So, as a girl growing up I can always remember having homemade dill pickles @ my Grandma's house. THEY ARE THE BEST!!!! So now as an adult(LOL) I have attempted to make them myself. I tried a few years ago & didn't do something quite right, they didn't stay crispy or crunchy...they got kinda soggy :( This was 2 summers ago..so last year, while visiting my Grandma, we of course had her homemade pickles..which prompted me to ask what makes them stay crispy...she told me & so I was alot more careful this time to make sure I did it right (I hope). Anyway, thanks to a friend with a large garden, I made pickles today! I can't wait to try them...but I know I need to!
DILL PICKLES
1 head of fresh dill
one garlic clove
1/8 tsp Alum
piece of horseradish about 1 inch long
(I can't find any...so my pickles won't quite be the same...need to plant some in my garden for next year)
Ingredients
Scrub cukes and cut off ends
Whole Pickles
Slices for Burgers & Such!
Spears
Pack into sterilized jars and cover
with boiling brine made from:
1/4 c pickling salt
1/2 c vinegar
3 cups water
All Packed in!!
Boiling Brine
Adding Brine!
Seal with lids (I just put my lids on & turn them upside down...then as they cool, they seal...EASY)!!!
Best of the night! Actually only got 2 strikes...mostly the lightning was sheety....which made for cool looking clouds. The nice orange glow comes from the lights of the prison!
Kinda having a rough day...trying to remain confident that someone else is in control of my life & I can trust Him.
I HATE being pessimistic. But lately those negative thoughts seem to be blaringly louder than anything else I hear. It is so frustrating for this "glass half full girl" to not be able to deal with the negativity. This is something I have never struggled with. I am always the positive one, the encourager, the joyful one. But for some reason, Satan is really getting to me lately. He picks & prauds until I can't take anymore & I feel like I just want to scream,( but I don't cuss(rarely-anyway)) so I usually just end up in tears of frustration to get it all out! After the tears have stopped, I compose myself & try to seek some encouragement! Sometimes that is just by opening the Scripture & camping out in the Book of Psalms for awhile & sometimes it is finding just the right song to listen to..which usually leads me to Scripture.
This song, I heard a couple of weeks ago & I LOVE IT!!! It was just what I needed to hear today(and lots of days, actually)
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)
I HAD SOOOO MUCH FUN TONIGHT!!!! I was finally able to get out to try to shoot lightning! For real, I have had some great tips from friends! It was fantastic. Amazing to see that GOD does all of this...creation is sooo amazing! I can only dream about capturing a part of it!
Here are a few of my favorites from tonight!
My first lightning strike capture..EVER!!!
I just really like this one!
I love how the tips of the fingers on the left are blue!
My FAVE of the night!
I can't wait for another chance to get back out & try some more...always fun to learn something new!
I recently heard the song "Courageous" by Casting Crowns. There was a part in it that really stuck out to me. They sing "Seek Justice, Love mercy, walk Humbly with your God." I knew this was from Micah 6:8...I have loved this verse for awhile. Steven Curtis Chapman has a song based on this verse as well called "The Walk" (I believe..actually I did double check) Anyway, when I heard this song the other day, it really made me think about ALOT! Mostly, I'm sure because of recent circumstances in my life. So the more I think about it, I got to thinking how contradictory these words sound. How can you "seek justice" and "love mercy" at the same time. It seems so opposite! So I went back & looked it up in The Word, and then I went to dictionary.com to find some definitions of the words!
So here it is Micah 6:8
8The LORD God has told us
what is right
and what he demands:
"See that justice is done,
let mercy be your first concern,
and humbly obey your God."
And for the words defined....(there were several listed for each..but I picked the one that made most sense to me)
So...how do we administer deserved punishment, but be compassionate or kindly show forbearance toward an offender....anybody else's head spinning?? It's like a big circle...I could talk this around for hours...but, I don't wanna keep you that long.
Anyway, the first thing I think about is the fact that I wonder how many of us really understand "justice & mercy." For instance, we all want "justice" when we feel like we "know" someone has done wrong...take for instance the Casey Anthony trial...I didn't follow it enough to come to a conclusion on my own, but I gathered by the reaction via the news & social media that "most" people were convinced that she killed her little girl. So "we" wanted justice. On the flip side of that we all want "mercy" when we have done wrong. Same story, I'm pretty sure (guilty or not) the Casey was wanting mercy.
For me, this presents an inner struggle of what I want vs. what I know I deserve! I know that when I do wrong to God & others, I WANT mercy, but I know that I really need justice. The beauty that I have come to realize is that the two can only coexist. When it comes to the plan that God designed, they are not separated! God is just & will always be, but he sent his Son to take our place & provide mercy for us! Romans 5:6-8 paints a great picture of this!
"Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him." (The Message)
It's so AMAZING to be on the receiving end of mercy, but lately, I have experienced how great it is to be the mercy giver. A few weeks ago, my Aunt told me I was showing mercy, I didn't quite understand what she meant. But the more I think & ponder on these verses from Micah, the more I think I understand & the more I want to be the mercy giver in all situations of life! A huge lesson I have learned is that the more mercy I show, the more mercy I realize that I need in my own life. I am so grateful that Jesus continues to work on me & my downfalls.
This brings me to the last phrase of the verse "walk humbly with your God." Maybe the most important part. Knowing that I can neither seek justice or show mercy without walking alongside of God is the point. It's all about Him & not about me. Again, so thankful that His Truths are revealed to me each day, through trials & through joys!
I mentioned a couple songs at the beginning of this post, but I'm only posting the second, because I found this super sweet live version & SCC just totally plays his guitar!!!
11"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13
Praying & believing that He is in control! Knowing that He loves me & wants to take care of me. Trying to patiently wait for his timing....yep, I said "trying." This is always the hardest part.
We had an AMAZING trip to Wyoming & Western Nebraska. Such an encouraging time to meet with friends & former youth group students & some parents. I don't think there is anything more encouraging than to see former students who are all grown up & still living faithfully for Jesus!!!!! I'm so thankful we had a part in their lives & now we get to partner again with them in ministry! The trip was also very fruitful for our fundraising efforts. God is truly blessing us!!!! ALL PRAISE TO HIM!!!
The boys traveled so well!!! Poor Lincoln did get cars sick on the first day of travel. This has never happened before! It was so ridiculously windy!!! This made travel very....swervy!! Poor little guy! But he slept it all off once we arrived at our friends house! YAY!!!! But other than that, they traveled great...I think we logged about 1700 miles by the time we got home! I'm so thankful that they did so well!!!
We returned home to very warm weather & this pregnant girl was a little grumpy thinking the Northwest Kansas had decided to skip spring all together & jump straight to summer :( But no worries...our AC works just fine! Ha ha!!!! So yesterday, Mike was watering the lawn & the boys discovered the sprinkler! THEY HAD SO MUCH FUN!!! We grilled steaks & then later toasted marshmallows over the grill!!! I love these boys so much & I'm so blessed to have them!
