SIMPLE QUESTION

(The question is simple.  The answer may be life changing.)

Have you "added" Jesus to YOUR life?????

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OR....

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is HE... your life.  

WHOA-HO!! What a ride!!

Jackson Hole.  Tetons.  Jenny Lake.

Man, I love that country.   To me, it's the true definition of “God’s country”. 

I had been through Jackson Hole a couple times before, but usually on two-wheels, so white water rafting was never an option…. until this past summer.   It was on my bucket list for this trip.  To tell you the truth though, I was expecting it to be about one step up from a float.  Apparently, “level 3” is a tad bit above that.  Okay, more than a tad.  I was nervous when I realized what I had gotten myself into.  I had one serious water-related incident in my lifetime… certainly didn’t need another.   When I found out it didn’t require helmets though, I calmed down and told myself this would be a good thrill, but safe.  “You can do this”.

Anyway, it was a blast.  The first rapids we came upon I thought, WOW!!  That was great!!  And then the guide said, “Okay everyone, our first rapids are coming up ahead”.   I looked down at my chest to see if ROOKIE truly was written there.   The first couple were warm-up and they got more aggressive as we went.  On our toughest rapids, we’d be looking UP the wave as we went into it… and at times, those of us who volunteered to be in front were completely under the water.   Whenever we approached the rapids, our guide would yell at us repeatedly to “check that your feet are secure!!!”…. “assume an athletic position!!!!”…. “keep paddling through the rapids at all times!!!”.  His instructions were clear… and they were for our safety.

There are photographers stationed at a certain point along the route.  Selling photos is a moneymaker for them.  But, it’s possibly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so who doesn’t want a photo to remember it by!!  So, yes… I had to order a few. 

Looking at the pictures, talking about the instructions, and thinking about the experience…. it really hit me hard how similar it was to life as Christians.  I was honestly a bit chocked up.  Tears welled in my eyes as I felt God showing me this message.   We will not be on a constant float trip, my friends… we’re going to hit some rapids.   Put yourself on that raft and picture yourself assuming an “athletic position”.  What does that look like to you??  I see perseverance.  I see claiming ourselves as children of God.  I see renouncing the evil one out loud.  Now hear with me your guide yelling at you to “check that your feet are secure”!!!  What does that mean to you?? To me, it means prayer… prayer… and more prayer.  It means a support system of Christian friends.  It means diving into God’s word.   What about the instruction to “keep paddling at all times”??  I hear “… and let us run with endurance the race God has put before us.” (Heb. 12:1)   

And yes, then there’s the guide.   Pretty obvious, isn’t it.  What actually struck me about this picture is that when we were battling what to us was this HUGE WAVE (albeit only a level 3)…  fighting to even stay on the boat at times…. doing our best to KEEP PADDLING in order to keep the boat upright… our guide was in the back doing just that.  Guiding.   He was in TOTAL control even though we felt so out of control.   At times he steered us around the rapids… and at times he steered us straight into them.  But at ALL times, he was in total control.    That, to me, is the picture of our one TRUE GUIDE:  The Holy Spirit.   We may not understand why He takes us where He does, we may be drenched, exhausted and sore... but He gives us the tools and instructions we need to get safely through the rapids.  

Don’t you find, though, that when you look back and reflect over this adventure called life….   you can see His Hand??  Can you see how He was there the whole time… in total control??   What a comfort that is.

I pray that for all of you, my friends. 

I also pray that in between the rapids, there will be plenty of beautiful times to just enjoy the float.   

What a ride, you know??

BURSTING

Bursting.

Literally.

How can I not be??

It's been a week of God revealing Himself.  Revealing His love.  Revealing His presence.

Over the past week, I've been reminded of times where God said "NO MORE" to disease and took home a loved one.  I've been reminded of times where God said "THAT'S ENOUGH" to evil and spared a precious life.  I've been reminded of times where God took unspeakable circumstances and said "I WILL REDEEM THIS".  I've been witnessed to by a friend about the amazing power of the Holy Spirit through healing prayer.  I've been renewed with visions of Him holding out His arms, saying "YOU are MINE".

All of these things came rushing down on me as I read a passage in my morning quiet time today:

"The Lord your God is with you, 

He is MIGHTY TO SAVE.  

He will take great delight in you, 

He will quiet you with His love, 

He will rejoice over you with singing".

Zephaniah 3:17

I hope as you go back in your mind and identify events that were at that moment tragic, painful, heart wrenching, not-the-way-you-wanted-them-to-turn-out... that you can SEE HIS PRESENCE in them.  Can you see how He redeemed them??  Ask Him to show you.  Then spend some time sitting quiet as He does.

I can't hardly listen to this song without singing at the top of my lungs... without raising my hands... without jumping up and down.  But seriously... why not??  He certainly is worthy!!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB-yX5p0p4I  

BURSTING... is a wonderful thing to be.  

Thank you God. 

I love you too.

AND the winner IS....

Mary, from Holland!!  Congrats, Mary and thanks for following.  I'll get the CD in the mail to you ASAP.

DECADENCE - cont'd

YUM.....

So there you go... Chocolate Pate' with Raspberries (recipe in prior post).  

