Bible Study and Sweet Potatoes

good morning lovely friends.           I hope and pray that we all had a great night of rest and that we all have a wonderful day today.        we're supposed to have more rain and I figure we'll get it.       some places are still dealing with flooding that we had last week.       so more rain would not be great for them.          we actually had sunshine yesterday and the day was a beauty!!          I look forward to more days like that.          I took my plant starts out of the garage and gave them a little sunshine and I think they enjoyed it.         we got our walk in this morning and I'm always happy to get that behind us.         hahaha         my back was hurting so bad this morning I didn't think I would make it but, finally got my exercises for my back done and that helped tremendously.          sometimes I can't do my back exercise because they mess my knee up.        but fortunately, I done them this morning and my back has been felling better most of the day now.      yay!!!        I hope we get to go see my Momma today.         maybe it won't be raining to bad and we'll get to go.       I don't know what else we'll get into, but if it's fun, I'll share.       

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giggle for the day:

Q - Why couldn't the sesame seed leave the kitchen?

A - Because it was on a roll.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

bada bing bada boom

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ok, let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".        this is what I done yesterday.    when my aldi has sweet potatoes, I get a bag or two.         and I usually turn them all into my now famous "dehydrated minced onion and dehydrated minced garlic sweet potatoes".         these are the absolute best sweet potatoes ever, if you like garlic and onion.         obviously I do.          I get them peeled and do a pretty good sized dice on them.          I want them to be large enough that they don't fall thru the hole in the plate in my air fryer.  

you can see that they are a pretty good size.          this is with the avocado oil and the minced onion and garlic on them.         I got them mixed up really good and put them on my baking tray and popped them in the oven for 55 minutes at 425 degrees.         sounds like a lot of time and a high heat, but it's perfect for the sweet potatoes. 

the picture below is them baked, out of the oven, then I popped them in the freezer to flash freeze.        so this picture is actually when I took the from the freezer.         I separated them out into 6 flip top sandwich bags with between 95 and 100 grams per bag.       once I got them divvied up, I put those 6 bags in a zip top freezer bag.   

I wish I would have gotten a pic of them all bagged up, but they was starting to thaw, so I popped them back in the freezer as quickly as possible.          that will be 6 meals for me.       and after supper last night, I got my husbands yellow potatoes baked in the freezer too.        we both have 6 bags and that makes 6 meals for both of us.       I love having it ready.        then I toss them in the air fryer for 15 minutes on 400 degrees and it gets a crunchy outside and soft inside and it's wonderful.        I hope you'll try these sometime.  

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picking up with the final chapter of Ezekiel 48,            just as God had a plan for the Israelites, He has a plan for our lives too.          we just have to trust Him and turn to Him daily for His help and direction in our lives.          we can't stress how important godly leadership is.         can we even begin to imagine what our world would be like if we had godly leadership in our churches and every nation across the globe?        we need to pray for our leaders, not only our immediate leaders, but leaders all across the planet.         God is in control and His will be done in every nation on the planet.        "The Lord is There" is where we as Christians want to be.         that Holy City is our city too.        Praise Him!!!          it the presence of God in our lives, daily, something we strive for?        if not, shame on us.          develop a personal relationship with Him by prayer, worship and bible study.        as I've been saying, seek after the heart of God in all things that we do.

Daniel Chapter 1,          we start studying about Daniel and his friends today.         do you stand firm in your faith?         are you a fence straddler, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings?          do you cave in and conform to worldly pressure when confronted?          a lot of people want to say that there are no absolute truths.         the word of God stands on absolute truth.         you believe it or you don't.        even if you don't believe it, it doesn't make it un-true.          are you seeking God's wisdom and guidance to make decisions that honor Him?        do you believe that God will meet your needs when you decide to follow Him faithfully?          does you integrity and commitment to God influence those around you?      these are some questions to contemplate as we study about Daniel and his friends and their commitment to God to serve Him, no matter what.

Daniel Chapter 2,         in todays times and any uncertain times in our lives, we need to remember that God is in control of all history and our personal lives.        we just have to trust His timing and the reasoning behind it.           everything God does is with purpose.          Daniel made prayer a priority, we need to make prayer a priority too.         God hears the prayers of His people.        we need to ask God for wisdom and understanding in our every day lives.         we need to stand firm in our faith, regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in.           Paul said that if he lived, he lived for Christ, if he died, he'd be with Christ.         that's my paraphrase.          but that should be our attitude.         we need to ask God to help us stay faithful to Him even in the most dire circumstances.           we can't do it without the Holy Spirit in us guiding us.       

Daniel Chapter 3,           do you bow down before other gods or idols?          Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego did not bow before the golden idol.          would we?        they had unyielding faith and trust in God!!!!           do we?           God's protection is present even in the most dire situations.         if our beliefs line up with the word of God, we are to stand firm in those beliefs.        God will be with us and He will make a way, He'll be with us in the furnace.          He'll either deliver us or walk with us thru the trials.          our faithfulness can be a powerful testimony for those around us to see that we trust God in all situations, even the uncomfortable ones.           God will be with us in the midst of our problems.

Daniel Chapter 4,            we see that the writing is on the wall, our days are numbered and how we live our days will determine our eternity destination.         we use what God has given us to honor Him, not ourselves.        pride comes before a fall.       God's judgement is always righteous and just.       we have to guard against pride in our lives.        God is the provider of all we have, not us.         God is over all creation including us.        

Next time we'll pick up with Daniel Chapter 5.

