Another bit of imagination

He lounged on a hard bench in the narrow shadow of the overhang above him. Precious little shade was cast by the bit of flat roof that stuck out farther than the wall, but it was enough to keep the burning sun off his face. His legs, propped farther out, caught the full force of the sun, and even though their bronze shade showed they had spent much time in the heat, they glistened with sweat, just like the rest of him.

Vitus played idly with the whip in his hands, using the very tip to flick a nearby pebble and send it bouncing several feet away. It was not often he had a few minutes to sit and watch the traffic of Philippi flow by. His brown eyes flitted from figure to figure in the market area across the street. It was one of many in the large city, and contained mainly finer goods.

Vitus spotted a small group of men who were talking earnestly beside one booth, and recognized them as the travelers who had been in the area for several days now.

"Philosophers of some sort." They preached a strange sort of religion that followed but one God, and yet also followed a dead man. Vitus had heard only bits and pieces of what they said. "And I would not even give them that were it not for the attention focused on them from another someone."

"There they are!" It was her. She had spotted that group of men again. Threading her way through the crowded street, she headed for the market area. Her shimmery golden wrap fell in her hurry, exposing one shoulder and a long pale neck. Black curls cascaded down her shoulders in an alluring manner. Many men considered her beautiful, but Vitus shivered when he looked at those black eyes. They did not see what was before them; they saw something evil and vague. Everyone knew that Aeola could foretell the future.

Vitus glanced over his shoulder at the prison door, just feet from where he sat, remembering the day Aeola had been placed in his charge there. She had been seized by the authorities when she first came to town, wandering around in a confused state, sure to cause trouble. No one knew where she had come from or what had made her the way she was, but when a rich father and son had offered to buy her as a slave, rather than letting her rot in prison cell, the authorities quickly sold her. Her new masters let her wander as she pleased during the day, and she told fortunes to those who paid her. A young man - also a slave of the same masters - followed her at a distance and kept an eye on her. She gave all the money she made to her masters. She seemed not to know the value of the coins she was given.

"There they are!" Again Aeola cried out, staring at the philosophers with her empty black eyes. "Listen to them!" She grabbed the sleeve of the man nearest to her, but he, accustomed to her presence and odd ways, laughed, shook her off, and turned back to his haggling. She tried the next man. "These men are servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation!" she sang in her strange, high, voice. He rolled his eyes and motioned for the lad who followed her to take her off somewhere else.

Aeola darted forward, passing very close to Vitus, and headed for the market area. Once there, she stood in the very group of men and women the preachers were talking with. "These men are servants of the most high God! They show unto us the way of salvation!"

"She's been at this for days," Vitus mused. "Salvation. How can such as she know anything about salvation? She knows nothing of any god - only the strange and awful creatures she deals with in order to learn the future."

"Salvation! They are servants of the most high God!" Aeola's shrill voice rang out much louder than that of the preacher's. One of the men who was not speaking leaned over and whispered something to the main speaker, who shook his head. Vitus was amazed at the patience of these men. Aeola had been following them around for many days now, yelling during all their attempts to preach.

Apparently they were giving up for the morning. The preaching stopped. The crowd disbanded. The men turned and headed toward the street again. A few interested men of the city walked with them, discussing what they had heard preached. Aeola followed.

"Give heed to these men!" she shrieked.

The oldest of the men, who was deeply involved in a conversation with a man of Philippi, finally stopped in the middle of the road, only a few yards from where Vitus sat. He turned to face Aeola.

She stood with her mouth not quite closed. Her eyes were as empty as ever, but fastened on the man who had turned to look at her. When their eyes met she jerked suddenly, and her delicate hands fluttered. She seemed to be incapable of speaking.

Vitus tore his gaze off the woman to look at the man. His face was very grave; almost...sad. He was studying the woman.

Vitus suddenly realized how quiet the street was. He sensed that everyone in the market area was staring at this man and woman, but he dared not look away. He could not. Not a donkey brayed. Even the gurgle of the fountain seemed muted.

In a slow, deep voice, the man spoke. "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her."

The change was instantaneous. Those black eyes were suddenly clouded. Anger, hatred, and putrid, evil things passed behind her pupils, fighting in some sort of battle. Her face muscles convulsed in terrible ways, and her body shook. With a loud scream that chilled Vitus' very bones she covered her face and sank down on her knees in the dust.

Then she was still. The man watched her for a moment, then turned and continued on his way. His companions followed him; a few of them casting backward glances at the woman who knelt in the street.

It was not until they had disappeared from view that Aeola moved again. She slowly sat up and looked about her. By chance, her head turned towards Vitus, and she met his eyes for a moment. A second later she seemed to gather her strength, for she sprang to her feet and ran down the road the preachers had taken. The young man assigned to watch her had been hanging back with the rest of the market-goers, but he now grabbed her arm.

"Aeola! You will leave them alone now! You have caused enough trouble."

"No." She shook his hand off, her voice clear and earnest. "I must speak with him." She ran out of sight, her bare feet as fleet as a gazelle.

Her young guard stood for a moment in shock, staring after her. Then he turned and ran in the direction of his masters' home.

A hand touched Vitus' own arm, and he jumped, then turned to see his wife. She had come out of their home, which adjoined the prison where Vitus was keeper.

"Did you see that?" she asked.

"Her eyes."

"What?"

"Her eyes," Vitus whispered. "They saw mine."

"I've never heard her voice so clear and...knowing as it was when she spoke just then. Do you suppose - do you suppose, Vitus - that she possibly has regained her senses?"

"Her eyes knew what they were seeing. They saw mine," he repeated. "She will never look into the future with those eyes."

