I thought I'd do something different for this posting. I subscribe to and follow a TON of blogs, so I thought I'd share a few posts from some of them. They have touched my heart, spoke to my soul, made me think, made me laugh, and some just made me hungry! I think you'll like them too and you might find a new favorite blogger to follow. All of these bloggers have kindly given me permission to use exerpts from one of their posts and I've provided a link to each of them. When you visit them, how about leaving a comment telling them that you heard about them on my blog? And please consider following them. That way you won't miss any of their future posts. I follow them via Bloglovin'. There's no specific order to this list. I'm actually just going through my emails from them and starting with the most recent.
High Wire Act by Connie Cortright. Her blog is called "Through the Milk Door". You'll have to read her blog to find out what a milk door is if you don't already know. I didn't. Her posts are an informative, interesting and humorous look into days gone by. This particular post is about the early days of department stores and the innovative way they handled transactions. I remember going into one of the swankier department stores in Ithaca NY when I was a youngster and being fascinated by the money tube. You'll have to read the whole post to find out what that was. Here's an excerpt from her post:
"....Money was "wired" from one location to another in a department store during the early half of the last century. I remember seeing this happen when my parents took us shopping in our small town in Wisconsin.
What am I talking about? A cash carrier, or sometimes called cash railway, was a system of pulleys and wires running close to the ceiling in a large store sending and receiving cash payments.
For example: a salesman in the shoe department would put a $20.00 bill in a small round container along with the sales receipt. The cylinder would be hooked up to the overhead wire system and a lever pulled to send the payment up to the cashier
location on an upper floor...."
When you're watching old movies, keep your eyes open for these. I'll bet they were a bit noisy and slow. Can you imagine a system like that today when people in stores are in such a hurry you barely have time to get your wallet back in your purse before they're pushing at you from behind? Those were times when life was taken slower. You'll find all kinds of 'vintage' information on her blog. She writes about the days of the great depression, the dust bowl, old time hygene, and other cultural topics. The times of our parents and grandparents.
My Expectations
"...Has life turned out just the way you expected? What about last year? What about last week? What about yesterday? Boy~sometimes a bump in road just throws me off my path. Life never seems to turn out the way we expected!
As a certified perfectionist~ I really do not like it one bit either. I get my feathers in a ruffle when things do not go according to my plan. I make a plan and work the plan~it is my life's motto. So who do I run to when my plan~my expectations are dashed? Well sometimes I run to my husband, my children, my politicians~but it won't do me any good. No~ I need to go to the boss and complain directly to God...."
That's a quote from my second selection from Carrie who writes on her "Farming on Faith" blog.
Her devotionals always touch my soul. She doesn't pull any punches or candy-coat things, She write very honestly. Her blog is loaded with devotionals, tips on homemaking, recipes, homemade cleaning products and chickens.....yep......chickens. She loves her chickens and apparently they have become quite famous!
Two Cheeky Monkeys has this great tutorial on her blog. DIY Towel Hair Wrap Tutorial.
Two Cheeky Monkeys blogs about a variety of subjects from crafts to book reviews. She also has an Etsy shop. You'll love her literature based jewelry!
Hop over to her blog and make sure and leave her a comment telling her you heard about her from me.
Angel Navy Wife has a wonderful devotional post she calls Keep My Commandments, Here's a little snippet from that post:
"The Church as a whole seems to have let this teaching slip under the rug. We live in the age of "Do what you want, and Jesus's salvation will cover up all the bad" And I find that to be a dangerously unbiblical doctrine.WOW ! You got to read the rest of the post, she has a very 'no nonsense' way of communicating. She goes on to list a bunch of verses encouraging believers to keep the commandments God has given us through both the Old and New Testaments.
Yes, Jesus' forgiveness is not to be made light of, but it is not a free ticket to continue in sin.
You may call yourself a Christian because you like the idea of Jesus. But He was very clear. If you love Me, obey My commandments. (John 14:15) If we truly belong to Him we will take His Word seriously. We will obey His commands. We will not participate in the things He tells us to keep away from.
If we truly love Jesus, we wont look like the rest of the world.
We won't be participating in premarital sex. We wont have filthy language (Ephesians 4:29,5:4). We will not watch movies/tv shows that glorify sin (Psalm 101:3, Philippians 4:8). "
She blogs about her adventures and offers advice with homeschooling, motherhood, homemade gifts and family plus many more subjects. I know you'll be blessed by her insightful posts.
And here's a post for all you moms out there who think you've had a bad day!!! Andrea at Pursuing Titus 2, blogs about child rearing, homemaking, family and offers her unique devotionals. I can remember days similar to what she recounts in her post Having a new baby is hard: The overflowing toilet version.
