Raindrop upon Raindrop

The rain’s coming down drop upon drop.  Sheets of water hitting obstacles, sliding down, soaking in. 

My soul within me is tired and heavy. I can’t explain it, but there is a weariness and I feel the fight has left me.  I physically ache from weariness that plagues me.

I open the mudroom door, pulling my hood close around my face. I step out, hiding my free hand in the sleeve of my coat.  With my other hand I carry a plate of scraps for the chickens.  Bent over, I duck my head from the cold, pelting, rain, but it is persistent.  It finds my cheeks and speckles my glasses.  The cold air seeps into my lungs.  My nose tingles.  A sharp breeze that makes cheeks pink, dances across my face.

 

 

I breathe in deep; cold air shaking me awake.   I ask God to give me eyes to see, to fill me with His strength. 

As I slowly, walked back up the hill toward the house, I felt it.  I knew that the cold rain was like a touch from Him.  Washing away the heaviness. Cleansing my thoughts.  The cold air was His breath blowing away the cobwebs in my soul.  A gentle call from my Lord to re-focus.

To take my mind off the “what-ifs”.  To remove my thoughts from anything that wasn’t from Him.  To see His goodness. To hope.

 

For He has called us to hope!

 

 

 

“Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” (Romans 15:13 TM)

 

He has called us too so much that we never focus on. We never grasp.  We miss the green and just aim for the same old routine.

We live in a blur and our spiritual eyes haze over. 

We lose our desire and expectation of obtainment.  Where is our hope?

 

That day in the rain was God’s wake up call for me. 

Live filled with hope!

Fine tuning my focus to pin point precision on my Savior.  Then will I obtain the joy and the peace that He has for me and I will bubble over with the Holy Spirit, spilling out God’s hope in a never ending fountain.

 

It’s Here!

 

Little Sis, is so excited!  It was white when she woke up today and she was ready first thing to get her sled and try the hill out.  To run out and make snow angles ALL OVER.  To make a snow kitty and a snow person. To roll around, to taste, to enjoy!

I love her excitement, because I feel it, too! 

Yesterday when I was in town I heard so much grumbling about the snow.  It was almost painful to hear all the complaining. 

I understand that the cold does bring with it some hardships.  I know and understand because I have Raynaud’s disease  and deal with pain in my feet almost every day during the  cold months. 

But, still when I see the changing of the seasons, when I see those first snow flakes floating down there is an unexplainable joy within me.  For me, it is like a kiss from God, those snowflakes so airy and light landing on my nose and eyelashes.  In them I was see all the beauty, all the magnificence that our Creator is showering down upon us. 

It pulls my gaze upwards, removing it from the earthly things.

As I gaze upwards into the shimmering sheet of whiteness, I feel His presence.  It is unexplainable, but oh so sweet!

Pumpkin Pancakes~ Recipe

 

 

It’s cold here and gray.

Its on day like this that I want to bake… A LOT!

One of my favorite ingredients to use this time of year is pumpkin.

The cold weather, moody skies, and bare trees just signal to me that we should eat  more pumpkin!  One of our favorite recipes that uses pumpkin is Pumpkin pancakes.  They are a favorite around here.  So much so that I had to triple the recipe.  The following recipe is enough for my family of six (3 teenage boys) to have some leftovers, including some for my parents (my mom loves these). You could even put them in the freezer and pull them out for breakfast on another day.

 

Pumpkin Pancakes (original recipe from Gooseberry Patch Cookbook)

3 cups all purpose flour

6 Tablespoons sugar

6 teaspoons baking powder

1  1/2 teaspoons salt

1  1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

6 eggs

3 cups milk

1  1/2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin

6 Tablespoons canola oil

 

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, pumpkin, and oil together.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until almost smooth.  Pour batter onto a lightly greased griddle.  Cook till pancakes are golden brown, turning to cook second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and slightly dry edges.  Makes 24-30 standard sized pancakes.

 

Apple Cider Syrup (recipe from Gooseberry Patch Cookbook)

3/4  cup apple cider or juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 45 minutes- I hour or until to desired thickness (this is a thin syrup more the consistency of real maple syrup). Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

 

The last time I made the Apple Cider Syrup I doubled the recipe and used the leftovers to make granola.  I used the syrup to replace the water and sugar in my recipe.  It was really good.

 

Thank you to those of you who commented on my last post. Your words were so encouraging and really touched my heart! I have some really wonderful friends and I am truly thankful for each of you.