A boy having fun...

For more on our day go here. He completed his demolition!

Cheese bites

Cheese bites

Friday, December 25th, 2009 | Recipes

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) canola oil
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (250 ml) cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) Silhouette plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) grated mozzarella cheese

Method
- Preheat the oven to 400˚ F (200˚ C).
- Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a mini-muffin pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese bites are golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This just sounds good. I may just try these sometime.

my thinking...

So yesterday as I watched our son bounce around on the bouncey thing at the indoor winter fair, I got to thinking how so often I question my faith and yet the moment someone doubts it I'm very quick to defend it.

Seems a bit of a dichotomy to me.

Talked abit about that with hubby and he said...but you are like most folks who question their faith. They don't question what they believe in, they question their own personal faith. and it's like...its so true. Somehow I always wonder if maybe I'm fooling myself. If what I think is personal faith in God is just somehow...not really.

I see how often I fail in my faith. I don't pray enough, I don't delve into God's word enough, I'm easily distracted at church at the best of times and now having a child to mind doesn't help, I don't do enough for other folks, I don't witness enough and so forth. I struggle so much with sin in my life. If I fail in all that...then how can my faith really be real? Make sense?

So it's a bit of a conundrum. My faith is often it seems the size of a mustard seed, which God tells me is sufficient, and yet God's word also tells me that faith is active and moving and such like.

Anyways, these thoughts possess me.

He made it to Church

Hubby dear I think was pleased.

He was able to make it to church yesterday.

We got there a wee bit late.

We sat on the balcony.

He was not able to sing, but he could mouth the words.

He was exhausted the rest of the day, but able to read new books with a four year old.

YEAH!!!!! :)

Make this...it's GOOD!

Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients

• 1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy

Directions

1. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.
2. In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
3. In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

It is very good. about 1/3 eaten at family dinner.
Justin INSISTED that we bring some home with us.
Jim enjoyed some that we brought home.
I sent 1/2 home with Becky (my niece). She'll enjoy it as well.

Update on Jim

He's off work until the New Year.
His right lung was completely infected and needs to do some healing.
His left lung was partially infected.
Pneumonia is not fun to deal with.

Then he'll be on limited work until doctor's visit on the 19th.

He's getting an x-ray on the 13th.

He's on a variety of meds.

He's up and down. One day he'll be so-so, the next day very tired.
He's NOT well.

He drives me crazy...I know he's not well, I tell that to people. They ask HIM how is he, and he says "oh, I'm fine." I'm fine from a man who gets exhausted drying six glasses or helping a child put away a bit of lego? That's NOT I'm fine. :)

Your continued prayers are appreciated.

Christmas Dinner

Easy baked ham.
- we made a variation though as we didn't have gingerale, so we're trying mulled apple pop instead.

Mom made her curried chicken, I won't be having it as curry and I don't get along.

We'll have mashed taters.

Veggies of some sort (haven't figured those out yet).

Stuffing.

and pie for dessert.

What will you all be having?

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas everyone!

Have A hoppy Christmas season, and may you all hop into the New Year eagerly. :)

Jim sent this....

[12/21/2009 5:35:02 PM] jim.on.laptop: 1 . Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
2 . I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
3 . There is great need for a sarcasm font.
4 . How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
5 . Was learning cursive really necessary?
6 . Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
7 . Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
8 . I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
9 . Bad decisions make good stories.
10 . You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
11 . Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
12 . I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
13. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.
14. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
15 . I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
16 . I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
17 . I keep feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket even when it's not in my pocket! What's up with that?
18 . I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19 . I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
20. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die. (this one should be a legal requirement)

Holiday Baking

Today I made cookies with Justin.

First batch were the ready make stuff you can buy at the grocery store.

Simply FUN for a four year.
to open a package, to put the cookies on the sheet in whatever way you want until you ask mommy how for apart they can be and then you learn that your finger is two inches long and that's the distance you are supposed to put them! WOW!!!! "I can measure with my finger mommy!"

Lots of fun.
So we have...ah...rather we had four dozen chocolate chip cookies....we have less now. :) We also have some sugar cookies bunnies and such like as well. WELL decorated with sprinkles...AGAIN lots of fun for a four year boy child. :) Could I make them cheaper from scratch ... yes...but could I replace the sheer fun value for a four year learning stuff on his own and me being confident in his discovery abilities to just let him be? NO. So this worked for me.

Then I made banana bread while he played with his lego. Banana bread....in the eyes of a four year NOT fun to make. :)

First... preheat oven to 350.
Then cream 1/2 cup butter with 3/4 c. white sugar until light and fluffy.
To that add two eggs, ONE at a time and beat well.
Then mix in a separate bowl:
1 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c. whole wheat flour

Add to creamed mixture.
Fold in three large mashed bananas, 1 tsp vanilla extract.
AND if you so desire (but not required) 1/2 c chopped walnuts. (I don't add this)

Place into a greased bread pan.
Cook for 50-60 minutes. Takes 55 minutes in my oven.

let cool for 10 minutes and then let cool completely before storing or serving. :)

Enjoy!

Then papernouten (not sure on the dutch spelling). In english..Peppernut cookies! YUMMY!!!

Here's how to make them.

Beat three eggs until frothy
add 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar (packed) Beat until very light and fluffy about 5-6 minutes. Set aside.

