Monday, July 13, 2009

Praise God for...




  • ...my husband who is constantly thoughtful, doing the little things that I love him for, such as making Chocolate cakes and decorating them - doing the washing and changing my bed after my grotty cat walked all over it with muddy pawprints. If you had seen my cat, you would realise how BIG his pawprints are, and how dreadfully muddy my bed was!
  • ...God's constant provision over us, sending the rain (it is absolutely pelting down at the moment!) and the sunshine at just the right time, re-filling our rainwater tanks and watering the land so that the plants, grass and trees will grow. Praise Him that He loves me just as I am, and enables me to grow in Him.
  • ...school holidays, so that we can recharge our batteries, and prepare for the busyness of next term.
  • ...good friends who will drop by my blog just to say hello, to bring their inspiration and to share their point of view.
  • ...friends who will catch the bus to come up and stay for a few days, to bring a touch of insanity to our normally well-ordered lives - YAY! I'm really looking forward to seeing my friend and spending some precious time with her, just catching up.
  • ...my children and family for their love, time and affection.
  • ...I'm with Jennifer, thank you God for all things chocolate.
  • ...helping me to put in my order for school books and to be on track for starting school again next week.


And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:3

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Boiled Chocolate Cake - My Husband's Specialty

What does my husband do when I am on the internet, and he's an internet widower?

Why, of course, he makes a Boiled Chocolate Cake, decorates it with whipped cream and covers it with grated Cadbury chocolate. Aren't we totally spoiled? He's such a good cook!














Chocolate Cake Recipe

Place into a saucepan, and bring to boil:
1 cup water, 125 grams of butter and 1 cup of sugar.

Let cool, and then add 2 eggs, ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, 2 tablespoons Cadbury cocoa and 1 ½ cups of SR flour. Beat until mixed well. Pour into cake pan - it looks more like a chocolate milkshake at this stage than a cake. Then, bake in moderate oven (180°C) for one hour.

Decorate as desired. This is a deliciously moist Chocolate cake, and won't last long in this home.


New Resource for Homeschoolers from Creation Ministries





"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).


For all parents interested in equipping their children, Creation Ministries International are pleased to offer many recently published articles about relevant homeschooling subjects, several free resources, lots of inspiration, and much heartfelt encouragement. Take a look at the E-books section and download a free book - or all of them! CMI have included an introduction to the great variety of homeschooling styles used around the world, some real science resources, and words of wisdom from veteran homeschoolers.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine contributed most of the content for the Homeschooling Corner of Creation Ministries International website.

Below is a list of the different E-books that are available from Creation Ministries International- Homeschool Corner.

Praise God for the Rain and Wood Fires




Today is a wonderfully misty, windy rainy sort of day - the sort of day that you are happy to be able to stay indoors, but I praise God for the wind, for with the wind comes the rain. This is the other side of our back yard, with the pool and tall trees in the background, and it is looking in pristine condition with the clean up we had recently. You can also see the sort of dreary, grey sort of day that it is, but it gives me an excuse to just vegetate in front of the computer.



Now, what do the most intelligent cats do on a wintery, blustery sort of day? Well, if you're one of our cats, you take the warmest, cosiest position in the house, in front of the fire.



My cat, Jeremiah, has his own recliner chair, but he has to have his favourite blanket and his knitted pet cat to settle. At night, he curls up in between my feet and keeps my feet wonderfully warm, but I'm glad that he doesn't lay on my feet, as he now weighs in at a hefty10.4 kilograms. He's not fat, but he is definitely a BIG cat. When he walks around our home, he even makes the floorboards creak. Spoiled cat - no way - no spoiled cats in this home, much!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Thought for Today


When you are young, you have time and enthusiasm but no money.

When you are middle-aged, you have enthusiasm and money but no time.

When you are old, you have money and time but no enthusiasm.

Author unknown


To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

I praise God that He has a time for everything, that all things are beautiful in His time, and that everything has an appropriate time.

The times are changing, the perfectness of youth is fading, and old age is just around the corner, but for now I'm happy with just where I am with God. Maybe a little more patience wouldn't go astray every now and then, but in my walk with God, I'm just where He wants me - no more and no less.

People change but God never does - He's always there for me, and if He seems further away, then guess who moved - NOT GOD!


My quiet times during the holidays could be described as nothing less than wonderful, and the time that I have spent with Him has been fruitful and prayerful. I love being able to spend time in quiet prayer and contemplation with God, as that's where He helps me through the day by preparing my heart♥ for whatever may come my way.

I seek His guidance, His strength and His Wisdom each morning for in myself I can do nothing, but can do all things through Him who strengtheneth me.


Thursday, July 9, 2009

A Very Interesting Conversation

I received this in an email from a good friend, and couldn't resist sharing it. After all, that's what our Christian walk is all about, isn't it - our FAITH, but it doesn't become ours until we take hold of it, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of our lives.

An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the Problem Science has
with GOD, the ALMIGHTY. He asked one of his New Christian Students to stand and:-


Professor : You are Christian, aren't you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD Good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill.
But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent )

Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella.
Is GOD Good?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Is Satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor : Where does Satan come from ?
Student : From . . . GOD . . .
Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor : So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer)

Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness?
All these terrible things exist in the World, don't they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, who Created them ?

