Beauty in the Sky

A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. ~Leonard Louis Levinson 

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. ~ Author unknown, commonly attributed to Martin Luther 

And they were canopied by the blue sky, So cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful, That God alone was to be seen in Heaven. ~Lord Byron 

Join here for Skywatch Friday. 

Memories

Golden Rays

The season is changing fast to Winter but I am squeezing out every last ray of sunshine and golden Fall leaves. These photos were taken just about a week ago.

I am joining up with
Mellow Yellow Monday
Mandarin Orange Monday
Our World Tuesday
 
 

Pumpkin Muffins

 
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, or less if you want it less sweet. I probably used half a cup.*
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup nuts (I had leftover pumpkin seeds and some chopped almonds)
1/2 milk or just enough to make a muffin like consistency

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2 Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl.
3 Whisk pumpkin, brown sugar (or Splenda), eggs, oil and chocolate chips in a second bowl until well combined. Stir the wet ingredients and raisins into the dry ingredients until no traces of dry ingredients remain.
4 Drop the batter by level tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart.
5 Bake the cookies until firm to the touch and lightly golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Cool and eat or freeze for later.
This recipe made 6 large muffins and 6 small ones. You could also make 12 medium ones but  I wanted different sizes.


This is virtually the same recipe I used for my diabetic pumpkin chocolate chip cookies the other day; except that I added milk, omitted the chocolate chips and added nuts.  The muffins looked good and tasted good but they were slightly on the dry side.  If you make these please  add another egg and more milk or possibly some yogurt to the recipe above. I'd love to know what you think about them too.

I haven't baked for a long time. Now I have enough healthy muffins and cookies to last me for the foreseeable future.

November 11 @ 11 O'Clock

In Canada each year on November 11 at 11 o'clock, we remember the fallen soldiers. I think many countries have a similar Armistice Day or Remembrance Day.

Photo credit: Remembrance Day Canada

The poem below was written by John McCrae, a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- John McCrae

Now that I have seen....

I am responsible.

People often wonderful why I have thrown my heart and soul into Missions of Hope in Kenya. Though this video and song are about Rwanda, they express my heart for Kenya and my hopes for Kenyans. I have been to Kenya several times.  I have seen the poverty and the hardship with my own eyes, and now I am responsible.

Lyrics to "Albertine"

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don't see with my own
Rwanda

now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda

I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

Though I am not on a stage with a thousand eyes on me and my platform is small in the scheme of things;  the work(s) I do are what I can do  in my own circumstances, and I am willing.  I will tell the world.

Edwin

Since I last wrote about the missions, my friend Jonah, overseer of the Missions of Hope, contracted typhoid fever while in Uganda at his convocation and he has been in hospital.  Also Edwin, the young man in the photo above who is battling cancer, has been hospitalized. Please keep them in your prayers.

Orphans

If you have already started thinking about Christmas gifts for family and loved ones in 2012, you might want to consider giving of a different nature this year. Missions of Hope has some unique gift ideas for you. Click here.

I have also started to add items to my Etsy shop. You can see the items here. More will be added over the coming days.  All proceeds go to the Missions of Hope.

I Went Searching for Sugarman

I went Searching for Sugarman on Tuesday and found him! Just like many others in North America and around the world are now finding him. I hope you enjoy a peek at his life.

I enjoyed the film a lot. I was inspired by the humility of this man, Sixto Rodriguez and by his philosopy toward life and art. An added bonus was getting to visit parts of the world where I have not yet been; the beautiful coastline of Cape Town, South Africa and the gritty streets of Detroit, Michigan. Another bonus was being able to understand the situation of apartheid from the white perspective, a little better.  Though this film is not about apartheid, apartheid is definitely wrapped up in the story.  This film came along for me shortly after having viewed "Come Back Africa", a film about apartheid through the experiences of black South Africans.

If you get an opportunity to see this film, I hope you take it.