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Amanda and Jocelyn make the best Clam Chowder Soup ever! It's not something we have every week, but we have been having it more often. It's one of my favourite soups. Try it yourself and see how you like it. I'm sure you will love it!

Clam Chowder

3 slices turkey bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups diced potatoes
1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
2 cans (approximately 7 ounces each) minced clams
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk

Cook bacon until crisp in a Dutch oven or large, heavy saucpan. Remove bacon to paper towels with slotted spoon; drain. Add onion to bacon drippings; sauté until softened. Add potatoes and clam juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat.
Add minced clams with their liquid. Whisk flour into milk; add to chowder with half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clam chowder thickens and bubbles, or about 3 minutes.
Clam chowder recipe serves 4.

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fifteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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Should Christians Watch Movies With Witchcraft?

As Amanda and I were driving to town one Sunday to pick up a couple of things, I was thinking about what movies the library had. I was mad one Saturday night because she had taken the movie “Hidalgo” back, and gotten a movie I had not cared to watch. Then I came to Pirates, because I remembered that there was a trailer for it on the movie she had gotten.

I started thinking about all these things about it. Then I thought “These things are all sinful. There is  witchcraft in it, killing people, and of course it’s centered around blood-thirsting, stealing pirates!” I mean, the whole movie is about pirates. Pirates were feared by everyone because they killed without cause, stole things that weren’t theirs, destroyed many things, and were just a bunch of groveling wretches.

Have you ever read the definition of a pirate? I’m sure most everyone can think of something to say about them, but upon looking up the word “pirate” in Noah Webster’s dictionary, here is the meaning of it when he was alive and pirates were common -

PI’RATE, n. [L. pirata.]
1. A robber on the high seas; one that by open violence takes the property of another on the high seas. In strictness, the word pirate is one who makes it his business to cruise for robbery or plunder; a freebooter on the seas.
2. An armed ship or vessel which sails without legal commission, for the purpose of plundering other vessels indiscriminately on the high seas.
3. A bookseller that seizes the copies or writings of other men without permission.

So now that you know what the word “pirate” means, I will give you some of my thoughts about movies I am sure everyone has heard of by now - Pirates Of The Caribbean 1, 2, & 3.

The first time I watched the part where Barbossa sets her (the goddess of the sea who is bound in a human form, a witch) free I was very frightened because of her voice. It is a scary thing to hear her booming like she did, and in some unknown, wicked language. Then she bursts into crabs. I covered my ears and hid my eyes under the blanket. But then I watched it a second time, and it wasn’t so scary. Then the third time, I wasn’t scared at all. It became familiar to me, that booming voice which was so evil. I became comfortable with it. I should not have been. We should not allow ourselves to be led astray because something becomes familiar to us.

Here is the definition of a ‘witch” and ‘witchcraft’ -

WITCH, n.

1. A woman who by compact with the devil, practices sorcery or enchantment.

2. A woman who is given to unlawful arts.

3. A winding sinuous bank.
WITCH. v.t. To bewitch; to fascinate; to enchant.

WITCHCRAFT, [witch and craft.]

1. The practices of witches; sorcery; enchantments; intercourse with the devil.

2. Power more than natural.

WITCHERY, n.

Deuteronomy 18:10
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

Micah 5:12

And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

Exodus 22:18

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

2 Chronicles 33:6
And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

It is a sinful thing to be involved with any kind of witchcraft. You think you have control of those friendly evil spirits you plague people with and bring blessings with? Oh no. When they have finished with you, they will torment you and soon, drag your soul to be tormented forever more in the Lake of Fire. I pray for all of those out there who are deceived by this wicked thing. It is evil and should not be done. If you want higher power than you have here on earth, don’t look to those things which are evil, but look to the God who made you and in His name, can give you power over Satan and all his minions.

