Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Help!
Well.......I managed to get my Zazzle panel on my blog.........but I have about five too many! Can anyone tell me how to "undo" five of them???? I've looked but can't figure it out. :(
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
One of God's Men ...
He walked into the church office where I was the secretary, picked up my left hand and said: "Hmmmmmm...no wedding ring, no engagement ring - I've got a good-looking young fellow out here you need to meet"! Needless to say, the "young fellow" and I, a rather timid nineteen year-old, were both rather embarrassed; but we DID end up together, marrying about four years later, after we both graduated from the same college (Baptist Bible College, Springfield, MO)!
My husband and his family had known "him", Richard Schott, and his wife, Mary, for many years. I had just met Richard when he walked into my office to wait for my pastor, who was a close friend of his. My husband, John, had graduated from high school that year and was traveling for a few weeks with Richard who, with his wife and family, were missionaries in the Philippines. They were back on furlough, visiting their supporting churches.
Over the years, whenever we'd see Richard again, I'd always tease him about introducing us. It was either: "Whenever we argue, I say it's YOUR fault, Richard!", or: "We're doing just great - thanks for introducing us!"
Now, almost forty years later, I sit and hold his aged hand as he lays curled up in a fetal position on his bed in the nursing home where he and his wife have been for awhile. He has suffered a massive stroke, leaving him with almost no movement and no speech. There is little hope of recovery - though none of us can say for sure what God will do. Loving family members and good friends are in and out, letting him know that he is not alone. He hears, we believe; squeezes our hands fairly strongly when we ask him to. His daughter plays the hymns for him that he loves. We all take turns talking to him. I whisper in the ear of this man I owe so much to: "I love you, Richard Schott. Thanks again for introducing me and John." He squeezes my hand. He did.
He is God's man and he is not afraid to die, if it's his time now. Not afraid to face the One he and his wife have served for so many years. Probably even excited to "go home"; though reluctant to leave his family.
I, on the other hand, fear losing him. Not because I think he isn't ready to go, but, selfishly, because of the void he will leave. He has "felt" like a father to me for so many years, even though we've been in different countries for most of those years. My husband feels the same way. And, too, I think of the void he will leave within his family; the sadness they will have to cope with. Death isn't easy to handle, even when we, as Christians, know the dying are Christians and will be with God...peaceful,happy and without pain. Because those of us who are left behind here miss the presence of the departed.
So - I sit and hold his hand nearly forty years after he first held mine, reflecting on the intervening years and the many shapes and forms my life has taken, as well as his and his family's. I pray for him and for his family. I pray that, if this IS his time to go that God will take him quickly and peacefully; that he isn't suffering pain. And, at the same time, I pray that God will raise him up.
I remember John 3:16 (NIV):
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Richard Schott gave me a wonderful "gift" when he introduced me to my husband. And Richard Schott has spent most of his life introducing everyone he meets to Jesus Christ, Who is the greatest gift of all ... from God to us. There are MANY people world-wide eternally grateful to him.
Thank you, Richard.
My husband and his family had known "him", Richard Schott, and his wife, Mary, for many years. I had just met Richard when he walked into my office to wait for my pastor, who was a close friend of his. My husband, John, had graduated from high school that year and was traveling for a few weeks with Richard who, with his wife and family, were missionaries in the Philippines. They were back on furlough, visiting their supporting churches.
Over the years, whenever we'd see Richard again, I'd always tease him about introducing us. It was either: "Whenever we argue, I say it's YOUR fault, Richard!", or: "We're doing just great - thanks for introducing us!"
Now, almost forty years later, I sit and hold his aged hand as he lays curled up in a fetal position on his bed in the nursing home where he and his wife have been for awhile. He has suffered a massive stroke, leaving him with almost no movement and no speech. There is little hope of recovery - though none of us can say for sure what God will do. Loving family members and good friends are in and out, letting him know that he is not alone. He hears, we believe; squeezes our hands fairly strongly when we ask him to. His daughter plays the hymns for him that he loves. We all take turns talking to him. I whisper in the ear of this man I owe so much to: "I love you, Richard Schott. Thanks again for introducing me and John." He squeezes my hand. He did.