While I'm not really "into" Valentine's Day... there are a few ideas I'd like to pass along.   

Tradition is important to me and I started one many moons ago with my boys.  I started giving them one of those HUGE Russell Stover Foil Heart boxes of chocolate when they were in... oh, I'd say middle school.  They are grown now and not at home, but still to this day... they will get a foil shaped heart just "from mom".   I always thought that was more important to me than to them... but one year when I was late in getting it to one of my boys, I got a "where's my heart"?? text.  He thought I had forgotten.  Don't underestimate the value of little traditions... and I encourage you to start some of your own. 

Did you know that dry erase markers work great on mirrors??? How fun to have your kids walk into their bathroom in the morning and see a big heart and message just for them on their mirror.

Nothing says love like chocolate chip pancakes.... yum (are you sensing a chocoholic here??).  I never was very good at "pouring" a heart shape with batter, but putting chocolate chips in the shape of a heart works great.  ESPECIALLY in banana pancakes.

Why not take a minute to go through your contact list on your phone... and send a quick text saying "I love _____ about you" to your closest friends.   Their smile?? Their spirit?? Their heart?? Their friendship??  Whatever... but a fun, low cost, low effort way to celebrate a day set aside for love.

One more idea.  If you made the recipe in the picture above and the prior post... I'd highly suggest you grab a plate and a glass of wine... and dig in.   Right now.  

Happy Valentine's Day everyone....

DECADENCE

I love to cook.

I love chocolate.

Chocolate Pate' with Praline and Raspberries??  

Pure decadence.

This is my all-time favorite dessert recipe.  And I've made plenty.  There's nothing difficult about it, but I would suggest that you have everything laid out before you start.  And plan a big hour to make it.  Butter needs to be softened, chocolate needs to be melted, an orange needs to be zested, praline powder needs to be made, and eggs need to be divided.  Again, nothing hard.  Just detailed.  While it may take a while to make... there's no baking, so that makes up for it.  Go ahead... give it a try!!

Let's start with the Praline Powder that should be made first:

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Place the sugar in a saucepan with water, stirring until dissolved.  Over medium heat cook the sugar until it is smooth and lightly brown.  Stirring continuously, add the almonds and cook another minute (warning:  probably not that long).

 Pour onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and let cool.  Pulverize in a food processor to a fine powder.

Set this aside for use later.


Now for the Pate':

     1-1/3 cups water                     

1/2 cup sugar

12 ounces soft butter

2 cups cocoa powder

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 orange, zested

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (I use Countreau instead)

2 whole eggs + 4 egg yolks

Praline Powder (that you made above)

Raspberries

Cool Whip

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve.  Heat to just the boiling point then cool.  Cream the butter and cocoa in a food processor, scraping down the sides often.  Slowly add the sugar water.  Add the melted chocolate, scrape the sides down, add zest, Grand Marnier, then eggs & yolks, scraping the sides down often. 

Fold in Praline Powder.  Line a 1-1/4 quart terrine mold with plastic food wrap (this recipe also fits nicely into a standard loaf pan lined with plastic wrap).  Fill the mold with the chocolate mixture, cover and refrigerate overnight.  

To serve, invert on a serving platter (personally, I like to use white for this one.. with a dusting of cocoa powder first).  I like to place raspberries in tidy rows on the top and serve with a bowl of cool whip.  A sprig of mint looks pretty on top as well.  

This recipe was taken from the Savor Michigan Cookbook.  It features recipes from a variety of Michigan restaurants.  This one came from the Five Lakes Grill in Milford.  The cookbook makes an excellent gift for anyone who likes to cook... so keep that in mind.    

Since this recipe needs to sit overnight, I'll be posting pictures of the final product tomorrow.  It would make a great valentine's dessert...  so here's an idea: why not tackle it tomorrow... refrigerate it overnight... and call some friends up for an impromptu valentine's dessert night!!  Pairs perfectly with a nice red wine.  

What a great way to spend valentine's:  friends, red wine, and a decadent chocolate dessert!!

Check back tomorrow for pics and for a few other simple ideas for a day set aside to celebrate love!!    

Old Friends

I wish I hadn't thrown them away.  Do you have some too??

My favorite ole' hiking boots.  I threw them away... in Colorado.

It was a snowy in day April.

2011.

Really wasn't much left to them.  The soles were about worn through.  Arch support?? Non-existent.  There was no finish left on the leather whatsoever.  Laces were pieced together... knotted here and there... because new one's just wouldn't be the same.  Those boots and I traveled many miles... for many years.  They'd walked fields, sat in hunting blinds, tromped through mud, stood ankle high in water, and literally froze their laces off in snow for me.  They've tended gardens, walked dogs, run from snakes, climbed trees, searched for antler sheds, and found morels.

Yep.  My hiking boots.  I miss 'em.

Sound silly??  Maybe so.  But don't some things you look at just tell a story??  Are there things you own that, although you know they're just "things", hold special meaning because of the hours you've spent together??  Do you agree that sometimes it's the tatters, tears, and scars on things that make them all the more endearing to you??  Make them.... "familiar"??

