Reminiscing

Happy Monday Y'all!!    I hope and pray that wherever y'all are that you are enjoying the blessings of this most beautiful day.    I have been reminiscing and written it down and thought I would share it here so as not to forget it.   I hope you enjoy reading this.    As much as anything else, I hope it makes you think about the loved ones who have recently gone on.  Maybe think about your generation a little more.   For me, my generation is "old" generation now.  Funny how when it's us, we don't consider ourselves old.  In reality we are.   It hits home hard some days.   But don't stress out on that.   Focus on the good and fun times and share those time with the younger generations.    And any real history, share that too.   Events that are important, share those if you can at all.   I may be adding more to this in the future, I don't know.    But this is a start for now.

************************

The older I get, the more I think about my generation of the family.    My precious Momma is the last one standing for her generation on my Momma and my Daddys side of the family.    Daddy and all my Aunts and Uncles have done left us.   With so many long gone, it makes you start thinking about your own generation and the family left standing.

Momma had a brother, Uncle Robert.  He was a few years older than Momma.  He served his country well by serving in WW2 and also Korea.   He married my Daddy's sister, Aunt Wanda.   They had 3 children, Lynn, David and Carol.   Lynn was a sweetheart if ever there was one.   She was their oldest child.  She was actually between my oldest brother and next oldest brother in age.   One of my most favorite memories of Lynn is when we was all younger, they came down for a visit and she was sitting by one of my brothers and he stuck his thumb up and she put hers up beside his and it was so funny to see that.  My brother has these massive hands, even as a teenager and Lynn was a very petite young lady and it looked like matchstick beside a tree and she laughed and laughed.  She thought that was the funniest thing ever, and it really was.  We all did and I still laugh when I think of Lynn.  She got sick a few years ago and passed away and that left a huge hole in their family.  We all have missed Lynn terribly.   David was the middle child.  He was in the military and he served his country well.  I remember when they came in one time when we was all young, David and one of my brothers was messing with a knife.  One of my other brothers had killed a squirrel and and was cleaning it to put in the freezer.  When he got it skinned David and Wally was messing with their knives and trying to cut the squirrel tail with it.  Just holding it out in the air, one hand on each end of the tail.  David took a really hard swing with the knife towards the tail and missed the tail, but almost cut Wally's finger off.  There was a big chunk of hide that just sliced down that finger.  Oh my gosh, you talking about some "hot under the collar parents"!!   They all were.   But Momma the miracle worker to the rescue and she got the situation taken care of.  Recently, David got sick.  He had worked in granite all his life and that work had all but destroyed his lungs.   He went to the hospital, hoping for treatment.   Treatment didn't help him and left us on Feb 16th 2022.  He fought hard to stay with his family, but it wasn't meant to be.  His sister Carol and her children was by his side during this battle.  The battle was too great for him to overcome.   Now Carol is carrying on with her family.   She has had a few major struggles in her life and has fought hard to be where she is now.   She is the same age as my youngest brother, well actually a month younger.   When we was all younger they used to come in, I remember one time Carol went to the back of my grandparents house and opened the back door and shooed all the chickens from the back of the house all the thru the house and out the front door!!  She done that.  hahaha   Everyone was out front sitting on blankets and chair under the big silver poplar in the front yard and she had gone missing.  All of a sudden, we heard a ruckus coming from the front door and looked around and here comes about 50 chickens thru the house and out the front door.   I laugh every time I think of that episode.

Momma also had a sister, Aunt Dovie.   She had 2 children, Edith and Donald.   I was very young, maybe even too young to have real memories of Edith, but she got killed in a car wreck when she was a teenager.  Her brother Donald, served his country well in Vietnam and came home and lived a quiet life until he left us a few years ago.  He was a fantastic artist and the world missed out on his talents.   She also had 2 other daughters, Martha and Thressa, who are alive and well with children and grand children of their own, living in different areas of the US.  

Daddy's oldest sister, Aunt Mildred had moved away and didn't come home very often.  I remember seeing her only 3 or 4 times at best.   She had one child.   I never seen her when I was a child, that I remember.  When she grew up and married, she lived in Nevada.  So we never seen her much at all.  I think I remember her coming home sometime after I was married.   I know my Momma, Daddy, and another aunt and uncle made the drive out west to see her a few years ago.   Aunt Mildred passed away when I was in my early teens.   When we went to Ohio, we would go see her and I always enjoyed visiting with her.

Daddy had an older brother, Harding and he served his country well during WW2.  Uncle Harding and Aunt Nellie had several children.  They had a son but he passed shortly after his birth and so did another baby girl.  Melba, Nelda, Wilda and Hilda are the ones who survived.   They grew up living closest to us, so we seen them more often.   Every one of them could sing like angels and I loved to hear them use their talent.  I always loved being around all of them.   Aunt Nellie played the piano like nobody's business and NO ONE could ever play the great old hymns of faith as well as Aunt Nellie.  She could make the piano sing.  Melba and Nelda were older than me and older than my oldest brother.  So they were both married when I was a kid.  Melba got sick a few years ago, maybe 10 or so, and went home to be with Lord.  The other 3 sisters are still with us.  I rode the school bus for many years with Wilda and Hilda.  Hilda was the same age as my youngest brother.  Since I didn't have a sister, Hilda was the sister that I never had.

