Well if anyone had a lot to be thankful for it sure is me, the lord has touched me seen me through this rough operation and has set me standing up again, now that is a alone enough to be overly thankful for.



But he saved me, he made me whole, he changed my life, and give me a new out look on life, put new words in my mouth, and new song in my heart, oh thank you lord for the change you did in my life.

I am leaving in a few minutes to go to Waycross to see my Rheumatologist, long way, and I know I will need the strength of the lord to get there and back, I still get very tired very easily, and I still am not eating very much, now that is a good thing, I have lost 13 pounds so happy for that. I would appreciate your prayers for me today, and daily if you think of it, love you all very much my precious blogging friends, I will be happy when I can resume and start visiting your blogs again, I miss seeing
what Y'all have to say, so bye for now, hugs my friends.

So tell me now, what are you thankful for on this Thankful Thursday?

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.Psalm 100:4

Magnificent Monday

Oh the magnificence of our heavenly Father, how he cares for his children, and how he draws them near to himself to give them reassurance in his love.

Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
- Joshua 1:9

What a wonderful day it is, I am up, and I have had no pain medicine since yesterday when I went to church.


I did take one then, just in case I needed some extra help while there. It was great, and I surely got my cup filled, my husband rewarded me for my first day back to church with a Dairy Queen Chile Dog, it was so good, then we went over to McDonald's and got a hot fudge Sunday, and split it, I really still cannot eat much, makes my stomach uneasy, I have lost 13 pounds since I had the surgery, and I was worried that I gained some in that steel ball joint they put in my knee, heehee, doing good, only have about 25 pounds to go to be where I need to be. So all in all I am great, doing good, getting better daily, and praising God for his blessings on me. 

Be content with what you have, for God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid."
- Hebrews 13:5,6

have you missed my Recipes? Here is a good quick one for you to use while I still cannot cook.

Tried and Tested Pumpkin Recipes

Cooking Pumpkin


Boiling/Steaming Method: Cut the pumpkin into rather large chunks. Rinse in cold water. Place pieces in a large pot with about a cup of water. The water does not need to cover the pumpkin pieces. Cover the pot and boil for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender, or steam for 10 to 12 minutes. Check for doneness by poking with a fork. Drain the cooked pumpkin in a colander. Reserve the liquid to use as a base for soup. Follow the steps outlined below in Preparing the Puree.


Oven Method: Cut pumpkin in half, scraping away stringy mass and seeds. Rinse under cold water. Place pumpkin, cut side down on a large cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for one hour or until fork tender. Then follow the procedure outlined below in Preparing the Puree.


Microwave Method: Cut pumpkin in half, place cut side down on a microwave safe plate or tray. Microwave on high for 15 minutes, check for doneness. If necessary continue cooking at 1-2 minute intervals until fork tender. Continue as outlined below in Preparing the Puree.  Source: USDA

Beef and Pork Baked in a Pumpkin



1 whole fresh pumpkin, med. size
1 lg. lean finely ground pork
1 lb. lean finely ground beef
1 lg. finely chopped onion
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground sage
Salt and pepper to taste
1 to 1-1/2 c. fresh mashed potatoes


Cut a hat (or lid) in the top of pumpkin and clean all seeds out of the interior. Rinse out the interior and dry with a paper towel. Set pumpkin aside. Saute beef and pork slowly until cooked. Remove from the pan and drain the fat from the meat. Saut?the onion in butter until golden. Add the meat and spices together and heat. Add enough mashed potatoes to meat mixture to hold it together, and place mixture in the pumpkin cavity. Place filled pumpkin in a pie pan with 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin sinks or contracts somewhat. A toothpick should come out clean when done. My mouth is just watering for this, hope you enjoy it, perhaps my dh can prepare it, we will see, I sure would love it.

My lovely bouquet that my precious husband stopped and picked for me, now tell me how sweet is this wonderful man I married. He has been the very best care giver, therapist, cook, cleaner and taking care of me, no wonder I am doing so well with such excellent care. He went to the store the other day, and picked these wild flowers, it just bless my heart to no end, just when I think I cannot be surprised any more, he surprises me.
Now he does this care giving in between studying, and praying, and doing all the things this fine preacher does daily. He will be preaching Sunday all day too, so keep him in prayer, I will attend Sunday evening, and so looking for ward to that time. SO that is about the update on me, still doing good, getting stronger and around easier daily. Just keep praying, it really does work.

Being laid up so long I have been able to study and really get close to the lord, climb up in his lap and let him feed me, and  love on me, oh such sweetness it is. I am thinking how being ill changes our attitudes some times, and we must all be mindful of the ways our view point brings us down or influences the way we think, we may be able to look at situation in a different light, and here are a few suggestions:

Be aware of your negative thoughts, Think about the messages you give yourself, and stop the message in it tracks. Are we not told in the scripture to think of those things which are good?

