Scripture and Song, Faith-Lift Fridays

Psalm 93

1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
3The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.


Holy Holy Holy

words by Reginald Heber 1783-1826
music by John B. Dykes

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!


I am joining Sheryl over at Taking the Challenge today sharing my Scripture and hymn for this week.

Sheryl over at Taking the Challenge writes:

The last thing for today is the new weekly "meme"...although I'm not sure "meme" is really accurate...but, anyways.
I'm calling it Faith-Lift Fridays. The whole concept is to share a verse, quote, devotional thought, lyrics, or whatever you come up with that has encouraged you in your faith. I will put up the Mr. Linky on Thursday evenings to make it more convenient for everyone.
I hope you'll join in :)

~*Sheryl*~

Blessed Weekend All!!

Favorite Ingredients Friday--Zucchini Fritata

Zucchini Frittata
from Family Fun

2 to 3 small zucchini
6 eggs
8 to 10 large basil leaves, chopped or torn
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper

3 slices bacon

1 small, ripe tomato, seeded and diced

4 scallions, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1. Coarsely grate enough of the zucchini to make 2 1/2 cups and place it in a medium-size mixing bowl. Lightly salt the zucchini and toss it gently to season it evenly. Let it set for 10 minutes, then use clean hands to squeeze the zucchini, pressing out the excess water.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until they are evenly blended. Whisk in the basil, parsley, about half of the Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Set the mixture aside.

3. Heat a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet on the stovetop. Add the bacon and cook it over medium heat until it is crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel? lined plate. Spoon all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat out of the pan. Heat the broiler.

4. Add the grated zucchini to the skillet and sauté it over high heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the zucchini is cooking, chop or crumble the bacon into small pieces and add it to the egg mixture.

5. Add the diced tomato and scallions to the skillet and sauté the vegetables until they are soft but not mushy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter to the skillet in pieces and stir it into the vegetables. Use a fork to loosely arrange the vegetables in an even layer in the pan.

6. Whisk the egg mixture again, then slowly pour it over the vegetables, covering the entire surface. Do not stir the mixture. Instead, gently shake the pan to help settle the egg. Cook the frittata over medium heat for 4 minutes without disturbing it

7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the top of the frittata. Place the pan under the broiler about 8 inches from the heat source and broil the frittata for about 2 minutes.

8. Remove the pan from the oven and poke a fork in the center of the frittata to see if it's done. We covered the hot handle with a heat-resistant silicone sleeve, but you can also use an oven mitt -- place it over the skillet handle while the pan is out of the broiler to remind you that it's hot. If you see liquid egg around the fork, place the pan back under the broiler for another 45 to 60 seconds. When the frittata is done, transfer the pan to a cooling rack.

9. Let the frittata cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully slide a flexible spatula around the edge to loosen it. Once it's free, gently lift the frittata with the spatula, tilt the pan, and slide it onto a large serving plate. Let it cool at least 5 more minutes, then slice it into wedges and serve. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

For more Favorite Ingredients Fridays visit Overwhelmed With Joy.

Thursday Thirteen--First Time!

Apparently it is the 100th Thursday Thirteen and the theme is thirteen favorite Thursday Thirteen posts. Since I'm a newbie at that we'll just have to settle for a boring introduction. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun!

So...thirteen things you should know about me:

1) This is my first time to participate in Thursday Thirteen.

2) If I wanted to, I could throw rocks at Sonic from my backyard.

3) I would love to garden.

4) But I am raising children and the postage stamp yard won’t allow for it.

5) I am old enough to be my youngest son’s grandmother.

6) I have lived in this house longer than any other during my married life. We’ll have been her four years in October.

7) I’ve had my cats longer than I’ve had my husband.

8) I am really not a motivated person.

9) I love stories based on the King Arthur legend.

10) I love books.

11) I love coffee, but hate ants.

12) I love my family fiercely.

13) I love the LORD the best.

For more Thursday Thirteen participants visit the TT source.

For the Fourth

Art courtesy of Webweaver Clipart.

Time Travel Tuesday--Wedding Day

Annie has asked us to travel down the memory lane again, pausing today at our wedding day. I posted my wedding story awhile back when I was giving away some books. So look here for details of my wedding--but, sadly, the book giveaway is over. (We'll have to do another giveaway in the not to far off future.)

