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Welcome! I am glad you are here. Join me with a cup of your favorite beverage and see what is going on in my life and what is on my mind. I would love to have you join my site and you can do that on the left side where it says 'followers'. And please leave a comment! Thanks for visiting.
Friday, October 24, 2014
FAITH FRIDAY -- TRUE WORSHIP
My friends and I are currently studying about true worship on Friday mornings. They had chosen that title among several others, but have discovered this study is nothing like what they expected. Even so, they are very thankful to be studying this as they are getting a very different picture of what true worship is.
Here are some things we have looked at so far. First, we were given the example of Abraham when he took Isaac up to the mountain to worship, and where God had told him to sacrifice his only, much loved son. This is the son that God had promised him, and the son through whom all Abraham's descendants would come. And yet, Abraham was obedient, trusting God to fulfill His promises, and somehow resurrect Isaac. If you are familiar with the story, before Abraham kills his son as the sacrifice, a lamb appears and he sacrificed the lamb instead.
There are many pictures of Christ in this story, but what is learned about true worship is that there is a sacrifice, and obedience, a complete surrender to God.
Then we started looking at the tabernacle and all the furniture in the tabernacle and how it all represents Jesus and the heavenly tabernacle. The first thing we see is that there is only one way inside, and that is the gate or doorway. Jesus is the only way into God's presence.
The first thing we see is the bronze altar where the animals are sacrificed. So we see again, a sacrifice is needed for true worship. Next comes the laver filled with water. After the priest sacrificed the animal and sprinkled its blood on the altar, he must now wash himself. I am sure things got a little messy!
So it seems, in true worship for us today, a sacrifice is to be made, and then we need to be cleansed. We have Jesus the Lamb, who was sacrificed in our place, saving us, just as the lamb was sacrificed instead of Isaac and so Isaac was saved.
Then we are cleansed of our sins by Jesus' blood.
Is there something that we can sacrifice today? We don't need to sacrifice animals, but we are to put to death our old, sinful nature. We are to 'sacrifice' our selfish desires and worldly lusts of the flesh.
Just something to think about today.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
CUTE
I just thought this little shopping bag was so cute. I received it filled with the glass cleaner and cloth at the time I get new eyeglasses.
Now that the picture has been taken, the bag has been decluttered from my dresser. (It has been there for months!)
This gives you a better idea of the scale of the bag.
Now that the picture has been taken, the bag has been decluttered from my dresser. (It has been there for months!)
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
MORE FALL BEAUTY AROUND TOWN
Nearly perfect red/orange tree in my neighborhood. |
Here is another porch on the same street, different block. That corner is also decorated for every holiday. |
Labels:
around town,
daily life,
home decor,
Iowa life,
natural beauty
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
OUTSIDE MY WINDOW
This was a beautiful fall day, and you can see in the pictures that there was not a cloud in the sky and is the prettiest blue!
Actually, this is taken from my patio to get a better picture, but it IS what I see from my south kitchen window. |
I love this red-orange tree. |
Panning to the left of the above picture - naked trees! So far there is just a few of them. |
My front yard totally covered with leaves, most of them from the closest tree.You can see behind that tree is the white birch that still has most of its leaves. |
Closer view. I am so glad I don't have to clean them up. Either the church youth will be removing them on Saturday, or the landlord will do it later. |
This is the huge old maple that towers behind my house and garage. You can just see the garage peak and house roof at the bottom. The picture doesn't do it justice but it is really hard to catch it. |
Here I was standing between the house and garage and looking almost straight up. |
Friday, October 17, 2014
WHAT HAVE I DONE!
I keep asking myself that question! I may have bitten off more than I can chew.
After visiting with some second cousins at my cousin's funeral this summer, we had talked about a family reunion. Actually I have been thinking of a family reunion for many years, but no one ever got one started. Another cousin and I had talked about it several years ago, but she is now gone and that means a lost opportunity for her.