Daddy also had another older sister, Aunt Nell.   She and Uncle Bud had 4 children.  Susie, Maxine, Michelle and Bobby.  Susie may be my oldest cousin on my Daddy's side.   I just can't remember for sure.  She was always fun to be around.  She was married when I was little so I don't have a lot of younger memories of her.  Maxine and Michelle and Bobby are the ones I remember so well.   Maxine and Michelle would always play beauty shop with me and I loved it.   They always experimented with my hair and gave new hairdos about every 15 minutes.  They was into dancing and pantomiming, if anyone remembers that.  They would put on shows for all of us from time to time.  They were true entertainers.  Sadly Michelle left us just shortly after her high school graduation when she and some friends went on a cross country trip.  She actually drowned in the Colorado River in the early 1970's.   It's hard to think of her being gone this long but it's true.  Bobby always loved coming to visit.  He got to hang out with a bunch of guys and he loved it.  He got to romp the hills and hollers and go hunting and fishing and do stuff that he didn't get to do with his sisters.  Bobby actually came down stayed with our Grandmother for a few months after he graduated school. 

I will add here that my Daddy also served his country well.  He joined the army and was getting ready to be shipped over seas when WW2 ended.  He had already been sent to California and was awaiting the next ship out when they got word that it was over.  Daddy served 4 years in the army and came home married my Momma.  Momma and Daddy had 6 "chidlers".   5 boys and 1 girl.   They will always have at least one fan, because I have always been their number 1 cheerleader.  Momma had 6 babies in 7 years and she grew up with us.  No parents has ever worked any harder than mine has to rear their family.  There are lots of stories that could be told.  The greatest story that I can tell right now is how, by the grace of God, all my brothers and I are still together in this life.  Only by His grace and we don't take that lightly.  We know that at some point in time, death will take one of us.  And I guess that's why I have started thinking about our generation more than ever before.   I laughed and told my Momma on her birthday that all of her children had caught up with age wise.  We are all just a bunch of old geezers with young hearts and young memories.   We pray that the memories of those we have lost way too soon of this generation and those of my Mommas generation will continue to live on in the generations coming up thru the stories and memories that we can pass on to them.  While we still have time and while we still can, share the fun stuff.  Share the good stuff.  Share the hard days.  Share the old ways.  Share what you know with the next generation so that we all can live on in the lives and the memories of these we leave behind.  I dedicate this brief history of what I remember to those in my family who have gone on before us and may we remember you all with love and joy and know that our lives would have been quite different without having you in our lives.  You made a difference to all of us.  We love you all!!  Edith, Donald, Lynn, David, Michelle, Jerry Otis, Martha Marguerite and Melba, you may be gone from us, but you are not forgotten.  

Blessings on one and all today and everyday.  Remember that God has made a way for you to be in right relationship with Him thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.  He loves you that much.   This too, needs to be a part of the legacy that we pass on from one generation to the next.  Knowing that God has made it all possible and that we have made Him a priority in our lives by choosing to accept Christ as out personal Lord and Savior.    love and hugs and blessings be yours till the next appointed time, patty

Welcome 2022, Power and Strength

Good morning Blessed Ones of Christ.     January 3rd of 2022 has found us with some snow this morning and freezing temps.      It finally feels like winter here in my neck of the woods.       But I'm not  complaining about that at all.       Now, it feels like winter and I'm not complaining about that either.      I was actually thinking about getting some seeds started on Saturday, so I'm happy that was just a fleeting thought.      I knew winter was around the corner.      I will start some seeds around the middle to the end of January.      I can't wait to get my hands dirty again.       And see some green life starting to grow again.      I'm honestly not much of a gardener, but I do love seeing how God helps me and blesses my efforts.       So, I'm looking forward to another year of trying to grow more.       As usual, I plant and pray, and I pray for God to bless my efforts.       He is faithful!!!       I can count on that.

*********************

The new year is here.       I quit making resolutions years ago, because no sooner than I made one, I broke it.      So I felt like I was lying to myself and to God.      So what I have been doing is letting God show me what He wants me to focus on for the year.       Sometimes I share with others what my focus word for the year is, and sometimes I don't.       It just depends on how personal it is.      As I was praying before going to sleep last night, God gave me the words.       They kept being the words that was just coming from my mouth about Him.      That's when I knew what my words for the year would be.

Power and Strength.      Those are the words that kept coming over and over last night while praying.  His power and strength, not mine.      If you want a good Bible Study, just do a quick search on "the power and strength of God".      You will find out just how awesome our God is.    

As I was praying, I kept seeing my weakness in everything.      But I also kept seeing how God goes before me.      If I put my faith and trust in Him, then He is my power and strength.       I think the last 2 years have shown me just how miserable the human race is and can be.      It has shown me that not everyone who professes Christ, really know Him.       It has shown me that we can fool some of the some of the time, but we can't fool God at all.      A lot of people have fooled a lot of us, but they haven't fooled God.       I ask God to help me keep my eyes open and stay focused on Him.       And to let Him be the filter in which I view things.       If someone says things and then acts differently to what they say, I want God to show me what I need to see.      I need to view the world around me thru the filter of God's view.       If I don't do that, I will fall victim to the wolves in sheep's clothing.      