My wedding is one of the happiest memories. I am so grateful that I am married to this wonderful guy.

The members of this wedding party picture are: my handsome brother-in-law, who I think looks like Jeremy Irons (more now as we are all aging). My wonderful friend who owns the lakehouse where we were married. Me--let's pretend I still look like that (except my slip is showing). My sweetheart, who looks more incredible now. My sweet sister. I wish you could see how long her hair was. And finally my husband's best man, who is no longer with us. This is a bittersweet picture because we miss him so much. He died more than seven years ago, but we think about him so often.

One thing I failed to mention in my original post is that I messed up the invitations. I put the wrong location address on them. What is even stranger is that two years later my honey and I house sat for the people who had the address I put on the invitations! Life is strange.

Visit Annie and all the other participants who travel through time on Tuesdays.

Children's Book Monday

Last summer the boys' music teacher gave me a book suggestion. Never one to ignore a good book tip we checked it out at the library. It was Water Dance by Thomas Locker.

We were captivated by Locker's paintings and poetry. His profound love of nature is evident in both his art and his writing. At the end of the book he educates his reader on the water cycle.

Always anxious to see if a new found author has more than one book we headed back to the library to find that he has several. Two other books we've loved in the same style areMountain Dance and Cloud Dance.

These books are a homeschooler's (or any educator's) dream. They are meant to be read aloud. They involve lovely and lively language, astonishing artwork, and fascinating scientific facts, all rolled up into one small book.

Mr. Locker has written several other books. We've enjoyed reading each one. He has illustrated many books for other authors too. He also paints individual landscapes.

If you are looking for a vaction in a book, check out Thomas Locker's works.
Elise is away for the week, but I still wanted to share these books. While late today, I've enjoyed making Mondays a Children's Book Monday.

Do you have any favorites to share with me?

Grains of Gratitude

Christine over at Brady’s Bunch started Grains of Gratitude and this is my 17th time to join her!! It has been a wonderful start to my weeks and served as a solid reminder to refocus. I am in a period of re-evaluating why I blog and what I want for my blog. This is something that has a permanent home here—being grateful is good for building joy.

I read this quote a long time ago and really identified with it. I don’t know who wrote it but it is something I think on often, “God keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.”

This week I am grateful for my husband who throws out the life preserver when I jump ship and get too wound up.

In this nice world of cyber-space and blogging I can type something out and sit on it for a bit and then come back and edit and then hit "publish." In the land of solids and reality I may have a bit of a tendency to over-react. Just a tiny bit. And I might not always think before I speak. And I might, sometimes, wish I had an “edit” or “retract” button so I can shovel words back in. Maybe.

But what I have is this wonderful guy who I have learned (after years of hard lessons) to go running to first when my mind gets all filled with wild ideas and upset responses. He is so great at listening and speaking calming words and listening some more. He gets me settled down and able to see a little better what the heart of an issue is. There is no doubt in my mind that God gave him to me to answer my prayer. He acts as a tangible arm around my shoulders and while he doesn’t really put his hand over my mouth—he can keep me in line most of the time. Praise God for a godly husband.

I am grateful for my sister who keeps me abreast of health issues for my parents, especially my mother. She is there and she lets me know what is going on—things that might not get mentioned when I talk to my parents. A relationship with a sibling is a precious thing. I am grateful that we are close and she is my other “go-to” person who listens when my husband is not available.

We are filled with gratitude for tired children—for the first time that I can remember, both boys are falling asleep within minutes of their heads hitting the pillows. My boys are very high energy kids. These last three weeks they have played and worked hard and are physically and mentally tired. Bedtime has never been so easy. I know it may not last, but it is a neat treat.

Audio-books have been a blessing, allowing us to squeeze in a bit more “reading” with all of this travel back and forth. Bickering in the car is minimized and there is definitely fuel for conversations later in the day. Whoever thought up audio-books was a genius.

Gratitude for rain—while I may consider building an ark if it doesn’t let up soon—I am grateful for the rain. There has been no need to water my flowers and they have exploded. They have been a cheery sight each morning when we leave and each afternoon when we return. Rain is very symbolic of God’s mercy showering down on us. It is a therapeutic sound for me.

What are you grateful for??