Prayer

As I read Ann Voskamp's blog this morning she was talking about a time when there was a drought on the farm and they were in desperate need of rain in order for the corn crop to produce.  It made me think of right now with the high temperatures and the little rain.  As they watched the rain, that would once again miss them, fall in the distance her husband said to her, 

  "He hears us.  He loves us.  He has us.  So whatever happens, He's good and we're good."

Some other statements she made about prayer were,

"We pray to the Lord knowing His answer is love."

"We pray to God to be prepared by God for a purpose of God."

"We don't pray to get more from God - we pray to become more in Christ."

"We pray because entering His presence is the answer to all our prayers."

"When your prayers look right into the face of Christ - every hopeless end turns into an endless hope."

Taste of Home Tuesday: Rattlesnake Bites

I found these Rattlesnake Bites on Pinterest and then again in the Taste of Home.  Justin and I really liked them and they were quick and easy.  The recipe makes a lot more then we needed so instead of using all of the filling I froze what I did not use for another time. 

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
3 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and chilies over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the cream cheese, cumin and chili powder. Cool slightly.
Separate crescent dough into 24 triangles. Place 1 tablespoon of beef mixture along the short end of each triangle; carefully roll up.
Place point side down 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 11-14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 2 dozen.

I don't deserve this

And I want you to hear me — there will be days that pierce you.
Days that hurt and many of them: we all must lament — when you must cry but never deny the goodness of God.

But whenever you are about to howl to the heavens, “I don’t deserve this!”, close your eyes and remember Christ hanging on the cross and say it again aloud, “I don’t deserve this.”  Ann Voskamp

You can read the entire post here.

Opps

Evidently I changed something on here without realizing it.  I posted this post last week about Ann Voskamp and her son getting home from Haiti.  In the post I linked her post to mine so you could read it.  However, for some reason when I linked it, it didn't show that there was a link.  So here it is again, click here and you can read what she wrote.  She's written several other very good posts since then that you can read here.  She is an amazing author!  Happy reading!:) 

Wow!

My shower is sparkling thanks to pinterest!

Several months back I had pinned a "recipe" to make a magic shower scrub that was supposed to remove soap scum super easily.  I finally ran out of the store bought spray and decided to try it today and it worked!!

1 C hot white vinegar

1 C Blue Dawn dish soap

(The gal who posted this said that she didn't use all of the mixture and next time she was planning on only using a 1/2 cup of each.  I went with the 1/2 cup so I wouldn't have any left over and it was perfect for our stall shower.)

Heat the vinegar and pour into a spray bottle.  (I heated mine in the microwave until it boiled)  Add the dish soap.  Shake gently to mix.  Immediately spray on the shower. 

There are differing opinions on how long it's supposed to set.  One website said as long as overnight; another, 2 hours.  I shot for the 2 hours.  Mine ended up being longer because I was running errands. 

Once I got home I headed down to see if my shower would really clean up.  The soap scum literally just wiped off!  I couldn't believe it.  This is so much cheaper then the store bought sprays!  I'm going to try it on my sinks next.

Go mix some up ... you'll be amazed!

Food for Thought

“[Anything you have...] It is due to the century and place in which you were born, to your talents and capacities and health, none of which you earned.

In short, all your resources are in the end — the gift of God.”  Tim Keller

What are we doing with our resources?  The resources God has blessed us with?  Ann Voskamp and her son recently traveled to Haiti and she posted this since being back. 

After reading what she wrote my heart is broken as I sit here in my cool air conditioned home.  There's a soft bed waiting for me in the bedroom.  Two couches instead of one.  Cupboards over flowing with food.  Three vehicles in the yard.  A TV hanging on the wall downstairs.

Am I going without to help my brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need or am I making sure that I'm comfortable and just giving them the leftovers?   Sure we give to several organizations that help the needy, but could I be doing more?  The Bible says to

"Love your neighbor as yourself"

Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ as much as I love myself?  Am I as concerned with their needs and comfort as much as I am my own?  I've heard it said before and even said it myself, "Well there has to be a balance."  Does there or is that an excuse I use because I don't quite trust God enough to provide for my every need?  I don't know ... food for thought. 

Taste of Home Tuesday: Batter-up Walleye

Justin and I enjoy eating and trying the different kinds of fish.  Usually we just grill it, but since we hadn't had any fried fish for awhile we decided to try this.  We ended up adding extra Cajun seasoning because the seasoning tasted bland, but then we had way to much and our fish was slightly salty.  I would recommend sticking to the recipe even if the seasoning tastes bland at the beginning.  I'm sure we'll be making this again. 

