Contentment (Philippians, iv. 11)
By William Cowper


Fierce passions discompose the mind,
As tempests vex the sea,
But calm, content and peace we find,
When, Lord, we turn to Thee.
In vain by reason and by rule
We try to bend the will;
For none but in the Saviour's school
Can learn the heavenly skill.
Since at His feet my soul has sate,
His gracious words to hear,
Contented with my present state,
I cast on Him my care.
"Art thou a sinner, soul?" He said,
"Then how canst thou complain?
How light thy troubles here, if weigh'd
With everlasting pain!
"If thou of murmuring wouldst be cured,
Compare thy griefs with mine!
Think what my love for thee endured,
And thou wilt not repine.
"'Tis I appoint thy daily lot,
And I do all things well;
Thou soon shalt leave this wretched spot,
And rise with me to dwell.
"In life my grace shall strength supply,
Proportion'd to thy day;
At death thou still shalt find me nigh,
To wipe thy tears away."
Thus I, who once my wretched days
In vain repinings spent,
Taught in my Saviour's school of grace,
Have learn'd to be content.

1 WONDERFUL YEAR!

Homemade goodness!

I was referred to as Martha Stewart the other day at work...I will take that as a complement (I haven't mastered money laundering though) (that was a horrible joke) because over the past few weeks we have enjoyed some new-to-our-house homemade items!

Laundry Detergent:
I love this! It was very easy to make and I can not tell a difference at all in out come when I compare it to the detergent I was buying. The only difference...the price! The article I found this recipe on claimed that the homemade detergent comes out to about 2cents a load! I haven't done the exact math for myself, however I can tell you the the amount of money I paid to buy the supplies I needed was just over what i pay for a gallon of detergent. 1 recipe makes over 3 gallons and i still have more then plenty of supplies left over for the next SEVERAL times I make detergent! There are several recipes online but here is the one I used:
Step 1: grate 1/3 bar of cheap bath soap (i used Irish Springs) and mix it with 4 cups of water on the stove top over med heat until the soap is dissolved.
Step 2: Pour 3 gallons of water into a 5 gallon bucket and add the soap mixture. Add to this 1/2cup of Borax and a 1/2cup of washing soda (not baking soda though also made be Arm&Hammer)
Step 3: stir until mixture thickens and allow to sit 24hrs. (Note: every time I go to use it I do have to give it a little stir because of settling on top)
The recipe did not say how much to use in a load but I've found that a 1/2 cup works great and most of the similar recipes I found suggested a 1/2 cup.

We also went strawberry picking 2 weeks ago. It was so much fun! The picture may not look like it but we picked 12lbs of strawberries!!! I'm happy to say that we put all 12 lbs to good use...most of them going towards strawberry jam!
Recipe:
Step 1: in a large pot mash 4.5lbs of strawberries over medium heat for approx 15-20mins
Step 2: add 6cups of sugar (did I mention it is really sweet? and really flavorful!) and 1/2cup of lemon juice
Step 3: allow to simmer approx 30mins, stirring almost constantly

Don't forget to properly prepare your canning jars! This made about 7 half pint jars.