Mix together the following: (if you don't want them as strong tasting, cut the spice ingredient amounts in half)
2 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp grated lemon rind ...or add some lemon juice to the eggs and sugar mix
1/2 cup ground almonds

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients. It is a VERY dry mix.

What I find works best is to ball different amounts together until it kinda sticks together. Then take 1/4 of each ball, dip it in a wee bit of water and play with it until it becomes really pliable. Then form it into a thin rope about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut into bite-sized chunks (about 1/2 inch) and then cook in preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes (until lightly browned)

This recipe filled a whole square tupperware container for us.

These DO NOT last in our household.

Hubby sick

So Doctor called this morning regarding Jim's x-rays.

He's sicker than they thought.

Lots of damage to his right lung. It will take some time to heal.
Instead of the original 10 days or so she's now saying a month.

He'll need more x-rays to monitor things.

This day went different than expected

So today went a bit differently than I would have anticipated.

I anticipated calling one of the elders in church to say that Jim wouldn't be preaching. Did that.

Expected to take care of bunnies. I did.

Did not expect to see Jim looking worse than he did when he had H1N1, but I did.

Did not expect to call gramma to say please come and care for your grandson, your son isn't well and needs to be cared for.

DID NOT expect to be taking hubby to the doctor and then to get a chest x-ray. But I did.

Did expect a diagnosis of pneumonia. Didn't expect the concern that something more might be going on with him. We'll wait and see.

Tomorrow he has another appointment with the family doctor. We'll see what she has to say.

Expected to play games with the boy child this afternoon. Did that. :) Jim dozed off and on. Narcotics can be very good things. :)

Did not expect to make snowflakes out of paper. Did that. Found instructions here. :)

The boy child and I had a lot of fun today. He didn't want to go to bed. :) BUT he did (complete with Milo).

it was a day of some worry, some okay...things will be fine, and some smiles and laughter with a lad. :)

Christmas Letter

If somehow I should have sent a Christmas card but somehow forgot you as I updated my addresses, well...here's the Christmas letter I sent out this year. :)

DO note: if you are part of my regular letter people, don't go there! Wait til you get the card, it's in the mail! :)

The Gyrobike

I have to admit that this version of a training wheel intrigues me.

Wish it didn't cost so much though.

The new story mentioned something like $100.

Here's a youtube thing I found as well.



of course, we offered to buy one to Justin which well....didn't go over so well. Led to a bit of a melt down and a well-expressed growl at his mommy! So let's just say that we're not going there today. :)

Recipe - Fried Rabbit

So I went to Showbunny rabbit recipe site. I've made some rabbit dishes but not very many and I wanted to try something new. I chose this recipe.

GOLDEN BROWN FRIED RABBIT

2 to 3 lb. fryer rabbit
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
butter/oil

Shake moist pieces of rabbit in plastic bag in flour and seasonings mix. Brown rabbit in butter/oil in heavy skillet, turning to brown evenly on all sides. Reduce heat, cover and cook slowly about 1 hour or until tender. For crisp crust on rabbit uncover for last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking time. Serves 4 to 6.

I'm adding mashed potatoes and mixed peas to the meal.

How to Make Mashed Potatoes:

6 medium potatoes
large pot of salted water
1/4 to 1/3 cup hot milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or amount to suit your taste
pepper to suit your taste

Peel potatoes and cut into chunks about 2 inches in size. Place in large pot of salted water (at least 1 teaspoon of salt in the water) and boil 15 minutes or until potatoes break easily when pierced with a fork.

Drain potatoes well but leave them in the pot.

Add hot milk, beginning with the smaller amount. Add butter. Mash with potato masher and add more milk, butter, salt and pepper if necessary to suit your taste.

Hope it goes over well.
I"m not real certain about my ability to fry rabbit, I've not had much success doing fried chicken, but hey... I have my own home grown fryer and I wanted to try fried fryer! :)

It's slowly coming together

So slowly we are getting the house in better shape.
- most nights the kitchen is clean, The buggy's room was done yesterday, and the living room is mostly in a controlled state of being.
- mom helped tidying the basement and garage while she was here on Saturday caring for the buggy.

Slowly we're getting the backyard cleaned up.
- flower beds are ready for winter, the branches have been broken up for burning, Jim needs to cut up the old garden bed wood for burning
- I need to cut up my wood for rabbit sitting boards.
- and we have this and that and needs destruction or removal.
- So...it's slowly coming together. :)

Yesterday while the lad was a nursery school we put up two tarps. One over the shed to protect the new tarps from the roughness of the shingles, and one tarp over the old tent. Now to put up the other tarp over the new tent and to make a door of some sort for getting into both tents.

Church? ... I liked this post

OOh....I read this post and I really liked it.

Your church is one authentic manifestation of the entire people of God that right now is worshiping before the throne of God. That is the reality of new covenant worship. And when we begin to wrap our minds around that, there springs to mind a thousand reasons to rejoice, to praise, and to sing; and to renounce flippancy, self-display, selfishness, superficiality, sloppiness, and thoughtlessness.

Church Dinner Tonight

So we had a church potluck dinner at church tonight (duh...like where else?). :)

Anyways, good food, good conversation.

Afterwards Cheryl told us about her recent experiences in Papua New Guinea where she travelled for 5 months doing medical mission stuff.

She gave an interesting talk.

Justin did pretty good tonight. I was overall quite pleased with his behaviour. He went to bed as soon as we got home tonight. Tired lad though he kept growling at me that he wasn't tired at all.

