Bible Study and cornbread swirls

good morning from my soggy, sunshiny neck of the woods.           we had close to 7 inches of rain in the last 36 hours.          fortunately we live high above where the water reaches when it's on the rise.        but there are a lot of people trying to clean up after the rains.         they are still calling for more rain, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.          they use to say "april showers bring may flowers", but for us, "april showers bring may weeds".        hahaha      just this morning, you could look and see more weeds today than there was yesterday.        I don't know what the day will bring for us today, I really don't have any plans.        I don't know what hubby has on his agenda either.         I do know I need to fix some tea, make some more garlic and onion sweet potatoes and yellow potatoes to put in the freezer.        we love those and can't get enough.         I'm trying to get a good stash in the freezer, but we go thru them too quickly.         hahaha          fortunately I parcel them out in half cup and three quarter cup servings.          I'm really looking for something else that I can fix along with them to have 2 good veggies already prepped and ready to toss in the air fryer.         green beans are delicious so that may be the 2nd item.

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so, yesterday morning I made another batch of cornbread swirls and I remembered to take pictures of this batch.          I forgot to take pics yesterday, so I hope this will do.           these are flash freezing so when I put them in freezer bags, they won't stick together.  

you can see when I make my swirls, I leave a holes and gaps in the swirls.          when they thaw and rise, they fill the gaps and are solid.          they will generally double in size.

we really enjoy these rolls and I love having a bunch of them in the freezer at the ready.          it makes having food on hand really easy.           I'll take out 8 or 10 rolls and put them on a baking sheet and let them that and rise till just about lunch time and then I'll bake them.         they will rise and look so pretty and be so delicious.          the recipe is on here somewhere.        look for it and give them a try. 

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giggle for the day:

Q - What do you get when you mix a cocker spaniel, a poodle, and a ghost? 

A - A cocker-poodle boo!

😂😂😂😂😂😂   boo!!!!     

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picking up at Ezekiel Chapter 10,           God is holy!!!!         I've seen these stickers and license plates on vehicles with the word "coexist" on it representing all the pagan religions coexisting with Christianity.          just so you know, sin cannot coexist with God!!!          all these other religions that say "coexist", that is a dead giveaway that they are pagan!!!!!     exactly why God judged Israel like He did.         if someone says we all need to coexist, they are pagan and we need to turn around and walk away.        we need to be looking deep within ourselves to find any disobedience and idolatry and get rid of it.          even  when  we  are  under  judgement,  God  still  offers  mercy,  grace, redemption and restoration.         be alert and attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Chapter 11,         be weary and leery of any leader who offers counsel that is in direct opposition of what the word of God says.         the world is full of false leaders and false teachers today and we have to be able to recognize them or we will be consumed by them.         there is no such thing as a prosperity gospel.           but when the false leaders preach about it, the people fall for it and give the false preachers money, hand over fist.         they are the only ones prospering from the prosperity gospel.        in all times, God still offers redemption and restoration.          continue to seek after the heart of God.        when we have God in our lives, His presence is a comfort and a call to righteous living.       sin cannot exist where God is.   

Chapter 12,          this message from God is an urgent one.         do we recognize the call of God on our lives as being urgent?           we should.         we are called to share the truth of God with others, even if it is unpopular or ignored.       and we today, sharing the gospel is VERY unpopular and it's totally ignored and we're made fun of.        but, we share it, then it's up to them as to what they do with it.         we have to trust that the promises of God will be fulfilled in His time.         we just have to remain faithful while we are waiting.

Chapter 13,            even if someone is a false leader trying to lead us astray, we need to remain faithful to the truth of God's word.          if what someone is preaching/teaching doesn't line up with the word of God, someone's wrong and it's ain't God!!!!!         Gods word stands when the lies of the false preachers/teachers crumble.        discernment is one of the gifts that a Christian receives when they accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.        ask the Lord to help you recognize discernment from the Holy Spirit.        the more you exercise your discernment, the more you'll recognize the gift and use it in every area of your life.       do not rely on anyone to spoon feed you the bible.         do your own studying and reading the scripture and know what scripture says.        that way you can recognize a lie or a half truth when you hear it.      have friends that you can hold each other accountable for your actions and point each other back to Jesus when necessary.

Chapter 14,            God abhors idolatry!!!!!         on the other hand, God's mercy reminds us today of the opportunity for repentance and restoration thru His grace!!!         ask God to show us anything that could be hindering our relationship with Him.          if we truly want to know, so we can do something about it, He'll  show  us.         do  you  put  God  on  your  list  of  things  to  do;  pray,  read  His  word  and worship Him.        He needs to be our number 1 priority!!!        identify the idols in your life and get rid of them.         God provides guidance and warning thru His word,  we just need to pay attention to His guidance.

next time we'll pick up with chapter 15.

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I guess this is where we will call it a blog post for the day.          I just can't stress the importance of seeking after the heart of God.         this has been something that jumped out at me early on this year when starting thru the bible again.         each year, it seems like I have a new agenda and this year it has become seeking after the heart of God in all we do.        and it's so clear and plain that it's hard to not see it every day.         so it's just my reminder to myself that God has made it clearly plain and visible that this is what He wants from us and for us.        so I hope we never get tired of hearing the reminder.        I hope we all  have  a wonderful  day  today  and  that we  remember  to  invite  God along in everything we do.         blessings of mercy and grace be ours today.

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and bread dough making marathon

good morning form the "deck"stead!!           that's what I'm calling my garden now.          hahahaha        I thought I would give it a good name.          sounds pretty good to me.         anyway, it came a storm all night long.          I'm so thankful this morning that we didn't have any tornadoes pass thru.         it was bad all around us, but I'm so thankful that God's hand of protection was on us again.        God is so good and I'm so unworthy, but I'm so thankful!!!         the new morning has brought more rain with it and we're supposed to have rain all day today.        still praying for God's protection.         yesterday, in anticipation of the storm coming, I did bake 3 batches of bread.       I had a bread dough making marathon.       I think I had told y'all that bread making was on my agenda.        I got 2 batches of brioche buns made and 1 batch of cornbread swirls, all flash frozen and bagged and ready for use.         I may make a couple more batches today.        when there isn't much else to do, making bread dough is a good way to spend my time.       I don't know what else we'll get into today, but if it's exciting, I'll let ya know.   

