Praying with Your Heart

Sometimes I do not pray in words—

I take my heart in my two hands

And hold it up before the Lord—

I am so glad He understands. —Nicholson

I found this poem in yesterday's Our Daily Bread reading and really liked it, so I thought I would share it with you.

Take time today to lift up your heart to God and have communion with Him! He is waiting for you!

Healthy No Bake Granola Bars

Healthy No Bake Granola Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cup oatmeal
1 cup combination of any of the following
      ( Raisins, coconut, chocolate or peanut butter chips, nuts, etc.)

Mix wet ingredients together in a sauce pan over medium heat just until well blended. Remove from heat and mix in remaining ingredients. Note: if you want your chocolate chips to be whole and not melted, wait to add them until the mixture has cooled. Press into pan and refrigerate. Store in the refrigerator.

God WILL Do It!

Ezekiel 12:25-28 KJV

For I am the Lord : I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God .  Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.  Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God .

I am reading through Ezekiel right now and was blessed by this passage this morning.

Sometimes we can get discouraged by the failure of others or even ourselves to do the things we said we would do. Maybe it's the politician who didn't carry out his promises, or a salesman that didn't deliver the quality of goods you expected. Maybe it's your parents that couldn't quite hold up their end of the deal or your husband who didn't make it home by the time he said he would. Whatever it is, we all know and can relate to the feeling of disappointment that comes with these situations.

One thing about God that we can be sure about is that He will keep His Word! He has promised that and He cannot lie. (Numbers 23:19) He will always DO what He has said he will do. We can trust Him without fear of disappointment.

God is so much greater than our finite minds can comprehend and we may not understand all the 'whys' of life. He alone can see the big picture.  He also doesn't operate in the constraints of time, like we do. So we shouldn't be surprised if He doesn't always work in our lives or the lives of those around us in the ways we expect. This should not make us trust Him less, but rather more, knowing that "He makes all things beautiful, in His time" (Ecclesiasties 3:11).

Choose to trust Him today. Look for things that He has promised in His Word and cling to them. You will not be disappointed or have your hopes dashed!

"The word which I have spoken shall be done"

Amen! 

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken and Garden Vege's

Yay for fresh vegetables from the garden! Here is what I did with some of them:

I made this recipe for supper this week and my husband really liked it. I used this recipe and tweaked it a little bit. I take the freedom to change most recipes that I make. :-) Here is the recipe with the changes I made...

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken and Garden Vege's

1.5 lb of chicken breast diced into 3/4" pieces

2 cups carrots

2 cups zucchini

2 cups peppers

2 cups broccoli/cauliflower

1 can of pineapple

1 small can mushrooms, drained

Sauce:

Juice from Pineapple

3/4 cup Sucanat

1/2 cup Honey

1/2 cup Ketchup

1 cup Vinegar

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Ginger

1 tsp Garlic Powder/or 1 Clove Fresh Garlic minced

3-4 Tsp of Cornstarch

Cut up all of your veggies and chicken. Fry chicken in a little bit of oil. Add the carrots and fry until starting to get tender. Then add the rest of the veggies and stir fry until soft. Add the pineapple and mushrooms and heat through. Pour the sauce over the veggies and chicken. Serve over the rice of your choice. I use brown rice.

Sauce:

Mix everything except for the cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil. Put the cornstarch in a small bowl and add enough water to make it a pour-able consistency. Add to boiling mixture and stir until thickened. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

Free Kindergarten Printable Letters to Color

Here is a link to free Kindergarten printable letters to color. I think my boys would love this! They are both just loving to work on their preschool books! It is fun to see their worlds start to expand!

Getting Better at Meditation by Tim Challies

Here is a link to a good blog post on meditating on God's Word. That is an area that I want to grow in. I want to dig into God's Word deeper and grow in my knowledge of Him! Read it and let me know what you think! :-)

P.S. I especially like some of the ideas in the comments...

With Each Sunrise

Lamentations 3:21-33

Mornings breath steals across
        Country and city,
             Bringing hope, fresh and new.

Just as morning wraps her arms
        Around me,
So I imagine God's new mercies
        For the day
               Enfolding me
               Empowering me
               Energizing me
                    To face the challenges
                           Unique to today.

"Great is His Faithfulness"
        For every morning
                He provides new mercy,
                If I only stop long enough
                        To let it refresh me!

"Wait patiently"
        Don't rush into your morning,
                Dear Sister,
                       So fast that you miss
                              His new Refreshing Mercy
                                      That is specially
                                              For you!

Look forward to each sunrise
         For it points to
                The Eternal Sonrise
                         Of King Jesus.

Yummy Peach Delight! Yay for Peach Season!

It is peach season here is central PA and we love it! One of the recipes that we enjoy is this amazing peach delight from my Mom. This recipe should be kept a secret, it's so yummy! :-). But then again everyone should have a chance to devour at least one serving of this delight a year! So here is the recipe for you.

Peach Delight

Crust
1 1/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup of brown sugar (I use sucanat)
1/2 cup of pecans finely chopped or ground
1/2 cup butter

White layer
1 package of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups of whipped topping
1 heaping cup of powdered sugar

Peaches diced

Gelatin layer
2 cups of water
1 cup of sugar(I use raw cane sugar)
3 Tblsp of peach jello
Pinch of salt
3 Tblsp of cornstarch or clear jell

Mix together crust ingredients and press into an 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 min. Cool

Mix together white layer ingredients and spread on cooled crust

Bring water, sugar, salt, and jello to a boil. Then mix clear jell with a little bit of water in a cup. Pour into boiling jello. You may have to adjust the amount of clear jell a little. You want a gel consistency. Cool.

Slice or dice peaches and put on top of white layer. Cover with chilled gelatin. 

Chill dessert for 2 hours or more before serving. 

Slice and enjoy! Savor the Flavor of Summer!