"But how did he do it? How is it possible?"

"I don't know. He used the name of his God. Jesus Christ."

"Then it is a new God he preaches. There is something behind what he is saying. You have heard him more than I, Vitus; what has he said?"

"He says we are in danger. He says this God will judge the world sometime soon."

Alarm crossed his wife's face.

"Do not worry. I do not believe everything he says."

"...But Aeola...?"

"I know." Vitus stood and flicked his whip again. "There is something going on in this city - and I don't like it. Those men will cause trouble. Did you see Aeola's keeper dashing off to find his masters? They will come to find her. And when they do, do you think Aeola will go with them any more than she would go with her keeper? They will be paying those philosophers a visit soon - and not a pleasant one."

"What do you think - "

"Agathi, I am only a jailer. I do not meddle with these things. Now, I have my rounds to make, and you have our evening meal to make. Begone with you."

Vitus looked once more where Aeola had disappeared. His insides still shook with the tensions of the scene he had just watched. Those men had uncanny powers. They were going to cause trouble. He just knew it.



TO BE CONTINUED.

Just thought you might like to know...

Vision Forum is having a huge sale right now. Often, when I get promotional emails, I simply ignore the sale/special/deal, but I'm glad I popped over there today, because now I can tell you that there are some good deals over there!

For example:

~ The League of Grateful Sons, a very moving documentary about the fathers of the World War II generation, is on sale for ONE DOLLAR. (Yes, you read that right!)

~ Lots and lots of CDs are on sale for $5.oo a piece. (Including The Making of Return of the Daughters ...ooooh, tempting! Don't you love "the making of" info?)

~ There's a 135-page biography of David Livingston that's tempting me; on sale for $3.30

~ There's an in-stock-but-limited-supply of John Bunyan's book Prayer. A must-read...for $7.00.

~ Several DVDs reduced to $10.00

~ Organic growing kits of some sort for $4.00. Haven't tried these, but they look interesting.

...and lots of discounted books.

Of course, these are just the things that caught my eye. You may spot other treasures.

No pressure, of course, but for those of you who have a little extra spending money...you might want to check it out. If you plan to buy something, you might click on the link below to go check out the sight:

(Go to the "Clearance" section)

If you do, I'll get a little something from anything you buy.

Now, how's that for a shameless plug? :) :) :) :) No, seriously; I don't usually promote much on this blog, but I thought there were some good deals on there, and wanted to let y'all know. I really don't care if you use my link or not. :) :) ...But neither will I get upset if you use it. :) (See what good friends we are? I trust my readers explicitly.)

Happy browsing, and have a lovely day! I have another post up my sleeve that I hope to have on here before the day is over....

Will you come visit with me?

I've often wished I could invite every one of my readers to have pizza with my family and I one evening. Unfortunately, I don't think very many of you live across town. (And I also don't think our cupboards contain more than 8 pizza pans.) ...But, seriously, wouldn't it be fun to get together and talk in person? You sweet ladies and girls have been the most wonderful readers I could imagine. I feel like I'm friends with you all.

I can't invite you all to our home, but I do have an event, on October 17th, that I would like to invite you to attend - my family and I will be there, and I would so love to meet some of you there!



Celebrate the Glory. That's what the event is called. CTG for short. It's a conference, a gathering of families, who are coming together to celebrate the glory of God's word. Speakers will be there who want to encourage families to read the Bible together every day, and study God's Word together.

The simplicity takes some getting used to. CTG is not about "how to preserve your marriage," "how to raise amazing children," "how to grow your church over 5,000," or "how to witness to 20 people a day." It's just about celebrating the beauty, uniqueness, holiness, and sufficiency of God's Word. That's it.

My family attended the very first CTG, and we're pleased to be going back again for our third year. The meeting is held in the lovely foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the fall colors show promises of being gorgeous this year. We look forward to listening to speakers and visiting with old and new friends during the 2-hour lunch break. Meeting new friends is one of my favorite parts of the day!!! I hope I'll get to meet some of you this year.

For information on what speakers will be there (we know some of them from past years, and are looking forward to hearing them again!), expenses (registration/attendance is free - lunch is available for those who want to buy it), times, location, and other such details, click here.

Oh yes - one more thing. When you visit that info page, you might want to click on the "Guest Bios" link. Way down at the bottom of the guest bios, you'll come to a bit about a father-daughter team who will be speaking at the conference. The daughter has written a book about family devotions, and about children having the right attitude about being discipled by their parents. At CTG, her father will speak about leading devotions in the home, and then she'll say a word to the young people there, trying to encourage them in their role as disciples.

I do hope you'll say a prayer for that daughter and father and their family. They have a heart to see families loving God's Word, and they so want to be a blessing at this conference. If you are able to make it to CTG, be sure to stop by and talk to this girl. I know she'll love to meet you. In fact, she'll be thrilled.

You see, that girl is me.

Laughter

We had a very funny supper last night.

Unfortunately, Dad missed out on it. He's on a temporary change of work shift, so we've been sorely missing him in the evenings (but enjoying his company for breakfast!). So he missed the funny supper.

It was so funny it was almost awful.

What makes it awful is I can't even tell you what was so funny. The food was fine, the kitchen perfectly normal, and ourselves as normal as we ever are. I was enjoying eating with the family after being sick for so long.

But somehow we got laughing about something. ...And one thing led to another, which led to another, which led to another....You know how it is. Soon we were laughing too hard to eat, and begging Curtis and Justin (our dear main source of amusement) to "stop!" so we could control our laughter. It was one of those good, rolling, unrestrained-laughter times when a good laugh is as satisfying as a meal. :) (No, it's not exactly dignified for the supper table, but OH so fun!)

