Bible Study, more dehydrating and a kitchen hack

good morning my beautiful friends.         I pray that you are all doing well and that you're staying warm, if you're in an area that's cold.       for us, in our neck of the woods, it's hanging in there at 25 to 27 degrees.        25 is the lowest I've seen it in about 3 days.        but we do have some weather rolling in here towards the end of the week with the promise of snow.       anywhere between 4 and 7 inches.       of course, it's all in God's hands and what He decides to do.       it does have the potential to become bad.    so if we're not ready, now's the time to get ready.        we need to get out lamps trimmed and keep them trimmed and be as ready as we can be for what may or may not happen.        with the warning comes action.        if we don't take action, then, it's on us and we can't blame anyone other than ourselves for lack of preparation on our part.       my main concern is power outage, and there's nothing that my husband and I can do to prevent that.       but as far as everything else, we've done what we can.       so we'll trust God to help us in our need and we'll trust Him for us to help others when the need arises.        get as prepared as we can for ourselves and then we can help others.       with God's help, that's our plan.        help us all Lord to be prepared for what ever comes our way.

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picking up in Genesis, Chapter 46, this is where Jacob and all the family go to Egypt, where Joseph is.  70 people in all, went to the land of Goshen.         Jacob has seen the face of his beloved son and he was ready close his eyes in death.         the pharaoh at the time was pleased with Joseph and the fact that his family was there close to Joseph.      in chapter 48 we see more deception taking place, similar to how Jacob deceived Issac and Esau.     but there is also God in the mix, showing that God blesses people even if they don't deserve it, from our point of view.        God is good all the time and God always does right.       Jacob prayed for God to bless both of the boys and for them to carry on the names of their forefathers.      Jacob blessed all his sons as God seen fit.      now, after Jacob's death, Joseph's brothers feared him.        and Joseph reminded them  that what they had meant  for evil against him,  God had meant it for good, for  all the generations to come.      now, starting in Exodus, we see a change of power.        Joseph dies and a new pharaoh doesn't recognize the power that Joseph had.       this new leader feared the people of Israel and he put the people in bondage and made slaves of them.        this was prophesied from the mouth of God earlier in Genesis.      one leader will not recognize what another leader valued.       we still see this today.       with a new regime comes fear and a new leadership.        but God was with His people!!!        they grew in number in spite of harsh conditions.         then along came the order to kill every make born to the Hebrews.        sounds kinda like the evil and wicked act of abortion today!!        there will be a price to pay for that too.        God is in the situation, and He alone spares Moses!!        this is where rubber meets the road and we see the rise of a great hero, led by God to do great things.       it make me wonder if there are any great men today that are willing to be led by God to do the hard things that will bring about a change in this country.         with God, all things are possible.      we have to remember that God hears the cries of His people and He will answer those cries.         with God, all things are possible.

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let's do a "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" segment again today.             this may turn into a regular part of my blog, who knows.           hahaha           so, on yesterdays blog post I shared a pic of 2 trays of minced onions.           well, they got done and I got them jarred up, before I realized I should have taken a pic of them dried, and still on the trays.          I've gotten rust to say the least.         but they turned out wonderful.           they smell so good and look so great too.           the color on them is perfect.

don't that look so good?            I can't wait to use this.           I know it will be delicious.     

this is one of those small jars that garlic actually comes in.          and those 4 trays filled this little jar to the brim.           I'm going to do more of both pretty soon.

this is a pan of russet potatoes that I fixed for my husband.          they have avocado oil, my own minced garlic, minced onion, salt and pepper.            these are so good as it.          but what will punch them over the top is when I put some in the air fryer to crisp them up like french fries.         these are far better than french fries any day.  

this is the sweet potatoes and the russet potatoes, done!!!           and they are so delicious!!!           I keep saying, but it's true.    hahahaha

this is them in all their loveliness boxed up and ready to go in the fridge to be devoured over the course of the rest of the week.           these reheat so well in the airfryer.         crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside.         yummy yummy, get in my tummy!!!

don't be afraid to dehydrate your own minced onions and minced garlic.         it will better than anything you can buy.         and if you grow your own garlic and onions, then that's a win win all the way around.

