Weary Soldiers, Baked Zucchini Slices

good morning my friends!!     I hope and pray that this finds you all doing wonderful on this glorious Monday.            I was up early this morning, 3am to be exact,  and there was a heavy fog.         but when I got up for good this morning, it was all burned off by the bright and beautiful sunshine.         I hope every one has a spectacular day planned.         I have rolls in the oven, with the light on, thawing and rising.        I need to make more rolls to put in the freezer.         I need to make the egg sausage cheese patties that I make for my husbands breakfast every morning and get those in the freezer.         I want to make some Meyer Lemon Muffin Top muffins and get those in the freezer.         funny thing is, everything I want to make, calls for the red silicone muffin top pans and I only have 2 of them and can only bake/make up to 12 at a time.        this is my conundrum for today.        which gets made?        which gets made first?         and which gets put on hold?          only time will tell.       hahaha         but before any of that gets done, we'll take our walk.        then I'm gonna cut my my hubby's hair.        so I have a full day ahead of me, if I do it all.        who knows, I may procrastinate.        hahahaha          whatever I do, I'll be sure and let in on it.   

---------------------------------------------------------------

this is something that I wrote a few years ago and wanted to share it again.         we are living in hard times.          we are living in perilous times.          we are living in  times where people have very little concern for others.      we are living times where we are in the battle for our lives and the lives of our families.        we truly are battling the forces of evil at ever turn in our lives.      we battle against abortions.      we battle against child abuse.       we battle against homosexuality and all the perversion that comes with that.     we battle to keep the husband and wife in the forefront of what makes a biblical family.         we battle against all the wickedness that has infiltrated our churches.      we battle against all the indoctrination that we see in the public school system.        we battle against all the politicians that are giving our hard earned tax dollars to people that hasn't earned a dollar in their lives.    we battle against all the politicians in power that doesn't have our best interests at heart.       we battle thru all the biased new media pushing their liberal agendas to destroy this country.      we are in a battle dealing with our health care system.        we are in a battle dealing with the high cost of medicine.      as you can see, we are in a battle!!!       

I believe with every fiber of my being that we are living in the time when Jesus will break the eastern sky some day soon and take His children home.        I believe that.        we are living in times when people are fearful of a lot of stuff, and they very well should be.       but we need to know that we can lean into Jesus for His security.        if we know Him as Lord and Savior, then our eternal future is secure and we need not fear that.      but as long as we are in these fleshly earth suits, we will have things and situations that will cause us fear.        we're human beings.       but we can always take those fears to God.         He is already in our tomorrows and He knows how our story plays out in the bigger picture of His Story.       so as we move on into another week, lets try to do so knowing that our steps are planned out by God Himself.        and let us walk those steps out, as God has them planned.

********I have learned that one of the best things I can say about Monday's is this, "Praise God I lived to see another Monday"!        Monday's make me feel like a weary soldier climbing another mountain, getting ready for another long battle.         And you know what, if you love and serve the Lord, that is exactly what we are doing.           Every day is one more day that we are in the battle of our lives.       Trying to stay alert and aware of the snares and traps that the enemy sets for us.

Scripture says the enemy is like a roaring lion.      I believe it!!!        But, scripture also says that the enemy is like a wolf in sheep's clothing.       And I believe that too!!          When we see the roaring lions, we know to beware.        But, when we see the wolves in sheep's clothing, most of the time we don't think about the possible danger we could be in, till it's too late.

So, even tho it's Monday, and even tho we are pushing into an uphill battle, let us not grow weary in our minds.        Let us stay alert, on point and seriously question everything.         Especially the things that give us just a bit of a twinge that maybe, just maybe, something is not quite right.        More than likely, that is the Holy Spirit warning you to steer clear.          Just some food thought as we go into this new week.          May we keep our eyes open and be alert at all times.********  written by pjg

so, we move and live in this life just like weary soldiers.        we put on our full Armor of God!!!        we dress for the battle!!!!        we rest in the Lord.         we gain renewed strength form the Lord.         we take shelter in Lord.        we call on the Lord.         we abide in the Lord.        we live in the Lord.        we don't breathe without His breath.         we try to see life thru His eyes.       we try to be alert for the promptings of the Holy Spirit.      and when fear creeps in, like it does, we give it to Him.        sometimes we stand still, sometimes we fall to our knees, but we always, always give Him our fears.   

so as we face another week, let us face it with the confidence that "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me!"        Paul learned this and I'm so thankful that he did.         because he shared it with us and and I have learned to trust this for myself.        sometimes I forget.       sometimes I run, frightened.  sometimes I fail my Lord.        but, I know that even in my weaknesses, I still have the security that I belong to God thru the shed blood of Jesus and nothing will happen to me that God doesn't know about and I'll not go thru anything alone.        Thank You Jesus for loving me.        Thank You Jesus for fighting my battles for me and being with me at all times!!!          Thank You Jesus for Your Victory over death and the grave!!!!          Thank You Jesus for loving me!!!!!        amen and amen!!!

