Sunday, August 28, 2022

Sunday Scripture

 

Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015.  With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer.  The fourth section is Made for Community with the Body of Christ.  So here we go with the Scripture for the second day of that section. 

S= "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.  Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."  (2 Corinthians 12:26-27)

O= C.I. Scofield notes that all of the subjects Paul deals with in this letter to the Corinthians have the same general theme of Christian conduct.  Here in these verses Paul is teaching that every believer is a member of Christ's body, and that each believer has a definite ministry.

Verse 25 notes that there should be no division in the body, but that all members should have the same care one for another.  Verse 26 expands on this point:

* If one member suffers, all the members suffer with that one.
* If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with that one.

This is because:
1) We are the body of Christ.
2) We are members in particular.

A cross-reference for "body of Christ" is Colossians 1:18 -- "And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence."

Colossians 2:19 refers to Jesus as "the Head from whom all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God."

A cross-reference for "members in particular" is Ephesians 5:30 -- "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones."

A= It can be a beautiful thing to see the local body of Christ having "the same care one for another" as pictured in 1 Corinthians 12:25.  When this is the case, it very naturally follows that when one suffers, all suffer, and that when one member is honored, all rejoice.  The body of Christ is functioning as intended.  

I've been blessed to be a part of two local bodies where the members care well for one another.  I believe that in general it is still that way.  Yet sometimes we see in a local church that certain members seem more bent on finding fault with one another rather than caring for one another.  May the Lord help me to interact with all members of our local body in a way that is pleasing to Him and blesses others!

P= "Lord, I thank You once again for the  marvelous practicality of Your Word!  I thank You for the picture it paints of how the body of Christ is intended to function.  I thank You for my local church and for our previous church, and how both have functioned quite well as a body over the years.  I praise You for our merged church where we are seeing that hold true.  There's always room for improvement, though,  in any church or its individual members.  Help me to do my part as a member of Your body, in Jesus' name, Amen."

There is the study for this week.  See you next Sunday for more concerning community in the body of Christ.

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

No waffling on the hodgepodge

 

 It's Wednesday again, and time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  This week's questions involve waffles, late summer, and life itself.  Here goes!

 1. August 24th is National Waffle Day...what's something you've 'waffled' on recently? 

Many times this summer I've found myself waffling on whether or not to go along with my hubby during his weekly work day at The Wilds of New England.   I'm always torn about going along or spending some much-needed time at home.  And the same thing happens when he goes to our little cottage to work on projects.  There's always plenty to do at either place and sometimes it's hard to decide which will be more advantageous.

2. Do you like waffles? Make your own or 'leggo my Eggo? Any favorite toppings or add-ins? Waffles or pancakes-which do you prefer? 

Yes, I do like waffles and especially homemade ones.  My hubby is famous for his waffles.  You can find his recipe in this post: Waffle Buffet.  There are a few certain types of frozen waffles that I like.  Nature's Path makes a gluten-free Homestyle waffle that's really good (sweetened with pear juice) 

 


and a delicious Pumpkin Spice gluten-free waffle that's available year-round.  (I don't necessarily eat gluten free all the time, but the gluten-free frozen waffles seem more nutritious to me.)  In my post about the waffle buffet you'll find some of my favorite toppings.

I do prefer waffles to pancakes as a rule.  But these Sheet Pan Pancakes could change my mind ...

3. Do you have any mementos from this summer (or past summers)? What do you do with them? 

I don't tend to save a lot of mementos.   If it's something small and flat, like this ticket stub, I will paste it into my scrapbook journal.

 Larger things, like sand dollars or shells, might get displayed in my summer decorating.

Or they might get added to a frame as in the project below:

4. One thing you'd like to do before summer ends? 

I'd like to see my hubby get one of his kayaks off the garage wall and actually go kayaking.  He's been so busy this summer with all kinds of things. Thankfully he will be getting some kayak time when our Nevada loved ones arrive!

5. Life is too short to___________________________________. 

Life is too short not to spend time with people you care about.   

 

And even more important  -- in light of the brevity of life, I also want to live each moment to the glory of God.


 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My local daughter and I spent a good bit of time yesterday planning meals and some activities for the upcoming family visit.  I think we have a pretty good plan going!  Story Land (below) is one activity on the agenda.


