Prayer
Curtsy: Carol

Send me, O Lord, into the tasks of this day rejoicing.

Teach me that I labor to Thee,
that I eat and drink to Thy glory,
that I think and plan to the ends
which Thou hast laid before me.

Do Thou strengthen me that I may
become willing to sacrifice for others.

Teach me to look upon my life today
as given me to help my fellowmen.

Let me see in my profession,
in the need of those who depend on me,
in the want and struggle of the world about me,
my field for loving service.

Remind me again that my life,
my speech, my faith
is nothing without love.

Grant that I be ready to forgive,
quick in sympathy,
earnest in my rejoicing with those who are happy,
and zealous in bearing the burdens of my fellow-men.

In Jesus's name, Amen.

~ from the Lutheran Prayer Book

Sunday Dinner



Continuing the conversation after the meal is almost as important as the food itself.

Like Mrs. Schaeffer's said,*Food and meal-times shared have always been thought of as a closer kind of communication than simply talking to people, without eating together.*








More discussion here, too.












Last, but not least, DD#2 loading the dishwasher!











DD#3 is off camera putting leftovers in the 'fridge.


This week's after church meal was more simple: ham sandwiches and there were only three of us.

Walking/Hiking

Muggy and hot after the morning rain, the weather was not ideal for walking, but I needed to get moving. I hadnt walked since last Friday! The temperature registered at 81 degrees with *Realfeel* at 95!


But again, I needed to accomplish my walk. It takes me 45 minutes to walk the neighborhood. Going up and down nine hills is sufficiently aerobic to be called a true workout. And I need to think of myself as *in training*!





These sandals are very comfortable and perfect for walking. Ordinarily I wear Nike cross-trainers with socks. But I'm wondering if I'll need some real hiking boots for my upcoming hike?



In eight weeks a friend and I will trek five miles to the Len Foote Hike Inn and enjoy a weekend in the north GA mountains. And I have to be able to walk five miles back out again.

I'm thinking the Smith Creek Trail might be a good training, too.

What are you doing in eight weeks?

CWAC or Cousins Week at Callaway

Leftover Picnic


Now it is the end of the week and it's time for another picnic.

This time we bring out whatever is leftover from our week's meals.

Voila!

Dinner!








We've placed the chairs in a large circle,

blessed the food,

and give the troops permission to serve their plates.








Here I am with Jasper, one of the parrots at the Day Butterfly Center.

Thanks for visiting.

Y'all come back now,

ya hear!

Little White House














Last Thursday, we drove over to Warm Springs, GA and visited FDR's home. He started visiting Georgia in the early 1920s after he was stricken with polio. This is BEFORE he was President. He purchased the *resort* and turned it into a medical facility, as swimming (physical therapy) was being acknowledged as a bone fide treatment for polio victims.

This historic home is part of the State Park organization ,and therefore, enjoyed *free* entry with my annual park pass. There is a new (2003) welcome center complete with museum, introductory film, and gift shop, where I noticed a George Grant book, The Patriot's Handbook!


This visit dove-tailed historically with my May visit to Harry Truman's home in Independence, MO.

Pine Mountain







After walking with my friend, Clare, around the Azalea Bowl at Callaway Gardens, we lunched in my cottage on pimento cheese and brownies. Yum.

Then it was time for a litte window shopping in downtown Pine Mountain. It's a quaint little main street with old shops and stores. We did stumble across a china cabinet like I have at home for $350, a paperback set of books, The Children of Pride, and some pretty quilted, scalloped matching placements/napkins.

No purchases were made :)

Callaway Fauna

Duck Family

There is a host of wildlife to see at Callaway Gardens and I captured pictures of only a few.

Besides the ducks, I happened upon a gaggle of Canadian geese who were strangely sunning on a stretch of beach.





Here's a huge turtle of which there were many. Now they didnt make any sound I could detect, but they were worth of a picture.





Although it is very hard to see, there is a bird in the center of this photo. He's on the railing. Can you see him?

I think it is a catbird, whose sound I do recognize, but he was busy pursuing another bird....his companion, I assume.



In addition to self-guided nature walks, there are a host of *Discovery Programs* where educational naturalists conduct a short lecture and demonstration about wildlife or gardening. There are programs all day long. So many that one cant possibly take them all in.

One such program which I have always wanted to do, but have yet to, is *Discover the Stars* It takes place on Monday nights from 9 - 11 pm at the Pavilion Overlook. This year I brought my binoculars in preparation, but alas, I was already in bed!

Family Reunion

Patriarch

Here's my father going over some details related to the early lineage.





Cleverly designed family tree printed so that each child/grandchild could find his/her name and place in the line-up.



Matriarch

Photographer, par excellence, my mother works diligently to record our family events for posterity.


Legend has it that she received her first camera at age 7.





