Sunday, February 22, 2015

God's Little Miracles

It has been almost 3 years (pretty sure it's been) since I received my miracle Bible.

To make a long story short, I gave away the Bible I'd had​ since I was little to someone who needed it and went back to using a slimline KJV that I'd used in my solitary year in a private school. (3rd grade. I was 9 that year.) The Bible was showing its age. Leather was flaking off, some pages were getting torn, etc.

While with friends, I casually looked at the Bibles in a book store. But they were out of my price range.

I had just about decided that I would use colorful duct tape to recover my Bible. Then I came home one Sunday night from our youth Bible study and Mom told me someone had given me an anonymous gift. She kept emphasizing anonymous.

When I opened it, it was a brand new Bible. My name engraved down in the corner - in my style of writing!!! NJKV, which I had desired, and it was a study Bible.

I'm so tickled I could pop, even this long while later.



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Saturday, February 7, 2015

Ramblings and Split Pea Soup

Well, I managed to get a few things done today.Yesterday rather.

Made it to the gym for the first time in months. Ready to make it a habit again. Anyone reading this has permission to metaphorically kick me on my posterior if I don't go regularly!

Finished cooking up some black beans to freeze for future Mexican meals. yummy!

We finally made the split pea soup Dad's been craving for a while. Mostly we wait to make it until after there's a spiral ham bone in the freezer. I didn't even mash the split peas, instead letting the bubbling simmer break them up.

1 meaty ham bone with any juices from its cooking
1-2 bay leaves
2-4 cloves garlic, end trimmed off and cut partially through
3 quarts meat stock (I make stock to freeze and put it into quart size deli containers.)
4-5 carrots, peeled... 1 shredded, the others cut in rings
1 lb split peas - picked over (I would've put in more split peas, but we didn't have anymore.)
Onions, chopped (I cheated and used dried minced onion - tasted fine)
frozen sweet peas

Put the broth and bone into stock pot, simmer for 2 hours - or more depending on your time frame.
Add the bay leaf and garlic before 2 hours are up - like I did on accident.
After another hour or so, take out the bone and all the meat that may have fallen off.
Set aside to cool.
Add onion, split peas and some water if needed.
Simmer.
Close to the time you are ready to serve, add the carrots, frozen peas, the ham and some cracked black pepper.  Taste and check if you need salt before adding any. Our ham was salty enough that we didn't need any additional.

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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Smoked pork chops with gravy

Back at the beginning of January we were gifted with some smoked pork chops by my paternal grandfather, today we made them.
I knew I wanted some sauteed onion and as I was thinking the light bulb went on - "mushrooms!".

So Mom got a mixture of butter and bacon fat heating in the skillet while I diced the mushrooms.
(Yes, we're the crazies who save bacon drippings to cook with!) There's a little blue stone crock we keep in the fridge to grease potatoes, etc.
After sauteing the onions and mushrooms for a few minutes, I grated the apple into the mixture. When it had cooked a bit more, I put it out into a bowl and set the chops into the skillet with some more fat. A generous sprinkle of pepper on both sides of each chop and they were covered (on low heat) while Mom and I worked on the potatoes. 

3 small onions chopped (amount of chopped I would guess to be 1 cup total)
4 large white button mushrooms, diced - 1/2 cup approx.
1 small apple, peeled and grated 
Flour (Pretty sure if my eyeball measure was anywhere close to accurate that it was about 1/2 cup) Water to mix + some of the drippings from the pan
Generous grind of black pepper
(If you do this with smoked chops - do not put in any extra salt! I did and it was too salty.)

Mix the water/dripping and flour until smooth and free of lumps. Take chops out of pan and stir in flour mixture. Spoon in apple/'shroom/onion combo. Mix until smooth. Cook for 1-2 minutes,then add water to thin out the gravy. Put chops back in, cover pan and simmer on low until ready to serve. 

My brother said that the gravy would be good with roast beef and that the chops were to pork what corned beef is to regular beef. Which last sorta makes sense..... I think

Wish I knew why so many fruits have an affinity with pork. It does make deliciousness for sure.

Leah

                                                         Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Sunday Worship and Musings




At church my pastor has been teaching for several weeks on 'Faith For The Times'. About how if you are a whosoever, you can have whatsoever you ask believing. The Divine Solution: Only Believe "There are terms and conditions in God's Word, but they are not in tiny print at the back. They are right next to the promises."

Today Pastor spoke about how we need to heed those little pricks of the Holy Spirit to our hearts. (As an example: 'You shouldn't have spoken to that person like that.') If we are not meeting the conditions laid out in the Bible for effective faith, then our faith will be weak and ineffective.

And then I came home and failed my Saviour. I fell into some old and hard to break sin habits. Man, it's so easy to do. When we try to be perfect/good/etc. in ourselves, We. Will. fail. Every. Time. Only when we cling to the Saviour, then we conquer. In weakness we are made strong in Him.



 


 

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth