Autumn Give-Away!

I have posted my first official give away. I am giving away 1 lb of pumpkin fudge to one lucky winner. Click here for more details: Autumn Give-Away!

Have fun!!!

Happy 16th Birthday Shane!

16 things about Shane you may or may not know-

1. He is quiet because his name starts with 'Sh", but he does love to socialize

2. He loves to read books that feed the intellect and fire the American passion

3. He has great faith, courage and determination

4. He doesn't want to get married because he says it will take up too much of his time

5. He sets his clock and gets up and at 'em every morning all on his own

6. At birth, his head was so big that the OBGYN cried out "Holy COW! Look at the size of that kid" when he crowned.

7. He fell off his bike when he first learned to ride and had to get stitches in his forehead.

8. He fractured his arm while staying at Donner and continued fishing the whole weakened in spite of the pain (we didn't know it was fractured) He never cried even when the doctor broke it and reset it.

9. He has a lot of love and respect for his grandpa Van Cleve

10. He is currently taking Ear training and Music Theory at Sierra College

11. He plans on graduating in 2009. He has earned all his credits

12. He loves Chemistry, and other academics

13. He loves classical music and plays it beautifully

14. He loves to tease his little sister Priscilla

15. He is a natural teacher, observed by his mom. He's patiently worked with Priscilla many times teaching her many new things.

16. He has very high values and lofty goals for a 16 year old boy!

Check out his blogs: Let Freedom Ring, Music Man, Welcome to the Farm, Whats Growin' On?

"The formative period for building character for eternity is in the nursery. The mother is queen of that realm and sways a scepter more potent than that of kings or priests." ~Author Unknown

Happy 13th Birthday Priscilla

The due date for my third child was set for September 22, 1995. With my previous two pregnancies I had to be induced because my body refused to go into labor on its own. So I wasn't surprised when on October 2 the doctor said there was still no signs of delivery. I walked around and around the back yard impatient and irritated. I was more than ready to have this baby. I went to the health food store and purchased a natural herb that was meant to help induce labor. It worked! and for the first time I went into labor on my own.

I was estatic when at 7:00 pm. I arrived at the hospital and found out that I had dialated to a 6. But from that point everything came to a stand still and at 12:00 a.m. October 3 I had not gone any further. The past five hours had been an agonizing nightmare that had only just begun. My blood pressure was really high and the baby was stressing. At one point it's heart beat had completely stopped. The nurse kept telling me she thought the cord was wrapped around it's neck which caused me alot of extra stress and worry. Then, they tried to induce me and I had contraction upon contraction with no relief inbetween.

Finally a head nurse came in and forced open my uterus. It was so horribly painful I litterally screamed. But it worked and at 1:30 a.m. out came a beautiful baby girl. They laid her on my stomach and I remember stroking her soft little head and saying, "So your the sweet thing that was causing all this."

I was estatic to have a new little girl. They took her over to a corner of the room and I waited for them to clean her up and hand her to me like they had done with my first two babies. Everyone was uncannily quiet and I began to feel ill at ease.

"Is she o.k.? When can I hold her?"

"She's fine shhh, she's just not breathing yet, but they are working and she will be fine in a minute."

"Troy, are you praying?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm praying."

Then I heard them say to call in Dr.- the pediatrician on duty. They lifted her up and said to me, "look at your baby" then took her out. I waited believing that soon they would bring her back and lay her in my arms and everything would be o.k. Troy called our pastor and asked him to pray. It wasn't long after that the whole church was praying for us.

The pediatrician came in and told us that our baby had breathed maconium into her lungs meaning that because of the stress, she had a bowl movement in the uterus and on the way out had inhaled this. This first bowel is a very sticky substance called maconium and is like tar in the lungs. It coats the inside of the lungs so oxygen cannot penetrate. This was a few days old, meaning I should have been induced earlier on, so that made it even worse.

I asked if she was going to be alright and he said he did not know.

"When can I hold her?"

"Probably not for a few days."

"Can't I nurse her?"

"Not, now, we are trying to get oxygen into her."

A few minutes later another nurse came in from Mercy San Juan and told us they were going to transfer her because she needed more intensive care than what this hospital could offer. She also said that she was on a venhilator...

