Fattoush

A house favorite!  If you don't try anything new before the new year, you have to try this salad....... Fattoush

Rated: Submitted By: DFOODS Photo By: Caroline C allrecipes.com Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 4

"This light salad of Lebanese origin is a big favorite. Crunchy fried pita chips add delightful taste and texture. And a lemon and white wine vinegar dressing makes a snappy, light lunch or dinner."

Ingredients:

3 pita rounds, torn into pieces oil for frying 2 cups torn romaine lettuce 2 tomatoes, chopped 2 small cucumbers, peeled and diced 1 green bell pepper, chopped 3 green onions, minced 15 fresh mint leaves, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon cilantro

Dressing: 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar 1 pinch salt 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes 1 pinch celery salt 1 pinch garlic powder 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions: 1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place pita pieces into the skillet without crowding. Fry in batches until browned; then remove to paper towels. 2. Place romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, green onions, mint leaves, parsley, and cilantro into a large bowl. 3. Pour lemon juice and white wine vinegar into a small bowl. Season with salt, lemon pepper, onion flakes, celery salt, and garlic powder. Stir in olive oil. 4. Gently toss salad with fried pita pieces and dressing. Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools

Broccoli Salad Recipe

I love, love, love me some broccoli salad!

 

Broccoli Salad Recipe

By Diana Rattray, About.com Guide

This is a broccoli salad with raisins and bacon and a sweet and tangy mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches broccoli, florets only (5 to 6 cups florets)
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 10 to 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• .
• Dressing:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Preparation:

Separate florets from broccoli stalks. Save the remainder of the broccoli for another use or freeze for later. Combine salad ingredients; top with dressing mixture. Chill and serve. Shared by Morgaine.

Christmas is Cherishing the Gift -LOVE

This time of year it is so wonderful to see the hustle and the bustle of people preparing for the holiday and the family that his sure to visit.  In all the excitement I wonder how much time we stop to spend time with our friend, family and neighbors who are struggling?  Maybe they have lost a loved one..... Maybe they are struggling with separation, divorce, or other marriage struggles, maybe they are single and just lonely, maybe they are remembering the loved one who has passed on....  

 What ever the situation let me encourage you to take time out for others during this season.  It isn't just the homeless who are hurting....  
Sharing the gift of Christ's birth, his life, death, and his resurrection is the greatest testimony of love and devotion any one could ever know. 


LOVE is the greatest gift God has bestowed upon this world, Christ is the most pure LOVE there is.  He represents all that love is, all that it hopes to become, and all that it will ever be!

John 3 NIV

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

 ¹ Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”
 ⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
 ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]
 9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
   ¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.^{[e] 14} Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^{[f] 15} that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”^[g]
 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Tomorrow- Coveting that which we love!

Foundations of Love Revealed Part III

Welcome back for Part III of Foundations of Love Revealed......
Today I wanted to focus on Dedication
So what is Dedication?.......  Staying committed to the work that is at hand.  Never wavering, or if we falter, confessing our faults and asking forgiveness.Dedication to love your spouse,  your parents, children, and friends, even when they don't seem very lovable.  We know we are called to this because God loves us despite our shortcomings. 
Loving someone does not require perfection it requires perseverance. 
We'd like to hear from you!  Please share your thoughts....

How dedicated are you to your loved ones? 
Are you dedicated to loving them even when loving them is painful?




The bible says we will know them by their outward display.  The single greatest testament of a Christian is how they love those who seem to be unlovable.  John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

the Foundations of Love Revealed Part II

If God calls us to love one another as Christ loves the church.  If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, then how are we really called to love.  What does that look like.  I think the only way to know is to look at how God prepared in loving us..... Love takes preparation, thought, devotion, and commitment to see it through, (the good, the bad, and the ugly places in life).

Yesterday I stated that God is a God of commitment of oath, of promise, of follow through, of determination and dedication.  All of these are wonderful examples of the kind of love he has for us.  I think in reciprocating that love we are to reflect the love he has for us.  So how do we begin to do that?

Preparation-  How do we prepare to love?  This always makes me think of a man preparing to ask the woman he loves to marry him.  He is basing his  question on the outcome he is preparing for.  He wants to set the mood.  He wants his lady to know she is his chosen one.  The anticipation of what forever might be like is held in the memory of the asking.  He rises to the occasion.  Making it one of the single greatest moments of her life.  He plans for what to say and how to say it.  He plans the music or the background.  He plans who might be in attendance.  He even rehearses what she might say in response and his reaction to her answer.

In all the ways that a man prepares to announce his affections God has already mastered and is preparing our hearts to receive his love.  So to we should be preparing our sonnets of love and our outward display of affection for our brothers and sisters in Christ.


1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

A Common Misunderstanding

I had a friend recently tell me that my thoughts on Moral Relativism where a bit over the top.  I was surprised to hear her say that and then thought about the context in which she might be speaking.  After several hours in pity and then in prayer I realized I had struck a nerve with her and needed to ever so gently encourage her to talk to me more about the issue. 

Thus the great debate began!

In debating this topic you absolutely must understand it's origins and know that regardless of the ideals we hold fast to in this life God never meant for anything worldly to come before our relationship with him.  In fact may I be so bold as to say, Its listed in the Ten Commandments!  "Thou shall have no other Gods before me".  I know many individuals will will say, "Whoa!...wait a minute....don't you think that your statement is a little bold in comparison to what the Bible is saying in reference to the command,  You shall have no other Gods before me.? "  I honestly have to say No! I believe that the very definition of Moral Relativism is based on self love in a way that is not Godly.  It is the worship of self loving and not the practice of loving one another and of self-sacrifice in loving others (as seen in the example of Christ).