 

And that wraps up the Hodgepodge for this week!  Why not head on over to From This Side of the Pond and snag the questions to answer on your own blog? 

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Sunday Scripture

 


Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015.  With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer.  The fourth section is Made for Community with the Body of Christ.  So here we go with the Scripture for the first day of that section. 

S= "But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."  (Exodus 17:12)

O= Amalek came to fight with Israel in Rephidim.  So Moses ordered Joshua to choose out men to fight against Amalek.  During the battle, Moses planned to stand on the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  

It didn't work out quite as planned, in that Moses couldn't keep his hands up constantly, and whenever he let his hands down, Amalek prevailed.  So Aaron and Hur stepped in to help.  They placed a large stone on the ground so Moses could sit, rather than stand, on the hill.  Then, one on either side, Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands -- enabling them to remain steady until sundown.

The result, of course, was that Joshua and his men defeated Amalek.

A=  As believers, we also ought to be holding up the hands of those in ministry.  Prayer is the most important way, but as with Aaron and Hur, there are practical ways as well.  These men saw a need, a problem they could solve by taking practical steps.  

I have heard pastors and missionaries speak of having their hands held up, not only by those who prayed for them, but by those who provide logistical support -- keeping the church building clean, helping with fellowship times, mowing the church lawn or plowing snow from the parking lot.  Even helping with music, though we tend to think of that as a ministry in itself (which it is) may hold up the hands of a pastor in a tiny church as it enhances the worship and helps with the singing.

This passage also points out the importance of praying for others in their battles.  We should be steady in our prayer lives, not sporadic.  Others should be able to count on our prayers.

P= "Lord, I pray that You will help me to be faithful in praying for others in their battles.  Sometimes it's easier to focus on my own needs, but You would have Your people to intercede on behalf of others.  

"Help me to pray consistently, steadily, for the needs of others, not to pray once and then forget them.  I pray too that You will help me to be faithful in holding up the hands of those who are ministering Your Word, in my own church as well as in hard places around the world.  

"Help me also when I see areas where I can help practically, to be willing to step in and do so.  I thank You for how You will help me in all of this, in Jesus' name, Amen."

There's our Sunday Scripture for this week!  I pray it was an encouragement to someone!

Friday, August 19, 2022

Friday five

 


Time for a Friday five!  I posted over on Instagram about these improvements at our little camp, so I will just share a little bit here as well for those who are not on IG.  Here we go!

1.  Getting two thresholds painted inside the camp.  The center section, because of its wheel wells from the when it was hauled from place to place as a lumber camp, is a step up from the kitchen on one end and the living area on the other end.  On the kitchen end, the threshold was a combination of an ugly black enamel with some unintentional green, white and gray spatters, and a piece of unfinished plywood.  On the living room end, it was an old, battered unfinished wood threshold.  I've been wanting to paint both of them gray for some time but had been dithering about paint.  Here's what I ended up using!  I did both thresholds with one 97¢ bottle!  I don't have a photo of the finished project, but will try and get one soon.

2.  Progress on the outdoor shower!  It's getting close!  Below is just a peek inside with a lot still to be done: hot water heater on the left, shower surround to the right.

 

A better look at the shower house itself:

3.  My hubby embedded these slate pieces in cement for a bottom step.  The slate pieces were in the ground in front of the door, along with the door rock partially seen at the top of the photo.  He took the middle step/set of stones from one of the many stone walls on the property.


4.  Flowers!  The plants our friend Charlotte gave us have taken hold well.  These are called Irish Eyes and I love them.

5.  (Trying not to squeal with delight over this one!)  Cold spring water piped to the kitchen sink ... courtesy of gravity and Yankee ingenuity!  What a difference it makes to have running water even if it is only cold.  Don't mind the measuring spoons in the sink.  I had been using a tablespoon to fill sachets with an herbal mixture and had placed the spoons in the sink to wash later.  They were still there when the clarion call came to turn on the faucet!


There's my simple Friday five.  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!


Wednesday, August 17, 2022

School days hodgepodge

 


 It's Wednesday, and time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  This week's questions revolve around late summer and back to school.  Here goes!

