Evening Song – Sin Will Take You Farther

James 1:14-16  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.

The Thousand Word Project – Fuchsias

 

Tabbouleh - A Middle Eastern Salad

Another rerun from the early days of this blog.  This was first posted on the afternoon of Feb. 26, 2009. :-)

----------------

We started making and eating our own Middle Eastern food sometime while I was in my teens. This refreshing parsley salad quickly became a family favorite. We shared it with our church family and it was a hit there too. In fact, one girl who was finicky about "green food" actually found that she loved this salad so much she started making it for herself on a regular basis! :-) That's pretty high praise. Parsley, olive oil, whole grain, and more - what a great tasting, and great looking health food!
[The photo was taken by my friend Elisabeth who also made this bowl of tabbouleh.]

Tabbouleh tastes great served immediately or refrigerated. Leftover tabbouleh should be refrigerated, of course, and eaten up within 4 days or so as it begins to get soggy.  Try adding it to a sandwich in place of lettuce and tomato.  It's really good in a pita bread sandwich, maybe combined with some leftover shishkabob or grilled meat.

Tabbouleh

2 bunches of fresh parsley

2 tablespoons of fresh mint

1 small onion

1 large tomato, diced  (or 2 large Roma tomatoes)

1/2 a small cucumber, diced

1/2 cup bulgur

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

6 tablespoons lemon juice (preferably fresh)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Soak bulghur in water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until soft. (This process can be shortened by using hot water. Just be sure it is cooled before adding to the salad.)  Squeeze out excess water using a metal strainer and your hand.

Wash parsley and discard the stems. Finely chop parsley, onion and mint. This can be done in a food processor very quickly.  (Note: if you do not have fresh mint you may use 1 Tbl. of dry mint.)

Combine all the vegetable ingredients and the bulgur in a large serving bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Adjust the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Hard Questions - Do Fathers Own Their Daughters?

 

Ephesians 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

This is a critique of an article by someone within the Patriarchal Movement who claimed that fathers literally own their daughters and that, among other things, daughters do not have a right to marry without the direct supervision and approval of their fathers.  This critique is very long.  I’m sorry that it is, but due to the significance of this subject in the Patriarchal Movement and the boldness of the young woman whose article I’ve answered, it seemed like a good opportunity to deal with the issue head on.  The bizarre father-daughter relationships within Patriarchy are one of it’s more disturbing visible problems.

Do Fathers Own Their Daughters?

Awhile back I ran across the article "Daddy's Girl: Courtship and a Father's Rights" by Sarah Faith Schlissel (since married).  This article has probably been critiqued by others before me, but since it sets forth much of the real thinking behind the father-daughter relationships taught by the Patriarchy Movement (sometimes called hyper patriarchy), I wanted to deal with it here.  I realize there are many strains of so-called "Biblical Patriarchy", but from my research, what is practiced in regard to father-daughter relations appears to be very close to what this writer put down in print.  If some deny it verbally, fine and well.  Let us see them deny it in practice and then we will believe their claims.  This article was credited to have been published by The Chalcedon Foundation (not a small thing within those circles)…

Continue Reading.

Evening Song – Out of the Ivory Palaces

2 Corinthians 8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Sew Happy Saturday - Two Quilt As You Go Tutorials

Chevron Quilt

Here is a tutorial for a chevron quilt done in the quilt as you go method.  (I'm not sure why these are being called chevron these days.  Not that many years ago it would've been called a zigzag quilt.  But, whatever...)

I'm a fan of quilt as you go methods because, though it may take a bit more preparation and more work to get started, in the end you can finish the quilt with no or limited quilting required.  Some methods require no further quilting.  This one requires some, but not as much as would be usual.




Simple Strip Quilt

The second tutorial I'm posting is for a simpler style quilt as you go.  With this one when you're finished sewing on your strips the quilt is done except for rolling up the edges and top stitching.  Very nice. :-)

Australian Memories – Orange and Yellow

 

I don’t know what these lovelies are called.

Photos taken at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha.

Sister's Barbecue Sauce

A Rerun of my very first blog post ever! :-)  It was first posted in February of 2009, but I'm not sure of the exact date now.  I had a flub on this the other day as I tried to schedule it for today, but it went ahead and posted itself because it was an already existing post.  Oops.  So, those who follow by email may be seeing this for the second time.  (Rerunning old posts is one way to keep things active here while my computer is being treated for various mysterious illnesses.)

