Recipe Link - Slow Cooker Chicken

Photo belongs to The Blue House Kitchen.

Here's a link for this yummy looking recipe on The Blue House Kitchen from Phoebe's World blog:

Cozy Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

Some Autumn Photos from Western Michigan

Please go take a look at these photos from autumn last year in western Michigan. That is my old stomping ground as I have lived there several different times in my life. :-) There are parts of the U.S. where autumn is far beyond what most people can imagine for glorious color. Michigan is one of them, at least many years.

I put a small story about my Gramma in the comments, if you are interested. Please also leave the blogger some friendly feedback, if you feel so inclined. :-)

Fall 2023 Michigan

Photo property of Plants Amaze Me.

Thoughts for the Grieving

 

A lot of people are dealing with grief again this holiday season. For some it is new, for others it is not, in either case it still hurts. For some it is the result of death, for others it is caused by other reasons. I wanted to remind us of some things that might be helpful, either to those who are dealing with fresh grief, or for those who just need some reminders.

Are You Grieving? It's OK to Make Holiday Changes

Of Grief and Earthly Treasures

Fear - by Martha Snell Nicholson

He Is My Light  - by Martha Snell Nicholson

One Day at A Time  - by Annie Johnson Flint

In Jesus  - by Annie Johnson Flint

He's Helping Me Now  - by Annie Johnson Flint

"Fear Not" and Comfort Verses

A Word to the Weary OR Why Do the Righteous Suffer?

Psalm 31:9 Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. 

This video was not synced properly between the sound and words. Please follow the poem below to see the proper flow of the words.

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Are Thou Sunk In Depths of Sorrow?

Art thou sunk in depths of sorrow

Where no arm can reach so low?

There is One whose arms almighty

Reach beyond thy deepest woe.

God Eternal is thy refuge,

Let it still thy wild alarms;

Underneath thy deepest sorrow,

Are the everlasting arms.

Other arms grow faint and weary,

These can never faint, nor fail;

Others reach our mounts of blessing,

These our lowest loneliest vale.

O that all might know His friendship!

O that all might see His charms!

O that all might have beneath them

Jesus’ everlasting arms.

Underneath us, O how easy;

We have not to mount on high,

But to sink into His fulness,

And in trustful weakness lie.

And we find our humbling failures

Save us from the strength that harms!

We may fail, but underneath us

Are the everlasting arms.

Arms of Jesus! fold me closer,

To Thy strong and loving breast,

Till my spirit on Thy bosom

Finds its everlasting rest;

And when time’s last sands are sinking,

Shield my heart from all alarms,

Softly whispering, “Underneath thee,

Are the everlasting arms.”

A. B. Simpson

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms...

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. 

Worth Reading - Some other People's Thoughts On Shiny Happy People

 

Acts 20:28-30 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 

In case you were not aware, Prime Video released a docuseries on the Duggar family in June. Shiny Happy People (Duggar Family Secrets) is a four part documentary on the beliefs of the Duggar family and the IBLP at large with an emphasis on people who were abused by the system and have escaped. 

There has been a fair amount of controversy around it, partly due to the fact that many of the former IBLP members who were interviewed are no longer professing Christians, or they have embraced a much more progressive version of Christianity. I watched the docuseries starting the day it was released, but I want to watch it a second time to write down my observations and thoughts without the first impressions dominating. 

In the mean time, I thought I'd share this post from Lighthouse Trails Research Project for your consideration. The editors made a few clear observations and then linked to an article by Don Veinot at the Midwest Christian Outreach. Mr. Veinot has quite a considerable knowledge of Gothardism and its errors as he has been exposing it for years and made the effort and point of confronting Bill Gothard in person with his false teachings. Mr. Veinot and another man wrote a book on the subject, in fact, as you will see in the linked articles.

As always, I encourage you to look up the scriptures used in the KJV where other translations are used. I observed that, as usual, the KJV translation was much more useful and powerful in its language.

1 Peter 3:14-17 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

Sadly, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and Bill Gothard  and many others have given the adversary a weapon to use against the true faith, once delivered to the saints. They are suffering for their evil deeds, but as they have put themselves themselves forward to the world as representatives of Christianity at its alleged finest (especially the Duggars on their reality show), they have given the unsaved and unbelieving space to blaspheme the name of God as David did when he committed adultery. (2 Samuel 12:13-14. Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.) It is little wonder that the world misinterprets Christianity because of their behavior. But, it is tragic that the Bible teaching churches have allowed the errors of Gothard to pollute their beliefs so widely - a subject for another day.