1. August is National Back To School Month...how does that make you feel? Share a back-to-school memory. 

It seems like schools, especially colleges and universities, go back to class earlier and earlier in August every year.  

Back to school time always brings memories -- some good, and some not so good.  In my early years school was very difficult for me.  Thankfully, as time went by,  I did eventually realize that I enjoyed learning and so I managed to cope with the other aspects that had made school so challenging.

As I sifted through old treasures at my childhood home, one unexpected good memory of back to school  surfaced.  It's the one where every year, my mother made me some new outfits for school.  And she also made some special occasion things too, like 8th grade graduation dresses for me and, years later, my sister.  She also made my high school graduation dress.

It would have been late summer each year when my mother would take me downtown to look at pattern books in our local five and dime.  I would choose patterns I liked and sometimes we would pick out fabric together.  Other times, I distinctly remember choosing fabric first.  There was a shop in a nearby town that had lovely fabric.

One of my favorite dresses was a collarless shirtwaist (likely from the pattern below) made out of a fabric with botanical drawings of fruit on a cream colored background.  I had a pretty pin resembling peaches that I wore with it.  I still have that pin, in fact.

And I am sure I had a jumper similar to the one pictured above.  I think it was a teal flannel print with sort of a Tyrolean look.  So sweet! 

I'm working on a blog post about back-to-school sewing, to publish one of these days ...

2. Something you've learned in 'the school of life'? 

Oh, lots of things.   One is the truth of the old saying "two wrongs never make a right".  Another is that bitterness will eat a person alive if they let it.

3. Three words to describe your current mood.

 Only three words?  I'm fighting either allergies or a summer cold, and neither is fun.  My current mood is a little less than optimistic and my head feels stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  I honestly can't come up with three words to describe my mood.

4. A summer food you've eaten too much of/are tired of? A summer food you haven't had enough of? 

I've definitely eaten too much ice cream this summer, although I must clarify that nearly all of our ice cream intake has taken place at seasonal ice cream places.  It's almost a crime not to patronize them, when the season is so short!  That said, I can't say I'm tired of ice cream.  I'm sure we'll be seeking it out again this weekend.  So many ice cream places, so little time!

The iconic sign at Dairy Delites
A "Snowball" at Frosty Scoops
Ice cream in a homemade waffle bowl at Hatchland's Dairy Delites
Specials at Moose Alley Cones in Pittsburg.  My hubby and I had a Muddy Moose on that visit.

I haven't had enough corn on the cob, meaning we haven't had any corn on the cob yet this summer.

5. What small stuff do you sweat that you know you shouldn't?

Oh, I don't know.   I'm having trouble thinking of anything so I will skip this question.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We're so looking forward to seeing our Nevada family the first of September! The last time we saw them (pictured below) was May 2021, so it is high time we get together.  Part of their family came here in spring 2019, but several have not been to New Hampshire since 2015 ... and the two youngest girls have never been here.

And that wraps up the Hodgepodge for this week!  Why not head on over to From This Side of the Pond and snag the questions to answer on your own blog? 

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Sunday Scripture

 


Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015.  With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer.  The third section is Made for Community with Family.  So here we go with the Scripture for the fifth day of that section. 

S= "That they may teach the young women to be sober-minded, to love their husbands, to love their children;
"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."  (Titus 2:4-5)

O= Paul wrote this letter to Titus, one of his most reliable helpers.  C.I. Scofield states that Titus "was used by Paul for tasks requiring responsibility and discretion."  At this point, Titus had been placed over the churches in the island of Crete.  This letter to Titus from Paul stresses sound doctrine, church order, and sound behavior.  Here in these verses Paul is dealing with the responsibilities of older women in the body of Christ.  In the previous verse he stated that they are to be "teachers of good things."

Now, in these verses, Paul lists some of the "good things" that the older women are to teach the younger ones:

* to be sober-minded
* to love their husbands
* to love their children
* to be discreet
* to be chaste
* to be keepers at home
* to be good
* to be obedient to their own husbands

And all of this teaching by the older women and resultant exemplary conduct by the younger women is for one very good reason: that the Word of God will not be blasphemed.

