Bible Study and wet again

good morning my friends, guess what?           it's raining again.        we've had 7 inches and working on more today.          hahaha           well, all I can do is let the weather do what the weather's gonna do.      God is good, so we'll see what happens.          I can't worry too much about it, since He is in charge of all that is.         now the power is starting blink off and on.         it's getting a little dicey, so I think I'll hurry thru this post.

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giggle for the day:

Q - Why wouldn’t the shrimp share his treasure?

A - Because he was a little shellfish!

😂😂😂😂😂

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picking up with Ezekiel Chapter 15,            we see in this chapter that we are to look beyond the physical and see the spiritually barren land that we live in.         people are literally starving for God and they don't know it.              we need to be obedient and fruitful to the call of God over our lives.         if we're not fruitful, we are described as a useless vine.           are we useless?          if so, we need to change that and take God's word and work seriously.          examine our lives and see how fruitful we are.          also realize apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.           we each have unique gifts and unique opportunities, let's use those to glorify God and serve Him.

Chapter 16,            God is ever faithful, ready to take us back  and restore us fully when we turn back to Him.          we fall short of God's glory but He is ever merciful!!!!           has God ever intervened in your life when you didn't deserve it?          of course He has.         He is merciful!!!         when we repent, we can have forgiveness and restoration.           

Chapter 17,            no matter how withered and wasted our lives are, God has the power to breathe new life into us!!!!           praise His holy name!!!!!!         our hope in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone.          that should inspire us to live lives of faith and obedience.           we have to trust in God's ultimate plan to bring about restoration.   

Chapter 18,             no matter how far we have gone astray, we can seek restoration and God's forgiveness.           as long as there is life in the body, it's never too late to turn back to God.         there will always be an individual responsibility to God, even if the whole nation is under judgement, we as individuals have a responsibility to turn back to God, if we have turned away from Him.         we each are responsible for our own individual choices.          God offers a fresh start with Him when we repent and seek Him.          we need to encourage the younger generation of the importance to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.         and we need to remind ourselves that God is just and merciful.

Chapter 19,            we reminded of the heavy cost for disobedience.          read God's word and learn from the past.         God is fair in His judgement and He loves His people.        there is hope when we follow God and serve Him.        there are good qualities in good leaders and bad leaders are filled with evil and wicked qualities, just like we've read about thus far.         even during times of judgement, God has the power to redeem and restore.           just like a vine, we have to be rooted in good soil to flourish and grow.           Jesus is that good soil.         are we rooted in Him?

Chapter 20,             God is so patient with us.          Praise Him for that!!!!        God promise a future restoration for His people.         God always offers hope and He always follows thru.        judgement or hope or restoration, He is faithful.       

next time we'll pick up with Chapter 21.

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I guess we will wrap up it right here.          I don't know what my day will hold for me.         probably a day full of rain.          I may bake a batch of yellow potatoes and sweet potatoes and possibly whip up some more bread dough.          we love those potatoes and I can't keep them in the freezer.           and we love having bread dough ready to bake.          anyway, as always I will remind us to continue to seek after the heart of God in all that we do.          if you drifted away from God, get back to where you belong.          if you don't know God, now would be the time to tell Him that you want to know Him and have a relationship with Him.          what do you need to repent of?          whatever it is, do it and get back to Him.         He wants you to be in relationship with Him.         I pray that we all can make the decision to follow Him, what ever it takes, and at all costs.          our eternity is what's important.          it will be spent in either heaven or hell and we get to make that choice.         the way we live is the deciding factor.          make the wise choice.         blessings of wisdom and mercy be ours.

hugs and love, patty

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 not much else

good morning loved ones of God!!!            I hope you are doing well this morning.          I really can't tell what kind of day it's gonna be yet, it's still so early.         I have an early morning appointment and I'm ready to head out and thought I would get this blog post up before I forgot about it.         I do know that we are supposed to have more rain and it's a bit chilly this morning.         I am ready for spring!!!!!  so we'll see when it gets here for good.         hahaha          I think it's out playing in the snow somewhere and forgot that it has a job to do.          if you see it anywhere, tell it to get on home to some of these folks in the south.         hahahaha          well, I guess we'll get on with the blog post.         

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giggle for the day:

Q - Why do giraffes have such long necks?

A - Because they have smelly feet!

who knew?  stinky feet, hahahaha

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picking up with Jeremiah Chapter 52,              we have to pay attention to warnings of God in our lives and there are consequences when we don't listen to God's warnings.          even in times of judgement and hard times, we have to know that God's plan is ultimate and He has the power and ability to bring about restoration and redemption.         God's mercy is enduring and lasting and He offers hope and restoration even after judgement.          praise His holy name!!!!

Lamentations Chapter 1,            this books is based on the painful situation with Jerusalem.          sin is responsible for the suffering and desolation for the people of Jerusalem.          when we continue to live in sin, we too will experience the same pain and suffering and separation from God that these people experienced.           see the need to turn to God in prayer and know that He sees and cares about our problems.           God's plan is one of redemption and restoration.          He wants us to be in right relationship with Him.

Chapter 2,             even amidst the consequences of disobedience, there is hope and a call for repentance and the opportunity to seek Gods mercy.          no matter the depth of our suffering or the vastness of our sins,  turning back to God and seeking His forgiveness is the desired path.          when we bring our problems to God in groanings and weeping, that in itself is a form of worship, showing our dependence on Him.

Chapter 3,              in the darkest hours of our sin, there is still the opportunity to repent, ask God for forgiveness and to be redeemed.           that is always the ultimate end goal.         we should always tell God our honest and true feelings.       He knows them anyway, so why not just be honest with Him.      we can have for the future when we remember God's faithfulness in the past.         we have to continue to seek after the heart of God through prayer and reading His word.          this is what strengthens our faith and dependence on Him.

Chapter 4,             even in desperate times, God is still just and He still offers mercy.         hard times opens the door for restoration.         we have to keep examining our own lives and making sure we are not holding on to sin.         remember that our strength and protection comes from God alone.         in God alone, is our hope of restoration and renewal.           Parise God!!!!!

Chapter 5,            we should not ever hesitate to bring our problems to God.        the sooner the better.      He can help us if we trust Him.         we need to examine our lives to see where sin is causing damage and ask God for forgiveness and help.            reconciliation, renew, restore.          beautiful words of hope from God.          when we're in trouble, we need to remind ourselves of God's ability to bring about change and restoration.           God is in the business of changing lives, let's let Him!!!

tomorrow we'll start in Ezekiel Chapter 1.

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well, I guess that will do it for now.          as always, let's keep seeking after the heart of God in all things that we do.        I hope and pray that we all have a great day.          I don't know what we'll get into, but if it's anything exciting, I'll be sure and let you know.          blessings of renewal and restoration.

hugs and love, patty