Homemade Cheese Spread (from "spoiled" milk)

Spicy Garlic Spread with Cracked Pepper

Don't you hate it when you drink only 1/2 gallon milk before the other 1/2 expires?  Next time, up to a week after that 1/2 gallon expires, you can make homemade cheese., traditionally called farmer's cheese. Thanks to the many bloggers for the basic recipe! So there must have been some creativity stirring in my brain today...here is recipe #2:

Homemade Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon expired milk

1/4 cup and 1 tbsp vinegar

2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Whole-Ingredient Mix Ins (add before heating milk; optional):

1/2 tbsp crushed pepper (like leftovers from takeout pizza)

2-3 peppers, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

or any other finely diced fresh spices

Ground Mix Ins (add after straining; optional)

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp Basil

1 tsp black pepper

Any other ground spices

1. Pour milk into dutch oven or large pot. (Add any whole-ingredient mix-ins.)
2. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
3. Bring to about 200*.  For those of us who don't use themometers, but go for the feel of things, bring to the point just before boiling (one bubble blops on top).
4. Remove from heat and slowly mix in vinegar.
5. Let cool to room temperature (or whatever temperature you can handle).
6. Set a strainer in the sink.  In the strainer, place a fine cloth (cheese cloth, clean handkercheif, or scarf that is large enough to cover strainer).
7. Pour milk mixture (also known as Ms. Muppet's curds and whey) in cloth.
8. Gather up corners of cloth above strainer.  Starting from the top, twist the cloth in order to cause the extra liquid (whey) to strain out.  The curds will remain and form a ball as you squeeze.  After the majority of the whey is removed, untwist the cloth and lay the cloth with the curds back into the strainer.
9. Run warm water over curds and mix with spoon (curds and water are still in cloth and strainer).  This will remove any lingering vinegar taste.  Twist the cloth again as in step 8.
10. Repeat step 9 to remove the last of vinegar. Twist the cloth once again.
11. Untwist the cloth and lay cloth with cheese in strainer.  Mix in salt and any additional spices with spoon.
12. For the final time, gather corners of cloth and twist in order to form a ball with the cheese spread.  You may also form a cylender or cube with the cheese at this time.
13. Place the cheese on small plate tightly covered in Saran Wrap.  Store in the refridgerator.  Serve chilled with crackers or use in a recipe.

Today I combined salt, crushed pepper, garlic powder, no-salt seasoning, and black pepper for a spicy garlic spread... Yum!  It is recommended that you add additional seasonings; otherwise the cheese is just a creamy bland taste like plain yogurt.

Homemade Granola

Here is a recipe (like most of my recipes) for you cooks that "feel" your way through instead of "measure" your way through a recipe.  As you can see, most of the ingredients you will have on hand, and more than half are optional to your liking.

Homemade Granola



Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter (optional)
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon (optional)
1/4 cup cocoa (optional)

1 cup wheat germ (optional)
8 cups oatmeal

1. Preheat oven to 325*
2. Spray 2 cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans with cooking spray.
3. Mix first 8 ingredients (water through cocoa) in a large dutch oven or large pot.
4. Place over low-medium heat on stovetop, stir constantly.
5. Bring to slow boil. Boil for one minute.  Remove from heat.
6. Stir in wheat germ until mixed thoroughly.
7. Stir in oatmeal until all oatmeal is sticky and coated with sugar mixture.
8. Crumble oatmeal mixture in an even layer on cookie sheets.
9. Cook at 325* for 20-30 minutes or until toasty brown, stirring every 10 minutes. 
10. Cool. (Mixture will harden and crip while cooling.)
11. Stir in any extras at this time (1 cup of chocolate chips, berries,  nuts, or raisins).
12. Enjoy as snack or for breakfast over milk or yogurt.

"How to Send Your Mind on Vacation"

It is that time of year again....graduation events, field trips, parties, deadlines, summer vacation planning, more parties, family reunions, hyperactive kids (and big kids), apathetic kids (and big kids), and more parties.  The list goes on, but there's to naming a few.

