It's That Time of Year...

Time for peppermint ice cream!

My family loves the combination of peppermint ice cream with homemade hot fudge. We love it so much that I have decided to share it with you. Please make it as soon as you can and eat it all up!!

Homemade Hot Fudge - By Aimee Sue
1 c. mini marshmallows (large are fine, but take longer to melt)
1 1/2 - 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T. butter
2 T. milk or cream
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Combine all ingredients to a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir. Microwave again for 30 seconds and stir. Continue microwaving for 30 second intervals until chocolate and marshmallows are fully melted. Should only take about 2-3 minutes. If you are using vanilla, add it now! Serve over peppermint ice cream (or any kind of ice cream for that matter).

Alternate instructions: Combine ingredients in a double boiler and melt over medium heat until combined, stirring frequently.

Notes: I usually eyeball the recipe, sometimes adding more marshmallows and sometimes more cream or butter to get a different consistency. I like about 1.5 cups or marshmallows and 2 cups chocolate.

The Dating Game

When I say I do not need a mere man to be complete, I'm not being a feminist. I'm being honest...

Genesis 2:18-25 says:

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

     “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Dating.
Courting.
Arranged marriages.
Friends setting friends up.
Long distance relationships.
Long time friends.
Girl-next-door.
Old.
Young.
Family friend.
Classmates.
Work friends.
Online dating sites.
Guy/girl you've never met but have had a "crush" on since the first time you saw them. (Think While You Were Sleeping kind of think here, folks.)

World, there is more than one way to skin a horse. Err... meet and marry your husband or wife.

Not only do people use different words to refer to the same thing, but they use the same word to refer to different things. See? It works both ways. 1+1=2, that's very true, but there is no formula for the perfect relationship, romantically or just as friends. People will always read into things, take things the wrong way, expect more, give less, and just make mistakes. Dating or courting, it's just a means to an end.

I looked up "date" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and it's a fruit people. A FRUIT.
I also looked up court, and wow, it's a place where legal cases are heard. Big surprise.

But seriously folks... For the sake of this discussion, these were the fitting definitions.

Date, noun 4a: an appointment to meet at a specific time; especially: a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character.
Date, verb: to do an activity with someone you have might have a romantic relationship with : to go on a date or several dates with (someone)

Court, noun 5: conduct or attention intended to win favor or dispel hostility
Court, transitive verb 2a: to seek the affections of; especially: to seek to win a pledge of marriage from
Court, intransitive verb 1: to engage in social activities leading to engagement and marriage

Guys, from what I'm seeing, they have VERY similar meanings. Date seems to mean doing activities with someone that you find interesting and could be romantically involved with at some point. To court seems to mean seeking to win favor and or doing activities with someone that you could be romantically involved with at some point.

If I'm going to be totally honest, the biggest difference seems to be connotation. In my experience, I have tended to stay away from the word date because I see dating as people just hanging out with no serious intent or future vision. You know, people date because they like the company of someone of the opposite gender, but don't want to be "tied down" by a ring and some vows. Courting on the other hand is serious. Both parties go into this relationship with serious future goals and are set upon marriage as the purpose. But lets be real here folks; just because you don't have marriage as the end goal does not mean it is not going to happen, and just because you do have it as an end goal does not mean it IS going to happen.

I think I've made my point. Oddly enough though, that point is not the point I was planning on making in this post, so let's get going with the point I started off wanting to make...

Genesis 2:18 says "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make his a helper fit for him.'"
1 Corinthians 7:6-7 says "Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of the other."

These verses seem to say different things. From my understanding Paul is saying that some people are blessed with the ability of remaining single and serving the Lord through their singleness. He was an amazing man who served the Lord without being married, and God blessed him. If you are single you can serve God in your singleness, perhaps more than you will be able to serve Him as a married person.

Again in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 Paul states;

"I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord."

If I do not serve the Lord while single, who am I to think I will be better able to serve the Lord once I am married. Being married isn't going to change me in the way I might think. I'm still going to be a sinner saved by grace. It is going to sanctify me, of course, but it is not going to make serving easier, it is going to make it harder.

If I am not satisfied in the lot of being unmarried, why try to trick myself into thinking I will be satisfied once I get married? There will always be things to be dissatisfied about: more time with friends, more time with my husband, more time alone, a bigger house, a nicer neighborhood, having kids "too soon", not having kids soon enough. What more will I "need"?

I want to be satisfied in my Savior. I am convinced that if I am not satisfied in Christ, I will not be satisfied by a sinful man.

I am and purpose to be happy being single. If God has it in His plan for me to marry someone, that's wonderful. If God does not have it in His plan for me to marry someone soon or ever, that's wonderful too. I should not and will not rest my happiness on marriage, but rather I will rest my happiness upon serving the Lord in the big and little things. He is my Bridegroom and I am His bride.

