Have you ever had the feeling that Gods Spirit has left you? Maybe you had a rough day, an argument, or even found yourself judging someone, and then the conviction settled in. Sometimes it feels as if His prescence just Flees So distant.... so quiet... so far away. None of this is true. God promised us in His word that we would never be alone. Not ever, not even now. He is with us by His Holy Spirit until the end of this age.
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” Hebrew's 13:5
So where does this feeling, this sense of loneliness, unworthiness come from? God is not a man that He should lie, nor does He go back on his promises. I am guilty when it comes to this. Sometimes when the sun goes down I don't feel I have done all I should, or could have, but those are worries that are not within reason. I stat to almost imagine God How is it that when we are in church we feel His prescence thick in the air, in the cries of His people, in the Worship, and in praise? Part of our walk with God is living an intentional life, and remembering His promises, so that they may come to fruition. No one man ever heard the audible voice of God, or has even seen Him and lived to tell about it. So how do we know He is with us?
In the natural, I could look to the right or left, up or down or even in a mirror and I wont see him but I know in my heart He is there, everywhere. In this day in age we MUST walk by Faith and not by sight. We have to have the hope that He is wherever we go, that His Spirit is within us, and If He promises that He WILL deliver! This takes a Supernatural awareness. I really believe that the distance we can sometimes feel is due to us taking steps back. God is the same as He was yesterday, today, and He will NEVER change! Sure the enemy, or even a rough day can cause us to not feel so "Spiritual", but ultimately we must make that choice for ourselves, that nothing can separate us from HIS love. Nothing! If you don't make that choice for you, then who will? I don't know why I started to write this today, but I know it was meant to be for someone out there.... someone who feels distant, they can hardly remember what it feels like to feel Gods power, His mercy, and forgiveness. This is for you.
Bottom line is , are we always going to feel the Goosebumps, the flowing tears, or even screaming out in worship every minute of everyday just to feel His prescence? Probably not, but we must acknowledge His Holy Prescence everywhere we go, and we must never forget that we serve a Holy, and mighty and powerful God that cares, more than we know, more than we give Him Glory for. Why can't we once in a while look up, or down or to either side and say " Thank you Lord.... for Just being you".
Let's do that now....
A little tune from Kari Jobe
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
It's Taco TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!!!!!!!!
If any one out there watches Jersey Shore, you know that Pauly D, and Vinny have a specified time for "Putting on their Clubbin T-shirts" it's called "T-shirt tiiiiiiiiiiiime"!!! They sing that in a horrid opera voice that is just plain hilarious. Well on April's blog its "Taco Tiiiiiiiime"! Yes, its a recipe for the best tacos in the West. None of this soft taco, flour tortilla business. I'm going to show you tacos my Mammas way, old school "carne molida tacos", (ground beef). Now I know everyone has their own way or even their own idea of what a taco should be, but this is what I grew up with, and this is how MY Mom makes them, and deep down inside, no ones tacos are better. Some might disagree, but that's ok. Hey maybe some would even make their own post about tacos and share with me? I would love that! Ok so let's get started, here's what you'll need.
Ground beef
Corn tortillas, the thinner the better
3 potatoes (peeled and diced really tiny)
Vegetable oil
Dices onion, freshed minced gaaaaalic
Iceberg lettuce shredded
Diced tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream (Daisy baby.)
salsa is optional
Salt , pepper, & Cumin (comino)
Ok so first things first, start by browning your beef, onions, and garlic in a pan, do not add oil, the beef will have enough fat for browning.
While the meat is cooking you will want to prepare your toppings, shred your letttuce in thin long strips, dice your tomatoes, and shred your cheese. I think its kind of fun to let everyone fill their taco like they want to.
Halfway through the meat cooking its now time to add your seasonings, listed above, here is what it looks ike. Please feel free to cut back on the salt, or pepper, but not on the cumin if possible. It gives a very Latin flavor, and the meat really needs it.
You might notice the meat and potatoes starting to stick, if it does, or the meat looks dry, add some water and let it steam, we want the potatoes to be fully cooked. Nothings worse than anyone chomping on raw potatoes, Could you imagine if someone asked "is this Jicama"? Hahaha
So when your meat is done, give it a flavor check, and if all is good then allow it to cool a few minutes off the heated burner. Now it's frying time. You want to get about a cup and a half of veggie oil in a pan, on medium to high heat. While that heats up to temp, take a handfull of tortillas and heat them up for about 3 minutes. This is just to make the tortillas flexible so they don't crack on you.
