New Food Page

I met a minister’s wife in December who shared with me a special “diet” that she has been on for a number of years. Actually, it’s more of a lifestyle change. After listening to her, asking her questions and doing some reading on my own, I decided that during the month of January I would try going on a mostly raw vegan diet. It has been a challenging but fun experiment. I am finding that I have more energy and am enjoying this change more than I thought I would. With that in my mind, I have renamed the former “Favorite Family Recipes” page to Raw and Cooked Vegan Dishes and will be sharing some of the recipes I have made. Feel free to visit the page, and if you decide to try any of the recipes, let me know what you think. Bon appetit!

 

Makings Of A Sensational Sunday

I am still rejoicing in God’s blessings this past Sunday. First of all, I’m excited because children’s church has been going well. We have some kids that are coming consistently now, and I’m believing that God is going to do great things in their lives.  In our family worship service we had 4 brand new visitors. One of the ladies that came lives only a couple of blocks away from the church. She told me afterwards that she has been around to several churches in the area but couldn’t find what she wanted. “I have been fed today!” she joyfully exclaimed to me.  I give God all the glory, because that’s what we want. People need to be nourished on the pure, unadulterated Word of God.

 

Finally, finally, I know how to make good Spanish rice and refried beans. Another minister’s wife that we were with on New Year’s Day gave Jen and I a tutorial on how to do it.   So on Sunday, I made the beans, Jen made the rice, and my husband made his homemade salsa.  Mmm mmm good!  Muy muy bien! I love good Mexican food. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I wouldn’t mind at all if this is what the Lord would want to have at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:9) I’m looking forward to more of those beans after I go off this 3 day diet.  LOL

 

Christmas Banquet 2008

These are a couple of the centerpieces(before the finishing touch of 3 tapered candles were added to each) that our ladies made for the tables at our 3rd annual Christmas banquet.  This year, we held our banquet at our new church facility in downtown Oakley.  We ate tri-tip, chicken, killer baked beans, Caesar salad and dinner rolls, provided by a local caterer.  It was all so delicious.  For dessert, we had a Tres Leche cake from Safeway.  If you have never tried this cake, I would highly recommend it.  It is the bomb! 

Our special speaker this year was Rev. Joe Savala who pastors in Ontario, Oregon. Brother Savala is one of the funniest preachers I know. I feel like the Lord uses his humor to put people at ease and help open their hearts to receive the Word of God.  Did you know that there are people in this world who don’t like to bathe?  Here are some of the excuses Rev. Savala shared with us on why some people do not bathe.

1. They were forced to do it as a child.

2. They tried bathing once and decided it wasn’t for them.

3. They just don’t feel the need to bathe often.

4. They think they are already clean enough.

5. There are hypocrites out there that bathe.

6.  There are so many soaps out there that they just aren’t sure which one to use.

After sharing with us the reasons why some people do not bathe, Rev. Savala brought home the point that these same excuses can apply to why people do not go to church.  I like to think of what he said as a gentle tug on the heart of those who were there that do not go to church or only go sporadically.   One lady who attends our church brought her neighbor and daughters to the banquet, and this neighbor lady told her friend that she wanted to come to church with her on Sunday.  She was not able to come on Sunday due to health problems, but her youngest daughter came to children’s church and had a good time.  I praise God for that and am looking forward to more coming.

 

Do or DIEt

There comes a time in some of our lives

due to the things we ate,

our expanded girth tells us that now is the time

to lay aside some weight.

 

I’ll be cutting back on food drastically

at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

I’d sure appreciate your prayers

in this, my time of sorrow.

 

It’s grapefruit and toast for breakfast;

and tuna and toast at noon,

if I stick to my guns and this diet

you’ll be seeing less of me soon.

 

With varied fruits and vegetables

and 3 ounces of meat at dinner,

and 64 ounces of water a day

how could I not get thinner?

 

So, I’m laying aside all my junk food.

Yes, I will be an absolute saint.

But please, could you send up some prayer for me?

I’m beginning to feel quite faint!

 

This is for real.  Monday is the big day.  My husband and I are going on a diet!  Aren’t you just excited for us?  Thursday night after Bible study, some friends of ours shared with us a diet that they have been trying that a friend of theirs got from her doctor.  You do the diet for 3 days a week and eat normally for the other 4 days.  This is what we get to eat the first day.

 

Breakfast – 1/2 grapefruit, 1 slice toast, 2 tbsp. peanut butter

 

Lunch – 1/2 can tuna, l slice toast

 

Dinner – 3 oz. any meat (we’re going to have steak, seasoned with salt and pepper only), 1 cup steamed string beans, 1 cup beets, 1 small apple, 1 cup vanilla icecream. (the reward for eating beets)

 

Of course, you’re supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day too.  Diet sodas are not allowed and you can only drink decaffienated coffee with sugar substitute while on the diet.  Diets aren’t really something incredibly enjoyable, but I really want to try and make this fun.  Thus, the silly poem and this post. (and hopefully I’ll feel more accountable now that I’ve announced it to the blogging world)

 

You all pray our strength in the Lord. 

 

Banquet Pictures

 Pictures from our church Christmas banquet, which took place on the 15th of December, are now up on our church website.  To see them, click here.  Hope you enjoy.