Put things in perspective. There are  those people, who are so negative that even when small things go wrong, they feel as if they have been cursed. Remember, everyone has ups and downs, and nobodies life is ever perfect. It rains on the just and the unjust alike.

Try refraining, Refraining can help you find the good in a bad situation. If you've lost your job, for example even though it is rough, look as it as an opportunity rather than a failure. A job change can allow you to learn new skills and meet new people.

Count your blessing, this is my all time favorite thing to do, Gratitude can help you focus on what's right in your life. Look around you and make a mental list of all the things you take for granted but for which you should be truly grateful.

Forgive and let go. Learn from your mistakes, forgive yourself and move on. Also forgive others, Hanging on to a hurt or a wrong done to you by someone else only gives that hurt more power over you. This is garbage in your life, God wants us to get rid of it.

Make good memories and pursue simple pleasures. You don't need a spectacular events to make you happy, just like the wild flowers my husband brought home to me, it was a simple thought and act of love, but very simple, I truly love them, and it made me very happy.

Be kind. Turning toward others can make you forget about yourself. Being kind to friends and strangers can relieve some of the tension in their lives and make you feel better about your own self.

We do not choose to be optimists or pessimist. The attitude toward life events is more than likely a combination of genetics, early environment and life experiences.We all know that strong family ties and mental and emotional well being go together, but we need to have a strong support system in our life, a loved one or a friend, lets all lean on each other, and better yet lets all lean on the lord, he can handle it, no matter how big a problem can be God can solve it, and make it better.  I hope you have enjoyed this time of study with me, God bless you and ponder on all the things I have written here, do have a wonderfully blessed weekend. God be with you.

Lots of Love and Prayers, Barbara ♥

(Lovers of the English Language might enjoy this)

How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English? There is a two-letter word, and that word is "UP". It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky, or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting why does a topic come UP/ Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house, and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble. line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special, This UP is confusing; A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning, but we close it UP at night, we seem to be pretty mixed Up about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the pages, and can add up to a;bout thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain. We say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth, When it doesn't rain for a while, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now, my time is UP, so time to shut UP! 

Hope you enjoyed this, I had fun with it, and even though it took tremendous writing, It did not wipe me out completely. I am doing good, better every day, and hope to be able to attend church Sunday, looking for ward to that too. I did get my staples removed and all seems to be healing well. Thanks again for all the prayers you have prayed on my behalf.

Happy Sunday, Rejoicing in his blessings.

What a glorious Sunday it is, the sun is shinning brightly, the temps are nice, and the world is peaceful with his presence,
Lord I ask that you bless each friend reading this today, that you meet each need, and give them the desires of their heart.

Lord I just want to take this time to sing your praises, and tell of the wonders you have did in my life, you brought me up from the miry clay and planted my feet on a solid rock, that rock is Jesus and in him I have such surety and assurance, thank you lord for finding me, and for saving me, and for caring for me all these years. I am lifting my voice up in praise to thee, that you will be exalted above all others.

My friends I am sending a prayer your way, I asked the father to bless you today, though were far apart, you're still in my heart, so I am sending a prayer your way.  May the love our heavenly Father touch you where ever you are, in whatever circumstance you are in, and lead you to his restoring, to the place of restoration, and in him may you be healed physically, Spiritually, and mentally, may he touch you in a very special way that you will never be the same, and you will know who has touched you, just like the woman who touched the hem of his garment, he knew her, and she was never the same.

I am so happy we can always reach Jesus, he has an open line and he is never too busy to care for his own. My friend called and I was telling her all the wonderful grace God has given to me though this ordeal, and that I am recovering right on time, and she reminded me of a song I used to sing called, This valley is for me, and I am happy when in the valley, she said "You sure are always happy when in that valley, I have never seen some one who glows when in the valley, but friend you do". What a wonderful place to be, you know when you are on the mountain top you know that you will be going down, it is the only way, but when in the valley, oh me, it is so lush and green, and the great Shepherd takes such good care of you, I do love the valley's sorry maybe I am nuts but it is the way I am, once I realized how much good God does while in the valley I say bring it on, this valley is for me. Praise His name, and when ever I am low, he is with me, he picks me up, he gives the grace to bear what ever I need, when I hurt real bad, I pray, God does touch me and makes the pain go away, yep my God is real, and he is all I need in any situation, hope he is the same for you.