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I guess that will just about do it for today.       I hope we all remember to seek after the heart of God.      we can see how important that is in our lives.         we need to study Gods word, pray and worship Him with reverence and awe.         God is holy and we need to treat Him as such.         blessings of wisdom and understanding be ours in all we do.

hugs and love, patty    

Bible Study and a long day yesterday

good morning my beautiful friends.          I pray that are ready for a wonderful day.         a gift from the hand of God today.         it's really beautiful and sunshiny here in my neck of the woods today.        I hope I can get a lot done today.         yesterday was a long day for me.        I done a lot of freezer cooking.   

I made:

11 bags of sweet potato bites baked, flash frozen, bagged and in the freezer.

11 bags of russet potato bites baked, flash frozen, bagged and in the freezer.

6 bags of radish bites baked, flash frozen, bagged and in the freezer.

yogurt strained and made into greek yogurt.

whey from the yogurt frozen in cubes and bagged and in the freezer.

4 bags of chopped and diced onions and bell peppers frozen.

and a batch of homemade granola made.

when I'm working, it doesn't seem like I get anything done, but when I make notations about it, I see that I did get a lot done and kinda proud of that fact.        I'm sure I won't get as much done today, because I have other things to do and I need to help my husband with some things too.        but I'm really happy to have gotten what I got done yesterday.         someone told me that if I don't take pictures, I didn't really  do it.        hahaha         well, I was laser focused on the tasks at hand yesterday and didn't get pics, but the next time I make granola, I'll try to remember to take pics and share.      and I done the radish bites.        I've never done those before and I don't know what I think about them.       for now, I'm thinking they will have to have some balsamic glaze on them to help make them more palatable.        the sulfuric compounds in the radishes is pretty strong and it's not my favorite flavor for sure.        but I do love balsamic glaze and that's a wonderful way to not let something go to waste.         hahaha         the frozen whey will be used to make more yogurt.         I'll toss a couple of cubes in my instant pot along with the milk and a little powdered milk and it's always delicious.       I can also use whey in the making of my homemade breads too.         the bell peppers and onions are always an addition to most of my electric pressure cooker meals.          we love the combo of onions and peppers in most everything.        and then the homemade yogurt calls for granola, so I made a batch.         actually, the first batch I ever made.        it's delicious and it won't be the last batch. 

well, that's what I done yesterday and I don't mind telling you that I'm tired, just from rehashing it.      hahaha

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starting at Jeremiah Chapter 10,          is there anything in your life that you put before your relationship with God?           wealth, your job, your technology, your things?          any and all of these things have become modern day idols, even for God's people.        what do you love more than you God?         we have to recognize the power of God over our lives and submit to Him in order to be in a right relationship with Him.         even a lot of people worship worship more than they worship God.        you know what I'm talking about, you've seen it, and may even practice it without even recognizing it.        we have to worship God in spirit and truth.         a lot people think they're worshiping God , but they're worshiping the band.   spirit and truth is what God is looking for.

Chapter 11,              have you made any commitments to God?         are you honoring those commitments and living up to the promises you've made?        disobedience is real and it needs to be recognized that is has consequences.         repentance  and turning back to God's will over your life is necessary.          we must share the truth, even when the truth isn't popular and most people don't want to hear the truth.         even a lot of church people have no room for truth in their lives.        pray for courage to share the truth even when it's not wanted.          we have to look inward for any signs of stubbornness and rebellion and then address it with God.         ask Him to break our hearts for the thing that break His heart.

Chapter 12,          we live in evil and wicked times and we just have to know that God's justice will prevail in His timing.         so we continue to pray for courage.          we have to dig deeper into the word of God to strengthen our faith as we face the days ahead.           we need to be focusing on Gods bigger plan instead of what's right before us.        we get tunnel vision and focus just on the spot we can see and not the whole picture.        God sees the whole picture, we see just the spot we live in for the moment.      God will judge, but when He judges, He also offers  repentance, redemption and restoration.

Chapter 13,           do you have pride in your life?          if so, get rid of it.         if you see yourself as better than anyone around you, get over it.        pride can block God's blessings and if that's the case, think about it and change the course of your life.           strength, usefulness and purposefulness comes from a strong relationship with God.        humility is necessary to serve God in any capacity.        everyone has the ability to sin.         it's when we stray from God that it gets easier to sin.        stay close to God.        repent and stay close to Him.

we'll pick up at chapter 14 next time.

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giggle for the day:

Q - What did the duck say after she bought chapstick?

A - Put it on my bill!

hahaha  that duck is quackers!!!  

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well, I guess that's about it for this morning.         I pray that we all have a great day in the name of Jesus Christ!!!         let us keep searching after the heart of God in all that we do.         I pray that we all have sunshine outside and Sonshine inside.         let's see what today brings and enjoy the blessings directly from the hand of God.     blessings of strength and purposefulness today.

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and odds and ends

good morning from my neck of the woods.          the sun is shining brightly, but we know in the spring time, that really doesn't mean a lot.        hahaha         I have a lot to do today.           our plans went awry yesterday when we had to make an unexpected visit to the dr.          but all's back on track this morning or seems to be anyway.           I made a trip to aldi yesterday morning and got a bunch of potatoes.        so while we was waiting for dr appt time, I got in the kitchen and got 13 or 14 lbs of potatoes peeled and done a large dice on them, about the size of a finger joint, some smaller.         I filled the containers with water and washed off a ton of starch.         I have a container of yellow potatoes and a container of sweet potatoes already ready to go this morning.          I also got a couple extra bags of radishes and I'm gonna do the same thing with them and see how they turn out as another roasted veg to have with the potatoes and eat them instead of ready made french fries.         I know the oil used and the flavorings used and nothing that shouldn't be on them.       

