~ ADORE ~ Christmas Songs of Worship by Chris Tomlin

Hello! Happy Christmas time! This is a review that I wrote in 2015 when this was a new album. I still love this album and listen to it during the year sometimes as well. It's just so worshipful. It really focuses my attention on Jesus during the Christmas season. I include the original review below as well as a link to purchase the CD on Amazon. Yes. That's an affiliate link.

P.S. Thank you for your patience as I continue to recover from my post-mastectomy revision surgery. I reply to as many comments as I can, but I find that I am falling behind. Be assured, I read all comments and appreciate your prayers and comments. Please forgive me if I do not reply.

Adore: Christmas Songs Of Worship (Live)

  Once upon a time, when I was young, I knew who was who in music. Then babies came along and I lost track in the whirlwind of bringing up children. Now my babies are teens. All this to say, I recognized the name Chris Tomlin, but I couldn't tell you a single song he recorded. So, I asked my kids. You know, the ones who are now young and know who's who in music. They told me we sing his songs in church a lot... and so we do. The first song I saw when I looked at Tomlin's YouTube site was Good Good Father. That's one we sing often that I enjoy. They also said that Chris Tomlin sounds like generic Christian music, because so many artists have emulated his original worship style.

  I adore this album! It's so worshipful. It's a magnificent blend of old Christmas music, hymns and new music. The arrangements are so melodic, and Christ focused. The choir that sings with him is so smooth. The harmony is flawless. ADORE includes one of the most beautiful arrangements of Silent Night I've ever experienced. The acapella singing is blissful. Oh, I just cannot say enough good about this album. You've got to listen to this one. You'll be delighted with the reverential tone of What Child is This? You'll be charmed by Away in the Manger. If you like Christmas music, if you like contemporary Christian worship music, if you like focusing on Jesus at Christmas, then I think you'll really like this album. 

  Chris Tomlin's ADORE is going to be a new classic in our house. I have not heard an album I have enjoyed like this in ages. As I write this, my husband is singing along in worship, "I bow my heart before no other name...." It's all about Jesus. Everything. It's all about Jesus.

~~~~~~~~~~

Chris Tomlin is an American contemporary Christian music artist, worship leader, and songwriter who has sold nearly 30 million records.  Some of his most well-known songs are "How Great Is Our God", "Jesus Messiah", "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)", "Our God", and "Whom Shall I Fear".  His 2013 album Burning Lights debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, only the fourth Christian album ever to open at No.1.  Throughout his career, Chris has been nominated for 32 Dove Awards (6 of them collaborative efforts) and he has won 19 of them.  

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Thank you FlyBy for this CD for review. I loved it!

Contentment, Thankfulness, Happily Ever After

Contentment...
It's definitely an out of style commodity these days.
You cannot find it in the stores on Black Friday.
It's not available online on Cyber Monday.

It is only available in one place—from one person.
Within yourself—from God.
It's available here and now.
It begins with being thankful.

Live today as though now is your happily ever after.
It is.

Happy Thanksgiving
from Harvest Lane Cottage,

Laura
Thankful to be alive
for my third Thanksgiving
since CHRIST conquered cancer in my body





P.S. Thank you for your patience as I continue to recover from my post-mastectomy revision surgery. I will reply to as many comments as I can, but I find that I am falling behind. Be assured, I read all comments and appreciate your prayers and comments. Please forgive me if I do not reply.

Have You Finished Your Thanksgiving Planning Yet?

Hello everyone,

 I'm still recovering from surgery, so last night we had a planning meeting with the whole family and agreed on who would make and bring what for dinner. I am responsible for making pecan pies. My husband agreed to make my pie crusts for me Wednesday morning.

  I just finished my final grocery list for Thanksgiving. My daughters are going to shop at Aldi, Dollar General, and Walmart for the ingredients that we still need. That will be a major energy saver for me. My job this year is to plan and coordinate kitchen work. I'll help with dishes, too, along the way. We are keeping everything simple.

