Saying Grace!

...Or "Saving Grace"?

This little squirrel looked like he was saying grace,
thanking God for the abundance of seeds
that had been scattered by the birds from my feeder!

"Saying Grace"

Could it be that when we "Say Grace" over our meals,

thanking God for His provision of food,

(and asking Him to bless it)

that "Saying Grace" actually becomes "Saving Grace"?

“But you—you serve your God

 and He’ll bless your food and your water.

 I’ll get rid of the sickness among you; 

 ...I’ll make sure you live full and complete lives."

Exodus 23:25

(From The Message translation)

"The Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on,

 some are going to give up on the faith 

and chase after demonic illusions

 put forth by professional liars. 

These liars have lied so well and for so long 

that they’ve lost their capacity for truth...

 They’ll tell you not to eat this or that food—

perfectly good food God created to be eaten heartily 

and with thanksgiving by believers who know better! 

Everything God created is good, 

and to be received with thanks.

 Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. 

God’s Word and our prayers

 make every item in creation holy."

1 Timothy 4:1-5

(This is from The Message translation)

I'm not talking here about "saving grace" that saves our souls from eternal punishment.

I'm just wondering if we've gone a bit over-board on touting health foods,

placing too much value on the healing power of the food

instead of on the God in Heaven who made the food?

This is something that I personally have done at times...

but am trying, by God's grace, to have balance and get the right perspective.

What do you think?

I'd love to hear your opinion!

Birds of the Ozarks

With the drastic change in weather,

my bird feeder had a flutter of activity today!

Here are just a few of my visitors!

The white-throated sparrow

The rufous sided towhee
and
the House Finch

The Cardinal

The Fox Sparrow

Both of my feeders were busy...

...With a variety of birds...

...And plenty more on the ground to pick up
the seeds which fell to the ground.

That's one of the beauties of snow...

Seeing all God's beautiful feathery creatures come to visit!
And it's a reminder that if God's eye is on the sparrow,
He will surely care for me as well!

And that's my Joy4Today!

I think I'm almost finished with Simon Peter's Names for our Lord

on Rock4Today.

Today's post featured several names.

To see them, click on Rock4Today to take you there.

Thanks for dropping by!

Brother Bill's Bachelor Quarters --- Nearly 50 years ago!

I was going to do a "Birding" post this time...

...But recently while studying and researching for an "Affinity Class"

that I will be leading, I stumbled upon my old Bible College records.

Although they stirred up my allergies a bit,

my curiosity pushed me to peruse them despite the sneezes they produced!

One of the treasures I found is from "Theme Writing" class,

and I decided to share it.

  I dedicate this post to my sister-in-law who took up the challenge

to change my brother's bachelor status into that of a family man!

 When you read this,

you can only guess how strict the rules were!

Fraternizing with the opposite sex was frowned on!

Although I'm not sure I deserved it,

the grade I received was a B+ ...just in case you were wondering!

We were privileged to enjoy Bill's company for 49 years 

before he entered his heavenly home.

 "But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!"

Passages from 1 Corinthians 15 taken from "The Message" translation

In Memory of

William (Bill) Edward Grusing

Born January 21, 1944

Died December 20, 1993

If you haven't stopped by Rock4Today in awhile,

click on the highlighted letters above to find out what I've been up to!

Thanks for dropping by!

Bird Scouts!

I heard that the birds are already out scouting

for places to raise their babies when spring comes.

If you want residents in your birdhouses,

probably you need to get them in place!

Last year a little wren, a chickadee, and a tufted titmouse

checked out my little birdhouse that is hung

 in the cherry tree that is quite near our house.

The wren started to build a nest, but then changed locations.

Today I was surprised to have a pileated woodpecker
checking it out!

My granddaughter and I laughed as he tried to stick his head inside,

...even turned his head upside down while trying to look inside.

He didn't give up easily...

and finally started pecking the house apart!

For some reason it reminded me of the verse from Proverbs 14:1 that says,

"A wise woman builds her home,

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."

I guess the woodpecker thought if he couldn't fit in the little house,

then he'd just tear it up so no one else could use it!

