Dear Summer: Only 10 days till you arrive and I can’t wait! Now don’t get me wrong I love my kiddos at school, but ooohh to sleep in till 10:00 every morning! YES!!!
(ok so it will only be two days then the summer j.o.b. will start but they will be glorious days!!!)
Think you could shave a few days off the count down?
Great Is Thy Faithfulness is one of my absolute favorites so much in fact that my friend Deborah sang it at mine and John's wedding. I love love love Carl Cartee's version but alas I couldn't find a video of his version.
In praise of God, 'Great is Thy Faithfulness,' a hymn written by Thomas O. Chisholm (1866-1960), is a worship song that uplifts through trials and tough times. It was a result of a writer's daily experiences and realization of God's faithfulness.
The tune is composed by William M. Runyan (1870-1957), with scripture reference from the Bible's Lamentations 3:22-23 -"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail."
This sacred song has been an all-time favorite among Christians. Popular gospel singer and songwriter Beverley Shea says that it was first introduced to audiences in Great Britain by the Billy Graham Crusades in 1954.
Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was born in a log cabin on July 29, 1866, in Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky. At age 16, Chisholm's career began in the same small country school house he had elementary training. He did not undergo high school or further training. At 21, he became the associate editor of his home town weekly newspaper, The Franklin Favorite.
Chisholm accepted Christ as personal Savior aged 27, during a revival meeting conducted in his hometown by Dr. H. C. Morrison. At Dr. Morrison's invitation Chisholm moved to Louisville to become office editor and business manager of Morrison's publication, the Pentecostal Herald. Later he was ordained a Methodist minister but had only a year of pastoral work due to failing health. After 1909 he became a life insurance agent in Winona Lake and later in Vineland, New Jersey.
In a heart-uplifting letter dated 1941, Thomas O. Chisholm wrote that although his income has not been enough due to his impaired health, he must record the unfailing faithfulness of God for the "wonderful displays of His providing care" and for which he is "filled with astonishing gratefulness."
In 1923 Thomas Chisholm sent several of his poems to the Rev. W. M. Runyan, a musician associated with the Moody Bible Institute and an editor with the Hope Publishing Company.
Thomas Chisholm wrote more than 1200 poems, many of these have become prominent hymn texts, but 'Great is thy Faithfulness' remains his most famous. Many of his poems have also appeared frequently in religious periodicals such as Sunday School Times, Moody Monthly, and Alliance Weekly.
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever will be.
Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Refrain
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Refrain
This is one of my favorite spring & summer dessert recipes. When I was little my mom helped cook all the Wednesday night suppers at the church we attended. She would make this in huge quantities, for like over 300 people. I loved it so much that she figured out how to make it in a normal family sized recipe. It’s always the first dessert I make to usher in spring. It’s so easy to make and great for family dinners, potlucks, or just about anything.
First you will need to make your crust and here’s what you will need for that.
1-1/4 cups Honey Maid Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 tbsp butter, melted
Melt butter
Mix sugar and graham cracker crumbs together
Using the back of a spoon or spatula press crumb mixture firmly on the bottom of a pie pan.
Chill in fridge for 10 minutes. For this pie recipe I use two square pans-
so I make two recipes of the crust.
Now here is what you will need for the pie filling:
1 - 6oz package of Jell-o vanilla instant pudding & pie filling
1 – 8oz can of crushed pineapple
1 – Tub Cool Whip
2 cups (1 pt) Sour Cream
1 Tsp. Sugar
Combine pie filling mix (jell-o pudding), pineapple with juice, sour cream, & sugar.
Once that is mixed well you add ¾ of the Cool Whip container.
Beat mixture together and then pour into crust. Top with the remaining Cool Whip.
Chill (at least 2 hours- best overnight)
Garnish with a cherry if you want but since no one at our house likes them we enjoy it start out of the pan no flourishes necessary.
So here at the Halfmann Huddle we are starting a new weekly series called Sunday Sing. I wanted to start this series because we all have favorite hymns and praise songs that we love to sing but do we know the story behind the song, the origin of it? Every Sunday I plan to share with you one of my favorites and together we will learn the history behind the song.
What better way to start than on Easter Sunday and I couldn't think of a better song to start with than"Christ the Lord is Risen Today". Did you know that it was originally called "Hymn for Easter Day" ?
"Hymn for Easter Day"written in 1739 for the inaugural service at the Foundry Meeting House, London's first Wesleyan chapel. Composed by the most famous hymn writer of all, Charles Wesley, one year after his conversion.
As with many of the most popular hymns, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" has survived the centuries thanks to a successful marriage of lyrics and music. Its tune first circulated in 1708 with the Lyra Davidica hymnal, but no composer has ever been acknowledge. However, if you examine Hymn 716 from "A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists", John Wesley's hymnbook first published in 1780, you may notice a conspicuous absence. Charles Wesley's original text does not include the song's most distinctive characteristic- the "Alleluia!" that ends each line. It seems the lyrics didn't quite fit the tune, so an unknown editor added the famous alleluias later.
Given the special Easter significance of alleluia, it's a match made in heaven. Alleluia, meaning "Praise the Lord", prominently leads off Psalms 106,111,112,113,117, and 135 in the Hebrew hymnal. In the years immediately following Christ's resurrection, alleluia particularly connoted praise for Jesus' victory over death. Early Christians began greeting each other on Easter with the now-familiar call and response: "Alleluia! He is risen!" "Alleluia! He is risen indeed!" Alleluia is meant to convey emphatic joy, thanksgiving, and triumph.
Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun's eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death is now they sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where they victory, O grave? Alleluia!
Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia! Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia! Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!
