Good Day friends and family. I trust that you are all having a wonderful day in the Lord. It's a beautiful day in my part of the world. The sun is shining brightly and the temperature is about 55 degrees. A little chilly, but I don't mind that.

This past weekend was so busy! I kept going non-stop. So today is kinda a "chill-out" day. But even though the weekend was jam packed, I had a wonderful time.

Everything started out with Thanksgiving. That was a great day. I started out with a trip to the store to fetch the newspaper all filled with sales papers for black Friday. I also had to do a bit of running around to look for a baster for mama. I could not find one, but she said that was fine.

After I returned home, I looked through the sales papers and mapped out my black friday shopping. After I wrapped up Fridays planning, I went to help my mom in the kitchen. Our family arrived about noon and we sat down to eat about one-thirty. Overall, it was a wonderful day.

Friday started out bright and early about 2:15. (a bit crazy I know) I was singing around and dancing to Christmas songs in order to wake up. Me, my mom, my sis, and cuz left the house about 3 and got to the mall at 3:45. There was a line around Penney's even at that time. But we did not get out of the vehicle until they opened the doors. It was too cold to wait outside!

My shopping spree went very well. The lines were not all that bad. Most people were friendly, except wal-mart, and we left there as soon as we walked in. The only place I waited in line at was Kohls. And that line was to the back of the store. But it was a considerably fast moving line.

I ended up with a nice coat, two skirts, 4 shirts, a pair of pants, and a pair of boots for about $250. If they had not been on sale, all of that would have been about $400 or more. So I think I hit some pretty good deals. It was a succesful shopping day!

Saturday I went to work from 7 to 12. Thankfully it was not that busy, because I was draggin! After I got out of work, I had to go straight to my church to help decorate for Christmas.

The lady in charge of decorating the church, aproached me about 3 weeks ago and asked me to assist her in the decorating. I am so thankful for this opportunity. I have been racking my brain and praying the Lord would show me a way to serve Him at church. And a bit later, she asks me to be her assistant! I am so thankful that the Lord has provided a way for me to serve Him! He always answers prayers when he wants to. So always wait on Him!

Back to the decorating. The color scheme for the tree is burgundy and gold. It is so beautiful. Ms. J outdid herself in choosing the decorations. We also put up real pine swags in the windows with gold bows. In a week or so, the entire front will be decorated in poinsettas, place in honor or memory of loved ones in the church. It will be so beautiful when it is completly finshed.

Sunday was church day. The sermon was wonderful. I do appreciate the time our pastor takes to ensure the word of God is preached ever Sunday.

Well, I better go now, its time to enjoy lunch! I pray you have a wnderful day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

Good Morning friends and family! It's 2:30 am and a wonderful day! It's Black Friday and I am on my way to the mall! Right now I am dancing and singing around to Christmas music!( I am trying to wake up)

I am so excited about going shopping! I love to shop! Especially when there are great deals! Just thought I would let everyone know!

Before I do anymore singing or dancing. I need to share with you a Psalms. Because we are to put the LORD first in evrything that we do, no mater what!

1	Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous:          for praise is comely for the upright.
2	Praise the LORD with harp:          sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
3	Sing unto him a new song;          play skilfully with a loud noise.
4	For the word of the LORD is right;          and all his works are done in truth.
5	He loveth righteousness and judgment:          the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
6	By the word of the LORD were the heavens made;          and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7	He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap:          he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
8	Let all the earth fear the LORD:          let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9	For he spake, and it was done;          he commanded, and it stood fast.

Psalms 33

Enjoy your day, and may you remember to put the LORD in it FIRST!!!!

Shycountrygal

I just wanted to stop by today and wish everyone a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!  Stuff yourself and enjoy the weekend!

God Bless!

Shycountrygal

Good day friends and family! I pray that you are all having a wonderful day in the Lord. It certainly has been a chilly one in my part of the world. The temperature only reached a frigid 45 degrees. We even topped it off with a wind chill in the thirties. We are not used to that type of weather around here. I would not mind the cold so much if it were snowing, but it certaily doesn't look like its going to do that any time soon. But I am thankful for the cool weather none the less.

