Thanksgiving Day

Heroes of Faith

by Edgar De Witt Jones

By faith the voyaging Mayflower embarked
from Old England and found harbor off the
bleak New England shores.

By faith the Pilgrim Fathers set up a government
on a new continent dedicated to God and
inspired by a desire to do his will on earth as it is
done in heaven.

By faith Thomas Jefferson was stirred to strike a
blow for political independence and wrote the
thrilling document that declared that all men are
created equal and endowed with certain
inalienable rights.

By faith he said, "Love your neighbor as
yourself and your country more than yourself."

By faith George Washington left his spacious
mansion at Mount Vernon and espoused the
cause of the tax-burdened colonists.

By faith he forsook ease and comfort, choosing
rather to suffer hardship with his men at Valley
Forge than to enjoy the favor of a king.

By faith he became the President of the newly
born republic and endured as seeing Him who is
invisible.

By faith Alexander Hamilton established the
financial credit of the nation. In the eloquent
words of Daniel Webster: "He touched the
corpse of public credit and it sprang into life.
He smote the rock of national resources and
abundant streams of revenue flowed."

By faith James Madison gave richly of his
scholarly mind to form the Federal Constitution.

By faith Andrew Jackson fought the battle of the
impoverished and underprivileged many against
the privileged few.

By faith Abraham Lincoln bore the awful burden
of four purgatorial years seeking to preserve the
Federal Union.

By faith he carried a dreadful war to its
conclusion without hate in his heart, saying, "I
have not only suffered for the South, I have
suffered with the South."

By faith Woodrow Wilson in the dreadful
heartbreak of a world war dreamed a dream of a
war less world in which the nations should be
leagued together to keep the peace.

By faith he glimpsed that promised land which,
like Moses, he might not enter. And what shall I more say?

For time would fail me if I should tell of that unnumbered host,
the unnamed and obscure citizens who bore
unimagined burdens, sacrificed in silence and
endured nobly, that a government of the people,
for the people, and by the people might not
perish from the earth.

Only by faith in God has all of this been possible, lets remember to give God thanks today for all that he has done for us and this nation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Contentment

We celebrated our Thanksgiving last Thursday with our family. It was good to have everyone together, even though we see each other all the time, there is something special about getting together for a holiday meal. We had all of the fixings so now we're enjoying the left overs!

I have been thinking about contentment. Are we really content with our lives? How many times do we say or think, "I would really be happy if only I had". How many times do we see what someone else has and think "I would really be happy if I had that". Hebrews 13:5 says, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. True contentment is rooted in God.

Reading in Philippians 4 Paul talks about being content when abased (hard times) and in abounding (good times). It is so easy to be content when everything is going the way we want, but how do we react when things are not going so well. Our contentment should be independent of our circumstances. I am guilty of letting my circumstances sometimes dictate how content or happy I am. For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Phil.4:11b.

As I think over this past year, have I truely been content with what the Lord has done for me? I have so much to be thankful for, the Lord has been so good to us. I have a dear friend Tricia who chooses a word each year that she would like to work on in her life. This is something that I want to do , my word will be contentment. 1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to count your many blessings.

Do It

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard,
and seen in me, do: and the God of Peace
shall be with you.
Philippians 4:12

Are there things in your life you know you should be doing but don't. What should we be doing with our lives, what really is important. Paul wrote to the Philippians , Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do. The same is true for us. If we listen to God's Word it will tell us what we need to do.

How many times does God have to tell us something before we do it. When God speaks we need to listen. After we have heard the word of God what will we do with it. There is a difference in hearing Gods word with good intentions and hearing God's word with obedience.

So many of us have become sermon proof Christians, we here God's word, we agree with it, but we don't follow it or "Do It". And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46.

The path to happiness and joy is by obeying God's word. What is it that God is saying to you right now that you need to do? Our Pastor challenged us with that question yesterday, it made me really think about what the Lord has been telling me to do and I need to follow Him and "Just Do It".

Friday

It's been a good week! Was able to get some sewing done. The top is a picture of the Tuffets that I have made so far, want to make a couple in Moda lighter colors also. Had fun working on them the pieces are so small. Now I need to find some cute pins to stick in them.

I also worked on a few other projects one is a panel from Red Rooster prints of the alphabet, this one I have pinned together, need to machine quilt it. Worked on a small disappearing nine patch table runner and a Christmas stocking.

Was planning on getting a few more items started for the craft show, but was called in to sub for a couple of aides in the special ed. room and pre-k at our elementary school.

Next week we will be celebrating our grandson's birthday here and an early Thanksgiving with our kids and grandson's. Did my shopping this afternoon, so I have everything that I need, just need to make the pies, rolls, and a chocolate cake. Our oldest grandson thinks it's not a meal at grandmas unless there is chocolate cake.

Plan on doing some baking and making some cards tomorrow.

