Chocolate-Fig Pudding

 Chocolate-Fig Pudding

Oh, bring us some figgy pudding!

In your DRY Vita-Mix container

Grind: 1 c almonds + 10 apricot seeds - Break open the apricot pit with a nut cracker. The seed will look like an almond.

In your WET Vita-Mix container blend well:

10 figs 

⅓ c. cocoa

⅓ c. carob

2 T vanilla

add powdered almonds & apricot pits

opt. add 2 T coconut oil or 2 T Concentrated Coconut Cream.

Fill blender with soy milk OR water and two droppers of Stevia sweetener

Blend and pour into 8 cups.

.

Chill & enjoy.

Here are an evaluation of the health qualities of figs:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=24

Raw Almonds Available @ $7 per lb.

Almonds are a great source of vitamin E. 25g provides 70% of the recommended daily allowance. They also have good amounts of magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, fibre and healthy monounsaturated fat. They contain more calcium than any other nut. Health Benefits of Almonds: High Protein, Heart-Friendly and a Good Diet Aid. 

All Boxes are USPS 2-3 day Priority - 

Regional Rate is usually the lowest shipping cost. 

Regional Rate Box A  

Holds 8 lbs almonds x $7 = $56 + shipping

$5.44 Most of Ca.

$5,84 to Idaho 

$7.55 to Oregon, 

$7.55 to Colorado

$7.55 to Montana 

$8.26 to Kansas, 

$8.98 to Missouri

Standard: 10-1/8" x 7-1/8" x 5" 

Medium Flat Rate Box is $11.30

12 lb almonds x $7= $84 + $11.30 shipping - Total $95.30    

 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2

Regional Rate Box B holds 14 lbs. almonds x $7 = $98.00 + shipping

$7.25 for most of Ca.   

$8.10 to Oregon, 

$10.66 to New Mexico, 

$14.42 to Missouri

12-1/4" x 10-1/2" x 5-1/2" 

Large Flat Rate Box is $15.80 

18 lbs. almonds  x $7 = $126 + $15.80 shipping = $141.80

12 1/4" x 12 1/4" x 6" 

Please E-mail your address to dneseppi@startmail.com

We usually ship within 24 hours.

We will e-mail our address for you to send a check.

Elisabeth Elliott Gren

Elisabeth Elliot (née Howard; born December 21, 1926) died June 15, 2015 at the age of 88.

I once wrote to Elisabeth Elliot. Her handwritten response was this: 

"For the Seppis, 

with gratitude for your 

encouraging words. 

Elisabeth Elliot Grim”

and imprinted on the reverse side was her prayer: 

Loving Lord & Heavenly Father I offer up today all that I am, all that I have, all that I do, and all that I suffer, to be Yours today and Yours forever. Give me grace, Lord to do all that I know of Your holy will. Purify my heart, sanctify my thinking, correct my desires. Teach me, in all of today's work and trouble and joy, to respond with honest praise, simple trust, and instant obedience, that my life may be in truth a living sacrifice, by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, my Master and my all. Amen. 

Elisabeth Elliott Gren

Here’s a conglomeration of what I’ve found on the internet about Elisabeth Elliott today:
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/peaches-in-paradise

“We are women, and my plea is Let me be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give me, receiving with both hands and with all my heart whatever that is.”   

Christian higher education, trotting happily along in the train of feminist crusaders, is willing and eager to treat the subject of feminism, but gags on the word femininity. Maybe it regards the subject as trivial or unworthy of academic inquiry. Maybe the real reason is that its basic premise is feminism. Therefore it simply cannot cope with femininity.

Elisabeth Elliot is a Christian author and speaker. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca (now known as Huaorani) of eastern Ecuador. She later spent two years as a missionary to the tribe members who killed her husband. Returning to the United States after many years in South America, she became widely known as the author of over twenty books and as a speaker in constant demand. Elliot toured the country, sharing her knowledge and experience, well into her seventies.

