This morning our little Ford Focus tried to be a snow mobile. Krysta and I were driving to my mom's house. Without thinking I took a wrong turn in town.
I said,"Oh, what was I thinking?"
I turned to the left then got ready to turn left again a couple blocks later. Krysta said, "Go straight ahead! See that road!"
It looked like a road. I kept driving straight ahead. All went well for a block or so. It soon became obvious . . . I was on the snow mobile trail!
"This is the snow mobile trail! I yelped. "Not the road!"
I stopped and backed up. Somewhere along the way I got off the tracks.
We called Ellis. He didn't answer. We called the store where he was going to eventually
meet a customer. We got the answering machine and yelled a message just to be sure he
could hear from the back office.
What did we do before cell phones?
We would have had a long walk.
Ellis called back. We told him the dilemma. He laughed. He brought the four wheel drive pick-up
and a tow rope. I like a tow rope and a four wheel drive pick-up in the snow.
Krysta and I were grateful beyond words.
We went on our way rejoicing!
I hope the guys on snow mobiles won't be too mad.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Luke 1:46 - 55
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold,
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Every December I try to memorize these verses.
Today I read about God's promise to Abraham when he was called
to leave what was comfortable and familiar and go to a new country.
January 2016, might feel like a new beginning . . .
leaving what is comfortable and familiar.
God is with us in the New Year.
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord.
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold,
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Every December I try to memorize these verses.
Today I read about God's promise to Abraham when he was called
to leave what was comfortable and familiar and go to a new country.
January 2016, might feel like a new beginning . . .
leaving what is comfortable and familiar.
God is with us in the New Year.
Psalm 150
Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary:
praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord.
(KJV)
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Quotes
Sharing some quotes that made me laugh the other week . . .
Mom was getting ready to travel after a weekend of family
festivities . . .
Thanksgiving feasting, Lefse making, cooking for a small
army of wood haulers.
Mom was washing sheets and towels. Maria and I were fixing beds.
Mom rounded up her
suitcase,
passport,
and money.
Suddenly she said, “I hate getting ready for trips.”
Mom rounded up her
suitcase,
passport,
and money.
Suddenly she said, “I hate getting ready for trips.”
She made me laugh and I thought of this quote:
“Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip?
Once you are off, that’s all right, but the last moments
are earthquake and convulsion,
and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Once you are off, that’s all right, but the last moments
are earthquake and convulsion,
and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock.”
_ _ _ _ _ _
Mab Graff has a little commentary on the differences in
girls as she observes them at her
daughter’s seventh birthday party. Mab doesn’t quite have the games prepared because
she was reading instead of er . . . preparing.
So she asks the girls what they would like to play.
daughter’s seventh birthday party. Mab doesn’t quite have the games prepared because
she was reading instead of er . . . preparing.
So she asks the girls what they would like to play.
(Quoting Mab in her book, God Loves My Kitchen Best )
Theresa, dark eyes huge behind petite glasses, spoke with
wonder and derision:
“Don’t you have the games planned?”
Angelica, a child you wanted to hug on sight, leaned on me
and whispered,
“I would like to play ‘pin the dart on the horse’s bottom.’
”
(End of quote)
Mab Graff Hoover writes:
God Loves My Kitchen Best
God Still Loves My Kitchen
God Even Likes My Pantry
In My Upstairs Room
I have found two of her books at the Salvation Army. Keeping
my eyes open for more.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Thanksgiving Day 2015
It's hard to believe, looking back on 35 years of married life, to suddenly realize:
I've never cooked a Thanksgiving meal all by myself from turkey to pumpkin pie
until this year. Which is good in one way -- because we must be very healthy.
We were never too sick to turn down the invitations to the Harshbarger gatherings in MT
or the Thanksgiving feast at Maranatha Bible School where our church family gathers each year. Each year I signed up for caramel sweet potatoes and pumpkin chiffon pie
or a huge salad of some sort and dinner rolls.
There was the year I was assigned to bring turkey and Deanne said,
"Mom! do you know how to fix a turkey?"
This year we had Josh, Elsa and little Joseph at our house. Evan and Chelsea had
Thanksgiving with Chelsea's family in the evening because Evan worked in the morning.
The rest of our children are in MT. Elsa's parents were in Florida over the holiday.