Have a blessed week put on your armor and stay alert.      

-------------------------------------------------------------------   

let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".         sounds good, so let's go for it.        ok, I was at Aldi the other day and picked up a pkg of zucchini.        there was 3 or 4 per pkg.       about 5 inches long maybe.        and this is how I love to fix them.           I love making baked zucchini slices.

I'll slice them as thin as I can.            I generally just use a knife and do the best I can.          I just don't like having to wash a mandolin for just one zucchini.          once I get them sliced, I'll spread them out on my cookie sheet lined with parchment.         then I'll brush the surface of each slice with a touch of avocado oil.        I'll sprinkle on just a little bit of a greek seasoning that I have.         next, I have parm bread crumbs and I'll use about 2 tablespoons sprinkled over all the slices.       next, I take a cheese slice and cut it into mini strips and put it on the zucchini.  

I'll put that in a 350*F oven for about 35 to 40 minutes and this is what it looks like.        I absolutely love this.          I keep zucchini and yellow squash in the fridge all summer long just so I can fix this any time I have a hankering for it.      you can put what ever you like on them.        this is just what I like.

I hope you give it a try sometime.           if you like zucchini, I'll bet you would like this.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

that's about all I have for today.           I hope that everyone will remember to keep God first place in all we do.          we can always take our fears to Him, He can deal with them, we can't.        put your full armor on this morning and go out with the confidence that God will go before you.       fix some zucchini your favorite way and enjoy some with me, because this is on my agenda today too.    just remember that if you belong to Jesus, you're never alone.      He loves you will never leave you, even when we are afraid.        

blessings on you all today.         if you belong to Jesus, God loves you and so do I.       may love, joy and peace be yours today and every day.         hugs, patty

Beautiful Imperfection, from Aug 4, 2016, revisited today and homemade hushpuppies

good morning beautiful friends and children of God.          I pray that you are having a great morning so far.        I hope you find time today to thank God for waking you up this fine day.       sometimes, I'm almost in awe that I actually woke up and I praise Him for waking me up.       Thank You Father, for the gift of life!!!!

--------------------------------------

let's do a "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".         I have 3 egg bite trays.      one is smaller than the other 2 and you see it in the pic below.         these are to be used in electric pressure cookers, but I use mostly in my counter top oven to make my version of hush puppies.        I don't necessarily have a recipe, I just use a box of cornbread mix and then add extra flour and cornmeal to it.         you don't even have to use a mix.      just make it all from scratch.        what really makes these great is onion.      most of the time I'll use my stick blender and blend the onion up till its liquid and I'll use that as most of the liquid to mix my batter up.         if you have a Vidalia onion or some other sweet onion, it's fabulous.    but, any onion will work.         I spray my little egg bits forms with avocado oil in a pump sprayer.       I never use the store bought canned oil spray, it will cause your non stick to go bad and I just don't even like to have it in the house.

I'll get my batter made and fill my egg bite trays half full and pop them in the oven until I know they are done, but I don't keep them in the oven long enough to get a good dark color on them.

they pop right out of the egg bite trays very easily.        and with all the onion in them, they smell delicious while they are cooking.

the bottom pic is of all of them done and cooling off so I can pop them in the fridge.       when we are ready to eat some, I'll put them in the counter top oven and bake them to get the good color on them while I'm fixing the main part of our meal.        we love these.        I'm sure you and your family will love them too.       I also have a mini muffin pan that will serve well as a hush puppy maker pan.       the way I see it, where there's a will, there's a way.        hahaha        these are worth finding a way.

now, go make some and share them with someone that need some good bread.    hahaha

--------------------------------------------------

something came up the other day and it got me to thinking.       one thing lead to another and it wasn't long till I was down the proverbial rabbit hole, so to speak.        I was on the search for something I had written a long time ago and knew that I had shared it on my blog, but I couldn't find it.       so I had to search for it and finally come across it.        it was worth re-sharing because a lot of people may not have seen it.       as I re-read it, I was so thankful to God for all the ways He has made me a "beautiful imperfection" piece of art.      none of us are perfect and we need to remember that.        sometime we even need to be reminded that we are not perfect and that we needn't think more of ourselves than we should.        if you've even been around anyone that tried to make you feel less important  than they are, then you know what that feels like.       we need to remember that God made us all and He is no respecter of people.      all He looks for is the blood of Christ.         when He sees the blood of Christ covering you, He see perfection!!!        so, if you need to know who you are in Christ, this is for you!!! 

