16 November 2012
Autumn is such a beautiful season – the colors, the weather, etc. More than that, though, it is beautiful to see people give thanks, counting how many ways God has blessed them. And for each and everyone of us living and breathing, that list is unending.
One way we display reminders to cultivate a thankful heart is with The Thankful Tree. This year instead of scrapbook paper we are using wooden chalkboard tags.
For assembling, all you need is:
• Sticks
• Wooden Chalkboard Tags (make your own with wood slices and chalk paint or buy them already made)
• Chalk (you can sharpen the chalk with a pencil sharpener)
• Scissors
• Glass Jar – gallon (shown) or half-gallon
• Assorted Nuts, for extra beauty
• Burlap and/or Ribbon, for extra beauty
• Thankful Heart (“I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart…”)
“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wondrous works!”—1 Chronicles 16:8-9
Are you building a Thankful Tree this year? What blessings will you be etching on the ornaments?
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12 November 2012
We had our first snowfall of the season this morning. It was beautiful. Although the snow didn’t last long after the sun emerged from the clouds, I was glad to be able to record the white glory.

7 September 2012
The sky was scattered with cumulus clouds last evening, each one reaching further toward the heavens than the last. A beautiful reminder that the steadfast love of the Lord extends to the heavens.
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast You save, O Lord.”
—Psalm 36:5-6

31 August 2012
We waited until golden hour when the warmth of the sunlight is at a peak to get these shots for the Six Angles “Faceless Portrait” theme.
This is an artist at sunset. She loves to paint for the glory of God.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
—Colossians 3:17
P.S. These were taken with the new Nikkor 28mm f/1.8 lens (a very sharp lens) paired with the Nikon D7000 camera body.

27 August 2012
How are we as Christian women to use beauty? How does one balance beauty and practicality? Is beauty only skin-deep? Does cultivating beauty equal vanity? Or can beauty be used to glorify God?
Have you ever asked yourself those questions?
Let me introduce you to an upcoming webinar on this very subject:
“Reclaiming Beauty: A New Look at How to Glorify God in Your Body”
Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin will cover topics ranging from such practical issues as skincare, fitness, posture, voice, modesty, home-made beauty products, and color analysis . . . to subjects as penetrating as personal identity, insecurity, comparisons, worldliness, vanity, idolatry, our attitude toward others, and the state of our hearts before the Lord.
I’m looking forward to learning from what they share! The first of seven live, hour-long sessions will begin September 25 (in the comfort of your own home) – plus you’ll be able to listen to the recordings whenever you’d like after each broadcast!
You can find out more about the webinar and register here.

24 August 2012
Our grapevines are covered in ripe fruit! There’s nothing like sun-warmed concord grapes straight off the vine. Soon we’ll be turning these delicious clusters into grape jelly, sweetened with coconut sugar.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
—John 15:4-5

10 July 2012
Years ago, Mum would make cookies from the recipe on the back of Toll House’s Chocolate Chip bag. We would spread the dough out in a pan, and lick the leftover dough from spoons while waiting for the oven to do its masterful work.
After the cookie had cooled (okay, rarely did we wait that long), we would cut it into squares. What fond memories I have of sitting with my sister, napkins in hand, eating warm, melty chocolate chip cookies!
Having been gluten-free for over two years and dairy-free for several months now, those favorite food-related childhood memories still linger in the back of my mind.
Thanks to a friend and her lovely pinboards, I came across a recipe… and it reminds me of those Toll House cookie-eating days from years ago.
(Below is our revised version of Michele’s recipe, who had revised Elana’s recipe.)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Squares
GLUTEN-Free, GRAIN-Free, DAIRY-Free
2 ½ cups almond flour (we use Honeyville)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (we use Madhava)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Enjoy Life (dairy-free) chocolate chips
In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a second bowl, combine wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Place dough on parchment paper atop a baking sheet or stone. Form dough with your hands into a circle or square.
Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let the large cookie cool for about 10-15 minutes (great time to practice patience!) and cut into squares.
Enjoy!

21 June 2012
Last week we had the delightful pleasure of meeting our friends’ most recent blessing, Lavinia May!
“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.”
—Psalm 127:3

7 June 2012
As we sat eating supper at the dinner table, something down the table caught my attention.
I looked over to see this vase of daisies. As I watched, one wilted flower was mournfully dropping its head. From lack of water it was exhausted and had started to let go of life.
The stem was not deep enough in the vase to reach the water which had been quickly drank by the dozen daisies. The pathetic, now bent stem looked rather mournful with its head hanging low.
I quickly took some water and filled the vase back up to the rim, hoping to keep that sad end from meeting any of the others.
Little did I expect the next morning…
…to find a certain little flower holding its head up high. Bent though its little neck was, the daisy’s cheerful yellow face was now turned to the sun once again. The water had refreshed the life of the sad flower, giving it all the more strength and resolve to stand strong.
This little incident reminded me of a couple verses that are very dear to me – verses that remind us to:
– Seek to be transformed in the renewing our minds in God’s Word
– Discern and pursue the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect
– To be refreshed in Christ – through His Word, prayer, edification of believers, etc.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
—Romans 12:2
And especially:
“Refresh my heart in Christ.”
—Philemon 1:20b
Turn your face to the Son and be refreshed.
