The Broken Harp

In the corner of the basement

Stood a cobweb-covered harp -

Broken now and so forsaken,

There it stood back in the dark.

No one in the little village

Could repair the harp again -

And you'd never guess the music

Or the places it had been.



Came a ragged man a beggin'

For a place out of the cold;

He was bent and slightly limpin'

He was lookin' frail and old.

So the houseman gave permission -

He could sleep upon the floor

Of the basement where was kept

The harp with melody no more.



Soon the house was filled with music!

'Twas as sweet as angels bring.

And the household came a-runnin'

Just to see the vibrant strings!

Dusted now, it stood in beauty,

Every web was cleared away;

And the ragged man was singing

Very softly as he played.



In his song he told the story

How he'd made that harp when new;

Since he'd made its first beginning

Fixing wasn't hard to do.

And, dear friend, if you are needing

Just a touch from God above...

Just remember Who has made you.....

He can "fix" you with His love.



He can fill the empty corners

Of your heart with song anew;

He can take each day and make

A special melody for you!

He can fix the broken pieces

Better even than before -

And open wide the storehouse

Of His blessing evermore!



Joan Clifton Costner

copyright

http://underhiswings0.tripod.com

Holy Blood

Holy Blood

He walked the way to the garden -
And blood fell in that place;
Bound before the rulers,
His blood streamed down His face.

No mercy, grace or pardon
Was granted to Him, here.
But, God was, then, providing
The price for all the years!

My sins were, there, upon Him;
Blood red, then sparkling white!
My hope in Him, eternal,
Brought Heaven into sight!

How can that bright red blood make white?
I do not understand.
But this I know, we'll never need
Another sacrificial lamb!

He is so very beautiful,
More worthy than any words.
I cannot think of the abyss,
Were His name never heard!

The tomb is but a vacuum,
Drawing earthly souls to Him!
See? The blood has done it's mighty work
And we are cleansed from sin!

~ © 2000 by Joan Clifton Costner ~
http://www.heavenlypoetry.com/

Good manners

Melissa Leo is no lady. Her mouth could be confused with a dumpster or sewer. It was even joked about later and the next day about her dropping the f bomb. It made me sick.

In the old days ladies acted and spoke like ladies. I miss those days. My grandma used to tell the grand kids if they said a curse word that we had something in our mouths that she wouldn't hold in her hand. I have never forgot that. She was mainly referring to the s word.

The genealogy of Christ

http://sacredsandwich.com/page/2

A poem by a friend of mine.

The Last Sunset



When the last sunset fades into darkness,

And this troubled world sinks into sleep;

When the last soul is saved and the Master,

Says, "Father, that's all we can reach."



'Twill be like on the cross - "It is finished!"

And all the rejoicing is done

That is given by angels in Heaven

For the salvation of anyone.



No more souls to be saved - it is finished.

No more pleading and no more debate -

So the peace always asked for is silenced

By men who are full of hate.



But the trusting souls gone on to glory

Will live one eternal day,

In the presence and love of the Savior

Prince of Peace who led all the way.



When the last Sunset comes in the evening

Then the morning will break bright and fair.

Jesus our friend and our brother,

Will greet us with His tender care.



When the morning breaks forth and the splendor

Of Heaven is there in full view;

I'll be watching dear brother and sister,

With Jesus...we'll watch for you!



Joan Clifton Costner

copyright

Joan is a Heavenly Inspirations author

Crochet baby blanket

I am making a baby blanket for a lady my husband works with. I have found a new kind of yarn I just love called (I love this yarn). Its 4ply like the super saver but the yarn is so nice and soft. I just love it. I am using yarn I already have so I sure hope she likes it. I decided to make two so she can choose which one she prefers. I have the first one done and the second one should be done by Wednesday or so.

My husband had asked me to make the blanket on our way home from Dodge last time. I wished he had said something while we were in Dodge at the Hobby Lobby and I would have chosen yarn specific for the baby blanket.

oh dear

I have this really bad.

Flip flops and muffin tops

How I keep my kettle clean

A while back I purchased this 1.5 gal. kettle from Lehman's non electric. It was around $37.00. The large size if great for canning or everyday use. Mine stays on the stove top all the time. I use it often. I found that the outside became grease spattered and dull. Washing with soap and water did not solve the problem so I bought some Bar Keepers Friend. It shinned my kettle right up. I do have some lime deposits on the inside so next I am going to pour vinegar in and let it soak. I want to take care of all my things so that they can last for years and years.

If you would like a kettle like mine go here: http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Helpers_and_Accessories___Teas___Large_Spout_Kettles___lgSpoutKettle?Args=#

Pictures are from the Lehmans's site where I bought my kettle.

Final pork butt count

Final count for the canned pork butt is 32 quarts. We have about 1 1/2 quarts left that is raw and I didn't want to have to run another canner load so we will just cook it up and add salsa and eat it with cheese and lettuce in a tortilla.