Another wait, then another visit, "we've found air outside the baby's lungs. She will have to have a chest tube put in."

"Is that bad?"

"Well, yes, they have to cut into her chest..."

A few minutes later, "Your baby has just had a seizure."

It was at that point hope diminished and I believed she was going to die. I was in shock and very frightened. Next they informed me that with our insurance they would have to transfer her to Sutter Memorial in down-town Sacramento.

At 5:30 a.m. they wheeled her in for us to see her before they transported her. She was all hooked up and looked dead to me and I broke down and started crying. Everything had turned into a nightmare.

But a dear saint of God called me and encouraged me "Your baby is going to be just fine. I know God will take care of her.

And God did. I was released from the hospital at 10:30 a.m. that morning so I could go be with her. Later we found out that Sutter Memorial had the top child care facility in the nation and had she gone to Mercy, she probably wouldn't have survived. God was moving before we even realized it.

October 4- they paralyzed her because she was fighting the venhilator, a new type that was a high jet venhilator that spiral jets the air into the lungs. At this time the doctor informed me she might or might not live. He wasn't sure how things would turn out and that she would be in the hospital a minimum of 30 days.

My pastor came in and prayed over her.

October 5 -they found another air bubble and had to cut another whole into her chest. She had tubes in everywhere; in her hands, feet, head, belly button, chest.... I was also informed they were probably going to give her a blood transfusion. I requester prayer explicitly for this because I did not want her to have one.

October 6- They took her off the paralyzing medicine. She was moving and holding our fingers.

October 7- Her eyes were opened and they were bringing her down on the oxygen level and the pressure on the venhilator. She would cry whenever I left her. I stayed with her as much as possible.

October 8 -She was sucking on a pacifier with the venhilator in her mouth. Started on tube feeding. Coloring looks good.

October 9 -She came down to a low frequency venhilator

October 10 -I held her for the first time I also bottle fed her.

October 11- They let me breast feed her. "Don't be discouraged if she doesn't latch on right away", they warned, "When a baby doesn't nurse the first few days after birth the lose their natural instinct." She latched on quicker that my other two children. I knew this could only be the hand of my heavenly father.

October 12- She came home.

What a miracle! When the respiratory therapist was escorting us to our car to leave the facilities, she asked the nurse, "What baby is this?"

"Priscilla Van Cleve."

"Your Kidding!? Did you know she was supposed to have a procedure done where they make an incision in her neck and drain all her blood and oxygenate it and then put it back in. It is a horrible procedure and there is only a 50/50 chance for survival. You consider that a good omen" said the respiratory therapist.

But I knew in my heart that an omen had nothing to do with it. My God had healed her. Great and marvelous are his ways!!!

"When a home is ruled according to God's Word,
angels might be asked to stay with us,
and they would not find themselves out of their element."
~Charles Spurgeon

A Little Child Shall Lead Them...

The following excerpt is taken from the book, "Created to be His Help Meet". Although it is written to wives, there is a flip side to this coin that addresses husbands. Both wives and husbands are commanded of God to love each other. This love is the basis of any happy family. Without true biblical love, every other effort in raising our children is undermined. Loving our spouse is not contingent upon their performance, but rather our obedience to Christ and His word. The fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, happiness, gentleness, meekness... always begin with our spouse. If we cultivate them there, they will be rooted within.

The enemy of our soul knows this and will do all he can to get a wedge in between this most sacred union. We must die to self and fight this foe to the bitter end. Eternity is worth it and the spiritual health of our children depends upon it.

Let the Little Children Lead Them Written By Debbie Pearl

"The most important thing a mother will do for her children is to create an atmosphere of peace and joy by deeply loving their Daddy and being satisfied with life. Several years ago, my husband did a Family Life seminar for homeschooling families at a large, very conservative church. The people were given age-appropriate questionnaires before we got there. Each homeschooled child (from every child who could write, up to single adults still living at home) was asked two questions:

1. Is your home happy?


2. What one thing would you like to see changed in your home that would make you a happier person?

We were not expecting profound answers. We thought the children would say that they wanted name-brand clothes, or more freedom, or maybe more access to video games. We hoped we would get a few serious answers, like some kids saying they wanted to spend more time with their parents or they wanted to be trusted. Their responses shocked and saddened us.

