What Is Different Is Not The Same: 020

Matthew 24:36

KJV 

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

NIV 

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

ESV 

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

NRSV 

36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

the Father? What happened to "my Father" ?

How To Whip Butter

I just learned how to make whipped butter within the last month. I really like having whipped butter at restaurants. It makes pancakes and baked potatoes and dinner rolls so much more fancy.

It also stretches your butter by increasing the volume by 1/3. So, you could make whipped butter just to save some money on your grocery bill.

I think it would be easy to put whipped butter in a piping bag with a decorative tip and make pretty dollops of butter. They could be made in bulk and frozen ahead of time for a party or dinner event.

Dollops of whipped cream are probably what is pictured above. Wouldn't it be fun to serve cold, pretty, whipped, dollops of butter that looked like this?

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 pound soft Butter (salted or unsalted)
1/4 cup milk

With a mixer beat until fluffy. Butter will be almost white when whipped.

Easy peasy. :)

By the way, I found that the whisk attachment to my blender did a better job than the paddle attachment.

Garden Work

This week I have been busy in my flower beds and garden plot.

I have done a lot of digging...

...which Boy In The Mid-west loved. :) He has had several baths. :)

A neighbor gave me some asparagus starts from her patch.

I am very grateful for her sharing her asparagus. We really like the vegetable and hope it grows well in our garden plot.

I rearranged a bunch of bulbs, herbs, and flowers in my flower bed.

I transplanted and devided all of my purple irises.

I moved my daisies. They were becoming over crowded by my giant oregano bush.

I did a lot of weeding and pruning. When I was hauling a load of garden waste to our compost pile I found this big, (beautiful?), garden spider. I am not sure if they have a more official name, but my Dad always calls them Garden Spiders.

I have always been fascinated by the way they will shake their web back and forth when they sense a predator close by. 

I think the zigzag pattern they weave into the center of their web is interesting, too.

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 019

Matthew 23:14

KJV

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

NIV

14 [a]

ESV

NRSV

Did I forget to finish this post? No! That is seriously all they say--- nothing.

What Do You Do With Extra Watermelon? Juice It And Freeze It!

A couple years ago I grew lots of watermelon. We could not eat them fast enough and they were getting over ripe and turning grainy.

Mr. In The Mid-west had the idea to run them through the Victorian strainer and then freeze the juice. So that is what we did!

I had 5 or 6 quarts of watermelon juice in my deep freezer for two years now. I wasn't sure how to use it up. I had tried making gelatin with it but that wasn't very good.

A few weeks ago I decided to pull a bag of watermelon juice out of the freezer and partially thaw it out. Then I used a butter knife to chip away at it and make ice shavings.

I filled a tall glass with the shaved watermelon ice and then topped it off with carbonated mineral water.

I thought the result was delicious! :)
Mr. In The Mid-west, not so much. :/
So, may be it is an aquired taste. ;)
I sure do like it, though, I only have one bag of frozen watermelon juice left. Mixing it with the carbonated water makes it like having pop or soda, only more refreshing.

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 018

Matthew 20:20

KJV 

20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

NIV 

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

ESV 

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.

NRSV 

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him.

James and John worshipped Jesus because they knew he is God. 

They did not merely kneel to humbly ask a favor of this "famous Rabbi".

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

I made some homemade strawberry ice cream last week. Here is a link to the original recipe. I made a few changes to the recipe that I will share.

The original recipe called for fresh strawberries. All I had were frozen strawberries and I made them work.  :)

I added half of my frozen berries to the cream, sugar, and milk mixture as it was heating up on the stove. Then I used my stick blender to puree the strawberries. Then I added the other half of my frozen berries and blended it slightly to leave some chunks.

The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup of sugar. I only used 1/2 cup because I usually cut back sugar in recipes and we are used to that. The ice cream turned out really good. We enjoyed it! :)

Simple Strawberry Ice Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
12 oz. frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

In sauce pan over medium heat combine cream, milk, half of the strawberries, and the sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.

 Using a stick blender blend mixture until strawberries are smooth. Add the remaining frozen strawberries and blend for a few seconds until the strawberries are small chunks.

Chill in refrigerator until completely cool. Place mixture in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

You can serve the ice cream soft serve straight out of the ice cream maker or put it in the freezer for a few hours to firm it up.

Hymn: Did You Think To Pray aka Ere You Left Your Room This Morning

I learned this hymn by listening to some recorded church services within the past six months or so. It is always nice to learn a new old song! :) This hymn contains some great truths and encouraging reminders.

It has been on my mind recently. Last week a family friend of ours died from injuries sustained in a bad accident. We heard about the accident on Wednesday. He had been life flighted to the hospital and was in critical condition. Thursday morning I was listening to some hymns and this hymn began to play. It was very comforting to be reminded that our prayers are powerful. The Lord saw fit to call this brother home to heaven on Thursday night. His family still needs lots of prayer. His parents had to bury their first born child at just 29 years old. I can't imagine that kind of pain. I know that Jesus can feel their heartache, though, and He can provide comfort and healing.

Hebrews 4:15

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 Do you know this hymn? Do you sing it at church? Did you learn as a child? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below! :)

If you want to read more about this particular hymn you can click this link Here to go to Hymnary.org's page on this hymn.