"....I dedicate this post to all the new moms out there who might also be tempted to think that something is terribly wrong in the craziness, and also to myself, just in case a couple of years from now I am blessed with another baby and happen to forget that normal life with a new baby = really, really hard and a really, really good chance to meet the Lord in the storm.....Right after I swept up the pencil shavings and carried the slightly bedraggled paper away (and snuck some chocolate from my secret stash, which had NOTHING to do with emotional eating and also nothing to do with my having been up a pound that morning), the children called me over to the computer to see how the four-year-old was doing on her first attempt at Rosetta Stone. The toddler walked up, and I immediately smelled something. That’s funny, I thought. He can’t be dirty. He’s not wearing a diaper. Right. He’s not wearing a diaper. I dared to look down. There was . . . mess all down his legs. I turned around . . . mess all over the floor by the table, stepped in, and tracked all the way over to the computer. I picked up the toddler and held him at arms length so he wouldn’t bump the baby still sleeping on my chest and carried him to the bathroom, only to be reminded that one of the older kids had thrown up the other night, and her bedding was still in the bathtub. Unfortunately, the toddler turned on the water. Now I had soaking wet throw-up bedding in the bathtub that I needed to carry at arms’ length while it dripped all the way down the stairs to the laundry room in the basement. I got the toddler in the bathtub, and went to clean up the living room floor (squatting so as not to flip the baby upside down).
It was right around the time that I was throwing away my bag of yuckiness from the floor that my five-year-old came rushing in. “Hurry! Quick! Something is coming out of the toilet, so I ran out and shut the door!” My nine-year-old calmly translated. “The toilet overflowed.”......God met me that day and answered a very simple prayer offered up somewhat desperately from the panicked trenches, Help me glorify You.
Sometimes we have to be brought to the end of our emotional strength in order to reach out for the Lord’s grace and find that miraculous ability just to smile and stay calm. And there are many, many, many ways God brings us to the end of ourselves, but here’s the message for me and other moms out there: Having a new baby is certainly one of them. Crazy hard. But a chance to see glory."
I've condensed the post a bit, but I think you get the message.,,,she had a bad day ! Please go to her blog and read the complete posting. If you're ever in a situation that brings you to the end of your rope, you'll appreciate and be blessed by her. She has a unique perspective that I think you'll find refreshing. Make sure and read some of her other posts while you're there.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love sweets. I'm not a big chocolate lover but I really love sweets!
Apple pie, banana bread, pumpkin bread, lemon squares, molasses cookies......I could go on forever! Here's a recipe for one of my all time favorites - Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Katherine at Katherines Corner has posted this version. I haven't made this but it sounds delicious and best of all, it has cream cheese frosting. Another of my favs!
Doesn't that look scrumptious? Here's part of the recipe, go to her blog for the complete recipe.
YUM !!!! Katherine's beautiful blog also has bunches of other recipes and they all look amazing. She has posts on giveaways, blogging tips, weddings, crafts and lots more. She also does custom blog designs , so if you're in the market for a new blog design she might have what you're needing. She also has an Etsy shop with beautiful wedding jewelry. She is busy!What You needCake:2 cups flour2 cups sugar2 teaspoons baking powder2 teaspoons baking soda2 teaspoons ground cinnamonPinch ground nutmeg1 teaspoon salt4 large eggs1-1/3 cups canola oil3 cups shredded carrots (about 6 medium)1 cup chopped pecans1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Making My Heart Glad by Katy at The Country Blossom really touched my heart. I read her blog at least once a week. She has such a sweet, caring attitude and I'm always blessed by her posts. She is a stay at home mom who blogs about homemaking, homeschooling, gardening, family and faith. This post in particular spoke to me. Here's a little peek:
I always feel encouraged and peaceful after reading her posts. She has such a heart for wanting to be a witness of God's love. Her photos are always beautiful and she's not shy about sharing her family. Even though I've never actually met her, I feel I know her through her blog."I need to remind myself that our worth does *not* come from what we have. This life is just a journey. We live to glorify Christ...our Creator! I don't need the best of everything (or anything, actually)! Oh how I detest the struggle with the flesh! How I wish to be holy and sanctified... completely...but it is a process, all part of the journey.
Chris and I have chosen what we feel to be the most God-honoring path for our family. We live debt free (except for a bit left on our mortgage) and on one income so that I can be a keeper at home, educating our children at home. We have clothes, shelter, food for our bellies and comforts that most of the world does not. My husband works hard to care for us ~ I cringe to think of my greedy wants. Admitting this is terribly embarrassing as well...but I *know* I am not the only one who struggles with these thoughts and I felt that by sharing my short-comings, that I may encourage you!
It boggles my mind to know that *the* Creator Himself loves me...that He continually disciplines and teaches me even though I seem to "mess up" in abundance. Oh, how I praise and thank Him for His patience with me."
Last but not least, I'd be a bad Mom if I didn't mention my daughters' blogs. They don't blog as often as they used to because they're both really busy Moms. From Snowflakes to Hotcakes is my oldest daughter's blog. She posts about a bunch of stuff including recipes, devotionals and book and product reviews. On one of our visits with her we made this tasty dessert. Yummy!
Flat Apple Pie
Another daughter blogs at Make Mine Blue. She blogs about her projects, family and faith. She also has an Etsy shop where she sells her handmade bags and clutches. This is her modeling one of her bags.
These blogs are just a tiny sampling of the blogs I regularly read. I hope you visited each of them and left a comment. Bloggers LOVE encouraging comments. As I blogged about in a previous post, Google is dumping their reader so if you have blogs that you usually follow via them, you'll more than likely loose that easy access. I moved all my favorites to Bloglovin'. The only problem I've noticed is that it's hard to leave a comment on them, I have to go to the blog in a seperate window to do that. Not sure why that is but I'll bet they find a way to fix it soon.
Now, grab a cup of coffee or tea and check out these blogs. I hope you'll find them as interesting and informative as I do. I'd love to hear your comments and if you have a favorite blog, tell me! I love discovering new ones.