Busyness.

America focuses on it.  We will never admit it. We call it "extracurricular activities" or "errands" or "my to-do list" to spiffy it up a bit.  But whatever you call it, it is still busyness.

To cater to this time of year, I am republishing an article by Kate Meyers found in the Cooking Light magazine from August 2010. 

Maybe this is the reason that I do not blog as much as "I should."  It's because I love this idea of coupling a  vacation every day with the peace from God...I'd rather read the Bible or a magazine than write an article.

Enjoy!

------------Begin "How to Send Your Mind on Vacation"--------------

We yearn to relax, and we're programmed to do it during this supposedly lazy, supposedly slower time of the year.  But if you're like me, it just seems harder and harder to unwind in these high-stress times. Recently I decided to seek some counsel on the necessity and practice of ritual unplugging, so I called Edward Hallowell, MD, author of Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! I had read his book and knew he would have good advice.

But Hallowell threw me a curve ball, "I haven't had a vacation in two years," he said.

What? My first thought was that this guy needed to read his own book.  Then he added: "I don't think I need one.  I take vacations every day."

Which sounds like Ziggy reading from a Hallmark card, I know.  But as it turned out, Hallowell was talking about acquiring the skills to chill, every single day--rather as one might counsel daily, rather than yearly, exercise.

"I think we would do much better if instead of saving up our need to relax for two weeks or so in the summer, we learned how to do it all the time," Hallowell says. "Learn how to pace ourselves so we don't get worn out, so we don't inhabit what I call the 'F-state,' where you're frazzled, frenetic, and frenzied."

I'm the F-state poster girl.  My days are a spin cycle of work, kids, homework, soccer, dance, driving to and from soccer and dance, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, friends, and workouts when I can--and repeat.  I'm blessed, to be sure, but the things I love being to feel like a chore.  At the end of the day, I'm wiped out.  Half the time I don't remember if it's shampoo or conditioner that I've put in my hair.  So, Doc, how does a person de-F her state?

"Don't do what you do every day.  Do the things you love," Hallowell answers.  "Exercise more.  Read a book.  Spend more time walking, talking, communicating, less time online." I went silent because, in fact, I already do those things.  Cramming them in is part of my F-state.

Time for a second opinion.

"In my view, the important function of a vacation is to get perspective," says Ken Robbins, MD, a genial clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, who has worked with everyone from ordinarily stressed and distressed patients to, well, serial killers.  "It's hard in daily life to maintain what we mental health types call an 'observing ego,'" Robbins says, "which is the ability to watch yourself, to pay attention to yourself."

The effect of this, he adds, is that "When you compare Americans to people in other countries, we're not very good at keeping track of what makes us happy."  According to the doctor, it matters not whether you spend your vacation at a cooking school in Italy or stay in your own kitchen, if you can find your observing ego and understand what is winding you up:  A vacation is, forgive the pop-psychology speak, a state of mind.

"The key is to walk away from your usual routine and give yourself a chance to see what you enjoy when you don't have to work, when you don't have chores to complete."  This means letting go of errands and to-do lists, and getting away from your electronic devices of choice--the things we ideally flee when we go on a vacation (though the iPhone and e-mail are global and hard to resist; in Paris cafes you see American tourists thousands of miles from home scanning American blogs).  We can abstain from these things perfectly well at home, to similar vacation effect.

"Part of the purpose of a vacation is to get clear.  Sometimes we forget about the things we love to do," Robbins says.

Turn off the TV.  Leave a voice mail saying you're on vacation, put the e-mail on auto-respond, and stay away from Facebook, if you're into Facebook.  This certainly sounds cheaper than a week long beach getaway, doesn't it?  And in a way, this sort of unplugging can be more focused, too, because so often, on vacations, we fall prey to the same need for busy-ness that stresses us in our daily lives. (See this historic site! Explore that museum!)