He is God's man and he is not afraid to die, if it's his time now. Not afraid to face the One he and his wife have served for so many years. Probably even excited to "go home"; though reluctant to leave his family.
I, on the other hand, fear losing him. Not because I think he isn't ready to go, but, selfishly, because of the void he will leave. He has "felt" like a father to me for so many years, even though we've been in different countries for most of those years. My husband feels the same way. And, too, I think of the void he will leave within his family; the sadness they will have to cope with. Death isn't easy to handle, even when we, as Christians, know the dying are Christians and will be with God...peaceful,happy and without pain. Because those of us who are left behind here miss the presence of the departed.
So - I sit and hold his hand nearly forty years after he first held mine, reflecting on the intervening years and the many shapes and forms my life has taken, as well as his and his family's. I pray for him and for his family. I pray that, if this IS his time to go that God will take him quickly and peacefully; that he isn't suffering pain. And, at the same time, I pray that God will raise him up.
I remember John 3:16 (NIV):
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Richard Schott gave me a wonderful "gift" when he introduced me to my husband. And Richard Schott has spent most of his life introducing everyone he meets to Jesus Christ, Who is the greatest gift of all ... from God to us. There are MANY people world-wide eternally grateful to him.
Thank you, Richard.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Cooking!
Finally another beautiful day here in the heartland. Love it! I have a door partially opened and am listening to the birds singing - while the sun is shining. So nice, after all the rainy,stormy days we've been having. Haven't yet seen the weather reports today, but my body is telling me that maybe there is more stormy weather ahead. :)
I title this "cooking" 'cause that's what I do a lot of..... yesterday I baked with the duck eggs a neighbor has given me (they have three egg-laying ducks in the back yard). No, duck eggs are not "yucky" - they taste just like other eggs to me. I even made an omelette out of some the other day and it was good. My neighbor says she uses them mostly for baking - so yesterday I decided, since I had two dozen of them, to do some baking, too. My house sure smelled great all afternoon. :) I baked my mother's chocolate pound cake, a coffee-cake and made up the dough for yeast rolls, which I will be baking in a few minutes.
In case my readers (I DO have a few readers!) haven't noticed, I LOVE to cook and bake. I've always loved cooking - even as a kid, though I didn't do a lot of it then. Of course, during the years of rearing four kids, it wasn't always as pleasant as I would have liked.....cooking was a bit more stressful then, with everything else to be handled. Even so, our kids did usually come home to a house filled with cooking smells - usually good ones. ha! It's a lot simpler and more peaceful NOW, without the kids - but now I don't have them to SHARE my cooking with! :( But, have to say, my husband, John, is very happy that he has a wife who likes to cook.
"Cooking from scratch" has always been my way - but I'm not opposed to using some ready-made things every now and then. Like brownie mixes - but only those really fudgy kinds! However, I usually even make those from "scratch". That's the way my mother cooked and the way I learned to cook. I feel sorry for those who always "eat out", and especially always eat out at fast-food places. They will never know what an honest-to-goodness REAL meal tastes like! And if you always eat out, you don't have those wonderful cooking odors wafting through your home. (Granted, I've had a few BURNT cooking odors wafting though our home - but that's another blog. :)) I have tons of cook-books - they are great reading, not just for the recipes. And, no, I don't always follow the recipe - I usually use it as a starting point because I usually don't have all the ingredients called for. So, I will "ad-lib" the recipe - use what I have, switch something in or out, etc. It generally works. You can't be a cook and be afraid of "trying" something different! I generally follow the recipes for baking - even though I may add to them. My husband likes to say to visitors, "enjoy it now because she probably won't remember later just how she made it - it will come out different the next time". :) That's usually true, what can I say?
