A little thought and encouragment for the day:

Proverbs 11:25 "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered."

Each and every day we have opportunity to 'water' others through our words. A little encouragment can go a long way; not only for the one you aim it toward, but for yourself also. May God be glorified through us.

Good day!

Talk About Timing...

What are the chances?? I haven't visited my blog since my last post...that just happens to be a year ago today! WOW! How's that for ... ummm....timing or whatever it is. :)
And even MORE amazing is the fact that I am again making pickles. That is a little weird that its been exactly a year to the day. Hmm. I a very remarkable fellow. :)  You'd think I'm a creature of habit or something, but I assure you that I am not. I wish sometimes that I was more so.
Anyway, this is mostly a note/post for myself since I'm pretty sure people have given up on me at this point saying as it has been an entire year since I've even been on here. I can almost hear my own typing 'voice' echoing back to my own ears...hollow and lonely sounding. Is anyone out there??
If you care to hear from or about me and my little life lately, feel free to drop a line :)

Who knew that the sound of jar lids 'popping' (sealing) could be so exciting!? It's as if my insides are singing praises at the little sounds. It's the sound of achievement.
Here's a little picture of my pickles I'm doing tonight. (sorry the picture is so low quality, I had to use my computer camera) Its after 2:00am, I should be in bed but I choose to sit here and listen to my lids sing my praises instead as I'm singing God's praises for His blessing me with this food and the opportunity to make these...even if it is two in the morning! :)

Little canning tip for you all:
Did you know that you can sterilize your canning jars in the oven rather than having to boil them? I hated boiling them! It was such a mess and seemed to take forever since it took up my burners I needed for canning! So, I searched for a better way and found this. I've been doing it for years now and it has not failed me yet. Its easy, clean, and much less stressful and hot!

• Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
• Wash your jars in hot soapy water and drip dry or wipe dry with a non-linty, clean towel.
• Place your clean jars on a cookie sheet, right side up. (Or you could place them directly on the oven rack but just be careful not to bump them together much...or at all...to lessen the chance of cracking)
• Close the oven and set your timer for 20 minutes. Do not open the oven till the 20 minutes is complete.
• Remove jars and be careful, again, not to bump them together too much.
• Your jars are now sanitized! :) ---wasn't that so much easier!?? You're welcome :)

Happy day to you all! :)