Tag Archives: Friendship International

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP

15 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in beauty, Christianity, faith, flower gardens, Friendship International, Hearts Filled With Joy, joy, love, recipes, wildflowers, wisdom and understanding

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“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs…Love never fails.”             I Corinthians 13:4,5,8 “Friendship International is an outreach of Christian love from American ladies to Internationals living in the Lexington area.  We love and appreciate each other as we help internationals adjust to our community from other countries.  The purpose of Friendship International is to help make the adjustment to the American way of life easier, to provide activities of interest and to facilitate building cross-cultural friendships.” Friendship International meets in Immanuel Baptist Church each Thursday during the school year, unless Fayette Co. Public Schools are not in session.  Childcare is provided for preschool children. Here is a list of some of the classes that are offered:  Bible Study, Cooking, Crafts, Crochet, Cross-Cultural Parenting, Cross-Stitch, Exercise, Jewelry Making, Knitting, Line Dancing, Needlepoint, Painting, Praise Dancing, Quilting, Scrap booking, English (levels 1,2and 3), and Spanish. A couple of years ago I attended the parade of Nations at Friendship and took several pictures of the ladies. Friendship was celebrating the countries of the International ladies and the traditional dress of each country worn by many of the International women and their children was breathtaking.  I am sorry I was unable to take pictures of all the lovely ladies and children. Being a part of Friendship International is one of the most rewarding and fun things I have ever done. Many years ago Ruth White and I decided to take on the challenge of teaching a Ceramics class for the Internationals.  Neither of us knew anything about ceramics, but we figured that if God wanted us to do it, He would provide the way.  Well He must have wanted it because we had a wonderful time with the sweetest group of ladies and they each made several lovely ceramic pieces for their homes.  We learned how to do it together.  So never underestimate the power of God to help you do what seems to be impossible! “For nothing is impossible with God.”    Luke 1:37 Friendship International Smiles Are Contagious If you are looking for joy, you’ll find plenty of it at Friendship International. The year that I taught the art of paper-mache clown making was filled with laughter and fun. All of the Friendship classes have so much fun, you really should come to one of the meetings.  It is something you won’t soon forget. Our theme at the clown clinic was “smiles are contagious.”  Several years ago it was my privilege to teach another wonderful class at Friendship International. I decided to teach the girls “How to be a clown.”  I was actually part of a clown group in my church at that time and we enjoyed visiting nursing homes and even went to the children’s special Olympic games held over in Richmond one year.  The Friendship ladies and I had a great time together. We spent most of our time laughing. Can you tell that we designed our costumes ourselves from pajamas and our husband’s old shirts?  At the end of the semester, we decided to put on a skit in which we taught the other ladies at Friendship how to make “Friendship Soup.”  Of course clowns don’t talk so each of the ladies put in an ingredient in our soup pot.  One put in a rubber chicken, another a whole bunch of unpeeled carrots with the green tops still on and another salt that was still in the salt shaker just to list a few.  But the clowns were all sad because we couldn’t figure out why when we tested the soup, it didn’t taste right.  Then someone figured out that we had left out the LOVE ingredient.  So we all started hugging each other and after that the soup tasted great!  I shall never forget the wonderful friends and memories of that group of ladies.  If any of you are still around please let me know. I have often made my own original version of “Friendship Soup” at home and it is a favorite of my family and friends.  I usually serve it with homemade bread or corn bread.  Just remember when you make it  that the most important ingredient is love and always make enough to share with a friend.  That is me with the green hair and chef hat. Friendship Soup Recipe

  • 2 Tablespoons margarine or butter
  • 3 lbs. lean stew beef stew meat cut in chunks (cut off all fat around the beef)
  • 9 cups of water
  • 1 cup Swanson all natural beef stock
  • 1 can of stewed tomatoes
  • 4 fresh carrots peeled and cut in pieces
  • 2 packages frozen white corn (off the cob)
  • 1 package frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, beans, carrots)
  • 8 stalks fresh celery chopped into small pieces
  • 1 heaping teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder,
  • 1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves,  1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves, 1/2 white onion chopped fine or 1/2 teaspoon onion flakes
  • 3 tablespoons flour