I'm sure you can find all kinds of way to use your homemade minced garlic and minced onions.        just try it, you'll love it and be hooked on dehydrating.

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and let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" while we're at it.         so, this morning is a perfect morning to make chili.       I had one last bag of a complete chili mix.         most everything in it was from dehydrated goods.        I didn't make it, but it's on my list of things to do.       the recipe on the bag calls for tomato paste and tomato sauce.         well, I have found that I prefer pace salsa instead of those 2 items.         so when I find the 16oz jars of pace salsa on sale, I'll get 2 or 3 just for soups and chili.     it's a wonderful addition to the chili and really gives it more flavor.       and, it also helps tone down some of the chili spices that I'm not so fond of.       I love a milder chili.        I don't mind heat in my chili, it's some of the spices that are off putting to me.        so, the Pace salsa really helps me enjoy chili in more ways than one.          so I hope this is useful to someone.

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I guess that's about it for today.         I pray you have a wonderful day.        just know that God has provided the only way for all of us to be in right relationship with Him, and that's thru the shed blood of His precious Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!!!         that's how much He loves us!!      blessings of mercy and peace be yours today.        hugs and love, patty

Bible Study, minced onions and .......

good morning my cold friends.         hahaha      well, I pray that none of y'all are cold this morning.       I pray that you're warm and toasty where ever you are.         it's holding at 28 degrees here.          it's been in the mid to upper 20's now for going on 48 hours.          with the expectation of lower temps than these later on in the week.        I just pray that God keeps us all safe.        I know that some are without power now due to heavy ice bringing limbs down on power lines.         I pray for the linemen that will be out and about getting power back on.        they have a tough job on a good day, but on frigid cold days, they have to remain diligent and not get sloppy, because their very  lives depend on them doing everything right.        so I pray that they can keep warm and keep their minds focused on what they have to do and stay safe.        I've seen these men working in extreme situations and I have to say that they are among the best of the best!!!!!!        if you have to have a hero, look no further, these men are heroes!!!!!     may God bless them and keep the safe.    

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in Genesis, Chapter 40, we see Joseph's persistence in remaining faithful to his Yahweh.          God was with Joseph during every  second of his life and we  can see it in this chapter and the following chapters.          how determined are  we to remain faithful to  God in the tough days and tough times in which we live.        integrity matters even when we think no one is looking.        someone is always looking.     and don't expect people who made promises to you to uphold their end of the promise.         but do always look to God, because He is faithful.

In chapters 41, we can see that God put Joseph in the right place at the right time.      would you have thought that Joseph would have become the #2 man in all of Egypt?      God was working ahead with His plan, that Joseph's brothers was a part of.        had the deceit of his brothers not taken place, God would have had another plan for sure.       but, we can see the hand of God all over this situation.         living it out is one thing, reading about it now, after the fact is a completely different thing.        in our lives, we have to stay focused on the fact that what God is doing is for His glory and He sees the big picture.    

Joseph knew that God was in the whole situation all along.        from the very beginning of the deception up to this very point in time right now, where the brothers were having a meal in the presence of Joseph.       at one point, Joseph finally breaks down in front of his brothers and tells them, that what they meant for harm, God meant for good.         have we ever reached a point with a situation in our lives that we actually said what this person meant for harm, God meant for good.         going thru something at the time, its really hard to find the good in something that we think is bad.        we have to remain faithful to our faithful Father, Yahweh.  

In chapter 45, the land of Goshen is mentioned.       and it is in this land that the 400 years of bondage has been prophesied about earlier by God himself.        personally, I think this is one of the most riveting stories in the bible.        and then the story after it is another knuckle busting, jaw dropper.       I hope pray that we all can see working God in every word of the bible.      

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ok, let's do another really quick "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".          I had quit using that title, but I like it, so I'm gonna go back to using it again.         hahaha         hey, I can do what I wanna do, just because I can.

I had shown y'all my minced garlic.         I got a total of 3 jars from 4, 6 oz pkgs that was already peeled.         so I decided this morning was as good a morning as any to get some onions dehydrated.        