“God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful ― 'severe mercies' at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.” ―Elisabeth Elliot

Submit radically to God, and do what is right no matter what. Put your love life on the altar and keep it there until God takes it off. Suffering is normal. Have you no scars, no wounds, with Jesus on the Calvary road?

“Pursue obedience with all your might.” ~EE

 Elisabeth made famous an anonymous poem that seems to describe her own life of perseverance, as two of her three husbands preceded her in death:

At an old English parsonage down by the sea,
there came in the twilight a message to me.
Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven that,
as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.

And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
like a low inspiration, ‘Do the next thing.’
Many a questioning, many a fear,
many a doubt hath its quieting here.

Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
time, opportunity, guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrow, child of the King,
trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer,
do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
who placed it before thee with earnest command.

Stayed on omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,
leave all resultings, do the next thing.
Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
working or suffering be thy demeanor,
in His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
the light of His countenance, be thy psalm.
Do the next thing.

Here is her brief testimony, told in her typically understated way:
My parents were missionaries in Belgium where I was born. When I was a few months old, we came to the U.S. and lived in Germantown, not far from Philadelphia, where my father became an editor of the Sunday School Times. . . .

Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.

A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category—a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.

Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.

After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.

Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.

She embraced the secret to practical Christianity, the very thing we today are most disinclined to: “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).  Oh, may we not lose our way but follow this woman into the death that cannot die! ~Ray Ortland

"“The routines of housework and of mothering may be seen as a kind of death, and it is appropriate that they should be, for they offer the chance, day after day, to lay down one’s life for others. Then they are no longer routines. By being done with love and offered up to God with praise, they are thereby hallowed as the vessels of the tabernacle were hallowed–not because they were different from other vessels in quality or function, but because they were offered to God. A mother’s part in sustaining the life of her children and making it pleasant and comfortable is no triviality. It calls for self-sacrifice and humility, but it is the route, as was the humiliation of Jesus, to glory.” -EE

http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2015/06/portrait-of-a-courageous-woman-of-god-elisabeth-elliot.html?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

In Memory of the recent Passing of Samuel Blumenfeld

David & I (Esther) were public school teachers debating over joining the Teacher's union. We read his book: NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education and that settled the conflict. Then we got to hear Samuel L Blumenfeld​ speak. He was dynamic.

Samuel L. Blumenfeld passed from this life today, June 1, 2015. He wrote the book all of my siblings and I learned to read from. My dad also wore out many copies of Alpha-Phonics teaching his fifth and sixth graders who were behind or "dyslexic." I remember going with him to tutor a young man on "the other side of the tracks." The student's mother showed us a bullet hole through their curtain. She had just had the front window replaced. The mother was thrilled with her son's progress in reading, praising my dad. Dad always gave phonics the credit.

Both were public school teachers, they wanted to study education for their own children. A few months later they heard an ad on Christian radio that Blumenfeld was speaking nearby. He was an exuberant speaker who had recently come to faith in Christ through his study of American education and realized the role of Christianity promoting literacy. Blumenfeld had a passion for literacy having tried to teach his mother to read. A Jewish immigrant and intelligent woman, she was never able to "get it" and went to her grave never learning to read English. After her death, Blumenfeld realized that while he tried to teach her the "look say" memorizing whole word method of reading, English should be taught phonetically; memorizing the sounds of letters and letter groups. His other books showed how education had been deliberately dumbed down to create a class of Americans who follow and don't have the confidence or understanding to lead. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfIN9J7Y9us

Mr. Blumenfeld wrote and published nearly to the end of his life, publishing his last book last year. ~Regina

Available from Amazon.com

Samuel Blumenfeld has blessed us greatly through his teaching and books, especially NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education, Is Public Education Necessary?, Alpha Phonics, How to Tutor and many others. David & I (Esther) first heard him speak when out firstborn, Regina, was crawling. We love this man and pray many will read his books. These are full of history giving wisdom to us all. 

