Try this side dish next time you heat up the grill!

Well, my Internet was down for a few days... We had an amazing storm here Sunday night, but the skies cleared in time for a gorgeous Memorial Day! Blue skies, puffy white clouds, and HOT temperatures. Thought I'd share this yummy side dish recipe with y'all. I got this recipe from my friend Denise Young a few years back at our Family Camp fish fry. Don't think she'll mind me sharing! :)

Here's hoping you have LOTS of barbeque's this summer!

Corny Frito Salad

2 cans of kernel corn, drained

1 small chopped bell pepper

1 medium purple onion, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
chopped celery
1/2 cup mayo
1 package ranch dressing mix

1-5 oz. bag Chili Cheese Fritos (use Hot and Spicy Fritos for more of a kick!)

Mix first 5 ingredients. In a seperate bowl, mix mayo and ranch dressing mix. Stir into veggies and mix well. Refrigerate overnight. Add chips just before serving (otherwise they will get soggy.)

Enjoy!

Freedom to worship as we please

Memorial Day is upon us and it got me thinking...  What a blessing it is to have freedom! It's amazing to think of the tremendous sacrifice of our founding fathers. There was so much at risk when those men made the decision to fight for our independence. If we had lost the war, they would have been guilty of high treason and most likely would have lost their lives. Of course, many of them lost their lives and families anyway.

 How much do you have to believe in something and long for something; to be willing to give up your loved ones, your home, your livelihood... everything for your cause. Freedom of religion is a strong motivation. It's such a wonderful thing for people to have the choice to worship according to their convictions, or not at all. The reason I say this, is because I believe God gave us choice for a reason. He wants us to CHOOSE to serve Him, not to be forced.

Would you rather your child love you out of duty, or because they want to? I believe that's how God feels about us. Even though He is desperate to be in fellowship with every one of us, He wants us to make the decision to have a relationship with Him. When I was young, my mom always used to tell me, "Jesus is a gentleman. He will not on the door of your heart and wait for an answer, not just barge in."

The men who brought their families to this "new world" were in search of freedom from religious persecution. They were passionate about their beliefs. Those men were probably the great-great-grandparents of our founding fathers who fought for our independence as a nation. Imagine the heritage they passed down to them! No matter what our public school textbooks say nowadays, our nation WAS founded on Christian principles rooted in the word of God. I found these quotes recently and thought I'd pass them along:

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." -George Washington

"The Bible must be considered as the great source of all the truth by which men are to be guided in government as well as in all social transactions." -Noah Webster, Founding Educator

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and of all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." -James Madison, Father of the United States Constitution

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded... not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ." -Patrick Henry, Founding Father, Orator

A night with Cirque De La Symphonie

Tonight, we went to hear the Houston Symphony perform along side the Cirque Du Soleil at the Pavilion here in The Woodlands. The hand balancing, flying silk act and other amazing acrobatic displays were really something to behold. And the orchestra playing behind them made this doubly entertaining! With music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Ravel, V. Monti and J. Williams, the symphony and athletics seemed to enhance each other.

I wanted to attend the Cirque Du Soleil show in Orlando, FL a few years back while we were at Disney World, but opted not to due to the high ticket prices. This show was obviously on a much smaller scale (as they were sharing the stage with the symphony,) but 100% FREE! I absolutely love the Woodlands Pavilion due to the fact that their performing arts season offers free lawn seating- and if you just MUST be under covered seating, it's only fifteen bucks! Incredibly reasonable compared to the Houston theater district.

Each summer they have one Houston ballet performance, one Houston Opera performance, and about 6-8 Houston Symphony performances, all at the above prices. I don't make it to all of them anymore... (I worked as the receptionist for the Pavilion a few years back and used to attend A LOT of shows,) but I try to go whenever I can.