Early in the morning in a large pot, brown the beef in the butter on medium high heat.  Add the water, beef stock and salt and pepper.  Let simmer all morning.  Take off burner and add a cup of ice cubes to cool and place pot in refrigerator in order to let grease rise to top.  A couple of hours before supper cook the carrots and celery about 20 minutes until tender and drain.  Cook frozen corn and vegetables and drain.  Take soup pot out of refrigerator and skim off the fat and throw away.  Chop up the stewed tomatoes and add them along with tomato juice to pot.  Add all of the drained cooked vegetables and the rest of the seasonings.  Bring to boil and then let simmer until dinner time.  Just before serving mix the flour into a cup of water and add to soup stirring to thicken the broth.  We love it the first night but I think it tastes even better the following day after all the flavors have mixed together.  Enjoy! Friendship 2013-2014 This year God has blessed me once again to be able to take part in Friendship.  I am teaching a painting class with Mary DeMarttina.  We have a group of such sweet and talented girls from Japan, China, Korea, Iraq, Mexico, India and Canada and they truly amaze me with their beautiful paintings.  We are studying the exquisite beauty of flowers up close and learning to paint what we see.  We will also be learning about the harmony of color in a wildflower meadow and how color delights the soul. painting class 2014 bI love painting flowers because in a garden I feel the very presence of God. wildflower beautyIn the words of the well-known and much loved artist, Thomas Kinkade,  “When we keep ourselves tuned to the beauty of our world, life itself become a joyous celebration of the senses and a song of praise.” painting class 2014 gfriendship painting 2014 hpainting class 2014 c painting class 2014 d painting class 2014 e painting class 2014 fIt is my prayer that this class will enrich the lives of the lovely ladies who participate in it and fill them with the joy of the amazing beauty that is all around us. “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”         Psalm 37:4 painting class 2013 dpainting class 2013 apainting class 2013 bpainting class 2013 cpainting class 2013 epainting class 2013I have learned that it is not the ability that counts so much in teaching, it is the willingness to laugh at our mistakes and pour love out in everything we do and say that really counts.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is  God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”   I Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Awesome and Amazing

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Babies are precious, beauty, Christianity, faith, flower gardens, Friendship International, love, mustard seed faith, riches

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“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”      Isaiah 45:3

mustard seed faithThis evening I went down to the creek where my children and grandchildren have loved playing for years.  Last year the meadow along the woods was nothing but mud because bulldozers had dug a deep trench so that the Marathon oil pipeline could be laid down the field and across the creek.  I hated the way our privacy had been invaded and the lovely quiet of the wooded creek seemed to be a thing of the past.  But the people from Marathon had been very nice and I was thankful that they had saved as many of our trees as possible.

This coming Fall, I am planning to teach a class of International ladies in Friendship to paint wildflowers and I wondered where I would find enough flowers, or flower magazines and pictures to use as examples.   I was hoping to order some flower catalogs that would be helpful.  I even sent off for one but it never came.

But God is so awesome!  I discovered that down at the creek and along the meadow next to the woods there was an abundance of beautiful wildflowers blooming this summer.  Many of these wildflowers I had never seen growing down there before.  There were hundreds of pretty yellow daisy like flowers growing along the edge of the woods next to the creek.wildflowers sunflowersI also discovered great bunches of black-eyed Susans  and lovely pink, lavender and white wild flowers which may have been some kind of phlox.  I am convinced that God not only provides for our needs but He delights in giving us the desires of our hearts when we love Him. wildflower beauty“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”      Psalm 37:4

And the abundance with which he does this overwhelms me!wildflowers beauty2It occurred to me that the real treasures of darkness and the riches stored in secret places spoken of in Isaiah 45:3 are NOT gold and silver or precious jewels.  The real riches are those that God has hidden in seeds that suddenly spring forth producing the beauty of a tree or flower.  Or think about what happens when the seed of a man and woman is fertilized in love, and by the power of God brings forth the beauty and sweetness of a newborn baby. scan000shepherd-babyThis is the awesome, amazing power of God to give a seed life and energy and purpose.  And it fills me with praise for the one and only Creator.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is a work within us.”   Ephesians 3:20

