Worship and Mucking the Barn

 Our lives, as Christians, should be one of worship. Standing at a sinkful of dirty dishes or over a pail of dirty diapers (does anyone even use cloth diapers anymore?) or pushing a vacuum or mowing the lawn is worshipful if we have the right spirit. 

Today, my list of chores include mucking out the barn. I'll take shovels, rakes, a wheel barrow, dogs and cats with me to rid the barn of manure and mud, making it nice and clean again for the horses and sheep that use it for shelter. As I move manure from ground to wheel barrow to garden, hymns are sung, prayers are said and worship is attained.

Perhaps we sometimes think of worship as churchy...we have to be in the proper place, with the proper clothing, with the proper attitude but I say the place we are in, at this moment, is the proper place as long as we have the proper attitude. 

I can just as easily worship God while I'm mucking the barn as I can sitting in a pew. Some days I can worship Him a lot better because I'm surrounded by His creation and not that made of man's hands. 

The Christian life is difficult enough, don't make it more difficult by going all legalistic and thinking life has to be lived by a list of rules. God won't swarp us with a big stick should when we fail Him. His correction is loving and kind if when we approach with a spirit of repentance. That too is worship. His mercies are new every morning, everlasting to everlasting and worship now is simply practicing for what we'll experience for all eternity. 

Joining with Jen, Finding Heaven Today, and Lisa-Jo in Five Minute Friday - Worship.  

~ have you ever felt like this doe? ~

P. S. It's going to take me a while to respond to your kind comments left on the last post...but I will, please give me time. True confession bids me tell you when I pour out my broken heart to you, I have faith you'll respond with kindness. You've never let me down and your loving words and prayers are a balm to my brokenness. Thank you is so small but truly heart felt; only God can repay your kindness to me and my prayer is, over each of you, He'll pour out His unlimited and unceasing blessings on you, yours and the work of your hands and heart. 

Blessings ~ God's faithfulness ~ worship ~ His creation ~ chores ~ 

Another Day of Grace

~ maple, overhead and l to r - oak, maple, tamarack ~

I took a break and had a toes-up on the lawn while the dogs, cats and Carly wandered around me and the yard. There are ancient maple, hemlock, oak and tamarack trees in the yard which provide shelter, shade and color at varying times of the year. While the dogs alternatively gave me sloppy kisses, then trailed the scent of something, I watched the tree branches move lazily against the sky.

~ Carly, old bones sleep a lot ~

Do trees live in three-quarter time, rooted to the ground and struggling to be free? In days of old, before the Fall, did trees roam the earth, clapping their branches in praise to the Almighty? Are they, now, conscious beings, doomed, or permitted, to live at a slower pace? The Good Book says, "a time to be born and a time to die" but it doesn't say if all living things are living at the same pace but in their own time, in their own space.

~ Sam and Sadie ~

This season of grief, of mourning, since Dave died, leaves me with no one to talk to. No one who looks at me other than strangely when I talk about trees as cognizant beings.

~ curious creatures ~

Some years back, Tumbleweed was a rescue, as are so many here on the farm, including Dave and I. He and I rescued each other, a gift of grace from Abba. Tumbles was a birthday gift from Dave; this black American Curly mare who had known harshness, perhaps mistreatment, in her early life. When Dave found out we had to pay for the privilege of rescuing her, he shook his head and muttered, "Only you would pay to rescue." I brought her home and put her in a small lot where she had fresh water and I could feed and touch her every day. I wanted her to get used to me, to begin to trust me and I, to trust her.

~ Tumbleweed, American Curly horse ~

As I was coming or going, she would come to the fence to watch me and nicker a greeting. The dogs and I would go into her lot to give her love and she would patiently stand, letting me brush her. When I started to move away, she blocked my path; she wanted more love and attention. When I told her, "Later", she would prance off sideways, keeping me in her line of vision and, all of a sudden, would throw her head up and begin racing the small lot, bucking and kicking and watching me watch her antics. Tumbleweed ran for the pure joy of knowing I took joy in watching and she'd run in larger circles around me, but always, watching me, watching. It was a memory moment and a good one; this farm is full of such moments and some threaten to overwhelm, then suffocate.

