My heart breaks tonight over this..

It's late but I have a lot on my mind. So much that I'm not even sure where to start this post. It may make absolutely no sense and in that case I apologize! I read something tonight that broke my heart. It wasn't anything really in particular. It was just the language of what was written. I fear that there are many Christians out there whose view of God is very distorted. Their view of salvation and the Bible is skewed by wrong teachings.. or maybe shallow teachings.. or lack of knowledge about the Scriptures.

God is sovereign over everything, including salvation. Often, in many churches, God is made out to be great and powerful but when it comes to salvation, emphasis is put on man. A picture is painted that God is up in heaven wringing His hands at the end of the service just waiting and hoping someone will say the sinner's prayer. Do we not know that God calls His children unto salvation? He is working out the plan, the beautiful gospel, that was laid before the foundation of the world. Yes, we are to proclaim it, preach it, teach it, share it! But it is His work!

Do we understand the gospel? In so many churches the same message is preached again and again. God changes those He saves, so then why are there so many people professing being a Christian but live like the world? Could it be that we've tried to do the work for God? There are many out there who see this type of lifestyle as a problem but have we stopped to question whether or not it's because of the message, or should I say method, that's been resounding from the pulpits? Is the way we do evangelism biblical? Do we share the gospel biblically? Better yet, do we understand the work of Christ in salvation and the grace that He gives? What has changed in our churches?? I've heard phrases such as, "Well, if they really meant it..." or "if they truly made a commitment to Christ...". Does anyone see a problem with this? We can't blame it on society or the fact that we're living in the 'end times'. Do we know our history? Do we know what the founders of our faith believed? And while these things are important, I can't help but hear screaming in my mind, do we know what His Word says?!?

The Bible is the gospel. It is life. It is truth. It is deep and mysterious. It interprets itself. It never contradicts. It is not a good idea.. it is the only idea. It is history from the very beginning of time to the very end of times. The Bible is the gospel. Every part of is screams JESUS!! And the beauty is that the message is always Jesus, it's always the gospel, but it is always diverse and deep in theology. Yet, most have shallow theology, shallow knowledge of the doctrines, if any. While many would deny, easy-believism is prevalent. I've been asked many times why these truths are so important. This is why. His grace, His marvelous grace is cheapened. His grace is cheapened when a person lives like the world yet claims to be a Christian. His grace is cheapened when the gospel message is watered down and the method and message preached and taught leads people to merely make decisions for Christ.

I'm going to end here. I'm sure there are some who are shocked by that last statement because maybe you made a 'decision' to follow Christ. Well, you'll just have to tune into part 2.

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Menu Plan Monday 9/7/09

I skipped Menu Plan Monday last week just because I ran out of time. I didn't have much of a menu either because I knew that we'd be out of the house a lot during the week. I posted one of the only meals I actually cooked last week a few days ago. My sister came home this weekend so we ate with my parents Friday and Saturday night and I'm guessing we'll be eating with them tonight... I think mom mentioned she was making chili tonight! The first chili of fall! YUM! And tomorrow my dad is grilling out BBQ chicken and smoked sausages! I'm sure we'll have some yummy sides to go with it too! I love when my sis comes home! We don't get to see her a lot so we really make the most of the time we have when she's here. Luke especially loves to hang out with Aunt B when she's home! After Monday, it will be Thanksgiving before she comes back!

So, I will have a short(er) menu this week.

Roast with Potatoes and Carrots, Rolls

Mini Homemade Pizzas, Corn on the Cobb (Rolled over from 2 weeks ago!!)

Spaghetti Bake, Salad

Enchilada Casserole (except I'm using chicken), Rice

The month of September we are doing a food theme for Luke's preschool activities. We're talking all about fruits and vegetables. Last week we talked about apples and bananas. We talked about where they grow, how they grow and discussed their color, shape, taste and what letter they start with to help with his letter identification! So, after talking about bananas we made these Lighter Banana Muffins. But you know me, I can't leave a recipe alone! I read a few reviews and saw that some said their muffins came out dry and that adding 1/2 c of applesauce helped, so we did that. I also though that adding vanilla and cinnamon might help with flavor. So, we added 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. And last, to make them a little healthier I used 1 1/2 c AP flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. They were really yummy right after they came out of the oven! I have to admit that the next day I tried one (not heated) and it was a little chewy to me (which may have just been the whole wheat flour now that I think about it... sometimes you pay the price when you try to make things healthy! Haha!). But wrapped in a paper towel for a few seconds in the microwave and a little smear of Smart Balance might do the trick! The kids love them, so it's a keeper for me!!