There is no power or strength in me at all.      This is what God keeps showing me.       All power and strength comes from Him alone.        There is no other source.      There are lots of self help gurus and some even claim to be preachers that tell you, you are the bees knees, you are your own strength, you have the power to overcome, you have the power to achieve, you have to power to change your life, you have the power to achieve great things, you are special, you are in charge of your destiny.      It's all about you you you you you and nothing about God.      When we take God out of the mix of our lives, that's when we fall for the lies of the enemy.       We easily succumb to the enemy.       When we live for self, we are living in dangerous territory.        God has shown me thru the study of His word, that my life is not mine.        It's His.      I can't live this life of mine without Him at the forefront.       Life has changed a lot over the last 2 years.        People that I thought were life long friends, are no longer in my life.       But God is there.       He hasn't waivered one little bit.       Scripture tells me that there is no shadow of turning in God.       He's the same yesterday, today and forever.        He's not going anywhere.

So, while I face 2022 on what I call shaky ground, God is here.       He goes before me.        He opens my eyes to see and ears to hear.       In my powerlessness and weakness, God is my power and strength.   I can't make it one breath without Him sustaining me.       

So, as I face 2022, I pray that God will show me more of His power and strength.         I believe He will.      And I hope He allows me to share about some the ways He does this in the year ahead.       Even if He doesn't show me anything, even if He doesn't provide, even if He doesn't meet my needs, He is still great and greatly to be praised.        I will praise Him.      I will praise Him.      I will praise Him.      That is my goal for 2022.       I will praise my Redeemer.        I will lift His name high.       Lord help me in this endeavor, to allow you to be my complete power and strength.       I submit to Your power and authority over my life.       I also live with great anticipation of seeing Your Hand in all that I do.      I pray that each day reflects You in my life.        Thank You Father for what You are doing right now and for what You are going to do in the days ahead.  

**************************

So, I just wanted to share an experiment with y'all.       My  husband had  mentioned "banana pudding".    Well, I got to thinking about that.      I knew I didn't have any bananas, or did I?   No fresh bananas, but I did have some dehydrated bananas.         Challenge on.         How do you make a banana pudding with dehydrated bananas?       I set out to find out how to do it my way.      I had a box of mini vanilla wafers, 4 vanilla pudding cups and a box of cool whip.       I got my jar of dehydrated bananas and got about 25 or 30 slices of dehydrated bananas and broke them up in bowl and poured boiling water over them and let them set for a while, then added a little more water.     I wanted them to have a little extra liquid so they would thin the pudding down some.        I popped them in the fridge to cool them down.         I then mixed the pudding cups with rehydrated bananas and then added some cool whip, next I added in the vanilla wafers. got it all mixed up and put it in the bowl, put the rest of the cool whip on top and crumbled a few of the vanilla wafers on top. let me just say this.       No, it's not a banana pudding made from scratch, but it is VERY good.      No more of the banana slices than I used, it is very banana tasting.       It's good and it won't be the last time I make this. I see more dehydrated bananas in the near future.     I'm always thinking about ways to use my dehydrated goodies and I hope y'all are always thinking about how to use your goodies too.        Sometimes we have to think outside the box.         It was better the next day, as the flavors had more time to really come out of the bananas into the rest of the mixture.        

This is a jar of my dehydrated bananas.  they are so good.

This is what my finished banana pudding looked like. 

This is a side view of the banana pudding.

If you dehydrate produce, look for more ways of incorporating your bounty into your every day life.    We need to use it.      We need to look for ways to add those lovely nutrients to food and let our bodies be the benefactor of all that goodness.        Granted, a banana pudding wasn't the best use of my dehydrated bananas, but it still was a way of using what I had.      I don't make a lot of desserts just because we don't need them.        But a little bit, every once in a while, hopefully it won't hurt too much.

*********************

Well, that's about all I have today.        I pray that your New Year will be a wonderful time to start fresh with a new commitment in living your life with God being the determining factor in all that you say and do.       I hope and pray as the year rolls on that He shows me more and more about His power and strength in my life.       He is faithful.      I hope you seen something here that makes you think about Him a little more.       I hope you seen that there are different ways of using our dehydrated goodies and that if your aren't a dehydrator yet, maybe this sparked an interest.       If you seen something here that you liked, tell a friend.      Also tell that friend that God loves them and would love to be in a relationship with them thru the shed blood of Christ.     That is the only way to the Father, is thru the Son.      Blessings of a prosperous year in the Lord.        hugs and love to all, patty 