There are only 5 first cousins left on my dad's side of the family, so it is time to have that reunion before we lose any more. None of us are very young any more, in fact the oldest is over 90.
A reunion was on my mind a lot recently, so I started things rolling by sending out a 'feeler' email of all the relatives I have addresses for, to see if anyone was interested in a reunion next summer. I asked them to give the information to all their families as well. I have only heard from a few and they are all interested. So I think there will be one, whether it be big or just a few of us. I am hoping it will be big, and I have lots of ideas of things we can include, but that means a lot of work.
If there are a lot of people that plan to come, we will have to find a place that can hold us all. And do we have it over a weekend or all week long? It would be nice if we have plenty of time to visit with each family, and there is a lot of catching up to do, and meeting relatives we have never met before.
I also would like to share the family genealogy that I have been working on, so that means getting that all organized, including pictures. More and more ideas keep popping up in my mind, but I can't begin to do it all myself! I am tired already. Pray for me!
After visiting with some second cousins at my cousin's funeral this summer, we had talked about a family reunion. Actually I have been thinking of a family reunion for many years, but no one ever got one started. Another cousin and I had talked about it several years ago, but she is now gone and that means a lost opportunity for her.
There are only 5 first cousins left on my dad's side of the family, so it is time to have that reunion before we lose any more. None of us are very young any more, in fact the oldest is over 90.
A reunion was on my mind a lot recently, so I started things rolling by sending out a 'feeler' email of all the relatives I have addresses for, to see if anyone was interested in a reunion next summer. I asked them to give the information to all their families as well. I have only heard from a few and they are all interested. So I think there will be one, whether it be big or just a few of us. I am hoping it will be big, and I have lots of ideas of things we can include, but that means a lot of work.
If there are a lot of people that plan to come, we will have to find a place that can hold us all. And do we have it over a weekend or all week long? It would be nice if we have plenty of time to visit with each family, and there is a lot of catching up to do, and meeting relatives we have never met before.
I also would like to share the family genealogy that I have been working on, so that means getting that all organized, including pictures. More and more ideas keep popping up in my mind, but I can't begin to do it all myself! I am tired already. Pray for me!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
AUTUMN LEAVES
"Autumn Leaves" has always been a favorite oldie for me. I haven't heard it in a long, long time. Maybe I should check youtube and see if it is there.
I was reminded of that song this week since we had a few windy days, and that meant a LOT of leaves came down and some trees are already looking a little naked.
Right now the city street sweeper is going down the streets, next to the curb and sweeping all the leaves and debris toward the middle of the street. Then another vehicle comes along and picks up what was swept. Both of them are raising a whole lot of dust! Thankfully it is blowing away from my house today! My house is dusty enough.
When the sweeper was in front of my neighbor's house there was even more dust kicked up because his yard has been all dirt most of the summer. I was hoping by now that grass had been planted, or sod put down because I am really tired of how quickly and thick my house gets dusty this year. I hope they don't wait until spring or next summer to get that yard done! But they don't seem to be in a hurry to get their project finished.
It is so easy to complain about what others do, isn't it? I so want to see how it will all look when finished. I know it will be a huge improvement and very different than it was. The back yard with the new patio will allow them to use that part of the yard that had really been wasted space for years, so I am happy for them.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
"I SHOT THE SHERIFF"
Anyone know that song?
No, I did not shoot the sheriff, but I had a deputy at my door recently! Since I had not done anything wrong (that I knew of) I wasn't too concerned, and thought maybe there was a child missing in the neighborhood. But, it seems my phone had not been working for two days and my daughter got really worried when she could not get hold of me.
She called my landlord but nobody was home, and she couldn't remember the names of my local friends, so she finally called the sheriff's office to have them check on me. I told him my phone must not be working and when I checked, I had no phone service. But I still had internet and had just been on Facebook earlier, as well as checked my email. I don't understand why she didn't send me an email or message on Facebook like she usually does.