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giggle for the day:

Q - What's worse than finding a worm in your apple?

A - Finding half a worm in your apple!

😂😂😂😂😬😬😬

oh, yum!!!!!    hahaha

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picking up with Ezekiel Chapter 6,          the Israelites had worshiped idols in the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys and God had called Ezekiel to prophesy against these places of idol worship.        God has the right to judge His people for worshiping idols.       God sees everything we do and He'll not tolerate idol worship from His people.       what are the modern day idols that we need to remove from our lives?          they are there, whether we admit it or not.        pay attention to what ever you put before God.        sin has consequences, sometimes we ignore that or forget it.         God is in control and His ways are always righteous.        God always provides hope even in the midst of judgement.

Chapter 7,          this chapter stresses the importance of living holy lives, obeying God and keeping our faith in God alone, not our worldly riches.          when God says, "I will unleash my anger against you", that's about as grim as it gets.          it is the direct consequence of the way that kept on sinning against God.          do our actions line up with the standards that God has set for us to live by?          if not, why and who's fault is it?          we have to stay vigilant and alert in our Christian walk.        are we aware of what's going on around us?          do we see the sin, or are we partakers of the sin taking place?        Lord, help me to stay vigilant in my walk with You!!!

Chapter 8,          God has every right to be angry with sin!!!!         we have to avoid any form of idolatry, it's sin and it will bring consequences.           there was corruption and idolatry in God's temple, guess what, there's corruption and idolatry in the churches across the planet that are supposed to be filled with God's people.         if our  churches  are full of sin, how can we expect to ever see change in God's people?          most of the hypocrisy in the churches is not recognized as such, because the people don't know any better, they haven't been taught scripture, but what the preacher thinks and most of the time he's skewing the word if he's even using the word.         we have to protect our faith and values from the corruption of the culture.          we cannot compromise our faith and values just because the culture doesn't know any better, we as God's children, SHOULD know better.         we need to open our bibles and read what it says and apply it to our lives.          devotion and reverence should be our way of life.

Chapter 9,          we need to examine our own hearts, be willing to stand up against sin in our culture and make sure we living as God wants us too.        you know God is serious about sin when He calls on His executioners to deal with sin.        we should grieve over sin in our own lives and the the lives of those around us.         I trust God to take care of amidst the storm of sin around me.         we need to pray for repentance and restoration.         sin is serious with serious consequences.        continue to seek after the heart of God in all things that we do.        

next time we pick up at Chapter 10.

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well, I guess this is where we'll call it a blog post.          I hope you have a blessed day today and that you call on God to help you and that we'll all keep seeking after the heart of God.        blessings of devotion and reverence for God be ours today.

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and sheet pan veggies

good morning from my breezy neck of the woods.          the wind is bringing in the next round of rain and bad weather we're supposed to be having, again at night.         I guess I'll do like I've been doing, just pray thru it.         so many are still reeling from all the weather we've had since last october and it just keeps coming.         we got our walk in this morning and I've got to get in the kitchen for a round of making bread to turn in to varying rolls and then freeze for future use.          my stash is getting low and I love having bread ready to bake in the freezer.        anything I can make and put back for later is a win win all day long in my book.         when I can remember to do it, I'll get all my dry ingredients put together in a bowl and then when I'm ready to make the dough, I'll put the wet ingredients in the bread machine, then the dry ingredients and top that with the yeast and it's easy peasy.         if I'm gonna make a second batch of that particular dough, once I start the bread machine, I'll just start getting all my dry ingredients together in the bowl again and the wet ingredients in another bowl.         when the first batch is done mixing, I'll remove that dough and dump in my wet ingredients, then my dry ingredients, and then the yeast on top and start the machine again.         I'll generally do that about 4 times on my bread making day.            2 times for my brioche buns and 2 times for my cornbread swirls.         as a general rule, I can usually be done with 4 batches of dough in about 2 and a half hours.        as each batch comes from the machine, I'll start the next batch and then get the rolls made and on sheet pans and pop in the freezer to flash freeze and then bag them up to use in the coming weeks.         it's a wonderful way to stay ahead of the game with my bread.         anyway, this is what's on the schedule.          all of it may or may not come to fruition, we'll have to see.      

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so, let's do a 2 minutes in the kitchen with me.             it's been a while since we've done this.           for supper last evening, I wanted veggies, lots of veggies.           so I took some yellow potatoes, an onion, some carrots and a can of drained and rinsed green beans.            I done a good dice on the potatoes and carrots and sliced the onion.          I plopped it all on a sheet pan lined with parchment and then salted, peppered, powdered onion, powdered garlic and then spritzed it all really well with avocado oil.

I then mixed it up really well and tried to make it one layer in the pan.           I popped it in the oven at 425 degrees with some lamb shanks that I was baking.         I'm telling you this was great!!!           and a wonderfully easy clean up!!!!!

I'm all over easy clean up.            this went so great with the lamb shank bbq.           I wish I had gotten pics of the lamb shank, but I didn't.         when the meat was done, I picked it from the bones and shredded it and put it on a baking pan lined with parchment and covered it with bbq sauce, popped it back in the oven for about 20 minutes and that was the best meat ever!!!!!       I have come to find that lamb meat isn't tough or stringy like a lot of other meat is.         it's so good with bbq sauce on it.        I know a lot of people put rosemary and other spices on it instead of bbq sauce, but I'm not a fan of rosemary, so I'll go with bbq sauce.          hahaha          I fixed it, I can do what I want.          you can too!!!           make it yours!!!      

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giggle for the day:

Q - What breed of dog can jump higher than a skyscraper?

A - Any breed of dog. Skyscrapers can’t jump! 