Merry Christmas, a day late

Good morning Y'all. I'm a little late with my Merry Christmas wishes, but late is better than never. hahaha I'm going with that anyway. I do hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. I hope you got to spend Christmas with someone you love. I know that the holidays are tough for a lot of people, with me being one of those people. Melancholy is that old friend that always shows up and stays till it wears out it's welcome, much too long. If you are one of those people that would rather have the holidays slip on past, just know that you are not alone. I love Jesus and I love celebrating His birth, whenever that happens to be. But I'm not excited about the commercialism associated with my Savior. Some people don't even want to say the word "Christmas", but they'll rake in all the money associated with the commercialism of Christmas. Some people don't want anything to do with Christmas, but they'll take the paid holiday money associated with it at their place of employment. Ah, it don't make any difference. The bible tells me that "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"!!!! amen and amen!!!!!! I want my knees to bow and my tongue to confess Him as Lord and Savior because I have lived my life believing and knowing it to be true. But, the thing about this is that even if you have lived you life denying it, fighting against it, running from Him, and spewing filth about Him, guess what???? Your knees will bow and your tongue will that Jesus Christ is Lord, just before being cast into the pit with the enemy. So, I hope your knees bow willingly and that tongue confesses easily because you love Him today. Every word in the Bible is true. They are the Words of God, God does NOT lie. God cannot lie. What scripture says He will do, trust it, He will do it. Have your knees bow and your tongue confess because you love Him, not because God forces your knees to bow and your tongue to confess. Do you love Him? Do you have a relationship with Him. I could care less if you are a religious person. I could care less if you think you're a spiritual person. Those are 2 words that most people don't even understand. What I am concerned about is your relationship with HIM. When people say they are religious, what they are saying is that they "do" this, this, this and more of this this and this to hopefully stay in good graces with God. Trying to earn something that they don't even deserve, when it's actually the free gift of salvation. When people say they are spiritual people, then they are trying to put themselves equal with God in all things. We'll, I'll take a relationship with Jesus any day, knowing that He is the one that has given me freely, the gift of salvation. No, I don't deserve it. No, I don't try to earn it. There is no way I could ever earn it or be good enough or jump thru all the man made hoops that a lot of people base their religion and spiritual whatever on. You can't earn it either. Accept it as the free gift of salvation that it is or walk away from. Stop trying to earn it, stop trying to add something to it. Because you'll never earn and you'll never add to it. Either accept it as it is or walk away. Who is this for??? As usual, it's a reminder for me. I see so many professing Christians that try to make it something that it's not and I want to shake them till their teeth rattles in their head. Because what they are doing is WRONG!!!!!! So, if you fall into this category, stop it. If I fall into this category, I've got to stop it!! You will not be getting any NEW revelation from God. All revelation has already been revealed in His Word.

"Christ alone,

thru Faith alone,

by Grace alone,

in the Bible alone!"

This is it.

"Nothing more,

Nothing less,

Nothing else!"

*********************************************

Just wanted to share a 3-d card that I made a couple or so years ago. I love it and I hope you do too.

This is long, but I hope you will take the time to read it sometime over the next day or so. I wrote it back in 2015 and I share it every chance I get. It describes my "mental image" of the perfect Christmas tree for me!! I hope you enjoy it.

My Christmas Tree

What if I asked you to decorate a Christmas Tree and put only things on it that would describe you, your relationship with Jesus and your relationship with others. Could you do it? Would you do it? Do any of y'all ever get that mental picture that you just can't get out of your head? I do. Sometimes mine is an all out comedy skit. I just have say that I know God has a very good sense of humor, because He gave me a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. So, I can actually blame it on Him, right. hehehe I kept seeing a Christmas Tree in my mind. I finally just had to ask God what that was. Well, it was a Christmas Tree that was decorated with things that represented my relationship with Jesus and the people in my life. I didn't get a really clear image of it though. I was so intrigued by the idea that I thought I would try to mentally decorate a Christmas Tree for y'all and describe it as I go.

So, first off it would have to be a Cedar Tree. A Cedar tree never looses it branches and it stays green all the time. It will grow in places that a lot of other trees can't. It has a smell that only the cedar tree has. I love the smell of cedar. As a small child, I would pick up cedar shavings and smell them. I would actually rub them on my nose and sleep with them and get them tangled in my hair. Anyway, that's what we always had growing up and I remember all the fun I had when I got to help decorate it. Sometimes, I would get to decorate it more than once if it fell over. hehehe Redecorating is not as fun as it was to decorate it the first time. So, Cedar Tree it is.

Next I would put lots of colored lights on it. I do love the clear lights, but I am a colorful person and I love lots of color, so colored lights it is. God didn't say anything about colored lights or clear, He just said to let our light so shine for others to see. And we are not to put our light under a bushel, but to have it out and shining bright. So, I do believe a lot of colored lights on my tree would be seen. So, colored lights, it is.

Next, for garland, I might string some popcorn and put that on my tree. Most everyone likes or loves popcorn. It does smell wonderful when it's popping. What is the first thing you smell when you go to the movie theater? Yeah, popcorn. The smell of it is inviting and pleasing. Have you every thought about popcorn? It takes a lot of heat, to make that kernel of corn transform into something that is so delicious. It has to "go thru the fire", so to speak, for it to be transformed into something that we love so much. Guess what, we have to "go thru the fire" also, to be transformed into something useful for God's purpose. Notice I said "go" thru the fire to be made into useful. If popcorn stays in the fire too long, it goes from delectable to detestable in just a matter of seconds. Sometimes we take our eyes off the popcorn and it burns. God will never take His eyes off us , He never leaves us in the fire to long and He always goes thru the fire with us. We are never alone. So, popcorn it is.

Next comes the decorations. First, I think I would want a box of crayons. They represent the big box of 64 that I had as a child. I loved those crayons and the many hours of pleasure they brought me. They also represent the fact that it's ok to color outside the lines. Our artistic skill, love and abilities come from God, so I will embrace my artistic side with the crayons. Next, I think there would be some big beautiful colorful buttons scattered about on my tree. I have always loved buttons. I learned to count with buttons. I always loved to play with buttons while Mom was sewing. Buttons are very useful. They hold stuff together. They can be plain and be useful. They can be very ornate and still be just as useful. So, a few buttons goes on my tree, just to make sure I stay buttoned up and together. Next, I would want at least eight different cookie cutters hanging on my tree. Six to represent the guys in our house; dad and five brothers. Then two to represent mom and me. Cookies was always a special treat. I would want them all to be different, because we are all different. God made all His children different, so mine would have to be different too.