I especially love my mom's chocolate pound cake recipe.....not only because it tastes great (if you love chocolate) but because you can slice it thinly and freeze portions for later. I kept out a third of it yesterday and sliced the rest in thin slices, put them in small portions in freezer bags and popped the bags into the freezer. Easy. Did the same with the coffee-cake. It's nice having some home-made goodies ready to pull out of the freezer when the urge strikes you.
Here is the CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE recipe: (I use an angel-food cake tube pan)
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
5 Tblspns. unsweetened cocoa powder (I always add more)
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 sticks butter (or margarine - I prefer butter)
1/2 cup Crisco
1 Tblspn. vanilla
***************************************************************************
1. Cream butter, sugar and Crisco
2. Add eggs, one at a time - beat
3. Add flour, mixed with the cocoa and baking powder .... add this alternately with the
milk
4. Add vanilla
5. Pour into well-greased and floured tube pan
6. Bake: 325 ..... about 1 hour and 20 minutes
*****************************************************************************
ENJOY! YUM!
I title this "cooking" 'cause that's what I do a lot of..... yesterday I baked with the duck eggs a neighbor has given me (they have three egg-laying ducks in the back yard). No, duck eggs are not "yucky" - they taste just like other eggs to me. I even made an omelette out of some the other day and it was good. My neighbor says she uses them mostly for baking - so yesterday I decided, since I had two dozen of them, to do some baking, too. My house sure smelled great all afternoon. :) I baked my mother's chocolate pound cake, a coffee-cake and made up the dough for yeast rolls, which I will be baking in a few minutes.
In case my readers (I DO have a few readers!) haven't noticed, I LOVE to cook and bake. I've always loved cooking - even as a kid, though I didn't do a lot of it then. Of course, during the years of rearing four kids, it wasn't always as pleasant as I would have liked.....cooking was a bit more stressful then, with everything else to be handled. Even so, our kids did usually come home to a house filled with cooking smells - usually good ones. ha! It's a lot simpler and more peaceful NOW, without the kids - but now I don't have them to SHARE my cooking with! :( But, have to say, my husband, John, is very happy that he has a wife who likes to cook.
"Cooking from scratch" has always been my way - but I'm not opposed to using some ready-made things every now and then. Like brownie mixes - but only those really fudgy kinds! However, I usually even make those from "scratch". That's the way my mother cooked and the way I learned to cook. I feel sorry for those who always "eat out", and especially always eat out at fast-food places. They will never know what an honest-to-goodness REAL meal tastes like! And if you always eat out, you don't have those wonderful cooking odors wafting through your home. (Granted, I've had a few BURNT cooking odors wafting though our home - but that's another blog. :)) I have tons of cook-books - they are great reading, not just for the recipes. And, no, I don't always follow the recipe - I usually use it as a starting point because I usually don't have all the ingredients called for. So, I will "ad-lib" the recipe - use what I have, switch something in or out, etc. It generally works. You can't be a cook and be afraid of "trying" something different! I generally follow the recipes for baking - even though I may add to them. My husband likes to say to visitors, "enjoy it now because she probably won't remember later just how she made it - it will come out different the next time". :) That's usually true, what can I say?
I especially love my mom's chocolate pound cake recipe.....not only because it tastes great (if you love chocolate) but because you can slice it thinly and freeze portions for later. I kept out a third of it yesterday and sliced the rest in thin slices, put them in small portions in freezer bags and popped the bags into the freezer. Easy. Did the same with the coffee-cake. It's nice having some home-made goodies ready to pull out of the freezer when the urge strikes you.
Here is the CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE recipe: (I use an angel-food cake tube pan)
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
5 Tblspns. unsweetened cocoa powder (I always add more)
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 sticks butter (or margarine - I prefer butter)
1/2 cup Crisco
1 Tblspn. vanilla
***************************************************************************
1. Cream butter, sugar and Crisco
2. Add eggs, one at a time - beat
3. Add flour, mixed with the cocoa and baking powder .... add this alternately with the
milk
4. Add vanilla
5. Pour into well-greased and floured tube pan
6. Bake: 325 ..... about 1 hour and 20 minutes
*****************************************************************************
ENJOY! YUM!
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