In addition to maintaining family albums, my mother has one for each grandchild. Here's an example of the family calendar she creates for each of us: one per familly plus one miniature one for each grandchild.

Who's the photographer/keeper of the record in your family?


PS She also is webmaster at our family webpage.

Sunday Dinner

Baked Chicken Piquant
Brown Rice
Sauteed Summer Squash
Pole Beans, steamed
Five-Grain French Bread

Tea, sweet and unsweet
Red Rose

Fresh Georgia Peaches
Breyers French Vanilla
Peachtree Schnapps
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Pecan Bars

Coffee


With twelve for dinner after church today, I have set both the dining room and kitchen tables. The fresh peaches are my centerpieces even tho' we will have to remove them just before dessert.

More later.

Chicken Piquant

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4 - 5 lbs chicken, cut up and placed in large roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika according to preference.

In a blender, whirl the following six ingredients

1 1/2 cups rose wine
1/2 cup safflower oil
2 Tbs ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbs brown sugar

Pour over chicken pieces and bake for 60 - 75 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces, until done.

Serve with brown rice, using the extra liquid as gravy.

This is an easy recipe to serve company. It smells like baking bread and creates a delicious aroma. I'll be serving this for tomorrow's Sunday dinner.

Picnics

Earlier this week I commented on Donna's query about picnics (scroll down entry to find fill-in-the-blank-question) and said that a picnic is not complete without fried chicken. On Sunday we'll kick off our annual family reunion with a picnic. In this case, every family packs their own and brings out their plates to a common area. This year in addition to serving my family, I've invited my parents and two old family friends (who're just dropping in for the day) to join us.


Our menu:

Krispy Fried Chicken (a local Pine Mtn favorite)
Green Beans
Rice Salad with artichokes
Sliced Tomatoes
Bread Ring

Iced Tea
Bloody Marys



Cookie Cake (common dessert shared by about fifty of us)














Even though meals are shared throughout the week, each family can retreat to their own cottage kitchens for meal planning and preparations. By the end of the week, there are usually leftovers, soooooooooooo on Friday night we have a final picnic where everyone brings out *leftovers*! It's loads of fun and it really helps clean out the 'fridges before we have to pack up and leave the next day.

One rainy year, we had a progressive picnic, in which we went from cottage to cottage with umbrellas, sampling leftovers.

Circle Time

Every afternoon we gather
to *visit* - that is, sit around,
tell stories, ask questions,
get to know one another better.


L-R: DD#4, DD#2 behind DH, Me, Brother, SIL

Sunday, July 17, 2006













Getting a little larger, at any time of the day during our week-long family reunion, the circle is a special ingredient in our family fellowship.

Check my xanga for a picture of our little neighborhood away from home.

Wild Rice Salad














My sister-in-law brought this dish to the birthday party last week along with the recipe.........which she states is *different* every time she makes it, depending on what's in the 'fridge. She adapted it from Southern Living.

2 - 6 oz pkgs long grain and wild rice mix, cooked as directed, excluding the butter.
2 11 oz cans white or shoepeg corn, drained
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
6 chopped green onions
4 peeled and diced carrots (these appear to be missing this time)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp black pepper

Dressing:
1/4 C lemon juice
1 or 2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs safflower oil
1/2 tsp dry mustard.

3 Tbsp sunflower seeds or slivered almonds

Combine salad ingredients. Mix dressing in blender until smooth and pour over salad. Toss well. Chill. Add seeds/nuts just before serving.

This is very yummy.



Another favorite is Artichoke Rice salad, which recipe I will post later.

Influential? The 100 year test

Having just finished a delicious dinner salad concocted with leftovers from the previous week's dinners, it's time to reflect on the day's sermon.

We sang from the Trinity Hymnal: #295, #30, #301, and #488.

Genesis 18:1-19 was read and the congregation was exhorted with twelve principles which, if applied, are likely to yield far-reaching effects in years to come.

Here's the list.

1) Believe that the people of God have a future - a victorious and glorious one at that. Matt 13

2) Believe that God has entered into a covenant with His people in Christ. Gen 17:7, Ex 20:5-6, Deut 7:9 Jer 37:17-18

3) Multiply - Be fruitful and have a family. Plan to outpopulate the wicked.

4) Create an inheritance - a material one, a spiritual one, an intellectual one, and an economic one. Pv 3:22 Job 27:13

5) Purchase land and keep it in the family. Job is a good example.

6) Obey God's Word when parenting/rearing your children. JCM read from Calvin's commentary on Gen 18:19

7) Give your children a distinctly Christian education. Deut 6:4-9

8) Pray for your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

9) Work to reconstruct our culture so that it will be less evil for your progeny. Gen 1:28 and Matt 28:18

10) Guide your children in their life choices using Scripture to substantiate your advice. Neh 13:23

11) Teach your children to think *futuristically*. JCM has preached an entire sermon on this topic and it covers the down-side of living only for the moment and not saving. See this sermon on Luke 16 delivered 4/2/06.

