Our Thought Life

Yay! I finally get to introduce this article Amy has been working on. I hope in encourages you on to higher things.-Melissa
Have you ever heard the expression “you are what you eat?” Even though we might laugh at this trite expression it has some truth. Whatever we take into our bodies can reflect on our health. God says something similar about our hearts in Proverbs 23:7 “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This means that whatever we put our thoughts and attention to becomes who we are in our speech and actions. Christ has called us to be a light to the nations and we cannot let our focus wander from God. We are charged to be in the world but not of the world. What we watch on TV, read in a book, and listen to in the lyrics of a song are going to permeate our thoughts and can change us in ways we never expected. You might dismiss this and think that reading that book couldn’t possibly do any harm it’s just an innocent diversion. Remember you can never take back innocence once you’ve lost it and you can never undo something once it’s done.

But by no means let yourself get discouraged or downtrodden for “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9)”.  This isn’t to say that we are forever condemned for what we do; we can always seek forgiveness and mercy from God.   This also works in reverse if we think on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, we should think on these things”( Philippians 4:8)
Is it too much to ask for us to abstain from the things of the world when we have heaven to look forward to? Here is a quote by Christina Rossetti; she perfectly describes the attitude we should have.

True, all our lives long we shall be bound to restrain our soul and keep it low; but what then?

 For the books we now forbear to read we shall one day be endowed with wisdom and knowledge.

For the music we will not listen to, we shall join in the song of the redeemed.

 For the pictures from which we turn, we shall gaze unabashed on the Beatific Vision.

 For the companionship we shun, we shall be welcomed with angelic society and the communion of triumphant saints.

For the amusements we avoid, we shall keep the supreme jubilee.

 For the pleasures we miss. We shall abide in the rapture of heaven.

It cannot be much of a hardship to dress modestly at a small cost, rather than richly and fashionably, if with conviction we are awaiting the white robes of the redeemed. (Christina Rossetti)

Wensday's Words: Pearl Maiden

Think Wednesday, not Thursday... did I mention we are busy? Anyway, Pearl Maiden.

Written by H. Rider Haggard this is a historical fiction about a young lady who grows to maturity during a tumultuous time in Israel.  She is a Jewish Christian whose parents have died, brought up my her mother's slave Nuhushta. Although a tad slow in the first few chapters, the rest of the book is like a rollar coaster ride. She is a maiden of great character; I love her example of dignity, grace and forgivness. She makes many friends and enemies along the way. It is so interesting to see her grow and mature through her different trials. I love this book for its action/adventure and the great example Miriam sets for me. There are some harsh scenes described in the book, so I would not suggest it for young readers.
Melissa

Masks

We Wear the Mask
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!


You can tell I am the poetry girl here, huh? Well the reason I like this one is I think we all have a tendency to put up a mask hiding who we are. We hide from people in our effort to hide from hurt.  Sometimes the only person who can see us is Jesus Christ.

I don't think we do it on purpose it is a subconscious thing. Last fall when Mom had her surgery, people would often ask how she was doing and then ask how we were you doing. My pat answer is always "Fine." I really dislike telling people when I am hurt or just tired. Yet this is just pride. My pride doesn't want perfect strangers to pity me. I am not saying to burden a stranger with the knowledge that you moved across the country, and that your mother had major surgery, but when people ask, be honest. I am so preaching to myself on that.

What about your family? Can you hide from them? I know that I can't. It is to hard because they know me. You understand right? The kind of know that knows your favorite songs, your inside jokes, your strengthes and your weaknesses. That knows who we are and who we want to be.

The point is be honest about who you are and not to hide behind a mask made of pride.

Anyway the above poem then made me think of the below quote: (esp. the first four lines)

                                                                           credit
I have now given you (and myself) more than enough to chew on.

Melissa

Reasons...

I decided to name this post "Reasons" and not "Excuses" for a reason. Bear with me, it makes be feel less guilty for being behind. There have been many reasons that have kept me from posting, busy schedule aside my family caught the flu. I believe we have traced it from a friend who came to our house, after having it, who got it from her brother, who got it from another friend. Or they just caught the flu at some random place. I say "they" because as of yet, Praise the Lord I have not gotten it or prayerfully will get it. We'll see, I guess in the mean time here is the recipe, later today I will post the other posts for the week.