I wish aldi carried turnips and rutabagas, I would get some of those.         I may have to go to walmart to get some of those.          I could go to kroger, but I'm still not going to kroger, the young people at the checkouts are hateful and I don't deal with hateful too well.        I'm bad about calling them out and questioning them about their behavior.        it's clearly something their parents should have done years ago, but they didn't.        so kroger suffers as far as I'm concerned.        I treat people the way I want to be treated and not everyone does that.         

anyway, that's why I haven't tried some other types of veggies, but I will at some point.        I just love having them in the freezer, ready to toss in the airfryer along with a meat of some kind.        so, that's what's on my list today to start working on just as soon as I get this post done.       I look forward to getting them in the freezer.   

I also made a batch of homemade yogurt and I have it in the fridge straining it even as I type.       I'll save the whey as a means of making my next batch of yogurt.        my instant pot with the yogurt setting makes making yogurt really easy.        I plan on getting some homemade granola made to go along with the yogurt, but we'll see if I can get the oven freed up do that.         I could make it in the air fryer and I'll do that if necessary.

well, it looks like my day is mapped out and I'm already tired from just typing this all out.       I have my plans and now we'll just have to see if my plans are in line with what the Lord wants me to do today.      it's all up to Him, not me.        my plans are written in ink, but they can be x-ed out easily enough.        so I try to stay flexible and do as the Lord wants me to do.         and I believe that plans and preparing are in line with God's will when it's about taking of your households needs by having good food ready to put on the table.      

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giggle for the day:

Q - Why did a scarecrow win a Nobel prize?

A - He was outstanding in his field!

😂😂😂😂😂😂

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picking up Jeremiah Chapter 6,          we see here that we have to be listening for the voice of God over our lives.          God speaks to us thru His word  and when we pray and also when we look to godly counsel.        we have to be ready to hear God.        we also see that when we have sin our lives, we are deaf to the call of God over our lives.         sin causes spiritual deafness.        and again, in the chapter we see that we must be seeking after the heart of God.        that is the something that we must be doing and we must also be sharing God's truth to those around us!!!          seeking Gods truth and sharing God's truth!!

Chapter 7,          is your worship genuine worship or is it ritualistic?         if it's ritualistic, you're wasting your time and it's pointless.         are your trying to earn your way to God?         you can't!!!        again, it's pointless.          is your heart truly devoted to God?        if you are truly devoted to God, you'll have compassion for those around you.         the widow, the fatherless, the needy, helping these is a reflection of worship.         we need to be regularly seeking God's forgiveness and building a relationship with Him instead of just going thru the rituals of worship.   

Chapter 8,           are we resisting God's guidance in our lives?         if so, we're missing out on tremendous blessings.         true peace comes from acknowledging God's truth and living our lives based on His truth.          there are lots of false assurances out there, but there is only one God.         when we are living lives based on God's truth, we will also be repentant and obedient to His truth and call.         we need to pray for our leaders and church leaders to have courage to speak the truth about sin and call it what it is.        

Chapter 9,          we should have a heart of compassion for people around us who are lost and living in sin.        we live in such a deceitful world that we should be striving to represent God and His character in our daily lives.        we should make every effort to be in God's word on a daily basis and strive to live our lives based on His truth.         thinking on the goodness, kindness, justice and righteousness of God should be a priority for us for shaping our own attitudes and actions.

we will pick up at Chapter 10 next time.

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I guess we'll call it a wrap for now.          I pray that we all have a great day today and that we will be seeking after the heart of God in all we do.          we all know hurting people around us.         we know people who need help.          let us focus on some of these ways that we can serve God today.         I hope you'll come back here real soon and join me again for some more time to look at the word of God.      blessings of peace and integrity be ours today in all we do.

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and March-ing right along

good morning my friends.          I hope we're all doing well today and that we are ready to March right on along in this year.          it seems we have to be ready for it, whether we are or not.        hahaha        well, the quicker we get into March, the quicker we'll be able to start getting our hands in some serious dirt.       so I'm good and ready to get March-ing right along.         I have 12 tomato plants in my little sprout house and I was in the garage a little bit ago and they are looking fabulous!!!!          I' so tickled.   I had checked on my garlic in one of my grow towers on the deck and it looks like the greenery on the ones I checked has died back.        I just hope the garlic itself isn't dead.         it's ok for the greenery to die back, if it's still alive, it will come back as soon as it warms up.        but if the garlic itself froze, it will be a bust and I won't have any garlic.        I'm not going to let the weather defeat me with my garlic.        I'll just try to figure out another way.        that's the name of the game with gardening, if one thing doesn't work, try something else.        we have to stay flexible and ready to do whatever it takes, and I am determined.          what are you determined to grow?

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let's go to the kitchen for a "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".            so I've been busy in the kitchen here lately trying get a few things squirreled away for later on in the spring and early summer when we get busy outside.           one of those things I'm trying to get in the freezer is lots of already oven roasted russets and sweet potatoes.

in the picture along side the turkey burgers that I recently shared is 4, 1 gallon ziplock bags with 4 fliptop sandwich bags of potatoes, 2 of each type per gallon bag.        since they are already fully cooked, they are easy to pop in the air fryer and heat them up and crisp them up.       these are so good.        as long as I can keep these in the freezer, I'll not have to buy any more french fries in the frozen section at the store.       what you are looking at is about 12 lbs before peeling.          and then I put avocado oil on them and dehydrated minced garlic and dehydrated minced onion.         that flavor combo is absolutely wonderful, even on the sweet potatoes too!!!          I hope you'll give it a try.          

