Think On These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Psalm 37:1-2

Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

This whole Psalm was an encouragement to me. I am planning on reading it everyday for at least a week. There is a lot I can say about it, but time is short due to continued internet issues.

So often, we become focused on how evildoers prosper in the world and those of us who are Christians often don't. It sometimes seems that our voice is lost amongst all the evil ones.

It struck me this morning that when we feel this way, it is due to a really worldly perspective. We are seeing this life as the one that matters, instead of remembering that in light of eternity, life on earth is but a day! We shouldn't be envious of evildoers who seem to have more power and wealth than us because this is all they have. We are going to have more wealth than they can imagine for eternity, not for a few decades!!! Verse 9 tells us that we will inherit the earth and when we do, it will be a much better place than now!

Remember that God hears our voice and His opinion of us is the one that matters. We need to be praying for our country/workplace, etc.; do what we ought to do; stand up for what is right, etc.; then leave the rest in God's capable hands! FRET NOT--He is in control.

We also need to remember that we have an eternity of perfection ahead of us and try to take as many people with us as possible.

Think on These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Proverbs 31:10-31

I think this will be my next passage to memorize. I memorized parts of it in the past, but it would be good to memorize the passage as a whole and let it saturate my thoughts and heart. Traditionally, Jewish women recited this passage on the night before the Sabbath, really a good idea. It is so easy for us to get busy and forget to have these traits in our lives. It is also easy to forget that we should continue to grow in our Christian walk and not feel like we've "arrived", because we have not, no one has except Jesus!

Often when we read Proverbs 31, we have one of two feelings. Either we hate the virtuous woman for being so perfect or we feel like God set the bar so high, there is no way we could ever come close to her accomplishments. It is true that on our own, we can’t achieve what she did, but with God's help we can do ANYTHING.

Some things we can do to start/stay on the right path:

1. Remember that we have a God that is powerful enough to change our lives, and He is just a prayer away. He commands us to ask Him for help, so why don't we???


2. Realize the virtuous woman did not become virtuous overnight, but became so as she grew in the Lord and put Him first in her life. We need to make sure we are always growing!


3. Remember not to be discouraged if you are working on an area in your life and stumble. Instead, we need to stop, pray, seek God’s guidance and strength and learn from our mistakes.


4. Remember--God does not expect us to do it alone (Philippians 4:13-- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.)


5. Enlist the help of a friend/family member to be accountable to and who can encourage you/pray with you. (Philippians 4:6)


6. Memorize and meditate on verses that address that area of your life or that encourage you.

FYI

I may not be able to post for the next couple of days or post comments. I did get my post for Think on These Things Thursday ready and it is scheduled to post tomorrow. :o) We are going with a new internet carrier at home and am not sure how big of a gap there will be.

Also, my work office is moving today, so who knows what will or will not work at the new one. :op I'm sure you all are jealous that you don't get to share in the excitement of moving. We got everything packed up over the last week. Thankfully we have movers to move everything!!! The next week will be interesting getting settled into a new place.

I'm having to redo the decor in my office due to new colors. I'll post a picture once it is all done. :o) I already did a new photo board for the family pics. The color of my office is a bluish/aqua called Mediterranean...so what better pictures to use than ones of my trip to Israel! I just have to decide what pics/frames/sizes, etc. Then decide on arrangement of furniture, window treatments, unpack...Wow I'm suddenly tired and I've only been up for 90 minutes!!! ;O)

How to get melted plastic out of your oven

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

AKA: How to plastic coat your food...

On Easter Sunday, my Father-in-law had decided to stay home and work on some stuff for work. I asked him to put the ham and cheesy potatoes in the oven. (The oven was still hot from breakfast) I set the time bake told him to put the stuff in in about an hour or so. We arrived home from church and could hear the smoke detector going off. We walked into the house to the smell of burning plastic and white smoke and a fire in the oven (put out with baking soda).

Somehow the plastic lid that goes on top of my 13x9 in. pan ended up being put in the oven on the bottom of the pan. It was a little unnerving. Easter dinner was now coated in a thin film of plastic due to the fumes. (We ended up grilling out.)