NEA: Trojan Horse

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Samuel+L+Blumenfeld&sts=t&tn=NEA%3A+Trojan+Horse+in+American+Education

Alpha-Phonics:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=13701768195&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26tn%3DAlpha+Phonics%26an%3DBlumenfeld

Is Public Education Necessary?

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=Is+Public+Education+Necessary%3F&sts=t&x=0&y=0

Buddy

Jodavid misses Melody, so he plays her music.

It's dessert time as we celebrate Jodavid's 18th Birthday.

Jodavid passed his driving test perfectly!

Here's Henry's Fri. night movie trailer you may not have seen.

Flashlight on Your Smart Phone

 This report says get a flashlight on Smartphones under 500kb. The 1.2 MB and larger are malware used to spy on phones to get bank info etc.

Oppose TTP, Trade Promotional Authority & the TTIP, Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

We pray God will stop TPP and use this moment to wake up America to stand for God, Family and Country!  

If instituted, the TPP’s regime would trample over individual rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs.  

Honey

 Raw Honey 

8 oz. honey bear is $4. 

2 lb. honey bear is $12.

6 lb. Honey is $30.

Regional Rate A Estimated shipping costs: 

$5.32 Bakersfield/Fresno

$5.44 for Central Calif.

$5.84 to Idaho

$7.55 to Oregon, Colorado or New Mexico 

$8.26 to Kansas 

$8.98 to Missouri

Regional Rate A Box holds up to 

two - 6 lb. Honey

or  3 - 2 lb. Papa Bears and 4 - 8 oz. Baby Bears

or 15 - 8 oz. Baby Bears 

Regional Rate Box B Approximate Shipping Costs

Bakersfield to Fresno $6.16
$7.25  Central Ca.   $8.10 to Oregon, 

$10.66 to New Mexico, $14.42 to Missouri

Regional Rate B Shipping Box holds up to 

6 - two lbs. Papa Bears + 6 - eight oz. Baby Bears

or 3 six lb containers of honey

Please e-mail your address with orders to dneseppi@aol.com

We'll give you an address to send a check.

When it is in the mail, please let us know.

We usually ship within 24 hours.

Godly Order

 We need to be suspicious of the propaganda about how wonderfully accurate these "forensic evidence" labs are. In over 95% of crime cases the FBI "overstated" lab evidence in favor of the prosecution!  

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. ~ Proverbs 21:3

Church progress—or church growth—should be measured by the decline of wickedness and the restoration of justice. The purpose of dominion is to restore godly justice in order that the world order might glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31).

Churches on every corner, or mass participation in liturgy, hardly give evidence to a restoration of justice. In fact, the average man is angered by the great pomp and visibility of the church. Why? Because for all the prowess of the institutional church, the world remains unjust—faith without justice is dead.

Jackson

Lance & Megan  with 

 handsome little Jackson

We are blessed.

Household Baptism, The Church is Israel Now

You did not dance!

Jim's teaching is well worth listening to:

Trinity Covenant Church Sermons

"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' ~Matthew 11:16-17

Is the Name “Easter” of Pagan Origin?

Is the Name “Easter” of Pagan Origin? | Answers in Genesis

“Contrary to suggesting a connection to a Saxon goddess, some have suggested Easter finds its root in the German word for resurrection—auferstehung. In a footnote to his translation of the work of Eusebius, Christian F. Cruse defended the usage of the word Easter:

Our English word Passover, happily, in sound and sense, almost corresponds to the Hebrew [pesach], of which is a translation. Exod. Xii. 27. The Greek pascha, formed from the Hebrew, is the name of the Jewish festival, applied invariably in the primitive church to designate the festival of the Lord’s resurrection, which took place at the time of the passover. Our word Easter is of Saxon origin, and of precisely the same import with its German cognate Ostern. The latter is derived from the old Teutonic form of auferstehn, Auferstehung, i. e. resurrection. The name Easter is undoubtedly preferable to pascha or passover, but the latter was the primitive name.”

Is the date of Easter Christian?

