A Pair of Bartletts

Some Sweet Things To Be Thankful For

I have been uploading and editing some pictures tonight and thought I would share some of my favorite shots from Thanksgiving.  These are two of our nephews and one of our nieces. They are the sweetest children and the most precious little apples of our eyes.  My sister and law and I took the older children to the park last Friday to get some energy out and to pump the ducks and geese full of all of the extra bread and crackers from home (waste not want not!).  Our "littlest" niece (7 months old) didn't quite make it to the park...she stayed at home to hang out with her Nana, Gramps and Uncle Rob.  The weather was just incredible--the sun was shining, the air was cool and not a cloud in the sky....and the company was even better!  What precious things to be thankful for....

 

Matthew 19:14 (New King James Version)

¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

 

Thankful for Thursday

I found these great reminders for all of us this Thanksgiving week.  I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I did!

 

 I pray that you will spend incredible family time together doing the "little things" together.

 

I pray that you'll get "the perfect bird" for your perfect Thanksgiving table.

And lastly, that you stay one step ahead of the arrows of the Enemy! 

From my family to yours I pray that you will have a very peaceful and very meaningful Thanksgiving celebration with your families.  I pray that you will speak words of edification that others may be built up.  I pray that you will stop and remember all of those things that should make us fall to our knees in humble gratitude.  I thank God for my precious family and friends, but most of all I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for my salvation in Him.   I'll leave you with one of my favorite Puritan Prayers, "The Valley of Vision". 

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

 

 

Pom Pom Pomanders!

Ephesians 5:2 (New King James Version)

² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

I absolutely LOVE the smell of spices, but especially cinnamon, cloves and all of those great "Christmasy" spices that make it holiday time.  What's even better is making a fun craft with my niece and nephews.  I had a great time with them last year during Thanksgiving. We did a craft project on Thanksgiving day and made some "apple turkeys" . They were SO cute!   But, this year, I thought it would be fun to make something new. It didn't take me long to think about what would be fun for them to do while making something decorative that everyone can enjoy. SOOOOO, pomanders it will be!  I remember that my grandmother always loved pomanders.  I wish that she could be here to make them with the children...she would have been right in the middle of all of the festivities!  

So this year, we're going for the sweet smelling craft.  I think that their smell is so yummy and I love how they look all piled up in a bowl.  It will be a lot of fun but I always love to have the opportunity to teach them something at the same time.  There is a history lesson in the pomander, but I think that there is a biblical application as well.  Pomanders were carried by the ladies in the 15th century.  They would wrap them in handkerchiefs and carry them while they were walking along the streets.  To prevent smelling the rancid smells of the streets in the town, they would hold them to their noses and sniff the pomander ball instead.  From the biblical perspective, I think that the story of the pomander could be a very practical reminder to us as Christians.  I think that the smells that the women in the 15th century were trying to avoid represent our sin in the nostrils of our Lord.  And the pomander ball is the sweet smelling aroma that we bring to the Lord when we walk in love.  I pray that I would bring a sweet smelling aroma to my Lord and that I would be reminded of the story of the pomander ball on a daily basis.  I don't want to be the cause of a stench in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.   

What crafts will you do this Thanksgiving?

What Are You Thankful For?

As I sit here writing this post, I am just overcome with joy and the sweet peace of the Lord.  Rob and I are in Beaufort, North Carolina on a trip that we had to make at a moment's notice.  Rob's Dad has been battling heart failure and up until recently, has been in the hospital.  He is home now and his attitude is as sweet as ever.  The heart failure is at a very serious level right now.  But in all of this, we did not rush from home to go fourteen hours and three states away, only to mope around and have "woe is me" spirits.  We came to celebrate the life that Dad has and that he is the patriarch of this great family.  We came to change tradition.  I'm sure that you celebrate Thanksgiving in November, which is perfectly okay.  However, for us, we decided that it needed to be on a different day this year.  As a matter of fact, it was today.  And it was so sweet, so special and so tender.  As Daddy Bartlett sat in the wheelchair on his oxygen, he offered the most precious prayers to his heavenly Father who lives in his heart.  Dad didn't know his earthly father, but I assure you, he knows his heavenly Father.  He offered sweet and tender thanks for all of his children and grandchildren that were there surrounding him.  And our Momma Toni continued the prayer and thanked God through teary eyes for everything that He has done in this family and will continue to do.  It was a most precious time....one that I will never in my life forget.  My brother-in-law, Woody, and I actually decided that as a matter of fact, we'll celebrate Thanksgiving as many times as we want to all throughout the year.  I understand the story of the pilgrims making their way to this country and all that they were thankful for.  But today, my friends, I regret to say that I was not thinking about the country.  I was thinking about my husband's most precious family and how banding together at this time in Dad's life was the most important thing that I could have ever been a part of.  We thank God and praise HIS HOLY NAME for salvation in Him.  We praise God for the work that He has done in this family and for all the work that there is still to be done.  

Thank you Father God for a truly blessed day.  Thank you Lord for each day this week that we will continue to spend with our precious family.  Praise you Lord!

Journeying Into Fall

I love it when my kitchen is filled with the warm candle scent of an inviting Fall filled with warm peaches, apples and berries mixed with yummy spices.  And even better, on a day that is finally letting a cooler spell of weather take it's place over the hot and sticky summer that is finally coming to a close.  This has to be one of the most favorites times of year for me.  I love the rainbows of changing leaves, my front yard littered with pecans from the 100 year old pecan tree and watching the squirrels run around with sheer glee as they scramble for all of the plump pecans...as many as their cute little paws can hold.  And I can't be upset at them in their gathering.....there is plenty for them and for us.   In fact, there are more than enough to serve us humans and as many of the little scampering squirrels as possible.  I have the best time watching those little guys.  Some days they run around as if they can't believe their little eyes.  They almost don't know where to start with their harvest!  God was so generous to us when He created all of the beauty that He did for our sheer enjoyment!  He could have easily made this a black and white dull place to be.  He could have created it any way that He wanted to create it.  But, in His infinite wisdom and because of His great love for his finest creation (that's us!), He created a place that could be enjoyed and treasured by us humans.  I am so thankful that when He created our surroundings that He did give us things like this that could bring such great pleasure.....be it the scents from a simple candle or the squirrel army in my front yard!

As I was sitting here reading and studying, I came across another of the Puritan prayers in The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions that I enjoyed reading today.  So, I'll leave you with this from The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions--

JOURNEYING ON

LORD OF THE CLOUD AND FIRE,

I am a stranger, with a stranger's indifference;

   My hands hold a pilgrim's staff,

   My march is Zionward,

   My Eyes are toward the coming of the Lord,

   My heart is in thy hands without reserve.

Thou has created it,

    redeemed it,

    renewed it,

    captured it,

    conquered it.

Keep from it every opposing foe,

     crush it in every rebel lust,

     mortify every treacherous passion,

     annihilate every earthborn desire,

All faculties of my being vibrate to thy touch;

I love thee with soul, mind, body, strength,

     might, spirit, affection, will,

      desire, intellect, understanding.

Thou art the very perfection of all perfections;

All intellect is derived from thee;

My scanty rivulets flow from they unfathomable 

       fountain.

Compared with thee the sun is darkness,

       all beauty deformity,

       all wisdom folly,

       the best goodness faulty.

Thou art worthy of an adoration greater than

        my dull heart can yield;

Invigorate my love that it may rise worthily 

          to thee,

   tightly entwine itself round thee,

   be allured by thee.

Then shall my walk be endless praise.