Next I would want some glass ornaments. Glass ornaments of all different shapes colors and sizes. God made us in His image in all different shapes colors and sizes, but none the less, all still in His image. The glass represents how fragile we are. If not handled correctly, the ornaments shatter. So do we, when we are not handled correctly.

Next, I would have 38 small gold wedding rings hanging on my tree for all to see. Those would be as a reminder of the all the Christmases my husband and I have spent together. Representing all the good times and the bad, knowing that God was in the midst of it all. With the hopes of adding many more as each year rolls around. The circle also represents the un-ending love that God has for His children. Yes, a few gold wedding bands it is.

Next, I would want a few beautifully decorated acorns. Those remind me of times when my husband and I have gone on acorn hunts and found some really big acorns. I bake them in a low temp oven (to kill any insects or eggs that may be in them) for a couple hours, and turn the oven off, leave them over night and the next day they are ready to decorate. From a small acorn comes the mighty oak. They grow tall above ground. Below ground, where we can't see, they put down really deep roots! So, I want to represent Jesus Christ well when you see me, but I also want to know that I am firmly rooted in Christ. The roots are very important when the storms of life come thru, they determine whether you survive it. Everything above ground can be damaged, but as long as the root system is ok, the tree can come out of it. I may be shaken, but if I'm rooted in Christ, I can survive any storm.

Next, I think I would like to have some trumpets on my Christmas Tree. I have a few now, and when I do decorate, I love using them. I love the sound of the trumpet. Of course, I couldn't make a sound come out of one if my life depended on it. But, I do enjoy the sound of them. And I do keep my ear pealed, listening for the great trumpet blast that will take place when Jesus comes again. So, yes I will have a few trumpets. Next, I would have to have one small broken ornament on my tree. Why that, you ask? If we are honest with ourselves and with God, we are all broken, in some way. That's what sin does, it causes brokenness, and "we" can't fix it. God can and does when we come to Him with our sin. So, that one small broken ornament would be a reminder to me, that although it is broken, it is still loved and useful. God can use each and every one of us, even with our brokenness, to His benefit and glory.

Next, y'all know I love me some purple! If you don't, it's not because I haven't told ya! hahaha Yeah, I think I would have some purple scraps of fabric on my Christmas Tree. Why just scraps of fabric? I am reminded of Lydia. The lady from the Bible. She was a seller of purple cloth and she also loved the Lord. Purple is a symbol of royalty. Since I am a daughter of the Most High God, I think just a few purple scraps would do me well on my tree. Next, I think I would have to have me some pearls on my tree. Pearl is my birthstone and fittingly so. Pearls are the result of an irritation that takes place in the oyster. Think about how bad an ulcer hurts, that's about similar to the kind of irritation that produces a pearl. The Bible speaks of pearls as having great value. The gates of Heaven will be made from pearls. Each gate will be made from one large pearl. That's one large source of irritation for each pearl!!! One of my very dear friends and I have special names for each other. She is Pearl Love, because she is the epitome of Love, Gods love!!!! I am Pearl Joy. My Joy comes from the Lord. There is also scripture that says not to cast your pearls before swine. So, pearls it is.

Next I would have to have to have a ladybug on my tree. The red one, that is. Who doesn't love a ladybug. Scientists done an experiment on ladybugs a few years ago and found out they are possibly the strongest creature on earth. They can pick up over 600 times their own body weight with those little suction feet of theirs. Pretty amazing, huh! They are very strong little buggers. The ladybug would represent my mom, one of the strongest people I have ever known. That's what I call my mom sometimes too. Next, I would have to have a little sweet pea flower on my Christmas Tree. They are a small, dainty flower; everything that I ain't! hahaha The wild ones found in nature are usually purple, woohoo. They do smell good. They are considered to be a good gift. They represent "good fortune", so I say that my good fortune can be found only in what Jesus Christ has done for me. This is what my mom calls me sometimes too. So, sweet pea it is.

Next, I love to have candy canes shaped like a shepherds staff. The shepherds staff reminds me that the shepherd looks after his sheep. Shepherds were the lowest of the low, but God chose them to announce His plans to that night in the fields while watching their sheep. Wow, talk about a chosen group of men that night! The shepherds staff was a useful tool to. Sometimes he has to use his staff to get one of the sheep that may have fallen in a crevice or something like that. He would also use his staff to fight off any wolves or other animal that tried to get to the sheep. He can just reach out and pull a sheep back to where it belongs. But the shepherd always has his sheep's best interest at heart. The sheep knows the shepherds voice, the shepherd knows the voice of his sheep. So it is with Christ as our Shepherd, He always has our best interests at heart.

Next, I think I would need a few heart shaped ornaments on my tree. The heart represents great love. We see the heart of Christ form the beginning to end of the Bible. We also have learned to love, because Christ loved us first. Sometimes it is hard for us to love as Christ loves. But He has taught us to love others, even our enemies. So, I will have a few hearts on my tree as a reminder to love others.