A thankful post

Rebecca is doing a series of Thankful posts.

I am thankful for family that lets you know when something isn't right with part of it.

My sister-in-law Chantal ended up in Hospital again with pain in her belly. She had the option of high risk surgery or dealing with pain. She opted to deal with pain.

So I am thankful as well for doctors that carefully spell out risks, for pain medication which can help reduce pain levels, for phones so that clear communication can happen rapidly, for facebook so that I can communicate with said sister-in-law easily and I am thankful for fellow believers who can join me in lifting her up in prayer.

By Faith - they died knowing

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

This is the next section in Hebrews 11.

Abraham, Sarah, Enoch, Abel, Noah. These folks died knowing they were strangers and exiles on earth. They died knowing there was something more out there. They knew that God would keep his promises to them. They knew that God had better.

I do find this line interesting as I've just never thought about God being ashamed before. "therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God."

Makes me wonder if I shame God at all?
I know as these folks did that God has something more for me.
I don't know if I shame him at times. Probably do when I flagrantly disobey him. I never quite seen it as shame-inducing though. Just as something I need to repent of and work at not doing again. So it adds a new layer to my obedience to God. How do I act in ways that won't cause him to be ashamed of me.

Things I've been Pondering

While on Holiday last week Jim and I accompanied friends of ours to a new bookstore. While browsing there I looked at a book by Stormie _____ on Wives that pray. Looked like an interesting book until I read the line that we are to pray to make ourselves new husbands.

That completely took me the wrong way.

What do you mean that I should pray to make myself a new hubby?
Shouldn't I pray that God makes me the kind of woman that my hubby needs so that he can serve God the way that he aught to? Why should I pray to change this man that I love dearly? Didn't seem right at all so I said NOPE, not going there.

Ah, here's the book.

Not exactly a book I would recommend bases on the first glimpse through. I think there MUST be something more to a woman praying for her hubby than to be focused on changing him. That shouldn't be the focus of our prayers. But how would I write a book stating all the good things that I'm sure Stormie has in her book, while emphasizing how GOD works things out. Changing us, moulding us, and also moulding husbands - sometimes by the changes they see in us, and sometimes just be God responding to our pleas. Not sure.

Heard a sermon last Sunday where the pastor was talking about the Christian Disciplines and he talked about Solitude and Silence. He talked about how we need to get alone with ourselves, to really see ourselves, and in that seeing realize we are never alone, that God is always there. I was left wondering.... how is this decidedly Christian? How does one avoid the New Ageism of Mediation. So I ponder this. I know that silence is important. That just sitting and LISTENING to God is a vital part of the Christian life, but to start intentionally doing it, how does one avoid the self-centeredness that is such a pervasive part of today's culture?

By Faith - Abraham and Sarah

Wow...this is NOT a good thing. Last time I had sit down devotions was in September. We talked about Abel, Enoch and Noah. Today we'll talk about Abraham and Sarah.

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

The verses above come from Hebrews 11.

Abraham and Sarah were husband and wife.
God told Abraham to leave his land and go to a land that he would show him. From Genesis 12 we read:

¹Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing...

I have to admit, I do wonder sometimes, how did God show Abraham were to go? We don't read of pillars of fire or cloud...so how did Abraham know which way to go. But overall that's a non-issue, the fact is God said go and Abraham obeyed even though he had no clue about where he would end up. He ended up in Canaan.

Why did he take this trip at God's command? For the simple reason that he was looking forward ...he looked forward "to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God". He knew that God had something more in store for him. That takes faith, to see beyond the present and to know that there is something more out there. Abraham knew that God was real and therefore obeyed him.

Sarah for her part did not try to stop him from going, and she was able to have a baby in her old age. Even though she laughed, she still had a child by Abraham as per God's promise to her.

¹⁰The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"

And later we read

1The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." 7And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

Sarah born a child, she had that distinct pleasure that it is to have a child of your own. Her shame as a woman was removed from her (in those days to be a woman and not be able to have a child was a shameful thing).

By faith in God, marvellous things happened to Abraham and Sarah. They obeyed him, their lives were forever changed.

May my faith in God be as abiding as was the faith of Abraham and Sarah.

Christian Carnival Time

Sorry it's a bit late folks, sometimes life intervenes. Duplicate entries from one person were not entered (one post per week per blog) and entries that seemed to go nowhere were not included as well (ones with links to sites that didn't actually "work"). If I've not included you and you think I should have, let me know.

There are some gems this week. :)

Bible Study Exposition Online (BibleSEO) starts us off with the Inductive Bible Study Method: How to Guide.

Inductive Bible Study method is one of the most effective bible study methods for personal bible study, quiet time or group bible studies. This guide presents three basic steps of Inductive bible studies, Observation, Interpretation and Application. It will walk you through each step of inductive bible studies in details.

My Hands For War gives us Listening to God - Look, Listen, Obey.

God recently gave me an epiphany recently through a parenting analogy that I wanted to share here.

Why does God Let Bad Things Happen is brought to us by Glowing Face Man.

A common argument invoked by critics of an all-powerful deity is: “Why does God let bad things happen?” The idea is that if the universe were run by a super-god with infinite power, then surely He wouldn’t let kids starve to death in Africa. It’s very interesting and illuminating to look at this question using different analogies for life.

Seeking the Truth presents us with A helpful Perspective on Growing Old and Dying.

