It is difficult to define Hiraeth, but to me it means the consciousness of man being out of his home area and that which is dear to him. That is why it can be felt even among a host of peoples amidst nature's beauty. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
. . like a Christian yearning for Heaven. . .
Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 07:40AM Read, sweet, how others strove,
Till we are stouter;
What they renounced,
Till we are less afraid;
How many times they bore
The faithful witness,
Till we are helped,
As if a kingdom cared!
Read then of faith
That shone above the fagot;
Clear strains of hymn
The river could not drown;
Brave names of men
And celestial women,
Passed out of record
Into renown!
Emily Dickinson
Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 06:00AM It's December and I'll be taking my annual break from blogging and reading blogs between now and the first of the year. I want to simplify my life as much as possible this month to keep the focus on faith and family during the Christmas season. I may post occasionally if there's anything I want to chronicle for the family, but other than that, I expect the blog will be quiet.
I'll be checking email, so I won't be completely unreachable!
I hope that your Christmas season is full of faith and family, peace and joy, and the joyful anticipation of Christ's second coming as we reflect upon the miracle of His advent!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 07:48PM 
I'm sad to see the November of Thanksgiving come to a close for another year. As always, I am grateful for this past month; for the awareness of God's greatness and His mercies, His loving-kindness and His provision.
I'm thankful, too, for Rebecca who gives so much of her time each year to organize and round up all the thankful posts.
As I reflect on the past month, I realize that there were many, many things for which I was thankful that never made it to the blog; some things are just personal. The daily practice of giving thanks certainly made me so much more aware of God's presence in my life and helped me to give thanks in some difficult situations. How much better it is to give thanks instead of expressing worry or discontented feelings!
Thank you, Lord, for teaching me to accept some things I cannot change and to be thankful, not 'in spite of' but 'because of!'
Monday, November 29, 2010 at 04:21PM 
I'm thankful for Spiritual Blessings in Christ:
Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 08:34AM 
I'm thankful for:
Conversations about scripture with Dorothy in the kitchen after church.
Playing Nertz with Tom after supper.
Christmas lights twinkling from room to room.
Additional work from my last client of the year--place cards, table cards, a framed Auld Lang Syne and, now, a framed menu.
Tom home for 11 days between Christmas and New Years.
The final sermon in a 4 part series on the book of Jonah and a Sunday school lesson about gratitude.
Time to read, time to nap, time to pray.
Progress.
This month of Thanksgiving.
Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 08:28AM BLEST ARE THE UNDEFILED IN HEART
From Psalm 119
Blest are the undefiled in heart,
Whose ways are right and clean,
Who never from the law depart,
But fly from ev'ry sin.
Blest are the men who keep thy Word
And practice thy commands;
With their whole heart they seek the Lord,
And serve thee with their hands.
Great is their peace who love thy law;
How firm their souls abide!
Nor can a bold temptation draw
Their steady feet aside.
Then shall my heart have inward joy,
And keep my face from shame,
When all thy statutes I obey,
And honor all thy Name.
Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 08:38AM I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
Charles Dickens
Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 08:26AM
Every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving we start our decorating for Christmas. And every year I am always excited to pull out the Christmas mugs. My sister, Kathy, gave me this mug in 1985 so I've enjoyed it for 25 years! And every year, when I sit with my morning coffee in the light of the Christmas tree, I think of my sister--how much I love her and how much I miss her and how thankful I am for her!
What sets sisters apart from brothers and also from friends is a very intimate meshing of heart, soul and the mystical cords of memory.Carol Saline
Friday, November 26, 2010 at 12:49PM 
I'm thankful for leftovers today. After several days of cooking, it's nice to be able to make a sandwich and warm up a plate of dressing and gravy, especially since today is our annual Christmas decorating day. Gone are the leaves, and pumpkins and gourds. The house is scattered about with boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations and Christmas tins, tree boxes and general upheaval.
I'm so thankful for Tom and the boys, who are such willing helpers.
Friday, November 26, 2010 at 12:36PM
While I was waiting for a guest list for a New Year's Eve wedding I'm working on, I decided to make some place cards for our Thanksgiving table. (Not that we don't know where to sit at the family table, but just because I had time and I like to do it.)
They looked kind of pretty at each place setting but I never expected the reaction I got--from Elliott! When we sat down at the table, he zeroed right in on the letters. Me! He knew right away that that was his name and that place card belonged to him. He played with it off and on during dinner, showing it to anyone who would look, exclaiming, "My Me!"
Later, when the table had been cleared and reset for dinner, Elliott kicked up a fuss. His 'me' was gone and he was not satisfied until it was there by his place.
I think I'll make a permanent place card for him to have at Grandma's house, only I think I'll laminate it this time!