Out of about 75 responses, only two or three kids considered their home happy. Nearly all 75 answers of the second question were basically the same. Ten-year-olds (who could barely spell) to single college-age adults had the same hopes and anguishes. They all said something to the effect of, "I wish Mama and Daddy would love each other." The younger kids wrote answers like these: "Our home would be happier if Mama and Daddy would not fight," "I would make my Mama and Daddy like each other," "we would have a happy home if Mama would not talk bad about Daddy" and " I wish Mama would not talk back and make Daddy get all mad and yell." The older ones wrote along these lines, "our house would be more peaceful if Mom would not walk around with this frozen bitterness. I feel as if we live in a war zone."

How do you love your children? Let these 75 homeschooled kids lead you to this important truth: Love their Daddy. Honor their Daddy. Obey their Daddy. Forgive their Daddy."

"Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock!"

When I was a little girl, a neighbor lady often had me and my little brother over to teach us a Bible lesson. She used all sorts of interesting manipulatives to try and explain the Bible and it's teahings to us. I remember her taking two toy cars and drawing a very large road and a very small road on some paper, and driving them around. All of it went right over my head. I enjoyed my time there and the cookies she often shared, but I didn't understand anything she was trying to teach me.

One day she presented us with the picture of Jesus knocking at a door. I was instantly taken in by its beauty and the sweet man called Jesus. She told us how he was knocking at the door, but no one was opening it for him. I felt so sorry for him and a very deep deep longing stirred inside my young heart and I thought, "if I were there, I would let him in." Oh how I wished I could be there with that sweet man in the picture. Somehow I knew deep in the dark corners of my heart, that he would make everything alright.

Unfortunately, at the time, I never got the message that I COULD let him in; that he was knocking at my heart's door. I spent too many years not knowing. But thank God, later in life, someone told me the truth about Jesus and how he can come to live in my heart. I opened the door one day, and my life has been so blessed ever since!!!

If you have never heard how you can open your heart to Jesus, I welcome you to read more. Click on "Is Jesus Knocking at Your Door" and begin a BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, BRAND NEW life in Him!!!

One of the greatest gift you can give your children

is a happy childhood!

YOUR LIFE is Jesus to someone,

though tattered and torn it may be.

Though often times weak and unstable,

you're all of God someone will see.

YOUR TONGUE is Jesus to someone.

That idle, insensitive word

reflects to at least one searching heart

an idle, insensitive Lord.

YOUR GOALS are Jesus to someone.

What you put first, they believe,

are the goals of God for the Christian.

Your life is all they receive.

YOUR FAITHFULNESS that's Jesus to someone.

Their judgment of how God is true,

rests unquestionably in the faithfulness

they see day by day in you.

YOUR LOVE is Jesus to someone -

that someone who is seeking to know

that Jesus will follow, guide and befriend

wherever in life they might go.

SO BEWARE lest others blaspheme God

by what you say or do,

for the only Jesus that someone knows

is the Jesus they see in you.

Author Unknown

"Your children need your presence more than your presents."

~Jesse Jackson~

HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY FELECIA!

At 11;57 p.m. this evening, exaclty 17 years ago, I became a mother. The most wonderful thing that God ever did for me besides saving me from sin. They laid a healthy, beautiful baby girl in my arms. She was very upset about the whole ordeal, but I would stroke her soft cheek with my forefinger and talk with her and she would stop bellowing and look up at me. I was mesmerized. A gift from heaven. There are no words to tell of the joy, the beauty, the wonder of becoming a mother. So today, 17 years later, is Felecia Genevieve's birthday. The name Felecia means happines or great joy.

When she was about five years old, I had salmon steaks in the oven. They usually come in a U shape. She could smell something different cooking and came in and asked me what we were having for dinner. When I told her we were having Salmon steaks she peered in the oven at them and said, "ohhhh, were having fish legs for dinner." Fancy that!

Another time around the same age, she was taking a bath and I went to clip her finger and toe nails. I started with her fingernails, but noticed that they were very short. "Felecia Genevieve, you need to quit biting your nails!" She listened with a slight guilty expression. "Give me your foot", I said. She lifted her foot up and triumphantly announced, "Now these I DON"T bite!" Hmmm...