One more thing. Speaking from the side of my heart that says, "You aren't ready to be married. You aren't ready to serve. You aren't ready for that job or that friendship or that adventure." To quote Lemony Snicket, "If we wait until we are ready, we will be waiting for the rest of our lives." Step out on faith. Serve where you are, married or unmarried. Don't think you can wait for everything or anything to be perfect. You won't know when you get to that point and you might never make it there. Just do something.

So, when I say I do not need a mere man to be complete, I'm not being a feminist. I'm being honest, for I am complete in Christ.

"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority." Colossians 2:9-10



P.S. I recently shared this article about "The 'D' Word" on my Facebook page. I started this post as a way to go deeper into what I thought about her post, but it morphed into what you have just read.

Gratitude for Today

Nothing extraordinary happened today.

Nothing very much out of the ordinary happened today.

Nothing new and different happened today.

Yet I am grateful for the day I had.

Gratuity:
1. Grilled cheese with basil butter
2. Cleanliness
3. A broom and dustpan
4. An internet connection
5. Gardens and dirt and life and growing
6. Colors; purple, teal and red specifically
7. Soap to make and clean and smell good

Not much interesting, but all life.

My friend, find joy in the everyday.

When Life Gives You Egg Yolks...

Make Lemon Curd!

Seriously folks, that stuff is amazing. It's relatively quick and easy to make, and you can make all sorts of things a little more fancy with your efforts!

My mom and I are catering a wedding and I am making the cake. I spent all day yesterday making layer upon layer of white cake. In order for the cake to be white instead of a yellow color one must use only the whites of the eggs rather than a whole egg. After making 11 layers and 17 cake mixes (don't worry, it doesn't even taste like it came from a box...) worth of cakes I had 68 egg yolks to use in something else.

Here is where I wish I was better about taking pictures of the projects I do. My mom is endlessly telling me I need to, but I am always so caught up in the process of making deliciousness happen that I don't take pictures! People, I need to buckle don't and snap some next time.

Anywho... my mom had the brilliant idea of making lemon curd! We don't have any fresh lemons in the house, so I used bottled lemon, but it turned out really well and it was actually worth the time and effort to end up with about 10 cups of lemon curd in the freezer. *happy face*

I had used the recipe from the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book in the past to make lemon curd, but it also calls for whole eggs, and I didn't want to use even more eggs than I already had. I found an Alton Brown (I love almost all his stuff) recipe that only used yolks, but it used more sugar and butter than I wanted to use. So, I mixed the recipes together and came up with something I really liked. Now, I will share it with you.

Lemon Curd Yields 1-2 cups
1/2 c. Lemon Juice
2/3 c. White Sugar
Pinch of Salt
5 Egg Yolks
1/4 c. Cold Butter cut into 4 pieces (1/2 a stick)

In a sauce pan combine lemon juice, sugar and salt. Over medium heat bring to a simmer. While the mixture is heating up whisk the egg yolks until well combined and slightly lightened in color. Once the sugar has dissolved and the lemon mixture is simmering, carefully and slowly pour it into the egg yolks while whisking to temper the yolks. Once fully combined pour the egg mixture back into the pan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add the butter one piece at a time, whisking until it is melted. Carefully strain the curd to make sure there are no egg lumps and cover with plastic wrap against the surface until cool. Enjoy!

My Notes:
1. If using fresh lemons, zest them first and add zest in the first step.
2. I put my egg yolk bowl on a wet towel so I did not have to hold it while I whisked the hot mixture into the eggs.
3. If making more than one recipe, add 2-3 pieces or butter at one time.

A Gust Of Fall Wind Blowing Cold

Happy Fall!

Summer, a time of heat, water, work and play.
Winter, a time of warmth, family, and celebration.
Spring, a time of new growth, green, and regeneration.
Fall, a time color, scents, and all things pumpkin and spice.


The first day of a new season. A change in the weather. Unpacking of mugs, drinking of chai tea, and coffee, and cocoa. Ah, this is one of my favorite seasons. The colors changing (not at my house of course, we mostly have blue oaks and evergreens and pine trees) and cool winds blowing through my window. True, the forecast for this week says highs in the 90's and lows in the high 60's, but the weather is changing!

Sometimes it's just the knowledge that fall has arrived and things are happening.

Today, to celebrate the first day or Fall I made pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling. Wow. Fall in my mouth. I was especially pleased because I was able to use pumpkin that I had canned last winter! I also used apple sauce I had made and canned last year as a substitute for some of the oil in the recipe.

Thank you creators of Pinterest for making a way to collect and search recipes without having to go all over the internet. And thank you bloggers and cooks who put work into recipes and make them available online for people like me who want to bake but can't make up a recipe off the top of my head. You make my life less hungry. *grins*

The link to the recipe is below and my notes are as follows:
1. I used 3/4 c. apple sauce and 1/2 c. melted butter instead of oil.
2. I used Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese because it is what I had. Turned out nicely.