Here is the post from Lighthouse Trails:

A Look At Shiny Happy People and What the Church Can Learn

Another item at their page that is of interest:

Letter to the Editor: The Teachings of Bill Gothard – A Misinterpretation of the Bible That Leads to Abuse

Disclaimer on other versions than the KJV and possibly some content.

Eggnog Oatmeal - Recipe Link

Here is a recipe for eggnog flavored oatmeal over at Simple Inspirations. I haven't tried it yet because I have sadly had to limit my consumption of oatmeal because it really does seem to make me hurt more (how weird is that?). I have not idea why. But, I still would like to eat it regularly if I could, so I'll share this tasty looking recipe with you. :-)  Since it has egg and milk it has more nutrition than plain oatmeal, and the sugar is really quite low in it. Enjoy!

Photo property of Simple Inspirations.

Eggnog Oatmeal Recipe

Worth Repeating - Thoughts On Darkness and Light

I wrote this in March of 2015, but it feels appropriate right now as well. November was a very dark and cloudy month here and, though we needed the rain, it became difficult at times. This post talks about the growing spiritual darkness and what, or rather Who, we should be focusing on instead of dwelling on the darkness - namely, on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the world!

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Clouds, clouds, clouds. We’ve had so much cloudy weather here in Central Texas since December. It may be “normal,” but we haven’t seen this much of it since we moved here almost 7 years ago. With my seasonal affected disorder this weather can be a real challenge. Up until recently I have been doing pretty well with it, but it’s starting to get to me – even with all the things I do to deal with it. (See Dealing with SAD – Seasonal Affected Disorder.)

One enigma to me is that when the sun does come out for a few days or part of a day, sometimes it’s almost as if it were “too much” now. I should be used to lots of sunshine! After all this is Texas! But, still I tend to get a headache sometimes or feel like it’s too bright. This doesn’t happen every time, but it has been enough to notice. I have to conclude that I’ve grown used to the darkness.

That makes me think, though. How much is our spiritual vision impacted by the increasing spiritual darkness of the world we live in? How much have we grown accustomed to the gloom of sin and sorrow and wickedness. I wonder if some or all of us wouldn’t be rather over-dazzled by the glory of the Lord if we had occasion to really “see” it.

Continue Reading.

A Tale of Two Guardian Bands - A Story from My Dad

 

Kijabe mission station where RVA is located.
Taken from the air around the general time this story occurs.

2 Kings 6:15-17 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Hebrews 1:13-14 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? 

For Father's Day I am sharing a true story from my dad's childhood in East Africa during the Mau Mau Uprising. Both of my parents attended the Rift Valley Academy boarding school for missionary children in Kenya when they were kids, as did their living siblings. As I was growing up I remember hearing this story told by different family members separately, but usually various ones together, and it left a tremendous impression on me. As you will see as you read, if God hadn't intervened at that time, both my dad and my mom likely would have died as children and I would never have been born. 

We are not superstitious people, but we do know that sometimes God steps in and alters the course of nature or man's evil intentions through the ministry of His angels. Usually we are never the wiser to this, but once in a long while He pulls back the veil for His purposes (there is always a biblical purpose) and lets people get a small glimpse into that world of spiritual warfare that is around us all the time. As with Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings, and as with Daniel when the angel came to answer his prayer for understanding and told him that he had been delayed in the spiritual world by the prince of Persia (a spiritual entity, since a man could never stop an angel), there are times when we are given a small look into what is happening there that we are unaware of usually. 

I hope you enjoy reading this and are encouraged to know that, no matter how grim the situation may appear around you, "they that be with us are more than they that be with them." We are not always "recued" in this flesh, but God is always victorious in the end.

He Shall Give His Angels...

P.S. My dad mentions the "pseudos" without going into much detail as to what they were. They were spies who posed as Mau Mau to infilterate them and find out what they were doing - a seriously dangerous job. As he mentions there were a few white men who did this - by dying themselves black. But they had to speak the language like a born native.