I took 2 fist-sized onions and diced them up and then put them in my little mincer and got them minced up and on my silicone trays.        I needed something to get the garlic smell off them, this should do the trick pretty well.        hahahaha          replace one strong smell with another strong smell.        yeah, that works.       hahaha

anyway, I put them on the dehydrator and set it at 120 degrees and will keep an eye on it.       I'm really hoping they'll be crispy before bed time and then maybe I can get 2 more on there to get them dehydrated.         that will set me up pretty good for minced onions.     

this is just 2 of the trays.          I already had the other 2 on tray when I realized I wanted to take a picture and I didn't want to remove the other two trays from the dehydrator.         I have to admit, I love the smell of onions.        especially in the winter time my mind goes to all kinds of wonderful meals that are full of onions.        and these will be delicious on more sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.       so good.

when they all get done and I get them jarred up, I'll share pics with y'all.

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well, that's about all I have today.         I pray that we all have a great day before us and that we will be a blessing where ever we are.        whether we're home or out in the market place, may be a great representative of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.        may your blessings abundant today and every day.         hugs and love, patty

Bible Study, and who's got Garlic? Weather!?!

good cold morning my beautiful friends.           yes, it's cold this morning and getting colder today.      it was 46 degrees at midnight and it's been dropping ever since.         it's now 27 degrees.      I think winter has officially arrived.         have I told that I'm ready for spring?          well, just in case I haven't, "I'm ready for spring!!"        hahaha           we have had a lot of rain overnight with the temps dropping and then snow and the temps are still falling as I type.           we are not gonna have temps much above what it is right now, for the next 10 days or so.          oh yeah, I'm looking forward to spring.      I'll get my seed catalogs, seeds, calendar and notebook out and hunker down and make plans for my garden this year and then in Feb, I'll start my seeds.         that's my plan, if the Lord blesses it.       I prefer to have some kind of plan to keep my mind occupied on the hope of a garden than to fret over the cold, frigid temps.         God is good!!!!        Lord bless my efforts.       that's always my prayer when I'm gardening, even in the planning stages.      

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picking up with my Bible Reading and study at Genesis 33.          it seems to me that Gods people are always looking for something tangible to worship.        when they go other places, they latch on to the gods of the other people.          they always have the trinkets or what ever they were, and God's people always always always take on their ways.         it seems to me that even today, God's people take on the characteristics of the world instead of the godly attributes that God desires for us to have.       we may not have the little gods, what ever they were then, but we still have the things that we worship and put before our El Roi, God.        what do we put before God?          tv, sports figures, politicians, cell phones, money, finances, jobs...............and I could go on and on.   

there's lots of genealogy in a couple of chapters and that's important.        having said that, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around all of it.         when I have done study's on one person, I can get into genealogy and understand some of it, but it's overload, like it was with a couple of chapters, my brain hurts.       I ask the Lord to help retain what I'm going to need and hopefully, the next time I read it, I'll understand more.

next, we are starting to get into the fascinating life of Joseph.         we'll see lots of jealousy, but we see Joseph remain faithful to God thru it all.        he never lost hope or his faith in Yahweh!!        on the human side of this, we can see how one sibling, or in this case, 10 siblings grew to hate their brother, when a parent shows more love for one than they do for all, then there will be resentment.        that's a common thing even today, in 2025.    one thing that we have to keep in the forefront of our mind, is that all of this was God's grand design.         God meant it all for good!!

when the brothers threw Joseph in the pit, along came some Ishmaelites.        right about now would be a good time to think about some of the genealogy.         Ishmael, the forefather of the Ishmaelites was the brother of Isaac, the grandfather of Joseph and all his brothers.     

Ishmael and Isaac were brothers, sons of Abraham, with different mothers.        it's in this situation that the warring and hate of the ages started and has been taking place ever since and will continue to take place till Jesus comes and puts a stop to it all.       if you'll remember, Ishmael was said to be wild as a donkey and fight with everyone.         he lived up to his name and so has his descendants.        this is just some of my thoughts and musings about my Bible study this morning and thinking deeper than just what I'm reading.    

in Chapter 39 is where we see the fulfilling of some prophecy that was early on in Genesis, when God told His people that they would be in slavery for 400 years.       this is the starting of that and we'll see just how Joseph fulfilled his part of that prophecy.       the Lord was with Joseph and prospered him through it all.          God meant it all for good!!