In the book, The Word Leaps the Gap, there is an excellent article by Richard Hays titled, 'The Christian Practice of Growing Old.' He has some excellent insight on the New Testament's answer to the problem of death.

We're at War! part one is brought to us by W2Wsoul. This individual also submitted a poem, but we supposed just allow one entry per carnival so I chose this one as it's easier to pick a snippet as teaser. Go check out the rest of blog to find the poem. :)

Yesterday I had a heart to heart with my 8 year old son, trying to understand why he sometimes misbehaves in spite of my daily words of encouragement and correction. His simple explanation was: “Mom, I don’t know why – I just can’t help myself.” Even though I was frustrated, it was hard to truly be upset because I understand where he’s coming from.

INSPIKS shows up with How Great is Our God.

I didn’t take this photo for its photographic value…I don’t think it is a special photograph in the artistic meaning. I took it because of the spiritual value it holds to me.

Carole Gold gives us The Law of Surrender: Giving Up That Which You Desire.

There's an indescribable freedom that comes from letting go. I say this without hesitation because I spent decades trying to hold on to people and things or to control outcomes. Having given that up, I speak with certainty about the joy of surrender....a concept that engenders fear in so many of us and yet, ironically, is the only way to know and experience Life at its best... and as intended.

The Bible Archive asks us this "Should One Interpret Scripture?"

Anytime I’m in a discussion with just about any Christian outside of Protestantism, the proof text of 2 Peter 1:20 comes up. The person, hearing my explanation of a passage, claims that my interpretation of the text is not valid by itself—I need the authority of the Magisterium or the Early Fathers or Something. But is that what the verse is teaching—that any interpretation of the text is dependent on the totality of the Church (be it the historical Church or the body of teaching from the Church) over (and against) the individual?

damascusmoments presents us with Homophobia, religion and a radical alternative.

BBC News is debating an increase in homophobic violence on Britain’s streets. The story includes a comment by Michael Cashman MEP. .............Christians get a lot of stuff wrong, and unfortunately having a faith doesn’t prevent that. I’d say, unscientifically, that Christians mess up at least as much as (and possibly more than) other people. But the stuff-ups are our doing. They represent what’s wrong with us, not something wrong with Jesus. They’re the reason we need Jesus in the first place.

OLIN e-Book e-Publishing Blog hands us a post on The Evil Otherside. The link given to me didn't work so I had to search for the article, hopefully the link will work for you.

When we were kids, this was one of our most favorite times of the year! Candy on top candy until our stomachs turned to sugar. Everyone had candy galore, and it was for us-the kids! Wow talk about some fond memories. Unfortunately, today the fun of the season has been over-shadowed by the 'otherside'. You know the 'otherside', the real devil, demons, witchs, ghosts and so on.

In Him we live and move and have our Being grants us this article ...that they may be one as we are one.

Approximately 450 years after King Henry VIII split from Rome, the Vatican has paved the way for allowing disaffected Anglicans to join the Catholic Church. As a convert to the Catholic faith, I'm delighted to hear this news.

Stepping Out in Faith to the Nations deeds us with 11.02.09. Not an auspicious name for a post, but this post has a heart message.

The first time I watched Hotel Rwanda, I was not a Christian. I remember thinking, what a tragedy, then moving on with the usual daily thing. Things of this magnitude did not affect me much at all. I quickly forgot Rwanda.

I have been praying to God everyday to break my heart because I can be quite hard hearted. I watched Hotel Rwanda again today. It broke my heart intensely… Nearly 1 million people were murdered in just 100 days over race…

Culture wars: Foolish expectations is laid on us by Brain Cramps for God.

Point one of Jared Wilson's criticism of the "culture wars":

1. Its expectation is foolish.

Whether you believe America was ever a Christian nation or not, it is theologically naive and demonstrably false to think laws or policies make anyone a Christian. You cannot create or recapture a people for Christ by illegalizing sin. (Which, by the way, is not to say that certain sins shouldn’t be illegal. It is only to say that, for instance, outlawing gay marriage or repealing Roe v. Wade won’t make anybody a Christian, much less make America “a Christian nation.”)

In my opinion, the expectations are not just foolish because they are about the kingdom of world instead of the Kingdom of God -- they are foolish because the struggles against abortion and gay marriage are not going to succeed even on a secular level.

Boston Bible Geeks passes out this post entitled Why is David a "man after God's own heart"?

In preparing for my own teaching, I’ve been listening to some more lectures from Dr Douglas Stuart’s OT Survey course, provided free by Biblical Training. He has one lecture in particular called Three Kings, contrasting David with Saul and Solomon. In it, he argues that when the Bible says, “The LORD has sought out for himself a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), it is referring to David not being a syncretist, unlike the other two.

How Do You Handle Counsel? is the question of the day for He Speaks to me.

How many times have you (or I) said, “Thank you” not just to God, but to the person or persons, the reprover, that He sends our way?

Christian Personal Finance gives us Finding the Will of God for Your life.

If you have goals and dreams as I do, it’s very important that you know how to first recognize them as God’s will for your life and then how to make them become reality.

Who Am I? presents Another Budding Thespian in the Family.

My youngest son was selected last winter to play the part of Winthrop in a Sikeston Little Theatre production of “The Music Man.” It was his first play. He had always been a little shy, so I wasn’t sure how well he would handle being in the spotlight.

Jesus: the Fulfillment of the Law is donated by ReturningKing.com.

Jesus took great care to present the manner of his work as something which built upon that which God had already revealed.