The years are running by

onward...out of sight;

My children aren't so tiny

as just a fore' night

They're thinking, planning, yearning

Their wings to stretch and fly;

It won't be long when they will take

their wing and say goodbye

Oh Lord help me prepare them

that they would trust your ways;

And let your Holy spirit

guide them all their days

So in their flight of joy

mindful they would be;

that life is full of sorrows

and they have need of thee

And when their sun is darkend

and storm clouds dim their view;

they'll find a welcomed shelter

In snuggling close to you

Oh Lord please over shadow

and keep them in thy care;

That they would know you personally

Will always be my prayer!

By EVC

"Motherhood is a partnership with God"
unknown


A joyful mother of children,
'tis what God has made of me
A beautiful quiver of little ones,
To brighten my home with glee

A joy mother of children,
'tis Gods choosen for my days
kiddies to cuddle, teach and train,
To show them all of God's ways

A joyful mother of children,
'tis a gift from the Lord above
To point them the way to the Savior,
And show them his great heart of love

A joyful mother of children,
'tis what the Lord deemed was best
A treasure no words can picture,
held close to the dear mothers breast

A joyful mother of children,
'tis what God has made of me
A mission field given from heaven,
t'will last through eternity!
By, LizAnn

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. (Ps. 113:9)

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

(2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

I believe in Home Schooling!

The following was taken from an online reading of John Gatto's book Underground History of American Education:

He Was Square Inside And Brown

Barbara Whiteside showed me a poem written by a high school senior in Alton, Illinois, two weeks before he committed suicide:

"He drew... the things inside that needed saying.
Beautiful pictures he kept under his pillow.
When he started school he brought them...To have along like a friend.
It was funny about school, he sat at a square brown desk Like all the other square brown desks... and his room Was a square brown room like all the other rooms, tight And close and stiff.
He hated to hold the pencil and chalk,
his arms stiff His feet flat on the floor, stiff,
the teacher watching And watching.
She told him to wear a tie like All the other boys, he said he didn't like them.
She said it didn't matter what he liked.
After that the class drew. He drew all yellow. It was the way he felt about Morning.
The Teacher came and smiled, "What's this?
Why don't you draw something like Ken's drawing?"
After that his mother bought him a tie,
and he always Drew airplanes and rocketships like everyone else.
He was square inside and brown and his hands were stiff.
The things inside that needed saying didn't need it Anymore, they had stopped pushing... crushed, stiff Like everything else."

After I spoke in Nashville, a mother named Debbie pressed a handwritten note on me which I read on the airplane to Binghamton, New York:

"We started to see Brandon flounder in the first grade, hives, depression, he cried every night after he asked his father, "Is tomorrow school, too?" In second grade the physical stress became apparent. The teacher pronounced his problem Attention Deficit Syndrome. My happy, bouncy child was now looked at as a medical problem, by us as well as the school.
A doctor, a psychiatrist, and a school authority all determined he did have this affliction. Medication was stressed along with behavior modification. If it was suspected that Brandon had not been medicated he was sent home. My square peg needed a bit of whittling to fit their round hole, it seemed.
I cried as I watched my parenting choices stripped away. My ignorance of options allowed Brandon to be medicated through second grade. The tears and hives continued another full year until I couldn’t stand it. I began to homeschool Brandon. It was his salvation. No more pills, tears, or hives. He is thriving. He never cries now and does his work eagerly."

In Memory of Alesya

Alesya went to be with Jesus last night at 10:00 p.m. She was a straight A student and wanted to be a school teacher. She would have graduated from high school this year. I will never forget her beautiful smile, and her courageous spirit. Pray for her family!

What Cancer Cannot Do!

