Monday Gratitude...

(All seven grandkids together on Easter Sunday!)

My husband and our secondborn daughter are on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic on their way home from Ghana, West Africa. They will get home tomorrow morning. My daughter's husband got home this morning on an earlier flight and so the three grandkids that stayed with me for the past week are now home with their daddy. What a full, busy, wonderful week it was! 

****************

Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks, 

piling up gratitude day by day in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#11,966-#11,991

4-15-19-

-God's provision

-middle grandson being such a good boy for me

-the different colors of dogwood blooms

-ten year old granddaughter calling me to talk

-chatting with my oldest granddaughter before bed

-texts from Ghana from my guy

4-16-19-

-waking up in the wee hours for some quiet time before the kids wake up
--spring lambs in the fields on the drive to the oldest grand's school

-taking a little afternoon nap while my grandson naps

-prayer and study and good conversation with our small group

4-17-19-

-horses frolicking in the grass

-the trees with their spring green leaves

-calls, texts and FaceTime with my guy while he's gone

4-18-19-

-a friend from church putting a new battery in my car for me

-singing with my grandson

-the sweet presence of God in our worship and prayer time tonight

4-19-19-

-Good Friday-thank you, Jesus, my Savior, my once and for all sacrifice for sin

-going to the zoo 

-God's peace

4-20-19-

-apple blossoms

-God's help with all the to-dos for tomorrow

-hope

4-21-19-

-Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

-a video from my hub's week in Ghana

-God's help with my message for today

-a wonderful afternoon at our youngest daughter's in-laws

still following,

Easter 2019

(Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, April 21st at Woman to Woman Ministries, where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)

still following,

Also happily linking up with:

Sunday Scripture Blessings

Susan B. Mead

Friday Faves-Easy Easter Cookie Bars

When I saw the recipe for M&M Cookie bars on Leslie's blog,

I knew I wanted to try them.

I chose to use peanut butter, (not peanut), M&Ms instead of the plain ones.

 I also chose to brown the butter and sprinkled the top of the bars 

with a wee bit of sea salt before baking them.

Oh my goodness!  These are so easy to make that you don't expect them to be such a 

soft, buttery, gooey, sweet, peanut buttery bit of heaven.

Click on Leslie's recipe and try it!

You won't be sorry!

(Leave her a comment and tell her Elizabeth sent you!)

It's almost Good Friday, friends.

Have a Blessed Good Friday

and 

Easter weekend!

 

             

Monday Gratitude...

My husband and middle daughter and her husband just arrived in Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa this morning. They will be there for a week visiting our dear friend, Bishop A. and participating in a big Easter conference with Bishop's networks of churches. I chose to stay home this trip so that I could take care of the three grandkids making it possible for both my daughter and her husband to go. I also wanted to be at our own church during Easter. I will miss waking up to the sounds, sights and smells of Kumasi, the worship and dancing at the church and the faces of those we've come to know and love. But, then I'd miss my oldest granddaughter's blow by blow accounts of a current movie she's watched or the latest happenings at her school, my oldest grandson's deepening man voice telling me about his current sporting events and the latest shoes he wants, and my almost five year old grandson's insistence that the only Bible story that he wants to read before bed, over and over and over again, is David and Goliath. Life is about choices isn't it? I'm content with my choice to stay home this week and so thankful to the God who continues to bless me abundantly above and beyond all that I could ask or think.

***************

Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks, 

piling up gratitude day by day in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#11,939-#11,965

4-8-19-

-an early morning chat with my seven year old granddaughter

-a sun break on this rainy day so I could take the grands on a walk to the park,
(no school today so I'm helping to watch them)

-the grands gobbling up hot cross buns warm from the oven

4-9-19-

-green living house plants in most every room

-the ability to stock up on good food to eat

-talking with friends

4-10-19-

-God's help with an upcoming sermon

-waking up rested

-praying with a friend

-little white ramekins on sale for future lava cake making

4-11-19-

-our youngest daughter's birthday

-the song of the red winged blackbird

-our granddaughter's new pink glasses

-a powerful night of prayer

4-12-19-

-rivers swollen and swift with rain

-puffy, cotton candy cumulus clouds

-old fashioned blue bells

-lunch with youngest daughter and her family

-the blue hour sky

4-13-19-

-dogwood blossoms

-errands and lunch with my guy before he leaves for Ghana tomorrow

-a break in the rain for a walk

4-14-19-

-praying with my husband in the wee hours before he goes to the airport

-pink sunrise out my kitchen window

-a friend willing to help me with my dead car battery

-the grands staying here with me this week

still following,

Palm Sunday Thoughts...

