Mom and Food

 Yesterday, my mom would have been 100 years old. This brings back a lot of memories of mom over the years. One of the things that most people remember about their mom was the food they prepared. 

   We were quite poor and did not have a lot of money to buy food, but we always got by - Thanks to mom. She knew how to "Stretch" food so there was more than enough. Once the ketchup bottle was almost empty she would add a little water to make it go a little farther. When she fried the potatoes she usually added pieces of bread to make it taste better but also to make it last longer and fill us up. She loved to bake bread, cakes, pies, etc. We would come in from playing outside or working in the barn and she would be making loaves of bread and above all caramel rolls with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. Poor mom, these never had a chance to get cold when we got a hold of them. The same was true with any cake she made. Us boys thought it was our duty to make sure that the whole cake was eaten up in one meal. She also made a lot fruit pies. The fruits did not come from the store, but the berry bushes in the yard or the woods. Blackberry pie, strawberry pie, choke cherry pie,  and of course apple pie. 

   She rendered her own lard and we always had "real cream" on our cereal each morning, right off the top of the milk can. We had a big garden and our job was to pull the weeds and keep the bugs off. One thing we always had enough of was potatoes. 

   When we could we would have roasted chicken (After we chopped the heads off and plucked the feathers). We ate everything except the cluck We ate the gizzards, neck and all. Ever so often we would have beef roast. Mom was almost too careful to make sure it was DONE - always with a burnt crust. We actually enjoyed a little char with our beef, as long as we had ketchup. 

   I cannot ever remember eating at a restaurant, just plain good homemade food, prepared by the best cook in the world (In our eyes). One more important thing, we always sat down and ate as a family around the table - ever so humble! We never gave thanks to God, but we were still blessed beyond measure. 

   Take a look at the pictures. I am the one in mom's arms in both photos. The other two are Clayton and Steve. 

 

1964 was a very good year

   The years was April of 1964, (60 years ago almost to the day). The place was Faith Church in Rochester, MN. I was all of 14 years old. A few weeks before this incident, the Pastor's daughter, Darlene, invited me to attend youth night at the church. The "speaker" that night was a man by the name of Don Lonie, via a recording. He was a great speaker!  After that I started to attend Faith Church on a regular basis. Thanks to our neighbors Johnie & Christine Whitcomb, I never missed a service. They were very short people and drove a Volkswagen. I always sat in the crowded back seat. 

   When Pastor Logan spoke on Sunday mornings he always gave an invitation to receive Christ. He would ask us to raise our hand if interested in trusting Christ as our Savior. The Lord began to work on my heart and one Sunday I raised my hand, but didn't go forward. The next Sunday, just a week or so before Easter, I raised my hand and went forward and the pastor lead me to Christ that day. I don't remember a lot about that day, but I do remember that from that day forward my life was not the same. Pastor Logan gave us a copy of the Gospel of John and inside was a place for our name and the date we trusted Christ as our Savior. I was so proud of that Gospel of John. I took it home and showed it to my parents, thinking they would be excited about my decision - THEY WERE NOT!!! It wasn't that they were cold and calloused, but they simply had no clue what it was all about. 

   About a month later, my mom talked with Christine Whitcomb and told her she noticed a big difference in my life and wanted what I had. Christine had the privilege of leading my mom to Christ. That was just the beginning. A few years later, Steve attended a college where his room mate lead him to Christ. Then the twins attended Bible camp and came home with a new "Friend" in Jesus. A few years after that Curt trusted Christ as his Savior. The only one left was my dad, who trusted Christ at the age of 75 - at Faith Church during a morning service.  What goes around comes around! 

WOW! Just think - 60 years!!!! Where has the time gone! 

 

 

Throw Away Leaf

   When you really think about this poor, ugly leaf it was nothing. It was one of millions in the near by woods. It just happen to fly toward the house and get stuck between 2 porch floor boards. If I wanted to I could get rid of this leaf and replace it within seconds. It was a "Throw Away" leaf of little or no real value - except to me as I watched it everyday for a month. I really believe that God allowed that little leaf to get stuck and stay on the porch without getting hurt to teach me a lesson in faithfulness and hanging in there even when things get hard and rough. 

   When you think of it there are over 8 billions people in this world today and yet God allows a handful of people in our life to be an example and to teach of Godly values. It may not be verbal teaching, but life style and example. The church we pastor in Barron is made up of a great deal of 'Cognitive Impaired Adults" who have taught us more about acceptance, love and faith than we ever thought possible. Just like the leaf, God has allowed them into our life to teach us lessons that we otherwise may never learn. They are of great value to our Holy God (and to us).  

