The Prayer of Faith

All of us have prayers we raise up to heaven that "seem" to appear go unanswered as of yet...... some of us have been praying for something for days, months and yes even years....... does God not hear us? This quote is for you.........and me. :)  ~ gloria ~

" God's timing is not ours to command.  If we do not start the fire with the first strike of our match, we must try again.  God does hear our prayer, but He may not answer it at the precise time we have appointed in our own minds.  Instead, He will reveal Himself to our seeking hearts, though not necessarily when and where we may expect.  Therefore we have a need for perseverence and steadfast determination in our life of prayer.

  In the old days of flint, steel and brimstone matches, people had to strike the match again and again, perhaps even dozens of  times, before they could get a spark to light their fire, and they were very thankful they finally succeeded.  Should we not exercise the same kind of perverence and hope regarding heavenly things?  When it comes to faith, we have more certainty of success than we could ever have had with flint and steel for we have God's promises as a foundation.

  May we, therefore never despair.  God's time for mercy will come -- in fact, it has already come, if our time for believing has arrived.  Ask in faith, without wavering, but never cease to petition the King simply because He has delayed His reply. Strike the match again and make sparks fly!  Yet be sure to have your tinder ready, for you will get a fire before long. "

 ~~ Charles H. Spurgeon ~~

I have been so busy this past week......from schooling the children ( there are 8 being schooled now!) and tending  the home fires... that I have not had a moment to sit and blog.... and  I also went into the city this week and that always takes a good chunk of my time ..........in the midst of the busyness,  we have also had time to sing our praises to the Lord and rest in His beautiful promises in HIS  word! As we enter into this week of Thanksgiving, I like to take time to remember those brave and faith filled souls who came from so far away to establish a colony where they could worship their God freely without being "dictated" how they should do so. They believed the Word of God was to be taught freely and not under the "banner" or "control" of some church........ oh, how I can relate to these brave souls!  My journey to the Lord was somewhat of a pilgrimage in many ways! My family travelled over many miles to arrive to a place where God could teach us and show us His ways.  So I do have a tender spot in my heart for those pilgrims who came to America searching for freedom to worship to their heart's content!

This past week we have been learning a new hymn to sing for our Bible devotions.  We recently learned the beautiful hymn:  As the Deer.... if you don't know this lovely song, you so do need to become familiar with it's beautiful melody and even more beautiful lyrics! I have been hearing my children humming and singing this lovely song........

                                                          As the Deer

                                    Music & Lyrics by Martin Nystrom

As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.

You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You.

Chorus:

You alone are my strength , my shield; To you alone my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You.

You're my friend and You are my Brother, even though You are a King.

I love you more than any other, so much more than anything.

Chorus:

I want You more than gold or silver, only You can satisfy.

You alone are the real joy giver, and the apple of my eye.

Chorus

Jesus really is the real JOY giver -- and the apple of my eye! He is what I long for and I need Him like my body needs water!  I long to worship Him!

I hope in this coming week ~ that you too will find time to worship the JOY giver!!

Praising Him!

gloria

" They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.... they did not love their lives so much as to shirk from death. "  Revelation 12:11

Are we willing to compete for God's best, with the knoweldge that the best things are always achieved by the most difficult paths?  We must endure steep mountains, dense forests, and the Enemy's chariots of iron, since hardship is the  price of the victor's coronation.  Arches of triumph are made not  of rose blossoms and strands of silk but of hard blows and bloody scars. The very hardships you are enduring in your life today have been given to you by the Master, for the express purpose of enabling  you to win the crown.

Therefore do not always look ahead to your tomorrows for some ideal situation, exotic difficulty or faraway emergency in which to shine. Rise today to face circumstances in which the providence of God has placed you.  Your crown of glory is hidden in the heart of these things -- the hardships and trials pressing in on you this very hour, week and month of your life. Yet the most difficult things are not those seens and known by the world but those deep in your soul, unseen and unknown by anyone except Jesus.  It is in this secret place that you expierence a little trial that you would never dare to mention to anyone else and that is more difficut for you to bear than martyrdom. 

Beloved, your crown lies there. May God help you to overcome and wear it.

               It matters not how the battle goes,                 

               The day how long;

               Faint Not! Fight on!

               Tomorrow comes the song.