Ingredients
1 cup biscuit/baking mix
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 2% milk
Oil for frying
1 pound walleye fillets, skin removed
Lemon wedges

Directions
In a shallow bowl, mix the first six ingredients. Place milk in a separate shallow bowl. In an electric skillet, heat 1/4 in. of oil to 375°.
In batches, dip fish in milk, then coat with baking mix mixture; fry for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately with lemon wedges. Yield: 4 servings.

Well Done

Are we living our lives in such a way now that when we finally meet Jesus we will hear, "Well Done."?

Taste of Home Tuesday: Two for One

Ok neither one of these recipes came from Taste of Home, but they are both incredibly yummy and I wanted to share.:)  The first recipe I found on Pinterest and is called Cinnamon Roll Cake.  You can click here for step-by-step instructions with pictures. 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Time: 15 minutes hands on
Yield: 12 generous slices
Recipe from Picky Palate

CAKE:
3 C flour
1/4 t salt
1 C sugar
4 t baking powder
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 C milk
1/2 C butter, melted

CINNAMON FILLING:
1 C butter, softened
1 C brown sugar
2 T flour
1 T cinnamon

GLAZE:
2 C powdered sugar
5 T milk
1 t vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:
Into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl put 3 C flour, 1/4 t salt, 1 C sugar, 4 t baking powder, 2 eggs
and 2 t vanilla. Pour the 1 1/2 C milk over the other ingredients and mix well.
While the mixer is still running  slowly add the 1/2 C melted butter. Mix just until combined.
Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and spread the batter out evenly in the pan.
To make the cinnamon filling use a small bowl and a wooden spoon to combine 1 C softened butter, 1 C brown sugar, 2 T flour and 1 T cinnamon.
Drop the cinnamon filling by spoonfuls onto the cake batter.  Take a butter knife and drag it through both the cinnamon and cake batter layers, making a pretty marble effect.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together 2 C powdered sugar, 5 T milk and 1 t vanilla. Pour the glaze over the warm cinnamon cake. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Enjoy the yummy yummy goodness!!

_________________________________________

The second recipe is a family recipe called Chocolate Marshmallow Bars.  I don't have a picture so you'll just have to trust me when I say that they are absolutely amazing!  (I should have done a step-by-step tutorial with pictures so I had an excuse to make them again.;))

Bottom:

3/4 C butter or margarine

1 1/2 C sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tb. cocoa

4 C marshmallow

Topping:

1 1/3 C chocolate chips

3 Tb butter or margarine

1 C peanut butter

2 C rice krispies

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy.  In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.  Spread in a greased jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Sprinkle on the marshmallows and put back into the oven just until the marshmallows are nice and fluffy.  Remove from the oven and spread the marshmallows with a water dipped knife.  Cool.

Topping: Combine the chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter in a small bowl.  Melt, stirring often.  Add the cereal.  Spread over the cake and marshmallows and chill. 

God Is So Good

Isaiah 14:24, 27

The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, "Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand ... For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it?  And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?"

"God is sovereign, He is ruler over all, nothing can happen without the ultimate sanction or permission of God."  Kay Arthur

Taste of Home Tuesday: Cobb Salad

Justin and I were looking for something lighter one night and found this Cobb salad recipe.  We really enjoyed it.  Neither one of us had ever had avocado on a salad before and both liked the cool flavor it gave.  We did doctor the dressing up a little so it was more to our liking.  Enjoy!   

Ingredients
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil

SALAD:
6-1/2 cups torn romaine
2-1/2 cups torn curly endive
1 bunch watercress (4 ounces), trimmed, divided
2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue or Roquefort cheese
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Directions
In a blender, combine the first eight ingredients. While processing, gradually add canola and olive oils in a steady stream.
In a large bowl, combine the romaine, endive and half of the watercress; toss lightly. Transfer to a serving platter. Arrange the chicken, tomatoes, avocado, eggs, cheese and bacon over the greens; sprinkle with chives. Top with remaining watercress. Cover and chill until serving.
To serve, drizzle 1 cup dressing over salad and toss to coat. Serve with remaining dressing if desired. Yield: 6 servings (1-1/4 cups dressing).

Steady my Heart

Kari Jobe's new song ... I love it!