Thoughtful Thursday

 "The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of christian, but the fact that I am a christian makes me a different kind of woman."

~ E. Elliot 

 

~ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  Proverbs 31:10, KJV ~

Painting by Albert Lynch ~ Gathering Flowers

Favourite Fictional Reads for the Holidays...

 

  I thought I would share a few of my very favourite books with you just in case you felt like curling up and reading sometime during the holidays...  I do not read as much as I would like to, mainly because I always seem to have a 101 other things I need to do, but also because I love to live in a story and once I am in it, I am afraid it is only the end of the book that brings me back to reality!  However, these books are beautifully written and truly inspiring... I am sure you will enjoy...

The Curate of Glaston – Inspiring, moving, faith building, arousing.  The Curate of Glaston tells the story of curate Thomas Wingold - his awakening and the way in which he helps the people of Glaston to come to know the True God.  Written by George MacDonald, this is a wonderful trilogy, especially for the new believer...

A Lineage of Grace – The stories of the five unlikely women who changed eternity – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. Beautifully written by Francine Rivers, this book shows the wonderful grace and forgiveness that God extends even to the most unworthy person...

Christy – On hearing a missionary speak about the great need in Appalachia, nineteen year old Christy Huddleston feels called to go to the heights of Cutter Gap to teach the children there...  As Christy begins to teach school, she is faced with more challenges than just the lack of textbooks...  Written by Catharine Marshall.  Read my complete review here.

Please feel welcome to share a few of your favourites too...

Note:  I would personally recommended these books for ages 15+...

Thoughtful Thursday

~ Hospitality is love in action. 

Hospitality is the flesh and muscle on bones of love. ~

 Alexander Strauch

 

Painting By Helen Allingham

...For the Love...

 ...Of summertime preserving...

Summer is upon us, dear friends!  And the arrival of this lovely sunny season means many happy and pleasurable hours spent in the kitchen, turning abundant blessings of fruit and vegetables into delicious, homemade preserves, pickles and chutneys for the rest of the year!

 Homemade Pickled Onions ~ November 2014

Preserving is a favourite pastime of mine...  I love the sweet, hot smell of boiling fruit permeating the house...the spicier combination of ingredients for fruit chutney...whole fruit boiling until just tender in a light sugar syrup to be stored away until wintertime...  Hmmm.... 

I feel a bit like Ma and her girls in those dear and treasured stories of their pioneer lives in the Little House series...

Apricot Chutney, December 2014

Often our entire day is spent in the kitchen, and we love it...  We work together as a team to reach a certain goal and this makes the process (and the end product) that much more enjoyable...

And homemade is always special, of course...  We love giving our preserves as gifts to dear friends and family members, particularly over the festive season.  There is something so satisfactory in the giving of something that took you time and effort to make, isn’t there...?

 Homemade strawberry jam made from our own organic strawberries ~ what a delight!

Whenever possible, I make pretty labels out of scraps of craft paper, or I simply use a whole dried chilli for our delicious tomato chilli jam or an orange slice to decorate a jar of marmalade, just to add that extra special touch...   

Do you enjoy preserving in your home?

How do you present your gifts of homemade goodies...?

~ Blessings ~

Loveliness Today ~ Strawberry Delight...

~ Homemade strawberry jam made from our own organic strawberries ~

Happy first of December, dear friends!