Olympic Gold illuminations

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Christianity, favorite songs, Friendship International, Fun stuff for kids, gold medals, Olympic games night, wisdom and understanding

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“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”      I Corinthians  9:25   Olympic gold medal winners achieve their goals through hours and hours, days, months and years of strenuous training.  Their time and energy is continually focused on their goal and when they stumble and fall, they get up and try again because quitting is not an option. I admire their courage and perseverance as well as their abilities.  One of the things I love best about sports is when one of the athletes gives Glory to God.  They are an inspiration to many others who watch and hope to follow in their footsteps.  The time they spend training is never wasted because the wisdom they have gained along the way has eternal value.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father in heaven.”      Colossians 3:17  

Our entire world is in love with sports.  If we are not participating in a sport, we like to watch them on T.V. and we encourage our children to be active in sports when possible.

We love watching the Olympic games and encourage our children to watch with us.  Each of the participants is an inspiration for younger children to watch and imitate hoping to achieve excellence.

When our younger son and daughter were in preschool, we attended a preschool Olympic Games night.  The kids really put their hearts into it as you can tell by this picture of our little girl participating in the tug of war.  All the proud parents were thrilled by the presentation of medals and of course every child was a winner.  The children couldn’t have been more pleased if the medal had been pure gold and presented at the real Olympics.  We are also obsessed with being fit and healthy.  We spend our time energy and  money buying exercise equipment, healthy foods and vitamins.  We are all looking for the quick fix that will give us a healthy, disease free body.

But how much time is spent training our souls and feeding our minds with wisdom from God’s Word?  Soul starvation is an epidemic in our world.  What about you, do you spend as much time training and feeding your soul as you do your body?  “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”    Matthew 16:26

When I was looking through some old papers I discovered the words to a song that the ladies in Friendship International sang on Friendship Sunday many years ago. “Friendship International is a gift of Christian love from American ladies to Internationals living in the Lexington area.  The purpose of it is to help make the adjustment to the American way of life easier, to provide activities of interest and to facilitate building cross-cultural friendships.”  There are many Friendship International groups in cities around the United States.  Here is a list of some of the classes that are offered:  Bible Study, Cooking, Crafts, Crochet, Cross-cultural, Needlepoint, Quilting, Scrap booking, English (levels 1,2,and3) and Spanish.   Since the Olympic games are being held this summer I thought this song would be perfect to remember and sing during it.  It only takes one little candle to make a difference so put this song in your heart and let your light shine and brighten the world for everyone.

One Little Candle

  • One little candle burning bright,   
  • One little gleam of radiant light,
  • Shimmering softly in the night
  • Makes the darkness fade away.
  • One little song that’s freely sung,
  • one little bit of good that’s done,
  • Brightens the world for everyone,
  • Like a candle’s golden ray
  • Keep your light, shining bright,               
  • Like a torch of hope held high.
  • Let it glow, let it show,
  • Keep the flame of love alive.
  • One little smile for someone new,
  • One little word of kindness, too,
  • Kindles the friendship flame anew,
  • Soon the loneliness is gone.
  • One little candle flame when shared
  • Spreads through the darkness everywhere,
  • Reflecting in hearts of those who care,
  • And they pass the light along.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,  “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”   John 8:12

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”      Matthew 5:16

illuminations on love and laughter

04 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in adoreable puppies, Best Friend Dogs, crafts and recipes, Friendship International

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“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.  Then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.'”  Psalms 126:2

Golden Illumination

Did you know that our dogs sense our emotional moods?  I have seen this time and time again.  If I am sad or not feeling well my dog will come over to me and lay his head on my knee, looking up at me with the saddest most understanding eyes you could ever imagine.  But if I am laughing and happy my dog gets a twinkle in his eye and even laughs with me (not out loud, thank goodness.)  My husband thinks that God made a slight mistake when he made women so that’s why he made dogs who don’t talk.  Well we all know that God doesn’t make mistakes.  I do believe that dogs talk with their eyes and of course wagging tails.  If you think that dogs don’t laugh with us, just take a good look at this picture!  This is Christy laughing with Bailey who was the only puppy in Happy and Sidney’s first litter.  Naturally she was very spoiled!  I remember one of her favorite things to do was climb up in my favorite chair the moment I left the room.  She would be sitting there like a queen when I returned.