My boots have been gone now for 9 months... 17 days... and 3 hours (before you think I've truly lost it... JUST KIDDING!!)  They truly were dumped though... in Colorado... to make room in my luggage for a shiny new pair.  So why now am I thinking about my hiking boots??  Because of some women I've bumped into lately.  I noticed their Bibles.  Worn.  Tattered.  The shiny gold stuff on the edges of the pages was all worn off.   Pieces of paper stuck here and there.  I saw endless notes written in the margins.  But mainly it was the leather I noticed.  It reminded me of my old boots.  And it reminded me of the shiny new Bible I was carrying.

I wish I could say that I had bought a new Bible because the old one was SO worn that the pages were falling out.  But that wouldn't be the truth.  And we aren't supposed to lie.  And lying about your Bible?? Hmmm... that seems to cross another line now doesn't it.  Truth is, I bought a new Bible because I wanted a different translation, which I do love.  I still have my old one.  I was quite surprised when I dug it out and dusted it off after WAY too many years of very little use (they have Bibles in church pews, after all) to find old notes, scribbles, and underlining.  Even though it had been a long time, I recognized my handwriting, knew what stage of life I was in when I wrote certain things.  I had used that Bible... way back when.  It made me sad to realize how I had neglected it for so long though.  How many journeys I had been on in my life and left it tucked away in a drawer.

The Bibles I saw those women holding stood out to me.  I wondered what stories they saw when they look at them.  What memories flowed from the leather through their fingers as they held them.  They had obviously been through many years together... traveled many miles... probably shared some celebrations and sopped up many tears.  Dare bet those Bibles even saved a life or two.   Something so "loved" must be very precious to them.

You can buy boots that look old when they're actually brand new.  I've seen Bible covers that have that weathered look also.  But I don't want that for my new Bible any more than I want a "vintage" looking pair of new boots.  I want my new Bible to earn it's scars.  I want it to weather with me.  I want to know it so well I would recognize it as mine on a book shelf of thousands.   I won't mind if there are tear stains on the leather... or if the edges are frayed.  You know why?? Because I want to see my life when I look at it's worn pages... knowing it's been part of the journey.  MY journey.

I'd love to insert a picture of my old boots here... you'd see their story... but I can't.

I threw them away.    

Say CHEESE!!

Did you have braces growing up??  I didn't.  Probably should have.  But do now!!

I'm wearing the Invisiline type braces.   Great for an adult that doesn't want to walk around with metal hardware in their mouth.  But I think I had this vision that fixing my smile would be a breeze.  WELL.. it's not.  They hurt at times.  They're uncomfortable.  They impair my speech.  And while I was hoping they wouldn't be noticeable to others... they are.  I'm supposed to wear them 21 hours per day, but haven't been very faithful to that.  I seem to think that I'll be able to get by with just wearing them at night.  But last I checked... I didn't graduate from dental school.

As I shoved them back in my mouth yesterday and felt the discomfort, I had to chuckle.  I can be the same way with my life.  There are things I know need correcting.  There are things that I know God tells me I need to do differently.  There are things I hope no one else notices.   I have the "instruction manual of instruction manuals" available to tell me what to do.  And I'm not receiving my guidance from one of many who graduated from some school.  My guide is the one who created me!!  But it hurts sometimes.  It's uncomfortable.  It reveals my imperfections.  Sometimes it impedes the way I'd LIKE to live my life.  And just like thinking I can get away with wearing my braces only at night... I want to think I can get away with following Him MOST of the time... when it's convenient and when it's comfortable.

The dentist is offering me a great smile if I follow his directions and allow the correction to take place.  MY JESUS is offering me a beautiful LIFE... if I follow HIM and allow HIS correction to take place.

If you bump into me on the street, I'm really not that concerned that you notice my straight smile.  I did that more for me than anyone else.  I DO hope you notice a smile on my face, though.  And I HOPE that smile radiates the love of our Jesus in me.  I have chosen to follow Him for ME... but want to share Him with YOU.

Beauty In Brown Eggs GIVE AWAY!!

I've been told that in the world of blogging, it's quite trendy right now to do one of two things.  One is a "What I Wore On Wednesday" weekly post.... and the other is to do a "Give Away".  Since I'm quite sure that none of you really care what I wore on Wednesday, I've decided to have some fun with celebrating Beauty In Brown Eggs' 2000th page view and do a giveaway!!

So what am I giving away??  Jeremy Camp's "STAY".  It's my favorite DVD that has been my "go to" music when I want to tune everything out and spend time with God.  Thank goodness I live on a few acres, because I've been known to belt the songs out while working in my garden.    Amazing music... inspiring lyrics.  Even has some good beat to it if you happen to be a jogger.

I hope to do this quarterly, but we'll keep the first one simple.  No challenge questions.  Just leave a comment with your first name, general location, and how you found Beauty In Brown Eggs... OR email your entry to:  beautyinbrowneggs@gmail.com  One entry per person please... but let me know if you're one of the members and your name will be entered twice!!  The winner will be drawn and posted on Feb. 15.  We'll touch base by email after that for mailing instructions if you aren't local.

GOOD LUCK!!  and thanks so much for following.