Pondering...on the word Self

All this baking has caused me to ponder on a phrase I read.  Someone wrote of 'self' in the Christian woman's context, that writing was doctrinally inferior by its Biblical deficiency...but that phrase made me wonder why it was so inane.

The piece (which was pathetic)had the phrase "left of self" (that is, what remains of self) So then, I thought, when all is said and done: what is left of self is actually "Left of self" I will explain:  I mean directionally-wise.  Meaning actually that the only vestige that is left IS on the left, not on the right.  I know, I know...bare with me.

When self is used in the Bible it is not alone [as we use it today as a stand-alone-entity] it is always accompanied with the word 'own'. So "own self"appears 6 times in scripture.  But as part of a word, it appears 977 times, i.e., thineself, himself, selfsame, myself, etc.

{A note in an old person's Bible said "Self is fles(h)" well, I partially agree...it would be so in today's usage.}

Now...consider this approach.  The use of our words 'right' and 'left' come from the latin dexter and sinister. 
Dexter is the root of the word dexterity which means industrious or productive, by means of using one's right hand primarily.
And Sinister standing all by itself needs no definition.  It is all done (implied) with the left hand, or all that is 'backwards' 'untoward' '\badly' 'evil' etc.  I did not originate the usage.  It's been around for centuries...albeit the use of 'dexter' has lost its bravado, and some people call their dogs Dexter.  My favourite use is Ambidextrous:  which means 'right handed on both sides' [you know, ambi=both, dexter=right hand...]

Well, look here for etymologies, for your own self improvement (mwahaha)

Gotta go and continue baking, next...peach pies with crumble topping...one might call them 'Dutch' peach pies.

I'll leave you with this:

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." I Peter 2:24

In His hands,  ^__^

Ever Present Help

Did you ever wonder...how, and I mean --H O W?!!-- in the world does God take care of us?
Have you ever been aware of Him actually helping you?

I believe God, the Almighty God, helps me always (time) and alway (space).
I will share one event with you, which happened one summer ago.

Two dogs?

About 9 in the morning a guy came to the door; he was all official looking with his ID hanging around his neck, and company clipboard in hand. He was from the new cable-internet-phone company which had been digging, around our town, for several weeks.

He told me that they would be in the easement part of our back yard the rest of the day. I thanked him for telling me, and I asked him if they were going to need anything from me. He said “no, just letting you know we would be there today.” As he walked away I felt a creepy check in my spirit. The guy did not look menacing, or creepy, or scary in any way, and I dismissed the feeling.

Not a minute later, a couple of big dogs were running together across the street—very rare sight in our neighbourhood. I thought “who would let their dogs run? and without a leash?” I watched them turn as if they heard someone calling them, and head toward our front yard. The dogs came right up to our front door and sat looking at me looking at them, as they panted like they had been running for a long time. I went outside to see if they had tags, but, no tags. One had a collar. I shooshed them and told them repeatedly to go home, while motioning with my hand. They just would not leave. Could they have been abandoned? I’ll never know.

It was near 90F already, so I went back inside and got a big stainless steel mixing bowl, filled it with water and took it out for the dogs to drink. They drank it clean, and sat under the red maple’s shade as if they belonged there. I refilled the bowl, and went back inside checking on the dogs every time I walked by the front window.






When they heard me coming near the door or window, they got up excitedly, wagging their tails and expected I would play with them—I thought.

Meanwhile, the cable laying guys came and went to their trucks, had their lunch, and came and went to their trucks some more. The dogs lifted their heads attentively every time one of those guys walked by in the side yard.

I was so intrigued by those dogs that I hardly got anything done, except some dusting and laundry. Those two dogs behaved as if they lived here. Every now and then, I went outside to give them more water, and they greeted me as if they knew me well. They never once sniffed my shoes, or skirt, as most dogs would do. Their behaviour was peculiar, to say the least.

When it was near the time that my husband would be driving up from work, I stayed by the door, to give him the head’s up about those dogs being there. I knew his sense of ‘protector of the wife’ would immediately rise upon seeing the dogs, so I wanted to be outside as he drove up. Sure enough, when he saw the dogs—which did not even look up when the car drove up the driveway—he frowned with concern, but quickly unknitted his brow as he saw me smiling at him. One of the dogs glanced, uninterested, at him as we came up to the door, and laid his head back down on his paws.

I told my husband the whole dog story, and when he noticed the cable-internet-phone guys in the back yard, I told him about the guy from the morning.