When I get it all decorated with all the different ornaments and items I want on my tree, there's just a couple of things left. I would take a few hands full of glitter and toss it on my tree. Why glitter? It sparkles, it shines, and it shimmers!!!! It makes you smile when you see it. If you get close enough to someones glitter, you get it on you. It's a reminder that you was with that person and enjoyed time spent with them. I can just imagine how the streets of gold are gonna glimmer, sparkle and shimmer. So glitter, it is.

Last but not least, by any means is the tree topper. My tree topper would be a Cross. The symbol of what Christ has done for me and who I am in Him. It would not have to be the finest Cross ever made. I'll gladly take a rough cut, precariously nailed cross for my tree topper. The Cross was not ever meant to be a thing of beauty. The only way the Cross becomes a symbol of beauty is when it represents the transformation that has taken place in my life as a result of the finished work of Christ on the cross. If you see someone wearing a cross, ask them what it means to them. See if it means the same thing to them that it means to you. If not, share with them what the cross represents to you. So, a Cross it is for my topper.

There you have it. A Cedar Tree, colored lights, popcorn, crayons, buttons, cookie cutters, glass ornaments, acorns, gold wedding rings, small broken ornament, trumpets, purple fabric scraps, pearls, a lady bug, a sweet pea flower, shepherd staff, candy canes, hearts, glitter and a cross. These are the things that would make up my Christmas Tree to describe who I am.

What would you use to describe who you are? Think about it. When I got done putting everything down to describe my tree, then it all came into focus and this is exactly what I had seen in my mind. I do have to say that I am quite pleased with my Christmas Tree. I hope you will do the same thing this Christmas season and share your Christmas Tree with those around you.

Merry Christmas!!!!! God Bless each and every one of y'all!!! hugs and love, patty

Like

Comment

Bread Machine Tutorial, kinda sorta, maybe....hahaha

Good morning blessed ones of God.       I pray you are still enjoying "Happy Thanksgiving" and being thankful and grateful this morning.     Even if you're not in US and celebrating, you can still just celebrate right where you are and be thankful and grateful for the presence of the Lord in your life.     Where would we be without Him??     Lost and bound for the devils hell, that's where we would be.     I love the Lord and I'm so happy that He loves me more than I could possibly ever know or understand.    I try to let the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas be the time that I reflect on truly what God has done for me in the past year.     It can be overwhelming to remember all He has done for me.     Getting up each morning is a miracle in itself.     So start thanking God for all He has done for you and you just won't ever be able to stop.

***********************************

So, this morning I am making bread and using my bread machine to mix the dough.   It is a life saver and a hand saver.      I've been thinking for a while about doing a mini tutorial on how I care for my bread machine.      This is the only one I've ever owned and its soon to be 14 years old and seems to be still going strong.

The first thing I will say is that the manufacturers will tell you that the bread pan itself is dish washer safe and safe to wash in the sink.      Technically, that is true.      If you believe in "planned obsolescence" you'll agree with the manufacturers.      But I don't agree with that.       Planned obsolescence is wasteful and I don't agree with that at all.     My machine is soon to be 14 years old.      Had I not taken care of it, I could have done been on my 3rd machine, easily.    

When you get your machine, the bottom of the removable bread pan has part of the mechanism that allows for the mixing to take place, and also part of the mechanism that keeps it locked in place.    When you run that bread pan through the dish washer, that's washing away all the factory grease that was put in that mechanism to keep it greased and running smoothly.     When all that grease is washed out of it, it will start wearing out pretty quickly.

And yes, I do wash my bread pan every time I use it and I even use toothpicks to do detail cleaning around the spindle that holds the bread dough blade.     Dough can build up in and around the spindle.      It may not cause an issue, but I don't want to find out.     I also clean my bread dough blade really well.      Make sure all the dough is from the top of it and make sure the center of it is clean.      Then clean the spindle that the blade sits down on real well too.   I wash the bread pan real well inside and wipe the outside off real good with a damp dish cloth, paying close attention to not get water on and in the mechanism area that we just we went over.       Once I have it all clean and ready to go for the next batch, I put the pan back in the bread machine and put the dough blade in place and I'm ready to go for the next batch of bread.

The second thing about my/our bread machines is that the bread pan can only go in one of 2 ways and one of those ways is wrong.    It is possible that they have made them now, so that the bread pan can only go in one way, I hope they have.      But if not, you will have to learn the correct way or again, plan on cutting the life span of your bread machine short.     

Over the course of time I had noticed that one time I made bread, the machine popped and the pan would try to dislodge.      Other times, it was silent and hummed like dream.      It was very annoying that I had a hard time figuring it out.      But eventually, I took a morning and put my sleuth hat on and set out to figure it out.      I turned the pan over and looked closely at the bottom and then looked closely at the inside of the bread machine where the pan fit in the machine.     I looked at those 2 areas for what seemed like days and I finally seen what it was.     Unless you was looking real good for it your wouldn't even see it.      But, there was a slight variance in one side of the mechanism verses the other side.   I mean about a .32nd of an inch variance.     Not even noticeable with the naked eye.     

After finally seeing that, I put my pan in and started a batch of bread.      Put the pan in "right" and it was perfect, put it in the other way and it popped and carried on.      I done that multiple times switching back and forth and I had the same reaction each time.      Right, it was quiet.     Wrong, it popped loud.    So, after working that out, I took a permanent marker and marked it with arrows pointing the correct way on both sides of my pan.     Now, when I set my pan in, it's easy to see the arrows.   

