Do You Pay Taxes?

 ~ vultures, drying their wings in early morning sun ~

If you pay taxes, own a *small business or farm, have a **special needs child, are a ***teacher or think health care will be free, we have Joan Pryde, Senior Tax Editor of Kiplinger Letters, to thank for writing the following on 8 October 2010.

 

On January 1, 2011, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves.

On January 1, 2011, here's what happens... (read it to the end, so you see all three waves)...

First Wave:

Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief - In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.
These will all expire on January 1, 2011 and personal income tax rates will rise.

The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).
    The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.
    All the rates in between will also rise.  
   
Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.

The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

• The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
•  
• The 25% bracket rises to 28%
•  
• The 28% bracket rises to 31%
•  
• The 33% bracket rises to 36%
•  
• The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family.

The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. 

 

Had enough? Vote on November 2, 2010 and throw the bums OUT! 

The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.

The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.

The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax

This year only, there is no death tax.  (It's a quirk!) For those dying on or after January 1, 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million.  A person leaving behind two homes, a business, a retirement account,could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.  Think of the farmers who don't make much money, but their land, which they purchased years ago with after-tax dollars, is now worth a lot of money.  Their children will have to sell the farm, which may be their livelihood, just to pay the estate tax if they don't have the cash sitting around to pay the tax.  Think about your own family's assets.  Maybe your family owns real estate, or a business that doesn't make much money, but the building and equipment are worth $1 million.  Upon their death, you can inherit the $1 million business tax free, but if they own a home, stock, cash worth $500K on top of the $1 million business, then you will owe the government $275,000 cash!  That's 55% of the value of the assets over $1 million!  Do you have that kind of cash sitting around waiting to pay the estate tax?

Higher tax rates on savers and investors.

The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.

The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.  
These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave:

Obamacare - There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011.  They include:

The "Medicine Cabinet Tax"

Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

**The "Special Needs Kids Tax"

This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.

There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.
Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. (National Child Research Center ) can easily exceed $14,000 per year.

Under tax rules, FSA dollars can not be used to pay for this type of special needs education.

The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike

This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Third Wave:

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise-the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.

The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year.

According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center , Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million.  These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level.  The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

**Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear.

Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000.

This will be cut all the way down to $25,000.  Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment.

In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."

*Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.

There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place.  The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

***Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.

The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.
Tax credits for education will be limited.

Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.
Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.

The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.
Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.

This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution."  This ability will no longer be there.

Read more...

And worse yet?
Now, your insurance will be INCOME on your W2's!

One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" health care legislation . . . the dupes, er, dopes, who backed this administration will be astonished!

Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort.

If you're retired?  So what... your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get.

You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen.  Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt.  That's what you'll pay next year.

For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse.

This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases.

Not believing this???  Here is a research of the summaries.....

On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002  "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."

- Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters.
- Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you.  Number 3 is what is above.

 

Are you angry yet?

Vote the rascals OUT of DC on 2 November 2010!

 Blessings ~ we still have the privilege of VOTING ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

Apple Harvest

 ~ Granny Smith apples ~

The days have been full of apples - drying, eating, freezing, pies, crisps and giving to the sheep. It's a good thing the Granny Smith apple tree is outside the sheep lot or there would be blood shed. Probably mine, seeing as how some of the sheep might tip the scales at 300 pounds! The apples that are smallish or misshapen are thrown over the fence so the sheep get a treat as well; the rest are taken to the house for human consumption. The horses get carrots, not apples, as apples may cause them illness in the way of founder. Please God, not founder; there's been too much of that around here this year.

I don't pick the apples but, rather, let them fall to the ground and then gather them. Once Granny Smith, indeed most apples, have been hit with a hard frost, they turn so sweet and drippy with juice. We've not had a hard frost, most unusual, and the apples still have a bit of twang to them. Still delicious and juicy but not quite as sweet as they would have been had frost hit them. 

I planted this tree about ten or twelve years ago and it's been a good producer. It should be good for decades and, statistically speaking, will certainly outlive me.

We went on the Paint Lick Ride yesterday and it was glorious! Look for an update later this week and you should plan on going next year; it's well worth the effort even if you don't hike to the top of the mountain.


Blessings ~ apples ~ pies ~ crisps ~ muffins ~ bread ~ drying ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

Sabbath Keeping

~ bridge between Spain and Portugal ~

"But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God." ~ Nehemiah 9:31 ~

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: is twice bless'd;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes

"Tis mightiest in the mightiest, it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

His scepter shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,

But mercy is above this sceptered sway,

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself,

And earthly power doth then show likest God's 

When mercy seasons justice ... we do pray for mercy,

And that same prayer doth teach us all to render

The deeds of mercy."
~ William Shakespeare ~

"Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful." ~ C. S. Lewis ~


"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." ~ Winston Churchill ~

"Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great..." ~ II Samuel 24:14 ~











Blessings ~ mercy ~ grace ~ peace ~ justice ~ forgiveness ~ freedom ~ honor ~ duty ~ hope ~


Grace and Peace,
Sandra

The House With Nobody In It

 ~ someone's beautiful homeplace ~

Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.
I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.
I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;
For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,
And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.
It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;
But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.
I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,
Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.
But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known.