Crossroads shows up with Weeds of Apostasy.

The evangelical church today is in terrible shape because they have basically allowed years of weeds to grow, thus turning the movement into a kind of graveyard. If they had cut the weeds out when they appeared instead of allowing and rationalizing why they needed to be there, I think we would have a much better church on the whole than we have now.

The Organ and The Tramp consigned by Jevlir Caravansary. An analogy that I can't pull a snippet from ... so just go read it. Think!

For his Glory grants this Eagle or Seagull?

I was driving past a dump the other day. It was a windy day and above the dump were hundreds of seagulls "soaring" around the dump. I began thinking in my mind about the differences between a seagull and eagle and I began to wonder how we as Christians actually tend to live.

Free Money Finance shows up with How Tithing Can Transform You.

As regular readers know, I've written a ton about tithing (more on that later). So when I ran into this summary of the book Tithing: Test Me in This that listed how tithing can transform you -- I had to run with it. Here are the ways they say tithing can change you:

Discussion Grounds has this post Letter 1 to Thinking Christian. I had no idea how to pull a snippet from this so....if you want to enter into the discussion do so. I wasn't sure what to think quite honestly, so I may go back after I've thought a while.

Birth Control, Global warming and the bible is given to us by Old Testament and Ecology.

A month or so ago, there was a story about a British report that birth control could save us from global warming. At least that’s what some talk radio host’s labeled it. In reality, the report was a little more reasoned than those talk radio host’s want you to believe. The premise in the report is that, “the world’s population is projected to jump to 9 billion by 2050, with more than 90 percent of that growth coming from developing countries.” That may or may not be the case, but for the sake of argument I will grant that premise.

Christian Universities shows up with 20 Incredible Iphone Apps for Christian Evangelists.

With more problems and followers than time, many Christian evangelists are finding out that their iPhone can be used for much more than phone calls. Below are the top 20 incredible iPhone Apps for Christian evangelists. The apps can help with prayer, Bible study, productivity, and much more.

Parableman gives us Eggs as Persons.

Pro-lifers are trying to pass an initiative defining human organisms as persons all the way back to conception. Opponents of the initiative apparently can't think of a better way to oppose this than to call it the "eggs-as-persons" initiative. I would have thought they'd be smart enough to know the biological difference between a conceptus and a mere egg. Or maybe they just think the voting public is stupid enough not to know the difference.

Pizza, Beer and the Glory of God is bestowed by Lessons Learned While Being Still.

But, I believe the underlying question John Piper was addressing in his message is this: what do we live for? What do we spend our lives in pursuit of? Unfortunately, too many times the answer is not the glory of God, but rather a long list of meaningless things.

My own post this week from Fish and Cans is a bit of fluff. It's been going on three weeks now of illness is this house and this made me laugh. Sometimes laughter is a good thing. :)

This made me laugh

On a day I have hardly any voice, this made me laugh (more like a silent belly roll). :)

Book give away

Kim alerted me to this contest.

Devotional Christian has relaunched their site and are giving away some books.

All I have to do is talk about it on my blog. Cool eh? :)

These are the books they are giving away.

1. Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, Leather Gift Edition by Bennett, Arthur G.
2. Morning by Morning and Evening by Evening: A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on the ESV Bible (SET)
3. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey (Hardcover) by Bridges, Jerry
4. Knowing God Devotional Journal: 365 Daily Readings (Paperback) by Packer, J. I.
5. Daily Light on the Daily Path: Devotional Book for Every Morning and Evening by Crossway Books
6. Golden Treasury of Puritan Devotion: Selections from the Writings of 13 Puritan by Di Gangi, Mariano
7. Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional (Hardcover) by Luther, Martin
8. Search the Scriptures: A Three Year Daily Devotional Guide to the Whole Bible
9. Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers (Hardcover) by Hudson, Christopher D.
10. Teach Us to Pray: 365 Prayers from the Bible (Paperback) by Beals, Timothy J.
11. Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters (Hardcover) by Keller, Timothy
12. The Fruitful Life: The Overflow of God’s Love Through You (Paperback) by Bridges, Jerry
13. In Christ Alone: Reflections on the Heart of the Gospel (Hardcover) by Sinclair Ferguson.
14. The Loveliness of Christ (Soft Gift Edition) by Rutherford, Samuel (foreword by Sinclair Ferguson)
15. The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians (Paperback) by Storms, C. Samuel
16. Lord and His Prayer by Wright, N. T.
17. Taste and See : Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life by Piper, John
18. Practice of Godliness by Kuyper, Abraham
19. Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine by Tozer, A. W.
20. Confessions by Augustine
21. A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works (Hardcover)
22. Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer, Dietrich

Our Time at the Pumpkin Patch

These ones mommy? they are hard?
See they are bongos!

They are bongos Mommy! Pumpkinnies Bongos!

Making roads for the pumpkinnies! :)


the fruits of our labour and fun!

What a lovely productive day it's been

Today I...

