Nope Mom, we didn't do it we found it this way! ...
Coming home after bird hunting ...Heat oil in large skillet. Add hash browns, onion, and bell peppers. Cook until potatoes begin to brown. Spray 9" x 13" baking dish with Pam. Spread potato mixture in pan. Top with ham. Pour beaten eggs over all and season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently stir to coat all ingredients with eggs. Sprinkle with cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Makes 8 servings. (This is also good without the ham or substitute cooked ground sausage.)
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Meat & Cheese Breakfast Strata
12 slices white bread
1 lb. fully cooked ham (diced) (or sausage)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. ground mustard
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
¼ c minced onion
¼ c minced green pepper
¼ c melted butter
1 c crushed cornflakes
Crescent Cheesecake Breakfast Dessert
2 packages
2-8oz Philadelphia Cream cheese packages
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
Butter 9X13 inch pan. Cover bottom of pan with one entire package of crescent rolls (push together sections and roll out to make one piece).
Filling:
Whip together cream cheese, vanilla and sugar. Add filling on top of crescent rolls. Cover filling with other package of crescent rolls. Melt butter and cover crescent roll. Mix sugar and cinnamon in one bowl and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before serving.
*Great to make up ahead of time and warm up before serving.
******************************************************* Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 10x13" pan with nonstick spray.
Brown, crumble, and drain sausage.
Press crescent rolls dough onto bottom of pan so that it stretches to edges.
Cover dough with drained sausage.
Top with frozen hash browns and grated cheese.
Scramble 5-6 eggs with milk(uncooked) and pour over all other ingredients.
Place in 350 degree oven for 35-55 min.
Test for doneness in middle with tooth pick.
Cut into squares and serve. .
Variations:
Try substituting crumbled, cooked bacon instead of sausage.
A fruity substitution might include chopped apples instead of the frozen hash browns.
Try cooking in two pie pans instead of rectangular pan and cut into pizza-shaped pieces.
INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION by John Calvin
THE ONE HUNDRED APHORISMS, with the various TABLES and INDICES, which must greatly facilitate reference, and enhance the utility and value of the present translation of THE INSTITUTES or THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, have been kindly furnished by the Rev. WILLIAM PRINGLE of Auchterarder.
BOOK 2
14. The knowledge of God the Redeemer is obtained from the fall of man, and from the material cause of redemption.
15. In the fall of man, we must consider what he ought to be, and what he may be.
16. For he was created after the image of God; that is, he was made a partaker of the divine Wisdom, Righteousness, and Holiness, and, being thus perfect in soul and in body, was bound to render to God a perfect obedience to his commandments.
17. The immediate causes of the fall were - Satan, the Serpent, Eve, the forbidden fruit; the remote causes were - unbelief, ambition, ingratitude, obstinacy. Hence followed the obliteration of the image of God in man, who became unbelieving, unrighteous, liable to death.
18. We must now see what he may be, in respect both of soul and of body. The understanding of the soul in divine things, that is, in the knowledge and true worship of God, is blinder than a mole; good works it can neither contrive nor perform. In human affairs, as in the liberal and mechanical arts, it is exceedingly blind and variable. Now the will, so far as regards divine things, chooses only what is evil. So far as regards lower and human affairs, it is uncertain, wandering, and not wholly at its own disposal.
19. The body follows the depraved appetites of the soul, is liable to many infirmities, and at length to death.
20. Hence it follows that redemption for ruined man must be sought through Christ the Mediator; because the first adoption of a chosen people, the preservation of the Church, her deliverance from dangers, her recovery after dispersions, and the hope of the godly, always depended on the grace of the Mediator. Accordingly, the law was given, that it might keep their minds in suspense till the coming of Christ; which is evident from the history of a gracious covenant frequently repeated, from ceremonies, sacrifices, and washings, from the end of adoption, and from the law of the priesthood.
21. The material cause of redemption is Christ, in whom we must consider three things;
1. How he is exhibited to men;
2. How he is received;
3. How men are retained in his fellowship.
22. Christ is exhibited to men by the Law and by the Gospel.
23. The Law is threefold: Ceremonial, Judicial, Moral. The use of the Ceremonial Law is repealed, its effect is perpetual. The Judicial or Political Law was peculiar to the Jews, and has been set aside, while that universal justice which is described in the Moral Law remains. The latter, or Moral Law, the object of which is to cherish and maintain godliness and righteousness, is perpetual, and is incumbent on all.