Eclair Cake
no bake!
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

3 cups milk

1 (16 ounce) package graham cracker squares

1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the pudding mix, whipped topping, and milk. Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding mixture. Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Spread the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan. Cover, and chill at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!

What Our Country Needs

I was reminded of this poem recently and enjoyed afresh thinking how we all have a part in making our country.

What Our Country Needs
What does our country need? Not armies standing

With sabers gleaming ready for the fight;

Not increased navies, skillful and commanding,

To bound the waters with an iron might;

Not haughty men with glutted purses trying

To purchase souls, and keep the power of place;

Not jeweled dolls with one another vying

For palms of beauty, elegance, and grace.

But we want women, strong of soul, yet lowly

WIth that rare meekness, born of gentleness;

Women whose lives are pure and clean and holy,

The women whom all little children bless;

Brave, earnest women, helpful to each other,

With finest scorn for all things low and mean;

Women who hold the names of wife and mother

Far nobler than the title of a queen.

Author Unknown (taken from the book Daughters of Destiny)

House preparations

John14 1-3
    "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

This passage acurred to me and Mom in a new way recently, but first let me give you some backround. We have recently been finishing our basement, which was basically a cement floor and brick walls. So we were putting in everything drywalls, cuboards, carpet, flooring, lighting, anything we wanted ( and could afford :). We did hire a contrator to oversee the work, but even still we spent hours at Lowes, and Home Depot comparing prices and choosing what  we wanted exactly. Several times as well as we bought things like showers, cupboards, sinks, and tiles, we had to carry those things in to the basement...are you getting my point? It was alot of work.

Thankfully it has been completed now, but the other day as Mom and I were talking she shared something that I thought was pretty cool. She said that all the basement work made her think of how much work it would be to build and create a house from scratch and that she could never do it.( Are you seeing how this relates to the verse above? )It accured to Mom that this is what God does for us. He has gone to prepare a place for us. When we go to heaven it will be all ready! What a blessing! He is so thoughtful. So just think what a great job he is doing, afterall He's perfect, and you don't have to lift a finger.

Wensday's Words: Elsie Dinsmore

This Wednesday we are going to start a new tradition every Wednesday we will have a book review. Molly here absolutely loves the Elsie series so I thought she would really enjoy starting us off. -Melissa

The Elsie Dinsmore Series is a wonderful series for Christian young ladies to read.  This fictional series follows the life of a southern heiress (Elsie Dinsmore) before,during, and after the American Civil War.  This series pursues Elsie as she grows up, marries, and becomes a grandmother.  It is twenty-eight books long, but is neither a cliff-hanger, nor are the books very long.  It is also encouraging in your walk with the Lord.  I own and have read books one through fourteen.  I assure you that this is a series moms will love.  I  would not recommend it for younger girls, though, only because they might find it dry in parts.  These books are a timeless classic, though  I would recommend that you read the original, as they are much(can you tell that I really think that?:) )better than the abridged.  My favorite character is Violet, but you will not read about her until several books in.  Did I mention that I also like the character named Molly?  :))))))
Your Dedicated Friend,
Molly
P.S.  If you get really into the Elsie Dinsmore Series, try reading some other books by Martha Finley:  The Mildred Keith series. 

Monday Meals

Another muffin recipe, you must understand how many muffins our family goes through:) We need some variety. BTW this is for just one batch.

Banana Muffins
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup rip bananas
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cups mini chocolate chips
Bear butter eggs and sugar; add vanilla. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate chips. Add mashed bananas to wet mixture combine both. Bake for fifteen minutes at 350 degrees.

Catch-up

You haven't seen many new post around here, mainly due to the fact that I caught a cold. Nothing nasty just enough coughing and sniffling to keep me laid up about a week. I was talking to Amy and she said that she was just getting over something as well. It seems germs can fly across the nation. School has also been keeping us dilligent. While I was laying in bed on my computer, I came across how to make a poll on blogger. So I did! What do you think? Please way in! Anyway there are a few posts that are just about ready to go up so look for those later. Topics? well I guess I will give you a teaser. Masks, Houses, and Books.  In the mean time how are you all liking the blog? Can you think of things to change, add, or remove?