Beautiful Imperfection

Good evening y'all.       It looks like I slept thru another month.       hahaha Well, I didn't sleep thru it, I just was a bit busy and didn't take time to do much blogging.        I have done a little crafting though. The project I wish to share with y'all tonight came about by something that was said this week about our own crafting areas and making mishaps, happy or not, they happen.          In the conversation, I said that I had never sat down to perfection in my craft room.        That is true!!!!        It looks like a tornado went thru it three times, really it does.          I started to say, "oh well, it works for me", but it really doesn't.    I need to do some straightening up in the cave.          hahaha Oh well, back to the project.        I had done another project recently with sea shells and while going thru the shells, I was tossing aside the plain, chipped, broken, and cracked ones.          I hadn't dropped them in the trash can yet, but was getting ready to.          I took another look at them and viewed them with my heart and not my eyes, and this is what I came up with.        All those imperfect sea shells that I had already decided had no use became the focus of a 9 x 12 canvas panel.

So, I took the plain, chipped, broken and cracked shells and colored them with different markers.

After I colored the plain, chipped, cracked and broken shells, I then used clear nail polish to put a shine on them.

Yeah, you knew there would be a purple one.....hehehehe.       You would have been worried if I had not colored one purple and I would have too.

I really love how the shells took the color.      Some of them was just beautiful.       Who would'a figured a bunch of plain, chipped, broken and cracked shells could look so "purty"?

This is what I titled the piece.         "Beautiful Imperfection".           No, nothing about this is perfect, wasn't supposed to be and I didn't want it to be, even if I could have made it perfect.      But I can see the beauty in the plain, chipped, broken and cracked.

I used all kinds of spray colors and paste and I don't know what all.        The shells was the most important thing I used, everything else is secondary.        The lesson I learned while putting this together was an awesome one.

All the time I was working on this I was reminded that even things that are plain, chipped, broken and cracked are beautiful!!!!!         I just have to believe the day that God made each one of these shells, He made them with a purpose.            I think part of that purpose was to show me that even if it isn't perfect, it can still be used!!!!          Isn't that the way it is with the life of a Christian?        We are not perfect!!!!! If someone tells you they are, they are lying!!!!!      Well, they are.       Only Christ Jesus is perfect!    The redemption story of these shells is so much like our redemption story, in a way.      On our own, we are plain, cracked, broken and chipped all to pieces and only Jesus Christ can make us into something that He sees as beautiful.           Our perfection is in Him alone.          We are imperfect creatures, but Jesus cleans us up and He turns us into beautiful imperfection!        We are His "Beautiful Imperfection". I hope that you can see that even with imperfections, you are still beautiful!!!!        If you were a shell, which one would be?       I would be a "music box" shell.        My friend brought me one from one of her vacations and I love it!!!!        She has since gone home to be with her Savior, but every time I see that shell, I think of her.

I've been reading here lately and studying about some of the lineage and ancestry that we can find in several places in Scripture.          Sometimes we as human beings have a tendency to get lost or caught up in where and how we may fit in or even start thinking about our own legacy.        It is awesome to be excited about seeing who came before us.          Some people can trace their own heritage back for several generations and can know and have documentation that shows their ancestors service to the Lord.          That is such an awesome legacy to be able to trace and know that this is where you come from.          For me personally, there was and is people on both sides of my family that loved the Lord and served Him all the days of their lives!! I am proud of that heritage!!!!!          No giants, so to speak of, but just common folk walking it out on a daily basis.

I have been in groups of people and overheard conversations and maybe even been a part of those conversations, where some were talking about having been "born into the church" and tooting their own horn, so to speak.        Letting others know that they have a pedigree of some sorts, basically letting others know that they were a little better than some of the others that was listening or joining in on the conversation.        When that happens, I am instantly transported back in time, to the 1980's when we had an interim pastor at my church.            This man was the associational pastor that would fill in any time there was a need for him to do so.

