Keeping Company with Amy Carmichael

From Gold by Moonlight by Amy Carmichael, chapter  3, entitled The Ravine, pages 20- 21:

That weary way is a place of memories. One of the readings of Psalm 42 sees the soul sharpening the knives of pain by remembering jubilant  yesterdays. "These things will I remember, how I passed on in the procession, how I marched with them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise-a festive crowd." (v. 4b) Yes, we were one of a festive crowd; was there any happy thing we did not do?  And we think of what used to be, so different from all that is now: "When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me." (v. 4a) Was ever a sad heart that did not feel like that?

And yet we are ashamed of such feelings, and the stronger part of us tries to encourage the weaker. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?" (Ps. 42:5a) "Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." (Ps. Ps. 43:b)

...Blessed be the tender mercy that has given us the truthful story of such hours, and with that story the power of release: "O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles." (Ps. 43:3) The mountain we are going to climb, the holy hill where His tabernacles are, is not in darkness. A broad beam of light falls upon that hill, a lighted path that leads to light like the pavement of heaven for clearness.

It is all true. We know that it is true. And yet there is something in the trend of our thoughts that is like the backlash of the waves, as wave after wave breaks on the shore. We have looked up. We have seen the lovely radiance of that upper air. but our feet must walk the ways of earth down that dreary hill, past those sombre trees, and into the valley before we can press up through the mist and stand under shining skies.

There is nothing imaginary about the oppression of the enemy, but there is deliverance from that oppression: "O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore, will I remember Thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar."  (Ps. 42:6)

(You can read my previous posts about this Amy Carmichael book here and here. )

Sharing with Celeste.
And with Dawn.

For Today - The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today

Looking out my window,

I can see our free-range chickens pecking and scratching in the yard.

I am thinking (and praying!)

about the election.

I am thankful

to know that no matter what the outcome of the election is,

God is still on the throne.  

One of my favorite things

is this time of year: I love fall, y'all!  :)

I am creating

a cross-stitch butterfly bookmark for my mom.

I am wearing

a long denim skirt, a blue print shirt, and my toasty warm insulated socks that hubby got me from the farm store.

I am reading Gold by Moonlight by Amy Carmichael.

Love, love, this book!

I am hoping

that our new pullets start laying eggs - soon!

I am learning

that the Lord is all-sufficient; no matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, no matter what, He is all I need.

In my kitchen,

 we are having Ethiopian veggies and 5 grain bread for supper tonight. Yum!  :)

In the school room,

Ian is doing his Bible readings, Aaron, Asher, and Naomi are working on a Grammar lesson. And Natalie is working on Geography.

In my garden,

there is a beautiful, sparkly frost.

Shared quote:

"God whispers to us in our pleasure,

speaks to us in our conscience,

but shouts in our pain;

it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

The Problem of Pain 

~C.S. Lewis

A moment from my day:

Aaron's tarantula molted 2 weeks ago. In this photo, he is holding the actual tarantula and the molt is on the right.

Linking up with Peggy.

Keeping Company with Amy Carmichael

From Gold by Moonlight, by Amy Carmichael, chapter 2, entitled The Dark Wood - Illuminated, page 18:

"So the forest in sunrise is a figure of the true. There is always light above us. Our roof is like the roof of the forest, transparent. So, verily, there is no roof; we live under the open heavens. Look above the tree-tops, O my soul;from thence flow the fountains of light. See how that blessed light streams through the wood. See how it fills and floods and overflows the air with its splendour. Hear the word of the Lord the Light: 'Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay himself upon his God.' {reference to Isaiah 50:10}

We have far too poor a conception of the intimacy with our God which He desires should be habitual. We are satisfied with with too little and so we know too little of the light of the woods of life-that light which is always there."

(You can read my previous post about this book here. )

November Flexi of the Month and a Special Offer from Lilla Rose

Hi friends,

It's that time of the month again...time for the Flexi of the Month! And for November it's North Star:

How beautiful is that?!

There is also limited time free shipping, AND a free offer (while supplies last) from Lilla Rose....

Take a look at these lovely new releases that are available for the holidays...

Find out more about Lilla Rose hair accessories at

lillarose.biz/LisaKnight

Thanks for your support!  :)

Homemade Apple Cider

Well friends, fall is upon us, at least in my neck of the woods. And these chilly mornings have me craving a warm and comforting  drink to start my day. 

Since I love apples so much, I decided that apple cider would be perfect on these cool fall mornings. But I took a look at the apple cider at our local WalMart recently, and saw that  the ingredients include pasteurized apple cider and added Vitamin C. Hmm...not thrilled about that, so I wondered.... could I make a homemade version that would be healthier than the "pasteurized Vitamin C added" version?

