This is a perfect and easy soup for fall and winter. If you are worried about left-overs, just cool down the soup to room temperature, put in a freezer safe container and freeze for the next time you want a bowl of soup. Ingredients: 1 tsp oil 1 cup...
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“Just be yourself. Everyone else is taken!” Oscar Wilde In this day and age where we all have to “become someone” in order to be seen or noticed, I have come to love this quote! Just be me, myself, and I. Yet while this seems simple enough I realize...
I come from a long line of “believers” (in Jesus Christ), and for all of those people who shared their faith stories with me, I am eternally grateful! I was christened in my grandmother’s christening gown when I was six weeks old at the First Methodist Church in Andalusia,...
Autumn surprises us with glorious, amazing sunsets. God has given us the pleasure of seeing these beautiful sunsets with the joy of knowing a new day is coming. Autumn will soon turn into the cold days of winter. Still, the anticipation of cold frosty mornings with winter blue skies...
“…lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white unto harvest…” John 4:35 KJV I’m not a big fan of Halloween. In fact, the only things I like about the Hallowed Eve is the movie Hocus Pocus and hearing 2 songs on the radio: Monster Mash and...
“Writing is a form of therapy: sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear which is inherent in a human situation.” Graham Greene October, and again we have the pleasure of frightening ourselves...
These are a great fall cookie, especially if you do not want to overload on the pumpkin before Thanksgiving. Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups flour 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup vegetable shortening 1 1/2 cups granulated...
Genesis 8:22 (Revised Standard) While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. Psalm 104:19 (Revised Standard) Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. AUTUMN IS HERE! As I write...
These cookies are perfect for the start of fall. Not too much work in the kitchen but a nice nut flavored cookie to get you ready for the start of holiday season. Ingredients: 1 vanilla cake mix 1/3 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 2 teaspoons almond extract 1 1/3...
“Look, the trees are turning,” she said, glancing out the picture window toward the New Hampshire woods, and everything in me wanted to cry out: Not yet! Too soon! September marks the beginning of the new year. The children are back at school, anxious or excited, happy with their...
My faith journey began on Great Grandmother’s farm in the Hemet Valley of southern California. The Valley lay at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains which seemed a three or four minute walk to the left down Meridian Street which fronted the property but in truth lay some...
By Sophy Burnham ——–While working in the garden, I began to muse on how humans are the only animals (at least that we know of) who can live in both past and future. True an earthworm has a one-second precognitive response before it’s cut in two , and to...
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:2 NKJ I must confess that I have not always fully given the Holy Spirit the credit and respect I now feel it deserves. ...
God gives us time to reminisce and enjoy the simple things in life. He wants us to share our joy and love with others in happy pleasures. Blowing bubbles is fun at any age. As my grandchildren have grown, I fondly remember teaching them to blow bubbles. There were...
Summertime, and the living is easy. Our cultural memories are rich with summertime: the slap of a screen door to the excited calls of children; of dozing in a hammock over a good book or casting a fishing line onto the black river; of days on the beach, ice...
I normally write my own posts each month on FaithShapes, but this month I’m turning my space over to author Holley Gerth. I ran across her post recently on DaySpring’s website, and I think it is so appropriate for May and graduates. And if you aren’t a graduate, then...
There is a saying in the 12-step Alcoholic Anonymous program that “You will not regret the past, nor wish to close the door on it.” And mostly this is true, except when I find myself awake in the darkest hours of a morning night defenseless against the Inner Judge...
One day I was trying to make easy smoothies for my nieces and nephew when I found some frozen berries. The kids weren’t sure about the blackberries but I just puréed them all togther. The smoothies did not use up all of the berry mixture and I decided to...
Psalm 100: 1-2 (King James) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing. When I retired from teaching general music at elementary schools, I still had the desire to create music. There had been a...
If you get lost in life, put your ear to the ground and listen to its pounding heart. Old Sami saying As I write this one cold and windy March, I find myself longing for April springtime, with the flowers blooming yellow, pink, and blue against green...
Maundy Thursday: The word “Maundy” comes to us as an Anglo-French word derived from the Latin “mandatum,” which means “commandment.” It refers to when Jesus, in the Upper Room during the Last Supper, said to the disciples: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even...
Mark 14: 32 (NIV) They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,”...
I can recall hearing my grandmother say that sometimes before a social event or having guests in her home, her stomach would be “all tied up in knots.” Some folks call it having “butterflies” — that anxious feeling that causes our stomachs to feel a tad uneasy. Even singer...
The month of March is said to come in like a lion and out like a lamb, and as I write this, longing for lambs and warmth, the temperature with wind-chill here in the mid-Atlantic hovers in the low double digits, expecting yet more snow and the same dreary,...
1 onion, chopped 1 T. butter 3 (14 oz. cans) chicken broth 1 (32 oz.) frozen hash browns (diced, not shredded) 1 (10 oz. can) Cream of Celery soup 1 (10 oz. can) Cream of Chicken soup 1 1/2 cups milk 1 lb. Velveeta cheese Bacon bits (optional)...