A= As I have often told my Sunday School students, each of us is older than someone, either chronologically or spiritually, and so each of us is an "older woman" to someone.  I am definitely an older woman, so one of my responsibilities is to be a teacher of good things.  I'm to be teaching younger women to be sober-minded, to love their husbands and children, and all of the other topics on that list.  There's my curriculum!

I'm still learning, myself, in many of these areas, but I'm expected to be teaching what I know to younger women.  It's all for an incredibly important cause: that the Word of God will not be blasphemed by the behavior of His women.

P=  "Lord, once again I am struck by the relevance and practicality of Your Word.  I am thankful for (and greatly challenged by) these verses from Titus.  I pray that You will help me to be a teacher of good things to younger women.  I'm aware that I teach by example and it's not only what I say, but how I live and what I do.  I pray that these important topics like sober-mindedness, discretion, goodness, home-keeping, etc. would be continual areas of growth in my own life so that I can effectively teach and model them for other women.  Help me never to blaspheme Your Word by my behavior in any way!  I thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

Well, there is the study for this week!  I was trying to think of helpful information to add that might help us with living out these verses.

I felt led to share this older post called Quiet Time 101.  

 


Without a consistent and quality quiet time with God each day, there will be no living out of His plan.  I hope this post encourages you if you read it!

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Midweek meanderings

 

Image from The Graphics Fairy

 Just cruising in  midweek to chat a bit!  

What a stretch of hot, humid weather we have endured here in the Granite State.  It's been absolutely crazy.  I am so thankful for cooler temps this morning, though the humidity is still very high.

Last evening we took supper to share with our friends Sam and Jenn and their boys.  It's always a joy to get together with these younger believers!  I took along an Antipasto Salad I hadn't thought of in years.  My recipe is from an old Taste of the Country cookbook put out by Taste of Home magazine.  My recipe differs a bit from the one I linked to, but it's essentially the same.  I used an entire pound of pasta.  I used a few slices of provolone, chopped, but then added a package of the mozzarella pearls (a product I have never previously used).  I used one green pepper and one yellow pepper, and would do this again as it really enhances the salad's appearance.  This calls for salami and pepperoni.  Our local Market Basket supermarket sells deli meat ends very inexpensively, so I picked up a package of Italian cold cut ends to use in this salad.  I ended up only needing about half of the meat the package contained, so I'm planning to make this salad again for Sunday's fellowship dinner at church. 

 Because of the aforementioned heat wave, I didn't want to bake a dessert, but I did want to provide one, so I decided on one of the icebox cakes made with oreos as a base.  Our friends love chocolate and peanut butter, so I went looking for an icebox cake with those flavors.  Here's the one I found: Peanut Butter Oreo Icebox Cake.  This turned out so well!  The only change I made was to decorate the dessert with teensy peanut butter cups rather than a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Let's see, what else has been going on?  My hubby has been busy with projects at our little camp.  Despite the heat, he has been doing crazy things like laying pipes to our little spring, mixing concrete for various projects, and preparing to build an outdoor shower.  Yesterday he went to Lowe's and got a lot of the necessary materials for it.  

Don't recall if I shared about this before or not.  The top step here was sunken below ground level.  My hubby dug underneath it and lifted it up with the help of a strong lever and a wiry 7-year-old.  Then he created a second step using stones from one of the many walls on our property.  The third step is pieces of slate which had been placed there years ago.  Those weren't the most stable, so this week he made a concrete form to embed them in.  I'll have to take a photo next time we are over there, as this photo from July pre-dates the concrete.  As you can see, scraping and painting on the building (especially this little porch) will be a necessity this fall!
Adding a flag was a simpler project and one we are so pleased to have done.  We found a solar light which works perfectly to light it up at night.


 These stone steps led up from the road, or possibly from a driveway, to the large farmhouse that once stood on our camp property.  My hubby was doing a little bit of brush cutting and came upon these.  We had just seen a photo of the farmhouse at the historical society, so when he found these he knew exactly what they were.  We have since placed a pot of flowers on one step so passers-by will notice them.

Our church had VBS (aka Summer Bible Camp) last week and it was a great week of ministry.  So good to see the folks working together to minister to kids from both church and community.