24. The use of the Moral Law is threefold. The first use shows our weakness, unrighteousness, and condemnation; not that we may despair, but that we may flee to Christ. The second is, that those who are not moved by promises, may be urged by the terror of threatenings. The third is, that we may know what is the will of God; that we may consider it in order to obedience; that our minds may be strengthened for that purpose; and that we may be kept from falling.
25. The sum of the Law is contained in the Preface, and in the two Tables. In the Preface we observe,
1. The power of God, to constrain the people by the necessity of obedience;
2. A promise of grace, by which he declares himself to be the God of the Church;
3. A kind act, on the ground of which he charges the Jews with ingratitude, if they do not requite his goodness.
26. The first Table, which relates to the worship of God, consists of four commandments.
27. The design of the First Commandment is, that God alone may be exalted in his people. To God alone, therefore, we owe adoration, trust, invocation, thanksgiving.
28. The design of the Second Commandment is, that God will not have his worship profaned by superstitious rites. It consists of two parts. The former restrains our licentious daring, that we may not subject God to our senses, or represent him under any visible shape. The latter forbids us to worship any images on religious grounds, and, therefore, proclaims his power, which he cannot suffer to be despised, - his jealousy, for he cannot bear a partner, - his vengeance on children's children, - his mercy to those who adore his majesty.
29. The Third Commandment enjoins three things:
1. That whatever our mind conceives, or our tongue utters, may have a regard to the majesty of God;
2. That we may not rashly abuse his holy word and adorable mysteries for the purposes of ambition or avarice;
3. That we may not throw obloquy on his works, but may speak of them with commendations of his Wisdom, Long - suffering, Power, Goodness, Justice. With these is contrasted a threefold profanation of the name of God, by perjury, unnecessary oaths, and idolatrous rites; that is, when we substitute in the place of God saints, or creatures animate or inanimate.
30. The design of the Fourth Commandment is, that, being dead to our own affections and works, we may meditate on the kingdom of God. Now there are three things here to be considered:
1. A spiritual rest, when believers abstain from their own works, that God may work in them;
2. That there may be a stated day for calling on the name of God, for hearing his word, and for performing religious rites;
3. That servants may have some remission from labour.
31. The Second Table, which relates to the duties of charity towards our neighbour, contains the last Six Commandments. The design of the Fifth Commandment is, that, since God takes pleasure in the observance of his own ordinance, the degrees of dignity appointed by him must be held inviolable. We are therefore forbidden to take anything from the dignity of those who are above us, by contempt, obstinacy, or ingratitude; and we are commanded to pay them reverence, obedience, and gratitude.
32. The design of the Sixth Commandment is, that, since God has bound mankind by a kind of unity, the safety of all ought to be considered by each person; whence it follows that we are forbidden to do violence to private individuals, and are commanded to exercise benevolence.
33. The design of the Seventh Commandment is, that, because God loves purity, we ought to put away from us all uncleanness. He therefore forbids adultery in mind, word, and deed.
34. The design of the Eighth Commandment is, that, since injustice is an abomination to God, he requires us to render to every man what is his own. Now men steal, either by violence, or by malicious imposture, or by craft, or by sycophancy, &c.
35. The design of the Ninth Commandment is, that, since God, who is truth, abhors falsehood, he forbids calumnies and false accusations, by which the name of our neighbour is injured, and lies, by which any one suffers loss in his fortunes. On the other hand, he requires every one of us to defend the name and property of our neighbour by asserting the truth.
36. The design of the Tenth Commandment is, that, since God would have the whole soul pervaded by love, every desire averse to charity must be banished from our minds; and therefore every feeling which tends to the injury of another is forbidden.
37. We have said that Christ is revealed to us by the Gospel. And, first, the agreement between the Gospel, or the New Testament, and the Old Testament is demonstrated:
1. Because the godly, under both dispensations, have had the same hope of immortality;
2. They have had the same covenant, founded not on the works of men, but on the mercy of God;
3. They have had the same Mediator between God and men - Christ.
38. Next, five points of difference between the two dispensations are pointed out.
1. Under the Law the heavenly inheritance was held out to them under earthly blessings; but under the Gospel our minds are led directly to meditate upon it.
2. The Old Testament, by means of figures, presented the image only, while the reality was absent; but the New Testament exhibits the present truth.