This pastor spoke about the place in New Testament Scripture where Paul was talking about his pedigree.           If anyone ever had a golden list to brag about, Paul did.        In the end, Paul said he counted it all dung when he measured it up against what Christ has done for him.         That tells me that where ever you start your walk with Christ, that's where your legacy for the Lord starts.          Everything else that you can use to measure yourself with is useless, especially someone elses walk with the Lord.         It is a great thing to have people going before you that are walking it out and being great examples of what the Christian walk can and should look like.

As well as this man's sermon sticking out in my mind, the title of it is, I guess, what has helped me to remember it more than anything.        The title of Dr. Richard Gebhart's sermon was "No Hitch-Hikers to Heaven".        Have you ever thought about that.         You may be able to trace your Christian heritage and lineage back for many generations.        But unless there is a starting point with you own walk with the Lord, it's useless and you won't get in to heaven just because of someone else in your lineage.     In other words, unless and until you confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and accept Christ as Lord and Savior of your own life, that lineage history means nothing.

So, if you are ever in a situation where other people are tooting their horn about having been born in the church and have all this cool history, just ask them when they accepted Christ as their Savior and started their own walk with Him, because in the end, there are no hitch-hikers to heaven.

I first met Dr. Gebhart back  in the early eighties when he was our interim pastor for about 6 or 8 months.        His sermons were riveting.       Hubby and I moved in the early 90's to a different state and that meant going to a different church.         Dr. Gebhart was invited to that church as a guest speaker and I was so excited I got to tell him I remembered him from the 80's.         He was happy I remembered him.        Then in 2000 we moved once again and that meant another church and I got to see and hear him once again at that church.         I was excited to tell him once again I had remembered him from other occasions and he was happy.          He has since gone on home to be with his Savior and Lord now and he is sadly missed by those who knew him.        He never spoke of his own pedigree, he only spoke of his Savior's love for him and shared that with everyone.         What a legacy!!!       That's what I would wish my legacy to be. Just the legacy of Christ's love for me, shared with those I come in contact with.         What could be better than that?

I sure hope y'all have seen something here tonight   that you liked, if you  did, share it with someone. Tell somebody you know that they are "beautiful imperfection".     They may have never heard that are beautiful in the eyes of their Creator.         God bless y'all tonight with an awesome night of healing rest and your tomorrow full of blessings beyond measure.        God loves you and so do I.      hugs, Patty

I copied this from my blog post on August 4, 2016.       you can find the original by looking in the right hand list.      click the year, then the month and then name of the blog post.

--------------------------------------

well, that's about it for todays update.         I hope you seen something here that you liked.        if you did, share it with someone.        let someone know that they are "beautiful imperfection"!!      just know that God loves you and so do I.        hugs, love and blessings be yours, patty

Bread, Breakfast and don't give up

good late afternoon beautiful friends.            I pray that this finds you all doing well and loving life.      I hope and pray that the weather is behaving where you are.          we had over 15 inches of rain on my deck in the month of May.          and it doesn't look like June will be much different.          we'll have to wait and see.         it sure started off wet, with over an inch yesterday.          and lots of rain the forecast for the next few days.         of course, we'll just have to wait and find out what it does, when it happens.  

this week and next few weeks will be busy for us, so I don't know what my blog will end up looking like, but I hope I can stay up to date with some stuff.          we'll have to just wait and see.           I hope to be sharing a few more pics of garden stuff.        it's coming along pretty good and I've been getting a few green beans and lettuce.           we had a salad at lunch that was 100% all my home grown lettuce and that feels pretty good, if I do say so myself.        my husband enjoyed it too.        he even complimented the gardener for the lettuce being so good.        hehehe        that was a very sweet compliment too.           I really appreciated it a lot.         more than he'll ever know.     

*******************************

so, let's do a 2 minutes in the kitchen with me today.        a fresh batch of brioche bread made in the bread machine.          this has quickly become our favorite bread.           I make dough balls to freeze then thaw and bake when I need rolls.          it works brilliantly.             I love having dough balls in the freezer.          it doesn't take too long for them to thaw and rise and then pop in the oven and bake.

this is what the fresh dough ball in the bread machine looks like.