Then you take a tortilla and put a heaping spoonfull of the meat mix and fold your tortilla in half.
Slowly and carefully use tongs to lay the taco into the hot oil and let it cook for about 3 minutes or less on each side or until golden brown. You could also tap the tortilla with a fork to see if it sounds firm enough to be crispy. I hope this makes sense, then flip and repeat.
and....
Once its cooked on both sides then you should have a platter with napkins ready to catch as oil and to drain them.
Woo hoo! Now comes the fun part, assembling your tacos "your way". Its all about what you like and how much of what you like. Here is a picture of mine :) we didn't have any salsa because I didn't have a blender at the time , so we had Tapatio....it was still beyond "Yummy".
God bless everyone reading this post. Our time here on Earth should be joyful, and we should be thankful for the things we do have instead of focusing on what we don't have. I am so thankful to God for tacos, and the wonderful tradition of food, family, friends, and happiness. :)
Enjoy Amigos!
Ground beef
Corn tortillas, the thinner the better
3 potatoes (peeled and diced really tiny)
Vegetable oil
Dices onion, freshed minced gaaaaalic
Iceberg lettuce shredded
Diced tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream (Daisy baby.)
salsa is optional
Salt , pepper, & Cumin (comino)
Ok so first things first, start by browning your beef, onions, and garlic in a pan, do not add oil, the beef will have enough fat for browning.
While the meat is cooking you will want to prepare your toppings, shred your letttuce in thin long strips, dice your tomatoes, and shred your cheese. I think its kind of fun to let everyone fill their taco like they want to.
Halfway through the meat cooking its now time to add your seasonings, listed above, here is what it looks ike. Please feel free to cut back on the salt, or pepper, but not on the cumin if possible. It gives a very Latin flavor, and the meat really needs it.
You might notice the meat and potatoes starting to stick, if it does, or the meat looks dry, add some water and let it steam, we want the potatoes to be fully cooked. Nothings worse than anyone chomping on raw potatoes, Could you imagine if someone asked "is this Jicama"? Hahaha
So when your meat is done, give it a flavor check, and if all is good then allow it to cool a few minutes off the heated burner. Now it's frying time. You want to get about a cup and a half of veggie oil in a pan, on medium to high heat. While that heats up to temp, take a handfull of tortillas and heat them up for about 3 minutes. This is just to make the tortillas flexible so they don't crack on you.
Then you take a tortilla and put a heaping spoonfull of the meat mix and fold your tortilla in half.
Slowly and carefully use tongs to lay the taco into the hot oil and let it cook for about 3 minutes or less on each side or until golden brown. You could also tap the tortilla with a fork to see if it sounds firm enough to be crispy. I hope this makes sense, then flip and repeat.
Once its cooked on both sides then you should have a platter with napkins ready to catch as oil and to drain them.
Woo hoo! Now comes the fun part, assembling your tacos "your way". Its all about what you like and how much of what you like. Here is a picture of mine :) we didn't have any salsa because I didn't have a blender at the time , so we had Tapatio....it was still beyond "Yummy".
God bless everyone reading this post. Our time here on Earth should be joyful, and we should be thankful for the things we do have instead of focusing on what we don't have. I am so thankful to God for tacos, and the wonderful tradition of food, family, friends, and happiness. :)
Enjoy Amigos!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My very first car & funny roach story!
Hi everybody!
I hope everyone enjoyed the previous food post. Yesterday as I was cleaning out some junk in my car as I let it warm up I was reminded of this funny story that happened to me a few years ago, and everytime I think about it I almost always laugh , and then cringe.
In 2005, I purchased my first very own car, a very sexy, and chic silver mitsubishi eclipse gt. I fell in love at first sight, it looked gorgeous, it smelled great, it had black leather interior, just like a silver bullet and the best part....it was going to be mine. No more letting my mom take the keys away because she was pissed I came home late. (10 pm...what a joke). I felt it was time to establish my own credit, with no help from nobodys! You guys know what I'm talking about....