If you're still reading, say a prayer for those of us here at Thistle Cove Farm. Especially me...for good health, safety and wisdom to take care of those in my stewardship. For me to prepare us for winter, for me to have the heart to keep going. When Dave first died, I thought the grief would kill me; now I'm afraid it won't. When Joy, his wife, died, C. S. Lewis wrote in A Grief Observed, "Her absence is the sky and spread over everything." O dear God, how this strikes me at my core! Lewis also wrote, "When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of 'No answer.' It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, 'Peace, child;you don't understand.'" (emphasis mine)

~ do you see them? ~

They are both right, I don't understand and thought I'd be further along by now. When I first met Dave, Cathy had been dead for eleven months. I confess, I remember thinking, "Why does it still hurt you like it does? Why are you still grieving so desperately?" 
God, help me, now I understand and, almost, wish I didn't. 

Grief is physical and damn hard work. It's unrelenting in its assault, a constant daily fight and the only peace I get is when I'm asleep. Thank God, I sleep well due, I'm sure, to the physically demanding work of keeping the house, farm and animals. 

It's a tender work, tenuous at best, living the grief down and trying to move forward. Just last week, a young woman asked, "What's it like, burying a spouse, the work of grieving?" I told her, "Nothing I'd wish on my worst enemy" and yet, most of us will experience it. Statistics show women are widowed, on an average, at age 52 and more women than men will bury their spouse. Even so, there's no joy in knowing. 

~ now do you see them? ~

It's a cycle, this circle of birth, life and death. Once born, everything has a season of life and then death no matter if it's trees, grass, animals or humans. I'm not sure about the trees and grass but I do know animals and humans grieve; desperately in some cases, and some never, quite, move on. It's not that they aren't willing but they aren't able and only God knows and, right now, He's not saying other than, perhaps,

"Peace, child; you don't understand."

Joining with Jen at Finding Heaven Today, the Soli Deo Gloria party. 

Blessings ~ many, but for the life of me, I can't see through the tears to count them ~

Sabbath Keeping

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

~ Isaiah 40:31 ~

"Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness." ~ John Calvin ~

"Exercise is labor without weariness." 

~ Samuel Johnson ~

"The goal of every culture is to decay through over-civilization; the factors of decadence, luxury, skepticism, weariness and superstition, are constant. The civilization of one epoch becomes the manure of the next." ~ Cyril Connolly ~ 
"When you face the perils of weariness, carelessness, and confusion, don't pray for an easier life. Pray instead to be a stronger man or woman of God." ~ Luis Palau ~ 
"When the morning's freshness has been replaced by the weariness of midday, when the leg muscles give under the strain, the climb seems endless, and suddenly nothing will go quite as you wish-it is then that you must not hesitate." ~ Dag Hammarskjold ~

"Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- 

weariness, vice, and want."

~ Voltaire ~

"It is good to be tired and wearied by the futile search after the true good, that we may stretch out our arms to the Redeemer." ~ Blaise Pascal ~

"The world is weary of statesmen 

whom democracy has degraded into politicians."

~ Benjamin Disraeli ~ 

"I would go to the deeps a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary."
~ Charles H. Spurgeon ~ 
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it." ~ Abraham Lincoln ~ 

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

~ Jesus Christ, Matthew 11:28 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Kurt ~ Timi and family ~ Kristin ~ Sandra ~ persecuted Christians ~

Sabbath Keeping

"...Since the day you were born, I have carried you along.

I will still be the same when you are old and gray,

and I will take care of you.

I created you.

I will carry you and always keep you safe."

~ Isaiah 46:3-4 ~

"I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires." ~ Khalil Gibran ~ 
"Never give up on your dream... because you never know what the Lord can bless you with." ~ Kelly Rowland ~ 
"The time you spend with God will transform your character and increase your devotion. Then your integrity and godly behavior in an unbelieving world will make others long to know the Lord." ~ Charles Stanley ~ 

"God doesn't play dice." 

