Fishing in the South

On those wonderful warm summer days in Tennessee my brothers and sister would head to the creek to explore.  We would find Red Eared Sliders, snakes of all kinds, and lots of wild flowers.  Then there were those special days we went fishing.

We would dig up Night Crawlers (worms) for bait and grab a cane pole and off we would go.  We would fish for anything expect Carp, we didn't want any bottom feeders!  We would catch Catfish, Bluegill, Bass and Crappie.  


We would head home, clean the fish and Mom would fry them up.  Sometime she would make Hush Puppies, that is like a fried cornbread mix with onions, etc.  I liked the homemade french fries Mom would make.  We didn't worry about all that fried food back then.  So if you ever have the chance to relax and enjoy a lazy afternoon, or morning, go for it.  The rewards are exceptional and God's creation remarkable!  

Hush Puppy Recipe

1/2 cup flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups white cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
1 egg, beaten

Combine all ingredients. Drop balls of dough into hot oil, 1 ball at a time, until golden brown. Serve while hot with fish.   Serving Size - 4

G R A C E

This is a simple plan as you spend time in prayer each day.

 G     Glorify Your Name

 R      Renew my passion

      A      Accept my repentance

C      Care for the broken

  E      Empower your Word

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Psalms 37:7a

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

June Bugs

In simpler times, children would entertain themselves by catching Junebugs, tying thread to their legs, and flying them like toy planes. 

It’s funny how most of us can remember so many details about our childhood. Every once in a while I’ll sit and think about those times so long ago when life was so much simpler, yet in many ways so much more rewarding than the ones we’re living through right now. We didn’t have much as far as material things go, but we had more than enough to keep us alive, healthy and happy.

Most of the best things in life were free back then, and some of them keep popping into my mind when I take a notion to remember. Take the lowly June bug for instance. In the summertime, we used to run around the yard catching June bugs, feeling their vibrations with our hands and hearing the tell-tale hum of their wings flapping in the cool night air. June bugs were everywhere back then, and there were countless hours of fun to be had just by admiring and playing with one of God’s amazing little creatures.

My sisters and brothers and neighbors would enjoy many afternoons catching these little creatures and tying their legs with thread and watching them fly around us.  We could tie them to a bush and they would be there when we came back.  The fun continued on!  When we were done with them we could cut the thread and they were fly away.  The simple pleasures and delights of growing up in the country. What about you?  Have you ever caught June Bugs?  

Faith is believing what you cannot see.

2 Corinthians 4:16 - Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (NIV)
Terminal cancer is a hard disease to understand. It hurts so many people -- its victims and their relatives. It's a process that is hard to endure, especially as it normally involves losing a lot of weight until the patients can no longer sustain their lives. It's a sad sight to see..many of my best friends, in church, family and from the communities are literally wasting away. Being a christian doesn't protect or prevent us from feeling sad, hurt, or even angry when cancer occurs in other people's lives. We feel just as helpless as those around us.
These days, there are lots of resources, treatments, and support, which give many people a higher rate of surviving cancer. There can also be a greater degree of spiritual growth occurring amongst cancer patients. The human soul is an amazing source of strength, especially when it is really connected to God. And I guess that's part of what Paul is expressing in his own message in today's Scripture -- that though outwardly, people may seem to waste away, inwardly there is a sacred process of renewal and restoration going on, which prepares the soul for that ultimate journey into eternity, to be reunited with loved ones and to rest in the everlasting arms of God.

Dear Heavenly Father, we all know of people who are suffering from terminal cancer. We pray that You would use us to surround them with much love, faith, and constant support. Uphold them during bouts of depression, and comfort them during times of fear. Grant their spirits a process of renewal and let them be completely assured of Your holy presence and almighty peace. Be near to their loved ones and comfort them with Your compassionate care. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Vacation in Hawaii is always Good!

http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/popups/resort_map.cfm

When Jim and I go here, we like to stay in the Ocean Towers.  The place is beautiful and is great for couples or families.  The weather is always beautiful and the people always nice!  We are headed here in August, just Jim and I to relax in the sun/shade, enjoy one another's company and rejoice in the beauty of God's creation.  Theses are pics from 2010.

Check out their site:
http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/

Orange Cake or Cupcakes

Orange Cake/Cupcakes

grease and flour 9" cake pans or use cupcake baking cups

2/3 cup soft butter

1 & 3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 cups Self Rising Flour

1 & 1/4 cup Orange Juice

Cream together until fluffy butter, sugar, eggs, then add flour and finally juice.  Blend together about 4-5 minutes on low heat.

Optional Short Cut Cake Recipe: 1 Vanilla or Yellow Cake Mix, 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cup Orange Juice, 1/3 cup vegetable oil.

Orange Butter Icing

1/3 cup soft butter

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 Tbs. Orange Juice

Blend together butter and sugar, stir in Orange Juice until smooth and creamy.

1st Option: 1 1/2 Tbs. grated orange rind for extra flavor 

 2nd Option: for Cake frosting you can spread Orange Marmalade in between layers.