I bake them in  a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes, till they are fork tender.         then to freeze them, once the trays cool down, I'll pop them in the freezer on the trays and flash freeze them, then bag them up and put them in the ziplock bags.        they don't stick together once flash frozen.         and if they happen to stick a little, just drop the fliptop bag on the counter and they will pop right apart.         easy peasy.

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

Q - Why were the fish’s grades bad? 

A - They were below sea level.

😂😂😂😂😂

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today we pick up Psalm 55 and  David is praying for God to take away the evil and wicked ones who are trying to kill him.           he hid from them and ran from them and he wanted to God to deal with them.         sometimes I feel the same way with all the wicked politicians that are destroying the world and getting rich off the backs of the poor.       verse 22 says to cast our burden upon the Lord and He will sustain us.          do we need hope?        yes, and this is the hope we need.         God will deal with them and we can trust God.

in Psalm 56 the writer is pleading for God's help and so thankful that he can trust God.        we too can trust God.         He sees it all.        the writer says that God has put all his tears in a bottle and they are accounted for in His book!!!         just know, that not a single tear falls that God doesn't see.        even as I type this, I wipe a few.        we can put our trust in God and not be afraid.

in Psalm 57 we see David praising God yet again.          after fleeing from Saul David said that in the shadow of God's wings he would take refuge.        how beautiful this word picture is right here.        but David knew that God was his protection.           we too, can know that God is our protection.

in Psalm 58 David is praying for the destruction of evil and wicked people.          he says that there is a God who judges the earth and there is reward for the righteous.          amen and amen!!!!

in Psalm 59, David is again praying for God to protect him from  Saul's men who are seeking to kill him.           David sings of God's strength and for being a place of refuge when he was distressed.        we can sing of God's strength too!!

here in Psalm 60, we see David asking God to save them with His right hand.          we looked at that the other day.         a hand of strength and truth and righteousness.

Psalm 61, David has confidence in the protection of God.           do we have confidence in God?        I sure hope we do.         David knew that God was his tower of strength, his rock, and his shelter.        we look at  David's  life and see that he was a sinner, but he also repented.        that gives me a lot of hope and confidence that though I'm a sinner, thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I too can have confidence in the protection of God.

Psalm 62 finds David yet again praying to God and recognizing that He alone is his rock and his salvation, his stronghold; and he will not be shaken.         again, he has confidence in God and God alone.

in Psalm 63 we see David declaring that God's favor is better than life itself!!!!         I have to let that sink in to realize what he is saying.         my take on this is that God's favor over my life may lead to hardship, and things that can and will eventually take my life.         but with God's favor, once this life is over, I'll be where He is.         that's favor!!!          again, this is what it means to me.      

Psalm 64 we are reminded that we have secret enemies.            those people that smile to your face and stab you in the back every chance they get.        reminds me of a bunch of politicians.          also a few real life friends I've had in the past.        I know they meant more to me than I did to them.       just be aware.         God knows about it all and He'll take care of it.

next time we'll pick up at Psalm 65.

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well, I guess that's about it for today.          let's try to keep focusing of seeking after the heart of God in all we do.           there's not another better activity for us to do.         the world throws so much filth and trash at us that's it's hard to stay focused on the things of God.       but let's see if we can keep our eyes focused on Jesus and what He alone has done for us.         tell someone you know that God's favor is better than life.        blessings of God's favor and protection be ours today.     

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and eureka!! hahaha

good morning my sweet friends!!!!         well, it's a cold day with snow predicted to start this evening, and lots of it expected, so we'll just have to wait and see.         or as I say sometimes, "hurry up and wait!!"       this is supposed to be a very cold week for us with low's down to 4 degrees and highs up to 14 degrees during the day.         we'll see what it does.          we go from flooding to blizzard conditions in no time flat.         

I think global warming is a made up fallacy from day one.       one thing I definitely know for sure, absolutely nothing happens without God knowing about it.        absolutely nothing we can do will thwart the intentions and actions of God.         if there is something to global warming, then it's God's plan and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we can do to correct it!!!!!          there, I said it.        and I stand by what I said.      

a lot of people have a god complex and they think they can change the climate.          trust me, they ain't gonna change anything, if God isn't in their plans.         and most of these people have done everything they can to take God out of everything.         they will be surprised someday.         when they realize there is a God and that He is a holy God and He never lies and He is always right in what ever He does, it may be too late for them.          all these people want to do is take protein sources away from us, such as beef.       and killing millions of chickens when they aren't sick.        we have a lot of sick people in the government and I hope they get to the bottom of all this very soon.        their agenda is to destroy the farmer and to prevent us from growing our own food.        blaming global warming on the belching and passing of gas by cows is the most absurd thing I've ever heard.         

but those same  people also believe that you can be a man today and a woman tomorrow, and that it's ok for men to play in women sports, that their gender is fluid and that it's ok to be homosexual and live perverted lifestyles and push that off on everyone as being ok.         well, it's not ok and hell is real.        there, I said that too.          I make no apologies for saying it.       because God said it in His word!!!        there are sins that are abominable, and those some of those sins are.         if you don't believe me, read about Sodom and Gomorrah in your bible.         it's all there, unless you have one of those books that has been rewritten  to appease  the perverts.        there, I said  that too and I stand beside it all.        sin is sin is sin.        it has to be dealt with as such.      I'll not sugar coat anything because I don't want to be responsible for you NOT hearing the truth when I had the opportunity to tell you the truth.      