So we got to play Grandpa and Grandma !
Every Thanksgiving in my growing up years was spent at Grandpa Skrivseth's.
We had snow for sledding. We had ice for skating. On a pond. In the pasture.
On the back side of the pasture if I remember right because it was a very long walk
home when we were *cold and hungry and cross.*
By the time we got back to the house we were warmed from the long walk and ready
for turkey sandwiches and hot chocolate and a game of authors with our aunt, Leah.
She is our aunt going on a sister. She is not much older than us and we have
bugged her half to death many a time.
Especially if Ladina and I were uncooperative when it was time to quit skating.
(We took turns being uncooperative =)
There was one year when I insisted, "I'm not cold. I want to keep skating."
But that is a story for another day.
Well - that was a little trip down memory lane. As I was saying . . .
I had all day Wednesday free - no cleaning jobs lined up or duties of driving bus.
Our school gave us Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off !
I put a gigantic, home grown chicken in the oven and started cooking sweet potatoes
in a kettle. I dug out my dusty meat grinder, washed it in hot sudsy water and attached
it to my piano bench.
(This provided my exercise for the day. I had to nearly stand on my
head to get it out of the bottom cupboard where it was living.)
Now I was ready to grind the cranberries for the salad. I used the recipe from
The Mennonite Community Cookbook that calls for cranberries, oranges, apples, pineapple,
jello and chopped nuts. Oh, and sugar. Let's not forget the sugar. I think you can top it
with miniature marshmallows when you serve it if you want.
Then it was time to peel the sweet potatoes. Again I followed the recipe in the Mennonite Community Cookbook. This one takes brown sugar and cream and marshmallows on top.
I didn't do marshmallows . . .
I made pies. One of pumpkin chiffon, a recipe from my sister Maria, and a couple more using Grandma Martin's recipe in The Mary and Martha cookbook.
On the day of feasting Ellis made stuffing out of a box, just like his mom always did.
Wait, that doesn't sound right. He made Kraft's Stove Top stuffing just like Mom used to.
We mashed potatoes and made gravy. We heated the chicken in the oven.
Maybe the bird tastes better if it comes out of the oven whole and is carved at the head
of the table like Norman Rockwell's paintings. But I deboned it the day before and it was
scrumptious.
What a wonderful day ! Krysta took some pictures of Joseph, our happy, bright eyed grandson.
We ate yummy food and played a game of Risk. We should have all walked to the far side of the pasture in the rain and snow . . . Maybe we can have a sledding party later.
* I was thinking - that phrase came from a poem our children memorized in school.
(with slight variation)
So I looked it up to refresh my memory.
Goops And How To Be Them
Gelett Burgess
It's terrible brave
to try to save
A girl on a runaway horse;
You could do that, of course!
But think of trying
to keep from crying,
When you're hungry and tired
and cross,
You couldn't do that
of course!
Or could you?
We should have had this memorized - maybe it would have helped.
I've never cooked a Thanksgiving meal all by myself from turkey to pumpkin pie
until this year. Which is good in one way -- because we must be very healthy.
We were never too sick to turn down the invitations to the Harshbarger gatherings in MT
or the Thanksgiving feast at Maranatha Bible School where our church family gathers each year. Each year I signed up for caramel sweet potatoes and pumpkin chiffon pie
or a huge salad of some sort and dinner rolls.
There was the year I was assigned to bring turkey and Deanne said,
"Mom! do you know how to fix a turkey?"
This year we had Josh, Elsa and little Joseph at our house. Evan and Chelsea had
Thanksgiving with Chelsea's family in the evening because Evan worked in the morning.
The rest of our children are in MT. Elsa's parents were in Florida over the holiday.
So we got to play Grandpa and Grandma !
Every Thanksgiving in my growing up years was spent at Grandpa Skrivseth's.
We had snow for sledding. We had ice for skating. On a pond. In the pasture.
On the back side of the pasture if I remember right because it was a very long walk
home when we were *cold and hungry and cross.*
By the time we got back to the house we were warmed from the long walk and ready
for turkey sandwiches and hot chocolate and a game of authors with our aunt, Leah.
She is our aunt going on a sister. She is not much older than us and we have
bugged her half to death many a time.
Especially if Ladina and I were uncooperative when it was time to quit skating.