So, if you are new to a bread machine and planning on getting one, pay close attention to how the pan is in the machine and use a permanent marker to put arrows on the outside of the pan pointing towards the front of the machine.     That way when you go to put it back in the machine, you'll get it in right and hopefully avoid it wearing out before it's time.

These were the two main things I wanted to touch on today that could possibly help you get many good years from you bread machine.       My bread machine is a Breadman Pro and they are not even made today.     It was without a doubt, one of the best investments we ever made and when this one does finally stop working, I will be broken hearted, but will have to look for another one.      But I will be armed with some good info gleaned from the last almost 14 years of owning this one.

I do have some pictures to share.

This is what my Breadman Pro looks like on the outside.      Very sleek and "handsome", if you will.     It has several different functions and settings.      It has served me well and I pray that I get many more good years from it.      If I take my own advice, it should last me a few more years.

 This is what it looks like on the inside, with  dough in it.      I use the dough function a lot.      So it will just mix and then shut off.      At the very end of the dough function, it heats up a little and the dough starts rising.      I can leave it in the machine to rise if I want to.      Most of the time I take it out and make my buns or rolls and then let them rise till bake time.                                                                        

This is what the bottom looks like.      You can see where there is grease in it, at and on this mechanism area.    This is why it doesn't ever need to be put in a dishwasher or the sink.     Just wash it on the counter with the edge of it over the sink so the water can run back into the sink.    And then dry it real good and pop it back into the machine.

This is what the inside of my bread machine looks like.      You can see the burner coil that goes around the whole inside of the machine.       And you can also see the mechanism that the bread pan locks in to.   If you click on each picture it will bring up the large picture and you can see the whole thing better.

This is showing my arrow that I drew on with a permanent marker.      Upside down, it shows the arrow pointing to the left, but when it's right side up, the correct way is with the arrow pointing to the right when my bread machine is oriented to the right.                                                                                 

This is may bread pan without the bread dough mixing blade on it.      You can see the spindle area and the 3 rivet heads that holds the bottom mechanism in place.      You can also see a black circle indention around the spindle area.      That is the area that I gently deep clean with a tooth pick.     Dough will build up in that area and personally, I just don't like it.     So, I started cleaning it really well.

This is my bread pan with the little bread dough blade on the spindle.       It's that little piece of metal that makes the whole thing work.    hahaha     Without that, it wouldn't mix at all.      

When the bread machine is in perfect working order, it is a fabulous piece of machinery.       The few tips I have given here, are to help keep these fabulous machines working flawlessly.      I don't have any idea what the new bread machines are like.      These tips may not even apply.       But I still believe that some of them will always apply to them.       Especially the cleaning parts.      I'll never put a bread pan in the water or the dishwasher.       But hey, you do you.     hahaha

Well, this is the swirling mass that was going thru my head while I making a batch of dough and cleaning up around the kitchen while the bread machine was earning it's keep.    hahaha      This is one of those appliances that I will definitely replace, and pretty quickly, when this decides to give up and quit working.     

I hope this is helpful to at least one someone.      If it is, then it was worth the effort to write this down and share the pictures.

Blessings to each of you as we see November soon come to a close.    It's been a tough month and not the way we wanted to see the year end, but thru it all, we can say that God is good.     He loves us all.    I love you all too.   hugs, love and blessings, patty

A flashback Thanksgiving

Good evening, loved ones of Christ. Today is Monday of Thanksgiving week, 2021. I'll ask this: Where has this year gone? How could something that has passed by so quickly, be so painful? I know that as painful as it has been, it could have been worse. God is good all the time!! All the time God is good!! I stand on that and I hope you do too. As I was browsing facebook this morning, a memory came up and I cried like a baby. I think it's God's way of showing me that in every day, in every way, in every circumstance, there is MUCH to be thankful for. I'm so thankful for the memories of my family and friends and loved ones. It's during this season of the year that I think the pain is always the worst. I think about my Grandparents on both sides of my family. I loved them dearly. I think about all my Aunts and Uncles. I loved them dearly. I'm very blessed to still have my Momma. She is the only one of her generation that is still with us. So she is a rare commodity to my family. We all love her. As I think about all that, I can just imagine that she thinks about even more than I do.

The memory that came up on facebook was about the Thanksgiving of 2018. It was a very pleasant and beautiful day that ended with a nice drive home. As I think about it, I remember my mind racing with all that I had "seen" in a flash back and I couldn't wait to get home and get it all written down. I can't remember if I shared it on my blog back then or not, but it makes no difference, I'm sharing it again. hahaha It takes on a whole different sadness this year than it did originally. I'm sure eventually, it will have even more sadness attached to it as more of my family is taken by death into the next life. I hope if you read this, that it will encourage you to find something to be thankful and grateful about. Sometimes, it's hard for me. Just like with my last blog post, I was angry and hurt and will be that way for quite some time. But even thru it all, there is much to be thankful for. So, if you dare to read it, here it is:

Thanksgiving Day November 2018


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I hope and pray that where ever y'all are that you have had a blessed day thus far and that the rest of it is filled with blessings also.       I have an awful lot to be thankful for and one of my biggest blessings is my husband.      He's a great guy, a real christian and my best friend.  We have a had a great life together, it's not been perfect, but pretty darn close.    and I thank God for him daily!!!