How to get the plastic out:
1. Allow the oven to cool, use a metal spatula to scrape out as much plastic as possible. The larger/thicker pieces, try to get a corner and gently pull the plastic so that it comes off in large pieces. This sounds easier than it is. It took my mother-in-law and I about an hour. We would scrape and then vacuum what we had gotten loose out so we could see better.
2. When you have most of the plastic out, you can turn the oven on low to scrape more out as it loosens a bit. BE CAREFUL not to touch the element!
3. My father-in-law ordered new oven racks for my stove, which was very sweet. The one wouldn't have been salvageable due to a good portion of the lid still being attached to it.
4. Plan to be gone for a long time, take your pets with you, open all the windows and use the self clean. I turned on the self clean for the first half hour while we were home, just in case it caught on fire again. Hopefully we didn't loose too many brain cells! We then left, taking the dog with us. When we came home, I wiped out the ash that was left (not much) and no more plastic smell. Yeah!!!
5. If you don't have self clean, I would turn the oven to the highest it would go for several hours and plan to be outside and check on it frequently. Some plastics, though can't be removed according to an internet site. Thankfully, my story turned out just fine. :o)

For more great kitchen tips go to: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/3328

20th Anniversary of Northstar Baptist

Yesterday we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our church. We have been members for almost 11 of them. It has been a joy to see how God has worked over the years. We had many former members come back for the celebration of God's goodness. It was great to see old friends and new faces as we had visitors from the community. It is good to pause to remember and be thankful for what God has done!

A Beautiful Day!

Walking Barefoot in the Snow!

Friday was a beautiful day. It was in the 70's!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a beautiful week, really, but to walk out your door at 6:30 in the morning and have it already in the 40's is pretty exciting! Then to look at the thermometer in the van and have it say 76 is amazing, I actually drove by a bank to make sure the van thermometer didn't have a fever!


When we got home from work, we immediately left for a state park. We hiked around the park. (Note to self: When hiking in the spring, do not wear nice shoes or clothes--they end up caked/splattered with mud!) The dog was also rather splattered. He cleaned himself up, though--gotta love that dog!!! Anyway, as "E", "K" and I were walking across the parking lot, "T" and "Z" were walking across the snow pile. I looked at "E" and "K" and said, "Should we walk across the snow pile barefoot?" "E" said, "I will if you will." So...I said "Okay". "K" took off her shoes and put a foot on it and chickened. "E" and I walked across barefoot! I don't really recommend it. The snow kind of cuts into your feet, not to mention all the interesting stuff that's in the snow from being plowed! It's also a little scary when your foot sinks in past your ankle and you hope that you aren't going to sink any further!!! The upside is that once you get across and walk on the pine needles and pine cones on the ground, you can't feel them!!! After going and bragging to the boys about our accomplishments, we braved the snow pile again for pictures with "K" and "Z" joining us. (I guess they decided they could do it if we survived.) "T" and hubby kept their shoes on--spoil sports! I'm pretty sure the kids won't forget the day we walked barefoot in the snow! :o)

Congratulations!

My friend, Rebekah had her quads today. Mom and little ones are all doing well. She had 3 girls and a boy:

Adeline--4lbs. 14oz.

Margaret--3lbs. 9oz.

Richard James 4lbs. 15oz.

Samantha 4lbs. 4oz.

(This is a grand total of 17lbs and 10 oz of baby!) WOW!

None of the babies need to be on vents! What a wondrous answer to prayer!!! Isn't God great!

Artful Aphorisms

1. If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
2. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
3. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
4. No one is listening until you make a mistake.
5. Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.
6. The colder the X-ray table, the more of your body is required on it.
7. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
8. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
9. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
10. Half the people you know are below average.
11. If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you!

*Warning--don't put too much thought into these. They are meant to lighten the mood!

Think On These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Be Careful What You Say,

Your Words Tell Everyone What's Really in Your Heart!

In Sunday School as a kid, we sang the song: Oh, be careful little tongue what you say...For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little tongue what you say. The next verse could be Oh, be careful little tongue what you say...For the words that you say show what's really in your heart, etc.

It is easy to get angry or frustrated and say things that we regret later. Jesus realized this and said in Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. I am not always careful what I say and there have been times that I have said things that later I wondered why I said them or where they came from. The answer: My heart. We need to make sure that we are guarding our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. It is easy to let opposite of the things listed in Philippians 4:8 creap into our hearts. Things like discontentment, unhappiness (Being happy is a choice), worry, fear, gossip, dishonesty, feelings of unfairness, etc. dirty our hearts and pretty soon these are the things that will be coming our of our mouths. If we allow these things in our hearts, we should not be surprised when they come out of our mouths.

