Max Lucado

For the last few days I've been focusing on a an excerpt from Max Lucado's book Grace for the Moment.  It's actually not even part of the daily devotions - it's between his preface and chapter 1 - not sure what that makes it...  Anyway, here it goes.

It's quiet.  It's early.  My coffee is hot.  The sky is still black.  The world is still asleep.  The day is coming.  In a few moments the day will arrive.  It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.  The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day.  The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race.  The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. 

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands.  it is now that I must make a choice.  Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose.  And so I choose.

I choose Love...  No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.  I choose love.  Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy...  I will invite my God to be the god of circumstance.  I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of the laxy thinker.  I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.  I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace... I will live forgiven.  I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience...  I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.  Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite his to do so.  Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray.  Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness...  I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.  Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.  And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has traeted me.

I choose goodness...  I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.  I will be overlooked before I will boast.  I will confess before I will accuse.  I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness...  Today I will keep my promises.  My debtors will not regret their trust.  My associates will not question my word.  My wife will not question my love.  And my children will never fear that their father will nto come home.

I choose gentleness...  Nothing is won by force.  I choose to be gentle.  if I raise my voice may it be only in praise.  If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.  If I make a demand, may it be only of myself. 

I choose self-control...  I am a spiritual being...  After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.  I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal.  I choose self-control.  I will be drunk only by joy.  I will be impassioned only by my faith.  I will be influenced only by God.  I will be taught only by Christ.  I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  To these I commit my day.  If I succeed, I will give thanks.  If i fail, I will seek his grace.  And then, when this day is done, I will place amy head on my pillow and rest.

As you can see I've been focusing on the fruits of the spirit.  I subscribe to All Things Heart and Home and today I recieved this in my inbox...Hearing God Through Circumstances
This makes me smile.  Thought it might make you smile too : )

Paula Deen has struck again

My mother-in-law gets me a subscription to Cooking with Paula Deen every year for Christmas.  Talk about a gift that my whole family has benefited from!  I love it!  And the January/February issue this year has been the source of my last three recipe posts!  Sooo good!  This is actually a slight variation on her 'Individual Chicken pot Pies'.
As is usually the case, I have been making Chicken Pot Pie for years now, but have not been entirely happy with the outcome.... until now!  All I'm going to preface this recipe with is this, it has bacon in it... I know, right?! 

Chicken Pot Pie
2 T butter
3 1/4 lbs bone-in chicken breasts, skinned (about 3)
1 3/4 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 slices bacon
1 (8oz) packaged sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, peas, green beans)
2 crust pie-crust
1 large egg

Melt butter in large skillet and saute onion and celery.  Boil chicken in water, remove and shred.  Fry bacon, remove and saute mushrooms.  Combine onions, celery, chicken, soup, bacon, mushrooms, pepper, salt, flour and frozen vegetables.  Stir and turn off heat.  Prepare pie plate with pie crust.  Pour in filling, add top crust and brush with egg white.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  Watch closely in last 5 minutes to prevent burning.  Let sit for 10 minutes upon removing from the oven.

Mexican White Bean Soup

Seriously.  We fought over the leftovers.

Mexican Chicken-White Bean Soup (aslo from Paula Deen)
1 T butter
2 cups chopped white onion
1 cup chopped poblano pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 jalopenos, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups chicken broth
1 (16 oz) package dried great northern beans, soaked, drained, and rinsed
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
2 1/2 lbs bone-in chicken breasts
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 T fresh lime juice
Garnish:  lime wedges

In a 6 qt pressure cooker, melt butter over medium high heat.  Add onion, peppers, celery and garlic.  Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until onion starts to soften.  Stir in broth, beans, cumin, and salt.  Nestle chicken into broth mixture.
Secure lid on cooker, and bring to high pressure over high heat.  Immediately reduce heat to low to maintain pressure, and cook for 13 minutes.  Remove from heat, and use natural-release method. 
Remove chicken from cooker.  Remove and discard skin and bones; shred meat using 2 forks.  Stir shredded chicken, cilantro, and lime juice into soup.  Garnish with lime wedges if desired.

Again, I don't have a pressure cooker (yet) so I boiled the chicken and then shredded.  Then I combined all ingredients using some of the water that I boiled the chicken in, and simmered for a good hour and a half.  Yummy!!  I completely recommend serving with bread : )

Red Beans and Rice Soup

This is supposed to be made with a pressure cooker - if I had one that would be awesome.  I just sauteed where necessary and then put it in the crockpot for the day.  Then, of course made the rice just before serving.  Huge hit.  My man loved it and he's actually not a huge fan of soup. 