I won't even try to recount the evening's conversation for you. It won't work. But I did think I'd share what my youngest sister, Lezley, said when she glanced over at Mom, who was shaking with laughter, tears running down her face.

"Mom, I looked at you and your face looked just like Grandma's. I thought you were Grandma hiding inside of Mom's skin!"

Oh - and one more sibling quote.... A few days ago Heather, Curtis, Justin, a friend of the family, and myself were working together on a project, and of course we were chatting as we worked. Someone brought up jokes that play on the amusing differences between men and women, and then someone asked the question; "why do men die sooner than women?"

Serious as could be, Justin solemnly answered; "Because women do the cooking."

Prayer and things

There's a prayer meeting I really wish I could have attended.

Imagine the setting - four young men, faced with a cruel death. They are innocent of any crime, but it makes no difference.

But wait - there is hope! If one of their number can come up with certain information, their lives might be spared. It is information that is impossible for any human being to know on his own. Only God can reveal the knowledge. Their lives hang on whether He will see fit to reveal this information to them.

Talk about getting serious about prayer. These four young men have impeccable character. They are good young men. They are smart as whips, as the saying goes. They are good-looking. They are pleasant. Most importantly, they love God with all their hearts, and they know how to pray. Can you imagine their prayers that night?

I can picture four manly heads bowed in deep concentration. I can hear earnest voices pleading. I can see candlelight reflecting in tears that stream down bronzed faces. I can see these four men kneeling together on the floor of their room.

And they get their answer. God grants them that which they have asked of him. I love that. He is so good.

Don't you wish you could have met Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? I do. They must have been amazing folk.

Can you tell I'm reading through the book of Daniel in my devotions? I'm also reading through a commentary of the book of Daniel, by John F. Walvoord. It's very good.

To tell the truth, however, I'm not getting as much reading done as I would like. I'm not getting much of anything done. I'm spending more time sleeping than anything else. You know that "swine flu" that has been so talked about? It appears it has decided to pay our family a visit.

Of course, we're not positive that's what we have. However, according to my research (yes I do these kinds of things when I'm sick in bed - that's the nice thing about laptops) the difference between regular flu and swine flu is that swine flu affects the stomach, which ordinary "seasonal" flu doesn't normally do. And stomachs have definitely been affected in our house.

Other symptoms include body aches, cough, runny nose, fatigue, inflamed lungs, and fever.

But enough. Who wants to hear about such things?

I'm not sure how to end this post. I'm not thinking very straight today. But I have a few post ideas floating around, so I think you'll hear from me soon.

Today

Today was a long day and a short day.

Short because not enough good things filled it, long because too many unnecessary ones did.

I feel like crying...yet smiling. On the outside, it's been an okay day - I accomplished a few things, and nothing majorly terrible happened. Just inside the surface, inside me, it's been an awful day. I've given way to temptation, I had little time to read my Bible this morning, my prayers have been muddled, and I've been lazy.

So inside, I feel awful.

But farther in - deep inside - there's a song. It's soft, and the notes tremble as they bounce off the walls of my heart, but they are there. It's as if they know they have not earned the right to be there, but they can not help ringing forth because of Who made them, and Who placed them in my heart to do the very thing they are doing.

It's a marvelous thing, this Christian life. He's a marvelous Being, this God of mine. He comforts me in the oddest of circumstances - the dirtiest ones, the least deserving ones.

There are times I wish I could see Him in the flesh, so that I might fall down and wash His feet with my hair. Then I think I would kiss them.

Life and ....Fall?????

I can't start my mornings in a rush. It just doesn't work well.

I want to slowly wake up, ...snuggle somewhere and read for 30 minutes or so, ...select and put on what I'm wearing for the day, ...enjoy a leisurely breakfast, ...talk around the table for awhile and plan the day, ...finish making myself presentable...

...And finally hit the day "full force," as my older sister says.

This doesn't mean I am not a morning person. I love the morning! If you want me to be rearing to go, and ready to "hit the day" at 7:00, no problem.

I'll just wake up at 5:30.

I must have those extra hours at the start of my day if I want to "feel right" the rest of the day. Don't you love those quiet morning hours, of slow thinking and warm feelings?

Don't you love the crispness that comes in the morning air? The glow of a new sun?

Today our morning started cloudy and dreary. No one could quite wake up all the way - not even after breakfast. If it hadn't been for my "early" rising time (that's relative), I would never have gotten much done this morning, because it would have taken me until noon to wake up.

Sometime around noon, the sun came out.

Not just "out," but gloriously out, full of cheerfulness. The sky is blue, with fluffy clouds. The air....

...the air is cool.

Cool!

When did fall get here?

I practiced my fiddle for an hour out on our back porch today. Dampness hung around my legs, along with buzzing mosquitoes. Around my face, soft wind puffed at strands of hair and cooled my skin.

I wasn't hot. ...But it was more than that. The air smelled different. Do you know that smell? It's the smell of dying leaves. It's the smell of cool, damp earth.

When did Autumn arrive?

The calendar doesn't even say "September" yet.

I'm torn inside. I'm sick and tired of my summer wardrobe. I'm eager for pumpkins, scarecrows, piles of leaves, fall apple festivals, bonfires, fall breezes, and cardigans and hoodies.

But I dread the death fall brings. I smell the leaves on the ground and can feel my lungs quivering with recognition - that smell that I hate because of what it does to my body. I look at the garden, beginning to die and turn brown, and want to cry. I look backward, realize "wasn't Christmas just last month?" and want to dig in my heels and find the brake pedal.