Springtime Walk In the Dowagiac Woods, Michigan

Dutchman's Breeches
Photo property of Plants Amaze Me.

Another great post from "Plants Amaze Me" of her adventures in the Michigan woods. These pictures make me just a little homesick for Michigan in the spring. Especially this dry year in Texas. (But, to be clear, I do not miss the winters up there!) :-) These photos are from the end of April, so they are past this point, but I still wanted to share.

Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary

Enjoy! And leave her a kind message maybe.

A Walk In the Winter Woods In Michigan

Photo property of Plants Amaze Me.

Here is one last glimpse of real winter for you before we move on to primarily spring posts. :-) I lived a good deal of my youth and young adult years in Michigan. Although I'm happy to live in Texas now where we have less winter, these pictures are still beautiful and nostalgic to me. The winter woods have a beauty and a feel all their own. I hope you enjoy the photos, and leave "Plants Amaze Me" a nice comment too if you like. :-)

Two Walks On A Snowy Day

And just because...here's a poem by Robert Frost (such an appropriate name to go with this poem). :-)

Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

A Recipe for Hummus from the Deeply Snowy North Country

 

Photo property of Jennifer at My Cubby Crafts.

Here's a recipe for hummus from Jennifer at My Cubby Crafts, along with a little about their very snowy winter life where she lives. :-) I like the idea of hummus without tahini since I'm not a big fan of tahini myself, although I like sesame seed otherwise. Hummus is one of my favorite foods. I would eat it every day if my body would tolerate it. I hope you can enjoy trying this recipe out. Eat a little for me too. ;-)

Here is the link:

Homemaking Mondays: Snacks and Snow

Fresh Beet Salad

Photo property of Sister in the Mid-West - Simple Inspirations

Root vegetables are a good way to make a winter salad. This beet and carrot slaw style salad with fresh apples and lemon juice from Sister in the Mid-west sounds like it would be refreshing and very nutrient rich. 

By the way, I was thinking that a handful of fresh cranberries before shredding or a handful of dried ones added afterwards could add a nice flavor variation. Also, if it isn't quite sweet enough for you a bit of honey or your other favorite sweetening could be added. This is a versatile recipe. You can make variations. It would be good served with a variety of meals as well, or added to sandwiches or wraps. The color alone makes it a winner for making winter meals pretty. :-)

Simple Inspirations - Beet Salad Recipe!

A Simple Denim Rag Quilt

Photo property of Simple Inspirations.

Here is a link to instructions for a simple denim rag quilt. This is posted at the blog of "Sister in the Mid-West" - Simple Inspirations.

Denim Rag Quilt

This quilt is a good way to use up denim scraps, old clothing, and other fabric scraps as well. I'm not sure, but I think you could make this with corduroy in place of the denim, although, that might get a bit messy, and you might not want the super bulky types. :-)

In Honor of Fathers

A collection of scripture and illustrations in honor of fathers.

In Honor of Fathers

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Artist unknown.

A Selection of Things for Mother's Day

I started to write something for today, but it isn't finished. I know, we've been down this street before. Anyway, here's a selection of things that might encourage of bless you today. :-)

Tender Strength - A photo and some thoughts from my own family history.

From Mom's Collection - A selection of items that my mom saved over the years. A variety of topics.

Mother's Question - A poem with a thought provoking question.

A Christian Mother's Life - A poem.

In Honor of Mothers - Scripture and pictures.

Bless the Hands and Hearts - A prayer.

Thorns - An encouragement for mothers whose babies died before birth.

I Love Homemaking... - Rejoicing in the the lovely work that God has given.

Letter Writing Challenge for February

 

A fellow named Eric has started a February challenge based on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November). His idea is to write one letter or note to someone every day in February. It is called InCoWriMo - International Correspondence Writing Month. 

Laura at Harvest Lane Cottage extended the challenge to her readers here: Snail Mail Excitement - Let's Spread Some Joy.

Yes, you read that correctly. The challenge is to write snail mail - a good old fashioned letter on paper...or a notecard or postcard or a greeting card. You get the idea. You can mail them or deliver them by hand. I'm guessing a note sent by carrier pigeon would be acceptable too, even though I don't expect any of us would actually do that. Just covering all the bases here. ;-) 

The point is not to use electronic devices. He stipulates no typewriters, but if someone wanted to write to me on an old fashioned manual typewriter I would find that delightful. :-) I sometimes wish I still had mine...except when I think about how heavy it was. But, I digress.

