Make-Ahead Healthy Cake Mixes Tutorial

Here is another tutorial from Mary's Nest. This one is for cake mixed you can store in your pantry or freezer. I would personally put mine in the freezer since we don't make cakes all that often and I can't tolerate foods that have gone even a little rancid. Also, I recommend using the usual canning lids and rings if you store yours in canning jars. I have not found the white plastic lids designed for use on canning jars to be a good, air tight seal. 

Here is the link to recipes on her page. This is where she gives the instructions on how to make the cakes later, so you will need this to print out the instructions to go with the mixes. I recommend keeping them with the mixes, as she does. Mixes Recipes and Instructions.

I am curious to see if her recipes can be used with gluten-free 1-for-1 flours. I may try a couple of them out in single cake proportions. But, then again, I may not. My life is full of good intentions that never quite make it to real life. blah. :-)

Also, as she mentions, these mixes could make nice gifts for people who bake desserts. This could be in keeping with the post from November 14th on changing your gift giving this holiday season - and, hey, why not all of next year?

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Evening Song - We Shall Rise

Revelation 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The John Marshal Family

Thanksgiving Greeting 2021 and A Poem

May God's grace and goodness satisfy the hearts of all those who worship Him in spirit and in truth as we give thanks to Him today. It has been a hard year for many, but His faithfulness and love have not faltered,, even when we sometimes did.

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The light withdrawn that I might not see the dangers of my way;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.

The Blessings that Remain - A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

Painting by August Toulmouche

 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 

The Blessings that Remain

There are loved ones who are missing
From the fireside and the feast;
There are faces that have vanished,
There are voices that have ceased;
But we know they passed forever
From our mortal grief and pain,
And we thank Thee, O our Father,
For the blessings that remain.

Thanksgiving, oh, Thanksgiving,
That their love once blessed us here,
That so long they walked beside us,
Sharing every smile and tear;
For the joy the past has brought us,
But can never take away,
For the sweet and gracious memories
Growing dearer every day,

For the faith that keeps us patient
Looking at the things unseen,
Knowing Spring shall follow Winter
And the earth again be green,
For the hope of that glad meeting
Far from mortal grief and pain -
We thank Thee, Oh our Father,
For the blessings that remain.

For the love that still is left us,
For the friends who hold us dear,
For the lives that yet may need us
For their guidance and their cheer,
For the work that waits our doing,
For the help we can bestow,
For the care that watches o'er us
Wheresoe'er our steps may go.

For the simple joys of living,
For the sunshine and the breeze,
For the beauty of the flowers
And the laden orchard trees,
For the night and for the starlight,
For the rainbow and the rain -
Thanksgiving, O our Father,
For the blessings that remain.

- by Annie Johnson Flint

Lamentations 5:19 Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

 

Painting - unknown

Listening to God's Voice with Your Feet In Motion - Guest Post

Here is a thought from my dad, Stephen Van Nattan, about listening for God's leading. Often times we have to be moving before we hear His voice telling us which way to go.

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THAT VOICE 

Isaiah 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Scott McNealy — a co-founder of Sun Microsystems said this about decision making: "It’s important to make good decisions. But I spend much less time and energy worrying about 'making the right decision' and much more time and energy ensuring that any decision I make turns out right."

In Isaiah above, we see that there are times we "turn" to the right or left. So, how do we make sure that, when we "turn," we end up making a decision that, as McNealy said, "turns out right?"

1. Do not stop your progress in life by standing still..... take a turn and keep in motion. The captain of a ship cannot steer a ship that is not in motion. You will not hear the voice behind you if you are dead in the water.

2. But, be very alert to hear if a voice tells you to go another way. That is how to make sure your decisions turn out right. Scott McNealy seems to be alone in the task of making sure his decisions are the right ones. You are never alone with Jesus Christ. 

So, in terms of knowledge, do not hide in a corner and shut out everything around you. That will get you no knowledge upon which to act in wisdom. Keep looking for knowledge, BUT, listen for the voice behind you that says, "Click out of there my son, that knowledge is rubbish and will only destroy your peace and fellowship with me."

We had to leave our work with Sudan Interior Mission in Ethiopia in 1974 because of a Marxist coup. Christian Ethiopians were being accused of being the friends of Imperialists, and the mission decided to quickly downsize from 300 missionaries to 12. National Christians should not have to suffer persecution for being the friends of Americans. Only for being the friends of Jesus Christ. 

We were among the first to leave. We did everything to get ready, sold most of our possessions, and moved to the mission headquarters to wait for a flight back to the USA. But, we could also move on to join another mission somewhere else in the world and continue being missionaries. We were in motion but also wondering if we might hear the voice of God behind us.

The word got to George Machamer of Gospel Furthering Fellowship in Kenya, the next nation south of Ethiopia. My wife and I had grown up in Kenya as kids when our parents were missionaries in the region. George Machamer took it upon himself to send us a letter inviting us to join the GFF at once and move to Kenya to help in the work. 

There was that voice, and it came in the mail like a voice out of the blue. We then moved to Kenya and became part of the work of the GFF.

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My comment:

As many of us focus on giving thanks to God this week, consider some ways that He has led you in directions that were a surprise - maybe they even seemed scary or disappointing at the time. Can you look back, as my dad does, and thank Him for taking you away from something and to something else? We don't always know the reasons this side of Heaven, but we can often know that it was definitely the Lord who led us. 

Maybe you are stuck in your life at the moment and don't know where to go next. How can you start to move forward? By doing even the most basic right things commanded to Christians in scripture. This will open up the way for God to direct your steps to where He wants you to go, or perhaps to something He wants you to do right where you are.

Psalm 85:13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. 

Even though we sometimes feel like we have no idea what we should be doing or where we should be going, with His voice behind us and His righteousness setting us in His steps, we have a great deal of guidance. As it has been said, if you don't know what God's will is for you, do the things that you can clearly see from scripture are God's will - pray, study His word, testify of the gospel, be part of a local church fellowship, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus, do good to all men, etc. And keep moving forward, even if it's "only" in these most basic things. The voice of the Lord will lead you in the bigger matters as you go. 

As we have some big decisions looming ourselves at the moment, I'm saying this to myself as much as anyone.

And just in case we forget how powerful God's voice is:

Psalm 29 

A Psalm of David. 

Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. 

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 

Evening Song - Beautiful Savior

Revelation 4:9-11 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. 

Revelation 5:11-14 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. 

Although this is not a traditional "Thanksgiving" hymn, it seemed appropriate to me going into this next week. As we think about giving thanks for many things, let's remember that without the salvation we have through our Lord Jesus Christ, none of these blessings of this life would have the same meaning for us. It is only through relationship to Him that life is filled with the beauty and loveliness that only He can give - simply by His presence with and in us. Though He adds many blessings to our lives and much hope and grace, the loveliness of Himself is beyond our comprehension. This sweet meditation in song is a good reminder to focus on Him, and not just the physical things He gives us.

Colossians 1:25-27 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

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Texas Memories - Autumn Asparagus

Our asparagus plants do not always look this beautiful in the fall, but in 2016 they put on a spectacular display. Some years our growing season is longer and kinder to the plants than other years. 

Enjoy!