Don't Waste Your Life

Someone once told me that they had a problem with certain pastors who preach and say that there is only one way to Heaven and only one interpretation of the Bible, and any other view would result in eternal damnation; Hell. Tonight as I was reading John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life, the gravity of that remark hit me. In Piper's book, he says:
 "If there is only one life to live in this world, and if it is not to be wasted, nothing seemed more important to me than finding out what God really meant in the Bible, since he inspired men to write it. If that was up for grabs, then no one could tell which life is worthy and which life is wasted" (page 24). 

On the next page (25) he speaks of E.D. Hirsch's book, Validity in Interpretation, in which he writes:
"Yes, he argued, there does exist an original meaning that a writer had in his mind when he wrote. And yes, valid interpretation seeks that intention in the text and gives good reasons for claiming to see it."

If there is an orginal meaning meant by an author, how is it possible to say that the Bible has more than one interpretation?
There is one way to Heaven and that is through the blood of Christ - Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; we must get to the point of understanding this, repent of our wretched, sinful selves (which is an ongoing process) and walk by faith in Him.

John 3

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these things that you do unless God is with him." 3Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
9Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15and whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
"16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

We are saved through Christ, and whoever believes in him may have eternal life...we must believe in Christ, in his works and in his message - but how do you fully believe in a message that means different things to different people? You can't. One message, one meaning. If the message had more than one meaning; meant something different to each person, then it could not be true. A specific fruit cannot be both an apple and an orange, it is one or the other. A specific message cannot mean both yes and no, cannot be both solid and liquid. It has one message, one truth. Believe in Christ who is God in the flesh and lived a perfect life and died the death meant for each of us, repent of your sins, glorify God with your life.

I wish I still had my nose pierced.

Christmas Treats!

This can only mean 1 thing....

P E P P E R M I N T B A R K

This year I'm actually doing Christmas treats & baking! I'm excited about it, even though we're not doing anything fancy shmancy, it's still makes my heart joyful.

So since this is my first year doing Christmas treats, I thought I would share with you a yummy recipe. I found this online, but once again tweaked it. I apparently don't like leaving recipes the way I find them. I wasn't paying exact attention when packaging to how much was going in each jar, but 1 batch of this makes enough to completely fill 7 mason jars with a few extra pieces left over.

Ingredients:

34 oz White Chocolate Chips
8 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
8 oz Milk Chocolate Chips
10 TBS Heavy Whipping Cream
1 1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract
12 Candy Canes

1 baking sheet
foil

Directions:
Line the cookie sheet completely with foil.
Place 6 Candy Canes in a food processor and blend; it's ok to have some bigger chunks, but you want them to mainly be fine pieces.
Next, melt the white chocolate on the stove. I took a sauce pan and a frying pan, almost the same size, but the frying pan was slightly smaller so it nestled into the sauce pan. Put about 1 inch of water in the sauce pan (the bigger pan) and place the smaller one inside the bigger one. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the small one. Heat the water on medium until it simmers.
Melt 17 oz of white chocolate chips in the top pan, stirring constantly so that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat when the chocolate is almost completely melted (so there's only a handful of chips left to melt.) Continue stirring off the heat so that the rest of the chocolate melts.
Pour into the cooking sheet [[lined with foil]].
Sprinkle with Candy Cane bits. Refrigerate 15 minutes, or until solid.

Next, combine 8 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate, 8 oz Milk Chocolate, 10 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Peppermint Extract in frying pan. Melt exactly as you did the white chocolate, stirring constantly until almost all is melted. Remove from heat, continue storing.
Pour over the refrigerated and now solid White chocolate. Refrigerate 25 minutes.

Crush the remaining 6 Candy Canes in the food processor.
Finally, melt the remaining 17 oz White Chocolate as before. Pour over the refrigerated and now solid Chocolate. Sprinkle with the crushed candy canes. Refrigerate 30 minutes, or until solid.

Cut into bite size pieces & package in air tight containers. Store in the refrigerator :)

Enjoy the yumminess.

A Godly Woman

I would really like to write more. Not on any one thing in particular, but just simply write more. I remember when I would write constantly, whether it be a poem, a story, or rambles - but I don't do that any more and there's really no reason for it. With this desire, I encountered writer's block [[naturally]], so I went exploring through my computer to see things that I have written in the past [[but not necessarily published]] since nothing exciting is really happening in our lives here. I came across a document about being a godly woman, so I decided I would share it.

As a young Christian woman, I am encouraged to be a [more] godly woman as I continue my walk with Christ through this life. And while the phrase, command, and/or encouragement to "be a godly woman" is in itself a wonderful thing, it is also very vague. So I took some time with the help of the Bible & the Holy Spirit to make a little reminder sheet as to what a godly woman is.
Let's start with reading Provers 31:10-30

"10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

This section of Scripture gives women a very straight forward model of a godly woman, though it's rare that this is easy to do. I find it to be an encouragement most days and proof that I just don't measure up on others [[Thank the Lord for His abundant mercy and grace and is everlasting, unconditional love]]!  Using this as a starting point, I went through and found other references [[I did NOT pick out all of the references - I tend to get overwhelmed easily when researching things or moving forward with a project in general]] and came up with the following:

A Godly Woman…

• Seeks to be holy in conduct
- she fears the Lord - she seeks His will over above all else-1 Corinthians 10:31      "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." -Leviticus 19:2        "...be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy."
• Seeks to be modest in dress
  -God emphasizes beauty of character
  -1 Timothy 2:9-10
       "9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
• Seeks to be gentle and quiet
  -2 Timothy 2:24
       "And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful"
  -1 Peter 3:4
       "Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
• Seeks to care for her home
  -Titus 2:4-5
        "Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
  -she has a home that is open and hospitable and is given to ministry to the sick, the needy and less fortunate.
• Seeks to be a person who can be trusted
  -Proverbs 31:11-12
       "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
• Seeks to serve others
  -has learned and knows the love of Christ for others
  -Proverbs 31:20
       "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."
   
