"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." ~ Psalm 100:4
1. FAMILY -- I'm thankful for new family members! And a spiritual family willing to pray for me!
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2. HEALTH -- Insurance insisted that we have Hep C bloodwork and I thank God I don't have it, nor HIV or AIDS! I'm also thankful for some advice and reminders from a new doctor about my state of emotional health which I wrote down in my "reminder-binder" as Stephanie calls her Documented Faith-book.
A. Remember! I can't control what others do, only my behavior!
B. Use "I" statements -- I like it or I don't like it when and then explain why. Don't use statements that begin with "YOU" as those negatively attack the other person.
C. Be nice to myself. When I get upset, take some time-out, cry, and then MOVE out of the negative space. Do good to myself and go be with supportive people.
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3. ROADS -- We watched a television documentary on the early history of automobiles and the American road system. There were very few paved roads in the United States when Henry Ford began manufacturing his cars (1901). Most were just packed trails of dirt which would turn into mud-pits once they got wet. Then Sunday, our pastor taught us about the "Righteous Road" and how to avoid the ditches on either side -- one being "legalism" and the other "license." I'm so thankful for good roads!
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4. ADVICE = I heard a 70 year old woman say today, in order to teach your children to see humor in every day situations, ask them to tell you something funny they saw at school that day. I bet that would also work for teaching thankfulness to your children by asking them daily at the supper table, what they are grateful for.
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5. SIGNS OF ROYALTY -- Like the Princess and the Pea story, what sets me apart from the crowd? What do I do or not do that would tell the world that I follow Christ. Well, one thing would be my speech. Do I cuss and swear like an old sailor? No. I was told growing up that "damn" you and its cousin "dang" were taboo because it showed contempt for people made in the image of God.
James 3:10 says: "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing (cussing). My brothers and sisters, this should not be."
I used to put myself down and it really bothered my husband, so he told me one day that I shouldn't do that because I was made in the image of God and was the beloved Daughter of the Heavenly King. I'm a slow scholar sometimes and was reminded of that all over again in the ladies Bible Study where I learned about the attitude of gratitude. So that fall, before our harvest party at church, I bought each one of our Bible study ladies a visual reminder from our local Dollar Tree store and handed them out to each one -- a lavender colored, royal heart tipped SCEPTRE (staff). I've kept mine in the utensil crock next to my stove, so that every time I reach for a spoon or a spatula, I'm reminded again of who is it that I belong to! 👸 ♕
I was told this week that I have a rare moral compass that points straight north. I KNOW the direction it points to and it is my Father King. I try to keep myself aligned with him, however, I'm far from perfect. Like I told my son one time after he complained that I expected him to be perfect, I'm not perfect, but I would like to see some progress in the right direction. ↻ smile!
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6. SUGAR-FREE RECIPE = I've been working on a recipe for Cornmeal Mush. I got tired of eating cooked oatmeal (Thank you, Lord, for the oatmeal and variety!), so wanted to branch out and experiment with other cooked cereals. I have lots of cornmeal in my refrigerator (keep it in the frig, so it doesn't get rancid/stale), so decided to figure out how to make microwaved cornmeal mush because all the cookbooks I have here at home made it on the stove. So here's how I make it:
Supplies:
2 bowls, both big enough to hold 2 cups of water without spilling and one microwave safe
2 pats of salted butter
1 whisk, 1 fork, 1 spoon
liquid measuring cup -- 1 or 2 cup
1/2 cup uncooked cornmeal
stevia or honey and milk
microwave, 2 pot holders and/or a bowl cozy
Directions:
1. Pour 1 cup of tap-warm water into each bowl.
2. In the non-microwavable bowl, while you are stirring the water with the whisk, dump in the cornmeal and whisk until all the cornmeal is wet and there are no dry lumps. This step is important as it reduces the cooking time.
3. Next, throw in the two pats of butter into the microwavable bowl, place into the microwave and nuke the butter and water for 2 minutes. (While I'm waiting, I do my leg exercises like leg lifts and balancing on one leg at a time for a count of 25.) After the bell dings, I remove the bowl with potholders and stir in the wet cornmeal with a whisk. Use a spoon to scoop the last bits of cornmeal from the bowl and stir it again in the microwavable bowl with the whisk. This will be the last time you can use the whisk.
4. Nuke it again for two minutes and remove to stir the mush with a fork or tablespoon. It will have begun to congeal at the bottom of the bowl, so you need to break it up with the stirring utensil -- I break up the lumps by cutting them with the side of the fork or spoon and then mashing them with the back of the fork or spoon. Stir it again.