But a house that has done what a house should do,
a house that has sheltered life,
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,
A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,
Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart. 

 ~ Joyce Kilmer ~

 Blessings ~ a sturdy roof over my head ~ home ~ laughter ~ love ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

Paint Lick and Thanks

 ~ Indian paintings in Tazewell County, VA ~

 On October 17th, Sunday, the Cove Community Association hosts a wagon ride to the Indian paintings at Paint Lick. We've done this several times and it's always fun at a beautiful time of year. It's usually cold but we have the ride after a frost to ensure snakes aren't stirring. Wagons are pulled by tractors driven by men who live in the valley and each wagon is staffed by other valley residents. The paintings are on private land and we have permission to take seventy-five guests to the paintings. The ride takes several hours and we depart from the Cove Center, formerly the Cove School, and travel several miles down the public road until we enter a private dirt road. Then, more fun...we cross several meadows and pastures, enter the woods, ford a river and begin our steep ascent up the mountain. When the wagons are able to go no further, people climb down and begin their scramble up the mountain. It is a scramble too! One either has to be in good physical condition or very determined to get to the top to see the paintings but it's worth it. The paintings are several hundred ??? years old and beginning to fade so each wagon trip could be the last, we just never know.

The cost is twenty-five dollars a person, warm layered clothing with hiking shoes and hat are encouraged and first come, first served...so to speak. Tee shirts are for sale and all proceeds go towards building upkeep and educational programs.

Have you noticed some fabulous changes on my blog? Misha, over at My Front Porch In The Mountains, had some beautiful changes to her blog and, when I inquired, she recommended Diane at Blue Ridge Gal. So, I visited Diane and she **volunteered** to make a button, put followers at the top of the page AND she put a frame around my header photo! That frame is so beautiful and really sets off the header photo, don't you think? My header photo is always the same view but changes with the seasons. I never tire of the view, do you? I've never liked the followers on the side because only a few could be seen at a time. I also wanted the HTML language with the button so folks could, more easily, take the button for their blog. If you have taken my button, please let me know so I can return the favor. Please visit Diane as well, either link on her blog name or search for her button on the right hand side of my blog. She's a great photographer and does a lot of videos as well; unfortunately, I don't have bandwidth to see her videos and that's my loss.

Diane, thank you...I love the changes you've made!


Blessings ~ Misha ~ Diane ~ changes...of a good sort ~ Paint Lick Ride ~ wagon rides ~ Autumn ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

Sabbath Keeping

 

 ~ Maiden Spring Road ~

"...there is a future for the man of peace." ~ Psalms 37:37 ~

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."

~ Moshe Dayan ~  

"There was never a good war or a bad peace." ~ Benjamin Franklin ~

"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." ~ Isaiah 11:4 ~

"If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart."
      ~ Lao Tzu (570-490 B.C.) ~

"I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there." ~ Mother Theresa (1910-1997) ~

"O Lord, calm the waves of this heart, calm its tempests. Calm thyself, O my soul, so that the divine can act in thee. Calm thyself, O my soul, so that God is able to repose in thee, so that his peace may cover thee. Yes, Father in heaven, often have we found that the world cannot give us peace, O but make us feel that thou art able to give peace, let us know the truth of thy promise: that the whole world may not be able to take away thy peace." ~ Soren Kierkegaard ~

"In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy

Abides, and when pain seems to have its will,

Or we despair - oh, may that peace rise slowly,

Stronger than agony, and we be still."

~ Samuel Johnson ~

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way."
~ II Thessalonians 3:16 ~

 Blessings ~ God's peace ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

I Love October

 ~ Sedum ~

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." ~ Elizabeth Lawrence ~

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came -

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band."

~ George Cooper, October's Party ~

 ~ TCF ~

 "I saw old Autumn in the misty morn 
              Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening 
                         To Silence." ~ Thomas Hood ~

"...I have been younger in October
than in all the months of spring
walnut and may leaves the color
of shoulders at the end of summer
a month that has been to the mountain
and become light there..."
~ W. S. Merwin,  The Love of October ~ 

"As I went out walking this fall afternoon,
I heard a whisper whispering.
I heard a whisper whispering,
Upon this fine fall day...