I weigh the big dough ball and then divide the overall weight into 16 and that's the weight each dough ball will be.         most of the time, it's between 56 or 57 grams.          I have 4 of these red trays and I'll put 4 dough balls on each one and put these in the freezer to flash freeze, then I'll pop them in a freezer bag and they are to be used as needed.

this one show what they like from frozen to baked.         I'll bake them in these trays to help keep the shape of them if they get wild when rising.        hahaha

this is what my bags looks like when I get them completely frozen and in the freezer bags.        I try to keep 2 full all the time.            it really helps when something comes up, just to have them frozen and ready to go.

these are so good.         and it's all I'll be making for the foreseeable future, until something better comes along.        and I doubt that happening.          but I'll leave room for it, if and when it does.       hahaha

********************************

this is what most of the brioche bread rolls are used for.        my husbands breakfast.         I make these sausage, cheese and eggs patties to go on those rolls.         these are so good.         I have it to a science for baking these.

3 slices of cheese cut in half and each half is cut into 6 small strips.      

9 sausage links, thawed and cut into 4 long strips each, making 36 skinny sausage strips in all.

3 eggs and 5 tablespoons of water, beaten.

look back up at the pic that has the baked bread in it.       they are they same trays.        this is what helps to make them the perfect size.        the patties and buns are the same size.       

these trays are flimsy, so they will have to be sitting on something in order to handle them.          so, put this red tray on a sturdy tray to get it in the oven easily.          I'll take 6 thin slices of cheese and space them evenly over the bottom of each compartment.      once I have all the cheese in, I'll put 6 skinny strips of sausage on top of the cheese.    after getting all the sausage strips in, I'll pour my beaten eggs and water over the cheese and sausage.  

pop in the oven and bake for 25 minutes on 350*F.        once done take from the oven and let cool.       

this is the way I pkg them.             I put 1 per flip top sandwich bag and then I'll put 2 of those in a zip lock freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.           when I need some, I'll take them out, just 2 at a time.          I'll thaw them and they'll be ready for breakfast the next morning.          my husband loves them.        I'll pop a split roll in the toaster over and put one of these sandwich patties in the skillet and heat it up real good and get a little color going on and then put it on the bun.      he love them!!!

this helps you see what the tops with the sausage looks like and the what bottoms with the cheese looks like.          and then what they look like in the freezer bags.         I reuse the freezer bags, but I toss the flip top sandwich bags.

**********************

Do you ever feel like giving up?          Do you sometimes want to just throw in the towel?         Do you ever just wish you could turn around and walk away from what ever is bothering you?            Well, don't!!!          Hang in there with God.         Let Him work it out.         Let Him go before you and clear the path!!!         God has it taken care of already.          I have to tell myself this all the time, so I love this reminder that I'm not in control, but God is, and all is well.

"In the Bible, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.
Day 41 came and the rain stopped.

Moses committed murder & hid in the desert for 40 years.
Year 41 came, and God called him to help rescue Israel.

Moses went up on the mountain for 40 days.
On day 41, he received the Ten Commandments.

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.
Year 41, they walked into the Promised Land.

Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days.
Day 41 came, and David slew him.

Jonah preached a message of repentance to Ninevah for 40 days.
On day 41, God stopped His plan to destroy them.

Jesus fasted and was tempted for 40 days.
Day 41, and the devil fled.

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples for 40 days.
On day 41, He ascended into Heaven.

All this to say...don't quit. The rain will stop, the giant will fall, and you will enter your "promised land." Don't give up at 40.

41 is coming!!!!!!"  (copied)

I don't remember where this came from, but it's a keeper for sure. 

*****************************

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today.          I hope you seen something that you liked, and if you did, share it with someone.          someone you know may need hope.         our hope is in the Lord and in Him only.       just don't give up, because God is working it all out.        sometimes I have to remind myself that and that's ok.         just don't give up.         remember that God loves you enough to provide a way for you to be in right relationship with Him and that is thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.         there is no other way under heaven to be in right relationship with Father God, than thru the shed blood of Jesus.          don't let anyone tell there is.        there isn't.         and if they try to tell you that, flee from them and don't listen to lies.       read your bible and find out what God's Word says for yourself.         don't depend on anyone else to tell you what scripture says, find out for yourself.        God will never turn a true seeker away.          if your are looking for Him, He will make sure you find Him, thru His Son.  

I hope you have a blessed night of refreshing rest and that tomorrow is a fantastic day to be on planet earth.          look for ways to be thankful.        Thank God!!!         in all you do, Praise His holy name!!!

blessings of peace and joy be yours till we meet right back here real soon.  hugs, patty