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Garlic Garlic Garlic!!!!!          who smells garlic?          ME, I smell garlic!!!        I got garlic!!!!!!      such a lovely aroma!!

woohoo!!!!!          my garlic is done, for now!!!!!!          yay!!!           I know every fiber of my being smells like garlic and that's totally fine by me, yes it is.

let's do a little nerdy dehydrator math.          now this won't be right down to the bare bones numbers, but it will be close enough that you can see where I'm coming from.        garlic is a really dense food.       it has very little moisture in it, even when it's fresh.        it's just a dense and heavy texture.         some things when we dehydrate it to the point of being as dry as we can it (which is what it has to be to make powder and also to keep it from molding) it loses a lot of weight.      some will lose well over 90 % of it's original weight.       

now on to the nerdy math.           I had 4 - 6 oz bags of already peeled garlic.        each bag weighed 170 grams.         170 x 4 = 680 total grams.          the finished weight of the garlic that you see in the jars is a total of 223 grams.           again, that's the finished weight of all 4 bags.        because of the density of the garlic, it actually lost a little bit mor than 2/3rds of it's original weight.       

why is the nerdy math important?          in the grand scheme of things, it isn't.         hahaha          but I do like keeping up with the beginning and ending weights when I can remember to do it.        I'll even be able to take some of this and make powder when necessary, simply because I got it as dry I could possibly get it.       

oh, I almost forgot, I dehydrated this at 120*, simply because I wanted to get it dry as quickly as possible.       I loaded the trays 2 times in the course of about 36 hours.        it is a tad darker than I prefer, but I'm ok with it.         when I do my minced onions, I may do the same thing.           I don't know.          I do prefer my onions to be as beautiful as possible and a high temp will make the sugar content turn dark.        I'll just have to wait and see what I decide to do.

if you haven't made minced garlic, I would suggest it as something to put on your "to do" list.        I may get another couple of bags.          I hope this is the last year I'll have to buy garlic, but we'll have to wait see if what I planted survives this cold weather and ice.       last time I looked under the frost protection, the garlic was about 3 inches tall.          I have since put another layer of frost protection on the tower.  

something else, I have saved all my garlic jars over the years because I save all my jars, even those.      I now have a great use for them.         I can put all my minced garlic in them and not mess up any other jars with garlic smell.        I'll get my label maker out and make labels for the lids and the jars.       I think I'll have enough jars to even put my minced, dehydrated onions in them too.        I can label them for minced onions and then those jars will be designated, in the future for the onions and garlic.

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I don't know what the plans are yet for the day.        we had plans of getting our walk in this morning, but the freezing ice and snow has halted that for the time being.         I may get some onions minced up and get them on the dehydrator.        at lest I will have done something useful and constructive.   

I pray that we all have a great day.        keep God first place in it.       remember that He loves us enough that He provided a way for us to be in relationship with Him thru the shed blood of Christ, our Messiah.

stay warm and be careful if you have to be out.       blessings of warmth, mercy and grace be ours today. hugs and love, patty

Bible Study, 2 types of potatoes 1 way and weather

good morning my beautiful friends.         I pray that you are nestled into a good warm space this morning.       in my neck of the woods, we have ice in the form of freezing rain.         I'm praying it doesn't last long at all.       but it's been going on now for about 3 hours and the temp is hanging in there right at 32*.          it's the perfect scenario for a bad weather scene.        I'm praying against it.       God is in charge of this for sure.           so we'll see what His plans are.        while we're waiting, we'll just hunker down and drink coffee, hot chocolate, hot cider or hot tea.      that sounds like a plan y'all.      stay warm and safe and if you can, check on any elderly people in your neighborhood.       times been I was the one checking on elderly neighbors, all of the sudden, I have become the elderly neighbor.        how does that even happen?        hahaha       oh well, God is good and aging is a part of living, so let's live!!!! 