Not a very nice philosophy!

Or maybe he was just looking for bugs to eat...

I've been doing a lot of Bible Study for an "Affinity Class" 

that I'll be teaching in March and April,

called "A Taste of Grace".

Consequently, I haven't painted a ROCK lately for

Names of God on Rocks.

Don't give up on me!

I hope to get a post done later this week!

Old-Fashioned Barn Restoration!

It was fairly early when neighbors started gathering
to help with preparations to pour a concrete floor
in the old barn that my husband has been having restored.

And they were ready when the truck delivering concrete arrived.

The gravel subfloor, plastic, and grids had been laid.

The truck backed in till the chute would reach
to the back of the barn.

It amazed me how long the chute could be made.

Then the back-breaking job of spreading the concrete began.

First raking it as smooth as possible...

Then smoothing it with a trowel.

Finally the last bit was poured...

Smoothed...

And smoothed...

Then it was time for clean-up of the truck...

...and the boots!

Lots of hard work,

and aching backs!

But a new concrete floor in place!

One of the biggest challenges had been keeping the dogs
from making their foot prints in the fresh concrete!

And in case you're wondering...
Sarah Bella is no longer doing hair!
She's gone back to college in pursuit of another occupation!
Just couldn't throw away the sign!!!

I haven't got another rock painted yet this week,
so check back later on Rock4Today
to see my Names of God on Rocks, okay?

Icy weather brings on color!

With the onset of colder weather,
the bird population at my feeders begins to swell...
(House Finch, Hairy Woodpecker, and Chickadee)

Although this guy only lingered for awhile...

I was happy to catch a few shots of him.
(Northern Flicker)

This little Downy Woodpecker is smaller
 than the Hairy Woodpecker pictured above,

Although this doesn't show his red belly,
this guy is named the Red Bellied Woodpecker.

The Tufted Titmouse worked hard to remove
the sunflowers from the shell...

...and then stared at me as if he knew I was taking his picture!

The Cardinal always adds a splash of color
when he shows up at the feeder.

And speaking of a splash of color...
My daughter and I tried out a few new colors.
Don't worry, though...
They are just wigs!!!

I love all the splashes of color that God puts in this world!

And I love all the different names that describe Him!

For a look at some of those names,

check out my Names of God on Rocks blog for today!

Thanks for dropping by!

(To see many web photos of the above birds,

just click on the highlighted name below each photo.)

For New Year's Day Meal... Gary's Cornbread... and Granny's Iron Skillet

New Year's Day Meal

Southern Style

Gary preparing to add some hot sauce
 to his black-eyed peas and turnip greens.

In the South we have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas,

a ham product, greens, and cornbread on New Year's Day.

But do you know why we do it?

According to Wikipedia,

"the tradition dates back to the Civil War, 

when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman,

 typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock,

 and destroyed whatever they could not carry away.

 At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" 

and field corn suitable only for animal fodder,

 and did not steal or destroy these humble foods.

In the Southern United States, the peas are typically cooked 

with a pork product for flavoring 

(such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), 

diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar.

The traditional meal also includes collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham.

 The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity;

 the greens symbolize money;

 the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.

 Cornbread also often accompanies this meal."

Here's our cornbread...
made in Granny's iron skillet,
... and almost ready to take out of the oven...

Granny's skillet makes the best crispy crust!

Then for dessert,
the cornbread can be topped with a little butter
and some wonderfully delicious home-grown and home-made sorghum!
(In case you're unfamiliar with southern style sorghum,
my experience of watching it be made can be found HERE!)

If you think it looks like there is something unusual in the cornbread,

you are right!

That was Gary's idea!

We often add unusual foods to our cornbread...

this time being diced black olives, whole kernel corn, and chopped jalopenos.

Wishing you and yours a 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My verse for this year is from the words of Saint Peter, who said,

"But grow in grace,

and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

To Him be glory both now and forever.

Amen."

2 Peter 3:18

My most recent Names of God on Rocks 

from Saint Peter can be found HERE!