Life.

Why do I bother to analyze? Time will go on, no matter how I feel about it. I can't rush it or hurry it. But....somehow....half the enjoyment is in the thinking, ...the analyzing. It's like savoring a cup of warm apple cider. I'll drink it, one way or the other, but savoring it makes everything so much better.

The rest of my guest post

The rest of my guest post at Keeper of the Home is up today! Check it out if you'd like. I'd love to know what you think of it!!!!


P.S.
Thank you SO much to those of you who prayed for our evangelism/musical outing on Saturday! ALL of our players ended up being able to come after all, which was wonderful. Several of us (including me!) were burnt to a crisp by the sun, but our time out there was a TON of fun. Dad says he and our other "tract distributors" passed out several hundred tracts, which is great! I'll try to post more of an update as I have time. I just wanted to thank y'all for the prayers. :):) We need them!

Please pray.

We just found out that we will probably be missing 3 vital players in our group when we preform tomorrow at the festival. Please pray that everything still goes smoothly as we figure out how to compensate for the parts they usually play and sing. We will absolutely miss them a ton! They add a lot to our group. But I know God is still perfectly in control, and very able to bless our efforts. To Him be all glory!

A Guest Post

I've had the honor of being able to write a guest post for keeperofthehome.org. It was published today. If you feel like it, please go check out my post and let me know what you think! I encourage you to check out the rest of Keeper of the Home, too. It's a lovely site that I read all the time. All sorts of goodies on there!

Yikes!

I'm busy, busy, busy! Tomorrow The King's Strings plays at a festival in a small town some distance away from us.

For some time, we've been working on getting matching outfits. I volunteered to take care of making the shirts/ironing on the logos. This performance is our deadline.

Shirts. For 11 players.

What was I thinking? Was I thinking?

Okay - I'm joking. I'm actually have fun doing these shirts. I'm glad the rest of the group is letting me do them. ...But I am definitely feeling the pressure as time ticks away and I still have 6 shirts to finish.

I'm also feeling the pressure of expectation. We found out recently that this festival has been featured on the front page of their local newspaper, along with a photo of The King's Strings. Underneath the photo, amongst descriptions of other attractions there, is the following:

"...Music will also fill the air on Franklin Street. The featured group is The King's Strings from Goode. Band members range in age from early teens to early 20s, and they play bluegrass and gospel, bluegrass style. They will be performing at 11 a.m. on the porch of Basket Creations."

Wow.

It's strange, ya know. I get SO excited when we get an opportunity to play somewhere. But then I start hoping nobody has too high of expectations of us. After all, we're just amateurs. ...Well, most of us are. Some of our players are quite good. But some of us are just...well, normal.

I said at lunch today that we're Amber-tures. (amateurs) My poor brother, Curtis, the king of good jokes, nearly cried. :):):)

I get afraid, sometimes. Not of performing, exactly...I LOVE that. It's just fear of what folks think of us before we play compared to how they think after we play.

But is that right? Who are we playing for, anyway? Sure, we want to be good at what we do - but WHY? Why is it so important what folks think?

Am I remembering "...playing strings for the King of kings; we are The King's Strings"? Am I wishing that God would make me an expert right away, without going through the growing process of learning to play well?

Oh how fun that would be! Wouldn't it be nice to do something right the first time, without falling on your face, getting up, and trying again?

But what would I learn through that? I know what I'd learn; self-pride and self-reliance. And I'd miss out on the character-formations that happen in the learning process. Do I really want that?

Sigh. No, I guess not. Not in my heart of hearts. But it's tempting, sometimes.

Crabtree Falls

This week most families across America dealt with school starting. Frantic efforts to get back on schedule and dig into bookwork was the norm, I expect.

Not so with our family.

Nope. While the rest of the world stressed out, we've taken a vacation. Yesterday and today, my dad had two days off work, and we've squeezed as much memory-packing into two days as we could.

Yesterday was spent around the house, with a busy morning and afternoon of canning in the kitchen for me, but oh such a fun evening! We intended to camp that night at a campsite, but we ladies were exhausted from our day in the kitchen, so our menfolk generously settled for a relaxing evening at home. Dad grilled some delicious burgers on his new (to us) grill for supper - which was yummy. Then everyone got out their instruments and filled the house with music.

That's always fun. ...Even if we are playing three different songs at the same time! Mom pleasantly surprised me by doing supper dishes for me (it was my turn) while all the commotion was going on. That alone made for a great evening for me!

Then Dad and I made some popcorn that, though I say it myself, was fabulous. Dad popped the corn in a big pot on the stove, while I melted butter and cheese to pour on when it was done. We lounged in the living room and watched some good old-fashioned black and white tv shows while we ate it.

Then we headed out to the backyard and roasted marshmallows over glowing coals and sang songs 'til late. Is there anything quite like the crispy sweetness of a 'mallow roasted to perfection? Is there anything like family voices blending together under the stars with a sweetness that makes you want to cry? Is there anything like watching firelight bounce and play with shadows on the faces of the seven people you hold most dear? Is there anything like strolling away from the fire, holding hands, looking up at the stars, and singing to the Lord together...alone? Is there anything like that?

It was a lovely evening. Even though it was so late when I hit the sack that I woke up tired today. It was worth it!!!!

Today we ate a quick breakfast (remind me to share that amazing blueberry-banana muffin recipe on here sometime!) before heading out. Dad and Mom were taking us hiking at Crabtree falls - the longest falls on the east coast.

It was worth the long drive. The beauty there took my breath away! And of course just being with my family all day long was great. I had some special heart-to-heart talks with several siblings as we hiked.