Red Beans and Rice Soup
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 (16 oz.) package smoked sausage, sliced
2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Creole seasoning
5 cups chicken broth
1 (16 oz) package dried light red kidney beans, soaked overnight (I used the quick soak method), drained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
4 cups hot cooked rice

Heat a 6 qt pressure cooker over medium heat.  Add bacon, and cook for 6 minutes or until crisp.  Add sausage, bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic, and Creole seasoning; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes or until onion starts to soften.  Stir in chicken broth, beans, and bay leaves.
Secure lid on cooker, and bring to high pressure over high heat.  Immediately reduce heat to low to maintain pressure, and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, and use natural-release method.  Remove and discard bay leaves.  Serve soup with rice.

BTW, this was Paula Deen again (January/February 2012).

Prayer Warrior

I'm just going to share with you what my journaling time was about this morning (don't let that fool you I don't get to do that every morning).  I want to be a prayer warrior.  I use this term because it's the first one to come to mind to describe what I'm talking about.  Maybe you've heard this passed around.  What it means to me is this:  someone who regularly spends commited, focused time in dialogue with God.  Who often times keeps a prayer journal that is consistent and often times has recorded answered prayers.  I'm going to admit to you that I am presently not a prayer warrior.  My time set aside for prayer is often hurried and usually if I have a prayer list going I'm reading through it.  Granted my time to myself is very limited.  And I can hear the voices in my life giving me the benefit of the doubt (mother : ).   

But, what I really want is to have that sweet time that I usually experience during praise.  Those whispered encouragements and instructions that come from God alone when you have set aside time to meet with Him.  I know He's there waiting for me - and yet I so rarely make it a priority.  I heard once that prayer warriors just can't help it.  That they feel compelled to reach out to God and lift everything up to Him.  That's what I want.  Because once again I find that I am too weak to do it on my own.  That I need His help.  So here it is, I want God to make me a prayer warrior.  To compel me to that sweet time.  To battle it out for my family.  And I want Him to give me a love for His word.  To renew my mind with it - to be compelled - to have a thirst for it that just can't be quenched.  A student of it.  Lord, give me wisdom....  the list is unending.  This is why I need to be a prayer warrior!  There's so much that needs His attention in my life. 

Are you a prayer warrior?

Sweet and Sassy Chili

This is MY new favorite chili.  It doesn't sear your tongue right off ; ) (of course I skip the jalopenos).

Sweet and Sassy Chili

2 pounds Ground Beef
1 pound Ground Pork
1 whole Green Pepper
1 whole Red Pepper
1 whole Sweet Onion
5 whole Jalopenos
1 can (15 Oz. Can) White Cannellini Beans
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Red Cannellini Beans
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Black Eyed Peas
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Corn
1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Crushed Tomatoes
3 cups Spicy Tomato Juice V8
2 packages (1.25 Oz. Packet) McCormicks Chili Seasoning
1 cup Ketchup
1 whole Lime
4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Preparation InstructionsSaute the meat over medium heat until browned; then drain the grease. Add to a crock pot.
Dice and saute peppers, onions and jalapenos (de-seeded) over medium heat. When they are nice and soft, add them to the pot.
Rinse and drain the beans and peas; add to the pot. Mix all together.

Add remaining ingredients of seasoning packets, ketchup, juice of lime, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, tomatoes, tomato juice, and drained corn.
Give it one big stir and set the crock pot on low for 8 hours.
I like to serve this with a bit of shredded cheese on top and tortilla chips on the side. This recipe is great because you can alter the hot or sweet flavors by changing the amounts of jalapenos or brown sugar. You can combine everything at night and then turn the crock pot on in the morning. Enjoy!

Wowzers... Hamburger Soup

Well, we have been wonderful.  Lately.  I haven't posted for quite some time so you haven't been so lucky to hear my vomiting stories : )  But, recently we've all felt well and have been enjoying back to school.  I say that but it's been awfully hard to get up early since Christmas break!  And poor little Christopher is still teething...  I couldn't tell you if it's his 1 year molars or his eye and stomach teeth, but does it really matter?

Needless to say, 3 of us vomited in one day (on the same day we tried to go see Santa!) and to 3 others vomited in the days before and after Christmas.  My husband called it a comedy of errors and I think that pretty much covers it!

As soon as the colder weather hit (which took an awfully long time in these parts this year) I started making soups.  Really kind of funny how the thermometer drops and I immediately start preparing soup and bread!

I'll start with this b/c I've made it so many times already - instant favorite!!

Hamburger Soup
1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopping onion
6 cubes beef bouillon
5 cups water
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen corn
1 tsp dried basil
3 T ketchup

Brown burger, drain.  Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.

FYI, I'm already doubling this for my family!!