JULY 4 ~ The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

Proverbs 4:18-27
18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I say;
    turn your ear to my words.
²¹ Do not let them out of your sight,
    keep them within your heart;
²² for they are life to those who find them
    and health to one’s whole body.
²³ Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.
²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
²⁶ Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil.

I love this word picture...the path of the righteous is like the morning sun...bright, dazzling, radiant, full of hope and promise, cheery...shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Wisdom's words are life and health...

Keep my eyes looking straight ahead, fixing my gaze directly before me...not to the right or left, watching what others are doing.  Sigh.  That's really where I mess up and miss God's glimmers in my life.  I'm so busy trying to keep up with her, or this and that, I end up struggling through the daily journey instead of enjoy the ride...MY ride.  I don't want to be like that.  I'm tired of it.  I want to be filled with JOY, and PEACE, and HOPE, and PEACE.  Did I already say that?  I think I'm always so concerned with measuring up somehow, somewhere that I miss the blessing of the journey.  Lord, please change me...please help me to just find my purpose in YOU and know Your pleasure in having me as your daughter. 



***********************************
I bought a new flag.  Ours has been tattered for years, and because I am a true patriot and refuse to fly a tattered flag, I flew none.  Is that truly patriotic?  It's not that I meant to go so long without a flag, it's just that it never happened until now.

But now...NOW we will fly our flag!  It's my husband's day off and he mounted the bracket.  Now we can let Old Glory wave...she's not big, but she's our Grand Old Flag!

We were so excited to spend the weekend of the 4th with my parents, and in the name of America, I made a homemade apple pie...Pecan Praline apple pie, to be exact!  Oh. My. Yumminess!!!  I can't share the recipe, because I combined about 3 different ones, but one day I'll write it out so it can be an official recipe.  My hubby calls me "Suzie Makeover" for a reason, for sure!

Granny Smiths, Galas, and Fujis...the perfect blend of sweet and tart, and so many delicious textures and so much flavor!

Then, I made a Caprese Bruschetta salad, too...

I used heirloom cherry tomatoes and served it with toasty Italian baguettes. The burst of the tomatoes, the zingy sweetness of the balsamic, and the brightness of the fresh basil all make the taste buds sing.  You don't really need the bread...I could just drink the stuff!  I basically used this recipe from For the Love of Cooking, but substituted the white balsamic vinegar for regular, and continued adjusting flavors to taste.  Enjoy! 

As you may well know, we'll be "back on the THM wagon" again on Monday, but for now...what a delightfully delicious diversion!