Friday, November 26, 2010 at 08:53AM I've been making Thanksgiving dinner for years, and I thought I had it down to a science. But yesterday I had two small missteps. The first was the candied sweet potatoes. I had the butter and brown sugar bubbling merrily in my cast iron skillet, drained the can of sweet potatoes, and unceremoniously dumped them into the sugar. UGH! They were total mush! I couldn't touch them without mashing them. What to do? I heated them through and then pureed the whole sticky mess in the food processor with a little half and half. Wow! Velvety and gorgeous (but a bit too sweet as too much of the caramelizing brown sugar made it to the food processor withe the 'mashed' sweet potatoes). I'll be making this again, only with much less brown sugar.
The second one was less dramatic. It was the scalloped corn. My mother's recipe. Always custardy and delicious. Mine was sort of frothy and sweet. Oh, it set up, but it just didn't look or taste like it usually does. Many hours later when the microwave was called into service to warm up leftovers for supper, Beth discovered a bowl of melted/re-hardened butter. A whole stick. Which belonged in the scalloped corn. Which explains the mystery.
It wasn't a perfect meal but it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Friday, November 26, 2010 at 08:32AM IN A LIBRARY.
A precious, mouldering pleasure 't is
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think,
His venerable hand to take,
And warming in our own,
A passage back, or two, to make
To times when he was young.
His quaint opinions to inspect,
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;
What interested scholars most,
What competitions ran
When Plato was a certainty.
And Sophocles a man;
When Sappho was a living girl,
And Beatrice wore
The gown that Dante deified.
Facts, centuries before,
He traverses familiar,
As one should come to town
And tell you all your dreams were true;
He lived where dreams were sown.
His presence is enchantment,
You beg him not to go;
Old volumes shake their vellum heads
And tantalize, just so.
Emily Dickinson
Did this make you think of Margaret Lea and her 'bookshop?'
Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 06:14AM I backed up my computer files with Carbonite. It took almost three days working in the background for the complete back up, but in the future it'll back up automatically.
All those little green dots telling me that my pictures and business documents are safe and sound.
Feels pretty good.
Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 05:53AM Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:2
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 02:45PM 
It's 2:45 and I just settled into my leather chair with my feet on the ottoman and a cup of tea at my elbow. I've been baking pies and cooking since about 7:30 this morning. I've got the dressing and scalloped cabbage ready to bake tomorrow and 5 pies cooling on the table in the sun room. Three pumpkins, one pecan, and one Pear Custard. The kitchen is cleaned up and the dishwasher busily washing measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoons, bowls, and spatulas. I've still got quite a bit to do to get ready for tomorrow--mostly cleaning and vacuuming and dusting--and I've still got tonight's supper to get ready but for now I'm going to rest a little bit.
I'm thankful for work and for rest. For anticipation of a fun day tomorrow with our children and grandchildren. I'm thankful that Tom has Friday off, too.
But right now I'm just thankful for a few minutes to count my blessings and give my thanks to God, who has given me love and salvation, family and friends, life and health.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 06:46PM 
This morning I went out to my car and it was dead. Dead, dead, dead.
I think I left my lights on. Or my door cracked. Or something because it was dead.
I had to take Sam to class, so I asked my neighbor, Sharon, and asked if I could borrow her car. She handed her keys over and we hurried off. Got Sam to class in time.
An hour or so later, I heard a knock on my back door. Here comes my neighbor, Mike (Sharon's husband), his jumper cables in his hand and his car idling in the driveway. A quick jump and I was back in business.
I'm thankful for good neighbors who are also good friends; always willing to help and to share, not afraid to ask for help if they need it, ready with an encouraging word or a kind deed.
Thanksgiving is a good thing. Sharing your thanksgiving thoughts with others is a good thing. I hope you'll join in with me and others in this November of Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 22, 2010 at 07:27AM Rain and thunder.
I have much to do today but it seems like the kind of morning to lay on the couch and read with a cup of coffee at my elbow and Ivy curled up on my lap, serving as my book rest.
Sigh. . .better get up and get busy before I succumb to the temptation. . .
Monday, November 22, 2010 at 07:09AM 
I'm studying the life of David in preparation for next week's Bible study. Like Peter, David is a man of great passion and faith--big highs and big lows.
I'm thankful for the unsanitized accounts of the men and women of the Bible. How despairing we would be if we were only given their victorious moments of deep faith and unswerving faithfulness to consider! But how comforting it is to read the accounts of their lives and see that God used them mightily, even in spite of their sin and weakness. And He forgave them for His Name's sake.
Their lives, warts and all, demonstrate God's redemptive work in individuals and in His church:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Thanksgiving is a good thing. Sharing your thanksgiving thoughts with others is a good thing. I hope you'll join in with me and others in this November of Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 08:10PM 
It may seem like a rather silly thing to be thankful for, but I'm thankful for the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. Our family likes to watch the competition shows like The Next Food Network Star and Chopped and our current favorite, Two Fat Ladies. We root together for our favorites and try to predict who will win.
Tonight, we're all rooting for Canora to win The Next Food Network Star this year.
It brings the family together to laugh and joke. I like that.