Fun Stuff For Kids

Monkey Puppets

  • Open the end of an individual box of cereal and remove the cereal.
  • Cut the box in half leaving one long side uncut.  Bend the box back to make finger holds for your puppet head.
  • Cut a strip of brown paper sack about 1 1/2″ wide and 10″ long.  Staple the strip around the bottom three sides of box for the monkey’s chin.
  • Glue a pink or orange 5″ by 3″ piece of paper on the inside of the monkey’s mouth.
  • Add a red tongue.
  • Cut a peanut shaped head  out of a brown paper sack about 2 1/2″ wide for top part of head and 3 1/2″ wide for cheeks and 4 1/2″ long.
  • Add 2 black eyes with glue (I used small black pom poms and a tiny pom for the monkey’s nose) but buttons would also work.
  • Cut a heart shape out of the brown paper sack about 2″wide 2″ long.  Cut the heart in half and you will have two ears to glue on your monkey’s head.
  • Add some brown crinkle cut strings of hair with glue.
  • Glue the monkey’s head to the box.
  • Using the long side of the brown sack cut two long legs and two arms and fold accordion style.  Staple to sides of box.
  • Holding box with your thumb and three fingers you can make your monkey talk and dance.  Have fun!

Sometimes on cousin’s night it sounds like a gang of monkeys escaped from the zoo and entered the house.  This week we will be making Monkey Bread for our dessert which is a favorite with everybody.  It is easy and fun to pull apart and best when just baked and eaten while still warm and sticky delicious!

Monkey Bread Recipe (Found on Pillsbury Flaky Layer Biscuits can)

Preparation time 25 minutes.  Start to Finish: 1 hour 30 minutes

  •  3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 cans (7.5 oz. each) Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  1. Grease or spray 12-cup Bundt cake pan
  2. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in 1-gallon bag.  Cut each biscuit into quarters.  Shake quarters in bag to coat;  place in pan.  Mix melted butter and brown sugar; pour over biscuits pieces.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 49 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes.  Turn upside down.  Serve warm.  12 servings

Love and Laughter illuminations

Monkey bread reminds me of the rhyme my kids loved when they were little.       Five little monkeys jumping on the bed; one fell off and bumped his head;  Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”   It goes all the way down to one little monkey and the kids loved saying it over and over.  One of the best memories I have of Mommaw, my children’s much loved grandmother on their father’s side was coming into my son’s bedroom one Saturday evening to find her jumping on his water bed with all four of our children with the music blasting on his stereo playing “Saturday Night” sung by the Bay City Rollers.  Those were fun times!  Now the trampoline takes the place of the water bed and kids seem to love bouncing and tumbling on it. Sorry the pictures are out of focus but the kids were jumping like monkeys none stop!

Friendship International

Smiles Are Contagious

If you are looking for joy, you’ll find plenty of it at Friendship International. I felt honored to be one of the teachers and the year that I taught the art of paper mache clown making was filled with laughter and fun.  If you have never been a part of this organization, you really should come to one of the meetings.  It is something you won’t soon forget.

Our theme at the clown clinic was “smiles are contagious.”

Babies Are Precious!

14 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Babies are precious, crafts, Hearts Filled With Joy, miscarriage, recipes and wisdom for parents, valentine celebration, Valentine Fun Stuff

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“But now this is what the LORD says – he who created you… I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.”  Isaiah 43:1,4

BABIES ARE PRECIOUS

Shepherd is our miracle baby.  After our daughter had two miscarriages she went to a high risk pregnancy specialist and was told that her test results indicated that her body was unable to absorb the B vitamins and Folic Acid necessary to have a baby.  The specialist informed her that in order for her to have a full term baby, she would have to give herself a shot in her belly every night of her pregnancy.  Shepherd was born beautiful and healthy because she was willing to endure this painful treatment.  She later said that it was a small price to pay in order to have her baby.

