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Yep ... got the welcome issue in the mail this week.
I'm amazed at how filthy I really am. Even my good deed are filthy.
There are times when I'm astonished by my own evil thoughts.
When I think I'm doing something "good" or I'm ever justified in my feelings, it's all like "filthy rags" to God.
Not just dirty, ya'll.
FILTHY.
Meaning ... disgustingly dirty. Worse than dirty.
Francis Chan says the literal translation of these filthy rags is "menstrual garments." Used menstrual garments.
What a picture to think of! Pretty disgusting, huh?
Here's the funny thing ... we parade around thinking we're so spiritual and want recognition for all the deeds we do in the name of the Lord when all our best is filthy compared to the holiness of our Almighty God.
And, then I think about that "unclean" part, meaning ... ceremonially, like a leper unclean ... that's what we're being compared to here.
You know what lepers did all day?
The law in those days said that the leper had to wear torn clothes, have unkept hair, and cover the lower part of his face, and continually scream out, "Unclean! Unclean!" ... all while being only allowed outside of the camp. (Lev. 13:45-46)
We are like that in our deeds.
Any good thing that we could ever do will never make up for the amount of sin and filth we have inside of us. It just can't. Doesn't mean we shouldn't do any good deeds; just means our sin is far greater.
So what we should be rejoicing in or wanting recognition for is not something we've done. It's only about what He has done.
Except for His grace, we couldn't stand.
I'm humbled by and in awe of this God of mine.
"You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole but is terribly terribly sorry he's going to jail." |
And, seriously, Scarlett, how, oh how, could you even think of choosing Ashley over Rhett anyway?
You must make them. They're even low-calorie and low-fat. I KNOW. The recipe came from Cooking Light. Here you go. Sometimes I think I just need to start a cooking blog too with all these recipes and posts about food. Geez.
Yield: 24 crepes) (serving size: 2 crepes)
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Place milk, 1 cup water, butter, and eggs in a blender; process until combined. Add flour mixture to blender; process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Heat a 10-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan lightly with cooking spray. Remove pan from heat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan; quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers pan with a thin film. Cook about 1 minute.
Carefully lift edge of crepe with a spatula to test for doneness. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over; cook 30 seconds on other side.
Place crepe on a towel; cool completely. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining batter, stirring batter between crepes. Stack crepes between single layers of wax paper or paper towels to prevent sticking.
Mixed Berry Filling & Topping
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 filled crepe)
Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in juice. Cool.
Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons cream cheese over each Make-Ahead Crepe, and top each with about 2 1/2 tablespoons berry mixture; roll up. Top each crepe with about 2 tablespoons berry mixture. Sift powdered sugar evenly over crepes just before serving, if desired.
I promise you won't be disappointed.
Now, onto more business.
Cap'n Crunch cereal
She had to use a "body" double to replace her weird toe-thumb in her recent Superbowl commercial.
Just buy yourself a jar of pepper jelly, a block of cream cheese, and some crackers. Now, you're good to go.
Pepper Jelly Dip
Easy Mini MuffulettasSpread 1 Tbsp. olive salad evenly over each cut side of roll bottoms. Top each with 1 Swiss cheese slice, 1 ham slice, 1 Tbsp. olive salad, 1 provolone cheese slice, 1 salami slice, and 1 Tbsp. olive salad. Cover with roll tops, and wrap sandwiches together in a large piece of aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 14 to 16 minutes or until cheeses are melted.
New Orleans BBQ ShrimpPeel the shrimp, leaving only their tails attached. Reserve the shells and set aside. Sprinkle the shrimp with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning and fresh cracked black pepper. Use you hands to coat the shrimp with the seasonings. Refrigerate the shrimp while you make the sauce base.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the reserved shrimp shells, the remaining Creole seasoning, the bay leaves, lemons, water, Worcestershire, wine, salt, and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Strain into a small saucepan. There should be about 1 1/2 cups. Place over high heat, bring to a boil, and cook until thick, syrupy, and dark brown, for about 15 minutes. Makes about 4 to 5 tablespoons of barbecue sauce base. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the seasoned shrimp and saute them, occasionally shaking the skillet, for 2 minutes. Add the cream and all of the barbecue base. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp to a warm platter with tongs and whisk the butter into the sauce. Remove from the heat. Mound the shrimp in the center of a platter. Spoon the sauce over the shrimp and around the plate. Arrange French bread around the shrimp. Garnish with chopped chives.
