Thanksgiving Season And Pumpkin Pie Recipe!

 

I have so much to be grateful for!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

 In every thing give thanks: 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus

concerning you.

Every year I make a turkey dinner sometime before Thanksgiving. We just can't wait!

This year our menu was a little extra than most years.

We had:

Turkey 
Mashed potatoes 
Gravy
Sweet potato casserole 
Green bean casserole 
Corn
Cranberry fluff 
Canned cranberry relish 
Pumpkin pie

Our favorite pumpkin pie recipe is the Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe. I am going to write it here for easy retrieval.

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie 
1 1/2 cups Sugar 
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Cinnamon 
1 tsp. Ginger 
1/2 tsp. Cloves 
4 eggs
1 large can of Pumpkin Puree or 3 1/2 cups Home-processed pumpkin 
2 cans Evaporated Milk 

2 Unbaked Pie Shells (Pie crust recipe HERE)

Mix together sugar and spices. 

Blend in eggs, and then pumpkin. 

Slowly stir in the evaporated milk.

Pour evenly into prepared pie shells.

Bake at 425° F. for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven to 350° F. Bake for 40-50 minutes longer.

Cool for 2 hours before serving.

Thankful Tree 2023

 

I made a thankful tree craft this year for Thanksgiving.

These are not the colors that immediately come to mind when I think of autumn, but these are the colors that I had to work with. I think the colors turned nice in the end!

I chose to cut out different types of Oak leaf shapes.

Wouldn't it be funny if you found such a mixed up tree in reality? Part White Oak, part Pin Oak, part Chinquapin Oak. What an absurd tree!

I am going to fill in all the leaves with blessing for which I am giving thanks.

We have so much to be thankful for! 

I was speaking with a woman at a checkout counter a few days ago. I said, "I have so much to be thankful for." And she said, "Even to be thankful to be alive."

That's right, if nothing else, you can be thankful for each breath you draw.

Job 12:10

 In whose hand is the soul 

of every living thing, and the

 breath of all mankind.

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Lentil Bisque Recipe!

 

Right up front, here is the recipe.
Commentary to follow.

Turkey Lentil Soup

1 TBS. Oil

1/2 cup Onion, Chopped

1 cup Carrots, Diced

1 cup Celery, Chopped

1 tsp. Garlic, Minced

4 cups Turkey Broth

1 cup Lentils

1 14.5oz. can Diced Tomatoes

1 tsp. Basil

1 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1 1/2 cups Turkey, Diced

1 1/2 cups Sour Cream

Saute onions, carrot, celery, and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.

Add broth, lentils, tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender.

Add turkey and sour cream. 

Simmer for 10 minutes longer or until turkey is hot.

Enjoy!

This recipe came from Holmes County, Ohio. For the Thanksgiving holiday of 2018 we and our extended family converged in Ohio for a reunion.  We all stayed in a huge mansion in Sugar Creek, OH. We had a great time and made a lot of memories.

The Manor Where We All Stayed

Mr. In the Mid-west went to an Amish or Mennonite ran grocery store. While shopping, he was offered a sample of Turkey Lentil Bisque.

The recipe from the Amish store.

The store was passing out soup samples along with the recipe. The bisque was delicious! He brought me the recipe and now we like to make this bisque after Thanksgiving. :)

Thanksgiving Is Upon Us!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Busy making noodles for Thanksgiving day!

I love Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is a pure holiday with God at it's core. It is not about Pilgrims and Indians. It is not about food or football. It is about thanking God for our many blessings! 

Let me thank God publicly with you all.....

"Dear Lord, thank you for my children,

my two little boys and my little girl.

Thank you, Lord, for my husband.

Thank you for his love and companionship,

Thank you for the freedom he affords me

to stay at home and watch our children,

and make crafts and projects.

Thank you, Lord, for your word in the English language,

Thank you for preserving your word to every generation.

We can know what you really said,

Without any doubt,

You have given us everything we need to know.

Thank you, Lord, for a healthy body

Thank you for designing our bodies to heal,

injuries and infections, they are amazing!

Thank you for strong muscles so that I can lift little ones,

 and run, and hang laundry on the line.

Thank you for my clothes line, and my washer; 

new gifts this summer.

Thank you, Lord, for family and friends who love us, 

and help us, and share our burdens and our joys.

Thank you, Lord, for our home.

 Thank you for a place that is warm and dry and comfortable.

Thank you, Lord, for our Church, 

a place where we can be encouraged by believers,

to live and work for you. 

We are not alone in our service to you.

Thank you for fellowship!

Thank you, Lord, for the work you have provided my husband. 

His job and income are a blessing.

Thank you for the food we can put on our tables,

 and in our tummies.

Thank you for farmers who's labors feed the world. 

