Prayer of the Week

Dear Lord,
I would like to thank you for the wonderful day you gave us. I thought the weather was nice and we had some enjoyable family time.

I need your help to become an uncommon Christian. I know I need to choose only your choices for me and I need to submit myself unreservedly.

Show me what worldly thought and desires I need to shut out. I will submit myself to you, so you can begin to cleanse me. I know with your help I can be an uncommon Christian.

In your name, Amen.

Sweet Sour Cabbage

5 cups shredded cabbage
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
salt and pepper
1 small onion diced

Cook cabbage in boiling water with salt for seven minutes. Fry bacon until crisp and remove from grease. Add sugar and flour to grease and blend. Add water, vinegar, and seasoning. Heat through. Crumble bacon over cabbage and serve at once. Serves 4.

Kidnapped by River Rats by Dave and Netta Jackson

Kidnapped by River Rats is a Trailblazer Book by Dave and Netta Jackson and copyrighted in 1991. This 112 page, Christian historical fiction was published by Bethany House Publishers and is for kids 8-13.

In 1881, Jack and Amy come to London with their mother to look for their uncle. She dies and they try looking keep looking for their uncle. As they search, they become involved with the Salvation Army. After Amy is hurt and then disappears, Jack earns money for his food by throwing things at the people in the Salvation Army. He is supposed to be finding Catherine Booth, one of the leaders, who might help lead Jack to his uncle, not throwing things. Jack is able to find his sister and he knows he needs an army to save her. He enlists the help of the Salvation Army. After Amy is rescued by the Salvation Army, they make friends and are adopted by a couple living there. Jack’s adventures show him what evil there is in the world and how sometimes you need an army to fight it.

The authors, Dave and Netta Jackson are a husband/wife team who have written many books on relationships and other Christian heroes of the past. They have approached this book as historians, but add fictional characters to flesh out the story. Their son, Julian, is the illustrator for the Trailblazer series. The illustrations were well drawn. I did think Mrs. Witherspoon looked a little strange.

This story gives us the reminder that we are all part of God’s army and the Salvation Army is one way that people can help. We can even help as an army against the issues in this book, white slavery and gin houses, sin businesses.

I did not like how the Amy was taken by white slavers. I thought that was extreme. I did like how Amy and Jack had their happy ending.

I would recommend this book, so that everybody can learn more information about the Salvation Army and the people who started it, William and Catherine Booth.

Good Night God illustrated by D'reen Neeves

Good Night God is a cardboard book illustrated by D’reen Neeves and published in 1985 by Lion Publishing. This story is about a young child getting ready for bed. The illustrations are realistically drawn, but it is difficult to tell if the young child is a girl or a boy. I thought the Ark was very nicely drawn. At the end of the book it shows the whole family together praying. It is important for little children to see other children praying. I think it is a good book to read often to young children so they can see a good bedtime routine.

Jabez's Prayer

When I was walking around my house looking at our different Christian books I came across one about The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. In his book Mr. Wilkinson discusses who Jabez is and how the Jabez's prayer has helped him.

Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the entire Bible. His two verses are from 1 Chronicles 4:9&10. "And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Isreal, saying Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested."

Mr. Wilkinson has had a great deal of fortune with this prayer and it has been helping me too. I have change the words so it fits me specifically.

Pray Jabez's prayer and I pray it will help you as it has me.

Crispy Rice Cookies

Crispy Rice Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups quick oatmeal
2 cups crispy rice
½ cup coconut

Cream the shortening and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients. Roll the mix into small balls and roll in the oatmeal, crispy rice and coconut mixture. Press onto greased cookie sheet with forks. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Home on Stoney Creek by Wanda Luttrell

Home on Stoney Creek, book one of the Sarah’s Journey series, was written by Wanda Luttrell and copyrighted in 1995. This Christian historical fiction book was published by Chariot Family Publishing is 204 pages and is for kids ten and up.

Pa decides that Sarah and her family will be moving to the Kentucky wilderness. Sarah does not want to go and when her family comes back in a year he takes her back home to Virginia. In 1775, Miller’s Forks, Virginia, each Moore family member felt they had their own destiny with God. Nate felt sure his destiny was with the freeing of the colonies there in the East and Sarah did too. Pa thought it was in Kentucky with the untouched farmland. Nate goes to fight and Sarah gets to move to Kentucky with the rest of the family. It is a month’s journey on foot and they make it safely. They are able to build a cabin, grow a garden and God keeps them safe despite several encounters with Indians and bears. During the year while Nate is gone, Sarah is always bitter and asks God why she has to live in Kentucky. When Nate comes back, Ma doesn’t want her to leave, but Ma and Pa let her to Virginia with Nate. It took Sarah leaving her family and seeing the house at Miller’s Forks to learn home is not a building, but where her family is.

Wanda Luttrell was raised and still lives on Stoney Creek. She has a husband and five children. Mrs. Luttrell has added a map of Kentucky from 1775 and there is a historical section is the back of the book too. There is a couple of paragraphs about the book in the very front.

This book can teach all readers that a home is where your family is and not the building with its things. On the back of this book courage is stated as the value.

I liked how the Indian’s, Little Captain, medallion kept Ma safe as she was about to be scalped by a group of Indians. The medallion meant that Sarah’s family was good like Daniel Boone. I did not like how Sarah looked down on the first forts that were built in Kentucky. Perhaps if she had not been so bitter she would have seen how hard the people worked on them, not how poor they were.

I would recommend this book to a reader who was interested in learning more about Kentucky and American history during early American Revolution.