(Notice--God said to keep our hearts with all dilligence, this not an easy job and must be done ALL the time.) Think of yourself as a soldier on guard marching back and forth in front of your heart to make sure nothing bad is entering in. Satan and the world will throw many darts at it, we need to make sure we have our shields (God's Word) to deflect the arrows!

Some ways to keep thy heart:

1. Read your Bible and pray every day.
2. Pray for those who make your life difficult. Ask God to help you to see the good in them, not the bad. (We so often focus on the bad in others and dismiss the good we see as a fluke.)
3. Capture any thoughts that do not fall in line with Phillipians 4:8 IMMEDIATELY. Do not dwell on them. Replane the thought with one that does fall into the list in Phil. 4:8.
4. Be careful who/what you are listening to. This seeps into your heart also.
5. Memorize verses that you can use to guard your heart from evil thoughts.
6. Remember that one unkind, wrong response can destroy our reputations and testimony. You can apologize for what you say, but you can not erase the memory of what you said. This is why we need to guard our hearts. So often we just try to guard our tongues and forget about our hearts. If we try to guard our tongue only and allow our hearts to be filled with bad, eventually that is what will come out of our mouth.
7. If you say something unkind, realize you have some housekeeping in you heart to do! It wasn't a "slip of the tongue" but a dirty heart!

Who's teaching Who?

On Monday night, "T" was supposed to go with his cub scout troop to the TV station to tour the station and then watch the 5:30 newscast live. The person who was supposed to take him had a busy day at work and forgot about it. "T's" response was "That's life, you don't always get what you want." He really wasn't upset at the forgetful parent.

He also said that he wasn't as mad about it as I was about the plastic lid melted all over my stove and ruined Easter dinner. (You can read more about this on next Tuesday's Kitchen Tip when I tell about how to get melted plastic off your stove--IF I am successful at getting the remaining plastic off on Saturday!) I guess I need to be careful that my initial response is more kind like my son's. After I had a couple of minutes to process the whole situation, I really wasn't upset at the individual who melted the plastic all over my stove anymore.

The other rather encouraging thing is that I tell my kids all the time when disappointments come "That's life, things don't always work out like we want" or similar. At least one kid is listenting! Now I need to listen to myself a little better!

Multigrain Waffles or Pancakes

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

Multigrain Waffles or Pancakes

Yield: 6-8 servings

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour)

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3 1/3 c. skim milk

2 eggs*

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. ground flax seed or 1/8 c. oil

1 tsp. almond extract (optional)

1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda
2. In a medium bowl, combine milk, brown sugar, eggs*, and flax or oil.
3. Stir into dry mixture until blended. (There will be lumps in the batter.)
4. Pour batter into waffle iron or onto hot griddle or skillet if making pancakes. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

* You can separate the eggs--add the yolks to the liquid mixture, beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold into entire mixture. I have found that I can't tell much difference in the waffles or pancakes and it saves time and dirty dishes. My mom never did this, so maybe I don't have a discerning enough palate, but I've never had complaints because I skip this step.

**Warning--these pancakes/waffles are much more filling than those made from white flour. :o)

Update on "E"

On Friday, "E" went back to the Nurse Practitioner to check on her arm. He was amazed at how well she is healing. The break is almost completely healed. She still does not have full range of motion back, so she will go to physical therapy once a week for three weeks. He said the surgery couldn't have been done more perfectly. "E" only has to wear her splint outside when she is playing or when she is rough housing.

Overheard...

"T"--"K", what was your favorite chore when we were at the "D's" (the former family that home schooled the kids)

"K"--"Break"
Gotta love that servant's spirit!

My in-laws are coming up for Easter, so I probably won't be posting until Tuesday. Have a wonderful Easter. Remember Christ's sacrifice and love for each of us!

Think on These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

This week, I've been thinking about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. As I've been thinking about what Christ did for us, several things have really touched my heart. It seems that every Resurrection season, God touches my heart with new things. Isn't great the way the Holy Spirit can show us new things, even in a passage we've read and heard preached many times!