😂😂😂😂😂

well, now we know!!!   hahahahaha

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starting with Ezekiel Chapter 1,              this chapter will show us that we as humans have a limited ability to understand God.         God does things that's totally beyond our ability to grasp.        despite trials and tribulations, God is always close at hand to hear  and to help us.        Gods glory is with us, even in our darkest hours.          this chapter is one of the most mystifying chapters in the bible.        but with this chapter comes a message of hope and restoration.        God is all about restoration.         Just as God was with Ezekiel in exile, we can know that God is with us, no matter what.         we have to be open to call of God over our lives, regardless of the unfamiliar, because He will be with us.

Chapter 2,          there is a responsibility that comes with answering God's call.        we have to be fearless and undaunting by the response of the message that God wants us to share.          we should be ready to hear God's call and respond to it once we know what His instructions are.        we live in a day and time where people don't want to hear truth and they don't respond to it really well.        most people have never heard real truth.        but we must share truth even though it can be scary.         focus on being faithful to God instead of how people will react to the truth that you're sharing.       

Chapter 3,          obedience to God requires courage, sacrifice and resolve to do God's will.        it's not easy!!!         do you internalize scripture?          when we read scripture, we should be internalizing it.     make it relevant to ourselves, understand scripture as it was written for the day in which it was written, but apply what was written for the exiles to our life today.         it has to transform us, change our lives, before what we say, with God's help, will have a life changing effect on someone else.        if it doesn't change us, how can we expect what we say have a change on other peoples lives?          we have a responsibility and we are accountable for our obedience.         the only way we can do the will of God is with the Holy Spirit in us giving us strength and guidance.         we have to be about the Fathers business, warning others about spiritual danger, because we care about them.

Chapter 4,          there are consequences when we turn away from God.          we have to acknowledge our sin and find hope in God's mercy, even during hard times.          we must be alert to the warnings that God gives thru His word and the Holy Spirit.          sin is serious with serious consequences.          sin separates us from God.          we need to strive for purity in our lives.          God wants us to live holy lives.          we can not live holy lives when we are living in sin.          

Chapter 5,             we need to make sure that our actions line up with God's commandments.           just because God loves us, doesn't mean He won't discipline us, God is always always always just!!!!        we have to consider the consequences of constant disobedience to God.          we have to repent and turn back to God!!!               God's judgements are righteous even when we don't understand.          most of the time we're not going to understand Gods ways, just because we don't understand doesn't make God wrong in His judgements.          God is righteous, holy and just.

next time we pick up with at Chapter 6.

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well, I guess we'll set this one to type.          I hope we all have a great day today.           and it goes without me saying it, but I'll say it anyway, let's continue to seek after the heart of God.          as long as we're seeking after the heart of God, we'll not stray too far from Him.         stay in His word, internalize it, let it change us and continue to pray.          blessings of strength and courage be ours today.

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and bread continuation

good morning beautiful ones!!!!!           let me tell you something, it got up to 73 degrees here yesterday!!!         oh yes it did, and it felt might fine, mighty fine indeed.        I pray that its a sign of good stuff to come.          come on spring, we're ready for ya!!!          got up and took the car to have the oil changed and tires rotated, then went to the park and got our walk in and just got in and we're eating breakfast as I type.         we have a lot to do today and I have 2 post it notes full of what I need to do.      it will feel pretty good to start crossing them off.        the sun is shining beautifully and I hope it stays that way.        it will help me stay in the mood for getting some tomatoes put in solo cups.       I hope I can get that done too.         if I can get those out of the hydro unit, I can get more seeds started.        I want to get some lettuce started, but I can actually start those outside, so I may do that.         we need to make a run to lowes and get some container soil so I can get my strawberry pots filled and ready to start some strawberries.        I have red, white and yellow strawberry seeds and looking forward to all of them.        oh well, let's get on with our day and we'll make it a good one.

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let's got to the kitchen and do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".            it seems I'm stuck on bread, but what can I say, we eat bread.           we love bread.            we enjoy bread.          I've not bought bread in many years because I can make pretty much what I want.            this was some of the last batch of cornbread swirls I made here back and put in the freezer.         I took these out as frozen dough and let rise then bake them.        having the dough in the freezer is so wonderful!!!        I would make the suggestion for you to try it if you haven't.           it makes having fresh bread so easy.          when we get ready to have a cornbread swirl with a meal, I'll pop it in the toaster over to warm it up and once it get's warm, I'll put a think pat of butter on it to let it melt into the bread.          it's so good, we just love it so much. 

these are buns from the last batch of yeast bread I made.           they are not the brioche buns that I make all the time, these are the antique white bread with some whole wheat thrown in.          but these are so soft and nice and smell wonderful.  these are the ones that my husband loves so much.         he has one for breakfast every morning with a egg, sausage, cheese pattie on the bun.         these are delicious!!!         

when I get these baked, I'll prop the bun up on the edge of the pan so they don't sweat while they're cooling down.            if I leave them in the little divot the will sweat and will get wet.          we don't like soggy bottoms, so I'll do this till they cooled down and then they get bagged up and put in the fridge.      these are wonderful hamburger buns too.        so give these a try.     they are very versatile.          you can even leave them round in a ball and make dinner rolls.          we just prefer them as buns.

well, I guess that's about it for the bead caper this time.          hope you enjoyed it.

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let's have our little "giggle for the day":

Q - Why were the fish’s grades bad?

A - They were below sea level.

hahahaha  bad fish, bad fish!!!

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let's pick up at Psalm 21.    king David is praising God for His strength and salvation!!        we need to praise God for His strength and salvation also.        David felt blessed forever.          David also knew that God would take care of his enemies and we will sing and praises God's power.         the power that David knew is the same power today.        God hasn't changed one iota, He takes care of us and we can sing praise about God's strength and power.       amen!!

in Psalm 22 we see that David has turned to anguish and fear.          why have You forsaken me?        have you ever asked God that?          we all probably have at some time or another.      yet David trusted God and said that You have been my God since my mothers womb.         what a faith David had.   at his lowest, he said he would tell his brothers about God.        David would always find a way to sing God's praise.          I pray that when I'm at my lowest, that God will help me find a way to praise Him.

in Psalm 23 David praised God for being His shepherd.         and meeting all his needs.      probably one of the most familiar Psalm and most people reading my blog probably memorized it many years ago.     does your cup overflow?          if you know Jesus Christ as you Lord and  Savior, your cup certainly does overflow.         goodness and mercy follows us.        praise HIs name!!!