I checked the phone jack and made sure things were all plugged in and didn't find anything wrong. The next morning I was going to call the phone company with the cell phone, but first had to dust the computer desk where the phone sits since I knew the phone man would have to come inside. Suddenly a cord fell down from behind the cable modem. Sure enough, it was the phone line!
I have no idea how it came loose since the cat was not back there and I had not moved anything. The only thing I can think of is that it might have been pulled a little when we installed the wi-fi router earlier this summer, and it finally worked itself out. All the lights were working on the modem so assumed all was well with that, but I was wrong. And that is all that was wrong with the phone.
I am so glad I discovered it before I called the phone company as that would have been more embarrassing that having the deputy at my door, not to mention, more expensive.
You may ask why my daughter didn't call my cell phone, but I never have that turned on. I only use it for emergencies and long distance calls and she knew that. Can you tell I don't use a phone much? I didn't even notice that I had not even gotten the nuisance calls from telemarketers or politicians for two days.
Now I am getting those again, and a lot of them. I just don't answer and they hang up before the answering machine starts so I know it isn't anything important. And I know the same ones keep calling since I recognize the numbers after awhile. I sure wish they would get the hint and stop calling. If I do answer they don't accept no for an answer until I just hang up on them. Very annoying! The same number calls all hours of the day, from 8:30 in the morning until 9 at night, even on Sundays. And the same numbers have been doing that for several years. Persistent is the word.
No, I did not shoot the sheriff, but I had a deputy at my door recently! Since I had not done anything wrong (that I knew of) I wasn't too concerned, and thought maybe there was a child missing in the neighborhood. But, it seems my phone had not been working for two days and my daughter got really worried when she could not get hold of me.
She called my landlord but nobody was home, and she couldn't remember the names of my local friends, so she finally called the sheriff's office to have them check on me. I told him my phone must not be working and when I checked, I had no phone service. But I still had internet and had just been on Facebook earlier, as well as checked my email. I don't understand why she didn't send me an email or message on Facebook like she usually does.
I checked the phone jack and made sure things were all plugged in and didn't find anything wrong. The next morning I was going to call the phone company with the cell phone, but first had to dust the computer desk where the phone sits since I knew the phone man would have to come inside. Suddenly a cord fell down from behind the cable modem. Sure enough, it was the phone line!
I have no idea how it came loose since the cat was not back there and I had not moved anything. The only thing I can think of is that it might have been pulled a little when we installed the wi-fi router earlier this summer, and it finally worked itself out. All the lights were working on the modem so assumed all was well with that, but I was wrong. And that is all that was wrong with the phone.
I am so glad I discovered it before I called the phone company as that would have been more embarrassing that having the deputy at my door, not to mention, more expensive.
You may ask why my daughter didn't call my cell phone, but I never have that turned on. I only use it for emergencies and long distance calls and she knew that. Can you tell I don't use a phone much? I didn't even notice that I had not even gotten the nuisance calls from telemarketers or politicians for two days.
Now I am getting those again, and a lot of them. I just don't answer and they hang up before the answering machine starts so I know it isn't anything important. And I know the same ones keep calling since I recognize the numbers after awhile. I sure wish they would get the hint and stop calling. If I do answer they don't accept no for an answer until I just hang up on them. Very annoying! The same number calls all hours of the day, from 8:30 in the morning until 9 at night, even on Sundays. And the same numbers have been doing that for several years. Persistent is the word.
Friday, October 3, 2014
FAITH FRIDAY - THE LAMB
Faith Friday
Recently I heard a good sermon from a tv minister. He brought some Scriptures together in a way that I had not seen before, and I found it enlightening. I will try to tell you what it is about.
The first story he talked about was the one about Nathan confronting King David about him desiring Bathsheba, taking her, getting her pregnant, and having her husband killed so that he could marry her.
In 2 Samuel 12:1-7, Nathan says this to David,
" There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for his guest."