Our culture today has given the “go ahead and have an abortion” to girls who get pregnant and find it inconvenient to have a baby and so they decide to have an abortion.  What these girls probably do not realize is:

At The Moment of Conception:

  • a baby’s DNA is created: the hair and eye color, height, body type and personality are already determined,
  • at 22 days after conception a tiny heart begins to beat,
  • by the 14th – 16 week the brain development enables a baby to suck and swallow and make irregular breathing movements.

Facts about Abortion:  

  • A human life is being taken every 25 seconds.
  • Each of these white crosses represent one million babies, over 50 million precious babies killed in the United States since Roe vs Wade in 1973.
  • In fact it is estimated that more than 50 million babies are aborted each year worldwide.

Did you know that even an eagle’s egg is more valuable than an unborn baby?  If you break a bald eagle’s egg you will receive a fine of  up to $20,000 and get 1 – 5 years in Federal prison.

If you kill a doe with two unborn dear out of season, you will be fined $250.00 for the doe and $125.00 for each of the unborn dear.

There is no penalty for killing an unborn child!!

I believe we need to teach our children to LOVE LIFE

and to JUST SAY, NO WAY!

  • Because I refuse to ever kill my baby.
  • And I don’t want to have a baby until I’m married.

Obviously, the school’s way of education is not working.  Free hand outs may even encourage children to experiment which later results in far too many unwanted pregnancies.  BABIES ARE PRECIOUS!  It is time that our schools and Nation stand up with courage for what is right and speak the truth!

JOY PRODUCTIONS is planing to make the movie, “A Matter of Convenience,” which I believe would change the mind of any girl who was thinking about having an abortion.  The story written by my husband, an attorney in Lexington, Kentucky, follows Jason and his girlfriend Kim, pregnant from a one-night spring fling.  Kim decides to have an abortion saying it is just a fetus, but Jason begs her not to do something she will regret the rest of her life.  He can’t change her mind and decides to kidnap her and hold her hostage until the baby comes.  He plans to deliver the baby himself and then disappear with the child.  The police know he is the culprit and make every effort to catch him.

The suspense mounts each time she nearly escapes and as the police come ever closer to catching him.  The baby is born healthy, but Kim begins to hemorrhage and Jason is faced with the moral decision of whether to escape with the child or save her life by taking her to the hospital.  He saves her life but is caught and put on trial for kidnapping with aggravating circumstances, for which he could receive the death penalty.  The result is a dramatic courtroom battle which puts abortion on trial.  His defense is “self-defense” of his child who was subjected to being killed by the abortion.  The audience will love the trial scene when the baby, now 3 years old is brought into the courtroom as an “exhibit” of what Kim wanted to destroy.  The surprise ending will stun the audience.

Please click on amatterofconvenience.com to find out more about the movie and Joy Productions.  We videoed three test scenes last spring using Andrew Hunter and Janelle Gore, two students from Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, along with some family members and friends.  If you agree with us about the need for making this movie, please share this post with your friends. family and church.  We are going to need your prayers and support in order to make this a movie that will make a difference.

Fun Stuff For Kids

When we took Shepherd to the “Old Kentucky Candy” store.  It was such fun to see his eyes light up and hear him exclaim “WOW!”  We let him walk along the aisles and told him that he could look but not touch.  We asked him to choose his favorite and what a difficult choice it turned out to be!  He finally decided on a brightly wrapped little chocolate car which he popped into his mouth as soon as we were out of the store.  He also wanted to pick out something for his mommy and you can see the love in his eyes and how delighted he was with his choice.  Our children are our most precious possessions and the hope of the world.

Mind illuminations

We had a lovely little snow early this morning.  There was only a powdered sugar dusting on the grass, but it stuck to the trees and made a winter wonderland out of the woods.  How I love to see a bright red cardinal on a snowy day and this morning I felt like it was a valentine of love and hope from God.