I hope as we keep going thru the bible every day, for as long I feel led to do this, that we can see that there are a lot of people, including each one of us, that have a lot of repenting to do.         we've worshiped the wrong things for far too long.        I do believe that the days ahead of this planet as we know are getting fewer with each passing day.       I do believe that Jesus will be splitting the eastern sky some day soon to gather His own and to take us to His home.         that could happen this very moment, while I'm typing, while you're reading.        are you ready?        if not, now is the time to get ready.   

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time for the "giggle for the day".

Where do polar bears keep their money?

In a snowbank.

😅😉😀😂😄😊

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let's do another very quick "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" today.       I had a eureka moment!!!!    there are no  pictures, maybe  next time I'll take pics, this time I just wanted to get done with the project.        y'all  know I've been  working on putting  sweet potatoes and regular potatoes in the freezer.       well, I still had the last batch of sweet potatoes that I had made last week, still in the freezer in the bottom of the fridge.        and today I was going to be oven baking regular potatoes.          so I got the sweet potatoes out and I had actually been giving this some brain time over the weekend and I came up with a really good plan.        much better than just bagging them all in one big bag, I weighed them out into flip top sandwich bags in individual servings.        woohoo!!!!         this is a huge game changer!!!!!         what I'm going to do now, is get all the ones that I've previously frozen, and do the same thing with them.         since I flash froze them in the freezer before bagging them, they don't stick together and it will be easy to re-bag them and get them all fixed where there's at least 3 meals for each of us per gallon bag.      then bag them up where there is at least 3 servings of mine and 3 servings of my husbands potatoes in one bag.         it may not make sense to anyone else, but wow wee, this will be a game changer for me.        instead of bringing 2 big bags of potatoes from the freezer, I'll just have to get one bag that has 4 meals per big bag.       that's wonderful.        I hope I can keep on coming up with ways to streamline some of the things I do to help save time, energy and space in the freezer.         I also hope that this will help some of y'all too, with a good idea that you hadn't thought of before.        I weighed the sweet potatoes out in 3 oz serving per flip top sandwich bag.         for the russet potatoes for my husband, I'll weigh those out in 4 or 5 oz bags.         that should be a good serving size.         we could both eat a gallon ziplock bag at one time, they're that good!!!!!         no kidding, but we need to show a little restraint every now and again.          hahahaha          well, we do.        hahahaha           anyway, I hope this helps some of y'all.

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today we start at Esther.          "for such a time as this" is one of most notable quotes from the book of Esther.        I'm not even gonna get into what the book is about.        I'm just gonna tell you that we must, at all times, be ready for such a time as this.        Esther lived in a time when people wanted her race to be exterminated, completely.        but God!!!!!         a funny thing about the book of Esther, is that God is never mentioned.         it makes no difference, this book is full of faith in God!!!         we see it, whether we read God's name  or not, it's there.        without the  book of  Esther, there  could not have been Jesus.        had they exterminated the Jewish race, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior would not have been born.        so, it is without a doubt, the plan of God that the events in this book took place.       who would have  ever thought  a young  Jewish girl  could save the Jewish race?         God did, Mordecai did.        that's all that counts.        this is a firm reminder that one person can make a difference.        we know that this is true, one person making a difference.        and we can make a difference either for the good or the bad of the community, race, nation or world.         

for instance, one woman, back in the 60's, I believe it was, got God removed from the schools and we now see what that has done to the school system.        it opened the door for indoctrination of the worst kind.         then in the 70's,  one woman screamed rape when in reality she was having an affair with another man and became pregnant and took her case to the court system and was able to get an abortion because she was raped by  a man of color.         no she wasn't raped, she had free will sex with him and pregnancy spilled the beans.        several years later, she was saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, and repented of her sins and went to the courts and told them that it was all a lie.        roe v wade was based on a lie and she was trying to do something about it now.         too late!!!!       everyone loves that they can cheat and have extramarital affairs, have premarital sex, have sex with as many men as they wish and they can get rid of the evidence as easy as tossing a piece of paper in the trash.        only it's a human being.        after 100 million or so abortions being performed, women still stand up and scream about their right to health care.      they have the right to kill a human being under the guise health care.        how dare they!!!!      if they took the time to read up on what an abortion does to the woman body, they might not be so all fired ready to have an abortion.          they might even take a little care and keep their legs  together too, because it's not for the faint of heart.      sorry about the crassness of that, but it's the truth, for those who have something to hide.       make no mistake, it's  not about  women's health.          when I see women picketing and carrying signs it's my body and all the vile filth they say, I can say that there is nothing in them that is even remotely godly in any way, form, shape or fashion.        they do not represent me in any way imaginable as a human being.        they are filled with the devil, doing his work and they don't even know it.        a lot of women who have had abortions have been saved and repented and I know that Jesus Christ has covered their sins with His blood, just as He has covered mine with His blood.       and for the ones who have repented, we'll see them in heaven some day.       for the others, hell is waiting.     

I'm just so thankful for people like Esther.         she had a calling on her life, she had an uncle that knew she had a calling on her life and he was a man of faith.        she answered that call by saying whether I live or or whether I die, I'm going to answer the call.        God is faithful and He was with her every second of her life.         guess what, we all have a calling on our lives.          we either answer the call and live and walk in faith, knowing that God is guiding us every step of the way.         or we turn our backs on the call of God and run with the devil.         either way, we have an eternal destiny ahead of us, are we aware of that?         I pray that we are.       

next time we pick up in Job.