"It appears clear from the earliest writings of the church fathers that the Resurrection was almost universally celebrated by the church...Polycarp understood from the Apostle John that the celebration was to be observed from the date of Nisan 14, while the tradition of the Western Church was to celebrate on the Sunday following the Passover."  

https://answersingenesis.org/holidays/easter/is-the-date-of-easter-of-pagan-origin/

Walking in the Spirit

If we say, "God told me..." is that a biblical statement? Let us walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the deeds of the flesh. [Please bear with the first 60 seconds. David got off to a slow start, but the teaching is excellent.] Here's David's teaching from today:

Trinity Covenant Church Sermons

Theonomy ~Dr. Greg Bahnsen

Dr. Van Til taught us that “There is no alternative but that of theonomy and autonomy.

What Is "Theonomy"? - The American Vision

1 Corinthians 7:19 (NKJV) 

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, 

but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.

Muhammad or Jesus

"Wherever you find the infidels, kill them, for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection. Know that paradise is under the shade of the swords." Muhammad of Mecca

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Jesus of Nazareth

The quotes characterize the core teaching of Muhammad on the one hand and Christ on the other. As for what might a Muslim say, that would entirely depend on whether he or she were a Sunni, a Shia, a Wahhabi, a Salafi, or a Sufi--as well as whether or not he or she were actually familiar with the Koran (like Biblical illiteracy among Christians, Koranic illiteracy among Muslims is rampant). ~George Grant

A Child is Born

-he is free.

He is 

Exiled to a land called

Nursery School

See video here:

https://vimeo.com/60770142

Valentine

To Polly, who has been with me from the beginning--from the summer we courted in Hunter Library to the summer I graduated: lover, wife, mother of my children, mentor, friend, and my favorite Puritan...a woman of singular virtue, prudence, modesty, and piety, and specially beloved and honored of all...I will say nothing of my love to thee and of my longing desires towards thee, thou knowest my heart. ~ John Winthrop to his wife. From Boston, Nov. 29, 1630.

Whence are we to find words enough fully to tell the happiness of that marriage which the church cements...What kind of yoke is that of two believers, partakers of one hope, one desire, one discipline, one and the same service? Both are brethren, both fellow servants, no difference of spirit or flesh; nay, they are truly 'two in one flesh.' Where the flesh is one, one is the spirit too. Together they pray...together perform their fasts; mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually sustaining...equally are they found in the church of God; equally at the banquet of God; equally in straits, in persecutions, in refreshments. Neither hides anything from the other...There is no stealthy singing, no trembling greeting...Between the two echo psalms and hymns; and they mutually challenge each other as to which shall better chant to their Lord. Such things, when Christ sees and hears, he joys. -Tertullian, "To His Wife", c. 207 A.D."

Foods that Heal

7 Foods to Prevent an Enlarged Prostate

Men who ate a lot of cereals and some types of meats had an increased benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH risk. A diet that is low in starches and meats, and high in vegetables and polyunsaturated fats seems to be best for preventing BPH and relieving its symptoms.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer affecting men but soy products such as soy milk, tofu and tempeh can reduce the risk of this cancer by as much as 70%. 

Enlarged Prostrate: http://www.healthline.com/health-sl…/enlarged-prostate-diet…

Zinc: Sesame Seeds, pumpkin seed, almonds, adzuki beans

Omega-3: walnuts, ground flax seed, kidney beans, salmon

Soy: Soymilk, soy yogurt, tofu, tempeh

Vit. C: Raw Bell Peppers, broccoli, caulaflour, Kale, Brussels Sprouts

Lycopene: Tomatoes
You can also get this carotenoid from watermelon, apricots, pink grapefruit, and papaya.

Avocados and other foods rich in beta-sitosterol which include pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, soybeans, and pecans.

Vegetables:  Eating more vegetables can help lower your risk of BPH. Green leafy vegetables are especially important because they are rich in antioxidants. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli also reduce the risk of prostate problems, including BPH and prostate cancer. People who eat onion and garlic regularly might also have a lower risk of BPH.

