Sunday Hymn

Be Still My Soul Hymn

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, be leaving, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

(Turn off music on side bar before playing video)

Sunday

Wordless Wednesday: My Prince!

I Love You More, My Prince AJ!!!

Your Fresita

"His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend."
Song 'of Solomon 5:16

Banana Apple Bread

We try to eat healthy in our house. So I try to find recipes we like and change them to fit our healthy lifestyle. At times this is a challenge and my recipe is no good, other times with a little tweaking here and there, we end up with a recipe we are happy with.

Here is one recipe I have tried and the family loves.

Banana Apple Bread

Original ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• A pinch of cinnamon
  
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 large bananas (mashed)
• 1/2 cup nuts (chopped)
• 1 large apple (peeled, cored, chopped)

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My Changes (in blue):

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Stevia powder extract(instead of sugar)
A dash of cinnamon
Flaxseed mixture (instead of eggs...healthy and good for cholesterol )
2/3 cups applesauce (instead of oil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large bananas (extra ripe)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1 large apple(peeled,cored, chopped)


Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Mix together flour... Stevia...


baking soda...sea salt...and cinnamon.





Add milk...vanilla...and apple sauce...

followed by the flaxseed mixture...


Stir well.
( If it seems a little dry, add milk a "splash" at a time. You do not want it to be to thin.)

Grab your chopped apples and mashed bananas...

and mix them in with the flour mixture.

Fill your previously greased loaf pan or muffin pans about 1/2-3/4 full.

Add any extra berries or nuts you would like...we usually add blueberries and whatever nut I have on hand...

Place it in the oven...

and cook for about 20 min. A loaf pan will take close to an hour.
Stick a knife in, if it comes out clean, they are done.

When finished cooking, place muffins (in this case) on a plate on the table and wait for the family to come running for a treat when they smell the great aroma.


Just a note or two: I usually triple this recipe. A normal recipe will make 2 loaves or about 24 muffins.

I also like to under cook these a little. If you use eggs, it needs to be completely done.


Enjoy!

Sunday Hymn

.

How Great Thou Art

Lyrics ~ Carl Boberg, 1859 - 1940

O Lord my God,

When I in awesome wonder

Consider all

The works Thy Hand hath made,

I see the stars,

I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow'r throughout

The universe displayed;

Stanza 2:

When through the woods

And forest glades I wander

I hear the birds

Sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down

From lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook

And feel the gentle breeze;

Refrain:

Then sings my soul,

My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

Stanza 3:

When Christ shall come,

With shouts of acclamation,

And take me home,

What joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow

In humble adoration

And there proclaim,

"My God, how great Thou art!"

Refrain:

Then sings my soul,

My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

(If you would like to listen to this song, please hit 'stop' first on my playlist)

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded"
by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676

1. O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.

2. Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee,
Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee
And flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish
That once was bright as morn!

3. Now from Thy cheeks has vanished
Their color, once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished
The splendor that was there.
Grim Death, with cruel rigor,
Hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou has lost Thy vigor,
Thy strength, in this sad strife.

Whatcha Looking At?

Have you ever gone through a time when you felt like things were not going smoothly in your life?

It might be a troubled marriage, a troubled child, a friend close who has hurt you, loved one diagnosed with something, single and wanting to meet that "special" one. It might me a failed adoption, or that sin in you that just won't go away. In-laws who treat you like dirt, financial troubles, or building a house and all the chaos that goes with it.

Whatever the situation, you are overwhelmed. Sleepless nights, tension headaches, worry, anxiety.

I have had moments like these.

Times when a situation has occurred and my mind starts wander.

I start thinking of the "what if's", my appetite changes, sleepless nights, tears rolling down the face, snapping at those around me, angry, a loss of desire to do much.

These are hard times. Times I have struggled through.

When a trial enters into my life, it usually starts out like this...

"I do not like this. Ouch, this hurts...but I will trust in you God for in your Word it says, 'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son..." (Romans 8:28-29)

He comforts me, but I still hurt.

I start thinking of my situation again. The anger starts to creep in.

I grab my Bible and open up to the Psalms. Chapter 88 in this case...

"O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength..."

My mind is at war. I start quoting scripture. Anything I know...even if it does not pertain. I sing praises to our Heavenly Father.

But I always come back to how I do not like my trial. I begin to dwell on it.

In these times, what am I looking at?

My trial or God?

I want to say God, but if I am truly looking at Him, would I be having sleepless nights, loss of appetite, and so on? Am I trusting in my Heavenly Father who has ordained all things for my good?

I am reminded (thanks My Man!) of the true account of one of the miracles by Jesus in Matt. 14:22-33:


"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God.'"

The Lord has graciously convicted me over the past 2 years of my lack of faith in Him. I am ashamed to admit this, but I must be honest and confess.

He has showed me I am to truly put all hope and trust in Him.

I always thought I did, but due to answered prayers, God showed me my weakness and sin.

I can honestly say that my faith has grown because of the gifts of trials.

Men will let you down (Psa 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. ), but my God will always be faithful!!!

Yes, I knew it in my mind, but in my heart...I obviously doubted.


I thank God for my trials, for they truly are a gift from Him to grow me in Him and less of myself.

A Gift. I would not have said this 2 years ago.

I now can honestly say, God as my witness, I embrace my trials.

Do they hurt? YES!!!

Do I stumble? YES!!!

BUT...

I serve a GREAT God whom loves me so much that He convicts me of my sin, and continues to conform me into His image. Even if it will hurt.

How about you? Are you going through something? Have you been through something recently?

What have YOU been looking at? Dig deep, cry out to God, and ask Him to show you...


Do you, like Peter, see that the wind is boisterous, are you afraid, or are you keeping your eyes fixed upon Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.


Psalms 63:8 "My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me."