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well, that's about all I have for today.        we'll have to see what tonight brings in the form of snow.      I don't know what tomorrows bible study will look like or if there will even be one.        we'll just have to wait and see.        we have  a lot  to do today and I don't know if we'll even get everything done.       so we'll see.   I've been praying against it, but God is in charge of it all.         if it's His will that I make a snowman, then so be it.         hahaha.       no, I can assure you I won't be out making snow men.         but.......on the slim chance we get a good snow, I might make a bite of snow cream for us.        we could go for  that, but  I could  live the rest of my life and never have a bite of snow cream again.      hahahaha          anyway, I have a couple of good bread baking days ahead of me.         snow days are good bread baking days, just because I said so.        hahaha         oh well, if I do something exciting, I'll let y'all know.       until next time, seek after the heart of God.         we won't be disappointed if we make that our life goal.      blessings of joy and grace be upon us all.         hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and Sweet Potatoes again

good morning my lovelies.          first off, I don't know who prayed for me to have a good night's sleep and rest, but I appreciate it!!!!         thank you so much!!!!!        it looks like we're in for a wild ride this week.      we got 7 inches of rain over the weekend, lots of flooding and now, possibly 4 to 6 inches of snow or more.       well, God is in control so I'll let Him decide what's gonna happen.       and in the mean time, I'll try not to worry about, and just let Him take care of it.       please do pray for the families that have lost loved ones due to flooding.        it's so heartbreaking.          on a different note, I have 3 baby pepper plants that just sprang forth  over the last 2 or 3 days.         I'm quite excited about that.        I have 12 tomato plants too.      the tomatoes are doing really good.        I planted 12 seeds and all of them were good ones.      yay!!!        I don't know if all my peppers will come up or not.         I'm using my 2 hydroponic units from amazon and they each hold 12 seed pods.         so getting 12 out of 12 tomatoes, is fantastic.        but I don't think the peppers are gonna be that prolific because it takes a lot longer for them to sprout and I think some of my pods already have mold growing in them.          so I may have to toss the pods and start more.       I really don't want to do that, but I'll keep hanging with them for another few days and see what happens.  

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let's have the "giggle for the day": 

what do you call an angry carrot?

a steamed veggie!

😂😅😁😅😂

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let's do a quick "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" again.         I needed to get more sweet potatoes in the freezer, so I got out my "starfrit" peeler from amazon and used it on my sweet potatoes.       it does a fantastic job on sweet potatoes that are still nice and plump.         but if the peel is the least bit wrinkled, it want's to kick the blade down the potato and skips the peeling.        these were good, non wrinkled potatoes.        hahaha         plus the peel is good to just drop in my composter and make compost.     

so as I'm peeling, I'm dropping them in a bowl of water to help keep them from turning dark.         and it also washes them.             once done with all that, I start dicing to about the size of my thumb joint.     some are a little smaller just because of the size of the potatoes.          once I get them all diced, I put them in a bowl and put about 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, depending on the amt of sweet potatoes.      then I put a bit of salt and pepper, then my dehydrated minced onion and garlic.       

once I get them all coated nicely with oil and seasonings, I'll put them on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and try to make a single layer.       I had so many this time that I had to make 2 trays of sweet potatoes.          so I bake them at 350* for 45 to 50 minutes.        these are about as close to candy as you can get.

I hope to get several more bags of these in the freezer before the spring garden push sets in.        I'm also doing regular potatoes for my husband.         I do them the same way.         as a matter of fact, I have another 5 lb bag of each to get done this coming week and get them in the freezer.        I just put them in the freezer, on the baking sheet, to freeze.         then when I take them off the baking sheets and put them in the zip lock freezer bags, they won't be frozen in a big hard ball.       they be easy to get a serving out and seal back up.       there will probably be between 7 or 8 servings per bag of frozen potatoes, of both kinds.       when I get read to use them, I'll drop them in the air fryer along with what ever meat we're having and crisp them up and get some color on them.         wowzers, they are good.         I hope you give it a try.

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picking back up in Nehemiah today.         when I was thinking about what all I've read this go around when doing my bible reading for the year and my bible study, I'm thinking about where Jesus is in the Old Testament and about the sinful nature of God's chosen people, then and now.        at one point in time, in  the book of 1 Chronicles, we see Jabez and he prayed for God to enlarge his territory so that there would be more people for him to have a good influence on.        Jabez isn't talked about much in the bible, but he made a request of God that God honored and answered.        he made a request that was seeking the heart of God.       he wanted to have a good influence on those who need help.        he just had a heart that was  seeking God.        Nehemiah had  that same heart that was seeking the heart of God.       that has become a theme for me.        it really hit me hard this time around while reading thru the bible.       I've been a Christian for many years, 47 years this year, and I praise Jesus Christ for His sacrifice that covered my sins.       now, I have had to re-evaluate if  I am  seeking after the heart of God.       I see some semi strong areas in my life, but I also see a lot of weaker areas in my life that I will need to address.        I hope while you're doing your own study, that you're asking God to show you where your weaknesses are and He will show to you in His word, while you're reading it, if you're serious about it.       we want to be able to boldly come to God with our requests, like Jabez and Nehemiah did.       I don't know what your service to the Lord will look like any more than I know what mine will look like, but God does.       and regardless of the ridicule we get from those around us, like the ridicule that Nehemiah got, we need to stay strong.       we can't stay strong in our own strength, but we can if we rely on and call on God for each breath we take.        I said earlier about looking for Jesus in the book of Nehemiah.          well we see Jesus all over this book.        Nehemiah was all about restoring the temple and getting the people back to worshiping God.         it is thru worship that we find redemption.        Jesus is all about restoration and redemption.        that's  what the   book of Nehemiah is all about and that's what Jesus is all about.        I truly  believe  that's what we  should be all about too.         we may be the only Jesus that some will ever see.        that's why it's important for us to always be seeking the heart of God.       I need to be more aware of the needs around me.          I need to show more compassion over the needs I see.        Lord help me to be the woman that you designed me to be!!