1. Christ's love for those close to Him. He knew that His time on earth was very short, so He spent His last days trying to prepare the disciples for His brutal death.
2. His patience. Even though they had been with Him and heard Him teach and preach over and over again, the disciples still did not understand that He was not going to overthrow the Romans and become king, but would rather die a horrible death for their sins. Yet, Jesus never mocked them or told them they were dense. He continued to try to teach them. (This is something I really need to work on!)
3. His humility. When He was brought before an illegal Jewish court and people were making up lies about Him, He did not call anyone to defend Him, scream about how unjust the world was, He did not even defend Himself! I certainly would have been telling everyone how unfair this all was. We see no bitterness or anger in Christ, though, only a determination to save us from our sins because He loved us that much!
4. His compassion on those who hated Him. We read in Luke 23:39-43 how he cared for the thief hanging on the cross next to Him. He asked God to forgive those who had just beaten Him, spat upon Him, mocked Him, and crucified Him, putting Him through the worst death know to man. Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
5. We need to make sure that we do what is right so that our kids do not suffer. In Matthew 27:25, we see that the Jewish people told Pilot when he washed his hands that His blood would be upon them and their children. Israel as a nation would cease to exist in less than 70 years and not become a nation again until 1948! What a price to pay.
6. Jesus' love for sinners. He loved us so much He was willing to die this horrible death and have His Father turn His back on Him due to our sins laid on Him. We did nothing to deserve such love. In fact, quite the opposite.
7. His resurrection gives us salvation. This makes Christ different from all others. Without the resurrection, we would be without salvation. Jesus rose again, so will we. He is in Heaven, if we have trusted Him as our Saviour, we will get to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

A Morning Walk

Duke has gotten himself into a little of trouble the last couple of days while we were gone, so I decided that I should take him for a long walk in the morning so he would be too tired to get into trouble (hopefully!:o). He's kind of like a little kid who needs to burn off energy in a good way so he doesn't decide to use the energy chewing up stuff!!!

I got up, as did all four kids. They were up and ready to go by the time I was, so we all went for a walk. It really was nice. Every time I get up and go for a walk I wonder why I don't do it more often! It is nice to see how much the kids enjoy it and how excited they get about running on top of the snow heaps that are still around. Oh, yeah, there are also the partially frozed mud puddles to walk through!!! It was also nice to see the birds and hear them chirping. Duke even made some progress in the leash manners department!

I was going to say that you can almost feel spring in the air, but changed my mind as I am sure that would be a guarantee for another snow storm!!! So, there was definitely the chill of winter still in the air! :o)

Venison 101

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

Our family enjoys venison, but I realize that many people do not. I think that venison gets a bad reputation because it is not always prepared well. There are many people that have come to my house and eaten venison and not even known it. I will later have them tell me about how much they hate venison and would NEVER eat it! For a couple of years, venison is about the only meat we had, so I became a bit creative. Venison is actually healthier for you because it does not have all the fat that beef has in it.

Cooking Venison Steak

1. I usually marinade my vinegar steak in 1 1/2 cups water, 1/4 c. vinegar, 2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp minced garlic. (I tried many different marinades, but this worked well and is more frugal that the others I tried, such as ones with A1 or other sauces:0) I marinade it overnight and then rinse the marinade off and cook as desired.
2. Last week, I threw 4 pounds of frozen venison steak in the crock pot with the marinade, plus water to cover and cooked it for 8 hours, then rinsed the meat and divided it into portions to freeze for later use in fajitas and stroganoff. This worked really well and helps cut down prep time later. :o) It was great in stroganoff this week.
3. You can basically substitute venison steak for any "cheaper cut" of beef steak, such as round steak. Just remember that it does better slow cooked due to its low fat content. You can add oil or beef broth to add moisture to the steak if needed.

Cooking Venison Roast

1. The best way to cook Venison Roast is to cook it with a beef roast. I then mixed them together. They make really good Italian "Beef" or meat pie.
2. I personally prefer to have the roasts made into burger.

Cooking Venison Burger

1. When I cook venison burger, I cover it with water and basically boil it until browned, then rinse it really well with hot water. Season as you would ground beef.
2. If you are planning to make a meatloaf or burgers, you would need to mix it with ground beef or another meat with fat in it. I usually don't use venison for these; I use ground beef instead.