As I went out walking this fall afternoon,
I heard a laugh a' laughing.
I heard a laugh a' laughing,
Upon this fine fall day...

I heard this whisper and I wondered,
I heard this laugh and then I knew.
The time is getting near my friends,
The time that I hold dear my friends,
The veil is getting thin my friends,
And strange things will pass through."
~ The Veil is Getting Thinner ~

~ deer in alfalfa field ~

"Youth is like spring, an over-praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. 
Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."
~  Samuel Butler ~

~ sheep, moondancing ~

"Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And I'm trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush."
~  Van Morrison, Moondance ~

Blessings ~ October ~ Autumn ~ moondancing ~ poetry ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

House by the Side of the Road

 ~ TCF farmhouse ~

Do you have sanctuary? Do you think it's important to carve out a place where you can be alone with just your thoughts, perhaps the company of beloved companions nearby and no sound save that of the wind's whisper, the lowing of the cattle, sheep bleating, horses neighing, bird song or other nature only sounds?

~ wise words ~

We've spent this summer putting the farm house, farm buildings and farm into order; preparing for winter's winds and snow. We've yet to have a frost, very unusual, and the porch plants still look, remarkably, beautiful. Our porch sitting becomes earlier and earlier as we strive to catch the last rays and warmth of the sun, watching the dogs and cats play in the yard, the horses and sheep on the hills. The sun has lost his scornful heat and the chill of winter is creeping, subtly, into day light hours and always during the night. The bird feeders are full and birds are coming to feed, knowing they will be fed for the next six months or so, until God, in the form of nature, restores earth's bounty.

I've been asked about the history of the farm and am preparing photos to go with the upcoming blog entries. It's a fascinating history and we're but the third stewards since the dreadful Great Late Unpleasantness as my friend, Leslie, says.

 ~ Shaddie, Leslie, Sandra ~

This time of year, Autumn, always finds me pulling close to the hearth, taking down summer curtains and putting up insulated drapes, washing windows so whatever sun shine is able to come closer into the house, laying down rugs, putting wool blankets and electric blankets on beds, gathering in knitting and quilting, making hearty meals and baking breads. Laying siege, as it were, against winter yet preparing to enjoy winter because I like the coziness and comfort of winter. I'm sure to lose a sheep, perhaps more, this winter because they are elderly and have old bones. Two of our dogs have old bones as well and need a bit more care and tenderness but, then, don't we all?

~ Abbie, getting some lovin' ~

We, all of us, walk a fine line between preparing for whatever may come and seizing the day. There are times I seem to think I'm doing rather well and other times I'm in a huddle, sobbing my heart out to God for His strength, grace, mercy and peace. It's in those latter times I grow the most deeply and become more settled. It's in those times I lose more of me and find more of Him.

In addition to blogging about our farm, I want to blog about our travels and, additionally, have a series of photo entries simply entitled 'faces'. During our travels, there have been some wonderful moments when the face of a dear soul has been captured by the camera lens. You need to see those faces, trust me, you do. I'm burning daylight and will close with a poem by Sam Walter Foss. More than likely, you've read it before, either on my blog or elsewhere but, like anything good, it bears repeating.


As Sam Walter Foss said in his poem, The House By The Side Of The Road:

"There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that swell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by;
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban;
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears
Both parts of an infinite plan;
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by;
They are good, they are bad, they are weak,
They are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat
Or hurl the cynic's ban? -
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man."

~ all roads lead home ~

When you choose carefully, you can have what matters and, ultimately, that's all that matters.

Blessings ~ home ~ travel ~ roads ~ poets ~ grace ~ peace ~ love ~


Grace and Peace,
Sandra

Apple Harvest

 ~ apples being washed ~

About this time, every year, my family gathers together to make apple cider. This year we went to my brother's West Virginia farm, on the mountain north of Snowshoe, and squeezed six bushels of whatever apples he and his wife found on the mountain.

~ who needs a ladder? ~

Since we had to go all over the mountain to pick apples, it was a lot easier to take the John Deere tractor and use the bucket as a ladder. It's a lot safer, as well, although there are those who might look askance at our methods.

~ Dad, Steve & Donette pressing apples ~

Many years ago, my brother bought a Happy Valley cider press and it still looks as good as new. He takes care of his equipment, that's how we were raised and it really upsets us when someone uses our tools and doesn't put them back, cleaned, where they belong. It's so much easier and less expensive to keep good what we have rather than buy new. Why is it, do you suppose, so many people don't seem to have grasped that concept?

~ Dad & Steve ~

It was a great day for pressing apples - a trifle cool, gray and overcast. Although it's hard work, we never worked up a sweat and only saw one yellow jacket the entire day...very nice indeed.