 Have you finished your planning? Your cooking? Is your turkey in the fridge thawing? Here's some help if you need it. Don't be afraid to ask others to bring items to contribute.

 I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving, whether you're with loved ones, friends, acquaintances, or even by yourself, there is always something to be thankful for.

 God bless you all! I'll write after the holiday.

Laura Lane
Harvest Lane Cottage

Strategize NOW for a Stress LESS Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  Yes, it's really here!

Some of you us may be getting a little stressed at this point. Thanksgiving is but a couple of days away. Mmmm... I'm dreaming of sweet potato casserole with lots of pecans! Oh, pinch me and wake me up! Back to planning.

• First, take a deep breath. Now, go take your turkey out of the freezer. Put it in the refrigerator to thaw slowly and safely.  Are you still reading? Stop it! Go get that turkey in the fridge and meet me back here in five minutes. ~smile~ 

• Get yourself a delicious drink, light a candle, and put on some relaxing music.  Pandora has some great Christmas music.  I like the Jim Brickman and Bing Crosby Christmas stations. Spotify has some great music, too. They let you build your own play list. 

• Sit down with paper and pen right now and think think think.

We have a lot of control over how much tension we have in our own minds over holiday dinners. Planning is so very important. 

• Plan your meals for each day from now until the end of the holiday weekend. Try to use the food you have on hand as much as possible to save your money for special items you will need to celebrate. Plan for a few impromptu snacks as well.  Write this out for every meal. Then make a list of every item you will need. Example

• Now, ask yourself a few questions. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?  Will you be providing the meal?  Bringing something to a dinner?  Traveling?  Needing snacks for the car?  Candles?  Decorations?  Jot down any notes you might need.

• Make a cooking timeline. I had to follow a timeline when my children were little, and I did most of the cooking. Now that the kids and my hubby help me cook, it's not as critical as it once was, but I still have to know what to cook when!

When you're done with all of this, you should have a shopping list. 

First, shop your pantry and freezer. Check off what you already have. You should be left with a shopping list. Check it twice and add anything else you need.

Now, plan to go to the store as soon as possible. Take your list!

I know it's coming fast, but pray, breathe, and believe that you can get it all done peacefully. Remember—perfect is only in magazines and books. 

This is your real life. 

Live it well by enjoying the journey.

Happy Thanksgiving preparations,

Laura

Who will be following her own advice!

On My Needles and What I'm Reading... November 20, 2019

On my knitting needles... on my Scribd app! Knitting and reading in my free time and little bits of snatched time is one of my favorite ways to enrich my life. I love to listen to the Bible, to a non-fiction book that can help me learn, or to a novel to pass the time as I knit or work around the house. Do you have any favorites?


Here are the things that I'm listening to this week:

2nd Chronicles and probably Ezra on Bible.com

Christmas in Winter Hill
by Melody Carlson
on my Scribd app.

You can see other books I'm making progress on them on Goodreads.

While I listen or watch videos, I am knitting a baby hat for Life Choices Crisis Pregnancy Center. 

Pattern Barley Light by Tin Can Knits
Yarn is Paton's Kroy Socks in Turquoise Jacquard

I've spent lots of time sitting and reclining during my recovery time. It's nice that my head has cleared enough that I can do some things that allow me to give to others in need. I think knitting for charity and praying during the knitting is one of my very favorite things to do. There are so many who need to feel cared for. 

Well, enough for now. I will see two of my doctors this week. We'll see how I'm progressing. 

Blessings to all of you who have prayed for me. I appreciate it so much. It's making a world of difference in my recovery.

Have a homemade, handmade, heartmade thrifty week! 

Laura

P.S  I highly recommend using Scribd. You get unlimited ebooks and audio books plus other reading materials for just one low price. $8.99 a month. You don't have to pay per book. It's all included in the one price. It's the best money I've spent this year!