But by now I'm sure you're weary of my chatter, so I'll let the pictures some talking for me: (aren't you proud of me for including so many photos in one post? :):):)

These aren't in any particular order. This pic. was taken on the way down from the falls (we hiked from the bottom up). Justin thought it was fun to hide ahead on the trail, and jump out and scare me, who happened to be last in line. :):):) It worked, too!

This was on the way up. You can't see it, but the falls are really close to this stairway. Crabtree falls isn't one big "fall," but a loooooong trail of little ones. We were within sound, if not sight, of it during the whole hike (about 3 hours). I kept saying I want stairways like this in my house someday!!!! I love twisting stairways...and with a waterfall next to it? LOVELY!

Oh yes - pictures of the fall. I ought to include that, huh? *giggle* These are my lovely parents at one of the more level spots on the trail. (I'm not doing too good at cutting out the chatter, am I?)

We finally made it to the top! It was a very steep climb, and we were all glad to sit at the top in the cool breeze and feast our eyes on the beauty up there. Some nearby rocks presented the perfect spot for some pictures....

...I love my siblings!
(LtoR: Justin, Lezley, Tiffany, Heather, me, Curtis)

And because we like to be goofy once in awhile....

This picture of my older sis and me gives you a better look at the view:

And on the way back down we stopped at a few more places for pictures:

Hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into my day. I'm going to bed tired tonight, but happy.

I'm wistful, too. I can't help thinking what a lovely thing family is, but also how temporary it is. I can't hold on to my family forever - someday we will all have families of our own, Lord willing. We will always love one another, but things won't stay the same as they are now. My little siblings won't stay little. We won't always live in one house.

Sometimes it's hard to love so much. Sometimes it's hard to be so close. ...But somehow it's worth it. I wouldn't want to lose the pleasures of today because of fear of tomorrow. Sometimes I am afraid to love, because I am afraid to lose. But that's no way to live.

I've chosen to love with all of myself, and leave the future to the Lord. He is more than able to take care of it. He is more than able to give me the grace to grow with changing circumstances and not only adapt, but thrive. Isn't He good?

I've had fresh proof of His goodness lately. I've been wondering how to share this with y'all....Somehow it didn't want to come out right.

Psalm 20:6 says "Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand." I like that phrase; "Now I KNOW..." There's something about experiencing God's grace for yourself, instead of just "knowing" it's there for when you need it someday.

I've always been afraid of the time when my siblings and I start to grow up and start our separate lives. I knew we'd still love one another, but things would be...different. I wouldn't like it. I knew I wouldn't like it. I was very afraid.

But fear doesn't freeze time.

Things have come.

I've now faced - and begun to conquer - what I feel is the beginning of "growing up and out." To be honest, it's been such a deep, inner, struggle that I haven't written about it here at The Fruit of Her Hands. But now I have tried God's grace and found it true. It has held me. And so I want to tell you: God will come through!

Free E-book!

GET A FREE E-BOOK; TODAY ONLY!

I heard about this good deal and thought I'd pass it on to y'all as a thank you for being such wonderful readers.

I haven't read this book, but I've heard good things about it. "Eating Better than Beans and Cabbage" was written by someone who feeds 8 adults and 2 children three times a day for less than $700/month. And they do it with a big variety of foods - not just your "cheap" ones. (Hence the name)

The price is right - why not check it out? I just ordered mine and can't wait for the download to go through. You'll need to add the item to your cart and go through checkout. A download link will be emailed to you.

Click here to get yours!

*Note: I am not positive that the deal is good for today only. If you read this and you're a little late, it might be worthwhile to check it out anyway.


*** Edited to add: I just got my download, and am browsing through the recipes. Some of the ingredients are ones that could use improvement health-wise, and I think my Mom might do an even better job at saving money when grocery shopping. :) That being said, it is still an interesting book, and I'm sure I'll get at least a few ideas from it. Go ahead and check it out!

We are busy around here!

Have you seen those big rubber-maid tubs before? (Okay....why am I asking? Everyone has seen those, right? If you come from a big family, you probably have lots of these filled up and stacked in your basement.) :)

They're very handy things. They're useful for storing out-of-season clothes and old keepsakes. (And, when you're a little girl, they hide junk that you don't want your Mom to find and throw away.) When you (eventually) lose the lids the tubs can retire to become school-book totes and laundry baskets, and then when they get too beat up for that they can move outdoors to store baseball bats, Frisbees, balls, and jump ropes.

Yes, Sir. Very handy things.

They also work nicely as containers for bulk-picked food. This week a friend with two pear trees was kind enough to let us pick all the pears we wanted from her excess. Two of my sisters and I loaded 2 rubber-maid totes in the back of the car and went pear-pickin'.

The three of us filled both of those totes in about 30 minutes! Almost half of those we gave away to friends yesterday, but we still have 2 half-filled tubs of pears sitting in our kitchen. They are still a little hard, and we're going to let them ripen some more before doing anything with them, but in the meantime I'd like to ask for suggestion. I bet we have enough pears to try any and every recipe you suggest! ....Twice....or three times. We could probably make each recipe FOUR times and still have leftovers!

I'd especially like to try a pear pie filling recipe, or another such recipe that can be made in large batched and preserved. (I've done that before, but want to compare my recipe with yours to see if I can improve it!) ...But pear cakes, muffins, etc. recipes would all be welcomed as well!

Please? Thanks so much!

Update

I feel like I have so much to update y'all on! It's been awhile since I've posted a very interesting post, hasn't it?