Have a very blessed day my friends, and may God bless you real good.  Lots of ♥

Thankful Thursday

I was studying these verses this morning in my quiet time, and thought I would share with you, I cannot sit long enough to really expound on it, but it says I wait patiently for the lord, that is the thrust of the verses, waiting, patiently, right now I can not wait any other way, it is in the lords hands how quick I heal and can be up and about. I am doing much better and expect to do even better daily, that is my goal and I pray that it is the Father's will also. I am waiting on him to stand me up, plant my feet on higher ground, amen, usually when I sit up I need a stack of pillows under my foot to prop up my leg, will be glad to be on solid ground again, and back in the house of God with his folks, I really miss that the most. I do have a wonderful in home Physical Therapist, she is so good, an such a great asset, she has helped in so many ways, little tips here and there. I go to get my staples out the 5th, that will be a relief too, so I am progressings. So keep praying, it is working, and I will be back full force soon, love each of you.


1 ¶ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.


2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.


3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.


4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.


5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us–ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.


6 ¶ Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.


7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,


8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.


9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.


10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.


♥Mother Hen Barbara, Praying for you daily♥

Home, But not up and running

Hello my dear friends, just continue to pray for me, this has been much harder on me than anticipated, they had to take more of my bone off than thought, But I am home getting better daily, it is still such a struggle to get around, this is the first time I have been able to get in here to computer, usually front room is as far as I can get, this is about 70 foot from my room, quite a chore, so funny how going to the bath is such a chore now, have to use my walker with Chuck holding onto my bet, I have a strap around my waist I keep on for easy mobility that I do not fall,you. Just keep praying, I will not be here much, I am only suppose to sit in this position for 30 minutes, so limited time indeed. Love y'all and do keep praying, I am here and praying for you, just cannot get to computer like I did, but then I cannot do anything like I did, Oh I take that back, I can pray like I did even more, hugs to All

♥Mother Hen Barbara, Praying for you daily♥

God's Been So Good To Me

First I want to thank all of you for the very encouraging comments you have left, you have all blessed my heart, then I want to thank you for your prayers for me today. The fellowship was great, the devotional was truly inspiring, even to me, lol God is so good, he shows up and takes over, and it is a great time in him, with him, and by him, I do stand amazed some times in what he does with me, I am rather timid, and writing is great but standing in front of others and every one looking right at you, usually makes me feel uneasy, I did feel right at home today though. The food was so good, and we had so much too, all in all it was so good and a sweet time of prayer and fellowship, it was such a blessing to me.

Tomorrow is church, and I am looking forward to that, I do love going to church and worshipping the lord, he is so good, and we need to lift up the name of Jesus every chance we get, I am not
sure if I will have to miss any meetings or not, perhaps if I feel okay Wednesday and come, I will be up to going, if not I am sure Sunday.  So praise God Monday is a good day to have the surgery on, I thank you all for the prayers, and all the love you show, God bless you all very much, I will have a few days down to really pray and keep in constant touch with the lord, I am looking for ward to that too. No computer, just sweet fellowship with my lord.
 I came home give Zoie another bath, and then made my precious husband one of those Sausage rolls he loves, I will put it in the freezer and he can have them every morning while I am gone.
The kids are coming up to the hospital Monday too, and then Jim my eldest son, is going to take Zoie, our little dog, back home with him, that will be best for her, rather than leave her home alone all day with us being gone, Chuck wants to spend as much time at the hospital with me as possible, and it would not be fair to leave her alone so much, so I am happy about that too.
Oh yeah pray for brother Chuck, the Pastor asked him to preach tomorrow night, so hold him up in prayer too.

God sure is good isn't he, tell me how has he blessed you today?

I love this song, and it keeps going over in my head, I will leave you with this, and I hope you really think on what the words are saying.

God Is So Good To Me
I've had some bad days and I've had hills to climb
I've had some sad days and then a weary mind
But when I look about and think these things all out
All of the good days outweigh the bad days
And I can't complain

Chorus
God is so good to me
He is so good to me
More than all this world could be
He is so good to me
His spirit came to me
And gave me victory
God is so good to me I can't complain

Sometimes the clouds hang low
And I'd like to see them go
Then I ask this question
Lord, tell me why so much pain?
But he knows what's best for me
Although I cannot see
I just say thank-you Lord
I can't complain

♥Mother Hen Barbara, Praying for you daily♥

Thankful Thursday



We it is a lovely day, I spent it deep cleaning, and doing laundry, yesterday I went to my class, they explained all things that will happen, I am very informed now, and feel a true peace over me, I am

assured that God's hand will be upon the surgeon's and on me, I appreciate all the prayers, and I

more than likely will not post any more before I have the surgery, so all my praying friends keep me in prayer on Monday, all I know it will be early, and I will be getting up before the day is over, now that is great, I

think, lol, my old bones would set up if I stayed in bed too long so I really was glad to hear that they will

be getting me up and about the day of the surgery. Then each day I will walk and do therapy until my goals they set for me are accomplished, then I can come home, that is the goal I want to make.