1. cared for the bunnies
2. got some laundry started
3. went to the dam with Justin to collect some leaves and do some tree rubbings. We had a totally lovely walk. Watched the geese swimming on the lake, a group of them came pretty close to us checking us out. At the end of the day Justin said this was the "veryest, veryest part of of the day". (I asked him what was the best part of the day)
   
4. Then off to pick pumpkins. Cue one little lad running madly through a pumpkin patch, finding pumpkin "bongos" to beat. Cue one sad lad when the pumpkin he rolled all the way from the field to the car had a soft icky spot, but that lead to a good thing...RUNNING all the way back to the field to find another bongo drum pumpkin and to build roads for all the pumpkinies to travel on.
5. Out for lunch at McD's with the lad. We shared a large sized order of McNugget Combo. yes, I know, not healthy, but a chance to just hang out with my lad. AND to discover just how long it takes a wasp to recover from being totally covered with honey, and then to find it's way out of a McNugget box. (five minutes for those interested).
6. Home again to unload the pumpkins and then to decide to mow the lawn out front. The lad wasn't keen on that...so headed into the backyard to dig in the dirt. I figured...ah what the hay...I'll go back there too and work in the gardens. Got two beds emptied completely and reworked with compost. Got one just fairly reworked and replanted all the onions that we found in both beds. If anyone wants travelling onions...they are actually quite cool.. they will over a season (if you let them) travel across your garden. I'll be giving some away in the spring. :)
7. Burned up some of the wood we had laying around in the backyard (it was a fairly calm day). Bagged up three bags of compostables that I don't want in my compost (weed heads/weird looking pumpkin leaves and an overabundance of tomato vines). Threw some compostables under the hedge out front....flowers and such like that I don't mind coming up wild there. :)
8. Fed the boy a snack when he got soaked and therefore cold. Got myself a drink while at it.
9. said hi to my sick hubby.
10. mowed the lawn front AND back! woohoo!!! that was a job well overdo!
11. inside to make supper and do some laundry.
12. played with the lad over supper while enjoying soup and apple. the lad doesn't do soup so he had a couple of sandwiches, cheese, and the rest of my apple.
13. Made the lads' bed, folded some towels, read a LONG book with the lad and chatted much with him and his cat Milo.
14. Did J's bedtime routine with him, then downstairs to eat my nightly ration of Puffed Wheat.
15. Told Teo when he stopped in that I'm sorry, I thought everyone had been called about Jim being sick and there being no consistory meeting. He mentioned he'd been out since 5. Oops! Can't fix that one. :(
16. Now to answer rabbit emails, do some more laundry, and to just relax for a while.... ah...won't that be nice? Oh...I will need to do my exercises yet or I'll never sleep tonight.

It has been a totally lovely day.
God has well blessed my efforts today. :)

My lad occasionally stumps me

He comes downstairs telling me...This one isn't a sticky one mom, it's a good solid one!

Me: What?

Oh ...Justin you have poop in your hand!
Let's go put that in the toilet

J: NO!!! It's for my poop collection!

Justin, you are NOT having a poop collection.

J: but how will I see it again?

Why do you want a poop collection?

J: the bunnies in bunny town have a poop collections!

NO, you CANNOT have a poop collection.

J: but I like having collections, pillow collections, poop collections, bottle cap collections... I like collections mommy.

That's good Justin. I know you like collections. Collections are fun. But you CANNOT have a poop collection. I will even let you have a spider collection...in jars...BUT NOT a poop collection.

J: but I can put the poop in jars mommy

Justin NO.. you can't have a poop collection. It's icky.

J: Why?

Because poop has all the bad stuff in that your body can't have in it. That's how we get rid of it. You can't have a poop collection because it might make you sick.

J: so where can I collect my poop?

In the toilet, goes to the sewer...


The conversation then degenerated into a discussion on sewers, sewage treatment, processing plants and such like.

A poop collection???
I know he's a boy...

but WHERE did this come from?????

ICK!!!!

My Hubby....the repairman

Despite some frustration at not being able to find what he wanted when he wanted it.
Despite the inexpensive welder proving, well......not quite it's worth.
Despite tiredness and soreness.

MY HUBBY PERSEVERED!!!!!

He fixed the church's lawnmower that we use to cut the grass!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it need welding and what not done.

I'm proud of my fella!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

Just wanting to wish what few readers I have a very happy Canadian Thanksgiving.

If spending time with family, enjoy them, treasure them.

If not, count your blessings for what you do have. You have much!

Check out this cool hymn!

Though I was born A Orphan © 2009 Eric M Schumacher

Though I was born an orphan,
Abandoned and alone,
Enslaved and bound in darkness,
Without a hope or home,
The God of grace and mercy
From his eternal throne
Ordained to be my Father,
To claim me as his own.

That I might be adopted
The Father sent his Son
To live in full obedience
And die for all I’ve done.
Now through his resurrection,
Through faith, with him I’m one.
A member of his household,
I am an heir, a son.

To soothe my fearful spirit
The Spirit from on high
Was sent to be a witness
That “Father!” I might cry.
O How I love this Father!
I’m never left alone.
For he comes to dwell with me
Until he calls me home.

If I have this adoption,
I cannot close my home
To widows and to orphans,
Abandoned and alone.
Lord, fill me with compassion
To love the fatherless,
That I might show the nations
How great my Father is!

Miscellany

So today I've managed to can up the last of the tomato sauce for the year, another 6 jars done! YEAH!

the laundry is mostly finished.

I've made meals for both of the men in my life.

I've played with the younger one frequently and have talked lots with him. have given the older one hugs and hopefully extended understanding of his frustration right now.

We (as in Jim and Justin picked him up) got Milo back from the vets, he's very subdued.

Now it's time to play with the boy again AND see if I can do a unit study on Seasons with him. :)

I've also decided that sometimes family relationships (as in birth family) are sometimes very difficult to manage. They lead to lots of mixed emotions.