(We took turns being uncooperative =)
There was one year when I insisted, "I'm not cold. I want to keep skating."
But that is a story for another day.
Well - that was a little trip down memory lane. As I was saying . . .
I had all day Wednesday free - no cleaning jobs lined up or duties of driving bus.
Our school gave us Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off !
I put a gigantic, home grown chicken in the oven and started cooking sweet potatoes
in a kettle. I dug out my dusty meat grinder, washed it in hot sudsy water and attached
it to my piano bench.
(This provided my exercise for the day. I had to nearly stand on my
head to get it out of the bottom cupboard where it was living.)
Now I was ready to grind the cranberries for the salad. I used the recipe from
The Mennonite Community Cookbook that calls for cranberries, oranges, apples, pineapple,
jello and chopped nuts. Oh, and sugar. Let's not forget the sugar. I think you can top it
with miniature marshmallows when you serve it if you want.
Then it was time to peel the sweet potatoes. Again I followed the recipe in the Mennonite Community Cookbook. This one takes brown sugar and cream and marshmallows on top.
I didn't do marshmallows . . .
I made pies. One of pumpkin chiffon, a recipe from my sister Maria, and a couple more using Grandma Martin's recipe in The Mary and Martha cookbook.
On the day of feasting Ellis made stuffing out of a box, just like his mom always did.
Wait, that doesn't sound right. He made Kraft's Stove Top stuffing just like Mom used to.
We mashed potatoes and made gravy. We heated the chicken in the oven.
Maybe the bird tastes better if it comes out of the oven whole and is carved at the head
of the table like Norman Rockwell's paintings. But I deboned it the day before and it was
scrumptious.
What a wonderful day ! Krysta took some pictures of Joseph, our happy, bright eyed grandson.
We ate yummy food and played a game of Risk. We should have all walked to the far side of the pasture in the rain and snow . . . Maybe we can have a sledding party later.
* I was thinking - that phrase came from a poem our children memorized in school.
(with slight variation)
So I looked it up to refresh my memory.
Goops And How To Be Them
Gelett Burgess
It's terrible brave
to try to save
A girl on a runaway horse;
You could do that, of course!
But think of trying
to keep from crying,
When you're hungry and tired
and cross,
You couldn't do that
of course!
Or could you?
We should have had this memorized - maybe it would have helped.
Friday, December 4, 2015
A Prayer for Laundry Day
Thank you, Dear God . . .
for water, soap, electricity, automatic washer and dryer
Sunshine and wind to dry clothes on the clothes line
Clothes pins and sturdy clothes lines
Thank you for clothes to wash - enough for each person
We can have clean ones every day
Warm P.J.'s
We don't have to sleep in our work clothes
Sheets, blankets, pillows
Mattress and mattress covers
When I look at the tabs to check how to care for my clothes I see:
Made in Vietnam Made in Brazil Made in China
Made in Pakistan Made in India Made in Bangladesh
Made in El Salvador
I don't have to raise sheep, shear them, wash the wool, dye the wool
card it and spin it into yarn before I can knit my socks and sweaters
I've always wanted a loom to make rag rugs
But what if I had to weave all the fabric we need?
Then sew all the clothes we need?
My family would be in trouble.
Thank you, Dear God, for Laundry Day!
for water, soap, electricity, automatic washer and dryer
Sunshine and wind to dry clothes on the clothes line
Clothes pins and sturdy clothes lines
Thank you for clothes to wash - enough for each person
We can have clean ones every day
Warm P.J.'s
We don't have to sleep in our work clothes
Sheets, blankets, pillows
Mattress and mattress covers
When I look at the tabs to check how to care for my clothes I see:
Made in Vietnam Made in Brazil Made in China
Made in Pakistan Made in India Made in Bangladesh
Made in El Salvador
I don't have to raise sheep, shear them, wash the wool, dye the wool
card it and spin it into yarn before I can knit my socks and sweaters
I've always wanted a loom to make rag rugs
But what if I had to weave all the fabric we need?
Then sew all the clothes we need?
My family would be in trouble.
Thank you, Dear God, for Laundry Day!
Monday, November 16, 2015
Orphans
May I use your eyes now to weep for My children?
Will you let your spirit be touched with My grief?
It is night, and lone midst all forces of evil,
I stand with My hands holding precious relief.