King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia! Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia! Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia! Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains that He endured, Alleluia! Our salvation have procured, Alleluia! Now above the sky He's King, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
The story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion is one of betrayal, brutality, despair, and pain. Yet we know even before His death that redemption was promised to be coming soon. We know that the story does not end at the cross. We know what many did not realize – that Sunday’s comin’.
Celebrating Easter means rejoicing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and recognizing what each of those events can teach us about the character of God. Be reminded of this truth during Easter: God has worked, is working, and will work through all things, even now as we find ourselves awaiting his return.
So for anyone else who wants to join in the fun of keeping up the Christmas tree all year long, here is an easy and fun way to make some seasonal decorations. And if your not keeping your tree up these would even be cute hanging around the house like my sister in love did with her valentine’s hearts. (Check them out on her blog here.) It also makes a great kids project for them to paint and decorate their rooms or give as gifts.
Mix all ingredients together till dough is formed. Knead on a lightly floured surface till dough is elastic and smooth. If it’s sticky, sprinkle with some flour and continue to knead till no longer sticky. Adding too much flour will dry out the dough though so be careful.
Roll it out to about 1/4“ thick. Use cookie cutters to make shapes. I made hearts, tulips, daisies, and shamrocks.
If you plan on making your shapes so they can hang, add the hole before baking. Place on an ungreased sheet for 2 hours (remember ovens vary).
Remove and let them cool completely.
Then paint or decorated to your heart’s desire. If you plan on keeping them and using them year after year you might what to add a clear acrylic coat. (we call that schlack at my house)
People and children with autism are different but not less, is the message of a great film currently playing on HBO. If you have HBO or Comcast OnDemand you need to check out this movie! If you don't have HBO rumors are that this movie will be coming to DVD.
Temple Grandin paints a picture of a young woman’s perseverance and determination while struggling with the isolating challenges of autism at a time where there was not much know about autism, in fact they were institutionalizing children who were diagnosed. As you watch the movie unfold you see her early diagnosis, her development during her high school years, and the loving support she received from her mother, her aunt, and her science teacher. You also see her emergence as a woman with an innate sensitivity and understanding of animal behavior.
Undaunted by education, social and professional roadblocks, Temple turned her unique talent into a behavioral tool that changed the cattle industry and laid the groundwork for her successful career as an author, lecturer and pioneering advocate for autism and autism spectrum disorder education. She is still leading the way for autism research and in the cattle industry.
One of the greatest things of this film is that it actually takes you inside her mind with a series of snapshot images that trace her self-perceptions. It offers you insight into Grandin’s world and journey from childhood through young adulthood to the beginning of her career and beyond.
Everyone should see this movie whether you know someone with autism or not. I have seen the movie 3 times now and each time I have learned something different from it. I have watch it with teachers and non teachers and we were all moved by the story of Temple Grandin and how the movie allows people insight into the mental processing of people with autistic minds. Every autistic child/person mind works slightly different but this movie allows the average person to understand how an autistic person might perceive their surroundings.
Ok so I guess I need to go back and read how to set up scheduled post! This post was set up to post to the blog on 22nd but it never posted and then it was stuck and I couldn’t get to it! Where is the blogging instruction manual? But anyways …
Original Post:
Gosh it feels good to get that off my chest! I have always admired people who are known for something whether it is an attribute or a special thing they do. My sister is the cute smart one and my sister "in love" is the DIY / craft goddess of the south and well I’m just me. But that all is going to change. I am here to announce that I will now be know as:
That crazy lady who leaves her Christmas tree up all year long!
Yep you read that right John and I are leaving it up all year long! Yeah yeah get it all out....ok you done yet?
How bout now?
Good! Feel better?
So how did we come to this decision you might be asking. Well when Valentine’s Day came and left and we still had the tree up. Not just the tree up I’m talking Christmas decorations still hanging on it. We had to make a choice take it down and try to find a space for it or just leave it.
You see we are running out of room here at casa de halfmann. It’s amazing how just the two of us has enough stuff to over take this townhouse, it just keeps piling up. Anyways we talked and we both find it so relaxing to watch tv or read by the light of the Christmas Tree. So we decided to just take off all the Christmas decorations and leave the tree. Then we …well I decided hey why not just decorate it based on the season? So we are!
(see people really do this)
We missed Valentines Day but I have gotten a few V-Day things on clearance for next year and I thought I would just hold off and do the same for St. Patrick’s Day. I found these at Joann Fabric today. The Valentine hearts were normally 2.99 each but they were on clearance for .89 cents so I got 2 of those. And well the shamrocks were just sooo cute that I knew if I waited for them to go on clearancethey wouldn’t be there anymore. They were on sale though, they were normally $2.99 I got them for $1.47.
So I figured this year we would start with spring. Our tree will be a little bare but it will work for now. I actually have some really cute ideas that I am working on for spring! Here's a little peek. Be checking back for some DIY how to's!
I can’t decide what to call it though…I don’t like holiday tree, season tree is ok…but I don’t know. I want something catchy. If you have any ideas on what to call it or fun decoration tips feel free to comment. Anyways you may find it stupid, silly, or weird. And that’s A-ok with us.
We are starting our own little family craziness…I mean traditions.
I have been married to my wonderful husband for 4 years now! And yes we did meet on e-harmony, thanks for asking! I am a preschool teacher by day and a Thirty-One Consultant by night! I am addicted to Reading, My Friends, Dr. Pepper, Disney, Gilmore Girls, and McDonald's Fries with Barbecue Sauce, in no particular order of course. I am a mission minded gal driven by the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ. Without HIM I would be nothing!
He is the most wonderful man on earth! He loves movies, anything military, to draw and well he loves ME! WOW! Most of all he loves Jesus and is a man after God’s own heart. I am so proud to call him mine!
The Pup
Tank Marie is a fun loving pup who loves to curl up with us while we watch movies. She loves to run and play. She is such a good girl!
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