I was all hyped up and ready to sit in and do a test drive until I realized, it wa a stick shift. I flashed back to drivers ed, and and though "well that was stupid of them not to teach us to drive stick"! So my mom and sister Jackie came with me to test drive and teach me to drive stick. After much yelling, and stalling out, and maybe even some whiplash mom was not to thrilled at what I was doing, "but I was determined to get this car. So I did. I had my mind set, I passed the credit chck with flying colors, I signed all the paperwork. Now it was the moment of truth, time to proudly drive my first car off the lot. My best friend Dew, and her guy at the time were taking the drive home with me. I put the clutch in and it started it up, and man, o man, it sounded expensive, I could hear everything in the car working together effortlessly, and every sparkplug, and belt, and fluid, was my baby. And then the fear sunk in. Time to put it in drive, and well....drive...
It was buttery smooth, and with dew helping me and telling me which gear goes next it as a success, highway all the way baby, and yeah it did jerk a bit when I was switching gears, but hey for a first time drive off the lot, not bad, and since then I felt like a natural. Before I knew it I was handling the shift through the line on the bridge in Juarez Mexico like a pro. Mom if you are reading this, I swear, it was during the day, and we just went to eat!
Anyways, here's the funny part. About a week after my big purchase I was cruising of course, down country club road on my way home after the gym, with my windows down, blasting some Al Green, I was happy. Beautiful scenery, big trees form almost an arch as you are driving through, lots of flowers, and billowy shrubs. All of a sudden I feel something fly into my car, almost like a twig or a dried leaf or something, it brushed my left cheek and them it was gone. A couple of seconds later, I feel something lightly nudging on my lower back, and of course through my gym wear, it was rather skimpy, so my lower back was exposed. It startled me a bit so I stiffened my back in a jerking movement and thought, "what the hell?", so I ignored it....and then once again but this time I felt crawling so I immediatly pulled over, and got out and looked, and it was sorta dark, but the car lights allowed me to see a little. I looked and it was a friggin roach the size of a jalapeno!!!! Black and brown, and on its back I saw all the ridges on its body...ew. ew. EWW! I panicked and I grabbed some sheets of paper from the trunk and scooped it up,or so I think I did. It was kind of heavy so it fell a few times back on the seat, but finally I got it,I think or I wasn't sure if it might have fallen down to the left where my seat adjusters were, but I think I did get it. It was dark. I went home and was really grossed out and couldn't believe it.
Weeks passed, and I kept envisioning roach eggs, and roach families, and ew.
Months went by, and then 3 years went by. I was married, and already living in Phoenix, az.
One hot sunny afternoon I was driving to the store and I reached for my chapstick, and then I guess the lid slipped out of my fingers and down to the left where my seat adjusters are. I was fishing around feeling for the lid while I was at the light, and I used my pointer and middle finger to pull up the lid since it was so small, and then as I pulled ut up to view I screamed bloody murder!!!! It was a dried, dead, decredpid, petrified, gross, corpse of the roach from years before!!!!! And I Had it in my fingers dangling by one leg!!! I quickly threw it out the window unknowingly along with my chapstick and was horrified at what had just happened!
I could not believe it was in there all this time! Later I told my husband and we laughed about it, and I must have washed my hands 76,543,245 times. And well folks that's my funny roach story. I hoped you enjoyed, and got a laugh out today, if so and I made you smile then I've done my duty for the day.
Gods joy, and blessings to you today :)
I hope everyone enjoyed the previous food post. Yesterday as I was cleaning out some junk in my car as I let it warm up I was reminded of this funny story that happened to me a few years ago, and everytime I think about it I almost always laugh , and then cringe.
In 2005, I purchased my first very own car, a very sexy, and chic silver mitsubishi eclipse gt. I fell in love at first sight, it looked gorgeous, it smelled great, it had black leather interior, just like a silver bullet and the best part....it was going to be mine. No more letting my mom take the keys away because she was pissed I came home late. (10 pm...what a joke). I felt it was time to establish my own credit, with no help from nobodys! You guys know what I'm talking about....
