"Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!" -Psalm 135:3
Let us sing all the time thanking the Lord for His blessings He gives us everyday!
My sister, mother, and I found out about this great thing called Operation Write Home a few months back from Stephanie Ann over at WorldTurnedUpsideDown. We wanted to contribute to this great cause so we made some cards Tuesday. This organization has people send in homemade cards which are shipped to our heros overseas in the war. Then they can send cards to their families, as there are no Hallmark stores over there unfortunately. You can also send them letters of encouragement too.
Here are some photos of us making some Valentines for them to send to their friends and family. You can get in on the fun by going to their website Operation Write Home.
I hope you are having a lovely day and please do make some cards if you have some supplies and send them their way! I know the soldiers would appreciate your support!
Merry Christmas 3 days late! I hope your Christmas Spirit filled and once again you all realized as I did the need for the real meaning of Christmas to be preached, Jesus Christ was born to die for us!
My family and I had a quiet Christmas, just the four of us together. It was lovely! Here are a few photos of Christmas morning and Christmas day.
As is tradition in our home, my mother and I made monkey bread for breakfast Christmas morning. She did most of work getting up real early to get it together and I just put sugar all over the dough and put it into the pan and she put it into the oven. She also made a breakfast casserole pictured below that morning. Its also traditon for us to eat this dish Christmas morning.
" The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."
(John 1:9-18 ESV)
Then for lunch mother also made enchilladas and mexican rice and Beth and I put together a fruit plate. I love all the colors!
Here are a few pictures of our home. I am not sure I have shared what it looks like really. But here is the kitchen and living room where we spend most of our days. Mom puts all the Christmas cards around the doors to decorate every year as is another Christmas tradition of ours.
We decided to not go through all the trouble of having a huge tree this year and we got a nice small one. Mom put it atop the piano and we were all pleased. We decorated our tree 1860s style with period ornaments we had made at living history events. So this year we had a historical tree. :)
And lastly here is the rest of the kitchen where we made cookies and all the Christmas food this year as we do every year. I love how the sunlight always pours into the kitchen each day. Praise the Lord for another year almost done! I have been pondering as of late how time is so short and how God is still faithful no matter what. Praise God for Jesus His Son coming to earth that we might be saved. John chapter 1 is a favorite chapter of mine lately and I posted if above for you all.
Merry Christmas and God bless all of you!
In Christ,
Rebecca
A friend of mine named Lindsey W. designed this flyer for my bakery, I love it! I also am now shipping bread and fudge and caramel corn in the USA. So if you are out of state, just email me and I can tell you shipping prices if you can't come to my front door, but still would love to order.
Hi friends! Its been quite busy recently with Christmas upon us! So many things going on! On Saturday two of my dear friends came up to celebrate a birthday, so we went out to eat at Macaroni Grille and then on to a Swing dance to celebrate. It was great fun and filled with much laughter and encouragement.
Since my dear sister Bethany could not come to celebrate with us we brought her along anyway, we brought her stuffed owl instead. So every time we took a picture she would be in it too. :)
We did not get any photos except for this one at the swing dance, it was so much fun! I love dancing and it was fun to hear christmas music swing style! From God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen to White Christmas and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas were played by the live band. They even had two singers who sang during each song as well and they were dressed up in 1940's attire as well. I wore my circle skirt my sister made me and had fun twirling on the dance floor.
On Sunday we had friends come after church for a christmas social at our house, it was great fun, but again bethany was not there so we had owl be there to remind us to take pictures and document all our fun with the video camera.
We sang christmas carols and played music to praise the Lord for the miracle of His Son coming to earth in form of a man to die for our sins and praised Him that he did not die permanently, but rose on the 3rd day releasing all who believe in Him from their sins.
Here above is Bethany and me, its funny because my personality is definately a puppy and she is definately the owl. Aunt Ann you were so right when you sent us these and said they reminded you of us! :)
Me with Owl while we chatted and talked about christmas and caught up with friends.
Mom missed Beth too and here she is with little owl. :)
And after all those fun hours with friends even Oscor and Felix were a little tuckered out. ;) So that was the weekend! Oh and Bethany came home Sunday night in time to spend a little time with some of our friends before they went home. We were glad she came in time to see them! Its been busy every day and I could write a long book on all the adventurees, but for now I will end.