Hallowell suggests that unplugging this way can allow us to realize that multitasking does not necessarily allow us to be at our best. "When we multitask, we don't do anything better," Hallowell argues.  The devices that allow us to do more than one thing at a time also make it hard for us to stop doing more than one thing at a time.

I'm guilty of this, and so is everyone I love.  I check my e-mail the minute I wake up, the minute I enter the house, and a few times an hour in between--even when I have no reason to do so. 

When my cell phone broke recently, I began to understand how self-perpetuated some of this craziness is.  Free of the cellular umbilical cord, feeling much calmer, I found myself noticing again the glorious Colorado mountain views that brought me here in the first place. 

"It's good to discover that the world doesn't need you that much," says Hallowell.  "It takes a tremendous burden off of you.  The brain needs to shut down; it can't work 24/7."

Hallowell has had a standing date every Tuesday for the last 28 years to play squash with his best friend.  He makes a point of cooking with his wife and tossing a ball in the yard with his Jack Russell terrier (hardly a model of a chill breed, mind you).  These and similar things constitute his daily vacation time because they are done consciously and attentively.  Thinking about this, it struck me as less Hallmark, more wise.

If the economy has dictated a home-based vacation, use the time to really unplug.  Make a few rules, and observe yourself in the unplugged state.  Then carry the impulse into daily life.  The habit of being over-busy can become the habit of being less busy, allowing for more time to be fully immersed in your own life. And that's bigger than a vacation--that's a gift.
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But better than a vacation is eternal rest.  Check out how can I get saved.

How to Change Your Spouse

I know, I know...it's been two weeks since the last post and it's not even Monday. 
A couple of months ago I wrote that there would be a post every Monday...and it's Thursday.  It may surprise you, but I am not perfect.  And anyways, how could I "beat" the last post about my sister-in-law committing to Christ?

So to add to my imperfection, I admit, my prayer life is like an ongoing facebook chat with God...

"God how are you?"
"I love you."
"Thanks for __________"
"Hope you have a good day."
"See you tomorrow."

It is continual and daily, but rarely is it deep.

Thus, when my sister posted this on her blog, I could completely relate.
Join us by praying for your spouse....daily...and deeply.



Ten Ways to Pray for Your Husband [or Wife]


"I pray for my husband's relationship with God.


I pray that God would bless my husband.


I pray for my husband to be a spiritual leader for our family.


I pray for my husband to love me deeply.


I pray for my husband to have a heart for his children.


I pray for my husband to make wise choices.


I pray for my husband's emotional, mental, and physical health.


I pray for my husband to prosper at work.


I pray for my husband's power to resist sexual temptation.


I pray that I will show my husband respect, grace, and kindness."


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When you're at checking out blogs, check out how do you get saved.

21 Year Old Speaks for First Time

One of the first things I fell for in my husband was his sister.  Yes, his sister.  It sounds strange, but you see, his sister has autism.  My brother has cerebral palsy.  So immediately, we connected.

Let me tell you about my sister.  Ever since she was a little girl, she has been told she could not learn.  She was placed in a public school system that assisted the "special needs" children.  Continually, her parents fought for her freedom to learn and her need for love.  (They are amazing, as so many of the parents of these children are).  But, alas, I cannot call my sister a child.

You see, we never knew how much she knew.  All we could see was her distant gaze as if she was in her own world.  Just give her music and she'll be content all day long.  But just months ago, my other mother Karen found another mother, Soma.  Soma developed the rapid prompting method for her own boy that had autism.  Through this system, the student uses a pencil to poke the letters of a stencil to spell out his or her own thoughts.  Many students have already learned concepts such as spelling, arithmetic, history, and science through listening.  They retain all this knowledge, but somewhere between knowing and speaking, thoughts become scrambled.  Through the RPM, the student is able to spell by tapping each letter to make words and sentences. 

So for 21 years, my sister did not speak.  She was told she could not learn.

Last winter, her parents and she went to Soma's camp in Texas.  When she was there, she spoke her first words.  Now after months, we realize how brilliant she is (definitely more than I am).