• Seeks to be prudent in financial matters
  -She is a saver, not a spender
  -She can see beyond today on her own
  -Proverbs 31:16
       "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."
•  Seeks to be a hard worker
  -There is no laziness or lack of motivation in her
  -She recognizes the value God has placed on hard work
  -Proverbs 31:17
       "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks."
• Seeks to internalize Biblical wisdom
  -Proverbs 31:26
       "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
  -The Word is in her heart and in her life, so it comes out of her mouth. When it does, it is dressed in the Spirit, gentle and kind.
• Seeks to do what is right and have a good reputation
  -Proverbs 31:23
        "Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land."
  -1 Timothy 3:7
         "He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap."
  
• She is a blessing to all
  -Proverbs 31:28
       "28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."

I wish that I had more Scripture references written down for this project, but I guess that just gives me a project to complete at some point in time. I hope that this was a blessing and an encouragement to any ladies who happen to read this; above all, may the Lord be magnified through this.

Have a great week!
S

Stuffed Bell Peppers

First, I'd like to say
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my SISSY!!

And now for a yummy recipe!

These were delicious (just be careful with how much oil you use)!
I found this recipe on Pinterest, however I altered it a bit.

Ingredients:
1 Cup long grain rice
4 large green bell peppers; bottom trimmed (so they can stand up without falling over), cap end cut off and diced, seeds removed
1 large onion, diced
3 tsp. olive oil (seriously, be careful with how much oil you use...I accidently poured WAY more than necessary and it was VERY oily)
3 links Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 Cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Cook Rice.
Preheat oven to 350*F
If the bell peppers do not stand up on their own, trim the bottoms just enough so they have a flat surface to stand on.
Cut off a fiarly generous amoung of the stem end (cap) of the peppers, set aside.
Remove the seeds.
Place hollowed out peppers in a baking dish that you've sprayed with non-stick spray. (You may need more than one baking dish depending on the size of your peppers).
Remove the stem part from the caps and trim off the whit membrane. Dice the pepper caps and onion. Heat 2 tsp oil in large skillet; saute diced pepper & onion (3-4 minutes) until soft, but not browned.
Remove to bowl.
Add 1 tsp oil to skillet, squeeze sausages out of casing. Cook until lightly browned, breaking apart into small pieces.
Return diced onion and pepper to pan with sausage, add dried spices. Saute 2-3 minutes.
Add cooked rice and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper, cook 1-2 minutes until warm.
Stuff mixture into hollowed bell peppers, press down so i's tightly packed into pepper shelll.
Bake 30 min. Remove from oven and add a generous amount of grated mozzarella on each pepper. ut peppers back into over and back 10-15 min until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serve hot. Yummy Yummy :)

I want to try it with different spices, mainly nutmeg - I have no idea why, but it just sounds like it would give it just that little bit of mmmm. I'll try it sometime and let you know if that actually is good. :)

You know what they say - Beauty is pain!

Tony's at work so I am left to attempt to curl my hair  by myself which ended up with my ear looking like this:

That white portion of my ear feels like bacon. This is proof that I shouldn't put any type of heated hair tool near my own head. I've curled other people's hair no problem... but me, I fry my ear. :)

Beauty is pain, right?

Baby, it's cold outside!

Frosty! This is what we woke up to the other morning! We could not see out our window, which is usually completely clear and we can see down past the field and intersection outside our patio. It was a shocking 34 degrees out! A HUGE change from the torturous 115+ this summer!

And we can see SNOW on the mountains! We're planning a snow day [[hopefully]] :)

Apartment Fixes

We presently live in an apartment which is significantly larger than our CA apartment, but while we have more cabinet storage, we have diminished drawer storage which makes storing certain things a challenge - mainly our ovenmits and pot holders. Since we have 2 sets and only 1 semi- convenient place to store them we've been storing both sets in a small drawer that we either have to fight to get it open because it's a bit crammed or we end up having to go into the cabinet beneath it to find the "missing" pot holder or oven mitt. Then I had a stroke of brilliance and fixed the problem in like 30 seconds. And all I needed was velcro, ribbon that matches our kitchen and a pair of scissors (All of which I had from other projects).

All you have to do is cut the ribbon to the proper length to go through the loop on the pot holder/oven mits and comfortably around the handle on your over.
Cut a piece of velcro to fit the width of the ribbon, attach to the underside of the ribbon on one end and the decorative (or other side if you're using plain ribbon) side of the ribbon.
Thread through the loop on the oven mitt and around the handle and attach.

I've seen similar ideas on Pinterest, but they all involve a sewing machine (which I do not have), fabric and usually fancy embellishments. This is just simpler
.
It may not be the chic-est or cutest solution, but it works! (Now to see what Tony thinks when he sees it tonight, tehe!)

Homemade Bubbles!

I'm a nanny. I've been involved with serving kids in some way since as far back as I can remember, so when my boss told me about an easy and fun way to make bubbles, I had to check it out.  They're amazing!

So here's a recipe for some fun bubbles, and if the kids in your life are old enough you can have fun making them together and practice counting/measureing things!
1 1/2 quarts of water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup liquid dish soap
Mix water and corn syrup until completely blended. Slowly stir in soap. This will last several weeks in an airtight container!
So much fun! Enjoy!

Recurring Dreams...

I wish they wouldn't.