We just got back in from Ky and I must say that we had a wonderful time with family. At one time I looked around to take in all the faces and you know how you can have flash backs of days gone by. In that single moment, many many many of the Thanksgiving Days that I can remember flashed thru my memory. It was one of those times when I would loved to have had those memories on a dvd to pop into a player and share them with everyone there.

 
You know, things change. They just do. We can't stop the changes from happening. The best we can possibly do is ask God to help us thru those changes.

 
I seen us all in the house out in the country that all my brothers and I grew up in. The place we called home for longer than I have been on planet earth. Momma in the kitchen cooking and getting the meal ready for no less than 8 to inhale in one fell swoop!! hahaha I see all of us eating the best turkey and dressing that anyone was ever blessed to eat. Momma still the makes the best turkey and dressing and today proved that point.

I seen the many times after the meal that my Dad and brothers would get out in the yard and after Mom and I got the kitchen cleaned up, maybe we would end up out there too. Sometimes it might be rainy and cold and we would all be inside, but where ever we were, we were full and there was always some laughter taking place.

One time, when we got older, just before my brothers started getting married, they had their girlfriends, soon to be wives and after lunch we all went to Split Rock. It was just a field with this humongous rock in it that was split right down the middle. The rock was 10-15 feet tall above ground, and the footprint of the rock was huge. We went and would work our way through the rock. It was a tight squeeze for all of us way back then and I couldn't help but grin today when that thought ran thru my mind, "we would just have to look at it today, because I don't think any of us could get thru the split!" I wish I had pictures of that rock. That was back before cell phones and all I have is memories.

2011 was the last Thanksgiving and Christmas that we had as a family of 8. Dad had gotten sick and was in Creekwood at Russellville. One of the churches in the community had the dining room reserved for their services after church and that church offered to give their church service time to my family so we could have Thanksgiving together and we accepted that offer and spent the day up there with my Dad. Then when Christmas rolled around, they gave us the dining hall again to celebrate Christmas. That was one of the memories that popped into my mind also. The kindness of other people allowed my family to have 2 special events with our Dad that we wouldn't have had otherwise. That ended up being the last of the family celebrations that included all 8 of us, the original crew.

 
Today, we still have our beautiful Mom and she is still one of the best cooks in the country!!! When she cooks, you can taste the love in it!! I think it's fair to say that she's the glue that sticks us together. I know of no other mother anywhere that is any more loved by her children than my Mom. That is a strong testimony to her.

 
And, as I think about all that I have to be thankful for, family is at the top of the list. I think about my 5 brothers. Each one of them are good men. Above average by the worlds standards. They are hard working men with work ethics that can NOT be matched, by anyone. They are and have been good providers for their families. Thinking of the 6 of us siblings, we all are a lot grayer than we were a few years ago. There's probably more weight on each of us than there should be. We each have our own aches and pains that get worse with each passing year. But, one thing stays the same. I can shut my eyes and by all the laughter taking place, I can still put a young face with each different laugh that I hear. When I open my eyes, I am right, only the face that I am looking at may be a little more lined from age and the hairline may be receding a bit; there may be glasses where they hadn't always been. But there is always a familiar, smiling face. The face of men that used to be boys. They are now husbands, fathers and grandfathers. And they are my brothers and I'm proud of them and thankful for each and every one of them!!

I am thankful to God for all the blessings that He has heaped upon my family!!! I am thankful for all my nieces and nephews and their husbands and wives and all their children!! When I look at them, I realize that our family is in good hands. There was 4 generations there today. I realize that a lot of families have more generations than that, but I am still thankful for the 4 generations there today.

 
I said earlier that family was at the top at my list that I am thankful for. But, at the very top of my list, above family, is Christ!!! Without what Christ has done for me thru His shed blood, nothing else matters anyway. I am thankful that Christ loved me enough to die for me so that I could be in right relationship with God. I pray that as I go forward in my own life, that I am forever thankful and grateful for Christ and that I can share that thankfulness and gratefulness with others. Sometimes it just takes the blink of an eye to realize just how abundantly blessed one is and that is exactly what happened to me today in just the moment of a split second. Blessed and highly favored comes to mind!! Thank you God for the many blessings that You have bestowed upon my family!!!

I hope that each of y'all made memories today that will bring you joy in the days to come. And maybe, just for the blink of the eye, there were no empty chairs around the table.
*********************************************
I have to admit that when I read it, it really broke my heart, but then it showed me that God is always in it all. I can look back and see thru my history where God has been my guiding force. Even now, I know He still is. He let me see this to let me know that I can smile and have good memories and that's it's ok to keep living while we are still alive. I know He was right there with my nephew when he died. I know He is with us and will stay with us as we grieve.

So, this year there is another empty chair at the table. I pray it's a long time before there is any more empty chairs. But I know that God will see us thru whatever comes.

I pray that you all have a wonderfully blessed Happy Thanksgiving!!! Thank God for all the blessings, especially the blessing of memories. Write some of them down and pass them on to the younger generation. What a legacy to pass on to. Share with others how you have been able to see the work of God in the patchwork of your life. In the good time, and the bad time. In the happy time and the sad times. In life and yes, even death. Memories are the gifts that I'm most thankful for this year.

Always remember just how much God loves you. I love you too. blessings, hugs and love, patty

ps: "gobble till you wobble"!!!!! hahaha