3. The former, in respect of the Law, was the ministry of condemnation and death; the latter, of righteousness and life.
4. The former is connected with bondage, which begets fear in the mind; the latter is connected with freedom, which produces confidence.
5. The word had been confined to the single nation of the Jews; but now it is preached to all nations.
39. The sum of evangelical doctrine is, to teach,
1. What Christ is;
2. Why he was sent;
3. In what manner he accomplished the work of redemption.
40. Christ is God and man: God, that he may bestow on his people righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; Man, because he had to pay the debt of man.
41. He was sent to perform the office,
1. Of a Prophet, by preaching the truth, by fulfilling the prophecies, by teaching and doing the will of his Father;
2. Of a Kin; by governing the whole Church and every member of it, and by defending his people from every kind of adversaries;
3. Of a Priest, by offering his body as a sacrifice for sins, by reconciling God to us though his obedience, and by perpetual intercession for his people to the Father.
42. He performed the office of a Redeemer by dying for our sins, by rising again for our justification, by opening heaven to us through his ascension, by sitting at the right hand of the Father whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead; and, therefore, he procured for us the grace of God and salvation.
INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION by John Calvin
THE ONE HUNDRED APHORISMS, with the various TABLES and INDICES, which must greatly facilitate reference, and enhance the utility and value of the present translation of THE INSTITUTES or THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, have been kindly furnished by the Rev. WILLIAM PRINGLE of Auchterarder.
BOOK 1
1. THE true wisdom of man consists in the knowledge of God the Creator and Redeemer.
2. This knowledge is naturally implanted in us, and the end of it ought to be the worship of God rightly performed, or reverence for the Deity accompanied by fear and love.
3. But this seed is corrupted by ignorance, whence arises superstitious worship; and by wickedness, whence arise slavish dread and hatred of the Deity.
4. It is also from another source that it is derived - namely, from the structure of the whole world, and from the Holy Scriptures.
5. This structure teaches us what is the goodness, power, justice, and wisdom of God in creating all things in heaven and earth, and in preserving them by ordinary and extraordinary government, by which his Providence is more clearly made known. It teaches also what are our wants, that we may learn to place our confidence in the goodness, power, and wisdom of God, to obey his commandments, - to flee to him in adversity, - and to offer thanksgiving to him for the gifts which we enjoy.
6. By the Holy Scriptures, also, God the Creator is known. We ought to consider what these Scriptures are; that they are true, and have proceeded from the Spirit of God; which is proved by the testimony of the Holy Spirit, by the efficacy and antiquity of the Scriptures, by the certainty of the Prophecies, by the miraculous preservation of the Law, by the calling and writings of the Apostles, by the consent of the Church, and by the steadfastness of the martyrs, whence it is evident that all the principles of piety are overthrown by those fanatics who, laying aside the Scripture, fly to revelations.
7. Next, what they teach; or, what is the nature of God in himself and in the creation and government of all things.
8. The nature of God in himself is infinite, invisible, eternal, almighty; whence it follows that they are mistaken who ascribe to God a visible form. In his one essence there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
9. In the creation of all things there are chiefly considered,
1.Heavenly and spiritual substances, that is, angels, of which some are good and the protectors of the godly, while others are bad, not by creation, but by corruption;
2.Earthly substances, and particularly man, whose perfection is displayed in soul and in body.
10. In the government of all things the nature of God is manifested. Now his government is, in one respect, universal, by which he directs all the creatures according to the properties which he bestowed on each when he created them.
11. In another respect, it is special; which appears in regard to contingent events, so that if any person is visited either by adversity or by any prosperous result, he ought to ascribe it wholly to God; and with respect to those things which act according to a fixed law of nature, though their peculiar properties were naturally bestowed on them, still they exert their power only so far as they are directed by the immediate hand of God.
12. It is viewed also with respect to time past and future. Past, that we may learn that all things happen by the appointment of God, who acts either by means, or without means, or contrary to means; so that everything which happens yields good to the godly and evil to the wicked. Future, to which belong human deliberations, and which shows that we ought to employ lawful means; since that Providence on which we rely furnishes its own means.