 

If You Like Cheesecake

For those of you who like cheesecake, you might want to try this recipe from Kraft foods  sometime during the holidays.  It was a big hit with my family and a recipe my husband said to definitely keep.  Here is the link to the recipe.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/recipedetail.htm?recipe_id=76195

 

A Full Weekend

This has been a very full but good weekend for me.  Yesterday, my daughter and another friend Eva from our church and her daughter went to a Mother/Daughter banquet at a sister church.  I had been asked to speak at this banquet a few weeks ago.  I’m not really a great public speaker, but I did pray about this and felt like the Lord gave me something to share with the ladies.  I don’t speak at functions very often, but whenever I do, my mind always wanders back to the first time I ever had to give a speech.  I can’t remember exactly what grade I was in, but our teacher assigned everyone in class to do an oral book report.  At that time, I was reading a lot of Bobbsey Twins mysteries, so I decided to do my book report on one of these mysteries.  As I stood in front of the class, I opened my mouth to speak, and nothing came out.  It was as if I had been suddenly struck dumb, and it seemed like I stood there speechless for eternity.  My merciful teacher saw my plight and told me in her kind voice that it was okay and that I could try again tomorrow.  I sat down feeling very relieved, and somehow(miraculously) I was able to speak the next day and deliver my book report.  Anyhow, things went well at the banquet, and as usual, the Lord came to my rescue and helped me. 

Later that evening, we were invited to a birthday party for Eva’s daughter Bell.  Eva really went all out for this and made her killer potato salad, corn on the cob,  a giant bowl of fresh fruit and glop(a combination of pistachio pudding, nuts, marshmallows & other ingredients which slip my mind right now-it’s yummy!).  Her husband barbecued chicken on the grill.  This was all very good, but the crowning jewel of the evening was the cake that Eva made.  I’m hoping that Eva will post a picture of it on her blog, because it is hard for me to describe.  The cake was shaped like a castle, and it was very impressive.  Not only did it look good, but it tasted wonderful too.  The homemade buttercream frosting was not sicky sweet like the kind you would get at the grocery store.  It was just right.  We had a nice time and left there absolutely stuffed.  I must confess that I really pigged out there.  I hardly ate anything at the banquet earlier, because I was nervous about speaking, so I made up for not eating much there!

We always try to do something special at church on Mother’s Day to honor our mothers.  Eva not only makes beautiful cakes, but she is also good at putting together gift baskets, so she made some up to give to the mothers.  We also gave some carnations out too, because I don’t know of any lady who does not like to receive flowers.  I was presented with a sweet Mother’s Day card, a beautiful Azalea plant and a special Mother’s Journal in which I can record stories from my life to pass on to my children.  I don’t feel like I deserve to get a special gift every year for Mother’s Day, but I do appreciate the thoughtfulness and love that is expressed through it.

After church we came home and my husband fixed me a scrumptuous, sumptuous meal.  You better get a bib on because you might start to drool.  :-)   We had grilled steak, pan seared sea scallops, stuffed baked potatoes, my husband’s special seasoned grilled vegetables and French bread.  In a little while from now, we’ll be having strawberry shortcake for dessert.  The kids helped too with setting the table and kitchen clean up afterwards.  My son has promised me a foot massage before bed tonight, and he is going to read me a selection or two from The Best Loved Poems of the American People. (his idea, because he knows I like this book)

All in all it has been a wonderful weekend, and I feel like a very blessed woman indeed! 

 

Hanging Around

We went out a little while ago to give out some doorhanger invitations to church.  My husband had these new doorhangers made up with an invitation to church on the front and an offer for a free home Bible study on the back.  It’s not as intimidating putting one of these on someone’s door as it is knocking on the door and talking to somebody.  It’s  a great way to involve people in outreach that are somewhat reluctant or maybe shy when it comes to talking to people.  We have not always had people come as a direct result of “door hanging”, but it seems like everytime we make an effort to do something for God, He always blesses it, and we will have an influx of visitors.  I believe God blesses every effort that is put forth to reach people for Him, but it is often in the way that we do not expect.  I think He does that so we will remember that it is He alone who gets the glory for drawing on people’s hearts and bringing them our way.  Afterwards, we went to a great little Mexican restaurant in our area to ”hang around” and eat.  Yum yum!  My former pastor used to say that there was going to be Mexican food at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  That would be perfectly fine with me!   

 

Candy Craze

There is a kind of insanity that has invaded our house lately.  I call it the “Candy Craze.”  My husband, who always makes fudge every year for the holidays, decided to try his hand at something different.  This past week, he has made  almond bark, chocolate almond bark, peppermint bark, chocolate covered peanut clusters and chocolate turtles.  Everything turned out great, except for the turtles.(They tasted terrible, and we threw them out.) He inspired me to try something I had never done before.  Yesterday, I made English toffee for the first time.  Most of the candy will be put on decorative plates and given to our neighbors as gifts, but I must admit that we’ve all done our share of indulging in these wonderful confections.  However, I know I can’t go on eating all these yummies, because the Ghost of Christmas Future has shown me a vision of what life might be like if I don’t exercise some self-control in my confectionary indulgences.  Below is the vision.  Y’all pray my strength in the Lord!

 

Bread That Satisfies

My husband and I had a meeting and a dinner scheduled in the evening yesterday in San Fransisco with some other home missionaries.  To avoid getting stuck in Friday’s traffic, we decided to leave in the early afternoon and go on a little date before the evening activities.  As we were walking down Fisherman’s Wharf, we passed the Boudin Bakery.  Through its giant windows, you could see bread machines and workers scurrying about performing their various duties.  Showcased in the window were these interesting lobster and alligator sourdough loaves.  I couldn’t resist taking a picture.  I love good bread, and sourdough is one of my favorites.  There’s something about that tantalizing aroma.  What a delight it is to break off a hot chunk of bread, slather it with butter and pop it into your mouth!  Mmmmmm!  Can you almost taste it?I think it’s neat that Jesus compares himself to bread in the Bible.

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Joh 6:34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Joh 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

I have found “this bread” to be truly satisfying, and the great thing is that it is so readily available.  I can open my Bible and partake whenever I want.  It’s the original “soul food”.  I encourage you, if you don’t do so already to make this “bread”(the Bible) a regular part of your spiritual diet. 

 Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.