good morning beautiful friends. I hope and pray this finds you all doing well. I hope you're having pretty weather in your neck of the woods. it's been a pretty all weekend here and I hope, going into Thanksgiving week, that it will continue to be pretty. if you're traveling, please be safe. I don't think I even want to leave my home this week, with all the crazies on the road, why add one more to the mix. hahahaha oh, we'll probably get out. we'll have some errands to run and the like. but hopefully we can stay safe and get home quickly. hahaha we're just not travel bugs any more. we used to love to travel, but we are home bodies now and love being at home. whether you love being home or traveling, just enjoy doing whatever you do.
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at whose feet do you bow? what/who causes you to "take a knee"? know, before you bow or "take a knee", who you are submitting to. take up the cause of Christ. take a knee to Christ. bow to Christ. the enemy is on the prowl and Paul knew it and that is why he prayed this prayer.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15. from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16. that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17. that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18. may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19. to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21. to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
this is my prayer for all of us who are in Christ Jesus. to know the love of Christ that passes all understanding. there is no way in our finite, miniscule minds, that we could ever comprehend all the goodness that is stored up for us, now and in eternal glory. let us be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and let us allow Christ to live in our hearts. may we be the hands and feet of Jesus in our every day lives, loving others as Christ loves us. thank you Jesus for all you have done for us!!!!
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Do you believe in "divine appointments" or coincidences? I guess the way you think about that question will determine your answer. I realized many years ago, for myself, there are no coincidences. The more I learned about God the Father, God in the form of Holy Spirit, and God the Son, there is truly only divine appointments.
We never know where or when, but if we are open to the obedience of the calling that God has placed over our lives, there will be divine appointments. Of this, I'm sure. Only God will know what your divine appointments will look like for you. We just need to be ready in season and out of season, in other words, at all times. The enemy tries to steal our attention away form God. He does a pretty good job too.
You can be going down the road praising God and look up and see the price of gas, there goes the praise and worship fest. Right? Sadly, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Every day, on the part of this planet that God has placed us, we have the choice to be a stepping stone or a stumbling block. It is our choice. About the enemy stealing our attention from God, he also uses the issues going on in this country right now. We all know that is true. Pray earnestly for all these divisive problems in our country! Pray for our leaders in every level of our government, from the local city governments to the highest in the land, which is in Washington DC. Pray expecting God to do something!!! Pray continually.
But, about the divine appointments, do not let issues taking place across this land harden our hearts so much that we lose compassion for those that are in desperate situations. People we know are hurting. We may even be hurting ourselves. But for me, my heart was shut off to that. Until this morning. God showed me something through someone I don't even know, on face book, no less. Thru a family in a desperate situation clear across this country. God, through the Holy Spirit, encouraged me to reach out to this family through the only way that I could, prayer. I have been praying for this family as the Lord leads.
Even the enemy said my attempt was nothing to them. But, this morning, I found out that my feeble attempt has meant the world to them! And yes that humbled me!!! While I was very humbled to find out just how much it has meant to them, I was actually blown away, when the Holy Spirit revealed to me that it was actually for MY benefit!!! To break away the hardness that had settled in and around my heart.
Do you know that you too, may have some hardness around you heart, in the same way I did? If you do, allow yourself to be obedient to the call of God over your life and that hardness will be chipped away, one heartfelt and earnest prayer at a time. Obedience to God helps others, but it also helps us. Try it. You won't be disappointed.