(I haven't found out who wrote this yet. As soon as I do I will let you know.
Or if you know please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.)
I just got done reading Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis.
Krysta brought it home from the library and said,
"You've got to read this, Mom."
I wasn't sure I wanted to. But I'm glad I did.
I asked her if all who read it will get
sent to Uganda. =) She probably thought,
"Oh, silly Mom," but did not say it.
Katie is like a modern day Amy Carmichael.
Or Mother Theresa. She adopted a family of girls as
they came to her doorstep or as she found them in villages
around her home. She poured out her life for them
and they in turn started finding girls with needs and
brought them home. They wanted to share their
home with everyone they met.
Recently I went with friends to a seminar
and heard a talk about adoption and infertility.
One thing the speaker said about adoptive families -
When you adopt a child you are breaking a cycle.
It could be a cycle of abandonment, alcohol, drugs . . .
. . . the list goes on.
By doing that the adoptive family has stepped into
enemy territory and is in line for Satan's darts.
This is not a new thought for me.
This summer I have been thinking
about that very thing over and over.
But I had never heard it said out loud
in just that many words.
This verse came to my mind.
How do I make this practical in my every day life?
While reading Katie's book I found out about the organization she founded.
Amazima Ministries
Krysta and I found out about Operation Christmas Child and every fall we
try to get some shoe boxes ready and on the way.
There are all sorts of opportunities to help if you look up Christian Aid Ministries.
Here is another way to get involved. worldvision.org
One gal I talked to said she and her husband signed up to sponsor
a child after the birth of each new baby in their home.
There are so many questions that come to my mind
when I think about war-torn countries
and refugees looking for a place to sleep at night . . .
a warm place . . .
when I think about
homeless people in our country
I don't want to just do a whole string of these projects to salve my conscience.
I want to be more purposeful in my prayers for those serving in mission work,
and pray more faithfully for my friends and family who are in the middle of a
spiritual battle because they have courageously adopted children.
You are brave. May God richly bless you and your children.
Will you let your spirit be touched with My grief?
It is night, and lone midst all forces of evil,
I stand with My hands holding precious relief.
(I haven't found out who wrote this yet. As soon as I do I will let you know.
Or if you know please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.)
I just got done reading Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis.
Krysta brought it home from the library and said,
"You've got to read this, Mom."
I wasn't sure I wanted to. But I'm glad I did.
I asked her if all who read it will get
sent to Uganda. =) She probably thought,
"Oh, silly Mom," but did not say it.
Katie is like a modern day Amy Carmichael.
Or Mother Theresa. She adopted a family of girls as
they came to her doorstep or as she found them in villages
around her home. She poured out her life for them
and they in turn started finding girls with needs and
brought them home. They wanted to share their
home with everyone they met.
Recently I went with friends to a seminar
and heard a talk about adoption and infertility.
One thing the speaker said about adoptive families -
When you adopt a child you are breaking a cycle.
It could be a cycle of abandonment, alcohol, drugs . . .
. . . the list goes on.
By doing that the adoptive family has stepped into
enemy territory and is in line for Satan's darts.
This is not a new thought for me.
This summer I have been thinking
about that very thing over and over.
But I had never heard it said out loud
in just that many words.
This verse came to my mind.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27How do I make this practical in my every day life?
While reading Katie's book I found out about the organization she founded.
Amazima Ministries
Krysta and I found out about Operation Christmas Child and every fall we
try to get some shoe boxes ready and on the way.
There are all sorts of opportunities to help if you look up Christian Aid Ministries.
Here is another way to get involved. worldvision.org
One gal I talked to said she and her husband signed up to sponsor
a child after the birth of each new baby in their home.
There are so many questions that come to my mind
when I think about war-torn countries
and refugees looking for a place to sleep at night . . .
a warm place . . .
when I think about
homeless people in our country
I don't want to just do a whole string of these projects to salve my conscience.
I want to be more purposeful in my prayers for those serving in mission work,
and pray more faithfully for my friends and family who are in the middle of a
spiritual battle because they have courageously adopted children.
You are brave. May God richly bless you and your children.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Thanksgiving
We sang this song today at Prairie Manor. I love singing Thanksgiving songs in autumn.
“My God, I thank Thee, who hast made” |
| By Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864) |
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