Check out orgjunkie.com for more menu planning ideas!

The Other White Meat

I have never had good luck when cooking pork (unless it's on the grill). It always comes out dry and tasteless!! Blech!! But pork chops are typically inexpensive and they are often BOGO at Winn Dixie. So, when I got my Everyday Food mag I saw this yummy looking pork chop recipe. Yes, the recipe looked completely unhealthy.. not that I'm a complete health nut (haha!). But, I do try to cook normal well balanced meals. Well, I tried it last night.. and it was so good! The pork chops were not dry and the sauce was yummy! It's a rich meal. I served it with baked potatoes and biscuits which made it even richer. Hey, a stick to your ribs meal is good every once in a while! I couldn't find the recipe online so I'll just type it here. I just wanted to share a good find!



Pork Chops with Bacon and Cabbage (Everyday Food, Sepetember 2009)

2 TBS olive oil

4 bone in pork chops

coarse salt and ground pepper

4 strips of bacon, coarsly chopped

1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 in slices

1 head green cabbage, about 2.5 pounds, cored and cut into 8 wedges

3 TBS flour

3 cups whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 400. Set a large heavy roasting pan across two burners over high heat; add oil and heat. Season pork with salt and pepper; prown on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add bacon; cook until golden, 5 minutes. Add oinion, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage, cut side down, and cook until light golden, about 6 minutes. Flip and cook until slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Add flour and stir until coated. Add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then nestle pork chops in sauce. Transfer pan to oven. Bake until pork is cooked through, about 10 minutes.



This is the exact recipe. I did do a few things differently. I do not have a large roasting pan (that woudl make a lovely Christmas gift! Haha!) so I used my huge oven safe skillet. I did the first part of the recipe exactly. I did however only use 1/2 of a head of cabbage and I cut it into 6 wedges. After I added the oinion and cooked it, I got a paper towel and soaked up most of the bacon grease. I just can't bring myself to keep all of that in there! So I added some more olive oil to the pan! It took more than 4 minutes for mine to thicken, probably about 10 and I had to crank the heat up a little. I only let it cook in the oven for 10 minutes (like the recipe says.. I tend to want to over cook things!!) and then I took it out and set it on the stove with the lid while the rest of dinner was cooking. It really was so good! Next time I probably won't serve it with baked potatoes, that was just too much. Maybe another veggie like broccoli or green beans. This meal was pretty inexpensive too. Milk would be the most expensive thing in it. Let me know if you try it!

Anyone out there have any other good pork chop recipes??

Let's CELEBRATE!!!

Eli's birthday party was this past Saturday on his actual birthday (how often does that actually happen??). We had a great time! We had close family and friends and kept it kind of low scale. I decided to do the same kind of party for Eli that I did for Luke. I decorated with primary colors and we had a really cute (and tasty) 1 cake:

Of course, because of Eli's dairy issues, I made dairy free cupcakes. I had planned on making them homemade with goats milk but just used Duncan Hines instead! I ran out of time! It's nice to have a quick dairy free alternative. Their vanilla frosting (as well as a few others) are dairy free too. I attempted to make a dark blue icing to match but you just can't get that deep of a color with plain ol' food coloring. I later read that I needed gel & powdered food coloring that you'd get at a bakery. So, his cupcakes turned out baby blue.. and at first he wasn't sure what to do with it...

He quickly got the hang of it and then the silliness started (or all of that sugar started to get to him!!)....

By the time it was all said and done he had his hat off and he and the hat were covered in icing and chocolate cake!

He wasn't really sure about the present thing either. Luke and I opened most of them for him! He got lots of new toys and fall clothes! I'm sure, like Luke, it won't take him long to understand what opening presents is all about! :)

An I can't not post a picture of my other sweet boy! Here is a picture of Luke having fun with balloons! :)

We had a fantastic day! It was great being able to CELEBRATE (that's for my mom... see below) Eli's big day with all of our family and friends! We are so blessed!

As we were opening gifts my mom held up the above bag that she had put Eli's gift from her in. She said, "Does this spell 'birthday' in Spanish??" Everyone in the room just busted out laughing and saying, "It's CELEBRATE!" Hahaha! It was so funny! She said that before the party she kept looking at it over and over trying to figure out what it said! She claims that the upper case B threw her off... haha! And you are right mom.. we won't ever let you live that down! :)