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this is how I do my air fryer fried green tomatoes now. they're delicious.
hope you might give this a try. I can't remember if I have shared this here or not. this is something that I took down from my facebook page and wanted to share it here, that's why it looks like it does. as I was deleting stuff from my facebook page, if I thought it was something worth sharing here, I just done a scissor cut and pasted it into a pdf document so I could then use it on my blog. it was an orginal post of mine though. so, there may be repeats of things I've already shared. but I've made the executive decision that it's ok with me. I hope it's ok with y'all too. hahaha
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the days are a struggle at best anymore, with the sense of urgency that is in everyone's lives over the food situation. I get it. I understand as much as anyone about that. I've been around a while and seen the same sense of urgency a few times. some situations have just been the urgency in our personal lives that have made us change our habits. when these urgent situations have come up in your life in the past, then it helps you to be better able to adapt to what may be coming around the corner, hopefully.
when you go shopping and see the shelves, don't focus on what's not there, but focus on what "is" there. ask yourself how you can use what you do see and don't worry about what you don't see. I have learned early on in my life that I'm not shackled to one brand or to one store. I try to do my research and make a plan and a list and hit the trail. armed with a list and a plan, I know I have set myself up for success. even if my list changes and my plan changes, I've done all I could do before hand to be successful. if I have dried beans on my list, and they're out of what I wanted, I'll change that plan and get the next best thing close by. I may have wanted pinto beans. instead, I'll get red beans or black beans or whatever is there. if my plans changed a lot, I may be able to pick up 2 or 3 bags of whatever kind of beans I can get. one for now and another one or two for later. I usually go shopping with a set number of dollars to spend. if I can't get one type of meat, I'll look and see what is available and change my plans and get what I can get. I may even be able to get 2 pkgs of something else. one for now and one for later.
same thing with fresh produce. make your list and be flexible. get what you can get. when I look for green onions, I make sure I get green onions with root balls on the end. I'll cut all the usable part away and save about an inch plus the roots and I'll hydrate the roots for a day or so and then I'll plant the roots of each green onion and I can cut greens from them all summer. when they get about 7 - 9 inches above the ground, I'll cut it off and it'll keep on growing.
if we don't use it all, what's not used goes on the dehydrator. I'll do the same with leeks. I make sure they have plenty of good roots on them in the store and then cut the end off and hydrate those roots too and plant them and they do just like the green onions. so for the cost of 1 bundle of green onions and 1 bundle of leeks, I've been able to cut the greens off them and use and dehydrate all summer long and have a little to go on into the fall and winter with. you can also plant the end of your celery and get lots of flavorful celery leaves to use and also dehydrate.
when I get home with my fresh fruit and veggies, I use a marker to write the date I purchased them on the bag or container they came in. that way when I reach for something I can quickly find what needs to be used first. I'll prepare bell peppers sticks, carrot sticks, celery sticks, diced onions, diced green onions, and have all these ready to go in salads. I'll usually prep on Saturday and Wednesday. anything left in the prep boxes on Saturday and Wednesday, goes into my dehydrator. then I fill my boxes again. for salads and any kinds of soups or anything that needs a good dose of veggies in it. having them pre-prepped, means it's easier to use and that means less waste. then what does get dehydrated will also get used in some of the same dishes that I would use fresh veg in. they've just been dehydrated and they will work beautifully in a soups and casseroles.
this isn't an end-all to the urgency in which we are living but it should help me, and maybe you too, to remember that if there is anything that is in our control, it is how we look at what we can purchase. make a list, make a plan and then, be flexible.
with all of this, is also the fact that have the ability to cook from scratch. some of us older ones grew up watching our Moms and Grandmoms cook and whether we realized it or not, we was learning from them at a very early age. a lot of younger people today hasn't had the same experience. so we're eating instant this and premade that which is double, triple or quad the price of the items to make it from scratch. even if you don't want to make it from scratch, look for a less expensive "whatever" and add a few fresh veggies to it.
for instance, we like a pizza every once in a while. I'm not paying $15 or $20 or more for a pizza when I can buy at least 4, or more, cheaper pizzas with that same money. I go home, bring out my veggie boxes that has onions, bell peppers and green onions, put some extra olives on it and bake it. no, it's not the expensive pizza, but it made us happy and I know what we saved and because we went that route, we'll have 3 more pizzas with all fresh veggies that we wouldn't have had if I had bought the expensive pizza. that's just an example of how we can make changes to save money which in turn can help us be able to actually buy more groceries in the long run. and have more meals at the ready for our families. we can turn one expensive meal in to 4 or more.