Well, we all know what next Thursday is. Its Thanksgiving! I am so excited about that day. I believe, that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The smell of pumpkin pie in the oven, the creamy mashed potatos, and the plump turkey, roasting in the oven. I'm making myself hungry thinking about it!

But before you dress and carve that oh, so wonderful fowl, I thought I would give you some fun and interesting facts on Ole'Tom. I hope you enjoy them!

• At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward".
• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving—that's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year. American per capita consumption of turkeys has soared from 8.3 pounds in 1975 to 18.5 pounds in 1997. Ten years later, the number has dropped slightly in 2007 to 17.5 pounds.
• In 2007, more than 260 million turkeys were raised with an average liveweight per bird of 28 pounds with nearly 6 billion pounds of turkey processed. By contrast, in 1970, only 105 million birds were raised with an average liveweight of 17 pounds and 1.5 billion pounds processed.
• In 2002, retail sales of turkey was approximately $3.6 billion. Forecasts for 2008 expect sales to reach $4.3 billion.
• Age is a determining factor in taste. Old, large males are preferable to young toms (males) as tom meat is stringy. The opposite is true for females: old hens are tougher birds.
• A turkey under sixteen weeks of age is called a fryer, while a young roaster is five to seven months old.
• Turkeys are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere.
• Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears. They can also see in color, and have excellent visual acuity and a wide field of vision (about 270 degrees), which makes sneaking up on them difficult. However, turkeys have a poor sense of smell (what's cooking?), but an excellent sense of taste.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys, however, can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground.
• Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees.
• Turkeys can have heart attacks: turkeys in fields near the Air Force test areas over which the sound barrier was broken were known to drop dead from the shock of passing jets
• The ballroom dance known as the Turkey Trot was named for the short, jerky steps a turkey makes.

 I pray that you have a wonderful day in the Lord! Stay Warm!

Shycountrygal

Good Day friends and family! I trust that you are wonderful day in the Lord. But guess what?! We have only 10 days until Thanksgiving! Wow! I can hardly believe it! Already our family is preparing dinner for that wonderful day. I am so looking forward to it.

I have always enjoyed the time leading up to Thanksgiving. My mom always makes it special by planning crafts and including our opinionsone the dinner menu. So today I thought I would share one of the crafts that she did with me when I was younger. It's called, a thankful tree.

So here is what you need- A bare tree branch, a piece of foam, a small clay pot, sand, string, constuction paper and a marker.

Start out with your construction paper. Trace and cut out leaf shapes. On each leaf shape write down something you are thankful for. Next tie string to the leaves.

After you have the string tied to the leaves, hang the leaves on the branch.

The next thing you will need, is your tree branch, clay pot and foam. Stick your piece of foam in the clay pot. Then stick the brach into the piece of foam. 

After you have the tree branch securley in the foam, place your sand all around the foam and branch. And voila! You have a thakful tree.

These thakful trees make great centerpieces at Thanksgiving. The best part of all, is that it is a project the entire family can work on together. So go ahead and make some long lasting memories together!

May you have a great day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

Good evening friends and family! I trust that you are having a wonderful day in the Lord! It was a beautiful day today. It was partly cloudy and about 68 degrees. Tommorow however is supposed to be rainy and about 70. But I l enjoy a rainy day every now and then.

Well, this evening I thought I would post some interesting facts that I found about my favorite bird, the chicken. I hope you enjoy these. I sure enjoyed reading these. So here they are.

Little Known Chicken Fact #1 ~
Chicken are pretty fast. The chicken can travel up to 9 miles per hour when it wants to.

Little Known Chicken Fact #2 ~
The largest ever recorded chicken egg weighed nearly 12 ounces, and measured 12.25 inches around.

Little Known Chicken Fact #3 ~
Chicken language has real meanings. The birds give different alarm calls depending on which type of predator is threatening them.

Little Known Chicken Fact #4 ~
There are more chickens on Earth than there are humans.

Little Known Chicken Fact #5 ~
Chickens can cross breed with turkeys. The result is called a 'Turkin'.