~ Albert Einstein ~

"You should not believe your conscience and your feelings more than the word which the Lord who receives sinners preaches to you." ~ Martin Luther ~ 
"O Lord deliver me from the man of excellent intention and impure heart; for the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." ~ T. S. Eliot ~ 
"God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." ~ Augustine of Hippo ~

"Until we meet again, may the Good Lord take a liking to you." 

~ Roy Rogers ~ 

"And because of his glory and excellence, 

he has given us great and precious promises. 

These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature 

and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires."

~ 2 Peter 1:4 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Timi and family ~ Kurt ~ Sandra ~ revival ~ persecuted Christians ~

Very Good Things

 ~ Lorina Blood Orange fizzy drink ~

When I do errands, it takes, at the bare minimum, half a day and that depends on whether I go to Bluefield VA/WV or to the county seat or across the mountain to Wal-Mart. Most people think my life is boring and it probably is but it suits me. Dave and I were content to spend our time companionably and quietly and old habits die hard, especially when I'm not trying to change. On the other hand, today is the 6th or 7th day of hard rain and, after hanging clothes on the line (well, the sun was shining this morning!), I decided to do some errands.

Today, I went to Bluefield, VA/WV and, interspersed with the errands, I did a little shopping and found some delightful items. Everything was on sale, some things a great sale and, at Tuesday Morning, this Lorina Blood Orange Premium French soda was marked down to a couple of dollars a bottle. This sparkling soda has a bottle with a cork top and the bottle was worth the price alone. I'll save this for a special occasion, like a Thursday, and drink it ice cold with fruit, much like here. I'm enjoying the anticipation almost as much as I'll enjoy the drink, me thinks.

Usually, Tuesday Morning has wonderful yarn and they didn't disappoint today, except in quantity. This yarn is a mix of wool and silk and is going to be lovely to knit into scarves or throat cozies.  
There's a new to me store called Ollie's and it's a mark down store, much like Big Lots except with a lot more merchandise...a lot  more merchandise and an incredible book section. Yikes! Books mean serious trouble for me; I've already helped start two or three libraries and promised...promised!...myself I would not buy more books! I lied. I lied big.

 Are you familiar with Stampington Publications? They have many wonderful magazines and one of my favorites is Cloth Paper Scissors. CPS Studio is full of inspiration, great photos, web and blog address...all are fabulous publications especially if you enjoy making things. 

Garden & Gun is my favorite Southern magazine and focuses on two Southern traditions - gardens and guns. I grew up with both and must say am always amazed when people talk about "guns killing people", "being afraid of guns", etc. Dave showed his adult niece her great-great-grandfather's Colt 45 pistol and asked, "Would you like to shoot?" She looked at him aghast and said (rather haughtily, as Dave reported), "I take it as a matter of personal pride that I've never touched a gun!" Dave looked at her and said, "I'm not asking if you want to kill someone, I'm asking if you'd like to hold your great-great-grandfather's gun." Would it surprise you there was no meeting of the minds?

Anyway, Garden & Gun's Aug-Sep issue deals with such topics as cast-iron cook wear (my favorite cook wear), pies, the poodle as hunting dog, bourbon and Coke...all grown up and a slew of other interesting topics. Re the poodle as hunting dog...just remember, the dog doesn't choose the haircut.

 Sin Boldly caught me eye and then my wallet but, lest you get the wrong idea, it's a book about grace...God's grace and, as author Cathleen Falsani's friend said, "Without it, religion will surely suffocate you." Might I add..ain't it just the truth! 

To quote Frederick Buechner, 

" Listen to your life.

See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.

In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness:

touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden part of it,

because in the last analysis all moments are key moments,

and life itself is grace."

This little paperback, Felt with love, is full of hand crafted sweetness and I anticipate making brooches, bookmarks, the the like while listening to audio books or watching PBS DVD's on library loan. Oh yeah. I'll do that in my spare time...righttttt....