"I reduce who I can be as a wonderful creation of God when I limit myself to what others think I should be."- Mark Brown
The quote above was posted on the WORD facebook page tonight, I thought it was so convicting! Yes I am reducing who I am when I change myself to be what others want me to be instead of who God wants me to be! I am His creation, I am supposed to be a child of God, not a child of this world. Thanks for the reminder Mark! Hope you all are having marvelous month of December! Its flying by for my family and I! This is a photo from a Christmas gathering last December at dear friends house. I love the Christmas season, I have not been taking as many photos as I would like of all the festivities around here, but hey life goes on even if blogging does not. :) We had a christmas recital today, I played duets with my mother and 3 piano solos, my sister and mother played harp duets. I have a vocal lesson and am once again inspired to sing for the Lord and His glory alone. My teacher always inspires me to sing for the Lord every time I have a lesson. The Lord kept me safe as I drove in the rain without my eye glasses. I am getting a new perscription tomorrow Lord willing. We are driving to another state thurday to get our beef order from friends and visiting friends. Then saturday we have a ladies christmas tea at our church and a swing dance that evening and Sunday church and a Christmas social at our house. The Lord is good to us I am realizing even in the all the busyness. I praise Him that He speaks to me even in the crazy season of Christmas. Praise God He has helped me to realize that even in a busy world we still need to stop and ask for help from the God of the universe. This verse range through my head today, " I lift my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth." Praise God that whenever we ask for His help he is there, the God of the universe, the creator is there! He says whoever crys out to Him He will answer, yes he answers prayer, he always does, even if its no or wait. These are my thoughts today even through all the hustle and bustle of the season. Praise God for our Savior who is gracious to us even if we may forget him for a few minutes, He does not forget us.
It all started a few christmas's ago when a friend of ours made homemade crackers, yes you Jennifer dear. :) My mother said," I want to do that!" She dreamed of making crackers from scratch for years, but did not get around to trying it until yesterday. :) I helped her make the doe and roll out the crackers. We cut them out with christmas cookie cutters just because it was fun! :)
We baked them and ta-da! We had gluten free crackers that my sister, mother, and I could all enjoy for our lunch. We ate them and said," That was too easy and these are so much better than crackers from the store!" My mother told us we should make these when we have friends over for christmas. We might just have to make a few hundred more crackers soon as we ate most of these yesterday. :)
Gluten-Free Herb Cracker Recipe Ingredients- 1/2 cup arrowroot starch or cornstarch ( we used cornstarch)
1/4 cup almond meal ( we did not have any so we used fresh almonds ground up in our Vita Mix, you could also grind them up in a food processor)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons of herbs ( we used 1 tablespoon rosemary and 1 tablespoon thyme)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt to sprinkle on crackers ( we omitted this)
This recipe makes 5 dozen small crackers
What to do-
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit
2. Place dry ingredients in bowl. Blend. Add oil and water to form a dough ball. If dry, add more water to moisten.
3. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes or cut w/knife into even squares. Prink crackers with fork and sprinkle with kosher salt. Transfer crackers to non greased cookie sheet or stone.
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn crackers over and bake 5-7 more minutes until golden brown.
5. Cool and store in air tight container.
Tip- If crumbly, add water to moisten. A 5" by 3" rectangular sheet of dough makes nice flat-bread crackers.
Enjoy your gluten free yummy christmas crackers!
So that was part of our day yesterday in between me sewing a bonnet to sell next monday as my family is going to be speaking in Washington D.C. about the history of the American Civil War, and in between my mom accompanying me on the piano as I sang my songs for my vocal exam and my dear father was my audience. Then that night I went and had my vocal exam and scored an A-! I am so happy! God is so so good to me and I am reminded as I might have said yesterday in yesterdays post, I am so not steadfast in love, but He always is! It boggles my mind at how amazing our God is.
As you can see I have been baking up a storm this past month. I got a few customers now that I have started my own home bakery. Lord willing I will get my parents consent to start selling at local farmers markets. I would appreciate the prayers about that decision! Its a lot of work, but I believe the Lord is leading me in the direction of starting my own business instead of college.
Tuesday I made a cherry pie for my dad as an experiment to see how it tastes and how easy it would be to sell. I believe its a winner! I love the way it looks and I can't say for the taste yet, but will be trying it with a cup of tea tomorrow. I had a vocal exam today, so I have not had a chance to sit down with a good book and read and eat a peice of pie. :) My mother told me how her mother always made a cherry pie for christmas, so this pie will be the special christmas pie for Becca's Bakery.
Hope you all are having a great first day of December! I must say the Lord is blessing me beyond measure, I am sitting here in a warm comfy bed with heat and am just in awe of his provision. He is from everlasting to everlasting a God who is faithful I have been reminded with all the little things that have come into place these past months. I got an A- on my vocal exam today! I sang well according to the deans of the college and my vocal teacher was pleased with my singing. All I had to say was praise God! He is faithful and so many people have been praying for me and of course God answered those prayers. :) He has also helped me to start getting my baking business going despite some road blocks and more doors as my dad says that will need to be pushed on to see if God will open those doors.
I was just so desperate this morning, gasping for breath, after crying for over a half an hour, I opened my Bible and said God I can't do this alone! Lord give me your strength to get through this trial! He spoke through His WORD as He always does each time I open His Book. Praise the Lord that He gives strength to the needy, even me!