It was really exciting bringing Benjamin to his first symphony. He LOVED it! As soon as we sat down, the first song began. Benjamin was completely fixated on the stage, even though the acrobatics did not begin until the 2nd piece. He didn't move a muscle or make a peep for entire first song! He just stared... Throughout the night each time people would clap, he would glance around at the cheering crowd and quickly start clapping his hands as well. It was so adorable!

My "Julia Child" Moment... Very Short-Lived

This past December....

I watched the film, "Julie and Julia". I really enjoyed watching it- if only for all of the cooking scenes. Before watching this movie, I really didn't know much about Julia Child...  I LOVE HER! She was so funny. And, like Julia, I really love to cook, and I REALLY love to eat!! After the movie I was feeling quite inspired, so I decided to try one of her recipes: the Reine De Saba (Queen of Sheba) cake made in the film. Here is the recipe:

Reine de Saba avec Glaçage au Chocolat (Chocolate and Almond Cake with Chocolate Icing)

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Canada, UK), by Julia Child, Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle.

This extremely good chocolate cake is baked so that its center remains slightly underdone; overcooked, the cake loses its special creamy quality. It is covered with a chocolate-butter icing, and decorated with almonds. Because of its creamy center it needs no filling. It can be made by starting out with a beating of egg yolks and sugar, then proceeding with the rest of the ingredients. But because the chocolate and the almonds make a batter so stiff it is difficult to fold in the egg whites, we have chosen another method, that of creaming together the butter and sugar, and then incorporating the remaining items.

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

4 ounces or squares semisweet chocolate melted with 2 Tb rum or coffee
1/4 lb. or 1 stick softened butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
2/3 cup pulverized almonds
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour (scooped and leveled) turned into a sifter

For the Icing:

2 ounces (2 squares) semisweet baking chocolate
2 Tb rum or coffee
5 to 6 Tb unsalted butter

Equipment:

A round cake pan 8 inches in diameter and 1-1/2 inches deep
A 3-quart mixing bowl
A wooden spoon or an electric beater
A rubber spatula
A cake rack
A small covered pan
A larger pan of almost simmering water
A wooden spoon
A bowl with a tray of ice cubes and water to cover them
A small flexible-blade metal spatula or a table knife

Instructions:

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Butter and flour the cake pan. Set the chocolate and rum or coffee in a small pan, cover, and place (off heat) in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe. Measure out the rest of the ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.

Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.

Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in almonds, and almond extract. Immediately stir one fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.

Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2-1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.

For the Icing:

Place the chocolate and rum or coffee in the small pan, cover, and set in the larger pan of almost simmering water. Remove pans from heat and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes or so, until perfectly smooth. Lift chocolate pan out of the hot water, and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over the ice and water until chocolate mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. At once spread it over your cake with spatula or knife, and press a design of almonds over the icing.

Yield: For an 8-inch cake serving 6 to 8 people

Tuesdays: One of my favorite days!!

Each Tuesday evening I get to meet with some awesome young ladies...

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to start working with a group of teenage girls from a residential treatment center designed to help boys and girls with emotional or behavioral problems. Most of the youth living in the SH  homes come from an abusive past and have been removed from their parent's custody.

 

My husband's cousin, Greg, has worked for SH for as long as I can remember, and would frequently bring the kids to church and other to functions with us. I've interacted with them from time to time through the years, but have recently felt a burden to get some sort of program started for the girls at our church. So, when Krystal (Greg's daughter) told me she had started meeting with the girls weekly and wanted me to involved, I was SO excited! The timing was finally right for me, and God just began opening doors.

We meet with the girls (ages 13-17) each Tuesday evening at our church dining room. We feed them a meal, the we have a "group session" usually discussing character qualities, heart issues and tools for success in life. We do crafts, games, life skills classes... etc. (With the help of donations from the church, we were able to help all the girls start scrapbooks, which we work on with them about once a month.) They really have a blast, and so do we! It's such an amazing blessing to be apart of their lives, and I'm learning so much as I go!