I was all hyped up and ready to sit in and do a test drive until I realized, it wa a stick shift. I flashed back to drivers ed, and and though "well that was stupid of them not to teach us to drive stick"! So my mom and sister Jackie came with me to test drive and teach me to drive stick. After much yelling, and stalling out, and maybe even some whiplash mom was not to thrilled at what I was doing, "but I was determined to get this car. So I did. I had my mind set, I passed the credit chck with flying colors, I signed all the paperwork. Now it was the moment of truth, time to proudly drive my first car off the lot. My best friend Dew, and her guy at the time were taking the drive home with me. I put the clutch in and it started it up, and man, o man, it sounded expensive, I could hear everything in the car working together effortlessly, and every sparkplug, and belt, and fluid, was my baby. And then the fear sunk in. Time to put it in drive, and well....drive...
It was buttery smooth, and with dew helping me and telling me which gear goes next it as a success, highway all the way baby, and yeah it did jerk a bit when I was switching gears, but hey for a first time drive off the lot, not bad, and since then I felt like a natural. Before I knew it I was handling the shift through the line on the bridge in Juarez Mexico like a pro. Mom if you are reading this, I swear, it was during the day, and we just went to eat!
Anyways, here's the funny part. About a week after my big purchase I was cruising of course, down country club road on my way home after the gym, with my windows down, blasting some Al Green, I was happy. Beautiful scenery, big trees form almost an arch as you are driving through, lots of flowers, and billowy shrubs. All of a sudden I feel something fly into my car, almost like a twig or a dried leaf or something, it brushed my left cheek and them it was gone. A couple of seconds later, I feel something lightly nudging on my lower back, and of course through my gym wear, it was rather skimpy, so my lower back was exposed. It startled me a bit so I stiffened my back in a jerking movement and thought, "what the hell?", so I ignored it....and then once again but this time I felt crawling so I immediatly pulled over, and got out and looked, and it was sorta dark, but the car lights allowed me to see a little. I looked and it was a friggin roach the size of a jalapeno!!!! Black and brown, and on its back I saw all the ridges on its body...ew. ew. EWW! I panicked and I grabbed some sheets of paper from the trunk and scooped it up,or so I think I did. It was kind of heavy so it fell a few times back on the seat, but finally I got it,I think or I wasn't sure if it might have fallen down to the left where my seat adjusters were, but I think I did get it. It was dark. I went home and was really grossed out and couldn't believe it.
Weeks passed, and I kept envisioning roach eggs, and roach families, and ew.
Months went by, and then 3 years went by. I was married, and already living in Phoenix, az.
One hot sunny afternoon I was driving to the store and I reached for my chapstick, and then I guess the lid slipped out of my fingers and down to the left where my seat adjusters are. I was fishing around feeling for the lid while I was at the light, and I used my pointer and middle finger to pull up the lid since it was so small, and then as I pulled ut up to view I screamed bloody murder!!!! It was a dried, dead, decredpid, petrified, gross, corpse of the roach from years before!!!!! And I Had it in my fingers dangling by one leg!!! I quickly threw it out the window unknowingly along with my chapstick and was horrified at what had just happened!
I could not believe it was in there all this time! Later I told my husband and we laughed about it, and I must have washed my hands 76,543,245 times. And well folks that's my funny roach story. I hoped you enjoyed, and got a laugh out today, if so and I made you smile then I've done my duty for the day.
Gods joy, and blessings to you today :)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Recipie: Zuchinni Boats
Hey y'all!
Does anyone have frozen butt cheeks yet! Haha
Well as I mentioned on Facebook I wanted to post a recipe that I randomly came up with , and of course I google it to see if anyone stole my idea and sure enough Food Network had it published. No really they did. So I decided to show you my way of doing what i would call "Zuchinni boats". This was the first time I have ever made it, so please excuse me if it doesn't look practiced. This is a low calorie, no starch meal and its cuteenough to be a very romantic dinner for Valentines day.
Here is what you will need (if u don't have it improvise)
Turkey meat
One large diced onion
2 minced cloves of Gaaaaalic (garlic)
3 large Zuchinnis
Olive oil (for roasting)
Italian gravy (red tomato sauce, you can use canned spaghetti sauce, but if you are serving this to italians keep this on the down low, you might get wacked) haha
Mozzerella cheese (or whatever u have as long as it melts)
as much as u like
Italian seasonings (salt pepper, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes)
Ok so to start off you want to wash and slice your zuchinnis. I chop both ends and half it through the middle. Then half them again. If your zuchinnis are long and skinny halve them but don't cut them into another half again, it looks better that way like a gondola..haha
Then core about a half inch from the zuchinnis. Next you want to roast them, and to do this drizzle a bit of OLIVE oil over the zuchinnis and pop them in the oven for about 35 minutes on a high heat about 525.
and then...
