Presbyterian ruling elders & ordination

I am also preparing to be ordained and installed as a ruling elder at church, since I was recently elected to session. I am reading "Presbyterian Polity for Church Leaders" to prepare. (Yes, it does feel like a ginormous responsibility that is much bigger than I am prepared for. I am trusting in God that this is what He/She wants me to do and will guide me as long as I listen. May God bless me to always listen.)  

I found an article that I really like, so I am tucking it away in case I'd like to reread it.

Here is my favorite line in the article:
"To be ordained is to become a “rower” in the church’s boat, listening to the word of the coxswain, Jesus Christ, as he gives direction and marks the tempo for the way forward."

https://pres-outlook.org/2015/08/why-ordain-ruling-elders/

A picture of Ron, April, Kathleen, Pastor Bobbie, and me as April and I were ordained:

Grandma (Ellen) Deveraux's Gingersnap Recipe

Recipe as told by Wendy, Dave's wife. 

4.5-5 c flour 1 c sugar

1 c shortening ( don’t use butter)

1 egg

2 T vinegar

1/2 t salt

1 c molasses

2 t ginger

1 t cinnamon

1 t cloves

1.5 t baking soda

Preheat oven to 375* degrees. Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg, vinegar and molasses. Beat well. Sift together flour ( I start with 4.5 cups), salt, soda and spices. Mix into creamed mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

Flour board and roll dough to 1/8” thick and cut with cookie cutter. Re-roll dough until all is used. Transfer to baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. This will vary depending on how thick the dough is and the size of the cookie.

Cool on pans for a couple of minutes then transfer to cooling racks.

Grandma’s original recipe said you could use bacon grease if you don’t have shortening. It also said that you could use Karo Syrup or honey for the molasses. . I’ve never tried either of these.

Banana Bread Recipe

Banana Bread Recipe (Debbie's & Grandma D's I think) 

1 1/4 c. sugar
    1/2 c. shortening
         2   eggs
       2 c. flour
    1 tsp. baking powder
    1 tsp. soda
 1/2 tsp. salt
    3/4 c. sour milk
       1 c. mashed bananas
    1/2 c. nuts

Mix sugar, shortening, & eggs.
Mix dry ingredients together. Add (slowly) to the sugar mixture. Add milk, then bananas, then nuts.

Bake 1 hour at 350*. Check doneness by poking a toothpick in the center; done when toothpick comes out clean.

Where is God when things go wrong?

I had an epiphany today -

Very often, when terrible things happen, I wonder where God is in all of it.

After reading this and seeing the picture and tying this in with Teresa of Avila's idea that we are God's hands and feet in the world, I realize that when I wonder where God is in all of the terrible stuff, I can look to His/Her people to see what they are doing to combat the bad stuff, and that will answer the question. God inspires us to take care of each other; that's where God is.

♥ Melody

 

My spaghetti recipe

 How have I never added my spaghetti recipe before now?

Here it is, as I remember it - 

Cook 16 oz of spaghetti noodles as directed on the package. After cooking & draining, add a TSP of butter & stir through to keep the noodles from sticking together.

Brown 1 lb of hamburger with 1 medium onion & 3 cloves of crushed garlic. 
Drain grease and return to pan. 
To the meat mixure, add:
1 - 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 heaping tsp of oregano
1 level tsp of basil
1 heaping tsp of salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Stir together and heat to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Cute 4th of July Shirt - Happiness Triggers

One thing I loved when I was little was having my mom buy me a cute outfit for the 4th of July. I decided that it is an inexpensive way to be excited about a holiday/event/day.

Happiness triggers are important.

P.S. I absolutely love the cute camping trailers on this shirt!

♥ Melody

Andie the guinea pig

It is with guilt and excitement that I introduce Andie. 

Like I mentioned yesterday, our guinea pig, Honey, died right after surgery to remover her mammary tumor.
My heart was broken, and so, it would seem, was Chewy's - Honey's friend and our other pet guinea pig.
Chewy didn't touch her food the day Honey was in surgery or all day yesterday. Guinea pigs are supposed to be kept with other guinea pigs - they are not solitary animals.

I knew that we would get another guinea pig, but after seeing Chewy's reaction to being alone, it seemed that sooner rather than later would be best.

So yesterday late afternoon, I called IFAs and pet stores within a 30 mile radius of me, and I found one place with a female guinea pig (I called 8 places!) so I asked them to hold it for me for an hour and I dashed up to get her.

She is a cute little thing, about 3 months old. Last night I took pictures of her and sat and looked at her trying to decide what to name her. She has a cute dark spot around her eye, so I was thinking about Dot, and then I noticed that the spot looked like a comma. The grammar nerd in me thought of my guilt about getting another guinea pig and how disloyal it feels to "replace" Honey so quickly, and my mind turned to the grammar rule that says that you can put two complete sentences together with a comma followed by and, so I thought of Andie -
Honey was so loved and valued, and this little guinea pig will never replace her but will bring her own personality and love to our home. So, she is Andie. 