Tonight, we veered from our usual schedule, and brought them to a KSBJ "brown bag" concert at Chick-Fil-A with Kari Jobe. It was AWESOME! She has an amazing voice- she was great live! The last song of the night "The Revelation Song", is one of my favorites! You could really feel the Holy Spirit sweeping over the crowd. There's something so awesome about being surrounded by masses of people worshipping God! When God's people praise Him, He really pays attention! You can just feel Him smiling down on you and loving you. Wonderful night!

Like Honey Buns??

Do you like Honey Buns?? Well this cake is BETTER!! So delicious- and one of the easiest cakes you'll ever make! When I don't have time to make something from scratch, this cake is a life saver- and it has that "homemade taste". Always a crowd pleaser! :)

Honey Bun Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 c. oil (I use canola)

1 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. pecans (chopped, if you like)

1. Heat oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 13x9 baking dish.

2. Combine cake mix, eggs and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes, until lumps are dissolved. Spread half of mixture in greased pan.

3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle over batter in pan. Carefully spread remaining batter over pecan mixture.

4. Bake about 45 minutes, or until deep golden brown.

Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all 3 ingredients, stirring until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Poke holes in top of warm cake with a fork, then drizzle glaze over top of cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Store covered at room temperature.  YUM!!!

"Pointing the finger at others"

My son Benjamin...

is getting so big so fast! His new thing is to point his finger at things... like his "nose", "mouth", "dada" & "mama"... then there is the occasional pointing at a random person while talking a bunch of jibberish. Like he's telling them what to do. One need only watch home videos of me as a child to know where he got that from... :) It's that typical first-born bossiness coming out I suppose!

As I was reading my Bible this morning and thinking about Benjamin's new "skill", the thought occurred to me that our human nature would much rather GIVE counsel than RECEIVE it. We would prefer to be the ones "instructing" and feeling very proud of ourselves for doing so. :)

Proverbs 19:20 says, "Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end." Why is this so hard for me to do? My first thought was, "Well, it depends on who the counsel is coming FROM!" Then almost immediately, I realized this thought stemmed from pride. The truth is, God may choose to speak to me through an "unlikely" source. But, would I be willing to listen?

Now, I do not believe that we should blindly follow every bit of counsel that people shoot at us.... that is not even possible. You would be constantly contradicting yourself trying to please everyone. That isn't the point. The point is, when someone is sharing wisdom with me that is rooted in the Word of God, I need to be willing to examine my OWN self, instead of "pointing my finger," telling OTHERS what they should do.

So... does that mean we should never give counsel to others? Of course not! In Proverbs 24 we are instructed to "rebuke" the wicked. Then there is the famous passage in Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

IN THE SPIRIT OF MEEKNESS Now, that's key. And very difficult to do, I might add. But, how do we refrain from "casting our pearls before swine" or discern if the hearer doesn't have an open heart to hear what you are saying? I have been pondering this subject  A LOT lately, and this is what I've concluded so far:

First of all, I believe when we are "giving counsel", it should not be our OPINION of what they should be doing differently. It must be a command in Scripture that they are in direct violation of. If we don't use the Word of God as our measuring stick, what is our measuring stick? The infinite number of opinions out there? No. That won't work. It HAS to be GOD'S WORD.

Secondly, the more I think about this subject, the more I see how much we need the Holy Spirit directing us and giving us a "word" when we need it. (Matthew 10:19-20) Have you ever had that experience before of talking with someone, and all of a sudden... feeling a check in your spirit. Like, "this person just shut down on me, or, this person is overloaded with information and cannot accept anymore right now"? I have! I've also had the opposite happen. I've felt God drop the right words in my mind at exactly the right time, and I thought... "Wow! Where did that come from?!" It's awesome to think how God could use us to minister to others IF our own spirit were in complete submission to His will!!

We CAN'T do it without being rooted in His Word, and we CAN'T do it without the leading of His Spirit!

Lord, help me to always examine myself first; then be willing to open my mouth, FOR YOU, in the spirit of meekness!