Just last week she "wrote" me a letter.  Then, Saturday, we visited over lunch and she began to "speak" her first sentences to us:

"Jessica, will you sit by me?"

"Nathan, I noticed you have a beard."
"Yes [I like it]."
"I love you."

"Jessica,I like to sit with you."

In just months, in our eyes, she has gone from a babe to a woman.

Tonight we got a call from my other mother.  She was somewhere between excitement and tears.  Today, my sister Melissa wanted to talk about God.  What about God?  There are so many things!  Where to begin?

She wanted to talk about redemption.
Throughout several conversations during the day, my other parents realized just how much she knows.  She knows you need to hear to believe.  You need to believe in the good news.  You need repent from sins and confess the faith in Christ.  And you need to be baptized, immersed in water for the remission of sins.  You must continue to be faithful all the days of your life. She wants to be a Christian.

My baby sister spoke her first words at 21. In months she went from babe to woman.  And now she will return into a babe once again through Christ.

Amen!

Simple Switch

For today:

I commend my husband for sticking with it.  (Keep on keeping on.)

He posts on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Enjoy!

www.simpleswitch.wordpress.com

More Tempting than Chocolate

What is…

More tempting than chocolate

More powerful than the pope

More extensive than Google

More useful than a rope

More abundant than the sand

More fierce than a warrior

More ancient than the pyramids

More dangerous than dishonest lawyers

What is…

Hard to come by

But hard to let go

It can’t get you friends

But it gets you many foes

It is hard to resist

But hard work it takes to earn

It is cold and hard

Yet you it can burn

 So with it be careful

Be honest and true

Because with it you can bless

Or harm will come to you

In the last several weeks, I have researched this mystery throughout the Bible.  It can be found over 1500 times (more than baptism and faith combined), so Kyle Butte states.  However, I stopped searching when I found 300, as it would take me months to find them all.

Seeing the importance it is to God, I wish to share my research with you.

What is this mystery?  Find out here:
https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D7132327_4517408_66821

Like Putty in Your Hands

Last Friday was one of those days when I look around my house and just want a change.

 

I go through these phases of wanting to display every art piece and memorandum we have every owned...and then a few weeks later I look around and can't see our walls; so the process of restoration begins. Only a few chosen items get to remain hanging dainty on the off-white background, while the rest get to see a new home in a matter of hours. Discarding is a beautiful thing. It refreshes your spirit and reorganizes your mind to a whole new level. To see more clean white walls gives your eyes a place to rest and think of nothing to allow your creative juices to flow. To much stuff, even the good stuff, creates chaos and clutter. But allowing only the few, good chosen ones creates peace of mind.

The only problem that appears after taking all of the pictures off the walls are the ugly, little black holes remaining. So the mending work begins.

Even though some of those holes are small, they are awfully noticeable on a pure white wall. They need to be filled with soft, moldable putty in order to blend in. Friday, I finally decided to patch all the holes in my wall after the "peace ceremony" of discarding. I whipped up some putty (see recipe below) and was able to fill each and every tiny scar with pureness. If I forget to putty, sure, the walls are free from clutter, but the holes are still there. It was like bandaging an open wound, except better. Clean. Pure.

*****

Sometimes we go through phases of wanting to do every good deed listed on the church bulletin and attending every program, ballgame, meeting, and party there is. Then we look around and can't see ourselves. We are lost in the shuffle. It is time for restoration. Choose only a few items that should remain dainty in your life, the rest should be discarded awaiting a new soul to take on the good deed or tossed out to the trash. Discarding is a beautiful thing. It refreshes your spirit and reorganizes you mind to a whole new level. To allow time alone with God gives your soul a place to rest and think of nothing other than Him to get your juices flowing. To much stuff, even the good stuff, creates chaos and clutter. But allowing only the few, good chosen ones creates peace of mind.

The only problem that appears after taking all the clutter off our schdules are the ugly, little black holes remaining. So the mending work begins.