More Fun Stuff For Kids

Loving Heart Bird Treats

  • 2 hamburger buns
  • 2egg whites
  • birdseed
  • small heart shaped cookie cutter
  • red yarn

Slice the hamburger buns in half and cut a heart shape in the center of each.  Beat the egg whites until foamy and brush it on the inside of each bun.  Sprinkle birdseed over the egg white and press down slightly to hold in place.

Bake the buns on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Let cool and hang with the red yarn outside on a tree that you can watch from your window  The birds and squirrels will love eating this treat and later a bird may use the yarn to decorate her nest.

Beauty illuminations

After going to the bakery we decided to visit the “Michler Florist” shop on Maxwell street.  With snow falling outside, we walked through the warm, flower scented greenhouse and it was a little bit like finding the hidden key and entering a beautiful secret garden.  One of my favorite books growing up was “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  The movie is a must see and remains one of my favorites! 

We felt this morning like we had walked into an enchanted springtime with baby daffodils and tulips, orchids and roses and even a large Gardenia bush in bloom.  I would love to have a greenhouse in my backyard and be able to have tea parties and luncheons among the flowers.  Ah!  Isn’t it fun to dream!!

While we wandered from one greenhouse to another, Shepherd enjoyed pointing out all the pretty flowers that he wanted to buy for me.  Another treat for him was getting to feed parsley to the rabbit that lives in the greenhouse.Valentine Party

For our valentine party with the grand kids this year, I baked a turkey breast, fixed red heart shaped Jello Jigglers, fruit salad, potato chips and Sister Schubert rolls.  This is an easy dinner to prepare and a favorite with all the grand kids.  Most of the turkey is eaten while my husband is still carving it, protesting loudly as he carves that they are eating up all his turkey which sends them into giggles of delight.

After dinner we made old fashion valentine cards for their parents with lace, hearts, ribbons, stickers and a great deal of imaginative creativity.  Then it was time for dessert.  We had ice cream sundaes with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, strawberry, chocolate and caramel sauce and gummy bears, gummy lifesavers and m&m candy toppers.  To go with the sundaes we had home baked chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes and Strawberry cake.  The recipe for this cake is an old favorite passed down from the great grandmother of Mary Ladd’s children on their father’s side of the family.

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 pkg. white cake mix
  • 1 3oz. pkg. strawberry jello
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2/3 cup Crisco oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup frozen strawberries not drained.

Beat together on low speed all the ingredients then beat 4 minutes on medium speed.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees Divide batter into three 8 inch round pans and bake for 30 minutes.  Cool  and frost.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 pkg cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/2 stick margarine at room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 cup drained strawberries
  • about 5 or 6 cups powdered sugar

Beat together well and spread on cooled cake.  Refrigerate several hours before serving.  Enjoy!

After our desserts we all snuggled up under blankets to watch the new “Treasure Buddies” movie release by Disney.  The grand kids loved the movie which was on the order of Indiana Jones with golden retriever puppies.

Loving illuminations

One Sunday morning several years ago the ladies from Friendship sang “Love in any Language” an inspirational song from the artist Sandi Patti.  It describes how love from the heart pulls us all together. 

Can you say, “I Love You” in all these different languages?

  • French:   Je t’aime
  • Dutch:   Ik hou van jou
  • Chinese (Cantonese):   Moi oiy neya
  • Chinese (Mandarin):   Wo ai ni
  • Egyptian:   Aria bahebek
  • German:   Ich liebe dich
  • Hawaiian:   Aloha l’a au oe
  • Greek:    s’agapo
  • Italian:   Ti voglio bene
  • Japanese:   Aishiteru
  • Polish:   Ja cie kocham
  • Russian:  Ya vas liubliu
  • Spanish:    Te amo
  • Swedish:    Jag alskar dig

Rainbow illuminations

Betty will be leaving for China this week on Valentine’s Day and she told us at bible study last week about her room filled with rainbows.  Somehow the sunlight reflected through the window created lots of tiny rainbows across the floor.  Walking into this room and standing on the rainbows reminded her that she was Standing On God’s Promises secure in His Unfailing Love! 

