Tuesday, January 6, 2015

How I celebrated my eighteenth...

 The three girls all dressed up to go out - Heidi-Mari, me and my sister, Nancy {15}


Each year starts in a truly delightful way for me as I celebrate my birthday on the third...

This year I knew I would have a pretty big celebration, not only because it was my eighteenth birthday, but also because the Lord graciously allowed our very dear friends to come and visit us and spend a few days here...

And we had a very blessed and anointed visit – we also squeezed so much into the few days they were here, including two trips to the beach, movies and games, a walk to the beautiful waterfall at Jubilee Creek, which we did a second time on the same day because we enjoyed it so much, an outing to our local farmer’s market for breakfast and even dinner at a special restaurant for the older children and more!

How very sweet to have my best friend and her siblings here for a special occasion such as my eighteenth...I will always treasure this time in my heart and remember it for many years to come! 

And my family were wonderful – they washed plenty of dishes and helped me finish off meals and that helped to make the visit enjoyable for all!

Black Forest cake made by my dear friend...with just a little help from me!

My dear mother and father also surprised me with my own laptop for my birthday – I have been working on our family computer for many years and as time as gone by, so our poor computer has become slower and more unreliable!  Now I will hopefully be able to do more blogging and perhaps a little more Pinteresting as well as a bit more photography... 

Yes, I was blessed by so many dear people – my family, my sweet friends, and my grandparents who gave me a beautiful cross on a silver chain – each time I put it on, I think of them and of the wonderful Saviour who blessed me with this incredible life...

I feel fulfilled and blessed beyond measure...  And I am excited about what the Lord has in store for my future...  He promised us in Jeremiah that He would give us hope and a future and I hold on to that verse and trust that He indeed knows all and has me in the palm of His mighty hand... 
And He has you too...  Just lean on Him...

Blessings dear friends!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Thoughtful Thursday

 
A Prayer for the New Year

Come, Holy Spirit,
Spirit of the Risen Christ,
Be with us today and always.
Be our Light, our Guide,
And our Comforter.
Be our Strength, our Courage,
And our Sanctifier.
May this new year be a time
Of deep spiritual growth for us,
A time of welcoming
Your graces and gifts,
A time for forgiving freely
And unconditionally,
A time for growing
In virtue and goodness.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Be with us today and always.
Amen.

~ Unknown

~ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV ~

Thursday, December 11, 2014

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

Friday, December 5, 2014

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 GraceThe 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...

ChristyOn 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+...

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Thoughtful Thursday

~ Hospitality is love in action. 
Hospitality is the flesh and muscle on bones of love. ~
 Alexander Strauch
 
Painting By Helen Allingham

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

...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 ~

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth

Monday, December 1, 2014

Loveliness Today ~ Strawberry Delight...

~ Homemade strawberry jam made from our own organic strawberries ~

Happy first of December, dear friends!