If you use my link, you'll get a 2 month free trial of Scribd, and I will get a free month as well. I'm not an affiliate, it's just a neat perk that they have for their subscribers who tell their friends. I've earned 180 free days just sharing how much I love their service! You can too.

Find me online here:

Laura Lane on Goodreads

2019  67 Finished Books Goal 50 60  70

HarvestLaneLaura  on Ravelry

Harvest Lane Cottage on Facebook

@lauraofharvestlane on Instagram

laura@harvestlanecottage.com

Address available by email.

Joining with  Crafting On and Yarn Along

Post-Mastectomy Surgery Recovery Update

My Lowell made me some soothing chicken soup this week.
Recipe

Hello everyone.

 Thank you so much for praying for me this week. My surgery went well Monday according to my surgeon. I've spent this week relaxing with my feet up and enjoying quiet moments with my knitting, my little dog, and my big cat. They have been my near constant companions this week. I wonder if that has anything to do with my heated blanket?

 My incision looks good to me. I've been dabbing at it with colloidal silver on a napkin a few times each day. There doesn't seem to be any indication of infection or discharge. That's a major improvement over the last two surgeries. Thank you Jesus. I'll go in to see the surgeon again next Thursday to get his opinion on it. I am taking minimal pain medicine—just one tablet every four hours. I have pain, but it is tolerable. Sometimes I take two at night to help me sleep. I cannot lie down flat yet, so I sleep propped up in bed or on the sofa.

 Friends have brought me magazines and cookbooks to look at, a pot of potato soup, and flowers. I do appreciate having good friends to check in on me. Another friend's husband got ill, so she is going to visit me next week.

 Today I completed a  knitted hat for my brother-in-love and earlier this week I mended a pair of pants for my daughter. Sometimes we just need time to sit and stitch!

 Thank you all for your prayers for me. I truly appreciate it. God cannot get me off His mind with y'all praying like you do! Well, I'm going to say good-bye. The pain medicine is kicking in and making me drowsy. I don't want to leave you with anything TOO funny. Wink.

 Bye y'all,
 Thanks for checking on me and praying,
 Laura

Prayer Request: This Was NOT on My Fall Bucket List!

Hi Y'all!

 Some of you are familiar with my bucket lists that I write each season. I even wrote one during the summer that I was taking chemotherapy for breast cancer and radiation therapy the following winter. The lists are never completed, but they give me some tangible reminders to enjoy the season. Let me tell you, this was NOT on my Fall Bucket List

 For the last two years, I've had surgery in October. Two years ago it was a bilateral mastectomy. That means both sides. Last year, there was surgery for revision on my right side. The cancer had been on the left. Surprise surprise, I am having surgery again.
 Tomorrow morning, at 5:30 a.m. central time, I go to the hospital. Surgery is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.
The surgeon is going to replace the implant in my right breast. It needs to be done, but boy is this close to the holidays! ~smile~

 I'm writing to you with prayer requests.

• I am praying for my surgeon, Dr. H., that he will feel well, be skillful, and at his best tomorrow morning as he and his staff perform surgery. 
• I am praying for salvation and blessing for everyone involved. 
• I am also praying that there will be no germs or anything that will cause me to get an infection.
• Obviously, I'm also praying that I will heal quickly and completely with minimal pain.

 I plan to ask the surgeon if I can pray for him before surgery, and I plan to splash the love of Jesus over everyone that I can. ~smile~

 Many of you have been with me since before my cancer diagnosis. I thank you so very much for staying with me through all of this. As you might guess, I will not be on the computer for a few days or maybe even a few weeks. All depends on how I feel and how soon I am off the pain medicines. ~smile~ 

 So, thank you all for your continued prayers. You all have been a rock of support to me in this cancer and post-cancer path. I thank God for you all and for each day I wake and live.

God bless you all!

Watch my Harvest Lane Cottage Facebook page. I'll probably post there before I post here, because it's quicker. I invite you to like my page.

