The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

We had a wonderful Mother's Day at Victory Tabernacle.  Sunday morning included presentations by each Sunday school class, then Pastor White preached an awesome message.  Les preached last night and it was also awesome.  

 

We were talking about mothers on the way to church last night and Les asked, "How does the saying go, 'the hand that rocks the cradle...'?"  I looked it up and found that this is a poem by William Ross Wallace that praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change in the world. The poem was first published in 1865 under the title "What Rules the World," but is now known as "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World."  After I read it to Les in the car he decided to read at the beginning of his message last night.

Our society is at war with our families.  Families are under attack like never before.  Government officials claim that children belong to everyone.  NO!  That is not the case!  Your children belong to YOU.  If you are raising them to follow the ways of God, no one has the authority to change that.  Jesus said in Matthew 18:6, "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

 

Rock the cradle and rule the world, mama!

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace.
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mothers first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission,

Here upon our natal sod;

Keep—oh, keep the young heart open

Always to the breath of God!

All true trophies of the ages

Are from mother-love impearled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Happy Mother's Day

We're missing both of our moms this year but we will always cherish their love.

Iris Morning

 

While I was out running this morning I saw several irises in bloom.  These were my mother-in-law's favorite flower and as we are heading towards Mother's Day I thought they were such a sweet reminder.

I do not believe that our loved ones are looking down on us from heaven.  The Bible says there is no sorrow nor crying (Revelation 21:4) so if they were to look down on this earth they would see plenty to bring them sorrow.

I think God sends us signs - little reminders that HE is looking down on us.  He cares about us.  Just as the iris blooms each year, there is joy and hope for those who walk with Him.

Friday Foodie

This is only my second Friday Foodie of the year and the recipe isn't even new!  It's one I've been making since 2020 but it never made it on the blog.  The recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs - Plain Chicken.

Pulled Pork Biscuit Bombs

Ingredients:

1 (12-oz) package fully cooked sauceless pulled pork

1/2 cup bbq sauce

1 cup cheese

1 (16.3-oz) can refrigerated Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layer Biscuits

4 tbsp butter

1½ tsp dijon mustard

1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. *I used a 9x13 cake pan.
   
2. Flatten each biscuit round to about 1/4-inch thickness. Top each round of dough with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and cheese. Bring the edges of the dough together and pinch to seal. Place in pan seam-side-down.
3. In a small saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and sesame seeds. Bring to a boil and pour over biscuits. *I do not pour the sauce over the biscuits before baking.  Since this makes more than we will eat at one sitting I prefer to pour the sauce on only what we are eating that night, which is usually 3 or 4 biscuits.  That keeps the leftovers from getting soggy.  I typically cut the sauce recipe in half, then make the rest when we eat the leftovers.  I also don't put the sesame seeds in the sauce but I sprinkle them directly on the biscuits before baking.
   
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and cooked through.

These are so easy and so good!  I use pulled pork that is already sauced so it is a quick meal to put together.  We've eaten these with baked beans or corn on the cob.  This could easily be doubled if you're cooking for a large group.

Mammoth ~ Part Two

After a good night's sleep we enjoyed breakfast (and lots of coffee) in our condo.  Les had purchased his lift ticket online, but needed to get it validated.  He wasn't exactly sure if he could do that at Eagle Express, so even though the lift was close to the condo, I drove him over so he wouldn't have to carry all his gear. It was clear and sunny and looked like it was going to be a perfect day for my skier!

 

After Les took off I decided to go for a run.  The elevation of over 8,000' made the going a bit tough, but I took numerous breaks for pictures so it worked out great.

Les skied until the lifts closed - 27 runs for 27.4 miles and almost 27,000' of elevation!

We ate dinner at Giovanni's pizza and it hit the spot!  We ordered the spicy sauce and were ready for something sweet afterwords.  In the same shopping center we found Dessert'D and it was amazing!  We had a really hard time choosing what we wanted and ended up with dessert for the rest of the weekend, and some that made it home with us.  Pistachio bark and strawberry marshmallows...

And sweet cream pies in a variety of flavors!

Saturday was more of the same, except I went running before Les went skiing.  I enjoyed the less intense sun and cooler temps.

 

Les' second day of skiing was similar to his first - 24 runs for 27.5 miles and almost 25,000' of elevation!  He definitely got his money's worth on that lift ticket!

We went out for Mexican food on Saturday night.  El Charro Taqueria had good reviews so we went there.  It wasn't much in the way of ambiance, but the food was delicious!  Les was wiped out by the time we got back to the condo, so it was an early night for us.

The drive home on Sunday was just as beautiful as the drive up.  Sometime during the drive I commented to Les, "How did God come up with snow?  Why white?  It's such a beautiful contrast to the rocks and trees."   God is such an amazing Artist!

About 100 miles south of Mammoth is the town of Lone Pine.  This is the portal to Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the "lower 48" states. 

The peak is at 14,505 feet:

You may be wondering why I was happy with a ski weekend for my birthday when I didn't actually do any skiing.  I tried skiing once about 15 years ago and decided it's not for me.  But time with my sweetheart made it the perfect getaway!

My Mammoth Birthday

About a month ago Les and I were chatting on the way to church.  He mentioned that he really wanted to go skiing at Mammoth.  In case you haven't heard, California got a lot of rain and snow this year - as in record breaking!  Mammoth is one of Les' favorite places to ski but it had been a few years.  I piped up with, "We could go there for my birthday," and that started the ball rolling!

 

I was awake early on Thursday morning (my actual birthday) and decided to go for a bike ride.  When I got downstairs I found a new phone pouch sitting next to my phone.  This is made by Fierce Hazel and is a wonderful alternative to the many zip-lock baggies I have destroyed through the years!

 

 

When I stepped into the garage to leave for my ride I found two more surprises!  A cadence/speed sensor for my bike, replacing one that quit working a year ago, and a pair of Sketchers Go Walk Sneakers.  Both of these were on my wish list.

 

Les had one meeting he couldn't miss, then we hit the road around 11:00.  The miles flew by as we chatted.  We never run out of things to talk about.  The drive was also very interesting, including glimpses of Red Rock Canyon.  We started seeing snow pretty early on and it just got better and better.

We booked a condo through VRBO and it was exactly what we wanted.  It was also just steps away from the Eagle Express chairlift.  The lift was closed when arrived on Thursday, but it was opened Friday through Sunday so it worked out perfectly!

This is the walkway from our condo!  Snow was piled up everywhere in Mammoth.  It was incredible!

Les made dinner reservations at The Mogul restaurant.  Our waiter was also our cook - a nice incentive to get our order correct.  Everything was delicious.  Filet Mignon with all the trimmings.  For dessert we tried the house specialty "Cinnamon Charlotte" - White cupcake, two scoops of vanilla ice cream and hot cinnamon sauce.  My only "complaint" was that it came in a large goblet and was a little difficult to eat - but we managed!

I have a lot more pictures from our two full days in Mammoth - I'll share those tomorrow...