Cooking with a Twist!

 

I almost didn't want to post recipes today because I am so excited about the Week of Prayer at our church this week.  I just wanted to talk about prayer and the Power of God.  It amazes me sometimes, how we can see Our Lord do some A-MA-ZING things, yet we can still be apathetic to the prompting of His Holy Spirit.

 

John 14:13-14

"And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do,

that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."

 

There are two people in my family who were dead....AND IN JESUS NAME.....THEY WERE RAISED TO LIFE!  I, personally, have experienced the healing power of the Blood of Jesus in my body and heard many testimonies of people being healed of all manner of disease.   

 

The countless miracles that I have seen.  How could I still be passive? 

 

1 John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence which we have before Him,

that, if we ask anything according to His will, 

He hears us.

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask,

we know that we have the requests which we

have asked from Him. 

 

People addicted to drugs, alcohol, and perversion - set free.  Sinners saved by the grace of a loving Savior!  What a beautiful sight.....even the angels rejoice every time a sinner comes to repentance (Luke 15:10)!  Lazy Christians who have had their passion and zeal renewed and reignited by the Presence of a Consuming Fire. 

 

Oh, that the things of earth would grow strangely dim.....that the eyes of our heart would turn fully to our Savior.

 

Prayer is powerful!     

 

Psalm 145:18

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

 

I encourage you, if you aren't already, make every effort to attend the Prayer Meetings at Freedom Fellowship.  Just as you spend time getting your physical body ready by getting dressed, applying makeup, and fixing your hair, spend time in prayer and worship to prepare your spirit man! 

 

We sing Hallelujah!  We sing Hallelujah!  We sing Hallelujah!  The Lamb has Overcome!   

 



Here are the recipes I promised yesterday.  I hope y'all have a great day, and I will see you back here tomorrow!



 

CHICKEN PARMESAN

1/2 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
Marinara sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti
Parsley, optional

Heat oven to 400°.  Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a bowl.  Put eggs in a separate bowl.  (I personally season my chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder at this point, but the recipe doesn't call for it.)  Dip chicken in egg and then in breadcrumb mixture.  Place in a large greased or sprayed pan.  Sprinkle with parsley flakes.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Cook spaghetti about 10 minutes before chicken is done.  Place spaghetti on a plate, chicken in center of spaghetti, and top with marinara.  Sprinkle generously with mozzarella.



MONKEY BREAD

1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 cans of biscuits (8 ct., skinny tubes.....Or 2 cans Grands Biscuits or any the same size.  If you use the bigger biscuits, cut them into 6 pieces instead of quarters.)
3/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. pecans, optional

Heat oven to 350°.  Spray Bundt pan thoroughly.  In a baggie, mix 1/2 c. sugar and cinnamon.  Cut each biscuit into quarters.  Put in baggie and shake to coat.  Arrange in pan.  (If adding nuts, add 1/2 biscuits, nuts, then the rest of biscuits.)

On stove melt butter, brown sugar, 1/2 c. sugar, and vanilla.  Pour mixture over biscuits.  Bake 30 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. (Don't wait longer than that, or you will not be able to get the monkey bread out of the pan....not that I know from experience or anything! ;)  )  Turn upside down on to a plate or platter, and serve warm.

 

This is Kelanie and Kathleen's favorite recipe to help with!  They pretty much

can do the whole thing by themselves except get the pan out of the oven.

Here, they are quartering the biscuits.  Then they roll or shake them in cinnamon

and sugar until the floor...um, I meant, the biscuits.... are coated and put

into the greased Bundt pan.

 The biscuit quarters, prepared with sugar and cinnamon.

 Heat the butter, vanilla, and sugars just long enough to mix well.  Pour over

biscuits in the Bundt pan and bake.

 The finished product!  You are going to want some coffee to go with this!

 

While I was Yet A Sinner!

It is good to be back to a some what regular schedule after a holiday weekend!  How was your weekend?   

Billy Joe spent all day Saturday getting our garden area ready.  He had to grind a stump on the edge of the garden and till the ground.  We needed to get a jump on it so we could neutralize the soil.  This will be our second year to have a garden, and I am super excited about applying what we have learned.

