It's Been Busy!

January has been a very busy month for me. My MIL had 5 appointments that I took her to. I have five different study groups I am involved in. It sounds like a lot but when you break it down it isn't so bad. One is a once a month class. Two of them are just 1 time a month and then the other two are once a week. On Monday evening I start a new one. It is a study of Lysa TerKeurst's "Made to Crave" it seemed just the perfect addition for where I am in live right now. I think it will go along perfectly with the study of "Uninvited" that I am doing by the same author. It has been a powerful study so far and again, just what I needed to learn. It is basically about filling your emptiness with God's fullness - and by doing so it helps you to live loved. That is important - to live loved! When you live loved (filled with the love of God) you are better able to deal with the bumps and bruise that come a long with living in this sinful world. Again - it was just what I needed in a very timely manner.
Although I have a new study group beginning in February - it looks to have less appointments. I have one and then I really ought to get my eyes checked so I may make that appointment for February since I don't have a lot of appointments to take my MIL to during February.
I have several great posts that I am formulating in my head and on paper when I get a chance. I can't wait to get them finished up and share them. But for now I am processing the information to get a better understanding and how I need to apply these things in my own life. Change may not be fun but when the changes are things that the Lord is bringing to you - you just have to be pliable and allow Him to mold you in order to get the best creation. God has begun that work in each and every one of us and He has promised to continue until Jesus Christ comes! Praise the Lord for his patience, mercy and grace!

How much?!?!

So yesterday I mentioned going to a cooking class. Well since the house is on the market and I was able to have a mini tour of the home and then saw the listing on the internet - I thought I would borrow a photo to show you the are that she has the cooking class.

If you click into the photo you can see it larger. Also notice the mirror hanging above the bar- that is nice so that we could see what she was doing as she cooked. 

So you notice the beautiful mural on the wall? A local artist had come to the house and painted this mural probably in the 1990's. The artist has since passed away. Anyway in conversation it found out that it cost $10,000 to have this mural painted!! WOW! I know of another person who had the same artist come to their home and paint a mural- not quite a big as this one but almost.

So this house is up for sale- the sad thing is that this sweet lady will have to leave this mural behind. I am thinking I would much rather my painting be painted on a canvas so I wouldn't have to leave it behind if I moved.

Anyway about 18 people showed up for the cooking class along with 3 helpers for the lady presenting the cooking class. At the end we were able to test and critique the recipes. Some I loved just the way they were some I thought needed a bit less oil or maybe a bit less lime juice- but those are only my opinions - other might have liked them just as they were. It was a nice experience and even fun since a new friend also attended so we were able to visit a bit and share our opinions and ideas about the recipes.

A quick check in

Just a quick check in this morning. Yesterday I went to my Bible By Design class~ we learned about Genesis. I'll show the picture we created while listening to the overview of the book of the Bible.

Yesterday evening my husband and I made homemade tamales for the first time!! We will tweak them a bit, but for a first try they turned out awesome!! We love them! We will be making them again. If any of my dear readers have a great recipe for tamales, I'd love for you to share it with me! Please? :)

The lady that is presenting  the Vegan101 classes - actually does a larger version at her home once a month for a coat. A meal is made and served along with us getting the recipes. Today is her class for this month. And I plan to go. I look forward to learning more delicious, healthy recipes!

Well I better get on with the day- I have a lot I want to do today. The weather will be nice and I really want to get a good walk in too! Ya'll have a great day! :)

God Amazed Me Yet Again

I have more than one book going right now, in fact, if I were honest I'd have to admit to reading at least 4 books maybe even 5 books. I did not plant to read that many books at one time. It wasn't my intention at all.

One I am reading is for Sabbath School:

One is for a small group I am involved in:

And from the pile of books I got from my FLTS(Favorite Little Thrift Store):

I am reading:

And this little book:

And ever so often I revert back to my "Streams in the Desert" devotional because it has blessed me so much ever since I received it as a gift in 2012.