This year I shall be looking for rainbows knowing that God’s Love Never Fails.

Friendship International & Rocket Ship Toy

04 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in crafts, Friendship International, recipes and wisdom for parents

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“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?’  And I said ‘Here I am.  Send me!'”

Several years ago it was my privilege to be a part of Friendship International and after teaching ceramics for a year, I decided to teach a class about “how to be a clown.”  I was actually a part of a clown group in my church at that time and we enjoyed visiting nursing homes and even went to the children’s special Olympic games held over in Richmond one year.  The Friendship ladies and I had so much fun that year. We spent most of our time laughing. Can you tell that we designed our costumes ourselves from pajamas and our husband’s old shirts?  At the end of the semester, we decided to put on a skit in which we taught the other ladies at Friendship how to make “Friendship Soup.”  Of course clowns don’t talk so each of the ladies put in an ingredient in our soup pot.  One put in a rubber chicken, another a whole bunch of unpeeled carrots with the green tops still on and another salt that was still in the salt shaker just to list a few.  But the clowns were all sad because we couldn’t figure out why when we tested the soup it didn’t taste right.  Then someone figured out that we had left out the LOVE ingredient.  So we all started hugging each other and after that the soup tasted great!  I shall never forget the wonderful friends and memories of that group of ladies.  If any of you are still around make a comment and let me know.

I have often made my own original version of “Friendship Soup” at home and it is a favorite of my family and friends.  I usually serve it with homemade bread or corn bread.  I will include those recipes in a later post.  Just remember when you make it  that the most important ingredient is love and always make enough to share with a friend.  That is me with the green hair and chef hat.

Friendship Soup Recipe

  • 2 Tablespoons margarine or butter
  • 3 lbs. lean stew beef stew meat cut in chunks (cut off all fat around the beef)
  • 9 cups of water
  • 1 cup Swanson all natural beef stock
  • 1 can of stewed tomatoes
  • 4 fresh carrots peeled and cut in pieces
  • 2 packages frozen white corn (off the cob)
  • 1 package frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, beans, carrots)
  • 8 stalks fresh celery chopped into small pieces
  • 1 heaping teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder,
  • 1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves,  1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves, 1/2 white onion chopped fine or 1/2 teaspoon onion flakes
  • 3 tablespoons flour

Early in the morning in a large pot, brown the beef in the butter on medium high heat.  Add the water, beef stock and salt and pepper.  Let simmer all morning.  Take off burner and add a cup of ice cubes to cool and place pot in refrigerator in order to let grease rise to top.  A couple of hours before supper cook the carrots and celery about 20 minutes until tender and drain.  Cook frozen corn and vegetables and drain.  Take soup pot out of refrigerator and skim off the fat and throw away.  Chop up the stewed tomatoes and add them along with tomato juice to pot.  Add all of the drained cooked vegetables and the rest of the seasonings.  Bring to boil and then let simmer until dinner time.  Just before serving mix the flour into a cup of water and add to soup stirring to thicken the broth.  We love it the first night but I think it tastes even better the following day after all the flavors have mixed together.  Enjoy!

Favorite Toys:   The Rocket Ship

I had been hearing about the rocket ship from my grand kids for about five years before I went to see it.  The “rocket ship” is in a bedroom at Rick (Pop) and Andrea’s {Mimi) house.  Pop has visited numerous garage sales and flea markets to fill the rocket ship with many           treasures.  Actually, according to Spencer, the Commander of the ship, they had so  much stuff that they had to make a storage box for the extra stuff.  The rocket ship consists of a bunk bed and two refrigerator boxes stacked on top of each other along with over 200 assorted collected treasures.

  • The rocket ship team is made up of:
  • Spencer the Commander
  • Grant the General
  • Simon the Sergeant
  • Scout the Medic
  • Shepherd, member in training

Spencer told me that they don’t just eat, sleep and ride in space all the time.  They get off and fight battles with the enemy. More fun stuff for Kids

Rice Krispie Treat Snowmen

Last Thursday night the kids had a ball making snowmen.  When you do this project be sure to have large bowls of water on the table for the kids to dip their hands.  It is SUPER STICKY!