Little Known Chicken Fact #6 ~
There are four cities in the United States that have the word "chicken" in their name: Chicken, Alaska; Chicken Bristle, Illinois; Chicken Bristle, Kentucky; and Chicken Town, Pennsylvania.

Little Known Chicken Fact #7 ~
The greatest number of yolks ever found in a single chicken egg was nine!

Little Known Chicken Fact #8 ~
Chickens experience REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. (I wonder what they dream about?)

Little Known Chicken Fact #10 ~
In Gainesville, Georgia, (the chicken capital of the world), a local ordinance makes it illegal to eat your chicken with a fork.

Little Known Chicken Fact #11 ~
The waste produced by one chicken in its lifetime can supply enough electricity to run a 100 watt bulb for five hours.

Little Known Chicken Fact #12 ~
China has the most people in the world, *and* also has the most chickens. There are over 3,000,000,000 chickens in China! (The United States has only 450 million.)

Little Known Chicken Fact #13 ~
The longest recorded distance flown by any chicken was 301.5 feet.

Little Known Chicken Fact #14 ~
The record for laying the most eggs in one day was seven.

Little Known Chicken Fact #15 ~
There are more chickens in the world than there are of any other domesticated bird. In fact, there's more than one chicken for every human on the face of this earth.

Little Known Chicken Fact #16 ~
Chickens can fly, but not for long. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is only thirteen seconds.

Little Known Chicken Fact #17 ~
A chicken will lay bigger and stronger eggs if you adjust the lighting in their cages to make them think each day is 28 hours long, instead of 24.

Little Known Chicken Fact #18 ~
Chickens eggs come in colors sometimes, (other than white and brown). Some breeds lay eggs in shades of blue or green. Ready-made Easter Eggs!

Little Known Chicken Fact #19 ~
The fear of chickens is called 'Alektorophobia'.

Little Known Chicken Fact #20 ~
Laid head to claw, all the chickens consumed from KFC worldwide would circle the Earth at the equator 11 times.

I hope you have a wonderful day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

Good morning friends and family! I pray that you are having a wonderful morning in your part of the world. It's a gorgeous autumn day here in North Carolina. It's bright and sunny, and the temperature is about 68 degrees. Perfect weather!

The leaves outside are absolutley beautiful this year. I don't remember them being this beautiful in a long time. There are so many shades of yellow, orange, red, and even purple. I will be sad to see them go. It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only 20 days away! That means there are only 21 days to Black Friday! That's one of my favorite days of the year. That's normally when I will get everyone's presents, and a few for myself.

Another thing, there are only 45 days to Christmas! At my work yesterday, I spent most of my time putting up Christmas decor. My boss is a Christmas fanatic! She wants to decorate everything! I'm like that too. I went to Waly World yesterday and bought a few decorations myself. But I won't put them up until Thanksgiving. I'm even going to have fun decorating my blog! I have a list of about 42 songs and counting to add, and some pictures, and some blinkies. It's going to take me awhile to decide on everything I want to add.

But today I thought I would share with you some verses in Psalms, that I read this morning. I pray that you will take it to heart. They are from Psalms 146, verses 1 and 2.

Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord oh my soul. While I live I will praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Those are some beautiful verses, that we all need to remember. I hope you have a beautiful day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

Dear friends and family, this is a sad day in our nations history. America has lost its love of God and his righteousness. A man that has no respect for the common man, or for life itself, has been elected to office of the president.The part I find the saddest though, is that the group that voted him in, were my generation.

Yes, I know that God is in control of setting up rulers, but he used my age group to do it. I am thouroghly disgusted with the way my age group voted! They wanted a celebrity, someone that made them "feel good". They wanted "change". Well they are going to get it! When all of their rights have been taken away, what are they going to say then.

But then again, they probably won't give a care about their rights as American citizens. The only thing they care about are their Abercrombie clothes and their high and mighty celebrities! They care nothing of God and His ways. And one day soon they will be the ones in charge of this country.

But I do realize not everyone in my age bracket thinks that way. I myself have used the brain the Lord gave me and I don't follow the "popular" crowd. We need more people in my generation that are willing to stand up for God's law! We need them to be willing to stand against the tide and face the storm of unrighteousness. I pray that God will inspire more young people to be seperate from the world and be willing to follow his commandments.