Even though some of the emptiness remain small, it is awfully noticeable on a pure white soul. It needs to be filled with gentleness, moldability, and rest in order to blend in. To whip up some putty, read your Bible daily (even just a verse and mediatation will do for a starter), talk with your Friend (the God Almighty), and make a list of what needs to continue to stay out of your life (business), and what needs to fill in the holes (true good deeds...not just programs). If you forget to putty, sure, the business may be gone, but the emptiness will still be there. It is like bandaging an open would, except better. Clean. Pure.

______________________________________________________________________

Recipe for literal wall putty:

3tbsp flour
1tbsp+ water
Acrylic Paint (color of wall)

1. Place flour in small bowl.
2. Make a "well" with the flour (like making tortillas).
3. Add 1tbsp of water in the hole. Don't mix.
4. Add a couple drops of acrylic paint to the water. Your paint should be 5-10 shades darker than your wall color. (Hints: red+yellow=orange, blue+red=purple, yellow+blue=green, yellow+red+blue=brown, red+white=orange, white+black=gray; most "white" walls are not pure white but have a hint of pinkish-orange in them or a light blue-grey tint.)
5. Swirl the water and the paint together. At this point, your water should be a shade or two darker than your wall color.
6. Slowly mix in the flour starting with the inside of the well. Mix until soft dough forms (like tortilla, pasta, or cinnamon roll dough). Add more water if too stiff. Add more flour if too watery. Add more paint if too light in color (hold up to wall to test).
7. Knead until all parts are incoorperated.
8. Test on inconspicuous area.
9. Fill holes with putty (it doesn't take much).
10. If wall has a "bump" from the nail pushing out the wall, simply take a hammer and lightly tap against the wall to flatten surface.
11. Let dry :)

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To not remain empty any more...look at this: how do we get saved

White Out Covers Colorado Plains

My husband and I travel often.  Unfortunately, the many times that we make road trips, we encounter various obstacles along the way.

The first major road trip we took was moving from Tennessee to Colorado.  After battling the flu and being snowbound in Gatlinburg, we finally managed to leave town on a December afternoon.  We made it as far as Memphis until we were rear-ended and pushed into the car in front of us.  Sandwiched!  Our car was totaled.

After moving to Denver, we began taking road trips up North to visit Nathan’s family.  It is only supposed to be an hour-and-a-half trip, so sometimes we visit on the weekends.  However, on one of these occasions, we got stuck in Friday-night traffic, and the trip took 3 hours.

Last October we volunteered for a campaign in Oklahoma.  (The campaign was excellent!)  We also had volunteered to drive; about 60 miles outside of Denver on the return home, the semi in front of us decided to blow a tire.  We ran over it. Fortunately, we were able to drive the van back home, but we drove less than 40mph and repaired a tire and a gasket that week.

This past December, we decided to head up North, again, for Christmas.  This time, we left on a Wednesday.  (“Yay! No traffic,” we thought.)  It was snowing a bit when we left, but as we drove on, we headed into a blizzard.  That same blizzard dropped a foot of snow on Denver that night.  We didn’t even know if we were on the road at some points. It took more than 3 hours, in the dark, in the blizzard. 

Just yesterday, we took a trip to Burlington.  They had offered Nathan an opportunity to teach class and preach. (THANK YOU for this wonderful opportunity!)  Burlington is about a 2 to 3 hour drive east of Denver, almost to the Kansas border.  So at 6:00am we were on the road again. My husband was gracious enough to drive, seeing as though I am not a morning person, and I happily dozed off in the passenger seat.  About an hour-and-a-half into the trip, I awoke with a startle.  Everything out the window was white.  The sky was white, the ground was white, and the car we should have seen in front of us was white.  It was NOT snowing, but it had snowed the previous week.  But with the overcast skies and the wind harshly throwing the snow in the air, we were surrounded by a white bubble.  It was like a thick whirlwind of fog encapsulating us.  Amazing!  We couldn’t see past a hundred yards; yet going 50mph on the interstate, it seemed like only 10 feet.  It was terrifying. 

