Sharing Garden Seeds with a Friend

I am sorry to tell you that I will be away from my blog for about a week. I hope to catch up with after that. May the Lord bless you this week!

Have you ever admired the old seed packets of long years ago? Aren't they beautiful and nostalgic? They make me think of some little Mother cultivating a bit a beauty around her homestead. Or maybe, they are the inspiration of a once loved, but now long neglected garden surrounding an old Victorian house in a now busy downtown neighborhood.



I have wanted to put some of my garden seeds into my own packages for some time. I have an old version of Print Shop, which I use for everything I do for personal use. It has some really wonderful graphics.
So I went to work, last Friday and found the graphics I wanted, imported them into Publisher, where I had a template set up for the actual packages. Then finished them up on Saturday. Just in time to put into a special "care package".

I purchased a pot of glue from Small Meadow Press to use on many paper projects. (You can see it in the center of the picture ~ a silver pot.) It is archival quality and acid free. And it smells like almonds! It would be great for scrap booking, I'm sure.

I call myself "Inspirations of the Past". Do you like the name?


This is a great thing to do if you hate to see all your garden seeds go to the compost pile.

I hope you will have some fun with this project! And do try that glue!

A Special Outfit for My "Little One"

I really enjoy making special clothes for my little ones. Of course, it's been some time since I had a "little one" to sew for, but what a delight that I am once again occupying myself this way! The "fruit of the womb" is a wonderful gift from God and it my belief that women who know God should delight in and welcome the 'having' of children.


The pattern I used was Circa 1950 Overblouse Suit by Belles and Beaus. It is an out of print pattern. I used Aunt Martha's Denim Dan embroidery pattern, but because it was too large for the overblouse front, my young friend, Thelma, re-drew it for me to a proper scale. I was delighted! (She told me she couldn't draw!)
I used a small piece of Hancock Fabric's cotton sateen for it. It is soooo soft. You just have to try some. Ashley and I are both plotting summer blouses out of it.


Sawyer was as cute as a button in his little outfit!

Hymn For The Lord's Day: Through An Empty Tomb

THROUGH AN EMPTY TOMB

W. Elmo Mercer


When I think of the cross on which my Savior died
A long time ago for my sin,
I see it through an empty tomb,
He's not there inside, for the cross was not meant to be the end!

For He lives! Jesus lives!
What a thrill to believe!
And this life is mine to share abundantly;
Through an empty tomb Calvary looks different,
And it's all so very precious to me!

Cruel nails, bonds of death, could never hold Him there;
His love and His pow'r conquered all!
Now I can face the storms of life,
For I know He cares; he'll protect,
He will guide me lest I fall.

For He lives! Jesus lives!
What a thrill to believe!
And this life is mine to share abundantly;
Through an empty tomb Calvary looks different,
And it's all so very precious to me!

Hymn For The Lord's Day: Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart

SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART

George Croly 1780-1860


Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
No angel visitant, no opening skies;
But take the dimness of my soul away.

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross- there teach my heart to cling:
O let me seek Thee, and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh:
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The baptism of the heaven descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

Early Spring Blessings

This past Friday, a surprise package arrived by Post. It was from my dear friend, Paula. She sent all the things that delight me! She has been busy stitching and sewing her gentle and sweet thoughts into the beautifully done wall quilt you see above. I don't know when I last saw such perfect embroidery. You will be inspired to go visit her blog and see how she occupies her time. She obviously delights in keeping her home as the scriptures say, and loving her family by doing it.


The box was full of delights!



Her exquisite taste is represented by her selection of note papers!


Here are a few of the early spring flowers we find coming up around our home. If anyone can identify this for me, I would be glad. I suspect it is a Dutch Iris.

Aren't these sweet?

Linden Rose

Unidentified. Extremely aromatic!

Daffodil

Another daffodil

A naturalized clump of daffodils

My favorite flower.
A Violet with a tiny bud.

"All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints shall bless Thee."
Psalm 149

Hymn For The Lord's Day:Praise Ye The Lord The Almighty

From Psalm 5

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord;
in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness;
neither shall evil dwell with thee.
. . . .
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy:
and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
. . . .
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:
Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:
let them also that love thy name by joyful in thee.
For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous;
with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.


PRAISE YE THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY

Joachim Neander 1650-1680


Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salavation!
All yea who hear, now to His temple draw hear;
Join me in glad adoration!

Praise ye the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise ye the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He brought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!

Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again:
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

My Precious Daughter

Twenty-four years ago, our lives changed. Forever. This little girl changed this young "couple" into a "family".

She was the sweetest little girl this side of heaven!

She became the "big sister" to quite a line-up of boys!
This was just the first of her five brothers.

The interesting thing is that her grandmother was an only daughter; her mother was an only daughter, and she is an only daughter. Perhaps she will break the cycle!

I would like to dedicate this post to my daughter and to all mothers and daughters.

When we have a daughter, we have the hope and expectation of the next generation.
We will pass on to them the knowledge of Christ and his great forgiveness of sin. But ladies, this is just the beginning! We also pass on our own philosophy of life which greatly influences the way they will go.
We need to teach our daughters to live in this world, yet be apart from the world's trends, fashions, attitudes and philosophies. We must teach them to affect the world by being truly and clearly set apart from the world and unto the Lord.
Unfortunately, there is a tendency to "Christianize" the ways of the world. Christian mothers often encourage their daughters to "get a good education" for the purpose of "making something of themselves" or so they can get into the workforce (after all, their husband might die someday!). They may imply that housework and being at home is what you do after you have really done something with that education. That sounds like feminism to me.
Instead, we should encourage our daughters to be educated for the purpose of being the best wives and mothers they can be. A good education includes practical knowledge, but without a good understanding of how to use it or what it means for the glory of God, and without spriritual wisdom, I would wonder about her so called "education".
We should be able to take the knowledge we aquire and use it for God's glory by passing it on to our children.

Donuts, Milk, and Coffee

I wanted to share this wonderful receipt I found in an older Southern Living cookbook.
This was the second time I tried it, and boy were these doughnuts great! They were very little trouble too.
About an hour before we left to go to church last night, I stirred up the batter and put it on to rise for about 45 minutes, then quickly cut them out and put them on to rise while we were at church.

GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

2 C scalded milk
1/2 butter

1/2 C sugar
2 tsp. salt

Mix in a bowl and cool to lukewarm.

1 package yeast
2 eggs

Add to batter and stir well.

6 C flour

Stir in flour and stir well. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.
Roll out on lightly floured board and cut with a doughnut cutter.
Let rise 45 minutes.
Fry in about 1/2" vegetable oil or deep fat fryer.
Drain on absorbant paper.

Did into glaze mix:

2/3 C boiling water
1# powdered sugar

Enjoy with a cold glass of whole milk, or fresh brewed coffee!





Around here we buy farm~fresh milk at a local dairy. It is really the best milk around! It is not homogenized at all, so it must be shaken well before it is poured. This is really much better for you because the fat globules, being large, are not able to be broken down small enough to pass quickly through the intestines and into your arteries.
It is very lightly pasteurized, so more of the good stuff is still good.

A Hymn For The Lord's Day

This morning at our little country church, we were blessed by a dear 86 year-old saint as he lifted his aged voice in praise to our Dear Saviour. As he sang this hymn, I noticed his quavering hands hold the book he sang from, and thought about his testimony.

As a young man, he found himself at the end of WWII guarding Nazi prisoners in Germany. He later learned they were some of the highest ranking officers in Nuremberg who were later executed for their part in the slaughter of so many.
After he came home and was married, he avoided going to church. He knew he was wicked, but didn't wish to go to church, although his dear wife encouraged him to take her and the family to church. Then one week there were special revival meetings being held, and he told her he would not be going. But when he got home from work and saw his suit laying out on the bed, he put it on and went with her to the meeting where he was wondrously saved!
Now, nearly 50 years later he gets up and praises God for saving him; he tells us that things are different now somehow. Life has never been the same. When he prays aloud, his prayer seems to usher us into the presence of God as he touches God's heart.

This morning he sang this hymn.

SINCE JESUS CAME INTO MY HEART

Rufus H. McDaniel 1850-1940

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I had sought, since Jesus came into my heart!

Since Jesus came into my heart,

Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy o'er my soul like the sea billows roll.
Since Jesus came into my heart!

I have ceased from my wand'ring and going astray since Jesus came into my heart!
And my sins, which were many, are all washed away Since Jesus came into my heart!

I'm possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure since Jesus came into my heart!
And no dark clouds of doubt now my pathway obscure since Jesus came into my heart!

I shall go there to dwell in that City, I know, since Jesus came into my heart!
And I'm happy, so happy, as onward I go, since Jesus came into my heart!

Since Jesus came into my heart,
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy o'er my soul like the sea billows roll.
Since Jesus came into my heart!