--------------------------------

My sister altered a barbecue sauce recipe once and improved it. Last week she called me and wanted to know if I could send her the recipe since she had managed to bury her copy in their store room. I knew just how she felt since a lot of my own things are still in boxes in the garage waiting to be unpacked! Anyway, I typed it into email for her, and so it seemed like a good recipe to start with on this new venture! Hope you enjoy it. (And remember, don't be afraid to make your own adjustments to suit your taste.)

Barbecue Sauce

1 C ketchup

2 Tbl. cider vinegar
3/4 C & 1 Tbl. packed brown sugar*
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 C water

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf. Can be stored in fridge for 2-3 months.

*Use more or less sugar to your liking.

This sauce is good with beef, pork, and chicken. It would also be good on burgers or fried potatoes.

Breakfast Rambling -- Depression: Failure of the Brain – A Part of the Flesh

Here is the first Breakfast Rambling post that I ever made.  It was originally posted on June 7, 2010.  I have edited it slightly. :-)

[Note: These observations are just things that I thought about in my breakfast Bible reading. They are not intended to be commentary on the “meaning of the text”. They are my *thoughts*, in any case not doctrine. If you don’t agree, that’s fine. Please don’t make a big issue out of it.

I usually write these thoughts down in a blank book, and this is the source of most of the items I’ll be posting here under this category.]

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Notice that the flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of our heart. Christians understand mind (brain) failure when it is Alzheimer's or something of that nature. But, sometimes (too often), they think failure of the brain to produce chemicals needed for mental/emotional health is different because it leads to depression, anxiety or even insanity. They look only on the outward appearance and not on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and conclude that the sufferer is “not right with God” or maybe not even born again.

Yet, we know the brain is part of the flesh.

Somehow in people’s thinking the brain is different because it is strongly associated with the mind, thinking, reasoning and emotions (in western culture). But, our brain doesn't go with us to heaven when we die. It is part of the flesh that awaits resurrection, and it is left behind till that glorious day.

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 

It cannot be perfect now in its corruption, and in that state it may cause many problems while we live. True, there are choices that lead to certain difficulties, and some of us must make the effort to live differently in order to live peaceably within our limitations. But, sometimes something is defective or missing that can be at least partially replaced by man-made or natural remedies – things that have a chemical or other effect on the brain to correct imbalances and such.

Christians are willing to understand the failure of the flesh in many areas and many ways: back trouble, heart attacks, broken bones, deficient eyesight, strokes, dental problems, cancer, vitamin and mineral deficiencies – the list goes on and on and on. It is time to realize that the mind – really the brain – is part of the flesh and can be physically as well as emotionally affected by the curse of the fall. We all die in Adam – we all suffer the curse of death in our physical bodies. This may cause us considerable trouble in this life. But, thank God that in Jesus Christ we are made alive and our vile flesh can and will be redeemed and made perfect through Him!

Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Evening Hymn - Day By Day

Sew Happy Saturday - Chain Reaction Quilt Tutorial

I like this kind of quilt pattern because it looks like you did a lot of small cutting and piecing.  In reality it was much easier than that.  This one is a little more demanding to detail and attention than some, but June Dudley gives very clear instructions for making the "Chain Reaction" quilt by Lee Heinrich.  June has adjusted the original pattern so that we can now make it with pre-cuts (or you can cut your own 10" squares and 2 1/2" strips).  She also gives some pointers on mistakes to avoid.  I think this quilt has a lot of scope for variations.  I hope to make a quilt, or a table runner with this pattern sometime. :-)

One thing I like about the construction of this quilt is that there are no borders between the blocks.  They adjoin directly to each other.  This is nice since making a lot of borders takes longer.  With this, when your blocks are done, you're ready to assemble.

Australian Memories – Abutilon - Indian Mallow

 

Also called Flowering Maple (you can see why from the shape of the leaves).

Photos taken at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha.

Not What I Expected

Not a recent picture, but this is where my computer still is, and that's the tailbone offending chair.

Psalm 126:3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

So, life has been rather "interesting" lately.

