It's in the cards

Don't try this at home

One suggestion for making family history more interesting to collect old family recipes. To kick it up a notch, try making a few of them!

My grandma had a reputation of being a good cook, and we've been able to gather some of her recipes. But somehow they never tasted quite the same as what Grandma made — until my cousin stumbled across the secret ingredient: brown sugar. It went in everything!

In fact, here's one of her favorites (perhaps not mine, however...):

Danish Red Cabbage
1 small head of red cabbage
1/3 cup of cider vinegar
1 small jar red currant jelly
1/2 cup brown sugar (see?)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter

Finely chop the cabbage. Simmer in covered pan with a small amount of water. Add other ingredients. Simmer one-half hour with the lid on. Remove the lid and continue to simmer until moisture is cooked off. Better if left to sit in juices overnight.

There you have it. My grandma's secret is out.

In the attic

My grandma had a storage room upstairs that had all kinds of cool things — like a valve trombone — and all kinds of stories that went with them. We have some of the photos, but we missed out on recording a lot of the stories. Rats!

Sketchbook: Back to School

It's time for school to start, so it got me thinking about the School of the Prophets.

Although the School of the Prophets has been the subject of a couple of cartoons (such as the first day or getting in trouble at), I wondered how they actually got there.

With all your might and zeal

It's encouraging to see so many people helping in Houston.

How can you help? Here are 7 ways. And, as the hymn says, don't forget to pray!

A place for everyone

When disaster strikes, there are lots of ways to help. Do what you can where you can — and remember, a little bit of fasting and prayer can't hurt!

Called to serve

Thousands of volunteers are helping in Texas, and many more are on their way. There are ways you can help, such as donating to relief organizations (see the links in Wednesday's post). Missionaries serving in the area will be deployed to help as soon as it is feasible.

If you can't donate, the very least you can do is send your prayers!