5. Replace bowl in microwave and heat it again another 2 minutes. It should appear congealed at the sides with a little liquid in the center by this time (if it doesn't, after stirring, cook it at 2 minute intervals until it does). I remove the bowl from the microwave and place it into the bowl cozy, then stir in milk, and some sweetener (honey, some of the fruit-sweetened jam, a mashed banana or stevia) with my spoon. Yum!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At my local Walmart, I also discovered that Post has an unsweetened, spoon-size shredded wheat cold cereal, so I bought a box to try it. Good for the weekend when we're rushing to get out of the door. smile! Thank you, God, for the companies who are providing me with nutritious, low-sodium, unsweetened food that I can eat!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. ADVICE = I heard a 70 year old woman say today, in order to teach your children to see humor in every day situations, ask them to tell you something funny they saw at school that day. I bet that would also work for teaching thankfulness to your children by asking them daily at the supper table, what they are grateful for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. SIGNS OF ROYALTY -- Like the Princess and the Pea story, what sets me apart from the crowd? What do I do or not do that would tell the world that I follow Christ. Well, one thing would be my speech. Do I cuss and swear like an old sailor? No. I was told growing up that "damn" you and its cousin "dang" were taboo because it showed contempt for people made in the image of God.
James 3:10 says: "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing (cussing). My brothers and sisters, this should not be."
I used to put myself down and it really bothered my husband, so he told me one day that I shouldn't do that because I was made in the image of God and was the beloved Daughter of the Heavenly King. I'm a slow scholar sometimes and was reminded of that all over again in the ladies Bible Study where I learned about the attitude of gratitude. So that fall, before our harvest party at church, I bought each one of our Bible study ladies a visual reminder from our local Dollar Tree store and handed them out to each one -- a lavender colored, royal heart tipped SCEPTRE (staff). I've kept mine in the utensil crock next to my stove, so that every time I reach for a spoon or a spatula, I'm reminded again of who is it that I belong to! 👸 ♕
I was told this week that I have a rare moral compass that points straight north. I KNOW the direction it points to and it is my Father King. I try to keep myself aligned with him, however, I'm far from perfect. Like I told my son one time after he complained that I expected him to be perfect, I'm not perfect, but I would like to see some progress in the right direction. ↻ smile!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. SUGAR-FREE RECIPE = I've been working on a recipe for Cornmeal Mush. I got tired of eating cooked oatmeal (Thank you, Lord, for the oatmeal and variety!), so wanted to branch out and experiment with other cooked cereals. I have lots of cornmeal in my refrigerator (keep it in the frig, so it doesn't get rancid/stale), so decided to figure out how to make microwaved cornmeal mush because all the cookbooks I have here at home made it on the stove. So here's how I make it:
Supplies:
2 bowls, both big enough to hold 2 cups of water without spilling and one microwave safe
2 pats of salted butter
1 whisk, 1 fork, 1 spoon
liquid measuring cup -- 1 or 2 cup
1/2 cup uncooked cornmeal
stevia or honey and milk
microwave, 2 pot holders and/or a bowl cozy
Directions:
1. Pour 1 cup of tap-warm water into each bowl.
2. In the non-microwavable bowl, while you are stirring the water with the whisk, dump in the cornmeal and whisk until all the cornmeal is wet and there are no dry lumps. This step is important as it reduces the cooking time.
3. Next, throw in the two pats of butter into the microwavable bowl, place into the microwave and nuke the butter and water for 2 minutes. (While I'm waiting, I do my leg exercises like leg lifts and balancing on one leg at a time for a count of 25.) After the bell dings, I remove the bowl with potholders and stir in the wet cornmeal with a whisk. Use a spoon to scoop the last bits of cornmeal from the bowl and stir it again in the microwavable bowl with the whisk. This will be the last time you can use the whisk.
4. Nuke it again for two minutes and remove to stir the mush with a fork or tablespoon. It will have begun to congeal at the bottom of the bowl, so you need to break it up with the stirring utensil -- I break up the lumps by cutting them with the side of the fork or spoon and then mashing them with the back of the fork or spoon. Stir it again.
5. Replace bowl in microwave and heat it again another 2 minutes. It should appear congealed at the sides with a little liquid in the center by this time (if it doesn't, after stirring, cook it at 2 minute intervals until it does). I remove the bowl from the microwave and place it into the bowl cozy, then stir in milk, and some sweetener (honey, some of the fruit-sweetened jam, a mashed banana or stevia) with my spoon. Yum!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At my local Walmart, I also discovered that Post has an unsweetened, spoon-size shredded wheat cold cereal, so I bought a box to try it. Good for the weekend when we're rushing to get out of the door. smile! Thank you, God, for the companies who are providing me with nutritious, low-sodium, unsweetened food that I can eat!
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Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. (Hebrews 12:28).