Heavenly Conversation

" A state of holiness is nothing else but the habitual and predominant devotion and dedication of soul, and body, and life, and all that we have, to God; and esteeming, and loving, and serving, and seeking Him, before all the pleasure and prosperity of the flesh; making His favour. and everlasting happiness in heaven, our end, and Jesus Christ our way, and referring all things in the world unto that end, and making this the scope, design and business of our lives. It is a turning from a deceitful world to God; and preferring the Creator before the creature, and heaven before earth, and eternity before an inch of time, and our souls before our corruptible bodies, and the authority and laws of God, the universal Governor of the world, before the word or will of any man, how great soever; and a subjecting our sensitive faculties to our reason, and advancing this reason by Divine revelations; and living by faith, and not by sight: in a word, it is a laying up our treasure in heaven, and setting our hearts there, and living in a heavenly conversation, setting our affections on the things above, and not on the things that are on earth; and a rejoicing in hope of the glory to come..."

~ Richard Baxter, pg. 14 of the Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Volume 1- A Christian Directory

I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately, especially the bolded part. I just love the beautiful thought- living in a heavenly conversation. Even while making breakfast, I can be in conversation with my blessed Savior.

As promised

Dear ones-

We have been sick...

VERY sick....three long weeks of sickness in one form or another

Three distinct, separate sicknesses; including the awful flu going around this year...

So, that is my excuse for neglecting you. (I am pretending that there are actually people who read this blog but that is beside the point.)

 

 

 

 

 I made three simple quilts for my boys for Christmas. The fabrics I used are from the line called "Scoot" by Riley Blake and minky fabric for the back and binding.. I have been surprised time and again how much little children love the softness of minky fabric. I must confess I love it too! I found a down minky blanket at the thrift store and have enjoyed it every morning. All of the minky and quilts have been put to good use during our long period of illness. Cuddled up on the couch watching Roy Rogers has been happening around here a lot lately. If you couldn't tell from the pictures above, Roy Rogers is now the hero of our home.

 In more minky news, our smallest son lost his giraffe minky blanket toy at church on the eve of our sickness. But the catastrophe was averted when it was found and brought home safe. (Although a bit dirty!)

 I have attempted to learn a new craft- needle felting. I purchased a lovely kit off of Etsy and had so much fun making my first bear. It is a rather pathetic attempt but I love learning new things and am happy that it resembles a bear. I have just read a little about it off of the internet and watched a YouTube video so hopefully I will improve as I practice. Happily, my children are very gracious and content that they have a new little bear to play with. My little guy seems to like it especially as it is perfect size for carrying around.

 Overall, even in sickness, I am struck by the beauty and graciousness of our great Savior. He truly "daily loads us with benefits". What precious benefits He has given to me. Blessed be His name!

"Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11

"As your days--so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25

We should be thankful that life comes to us in such little bits.

We can always live one day well enough.
We can always carry one day's burdens.
We can always do one day's duties.
We can always endure one day's sorrows.

It is a blessing that one day is all that God ever gives us at a time. We should be thankful for the nights that cut off our tomorrows from our view, so that we cannot even see them until they dawn. The little days, nestling between the nights like quiet valleys between the hills, then seem so safe and peaceful.

~ J.R. Miller

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own!" Matthew 6:34

* Jeanne asked for the recipe for the muffins. In our house, we call them coffeecake muffins and they are well loved. I usually serve them with fresh fruit for breakfast. Here is the recipe:

Coffeecake Muffins

Batter:
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together and spoon into muffin pans with paper liners. I use a large cookie scoop to scoop out the batter as it makes it so much easier.

Topping:

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola oil (you can use all butter if you prefer)

Mix all ingredients together. This topping mixture should be crumbly and somewhat sticking together. Evenly disperse topping over the muffins. Then, slightly poke the topping into the batter about 1/2 way down the muffin cup. This will prevent all of the topping from falling off during baking and consumption.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. I serve them pretty much as soon as they are out of the oven as my little guys all start screaming and run for the table when the hear the timer go off.

Enjoy :)

40 Years

This post from Doorposts was in my Facebook Feed today. It was so timely I thought that I would share this here. I promise I will do a real post again soon! But for today:

 Thanks to a friend for sharing these fitting verses for today. God has not forgotten.

"He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.
He has said in his heart,
'God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.'

"Arise, O Lord!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.
Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
'You will not require an account.'

"But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

"The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more."

Psalm 10:8-18

This post can be found here:
 https://www.facebook.com/doorposts

These precious, precious babies! My heart is broken today thinking of all of these helpless ones that have been murdered. So much prayer is needed for our nation. I know I will be in prayer before our great God pleading for our nation and for repentance and forgiveness of such horrors. What times are we living in? But, dear ones, take heart too! "The Lord is King forever and ever..."