My husband and I had committed to help with a family project - namely helping family move from back East to Texas.  I was kind of overwhelmed by logistics and other aspects of what we were undertaking, but about the time I began to see my way clearing, the Lord gave me another thing to deal with.  An old tailbone injury and some other problems developed which made it very difficult for me to travel in the car even for half an hour.  That was not going to work on a long cross-country trip!  We prayed, did stuff, and prayed some more, and when it didn't resolve we made alternate plans.  I stayed home while he made a fast, straight-through dash across the country, got a little rest, helped load a truck, slept another night and then drove straight through back home.  And, the Lord kept them all safe and helped me have peace while my husband and I were apart overnight for the first time since we were married!

Even more, we now can see a reason for my not going.  Because I wasn't along, the whole trip was much faster than it would have been.  I'm not a stellar traveler even in normal health.  Had we been on the original plan we would not have left to come home till Saturday morning and would have arrived late Sunday night.  Well, it started raining here around 9 a.m. Monday morning!  We would have been interrupted in our unloading at that point and it would've been necessary later in the day to get it all inside pronto when the rain did stop because Monday night we had heavy rain (Praise the LORD!!!).  Because they were able to speed everything up, they arrived here early Saturday, got a little sleep, unloaded the truck and returned it.  Some things sat outside all night and were taken care of Sunday.  A few things were still out Monday morning, but we were able to get the water sensitive things inside just before the rain started!

So, I'm at peace and rejoicing to see how the Lord ordered all our ways and answered some long standing prayers for abundant rain!  I'm also blessed at the level of peace He helped me have while my husband, Peter, was away.  Truly we have been blessed.

But, as a way to keep me from spending too much time in my computer chair where my tailbone is not happy, the Lord also allowed my computer to die the morning my husband left for the trip east. :-)  He has not had time to actually fix it yet as it required new parts.  So, I've been off of it for awhile now.  I had a few posts scheduled ahead, but it's been a challenge to keep up with the new posts not having access to my own computer and usual resources.  So.....please bear with me through this time as there may be some late or missing posts along the way till everything gets fixed.

Ezk. 34:26c ...there shall be showers of blessing.

ABCs of My Mom

The ABCs of my mom - things I learned and received from her and saw in her.

A - Advice, Attitude Adjustments :-)
B - Blessings, Bible reading, Busy mind
C - Christ-centered life, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Canning
D - Determination, Desire toward God, Discretion, Desserts
E - Eternity based values, Eggs for breakfast,
F - Faith, Family, Friends, Forgiveness
G - Grandparents, Gardening, Good cooking
H - Humor, Humming, Hard work
I - Interest in others, Inquisitiveness
J - Jesus Christ, Jam and Jelly making
K - Kindness, Kisses
L - Laughter, Learning, Longsuffering
M - Mercy, Making do
N - Non-negotiable truths
O - Old Hymns, Own your convictions/faith
P - Perseverance, Prayers, Patience, Pinching Pennies
Q - Questions and questioning, Quiet time, Quilt making
R  - Reading out loud, Roses, Repentance
S - Salvation, Self-sacrifice, Smiles, Sewing
T - Temperance, Teaching others
U - Unlimited love
V - Victory through Christ in hard things, Value of our elders, Virtue
W - Wisdom, Washing dishes
X - Examine yourself
Y - Yearning for a better country (Heb. 11)
Z - Zeal for good things

But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. Galatians 4:18

Evening Song – Rejoice the Lord Is King

 

Revelation 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Australian Memories – Princess Flower

 

Also called Glory Flower.  
John 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Photos taken at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha.

Thoughts from the Past – Childless By God’s Choice

By Mrs. Robin R.
[Robin is unable to have any children of her own.]

In the Bible there are several examples of barren women…Sarai, Rachel, Manoah’s wife, Hannah…to name a few. But if you carefully study the lives of these women, you will find that they were barren only for a season. Albeit, barrenness for any amount of time can seem like an eternity!

What about those of us who are truly barren and will not ever conceive? Can there be any contentment in our lives?…

Continue Reading.

Evening Song – Under His Wings

 

Psalms 36:7  How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Australian Memories – Camouflaged Lizard

 

This lizard at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha had settled into a spot where he blended quite well.