It's Still Applicable

Psalm 67:1 

God be merciful unto us, and bless us;

and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

That thy way may be known upon earth,

thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:

for thou shalt judge the people righteously,

and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

 

Then shall the earth yield her increase;

and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

 

This Psalm should be the text in our Wednesday night prayer meeting this week.

I try to read it through the week so that it is already working in my heart before arriving at church.

I often use verse one and two in my prayers and perhaps have used it even more this week

as I have read the verse daily and circumstances around me push me to my knees.

We need God's mercy and blessing!

This mercy and blessing will lead others to Him (see verse 2).

 

Then verse 6 jumped out this morning as I looked at a basket full of tomatoes.

Piles of tomatoes - all from volunteer plants.

We have an awesome Creator.

-The piles of tomatoes are now canned and ready to continue to bless us through the year.-

 

Dinner for Seven

Sorry, I missed a blog on Friday.  Last week was anything but normal including transporting a friend to the doctor, having lunch with hubby at work one afternoon, having all of my piano students, and babysitting.  They were all good activities, just different than usual. 

It was good to be back on schedule this morning.  I began with a run with hubby at 4:45.  He encouraged me by complementing my pace :)  We had been running on an uneven surface for the past two weeks and it was nice to be on a flat road today.  When hubby left for work I started with a cleaning of the house.  I emptied the laundry basket and the pile of dry cleaning and ironing that was begging for some attention. 

Despite the typical morning, it will not be a typical afternoon for I don't typically cook for 7 - that's hubby and me, the neighbors on new baby vacation, and a friend whose wife is out of town.  So, I will break down and use the oven today to make Sesame Chicken, Asian noodles (with some stir fried garden veggies thrown in), and some pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

3/4 c honey (or honeycomb, pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or sucanat)

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin or winter squash

2/3 c olive oil (or melted butter)

2 1/2 c whole grain flour (mine will be all purpose gluten-free)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients.  Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 375* for 10-12 min. (12-15 for gluten free); cool.

Frost.

ICING

4 oz cream cheese softened

1/4 c butter softened

2 Tbsp honey (or alternates above)

1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients and frost.



Faithfulness

 Lamentation 3:23b 

...great is thy faithfulness.

I realize that it is natural to thank God for answers to prayer, for unexpected gifts,

for the "good" things that He gives. 

I frequently sit and listen to these blessings during testimony times and think, 

Isn't God good in ANY situation?
Why don't I thank Him more for His goodness and faithfulness in ALL situations? 

I am thankful that God is faithful no matter the situation. 

He is faithful when the lawn mower breaks and when it is fixed or replaced. 

He is faithful in the lowest days of a medical crisis as well as in the healing. 

He is faithful on the rainy days as well as the sunny days. 

He is faithful on a workday as well as on the vacation.

He is faithful when the bank account is empty as well as when the bills are all paid.

I am thankful that I serve a God who is faithful - who know what is best for me.

Have you ...?

...osculated your spouse today?

I learned a new word last night.

I bet you couldn't figure that out.

I just love new words.

So, I will teach it to you.

It is very useful.

to osculate is to kiss

osculation is the act of kissing

So why not spend some time working on the art of osculation today!

I am all for mastering that art :)

Relief

So glad to feel some cooler temps today. 

It was humid mowing today, but not oppressive. 

My spirit is lifted to look out on a freshly mowed lawn.

Waiting for some more storms tonight to drop the temps again!

WOO HOO!

Back Into the Kitchen

I have been impatiently watching the weather reports in hopes of seeing a drop in temperatures.  It looks as if this will be the week.  We are supposed to see the 80's again this week and even the low 80's one day at least.  With a fellowship at church, I did do a little baking in the "cool" of the evening this weekend.  The Black Bean Brownies passed the test at the fellowship and my hubby was thrilled with this Sausage Cheese Ball recipe that I found on the Betty Crocker website.  Not only were these a good appetizer-type snack at the fellowship, but I made them this morning for breakfast - YUMMY!

Gluten Free Sausage Balls

3/4 c gluten-free Bisquick

4 oz bulk pork sausage

1 1/2 c shredded cheese (6 oz)

1/4 c grated parmesan

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp rosemary

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/2 c milk

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.

Roll into 1 inch balls.

Bake at 350* for 22-26 min.

 (The website says this makes 48 -

I only got about 1/2 of that)

Taste of Summer

One of the perks of living and teaching in a rural community is the gift of fresh vegetables from large family gardens.  Yesterday, my dear piano students brought me a large bag of sweet corn along with some acorn squash, yellow summer squash, and cucumbers.  My mouth was watering as soon as I saw that sweet corn ... it is the taste of summer - at least in my opinion.  I arrived home from lessons in time to cook it for dinner.  My dinner ... all sweet corn.  I did give hubby a little meat, but he too enjoyed primarily sweet corn.  I am also enjoying dark sweet cherries right now.  I have to hold myself back so as not to make myself sick :)

Freedom

While America continues to relinquish more and more of its precious freedoms each year, I am still thankful to live in the best country in the world and thankful for the freedoms that we still possess.

I am also thankful for quiet days with friends and family.  We visited our local town's parade yesterday.  It was the first time that we had been able to go together in our four years here (usually due to work responsibilities).  It was a blessing to have hubby home in the middle of the week.  Then we enjoyed a traditional picnic with some church friends.  It was a privilege to end the day in church - praying for our nation and its direction and for wisdom for its citizenship.

Inspiration to Do Right

Psalm 97:10-12

 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: ...

Light is sown for the righteous,

and gladness for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous;

and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Cool Kitchen

It has been rather quiet in the kitchen for the past few days and looks like it will for the rest of the week.  I will be watching for a morning to bake some white bean cupcakes, but I am not holding my breath.  With temperatures at or exceeding 100* and the a/c struggling to keep up, I am not doing much cooking.  We have had a lot of grilled meals as well as cool salads.  Tonight I am going to do homemade "Hamburger Helper." 

Chili-Mac Skillet

1 lb ground beef

3/4 c chopped onions

1 - 15 1/2 ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

(I will use black beans because that is what I have)

1 - 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 - 7 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, cut up

(I will use fresh from the garden)

1/2 c elbow macaroni

(mine will be brown rice elbows)

1/4 c water

1 - 4 ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained

2-3 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 c shredded cheese

In large skillet cook meat and onions till meat is brown and onions are tender.  Drain.

Stir in beans, tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes, uncooked macaroni,

water, chili peppers, chili powder, and garlic salt. 

Bring to boiling.  Reduce heat. 

Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or till macaroni is tender, stirring often. 

Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and heat about 2 minutes more or till cheese is melted. 

Makes 6 servings.