I am proud to say that I can make evil spirits run away from me because I can use His name to do it. I thank the Lord that I am and will never be deceived into thinking I can control evil spirits or place a curse on someone. Pray that all those out there will see the Light and turn from their evil ways before it is too late. Christ is coming, and He is coming soon. We must all be ready for Him. If you think that the witches out there cannot be saved, let me tell you that all can be saved through Grace. His Blood can wash their sins as white as snow.

If you know someone who is practicing witchcraft or is dealing with familiar spirits, pray for them, give them a Bible to read, share the Gospel with them. Maybe they don’t know that what they are doing is wrong, maybe they never heard the Gospel. But if you are willing to be a witness for Christ, the impossible will become the possible.

Watching movies about witchcraft or that has witchcraft in it is wrong also. Movies I have seen with ‘good’ or ‘bad’ witchcraft in them -  The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Penelope (*dumb movie*), Star Wars - all of them, Daredevil, Elektra, King Kong, Series of Unfortunate Events, and X-Men 1-3.  I could probably find a whole lot more movies that involve witchcraft, but I don’t want to go searching. I have heard it said that the Harry Potter movies are not full of witchcraft. But isn’t that a little oxymoron? Harry is born a Muggle, which means he had one parents was a witch, and the other was human. But he still assumes the roll of becoming a witch, or sorcerer. I have not seen the movies or read any of the books. I don’t want to. There is no good or bad witchcraft. Witchcraft is witchcraft, no matter how you use it. It is from the devil and not of God. If the Bible says something is wrong, then we as Christians should understand that that is a warning and we should not have anything to do with it. Don’t you agree?

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fifteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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Apple Trees and Big Red Barns…

Here’s some more photos I took on Tuesday morning. When the first snow fell, I thought the barn and our lovely crabapple tree were like peas and carrots. Comment and tell me which ones you like best! Enjoy!

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fifteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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Before I get to the newest giveaway, I just wanted to make sure you all knew to vote for me in the HOMESCHOOL BLOG AWARDS. I was nominated in the Best Teen Gal category, so make sure you vote in that one for me. Thank you! All your votes count!

You can go here to see who all was nominated of my family - Nominated in the Homeschool Blog Awards

My latest giveaway I set to end on the 21st, and this one is ending on the same day. You could win the following items -

Creativity Express

This is a program that lets kids explore the world of art, digitally. It 'guides you through creativity building projects... right on your computer! With your own art materials right there!" This is a great beginners art program, for those who want to do computer and blog graphics.

My Book Of Colouring At The Zoo

This is a book from Kumon. If you have a child, or a younger sibling who enjoys playing and drawing with crayons, then this book will help to encourage that. It's for ages 3 & 4. This book could also be used as a part of schooling, helping to remember colours and mazes.

To Enter:

1st entry Leave a comment on this post
2nd entry Post about the giveaway on your blog, with the link to THIS post. Leave me a comment with the link so I can find it!
3rd entry Tell 5 friends about the giveaway, anyone - adults, your girlfriends - by email and CC: me on it mjdixon@kconline.com.

Subscribe to my feed on my sidebar to get a notification of when I post winners and perhaps more giveaways!

If you have not already put my icon for the giveaways I do on my blog, you can be entered a FOURTH time by doing so. Just copy the code, and put it in your sidebar.

I hope you all will enter. The deadline to enter *this* giveaway is the 7th of December, so be sure to tell all your friends who you think would want to win this program. **More giveaways coming soon!**

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fifteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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First Snow of the Year…

This morning when I got up, and got dressed to do chores, I looked out the window. Here is what I saw -

This one you can see more of the corn field, in the way back.

This one is mostly of the sky. I thought that one cloud was just so pretty.

You can see the sidewalk and some of the porch. My favourite bird feeder is in this one.

Did you all have any snow yet? Just leave a comment and tell me!

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fifteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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I am in need of some help here. I am writing an article about Eggnog Day in December and I was wondering if any of you had any favourite eggnog recipes you wouldn't mind sharing? We are publishing our December isue of Growing In Grace Magazine, and this article will go into it.