I couldn’t think of anything else but to spout out “When the skies above you are gray, you are feeling so blue!” And then, for my husband’s sake, I silently sang to myself the rest of the song...

“When you’re cares and burdens seem great all the whole day through,

There’s a silver lining that shine, in the heavenly land;

Look by faith and see it my friend, trust in His promises grand.”

At the end of my silent song, we pulled off at a rest stop.  We bundled up tightly and faced the windstorm to take a break that was much needed.  Five minutes later, we bundled up again to head out on the road again.  But as soon as we got on the interstate, we noticed a difference like night to day.  The winds had died down, the grass was poking through the snow, and the sun was peaking out through the clouds to form that blessed silver lining.

Thank you, God, for the safety you have provided.  May we trust You, not only during our physical obstacles but, more importantly, during our spiritual struggles.

How to Make Homemade Pizza (in 30 minutes)

It is Saturday evening, and as usual, our weekend ritual did not cease. My husband loves pizza.--Confession: I do too!-- From the time we got married, I have been working from day one to make the perfect pizza. My poor husband has had to put up with the all-too-many failures, and I still fail occassionally. Of course, my mother-in-law makes the perfect crust; but, alas, you must use yeast (and wait...and wait...and wait...just like that homemade pasta from the kneader's kitchen). Thus, I have attempted to create a 30 minute pourable crust. The crust, I dare say, is most important. Too fluffy or crisp and the whole thing is ruined. Without it, it would just be a pile of soggy meat and vegetables.

Oh, but the crust without the toppings would just be bread. The pepperoni, the salami, the ham, the sausage, the chicken...and that's just for the meat lovers. The zucchini, the tomatoes, the bell peppers, the onions, the mushrooms, the mozzarella and cheddar cheese...scrumptious toppings. And yet, without the sauce it would just be dry. The spices, the tangy tomato sauce, the creamy luscious Alfredo dressing, the spicy buffalo for heat...all unique and delectable.
"The more toppings the better!" we always say.

Have you noticed I love food? And have you noticed I love the church? Christ is the necessary foundation for the perfect church. The One that establishes us and makes us delectable. Without Him, we would just be a soggy mess. But the variety is SO good: the elderly women who hardly speaks, but will always bring you a pie when you need it the most...the loud mouth man, who without him, there would be no direction....the fast and furious mother with five little ducklings in a row that tries to attempt to organize a tea and conduct VBS on top of teaching Sunday Bible school...the soft-spoken but structured man who utters a word only when truth is needed. All of them are founded on Christ Himself. All of them work together through their differences to enhance the flavor of one another. "The more the better!" we always say.

The perfect pizza.

The 30-minute Pourable Pizza

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt (garlic salt is even better)
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
3 tbsp sugar (yes, sugar)
2 tbsp baking powder (double acting)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 eggs

Sauce (we prefer the zesty italian or pasta sauce for more flavor)

Toppings:
"The more the better!"

First 7 minutes
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredient (first 5) in large mixing bowl with whisk.
3. Add wet ingredients (last 3) and mix with whisk.
4. Pour two large, greased cookie sheets (or pizza pans), making 2 mounds.
5. Spread mounds into 11 inch circles by slowly tilting the cookie sheet in a circular motion or use the back of a spoon. (It is very important to get the batter thin and level as the batter will double to triple in thickness. If thick, the batter will end up like cake. If thin, the batter will rise to a normal size. For an even denser and thinner crust, leave out the baking powder and cook longer as the batter will be thick. If your pans are too small, make a rectangle crust on a cookie sheet).

Next 13 minutes
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Meanwhile, prepare toppings by chopping into bite-sized pieces. Prepare sauce if needed.

Last 10 minutes
8. Carefully remove pizza from the oven and spread sauce until 1 inch from sides. Use back of spoon.
9. Place toppings on top of sauce, leaving cheese for last. Sprinkle cheese over top.
10. Bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and toppings are heated through.
(Set table and clean up while waiting on finishing touches)

ENJOY!