St. Patrick’s Day is a day of Irish glee! Parades, everything green is worn, time for drinking green beer, turning the Chicago River green, and even eating green Kristy Kreme Donuts. Music of Ireland is exciting, fun, happy, and beautiful. Traditional Irish instruments include the fiddle, tin whistle, bodhran...
A couple of nights ago I had this interesting dream of a couple of hanging pots with beautiful clover (or Shamrocks) trailing over the edge of each pot. The stems of each clover were connected to each other, with several of them being being next to each other. This...
When St. Patrick came back to Ireland as an ordained priest to convert the Irish, he used the local traditions in order to get the people to listen to him. In order to explain the Holy Trinity to the local population he would pick a shamrock to show the...
These cookies have extra peanut butter with the chips added in with the nuts. Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter 2...
“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” George Washington. The painting accompanying this article hangs in my church during the winter months and was...
Psalm 150: 3-6 (NIV) Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath...
In dark December, when everyone was talking about harking to angels, and the birth of the Baby and the return of the Light, the Atlantic Monthly published a story about demonic possession. (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arcive/2018/23/catholic-exorcisms-on-the-rise/573943.) An acquaintance made sure I saw it: “I know you write about angels,” he wrote. “What...
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I have gone with a quick and easy chocolate dessert that will look really impressive. Ingredients: White Chocolate chips Semi-sweet Chocolate chips Dried Fruit (banana chips, Pineapple chips, apricots) Fresh Fruit (strawberries, raspberries, apple slices, cherries with the stems) Oreos Nuts (truly an assortment)...
We are already well into a new year; in fact, I’m posting this on January 25th, and that means 11 months from today is Christmas. Time certainly does fly. I am not one to make New Year’s Resolutions. I tried that for many years and only got frustrated when...
These are a great quick cookie that can be kept in the freezer before you bake them off for at least a month. Ingredients: 1 pound unsalted butter, softened 8 ounces powdered sugar vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 1 pound 3 ounces all-purpose flour Directions: 1. Cream butter, add...
Not long ago a Canadian wrote me about a mysterious encounter he’d had with a homeless man, Helmut, who always carried in his shopping bags spiritual books, herbs, treats and notebooks, and you could imagine that many people thought this ragged man was probably a little crazy. But Helmut...
Ingredients: 1 Cup of sugar 1/4 Cup flour 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 Cup butter (1 stick) 1 recipe for plain pastry or 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (1 pkg.) 4 large fresh peeled peaches (when in season) 1/4 Cup water Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg. Cut in butter until “crumbly”. Sprinkle...
Winter comes with gloomy, cold, rainy, snowy days. A fireplace for centuries was used to provide heat and cook food to castles, cabins, and homes. A place to gather for warmth, family time, peace, and security. In the 21st century a fireplace seems to be more for visual enjoyment....
Music is a beloved part of the Christmas season. From the Messiah’s Hallelujah” chorus to Burl Ives singing “A Holly Jolly Christmas” music brings precious memories. As I was shopping at the mall, I heard people humming along to the Christmas music. with smiles on their faces. Christmas parties...
Our precious cat, Miss Ellie, passed last week just 3 months shy of her 20th birthday…yes, I said “20th”!!! I truly believe that cats do have nine lives—maybe more! As a very young kitten, my son rolled a back tire of his truck over her resulting in a dislocated...
This is the season for harkening to angel songs, believing—even joyfully—the warmth, comfort, healing and optimism offered by the angels, the sense that everything is goingto be all right, and that with all our doubts, inadequacies and fears we, too, are all right. We are perfect just the way...
The holiday season is the perfect time for gingerbread. This cake is wonderful for parties or the family Christmas dinner. Ingredients: 3/4 cup molasses 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1 large egg 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon ground ginger 2 teaspoons...
It is Thanksgiving week, and I am late with offering my few words before the T-Day feast of gladness that we are called to, because in the last weeks it feels as if all I’ve done is attend memorial services (three in three days; others earlier). Each service took...
Topaz is a transparent stone that can reflect a variety of colors, including blue, yellow, red, and brown. The other birthstone for November is citrine, known for its beautiful yellow hue. These colors are very prominent in autumn. The stones seem to accentuate this month of gratefulness. Thanksgiving is...
2 pkg. Frozen chopped spinach 1 large pkg. Cream cheese (8 oz.) 1 stick of margarine, divided in half grated rind of one lemon Pepperidge Farm dressing crumbs (herb seasoned) Blend cream cheese, ¼ stick of margarine and lemon rind. Cook spinach according to directions. Drain well. Squeeze out...
Every October, with its falling leaves and brilliant colors, I’m reminded of my father’s death: October 30 the night before Halloween. My mother had died three years earlier, leaving our father, stroke-ridden, in our house. What was curious, whenever I visited Daddy, I could feel my mother in...