Psalm 24 tells us whom the earth belongs to.          it is the Lords and everything in it.        who can stand in His holy place?        the one who has clean hands and a pure heart.         who is the King of glory?       the Lord of armies is the King of glory!!!         praise Him!!!

in Psalm 25, David was wanting God to teach him His ways.        teach him His paths and  lead him in His truth.         David was a man seeking after the heart of God.       I want God to teach me his ways and lead me in truth.         guard my soul and save me was David's prayer.        it's mine too.

Psalm 26, David is asking God for protection because he had walked in integrity.         he had trusted the Lord without wavering.        he didn't have anything to do with deceitful people, pretenders, or the wicked.        with a voice of thanksgiving, he would declare all Gods wonders.         these are very powerful praises to God.        I am almost overwhelmed when I read these Psalms of praise.  

in Psalm 27 David said that with God as his defense, who should he, David dread?         absolutely no one.        be strong, take courage and wait for the Lord.  

Psalm 28 is another plea for help and God  heard David and answered.         the Lord is my strength and my shield.         and with my song I will thank Him.         do we thank God with our songs?       we should.         

in Psalm 29 David is recognizing God in the storm.         do we recognize God in our storms?         I know that when my life is a storm, I'm not alone.        God is with me and He keeps me.        God gives strength and peace to His people.

in Psalm 30 is one of my favorite verses, "weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning"!!         sometimes it's hard just to make it thru the night, but once I do, there is great joy that seems to come with morning dawn.        I praise God for those mornings of joy!!

Psalm 31, David asked how great is God's goodness?         when he called to God, He helped David.       be strong and let your heart courage, all who wait on the Lord.          our strength comes directly from the Lord, let's sing His praises.

Psalm32,  David said that when he confessed his sin, God forgave his sin.        that is something that we can count on.         unconfessed sin eats away at us, but once we confess it, it's forgiven.          God is our hiding place.          what could be more comforting than that?         absolutely nothing!!

Psalm 33, again David is praising God as creator, He spoke it all into being and He is our help and our shield and we trust in His holy name.

Psalm 34, David says, taste and see that the Lord is good!!!          fear the Lord, for those who fear the Lord will have no want for anything.         want to know how to gain God's favor, fear Him.       have reverence for Him.      

next time we pick up at Psalm 35.

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I guess this is where call it good.          I pray that we'll all continue to seek after the heart of God in all things we do today.          David wasn't perfect, but he repented, he praised God in all things, he asked God for His protection, and he kept on seeking the heart of God.         he set a good example for us, being sinful people.         repent, praise, seek God in all things, and keep on seeking the heart of God.    let's all have a great day and praise God that we are a part of it.      blessings God's strength and favor be ours today.         hugs and love, patty  

Bible Study, weather, and freezing unbaked bread

good morning my beautiful friends!!!!!       well, yesterday was a bust as far as snow goes.           and I'm pretty happy about that.         we ended up with about 3 inches and that was pretty nice as far as I'm concerned.      but then again, this morning we had another 2 inches of snow.      hahahaha     I know a lot of people was hoping for more, but I was praying against it.         I'm thankful that the Lord answered that prayer.         it was 17 degrees when I got up and we're in for some more bitter cold temps.         I'm ready for spring.        hahaha           if I ignore winter long enough, it will soon be gone.         hahaha         oh, I don't  hate winter, I  just don't  like how the cold makes my old lady body hurt, it's just too painful.         I'm hot natured, so the cold doesn't make me cold, so to speak, it just hurt my joints.         arthritis has shown up in both of my elbows this year.         I've never had it in my elbows before.         the pain I'm having with them makes it almost impossible to pick up some of my barely heavy appliances.        plus, I can't straighten my arms out.         that's something else that hurts, just trying to straighten them.         one of my dear friends has made me a bunch of essential oils and I've been using those.         that's  the only  thing giving me any peace right now.       so I'm grateful to my friend.          we have  a few more  days of bitter  cold and  then next week, woohoo, it's supposed to be in the 40's!!!!          it will be like having a heat wave.         hahaha         I look forward to that!!!

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time for the "giggle for the day":

Q : What would bears be without bees?

A : Ears.

hahaha        well, they would.         hahaha       

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join me in the kitchen for a "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".           I think I may have said that snow days are for making bread.           and that's exactly what I done.         I made 2 batches of my cornbread swirls today.         I may try to get another batch made tomorrow along with my brioche buns.        but I did find a new recipe and I may try it and make buns from it.         most people generally make a loaf bread from the recipe, but I prefer buns.              

this was batch number 1 and they look really good.            the proof will be in the rise when I thaw and bake.          hahaha           so, it's a wait and see situation.

30 minutes later, this is batch number 2.           I would have made another batch this morning, but I didn't have room in the freezer to flash freeze another batch.         darn it!!!         so, I'll took these out of the freezer and got them bagged up and the room in the freezer for my next bread making session.   

I was done with them, and had them in the freezer and the kitchen cleaned up by 9:40 am.        that's a pretty good work time.          it felt good to get that done and that made time for me to get my batch of chicken corn chowder in the instant pot.       it's so good with those cornbread swirls.       we love them both.

they are now off of the trays that they were on and now back in the cozy frozen tundra for the freezer.    I always put a little bit of cornmeal in the freezer bag and shake them all around to get them coated in cornmeal.         it's awesome when they are cooked, but it also helps to keep them from sticking together.         that's very important.          but if they do accidentally stick together for some reason, I just drop the bag on the counter and just like that, they are unstuck.      there is 49 cornbread swirls in those 2 bags.         today will be another bread baking day.        awesome!!!