 ~ fresh pressed cider ~

 

~ apple leavings ~

The pressed apples were loaded in the front end loader and taken to the cattle who thought it a real treat.

~ cattle treat ~

This week I've been putting up apple cider, making apple butter, drying apples for pies and making fresh apple pies and crisps. Some of the cider and butter has been given away and when all the apples are gone, I'll be finished and the cellar, pantry and freezers will be full to overflowing. I'm a simple thing and my cider is made straight up, with the mother, and no additives, preservatives or heating. I'll freeze some of my cider and keep it against a time when the snow balls are flying and a mug of hot cider will be just the ticket to stave off winter's chill. No need to add a bunch of maple syrup or cinnamon or what have you. If you've started with an excellent product, all those additives are just wasted. If you're buying your apple cider from the grocery store, you'll probably want to add a bunch of stuff to help the flavor along. Store bought and fresh made just can't compare.

There are those who swear the mother is beneficial to one's health and well being. I'm one of "those" and drink fresh apple cider until it's almost coming out of my pores. This time of year, at least, and at other times of the year I'll drink apple cider vinegar, again with the mother. It aids in all sorts of health problems - decreases the pain of arthritis, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol and loads of other things. I suppose the American Medical Association discounts all this but when you consider that only about fifteen percent of doctors in this country belong to the AMA...wellllllll...let's just say, choose wisely. I'm quite certain God placed everything on earth we need to remain alive, healthy and well but we, in our ultimate wisdom...ahem... have chosen to take the path well traveled and mess up both our lives and the planet. It's up to each of us to find that path that leads us not only back to good health but also to God. As Paul said in Philippians 2:12, "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling..."

I do love this time of the year and am like the old woman when she was asked, "What's your favorite day?" She looked brightly at the person and said, "Why today of course!" Amen, sister! In our family we, generally, make the same happy memories over and over and those memories, generally, have to do with food. Daddy's people have been in Appalachia for many generations, as have Mother's people, just in a different part of Appalachia. Food, shelter, clothing have always been a primary concern for us and reduce, reuse, recycle, renew, repurpose and all those other non-vintage words have been our touchstone for generations over and over. Long before it became a battle cry of the Johnnie come lately's we've been living our lives with purpose, dignity and grace. Our family may have, at one time, been hard scrabble poor but we were free and whatever we had we shared with others; no one has ever gone from our place hungry and no one ever will. In lean and flush times, we've always had food, the beds have always had hand made quilts and there was a roof over our heads.

God has blessed us so much and I'm so grateful to Him. He continues to watch over us, bless us and I call His name many, many, many times during the day - in praise, contemplation, honor, love, for help, guideance. His blessings start and end with His love and, at this time of the year is made manifest with wonderful and delicious apple cider!

What are your blessings?


Blessings ~ apples ~ family ~ cider ~ pies ~ dried apples ~ apple crisp ~ cider press ~ memories ~

Grace and Peace,
Sandra

Sabbath Keeping

 ~ ...you are covered... ~

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." ~ Exodus 10:8 ~

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day." ~ Hebrews 10:25 ~

"I think of my life and the lives of everyone...as not just journeys through time

but as sacred journeys."  ~ Frederick Buechner ~

"Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich,
healthy blood to a sick man."  ~ Dwight L. Moody ~

"Listen to your life. Pay attention to what happens to you."

~ Frederick Buechner ~

"I will declare Your name to My brethren;
   In the midst of the assembly I will praise You."
          ~ Psalm 22:22 ~

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

~ Romans 10:17 ~

 
"It is just where God seems most helpless that He is most strong; and just where we least expect Him that He comes most fully." ~ Frederick Buechner ~

"Lewis was once asked, "Is attendance at a place of worship or membership with a Christian community necessary to a Christian way of life?"

His answer:

"That's a question which I cannot answer. My own experience is that when I first became a Christian, about fourteen years ago, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn't go to the churches and Gospel Halls; and then later I found that it was the only way of flying your flag; and, of course, I found that this meant being a target. It is extraordinary how inconvenient to your family it becomes for you to get up early to go to Church. It doesn't matter so much if you get up early for anything else, but if you get up early to go to Church it's very selfish of you and you upset the house.

If there is anything in the teaching of the New Testament which is in the nature of a command, it is that you are obliged to take the Sacrament, and you can't do it without going to Church. I disliked very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music. But as I went on I saw the great merit of it. I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off.
I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren't fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit."
~ C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock, pp. 61-62 ~

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, 

and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 

~ I John 1:7 ~

Blessings ~ gathering together  ~ church ~ praise ~ worship ~ visitors ~ members ~ attendance ~


Grace and Peace,
Sandra