Monthly Archives: July 2011

Psalm 33- A new song.

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Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
   it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
   make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
   play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
   he is faithful in all he does.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of his unfailing love.

6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
   their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars[a];
   he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
   let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
   he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
   the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
   the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the LORD looks down
   and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
   all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
   who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
   no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
   despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
   on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
   and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
   he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
   for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
   even as we put our hope in you.

Sing to him a new song…

there are many references to a new song in the

scriptures- most of them in the psalms. 

What does it mean to sing a new song?

Is it about a change in tone or behaviour?

Or is it more about style and tune?

Does it require a change of attitude?

Perhaps we need to find some deeper meaning,

some hidden symbol or heightened understanding

of the text.

This psalm has 22 verses- and often that suggests that

the psalm is an acrostic psalm- each verse corresponding

with the Hebrew alphabet  Alef to Tav.  This is a very old

mnemonic device used by the Jewish people to signify

that the psalm is all inclusive – what we would say includes

everything from A to Z.  The next Psalm –34- is an acrostic

psalm- but 33 is not.  It is a NEW  song.  It has its own style

and rhythm – it is not following the tradition, but speaks of

the LORD from an experiential point of view.

Not a hymn- a praise song.

I’ve been singing a new song, lately.

Looking at the brevity and frailty of life here from a different

point of view- and praising the Lord for His protection.

I’m recognizing that truly, God is in control.

And I’m grateful for His Providence.

Singing a new song in Akron, Ohio.

Pie- Glorious Black Raspberry PIE!

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Nothing says summer more clearly to me than berry pie!

I love pie.

Apple, pumpkin, pecan, peach, cherry, coconut cream-

Mmm- have I mentioned how much I love pie?

But berry pie- specifically,  black raspberry pie- that is a midsummer delight!

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Just look at this luscious berry goodness!

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And when it is baked up into a pie- you have summer on a plate!

Just make your favorite pastry dough-

mine is:

2  1/2 cups of pastry flour

1  1/2  sticks unsalted butter

1/2 tsp  salt

1/2 cup ice water

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour and salt mixture.

( Flour will have the consistency of oatmeal when ready,)

Make a well in the middle of mixture and pour water and then

lightly mix with a fork.  Gather the dough and flatten into two disks

and place in a plastic bag in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.

Flour flat surface and rolling pin and

roll it out and place in pie pan.

Then use 1  1/2 quarts of berries.

Crush 1/2 quarts, squeeze out the juice- leaving the seeds behind- and cook the juice up with

2 tsps lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, and 1/8 cup cornstarch ( you can add 1/4 cup water if the

sauce is very dry).  Bring to a slow boil and

then  take off heat and add 1 TBS butter and allow to cool. (Or- buy a good quality of black or

red raspberry preserves and eliminate the first step altogether and mix up with your fresh

berries.  It is a cheat- but a real time saver and not that much more expensive!)

Add berries to cooled mixture, put into pie crust, roll out top crust and place on top.

Decorate with a garnishing knife tip and bake at 375 F for about an hour.  Keep an eye

on it so the crust doesn’t get too dark and allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting.

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Then cut and serve a little bit of summer on a plate!

 

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MMmmm!

Slovaks are Hobbits!

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This has long been my opinion.

I have been reading Tolkien since I was

15.  Rereading the trilogy every year since

my thirties- it is like an autumn journey

I take every year. 

And the more I read about Hobbits, the more

familiar they seem.  My mother was definitely

from Hobbitish stock.  She certainly had the feet

for it.  And the earthy sense of humor- in fact-her

reasoning was rather more or less hobbitish as

well.

But I got a couple of pictures from my cousins that

have me totally convinced!

Slovaks ARE Hobbits! 1

This is my aunt Anna in 1956.

Slovaks ARE Hobbits! 2

Hobbits for sure!

Celebrating with cupcakes!

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Lemon filled white cupcakes with cream cheese frosting-

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YUM !

And-

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brownie bites with coconut filling and coffee caramel Icing.

Plus-

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Cake pops in white and milk chocolate!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!

I made a white cake mix into cupcakes,  made lemon pie filling,

and cream cheese frosting and put them all together!

The brownies are a Ghiardelli mix, baked into cupcakes after placing

a small macaroon inside.  Then put a dark chocolate icing circle around

the edge and fill the center with a smooth caramel sauce.

And the cake pops are a crumbled cake mixed with icing, frozen in

balls, speared with a lollipop stick and dipped into either white or milk

chocolate and then sprinkled with colorful candy stars.

I’m tired so I used some shortcut mixes – but they turned out great.

Psalm 133

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Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 How good and pleasant it is
   when God’s people live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
   running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
   down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
   were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
   even life forevermore.

And in the Message-

Psalm 133
A Pilgrim Song of David

1-3 How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!
   It’s like costly anointing oil
      flowing down head and beard,
   Flowing down Aaron’s beard,
      flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
   It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon
      flowing down the slopes of Zion.
   Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing,
      ordains eternal life.

Blessing, even life forevermore!

Really – what a time of blessing we had in Oregon last week.

The only one we were missing was Ralph- and he was there

in spirit!  How thankful I am to have siblings that all love

the LORD and each other.

How wonderful, how beautiful!

And how very special to spend time together in prayer

and in praising God for His goodness.

Our first three days on the coast of Oregon was mostly

spent in talking.  We went to the beach and shopped

a little- saw some beautiful sites- but most of the time

was sharing insights and memories.

And in recognizing that God is in control.

And later, after the accident,

I was so thankful that we had had that

time to know that God IS in control.

I love my brothers and sister-

and I love the family of God.

The past week.

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I’m home.

It was a special time in Oregon –

visiting with my brother,  spending some

time at the beach, getting reacquainted

with my niece and nephew and cousins.

Normally I would post lots of pictures and

tell many stories.

Here is a picture of Bruce at Manzanita,

on the beach.

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I will post more pictures later.

We spent 3 days talking and exploring and eating and

driving about on the coast.  It was a time out of time experience-

never to be forgotten.

Then on Tuesday, we went to Sandy, Oregon and spent

some time with our cousins.

On the way home, a man ran out in front of our car.

It was dark, and he was in dark clothing and he hit the

windshield and the rear window of the car and died a short

time later.  We were all stunned and shocked and covered

with glass. 

This is also a time out of time experience and will never be forgotten.

We are in mourning. 

But this also has a note of thankfulness in it.

Because, none of us was hurt.

Only very tiny cuts.

And the chaplain for the police department was definitely

Christ’s representative on earth that night for us.

Chaplain Dennis Simmons prayed, counseled, gave us

a place to sit, bottles of water, sound advice, chased away

the camera men from the local new station, comforted,

and then at the end of a very long investigation, gave us

all a ride home.

Life is short.

And full of unexpected turns and unfortunate occurrences.

I’m going to look for ways to encourage those in need.

And pray for those in pain.

And spend as much of my time doing things that will not

be quickly forgotten.

Things that will last in memories.