So, if you have any, please share! I'll take nice ones, weird ones, old ones, or just the ones you like! If you have the recipe posted on your blog, you can just comment and give me the link. But if you would just like to leave the recipe in a comment, that would work too!

Thank you all!

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I kind of changed my template around a bit... I am still working on the changes, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't look very nice! haha... I am just learning all this HTML stuff. My sisters' know it all, so I thought I would get in the know too!

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Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve;...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

This song is one of my favourites. It is about serving the Lord and trusting in Him.

I Will Serve The Lord

I believe in God the Father
Jesus Christ, His only Son
And the blessed Holy Spirit
Distinct, yet three in one

1 John 4:9
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

I believe there is forgiveness
For everything we've done
That is why all the more
I will serve Him

I believe the Son of God
Was crucified upon the tree
And laid within a borrowed tomb
Not far from calvary

Luke 23:33
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

I believe He rose up from the dead
Alive for all to see
That is why all the more
I will serve Him

1 Thessalonians 4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

Chorus:
I have made my decision
I have drawn a line in the sand
And I'll not be ashamed
With the world behind me us
And the cross before
By the grace of God I will serve the Lord

I believe you must be born again
John 3:16 is true
The old life can be washed away
Everything made new

Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

I believe the love of God
Can somehow find its way to you
That is why all the more
I will serve Him

Psalm 100:2
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Chorus:
I have made my decision
And I'll not be ashamed
With the world behind me us
And the cross before
By the grace of God I will serve the Lord

Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

And I know when Satan and his minions
Come to torment me
When I invoke the name of Jesus
Every demon has to flee

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I know the time will come
When Christ returns again someday
Till then there's just one name on Earth
Whereby men can be safe

Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

I believe there is a right and wrong
A time to live a die
And the Bible is the blueprint
That all men should live by

I believe I'm not alone
With my faith in Jesus Christ
That is why all the more
We will serve Him

Chorus:
We have made our decision I have state my claim
We have state our claim
We have drawn a line in the sand
And we won't be ashamed
With the world behind me
We will serve the Lord

Chorus:
I have made my decision
I have drawn a line in the sand
And I'll not be ashamed
With the world behind me us
And the cross before
By the grace of God I will serve the Lord

By the grace of God
I will serve the Lord
By the grace of God
I will serve the Lord

Colossians 3:24
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

I have chosen this day whom I will serve. Have you?

Praising Him More,

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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A Giveaway At A City On A Hill!

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With all the fall weather, the leaves from the trees have been falling like crazy. The colours are red, yellow, and some are still green. We even found some purple ones. Well, I thought of how many leaves were falling, and that the goats love maple leaves. The majority of our trees are maple.

So, what do you do with all those leaves after the Littles are done with the leaf-piles and jumping in them? Take them to your goats! If you have horses, they can have them too, just not the all-year

Happily Homesteading,

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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November Issue of Growing In Grace Is Up!

And guess what? I am the Girl Of Grace this month! Here is the cover -

Here is the link for my interview - Lady Rachel, A Gentle Heart After God. I was interviewed by Lady Olivia, a fellow writer at GGM. I also wrote the following articles for the magazine -

President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by Lady Rachel

*GIVEAWAY* Snuggle Up with A Good Book: With Andrea Carter by Lady Rachel

I’m afraid that I could not, for the life of me, write an Emotion Commotion article about Gentleness, our theme. But there will be another article by me on the blog called Thanksgiving Traditions and Thankfulness by Lady Rachel

Also, check out the graphics and the desktop/wallpaper for this month. Isn’t it pretty cute?
NOVEMBER click here: Desktop/Wallpaper

Arn’t the graphics just so fall-ish? I love all the leaves and pumpkins. Fall colours are my favourite. They look so vintage don’t they?

Well, I hope you enjoy this issue of the magazine. It was fun writing all the articles I did.

Oh and before I go, I also wrote a poem about fall for my friend, Miss Kylie, newsletter, Kids Of Faith. It’s called Essences of Fall. You can go there and see all the articles that are in this issue.