Ingredients:  6 cups Rice Krispies cereal, 1 10 oz. bag of large marshmallows,           3 Tablespoons of butter or margarine, red licorice whips, chocolate covered raisins, carrot sticks cut in the shape of a nose, wax paper and paper plates.

Melt the butter and add the marshmallow stirring until melted.  Add the Rice Krispies and stir until well mixed.  Spoon out some of the mixture on a paper plate for each child.  Place the paper plate on a sheet of wax paper to further protect your table.  Tell the children to wet their hands and mold three snow balls placing one on top of the other.  Use some frosting to hold them together if necessary.  Add the chocolate raisin eyes, red licorice mouth and a scarf and a carrot stick nose using a little frosting to hold in place.  This was a really fun project and I can’t remember when I’ve heard the grand kids laugh so much!  They also loved eating their finished snowmen!

Mind illuminations

After our usual Wednesday trip to the bakery, we decided to go to the Thrifty Book Worm bookstore off Harrodsburg road. on Allendale. I’ve always loved books, libraries and bookstores ever since I worked at a library during my summers when I was in Junior High and High School.  I earned a $1.50 an hour and felt well paid to be doing something I enjoyed so much.  The Thrifty Book Worm is loaded with half price books and I thoroughly loved looking at the children’s section which is not big but filled with some excellent books.  I bought “Frog and Toad Together,” a book by Arnold Lobel for Shepherd.  My daughter and I loved reading it together when she was little.  I also bought “Wiggle” a funny book about a dog by Doreen Cronin.  It said that it was written for energetic toddlers.  For myself I bought “Puppies For Sale and Other Inspirational Tales” by Dan Clark.  He is one of the best-loved storytellers who wrote the #1 New York Times Bestseller “Chicken Soup for the Soul.”  I plan to return to the bookstore by myself when I can browse longer without keeping an eye on Shepherd.

The Great Commission Celebration

On January 22, Porter Memorial Baptist Church had a service that blessed my soul and heart.  The singing of “How Great Is Our God” with solos sung by many Internationals in their own language was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.  It was sung in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Haitian and Ukranean.  It sounded like a little foretaste of what Heaven must be like.  That afternoon we were treated to an International Food Tasting and Mission Celebration and it was a glorious day indeed!

Mind Illuminations

Judy Metcalf, the director of Friendship International is hosting the new Beth Moore Bible study on James beginning Feb. 13 at 10:00 A.M. in Wilmore, KY, at her home.  Any one interested is welcome to come.

Golden Illuminations

We took Ladd to the vet last weekend for a Rabies shot and DA2PLCPVCV ADULT shot and Leptospira 5 way Annual shot.  He is good to go for a year now and I think he looks great with his red heart Rabies tag.  It is very important to keep your dogs up to date on their shots and flea medicine.  We have found that Advantage is the flea medicine that works best for our dogs.

In training Ladd who is now almost 6 months old, I use hand signs as well as voice.  I found this to work very well in teaching him to sit, lie down and roll over.  It is very important that your dog has his complete attention focused on you when you are training him.  In the same way if a service dog is distracted, he may not recognize an important need or wish indicated by his master.  This could be both dangerous and regrettable. Check out my article in my Jan. 28 post about therapy-service dogs if you would like to know more.

In the same way when we lose focus on our Master, we have no guide for living.  If we do not quickly regain our focus, we may wander down dangerous paths and dead ends that lead nowhere.  I have discovered that my SELF is my greatest enemy because it tries to get my focus off my LORD.  Every time I get too busy thinking about what I want to do instead of asking God what He wants me to do, I get into trouble. So this Year I will try to remember to FOCUS on what is truly important!

Please watch for a very important post coming February 14.  I will be talking about something that is very dear to my heart.  Also will be included pictures from our annual Valentine party for the grand kids, (parents night out) plus recipes, crafts and fun stuff.