13. Lastly, by attending to the advantage which the godly derive from it. For we know certainly,
1. That God takes care of the whole human race, but especially of his Church.
2. That God governs all things by his will, and regulates them by his wisdom.
3. That he has most abundant power of doing good; for in his hand are heaven and earth, all creatures are subject to his sway, the godly rest on his protection, and the power of hell is restrained by his authority. That nothing happens by chance, though the causes may be concealed, but by the will of God; by his secret will which we are unable to explore, but adore with reverence, and by his will which is conveyed to us in the Law and in the Gospel.
"Most of God's people are contented to be saved
from the hell that is without;
they are not so anxious to be saved
from the hell that is within."
ROBERT MURRAY MCCHEYNE
“Do not seek for warm fire under cold ice.”
Samuel Rutherford
So after the big event on TV, I got out my coffee pot and brewed up some Groundhog Brew!
Rev. Samuel Rutherford
(1600-1661)
One of the most influential
Scottish Presbyterians in the Westminster Assembly.
Christian Directions
by Rev. Samuel Rutherford
1. That hours of the day, less or more time, for the Word and prayer, be given to God;
not sparing the twelfth hour, or mid-day, howbeit it should then be the shorter time.
2. In the midst of worldly employments, there should be some thoughts of sin, death,
judgment, and eternity, with at least a word or two of ejaculatory prayer to God.
3. To beware of wandering of heart in private prayer.
4. Not to grudge if ye come from prayer without sense of joy. Downcasting,
sense of guiltiness, and hunger, are often best for us.
5. That the Lord's Day, from morning to night, be spent always either in private or public worship.
6. That words be observed, wandering and idle thoughts be avoided, sudden anger and
desire of revenge, even of such as persecute the truth, be guarded against; for we often
mix our zeal with our wild-fire.
7. That known, discovered, and revealed sins, that are against the conscience,
be avoided, as most dangerous preparatives to hardness of heart.
8. That in dealing with men, faith and truth in covenants and trafficking be regarded,
that we deal with all men in sincerity; that conscience be made of idle and lying words;
and that our carriage be such, as that they who see it may speak honourably of our
sweet Master and profession.
The Sands of Time Are Sinking
by Rev. Samuel Rutherford
Notation: Anne R. Cousin in 1857 took Rutherford's ideas and composed this song based on his notes on Revelation 22:4. The original arrangement was set by Chretien Urhan in 1834, and then arranged for Cousin's song in 1867 by Edward F. Rimbault.
1. The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for -
The fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark had been the midnight
But dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
2. The king there in His beauty,
Without a veil is seen:
It were a well-spent journey,
Though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army,
Doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land
3. O Christ, He is the fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
4. The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory
But on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth
But on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Emmanuel’s land.
5. O I am my Beloved’s
And my Beloved is mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner
Into His house of wine
I stand upon His merit
I know no other stand,
Not e’en where glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
"The January thaw is special because it opens Winter's door a crack just when it seems that the ice has locked it tight. Through that crack one can see the certainty of March and April somewhere up ahead....The worst one can say about the January thaw is that it never lasts. It lifts the heart, then drops it with a cold thud when the warm spell passes and the chill congeals the earth again....But when January does relent, even for a day or two, we can celebrate, cautiously."Here is PA the January Thaw is over as temps are dropping daily. With the warm up I see I lost one of my Goldfish in my pond. A beautiful gold shimmer is seen floating just under a lite ice coating. We reached a high of 67 degrees and now it is dipping into the 40's and falling.A January Thaw is expected usually following a strong cold snap, but need not occur every year.
In prime January Thaw country, the ideal weather pattern characteristic of the Thaw period unfolds in this manner. It begins after a cold air mass from northern or western regions has slid over the region (A), eventually moving out over the Atlantic Ocean. As that air mass leaves, the Bermuda High strengthens (B,C,D) and becomes positioned over the southern Atlantic Coast or southeastern US states while a broad low pressure trough moves slowly across northern Ontario and Quebec (B-E). The juxtaposition of the isobar patterns of these two map features (E) places the northeastern US and southeastern Canada border region into a south-southwesterly flow of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. This air advects over the northern snow and ice fields and begins a thawing.
Often during this time, the upper air wind patterns are in a period of readjustment, and thus surface weather systems stall or creep slowly across the eastern continent's mid-latitude belt. After several days of warmth, the regional weather again comes under the influence of a strengthened polar high (F,G), and cold weather returns.
The period of thaw usually results in a significant reduction of snow cover and ice thickness that is welcomed by many as a release from winter's uncomfortable grip.