and be very aware, that when you do start seeking the heart of God, the devil will be all over you at every turn, with every breath just about.        he will be using his scare tactics on you.         he will be doing everything he can to destroy your testimony and scare you and make you weak.        stay strong and stay in the word.         just like the Israelites, we can worship our holy God in a holy way.      

next time we start in Esther.

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well, that's just about I have for today.         let's seek the heart of God in all we do.       let's praise and worship God for all He does for us.        I pray we all have a great day today and we will tell someone that God loves them  and wants to be in right relationship with them thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.        blessings of peace and strength be ours today.          hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and Potatoes for the freezer

good morning my beautiful friends.          I hope and pray that you are warm and cozy this morning.      it's kinda chilly again in my neck of the woods and I'll have to say it again, I'm ready for spring.         I don't care that big old groundhog said, I want me some spring.        hahaha          you know what, it will be spring when God say's it's spring.           so, I'll figuratively and literally have to "hold my taters" and wait for spring before I can plant them.          hahahaha         well, I know I'm right about that, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.      hahahaha         I am looking forward to gardening this year.         I just pray that my knee holds out for me.         I've been having an issue and I'd appreciate it if you would pray for me that I can make it thru this gardening season.         I'd love for the problem to just disappear, and it will, if it's God's will.         anyway, I thank you in advance for your prayers.        now, let's get on with seeing what this beautiful day holds for us.         I sure hope it's a good one for all of us!!

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another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".           when I went to Aldi the other day I got another bag of russet potatoes and another bag of sweet potatoes.         so I got them peeled, chopped, seasoned and scratched and dug around finally found enough pans to put everything on and have them ready to go in the counter top oven, one tray at a time.        I use about a tablespoon of avocado oil, a palm full of minced dehydrated onions and garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.       mix that all up real good making sure the oil and seasonings are distributed evenly.

I use parchment paper to line my trays for easy cleanup.           plus it makes it easy to use the spatula to take the potatoes from the parchment.         if they stick to the pan, it's a nightmare, but not with parchment.          once they are baked in a 400 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, I let them cool to room temp.           then I pop them in the freezer on the tray to flash freeze.        once frozen completely, I take them from the parchment paper and put them in a freezer bag.        the 2 trays of russets filled a gallon size ziplock bag and the same for the 2 trays of sweet potatoes.           I now have 4 gallon sized bags of ready cooked potatoes in the freezer. 

when I get ready to use them, all I have to do is take out a few of each for our meal and pop them in the air fryer along with what ever else we're having, and meal is ready in no time flat.

the reason I'm doing this is to get rid of the expense of keeping ready made french fries in the freezer all the time.          I know all the ingredients in these.          I used a wonderfully healthy oil on them, and not a lot of it at that.         I minced and dehydrated the onions and garlic myself.         so it can't get much cleaner than that.        these will be handy later on when I'm busy with gardening and what ever else may be going on.         I plan to do a bag each a week for the next 2 or 3 more weeks and that should get us set with our potatoes.         oh, I forgot to tell y'all, we enjoy potatoes.       hahahaha

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we pick up in 1 Chronicles  Chapter 5.         we're looking at all the genealogy and talking about all the kings  up to this particular point in scripture.         one of the things to take away from the 2 books of Chronicles is that we can see what obedience to God does and we can see what disobedience to God does.        some that were disobedient lost their birthright, some lost their lives, some lost their position, some lost their families.         I think it's still the same today.        when we blatantly disobey God today, all of those things can happen.        we just don't look at situations today the same way that God looked at them and the same God still looks at those same situations.            we gloss over sin and make it something desirable when in reality, God calls it detestable, abominable and despicable.       if we learn to look at sin thru the same lens that God sees sin, it would change our perspective drastically.         but we see everything thru the lens that everything is acceptable in the eyes of God.         just so you know, that's a  lie straight from the pits of hell.         obedience results in God's blessings.         I always want to be obedient to God.        I know I'm not always obedient, but I do repent and seek forgiveness.        God is always faithful!!!           and in scripture, obedience led to the promises that God had made for the house and lineage of David.          another takeaway, is to look back and see where God is always faithful and to see where we aren't so much faithful.         looking back can be a source a of hope for the future.       I know that on this side of the cross, I do have a future and that future is because Christ died on the cross for me.        so I can look back and see my many fatal flaws and mistakes, but I can also see and know that Christ is my salvation.         He has covered my past with His blood, and my future is full of the hope that I have in Christ.          everything in the old testament was pointing to the cross.         I'm so thankful that Christ was obedient to His Father.          because we all have a future in Christ, if we want it.       we just have to be obedient and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

I don't know what the direction of the next 1 Chronicles study will take.     stay tuned and we'll find out.