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picking back up in Job today we see that God had allowed satan to take Jobs wealth and jobs children from him.         Job questioned God.         I see from this encounter, that it's ok if we question God, but I think it's how we go about it.        Job remained respectful of God.         guess what, his friends couldn't stand it.          do you have friends like that?          we all do!!!         even Job's wife was upset at Job.     I think she's the one who said curse God and die.         Jobs friends tried really hard to wear Job down.      they all had their own ideas of why God allowed this stuff to happen to Job.         maybe because of hidden sin in his life.           maybe because that's just how God operates, if you're a good person, He'll be good to you, if you're a bad person, He'll let bad stuff happen to you.         Job had to defend his integrity with the people who knew him best.        they argue and debate for most of this book.      they just knew Job had done something terrible and he wasn't telling them.         Job finally goes to God with agony and despair and he actually accuse God of being responsible for all the bad stuff in the world.      he finally realize that he can't be right.         that God is a just, fair and an all-powerful God.        one friend doesn't know why Job is suffering, but he does know that Job isn't qualified to judge God.       are you qualified to judge God?        I know I'm not either.         I know that before I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I hated God.        I didn't want anything to do with Him.        all the time I spent hating God, He was still working on me and loving me.         and just a few years ago I come to realize that I didn't hate God at all, I just wanted to know why some of the things that happened, happened.         after reading the book of Job, I realized that none of it was God's fault.       I'm a part of humanity and it's not pretty a lot of the time.        but what I was shown, was that I have never been alone a single second in my life.         He has been beside me, in front of me, behind me, making a way for me.         making a way for me to give praise and honor to my God and my Lord and Savior!!!      He allowed me to have a heart that seeks after the heart of God.         God is so good and we all have so much more in this life than we could ever even begin to deserve.        it's not about how wretched we are, but it's all about how merciful and mighty He is.         His mercy and grace covers us all, when we accept Him as the Lord and Savior of our lives!!!         Job is not qualified to judge God, are you?    next time we'll see how God responds to Job.

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well, I guess I'll wrap it up for now and hopefully I can get some more unbaked buns in the freezer today.        I love baking bread when it's snowy and cold outside.        there may not be much to do, but I can always do that.        as long as I don't run out of flour.        hahaha        such a scary thought!!!        I hope we all have a blessed day today and the we keep seeking after the heart of God.        blessings of mercy and grace be ours today.        hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and cornbread swirls

good morning my beautiful friends.          it rained all day yesterday and most of the night.        looks like we'll have a little more rain today.        we needed it, so that's good.       I don't know what the day will bring yet, but I'm happy to be a part of it.        I hope you are too.       I hope we are able to get out and get our walk in sometime today.         that will perk both of us up and we need perking.      hahaha    I hope you all have a wonderful day.        

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this is what I spent the day doing the other day.        let's do a "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".      getting my cornbread stash built back up.         if I can, I may try to get another couple of batches done tomorrow.         we love having these in the freezer at all times.        this is another way I get to use bread machine.         I put all the ingredients in and let it do all the hard work for me.

all I have to do is take a few out and put them on a baking sheet and let them thaw and then pop them in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.       I just bake them till done.         then when we're ready to have one with a meal, I'll pop it it in the toaster oven while I'm using the air fryer to cook or heat something else us.        it works like a dream.   

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picking up in 1 Samuel Chapter 26,  we pick up with Saul on the hunt for David once again.        David knew that God would take care of Saul at the appropriate time, just like God had been taking care of David and sparing him from the wrath of Saul.      David respected the fact the Saul was God's anointed king.       he could have killed Saul again, but he chose not to.       now Saul is looking for David again.  he went searching for a medium and called for Samuel from the grave and Samuel gave him a word he didn't want to get and that was the next day Saul and his sons would be with him, dead.      

we pick up in 2 Samuel Chapter 1 next time.

Saul had sinned against God and the Holy Spirit left Saul and he had evil thoughts towards David.        we see where sin gets us.        it's never good, although God can use what we've done or been thru for His good.      if we can tell others where we've been and what we've seen and done when we was wandering in sin, then that can be used for God's glory.         to show what God can do when we let Him.         but this wasn't the case with Saul.        Saul just couldn't get past his jealousy of David.      at any rate, because of the sin that Saul had committed, God allowed him and his sons to be killed.      

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well, that's about all I have today.          I hope and pray that you all have a wonderful day and let's keep God first place in all that we do.       blessings of joy, peace and grace be ours today.      hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and.............

good morning from the frozen tundra, aka my neck of the woods.          hahahaha          how was that for a dramatic beginning this morning?          hahahaha          well, it's somewhat true.         it is frozen, with a temp of 30 degrees.        it's been hanging in at 30 ever since last evening.        the snow has since stopped.           it snowed hard all day.        most of the day it was small flakes at other times it was larger flakes.         the temp got up to 36 degrees while it was snowing, so it was melting on the bottom side and piling up on the top.       so at best, we got about 4 measurable inches.        I don't mind telling ya, that I'm more than satisfied that we didn't get any more than that.        I'll take it any day as opposed to being snowed in for many many days.           thank you Lord for hearing my plea.        I want to go see my Momma in another state and we don't get out in the bitter cold anymore.         so hopefully in a day or two, we'll be able to run up to see her.   

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well, this is what looked like out the back door about 2:30 pm friday afternoon.          at the time that I was putting this in the blog post, it was still snowing, with the expectation of it continuing on till about 9 pm on friday night.        it actually warmed up while it was snowing and it was piling up on top and melting on the bottom.         so depending on the temps over night, it could be treacherous.       we'll have to wait and see.        we don't plan on getting out unless we absolutely have to.        and I pray we don't have to.       

so I'll update on what the weather does.          I hope wherever  you are that you can stay warm and safe and have plenty of comfort foods to get you thru till the weather breaks.         have I told you that I'm so looking forward to spring!!!!!        come on spring!!!!!      hahahaha        thank you Lord for your safety and protection thus far.    

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picking back up in Exodus 14 we see that Pharaoh has decided that he want's the Hebrews back in his possession.          that's what sin does, it comes chasing after us.          the devil is relentless and doesn't want to give us up once he has his vice grip on us.       but God!!!         that's 2 important words to always remember, but God.        when God shows up on the scene, the impossible just became possible.