Well, you may be sure that lack of posting does not indicate boredom on my part - on the contrary, it most likely indicates a heart that is just too full to speak yet. That happens a lot; my mind is full of emotions and ideas, like a fizzy glass of soda that overflows with bubbles. You have to wait for the bubbles to die down some before you sip it, and I must wait for my thoughts to gather before I write them down. Sometimes that takes awhile.

What shall I share first - the practical or the thoughts? I'll go with practical. That way if you want the stuff that makes sense you can stop reading after I share it, and if you want my thoughts, you'll have to read the whole post. :) :)

By "practical" I mean "stuff I've been doing lately." I have a completed sewing project that I want to share photos of soon - a shirt/tunic made from a wrap-around skirt. I love how it turned out. Oh - I also need to give y'all the answer to my previous post's question!

The quilt I chose was #3. It was a hard choice to make. I've enjoyed seeing what patterns you ladies like - I believe the majority of you mentioned #3, so I guess I made a good choice. :) ...But those of you who chose other patterns needn't feel as if your tastes are slighted! I like all of them - after all, I came up with all of them. :) After settling on #3, I sewed the blocks together and set them aside to wait until I buy batting.

The next morning, I had another layout idea.

I groaned, and said "It'll have to wait for the next quilt. There's no way I'm tearing all the blocks apart now!"

My current sewing project is three shirts for the girls in The King's Strings. Ever since our group has started playing at the market, we've been receiving numerous requests to play at events. Our next date is a festival on August 29th, and we want to have matching t-shirts to wear by then. Guess who volunteered to sew shirts for the girls, and iron logos onto the t-shirts for all 11 members of our group?

How did you guess?

I'll show you pictures when I'm done, I hope. I can't wait to see them all completed!

We are finally getting around to recording a CD for The King's Strings. But that's a post in itself, and I'll save it - and the photos - for a post on The King's Strings blog. Sorry!

Hmmm.... Oh yes; I want to share a new recipe we tried lately. I found it in a Taste of Home recipe book and tweaked it a bit. Mom made it for the first time yesterday (I didn't have time to make it myself), and it turned out marvelous. It's a great way to use up zucchini.

Zippy Beef Bake

1 lb. ground beef
2 TBS butter
4 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced (we left these out...but they probably would have been yummy. ...And I don't even like mushrooms!)
4 TBS chopped onions
3 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3 cups cooked rice (you could probably use 4 if you wanted to stretch this dish farther)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded mozzarella

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef until no longer pink. Add butter, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions; cook until tender. Drain. Stir in chili powder, salt, and garlic powder. Add rice, sour cream, and 1/2 the cheese. Transfer to a greased 9x18 baking dish; top with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

That's it! It's very yummy.

I think that's all the "practical" update I had in mind for tonight. Now for the "thoughts"...

...Which are becoming less important as the night gets later. :)

Actually, in all seriousness, I've been having quite a lot of deep thought lately on the topic of contentment. Contentment can be such a delicate thing - you have it one moment, but one word or look can cause you to lose it the next. Yet the apostle Paul said he had learn in whatsoever state he was to be content. How did he do it?

Reading the book of Philippians gives me a clue. That book is full of two topics; joy, and the mind. Most people know Philippians is the "joy" book, but not so many realize that it's full of instruction on how to guard your mind, and what to fill your mind with, and what to think on, and how to think. It's quite good.

If I can do those two things - get the joy of the Lord and learn to control my mind - I find I am well on the way to contentment as normal state of being. Of course, I think the one sorta creates the other; thinking the right way naturally makes us joyful. But thinking the right way can be hard sometimes.

I don't have any stupendous advice or remarks on this topic, really. I told you these would be my thoughts. The reason I've been thinking about contentment is because I have been in need of it. One thing I have learned is that if I am to have this - and I know it's something Christ wants me to have - I must fight for it. I cannot sit passively and expect to have a joyful, contented heart.

The nature of everything is to break down and slow down, and fall apart (take a look at your hair when you first wake up and you'll see what I mean). Nothing gets better by being left alone. All good things are created, or sent. They don't just happen. That goes for my spiritual welfare, too. I must be striving to have the right thoughts (avoiding things that get me thinking the wrong way, for instance, or singing and reading God's Word to lift my spirits). God must send me joy. And I must ask for it. These things require action. ...And by "action" I don't mean crying and wishing my heart would do what I want it to do. I mean finding out what will give me the results I want, and then doing that.

Do you know one thing that really helps? Having people praying for you. I can't tell you how much my attitudes have improved since I confessed my struggle to some of my close friends (including family!) and asked them to pray for me. Just feeling their prayers is reason enough to be more joyful!

Something else that helps is getting enough sleep.

That's a hint. :) I need to go for now. I hope to post more later.

Talk to you ladies then!

Decisions, decisions....

I've been flipping, twisting, and otherwise rearranging quilt blocks for just about a full day, now. I spent most of yesterday afternoon on the project, and a good part of this morning. The pattern is one that I created myself, so..... I can do whatever I want. :)

The problem was I wasn't sure what I wanted. I would think I had it the way I like it, then another idea would hit me, and I'd be back at it again, shifting squares, then standing back to look at it all with head cocked to one side and eyes squinted.

This morning I had the idea to take some photos so I could compare actual pictures, instead of relying on my memory to decide what arrangements I liked best. Sorry - I didn't take any of yesterday's trials. And these pictures are only a few of the ways I tried it today.

Just before lunch time, I settled on a pattern. Just for fun, I thought I'd upload these "finalist" photos, and see if you can guess which one I picked. I also want to know which one/s you like best!

So go ahead; leave a comment and cast your vote!

Entry #1

Entry #2

Entry #3

Entry #4

Entry #5

The post I started last night:

I had another one of those "ah-ha" moments today.

