spiced apple cider

this is one of my favorite recipes! Passed down by my wonderful mom of course :)

Hot Apple Cider

3 parts 100% Apple Juice-depending on how much you want to make, I use at least one bottle
1 Part 100% Cranberry Juice
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 teaspoon of cloves held in either a coffee filter or a tea ball
Sugar to taste

Combine ingredients in large pot on stove or crock pot. Heat on high heat until simmering then reduce heat to low and cover. Let steep on low for at least one hour. When cider is spiced to your taste remove the cloves (you can remove the cinnamon as well, but I usually leave the sticks in).
If the cider is too tart you can add a bit of sugar (I usually end up adding a little less than 1/4 cup of sugar). Serve while still hot! Can be stored in the fridge, and drank cold or hot!

holidays are coming

so the holidays are just around the corner! Don't forget that there is a wonderful web site called Etsy out there to meet your holiday shopping needs. It is a wonderful idea to buy hand crafted items for Christmas instead of something from a department store! Here are several of my favorite shops on etsy...of course mine is #1 :). Also, keep in mind that you can usually request custom items from sellers on etsy, all you have to do is send them a message and see what they can do!

http://southerncharmcrafts.etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7541630

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7400794

finding God in fiction

So I was reading our book club book which is "The White Company" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (you know the guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes). Well, this has been an all time favorite novel of mine since I was in middle school. It is all about the hundred years war and knights and ladies in distress. Well reading it as an adult I have been finding many things in it that I missed as a child. My favorite quote that I have ran across is this:

"A man is but a beast as he lives from day to day, eating and drinking, breathing and sleeping. It is only when he raises himself, and concerns himself with the immortal spirit within him, that he becomes in very truth a man. Bethink ye how sad ...a thing it would be that the blood of the Redeemer should be spilled to no purpose"

how true this is! Without the spirit of God in us we are falling into nothingness. God made us to seek Him and to follow Him in our lives. Of course we all make mistakes and none of us have a perfect Christian life, but if we are aware of the spirit living inside of us, if we are aware of God in our lives ,then we are realizing our full potential as Christians and can work towards becoming better followers of Him. How sad it would be if the blood of the Redeemer was spilled to no purpose! How sad it would be if we turned our backs on God and stopped trying to better our walks with Him. How Sad it would be if we forgot what He did for us and the life He offers!!

What an awesome reminder that you can find God anywhere. He will find ways to speak to you even when you are reading a book you haven't picked up since middle school. AMAZING!
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Company )