She won't be able to be with Chewy for the next few weeks - she has to be isolated in her own cage for the first week to make sure she isn't bringing any sickness from the pet store with her, then the second week we will put there cages close-by each other so that they can get used to each other from afar, they will be introduced to each other in a neutral territory, and then placed in a cage together.

I am happy to say that Chewy started eating when she heard Andie's little squeaks and running around her cage. She seems happy to have another guinea pig around.

Welcome home, Andie!

♥ Melody

RIP Honey the Guinea Pig

Honey the guinea pig died yesterday (below is Honey in front and Chewy in the background).

Last Friday, she was diagnosed with a very large mammary tumor and given a 50/50 chance that it was benign.  Surgery was scheduled for Tuesday May 18th (yesterday.)

On Tuesday, I dropped off Honey at the vet in the morning and her surgery was scheduled for later in the afternoon. 

The vet told me that Honey would need to be kept separate from Chewy until she was healed better, so Josh and I decided to go to Petsmart  to get a few things for a convalescing cage for Honey before she was released to go home later in the evening.

The vet called while I was pumping gas at gas station, preparing to drive to Petsmart.
She said that Honey's tumor had created many blood vessels, so there was a lot of "oozing" and cauterizing that happened during surgery, but that she had gotten through surgery. She said that Honey was still pretty out of it, so the vet wanted to keep her a little while longer. She mentioned that if she had any concerns, she may like to keep her overnight if that was okay with me. I wholeheartedly agreed - if something went wrong, I'd feel much better if it happened when a doctor could be around to take care of her.

At Petsmart we got a hay manger and an igloo/castle hide away for Honey, and while I was looking at fish - I wanted a betta since mine had died last year -  the vet called and said that she was very sorry and they had done all they could, but Honey had quit breathing and died. They tried resuscitating her, but Honey didn't revive.

I was heartbroken. I am very attached to Honey - she was such a sweet piggy. 
I put back the igloo/castle hide away and the hay manger, bought three snails on a whim, the betta fish, and catfood and left. 

Josh and I stopped at the vet and retrieved Honey's body that had been placed in a little box and the carry bag that I'd taken her in that morning and went home.

I kept the candle lit for her through the night and during the day today. This afternoon after the grandkids went home, I took a shovel and the little box with Honey in it and went out the garden to by where Beth (our lab dog) is buried and dug a grave close by for Honey and gave her a very simple burial ceremony.

RIP Honey. You are very loved by all of us and will be very missed.

♥ Melody

How I stayed sane during the pandemic

TV / Movies watched during covid/2020

Locke & Key

Anne With an E

Freaks

Kim's Convenience

The Good Witch

Sweet Magnolias

Virgin River

Gilmore Girls

Legacies

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Travelers

Enola Holmes

The Good Cop

Schitt's Creek

Parenthood

Douglas

Nanette

Two Weeks Notice

The Stepford Wives (1975 version)

Books I listened to on Audible (funny, b/c before the pandemic, I didn't think I liked books read to me)-

I discovered that I love Lauren Graham on Gilmore Girls, so I bought and listened to her read her books:

In Conclusion: Don't Worry about It

Someday, Someday, Maybe

Talking Just as Fast as I Can

A History of Christianity (read and listened to this one- it was assigned reading for EfM)

And a new series by Kalayana Price - 

Once Bitten

Twice Dead

All of the books in the Soulwood series by Faith Hunter (5 so far) -

Blood of the Earth

Curse on the Land

Flame in the Dark

Circle of the Moon

Spells for the Dead

Several of the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter

Skinwalker

Blood Cross

Mercy Blade

Raven Cursed

Death's Rival

Blood Trade

Off the Grid

Books I read in 2020/2021 so far - 

The Path Between Us

The Road Back to You 

Theology - A Very Short Introduction

People of the Lie

The Preaching Life

The Borrowers

The Noticer

Life in Christ

Smoke Bitten

Mysteries of  Faith

Update to this list - 

Vampire Diaries - all 8 seasons completed today (8/13/21)

Muddy Buddies

Muddy Buddies

INGREDIENTS

9 cups rice chex cereal

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips (I like Guittard or Ghirardelli)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure: the cereal (rice OR corn chex) into a very large bowl

Melt: the butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter and mix together. Add in the vanilla and a pinch of salt (to balance the sweetness)

Combine: add the chocolate-peanut butter mixture to the cereal mixture and toss until combined

Coat: transfer the mixture to a large bag, add the powdered sugar, and shake to combine!

Recipe found here:
https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/3-recipes-muddy-buddies/