  Take a minute and think of people God has brought into your life to teach you lessons that you may not learn otherwise. Then THANK GOD for them!!! 

 

  

The Little Leaf - Just Waited!!!

 Every day when I left our house or came back, this little leaf was waiting for us. He just stood there on our back porch stuck between 2 boards. All he was doing was WAITING!!!

   We always seem to be waiting for something. It may be Christmas, Thanksgiving, pay day, a new baby, a wedding, at a stop light waiting for the light to turn green, waiting for your name to be called in the clinic waiting room, family to come to your house, etc... But as bigger question, is what do you do while you are waiting? Read, Play on the cell phone, strike up a conversation with some else who is waiting, pray, sleep, look out the window, find something to do??? 

   When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of the Thessalonians, they were "waiting" for Jesus to come back. The problem was while they were waiting, the did nothing, just waited. They quit their jobs and sat around "waiting" for Jesus to come. They figured that if Jesus was coming back at any moment, why should we work. Paul reprimanded them and told they need to be busy while they wait.

   This poor little leaf just waited and couldn't do anything - it was stuck. Some times there is absolutely nothing we can do while we wait, except wait! That is probably the hardest thing to do while waiting. We want to do something, but our hands are tied and can only wait and trust! 

   Paul suggested 3 things they and us could do while waiting:
#1: Give Thanks, especially for others in our life.                            

 Thus "Thanksgiving!!!! 

#2: Pray for others and their needs. Get our mind off our self and on the needs of others. 

#3: Remember what God has done in your life and how other lives have touched yours.      (1 Thessalonians 1: 2-3) 

What are you doing while you wait??? 

 

 

The Little Leaf that Could and DID!

   Some of life's lessons come from experiences, other people, accidents, failures, etc... But what about a stubborn leaf stuck on the porch. Sometime during the middle of October an oak leaf got stuck in the cracks of the floor of our back porch. I did not think much of it until the next day, when the leaf was still there... and the day after that, and the day after that... For over a month that leaf just stayed there, upright and proud. It just did not give up, in spite of foot traffic, rain, high wind and even snow. I thought for sure that I would come home and it would be bent over or even gone - BUT it hung in there!!! I even posted pictures of the stubborn leaf on face book so friends could see the progress. 

   Finally a couple of days ago, I decided to give this tenacious leaf a permanent home and it was framed in a picture frame, with the caption, "The Little Leaf that could...and did!" God used this in my life to teach me to hang in there and not give up. For several months I have had moderate back pain and numbness in my left leg. I met with a doctor and she signed me up with Physical Therapy for twice a week for a month. PT helped some but did not take care of the problem. Finally today I was able to get a CT scan and some answers. They call it "Degenerative disc disease" in 3 lower vertebrae and "disc protrusion". I have no idea what all this means, but I do know God wants me to be a little like the Oak Leaf and "Hang in there!" and trust Him. I do know that I may need to make some changes in my "hobbies" especially wood working. God has better plans, for us just like He did for the Oak Leaf!!!

   When Linda and I were in Oregon in May of this year, I decided to climb up the path that leads to the top of Multnomah Falls. On the way down I took a hard fall flat on my face. I believe that some of this ailment comes from that fall. The rest is simply attributed to "Old Age" degeneration. 

   To top it all off, Linda's back pain is recurring, so both of us are a pain in the back! To God be the Glory as we trust Him daily... 

 

Who amd I? Video

 I always enjoy taking photos of nature and landscape. This video is photos I have taken so far this year.

Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the video. Please leave comments and suggestions.

 Music is by Casting Crowns "Who am I?" 

 

But Wait There's More!!!

 

Right next to Telemarketers on the phone the one thing we really love is infomercials. They are on almost every station, especially at 3:00 am. They start out showing you a product that you can't live without and will change your life for ever along with make your life a whole lot easier. You HAVE to have this product, whether it is OxiClean or a Chia Pet.  All for the ridiculously low price of $19.95 (plus S&H). Then comes the catcher: "BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!!!. If you call within the next 15 minutes.... (You know the rest!)  

    During the next few weeks we will be looking at Ephesians 1, where Paul tells us all that we have IN CHRIST, because we have trusted Him as our Savior. In essence Paul is saying, yes because Jesus died on the cross and rose again and we have trusted Him as our Savior, we have Heaven and new life in Christ, BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!! Paul list all that is ours in Christ. 

Casting Crowns in there song, Who am I?" says it best:
Songwriters: Mark Hall Who Am I lyrics © ESSENTIAL MUSIC PUBLISHING

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

 

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

 

Take time to read Ephesians 1 and let God minister to your heart all that we have in Christ. In the next lesson we will start thew count down! God Bless!!!