God kept hardening the heart of Pharaoh to show the Israelites and the Egyptians the power, might and strength of "I AM THAT I AM".         God wanted them all to see that was the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD.         God wanted to submit to Him of their own free will, or not.        that's the way God still is, He hasn't changed anything about Himself.         He wants us to submit to Him of our own free will, and nothing else.         that's the only way we can be in relationship with Him is thru free will.       He will not make us submit to Him.

we see the Israelites are wanting to go back to the familiarity of know sin, the slavery they were in as opposed to moving forward into the unknown freedom from sin.       that's exactly how it is today.       we long for the known sin as opposed to walking in unknown freedom.          having witnessed such a mighty miracle, the people believed in the Lord their God, for the moment anyway.    

in chapter 15 they sang a song of praise to God.        I sing a lot when I'm in the kitchen doing what I can do for my husband and myself.        it's where I serve the Lord the best.       notice they mentioned the "right hand of God" a couple of times.        you'll see several times throughout scripture where the "right hand of God" is mentioned.        I hope you get curious enough to do some digging into that phrase and see exactly what it means.          upon having salvation thru the right hand of God for a short time, it didn't take long for the grumbling to start.         isn't that how we are?         yes, that's exactly how we are.        if you don't believe me, just listen to the grumbling that takes place the next time you're at church.         you'll hear it.

I did mention grumbling.         it gets worse in chapter 16.         have you ever eaten manna?         neither have I.          but I guess one can get tired of anything, even being fed directly by the "right hand of God".         manna and quail, provided by God.          all they had to was pick it up.       following instructions has always been a hard thing for humans to do.          it just has.          but God has never given up on us.          God fed them for 40 years.         

chapter 17 and 18, the people are grumbling again.         this is the most familiar action and reaction we see thru the whole bible, we have always grumbled.       we just have.          free will and we grumble.      Joshua was on the scene and God used him in a mighty way.        God sometimes uses other people to give us good godly counsel, as He did with Moses' father-in-law, Jethro.

in chapter 19, Moses meets God on Sinai.         this is where God claimed the Israelites as His own possession.          if we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are a part of God's own possession!!         there is nothing else any better than reading this and knowing that all the bible connects in such a way, that those who know the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, are also a part of God's own possession, because we have been grafted into this family.  

      

chapter 20 is where we get 10 Commandments.           we see here that God is establishing a set of rules for His people to follow.         He doesn't want His people worshipping the idols that the pagans worship.         we see a lot of things in this particular chapter that sets the course for Gods people, but as per humans, we also see the 10 Commandments dismantled and forgotten about.         that is, until we find ourselves in trouble again, time after time and we cry out to God and He answers our cries and the we forget.       it's a vicious cycle, it's always been a vicious cycle and it will continue until Jesus comes back to take us home.

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we're back in the kitchen again today, well it was actually yesterday.         so you know the drill, let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".           with the weather happening, my nesting instincts kick in and all I want to do is cook.         hahaha          and then that requires eating too.        anyway, we both love to eat, I love to cook, so it's a win win for me.   

I fixed an electric pressure cooker full of pinto beans and they are delicious.          that's what was for lunch.         we really enjoyed them.        and we'll get 3 or 4 more meals apiece from this batch.        this is what I always call our "fast food".        it's cooked and ready to eat, I know what all the ingredients are and there is nothing I can't pronounce.        so that's great!!!          and the beans are too.

this is some of the cornbread swirls I made yesterday in my bread machine.          I baked this pan full this morning.        I've showed how I make these before.        you may be able to find it in my blog posts.         this pan is full of the smaller pieces on the ends and they rose so good that they filled the whole pan up.       down in the right lower had corner is one that's a lot smaller and a lot paler.         I don't know why it didn't get any browner.         but it was from the last batch that I made before yesterday.         it's a little puny scrawny cornbread swirl compared the ones I made yesterday.         and the only difference between yesterdays batch and the batch about 2 weeks ago is the flour.        the puny one is from Kroger brand all purpose unbleached flour and the ones from yesterday was from Aldi brand all purpose unbleached flour.         well, guess what flour I'll be using from now on.         and I noticed the same thing with the brioche buns that I made yesterday too.         when I took the ball of dough from the machine it was huge and soft and really nice.         same with the one I made this morning and froze the buns.        they are some of the best looking rolls and buns I've made in a long time.        and its all because of the Aldi flour.      yay Aldi!!!

after I got the beans done, I cleaned the electric pressure cooker pot up and got it loaded with all the goodies to my famous chicken corn chowder.         this is one of our all time favorite dishes!!!      more than likely, I have a pot of this in the fridge year around.          we eat.      we love.        therefore I keep it in the fridge.         it goes really with the cornbread swirls too.

this is a little bit of a close up of the chowder.           oh wow, I can't wait for supper!!!          guess what we're having?           yeah, that's right, chicken corn chowder and cornbread swirls.        this is comfort food at it's best.        it makes the cold days so much more tolerable.      hahaha

this is so good, we both just love it.           I just can't say enough good stuff about it.        I keep looking for something else that we could love as much, but we haven't come across it yet.        hahaha

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well, that's about it today.        as I sit and watch the temp climb a little and finish up this blog post, we'll see what the day brings.       I plan on getting another batch of brioche dough made up and in the freezer.       I may bake some just for fun.        we'll see what comes of it.         I pray that wherever you are today that you are blessed with warmth, peace and grace.      lets continue to pray for those in harms way of fires and snow storms, those still fighting for their lives in the hurricane riddled areas.        lots of people all over the globe are hurting and God is our only source of salvation thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.        hugs and love, patty

Bible Study, bad weather, bread and what ever else I get into

good morning my lovelies!!!!          I pray you are doing well this morning and that the Son is shining in your heart.          the weather finally got here this morning, around 7:45 am.          we was in what they call a "snow dome", or just a hole in the weather.         hahaha         that's my story about it.         I looked at my phone about 2:30 am and I seen it and seen that's where we were, so we finally got out of the hole and now it's snowing.         so, from the looks of it, we may be socked in for a while.          we'll just have to ride this out and see what happens.        I pray that God will keep the power on.         it is with a heavy snow, which this is, that brings down power lines when trees and branches get heavy and fall on  the lines.         we'll see what happens.          I'll try to remember to take a pic or two and share them.

