refuge

O Lord,
Whose power is infinite and wisdom infallible,
Order things that they may neither hinder, nor discourage me,
nor prove obstacles to the progress of thy cause;
Stand between me and all strife, that no evil befall,
no sin corrupt my gifts, zeal, attainments:
May I follow duty and not any foolish device of my own;
Permit me not to labour at work which thou wilt not bless,
that I may serve thee without disgrace or debt;
Let me dwell in thy most secret place under thy shadow,
where is safe impenetrable protection from
the arrow that flieth by day,
the pestilence that walketh in darkness,
the strife of tongues,
the malice of ill-will,
the hurt of unkind talk,
the snares of company,
the perils of youth,
the temptations of middle life,
the mournings of old age,
the fear of death.
I am entirely dependent upon thee for support, counsel, consolation,
Uphold me by thy free Spirit,
and may I not think it enough to be preserved from falling,
but may I always go forward,
always abounding in the work thou givest me to do.
Strengthen me by thy Spirit in my inner self
for every purpose of my Christian life.

All my jewels I give to the shadow of the safety that is in thee--
my name anew in Christ,
my body, soul, talents, character,
my success, husband (I changed this one word), children, friends, work,
my preset, my future, my end.
Take them, they are thine, and I am thine, now and for ever.

I found this taped into the front of Tom's Bible last week. I was looking for a NIV Bible...interesting to note Tom carries a children's version NIV Bible...and came across this. It is based on Psalm 91 and something I really needed to read and remember.

pumpkin chip cookies

2 c. canned (plain) pumpkin
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 eggs
4 c. flour
4 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
2 t. baking soda dissolved in 2 t. milk
2 t. vanilla
8-16 oz. chocolate chips, depending on how chocolatey you want them to be (I usually go with 8 oz. because my kids are hyper enough without a double dose)

Stir together pumpkin, sugar, oil, and eggs.
Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, along with dissolved baking soda.
Stir in vanilla, chips, and nuts.
Drop walnut-sized cookies onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.
Yields: 4-5 dozen

Thanks to Melissa F. for giving me this recipe 2 years ago!

If you ever need a quick thank-you gift for teachers, volunteers you can whip up a batch of these cookies and add a quick note of "thanks for chippin' in" with the recipe on the back.