Good Reminder...

This has been around the e-mail circuit for a while now, but it is worth putting here...I need the reminder.

Who Started This Christmas Stuff?

A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable; and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year - overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened, and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed, she couldn't take it anymore and she stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."

From the back of the car, everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified Him."

For the rest of the trip down in the elevator, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

This year, don't forget to keep "the One who started this whole Christmas thing" in your every thought, deed, purchase and words. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.


"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Merry Christmas!! -deb

She's soo haappy

I swore I would never be one of those....you know who you are Robin.

But...

I have turned to the dog side.

Meet Margaret Thatcher...Maggi...The Mags, as her Mommy likes to call her. I also call her sweet cheeks, butterball, and princess. She looks like an angel doesn't she?? That's what I need to buy her next, a set of angel wings!! She already has the halo.

She has the sweetest kisses and she jiggles like a bowl full of jelly when I so much as look at her.

Even though I fought the idea of another dog...especially one that actually cost money, I lost -but really I won. I don't think I could love a dog more. She's only a baby, a special needs baby at that, but worth all the cleaning, wiping, walking and lost sleep.

My new motto is "an outfit isn't complete without dog hair."

Expect to see more pics of her here, but first I need a nap!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The original thanksgiving celebration was held by the Pilgrim settlers in Massachusetts during their second winter in America in December, 1621. The first winter had killed 44 of the original 102 colonists. At one point their daily food ration was down to five kernels of corn apiece, but then an unexpected trading vessel arrived, swapping them beaver pelts for corn, providing for their severe need. The next summer’s crop brought hope, and Governor William Bradford decreed that December 13, 1621, be set aside as a day of feasting and prayer to show the gratitude of the colonists that they were still alive.These Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom and opportunity in America, gave thanks to God for His provision for them in helping them find 20 acres of cleared land, for the fact that there were no hostile Indians in that area, for their newfound religious freedom, and for God’s provision of an interpreter to the Indians in Squanto. Along with the feasting and games involving the colonists and more than 80 friendly Indians (who added to the feast by bringing wild turkeys and venison), prayers, sermons, and songs of praise were important in the celebration. Three days were spent in feasting and prayer.From that time forward, Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a day to give thanks to God for His gracious and sufficient provision. President Abraham Lincoln officially set aside the last Thursday of November, in 1863, “as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.” In 1941, Congress ruled that after 1941, the fourth Thursday of November be observed as Thanksgiving Day and be a legal holiday.Scripturally, we find things related to the issue of thanksgiving nearly from cover to cover. Individuals offered up sacrifices out of gratitude in the book of Genesis. The Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were delivered from Pharaoh's army after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Later, the Mosaic Law set aside three times each year when the Israelites were to gather together. All three of these times [Unleavened Bread (also called the Feast of the Passover) (Exodus 12:15-20), Harvest or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21), and the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36)] involved remembering God’s provision and grace. Harvest and Tabernacles took place specifically in relation to God’s provision in the harvest of various fruit trees and crops. The book of Psalms is packed full of songs of thanksgiving, both for God’s grace to the Israelite people as a whole through His mighty deeds, as well as for His individual graces to each of us.In the New Testament, there are repeated admonitions to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is to always be a part of our prayers. Some of the most remembered passages on the giving of thanks are the following:"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)."Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6)."Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1).Of all of God’s gifts, the greatest one He has given is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid our sin debt, so a holy and just Judge could forgive us our sins and give us eternal life as a free gift. This gift is available to those who will call on Christ to save them from their sin in simple but sincere faith (John 3:16; Romans 3:19-26; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10). For this gift of His Son, the gift which meets our greatest need, the Apostle Paul says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).We, like the Pilgrims, have a choice. In life there will always be those things that we can complain about (the Pilgrims had lost many loved ones), but there will also be much to be thankful for. As our society becomes increasingly secular, the actual “giving of thanks to God” during our annual Thanksgiving holiday is being overlooked, leaving only the feasting. May God grant that He may find us grateful every day for all of His gifts, spiritual and material. God is good, and every good gift comes from Him (James 1:17). For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even events we would not necessarily consider good (Romans 8:28-30). May He find us to be His grateful children.