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starting at Genesis 27 today, we see that we as human being are full of deception at every turn.        yet, God still keeps giving us chance after chance to do better.         in spite of all the deception, God still blesses Jacob.         and in spite of all our deception today, God still blesses us.         giving us ample opportunity to repent and do better.         In chapter 29, yet again, we see more deception.        while I was reading this it struck me that God's chosen people came about from deception and lies.        and we today, as Christians, having been grafted in, have also come about by deception and lies.       that's all humanity know to do.       because the devil is the leader of this world.         we don't war with what can be seen, but with what can't be seen.          evil and wicked intentions can't be seen.        sometimes, even in spite our deception and lies, God has a plan that He will carry out.          and we see that starting to unfold with Jacob and his family growing.          in chapter 31, we can see that God was with Jacob and prospering him.        we find that chapter 32, sometimes we do wrestle with the Lord and what He desires for our lives.         sometimes He just wants to bless us, and we fight to keep from getting a blessing.         do we even know what we're doing?         Jacob knew he wanted the blessing of God and wasn't gonna let the Angel get away with the blessing, no matter the cost.      a limp was a nothing, to be blessed by God.        do you ever find yourself struggling with God and what He wants to do in your life?         I think sometimes we all do.        not knowing what is on the other side of the blessing.    sometimes, the lies and deception start looking good and we have no idea what we may be missing out on.        Jacob knew he didn't want to miss out on what God had in store for him.        I don't want to miss out on what God has in store for me either.   

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we love our potatoes.           so we fix two types of potatoes, one way.          I'll peel and do a good sized dice on them.        then I'll take a bag or a bowl with a lid  and put a tablespoon of avocado oil over them and then I'll put some dehydrated minced onion, dehydrated minced garlic, a dash of salt and a dash of pepper.        once I get them coated really well, I dump them on a sheet pan with parchment paper.        I try to spread it out so there's no stacking of taters.        pop it in a 350*  preheated  oven for at least 45 minutes.         the sweet potatoes will be almost like dessert with a hint of onion and garlic.       hahaha  

I want every bite to be yummy and crunchy.        I'll keep these in the fridge and when I get ready to reheat them, I'll put them in the air fryer.        that bumps them up to the next level of crunch.         these are so delicious.         this is my way of trying to get rid of store bought fries that are loaded with all kinds of preservatives.        sometimes I'll make typical french fries and sometimes I'll make slabs of both potatoes, but still use the minced onion and garlic.        if you're wanting to get rid of store bought fries, this is the way to do it.       you know what's in it.       good healthy oil, onions and garlic, a little salt and little pepper.         you can use any spice or seasoning you want.        

I love being able to use my own minced and dehydrated goods in cooking healthier.         so, if you're not dehydrating your own herbs and veggies, then why not.        now is a good time to get started.          if you'll check out my blog, you'll find a lot of help here to get you on your dehydrating journey.        also, I may be able to help you with a little bit of gardening too.        who knows, 2025 could be our year of spending less at the grocery store and getting healthier.

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well, I hope you all have a beautifully blessed day.         let's try not to miss out on any blessings that God has in store for us.          this story of Jacob will lead into one of the most riveting Old Testament journeys ever.          I'm so thankful that we have the Old Testament to sink our teeth into, so to speak.     we can learn a lot from what we read here.         God doesn't give up on His chosen!!!     

as I leave you today, may the blessings of our Father be upon each of us today.     hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and first dehydrating project of 2025

good morning beautiful people.           I pray that everyone is having a great morning thus far.         the sun is shining beautifully, but it's deceptive.           hahaha           it's pretty cold and as per the weather people, we're to have some ice come in here sometime tomorrow.          so hubby is out doing what he can do to get us prepared for this.          our motto has become for us to get as prepared as we can, and pray that we don't need the preparation.          I don't know what the weather will do, but I do know it will have the potential to be bad.          so we try to plan and then let God have it all.        that's the best plan we've been able to come up with over the last 45 years.          God is good, God is good, God is good!!!