This is Just a Blog Telling You I'll Post on Mondays.

This is just a blog telling you I'll post on Mondays.

Yep.  That's it.  And you thought I was more clever than that.
Check my blog weekly for Motivational Mondays.
Now you don't have to do guess work for motivation.

That's it.
This is just  blog telling you I'll post on Mondays.

My Friends Clean My Earwax

"Fee, what did you say that stuff is that you pour into your ears to get them clean?" I asked while poking my ear, hoping my finger would work like plunger to relieve the pressure.

--Colds are not fun.  It starts with a runny nose that turns into a waterfall.  Then somehow, the throat becomes puffy and dry while the nose is left shriveled and moist like a prune.  The worst colds can settle deep into the chest so that Sopranos sing Tenor and Altos just sound like a frog; other colds will merely place a pounding little drummer in the innermost parts of the head awaiting an explosion.--

"Hydrogen Peroxide. Setti, go grab some," Fee replied as her daughter dashed off for the miracle drug.

Two minutes later, I found myself lying on Fee's couch like a sick puppy begging for attention.  After she splashed some HP in my ear, I continued to lie helplessly, listening to the little volcano that erupted in my ear.  Our other friend Katie watched intently, amused by how something so small could remove the muffling earmuffs and drummer that pounded at my head.  So, she too, partook in the ceremonial cleansing.  For a good fifteen minutes we were under the care of "Dr. Fee."

Yep, my friends like to clean my earwax.

It sounds gross, but it's true.  Friends are notorious for cleaning up earwax.

A true friend lends their advice and "miracle drug" of a listening ear.  When down in the depths, when struggling even to roll out of bed in the mornings, a friend will lift you up and help you stand on your own two feet.  When the pressures of life pound at your head, and when stress seems to smother you whole, a true friend uses her "miracle drug" of companionship to relieve the pain.  When not only your eyes are puffy from crying so much but your nose is stuffy, too, a friend will sit beside you with a shoulder to lean on and a tissue in her hand.

Thank you, God, for friends that clean my earwax.
Proverbs 17:17

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To get those kinds of friends we need to learn how do we get saved.

I Have A Little Secret

Once in awhile, my husband and I go on a date night.  We don't go on a date night, we dress our best and splurge on this fancy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant not too far away.  The place is quiet and has a pleasant atmosphere filled with candles and soft music.  They play whatever we request that night.  We sit down at a comfortable table for two by a large window overlooking the soft fallen snow on a tree close by.  Placed before us are the best sets of dishes, cloth napkins, fancy menus, and an appetizer just waiting for us to dine.  The specialty there is the herb and chive cheese with vegetable crackers to start and a house salad just to wet our palates.  We always order the special of the day, whether it be the juicy New Orleans Grilled Chicken with Baby Snap Peas, the succulent Grilled Sausage with Seasoned Peppers and Onions, the Garden Vegetable Chicken and Gnocchi soup, or the loaded Supreme Stromboli with fresh Garlic Bread on the side.  For this special moment we sit with one another, face-to-face, and spend at least an hour dining and discussing our days, dreams, and hopes to come.  With our after-dinner coffee, we always look forward to our favorite choice of dessert (homemade chocolate cake a la mode, fresh banana pudding, or huge chocolate chip cookies with ice cream).  A night alone, just the two of us, with candles, our choice of music, a five course meal, conversation, and top it off with dessert.  Spectacular.

Actually, the best part about it is that it is "Free."  Yes.  You read that right.  "A free date night with my husband?!  Where he'll actually spend a whole hour talking with me and I feel no guilt?  How is that possible? I wanna free date night with my husband,"  I can hear you talking to your screen now.

I'll let you in on my little secret if you keep it that way. 