This is for you Katibug

This says it all

check out this website www.despair.com -be prepared to laugh

Do you feel blogging is addictive? Not just the posting, but the reading of other blogs and all the other that must be said about it? I may need a 12 step program before this is over.
I just burnt 2 large pans of cornbread because of blogging. I only wanted one pan of cornbread in the first place, but since I was thinking about my blog while preparing the cornbread I accidentally doubled the amount of liquid and put it in my dry ingredients. So when the stuff was still like water while I was whisking it, I realized what I did. So, I had to make a double batch. And the said cornbread didn't burn because I was posting or reading blogs, is was because I was talking on the phone about -yep, blogging. Robin and I were just chatting away about our blogs, she sure is a fast learner. Anyway, when I got off the phone with her I called my husband, accidentally, because I was trying to call his Mom and check on her. (And yes, it was because I was reading blogs online, just various ones. I found this cute one with brand new kitty's on it, oh sorry...) Since I had him on the phone, I decided to see what he wanted for dinner when he got home. It was then I smelled the cornbread --burning!! To make matters worse, since I doubled it, I used all my mix that I had on hand so I couldn't start over...and this was for work tomorrow. Everyone is counting on me. Oh, the pressure. I know they won't want to hear me tell my excuses...I'll tell them to read it on my blog.

Thoughts to Think on

These are thoughts on Forgiveness. I do love thinking on things of God. I don't mean things that the world thinks about God, but what God thinks about His Son. Here are a few questions to get your thoughts turning on Him. And then I will tell a story.



*What does it mean to you that your sins have been taken away?
*Understanding that confession is agreeing with God, and that it is always a healthy practice; what does it mean to you that forgiveness is not dependent upon your memory and ability to confess every sin?
*What does the phrase "once for all" mean to you? Read 1 Peter 3:18a
*How do we sometimes lack confidence in the "once for all"? Read Hebrews 10:3
*Should there really ever be guilt associated with a free gift?
*How are asking and thanking different?
*Why is thanking God for forgiveness more in line with Scripture? Read Colossians 3:15

Here's a true story: It was Gavin's 1st birthday. Everyone the family knew was at his party. His proud Daddy put him on his shoulders and began telling everyone how much he loved Gavin. How Gavin brought him so much happiness and he told of all the cute and wonderful things Gavin did everyday. How much joy his son brought into his life. The Dad went on and on about how much his son pleased him. While he was speaking someone from the back shouted out, "I have a drinking problem." On the heels of that comment, someone else muttered. "I've got a critical spirit." Yet another confessed, "I struggle with lust." Soon, chatter gave way to more chatter and the whole focus of the event had shifted. No longer was anyone concerned with Gavin and what his Father had to say about Him. Instead, everyone seemed to be consumed with their own issues.
How ridiculous! How inappropriate.
Of course, this event never really occurred. But I tell the tale to tell a truth. To illustrate a point that God has lifted His Son high, seated at His right hand. God has declared that His Son's works are awesome and that we should marvel in them. The central purpose of our lives is to focus on the Son, and in so doing, we please the Father.
As the father in the story hoped that all would genuinely celebrate his son on his birthday, God the Father desires us to be obsessed with His begotten. We are to eat of His flesh, drink of His blood and relish His finished work on Calvary.
Sadly, some Christians are so self-consumed that it's nearly impossible to get them to talk about anything other than their sins. It's as if their sense of importance stems from the fact that they are dealing with struggles. These struggles enable them to think about themselves, converse about themselves and even obsess about themselves - sometimes with a spiritual label on it all.

Well, now you know some of what I have been thinking about...I hope you too are thinking on things of God. Namely, His Son.

Soon I will share thoughts on the fact that Jesus is sitting at God's right hand.