For more great kitchen tips, visit: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/3302

*I typed this post for last week and scheduled it to post on March 3 instead of the 31. I could not figure out where it went last week. It was a blessing to find it today when I was trying to remember what I had already posted. I found the missing post!!! Guess I'll have to check the dates on my posts better! :o)

A great quote

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for the masses, what they could and should do for themselves.” ….. Abraham Lincoln

I can't think of a better way to say what I've been thinking. Now to convince our current government! Isn't it a little encouraging, though to be reminded that the same sentiments that are being pushed today were pushed, even back then, yet America survived. I know that the world has changed a lot since then. I also know that God is just as in control today as back then!!!

Prayer Request

Please pray for Sylvanus Winn. He is a 4 month old who had prolonged seizures and now has brain damage. The doctors are unsure of the extent of damage. He probably won't be able to see until he is five years old and may be unable to walk and have learning difficulties. Please also pray for his parents. He also has an older brother (2yrs.) who is developmentally delayed.

Duke chasing his "tail"

Here is a video of Duke chasing his tail. He continues to be a joy in our lives. He went to the vet and is pretty healthy.

Think on These Things Thursday...

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

I’ve been studying the kings of Israel and Judah in my devotions and then Wednesdays in church. Last night, we read about Hezekiah when the Assyrians were laying seige in Jerusalem and trying to take over Judah. The Assyrians had already conquered Israel and carried them away captive. Israel was a much larger place with many more people. The Assyrians greatly outnumbered the people of Judah! However, Hezekiah was a godly king and had led a great revival in Judah. Isreal, however, had basically turned their back on God and followed false gods.

Hezekiah said to the people in II Chronicles 32:7--Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:

The Bible goes on to tell us that the angel of the Lord slew the Assyrians. As in ONE angel.

Also, I read this week the story of Elisha when the Syrians came to “fetch him”. His servant was most distressed and Elisha said in II Kings 6:16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

Isn't it great to know that we have God and His warriors (angels) on our side. I want God and His army on my side. And He is! When we worry about our country or even difficulties in our lives, we need to picture the host of angels that are on our side and ready to do God's bidding and realize that there is nothing too big for God.

As I wrote last week, I have been on a "news fast" for the most part. My hubby has told me a couple of things and we've discussed some things at work. I don't find myself consumed with "what ifs" much anymore. I think there should be a healthy balance of staying informed about issues, but not allowing the news to consume our life. Really, there is very little we can control anyway. God is in control!

We do need to be informed about issues so that we can:

1. Better pray regarding them. Do Not underestimate the power of prayer!
2. Be informed voters
3. Write to our congressman
4. Talk intelligently about the issues. When you are misinformed and start discussing a topic, you lose all credibility if you have even a small amount of information incorrect.

I’ve decided I will read news articles and then research them farther if I am concerned to be better informed about the issue. I am not going to listen to political talk shows, however. They tend to be biased/more fear mongering. I am not saying that written articles are not biased, they just don’t talk about the same issue for hours on end to the point that you can see no way out! The key is not just listening or reading one point of view.

Most importantly, we need to remember that God is in control. Proverbs 21:1 The king‘s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Gotta Love the Snow!

Every March and April, we here in the Northland hope that Spring will actually come. The snow melts and the temperatures are in the 40s and we get EXCITED that spring may have actually come. Yet, there is that nagging knowledge that--didn't this happen last year and then we got that snow storm and then that snow storm and then that snow storm... Anyway, we got one of those snow storms yesterday and it is supposed to snow more today. The problem with spring snow is that it is HEAVY to shovel and slippery to drive in.

My hubby went out of town for work yesterday, so I picked up the kids and came home. We did fine until I went to pull the van up on the street. The van slid sideways and hit the curb. Guess what, NO traction to back up and I couldn't pull forward. :o( :o( :o( I sent "T" over to a friends house to shovel, whose husband is out of town with mine. I shoveled our area. Then tried to move the van again. It wasn't going anywhere without help. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I HATE to ask for help, especially from guys I don't really know. It's not a shy thing so much as a pride thing. I know, shame on me. It took 3 men to push the van enough I could get traction. My sister said it's okay to ask for help from guys if it ends up taking 3 of them to do what I couldn't do. :o) Thanks sis! It was wonderful that God provided 3 men to help me at just the right time. I sent the kids to get a neighbor and then 2 others happened by to see my predicament and helped out.

This morning, "T" and I were able to return the favor to a young girl who works at the school who arrived earlier than the snow plow and got plowed in. We shoveled out her car for her--without her knowing. :o) It was kind of fun.

Isn't it great how God provides for us in our times of trouble.