(Student had no answer)

Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you.
Tell me, son . . Have you ever Seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD?
Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.
Professor : Yes, Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor : Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn't.

(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )

Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat,
a Little Heat or No Heat.
But we don't have anything called Cold.
We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can't go any further after that.
There is no such thing as Cold.
Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat.
We cannot Measure Cold.
Heat is Energy.
Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.

(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )

Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?
Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?
Student : You're wrong again, sir.
Darkness is the Absence of Something
You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . .
But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and it's called Darkness, isn't it?
In reality, Darkness isn't.
If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?
Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality.
You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD.
You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, Science can't even explain a Thought.
It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that
Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing.
Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?
Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument was going )

Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and
Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavour,
Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir?
Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?

(The Class was in Uproar )

Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor's Brain?

(The Class broke out into Laughter )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . .
No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says that You have No Brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?

(The Room was Silent. The Professor stared at the Student, his face unfathomable)

Professor : I guess you'll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly !
The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH.
That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.


NB:

I believe you have enjoyed the Conversation . . . and if so . .
You'll probably want your Friends / Colleagues to enjoy the same . . . won't you?
Forward them to Increase their Knowledge . . . or FAITH.

That student was Albert Einstein!


My Son's Simple Apple Pie

Tonight, for dessert my son asked me if I would like Apple Pie, so of course I said, "Yes." He must have been feeling bored. The apples were home-grown (yes, we managed to harvest them before the parrots did!) and the pastry is cheap, so this recipe is VERY frugal. His extra quick recipe is below.




enough apples to fill the pie dish (he used eight)
sultanas could be added if liked
1 sheet Puff Pastry

Cook apples in the microwave on high for five minutes, and place into pie dish. Cover with puff pastry, sprinkle top with brown sugar and place into the oven at 200C for 30 minutes, or until the pastry turns a lovely golden brown. Serve with ice-cream, or whipped cream and ice-cream.

The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Joel 1:12


Busy Couple of Days - Gardening and Tidying Up

The last couple of days have been absolutely brilliant, weather wise, so we have been out in the garden, making the best use of the time that we have available.

First of all, my husband and I took to the African daisies that must have thought they were growing in Africa, with plenty of room. They overtook everything, and it was like walking through the jungle, trying to navigate our way along the path.




Next, we attacked the rockery, removing the native grasses that had completely overtaken everything. Not one to waste, we have moved them from the back of the house to the front of the house, underneath the pine trees, where they will have room to spread. The rockery looks a little sparse at the moment, with only a single Eremophila as the centrepiece, but we are planning on planting some miniature Banksias, very soon.






Today, we have pruned the fruit trees, rather savagely, I must admit, but we are going to enclose them this year, and they need to be under ten feet high. The birds were the only ones to benefit from the fruit last year, and while I don't mind feeding them, it would be nice to harvest enough fruit to preserve. The Pear tree was the hardest one to prune, as it had bolted from six feet to twenty feet in a single year.




In the mid-afternoon, we stopped for some toast and a cup of coffee - Milo for me. Minca (my son's cat) soon joined us, and after giving her some toast, butter and Vegemite; I turned around and she was drinking my Milo. Minca is the tabby cat sitting in the middle of the back yard in the top photo.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:12

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Bread and Butter Pudding

My daughter has been at it again - cooking, that is. Isn't it just as well that she loves cooking?


Before Cooking
9 eggs
900 ml full-cream milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 large slices multi-grain bread - buttered
2 tablespoons sultanas
cinnamon for dusting

Break 9 eggs into a large bowl, and mix well. Add milk and mix again. Butter the two slices of multi grain bread (this is home made bread - if you are using bought bread, you may need to double the amount used), and cut into 25 mm squares.

Put the buttered bread into a large Pyrex (oven-proof) bowl, and sprinkle the sugar and sultanas over evenly. Next, add the milk and egg mixture, and finally dust the top of it with cinnamon. You can substitute nutmeg, but I love the delicious cinnamon taste - sort of reminds me of French Toast.

Cook at 150C for 70 90 minutes. Our new stove cooks cooler than the last one. Serve with cream and ice-cream, or whatever you like. In our case, it was with ice-cream, as we had run out of cream.


After Cooking - Before Consuming


And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
1 Samuel 8:13

Monday, July 6, 2009

Praise God for...



1) ...our home, which the Lord has so graciously provided for us, and everything that we
prayed for was already here.

2) ...my husband, who continues to look after us, despite his broken finger - thank you,
my love.

3) ...our children, entrusted to us for only a short while by God.

4) ...God's grace and provision over us every day.

5) ...holidays, so that we can recharge our batteries and be ready for another new term.

6) ...good blogging and internet friends.

7) ...goats that keep us supplied in fresh goat's milk.

8) ...enough graphic design work to keep my son busy.

9) ...time to be able to play card, dice and board games with my family.

10) ...friends that are able to take time out of their busy schedule to come and stay.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
Psalm 28:7