Easiest Ever Brownies

My daughter told me that I'm way behind on my blog. I think she and I are the only ones reading it and we talk often so I haven't worried to much about it. But, for posterity, I wanted to put a recipe on my blog for all the world to see. So here is a recipe for the easiest, fudgiest, richest, most delicious brownies I've ever tasted. The thing is they can be so personal too. Because the ingredients are somewhat already prepared for you, you can choose the flavors you want to use. After you read the recipe I'll give you some ideas for variations; if you can't handle the chocolate...

Fudgy Brownies

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 bag chocolate chips

(nuts, coconut, chopped candy bars, caramel, toffee chips – any add-ins you like)

In mixer bowl combine pudding mix and milk, blend 1 minute. Add dry cake mix and when moistened stir in chocolate chips. (Here is where you stir in any extras you want)

Spread into a 9x13 baking pan, which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes until set. It may still be just a little itty bit jiggly in the center, because you want to watch the edges so they don't get overdone.

These are wonderful right out of the oven, maybe with a scoop of ice cream... but they are also delicious when cooled. They stay very moist and are almost fudge-like. Once they are cooled you can frost them if you wish, but they are quite good just by themselves.

Here are some ideas to change it up a bit...

German Chocolate: Use the chocolate pudding, with a German chocolate cake mix, and milk chocolate chips. Add in some coconut and pecans before baking. And/or use a coconut-pecan frosting on top.

Dark Chocolate: Use the Chocolate Fudge pudding mix, a Dark Chocolate cake mix or something very rich, and use Dark Chocolate Chips. Try using chocolate milk just to go over the edge with it.

Holiday Spice: Use a French Vanilla pudding (or Pumpkin Spice if it's in season), a Spice cake mix and White Chocolate Chips. And perhaps some chopped pecans or walnuts, and maybe even some finely grated carrot for a carrot cake taste. A cream cheese frosting would put these over the top.

Lemon: Use a Lemon or Vanilla pudding, Lemon cake mix, again with the White Chocolate Chips. This should be simple enough, but some powdered sugar sifted on the cooled bars would be extra special.

Black Forrest: Use the chocolate pudding and cake mix and chips as the recipe states, but add in some cherries, maybe maraschino or dried. Or you could just serve the original recipe of brownies with some canned cherry pie filling on top.

Peanut Butter Cup: Follow the recipe above but swirl in some peanut butter before baking and you could even chop some peanut butter cups and add those in at the add in stage with the chocolate chips.

Mocha: Dissolve some instant coffee granules in the milk before mixing.

Like I said...the possibilities are endless!!!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I'll bet this is a very popular heading for a blog. But I didn't want to use day three or OK, what do I do next. I wanted something much more clever since I don't actually know what to do next with my day three blog. But since I'm finding that coming up with a new blog fairly often is putting pressure on me to come up with something original of my own, and, since I have already confessed I have a problem with that, I decided to share a few of my favorite things...things I enjoy looking at online. So, it might not seem very original to give you other peoples websites to look at, but hey, I'll think you'll enjoy it all the same.

I'm going to build up here...first, this is a simple website and I don't know how I came across it -that happens all the time. This is Tuesdays with Torri. It's very bloggish. You sign up and on Tuesdays you get an email with a new recipe. They are normally very interesting. This week looks pretty good, Halloween vegetarian chili. My daughter is a vegetarian. She has been doing very well with that, given she really has never liked vegetables much. But she's learning. I think she's doing great at keeping away from that "freshman 15", as they call those extra pounds that freshmen in college seem to put on. She has actually come a long way in her veggie distaste, and she feels she is saving animals at the same time. I salute her; with a fried chicken leg behind my back. The recipes on this site are not really down home cooking, but they aren't too foo-foo either. I made the Marianna's olive poppers for a family gathering...they were a hit. I think kids would love to make these, especially if they like little green olives and cheesy crackers things. But I will warn you, the sodium level is beyond belief. You can feel your blood pressure rising just by reading the recipe. So now you know their good! I encourage you to check out this site. You might want to sign up and get your very own email on Tuesdays.

