Strangers and Pilgrims

 

Hello dear friends and quiet followers,

I hope your week is going well? It's Winter here in my corner of the world, so I am tucked up cozy here in our little cottage. Today I've been baking Gingerbread; actually I've baked this recipe about every two weeks lately, as it's just so scrumptious. I find it's best to leave it (wrapped) to sit for a day and the flavours develop even more and it is very moist. If you live in a warm climate I recommend keeping it in the fridge. Here's the recipe:

~ P U M P K I N  G I N G E R B R E A D ~

1 cup Pumpkin puree 

Half cup apple butter or applesauce

Half cup milk

2 eggs - beaten

70g butter - melted

1 teaspoon Ginger, 1 teaspoon mixed spice

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon, half teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 Cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons molasses

One and a half cups of flour + 1 - 2 Tablespoons extra if needed

1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all together and bake in a lined loaf pan for 50 - 60 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

(I snagged this pic off the internet (Mississippi Sideboard)as I forgot to take one..., but it it looks just like this)

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..Now what I actually wanted to share was something that happened this week. 

I don't know about you, but I try to keep a very neat and tidy home, with varying degrees of success :)

I also appreciate all the little things we have in our home, such as antiques, various finds from the thrift store, handmade items etc. But just lately I have had several accidents with things. First off a handle broke on a vintage cup that I love. I was very sad about this, as it was a set, with a cup, saucer and plate that my husband gave me one year as an anniversary present. I was going to try to glue the handle on, but my husband thought that would make the cup unsafe, especially as it holds hot liquids !!...so I sadly threw it in the rubbish :(

...then just yesterday I was putting away some bleach and the top wasn't on properly and some spilled on my new apron that I handmade :( I've made three aprons out of one linen tablecloth that I purchased from kmart. The tablecloth cost about $12.00, but the PROJECT to get these aprons cut out and sewn has taken me almost a year ! I don't have a lot of spare time, so I just snatch time when I can. They are cross over aprons and I wear one every day to help keep my clothes clean. So I found it very disappointing when I've worked so hard on them that one is now stained by a bleach splodge.

...then just today I was getting ready to wash some dishes and accidentally wacked the top of my new food processor lid with a knife and its made a small shattered mark on the rim....oh my ! 

Maybe for some people all of this would be no big deal, but for me I try to look after all my things, as I know the labour involved to earn money to buy them and or the time it takes to make something by hand. So I was feeling a little flat about it all. 

At the same time as I was thinking about it, I felt the Lord changing my focus. So I went with it and it was like he was saying to my heart 'Why are you so downcast over these material things which are here today and gone tomorrow. They are only temporary and not eternal'. I knew this was the truth. They are just things. It was a good lesson and I'm thankful for the reminder. I need to not hold onto things too tightly.

I tend to be a home body and also by nature an introvert. I enjoy my own company and can happily stay busy here at home. I have to be careful though that my very home and it's contents doesn't become an 'idol' of sorts, as it truly is my escape from the world. I suppose in a way, my home is is an area where I feel I have some control. We can choose what comes into it, when so much that is happening in the world today, I have no control over. There's just so much that I don't agree with. 

So I am learning to not be too upset over small things, even if it did have a special meaning attached to it. All things wear out, break, and decay eventually. And one day this home here on earth, with all it's special little things will not be my world anymore.

 Matthew 6:19 - 20

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

I will leave you with this precious old hymn, I hope you enjoy it as much as me. Blessings and peace to you all ~ Linda

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This World Is Not My Home by A P Carter 1931

This world is not my home I'm just passing through my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore O Lord you know I have no friend like you if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do? the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore They're all expecting me and that's one thing I know my savior pardoned me and now I onward go I know He'll take me through though I am weak and poor and I can't feel at home in this world anymore O Lord you know I have no friend like you if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do? the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore Just up in Glory Land we'll live eternally the Saints on every hand are shouting victory their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven's shore and I can't feel at home in this world anymore O Lord you know I have no friend like you if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do? the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ https://youtu.be/vJP5XGFbcUQ If you copy this little link above it will take you to a delightful version of this song being sung. It blessed me, I hope it will do the same for you.

Just a glimpse ...

 

Hello dear friends and quiet followers

Today as I was making the finishing touches to our evening meal, I glimpsed a sliver of rainbow out the window. It was so lovely and simple, that straightaway the thought came to me that it was a glimpse of God and of His faithfulness. Sometimes that’s all we need to sustain us, to continue on. 

We know He is a God who keeps His promises, and who is forever faithful. I was reflecting on just that last week, while driving to visit my mum. Suddenly in the car I was just overcome with joy. I’d been thinking about my oldest granddaughter who will turn thirteen shortly. I thought how faithful God has been in her life, how he answered a prayer I prayed to Him when she was just a wee baby. I was so joyful I was nearly giggling and openly smiling in the car. Any one passing would have thought I was a bit loopy, but no, it was the joy of the Lord filling me up.

God does that with us all the time, if we are ‘awake’ and aware of His ways. They can be ever so subtle. If we are always desiring to be in His presence and constantly remind ourselves that He is always with us, then we won’t miss these little moments. I often pray: Lord may I have eyes to see and ears to hear what your Holy Spirit is saying and showing me today. 

This is all I have to share, but I trust it will encourage someone.

Blessings ~ linda

Dear Lord

Dear Lord,

I thank you for your Word, the Holy Bible, for it reminds me of who you are and of your character which is holy, righteous and just.

I thank you that you are all seeing and all knowing. That you are omni-present; everywhere all at the same time. How wonderful this is. You are here with me right now, and yet you are still also in the furthest places of the earth.

 I thank you that there is no where I could go or be, that you are not there. You whispered to me once that you would never leave me and I know this to be true.

Art by Richard Taylor

I thank you that you are always faithful. loving, forgiving, merciful and true and that your ways are perfect. O how blessed is your name Father God - Yahweh. How blessed am I to be your child.

Art by Charles Edward Wilson

I thank you that I can call on you at any time, at all times and anywhere; and that you hear me; that    your interested in what I have to say and that you will answer me and my prayers in your  own special, loving way.

How blessed I am to know you, to love you and to call you my Lord and my Saviour.

Help me to cleave to you today; may I seek your face and speak to you throughout the day. Help me to be ever conscious of your nearness and to know and trust this deep down in my heart. 

May I be comforted by this knowledge of your character and strengthened in my spirit as I grasp your deep love for me, my precious Lord and dearest friend ~ Amen

An excerpt from my journal today 9/06/2023