Fun on Four Wheelers

Can I just say it?  I love my life group.  These folks have become more than friends.  We support, love and laugh well together.  Last weekend we spent some time on a ranch.  Our weekend was slow, fun and we ate like pigs.  Homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade ice cream with fresh fruit toppings and delicious fajitas filled our stomachs.  Games, naps and laughter filled our souls.  We spent time riding over rough terrain on four wheelers like teenagers and we sat under the shade trees visiting like old folks.  Picking blackberries, fishing and target practice were delightful interludes.  Yep, we played hard.

Our group has been together for almost 3 years now.  We have seen people come and go.  Our resolve to remain together has been high.  This weekend we termed ourselves "Lifers".   With all this fun, each one of us could tell you that it has not always been easy.  Community and friendship takes work and determination.  Our personal lives are full with careers, family and home.  So how did we come this far?

1.  We have made group a priority in our lives.  Tuesday night is our night.  Nothing comes in the way of our time together
2.  We have fun together.  Playing, eating and travel brings us together.
3.  We pray together.  Something happens when you hear your friends praying over your concerns while they deeply believe in God to give His best to you.
4.  We always spur one another on to follow God through His Word.

I returned home so incredibly thankful for my friends.  Friends are a rich blessing from our Lord.  United by Him, we know that no matter where we may be, we have companions for this amazing adventure called life.

Who are some of your spiritual friends?  What makes them special to you?

Part of my farm family roots was that almost every weekend we made homemade ice cream.  My earliest recollection was the hand crank style of freezer.  As a kid I would have to sit on the freezer while dad cranked the ice cream.  Later Dad and Mom splurged for an electric freezer.  If you came to our house for ice cream, you need to know that your bowl would be heaping.  My dad and brother could put away two bowls.  Their skinny genes never saw any fat as a result of their indulgence.  Me on the other hand...suffice it to say my ice cream had a tendency to hang around for a while. 

Here is the tried and true recipe that is a family favorite. 


Country-style Ice Cream

1 qt. milk
2 c. sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 Tbls. vanilla
11/2 qt. light cream or half and half

Scald milk.  Mix sugar, flour and salt.  Add enough hot milk to sugar-flour mixture to make a thin paste.  Stir paste into hot milk.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 minutes.    Add hot mixture gradually to beaten eggs and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly, about 2 minutes (do not cook longer or eggs may curdle).  Cool quickly in refrigerator.  Do not allow mixture to cool at room temperature. 
Add vanilla and light cream to cooked mixture.  Pour into freezer can; fill only two thirds full to allow for expansion.  Freeze according to directions.  Makes 1 gallon.

Variations:
Chocolate:  Add 4 squares unsweetened chocolate to milk before scalding.  After scalding, beat with rotary beater until chocolate flecks disappear.  Increase sugar by 1/2 cup.

Peanut Butter:  Omit 1 cup light cream.  Stir a small amount of the custard mixture gradually into 1/2 c. peanut butter to blend well.  Add to rest of the mixture in the freezer can. 

Strawberry:  Omit 3 c. light cream  Add 1 qt. washed and hulled strawberries which have been mashed and sweetened with 1/2 c. additional sugar. 

Peach:  Omit 3 c. light cream.  Add 1 qt. crushed fresh peaches mixed with 3/4 c. additional sugar.

FYI - The absolute best ice cream freezer on the market is a White Mountain.  You will spend more, but have it for a life time.  Also I prefer Vanilla flavor and then enjoy fresh fruit toppings. 

What is your favorite Ice Cream?  Who in your family devours ice cream? 

Echos

God's love echoes throughout our days.  Mightily and unrelentingly, God whispers "I love you" over and over again.  For whatever reason we often fail to pick up on His gracious outpouring of love. 

Christians often take for granted the self-sacrifice of God.  When we think of sacrifice we may consider it as going home to eat instead of heading to a restaurant.  Or maybe it is a sacrifice to not buy the latest computer and make due with the old one.  However, God's sacrifice is deeply and radically different from ours.  Sometimes I have to see this sacrificial love through the eyes of another human being in order to understand. 

Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.   Walking up the mountain to that sacrificial altar was more than morning hike.  It was a journey back to childless days because of infertility, a spoken promise of God that seemed would never come and finally the dream child Isaac who was from all outward appearances headed to a sacrificial fire.  It is a gut wrenching pain that many understand as they loose their child to disease, famine and ultimately this sinful world.

This is the sacrifice of our God.  He sent His only Son, righteous and holy, to earth.  His Son entered our world, experiencing our joys and the pain laden on our backs because of sin.  But Christ didn't stop there.  He took on death for us so we could have life today. 

This Easter I pray you experience the relentless echo of Christ's love.  May you know freedom from death and walk into the life He has given you merely for the asking.  Listen to God say "I love you forever"  over and over again.

The First Front Porch Day of 2011

It is 75 degrees on February 17.  As you can imagine, I am on my front porch both working and taking in God's creation.  Feeding the birds, sitting with Sable, listening to wind through the leafless trees, smelling the earth warm up under the sun and even Dennis' honey bees out for an afternoon flight have me ready for Spring's new life.  Thankfully Winter doesn't last long. Each season plays an important part of life on this earth.  The seasons carry out rest, renewal, growth and harvest in orderly fashion designed by the hand of God.

Our spiritual seasons have a similar ebb and flow.  Rest, renewal, growth and harvest all play a significant role in our spiritual growth.  Solomon said it best, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." (Ecc. 3:1)

Renewal is my season right now.  There is a quiet urgency to get ready for the next season of growth.  The Word, prayer, silence and counting my blessings are all spiritual exercises that renew my soul and allow my roots to grow preparing me for the next growth spurt. 

Thankfully God is very present in each season. 

Living life loved.

Love My New Role

There aren't words for the privilege of loving children.  Why God even begins to trust us with the care and nurture of another human being is sometimes beyond me.  Our dreams and hopes for each generation is that they will know the love of God.

There is an amazing joy in watching our own children love their children.  Seeing their joy and watching them fall head over heals crazy gaga over their Ty has totally blown me away.  Josh and Amy are wonderful parents.  Ty adores his mama and can't get enough of his daddy.  They know that Ty's spiritual formation is their responsibility.  Psalm 78:4 says, "we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done."

Now as Grandma, I am learning my greatest privilege is to pray, love and encourage.  I so believe in my kids.  They are followers of Christ who have dedicated their whole lives to serving Him.  I trust their hearts and I trust our Lord to lead them well.  My job is not done, simply different.  And I absolutely love my new role. 

Shake It Off

This morning I was reminded that we often are called to shake off the enemy’s attempts to steal our joy.  He uses quit a few different tactics like fear, pride, paranoia... His list is long.  However, when you recognize His schemes and know God’s truth, you can move forward in faith.  For me the Word of God is life.  The Word along with the Holy Spirit are the sources for discerning between my own hang ups or the enemy’s schemes and the truth God has put before me.

Lean into the Word and listen for the Spirit.  If we don’t, we will be dragged into enemy territory.

Jesus Is Enough

 Jesus is enough.

There are moments and seasons in life when words cannot give meaning to all that goes on deep within the soul.  When those seasons arise, Jesus is enough.  When your heart feels like it will break in two, Jesus is enough.  When your days fill up with stress, Jesus is enough.  When you know that getting out of bed in the morning will start another day of more of the same, Jesus is enough.  When life as you know it has just been turned upside down and sideways, Jesus is enough.  When all you can do is look into the eyes of our Lord, then look deeply.  There you will find comfort, understanding and the power of God to heal and transform you in your real life present moment.