaller shapes are part of this recipe's appeal. I just cut the first time, and then dipped the scones individually. It really didn't take that long.

photo by PoffClan

Scones

• 2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pats
• 1 cup to 2 cups mini chocolate chips, or finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the flavoring of your choice
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup half and half or milk

Glaze

• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 7 tablespoons water, enough to make a thin glaze
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

 Whisk together your dry ingredients. Work in the butter just until mixture is crumbly (I just use my Kitchenaid paddle). Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and half and half. Add additional liquid if the dough seems too dry. (I had to use the full amount of half and half.)

Scrape the dough onto a well-floured surface and pat into a square or circle and cut your shapes. You can cut those again to make a more "nibble" sized scone. Read the original recipe for more detailed instructions.

Transfer scones to parchment lined baking sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and bake scones for about 20 minutes.

Make the glaze, and then dip each scone or paint on with a pastry brush. Transfer to a cooling rack set over parchment paper to catch any drips. Allow glaze to set.

Enjoy!

With love,

Trisha

Jon Cardwell's Comic Book, Pearl Harbor: Date of Infamy! Date to Remember!

Jon Cardwell is at it again. He's now published his first comic book, Pearl Harbor: Date of Infamy! Date to Remember! , and our 10 year old, Luke, says it's a winner.

This is one of the first comic books I've read, and I loved it! Jon Cardwell's writing has a way of sticking in your mind. For instance, when I finished the book and went about my work, scenes and conversations from Pearl Harbor kept popping into my head. This comic book is packed full of historical content and is a great book for any "would-be-sailor." It is well-written and has great illustrations. If you're going to let your son (or sons) start reading comics, you should start them out with this one. There is no objectionable content, and boys of all ages will love it. I give it 5 stars.

Jon truly is a man of many talents. You can find a complete list of his books here, including Pearl Harbor, which is available in paperback or on the Kindle. Perfect summer reading!