No parking zone

A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES." When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note. "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket, I'll lose my job. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION."

Oh! To Be Like Thee

....To be conformed to the image of His Son. Rom 8:29

OH! TO BE LIKE THEE

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,Jesus,
Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Refrain:
Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,Lord,
from this moment all shall be Thine.

Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

-Thomas O. Chisholm

We sang this beautiful hymn a few Sunday's ago, and I thought I would share it. :) By the way, does anyone have a favorite Song/Hymn Book that you use? My favorite is probably Hymns of Faith published by Tabernacle Publishing Company. :)

Changed By Beholding Him

by Newton C. Conant

Great prominence is given in the Word of God to the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ. The four Gospels, which are the record of His earthly life, contain eighty-nine chapters out of two hundred and sixty chapters in the New Testament. The fact that His life is set forth so prominently in the Scriptures is sufficient reason to believe that God would have every believer meditate upon the matchless life of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will teach us much needed truth by a prayerful consideration of the life our Lord.

In the book, Changed by Beholding Him, the writer encourages us to focus our attention on Christ, to meditate on Him, and to continually behold His glory in the Word of God. By doing, we will be transformed into His image, changed into His likeness.

–From the back cover and inside review

Chocolate Chip Walnut Loaf

I'm sorry that it's been awhile since I last posted! Things have been so busy lately that I've been having a hard time keeping up. Well, anyway, :) I thought I would share this recipe that I made a while back and will certainly be making again, since we all enjoyed it, plus it was easy to mix up. :)

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
9 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch, set aside. With an electric mixer, cream the butter until soft. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs 1 at a time, beat thoroughly. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Fold in the walnuts, lemon rind, and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the a greased 81/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy! :)

The Significance of God's Word

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

We simply must recognize the utter Significance
and bearing that God's Holy Word and truth has on our daily
lives! It is in every way relevant to our everyday practical
lives, showing us therein the blessed paths of
righteousness. In this blessed Word,
God our Teacher must be!

The Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar

O LORD, how manifold are thy works!

in wisdom hast thou made them all:

the earth is full of thy riches.

Psalm 104:24

Among the trailing vines that wrapped themselves around and around the old rusted fence, moved a small creature. It’s eighteen feet moving forward inch by inch. Stiff black bristles shone in the sunlight that beamed from a cloudless sky. It had bright red markings on it’s back that showed when ever it moved across the leaves, or curled into a defensive position. The creature was a Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar.

The Giant Leopard Moth Larva after we found it. :)

My sister found the Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar while gathering vines to use in making a basket. She showed it to me, and I was quite excited to see it. Several years ago we had found an identical looking caterpillar happily munching on our cabbage plants in the garden. While not too happy about the cabbage, we nevertheless determined to look up what kind of larva it was. After much searching in our book entitled Butterflies and Moths by David Carter, (a great book to have on hand if interested in different kinds of butterflies and moths.) we came to the conclusion that it was a Giant Leopard Moth larva. Because it was a beautiful moth, we decided to keep it until it completed its metamorphosis. So when my sister found this caterpillar I thought it would be neat to keep it to observe once again one of God’s amazing creatures change from a crawling insect to a flying moth of beauty. Science has always been fascinating to me, in school it was my favorite subject, and I still enjoy learning new things about God’s creation. What an awesome Lord He is! There is beauty and wonder all around us if we will only look, from the stars and planets in the heaven, to the lowly insects and worms beneath our feet. :)

This photo shows the Caterpillar with it's web partially complete

(before the parasitic fly larva hatched.)

I was able to keep the caterpillar for a week before it started to “spin” its cocoon. It was neat to watch it slowly weave strand after strand of golden colored “thread” that came from an area near its mouth. It continued to weave until it had imprisoned itself with in the web. It had never done it before and yet it did it with ease like an expert. :) Even seemingly “little” things like the life cycle of an Moth or Butterfly are awesome testaments to our great, wise all-powerful God.

I found this beautiful photo of an adult Giant Leopard Moth on the Wikipedia website.

Disappointingly, unknown to me, the caterpillar had become a host for a parasitic fly, which apparently had laid its eggs on or in the caterpillar before I got it. They hatched at this point and killed it. While doing some research online regarding parasitic flies I found that they, for the most part, are helpful insects. They are designed for a purpose to help control harmful insects. It was disappointing to have the Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar die, but on the other hand, it was a new learning experience as I had never came in contact with something like it before. All of God’s creatures serve some purpose, and even the flies are evidence of God’s amazing design.

Don't Leave Home Without It

The story is told of a young man who was preparing for a long trip. He told his friend, "I am just about packed. I only have to put in a guide book, mirror, a microscope, a lamp, a telescope, a volume of fine poetry, some letters, a few biographies, a book of songs, a sword, a hammer and a set of books I have been studying." "But you can’t get all that into your bag." said his friend. "Oh, yes I can," he replied. "It doesn’t take much room." With that, he placed his Bible in the corner of his suit case and closed the lid.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

This is Amy here! I "hacked" into Emily's blog for this post, I hope she'll not mind too much! :)

Today is her 22nd Birthday! I want to wish her a happy birthday on here, and hope that everyone else who reads her blog will do so as well! *Smile* Below are a few things I want to share about my sweet sister:

• She is the eldest sister at home, and a very sweet one too! :)
• She loves the Lord
• Some things that she enjoys are: reading, scrapbooking, cooking, crocheting, etc, etc,...
• Her favorite color is green

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Scripture of the Day

Image from Wikipedia

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

~Proverbs 3:1-7

Blackberry Picking

Wild Blackberries bushes grow in abundance on the land behind our house. It has been wonderful being able to gather the fruit for free. :) Last year we were disappointed because though the bushes did produce some, the berries were small and scarce due to the drought we were having. This year in contrast we have had plenty of rain (thankfully:) and the bushes have been yielding very well. Yesterday we were able to pick around a gallon of the berries, and we already have close to two gallons in the freezer. They have been making their way into recipes, and our favorite, blackberry smoothies. :) I thought I would share the recipe for "Delicious Easy Cobbler" that my youngest sister made, it turned out very good! I did not get a picture of it before it disappeared, but it's well worth making if you have extra fruit! :) What's very nice about this recipe is that you can use a variety of fruits besides blackberries.

Delicious Easy Cobbler

1 stick butter

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup unbleached flour

1 cup sugar,* divided

3/4 cup milk

2 cups fruit (blackberries, cherries, rhubarb or any fresh fruit in season can be used.)

Place butter in 9x13 inch baking dish. Allow to melt in a warm oven (250 degrees). While this is melting, make a batter by adding baking powder, 1/2 cups sugar and milk to flour. Remove baking dish from oven and evenly spread out the butter. Pour batter over butter, do not stir. Add 2 cups of fruit of your choice. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over the fruit. Do not stir. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

*Note: the original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar, but we cut it back by 3/4 cup-and even then it was very sweet! So in this recipe we have cut it back by 1/4 cup more. Of course, if you like, you can add more or less; depending upon your personal preference. : )