are you brand loyal or store loyal? and won't even consider a different a brand of tomato sauce, or frozen veggies. if so, consider getting over that. hahaha because the brand and the store doesn't care about you and your financial situation. I learned a long time ago that I have to make the choices that's best for our checkbook, not for the stores or the brands. I'll not buy subpar food. but if you'll do some digging, you'll find that most of the store brand foods are pkged right in the same facility as the name brand is, it's just labeled with different labels. so if you think you'll give up quality or taste, you won't. learning to cook from scratch can save a lot in that area too. learning to use herbs and seasonings, a pinch of this, and a dab of that will go a long way in making something taste wonderful.
on the other hand using what is readily available is great too. I made baked beans a few years ago and took them to a potluck meal. one of the ladies asked how I made them even before she tasted them. yes, I had used 3 cans of pork and beans, why? they were already cooked and seasoned.
I had drained the pork and beans and rinsed them off and put my own homemade sauce and seasonings on them and popped them in the oven to bake and cook the bacon. when I told her they had pork and beans in them, she actually snarled her nose and grunted real loud. I just laughed and paid it no attention. she got some of them and started eating them, I glanced at her when she took a bite and you could actually see her taste buds doing a happy dance. everyone mentioned how good they were. I finally asked her what she thought, and she admitted they were better than any she had eaten before and better than any she had ever made. she grunted again. hahaha it wasn't because of the pork and beans at all, it was because of how I dressed them up. but she took an attitude that I had used "pork and beans". I'm not gonna shun everything precooked, especially when it's a decent price. I just took advantage of the fact that they were already cooked.
plain, store brand pork and beans have always been pretty cheap. and more than likely, I got them on sale. so you can take advantage of sales and stock up on precooked items such as canned beans and make them completely yours simply by dressing them up.
I was thinking about all this while grocery shopping this morning. because I had made my plans and my lists and then was I flexible. a couple items I went after, I decided not to get. with that came the fact that I would have a few dollars to use on something else. so I headed back to produce and picked up some leeks with roots and some green onions with roots. win win!!! the leeks and onions will go on the dehydrator and the roots will be planted to grow more. so that was a good way for me to be flexible this morning. and it will help me get my stash built up. the roots will grow and I'll be able to cut from them all summer and add that to my stash too.
if you don't know how to cook from scratch, pick one recipe. something that you and your family really like. try to find a simple recipe for it and make it your own. get it to the point that you don't even need to get the recipe out if you don't want to. then find another simple recipe and do the same thing. work on getting 2 or 3 good simple scratch dishes that you can rotate on a weekly basis. start with simple recipes and use herbs and spices.
look for ways to beat your sense of urgency in taking care of your families food needs. think differently about what you see. learn to cook simple dishes from scratch. if you're not used to it, it can be daunting. don't try to change your situation in one day, but do what you can do every day to make a difference. little steps will start turning into big differences. find someone that you know personally and ask that person to help you learn to cook some things that you don't know how to cook. if we all try to help someone, then we can help change some of the urgency that we are feeling. maybe even try to grow a few things. as simple as the leek and onion roots. no, those 2 items won't feed your family. but you'd surprised at how much confidence something as simple as that can give you, especially when you've felt hopeless. and they also add great flavor to some of those dishes we cook from scratch. I hope this gives someone the idea that they can change the way they are serving their family.
my Momma cooked mega and lots on a daily basis for a family of 8 and every bite of it was from scratch and delicious. we grew up on beans, potatoes and cornbread. she baked over 30 biscuits from scratch every morning of the world for as long as we were all still at home. we knew what most meals was going to be before we ever sat down to that meal. those meals were as regular as clock work. they were always delicious. and they were meals that all five of my brothers and I still talk about today. none of us ever complained. we had a mindset to be appreciative of what we had and didn't miss what we didn't have. we may have to learn adapt to things being harder in the future. there's lots of things that we will need to learn or relearn.
make every day a day to learn something new. try not to wake up one day and find out that you haven't learned what you should have. relieve some of your sense of urgency by learning something today that will help you make your next grocery shopping trip more successful. set yourself up for success by making a list, making a plan and being flexible.