While you get your roast on, you want to prepare the filling. Combine your turkey meat, diced onion, garlic, and seasonings until it is all browned. Shred your favorite cheese (this is all I had on hand it was a bit of mozz, and some colby). I would preffer you use all mozz, but use what you have as long as it gets gooey and cheesy.
Once your zuchinnis are halfway roasted remove them from the oven and begin to assemble to boats. Spoon a bit if the turkey mixture onto each of the boats. Not too much or else everyone will be overboard..hehe next take some "Italian gravy" or your favorite red pasta sauce and spoon it over top of each of the boats on top of the turkey mix. Then pack some of the cheese on top of each boat, and pop them back into the oven at a lower heat, like 400, for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese has become bubbly and golden.
This is what your master piece should look like.
Now that they are ready you can serve it with a nice green salad on the side. These are hearty, so if you wanted to you could also serve some crusty french , or garlic bread as well :)
I am also just now envisioning a breakfast version with scrambled eggs, sausage and potatoes, maybe some salsa and cheddar cheese !
The best part about this recipie is that it is healthy, so you can always go for seconds without the guilt. Plus it looks like it took forever but you know the secret. (Let me know what u guys think, or if you tried it, and even some more ideas for different versions. I sometimes don't like recipes becsue they tend to limit your creativity, but for those of you who don't cook that much ... well this ones for you.
Gods love and blessings you my brothers and sisters :)
Does anyone have frozen butt cheeks yet! Haha
Well as I mentioned on Facebook I wanted to post a recipe that I randomly came up with , and of course I google it to see if anyone stole my idea and sure enough Food Network had it published. No really they did. So I decided to show you my way of doing what i would call "Zuchinni boats". This was the first time I have ever made it, so please excuse me if it doesn't look practiced. This is a low calorie, no starch meal and its cuteenough to be a very romantic dinner for Valentines day.
Here is what you will need (if u don't have it improvise)
Turkey meat
One large diced onion
2 minced cloves of Gaaaaalic (garlic)
3 large Zuchinnis
Olive oil (for roasting)
Italian gravy (red tomato sauce, you can use canned spaghetti sauce, but if you are serving this to italians keep this on the down low, you might get wacked) haha
Mozzerella cheese (or whatever u have as long as it melts)
as much as u like
Italian seasonings (salt pepper, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes)
Ok so to start off you want to wash and slice your zuchinnis. I chop both ends and half it through the middle. Then half them again. If your zuchinnis are long and skinny halve them but don't cut them into another half again, it looks better that way like a gondola..haha
Then core about a half inch from the zuchinnis. Next you want to roast them, and to do this drizzle a bit of OLIVE oil over the zuchinnis and pop them in the oven for about 35 minutes on a high heat about 525.
and then...
While you get your roast on, you want to prepare the filling. Combine your turkey meat, diced onion, garlic, and seasonings until it is all browned. Shred your favorite cheese (this is all I had on hand it was a bit of mozz, and some colby). I would preffer you use all mozz, but use what you have as long as it gets gooey and cheesy.
Once your zuchinnis are halfway roasted remove them from the oven and begin to assemble to boats. Spoon a bit if the turkey mixture onto each of the boats. Not too much or else everyone will be overboard..hehe next take some "Italian gravy" or your favorite red pasta sauce and spoon it over top of each of the boats on top of the turkey mix. Then pack some of the cheese on top of each boat, and pop them back into the oven at a lower heat, like 400, for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese has become bubbly and golden.
This is what your master piece should look like.
Now that they are ready you can serve it with a nice green salad on the side. These are hearty, so if you wanted to you could also serve some crusty french , or garlic bread as well :)
I am also just now envisioning a breakfast version with scrambled eggs, sausage and potatoes, maybe some salsa and cheddar cheese !
The best part about this recipie is that it is healthy, so you can always go for seconds without the guilt. Plus it looks like it took forever but you know the secret. (Let me know what u guys think, or if you tried it, and even some more ideas for different versions. I sometimes don't like recipes becsue they tend to limit your creativity, but for those of you who don't cook that much ... well this ones for you.
Gods love and blessings you my brothers and sisters :)
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