Now that was a lot of information and photos and I haven't even began to share how God amazes me. Well it has to do with how it seems sometimes, many times, in fact, how it is truly a God thing that I am reading these books together. And today it was my uninvited book and my 31 Days of Praise books that just worked perfectly together.

It couldn't have worked out by chance, nope, it was clearly a God thing. Out of all the 31 days of Praise that I happen to be on "Day Eleven" that went so perfectly with my study guide for my Uninvited books assignment today.

The study guide had us reading Isaiah 53:3-5

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:3-5

and through this study we realize that when Jesus was on earth he was:

• despised
• rejected 
• experienced suffering 
• was held in low-esteem 
• afflicted 
• pierced 

and so much more.

You and I may feel "less than, left out, and lonely" we may even feel rejected but we are not alone. Jesus knows exactly how we feel- He experienced these same feelings when He was here.
Coming face to face to the realization that Jesus understands how we feel was amazing enough, but when I read day 11 in my 31 days of praise, I was totally amazed. It fit so well with what I am studying in my "Uninvited" book!

It still amazes me when I can see God's hand in what I am reading; when I can see how He has lead me to certain books that go so perfectly together. One book building on what I have learned from the other book.  

Don't Quit

A reminder we all need sometimes.
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As I shared last week - my church is starting some small groups. One of the ones that I signed up for is ~ "Uninvited" a book and a study guide written by Lysa Terkeurst. Tonight will be our first of a series of 6 meetings. This is the first thing I have read by Lysa and I am really enjoying her writing. I love her honesty and transparency. It is refreshing in this day and age where so many people try to present such a perfect life. Last week we had our first meeting basically discussing what we would be doing. I think it will be just what I need at this point in my life.

It's a Holiday

Today is Martin Luther King Day here in the United States. So I thought I would share one of my favorite quotes from him. 

I have my granddaughter today since she is out of school. It is nice to get to spend an extra day with her ever so often. So thankful we finally realized that we are blessed to have her on her school holidays that land on weekends that she is at her daddy's. It's a blessing.
Hope you all are doing well and have a great day! See you soon.

Loved

Sometimes circumstances in our lives can make us feel unloved. But please remember that you have never lived one moment unloved. The one who created you- loves you so very much!!! 

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~Romans 8:38-39

Songs of Ascent

This is a recording of the songs of ascent. I haven't have a chance to listen to them all yet - but I look forward to doing so. I hope you enjoy and are blessed.

Tourist or Pilgrim

Are you more of a tourist or a pilgrim when it comes to your spiritual life? It is something worth considering. But before we dig a little deeper to understand the differences, let look at something that I hadn't noticed before.

Have you ever notices that Psalms 120-134 have titles "A song of degree" or maybe your Bible says "Songs of Ascent"? I had never noticed this until my Sabbath school class started reading the book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene H. Peterson. This is the translator of The Message. 

"These fifteen psalms were likely sung, possible in sequence, by Hebrew pilgrims as they went up to Jerusalem to great worship festivals. Topographically Jerusalem was the highest city in Palestine, and so all who traveled here spent much of their time ascending. But the ascent was not only literal, it was also a metaphor; the trip to Jerusalem acted out a life lived upward toward God, an existence that advanced from one level to another in developing maturity- what Paul describes as 'the goal, where God is beckoning up onward - to Jesus.' Philippians 3:14."pg.18

I appreciated how the author explained that there are two types of Christians: tourist and pilgrim. He states that as Christians we are impatient for results. "They have adopted the lifestyle of a tourist and only want the high points."

"Pilgrims... tells us we are people who spend our lives going some place, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the Way, Jesus Christ."pg. 17

"Friedrich Nietzsche, who saw this area of spiritual truth at least with great clarity, wrote, 'The essential thing "in heaven and earth" is...that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living." It is this 'long obedience in the same direction' which the mood of the world does so much to discourage." pg.17

For those who choose to live no longer as tourist but as pilgrims, the songs of ascent combine all the cheerfulness of a travel song with the practicality of a guidebook and map. Their unpretentious brevity is excellently described by William Faulkner. "They are not monuments, but footprints. A monument only says, 'at least I got this far," while a footprint says, 'this is where I was when I moved again.' "pg.22

It might be a good idea to spend some time thinking about your own experience. Are you more like a tourist or a pilgrim? I think it is something worth thinking about.