 A bread book I just didn't need but this siren called my name in a low and longing voice. And, considering I've got all that fresh churned butter in my refrigerator and freezer it seemed churlish to leave Nancy Baggett's kneadlessly simple behind...right? There are more than seventy recipes for yeast breads, whole grain, multigrain, gluten free breads, sweet and gift breads along with finishing touches...sauces, toppings, glazes, drizzles and they are all no knead! Hmmm, I think I should start at the very beginning and work bake my way through.

food in jars is by Marisa McClellan and I've been reading her blog for a couple of years, p'raps more. I'm a big believer in putting food by and have been canning since I was 13. The summer I was 13, I found some white fox grapes and Mom said, "If you pick them and bring them home, I'll teach you how to make jelly." I was hooked and have now been canning more than 47 years. Marisa's book is a keeper; she preserves year 'round in small batches and makes use of what's in season as well as what's at her urban farmers market. This is a good addition to my kitchen and I'll talk more about her later.

 This oversized book is fabulous! The subtitle is The fascinating history of its writing, translation & effect on civilization." There are "Over 90 illustrations with 23 Llife-Sized Pull-Out Pages from the World's Most Important Bibles". LOVE IT! When I was in London, I made a point of seeing the Magna Carta and the Gutenburg Bible. I stood at the displays, with tears on my face at the history, the blood, the lives those two displays represented. 

 The English Magna Carta inspired our US Constitution and Bill of Rights and the Fifth Amendment, which says, "no person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" is taken from the "Magna Carta's guarantee of proceedings according to the "law of the land." 
The Gutenberg Bible is amazing...simple amazing, in no small part because the 66 books of the Bible were written in three languages by more than forty authors over a period of 1500 years, on three different continents. There are those who do not believe God's Holy Word and I leave that between them and God at judgement day. As for me, I do believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and do my best to read it every morning. At any rate, this book, The Story of the Bible, will give me precious insight and history into the best selling book of all time.

 Have I mentioned how much I want to learn to knit socks? I mean...I'm a fairly smart woman, I haven't done too badly since Dave died but my feet are nekkid and winter is coming. I've got to leave the sandals and flip flops behind, soon, and I need to learn how to knit socks. Pray for me...'k?

 Chuck Swindoll has been a favorite for more than thirty years. I've been reading his books before he was on the radio, before there was an i-net and it was a delight to find his Insights on Luke. As you know, Luke is one of the Gospel writers, a physician, and was an intimate, a disciple, of Christ. It will take me a couple of months to glean all this goodness but it will be well worth it. 

It looks like I broke the bank, doesn't it? But, everything was on sale, some of it 70% off whoohoo! and all this goodness will give me pleasure for years and years to come. I'm cheap tight thrifty (finally, my Scots blood came out) and love finding great bargains that are gifts to myself. Most women, are you one?, do so much for others and forget themselves. Now that Ollie's has moved into the region, I plan on treating myself more frequently.

Blessings ~ first sip of hot coffee in the morning ~ a green, verdant valley ~ wool and silk yarn ~ lovely books ~

Sabbath Keeping

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path."

~ Psalms 119:105 ~

"Do more of what it takes to make you holy." 

"Don't ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet."
"The true contemplative is not one who prepares his mind for a particular message that he wants or expects to hear, but is one who remains empty because he knows that he can never expect to anticipate the words that will transform his darkness into light. He does not even anticipate a special kind of transformation. He does not demand light instead of darkness. He waits on the Word of God in silence, and, when he is answered it is not so much by a word that bursts into his silence. It is by his silence itself, suddenly, inexplicably revealing itself to him as a word of great power, full of the voice of God." 
~ Thomas Merton ~ 

"Put some feet to those prayers." 

~ Gladys Bennett ~

"If you cut him (John Bunyan), he'd bleed Scripture!" ~ Charles H. Spurgeon ~ 

"God can heal your broken heart 

but you must give Him the pieces."

"It is fashionable in some academic circles to exercise scholarly criticism of the Bible. In so doing, scholars place themselves above the Bible and seek to correct it. If indeed the Bible is the Word of God, nothing could be more arrogant. It is God who corrects us; we don't correct Him. We do not stand over God but under him." ~ R. C. Sproul ~ 

"Sometimes you're delayed 

because God knows there's danger ahead." 