Thank you, Lord, for blessing the crops with sunshine and rain.

Thank you for our easy transportation,

Our vehicles, and fuel, and tires.

Thank you, Lord, for safety!

Especially, on our many, many travels this year.

Thank you, Lord, for all of the "little" things,

The daily answered prayers,

The flowers who's fragrance and color brighten my life. 

And, most of all, 

Thank you Jesus for loving the world,

But particularly, for loving me,

So much that you died to pay for my sins,

And offered me eternal life as a FREE GIFT!

I can't get over the wonder of it!

Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings you have showered on me!"

2 Corinthians 9:15 

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

Finds This Week!

 Last Monday the children and I went for an early walk. Monday is Garbage Pick Up Day in our neighborhood. On a few occasions I have found quite decent treasures on the curb in the neighborhood where we live. One morning I found a box full of dishes; plates, bowls, and saucers. I liked some of them very much others were just okay. But, I kept all of the ceramic dishes because ours get broken frequently.

Some of my new dishes!

 Another day I was excited to pick up a cast iron skillet in perfectly good shape. 

A while ago I found a bread machine in very good condition with the manual and everything. It was sitting at the curb with a set of  4 upholstered dining chairs. I took the upholstery off of the chairs and am still waiting for an opportunity to recover them. The chairs are nice and sturdy.

Back to my story for this week,

I got the children dressed and put jackets on them. We took our wagon and went for a walk before the garbage truck came by. We went up and down 3 streets with no real success. I had only picked up a log that we could use in our open fire pit. I have had a fire a few nights recently. The weather has been just right for that sort of thing. 

At any rate, we were going down the 4th street on our way back home when we found a vacuum cleaner! It looked complete. It was really dirty looking on the inside, but it didn't look broken. I loaded it into the wagon and home we went.

"really dirty looking on the inside"

A few days later I cleaned it up. It was really quite nasty under the beater bar. But, after a little elbow grease with soap and water and an old tooth brush, I got it looking fairly nice.

 

Cleaning all the parts.

It works great! I am glad of that because my old vacuum was on it's last leg. You had to hold the handle just right to keep power running down to the head. The beater bar was always going on and off and on and off. My "new" vacuum makes the job much faster! What a great find!

My "new" vacuum!

We also went to a State Park this week and looked for neat rocks in the creek.

I found these two rocks that I thought were pretty unique.

This one makes me think of petrified wood.

And this one makes me think of reptile skin. I have never seen a rock like this. I am no geologist, though.

Have you found any treasurers scavenging or dumpster diving before? Tell me in the comments section!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I have a lot to be thankful for! I am most thankful for the salvation I have in Jesus Christ. I am grateful that eternal life is a free gift and I do not have to work to receive it or work to keep it. I am thankful that the life I have in Christ will last forever and I can't do anything to "mess" that up.

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 

I hope that you all are blessed by being able to be surrounded by loved ones and share a special time together around a bountifully spread table this Thanksgiving holiday!

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.Psalm 103:1-5

Damage From A Thunder Storm

We had a thunder storm this past Sunday with very strong winds. There were a lot of trees blown over around town.Our power was knocked out for several hours.

Our neighbor's tree from across the street was snapped off in the high winds. Thankfully it did not hit our house although it came very close!

The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

Nahum 1:3

Happy Thanksgiving!

 O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; 

for His mercy endureth for ever.

  ~1 Chronicles 16:34 ~

Did you know that these or similar words are repeated in the Bible at least nine times? 

This isn't just a once-a-year sort of thing, but a daily attitude of thankfulness 

that we all need to have!  We have so very much to thank God for. I don't know about you, 

but I often need to remember how much God hates unthankfulness and complaining, 

and ask Him to forgive me, and to deliver me from it in my life.  

Praise His Name for His many blessings to us, though we are so undeserving!

  Psalms 136:1   O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalms 136:2   O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

  Psalms 136:3   O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

  Psalms 136:26   O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Thanksgiving Week Is Here!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times in the year! We have so many blessings to be grateful for!

  When I was growing up and still lived with my parents, my family would tape a blank poster to the wall, at some point in November. We all would let our minds reflect back on the past year, thinking of all of the answered prayers and blessings we had received. Then we would write the things we were grateful for on the poster as they came to our minds.

This year I have several "big" things to add to the list. I think of new babies, family members who have come to know Jesus, healing from serious medical conditions, safety during tornadoes, hurricanes and the like, or anything that seems miraculous as being a "big" thing.

  But, I need to praise God for the "small" things, too. We have good food, clean water, a warm home, clothes, a sound mind, full use of our bodies, loving family members, and so much more. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:6-8

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing onto this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content."

Let's be more than content this Thanksgiving. Let's praise God for his kindness toward us!

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."       - Philippians 4:4