Lilla Rose Flexi-Clip!

As you may have noticed, there is a new tab at the top of the page that says, Shop Lilla Rose.  If you remember, I said in a post the other day I had been wanting to start a home based business, and this is what I came up with.  I will not be talking about it on the blog a lot, but I will be doing some giveaways very soon.  Are y'all ready for some giveaways?  I have 2 really great gifts in the very near future.....can't wait! ☺

So this morning, I was wondering if you might join me in a short Bible Study.  Grab your Bible and turn to Matthew 27:11-26 or Click Here to read the scripture passage at Biblegateway.  See you back in a few minutes.........

What do we know about Barabbas?  He was a murder, a thief, and a rebel- likely a Zealot.  Barabbas had followers....probably a lot of followers!  He was a leader of an insurrection trying to rid the country of Romans and to remove Roman influence over the Jewish priesthood. 

The Jewish had a tradition that on a Holy Day ( Correct me if I am wrong, the Feast of the Passover was taking place. Jn 18:39.), they would let one prisoner go free.  Now it is up to Pilate to let someone go free.....Jesus or Barabbas.  Do you think he really thought that he was ultimately in control and held the fate of these 2 men in his hands?  (Aren't we like that sometimes in our life?  We try to be in control, when God is holding us in His hand.  God has a plan, and He is sovereign. There are many plans in a man’s heart,  Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.  Proverbs 19:21)   

From our view 2,000 years later we see that there was no comparison between Jesus-The Son of God and Barabbas-The Murder.  Barabbas deserved to die.  What had Jesus done?  I'm sure we could make a mile long list.  How many people had he healed?  How many oppressed people had he set free?  How many wondering souls had he given hope to?  He loved the unlovable.  He ate dinner with the people others despised.  Yet, those religious people wanted Barabbas freed.

The whole story makes me sick to read sometimes because Barabbas deserved to die, not Jesus!  When I was young I thought that Barabbas should have come to his right mind and insisted Jesus go free.  (Praise the Lord, that is not what happened!)  Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World.  Barabbas was a S-I-N-N-E-R.  They let the sinner go free so Jesus could take his place.  What was wrong with those people?

This is what the Holy Spirit revealed to me.  I stand there on that platform, across from Jesus, and imagine that He let me go free.  WHY?  I don't deserve it.  I am a sinner, no better than Barabbas.  Sin is not weighed out like many Christians would believe.  Barabbas was not a "worse" sinner than me.  For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  WE ALL NEED A SAVIOR-SOMEONE TO REDEEM US.

It is so easy to read this story and skip over the fact that Barabbas is us - you and me.  We can get so smug in our churchy selves that we start deciding who are good Christians and who aren't. Barabbas was bad, Jesus was good.  That prostitute or drug dealer is bad, church people are good.   That person will never get free, but this one is turning into wonderful image of what a Christian should look like.  It's religion!  We all deserve judgment and death.  We deserved the cross.  Oh BUT, Jesus!  Precious Jesus!  THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT NAME! 

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!  Romans 5:8   

 

Jesus looked on Barabbas with love, no one can convince me otherwise.  He had to-He is love!  How could we expect any different when Jesus looked on us with love? 

 

I read this passage and was quickly reminded that we are sinners who deserve the same punishment as the sinner next to you.  How I wish the same eyes of love that Jesus had for Barabbas, I would have for the people around me.  We are the same!

 

Going to church, not cussing, or not drinking is not what makes me righteous.  WE NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT IT IS ONLY BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.  The Barabbas around us need to experience this grace, and we must be the hands and feet of Jesus on the earth.  We must love without conditions.  We must embrace the unlovable. 

 

Jesus was not found rubbing shoulders with the who's who of the Church in His day because He was too busy looking for sinners.  Church of the Living God, we have got to be like Jesus.  There are many Barabbas waiting to be set free!    



That's My King!

Happy Thursday, my friends!  Have I told you lately how very thankful I am for each one of you!?!  I have about 2 seconds to blog because I have a crazy day ahead of me!  Naomi and I are baking this morning, all of my girls have dentist appointments this afternoon, then Ladies Fellowship tonight at 6!  I love my CRAZY, BUSY life!