I have some baking to do today and some plain old cooking to do.          I'm making an instant pot full of pinto beans.         yum!!!         we love beans, so they will last for a few hot meals.         I'll get another batch of chicken corn chowder made.         maybe even another batch of chili.       who knows.         right now, I sure don't.           hahaha

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picking back up in Exodus 9, we're still dealing with the plagues and hardened hearts.         how much pain did they have to go thru and how much pain do we allow ourselves to got thru while living and thrashing around in sin?        pharaoh offered a little, but not all that God was allowing.        how many times do we do a little, give up a little, turn aside from a little, but keep dabbling with the sin that is keeping us apart for the Lord?        this is what pharaoh represents in the life of a Christian.        I'll give up a little, but I ain't giving up all!!!        does that sound familiar?        sure it does.      

sometimes when we are in the midst of our greatest sin, is when it feels the darkest.       but we keep plundering around in the dark with hardened hearts.        our atrocities keep getting greater and greater and we keep turning our backs more and more.       even during this, we offer a little, but not all that God wants from us.          He wants all of us, not bits and scraps that sin is offering.

do you have the Blood of The Sacrifice over the lentil of your door?        if not, why not?         are you pharaoh over your own heart?         does our sin have to be the sin that destroys our families?         our sin has destroyed many families down thru the the ages.       one of the great sins of the  late 19th century and so far into the 20th century that has destroyed so many families and murdered generations of children is abortion.          that is something that this country will have to answer for.         another sin, that is an abomination to the Lord is homosexuality and everything that this country has turned that abomination into.        we're seeing parts of california burn to the ground right now.       most of the perversion in this country hit the shores over there from other countries and then we took it and run with like no other country ever has.      I think it's possible that we're seeing some retribution for all the filth that we have let invade our homes.         prayerfully, God will spare His people.    

how long have you lived in sin?        there is comfort in the familiar.         living in sin gets comfortable and when God calls you out of it, everything changes.         you can't have the old and the new.        you stay in sin or you walk in freedom.          the Israelites were walking in their freedom with some urgency.       do we run towards freedom in  and thru Christ?       I think sometimes we want to, but there is comfort in the familiar way of life, or sin.

yeast bread takes a little work to get going and then it has to be worked and punched down and worked and allowed to rise and then worked more.         yeast bread is not a quick bread.        and in true form, a little bit of yeast will overtake the whole batch.         and that's a good thing when you have time.       this was a situation where time was very important.        in this situation, yeast represented sin in the form of wasted time, or no time to spare.         some situations call for action on the spur of the moment and you can't just do as you please with yeast bread.       so that's why it was important that NO yeast be found in the bread or even in the home.        this is my take on yeast and that's all it is.

can we say, "it is with a powerful hand that the Lord brought us out of sin into the land of freedom", if not, why?          do we remember why and when the Lord brought us out from the slavery of sin to freedom?         we don't need to go back and roll around in the sin we once lived in, but we do need to remember where we've been and who led us from there.       sometimes God will lead us in the direction that makes no sense to us, but He knows that we can change our mind on a whim.     so sometimes, He'll take a longer path to freedom.         He sees the end results already, while we're just putting one foot in front of the other.       "I AM THAT I AM" is still in the business of leading us from slavery to sin into the new life of freedom.        we have to be willing to give up the "comfort in the familiar" and step out into the "newness of freedom".

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so, what do you do when inclement weather is upon you?            I don't know what others do, but I break out the bread machine and cook.          yes, I do!!            so we'll do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".           I use my bread machine to make the dough and then I'll either bake it in bread pans in the oven or I'll make buns and freeze them.         I needed to make so brioche buns and get them in the freezer, so as I was getting the ingredients together, my eyes kept glancing on the counter to where I had 2 containers of sourdough bread starter going.         I was ready to do something with it all.    there just isn't a good reason to have 2 starters going, not for me anyway.        so, as I was putting everything in, I picked up the container I was going to dump out and instead of dumping it out, I put most of it in this batch of bread, even after the yeast had been added.        I kept an eye on the dough as it was mixing.         I always take my bread out after the machine stops for the first time.        so by the time I had gotten to it, to take from the machine and make my buns, it was growing big time!!!         so I'll be really anxious to see how these taste when I get some baked.        I'm really excited about these.

this is the bread ball about half way thru the mixing cycle.        even there, it's larger than it usually is, just because the sourdough yeast is trying to grow.         hahaha

this is the 15 buns I made and put them on my silicone trays and popped in the freezer.          when they get frozen solid, I'll take them from the tray and put them in ziplock bags and then take 6 out at a time to bake.         when I bake some of these, I'll try to remember to take a pic and show y'all what they look like.

this is a little closer up of the frozen buns.        for these, I pulled off 62 grams of dough to make my buns and then I rolled the ball to get it round and then flatten it out with the palm of my hand.        they are not the prettiest right now.          but I'll tell you what, when they thaw and bake, they are absolutely gorgeous and they look like they came from an expensive shop.          

this dough ball is one of my batches of cornbread swirls.          we love those and I like to keep these in the freezer too.         so I'll make a couple of batches at a time just for the freezer.         this was about half way thru the mixing.          the recipes for both of these breads are somewhere on my blog.        they should be easy enough to find by going to the search area at the top left hand page and type in either bread and it should come up.         these are so good with all of our soups and chili and just down home comfort foods.

this is a batch made into swirls.         they are varying sizes.          I made 2 batches of these and they are already in the freezer bags and just waiting for me to bake them.          these will be so good.        we love these with just about everything.

when I get some of these baked, I'll try to remember to share a picture of these too.        keep you eyes peeled, there's no telling what you might see me sharing on here since we are supposed to get snowed in over the weekend.         we'll see how bad it gets.         I'll try to remember to take a pic of the snow and share it too.         it will have been all the inspiration for all the bread making and freezing.         that, and the fact that I just needed to get some in the freezer.   