Thomas said to Him,

 "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way? 

6. Jesus said to him, 

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

John 14:5-6   

I will probably be sharing a few things that I learn from each of the songs of ascent throughout this study. So be watching for them. 

My Sabbath school teacher found a recording of the Songs of Ascent so come back tomorrow to check it out. :O) 

Question Answered

So I was asked the question: Why is it important to wash the cashews - when we buy them in bulk?
Well when you buy the cashews in bulk one of the reasons to wash them is because you scoop them out of a bin and you have no idea what germs and such can get in that bin while many different people scoop their cashews out. It is just like when you buy fruit and you wash them before eating them - because you have no idea of how many times they have been touched before you bought them. The second reason you need to wash them is because you have no idea where the nuts came from - they could have come from a foreign country and there is no telling what the standards of cleanliness are where the nuts came from. There may be other reasons as well - but these were the ones that I understood. I hope this answers the question.

Another Alternative for Cheese

Today's cheese alternative is Chef Mark Anthony's Signature Cheese 

Chef Mark Anthony's Signature Cheese 

3 C. diced potatoes
2 C. diced carrots
1/2 C. nutritional yeast
1/2 C. reserved water from potatoes
1/4 C. olive oil
2 T. chicken-style seasoning
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
juice from 1 lemon

*In addition to these ingredients one red bell pepper was added (so the photo will show darker than usual)

Cook potatoes and carrots until soft. Drain water - reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy.

Use as dip for veggies or chips. Works very well for macaroni and cheese casserole.

I can't wait till my next class next month. I have no idea what she will be making but I bet it will be yummy! :O)

Vegan101 ~ Cheese Enchiladas

So Sunday afternoon I went to my first Vegan101 small group. The leader explained how one of the hardest things people who are vegetarians to give up is cheese. So she had a couple of cheese like recipes to show us.

The first recipe I will be sharing with you was called Healthy Nacho Cheese - however when the teacher made these she put one of the ingredients from the Healthy Nacho Cheese into the other cheese recipe- and I actually liked what she came up with. I will write out the recipe how I liked it but I will make a note of what you can do to go by what she meant to make.

Healthy Cheese

2 C. Water
1/2 C. additional water
1/4 C. raw cashews
1 T. lemon juices
3 T. nutritional yeast
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 C. cornstarch
1 1/4 tsp sea salt

The 2 cups of water will be brought to a boil while you are working on this next part - in a blender add the remaining ingredients including the additional 1/2 cup water mentioned. Pour blended mixture into the boiling water and continue cooking, and stirring until it thickens.

*If you do not have a high powered blender - be sure and soak your cashews to soften them up. Also if you buy your cashews in bulk - be sure and wash them before using them. I did not realize that this needed to be done. So I learned something important in this class for sure.

In order to make this recipe the "Healthy Nacho Cheese" you will add 1 4 ounce jar of pimientos or 1 red bell pepper and this will be added to the blender to be mixed.

She used the Healthy Cheese Recipe to make a delicious pan of cheese enchiladas.

Cheese Enchiladas

8-10 corn tortillas
1 recipe of - "Health Cheese" or "Healthy Nacho Cheese" (as pictured -"Healthy Cheese)
1 15 ounce vegan refried beans(otherwise they have lard in them)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 T. chopped parsley - fresh or dried

Pour about 3/4 cup of Healthy Cheese in the bottom of 8X11 inch baking dish. Soften tortillas by wrapping tortillas in paper towel and microwave for 30 - 40 seconds(or put them on a microwave safe plate and place another plate over the top). Spread about 2 T. refried beans on each tortilla. Top with 2 T. of the heathy cheese and put some chopped onion in the center. Roll tightly and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Repeat with rest of the tortillas. Spread the remaining cheese sauce over enchiladas. garnish with chopped onions and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

These were very good. I enjoyed them and plan on making this recipe in the near future.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. I will share another cheese recipe tomorrow. I think I may have already shared it but this time it will have an added ingredient. See you then. :O)

A Blessing to Me in Many Different Ways ....series

Good Morning! Today I would like to do another post about how my new church is a blessing to me in many different ways. It never ceases to amaze me how making the move to my new church has been just what God meant for me.