I found a recipe online, but it wasn't as healthy as I hoped, so I experimented, tweaked, and tweaked some more, and here's the version that I came up with:

Ingredients:

Wash and quarter:

2 green apples

2 red apples

2 yellow apples

1 orange

Spices: (**can be adjusted according to tastes**)

3 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. pure maple syrup

8 whole cloves

12 cups water

Put everything into a large soup pot.

Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer at least 2 hours. The longer you simmer it, the more flavorful it will be.  

And a word of warning, friends:  be prepared to be completely intoxicated by the wonderful smell of the cider boiling!  ;)

This is what it looked like after 2 hours of simmering.

Strain.

And serve. 

Yummy! Healthy and delicious - perfect for a cool fall morning. 

Enjoy!

Sharing this recipe with JES.

Keeping Company with Amy Carmichael

I have recently been reading a book by Amy Carmichael called Gold By Moonlight. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Amy Carmichael, you can read about her here. )

I have had this book for years and never picked it up until a few weeks ago, but since I have started reading it, I realize what a gem of a book it is! It was given to me by a dear older lady who I consider to be my spiritual grandmother, which makes the book even more special.

The first time I read the title, I was curious about the meaning of it.

But inside the front cover, Miss Carmichael gives the explanation. She wrote,

"In 1637, out of much trouble of mind, the Scottish minister Rutherford wrote to a friend:

'It is possible to gather gold, where it may be had, with moonlight.'

This book is written to any who are walking in difficult places and who care to gather that gold."

"Walking in difficult places"..that has been the story of my life the past few years.  I won't go into detail here, but I will say that the Lord knew exactly when to nudge me toward reading this book - it was definitely His perfect timing.  Any earlier and I would have given up trying to get into the book; it's not an easy read. In fact, I have picked up the book several times and tried to read it, but I just couldn't get interested in it. It had to be when I was ready for it. And the Lord knew that. I am so thankful for His perfect timing. :)

As I said earlier, this book is a gem. And it has been a great comfort and encouragement to me, second only to Scripture. I am only on page 31, but I have read enough to know that it's a treasure. It is chock-full of  analogies, metaphors, and references to Scripture. I seriously can't say enough good things about it!   I even splurged on a new Keeping journal to write down all the wonderful quotes that I want to remember. However, I am also doing lots of highlighting, underlining, and writing in the margins.  :)

So, since it has been such a help to me, I will occasionally share some snippets here, hoping and praying that it will encourage others who are going through trials.

Prior to writing this book, photos of the Austrian Tyrol and the Bavarian Highlands were given to Miss Carmichael. As she looked at the photos, she says, they "fell into a kind of order, and became for me figures of the true, transparent, full of the sense of things. Then came the thought of others, and so this book."

The first chapter is entitled, The Sense of Things, and this is the accompanying photo..

My favorite passage in this chapter is: "Wrapped in the clouds and hidden by the mist is all that makes up life, its woods and ravines, its upland meadows where we go with much content, its hills called Difficulty, and its Delectable Mountains (reference to The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan): in brief, its greater and smaller joys and sorrows, its trials of faith, disciplines, batterings of soul and body; all that our Savior, in His story of the two builders, calls rain and flood and wind and the vehement beating of a stream.

There is no house of life out of reach of the stream. So, to be surprised when the rain descends and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon the house, as though some strange thing happened to us, is unreasonable and unjust; it also miscalls our good Master, Who never told us to build for fair weather, or  even to be careful to build out of the reach of floods. 'We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God' is not a fair-weather word. 'My son, if thou comest to serve the Lord, prepare they soul for temptation.'  'Ye will not get leave to steal quietly to heaven, in Christ's company, without a conflict and a cross.'

Even so, even though we must walk in the land of fear, there is no need to fear. The power of His resurrection comes before the fellowship of His sufferings."

So friends, the storms will come; we should anticipate the pouring rains, the winds, and the floods since our Savior never told us to build out of the reach of these things. But we can take heart: He is with us, walking us through the storms of life. Looking back at the valleys I have been walking through (and I am not quite out of those valleys, yet), He was right there, even though He seemed so far away. He never left me or forsook me. As He promises in His Word,

"I will never leave you, not forsake you." ~Hebrews 13:5b

Sharing with Celeste's Keeping Company.

 And Dawn.

The October FOTM, a Special Offer, and a Sale!

Hi, everyone!

The October Flexi of the Month is Fox!I love it! Take a look..

Some autumn re-releases...

And there is a special offer for the entire month of October....a free hairband for all retails orders over $75!

Also, there is free shipping on all orders over $40 until tomorrow (Sunday), October 2nd at 11:59 Pacific time.

Thank you!

www.lillarose.biz/LisaKnight