Spying

It's an overcast Saturday morning.

Rope boundaries are laid out.

Teams are chosen.

Walkie-Talkies adjusted.

There's running,

screaming,

high-fives,

wails,

and shouts of

.

.

.

.

"SAVE IRELAND!!!!"

 ?????

 

I think it was some version of capture the flag.

Definitely amusing to watch from my attic room window. 

:)

It got even better when they started trying out the Irish brogue...which then morphed into some kind of British accent. 

I love my siblings. 

:D

Reconciled

 "Reconciled"

"Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." (1 Timothy 1:2) 

Consigned to disobedience

Rebellious to His face.

The Law said, "He deserves God's wrath!"

God said, "I'll give him GRACE!"

Free grace that I so ill-deserve,

"O Lord, depart from me!"

Love points to blood on MERCY-seat,

Both guilt and misery flee.

Christ's precious blood spilt willingly,

For one who is the least!

Where sin deserved God's enmity,

God's mercy calls out, "PEACE!"

To Minister

 "Selfish feeding on our own troubles, and continual pouring over our sorrows, are one secret of the melancholy misery in which many spend their lives. If we trust in Jesus Christ's blood, let us remember His example. 

He ever "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). 

He came not to be ministered to, but to minister—as well as to give His life a ransom for many. Let us try to be like Him. Let us walk in the steps of the good Samaritan, and give help wherever help is really needed. Even a kind word spoken in season is often a mighty blessing. That Old Testament promise is not yet worn out:   

"Blessed is the man that provides for the sick and needy—the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble" (Psalm 41:1)."

--J.C. Ryle

Through Me

Love through me, Love of God,

There is no love in me,

O Fire of love, light Thou the love,

That burns perpetually.

Flow through me, Peace of God,

Calm river, flow until

No wind can blow, no current stir

A ripple of self-will.

Shine through me, Joy of God,

Make me like Thy clear air

Which Thou dost pour Thy colors thro'

As though it were not there.

O blessed Love of God,

That all may taste and see

How good Thou art, once more I pray,

Love through me, even me.

--Amy Carmichael

Welcome to Spring!

 Ever since the first daffodil bloomed out in the gardens, my sisters have been on a mission...

to fill the house with SPRING!!

Hyacinth of a shade of purple simply impossible to photograph!

With a scent I can only communicate by mailing you the flower itself.

Oh, for scratch and sniff screens!!

 Double "ruffle" daffodils.

Carrie picked out my garden this morning...and by the afternoon it was full again of new blooms!

Amazin'.

 And this, Kate informed me, is a

"Welcome to Spring Bouquet".

And so 'tis.

 Ahhh...can't get over how creative our Creator was...and is! 

And as my brother Sam often reminds me--these are the flowers that grow in a fallen world. Can you imagine what Eden must have looked like? Or what flowers must grow in "Aslan's country"?

We can never out-imagine God. Even the most marvelous things we could think up or invent don't  touch what God does on a daily basis...creation of new LIFE. 

Daily He causes new flowers to bloom,

acorns to germinate,

a new human soul to be knit in secret places...

 and these are just the edges of His ways!

Yet He also does a most wonderful and inexplicable thing.

Flowers die and return to dust.

Oak trees grow, age, fall, and return to dust.

Human beings pass away, their bodies returning to dust.

BUT...

He can take something--someone--who is spiritually lifeless, 

who has been completely cut off, by sin, from his Source of spiritual food and drink; and who, being dead in sin, is without hope of saving himself from the well-deserved wrath of God...

 and breathe His very own eternal Spirit of LIFE into him.

How?

I have no clue.

Why?

I can't tell you.

I mean, He doesn't need us.

The Creator could have created something else to take the place of the sinful creatures that we are!

But instead, He chose...

He chose to redeem out of this world children and worshippers for Himself...through the death of His perfect and precious Son, Jesus.

He chose to bear the sin of man upon Himself on the cross.

LIFE died for the one who was DEAD...

in order that His LIFE might be given,

so that the DEAD might LIVE again, never to die.

Bodies to turn to dust, but with the hope of resurrection!

And souls redeemed to live forever with their Savior.

Oughtn't this new Life within us cause us to live differently from who we were before? 

Does "the love of Christ [control you]?" (2 Cor. 5:14)'

Are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit of Life in

"Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control." (Gal. 5:22)?

Are you beginning to look like, talk like, love like Jesus?

It's not like it's something you can create yourself.

We're the creature, not the Creator of this marvelous work of Life!

I reckon all we can do is about as much as the flowers in our gardens:

trust our wise Gardener,

stretch our roots down and our faces up to receive nourishment,

submit joyfully to pruning,

carry out the purposes God has for us,

and grow upward.

After the death of fall and the barrenness of winter--

Welcome to Spring!!

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 6:22-23)

Justification = Peace

The peace of the true Christian is not a vague, dreamy feeling, without reason and without foundation. They can show cause for it. They build upon solid ground. They have peace with God, because they are justified. Without justification it is impossible to have real peace with God. Conscience forbids it. Sin is a mountain between a person and God, and must be taken away. The sense of guilt lies heavy on the heart, and must be removed. Unpardoned sin will murder peace. The true Christian knows all this well. Their peace arises from a consciousness of their sins being forgiven, and their guilt being put away. Their house is not built on sandy ground. Their well is not a broken cistern, which can hold no water. They have peace with God, because they are justified.

~ J.C. Ryle

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding  
     

1 c. boiling water

1 c. finely chopped dates

1 c. butter, softened and divided

1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar, divided

1 egg

1 c. cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt, divided

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. toasted pecans, chopped (opt.)

Garnish: whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 9x9-inch baking dish; set aside.

In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the dates; set aside. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer at medium speed, cream 1/2 c. butter and 1/4 c. brown sugar for 4 minutes, until pale in color. Beat in the egg, then scrape down the sides.

Gradually add the flour, baking powder, and 1/8 tsp. salt, and mix until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and the dates with the water, and stir until well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until firm.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the remaining 1/2 c. butter, remaining 3/4 c. brown sugar, cream, and remaining 1/8 tsp. salt for six minutes. Stir in the pecans.

Using a 2-1/4-inch round cutter, cut 12 rounds of cake. On each serving plate, stack two rounds, and top with toffee sauce. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired. Serve immediately.

*Note: I doubled the cake, but a single batch of the toffee sauce is plenty!

Winter Wonderland--part 2

Winter Wonderland--at LAST!

 Friday: 70 degrees, muggy, thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks

Saturday: 50s, clear and windy

Sunday: 30s

Monday: 6 inches of snow!!

Crazy Kentucky. 

:)

Haven't seen this much snow in a while!

 Boots? check!

 Hats? check!

 Gloves? of course!

 Even Mr. Snowman doesn't know what's up with this March weather. But he'll take it as it comes, I reckon.

 Did we forget someone?

 Selah!!!

 First time to really get to play in a good snowfall...gotta try everything!

 

And...it's time for the photographer to come inside.

Tea.

Need. Tea.

Some shots from my tramp through the woods to follow.

Unmet needs

"Ask, and it will be given to you; 

seek, and you will find; 

knock, and it will be opened to you. 

For everyone who asks receives, 

and the one who seeks finds, 

and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 

how much more will your Father who is in heaven 

give good things to those who ask him!"

( Matthew 7:7-11)

 `````

Do I find myself with unmet needs today?

 It can't be that my Father doesn't know of them,

but rather that He knows my greatest need:

for my child-heart to recognize...
its need of Him.

`````

 "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." 

(Hebrews 11:6)