This new church has a lot going on. Sometimes too many choices of things to be involved in and where I have to prioritize what I want to do. This past Sabbath there was a new booklet of new small groups starting. I went through it and marked the ones I wanted to be involved with and then look at when they would be offered and then narrowed it down just a bit. I still ended up signing up for four - maybe 5 of the small groups.

One of the small groups began Sunday afternoon- Vegan 101. I will be sharing a couple of recipes that we were able to watch be prepared and then taste at the end of the class. Sabbath afternoon another class began "Bible By Design." This is what I will be sharing about today.

"Bible By Design" promises to be an excellent series that will help the participants better understand the Bible. Sabbath afternoon we started with an overview of the Bible. We started with this sheet:

As the pastor gave a special talk about the Bible - we traced the different element on the page and filled in the blanks with a lot of useful information. 

Once we were done the rest of the class time was spent coloring with colored pencils and asking questions. There was a lot of very good conversation and questions answered. 

This group will be every second and fourth Sabbath afternoons for quite some time. 

Next time we meet we will begin with Genesis. And go through the Bible. I look forward to all we will learn through this series. And in the end we will have a binder that has a lot of excellent information for easy reference. We will also have a better understanding of the Bible and how it all works together to tell the redemption story! 

If you are interested in the book they are using for this series - It is called "The Picture Smart Bible" 

I am so thankful that our pastor is willing to do this series with us. I had never heard of this awesome resource and I look forward to each class time! :O) 

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Come back tomorrow for recipes from our Vegan101 class. 

My Syllabus Set Up By God

My favorite little thrift store nearby was having an awesome sale on books and knickknacks ~ Everything in that part of the thrift store was only a quarter a piece! What a deal! So on Sunday I decided to spend some time looking through the books. As usual, I depended on the Holy Spirit to guide me in my decisions on what books to get.

I hadn't really noticed the theme of books I ended up with while shopping. I just would decide - oh I bet this would be good and put it on my stack and get back to looking; adding several more books. It wasn't until that evening when I was at my desk looking through my books that I discovered the theme of the books I got. As I read through the introductions of each of them I was like, "Oh Wow! This really all goes together so nicely. It's like God set up a semester of learning for me and the books He wants me to read, with the information that I need to learn. This was His syllabus for me!

31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers and Warren Myers 

To the Praise of His Glory by Lynnda Ell 

Worship by Rosalie Haffner-Lee Zinke 

A Thoughtful Hour by Jerry D. Thomas 

Oh and if that wasn't enough to convince me of what God wanted me to be learning - right now - This is the book that we are studying in my Sabbath School right now! It is a study on Obedience -and "Discipleship in an instant society" and studying in the book of Psalms - which has many praises to God! 

Just want to share a little exert from one of the books. 

"In the Bible, praise is closely linked with worship and thanksgiving. Through all three we honor and enjoy God. 

It helps me to think of worship as a beautiful crown adorn with two brilliant jewels. One jewel is praise; the other; thanksgiving. 

Throughout the Bible people expressed their worship in several ways. They bowed before God, often with a sense of awe. to honor Him and how their devotion. They offered special gifts to Him, the chief gift being themselves. 

Today as in Bible times, worship includes yielding to God as our Lord and Master. We see this in Romans 12:1, where God asks us to offer Him our bodies, our lives, our entire person. This, He says, is true worship. In genuine spiritual worship, we bow before the Most High God, the most merciful and reliable and winsome of all beings, and we crown Him as Lord of all that we are. We consent to His gracious, transforming work in our lives; we agree that He can work in us, so that we'll be willing and able to do His will. in other words, we choose to let Him be God into our lives. This is our greatest privilege, the highest thing we an do.

