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.

Things Present

The freeway traffic is loosening up as I take the exit ramp and descend upon the busy section of my small town. As I turn left out of the main business area and head inward toward the “old” section, I roll my windows down to let the sunshine in, and let my Celtic music CD play.

.....................

There’s a housing development on one side of me, high-growing trees on the other. 6:30 pm smells of dinners cooking in the homes on my left waft into my car, giving me a sort of warm-and-fuzzy feeling.

.....................

I cross two sets of railroad tracks and am finally in the old part of town. Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink” comes on the radio. As I pass the grocery store with the McDonalds and the gas station in front, I see a Daddy and his little daughter, fresh from a fast-food visit, standing beside his big truck as he prepares to open it. It makes me smile.

.....................

I turn right at the elementary school, and am immediately engulfed by a tunnel of trees as I wind up an incline and away from the town community. I smell lovely woodsy scents. When I emerge, I am in the mountain foothills, countryside all around me and a winding two lane road to traverse, houses popping up only every so often now. It’s so beautiful!

......................

At one point, the trees clear and I drive straight through a large meadow where hay is harvested during the summer, and where fog collects in the mornings at the least temperature change. As I near my last left-hand turn, I stick my head partially out the window and breath in, smelling grass. It’s a wonderful smell, fresh and fragrant and unsullied.

......................

I slow down for a dip in the road, then turn right and am on gravel. “10 miles per hour” says the sign nailed onto the power pole. Except -- a couple power poles later -- another sign which has clearly been spray painted over says “15 miles an hour.” Just don’t ask. It’s better that way.

......................

I ascend the last small gravel hill and turn into my own rather circuitous little driveway. My house sits away back from the road. It’s a sweet looking house. I know my family is there, my momma has made dinner for me as she so faithfully does when I’m working, and she’s going to be so excited about the canning jars I brought home from my sweet Grandma today. :) 

......................

This life holds such beauty. I often get sucked up in things as I wish them to be and spend too little time appreciating them for what they presently are. Tonight’s drive home from work was so lovely and filled with God-given sweetness!  Which is why I'm dedicating this post to the enjoyment of  ... Things Present. :)

"Go to the ant ..."

Caught this picture yesterday ... a lonely ant awaaay up inside of a Rose-of-Sharon blossom. Seems it was off on a solitary adventure! :)

The Saturday Evening Post: Quick thought from 2 Samuel ...

A recent passage in my Bible reading really struck me and I wanted to share!

2 Samuel 15:25-26: The king said to Zadock, 'Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the LORD, then He will bring me back again and show me both it and His habitation. But if He should say thus, "I have no delight in You," behold, here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.'

The complete, nothing-held-back FAITH of David here just jumped off the page at me. Wow! Fleeing from his own son, in the midst of betrayal -- his quiet trust shone. Leaving one of the most precious treasures of his people behind was a powerful testimony to his faith that God would accomplish His will, whatever befell David's kingdom -- and that even if David never saw God's city again, that would be okay. To the point of his own possible humiliation or suffering or downfall at that present time, David still put God's will first, and at whatever cost, he was determined that he should not stand in God's way, even if the results were devastating to himself. "Here I am - let Him do to me as seems good to Him,"-- when I think about the magnitude of the statement, this total laying down of EVERYTHING to the hand of God, the confiding trust of David in his Father, even to his own potential hurt - it's touching, humbling. It's a beautiful picture of the attitude God's child should have in His relationship with the Father. This will definitely be a go-to verse for me in the future when thinking or talking about attributes of faith!

Lemon Verbena Bread

 We are having lovely cloudy weather here today! Lately it's been just beautiful with non-stop sunny days, and that has made for a wonderful summer -- but a cool, cloudy afternoon is definitely a refreshment. :)

Speaking of summer -- this, folks, is one of my personal favorite summer recipes! It really is amazing how much the verbena flavors the bread -- lemon rind is the only other lemon flavoring in the bread itself. It's really a potent herb, and super easy to grow!

Bread:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup chopped lemon verbena leaves

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking power

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

zested rind of 1 lemon

2 eggs

Cream butter with verbena leaves in mixer or food processor. Add sugar and beat well, then add eggs, salt, and remaining ingredients. Grease 1 large loaf pan and pour in batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare glaze.

Glaze:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon chopped lemon verbena leaves

juice of 1 lemon

Mix ingredients. Leave loaf in pan. While still hot, pour glaze over it and let it sit several hours. Remove loaf from pan. Wrap in foil to ripen overnight before serving (I feel compelled to add that this never, I repeat, never happens at our house) or freeze immediately. OR, eat some the same day. Our personal preference. ;o) Enjoy!!

***************

Garden Action in August

A pretty garden, yes? :o) Some of that homegrown lettuce is in my work lunch for tomorrow -- yum. Last Monday, I also picked the first chive and basil for dinner. But the lemon verbena ... it's a little out of control. Just sayin.' This picture doesn't do justice to its wildly unkempt appearance. 

Consequently, I think it's definitely time to whip up some Lemon Verbena bread. 

You reading this, Mom? ;o)

It's a wonderful blessing to be able to grow your own food, even if only just a little bit -- definitely something to be grateful for!

If Thou Indeed Derive Thy Light From Heaven ...

... Then, to the measure of that heaven-born light,
Shine, Poet! in thy place, and be content: --
The stars pre-eminent in magnitude,
And they that from the zenith dart their beams,
(Visible though they be to half the earth,
Though half a sphere be conscious of their brightness)
Are yet of no diviner origin,
No purer essence, than the one that burns,
Like an untended watch-fire on the ridge
Of some dark mountain; or than those which seem
Humbly to hang, like twinkling winter lamps,
Among the branches of the leafless trees.
All are the undying offspring of one Sire:
Then, to the measure of the light vouchsafed,
Shine, Poet! in thy place, and be content.

William Wordsworth

*********

Summer time ....
 

**********