Psalm 46 "God is our refuge and our strength,
a very present help in times of trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make me glad
the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High! God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter,
he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us,
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire. "Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
God I am poor and needy, but you comfort me, you are my very present help in times of trouble. Ladies he is not just our help in times of trouble, He is our very present help in times of trouble!!! He is very present! He is not just present, he is very present and real and living. He is Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and the father to the orphans and widows and to His sons and daughters. I am His daughter! He holds me in his hands and I drink from His cup. He is the God of the nations! The only living and true God. Give your troubles and worries up to Him! I did and He has given me great joy today! He is my King and my Father and my friend! He is my redeemer and rescuer from sin! He rescued me today twice! Satan may try to make me feel defeated, but I am not because Christ lives in me! He reigns in my being, he reigns! Not death nor life nor anything in all creation can seperate me from the lover of my soul! Praise the Lord!
Give your worries and burdens to Him today ladies! He will give you peace that surpasses all understanding. I am just so in awe of the answers to prayer and the life He is giving me. He is helping me to keep breathing when I thought I would not be able to.
In my God forever,
Rebecca
Dear readers, I realize I have not been posting as much, but I have good reason. :) First of all I am spending less time on the computer and more time with the Lord and my family and last of all more time baking. :) I am starting my own home bakery! Its so exciting! So here are some photos I have taken for the brochures that a friend of mine is making for me to start my business.
The pie above is a gluten free pumpkin pie, which I love love love! I can eat gluten, but I even loved it. My sister needs to eat lesson gluten so I am trying out lots of gluten free recipes.
This pie above is a whole wheat pumpkin pie, which is the recipe I have used since I was 12 and I made my first pumpkin pie. To tell you the truth I did not make it correctly the first time. :) I put in a whole cup of salt instead of sugar and a teaspoon of sugar instead of a teaspoon of salt. Ooosp! :) But thank goodness I had time to make another one before thanksgiving dinner that day. ;)
Whole wheat bread rolls, which are just so yummy! Even if we make them not for holidays we use them as sandwhich rolls or just to grab and go for a quick snack. Yum!
Whole wheat apple pie I believe is my favorite! I just love it! This one has honey instead of all the sugar and I could not really tell the difference, did not miss the sugar. So yes I am doing sugar free options as well as gluten free options for my customers. Lord willing my business will be off to a good start this week for thanksgiving customers. If you get a chance please pray that the Lord would be the center of my business and that I would not get discouraged if I do not get much interest at first. thanks!
Back in October readers I was very very busy baking and I still am! I am starting my own in home baking business. So you will be seeing lots of photos of things I have made. So keep your eyes peeled. I will be posting recipes as well from the best baking blog-heavenly homemakers.
This mouth watering recipe was so so good that my sister and I were eating them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner literally! Lots of butter and salt and you got a yummy nutricious for us snack or meal. :)
They did not turn out too pretty compared to the ones over at Heavenly Homemakers, but they sure did taste so good! I had trouble doing the pretzel twist method, this was my first time making pretzels, so I made some in heart shapes as well. I got tired of doing the twist. ;)
The pictures are not the best, but I thought it was about time I shared them. I am still trying to get back into the swing of things with the time change and having been gone from home for 9 days straight. I can't believe its November!
I have seen the awesome deeds of the Lord God over and over again in the past months in my life. I have seen Him over and over again not just come through for friend and family but be there every step of the way answering prayers and needs. He is working and He is working faithfully. I have seen a pattern in my Bible study and experiences and prayers that has kept leading me to 3 attributes of the Lord the past few months; He is faithful, He is steadfast in love, and He performs mightly deeds(answers prayers and works miracles).
I believe this song really speaks about these 3 attributes, whenever we speak His name mountains move! Whenever we pray to our God, do good for our God, or are faithful to our God He is working! This is such an encouragement to me. As the verse below states he has heard my prayer over and over again and answered me in his saving faithfulness and steadfast love. Its because of these three attributes, faithfulness, steadfast love, and mighty deeds I can see more and more He is worthy of my praise and trust and will never waver in loving me.
" But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness."
(Psalm 69:13 ESV)
These verses below tell of His faithfulness because whenever we see His mighty deeds, the miracles and wonders he does in our lives, we have a clear and sure promise that He is faithful. This afirms His faithfulness reaches to the clouds by His over and over again watching out for us and moving in our lives. How can God hearing our prayers and doing wondrous works not prove that he is faithful?
Psalm 77
"I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
(Psalm 77:1-15 ESV)
You may be asking what has he been doing in your life Rebecca?
