Gleanings of Wheat

By Mark Altrogge As recorded on Come Weary Saints Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings Yet not welcome any pain Shall I thank You for days of sunshine Yet grumble in days of rain Shall I love You in times of plenty Then leave You in days of drought Shall I trust when I reap a harvest But when winter winds blow, then doubt Oh let Your will be done in me In Your love I will abide Oh I long for nothing else as long As You are glorified Are You good only when I prosper And true only when I’m filled Are You King only when I’m carefree And God only when I’m well You are good when I’m poor and needy You are true when I’m parched and dry You still reign in the deepest valley You’re still God in the darkest night © 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

I know it may be a bit cliche to be posting a thankful post on the day after Thanksgiving, but I've got a lot to be thankful for - and I've been thinking about thankfulness a lot lately so bare with me while I ramble. Obviously, I'm thankful that God has called me according to His will and purpose, has chosen to bless me with my family - yes, even the members that typically drive me bonkers - but beyond the other obvious things like my car, home, food, clothes, and friends, I am thankful for my job. Especially today, my job. You see, as of January 1st I will no longer have a job. The small bookstore I work for has been a huge blessing to me. It has allowed me to spend a lot of time reading books, seeing what new trends are hitting the body of Christ; I have been free to share my faith with little risk of looking like a wacko because most of the people that come into the store are professing Christians. Even more than that I have had the distinct honor of serving people. I...

I had been working on a post early this morning in which I shared my thankfulness at God's wisdom and grace in a very specific area of my life, but then my head got slammed into by a semi-truck. Ok, not an actual truck - it just feels that way. So, no post except for this semi-whiny one. But I am very blessed, and very thankful. I'll tell you why when I can type without the sound of the keyboard making me wince. I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving.

Really, I do. Last night I had the great pleasure of loading my kids up and driving out to my deacon's home to have dinner with his wife and children - he was supposed to be there too, but got stuck behind an accident and ended up not getting home until dinner was over with. Anyway - I had a wonderful time. His wife and I got the birth stories done before he got home, you know, because you can't have two women together alone for the first time an not end up sharing birth stories. At least that's how it goes with me. We bond over shared experiences of pain, striving, and great joy. It is like loving the same movie, but in real life . ;) With that taken care of we spent hours just talking about God. How he delivered us from churches with very bad theology and a low view of God, how we found our current church, how He changed our views on His sovereignty, and about a zillion other things. I cannot begin to tell you how I enjoyed myself. The kids had lots of fun, and I feel so...

Do you ever wish you had new sandwiches? Tired of the day in day out routine of PB&J or ham and cheese? Well then click here ! TONS of recipes for sandwiches.

Bob Kauflin recently posted a link to a cd that is available from Sovereign Grace Music that features the music performed at Together For the Gospel. I just wanted to point anyone who reads this over there because a few of the songs are free, but even more than that I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed those free songs. You see, as you listen to the songs you hear much more than just the band playing you hear thousands of men lifting their voices in unison to uplift and praise our risen Savior. I cannot begin to explain how touched I am to hear these songs; there is just something beautiful in it - so many voices singing, I can't help but wonder what heaven will sound like as countless other redeemed saints lift their voices in worship.

I'm being lazy today, so I'm not going to retype the recipe, but I am super excited about this one . I love the biscuits at Red Lobster. Now I don't have to go there to get them!!

I think I'm in love. Too bad it didn't work. Man pays bill with drawing of a spider .

I typically make these for Purim - the Jewish holiday that recounts the book of Esther - but I've been in the mood for them for a bit now so I took the recipe I posted here and substituted the orange juice and apricots for apple juice and diced apples. I also sprinkled some cinnamon on them. VERY yummy.

Head on over to your local Starbucks today to get a free coffee after you vote!

I'm a sucker for all things Italian. Really. Aside from Israel there is no place I would love to travel to more than Italy. I've even scouted out different tours of the Florance area with different companies. The idea of biking through Italy all by myself is incredibly appealing to me - I'd have a bit more freedom I think. Anyway, I was stumbling around and came across a really interesting recipe . Cocoa + espresso sounds like yum to me. An illy espresso served in a glass with the addition of dense hot chocolate and warm emulsified milk. Ingredients: * an illy espresso * 15cc of dense, sweetened warm chocolate * 40cc warm emulsified milk First pour the hot chocolate, then the espresso, then the milk froth and sprinkle with cocoa.