...Only it was more like one of those "uh-huh" moments, because I really already knew this...I just was reminded of it again.

Here's what "it" is:

God really did know what He was doing when He gave us mothers and fathers.

Don't shake your head and say "duh." This is one of those things we should never get over!

I received fresh proof of that this week. Last week was extremely difficult for me. I was going through a....dark valley, shall we say. I felt like Christian from Pilgrim's Progress, going through the valley of the shadow of death and vanity fair at the same time. I was in emotional upheaval, and ready to fall apart.

And all of this I kept inside. I didn't share my struggles with anybody - just hugged them to myself and became more and more miserable. Of course I prayed. And of course I asked for help. And of course I ignored one of the biggest helps God gave me; my parents.

It's hard for me to open up with my parents about the way I'm feeling. Oh, not in simple matters. That's easy. We're great friends, after all! But you know what I mean; there are ordinary, everyday talks, there are serious talks, there are deep talks, and then there are THE talks....the ones where you open up yourself so much that it's scary.

'Cause you're vulnerable then, you know. And who likes to feel vulnerable? It's not easy to share my heart with anyone...including my parents. I do it...but not as often as I should. Certainly I hadn't done it in awhile. But God finally nudged me (or should I say pushed me?) into talking with them - and I'm so glad He did!

We had a good long talk. A very deep talk. One where I simply acted as though my parents were what they are - people who love me and are trustworthy. I trusted them with my deepest feelings and thoughts...and they handled them as gently as a mother does her child. (Ever wonder where that saying came from, anyway?)

In doing so, I saw the beautiful truth that I so easily forget; yes, we're most vulnerable when we're open...but we can receive the most when we are that wide open. The walls are down, the doors are completely open, and blessings can pour in.

Some people don't have my problem, of being too closed. They are too open. It's just like humans to be one extreme or the other. With the help of technology, we can share our innermost feelings with the world; facebook, blogs, texting, you name it. Even those who don't do much online can have their own little circle of friends who receive personal information. The world teaches us to "know who we are," and to tell everyone what we know about who we are.

But not everyone handles bare hearts gently. And not everyone is wise. And not every heart that opens wide will receive blessings. Other things can enter instead.

Oh how I wish we girls could learn to make our parents our closest confidants! That's what God gave them to us for. ...I'm writing this assuming that your parents are, like mine, God-fearing and Christ-loving. If they aren't, find yourself some spiritual parents. You need them! Peers just won't do. Yes, we need friends our age, but we also desperately need those older, wiser, gentler hearts to open safely to.

My parents have so much experience and wisdom, and other good things inside them - all mine for the taking! Was there ever so many lavish gifts pours out on more ungrateful people than in the relationship between parents and children? This ought to change! We ought to not only receive from them with grateful hearts, but "mine" them, so to speak, trying to learn all we can from them.

It's strange. The issues I was struggling with are still here. And I'm still a bit upset by them. But I no longer feel like a typical floundering young person, unsure of life. I feel like an adult, ready to face challenges and conquer them for the glory of God!

Where did the change come from? From talking with the guides God has given me! From lining myself up with His plan, even when I was afraid to do so.

Funny, how His ways always work, huh?

The Biggest Yet:

I don't remember if this guy came in right under or right over 2 pounds...but somewhere around there. Yes, Dad has been weighing our harvest. :) This fella is a Big Zac, and that's a quarter next to him for scale.

We've been saving seeds from all the best produce, and hope to have lots of plants to sell in our new family gardening business next spring. If all goes as planned, we'll have several thousand seedlings. (Hey - if you live near us, be sure to check us out next spring! Trust me, we don't have space to plant all those in our garden!)

A few days ago, Dad and I were sitting at the kitchen table, sorting seeds as Mom worked on supper. He was getting seeds from one of our Big Zacs, making a lovely soupy red puddle - dotted with small plump seeds - on a plate, and I was counting seeds from a yellow squash that I had raided earlier. The seeds were pale and smooth under my fingers, like pearls.

"Daddy... are you really going to try to have at least a thousand tomato seedlings next spring?"

"Yup - and, well, you know how many I already have."

I glanced at the seed-filled cup next to him and nodded. "We already have plenty. They're such a beautiful sight! ...And you're gonna let me try yellow squash, and zucchini, and maybe flowers... Dad...what are we going to plant them in?"

"We'll start them in dixie cups. You can't get much cheaper than that, unless you make your own. We can transplant them to bigger containers as they grow."

I smiled, picturing our little work shop in the basement this past spring - how it was loaded with tiny green seedlings, and how fun it had been to tend to them, and see them grow. Then I imagined that on a grander scale, with a thousand or more seedlings. How fun it would be! Plants everywhere...

Then I paused.

"...Dad...where are we going to fit a thousand seedlings?"

Dad chuckled. I'm sure he has plans, but all he said was "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Kitchen Tip

Today I canned 2 quarts of pizza sauce, and made about 1/8 pint of tomato paste.

I feel great about actually writing 3 posts on this blog in 2 days, but sad because I don't know if my posts are turning out very informative. I love to read bloggers who have instructions, recipes, photos, and info packed into every post...and here I am, having to confess yet again that I don't have a recipe to share. Or any photos. Just comments.

The recipe (shhh!) was my own. And it actually turned out okay. I like it better than any homemade sauce I've had before, yet not as much as store-bought sauce. Traitor? Yes, I know, but an honest traitor.

I've been having fun with recipe creations lately. My poor brothers. This morning I was mixing up another try on my "Banana Oat Bars," (long story). Curtis walked through the kitchen, saw what I was making, and said in his best morning voice "I'm really getting tired of oats."