~ Sandra Bennett ~

"We must allow the word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior." 
~ John R. W. Stott ~

"Don't judge someone 

because they sin differently than you."

"I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven." ~ A. W. Tozer ~ 
"Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." ~ Apostle Paul ~

"May you trust God 

that you are exactly where you are meant to be." 

~ Teresa of Avila ~ 

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

~ Hebrews 4:12 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, then we begin again. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Timi and family ~ Kurt ~ Gary ~ Sandra ~ revival ~ persecuted Christians ~

Churning and Making Butter

Mary's children and I were invited to the county fair to demonstrate making butter so Dalton and Kim used a Mason jar and a pint heavy whipping cream with a LOT of shake, shake, shake power. They didn't understand the entire process was going to take a while so adults took their turn as well.

The chilled, heavy duty whipping cream, is poured into a Mason jar and a lid and ring screwed on until just tight. The liquid is shaken until soft peaks form...this is whipped cream and with the addition of a small amount of honey or sugar is just dandy on strawberries or pound cake or strawberries and pound cake...just sayin', mind. 

BTW, a pint of heavy whipping cream will make one half pound of sweet butter.

This whipped cream was a trifle sweet to the taste.

 Shaking commenced again until a soft, round column begin to separate from the liquid. This soft, round column is the beginning of butter and the liquid is buttermilk. 

The contents are placed into a bowl and the buttermilk poured off from the butter. I worked the butter just like kneading dough until more buttermilk could be poured off and when the butter didn't release any more buttermilk, it was ready to be salted. There are those who wash the butter with plain, cold water and then add salt; I do not. I like the taste of strong butter so skip the washing process, add sea salt and then press into my half pound butter mold.

Start to finish, making butter in a Mason jar takes around 30 minutes. I started with cold, heavy whipping cream and it would have been faster had I used cream at room temperature.

My butter mold and churn were given to me by Aunt Bonnie who also taught me how to churn. She churned all her life and her butter, egg and milk money helped keep together bodies and souls for her six children, husband and herself.

The butter mold is a classic star or daisy pattern but wasn't used much. Aunt Bonnie would churn a few pounds of butter and hand mold them into rounds about a pound in weight. She lived a hardscrabble Appalachian life and beauty for her was having and preparing the food for family and whoever was there at mealtimes. Manys the time I've seen her feed folks she barely knew...simply because there were there at mealtime; no one was ever turned away from the table.

When Dave was alive, I'd churn butter and bake bread; he loved both and I think he loved the idea I could do both. It pleased him, as the memories still please me, to know we were so well matched. He was the high tech geek and I the low tech geek. He was genius material, truly, and was in process of applying to MENSA when he died. We always laughed because he had a Bachelor of Arts from WVU in biology and chemistry and I have a Bachelor of Science from VCU in Recreation, Parks and Tourism. He made bombs, I made baskets, but his dear old Mother wasn't quite as amused -lol-.

This churn belonged to Aunt Bonnie and she gave it to me when her health no longer permitted her to churn. It's a vigorous activity and takes some strength, especially when the cream begins to come together. It takes cream to make butter and this is the first time I've ever made butter from pasteurized cream; I've always used raw milk. 

In order to milk a cow, which is a female bovine, she must have had a calf. The calf always gets the first few milkings because these contain the colostrum, very necessary for the calf to both live and thrive and, btw, all female mammals produce colostrum in their first breast milk. Once the calf has milked out, or drank, all the colostrum, the human comes in and begins to take a share. Generally, in the beginning, the calf gets most and as the calf gains weight and grows, the human begins to milk more and more. By the time the calf is weaned, the human is getting all the milk. 

Aunt Bonnie would milk her Jersey cows, a breed originally from Jersey Island, and, after straining the milk with a clean cloth, she'd keep the cream from several milkings in the refrigerator. Unless, of course, it was winter and then the milk would be kept in a pail on the back porch. Unless, of course, it was the dead of winter and then she'd keep it in the refrigerator where it wouldn't freeze. Appalachian winters are COLD!