Tomorrow I will strip my bed sheets, and put all new one on my bed, then will finish doing the laundry and trying to get some meals made up for my precious husband. He is my coach and will be with me through most all things I will do, thank God for a strong and loving husband, God indeed has blessed my life.

I do want to make that good Sausage Roll for him, and freeze it, that will keep him eating for a while in the mornings. Saturday we have our ladies meeting at church, I will be giving the devotion and ask your prayer

for this also, it has been a while since I spoke in front of a women's meeting. Pray God will be glorified in all I say, and that he will lead me in my thoughts and my speech. Then of course Sunday, our day of worship, and I will not do much else that day, will kinda rest up for the big journey on Monday. So those are my plans

and my thoughts, and I do pray that each of reading will walk a little closer to the lord the next few days, and pray more, and give him a little bit more time of your life. I am indeed thankful for the blessings God gives me

daily, and I do not hesitate to say, I know that he will be with me on Monday, and his hand upon me, and his voice whispering his word in my ear, he promised me, he sail, Lo I will be with thee always, and that is in

the operating room too, amen..Have a blessed day, weekend, and I will get back to say hi to y'all as soon as I can. here is just a little goodie cause I love ya, enjoy, and God bless you real good.

Pumpkin Dump Cake

1 large can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3 eggs, beaten
1 box yellow or white cake mix (not Jiffy size)
1 1/2 cubes melted butter


Grease bottom of 9 X 13 inch cake pan. Combine first 6 ingredients.


Pour into pan. Sprinkle cake mix over top evenly. Drizzle melted butter over all. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes. Test as for pumpkin pie for doneness.

♥Mother Hen Barbara, Praying for you daily♥





Yummy Tasty Tuesday Time

I had this all written out and something happened and it went to the home page and I lost all my writings, OH ME!!
Well Good Morning and I am only here a minute to post this, I have a appointment with my primary doctor to get my surgical release. Then have some last minute things to do. The Count down has begun, I have made most of my pre-registrations now, had my blood work and pre opt testing done, and going to a class tomorrow and to get my ID bracelet, so the time is nearing, but Praise God I can say I am in good hands and he will protect me in every step of the surgery and recovery. God is good, and he loves me what more could I ask for, who better to hold my hand, and the surgeons hand than the one who created  me, yes glory, I do trust in the lord. I appreciate all your kind and encouraging posts, and the prayers I
know you pray for me, thank you.



I hope you have a terrific Tasty Tuesday and here are a couple of easy recipes for you try, they both are delicious and I know you will love them. So with all said, Have a great day. Hugs and Blessings♥

Crock Pot Cola Ham

Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 cup cola (Coca Cola)
3 to 4 pound precooked ham


Directions
Combine brown sugar and mustard. Moisten with cola to make a smooth paste. Reserve remaining cola. Score the ham with shallow slashes in a diamond pattern. Rub ham with mixture. Place ham in crock pot and add remaining cola.


Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low and cook for 6 to 7 hours.  Serves 8.

Blackberry Roly Poly
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter plus
2 tablespoons butter melted
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fresh ripe blackberries
6 tablespoons sugar


SLICED-LEMON SAUCE:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 vanilla bean split and scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lemon halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into paper-thin crosswise slices.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter two 12-inch loaf pans. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the 4 tablespoons of cold butter until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the milk and mix with a fork until the dough comes together.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead 4 or 5 times, or until smooth. Cut the dough in half. On a floured board, roll out half of the dough into a rectangle 8 inches wide and 1/4-inch thick. Brush with half of the melted butter. Top with 3/4 cup of the blackberries and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Roll up jelly-roll style, forming an 8-inch-long roll. Place, seam-side down, in one of the prepared pans. Repeat the process, using the remaining half of the dough and filling. Bake in the pans for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is firm and beginning to brown.


While the roly-poly is cooking, make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, blend together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the water, lemon juice, vanilla bean and scrapings, and stir until smooth. (If using vanilla extract, wait to add until the syrup is removed from the heat.) Cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and clear. Remove from heat, add the butter, and continue to stir until melted and blended. Let cool slightly and stir in the lemon slices. Take out the vanilla bean, if using.


Remove the roly-poly from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack. Cut into 2-inch slices and serve with lemon sauce. This recipe yields 8 servings.

Note: The lemon sauce will keep for 3 to 4 days but is best served the day it is made. It will thicken when refrigerated; simply stir to loosen the sauce.

Hugs ♥ Blessings