But the Lord is good. He will always be with us and never leave us or forsake us. I was just so thrilled yesterday that I had the opportunity to vote for the first time! I was so happy and thankful I was given that privelege. I was proud to vote! Isn't that what so many of our service men and women have died for? To give us that freedom and liberty?! I got myself a little "I Voted" sticker. I always wanted one when I was younger. I aked my mom, can we just go to the Waly World and just walk around and show off my sticker. She said no of course. It was 5 pm. I guess I am just weird like that!

Well, I pray that you have a great and happy day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

 Hi everyone! Sorry I have not posted in about a week, maybe two. I have been at work what seems like forever. They have me working between 35 and 40 hours a week now, so I haven't had much time for anything. But I am thankful that I have been given more hours. The more I work, the sooner I can get a car, and the sooner I can get a car, the sooner I can get a better job. So the Lord has it all worked out in his plan.

I have been struggling of late though. The Lord is putting me through a serious time of testing I believe. I'm not going to go into detail right now, but what I am going through right now hurts more than anything I have felt before. I try not to think of it, but I end up thinking of it anyway, and I get into what I call a "weepy mood". But I know God is here with me and he promises never to leave or forsake you, no matter what. I just have to learn to trust him at this difficult time right now.

My prayer is that the Lord will help me to deal with the situation and to trust Him. He is all that I need, and I have to learn that. It just hurts so bad! Lord hear my cry, just as David prayed when he wrote the Psalms.

Psalms has been a great comfort for me. I see what David wrote, and I can realte to his cries. And it makes me realize that God is working through my life, even though it feels as if he has forsaken me. God is good! He knows what he is doing right now, and I have to trust Him.

Don't let my sad mood get you down though. When I stop and count my blessings, I realize God has done so much for me! He has given me a wonderful mother, father, brother and sister. He has blessed me with 13 wonderful chickens, and a nice warm home on this chilly evening. I am truly blessed, when I look at the state I could be in. I could have no family, no pets, and no home or job. So thank-you Lord for all the wonderful things you do!

I pray that you have a wonderful day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

Hello Friends and family! I pray that everything is going well in your part of the world. Its a beautiful day the Lord has given us in North Carolina. The sun is shining brightly and the temperature is about 62. I am so thankful that it has finally become cooler. I was tired of those humid, 90 degree days.

I thought today I would post one of my favorite cake recipes. It is called Amish Blueberry cake. Its a great way to enjoy all those blueberries you have stored up from the summer months. You can also use frozen berries from the grocery store. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Topping- 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar,1/3 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Cake batter- 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups milk, 2 cups flour, 2 tsp.

                       baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 cups blueberries

Combine topping ingredients with fork or pastry cutter. Crumble over cake batter.

Cream together sugar, oil, and egg, until lemon colored. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir into creamed mixture. Gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into greased and floured 9x9 square pan. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 375 degrees.

This cake is delicious served warm or after it has been refrigerated overnight. I enjoy it as a great breakfast treat, since it is not that sweet.

Until next time, Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Shycountrygal

Welcome friends and family! Sorry I have not posted in a while. I have been busy this past week and weekend. This is the first day I have been able to just chill out and rest. but it has been an enjoyable week, and I can't complain about that.

So what have I been up to since last week? Well last Wednesday, me and my family went on our annual Spot fishing trip. I love this yearly trip. Its a great opportunity to spend time with family, and to enjoy Gods wonderful creation, the ocean. This years trip was a great success. We caught 150 fish. That was just the amount that we needed to give our church a fish fry. Thank-you Lord for always meeting needs!

We all crashed when we got home Thursday nite. It was exhausting, but so much fun. Friday was spent cleaning the house before I went to work. I spent most of the nite there preparing for Saturday morning. It was the start of hunting season.

You see, the restaraunt I work at is pretty dead throughout the year, but come October, its rockin. We are located in a remote area that is surrounded by 3 or 4 hunting clubs, plus heavily wooded forests. So its prime hunting territory. I don't mind the hunters so much. Most are kind and tip excellently. But there are those that need to watch their manners. Meaning. they need to stop hitting on the waitress. But thank the Lord, I haven't had much of problem with that so far.