I've been trying to get back into the FlyLady routines this month.  In spite of the fierce heat (and dripping with sweat as I worked), I managed to do a little decluttering in Zone 1 last week and am tackling Zone 2 this week.  I'll have to do a Making Space post soon, as I have found a few items to donate.

 I'm also trying to keep up with the 100-for-100 writing challenge.  I've missed a few days here and there but currently have well over 13,000 words so I am pleased with that.  

 Another project I'm tackling is to make some sachets to help with musty odors at the camp.  Humid weather brings those out.  I'm making some balsam sachets to tuck into furniture, and some lavender ones to place in drawers and cabinets.  For the lavender ones, I'm using the same mixture as my vacuum cleaner bag sachets.  A jarful of mix is currently curing, and I'll package it in coffee filters next week.

Last but not least, we've recently learned that our Nevada family is to arrive on August 29 for a ten-day visit.  Lots of planning ahead as we consider meals and people and places they hope to see!

Sunday, August 07, 2022

Sunday Scripture

 

Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015.  With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer.  The third section is Made for Community with Family.  So here we go with the Scripture for the fourth day of that section. 

S=  "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
      "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart;
      "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
     "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes,
     "And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
      (Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

O=  Moses has called all Israel together to rehearse God's law to them, along with exhorting them and warning them of the consequences of disobeying God.  Here in verse 5, he exhorts them to love the LORD their God with all their heart, soul, and might.  Then in verse 6 he goes on to exhort them to keep these words in their own hearts and to teach them to their children.

God's Word was first of all to be in their own hearts.  The same exact instruction is given in Deuteronomy 11:18-20, so we know this is important.

Then, they were to teach these things diligently to their children.

A cross-reference for "teach" is Deuteronomy 4:9 -- "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons."

Parents were to talk of God's words:
* while sitting in their houses
* while walking by the way
* first thing in the morning
* last thing at night.

In addition, they were to carry God's words with them:
* in their hearts
* as a sign upon their hand
* as frontlets between their eyes.

And they were to place God's words prominently in their homes:
* written on the doorposts of their houses
* written on their gates.

A= There is so much application here!  Like the children of Israel, I also am to love God with all of my heart, soul, and might.  And from this perspective of loving God, I am to teach God's Word to my family.

In my case, my children are grown and not in the place any longer where I am actually teaching them anything.  But hopefully they can observe my spiritual growth and learn something from how that happened.  And, I can in some measure teach God's Word to my grandchildren.

I'm to talk of God's Word at home, as well as when I'm out and about.  I'm to think and speak of God's Word first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.

I can carry God's Word with me everywhere I go by hiding it in my heart.  It will keep me from sin, and it will be there to refresh others as I share it with them.  I can also keep God's Word prominent in my home by making sure Bibles are accessible and by displaying Scripture verses in various ways and locations.  All of these things are not only reminders to me, but are wonderful tools for sharing our testimony with others who enter our home -- whether family, friends, or neighbors.

P=  "Lord, how I thank You today for Your Word!  It's such a blessing to have Your Word so accessible, to have the privilege of owning multiple copies of it in our own language.  I'm well aware that not everyone in the world is so blessed.  I praise You too for the privilege and responsibility to share Your Word with others.

I pray that You will help me to love You with all of my heart, soul, and might -- and to keep hiding Your Word in my own heart and keeping it as an integral part of my life.  I know that unless Your Word is deeply ingrained in my own heart and life, I won't be effective in teaching it to others.

I thank You for helping me over the years to speak of Your Word to my children and grandchildren.  Whether in the home, riding in the car, hiking a trail, or wherever we have been, You've helped me to share Scripture with them, and I am so thankful for that.

I pray that You will help me continue to memorize Scripture and to give me those opportunities to share its truths with others.  Help me to be faithful in doing so.  I praise You for all You have done and will continue to do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

Just as an encouragement and maybe a bit of inspiration, below I'm sharing some of the Scripture samplers I have made and displayed in my home.  They are wonderful "doorposts"!

Let your speech be always with grace ...

The fruit of the Spirit in a Country Baking sampler

Verses from Luke and Isaiah


A closer look at Luke 6:38

Hope this Sunday Scripture post has encouraged someone today!  It was a great reminder for me.