David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb."
Nathan replied to David, "You are the man!"
Take a look at that lamb. The poor man brought that one lamb into his house and it lived with him and his family in that house. It ate the same food and drank from the man's cup! When the man went to bed he took the lamb with him, placed him on his chest and held him all night. The lamb was a part of the family. We often think of our pets in the same way, don't we? This lamb was very precious to the family, and is the only one they had. And yet the rich man took it and killed it to feed a traveler.
Now look at another story about a lamb. The minister had not seen this before and neither had I. Exodus 12 tells the story of the first Passover. The people were told that each family was to select one unblemished lamb from their flock, and take it in. They were to live with that lamb for 14 days. You can imagine the children playing with that lamb and it becoming a pet. But then on the 14th day, it was to be killed and its blood smeared on the doorposts and lintel of the house so that their house would be passed over while all the firstborn male children of the Egyptians would be killed.
Now read those stories again and put Jesus in the place of the lamb. Jesus is our sacrificial Lamb, who's blood saves us from eternal death. But also look at how He should be treated by us. He should be living in our homes, eating our food, drinking from our cups, sleeping with us - taking part in everything we do every day. He should be more than a picture hanging on the wall, or going to 'visit' in church on Sundays and then forgotten about the rest of the week.
As important as that Lamb is to the family, it is even more important that the Lamb had to be sacrificed to pay the debt that we owe for our sins so that we can live, just as in the first Passover. Praise God that our Lamb was raised to life again, to live forever, and so will we!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
AREN'T WE PRETTY
I think this must be a memento from WWII.
The design on each blade of the fan is balsa wood and has been intricately cut, I am guessing by hand, since they aren't perfectly shaped. It is hard to tell in the picture, but each of the letters is cut out, as well as little darker spaces in each part of the design, including the little arrow shapes at the bottom.
And the painting, which looks like watercolors, has been done by hand as well. The deep blue 'squares' is a length of ribbon that holds the blades together so that they can fan out or be closed.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
FAVORITE MEAT LOAF
I have tried many meat loaf recipes throughout the years. They were all good, some better than others. This is my all-time favorite. It comes from one of my church cookbooks, and most of those recipes are wonderful. I think meat loaf is a comfort food, especially for fall and winter. But it is also good to take to pot lucks any time of the year. It usually disappears really fast, and is good cold.
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 pkg. onion soup mix
or 1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon each pepper, celery salt, garlic salt, and dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt (if using the soup mix, I don't add more salt)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Mix all thoroughly. Put in ungreased loaf pan. Mix equal amounts of catsup and mustard; spread on top of loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.
Sometimes I use this topping:
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup catsup
The last time I made this I did two batches, and used panko bread crumbs as that was what I had on hand, plus what was left of a can of regular seasoned bread crumbs, and finally had to add some quick oatmeal to the mix. It all worked well. Use whatever you have in your pantry.
I mixed these two batches up and then divided each batch in half to freeze. I wrapped in aluminum foil and then put in freezer bags, and froze unbaked. I will sometimes bake a meatloaf and slice it up, then freeze the individual slices for a quick meal option.
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 pkg. onion soup mix
or 1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon each pepper, celery salt, garlic salt, and dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt (if using the soup mix, I don't add more salt)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Mix all thoroughly. Put in ungreased loaf pan. Mix equal amounts of catsup and mustard; spread on top of loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.
Sometimes I use this topping:
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup catsup
The last time I made this I did two batches, and used panko bread crumbs as that was what I had on hand, plus what was left of a can of regular seasoned bread crumbs, and finally had to add some quick oatmeal to the mix. It all worked well. Use whatever you have in your pantry.
I mixed these two batches up and then divided each batch in half to freeze. I wrapped in aluminum foil and then put in freezer bags, and froze unbaked. I will sometimes bake a meatloaf and slice it up, then freeze the individual slices for a quick meal option.
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