It cannot cripple Love-
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

It cannot shatter Hope-
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)

It cannot corrode Faith-
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)

It cannot destroy Peace-
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14: 27)

It cannot kill Friendship-
A friend loveth at all times. (Proverbs 17:17)

It cannot suppress Memories-
The memory of the just is blessed. (Proverbs 10:7)

It cannot silence Courage-
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?(Romans 8:3)

It cannot invade the Soul-
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

It cannot steal Eternal Life-
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. (John 2:25)

It cannot conquer the Spirit-
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life . . . nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37)

A Story of Faith in God and How God Answers Prayer

Using a black permanent marker, Shane marked five eggs with a small ‘x’ and then carefully placed them under a broody, mother hen. On the calendar he counted out 21 days for the incubations period and wrote down the due date for the chicks to hatch on Sunday, March 10. Everyday he went out to the hen house, collected all the unmarked eggs and checked on mama hen where she faithfully sat warming her little treasures. Meanwhile, Dad cleaned up an unused rabbit hutch where he could move the mother hen away from the other chickens so they would not harm the baby chicks after they hatched. At the age of nine, Shane’s fascination with raising and hatching chickens were at its peak and he eagerly awaited and carefully watched over the precious nestlings.

The morning they were due to hatch, Shane, along with his two sisters, restlessly checked on them every opportunity they got, hoping that at least a couple of them would hatch. They fretted and worried about getting the chicks moved to safety from the other chickens as soon as they were hatched; so they kept a close eye on those eggs. But by Sunday evening nothing had yet happened. “Well, sometimes they are a little late hatching,” reasoned Shane.

Monday morning, the kids rose up early, while I was still sleeping, and ran out to check on the eggs. There was still no sign of them hatching. A little concerned, they decided to go ahead and move mamma hen and her eggs into the rabbit hutch. They carefully lifted her from the nesting box and carried the precious eggs to their new home. But an unexpected problem arose. Mamma hen would not sit back on the eggs. The children tried coaxing her in every way they could think of, but she just paced back and forth inside the hutch looking for a way out. It was a very chilly morning and those eggs needed to be kept warm or the babies would die. Our next door neighbor, Mrs. Busby, saw the distress of situation and advised the children to leave mama hen alone and then she would calm down and go sit on the eggs again. Reluctantly, we all went into the house, anxious yet hopeful. A couple hours later, we went out to see if she was sitting on them and found her still pacing and the eggs ice cold. By now we were all distraught over the unborn baby chicks. I told the kids to put mama hen and her eggs back into the nesting box, but Mrs. Busby, upon feeling how cold the eggs were, said they were probably no good. We were so disheartened and the kids felt so bad about it all. I decided to take them into the house and try to warm them. Mrs. Busby said I could try but that she thought they were way too cold. I brought them in the house and placed them between two towels on a plate and put them in the oven on warm. It looked doubtful . . . but we could pray!

I got out a story I had read to the kids many times. It was a true story about some children that had rabbits. One night, during a freeze, they forgot to lock the rabbit cage and all the rabbits got out of the cage. The next morning the children found them all lying around the yard frozen stiff. The children gathered up the rabbits and brought them into the house whereupon the mother and children prayed that God would revive them, and sure enough, God honored their faith and raised them back to life. I read the familiar story once again to my children and then told them that God is able to save these little chicks. We all knelt down to pray, Felecia, my 10 year old daughter, leading out.

It took awhile for the eggs to get warm enough to take back out to the mama hen. Moisture condensed on the outside of the shells. It didn’t look good. But we knew in our hearts that God was able to save the chicks, if it was his will. We tenderly placed the eggs back into the nesting box and the mama chicken went and sat on them. All Monday the children anxiously waited to see what would happen. By evening, there were no signs of life, and knowing they were already overdue, we thought that it was probably too late.

Tuesday morning Shane got up bright and early and went out to check on them. A few minutes later he came flying through the door, eyes as wide open as ever, “MOM! MOM! I HEARD PEEPING!” “Are you sure?” I asked, as we all scrambled into our rain boots and dashed out to see. We gathered in the hen house and quietly listened. Ever so faintly we could hear the peeping. Shane lifted up the mother hen and one of the eggs was just beginning to hatch. Later that afternoon, two little chicks had hatched and another egg was cracking. Dad carefully nailed some screening around the box so that they wouldn’t fall out.

Wednesday morning we had three chickens in all and there was a hole in another egg. We wondered if it was still good so we took it out and upon examination could see a little life moving around. We hoped it was strong enough to hatch completely out and placed it back under mama. Thursday morning we went out joyfully to move our new little flock into the rabbit hutch. Shane checked on that other egg and, sure enough, there was a new little chick.