~~ L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert  pg. 427-428 ~~

We were first introduced to Whoopie Pies when we moved here to Missouri. I had never heard of them before. A local Amish  bakery was selling some and we were "smitten" with this "sandwich" style mini cake/cookie with filling in the middle. 

I am not sure "how" these came to be called "whoopie pies" but I figured some Amish mom had some leftover cake batter and decided to make something with it.......adding some leftover icing in the middle and perhaps one of her kids tried it and exlaimed " whoopie!!" ....

Just kidding, I really have NO idea how these came to be called Whoppie Pies, but they are fantastic. I bring these to potlucks for the kids and they are always a bit hit, and of course my kids at home love them too! They are fabulous with a big glass of milk!

This recipe makes about 4 dozen large sized pies. 

Chocolate Whoopie Pies:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup softened butter

2 eggs

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup water

1 cup cocoa

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup sour milk or buttermilk

Cream shortening, butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Grease baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.  Do not overbake. Cool

Filling:

3/4 shortening or butter softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

water

Cream butter, add sugar one cup at a time... add vanilla and add as much water as desired.

Yields: about 48

You can wrap these individually in plastic wrap and they will keep overnight.

Enjoy!!

~ gloria ~

I have been busy this weekend sanding down the top of our old oak pedestal table..... it is in desperate need of refinishing! After 15 yrs of much use, it is due for a new coat of finish!  It "had" a light colored honey oak finish on it, and the chairs were very light wood and an arrowback design. I have decided to stain the table a colonial walnut color, and I have been looking for pressed back victorian styled chairs to go with it. I kind of want a "mish mash " of various chairs to go around the table... it may take me a while to find 12 chairs, but I did get a start this weekend when I stopped at a local anitque store and found 2 chairs for a good price! ( $25 each!)  I have a love for old things....

This one even has a cane seat and it's in good condition considering how old it is!

This one needs a a few dowels replaced in the back of the chair..... otherwise it's in good condition...

 I also was able to find an old globe that will come in handy for our schoolroom and a lovely old victorian frame that I hope to display a photo of my parent's wedding in.

I love to find good bargains!

~ gloria ~

The final part of my renovation I am going to share is another piece of furniture that we also designed our kitchen around... it's a lovely old oak hoosier cabinet. 

This piece may be old, but it is truly a work horse!  Years and years ago, homemakers did not have "kitcen cabinets" and they did not have the amount of kitchen tools and gadgets that we do today.

The hoosier was used to store their "tools" and also a place that would house flour and sugar....and other dry goods.  There was also a "ledge" or "counter" for homemakers to prepare their meals.

Since my kitchen is somewhat compact, I really do make good use of my hoosier!

The counter/ledge on it is stainless and it can be pulled out to reveal a large counterspace to use for making things.... the stainless surface makes it really nice for rolling out dough and baking.  It can then be tucked in to conserve space. Very handy!! 

There is also a space behind the roller that reveals a place that hides all my cookbooks. Notice the sugar bowl ring? Sadly the sugar bowl that had come with this hoosier had been stolen at the antique store while I had it on layaway. :(  I hope to find a replacement some day.

The drawer below used to hold flour. It's slightly slanted at the bottom. It now holds my mixing bowls!

There's also a place to hide all my cookie and grilling pans...

The top of the hoosier has some spots to display some collectables and some smaller drawers.

As you can tell this piece really is so functional! I know now why the were so indespansable in the old days.

Well, I sure hope you enjoyed the tour of our renovated kitchen. We are still not done.. we have some trim to put up between the kitchen and laundry & bath..... I really do LOVE having my laundry right off my kitchen. It has been such a huge blessing as I can stay right on top of my laundry!

I spend a great deal of time in my kitchen, and although the renovation process was challenging ( it took about 7 weeks from start to finish) I am so grateful for the finished project!

Thanks for taking the tour!!

~ gloria~

Thanks ladies for your kind remarks about our kitchen renovations. Some of you asked "how" it can be so clean, and I just wanted to tell you that is it doesn't "look" so spotless normally.... we had just cleaned the kitchen before we took these snapshots, so don't get the idea I don't cook, because I do!!  I also have an abhorhance for clutter, so that is why you see very little  "stuff" on countertops. I just don't like clutter and "stuff" ... I try to keep things to a minimal. It means less to dust! :)

I also wanted to answer the ladies who wondered if I did all my cooking on our reproduction stove, or if we had another stove we used. The answer is " yes "  we have a another newer stove we use for most of  our cooking. It has a self cleaning oven, and the reproduction one doesn't ... so I use the newer stove for most things.  We did pick up a "black and white" model, to match the "black and white" of the reproduction stove.