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let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" right quick. I love to keep salad fixin's ready to go, year round. these pictures represent what I do for quick and easy salads. it takes a little prep on the front end a couple times a week, but it makes for a "queasy" meal. (QUick, chEAp, eaSY = QU-EA-SY 😂😂😂 yup, that's the way my brain works 🤣🤣🤣)
anyway, I get my big box filled with lettuce washed and ready to go and in layers in the box. the very top layer of this salad is my own lettuce, picked from my own little deck garden. yay! one layer will make at least 2 salads. I usually have 4 or 5 layers in the box with a piece of paper towel between each layer. the middle box has celery, bell peppers, carrots, onions and green onions prepped and ready to grab a scoop for each salad. the small box has the greens from the celery that I like to dice up on the salad too. it's delicious. once I put all this on our lettuce, then I start dressing the salad with nuts and seeds and maybe an apple and a piece of chicken breast or salmon.
come wednesday, anything left in either of these boxes will go on my dehydrator to dehydrate and add to my soup fixings. I can also make really delicious powder to put on or in anything I make. it's also good sprinkled on your salads. dehydrating is a great way to cut down on waste and spoilage. so by prepping, my salads are ready to go and then if there is any left to dehydrate, it's ready to put on the dehydrator. then I start the process of filling my boxes again. sometimes I make sticks from my veggies and dice the sticks as I put them in the salads. when I do that, I can dehydrate them individually and fill individual jars of a specific dehydrated veg. that's it for now.
this is a great way have dehydrated veggies if they're not all eaten. this way they are clean, cut up and ready to go on the dehydrator. very easy to do.
these are some rolls I baked a while back. they are Honey Oatmeal Flax Rolls. they are quite delicious. I love using flax meal in my bread, but if you've bought it, you know that it can go rancid. the last flax meal I purchased was already rancid when I got it home!!! it stinks, literally. hahaha anyway, I love it, but I don't like buying something that expensive for it to already be bad. so, I bought a 5 lb bag of flax seed at the local Amish store and grind my own. a 5 lb bag has lasted me several years. I store it in the freezer and take out what I need at a time to grind and then store the ground flax in the fridge. no more rancid flax meal. flax seeds are really good for you, but you don't get the health benefit from them unless they are crushed. so, that's the main reason for grinding them. I don't use it in all my bread, but sometimes I just love to put some ground flax in my bread and it makes it really beautiful.
and I have started using ground flax seed every day in my breakfast and it's delicious. if you don't already use flax seed, you might want to consider using it for the health benefits.
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that's about all I have for us today. as we go into this week, for those of that celebrate Thanksgiving, let us count all the ways that we have to thankful this holiday season. we are so blessed, yet there is so much turmoil going on around us. just know that it's the enemy on the prowl looking for those he can steal, kill and destroy. anything he cand to take our eyes off Jesus, he will do it. but as followers of Christ, we know that he loses the final battle. that's why he's creating havoc on the face of the earth because his days are numbered.
Father, please keep our hearts and minds focused on you in the coming days. there is some important days coming in the future, may be ready for those days and may we be found doing Your will. bless us as we try to live in this wicked and perverse world. keep our minds pure and our hearts pure. let us think on things that is pleasing to You. may You be our source of joy in these troubling times. thank You for what You are doing and for what You will do in the future. amen
hugs, love and His blessings to all who read this, patty
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