By Faith - Abel, Enoch and Noah

Last time I had a chance to sit down and do devotions I had started in Hebrews 11, today I get to continue that study. :)

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By Faith - Abel
Abel and Cain, one of the first stories we find in the bible. Cain kills Abel because he's jealous and angry. God disciplined him for doing so and he's forced to wander the earth forever. But in this passage God speaks not of Cain, but of Abel. Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice. As we read in Genesis:

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.

Because Abel brought the right sacrifice to God, he was commended as righteous, so even though he died for it, his action still speaks to us today.

As some of you know, I raise rabbits. ah...but I do like my bunnies. they are fun, challenging, help provide some income and such like. And sometimes I ponder...what would it be like to give up...just give it up the best of what I have, the one that I've longed for. Butcher and present to the Lord the firstborn of what you have raised. Not so easy I think, yet Abel did it...and from what I read he did so willingly. A hard thing. I have a rabbit in my herd that I bred her myself and I've people wanting to buy her...but I'm so inordinately proud of that rabbit. Sell her? Ah...that's a tough one, but give her up willingly...naw...that's not something that would be so easy to do. And farmers would have a tough time with that too. The first born..the one that shows what you're doing, you're doing right, and then to sacrifice that to God. That shows a truly thankful heart. Abel's action declared him righteous to God. I want my heart to be that willing.

By Faith - Enoch

⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

By faith, Enoch didn't die. God took him straight up to heaven. Why? Because he pleased God. Simple reason. Why did he please God? He had faith.

Faith is what is necessary to please God. Faith is what is necessary to draw us closer to God and to want to seek him out.

Wow...is that ever speaking to my heart this morning. Faith is what causes ME to seek God. Even as I stumble, doubt myself, doubt my relationship with God it all comes back to this.... my faith in God's existence, in who God is, is what causes me to seek after him. This God finds pleasing. Wow....my faith pleases God.

By Faith - Noah

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Noah obeyed God without seeing the cause for it. In reverent fear he built an ark. This huge boat and he built it because God told him to. He saved his household but condemned the world. Laughed at, mocked, for years (100 or so they think it took him) he simply obeyed God and built an ark. That's perseverance, that's faith, that's holy fear of the Lord.

Makes me wonder....what will I do for God? What might God ask of me? And what in faith will I be willing to endure?

Tomato Sauce - my version

I've learned over the years that there is a plethora of tomato sauce recipes out there.

I've learned that what one calls "from scratch" and what someone else calls from scratch is also quite different.

This is my Version of tomato sauce made this year.

Take your tomatoes. skin them. If doing yellow ones... learn from my mistake. They DO NOT need to blanched as long as red tomatoes. Do them too long and they become mush and you waste a fair amount. REALLY easy to squeeze the seeds out of them though.

Smoosh out the seeds, be as anal as you'd like about getting the seeds out (or not). :)

Stick them in your food processor and process until pureed with some lumpiness. You don't want it to be totally smooth. Lumpier is better than smoother.

Measure out 8-12 cups of pureed tomatoes.

FINELY dice
- two bell peppers - colour unimportant : i like to do one yellow and one red. But have been known to do two red, two green, two yellow...basically whatever is ready in the garden or cheapest in the store.
- 1 tsp minced garlic (or two cloves minced)
- 1 big stick of celery...or about four small ones.
- one largish onion depending on if you do 8 cups or 12 cups.
- about 1 tbsp of oil.

Saute those veggies in the oil until the onion is clear.

Then add pureed tomatoes (about 2 cups worth) to the veggies. Stir well. Add one can (if doing 8 cups) two cans if 12 cups of tomato paste...flavoured or not...up to you. Stir really well.

Then add the rest of the puree.

Bring to boil.

Turn down to simmer.

Let it just simmer away 6-8 hours. Stirring it once in a while.

part way through the day add up to 1/4 cup of sugar to the pot. Stir well.

About 1-2 hours before done add some seasoning. I like to add 1-2 tbsp of Italian seasoning. Depends on how strong you like it to be. You can vary it by adding a bit more garlic, or doing 1/4 cup fresh basil/oregano/etc.

NOW if you want really smooth tomato sauce...stick it in the food processor again once it has cooled enough to handle.

I can it (10 minute water boil).
But some folk stick it in the freezer.

Totally up to you. :)
If I remember I'll take a pic of the finished product.

My Dad - possible Parkinson's

So my dad and mom went to the specialist the other day.

Turns out that the neuropathy that dad deals with might be more than just neuropathy (which is causing some deadened feelings in various parts of his body). Dad might have a form of Parkinson's disease. NOT the type that causes shakiness though. Apparently there are a few different forms of Parkinson's. It does run in the family.

He'll need more tests to confirm the tentative diagnosis, but for now they are putting him on meds to see if that will help him or not.

Nathan W. Bingham - a contest

Kim pointed my ways to this contest by Nathan W. Bingham. He's having a give away.
You'll need to subscribe to his site. So go there if you want to enter the contest. Oh here is the addie to his main site. Go there, decent reading and listening.

The prizes are:

Prize 1 (Major Prize)

1 x Black Genuine Leather ESV Study Bible (valued at almost $100)
1 x Romans by R. C. Sproul (not yet released)

Prize 2 (Minor Prize)

1 x Romans by R. C. Sproul (not yet released)

Faith is....