It is also treated with Saw Palmetto, Rye Grass Pollen Extract, Stinging Nettle

Millet & Milkshake Breakfast

Milkshake:  2T chia seed, 2T buckwheat, 2T ground almonds + the contents of a pro-biotic capsule soaked in a cup and a half of soymilk or water for 10-15 min. I sometimes combine these in a blender, capped with the lid overnight in the refrigerator. Soaked chia seed makes the milk shake thicker. Blend this with 2T Costco's Plant Protein Powder or 1T cocoa pwdr with  and a half banana. If you use water or skip the protein pwdr, you'll need the banana!

Millet: Boil 1 c water, add ¼ c millet + ⅛ t. salt per person. Cook over low heat till millet is done, about 20 min. Top the Millet with Ground Sesame Seed and Flax Seed, Mixed Raw Nuts, Costco's Frozen Three Berries, Cut Apples, 2T Hemp Seed and perhaps some Unsweetened Shredded Coconut. 

Mixed Raw Nuts: We buy bags of raw nuts: almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, pistachios also dried cranberries, toss these together and divide into sandwich ziplock bags and store in the freezer, so they are always handy for breakfast or a snack.

Covenant Theology/Household Baptism

Photo by Daniel Swanson

Covenant Theology sermon by Bob Needham at Trinity Covenant. Here he gives the Biblical foundation for Household Baptism. 

2015-01-04_Covenant_Theology_Bob_Needham

Oikos [Household] Baptism

At each step in the developing revelation, God promises, “I shall be your God, and you shall be my people.” This theme resounds over and over until it reaches its climax in the person of Jesus Christ--”God with us” (Matt. 1:23). 

The contintinunity of God’s redemptive plan, from one administration of the covenant of grace to the next, is the predominant theme of the whole Bible. This is covenant theology. Any failure to grasp and appreciate the essential unity of God’s purpose leads to confusion and misunderstanding. God’s redemptive plan is both comprehensive--embracing every area of life--and unified in purpose. 

~Robert Booth, Children of the Promise, 45

Grandchildren

Heart thief, Caleb, steals the show!

Is there room for just one more?

Celebrating Christmas

Let the whole militant Church of Christ be blessed; put power into all faithful ministries; convert this country; save it from abounding sin; let all the Nations of the Earth know the Lord! Bring the Church to break down all bonds of nationality, all limits of sects, & may we feel the blessed unity which is the very glory of the Church of Christ! Yea, let the whole Earth be filled with His glory! Our prayer can never cease until we reach this point: Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven! Nothing less than this can we ask for! ~Spurgeon

JOY to the world, the LORD is COME! Merry Christmas!

"He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy: He, The Word, without Whom all human eloquence is mute." ~Augustine

Friends invited us over for a dinner with sharing and singing.

Our telephone just gust got repaired. The line broke in a storm, so we have been without a land line for two weeks. There were others in our area with broken lines as well! Yet we thank God for the rain and even the fog after the dry spell. These ups and downs in the weather are normal. 

Family Gathering Jan. 1

Here's Mark Rushdoony on The Christian Christmas Tree:

  Publisher's Corner: The Christian Christmas Tree

We didn't get our Christmas tree up till Victor brought one home on Christmas Eve. Melody assured me that it was not too late since there are 12 days of Christmas beginning on Christmas Day and ending on Jan 6 Epiphany Celebration, the day the magi visited the Christ child. Our Romanian friends [as well as others from the East] celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6].

"This Epiphany, [celebration of the coming of the wise men, traditionally celebrated Jan. 6], rejoice in the world-wide victory of Christ and His salvation. Rejoice in the down payment given by the wise men, symbolizing the submission of the nations and their riches and cultures to our Savior King and His kingdom. This submission continues today and will advance victoriously until it is consummated in the new heaven and new earth." ~Peter B. 

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Revelation 21:23-26

Though we enjoy this movie, focusing on Mary & Joseph, Biblical betrothal was not arranged without the agreement of the couple. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meIDz98MFBs

David says, "It's the most realistic Bible times movie I've ever seen, by far."