Hugs,

Laura Lane

Trusting My Jesus 

Through It All

P.S. I've had requests for my address. I am happy to send it to you directly if you email me. I don't feel comfortable putting it directly on the blog. Thanks for understanding.
laura@harvestlanecottage.com 

P.P.S. If you wish to donate, you can donate with PayPal using lauraofharvestlane@gmail.com.

https://www.facebook.com/HarvestLaneCottage

The End of the Magi by Patrick Carr Five Stars!

When I saw the name Patrick W. Carr, I knew that I wanted to read this book. He is that kind of writer. I find his writing riveting. I don't read his stories from the outside, I read them from the inside. I feel immersed in the action. My husband came home and saw me reading this one afternoon. He said I was addicted to it. ~smile~

Like every book that I've read by Patrick Carr, this book just drew me into the story from the first page. I jokingly told my husband one day that I was going to Persia for awhile. ~smile~ I just mesmerized by his writing.

The beginning was shocking. I want to tell you, but it's a spoiler. Myrad escapes and the story of his journey to find the strange star that is bright and immovable in the western night sky is long, hard, and very dangerous. The landscape is unsafe, it's filled with a number of powerful and dangerous persons whom Myrad must determine whether to trust or not. Are they friends, foes, or someone in between being swept along in this nightmarish but amazingly hopeful journey?

Although this book is written from the perspective of a young magi acolyte who is following the Star, it is not a fluffy Christmas book. It is an adventure book that I think would be enjoyed by men or women.

I highly recommend this book. Patrick Carr is one of the best writers that I've read in the last few years.

Genre: Historical Biblical Fiction
From the Publisher:
Fleeing for his life after his adoptive father is put to death by a ruthless Parthian queen, Myrad, a young magi acolyte, escapes the city. There he begins an epic journey filled with peril, close escapes, and dangerous battles. Over everything shines the dream of a star that Myrad can't forget and the promise that the world will never be the same.
★★★★★   It was amazing!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I use the Goodreads star system.

★               Did not like it

★★            It was okay

★★★         Liked it

★★★★      Really liked it

★★★★★   It was amazing

The Must Have Buttery Chocolate Chip Cookies for Every Baker's Recipe Box

I've been baking cookies since I was ten or eleven years old. Before that, I was up on a chair helping my mom stir and mix and lick the beaters. We didn't worry about raw cookie dough in those days. ~smile~ I was in charge of making sugar cookies as soon as I learned how. I remember staying up late one night making eleven dozen sugar cookies for my mom to take to work the next morning for her birthday treats. It was my gift to her. I couldn't have been more than ten or eleven at the time. 

Later, in my teen years, I began making chocolate chip cookies. I don't remember where the recipe came from. The only copy I had was in my own handwriting. I made the cookies often. The family liked them slightly underdone, and they would eat them right off the cookie sheet before they finished cooling. I only had two brothers, my mom, and my step-dad, but they loved cookies! 

I've changed the recipe a little over the years. I'm now using butter instead of Parkay margarine. I also find that I like the Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips best. Back in the olden days, I used Tollhouse or Bakers. You can use your favorite chips. I have made them with and without pecans. I've even made them without the chocolate chips. I substitute coconut and pecans. It's a nice basic recipe to play with. Any way I make them, my family loves them. But even more than the cookies, they like the dough. ~smile~ There's only one rule—you must use butter!

Laura Lane's Buttery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream the following together in a large bowl:

1 cup salted butter, softened 

1 cup white sugar

1 cup C & H dark brown sugar

Add:

2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat until fluffy.

In another bowl, combine:

3 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Add dry to wet ingredients and mix just until combined.*

Add:

12 oz Ghiradelli, Hershey's, or Toll House chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans optional

I use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to make uniform cookies twelve to a cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes depending on whether you like them soft or crispy.

Now put some on a plate and enjoy with some tea or milk while you think about who you want to bless with a few!

Blessings to you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Thankful to Be Wife and Momma at Home
for my Husband and my Adult Children