Go Light Your World

This is the message which we have heard from him and declared to you: God is light; in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Penguin Awareness Day!

Today, January 20th, is National Penguin Awareness Day.

“A penguin without a heart song is hardly a penguin at all!”  Miss Viola

Snowfall…

Finally! We had our first measurable snow for the season this week. In honor of the occasion, here are a few of the snowmen and women I share my home with during the months of January and February.

Happy Winter!

Coping Mechanisms

One of life’s best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference.  Robert Fulghum

National Oatmeal Month and Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

During the summer, I’ll start my day with yogurt, berries and granola for breakfast. On cold winter mornings, I enjoy a bowl of hot oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon and dash of vanilla. I’ve often wondered if my fondness for oatmeal is in my genes since oats have been a staple of the Scottish diet since medieval times.  

My great-grandfather Dinwoodie immigrated to the United States from Dalbeattie, Scotland to work in the quarries of Southern Rhode Island. The granite workers tended to live in neighborhoods with fellow countrymen. Here in my town, the area the Scots settled in was known as Oatmeal Alley.

The month of January is National Oatmeal Month – the perfect time to share this moist muffin recipe.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup milk
2/3 cup applesauce

Mix dry ingredients well with a fork.
In a different bowl beat egg, then add oil and milk. Stir in applesauce and mix.
Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only until moistened.
Spoon into greased muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

My notes:
1. I line the muffin cups with papers instead of greasing them – much easier clean up.
2. I tossed in a handful of raisins.
3. This recipe makes 1 dozen regular size muffins. (Not the super-size muffins the doughnut shops carry.)

Stampin’ Up You Are Loved Stamp Set

I love how stamping with VersaMark ink can jazz up a plain background. That’s what we did at Stamp Camp on the pear card stock. Then it’s easy as layering three hearts, each just a little bit different. The largest heart is embossed. The middle heart is cut from a shimmery silver paper. The smallest heart is stamped with VersaMark then white embossing powder applied and heated. Add some pearls and a ribbon to complete this pretty Valentine card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All The Great Things Are Simple

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

HOPE

For the past few years, I’ve chosen a word to focus on for the upcoming year. The word is one God has impressed upon my heart through prayer and bible study. It tends to pop into my day at the oddest moments, glowing like a neon sign.

My word for this year is HOPE.

Not the ‘cross-my-fingers-and-hope-it-comes-to-pass’ hope. That’s just an optimistic wish.

The hope I’m focusing on for 2012 is the biblical hope. It is the confident expectation that God will keep His promises. This hope is the absolute certainty that my future holds good things.

But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise Thee yet more and more. Psalm 71:14

 

Happy New Year

 

 

1/1/12 A new beginning... A date that makes me smile.