“Four out of five eggs!” I exclaimed, “God really blessed.” We put the four little chickadees into the basket and I headed over to their new home while Shane picked up mama hen. Suddenly he came running towards me just as excited as he had been the morning when he first heard the peeping. “MOM! MOM! There’s another chick in there!” “Are you sure?” I asked in amazement. “Yeah, I picked up mama hen and there it was underneath her!”
ALL FIVE OF THOSE EGGS HATCHED! PRAISE GOD!

“With God, all things are possible”! (Matt 19:26)

Having a Mary Heart and a Martha Mind

Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I’ve no time to be A saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee, Or dreaming in the dawn-light, or storming Heaven’s gates, Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates. Although I must have Martha’s hands, I have a Mary mind, And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals, Lord, I find. I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor: Accept this meditation, Lord, I haven’t time for more. Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light it with Thy peace;Forgive me all my worrying, and make my grumbling cease. Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea, Accept this service that I do -— I do it unto Thee.—

Cecily Rosemary Hallack (1898-1938)

Happy Fools Day!

We love too fool dad when he comes home from work. The girls just hid in the bathroom and I told him they were at the neighbors house and that his work called and needed him to work over time. Then they hopped out and yelled "April Fools"!
Which calls to mind a few years back when the kids were little and we decided to make him believe we were all sick with the flu. All day we practiced our parts. He would pull in and we would all jump into our assigned sick beds and when he came in we were going to tell him that we had been throwing up and moan and all sorts of stuff. Then when he seemed convinced, we would all jump up and yell April Fools!
The time finally arrived. He pulled in and we excitedly all jumped in our spots. Two of us on the couches two on the floors, blankets sprawled out, vomit pans next to us ect... (we kept our PJs on too) We heard the tinkling of the keys in the door and we were beside ourselves with anticipation, really trying to look sick. He opened the door and walked in but before he even got a chance to see what was going on, Priscilla, who was about 3 yrs. at the time, jumped up really excited and shouted APRIL HILLS!!!!! To funny-

To my sweet children

If I pass on before you do,

I leave this Bible here for you;

An anchor for your soul twill be;

a light in you Gethsemane.

And while I've gone, do not despair;

Hold on to Jesus and meet me there.

Be true and faithful to the end;

With Jesus as your closest friend.

The angels and I will look for you;

Please, my dear children,

be good! Stay true!

Mom

Play Dough

Even though the sun is out, it is still very chilly. A favorite past time when my children were little was to whip up a batch of home made playdough. Its quick, fun, interactive time together and unlike the store bought play dough, it warms little fingers and smells so good. Be sure to wait for it to cool some before having the little ones help you knead.

In a medium size sauce pan whisk together:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar

Then Add:
2 Tbs. cooking oil
1 cup water
food coloring (your choice)

Cook and stir over medium heat just until it globs together. This will happen pretty fast.
Then dump onto a flat surface and knead till smooth. Store in air tight container.
Bring out the rolling pin and cookie cutters! Have Fun!

Sometimes hearts break.
Mother's heart, Father's heart
Children's heart,
Jesus' heart
But God is the healer of all pain
Who binds the broken heart again
He picks you up,
when you cannot stand
And cheers you on to a better land
where nothing can ever break you again
God is the healer of all pain
Though life is a storm of battle cries
And tears so often dim the eyes
and the more you try, the less you gain
God is the healer of all pain
With unknown up ahead, no gain in your sack
its up then its down, go forward, turn back
And all that you try, seems all in vain
Still, God is the healer of all pain
And voices all shouting, don't do what you do
Surely your doomed, you'll never stay true
And arrows assail you, all you feel is disdain
Yet God is the healer of all pain
With your foot on the rock, your eyes on the goal
Christ in your heart, courage in your soul
hearts will break, and clouds will rain
But God is the healer of all pain!

"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (John 16: 21-22)

Morning by Morning New Mercies I See

Twitter, Twitter, Tweet
Little birds sing so sweet
The rooster calls in fun
A new day has begun
The sky's a happy blue
The grass is wet with dew
The sunbeams kiss the earth
A new day's given birth
Guide me Lord I pray
To wisely spend this day!

"Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps."
(Ps 85:9-13)