Poor guy.

I've been making "Amber's Cookie Breakfast" (oatmeal cookies, that is), "Amber's Granola" (featuring oats), "Amber's Regular Soaked Oatmeal," and now "Amber's Banana Oat Bar" for breakfast just about once a week for quite some time now. It's like a challenge to see how many different ways I can serve the same food for the same meal.

But I go through phases. My first craze was pancakes, years ago. I burnt them, flipped them under the stove, added too much baking soda, forgot the soda, and flipped many a cake across the kitchen before I finally made a decent batch.

Then I wanted to learn bread-making. That's a post in itself.

Then I was into biscuits. Those piles of burnt biscuits, too-salty biscuits, flat biscuits (lots of those!), and unsavory biscuits finally led to the creation of "Amber's Biscuits" - my first real success at creating my own recipe.

After that, I was hooked. It takes only an idea now, to get me hankering to be puttering around in the kitchen. I'm so blessed to have a mother who lets me do that! I love to have half the refrigerator and all the cupboard contents out on the kitchen table, along with a huge mixing bowl, and all our measuring spoons and cups.

One of my driving goals in creating my own recipes is to either eliminate or reduce an ingredient such as sugar, wheat, or milk in certain dishes, or to use a food in a totally new way - like making pie crust out of rice crispies. I usually create one or more flops before coming up with something enjoyable. Most of the flops were eaten, but the looks on my family's faces encouraged me to do much better the next time if I wanted them to continue eating!

I post a lot about my flops on here. I even have a category devoted to those tales. My recipes I share less freely, being afraid that perhaps no one will like them. But - may I share a secret? - I have recently been thinking about a bigger project. I've been considering writing a cookbook. Wouldn't that be interesting? It would take awhile. But you never know....

But enough. I do have one bit of info for you today; one "tip" for use in the kitchen.

Blueberry season has finally hit us! Dad, Heather, and I went blueberry picking this Saturday, and picked three gallon-buckets full of those delightful blue balls of sweetness. Upon arriving home, I volunteered to take care of "putting them up."

We freeze our blueberries. It seems to be the easiest way to preserve them. From the freezer, they're easy to dump in smoothies, cereal, baked goods....and OH so good plain as a cold treat! In past years we've washed the berries carefully, laid them out on cookie sheets lined with wax paper, and put them in the freezer. Once they were frozen, we poured the berries into gallon-size freezer bags and stored them that way. Doing this kept the berries from sticking together. If we just washed them and dumped them into the baggies, they'd be so wet that, when frozen, we'd have one solid clump of berries in each bag - a big mess.

But this process takes awhile. It also can become a bad thing if someone (ahem - no names mentioned) forgets about the berries sitting in the freezer on cookie sheets until the next day, and the berries therefore get freezer burn.

BUT, this year I had one of those hankerings to experiment in the kitchen! I washed the berries in the kitchen sink, putting a little peroxide in the water to remove the spray on the berries. (No, sadly these berries were not organic.) Then I scooped them into a strainer, and from there into our salad spinner.

Yes - our salad spinner! It worked like a charm. I was careful not to overload it, and handled the berries carefully so they would not "squoosh." From the spinner, I dumped them onto an old kitchen towel, and patted them dry the rest of the way (that didn't take long). Then I scooped up the corners of the towel, and poured the now-dry berries into gallon freezer bags. It took about 3 spinner-fulls to fill a bag, and I filled 3 bags, with a little left over for fresh eating. I toted the bags down to our storage freezer, placed them on the shelves, shut the door, and...walla! Finished!

So simple. Fun, too.

Oh yes - I have one more tip for the day.

When I made my pizza sauce today, (inventing the recipe as I went) I had some left-over tomato liquid. I decided to see if I could boil it down and make tomato paste. And I did! It took about 4 hours, but it boiled down lovely.

Have you ever eaten plain tomato paste, just to see what it tastes like?

Here's my tip:

DON'T.

Never, ever, ever.

ACID!!!!!!

Whoooo! I can still taste it.

Announcement:

My sister, Heather, has half-threatened to hack into my blog and become a guest poster if I don't make this announcement myself, so here it goes:

WE OWN A WEB BUSINESS!


Actually, I'm quite excited about the whole thing. We are selling new and gently-used modest clothing, and everything is under $10.00!!!!! (I like that part a lot! Who doesn't like to give folks a good deal?)

Heather and I have just about always loved entrepreneurial things, and this is the biggest business idea we've tried together. I wish I had time to tell you the whole story about how we acquired this business, and how God led us each step of the way. We're convinced this was His idea before it was ours!

We are excited about the fact that we can encourage women in modesty while helping them find the clothes that are so difficult to find in today's stores. It's one thing to tell people to dress modestly. It's quite another thing to help them do it!

It's been so much fun to be in business with my sister. We are great partners. I do the computer "tecky" stuff, and she packs orders. She also handles the advertising - a talent I'm sadly lacking. *grin* We both do the shopping together! Folks must think we're a little crazy when we go nuts over finding a lovely skirt that still has the tag on it...for a great price. "Oooh, look - here's something for our site!"

Our online selection is growing every week (and there's lots more waiting to be posted on the site, as soon as I get the time to put them on!) As fall approaches (yikes, where'd the year go?) we have been finding all sorts of cute fall skirts and cardigans for the new season (a lot of those skirts are waiting to be posted, and are coming soon, I promise!) There are lots of summer items still on there, too. We'd love to have you stop by and visit us! With everything under $10.00, it can't be too dangerous to stop by, can it? :)