Wednesday, August 03, 2022

Hodgepodge for August 3

 


Wednesday, and time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  This week's questions relate to sisters, watermelon, and more.  Here goes!

1. Do you have a sister? Tell us something about her. If you don't have a sister, tell us about a friend who has been like a sister. Or tell us about a sister-in-law if you have one who is extra special. 

I did have a younger sister.  She passed away in 1997 from MS.  She was the youngest of the family and -- from the point of view of my brothers and myself -- quite spoiled as a child.  She really wasn't, of course -- it was just that she seemed to get away with more, and was allowed to have food preferences that had never been allowed for us older ones.  I'm holding my sister in the photo below.


2. Resister, assister, insister, persister...choose one of the words listed and explain how it relates to you and your life lately. 

How about persister?   Lately it seems as if much of what my hubby and I are busy with is persisting .. persisting in trying to get him a new phone that works and lets him keep his number ... persisting as we try to sell some land to fulfill a trust responsibility ... persisting with trying to ready an outdoor shower at our little camp .. and much more.  We are also resisters,  but persisting has occupied so much of our time in the past couple weeks that I had to choose that one.

3. Share a favorite song, book, movie, or television program that features sisters.

All I can think of is the Hayley Mills version of The Parent Trap, and that "Sisters, Sisters" song from the movie White Christmas.  Oh wait!  My very favorite would be the book Little Women.   Below are my childhood copies of Little Women and Jo's Boys.


The photo above is of the frontispiece art in my copy of Little Women.  Can't even count how many times I read that book in my girlhood!

4. August 3rd is national watermelon day...are you a fan? Do you like watermelon flavored candy? Besides eating the melon as is, do you have a good recipe made with watermelon? 

Oh yes!  We love watermelon.  Not a fan of watermelon flavored candy, though.   I have often made a simple watermelon salad with cubed watermelon and crumbled feta cheese,  drizzling it with a raspberry or other fruity vinaigrette.

Photo from Pixabay


5. 'Tis August...what are three things you're looking forward to this month? 

 Fresh corn on the cob with lots of butter and salt.
Getting some housework accomplished in anticipation of our NV family's visit in September.
Getting more work done at our camp.

Kids husking corn on Labor Day 2021

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My hubby and I were chatting about this early this morning: we must be getting older.  We sleep well (especially at our little camp) but we always wake up so tired.  I think part of it is that we've been out of the house every evening this week, for various reasons.  Not late, but still ... I'm thinking that isn't helping.

 


And that wraps up the Hodgepodge for this week!  Why not head on over to From This Side of the Pond and snag the questions to answer on your own blog? 

Monday, August 01, 2022

Some goals for August

 

Graphic from Baptist Bible Hour

 And suddenly it's August.  Once again I am just not sure how this year is passing by so quickly.  I am more determined than ever to make each day count.  To that end (I hope) here are some goals for August:

* Keep up with Flylady's homemaking zones of the week
* Continue reading through the New Testament
* Post in this blog several times per week
* Post in my Christmas blog as often as possible
*  Attend a monthly ladies' Bible study
*  Plan and prepare for our Nevada family's visit in September
* Continue planning for family birthday gifts and crafting any handmade ones
* Craft some homemade Christmas gifts and decorations
* Help my hubby with some work at our little cottage (an outdoor shower is on our list)
* Do some sewing projects (sachets to stave off musty odors, plus maybe curtains) for the cottage
* Spend a little time on some UFO craft projects
* Continue stocking my Etsy shop and continue selling vintage items
* Spend some time on my trust responsibilities
* Write at least 4 encouraging notes to friends and family
* Help and encourage my local daughter as I'm able
* Plan meals with a greater emphasis on healthy eating
* Memorize several Bible verses and review some older ones
* Get back into our study of the book of Daniel with younger believers
* Continue working on and teaching a ladies Sunday School class
* Continue to help a widowed friend with the challenges of life in general
* Drink enough water each day
* Walk and/or exercise at least 4 times each week

HEALTHY HABITS FOR AUGUST:  Drink more water/get more sleep/get more exercise/limit sugar

 And there are some goals for August!  We will see how I do.  Lots to accomplish before our NV family arrives for a short visit early in September.

What about you?  How is your summer going?  Do you have any specific goals for this month?