With closing off more of my facebook games, and having a boy who sleeps in a bit I'm discovering a bit more time in the morning. Ah...to put it to good use having devotions again!!!! :) Yes, sometimes I'm a dunderhead, but getting back to priorities is a good thing.

Last time I studied in Hebrews (feels like a decade ago) was back on August 13 (so not really a decade ago). I had just closed off that chapter, which means today I can start in Hebrews 11. :) This is how that chapter starts.

¹Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Aren't those cool words? A straight forward answer to the question of what faith is.
Faith is

• the assurance of things hoped for
• the conviction of things not seen
• by it, the people of old received their commendation
• by it, we understand the universe was created by the word of God

1. The Assurance of Things Hoped For

• the word assurance means:

• Freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities; "his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular"; "after that failure he ...

• a binding commitment to do or give or refrain from something; "an assurance of help when needed"; "signed a pledge never to reveal the secret"

• a statement intended to inspire confidence; "the President's assurances were not respected"

Can you see it....to have that freedom to believe without doubting. That is what faith is. AND I know that having faith is size of a mustard seed is okay. Faith that small can do amazing things.

Matthew 17:19-20 "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast it out?' He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
Luke 17:5-6 "The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied. 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.'"

So even though I often feel that my faith is such a weak doddering thing.....and that I'm one of the worst believers out there because of it...my faith in God is real. Even if it feels mustard seedy frequently, that doesn't change that I do believe in God and in the power of what he is and has done and will do. You can't shake that conviction from me. and from what I read in Luke 17 it's not so necessary that I want my faith to increase, but that I use what I have for God's glory. So I can't exactly say that to me faith is "belief in my own abilities". My faith is my belief in God's abilities to be who he is all the time. (hope that makes sense). :)

2. Faith is the conviction of things not seen

One of Justin's frequent comments about why he doesn't believe in God is that he can't see him. This of course makes me point out all the different ways that we can see God at work. See how the ground cherries get yellow and ready to eat? That's because God made the world just by talking and made the dirt and the rain and the sun so that they can grow up so YOU can eat them. God's pretty cool isn't he? Doing this kind of stuff is helping a 4 year old see God a bit more....so now sometimes God is allowed in BunnyTown (his imaginary place where all good things are).

3. by it, the people of old received their commendation
This whole chapter talks about the faith of people of old. Over the next few days I'll be digging into some of that deeper. I'll be able to see how God commended the people of old for their faith. Should prove an interesting study don't you think? But it's good to know that God himself commends people for their faith in him.

4. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

I have to admit...when I first read these words I thought...faith is believing in creation? Wow...interesting concept. Never thought about that before. At least that's how this verse reads to me. It's believing in the power of God to simply speak and then knowing that what he speaks simply IS. The different commentators I checked out agreed with this assessment. Faith is creation linked. It's believing that what God said in the very beginning of the bible is true. He spoke, the world become. He did this out of NOTHING. His word is that powerful.

WOW! Isn't that just the neatest beginning to a chapter on faith? Looking forward to reading more I am. :)

The Otters!

Justin really enjoyed the otters.
He even got to see them have a snack.

Gramma had waited upstairs because she figured bringing the stroller down would be a pain, but Justin had to run up to get gramma to come down.

He was too excited about the otters!

Fascination with Elephants

The Zoo

Gramma, Jim, Justin and I went to the zoo yesterday.

It was a bit busy...BUT we had fun.

Gramma's favourite time: playing with Justin in the tunnel and growling...even getting a young girl to growl back at them. :)


Jim's favourite: Justin's joy at the otters. Oh boy....did he have fun with the otters...even had to run up and tell Gramma to come down and see them. :)


Annette's favourite: Tagu's Cousin! Cousin Tagu! Meow, meow! (and then having tagu look at them too). I think we saw every cat at the zoo.

Justin's favourite part of the zoo? When asked his response is "I don't know!" but he had lots of fun running playing looking. Even playing in some teepees with some young girls.

Better watch out Justin.....those girls are lighting a fire! :)

It was lots of fun all round. I'll post more pics another day. :)

The Jesus Storybook Bible

ooh....I think I want this book. :)

Go here to learn more about it. but the preview I saw just causes me to very much want to get this book.

from the preview page:

About the same time Jesus was born, another baby
was born. His name was John, and God had a special job
for him. John was going to get everyone ready for Jesus.
The day John was born, his dad knew God’s promise
to Abraham was coming true — God was sending the
Rescuer. And he was so happy he sang a song:

Doesn't that just make you want to read more?

oh...the pic above I pulled from a post at life together.

Justin taking pictures

We have an old digital camera.

We allow justin to take pictures with it.

Here are some of his shots.

me at the computer

The invisible bunnies are playing.

Milo

Diego's fishing bridge

Milo

Deigo's bridge again.

Milo..can you sense a favourite object yet?

And Milo.
THIS was actually one of the first pictures Justin took on his own.
Pretty good isn't it?

My Helper/My Hindrance

It started off with him helping me rinse veggies, and...... well....things degenerated from there.
He had fun though and was kept busy.
This little boy with a cold had been SO busy playing and helping mommy and was JUST starting to get a little bit whiney, this kept him happy for another 20 minutes while I finished digging carrots.

he then proceeded to make a mud Milo and then to play the handprint game (that's where he puts muddy handprints all over the place).


afterwards he had a bath in what he calls his outside bathtub.

I was pleased...as he had been COMPLETELY filthy!