A Funny Little Story

This little story gets passed around every few months and it always gives me a good laugh......

A Funny Little Story About Hymns and Praise Songs
By Author Unknown

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer. "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses?" asked the wife. "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked the wife.

The farmer said, "Well it's like this ... If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you,
'Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows,
the white cows, the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS,
COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn,
in the CORN, CORN, CORN, COOOOORRRRRNNNNN,'

then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."

As luck would have it, the exact same Sunday a young, new Christian from the city church attended the small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."

"Hymns?" asked the wife. "What are those?"

"They're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked the wife.

The young man said, "Well it's like this ... If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you,

Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God's sun or his rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn chewed.
So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn,

then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four, and change keys on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."

Frugal Recipe

Here's another recipe from the frugal collection- Hannah's Whole Wheat Bread. We make this once a week. It always turns out beautifully. We do put some white bread flour in and use whole wheat flour that a friend grinds for me. Our oven is a little hot for this bread so we turn it down about 25 degrees. Try it. You'll love it!!!

Whole Wheat Bread Hannah H.
3 cups warm water
5 tsp yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup powdered milk
8 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
Dissolve the yeast into the warm water with the one tbsp of
warm water. Mix in the powered milk, brown sugar, salt, oil,
egg, and six cups of the whole wheat flour. Turn onto a floured
board or counter. Knead in the remaining flour a bit at a time
until you have a rice round ball of tacky but not sticky dough.
You may use less or all of the remaining flour, depending on
Your dough. Don't let this stress you. It is normal.Set your nice ball of dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a towel
and let it rise in a warm place. I set the bowl inside a warmed oven
or by the woodstove. Let it rise until doubled, about an hour. Turn
the dough back onto your floured board and divide it roughly in
thirds. Knead and shape each section into a loaf, setting inside
your buttered bread pans. Place the bread pans in a warm place
and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Let the bread rise in the
pans for a half hour before carefully sliding them into the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes at 400 and then lower the heat to 350 degrees, baking for another half hour.

Our Winter Get-Away

Tom took me to our favorite winter get-away destination- The Bellhust Castle.

The moon coming up over the lake

We stay at the Manor.


It's a beautiful place to stay on a cold winter day.

Now, how do I get our bedroom at home to be this fabulous! A fireplace and jacuzzi would help.

Valentine's Dinner

We tried two new recipes for our Valentine's dinner with Grammy and Poppy....Chicken Cordon Blu from The Taste of Home Cookbook and Roasted Asparagus.... both were a hit.

A Glimpse at Movie Night

We combined our movie night gifts from Aunt Sherry and Uncle Chris. No, we did not eat it all in one night, but we did put a major dent in the basket.

Why Some People Think They See UFO's

My family was on our way to a Joshua Bell concert......

......when we viewed this strange weather phenomenon. The pictures don't do it justice, but all of the street lights, car headlights, parking lot lights, etc... projected beams of light UP into the sky.

We could not find any information about this through our local news. If anyone knows what could cause this phenomenon, my family would be very interested in your theory. Oh, and by the way, it was about -20 degrees F. and the time was between 7:00-7:30 pm.

Please, beam me up! I could use a UFO abduction out of this cold.

Perking Up

I have felt like a slug! December and January were not healthy months for my family. So I think I will eliminate those months from my memory. Now I am trying to get back on track with vitamins, water, exercise and a better diet.
Such good intentions.
My frugal associates will appreciate the fact that my gym membership is free. It is at the local high school and that sounds great. Oh, but the hours! It is open 6-7am M-F and 5:30-8:30 M-Th. Very restricted, but it's free and only 1/2 mile from my house.
Then came this morning. It's 5:50am and the kitchen floor feels REALLY cold. The van doesn't want to start. It is -20 degrees!!!!!! This woman got a cup of green tea and curled up on the couch.
My good intentions can continue tomorrow when the warm -up begins. It should be 10 degrees at 6:00a.m.