The recipe! Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Her's look way prettier than mine and on a side note, I'm going to work on my food photography skills....)

In Which the Authoress Learns to Count

1. Count Your Blessings
   By Johnson Oatman Jr.
2. 
   
3. When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
   When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
   Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
   And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
   • Refrain:
     Count your blessings, name them one by one,
     Count your blessings, see what God has done!
     Count your blessings, name them one by one,
     And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
4. Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
   Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
   Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
   And you will keep singing as the days go by.
5. When you look at others with their lands and gold,
   Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
   Count your many blessings—*money cannot buy [*wealth can never buy]
   Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
6. So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
   Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
   Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
   Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Listening to praise and worship music and this song came on. We used to sing it at the hymn sing we went to and I was instantly taken back. Back to a time when life was different. I thought for a bittersweet moment that life was better than, but almost instantly took it back. Life wasn't better, it was just different. Praise God for growth and change and life. This song, combined with reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, has inspired me to be more thankful, to count my blessings. 

I am going to try to get back into blogging. I might not write as often as I like to, but I plan not to give up. So, feel free to join me vicariously on this walk while I count my blessings and live the life I've been given.

Counting my blessings:

1. Friends that encourage from the heart.

2. Friends that tell you exactly what you need to hear.

3. Friends that are there for you when you didn't even realize that you needed them.

4. Family, near and far.

5. Family time.

6. Family outings.

7. Fresh fruit. (believe me, after being on the road for 3+ weeks, fresh fruit is a luxury.) 

Tillamook, OR.

A New Year

Well, that time just flew by...

Bad news first: I got so behind in my blogging! I also got behind in my reading, but I have almost caught up! (Oops, I just gave away my good news.) I am going to give you a pretty good excuse for the belated blog posts... CHRISTMAS! Yay. :) I had a wonderful time with family and friends. Now that we are in 2015, my crazy holiday schedule is starting to slow down. Our puppies are almost 8 weeks old and will be heading to their new homes soon (this requires both a happy and a sad face, so here you go. :(: You decide.) So that will lessen a little craziness as well.

Good news: I am almost on track! (Yeah, I know, you already read that, but it's a pretty huge accomplishment for me this season.) Thankfully, although I haven't been blogging much I have still been reading and listening. I'm now only about 3 days behind in my reading, which isn't too bad since I was 6 days behind as of last week!

For the first week and a half I was pretty good about reading and taking notes on what stuck out to me and what applied to what I was learning right then. I've sort of stopped taking notes because I am trying to get a better continuity. So, I read or listen to a session and make a note about the thing that stuck with me to the end of that reading time. I think this works better for me because I am able to actually pick a bigger point and not have so many little notes. I would definitely like to try to read through the Bible again this year at a slower pace with more note taking. Reading through quickly and getting the big picture seems to be the point of this schedule though.

I finished Kings 1 & 2 the other day, so I think I will share my big impression of those books today.

Sin.

Escapable, but we don't live without it.

Grace.

Abounding, and we can't live without it.

Parents.

Can't live with em', can't live without em'.

I'm serious about that last one! (Get it? We can't be born without parents, but our lives are inherently effected by what they teach us and what we observe in them.)

Take the Kings for instance.

1 Kings 15:3 "And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and xhis heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father."

1 Kings 15:11 "And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done."

1 Kings 15:26 "He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord gand walked in the way of his father, and in his sin hwhich he made Israel to sin."

1 Kings 15:34 "He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord mand walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin."

And that's just chapter 15...

We learn from our parents: good and bad. We can be negatively effected by decisions they make, and they also make decisions that are positive for us.

We need to discern when to follow in their footsteps and when to forge our own path.

Just because our parents lead Christian lives and shepherd our hearts does not mean we will end up being Christians, or leading lives honoring to God. And praise God that someone who was raised in a non-Christian home can also come to Christ to be cleansed!

I guess my analogy would be this: everyone is a seedling that will grow. We might have a grand start in a greenhouse where we are watered daily and given nutrients we need. We might be a windblown seed planted in the ground, struggling against nature and bigger plants. In either case, at some point, we either give up and stop growing or we grow and blossom and fulfil our purpose.

Each one of the kings either had a good or a bad example in their father, but when they became king they had a choice to follow in the good foot steps or to run away from the bad and cleanse the kingdom. In many cases it was a choice to leave things as they were, even if they were bad, because it pleased themselves or the people.

Each new year people try to be better people, whether it be eating better, exercising more, reading the Bible each day, or going to church every Sunday. We have the ability to do better each day, but this time of year always feels like a fresh start.

Sorry for a rather disjointed post, but I hope it encourages you to follow a new and better path this year.

P.S. Reading over this again makes me cringe slightly, but I'm going to post it anyways because that was exactly how my thought process worked and what I felt I got out of 1 and 2 Kings.