While hubby was freshening up I notice the dogs drinking a little water and then walking away, and soon trotting and running just as they had come in the morning.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
When hubby came back to the kitchen, noticing the dogs were not where they had been, we both wondered and speculated if the Lord had sent them to protect me from those guys. Their assignment completed, they left. Only God knows if one of those guys would have been up to no good that day, or would have thought to do me evil, if it had not been for those two huge dogs, sitting in our front yard all day. I imagined those guys would be well acquainted with guard dogs, and these two big dogs would look threatening—two of them, at that, and untethered! They could have growled, chased them, or barked…but did not. Just sat and watched.

These scriptures came to mind as I saw the dogs disappear in the distance:

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Ps. 91:1)

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” (Nah 1:7)

Thank you, Lord!

Ponderings...(wassat?)

Lately, and since it is Autumn, many are saying colder weather phrases.
For example,
'We got a cold snap'
'It has been sunshiny and crisp, this week'
'Snuggly, frosty weather today'
'Crunched together on the couch to watch a video'
'The cold wind cut to the bone, during our walk'
'Definitely got a break from the heat!'
...and many other that you may want to add to this list.

The blogs are showing favourite cold weather foods, such as Thick Soups, Stews, Watery Soups, Biscuits and Gravy...for desserts we see, Double Chocolate Turtle Cake, Oozie-Goopie Caramel Torte, Sour Cream Apple Pie...and on the list goes.

Now, stand back and really observe [I may be the only one who has noticed this phenomenon...nooot!]

Let me help you...snap, crisp, crunch, toast, and break, are onomatopoeic words which describe hardness to some degree or another. When the weather is this way, we want soft, smooth, mooshy, liquidy--thick or thin, foods.

When the weather is hot, and humid, and thick, then we like to eat Crispy Potato Chips, Crispy Nachos, Crunchy Pretzels, Crispy-Crunchy Salads, Snapple...and other foods which imply hardness.

Well, what does that say about us? It seems that food companies have, already, banked on this peculiar human condition and made barrels of money (would that be hard money or soft money...you decide)

You may profit by doing a word study in your Bible about hardness, hardship, and see what the Lord shows you.
When my heart is hard, what do I want to hear?
When my heart is soft, what then?

I'll leave you with this:


"That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" Isa 30:9-10

In His hands, ^__^

A story to ponder and FO pictures

One day, last week while driving to the Bible conference we saw a new, shiny SUV with a metal fish-thing on the back gate. It looked different than all the 'regular' fish-things (what are those called?!) When DH drove close enough that we could 'read' it, we realized we had never seen this one before. It said 'sushi' in the middle of the fish.


First I thought: cute and clever, but, I was beginning to get offended at the how-dare-they! misappropriation. Before I could turn to DH and share my indignation with him, it was all too clear to me. "That is a picture of the church in general, today" I said. He was on the same page with me, as I explained and he nodded. The church in America, is dead. Not dead enough to stink, but not alive at all! Just like sushi.



Yesterday I was sharing this story with #2. He said that when I post the story in my blog I should clarify that the reader should understand that the church is "Mostly dead" (with a Billy Cristal--Princess Bride, tone of voice. If you saw the movie you will understand.) This is an observation in my own personal opinion. No one has to agree with me.

On to something different:

Had bugs in the cupboard! Had to take everything out and throw out antique food, you know, the kind that's been there a long, long time. Had to clean everything, wipe down the entire insides of the cupboards and replace the current foods and assorted containers and dishes.


This picture was taken right before we were finished. Everything smells like Murphy's Oil Soap.



This is a pair of leggings finally finished after 3 years! Made them of Maratona Merino wool. What a wonderfull wool. So nice in my hand, and although it's a 5 ply, it did not split. It 'fulls' very spongy and cozy. I made the pattern as I went along. They are positive/negative of each other and very, very warm.
#1's hat, just in time for Spring! Where they live it is cold for quite a while yet. She'll be able to get good use this 'winter' still. My own design. Picked up stitches for the ear flaps and I-cord for ties instead of binding off at the ear flaps. The fringe on top had authentic hand-woven rung knots. I used Dale of Norway and am not at all happy with that yarn. It splits a lot and I had to continually untwist. It's the baby yarn, merino and machine washable. Not using it again.
Practicing a new handquilting method for #5 & Mrs. #5's quilt. I'm not too happy with this method. It is slower than my regular method. I will do my regular method to finish the quilt. It is about 70% done. (shh! don't tell them)
And finally, this is 'my' winter cardinal. Hope he and Mrs. cardinal don't go too far for the summer. They come several times a day to the feeders. By the way, there were 4 snow birds yesterday and today, at the feeders. Supposed to have snow this Sunday.
We are having #2 and #5 and their families for dinner, they bring some, we bring some. So much fun and variety--and not so much cooking. I'll have to go and set the table.

I'll leave you with this,


"He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich." Pro 21:17

In His hands, ^__^