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well, this is where we'll wrap it up today.           I hope you seen something useful here today.       I hope that you are doing your own reading and studying while we are going thru the bible.       I don't know how long I'll keep up the pace of posting every day.        I love it, and I also love posting about what I've done in the kitchen too.        but I feel like I'm about to run out of anything to share from there too.       I don't know what we'll do, but hopefully I can keep doing something.        I pray that we all will have a great day today and that we will be obedient to the call of God over our lives.       being obedient to that call will more than likely put us in a position of servitude to others.         are we ready for that?         I sure hope so.       Lord prepare us to serve You today.          be blessed today!!!     hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and sweet potatoes from start to freezer

good morning beautiful friends.          I hope and pray that we are all ready to have a great day today.      the sun isn't shining and we're probably gonna get some rain.          it got up to 59 degrees yesterday, and we loved it.        my hubby worked out in the garage and I worked inside, but I was out and in every once in a while.         I think it's gonna rain today, but that's ok, we can use the rain.        if for no other reason, to get all the salt washed off the roads.         we're hoping to go see Momma this morning and get back home before  the rain  starts.       maybe even  get out  walk in for the  day before the rain starts too.         sometime this afternoon I'll have to get my yogurt in the fridge to cool down and then strain it to make greek yogurt.       I'll save the whey for the next batch.       if you've never made homemade yogurt before, I'd suggest giving it a try.         if I can  remember, I'll do a picture tutorial on it sometime.         keep an eye out for it.

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guess where we are today?           you guessed it, in the kitchen with another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".          pull up a chair and grab a cuppa, because there's a lot going on in here today.          so I needed to make another batch of my diced sweet potatoes with onions and garlic.         so I got out my peeler and composter bucket.

the little gizmo on the left is a starfrit peeler from amazon.        it's a great little gizmo, but these sweet potatoes are difficult to peel at best.         it makes no difference where I get sweet potatoes, they're all kinda shriveled up and this peeler doesn't like that at all.         but I finally got it done.      on the right side is my compost bucket.         so I was doing it right.        hahahaha

as I peeled the potatoes, I dropped them in a bow of water.            you can see the pile of peels.         as it was peeling, I was picking the piles up and breaking them into smaller pieces and putting them in my compost bucker.          in the past, all this just went in the trach can.         not anymore.       woohoo!!!   

I got them all chopped up and used all the ingredients on the left hand side of the bowl.          I had previously dehydrated the garlic and onion just for this purpose.         and my dehydrated onion and garlic work perfectly in this dish.         for the ingredients, I used about a tablespoon of avocado oil, a good grid of pink salt, a dash of black pepper and about a palm full of both the garlic and the onion.      a quick stir and it will be ready for the baking sheet.

this is a close up of what it all looks like before I mix it all together.

this is the closed up of my onions and garlic.          since this will be the permanent homes of these ingredients, I need to make a couple of labels for each jar.       one for each lid and one for the side of each jar.          these garlic jars work perfectly for this project. 

this is the potatoes all mixed up and spread out on my baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

pop in the oven on 400 degrees for45 minutes or more, just depending on what you like and this is what you get.           we love all the dark crispy bits.         it is soooooooo yummy!!!!!             these sweet potatoes taste like candy, only better.           that's no joke!!!

I let them cool and then scoop them up and into flip top sandwich bags.

then get the bags shaped up a little and flip the top on them and....... 

then they are ready to go in a vac seal bag and into the freezer.         I don't do a hard vacuum on them because I don't want to squish them and I don't want it to be a solid block when I get ready to take a bag out and put it in the air fryer later.          this is where the magic happens.           they get crispy on the outside and stay like candy on the inside.          these are wonderful.          next on the agenda is to do some russets for my husband.         those are his favorites.          I hope you will give this a try.        when I went shopping the other day, I got a lot more potatoes, some of each and they will be prepared this was exactly and then I'll have easy potatoes any time we want them.           I'm thinking the next time, I'll flash freeze them on the baking sheet and then be able to scoop out some without having to thaw them a little first.         that will make it easier and quicker to toss in the air fryer.        yay!!!

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so we pick up in 1 Samuel Chapter 16.           God is ready to anoint a new king.           His spirit has totally left Saul now and he is overcome with an evil spirit every once in a while.        God tells Samuel to go to Jesse and he will find the new king among his sons.        David was the one that God had chosen for Samuel to anoint.          David fought Goliath with what he knew.        he knew how to handle a sling shot and he also knew that the hand of God that had protected him against a lion and a bear, would also protect him from this giant.        when we trust God with what we know and with what have, then we can count on success.        what David knew is that the God of Israel was faithful and David knew how to use a sling shot.      God gave David the success.         Jonathan and David became friends.       Saul became suspicious of David and turned against him.       David had done nothing to cause Saul to be suspicious.        he was jealous.        jealousy causes a lot of problems and always has, always will.    Saul knew that Lord was with David and he was afraid of David.        David was more successful in battle than Saul was.         Jonathan told David that Saul wanted him dead.         jealousy causes people to do or try to do desperate things.      the God of the Israelites was with David thru it all.       Saul wanted David dead, but God had other plans.        do we walk closely enough with God so that the plans of others that are to do us harm can't happen?        I pray that I do.        I pray that God will protect me in spite of myself and how I get in God's way.       

next time we pick up at 1 Samuel Chapter 26.

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well, that's about it for today.        we'll have to wait and see how the day turns out.        but I know that as long as we keep God in our lives, it will be a good day.         let's try to trust God with everything in our lives.       blessings to you all today.         hugs and love, patty