This is a view of the more "modern" part of our kitchen. We had to put the stove and fridge somewhere! :)

Here's another shot of the kitchen taken from the stove area .....looking towards the sink area.

Please check back tomorrow, as I will finish up the kitchen restoration "tour" with some photos of another piece of old fashioned charm that we planned our kitchen around..... it's a lovely antique Hoosier cabinet that we really do use and has become an indespensable part of my kitchen!

Until then,

~ gloria ~

The link I had placed for the Above Rubies study group was incorrect! Sorry about that!

The Family Meal Table  & Hospitatlity Study group is thru yahoo and the link is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMTSTUDY/

I tried it and it works this time!

Sorry about the inconvience!

~ gloria ~

Today I am going to share the 'sink area' of our kitchen. I really, really wanted to incorporate a very old sink we had picked up at a salvage yard, but my husband really felt the finish on it was too fragil for the heavy beating it would take under my use. :) So we went with a standard white sink.... alas, I still think an old fashioned sink would have brought a lot of charm to the kitchen, but I had to make some compromises for the sake of "practicality". 

I went with white appliances vs. black because I was concerned about things getting "too dark" with the wood work being stained such a rich dark color. Also, the kitchen faces north, so it receives little sunlight.  I chose white porcelian handles, which adds a farmhouse flavor and ties into the countertops.

I also picked up some warm colored braided rugs. They add such a "homey old fashioned" touch.

Our cabinets were very "basic".... so we had to add trim and other touches to make them more customized. We took 2 single pantry units and screwed them together to make 1 unit.

We added a lot of thick oak trim on top of the cabinets...... another victorian touch...

I left enough room to place antiques and decor above them.... although I have yet to get to that!

I also want to add a little more gingerbread above the sink area..... I have left some space to hang some art work there......

Thanks to all of you who have left kind remarks.  Please check back tomorrow, as I will be sharing some more glimpses into our restoration project.

~ gloria ~

" O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever .  "  ~~ Psalm 136: 1

Are you giving thanks to the Lord today, ladies?

He is so worthy of our praises, is He not?

His mercy is forever...... forever is a long time......

Aren't you glad that He is always there 24/7 ready to meet with us, to fellowship with us?

Have you done that today?

Have you met with the Lord today?

 Have you lifted your hearts in praises to Him?

Have you shared your burdens, your concerns?

Remember, He is waiting for you.... anxiously......

I love the story of the 2 sisters, Mary & Martha....

Martha loved the Lord.

So did Mary, Martha's sister... but when Jesus came to their home, it was Mary who "sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word".....

The living Word was before them..... and Mary chose to stop, and listen and hear......

Meanwhile, Martha was "cumbered about much with serving" ( Luke 10:40) ... she expressed her frustration that her sister , Mary was not helping out....

And Jesus' response to Martha was:

" Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things, But one thing is needful and Mary has chosen the good part and it will not be taken away from her."  ( Luke 10: 41,42)

Both of these women loved Jesus....

But when the living Word was presented to them, it was Mary that stopped and "heard" and sat at the feet of the Lord.....

What about me?

Am I sitting daily at the feet of the Lord?

Do I "hear" Him?

I have the living Word before me.... His word will never be taken away....do I make time for the Word?

Do I make time in the busy-ness of the day to read His word?

Am I a Mary or a Martha?

Each day I  have a choice to make.

Serving is important. Jesus did not say it was not.  Doing the laundry, making meals, schooling the children, etc. are all important.....

But one thing is needful ---- and will I  choose the "good part"?

Will you?

Will you join me in choosing the "needful" thing?

It's so easy ladies to "get caught up" in serving.... it's our nature to serve.... our families... our husband, our home, our church, our community......

Have I become too busy to meet with the Lord and sit at His feet?

Have you?

Let's remember, Mary chose what was "needful"......

Jesus did not say serving is not important... but "needful" is of greater priority.

It's difficult at times to prioritize our day and our time...

Let's remember to carve out time each day to sit at HIS feet... to "hear" His word.....and when you do, it will "not be taken away from you".

This is my prayer for myself and for you!

~ gloria ~