Pasteurized Duchess All Jersey Cream, from Rural Retreat, VA was used in the churn and is unbelievably wonderful! I poured the chilled cream into the churn and within fifteen or twenty minutes, the cream was beginning to set up or thicken into whipping cream...very fast!

In another few minutes, curds were forming and the butter was beginning to separate from the buttermilk...be still my heart!

Jersey cows have among the best butterfat; it's around 5% and makes the best...everything! Visit here for a listing of cows, butterfat, protein and a lot more information. Holsteins, those black and white cows, are shysters, they have only 2.5% to 3.5% butterfat..hardly worth bothering! 

Here, I'm pouring off more buttermilk, so the butter can be worked into a solid.

Churning produced approximately two quarts of sweet buttermilk, p'raps a bit more. When the cream is pasteurized, the buttermilk is sweet; when the milk is raw, the buttermilk has a tangy flavor. I much prefer sweet buttermilk and already anticipate some cornbread and honey for supper -grin-. 

The butter is scooped out of the larger bowl and placed into a smaller bowl for ease of working and so the buttermilk can be poured into a smaller container.

From a gallon and half of sweet Jersey cream, 8 pounds of butter was churned and I brought home a half pound of butter. I also brought home what the children and I shook and they are taking some on vacation next week. In the photo above, the butter on the left is made from the store bought heavy whipping cream; the butter on the right is from Jersey cream...big difference in color and a noticeable difference in flavor.

So, was it worth it? Absolutely! I'm already planning a monthly trip to Rural Retreat to buy my own Jersey cream so I can churn...every month. For me, it's a sweet activity, one that brings me closer to both Aunt Bonnie, Dave and my Appalachian roots.

In the winter, Aunt Bonnie would put together scrap quilts, using salvaged pieces of cloth and her old sewing machine, tucked into a corner of her bedroom. Over the years, she gave me a quilt, p'raps two, and said, "Now Kid, these don't go on the wall or in a chest. They go on the bed and are meant to keep you warm, understand? If you're not going to sleep under it, I'll give it to someone who needs to be warm."

Never once did I turn her down and slept under a quilt or two until they had holes. Now, it's the memories that keep me warm. 

Blessings ~ an old churn ~ sweet cream ~ willing helpers ~ Mason jars ~ sweet butter ~ Dave ~ Aunt Bonnie ~ precious memories...how they linger ~

Sabbath Keeping

"For I will restore health unto thee, 

and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord..." 

~ Jeremiah 30:17 ~

"A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier."

~ Tom Stoppard ~ 

"The wish for healing has always been half of health." ~ Seneca ~

"Health is a relationship between you and your body." ~ Terri Guillemets ~ 

"The way you think, 

the way you behave,

the way you eat, 

can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.

~ Deepak Chopra ~ 

"A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul, a sick body is a prison." 

~ Francis Bacon ~

"Give a man health and a course to steer, and he'll never stop to trouble about whether he's happy or not." ~ George Bernard Shaw ~

"Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity."

~ Hippocrates ~ 

"The body is a sacred garment." 

~ Martha Graham ~

"Man needs difficulties, they are necessary for health." ~ Carl Jung ~ 

"Your body hears everything your mind says." 

~ Naomi Judd ~ 

"Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work." ~ Ralph Marston ~ 

"I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me - spiritually and financially." ~ Denzel Washington ~ 

"When you are young and healthy, it never occurs to you that in a single second your whole life could change." ~ Annette Funicello ~ 

"I eat really healthy, and if I'm tired, I take a nap." ~ Casper Van Dien ~ 

"Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished." ~ Og Mandino ~

"Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sings, they shall be forgiven him.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. 

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous may availath much."

~ James 5:14-16 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, then we begin again. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Timi and family ~ Kurt ~ Brenda ~ Dorothy and Jeep ~ LeslieAnn ~ revival ~ persecuted Christians ~