Happy Thanksgiving!

May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving!

"Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?"

~Psalm 106:1-2

African Violets

Of all the many different kinds of house plants that there are to be had, I think that the African Violet is definitely my favorite. :) I recently bought a new plant, and was delighted that it has kept blooming after it's initial blooms from when I first bought it.

When I was younger, I had several violet plants but though they always seemed healthy enough, I never could get them to bloom very often, if any. So with this new plant I decided to look up more about the African Violets to find out what I had done wrong in the past. I’ve found a lot of great information from a book called “African Violets & Flowering Houseplants”, Published by Ortho Books. And after following some of the instructions, I have been successful as I mentioned above to keep the new plant blooming. :)

Leaf cuttings in water. I still need to cut the stems.

A Leaf cutting started in soil.
(Used yogurt cups make great starting containers.)

Some Information on How to Start New African Violet Plants:

To start new African violet plant from a leaf cutting, cut off a mature leaf from the middle of the plant. African Violets can be rooted in either water or soil. If you rooting the plant in water, first shorten the stem until it is between 1/2 and 1 inch in length, place the stem in a small jar and filled with water up to the base of the leaf. Plant in soil when the roots reach a little less then an inch long.

To root in soil set the stem in as shallow as possible on an angle (about 1/2 inch deep.) Cover with a clear plastic bag for the first week or so. The little plantlets grow at the base of the leaf and are ready to divide and pot in two or more months.

When the new plants are about 1 to 2 inches high, remove them from the pot. The mother leaf can be thrown away. Make sure that each plantlet gets it’s own pot and also that they are separated when small, otherwise the new plant will not grow well.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Lord,

The Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise Him,

For He is thy health and salvation!

All ye who hear,

Now to His temple draw near;

Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord,

Who over all things so wondrously reigneth,

Shelters thee under His wings,

Yea, so gently sustaineth!

Hast thou not seen

How all your longings have been

Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord,
Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness
And mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord,

O let all that is in me adore Him!

All that hath life and breath,

Come now with praises before Him.

Let the AmenSound from His people again,

Gladly for aye we adore Him.

~Faith~

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
~Hebrews 11:1

"Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation."

~ Andrew Murray

New England Style Clam Chowder

One of my personal favorite soups is clam chowder, I recently found this recipe which was a little different then ones that I have tried before. It turned out really well, so I thought I would share the recipe. Hope you all enjoy! :)

New England Style Clam Chowder

2 6.5 oz. cans chopped clams
6 slices bacon, minced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
5 med potatoes, peeled and diced
4 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. dill
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender. Cook bacon and onion until done, drain most of the grease. Add the butter, clams, oregano, dill and parsley, flour and milk to the drained potatoes, then add the bacon and onion mixture as well. Heat through. Serve hot with oyster crackers.

God Hears and Answers Prayer

"Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee" (Job 22:27).

"But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him" (Psalm 4:3).

"This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 34:6, 15, 17).

"Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Psalm 50:15).

"O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come" (Psalm 65:2).

"He shall call upon me, and I will answer him" (Psalm 91:15).

"He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them" (Psalm 145:19).

"The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous" (Proverbs 15:29).

"He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee" (Isaiah 30:19).

"Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am" (Isaiah 58:9).

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear" (Isaiah 65:24).

"Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you" (Jeremiah 29:12).

"They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God" (Zechariah 13:9).

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:7, 8, 11).

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:22).

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:23, 24).

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14).

"And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:15, 16).

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (1John 3:22).

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death" (1John 5:14-16).

I've been tagged!

Awhile back I was tagged by Stepheny to write six random things about myself:

1. My middle name is Joy. :)

2. I love Chinese food!

3. I collect tea cups, teapots, and books.

4. I have naturally curly hair.

5. Thrift stores are my favorite places to shop. (Hobby Lobby and Michael's are other favorites.)

6. The strangest thing I've ever eaten is rattlesnake and alligator. We found the rattlesnake in our driveway a few weeks ago. The alligator came pre-packaged. lol!

Here are the Rules:

Link the Person that tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six more people. Let them know you tagged them.

I now tag:

Pearls Gleanings
Ever Only All for Thee
Simply Sanctified
Every Joyful