Moral Relativism is simply-  It’s what ‘s right for you may not be right for me, oh’ and by the way it is constantly changing!  This philosophy lends opportunity for us to interpret the bible how we see fit instead of how the Holy Spirit might convict us and how God intended.

 In creating our own understanding of the bible we loose sight of what God has already defined for us... He meant what he said!  God doesn't need our help to define his word,  he needs us to be obedient and heed what is written. We may need to study to understand what the scriptures mean as far as translations of the word however the ideology that we can pick and choose what we want to believe or how we want to honor the word, or how many truths we choose to confess is a farce.  God does not define multiple bodies of Christ in the New Testament.  He mentions the church and collectively outlines it as one body, so I don't think that being Quaker, Presbyterian, or Pentecostal will make any difference to him as long as we are honoring him to best of our ability and asking for him to increase and our ways to decrease.

BBQ Pulled Pork

 

 

 

  

Pulled Pork

Cook time 8 hours.  Cook on medium.. or slow cook for 12 hours.

 Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast
• 1 cup barbeque sauce (I prefer to use a rub and add the bbq an hour before it is done)
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 extra large onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 8 hamburger buns, split
• 2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

Directions

1. Pour the canola oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.
2. Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

The Foundation of Love Revealed- Part 1

Foundations are the most important part of a structural source.  It amazes me how God designed everything in this world to be interdependent on each other.  Such is true in marriage.  Today I wanted to take a few minutes to parallel the foundation of Love and the application of it God intends for our lives in specific marriage.


There have been many times that the story of the seven virgins waiting for Jesus' return has crossed my mind and I think specifically about the verse that says he looked for one with out spot or blemish, but could not find one..... I always think that statement so sad......There have been times in my life when it has even panicked me....... God am I not standing in your will, am I not being found true in your sight?......The issues seems to me to be not how much I love God in thought but how much I love him through my actions and love of others.  If God calls us to love one another as Christ loves the church.  If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, then how are we really called to love.  What does that look like.  I think the only way to know is to look at how God prepared in loving us..... Love takes preparation, thought, devotion, and commitment to see it through, (the good, the bad, and the ugly places in life).  More on this tomorrow.

Deut 7:7-10 NIV The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

 A White Gown......
I bet when you got married, or if you are planning to marry, you intend to wear a white gown..... Chances are you even have the dress already picked out or did for quite some time before he even asked you to marry him......The dress for women is a wonderful symbol of the two becoming one.  We have modernized marriage to a point that I wonder if women today even stop and think about what that white wedding gown represents...... It is the picture of the virgin waiting for her Lord, being found without spot, nor blemish, blameless in his site.  It is the representation of her being held out separate from this world for his eyes to behold only.  I would venture to guess not many of us, (myself included) could say we were that kind of blushing bride.....  Even so, why not re-invest in the relationship with Christ, what God deemed as holy, and virtuous, as right.  Why not enter into a renewed covenant of relationship with Christ and allow his blood to wash us white as snow...... to lay our burdens down at the foot of his cross and pick them up never again.

 Deut 6:4-5 NIV
 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

We can only take one step at a time and it is best done hand in hand with the man who stilled the waters... Christ has not changed his mind about you...... Have you changed your mind about him?  Share with  us if you will how you feel about Gods love, your relationship in love with him.

America's Version of Love and What God Has to Say About It!

As I sat down to work on a workbook I am revising for women in marriage crisis  God brought to mind the issues within the American ideal of Love.  We have romanticized love to a place of weak substance.  As American's today Love means no more than the cup of jello in a sack lunch that a child discards with distaste!  We have virtually lost all recognition and reverence for the greatest gift God gave us.  Over the next few days I would like to review the True gift of Christmas and the love God has poured over us.  

Three Things That Happened To Cause The Decay And Immoralization Of Love In America.

1:  I believe this has come as a result of a nation who has not stood on the foundation of love in relationship to the Agape love God has for us. 

2:   I believe it has impacted America as a result of shivelry and Lord-ship being thrown out of relationship; both with Jesus and husband to wife.  The model has been broken so to speak and we have never stopped to repair it. 

Well dear sisters that stops here!  Today is a new day in Christ Jesus and we accept all that God’s glory and his gifts Intel!  If God loved us enough to send his one and only son to die for us, then he loves us enough to help us get it right!

3:  We have decided that Love is a feeling and that we can fall in and out of Love any time we feel like it.  Well sadly we can keep telling ourselves that lie and do whatever we please, but on the Day of Judgment we will all stand before a Holy and Blameless God and answer for the way we have used the single greatest gift he has ever given us!

God’s word speaks about love in a couple of different formats! 

·         He speaks about love being the Agape love of God.(Det. 7:12)

·         He speaks about the Love being his Son who died for us. (Jn 3:16)

·         He speaks about Love in relationship of how man should Love his wife (Eph 5;25) and how we are to Love our neighbor. (Lev 19:18)

Love was designed to be held with all devotion, In the highest regard.  It is not an emotion it is a duty, a gift, a right of passage, a way of living, it is a responsibility that we are to cherish.

Not to worry.  God is still in control and he will provide the tools to pull back the rubble we have built over the top of the foundation which was once laid in this country.  Just as the walls of Jerusalem were reconstructed so to can the truths of Love be restored to this broken land.  Plan to stop by tomorrow for foundation of Love revealed!