Clear Dollar Stamp Challenge

My first time at entering a challenge! Clearly I Stamp blog is having a challenge. The theme is "Take 5" . I have used the Christmas Cardinal colored with Prismacolors and OMS, cuttlebug snowflake folder and 5 half pearls along the side. Sorry my camera is not taking very good pictures, need to check out my daughters!

Beautiful Day

Last night in the evening service the Pastor talked about our prayer life, it was very challenging. He preached from Luke 18:9-14 are we praying as the Pharisee, going to God and telling Him all that we have not done and all that we have done that is good and comparing our self with other people. Do we go to God with a proud heart thinking how great we are? Or are we like the publican and humbling ourselves before God and asking Him to be merciful to me a sinner. It makes you stop and think about how we are really coming to God in prayer.

It is a beautiful day here in central Wisconsin, about 50 right now. It seems more like spring than fall. I just cut apart the last six pumpkins and have them baking in the oven so I can freeze the pulp. Plan on making a pie later today.

Both of our grandsons still have the flu, mom is taking the oldest one back to the doctor, he has a bad cough now also. Hope there is something that they can give him, he sounds so miserable. The youngest one hasn't been as sick with it. But will be putting off celebrating his 10th birthday for a few days yet.

I am off to get some sewing done for the craft show that we are going to be in. I don't have a lot of items but need to get some of them finished:o) Have a great day!

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee.
Psalm 102:1

Doughnuts

Making Doughnuts
Anne Campbell
The kitchen with its well-scrubbed floor...Hollyhocks outside the open door...The curtains moving in the breeze that blew from Mother's cherry trees...

The patch of lettuce in the back...The plum trees! Oh, there is no lack of memories... While here I stand and labor with a practiced hand...
Making doughnuts.

Perhaps when you grow up at last...These quaint old customs will have passed...And you will never know the bliss...Of simple joyous hours like this...

But there will be a farmhouse still on some far isolated hill...Where one will stand as Mother stood...so generous, so sweet, so good...
Making doughnuts.

My mom gave me a little Ideals book before I was married that has recipes and a poem on one page and a picture that goes with it on the other page. I have always loved this little book and get it out just to read the poems. The book only has twelve pages in it. Today I decided to make the doughnuts from the book. Making doughnuts just seems like a fall thing to do, and my dh and dd will be happy to see them when they get home from work.

Doughnuts
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. sour milk, mixed with
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 T. melted butter
5 c. flour

Beat the eggs and add sugar. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt and add to the egg mixture. Add sour milk and soda along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix. Roll out on floured board. Cut with doughnut cutter. Drop into hot fat (oil 375), brown on one side, turn and brown on the other side. Takes about 3 minutes. Drain. Put sugar on them or frost.



As long as the deep fryer was out I decided to try and make some potato chips. Some of them got a little done, but they still taste good. :o) The potatoes are from our garden so that was fun!

We will have them with our supper of homemade Macaroni and cheese, meat loaf, and brown sugar carrots.

Our grandson is doing better today! Last night when his mom called his temp was up to 104.3 the nurse said not to worry until it gets to 105. That made mom very uncomfortable, she doesn't like the temp to spike so high, with Tylenol and cool compresses she got his temp down some. This morning she called at 7:30 and he was 100.2 and had been six hours since his last medicine. An answer to all of our prayers, the youngest one is starting to cough today so he is most likely coming down with it also. Praying they get better before the youngest birthday on the 10th, it's his golden birthday!

H1N1

I just got a call, our oldest grandson has the H1N1. He woke up this morning with a sore throat and a temp. His mom took him into the Dr. They are not to leave the house for 72 hours. The youngest one was to have his birthday party this weekend, but that is now on hold. Praying that he gets better fast and that none of the rest of them get this flu.

A few pictures of some of my fall decorations.

As I was decorating the house and thinking about the coming holiday the verse came to mind, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God. I was later reading Psalm 37, what a joy to know that we can vs.3 Trust in the Lord, vs.4 Delight thyself also in the Lord, vs.5 Commit thy way unto the Lord, and vs.7 Rest in the Lord.

Off to start supper, we are having vegetable beef stew over rice. Have a great evening!

Happy November

I love this time of year! With the holidays coming. My DH especially likes Thanksgiving. When I look back on this past year we have so much to me thankful for. The Lord has greatly blessed us, in these times when so many are struggling, the Lord has provided what we need. We may not always get what we want but He does provide what we need. We are trying to be good stewards with what the Lord has given us.

A friend came down yesterday and we went to a quilt show, was a lot of fun. The quilts were beautiful, so much work and time put into them. We had a lot of fun and was good to catch up with a sister in the Lord.

The grandson's are here today to watch the big game with grandpa, Packers/Vikings. Our oldest grandson is a Packer fan, the youngest is cheering for the Vikings. So right now he is happy! Not the rest of us!! It is fun to have them here for the game, they played football this fall (Jr. PeeWee) so they have gotten more into watching the games.

Tomorrow I plan on putting up my Thanksgiving decorations, I have up fall items already. We don't put up Halloween decorations. I love to have the house decorated for Fall, this is my favorite time of the year.

Back to the game!