My love for writing actually was birthed in letter writing, thanks to the example of my mom, so this seemed like an appropriate challenge to share with my readers. If you are interested, give it a go. If 28 letters or notes in one month seems overly ambition to you, make adjustments. You can write short notes. You can do 14 instead. You can write several a day and not write on every single day. I have a lot of letters and notes that I have been meaning to write for awhile, so maybe this will inspire me to actually get some of those done. :-)

I am sure there are a lot of people out there who would be extra delighted to receive a snail mail right now.

If you would like a copy of the graphic above to make your own notecards or postcards, you can find it here. 

A Walk Through the Michigan Woods In November

painting by Childe Hassam

Another great walk through the woods in Michigan, this time in November of this year when the colors were gorgeous. [I used a painting illustration because I couldn't share any of her photos. :-) ]

Fall Color at Ottawa County Parks November 2020

Letters to My Friend - Thoughts on Unexpected Grief and Being Childless

Mother's Day was really hard this year. I knew it would be because of my mother going to heaven in March. It is so raw and fresh still in some ways. What I didn't expect was the grief I had that I don't have a mother here any more and that I am also not a mother.

After years of dealing with pain of not being a mother, I didn't expect that one to crop back up again. It isn't that I don't know how to deal with it, or that I don't know where to go for help with it. It's more like the feeling of, "Hey, wait. I thought I got off of this train at an earlier station. How did I get back on it?" Somehow losing my mom from this earth brought that old hurt back again.

Life surprises us sometimes...

Continue Reading.

Christmas for Lonely People

Christmas Eve for Lonely People

Here is a blog post written by my dad. I only wish I’d seen it yesterday. But it isn’t too late to show compassion on someone today or this week.

By the way, don’t forget New Year’s Eve. Some people, unmarried young adults especially, get very stressed about that when they have nowhere to go and/or no one to go with. If you run across someone like that invite them over or take them to your church function with you on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own...

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

Thoughts from Hymns - The Greatness of God

Photo property of Stephanie - The Enchanting Rose

It's good to remember and think upon the greatness of God. Here is a post by Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose based upon this hymn:

Great God of Wonders

Psalm 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 48:1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!

(translated by Stuart K. Hine)

Thought from the Past - Schools As Social Agencies

Here is an item copied years ago from The Fairhaven Fundamentalist:

A new mantra has crept into the stream of discourse about government's role in social services. Identified as an African proverb, it is, "It takes a whole village to raise a child."

This statement is false, if not ridiculous. It takes a family, especially a mother and father, to raise a child, and most parents don't want the whole village butting into the raising of their children because they know that, if the village usurps parental prerogatives, the village will teach children behavior the parents don't want them to learn.

The "Whole Village" mantra is not merely a rhetorical flourish or poetic license. It is the indicia of a major initiative of the social services professionals to expand their turf at the expense of parental authority and responsibility.

The key to catching most or all school children in the social-service web, whether their families want such services or not, is the categorization of children as "at risk," a magic phrase used to authorize the state to do whatever it wants with children. The more children who are designated as "at risk," the more personnel and funds the public schools can demand ...

No issue in America today is more important than education. We must not allow the public schools to teach children that parents are irrelevant and that the government will be their baby sitter, their nanny, their doctor, their nurse, their psychiatrist, and ultimately their employment agency. Our goal must be to teach all children how to read, to know about our great American heritage, and to be educated to fulfill their individual God-given potential.

 ... Copied [Disclaimer on source.]
(I apologize that I did not record the date of this item.)

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Comments on previous article by Mary E. Stephens (updated Oct. 2019):

Here is another good reason to teach your kids at home. The less your children are in the "village," the less opportunity the "villagers" have to tear down your standards. These "villagers" WILL try to "educate" your children with their "values" if you give them the chance, whether it's by sending them to the public school or letting them watch T.V., play ungodly games (computer, video, board, etc.), or any other unprofitable thing.

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

If you are supposed to beware, then why would you let man "spoil" your children by these very things?

Continue Reading.