Category Archives: Uncategorized

Tightening the Belt

Janis Van Keuren

      Diet shock has set in. I opened my box chock full of diet goodies. Blueberry muffins, a chocolate-mint cookie, chocolate peanut butter granola bars, mini cereal bags, prepackaged beef patties (just add water?).  It almost looked palatable until our oldest pointed out–even the dog was not sniffing the box of goodies. A tell-tale sign of diet doldrums to come.     I guess I won’t be posting any delightful recipes for a while. Unless they’re pictures from the past–those artistic, gourmet … Continue reading →

A Simple Summer Treat

Janis Van Keuren

          Gather the family around for game night or a fun movie and pop up this simple treat. Yes, I’m into my favorite adventure–mixing up popcorn concoctions. This one came on the back of an M & M’s candy bag. Don’t ask why I was snacking on M & M’s.      Pop your favorite brand of microwave popcorn or whip up a fresh homemade bowl. Let the popcorn cool and sprinkle one regular size bag of M & M’s (the … Continue reading →

Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn

Janis Van Keuren

Chocolate clumps wrapped around golden popcorn nuggets           As the bus crawled down the main street, my eye caught the sign begging me to return. Mentally, I made a check list of the shops I wanted to visit after our tour. This was at the top right above the quilt shop and a few other charming hometown stores.      Our bus swung a wide turn down a residential street in front of a blue clapboard home decked out in … Continue reading →

In Wisdom, God Made Them All

Janis Van Keuren

       We’ve been extra blessed this spring with feathered creatures bursting forth from their eggs. Just recently I wrote about Mama Quail and her patience in sitting on the eggs, waiting in trust for them to hatch. After 12 days from when we spotted the eggs with our friends, these downy heads were pushing up from under Mama Quail’s belly.     Of course I grabbed my camera and returned to the warm, homey scene. Remembering how steadfast Mama was the last … Continue reading →

Where is the Shade?

Janis Van Keuren

       The bright yellow lantana plant blossoming in the desert springtime sun was not yet parched. Had not yet felt the unyielding intensity of summer’s rays piercing its tender shoots. Next to this lantana stood a medium-sized bush covered in winter’s shriveled leaves. Though this bush looked dead, it cast a gentle shadow over the yellow pom poms,  enduring the heat for this graceful plant.      This week, though, the bush was pruned back to the ground, exposing the yellow blossoms … Continue reading →

Waiting on the Lord

Janis Van Keuren

       “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6 NIV      I am not a patient person. I do not like to wait. When an idea grabs me, I want to take action immediately or blurt out the thought and words that have just come to mind. Sometimes, without … Continue reading →

The Joy of His Salvation

Janis Van Keuren

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Pslam 51:12      Confession, repentance, and a desire to please the Lord restores the  joy of His salvation to us. From My Heart to Yours, Joining Scripture and a Snapshot

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The Pleasure of Spring Flowers at the Market

Janis Van Keuren

        A gentle breeze rustled through my fine strands of hair as I hurried into the grocery store to pick up a cinnamon coffee cake for our classroom pod. The air felt cool against my face, a pleasure in itself for this time of year in the desert. Last week, the temperature hovered in the dry, warm 90s–a far cry from Spring.     With almost a jog in my step, I rushed toward the market when Spring, in all its floral … Continue reading →

Blessed Be His Name–Always

Janis Van Keuren

Oregon Coastline “Those who know your name will trust in you,  for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10 NIV Blessed Be the Name of the Lord Lyrics by Matt and Beth Redman   Blessed be your nameWhen the sun’s shining down on meWhen the world’s all as it should beBlessed be your name Blessed be your nameOn the road marked with sufferingThough there’s pain in the offeringBlessed be your name Copyright © 2010 ChristianLyricsOnline.comAll Rights Reserved. … Continue reading →

The Heavens Are a Mere Glimpse of Him

Janis Van Keuren

      We were created by God to have a relationship with Him. From the time He formed man in the Garden, He has been reaching out to us, wooing us, drawing us, loving us into that relationship with Him. The relationship God desires to share with us is not because He needs it, but because we need Him. He created us out of His love that we may share in His joy for all eternity (John 1:16).     So as we … Continue reading →