A Mighty Fortress is Our God

by Martin Luther

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.



A Mighty Fortress is Our God is known as the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation."

Keepin' ya on your toes! {or at least that's my excuse}

Some of you may have noticed that I have been a little fickle this past week with my blog's background.  I assure you this was just simply to keep you guys on your toes {smile}. I am done for now. 


- Brandi

My Testimony

I was recently asked for my testimony so I thought I'd share it....

When I was little, about 7 or 8, my mom and I started attending church. I made a profession of faith, said the sinner's prayer, was baptized in a community pool and continued with my life.

When I was a teen my older sister wanted to be baptized but didn't want to do it alone.  As a loving sister, I offered to join her. So, I was baptized a second time, this time in a large tub in front of a l-o-t of people. Still went on about my life.

I continued my teen years.  I was the typical smart mouth kid, know it all teen that gave my mom all her gray hairs on her head. I almost didn't graduate, I went from boyfriend to boyfriend and partied most weekends.

As you can see, I was headed down the wrong path.  God, with all His mercy, had a better plan for me.

When I was 17 I had knee surgery that didn't go so well. I ended up being laid up for many weeks. During this time I remember taking to my mom's best friend, "Aunt Cindy." She was telling me about how her and her husband Dan had got saved.  I thought this woman had lost her m-i-n-d! Did I mention that these were my mom's biker buddies! After our several hour conversation, she invited us to church.

My mom, my boyfriend {now husband} and I got up the following Sunday and went to church. Since I was going to church and all, I decided to dress up, but because of my knee I wore knee high stocking instead of the regular kind.

Sitting in that church and hearing that pastor preach about hell fire and brim stone really scared me. This was the first moment that I really knew that hell was real and even more concerning to me,  I was headed there. The pastor gave an invitation but partly because I was on crutches and I think partly because I was embarrassed I did not go forward. I went home.

We get home and I am changing out of my church clothes when I realize my leg is swollen. Like, we had to cut the knee highs off swollen. We were so clueless - my mom just said for me to prop it up for the swelling to go down.

The next morning comes and still my leg is really swollen. A doctors visit and doppler later I had an all expense paid trip to the local hospital. I remember that right after I got the doppler test they wanted me to go directly to the hospital. This really scared me.
Beause of the surgery, smoking and birth control pills - I had a blood clot in my leg that could have taken my life. God however, had other plans.

The very same pastor that had given me the gospel visited me in the hospital. I repented of my sin and laid them on Christ Jesus. The Lord had changed my heart and put the rightousness of His son Jesus on me. 

It was amazing how the desires of my life changed. I was {and still am} a sinner - just a forgiven one! 

The third and final time that I was baptized was in the Chesapeake Bay.  This time I did it as a sign of my salvation!

Several years into being a Christian were a struggle for me, to the point that I wondered if the Lord really saved me then or sometime later.  I don't really know.  I don't have a date of my salvation, I just know that  somewhere in there the Lord did indeed save me. 

Eph 2 

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Watermelon Frosty {Recipe}

Hopefully you guys are blessed to have friends like my friend Marta.  She goes on fields trips with us, she ALWAYS makes me laugh and she searches high and low for great recipes {on Pinterest of course}.

The one she has been bugging me to make this week was the Watermelon Frosty.  "Your kids will love them," she tells me.  "They are sooo easy to make," she tells me.  She was right {smile}.

For a yummy, fast and good for ya treat, try these:

Watermelon Frosty
serves 2

2 1/4 cups frozen watermelon cubes
1/2+ cup water
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 large lemon, squeezed (lime juice also works very well! use 2 limes)
1 fresh banana (make sure it is not overly ripe)

Blend on high. Garnish with frozen watermelon slices, if desired. Enjoy!

 

Have you tried any new summer recipes lately?

Our Book Basket.... Nursery Rhythms

Tuesdays seems to be the day that I drop by one of my favorite places in the whole wide world, the library.  Have I mentioned my love of the library before?



I have never seen anyone walk out of there with as many books as me.  And I tend to look really silly when I have forgotten my Whole Foods bag to carry them all in.  Trust me, even the librarians giggle - I just smile and give the "we homeschool" excuse. {smile}

I thought I'd share some of the books that the kids and I are reading this week. 

Last night was the kick off to our county library's Summer reading Program and our branch kicked off with a play.  The play was put on by the librarians {who did a fabulous job BTW}, who each dressed as a fairy tale character and came into a salon for a makeover for some reason or another.  The play was really cute and funny.  It inspired us to go upstairs and pick out some nursery rhythms to read at home.  Here is what we ended up with:
The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens

Old Mother Hubbard by Jane Cabrera

Little Red Riding Hood by Josephine Evetts-Secker

Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell - there was not a Goldilocks and the Three Bears anywhere to be found so we thought we'd try something new

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Jan Brett

Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Little Robin Red Breast by Shari Halpern

Randolph Caldecott's Picture Books


The girls are going to start reading Meet Kaya from the American Girl Book series.  We are going to be starting an AG Summer Book Club in few weeks, I'll keep ya'll posted as we move along with that .

I just finished reading about George Mueller and have now moved on to A Step Further by Joni Eareckson Tada and Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Teri Maxwell {almost done this one}.

As I am typing, Computer Girl and I are giggling our way through Oh Say Can You Say by Dr Suess, which is quite the tongue twister!

Read any good books lately?