Philippians 2

Imitating Christ's Humility

1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Shining as Stars

12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

25But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

TO BE EDUCATED

By Carolyn Caines

August 16, 1997

If I learn my ABC's, can read 600 words per minute, and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with my stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God's wisdom,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight, but have not read the greatest of all books - the Bible - and have knowledge of its personal importance,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables, and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God's Word in my heart,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can explain the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One Who orders our universe,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the Maker's purpose for all creation,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can run cross-country races, start in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend my spirit to do God's will,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can identify a Picasso, describe the style of da Vinci, and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I graduate with a perfect 4.0 and am accepted at the best university with a full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God's choosing for me,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I become a good citizen, voting at each election and fighting for what is normal and right, but have not been told of the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

However, if one day I see the world as God sees it, and come to know Him, Who to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me,
I HAVE BEEN EDUCATED.

Project 365 ~ Week 43

What an awesome week we had. The week started with me having an outpatient procedure at the hospital which by God's grace went well. I came home and slept the afternoon away. When I woke up I was feeling good so I got some soup and went to sit at the couch. One thing led to another and I somehow ended up dropping Mike's iPhone in my soup. Let me give y'all some friendly advice, don't let your loved ones get an iPhone because if anything ever happens to it the world falls apart. Google search and AT&T both said to put the phone in a bag of rice and the rice will absorb the moisture. We tried that but no luck for us.This was the growing pile of presents and cards on the table. To see more details of everything Mike got for his birthday you can check out this post.Wednesday was Mike's birthday so I made this delicious but very rich chocolate cake. Check out the recipe here.Thursday we went to the Whispering Hope banquet. We have been supporting Whispering Hope for the past 5 years and this has been the largest turnout ever. Praise the Lord! I made some little cards to be used in some goody bags. Maureen - we got them in the mail on Friday, let me know when you get them. Hope the kids like them.Saturday was a great day of getting so much accomplished so to celebrate we headed to Krispy Kreme. We don't have one near our house which is probably a really good thing. Guess what I got at church today? Yes, the cookbooks are in from the printers and now I will be punching holes and making them into books. I can't wait to try some more of these delicious recipes. Be sure to check out Sara's blog and all the other Project 365 participants!

Reminiscing

Today we spent the day driving around, running errands and reminiscing. During our outing today we drove by the first apartment we lived in when we moved to GA. We saw the building we use to work at, our favorite Chinese restaurant and many other places.

If you have ever lived in GA you know this famous landmark ~ the big chicken.

Whenever we went to Sam's Club on this side of town we tried to make it a point to stop and enjoy a "hot now" donut.

So of course we stopped for a morning snack :-)

We love looking through the window and watching the donuts frying, flipping and getting their glaze.

In case your mouth wasn't watering yet, here is a close up picture :-) After we accomplished everything we needed to accomplish today we went for some lunch. This place may not look like much when you first drive up...
and there may not be a sign anywhere that tells you what it's called...but the food is superb! I ordered chopped beef, fried green tomatoes, and Brunswick stew.

If you aren't familiar with Restaurants.com you should really go check it out. They are currently having a 70% off sale, just use the code "PUMPKIN" when you check out and you will pay $3 for $25 certificate. If you live in or near the Atlanta area the restaurant I have pictured above is called "Swallow at the Hollow"

Celebrating Mike

We had a fabulous day celebrating Mike's birthday. I made his favorite breakfast - Peanut Butter and Jelly stuffed French Toast, his favorite sandwich for lunch - Steak Sandwich, and then I tried a new recipe for dinner - Cauliflower soup

Lots of family called and wished Mike a Happy Birthday which only added to the wonderful day!

Then it was time for presents. This year Mike didn't tell me what he wanted for his birthday so it was hard deciding what to get for him. Since he has become such a big chicken farmer, I got him an egg incubator.

A few months ago Mike was helping with sawing some wood and the person he was helping had this really cool tool that basically left a chalk line when measuring with it. That day Mike mentioned that he had to have one, so now he does :-)

Mike always wears an undershirt with his dress shirts but he is always mentioning that the undershirt is not long enough and it comes untucked all the time. I did some research on the internet and I guess this is a huge problem that alot of men have. I found some comments from men that said there was this one type of undershirt that was made 2-1/2 inches longer than most. I love the look on Mike's face when he opened this gift. Just priceless!

When we started looking into having having chickens Mike started visiting Back Yard Chickens site and they sell these really cool t-shirts that say "My Pet Makes Me Breakfast" He has always liked it but never got one for himself. Since we have chickens in our back yard and they do give us eggs to enjoy at breakfast I got him the t-shirt.

Mike is very special to me and I just wanted to show him how loved he is!

Triple Chocolate Torte

Warning: This cake is for true chocolate lovers only. It is delicious but it's really rich!

Triple Chocolate Torte
2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
Chocolate Cream Filling (recipe below)
Chocolate Glaze (recipe below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. In small mixer bowl, beat egg whites until foamy; gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. In large mixer bowl, stir together remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add oil, buttermilk and egg yolks; beat until smooth. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Split layers in half horizontally. Prepare Chocolate Cream Filling (recipe below). Spread cake layer with 1/3 cream filling; top with second cake layer. repeat procedure ending with plain layer on top. Prepare Chocolate Glaze (recipe below); glaze cake. Refrigerate; store leftovers in refrigerator. Eight to 10 servings

Chocolate Cream Filling
In small mixer bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add 1-1/2 cups cold whipping cream and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; beat on low speed of electric mixer to combine. Beat on medium speed until stiff.