I injected orange icing into these cupcakes to add more flavor.  They are delicious!  

While growing up my Mom always made our Birthday cakes from scratch.  She would ask us what cake we would like and this was always one of my favorites!  She made birthdays special for her six kids by doing simple things that didn't cost any money.  We would have the kids next door over for cake and ice cream and that was quite a crowd because the Karrigans had 10 children.  We got to go over there for their birthdays too.  We were so blessed to have neighbors like the Karrigans and Zachrys.  Try this recipe the next time you make a birthday cake or just a special dessert.  

Growing up in the Country

Lightning bugs....Have you ever wondered about the small, blinking creatures that light up summer nights?  Fireflies are easy to locate. Go outside at different times during the evening and watch for small twinkling lights in the air. Good places to find fireflies are over meadows or lawns and at the edge of woods or streams. Fireflies are carnivorous. They eat other insects, small animals in the soil and snails.

The summer evening light shows that you see are performed by male fireflies. They flash patterns of light to females. The females signal in response from perches in or near the ground. When the male sees the female's flash he continues to signal and moves closer. Eventually, through a series of flashes, they find each other.

The light given off by fireflies during their abdominal flashes is called bioluminescence. It happens when oxygen and the organic compound luciferin react together in the presence of the enzyme, lucifereace. This creates light. You can easily catch lightening bugs.  Watch for the flashes of light and follow it.  They don't bite either, just collect them in a jar.  When you have a dozen or so, they really light up the jar, be sure to put some grass, leaves or sticks in the jar too.  Let them go after an hour or so, don't leave them in the jar overnight, they won't survive and they really stink!  

We use to do this a lot during the summer nights in the hills of Tennessee.  I hope you get the chance to see them where you live too.  I'll be sharing more childhood delights in the future.  Life in the country was a wonderful time as a child.

God is in Control

Cancer is so limited...it cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot destroy peace. It cannot kill friendship. It cannot suppress memories. It cannot invade the soul. It cannot steal eternal life. It cannot conquer the spirit.

I love those words. They beautifully reflect the truth found in God's Word. Paul, facing physical challenges, could say with confidence, "We ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure" (2 Corinthians 4:7). The apostle, like your or someone you know, experienced suffering as an ever-present companion (v.10). Yet he chose to "fix [his] gaze on things that cannot be seen" (v.18).

Paul's faith and confidence flowed from the treasure within him - God's transforming power - and the future that awaited him - eternity with Jesus (v.17). He knew that when this life was over he would be forever in God's presence, where there will be "no more death or sorrow or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4).

When suffering comes, we can pour out our hearts to God (Psalm 55:22). He is with us in our pain (Hebrews 13:5). We can worship Him when He chooses to heal and when He chooses not to heal. But no limited thing like disease or suffering can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:38). An ultimate healing, as Christian composer Wayne Watson puts it, lies just ahead. Today, fix your eyes on what can't be seen - what an awesome, breathtaking view!

Read 2 Corinthians 4:17 - 18

 What fills your heart and mind as you fix your eyes on what can't be seen? What does ultimate healing mean to you?

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever (Psalm 73:26).

Country Biscuits

1 1/2 cups Self Rising Flour
1/2 cup Flour
1/4 cup Shortening
3/4 cup Buttermilk (or) use 1 tsp. vinegar and 3/4 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and shortening and blend with pastry cutter until mixture looks like crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk.  Blend just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface and knead. Press into a 1-inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a knife, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Your biscuits will be square or rectangle, but you won't have to roll out your dough a second time, making it tough.  Place biscuits on lightly floured baking sheet. 

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 18 minutes.

Optional:  Add 1 cup of shredded cheese to the recipe for "Cheesy Biscuits"

                     Add 1/2 each of shredded cheese and Chopped Cooked Bacon for

                      "Cheesy Bacon Biscuits"

                      You can even use your cookie cutters to make them the shape you like. 

                      I used a Christmas Tree  Cookie Cutter for a Christmas Tea at church.

                       Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chip Scones "Fancy Biscuits"

I made these for my family while visiting in Alabama and my sweet niece had never heard of scones.  She asked, "What are scones?"  I said, "They are fancy biscuits!"   She loved them and so did the rest of the family.


Recipe:
2 cups Self Rising Flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup cinnamon chips

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375°F

Combine Self Rising flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in mixing bowl. Add butter slowly, cutting in using a pastry cutter.  

In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients, mixing completely. Stir in cinnamon chips. On a floured surface, roll out dough (with hands only) to 1/2" thickness. Cut into scones, place on ungreased cooking sheet. Sprinkle sugar over scones. Bake 18 - 20 minutes.

Serve warm or cool, delicious!  Serves 10-12.

Joining the 21st Century

I'll be blogging about a number of things:  Cooking and short cuts in the kitchen.  How to do gardening and trying to deer proof the yard.   Women's Ministries, Missionaries and Community Outreach through the church.  Dealing with cancer in the family.   Southern stories and family time.  I hope you enjoy my blog.  God bless you.