The Hand of God

Saturday morning I came to this Psalm in my regular Bible reading time. I am currently reading a psalm-a-day plus reading a chapter or two in Ephesians. I once again poured over this most beloved of psalms and found great refreshment. I remember thinking: whenever I get something very encouraging from scripture, God is sure to bring it to mind all during the following week, almost to emphasize it or underline it in my thinking.

Well, it didn't take long. Our dear friends the Barkers were here for the week-end, and the insurance man went to the store early Sunday morning for some more green beans. On his way home, he found himself listening to an old Lutheran preacher from the 1950's on the AM radio station ESPN (usually all sports, and at this time of year, all football!) The old preacher was dishing out some wonderful theology regarding, you guessed it, Psalm 23. The insurance man didn't know about my reading it the day before, so at breakfast he began to tell us of finding the unusual programming and what he had heard. We all chuckled when I said that the Lord had put the program there just for him to hear, and would probably bring Psalm 23 to mind some more.

We got to church, and almost the first thing in the service, Psalm 23 appeared on the screen, with our worship Pastor making some remarks on it and having us recite it. I got a few elbows in my ribs from both sides.

Last night as I crawled into bed, I thought: how can anyone NOT believe there is a God? His hand moves so very obviously in the everyday lives of people. His hand is there for all to see, in all our smallest details, quietly and wonderfully leading us in His paths of righteousness.

Recipe of the Week: Granola

I have several recipes for granola. They're very different from each other. One is very decadent, that comes out in great clumps and is great for eating alone as a snack. I have a couple of other ones that I use to make a more generic granola that can be sprinkled on yogurt and other things. I just tried a new one that I expected to be very similar to one of these. To my surprise, it was different. And we loved it. So here it is:

Granola:
8 cups regular rolled oats
1 1/2 cups ground flax seed (flaxmeal)
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1 cup slivered or sliced almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup honey
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine oats, flax seed, oat bran, almonds, and pecans.
Stir together salt, brown sugar, syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir to coat. Spread mixture on two baking sheets. Bake until browned and toasty, about 20-25 minutes. Stir the mixture once halfway through cooking.

We served this over vanilla yogurt with some strawberries sliced on the top yesterday for breakfast.

What I liked about this recipe: It was simpler to put together than any of my other recipes. It's more like the granola you would buy as cereal because it's nice and crunchy. Great flavor. For a little variety in morning menu, this is a keeper.

Painting Projects

I mentioned earlier that Kendall and I, while she was here, got busy on a few painting projects. First, we had an old bench out front that had been given to us by some neighbors when they moved away. The insurance man had stripped and refinished the wood slats, but they very quickly degenerated due to our harsh sun. I was about ready to toss it and find another, when I had the idea to paint the wood to match our house. The insurance man kindly took the bench apart again, and Kendall and I first applied a coat of primer. It took a very long time to dry...so we put them out in the sun. Then, we gave both sides a good coat of interior semi-gloss paint.

Kendall was a real beaver when it came to painting. She was always out in the garage checking to see if it was ready for some more. She spent several hours one afternoon getting all the spots painted in the 'cracks'. After drying, the insurance man put it all together...

and this is the lovely result! I really liked the black ironwork, so I'm glad we found a way to keep it and make it usable once again.

The black metalwork features roses... so it must have been meant to be.

Our next project was our shed out back. The trim was in bad need of some paint. Also, we had moved some storage items to make a new 'sitting area' on the garden side of the shed, and I was itching to get the rough lumber painted there. Kendall and I brought out our ipods, and while listening to music, painted away. It was a really fun project to do together.

This is my new sitting area for now. We painted the supports and trim white, although the two forward beams look yellow. They really are white, I guess it was just the light right then. The insurance man has an old tool bench top that he has been saving for a rainy day for some years. I am appropriating it, and after he puts legs under it, I am going to put it out here for a potting table. Kendall and I also went shopping and found a new birdhouse to hang under there, a small wind chimes, a new side table, and a couple of lanterns to enjoy after dark.

I liked the look of the white so much, we decided to paint all the shed trim white, and with my new 'star', the shed is reborn. Now, the insurance man has a new project, which is to make a covered storage area on the other side for all our misplaced items. Never a dull moment.

I love painting projects, because there is almost instant gratification. Beauty in a hurry!

"I bow my knees before the Father (and ask),

that He would grant you,

according to the riches of His glory,

to be strengthened with power

through His Spirit in the inner man;

so that

Christ may dwell in your hearts

through faith,

and that you,

being rooted and grounded in love,

may be able to comprehend with all the true believers,

what is the breadth and length

and height and depth (of Christ's love)

and to KNOW

the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,

and that you may be filled up

to all the fullness of God.
To HIM be the glory to all generations,

forever and ever, Amen.

St Paul to the Ephesian Believers: Chapter 3 verses 14 to the end.

We hosted a 'Supper Club' from our Church last Friday night. There were nine of us including three couples and three singles. I found some roses for $7.99 a dozen at Fred Meyer, and bought the last pack of white ones. They made a great centerpiece after being cut down and placed in a depression ware cookie jar. I was inspired by my viewing of place settings at our fair, so made up a simple menu for the table.

This was how the table looked just waiting for the guests to arrive.

I only had eight goblets and cups, so used some of my depression ware for the ninth setting. Each napkin was wrapped in a little bit of old tatting from my grandmother, and a piece of blooming peppermint from the garden. It is always a lot of fun for me to set the table...I remember enjoying it even as a child.

After the guests arrived, we enjoyed a little pre-dinner visiting in the garden.

And the insurance man enjoyed a little visiting around the snacks I had set out. It was a great evening of relaxed, joyous sharing together.

On the 'name the dog' front, we have several name suggestions now:

• Gallahad
• Sable
• Fred
• Buddy
• Taffy
• Licorice
• Snickers
• Shadow
• Nigel
• Pal
• Greatheart

We are still waiting on a suggestion from Calvin, and Doris is trying them out. I'll let you know which one she takes.

One guess done...

By the way, the insurance man has guessed 'Buddy' for the new pup. Thought that I would throw that out there, so no one would choose that one.

Name Contest

Yesterday, we came home to find Doris waiting for us, with a new addition to her family. This adorable little pup was in her arms. She has adopted HIM from the Pound. He is 7 1/2 weeks old, came from a litter of six, and is a black lab mix. He looks a little sad in the above photo, but believe me he is a rollicking, energetic, bundle of fun. He has white 'boots' on his back feet, and white tips on his front feet, and a patch of white on his breast. He will make a great companion for Doris on her ranch.

Doris wanted to run a little contest on the blog...to name the pup. So, anyone who has an idea for a name for him, please comment back to us, and Doris will choose the winner. Sam, Will, Ben, Cal and Millie will all probably have a name choice. They do such a great job of naming their toads, frogs and snakes.

He's still pretty small, but that's the best time to get and train them. I think Doris will be very good and patient with him in training. I'll post a few photos in the next few months so you can see him grow!