Chocolate Glaze
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
3 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 Tbsp water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In small saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup and water; place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate chips until melted. Cool to room temperature. About 1 cup frosting.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Thank you for being my protector and provider.

Thank you for being so kind, loving, gentle and sweet.

Thank you for being a hard working, diligent man!

Thank you for being in my life!

I love you!

Tired of Gnats/Fruit Flies?

After getting all these cole apples from the apple orchard, I ended up with a gnat/fruit fly infestation in the house.

I searched and searched online and found this special recipe and it worked wonderfully!
All you do is pour some apple cider vinegar in a bowl and add some dish soap and mix it. That's it!

I am happy to announce we have no more gnats/fruit flies in the house.

Project 365 ~ Week 42

After buying 1-1/2 bushels of apples at the apple orchard it was time to make apple sauce. The great thing about having chickens in our back yard is I don't feel so wasteful anymore. This container of apple cores and peels went to the chickens and they loved it. They got apple scraps for 3 days straight and every time I went outside they all ran to me.We went to this really cute little Ma and Pa (hole in the wall) place to eat. It's not too far from our house and it's right next to a Walmart. The food was good, the prices were good...it doesn't get much better than that. I ended up making tons of apple sauce, apple pie filling, this apple crisp and Caramel Apple Breakfast Casserole. It was all so delicious. I have an entire shelf in the freezer with apple sauce and apple pie filling to use throughout the next year.
I received this free magazine in the mail and I saw this picture and right away thought it would be cute to make a pilgrim hat card. Here is how it turned out. Not sure if I like it or not but I only made two of them so I am sure I can use them this Thanksgiving.

I need to get working on making lots of Christmas cards. I still have no idea what style card I want to make for our Christmas card this year. These cards I made I am going to take to my sister, if she wants them. If she doesn't want them then I will sell them. I thought they turned out cute!

Mike and I went to the Cumming Fair on Friday night. It was cold but we had a great time. We enjoyed fair food and our favorite ride. I took a picture of this stand because it seemed out of place for a fair. They were selling filet mignon, shrimp, lobster and more. Does this seem strange to anyone else?Saturday we headed to the Dahlonega Gold Rush Days which has tons of craft booths. We love walking around and looking at all the different things. We didn't actually buy anything this year but it was still lots of fun. The food options here were numerous but I took a picture of this specific place because I was amazed at how many things they deep fry now. Did you know you can get deep fried candy bars, Reese's peanut butter cups, oreos and twinkies. What will they think of next?

Be sure to check out Sara's blog and all the other Project 365 participants!

Fall Fun

I always love this time of year. Besides the wonderful cooler weather and the holidays which allow us to spend time with family, this time of year also brings fairs and festivals. Last night Mike and I got to enjoy the Cumming Fair. It was cold and wet but totally worth it. Today we headed to the Gold Rush Days. It was a rainy day, so the crowd was small but still a bigger turn out than I imagined. Enjoy the pictures!

The ski lift is our favorite ride

Poor Mike kept getting hit by people's umbrellas... I guess being short is not always a bad thing because I didn't have that problem :-)

Caramel Apple Breakfast Casserole

I found this delicious recipe over at $5 Dinners. This meal is rated as "do again" by Mike which is the highest rating possible in our house. I don't think this picture does this casserole any justice but I wanted post a picture with the recipe.

Caramel Apple Breakfast Casserole
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 apples, peeled and diced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 slices of bread, torn

Whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar and diced apples. Grease an 8X8 inch glass baking dish, tear 3 slices of bread and add to the bottom. Layer apple mixture and tear remaining 3 slices of bread on top. Pour egg mixture over all the bread. Cover with foil and put in fridge overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until eggs have cooked through.

If you'd like you can serve with syrup but it's sweet enough to enjoy alone. However I would totally recommend serving it with bacon or sausage. It will make a perfect sweet and salty combination!

Enjoy!

Fun Meme

A friend of mine sent this meme to me by email. I know I haven't been blogging much lately so I thought this would be a fun way to get back into it.

Outside my window… is a soggy mess
I am thinking… I have lots of work to do tomorrow before the weekend starts
I am thankful for… a loving Christian husband
From the kitchen… I cook bushels of apples
I am hearing... the quietness of the night
I am wearing… comfy clothes
I am reading… through Proverbs
I am hoping... to organize my craft room someday soon
I am creating… Mike's birthday card tomorrow
I am praying… for a beautiful sunny weekend
Around the house… I see lots of organization projects to complete
One of my favorite things… is family time
Just being... myself
A few plans for the rest of the week… if it doesn't rain we are going to the Fair Friday night, Saturday we'll go to a neighborhood garage sale across the street and Gold Rush Days Festival and of course Sunday is church and a day of rest for us
A picture to share... Mike and I went to this very cute little hole in the wall restaurant and saw this sign that I thought was funny... "DRINK COFFEE Do Stupid Things Faster with More Energy"