This morning I was reading one of my favorite scripture passages!  It is so good it's worth sharing no matter how many of y'all know it by memory.

  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it

robbery to be equal with God,

 ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the

form of a bondservant,

and coming in the likeness of men. 

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself and

became obedient to the point of death,

even the death of the cross. 

⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him

and given Him the name which is above every name, 

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

of those in heaven, and of those on earth,

and of those under the earth, 

 ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV

 

 

That's My King!

 

 

I pray that each of us have the opportunity to share the Good News with someone today!  May the Holy Spirit fill us with all boldness to fulfill the Great Commission!



What's in a Name?

 

Happy Thursday, friends!  Does it seem like this week just flew by to you, too?  My friend, Jessica Honc, has an amazing word for you today!  I know you will be touched!  May the Lord bless you today and give you favor that a Child of the King deserves!



 

Jessica has been married to her husband, Will, for 12 years.  She is the homeschooling mother of three kiddos (Lilly, Sadie, & Samuel) and Director of Freedom Fellowship Home School Co-op.  Jessica is our church librarian and teaches 1st through 3rd grade Rays of Hope (girls) class.

Am I the only one, or has a certain person’s name ever been a scar in your mind,  if that certain person has done you wrong or caused you major distress in your life?  The sour taste in your mouth when you hear this person’s name isn’t the same thing as holding a grudge.  You may have forgiven the certain person for what they have done to you, just not forgotten.  The mention of their name can set you running in reverse or upset your stomach. 

From age 5 to age 12, my stepmother was the cause of much distress in my life.  Years after my father divorced her & well into my adult life, I subconsciously ran from her name.  If someone shared the same name as her (even their middle name) I would turn my back on that poor, innocent person & get to work on an invisible barrier to keep myself as far apart from that name as possible.  I wasn’t cruel, just purposefully neglectful.

I didn’t realize I was even doing this or that this action was keeping her and the memories of what she had done to me, with me. 

Then I was plucked up and sent to the Freedom Fellowship Ladies Retreat of 2011.   As I was getting coffee in the early hours of the morning, a sweet woman came in from jogging to get herself a cup of coffee too.  Having never met, we introduced ourselves.  Bam! There it was, she had the same name as my ex-stepmother.  I quickly ended our hellos & left the room, making a mental note to steer clear of her for pretty much the rest of my life.

I ate breakfast and headed to the chapel for service.  Guess who the speaker was that morning after service?  That’s right.  The Lord knew he had me & I knew he had me, right where he wanted me.

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them,

so that your Father in heaven

may forgive you your sins.”

Mark 11:25

I honestly don’t remember what the subject of her lesson was (I have the worst memory ever about some things) but I DO know that it changed me.  By her just being herself & letting the love and light of Christ shine through her that morning, she helped me more than she will ever know.  She helped me get rid of pain which I had been harboring for years.  I used to hear that certain person’s name& terrible memories would come crashing in on my parade.  Now I can hear that certain persons’ name& I don’t predetermine that she is someone I can’t get along with.

Consider the power of the name Jesus Christ.  It has the power to heal, cast out demons, save a person’s soul, stir emotion in us that is so overwhelming we shout out or cry or become completely still.

“The mountains shake before him, the demons run and flee.  At the mention of HIS NAME king of majesty!  There is no power in hell nor any who can stand, before the power and the presence of the GREAT I AM! Hallelujah! Holy Holy, God Almighty!”

“Glorify His name with me; let us

exalt his name together.”

Psalm 34:3

“Our help is in the name of the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 124:8

So what is in a name?  A lot.  I may have the same name as someone who caused or is causing someone else extreme emotional or physical pain.  I may have introduced myself to someone in church & they may have cringed inside while smiling on the outside.   Because of this, I need to let the light of Christ shine through me every day in every activity I do.  As a saved Woman of God, I am responsible for representing Jesus.  When people look at me, they need to see a joyful, forgiven, person full of love for all.

“Therefore I will praise you, Lord,

among the nations; I will sing the

praises of your name.”

2 Samuel 22:50