Posted in Inspiring, Sayings, Wisdom

Saturday Sayings – Light

A new day rose upon me. It was as if another sun had risen into the sky; the heavens were indescribably brighter, and the earth fairer; and that day has gone on brightening to the present hour. I have known the other joys of life, I suppose, as much as most men; I have known art and beauty, music and gladness; I have known friendship and love and family ties; but it is certain that till we see God in the world—God in the bright and boundless universe—we never know the highest joy. It is far more than if one were translated to a world a thousand times fairer than this; for that supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and Wisdom, shining over the world and all worlds, alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how fair and glorious they are.

                –Orville Dewey

Light and Love

The night has a thousand eyes,
  And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
  With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
  And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
  When love is done.

                –Francis W. Bourdillon

In darkness there is no choice. It is light that enables us to see the difference between things; and it is Christ that gives us light.

                –Julius Charles Hare

Love is something eternal—the aspect may change, but not the essence. There is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. The lamp was there and it was a good lamp, but now it is shedding light, too, and that is its real function.

                –Vincent Van Gogh

When the Light of Life falls upon the life of men, secret powers begin to unfold, sleeping perceptions begin to awake, and the whole being becomes alive unto God.

                –John Henry Jowett

There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one small candle.

Posted in Homemaking, Inspiring

Is Your Water on the Rocks?

our hennies
Our Hennies

Our five chickens would die without us. We have to check on them at least twice per day. It’s only natural: every critter in the four-state area wants to eat either our poor little hennies, or their feed. From time to time, a rat will even try to prevent their accessing their own water supply. It does this by piling rocks into the water trough, which is only about 1 ½” wide. One night of rat work can mean no water in the morning when the hens leave the roost and need a drink.

So we go down to the hen house every morning, remove rocks from the water, make sure no fresh coon tracks lie in the dust around the building, and hand out treats like bits of bread or cereal. They really love the first morning visit.

How about you?

Do you find yourself waking up to rocks in your water? What do I mean?

Maybe you have been asleep. Sleep is not bad; we all need rest. We can rest in the Lord or take an understandable nap. We suffer without it. Sometimes we might even snooze on the job—tsk! While our eyes are closed, though, sometimes the enemy slips in and harasses us in ways we don’t realize.

Once we wake up, we really need a drink. We haven’t met our hydration needs for a long while. That Living Water can be just the thing to quench that thirst, but where is it? Why is it not where it should be, where it always was?

Some rat has been inserting rocks. What we really need is the Solid Rock, but what we find is an irritating pack of pebbles. Foreign platforms, foreign ideas, foreign habits, small but many, are in the way, blocking our access to the life-giving, thirst-quenching water.

So we wait for the owner to come on down and help us. He clears the way to the water and we drink deeply of trouble-free water and find refreshing. Then, to make sure we love, trust, and remember him, he hands out treats: wonderful bits of nourishment we like better than the daily ration and that cause us always to wait expectantly for his return.

How is it with you? Have you been napping on the job? Thirsty? Not finding the water you expected where you expected it?

Wait. The Master will come to you and clear it all up for you.

And will treat you to something special.

Posted in Coffee-ism, Homemaking, Inspiring, Recipes

The A-OK Breakfast – Turning Eggs Into Oatmeal!

Turning Eggs into Oatmeal? Yes—Check it Out!

Well, I did say low carbs, last week, didn’t I? Yet sometimes I get a hungering for the tastes of days gone by. I remember an egg and oatmeal dish from my youth called Golden Oats. When I looked it up, I found far more oat than egg, a sort of crumbly mix to which you add juice. Too many carbs! What do I do?

I eat oatmeal.

Of course, if I overdid it, I would ruin the diet, so I allow myself about one tablespoon of it. Are you confused, yet? Let’s just have the recipe and get on with it!

A-OK Oatmeal

1 T. uncooked oatmeal
1 T. butter
1 serving stevia powder
1 t. cinnamon
2 eggs
a dash of cream

Brown the oatmeal in the butter lightly, over medium heat.

frying oatmeal
Frying Oatmeal

Whip eggs, cream, cinnamon, and stevia together thoroughly.

eggs in cream
Eggs in Cream

Pour over oatmeal in pan, stirring and chopping until eggs are set. Serve hot with additional cream, and a small serving of pomegranate juice, and/or coffee or tea.

a-ok oatmeal
A-Ok Oatmeal

Tastes a LOT like a bowl of oatmeal. No need to add sweetener. Of course, in this land of free speech, it is illegal to say the stevia adds sweetness, so I won’t say that!

Posted in Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

Sunday Scripture – Light

In honor of the 400th anniversary of the translation of the Bible into English, commissioned by King James of England in 1611, and originally published by Robert Barker, printer to the King, I will use this version for the rest of this year in these posts. Hope we can enjoy the quaint differences we find here and appreciate all that went into it.

  • And the citie had no need of the Sunne, neither of the Moone to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lambe is the light thereof. Revelation 21:23 KJV 1611 Edition
Posted in Inspiring, Sayings

Saturday Sayings – Ocean

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll.
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain:
Man marks the earth with ruin, –his control
Stops with the shore.

                                –Lord Byron Childe Harold

Comrades! now that we have established our peace on land, let us conquer the freedom of the seas.

                                –Napoleon Bonaparte

Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.

                                –Publilius Syrus Sententiae

The sea folds away from you like a mystery. You can look and look at it and mystery never leaves it.

                                –Carl Sandburg Remembrance Rock

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full.

                                –Old Testament Ecclesiastes 1:7

Posted in Blessings of Habit, Husbands, Inspiring

A Rosy Posy

About a month ago, someone plowed our garden spot. Then he tilled it. Then he harrowed it. Then he marked it into rows. Then he planted and planted and planted. Onions, cabbages, corn, tomatoes, all are out there. Everything is growing. The corn is two inches tall. Last night, I got this gorgeous posy:

It is more than just a clump of radishes.

  1. It is saving and scrimping to buy land.
  2. It is buying and maintaining a tractor.
  3. It is watching weather and planning ahead for planting.
  4. It is keeping a vegetable inventory, to know how much to plant each year.
  5. It is changing diet to fit what grows in our area.
  6. It is walking out to the garden every day to be sure things are okay.
  7. It is stringing irrigation hoses out there and paying for water when the rain refuses to fall.
  8. It is seeding it over in autumn with crimson clover so we either get a cover crop or else some venison.
  9. It is buying and maintaining a small tiller for between rows, later.
  10. It is researching through gardening books for help with pests and diseases.
  11. It is sharpening and oiling the hoe, shovel, and rake.
  12. It is pulling rocks out and chunking them into the ditch.
  13. It is winding twine round and round and round stakes to support plants.
  14. It is shredding piles and piles of newspapers for mulch.
  15. It is staying up late and going out with a dorky “headlight cap” on and covering tender plants before a surprise frost comes.

All of the above, and more, go into the first bouquet of the vegetable gardening season. And here it is, held in the hand that provided it, the hand of someone who, though he doesn’t eat many radishes, knows who does.

radish bouquet
First Bouquet of the Vegetable Season