12) Pray earnestly to God and beg that He would be faithful to His promises. Is 65:17-19

Application: Around the dinner table, I gave each daughter an opportunity to comment about one of the twelve. We had some lively conversation.

Personal note: I pray for my children; I pray for their future spouses, and I try to pray for their children and grandchildren. It's not easy to do, not *knowing* them or their names. I have some pretty neat family stories and genealogy books, but none which say *I'm praying for my progeny*

Here's a link to one daughter's sermon notes.

Happy Birthday!




















Just coming in the back door after running five, say F.I.V.E., miles!

At 6am!

And then he walks in the evenings with me.

He says it's to keep his joints from tightening up ;)

Independence Day















Birth of Old Glory
Edward Percy Moran


Seems like an appropriate day to talk about two of my pet peeves:

1) lack of respect for our flag.

Educate yourself today by reading about how to treat the flag. Here's a link. Hopefully there are no flag plates on the table today. Red, white, and blue, yes!

and

2) the misnomer *Revolutionary War* which was really the *War for Independence*.

Briefly and for the purposes of this post, the definition of *revolution* is the overthrow of one government and its replacement with another. I maintain that the colonists neither intended to overthrow the government of Britain nor replace it. To wit, England's form of government still operates. Back to the colonists - they simply wanted to be INDEPENDENT, to start their own nation.

Thanks for reading.

P S Ribs is what we're doing today.

Chocolate Pie


Prepare a baked pie shell.

In the blender combine:

1 cup sugar 2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour 3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt

Pour contents of blender into a double boiler and cook over - not in - boiling water for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir constantly and do not walk away, as it is easy to curdle this mixture.

Remove from heat and add:

2 Tbs butter
2 oz cut up or grated unsweetened chocolate
2 tsp vanilla

Cool slightly before tourning into the crust. Top with meringue made from the remaining egg whites.


Meringue Topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whip until frothy 3 egg whites and then add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar. Continue to whip until they are stiff, but not dry. They should stand in peaks that lean over slightly, when the beater is removed. Beat in one tablespoon at the time 3-4 Tbs of sugar. Do not overbeat. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Spread over pie. Bake 10 - 15 mins in preheated oven.

Taken from Joy of Cooking.

Sunday's Sermon

Title: Here We Raise Our Ebenzer
Text: I Samuel 7 (read from Geneva Bible, which is one used by early settlers)
TE: JCMIII
Hymns: 616, 621, 293, 400 (all from blue Trinity Hymnal)


















Photo Credit: Jay Shepherd


Brief Outline using Scriptural references and historical examples.

Introduction:
Psalm 145: 1-7 King David was a student of history
Proverbs 22:28 and 23: 10-12
Purpose of landmarks/memorial: remind and move (motivate)
Our country is busy tearing down boundaries and renaming landmarks.

Body:
A)OT examples of erecting monuments/memorials
1) Abraham at
2) Jacob at Peniel (Gen
3) Joshua at Gilgal (Joshua 4)
4) Israelites at Ebenezer (I Sam 7)

B)Larger Catechism Questions 107, 108, 109
1) Duty implied in second commandment: according to each one's place and calling, removing all monuments of idolatry. Scriptural supports: Deut 7:5 and Is 30:22

C)National Confession and Covenant Renewal
1) Samuel's prayer for his people (I Sam 7)
The people gathered, drew water and poured it out, fasted, and confessed their sins.

This sermon/speech was delivered at the dedication of the Children's Memorial to the settlers of Jamestown. I'm wondering if there was any confession of sin by the group gathered. Does anyone out there have access to a program?

D)Historical examples in early America for whom we should give thanks
1) John Tyler's speech given at 250th anniversary celebration of founding of Jamestown.
2) Richard Hakluyt - cartographer for Virginia Company - see its charter for purpose
3) John Smith - Puritan - read parts of his last will and testament.
4) Pocahontas - became a Christian
5) Robert Hunt - 1st preacher to the Jamestown settlers
6) Alexander Whitaker - most well known preacher to settlers
7) Sir Thomas West Deleroix (sp?) - abolished communal farming
8) Sir Thomas Dale - governor of Jamestown - read example of a law as well as excerpt from charter of third Virginia Company.
9) Edwin Sandez (sp) - responsible for representative government
10) Powantan - Indian boy who warned the settlers of impending attack and thereby preventing a massacre
11) Africans in Jamestown - next Sunday evening's sermon topic.

Application
Jamestown Childrens Memorial

Conclusion
R L Dabney quote - make sure we retain all that is TRUE
Cranshaw's preface to Alexander Whitaker's sermon, Good News from Jamestown, re: great prize placed in the hands of fools.