Next, is a website I have found indispensable in my personal Bible study. Sometimes you just got questions. You know, questions about the Bible, God, religion, angels, prayer, cults and other things that just sort of come up in your mind and you want a simple quick answer. Well this site is a good source for that. I'm not saying they are probably right about every question, but so far the site has proven to be very sound. They give the source of their answers and the authors of the books they reference are people I like to read and I trust. Some I even listen to on the radio. John MacArthur and Chuck Swindoll just to name a couple. And you can sign up on this site too and receive an email each week featuring a new question. This week was about racism and the Bible.

Well, I have one more. And since I am building up, I was perplexed as to which one I would end with as the "best". Then I realized this isn't really about best. This is only a few of the sites I like to look at and they aren't necessarily in order of best. But I just discovered this site, (And it is in conjunction with that cute little pumpkin pin that Jane gave me; you silly girl, see what you did?) But I think most people I know would like this site. Man or Woman. You may have already heard of it. Probably so. It seems to be very popular. But I just discovered it so I am going to share it with you. I especially enjoy the recipes on this site. They are real down home. And the photos and the directions and comments she gives can really make your mouth water; either from hunger or from laughing hard. You know, I think it is a blog, but to me, it is a full blown website. She puts in a lot of time on the computer...look who's talking. This girl -or should I say this Pioneer Woman, she is clever and witty, but not so deep. That's one thing that makes it so interesting to read. Plus she is an amazing photographer. She is from Oklahoma and a wife to a cowboy she calls her Marlboro Man. (I doubt he smokes) She is also a home school mom to her 4 punks, as she lovingly refers to her children. She gives some really good tips for home schooling besides cooking and photography. I suggest you check it out when you have some time to sit and browse.

Thanks for sitting and browsing on my blog. This has been fun...

Day two...

Being new to the blog world I have been doing my homework by studying other blogs and I must confess, I am a bit overwhelmed with how lovely they all look and how interesting everyone is. And frankly, it sort of brings out the insecure side of me...that's my bad side. Also my big side. Bigger than my backside. Bigger than my front side, which I always thought was my biggest side, but I know that my insecure side is my biggest side. That's the side I try hardest to hide.

So far I have told only three people about this blog and even then I am nervous about them reading it. But I have determined to do this. I want to share my thoughts and ideas here. I am a very open person and sometimes I say things before really thinking it through. But I've found that writing things have always seemed to be the better option for me. I can backspace and redo my words and thoughts many times before sending it out. And even then, I can get myself into trouble. Thankfully I don't really have anything to hide. Except for the above mentioned insecure side - but that's why we're here.

I want to be clever, and witty, and smart and deep...those are sides of me I'm not sure are really in me. I'm just hoping. Honestly, I am a bit of a plagiarizer when it comes to a lot of things. I don't think I have very many original thoughts. But then again, I don't think I think about it like that when I do have an original thought (trust me, I really am backspacing and redoing a lot of my thoughts here, really). I guess I just have a thought of my own and go with it and don't take the time to say, Ooh, that's my very own thought. So we're just going to see how it goes.

So for a little plagiarism. Here is a line from a blog written by a good friend, and it describes me so well. It describes what happened to my husband and me almost a year ago. It describes this blog. It describes why I get excited about new and different things in life each day. To me it describes why we should be content with whatever God allows to come along in life. We may view it as good or bad, but at some point we should be able to see the good in the unexpected.

"I must say that even though each of us may at times find a bend in the road that we had not expected...good things can come from taking that new path."

Amen.

In the beginning...

This is my first time to blog. I had heard of blogging but didn't know a thing about it until I received this lovely little handmade needle punched pumpkin pin from a dear friend who told me about her sister, another dear friend, who has a blog and if I looked there she describes how to needle punch.

Oh, man, she does a lot more than that on her blog. First, I was struck by how cute it was, all primitive and old timey. But, it was very professional. Just like a real website...guess it is. And then I heard the music. Man does she have good taste in music, almost every song I would have picked. Then I started seeing pictures of her adorable grandson and I was just hooked.

And here I am now...there is so much more to this story, and it involves me spending to much time on the internet...which is what is happening right now! But I already know, this blogging stuff is going to be fun!!!

And all because of a cute little pumpkin pin...which will be on my collar tomorrow.