The truth is...
I love my husband.  I love him so much candle are lit throughout the house before he even comes home.  I love him so much that dinner is prepared even before he walks through our door.  I love him so much that a prepared and printed "menu" (thank you, technology!) awaits on the table so date night becomes official.  I love him so much we use the best dishes we own, dress our best, and spritz up the atmosphere with music, just for my husband.  Don't get me wrong, I'm far... FAR from perfect  (thank you, God, for giving me a patient husband.)  But it's worth it to try to show him that "I love him that much!"


We are the Bride of Christ.  Do we love Him so much that we will sit down and have a cup of coffee with Him every morning?  Do we love Him so much that we will plan a date night with Him, just so we can have an hour of uninterrupted conversation?  Do we love Him so much that we long to be with Him even to the point to give up our time, our energy, our life?

I hope you can say:

Yes, I love Him that much!

"Honey, I Think We Need to Have a Baby."

"Honey, I think we need to have a baby," I said the other night to my husband's attentive ears. "It will give us something to blog about," clarifying laughing with a smile on my face.

Isn't it true, though?  I have a new neice that is now 4 months old.  She is perfect.  She does no wrong.  Just ask the family.  It is true. She is beautiful...so beautiful even her mommy likes to pick her boogers (just ask).  She is blogged about, talked about, thought about, sought after, gived to, hoped for, and she is growing up so quickly.  As of now, the world revolves around her. Every picture that our family posts ends up with her in it...somehow.  Every blog that our family writes has her in the back of our minds if she is not the focus.  Every conversation that is held must have the words "Eden Claire" in it at least a dozen times.  But isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

We have a newborn brother or sister in Christ.  They are perfect ... for that very moment every sin has been washed away.  They have not yet done no wrong.  Just ask the family.  It is true.  They are beautiful.  But do we talk with them, pray for them, think about them, seek after them, give to them, hope for them, and see them growing up so quickly?  Do we take care of their every need and help them up when they are learning to walk?  Do we continue to feed them milk until they are ready for meat? 

Praise God for the new converts class!

Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

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To find out how to become a newborn babe, search how do I get salvation.

 

"Who Ordered the Steak?"

Imagine one evening you and your family decide to splurge for a top-of-the-line Roadhouse dinner. You walk in, smell the aroma of steak sauce mixed with roasted peanuts and piping hot baked potatoes. Across the room you can see the grill fired up with smoke rising to the ceiling. Deciding not to spoil your dinner, you pass on the barrel overflowing with peanuts and merely walk on the crisp shells to grab a menu from the hostess' counter. Glancing over the menu, you quickly decide that it is a rare opportunity to share with your family; thus, you might as well go all out and order the succulent prime-rib.

Sitting down at the hardwood table you lean back in your cushioned chair listening to your stomach rumble. In just minute the feast should arrive before you ... piping-hot loaded baked potato full of real bacon bits and three gourmet cheeses, sauteed shrimp in a light buttery sauce, and juicy and tender prime-rib ordered just the way you like it. You peer across the crowded dining hall searching for your waiter with the massive tray in hand. Finally, what seems like hours, you spot him coming your way just in time.

One by one he carefully sets the each plate before the owner until he calls your own..."Who ordered the steak?" he asks. "Over here!" you exclaim while raising your hand. But instead he throws the plate in front of you without care; before you have a chance of rebuttal you are face-to-face with a slimy, stale peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "How could this happen?" you think to yourself. You begin to complain profusely to the waiter, but nonchalantly he explains they ran out potatoes at noon and forgot to take the steaks and shrimp out of the freezer. "Sorry, but this will just have to do."

Hungry and disappointed, you walk out with an empty body and discontentment.

The same is true for a student who walks away hungry if we as teachers do not serve the bread of life. As teachers of God's Word, it is our responsibility to be prepared. We must "order the potatoes and take the steaks out of the freezer" when serving up the most important meal of the day. As an Adult Bible Class teacher do you wait until Saturday until thinking about your lesson or pray and study diligently all week? As a Children's Bible Class teacher rush in last minute or know the memory verse by heart?

This week, I'm servin' steak.