Well first I would say he has reminded me over and over again that this life is so short and that we need to use the time to the best we can for His glory. I have found that by serving others and really digging deep into the Word and praying daily I find fulfillment in Christ even in this short life. There has been many a time where I did not say the right thing in a conversation or take the initiative to start a conversation to share the Gospel of Christ these past months; but God has been gracious and I have seen my family and friendship relationships growing in the Lord. I have seen that many times I feel as though I have to rush through my Bible study and then God says slow down I am always here! Over the weekend, I spent a long time just pouring over the Psalms and was not sorry I did not get some other things done so I could spend more time in Gods love letter to His bride.
I found that I kept reading about his mighty deeds happening over and over again. I kept reading about how each generation was able to share Gods faithfulness with the next because of the mighty things he had done which proved His faithfulness.
"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done."
(Psalm 78:1-4 ESV)
I pray that my generation would not hide what the Lord has done from their children! May we all be able to recount the mighty deeds the Lord has done in our lives to the next generation to tell them of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a need! So many do not realize God is real I believe because many of us who follow the Lord are too scared or proud to recount to them what He has done. I am writing this for myself, Rebecca recount the Lords mighty deeds and works to others to share his steadfast love and faithfulness is real.
Then you may go on to read chapter 78 of psalms and you realize when it says that Gods people were not faithful, it says that God was faithful, these verses below prove this truth!
"With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with a skillfull hand!"-psalm 78:72
Many times in the scriptures it talks about Gods people being faithful or not being faithful. I have seen many passages over the past few weeks talking about faith. I read these today that talk about how we are justified by faith as well. God is faithful to forgive us and justify us through faith! What an encouraging truth!
" What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,
“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged.”
(Romans 3:3-4 ESV)
We see in these verses above that even if we are unfaithful that does not make God unfaithful to us! What a promise and what a relief! Even when we are in sin God will wash us and cleanse us and through faith justify us of our sin.
"Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."
(Romans 3:27-28 ESV)
I have also been reminded by the above verse that we also still are to be faithful to God! So when we are not faithful to God we are to repent of our sin and then strive to be faithful! Just because we might fail in being faithful does not mean we should not try, because I have seen that the more I stumble the more I rely on God to help m put my faith and trust in Him alone.
And last but not least, besides His might deeds and works showing me God is real and loves me and his unending and unwavering faithfulness proving me to He is the God of the universe; His steadfast and unwavering love proves He is the true bridegroom and lover of my soul.
I have read many verses over the years, especially from the Psalms that talk about our Gods undieing and unfading love, but here is one passage I will share with you.
" Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!"
(Psalm 57 ESV)
I am so grateful for this Psalm, its really just so encouraging and empowering to me! My God's steadfast love reaches to the heavens and His faithfulness to the clouds. Its never ending! Its never wavering! He will never cease from loving me even though I am a sinful wretch who many a time is ungrateful for His sacrifice on the cross for His bride! So many times I forget all he has done, but in this post I want to focus on Him, not me. God is steadfast in love and never wavers from hearing our prayers and petitions and pleas for His help. Praise God God alone is our Savior and friend.
I know I have not been posting pictures and posts consistantly for the past few weeks. I got a call last Sunday night from a dear family friend and ended up being able to help them take care of their 13 year old daughter and meet their new adopted 2 week old son. We went to the hospital last monday to pick up their son and it was really a miracle that he has gotten into their arms. You can be praying for them, the birth father could show up at anytime. But for now he is theres.
Before all of that happened and I was with them till wednesday helping we went to a reenactment. My sister and I and our friends all went dressed up but we did not camp. Usually our family does camp at events, but my parents could not go, so all of girls went for the day.
So we were able to watch battle on Saturday for the first time in 3 years for my sister and I! We usually are encamped and have plenty of cooking, teaching, and sewing to do, but we had no encampment to go to so we did all the things spectators usually get to do. It was a wonderful relaxed day.
The whole group is us watching as the battle got going. It really was a sight, considering it was on the original battlefield! That makes it even more amazing!
With all the smoke from all the weapons we had to cover our faces in order for our eyes not to hurt. :)
The one picture I have with me in it. :) I was taking so many photos I was not thinking of getting myself in them. :) Thanks to Hannah I think for the photo. I have a new shawl that is my mothers I wore this event that I quite like with my silk gown. :)
Taking off their hats in respect for the dead. :) Now of course no one was actually hurt in the depiction of the battle. :)
All of us barely fit in our SUV! All 7 of us were very squished. :) But that is ok because we love each other. All those petticoats barely fit. :)
Then Sunday we got a better earlier start than saturday and went down to a lovely creek and had a picnic together under the old trees.
It was beautiful and very picturesque! I bet that the trees have been here since the civil war or before that. They were so old!
I have pictures from recipes I have made and pictures of another reenactment we did encamp at 2 weeks ago. Coming soon!