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so I finally got started on my first dehydrating project of the year.         I go thru dried minced garlic like nobodies business.         it's good and good for you.         so we use it.         here lately I've been using it on my oven baked diced potatoes, both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes.        it's just a taste that we love and I also use minced onions.         so when I'm done with the garlic, I'll start on the onions.       but for now, it's the garlic.

I recently got a little chopper that you can charge it like you do your cell phone and then push the button and it will chop away.        it's a cute little thing.        I'll take a pic of it when I get into the onions.       I just forgot to this time.        I got 4 bags of garlic from aldi already cleaned and into cloves.         peeling garlic is so time consuming and it's hard on my hands to try to peel that many garlic cloves.      so I made the best decision for me and that was to get the bags of garlic already prepped.        and they are a product of the USA, so I'm happy about that.       Lord only knows where they were pkged at though.       anyway, it is what it is and I got 4 bags of them.           once I'm done with the onions, I may get another couple of bags.     

I did take a few pictures, not as many as I should have, because I'm getting rusty at trying to make sure I take pictures of everything.        hahaha        and I must say that if you open your back door and smell garlic, you're welcome, because that's ME and my garlic!!!!!         hahahaha

each bag of garlic was 6 ounces.           on each red tray is about 3 ounces of minced garlic.        I usually dehydrate everything I do at about 110* F, but for these, I dehydrated them at 120*.         I wanted to get this done as quickly as possible.          I started the first 4 trays last night about 7:30 or 8:00 pm and I got up and come thru the house at about 5 am this morning and they were done.        I just wasn't ready  to take them off the dehydrator.       so just a bit before 10 this morning, I got the minced garlic off the trays and into the jars and got the trays filled again and turned the dehydrator back on at 10:06 am.         I left it at 120*, so these should be done before bed time and if they are, then woohoo!!!!        if they're not, I'll turn the dehydrator temp down and go to bed.

this is what the 2 bags made.        you can see what the bags look like and then the 2 jars.         I love saving the garlic jars just for garlic.         I may even use some of them for the minced onion.      although the minced onion is not as strong as the minced garlic, it will still spare a couple of jars from getting all "stinkified" from garlic and onions.

one and half jars from 12 ounces of garlic.          not too bad.       it will be interesting to see how long these last me.          I have garlic growing, if they survive the great freeze that is headed our way.        if they do survive, this may be the last time I'll have to buy garlic to make my own minced dried garlic.      I sure hope it is anyway.   we'll see.

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I picked up with my Bible reading this morning.           Genesis 20 -27.         a lot happened in these chapters and above everything else we can humanity at it's best or worst.         however you choose to see it.      Abraham was deceptive, not only once, but twice.        then we see Isaac do the exact same thing.  and we also see Esau sell his birthright for a bowl of porridge.        but one thing we have to see in it all is that God was about having a people that trusted Him.          even thru the deception, Abraham trusted God.          he trusted God enough to know that God would provide a lamb to sacrifice instead of killing Isaac.           Abraham had a relationship with God that had proven to him, that God was faithful all the time, even if Abraham wasn't.          that is the same God we have today.        our God is faithful even when we're not.        

sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to live in a time when God made Himself known to His people.          but then again, I realize that God is still making Himself known to His people.      every time I pick up my Bible, I am opening myself up to learning more about our amazing El Roi, the God who sees us.          I love that!!!!!          I love that I can read about Him and then meditate on Him the rest of the day.        I know that God is with me and close to me.          when I'm reading, I can sense myself in those situations.         I don't know if you can or not.         but just to feel the presence of God in those moments is such an amazing thing.        to know that the same God, Yahweh of Abraham, is the same God, Yahweh today, in 2025!!!!          

I hope you are doing your own bible reading and study, right along with me.         I hope you see some of the insights that I'm sharing, but more than that, I hope you're having your own eye-opening moments along the way.      

God bless you as you progress into your day.       if you'll be in the path of some of the ice and snow coming, take care of yourselves.         always remember that God loves you enough that He provided a way for you to be in right relationship with thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Messiah.

blessings of mercy and grace be yours today.       hugs and love, patty