Thousand Word Project - Thanksgiving

 

Just for Fun – The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

 

Here’s a fun little poem with an unexpected ending.  Enjoy!

Read Here.

Thorns

 

Here is an item I posted some years back.  It is a good challenge to think about how we can be thankful for our own thorns in life.

Thorns

2Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able
to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,
so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss.

As if that weren't enough her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer? "Had she lost a child? No - she has no idea what I'm feeling,"

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Sew Happy Saturday – Vintage Coats

One of my uncles very kindly converted a lot of old photographs and slides that belonged to my grandparents to digital format.  I thought it might be fun to share some of those that relate to either sewing or past styles here.  Today, in honor of the season here in the northern hemisphere, we’ll look at some vintage winter coats that belonged to my Gramma and her friends and/or family.



Here is my Gramma (right) with her aunt (left) and another lady.  This photo was taken in 1931 and was probably during her years at Wheaton College.  The coat she’s wearing looks like a kimono style and appears to have a velvety texture.  Of course, this was during the Depression.  Gramma was very blessed that her father didn’t lose his money or job.  He was not what we’d call wealthy today, but due to his wise use of a good income, they never suffered like others did at that time.



Gramma (center) was at Bible school in Philadelphia when this was taken.  She went there after she graduated from Wheaton.  She was planning to go the missionfield at this point and wanted more Bible training.  Check out the wiiiide collar and snazzy buttons on this coat. :-)  The lady on the left was her best friend, Bea, who later became her sister-in-law.  (By the way, that is her younger brother in back on the left.  He’s not the one who married Bea.)  The ladies’ hats are cute, but I doubt that they kept their heads terribly warm. :-)



Here is Gramma with her parents aboard a ship.  I’m pretty sure this is the same coat as in the picture above, but here she has it all buttoned up.



Another coat she wore during her time at Philadelphia School of the Bible.  Note the wide fur collar and the big buttons.  She seemed to like big buttons. :-)  (That’s “Aunt Bea” again on the left.  The poor lady in the middle looks like she has headlights because the sun is reflecting off of her buttons.)



Yet another coat of hers with big buttons (second from left). :-)



Years later – 1946, the family was home from East Africa on furlough with the three oldest kids (no. four came later).  Aren’t their little outfits cute? [That’s my mom on the right.]  This furlough had been much delayed due to WWII.



Gramma and my mom in the 1960s.  Although this coat is different from the one I was used to her wearing, the overall look here reminds me very much of how she looked in winter when I was growing up. 

She loved those thin little, rubber “boots” that slipped on over her shoes.  I don’t know how she kept her feet warm in a Michigan winter.  Obviously she didn’t.  My mom’s boots here are much better suited for that weather and snow.  [That’s an ice fishing hut in the background.  This was on a frozen lake.]

Thousand Word Project – Kaffir Lily

 

Taken in Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt. Coot-tha

Chocolate Dump Cake

 

This recipe came to us from my aunt.  It is very simple since you mix the cake up right in the cake pan!  No bowls, no other messes.  It is not the cheapest or most low-fat cake you will find, but if you need a cake in a hurry this one will certainly go together quickly.

Our family is no longer particularly worried about the oil issue as it turns out oil is not nearly as “unhealthy” for us as the so-called experts claimed at one time.  I do recommend that you use a healthy oil such as grape seed or something similar.  Some olive oils might have an odd flavor in a sweet dish like this, but it could be used as well.  I have not tried coconut oil as yet, but I hope to do so.  I am not sure if melted butter would work or not, but I will probably try that as well at some point just to see.  (That would make an extra dirty dish, though.)

If you want the edges of the pan to look better than this, you will want to wipe them off before you bake the cake. :-)  I used a chocolate butter frosting to frost this cake.

I made this cake in a disposable pan to take to an event where we were asked to help provide cake.  As you can see, I still use some sprinkles occasionally just for fun.  We get very few food colorings in our food any more, so I figure it’s OK for a once-in-awhile treat. :-)

Chocolate Dump Cake

Dump into a 9x13 cake pan:

2 C. flour
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 C. buttermilk
1 C. oil
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix fairly well. 

Add 1 C. boiling water.

Mix thoroughly.

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350F.

Note: The last time I made this I reduced the oil to about 3/4 C. and it still turned out fine.  I think I also reduced the sugar to 1 C.  I also used peppermint flavoring instead of vanilla, but I was not impressed with how that worked in this recipe, so be forewarned.  Almond would probably be fine.  This cake also keeps well in the freezer.

Two Poems about Thankfulness for Hard Things

 

A Thanksgiving

For all Thy blessings given there are many to thank Thee, Lord,
But for the gifts withholden I fain would add my word.

For good things I desired that barred me from the best,
The peace at the price of honour, the sloth of a shameful rest;

The poisonous sweets I longed for to my hungering heart denied,
The staff that broke and failed me when I walked in the way of pride;

The tinsel joys withheld that so content might still be mine,
The help refused that might have made me loose my hand from Thine;

The light withdrawn that I might not see the dangers of my way;
For what Thou hast not given, I thank Thee, Lord today.

Annie Johnson Flint

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

A Thanksgiving for Hard Things

Thank You, my Father that Your wisest choosing,
To my own wayward heart is ever proving,
That some glad joy I longed my life to garnish,
Would but have left me marred with rust and tarnish.

Thank You, Lord, for that most kind depriving,
Which mercifully withstood my soul's mad driving,
Has kept me from some greater, horribler loss,
While teaching me the glory of Thy cross.

Thank You that the smaller scars I have sustained,
Have kept me, Lord, from what I might have gained,
Of deeper wounds that span the years of life,
And bear the loathsome fruit of constant strife.

Thank You for Your thoughtful little tokens,
Reminding that I'm loved, though sorely broken;
And so I find these smaller blessings meet,
To bring me here in worship at Thy feet.

Thank You, Lord, that that which seemeth good to Thee,
Hath overruled that which seemed so good to me,
And so withheld some earthly satisfaction,
That I might serve Thee here without distraction.

O Thank You, God, that confidence yet growing,
Can rest in Thy great wisdom, safely knowing,
Though troubles come which I can never tell,
Yet my Redeemer doeth all things well.

By Mary Stephens
Originally written in Nov. 2004

1Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Mark 7:37  …He hath done all things well…

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.