Try this Ragin' Cajun Chili recipe with Fritos.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven pot and cook the andouille sausage for about 2 minutes. Add the ground chicken and pork in an even layer; do not overcrowd the pot. Break up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon and scrape up the bits at the bottom. Continue to cook until all the meat is super-duper brown. To the pot, add the celery, onion, green bell pepper and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the hot sauce, thyme, chili powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne, and continue cooking for another minute. Pour in the stock, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, bring to a bubble and turn down to a simmer. Let cook for another 20 minutes or until reduced.
Season the chili with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with some crushed fritos and chopped scallions on top.
Mardi Gras Icing: 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1 to 2 tablespoons skim milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, yellow, green, red, and blue food coloring
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 10-inch round pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Separate crescent rolls at perforations, into 16 slices. Place slices around prepared pan with points in the center.
About halfway down from points, press seams of individual rolls together to form a joined circle of rolls. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Spread on dough in the center where seams have been pressed together.
In another small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over cream cheese. Fold dough points over filling, then fold bottom of triangle over points, forming a circular roll like a king cake. The filling should be completely covered by the crescent rolls at this point.
Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and drizzle with colored Mardi Gras Icing.
Mardi Gras Icing
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except food coloring. Divide mixture into 3 bowls. In first bowl, add a few drops of yellow food coloring. In second bowl, add a few drops of green food coloring. In third bowl, add equal drops of red and blue food coloring to create purple. Drizzle over baked cake.
That's it.Have you ever heard of someone having a "weak constitution"?
Definition: Persons with weaker constitutions have a greater amount and degree of inherent weakness in their body. Generally speaking, they need to care for themselves more than others do with stronger constitutions in order to stay well. They find that they cannot abuse themselves and get away with it. They have to pay more attention to what they eat, perhaps what they wear, the climate in which they work and live, etc. Usually, the poorer the constitution, the more difficult it is to get well and stay well.
K Belle fits in this category.
She has always been this way.
Any time she doesn't get enough sleep or overdoes anything, she gets sick. And, always ... almost always throws up.
It's just what she does.
She has thrown up more than La Petite Belle and I put together. As she's gotten older, it has gotten better, but we're all used to it here. Poor girl doesn't get much sympathy from us anymore.
The scenario when these nights occur usually go like this:
I see the light on in the bathroom. I pop up out of the bed, see her throwing up, tell her to brush her teeth. She doesn't like me in there anymore. I go back to bed. Beau asks what's going on. I say, "Oh, it's just K Belle throwing up." We both turn over and go back to sleep. That's it.
Yes, I've taken her to the doctor when she was younger. He said it was mostly stress and related to stomach acid. Stress? What the heck does a child have to stress about? School can be brutal. That's a whole other post.
She gets this issue from her father. He is the master when it comes to throwing up.
I can't stand the thought of it. Whereas, he delights in it. It's always his answer to feeling better. I would make a horrible bulimic. He would make a fantastic one.
So, just as it always goes, K Belle attended a lock-in Friday night, ate pizza and junk, didn't get enough sleep, plus church yesterday ... threw up a few times last night and is home sick today. Ugh.
She has finally come to the realization that every time she lets her guard down health-wise, these things happen and starting to be more aware of it.
La Petite Belle, on the other hand, is like her mother. Rarely gets sick ... maybe once or twice a year. But, when we are sick, it's a doozy.
The only thing worse than your child being sick is forcing this sluggish child to do schoolwork all night. Boo.
Here are your random numbers:
5
Timestamp: 2010-02-01 13:22:26 UTC
Who is #5?
None other than Lois Lane II. She is a native Louisianian, who would, I assume, not be able to get really good king cake where she lives ... Northern Louisiana, which is really just like living in Arkansas (wink). She's also the same girl who tried to get me to run the Mardi Gras marathon in New Orleans with her. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Boo me.
Lois ... email me your address and I'll go pick one up today.
Stop by her blog and congratulate her. Her blog is a good read.