Worship also includes adoring God, admiring Him, appreciating Him, and letting Him know how grateful we are for His mighty works and the blessings He bestows on us. Thus worship includes praise and thanksgiving. As in ancient times, all three- worship, praise, and thanksgiving- overlap as we glorify and enjoy God. Sometimes we do this in speaking, sometimes in singing, sometimes in silent reverence. 

In thanksgiving we express gratitude to the Lord for His love and goodness to us and to others, for His constant acts of care, and for His gifts, including the spiritual blessings He has lavished upon us.

In praise we admire God for who He is and what He does. Praise can be quiet and meditative. But it can also include celebrating and exulting in the Lord's majesty and splendor, His sovereignty, His limitless power, and His bountiful love- which we do not in the least deserve. In praise we extol our wonderful God, we exalt and magnify Him. Praise includes speaking highly of God to other people as well as directly to Him. 

So mounted in the crown of worship- the basic; act of offering God our lives, of honoring Him as God- are the jewels of praise and thanksgiving. Jewels that radiate the glory of God, to His delight and ours."
~ 31 Days of Praise- enjoying God Anew by Ruth Myers and Warren Myers - this quote is found in the Introduction 

  

I love how God provides just the right books that I need to read to learn what He has planned for me to learn. I look forward to sharing little tidbits here and there. :O) 

The Word of the Year

Some years I get a word for the year and some I don't. This year I got a word- that actually has turned into several words!

In 2014, my word came to me as I sat in the waiting room of Texas Oncology. I had already had at least one chemo session, maybe more, when as I was sitting in the waiting room waiting to be called back, I began to be amazed at the courage of all those in that room. I knew what chemo was like. I knew that it takes a lot of courage to go back each time. As the year passed there were many opportunities for me to have courage. I knew "courage" was my word for that year.

"Love" seemed to be the word for a year- God's love actually- when I questioned it and worked through my feelings and questions.

Last year "Grace"  was my word and God did not disappoint by placing many opportunities for me to learn about grace- both situations and books.

This year my word came to me actually during the last part of 2018. "Joy" seemed to be the word of focus for me but as the days go by and I proceed to learn about joy, I am realizing that praise, thanksgiving, worship and obedience are all a part of what I am learning this year and new things could be added later.

It is so cool to see how God is leading in what I am learning. I can't wait to share how he brought this study together for me! Hopefully I can get that post typed up and posted soon.

Do you have a special word or topic of focus for the year? I would love to hear about it. Leave me a comment if you do. :O)

A New Favorite Recipe

I am back - not sure how steady I will be with posts this week- but wanted to share this recipe with you all. It is a recipe I found on the back of the bag of garbanzo beans that I bought from HEB. I love this recipe. 

Garlic Bean Soup 

2 C. chopped onions 

2 C. sliced carrots

1/2 C. sliced celery 

12-14 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

2 T. Olive Oil 

2 Cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken or vegetable broth

2 1/2 C. dry garbanzo beans - Soak over night and cook as directed

salt and pepper to taste 

finely chopped chives or parsley, optional 

Saute onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in oil in large sauce pan 3-4 minutes. (I find it takes longer sometimes) Add Chicken broth and cooked beans, heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender 5-8 minutes. Process soup in food processor or in a blender until smooth. Serve in bowls, sprinkle with chives. 

I have changes a few things around with this recipe and I have made it in my Instant pot. And at the end I have used my immersion blender to blend some of it up. I like chunkiness in it though. The garbanzos are so good. 

With using the instant pot - I soak beans over night and then after I have sautéed the veggies. I add the liquid and the beans and I cook it in my Instant Pot for about 40 minutes. The beans are so soft and tasty. Yummy!! 

I have not had chives to add to this so I have not tried that at all, so I can not say if it is good that way or not. 

I hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as I have!! :O)