The girls decided that since it is nice today that we should do some laundry so we are on our second load. Its so easy to wash with the wringer washer. I just fill with water and add soap, then agitate for a bit and begin adding clothes. When I think it has enough clothes I let it agitate for maybe 5 min., then turn it off and let it soak. Later I go back and turn it on to agitate again and then run the clothes through the wringer and place in a separate rinse bucket. In my case I use a 15 gal. new muck bucket. We swish the clothes around the rinse water until we think they are rinsed and then run them through the wringer again and hang them up to dry. The clothes line is just a few steps away. Every thing is arranged in close proximity to each other so its not a hard job. I have the washer sitting next to a table that has the rinse bucket sitting on it. Its all shielded from the wind by the storage trailer.

~~~~The news we have all been waiting for~~~~

Jeff received news today that he officially got the job he had been waiting on. We will be moving within the next two to three weeks. We had been waiting on all the paper work to be completed before we gave out the news officially.
So now its official, we are moving.
I am not going to disclose the location we are moving to. Close friends and family know so its not like we are dropping off the face of the earth. I will continue to blog I just wont be saying where we live.

I have more time than I first thought

I liked this photo of mother and daughter dressed so neatly to shop.

Of course I can, can you?

For some reason I thought I had less time this week than I actually do. How did I do that you ask? Well today is Wednesday and for some reason I had it in my head that I only had one day until Friday. Today. Well guess what? I have Thursday and then Friday. I think sometimes when we have a lot of things to get done we get muddled up in our thinking and begin to worry when we shouldn't. I need to remember that I have the same amount of days as everyone else and I can only accomplish what I can accomplish. If I do my best that's all I can expect from myself.

Now with that said I will tell you what I am up to today.

Mollie has cubed two more pork roasts and we have a canner load just starting. We should end up with two more loads today for a total for today of three. When we cube the last two pork roasts that is the end of it for now.

I had to make a run to town late last night to do a favor for a friend so I thought I would just pick up the last two packages (four roasts) from Kristy's refrigerator and save myself a trip and some gas. I thought to myself that it would be cool enough to keep them outside somewhere. We are in the country so there is always the possibility of wild animals so I wondered where I would keep the meat. I decided that the Maytag wringer washer would be a good place because it is metal and it would get cold and stay cold. So that's what we did. This morning the meat was still there untouched and very cold. I say this to say to you that if you think about things there is usually a solution available when you have a dilemma or problem. Just be creative.

Tomorrow will be wash day again. I think the weather will be decent and hopefully not too windy.

Make Your Own Household Cleaners Using Essential Oils

If you've ever thought about making your own natural household cleaning products using essential oils but weren't sure how to do it, then keep reading. You're in for a pleasant surprise!

All-Purpose Cleaning Spray
Add 6 drops of lavender essential oil and 6 drops of rosemary essential oil to one pint of water in a spray bottle.

Furniture Polish
Add 10 drops of lemon or orange essential oil to 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and add then add 2 to 3 drops of jojoba or olive oil. Mix thoroughly and apply to furniture with a soft cloth.

Bathroom Cleaner
To clean tile or linoleum floors add 50 drops of tea tree oil to a gallon of water in a bucket. To get rid of mold and mildew on counters and other surfaces, add a few drops to a wet sponge and wipe down surfaces. Rinse and repeat as often as needed.

Disinfectant Spray
Add 10 drops of grapefruit essential oil and 10 drops of lemon essential oil to a pint of water in a spray bottle.

Glass Cleaner
Mix 10 drops of lemon, lavender, or rosemary essential oil with one cup of white vinegar and mix with a small amount of water.

Laundry
When washing sheets and pillowcases or anything else that dust mites thrive in, add 25 to 30 drops of eucalyptus oil to the water for each load.

To add a fragrance to clothes while in the dryer, simply add 5 drops of your favorite essential oil to a damp washcloth and toss into the dryer with clothes you are drying.

Since I dont use a dryer I am going to try putting a few drop of orange oil in the rinse water.

source: http://www.marigoldlane.com/greenliving/cleaningrecipes.html

I thought it was interesting that they said to use eucalyptus when washing sheets or anything dust mites live on. I will be doing that next time I wash sheets.

Rice cooker

This is the kind of rice cooker I have.


Do you have a rice cooker? I got one for my big birthday a few years ago and have used it ever since. I use it for much more than rice too.
For instance: A couple of years ago we went on a mission trip to a church in Kansas. I had no idea of the facilities (non existent) so I brought a few appliances I thought might be useful.
1. crock pot
2. rice cooker
3. griddle
I was not feeling really good physically so I offered to be the cook. I was sure I would not be able to do the physical labor that the others would be doing. I ended up making a wide variety of foods with the limited equipment available to me. I had what I brought, a table, and a bathroom with a small sink that only had cold water. One of the local church ladies furnished the dessert each day so that was a wonderful blessing.

If I were to do this again I would bring a dorm size refrigerator.

One day I decided to make chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes. I had brought along a few home canned foods (chicken) and bought the rest of the ingredients for our meals at the local grocery stores.

I used my rice cooker to make the chicken and noodles. It worked out very well.
Today I am making hamburger stroganoff in my rice cooker. The reason I am using my rice cooker is because the stove is busy with my huge canner.

To make the stroganoff I first crumbled the hamburger into the pot and added chopped fresh onion. When that was done cooking, one cycle of the rice cooker, I drained the grease from it and then put the noodles and water on to cook. When that gets done I will drain the noodles put the noodles and drained hamburger back into the pot and add a can of mushrooms, a can of cream of mushroom soup and some sour cream. I will turn the cooker on once again for a few minutes to heat up the soup and sauce then it will be ready to eat.

I am now wondering if I could cook a whole chicken in my rice cooker?
Have any of you used your rice cooker for more than rice? What did you cook in it?