When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
Forever on my Savior’s breast.

Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.

If some poor wandering child of Thine
Has spurned today the voice divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.

Watch by the sick, enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner’s sleep tonight,
Like infants’ slumbers, pure and right.

Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take,
Till in the ocean of Thy love
We lose ourselves in Heaven above.

(listen to the D. Forrest arr. here.)

• Prepare various fresh vegetables (bite-sized cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, celery, etc.)
• Place in flat dish with lid
• Mix marinade ingredients: 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp dill
• Pour marinade over vegetables. Refrigerate overnight; stir occasionally.

This has gone over really well at several parties. The vegetables take on a pretty sheen, especially the broccoli, and have a crisp, fresh taste.

Green Party Punch

2 liters ginger ale
1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 large can of pineapple juice (chilled)
1/2 gallon lime sherbet

Stir ingredients together, making sure some ginger ale gets poured over the lime sherbet. The sherbet melts and makes a nice frothy top.

The glory of the Lord departs when
- God’s people overlook sin in their lives and their leaders (Hophni and Phineas)
- Relics replace true Christianity (ark brought as symbol of God’s presence instead of seeking God’s presence; illustrated by Christian bumper stickers, jewelry, t-shirts)
- Emotionalism replaces true worship (”great shout” when ark arrives on battlefield; he illustrated how he would try to create the Wilds’ fireside service at home to get back to where he had been emotionally during camp)

(ch. 7)
True spiritual leaders lead people to
- return to God

- rely on God (Samuel’s prayer for the people)

- remember God (”Ebenezer”–the Lord was our help)

Today he focused more on the 1st point–returning to God, and gave an excellent summary of necessary repentance:

- Turning from sin

Sin offends a holy God

Sin hurts people

- Turning from self

- Turning to the Savior

The encouraging thing is that just this week, I taught the story of Samuel’s childlike obedience to God from ch. 4. I also included the contrast of Eli’s sons, as well as the ark’s journey to the battlefield and the birth of Ichabod.

Recipe found here.

Another trick from Mom-in-law: if you rinse out the black beans in a colander before cooking, they are easier to digest.

• 1 can cut green beans
• 1 can cut yellow beans
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 chopped green or red pepper
• 1 onion, chopped to 1/4″ square

Mix 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1/2 cup oil. Blend with beans, etc. Refrigerate several hours, to 3 days.

Can substitute Splenda for sugar. One of my dad’s favorites, and this is a great colorful Christmas side dish.

 We are having a wonderful time with the Johnson side of the family in Victoria, B.C. for Christmas. Saturday a few of the gang visited Fort Rodd Hill (pictures to come later), where we visited a fort and a lighthouse, with lots of history thrown in.

 Bohnanza was the game for tonight—if you haven’t played it I would recommend it very much. Lots of noisy trading and “bean planting.”

Tomorrow we head up the island to Courtenay (pronounced “Courtney”) to visit more family. I’ve never seen the rough terrain along the road, called the Malahat, but it promises to be beautiful.

I’ve been studying Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) by following the trails of all the O.T. references. A couple years ago my friend Ed Myers introduced me to the biblical theme of remembrance—one facet of which is God remembering His people. This theme is popping up all over in Luke 1! God remembered Rachel in giving her Joseph (Gen. 30:23; verse referred to by Elizabeth in Luke 1:25); He remembered Hannah by giving her Samuel (1 Sam. 1:11; Mary refers to the verse in 1:48); and He remembered Israel “in remembrance of His mercy” (Luke 1:54; Mary quoting Psalm 98:3).

May we remember Christ this season and this year.

Meg

Broccoli with garlic butter and cashews

• 1.5 lb broccoli
• 1/3 c. butter (or 3 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce (or less)
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 c. cashews, chopped (or toasted almonds)

Steam broccoli. Meanwhile, melt butter. Mix in brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in cashews or almonds. Pour over steamed broccoli. Serve.

Jamie’s Cranberry Spinach Salad

Aunt Maureen’s Spinach Salad

• 1 bag of spinach
• 5 slices of bacon, in bits
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, crumbled
• 1/2 c. toasted almonds

Sprinkle the last three ingredients over spinach in a salad bowl. Serve with buttermilk dressing (below).

Buttermilk Dressing  (1983 Betty Crocker, p. 159)

• 3/4 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp instant minced onion
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Dash of ground pepper

Shake all ingredients in tightly covered jar; refrigerate at least 2 hours. Shake before serving. 1 1/4 cups dressing.

Scales are hard. Not so much that they have lots of new notes and skills, but because they are all about honing those notes and skills until they’re perfect. Perfect bowing, perfect intonation. And you can practice being perfect forever… back to that word “practice.” I’d better go do just that.