I was the only one waiting tables and running the register. So I made a great amount of tips. Although I thought I was gonna loose my mind for a while there. Especially when 8 tables decided to come in all at once. But with a lot of prayer and the Lords help, I was able to keep my calm. So it was not that bad a day after all.

Sunday was church day. I had a very encouraging Sunday school lesson. The topic was on trusting God and not worrying about anything. I have a severe problem with that. I worry about nearly evrything. From friends to work. But, I need to realize God is in control of everything and he will provide when He sees fit. He knows best what I need in my life right now.

Well, I think I'll go enjoy the rest of the evening outdoors now. Its absolutle beautiful right now with the way the sun is setting on the autumn colors. I believe I will go take a long walk.

Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

Shycontrygal

Good afternoon friends and family. I trust that you all are having a wonderful day in the Lord. It's a beautiful day here in my neck of the woods. The sun is shining brightly and it is about 80 degrees outside. Last night was just as beautiful. There was a full moon and you could see everything! The shadows from the trees were absolutley gorgeous!

 I am in just such a thankful mood today, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite passages of scripture. It comes from Psalms 100. I hope and pray the Lord will encourage you through it.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you!

Shycountrygal 

Hello. Its my second entry and I am so excited about this! I want to thank everyone that has left such welcoming comments for me. Its nice to find a place where everyone is so welcoming. In my last entry I wrote a brief intro on myself. I thought I would take the time this evening to introduce you to my pride and joy, my chickens.

I know that some of you may only consider chickens as a food source. I myself enjoy a juicy piece of grilled chicken, when I am given the chance. But I have found that chickens can serve a greater purpose, pets! You may be thinking, how can an animal as small and insignfigent as a chicken make a great pet? But, I assure you myself, that chickens are wonderful pets. They are very entertaning and humorous. So let me introduce you to the flock now.

First up, is Chocolate. I will have to admit, she is my favorite. She is a 4 1/2 year old Black Star, and has been a very faithful egg layer. She has an independent spirit. She takes no authority from the head rooster. Her favorite area to roam on the hometead, are the woods behind the coop.

Next is Talladega, or Dega for short. She is a 3 1/2 year old Black Mincora, and my second favorite. She has also been a very faithful layer over the years. Dega loves to talk. She a distinct voice separate from the other birds, so you can always hear her running her mouth when she wants to come out the coop.

Third are the Bad Children. These are our eight, red star layers. We call them the bad children because they are always getting into what they ought not to. Like DM flower bed, or the broccoli patch, even snacking on the blueberry bushes!

Then, there are the roosters. Their names are Cup and Zale. Cup is the oldest rooster and the most feisty. He is always wanting to pick a fight with someone or something. Zale, is our big Rhode Island Red rooster. He's a big baby, and afraid of his own shadow!

Oh! I almost forgot about my two showbirds! Their names are Darth Vader and Mrs. Dee. They are 4 year old Black Cochin bantams. Mrs. Dee hold a special place in my heart also. She has been the only one of our hens to hatch some babies for us. She hatched 4 this past summer.

Well, thats about it! You'll be hearing me talking about my chickens even more in the future. But for now I hope maybe I have inspired you to possibly purchase a pet chicken of your own. They are fairly simple to keep, as long as you give them a clean loving home.

Until next time, May God Bless You!

Shycountrygal

Hi! I'm new to the blogosphere. So right now I thought I would start out by talking about myself.I am a recent homeschool graduate and I am prayin God will show me what to do with my life. I currently work at a local restraunt as a waitress/cook. I love fishin, sewing, workin around my chickens, and spendin time in Gods word. I also like to cook, when I get in the mood. ;)

Right now I work about 20 hours a week at the restraunt. Until the Lord blesses me with a daytime job, I help my mom keep the house up. When I am not busy with housework, I take my spare time and spend it at the feet of Jesus, by studyin' His Word. 

Until next time, may God Bless you!

Shycountrygal