Be Still and Know...Then and Now

I need to be working on my Disciple, my mind is a bit unfocused, random thoughts keep going through my head. In the span of a few minutes on the news this morning I heard a report about a woman in Florida who shot and killed both her children because they were mouthy and rude to her and then they ease into a report on the upcoming academy awards, doesn't this sound a bit incongruent to you? The unrest in Egypt, things seems so very bad in the world all the time and I just have to wonder what in the world in happening. Then there are moments during Sunday worship when you feel so filled up with how great God really is and all the harshness of the secular environment we live in is pushed aside for a few moments. So how do you balance your own personal life against the world view. How do you balance defining your area of service against trying to maintain a household and live with in your means? How do you sleep though the night without waking ever few minute drenched in sweat? ...

  Sunday, January 23 I have a confession to make, it’s not an earth shattering one, it’s more like whining really, but one of the things I really don’t like about my house is the view from the back patio. It isn’t very picturesque. In a few years when the backyard landscape begins to fill out and some of the trees get a bit bigger I am hopeful the view will improve. Until then I get to look at the rooftops of houses and the weed covered hill just down the street. However there are mornings when I do get to have moments like this. I’m usually the first one up on Sunday mornings and as I was enjoying my coffee the backyard began to turn this wonderful color of pink. I grabbed the camera and stepped outside. Only God could mix up a color like this first thing in the morning! No pictures on Monday, January 24 Tuesday, January 25 After a full morning of preparation for my Disciple Bible Study on Wednesday I was ready for a break. It was a bit chilly so I fixed myself a Chai La...

I have never done one of these before, and being the horrific speller that I am I had to make several references to the logo before I was able to achieve the correct spelling of hodgepodge.    1. Will you watch the Super Bowl? If so who will you root for? If you are outside the USA what is the 'big deal sporting event' in your own country? I may walk through the room while the super bowl is on, does that count? I think they are planning a big youth party for Super Bowl Sunday, but I have no clue who is playing or when it is. I’m blissfully clueless… 2. Is ignorance bliss? If I can be blissfully clueless then I suppose I can be blissfully ignorant a well. Most times I work under the common assumption that out of sight is out of mind. What does not directly impact my day or my life at the moment remains just that…a non issue. However there are things like world peace, child abuse, incurable diseases, tsunamis and earthquakes that make it a bit difficult to maintain the stric...

Y’all know me, I’m a huge Food Network junkie. Couple that with a husband who loves all things lobster and you have the makings for another addition of “How Hard Could It Be?” We were watching Diners, Drive In’s and Dives and Guy Fieri was highlighting a diner in Boston called Rino’s. Click here to watch the clip of the lobster ravioli, but beware it will make your mouth water. It was an awesome place and if we ever get to the Boston area then you can bet the hubs will insist we make a pit stop if possible. As we were watching this authentic Italian chef whip up a delicious batch of home made lobster ravioli that would make your head spin off it looked so good, the hubs turns to me and ask ‘Well hon, ya think you could manage that?” I began to think….how hard could it be? Well in an effort to be a good steward I decide that it would be a good idea to have a trial run with some normal ricotta cheese ravioli first to lessen the financial impact should the meal end in total disaster....

Well as weeks go this one was about half and half. Because of the MLK holiday that kids did not go back to school until Tuesday. I was very glad to see the buses roll again. The snow finally began to melt and by Thursday it was all gone, by Saturday it was business as usual, that is until the next predicted snow which may be in the forecast for next week. But I am optimistic that we may have weather our worst, let hope so anyway! So HERE we go! Sunday, January 16 This is my front yard…   and this is the yard directly across the street. A little bit of sunshine make all the difference in the world! Monday, January 17 What does it look like when you have been out of school for eight consecutive days? This! She was taking full advantage of her last day off with the already schedule MLK holiday, the dog was taking full advantage of the situation as well! No pictures on Tuesday, January 18 and Wednesday, January 19 With the snow from last week beginning to melt away I wa...

When we were snowed in last week there was not much to do but cook and then eat. Thankfully I had a well stocked pantry and was able to place some warm, yummy comfort food on the table. Earlier in the week I posted my Chicken and Dumplings recipe and some of you asked for the Short Ribs so here it is! 5 pounds beef short ribs olive oil 2 to 3 garlic cloves minced salt an pepper to taste   1 to 2 onions cut in wedges   For braising liquid: 2 – 14 to 16 oz beef broth or one 32 oz box, but you will only need half of it to start with, reserve the remaining half if necessary later on. 1 – bottle of dark beer, but up you can really use any beer you like. You can also just omit the beer and use all broth if you don’t like beer. 1/4 molasses 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon bottled hot sauce (you can increase this if you like your food spicy!!!) 1/2 teaspoon salt   Polenta, Mashed Potatoes, Hot Buttered Noodles or Buttered Ri...

  The Chicken base is very simple. I have consulted with multiple recipes and have formulated a recipe that works well for me. You will need: 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs (or more or less depending on how much you need for your family) 2 medium onions diced 2 to 3 carrots chopped 3 to 4 ribs of celery chopped garlic, two to three cloves minced shallots 1 or 2 if they are big then you only need one minced veg or olive oil - about two or three tablespoons all purpose flour - two to three heaping tablespoons chicken broth (two 32 ounce boxes or enough to poach your chicken in, in a pinch I have used a combination of broth and water) salt and pepper to taste If you have homemade chicken stock available then use it however store bought works just as well. I use boneless skinless chicken thighs or a combination of both thighs and breasts. Whatever is on sale at the store really, y’all know me I am all about a barging. In a large pot I bring the chicken broth to a b...

Well this week was definitely a departure for us down here in the south. the eight-ish inches of snow we experienced sent nearly the entire state into a snow induced coma and we found ourselves snowed in for the entire week.  Sunday, January 9 It doesn't happen often down south but when it does it totally sends almost everything into a tail spin. The meteorologist got it right this time and the predicted snow began to fall right on schedule Sunday evening. It started to accumulate about 10:00 PM…   About 30 minutes later we had about 1/2 an inch… By the time I went to bed at about 11:30 PM it was well over an inch…   Monday, January 10 Schools close for day one and I awoke to this….       The hubs and the DD spent some time outside with the neighborhood children on the sled, you can click here for more pictures and a post about that. I had made the necessary pantry stocking on Saturday at the grocery store so I had plenty of food stuffs f...