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well, that's about it for today.            stay tuned for more bible study, more cooking and more baking and maybe even a snow pic or two!!!         blessings as you stay warm.         may peace, grace and mercy be yours today.          hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and this and that

good morning lovely friends.        I hope that where you are today, that your day is beautiful!!!!         it looks likes it's gonna be a keeper in my neck of the woods.         the sun is shining brightly and it's slowly but surely melting all the heavy frost as it slowly rises in the sky.         it was brisk 20* when I got up this morning.         I had planted garlic bulbs and some onion roots from a package of green onions back in late november or early december in my mr stacky garden tower and I put a frost cover on them.      we have been checking the weather as of late and see how it's to be turning bitter cold again, so I got out yesterday and put another frost cover on.       I may actually put the 3rd frost cover over them with the single digit temps looming in the forecast.       our weather bug app is a little liar.    hahaha  whatever the weather calls for in our area, the temps always drop much lower than what the apps are calling for.       it has something to do with our specific micro climate in this specific location.        just a quarter mile in any direction and the temp can be anywhere from 5 degrees to 15 degrees cooler or warmer.       I guess that's the way it is everywhere, I don't know.         but I just hope I can do what's necessary to not lose my garlic and onions.  we'll see.

yesterday being the first day of the New year, I made a batch of homemade sourdough bread.        we do love having sourdough bread.        we are enjoying grilled panini sandwiches.        well, I don't know if they are actually panini sandwiches, but they are really good cooked on my cuisinart grill/griddler.       we really enjoy the sandwiches.        

not only do I make homemade sourdough bread, but I also use a bread machine and make brioche buns and cornbread swirls using the bread machine.        a bread machine is a fabulous tool to have in the kitchen to mix your yeast doughs up with.        it does all the kneading for you.        for those of us who have hand and arm issues, it can be a life saver.     

yesterday, I also started the year off with our yearly tradition of blackeyed peas.       they are so good, but we don't have them often.        I like to save them as this special treat for New Year's day and then finish up what I cooked and we'll have them another time or two throughout the year.

I also cooked an electric pressure cooker of my chicken corn chowder.        we love that a lot and the cornbread swirls go well with that.       I like to keep that in the fridge as our fast food.        when I need something quick, I'll have chicken corn chowder and a batch of dried beans of some kind to go to for our fast food.       I know what's in every bite of it.       that means a lot.

I also keep lots of salad fixing in the fridge.       that's another fast food.        I keep all the veggies prepped and read to put on the lettuce.       I have a large box in the fridge with the washed and cleaned lettuce and then a large bag with individual bags of all the different veggies and some fruits prepped and ready to go.       that makes eating healthier a lot faster than if I had to start from scratch with a salad every time.

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well, this morning I read from Genesis 5 to Genesis 12.        there is a lot of genealogy in these chapters and if you can follow it closely, you can see who fathered each nation.       my brain tries to stay on focus, and each time I read thru the bible, it seems like I get just a bit more of the genealogy understood.

some things are easier to understand, so I don't beat myself up if I don't get it all at once.       one thing I do understand is that with free will, comes the choice to sin.         we see sin very early on in scripture and we see the need for salvation at the same time.      people were living for a long time and they were filled with sinful ideas and in Chapter 6, God shortened the life span of humanity.       and then we see the flood and how only 1 man was righteous enough to be spared.       and what I think about, is knowing humanity of the day, this day Jan.2, 2025, is there 1 man that would be righteous in the eyes of God to spare all of humanity and start over?       I don't know, but I do know we don't have to worry about that if we know Christ as our personal Lord and Savor.   

we see where Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk and one of his sons seen him naked and was cursed while the other 2 sons were blessed for covering Noah up.        I think in that scenario we see where drunkenness came into play and we have been dealing with that ever since.       Thanks Noah.    

then we see where people wanted to be smart and build a tower up to God.        well, how did that work out for them?         they all started babbling and haven't stopped since.        things like this happen when we want to claim the power of God.        He will not be mocked.        He will not let unholy attitudes go without some kind of repercussions.       

then we see Abram, as much as he followed God and walked with Him and believed God, he still lied about his wife, to spare his life.        and we'll see that Abram not only lied once but he lied twice about his wife being his sister.      in reality, we'll find that his wife was his half sister.       so, technically he wasn't 100% untruthful, but he was deceptive.        so, we'll see happens there.

with just a little bit of reading the Bible, we can see that humanity with free will has always been a freaking mess and we keep getting worse with all the newer technology that we have today.      it's just so easy to lie, cheat, steal, deceive people.       most people want to that there are "gray" areas that can be tap danced around where the Bible is concerned.         when in reality and in the eyes of God, it's all black and white.        there are no gray areas.       when we start wanting to think there are, we have fallen victim and prey of the devil and his schemes.

I don't know how long I will keep this up, journaling on my blog about what I ready and glean from God's word, but as long as He keeps inspiring me to do so, I will.        but even if I don't journal here, I'll still be journaling a little just for myself. 

I hope and pray that some of y'all are following along and will do the same thing.       ask God to give you clarity.        what I share is just what I've gleaned.         you may glean something totally different.    at any rate, it's interesting to read the Bible and have it play right in our own minds.        what's so neat is that there have been so many good movies made on the Bible, that I can see every one of these scenes playing out as I read it.       that's what makes it so fascinating.        it's like when I start reading, I hit the play button on my mind and the images come to life in my mind and I see it happening as I read it.      I'm so thankful for that too.        but I always try to remember to ask God to show me something new and fresh each time I read the Bible.        I hope you will too.

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well, that's about I have for today.      I hope if you seen something you like that you will share it with someone you love.        tell them about the wonderful journey you are on with reading your Bible.

I hope and pray that everyone has a wonderful day and that you thank God for being a part of it.  blessings of peace and grace be yours today.        hugs and love, patty