Hope you enjoy the issue. Can’t wait for all of those comments to come pouring in. haha.

Growing In Grace Myself,

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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A Photo-Shoot Of Barnyard Friends

I wanted to share some pictures I took not too long ago, of the goats and chickens. Enjoy!

My Momma goat, Belladonna

The newest doe to the family - Lil’ Flopsy. Cute little thing, ain’t she?

The newest doe again - side-shot

Here she is again, but her Momma is with her. The Momma moved right as the picture was taken, but it’s a cute one of Lil’ Flopsy.

Here are some hens - yellow *buff orpington* - red *Rhode Island Reds*.

Here is a side-shot of Mr. Bennet. He is Jocelyn’s rooster.

Here is another one of him. He is the biggest rooster we have.

This one here is Paint. He is an Americauna. The Americaunas lay green and blue eggs. They are sometimes called the Easter Egg Chickens. He crows pretty good. Pretty isn’t he?

I snapped this just as Paint was crowing! It was pretty neat taking that picture. :)

In this one, he is running away from me. He looks to me like he is saying to the other chickens, “I’m the big rooster on the campus, or roost, if you’d like!” Or “how dare you call me fat! It’s just all my feathers; they make me look poofy. Hmph.”  It was very funny when I saw.

Here is one of Paint with some of his hens, called his harem.

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook - Page 12

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The 67th Homesteading Carnival - The Simple Woman’s Daybook Edition

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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A Photo-Shoot of Me!

I had Eric take some pictures of me… I haven’t posted pictures of me in a long time. So, here I am! haha. Enjoy! (Oh and I warn you - I am very pale!)

Me (I really like this one of me)

Up in Little Maple

Standing by the Little Maple’s trunk

Me on the Stone Steps (the Hen wanted to be in it too.)

The sun came out right as this was taken

A little crooked, but I like this one of me :D

I found a small bunch of Queen Ann’s Lace, and had to pick one! Last ones of the season

And last of all, me with Belladonna and her kid, Broken Arrow (Bell and Bow)

Well I hope you enjoyed seeing some pictures of me. I hope to be posting more pictures here soon. :)

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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Grandma Rosie of Grandma Rosie's Texas Home posts classic quotes, and I want to do it too!

I really enjoyed this one by Charles H. Spurgeon -

A sacred regard to the authority of God ought to lead us to
reject an error, however old, sanctioned by whatever authority,
or however generally practiced.

      -- Charles H. Spurgeon

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did,

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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Growing An Indoor Herb Garden

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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The Dippin' Dip

3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese
1/4 cup of chopped nuts (walnuts work best in this)
about a tablespoon of vanilla

Now, if you have let the cream cheese sit out, you can do this with your hand, but if not, you can put it in the electric mixer and do it.

Put the cream cheese in a bowl, and start mashing it with the fork. Or if you are using a mixer, do it on low speed. Next pour the sugar in, one at a time, mixing it well before adding the next. Next you mix the vanilla in. That way it's a little bit softer. Now the last thing is to put the nuts in. Now mix all that up really good, making sure the sugars have not clumped anywhere. There's your apple dip.

I want to let you know something - if you are having a get-together and want this to be a part of the food, and you are making it ahead of time, do not cut the apples too. They will turn brown. It won't hurt if you do, but if you don't have to, make sure they are freshly cut.

Now, time to cut the apples. My favourite way to cut them is with a sharp knife. But if you do this, ask an adult to help you with this. If not, and you have an apple-corer on hand, use that. It will be quick to use it.

Once, you have done this, you are finished! Now, you can place the bowls of apples and apple dip on the table and set out some plates for people to come and get their own. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do. When we make, it doesn't last very long once you get the Littles started!

Becoming The Excellent Cook,

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the thoughts and happenings of a fourteen-year-old girl from the country. “You can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens you!” Philippians 4:13

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My HSB Friends:

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