With His gaze set on His destiny, His will yielded in obedience to His Father, and His great heart set on the joy of the redemption He was going to bring to all who would receive Him, Jesus entered Jerusalem. As He road into the city on a borrowed donkey, the crowd gathered along the road, cutting branches from the trees and removing their coverings to lay them in the road before Him. "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!", they cried.  (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, April 14th atWoman to Woman Ministries,where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)

still following,

Also happily linking up with:

Sunday Scripture Blessings

Susan B. Mead

Friday Faves...Hot Cross Buns

You still have time before Easter to gather your children or grandchildren,

don your aprons, and give baking Hot Cross Buns a try.

Even if they don't look perfect, I don't think you'll be disappointed in the taste.

HOT CROSS BUNS

Heat 3/4 cup milk in microwave until very warm to the touch, but not boiling.

Add 2 pkgs. dry yeast, (4 1/2 teaspoons yeast)

Add 1/3 cup sugar

Whisk all of the above and let sit until yeast is "proofed", which means it looks foamy and bubbly.

To this mixture add:

 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

3 lightly beaten eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix together then add:

3 1/2-4 cups all purpose flour

Combine and knead with the dough hook on your mixer, or by hand, approximately three minutes.

Add 2/3 cup dried currants or raisins and knead to combine.

If dough is too soft add a little more flour when you add the dried currants.

Shape dough into ball.

Place into a large greased or non stick sprayed bowl and turn dough over once.

Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non stick spray and let rise until double in size, 

about 1 1/2 hours.

(This is a good time to let the kiddos watch a movie, play outside, or play a game.)

Punch down the dough and let rest 10 minutes.

Shape into 18-20 round, smooth balls.

( Or, not so smooth if the kiddos are making them.  I may have tried to reshape a few.  Shhh! Don't tell!)

Place on greased baking sheet about an inch or so apart.

With a serrated knife, cut a shallow cross in the top of each bun.

Cover again and let rise until double in size, about 30-45 minutes.

Lightly brush the tops with a lightly beaten egg white.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a cooling rack.

When cool, using a pastry tube, or a plastic freezer bag with one corner cut off, 

pipe a cross on top of each bun with a glaze made of 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and a wee splash of milk.

Have a Happy Friday

and

a safe and blessed weekend!

 

             

Monday Gratitude...

The days fly by. On some days a list of to-dos checked off makes me feel that my day was productive-not wasted. But, more often than not, life is not a neatly checked off list. People and their needs, the time needed to nurture relationships, don't fit in a neat and tidy list. They are not always convenient. Yet, family, friends, church family, the people in my life, they are the what bobs up to the top of my list of blessings most often. The beauty of nature, the material blessings God gives, all are not enjoyed in their fullness without sharing them with those I love. All relationships take work. In every relationship, there are issues to work through, things to forgive, things to be forgiven for, things that stretch and challenge us. There is a painful dying to self that happens to put the needs of others above my own. I fail at this all too often. But, oh, how thankful I am that I have people in my life that love me in spite of my failures, and most of all, that I have a God Who loves me in spite of my failures as well. 

I am overwhelmed with God's goodness on this Monday morning. Two grand girlies spent the night here last night. There are crayons and scattered papers filled with drawings on my kitchen counter. I hear a little girl humming as she plays. Early this morning, minutes after I I sat down for my first cup of coffee and my morning quiet time for prayer and Bible reading, I heard the pitter patter of my seven year old granddaughter's feet. I sipped coffee and chatted with her instead of getting to spend time talking with Jesus today. I'm pretty sure He understood. 

***************

Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks, 

piling up gratitude day by day in my journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#11,914-#11,938

4-1-19-

-falling for a funny April fool's joke

-youngest granddaughter's chubby, kissable cheeks

-oldest grandson's kindness to his younger cousins

-family dinner to celebrate two daughter's birthdays and one son-in-law's birthday

-youngest grandson talking so much now

4-2-19-

-bearing one another's burdens in prayer

-a new cup that worked to wean youngest grandson from his bottle

-a simple home repair finally done

4-3-19-

-spring birdsong

-new spring leaves on the trees

-our big, beautiful baby girlie-(youngest granddaughter was 9lbs11oz at birth and is 13lbs10oz at two months)

4-4-19-

-our son-in-law's birthday

-tasty simple suppers 

-mentoring/praying with a young wife and mom

-seeing God at work in those I love

4-5-19-

-a day trip to the beach for our Friday date day

-morning rain that gave way to afternoon clearing

-lunch with a view of the sea and Haystack Rock

4-6-19-

-praying with a friend 

-G's work on our church leadership meeting and dinner

-God working in relationships

4-7-19-

-youngest granddaughter's baby dedication

-powerful worship and message at Hope City

-a wonderful dinner with family and friends at our daughter's, provided by her in-laws

-a sleepover at our house with our two middle granddaughters

still following,