Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy spending the day with family, relaxing and sharing a good meal together. It also serves as a reminder to reflect on all the ways in which God has faithfully provided for me throughout the year. I am thankful for His care, provision, protection, and guidance in every aspect of my life. As I get older, I realize more and more that life is not always linear. There is a measure of predictability to our days, but God remains sovereign over all things and allows trials in our lives. There may be many reasons why we encounter trials, but I believe one of the underlying reasons is to learn from them and be drawn into an even deeper and closer relationship with the Lord.

In 2 Chronicles 20, we read about Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who has just learned that a great army of Moabites, Ammonites and others is marching against him. As you read through this chapter, you can learn a great deal from his response to this situation.

• The first thing he did was to seek the Lord (v3).
• He recognized God's sovereignty in the situation (v6).
• He recalled His faithfulness in previous trials (v7).
• He recognizes his lack of wisdom and capacity to handle this situation (v12).
• He declares his intent to wait before the Lord for direction by standing before Him and turning his eyes to Him (v12-13)

The Lord responds in v15 and says, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's." He continues in v17, "you will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you."

It says in v 21 that the next morning, Jehoshaphat appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised {Him} in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." Verse 22 states, "When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed."

How should we respond to those trials in our lives that often take us by surprise and can overwhelm us with fear? Scripture tells us to give thanks. Jehoshaphat didn't lead his army into battle with weapons, he lead it with people who were offering praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for His lovingkindness. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Note that this passage instructs us to give thanks in everything....that means the trials of life too. This lesson is a difficult one to master, but so rich with encouragement and promise. Hebrews 13:15 says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." To praise and give thanks to the Lord in the midst of a trial is a sacrifice. It is a sacrifice of our will and our pride. It often takes every ounce of our will to do this, and according to this verse, we find the strength to do it in the Lord Himself.

I am thankful for God's sovereignty in my life. He is my Shepherd and I willingly submit myself and my life to His care and governance. I will praise Him on the mountaintops and I will praise Him in the midst of the storms.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (Psalm 118:29)

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

'Tis the season for making pumpkin goodies! This recipe (from recipelion.com) caught my eye, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. The muffins made my house smell wonderful, and taste good with Autumn Spiced Tea!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 6-ounce package of semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; make a well in the center. In a small bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, butter and egg; add to the well in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips, stir until dry mixture is moistened. Spoon mixture into greased muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pans, completely cool on racks.

Notes
Instead of pouring the batter into the muffin tin, I decided to use the paper liners. Unfortunately, the muffins stuck to the paper! I've never had that happen before. Next time, I will either pour the batter in the pan or try foil liners. These muffins are very dense and rich, and oh so yummy!

Pumpkin Patch!

We took advantage of the one day of sunshine this past weekend to take our annual trek out to the pumpkin patch!
After getting off the hay wagon, Noelle seemed more enamored with the muddy "horsey feet" than the sea of bright orange pumpkins that lay before her!
So many pumpkins, so little time...
Noelle was very happy with her selection!
...so was Nathan! WOW!
Papa and Nathan...
Mama and Noelle...

Fun times!

Bacon-Wrapped Apple Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and grated
Juice of 1 lemon
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
8 slices bacon
Salt and pepper

In small bowl, combine barbecue sauce, grated apple and lemon juice. Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each chicken breast half. Place wrapped chicken in slow cooker and top with barbecue-sauce mixture. Set slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
(Recipe from All You magazine, October 2009)

Healing Words

This week's proverb was "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Proverbs 12:18) We discussed what "reckless" and "pierce" means, and about how these kinds of words are very hurtful and hard to forget if someone speaks to us in this way. I also shared with her James 3:8 which says, "...no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison." We talked about what wisdom is, and came up with examples of wise things to say. I helped her make these little band-aids so that she could be looking for ways to bless others with her words when she sees that they are hurting or upset.

The Power of Words

During school today, I presented my daughter with these two spoons. The one on the left has coffee grounds, a chunk of old toast, empty grape vine and a strip of fruit snack wrapper. The other had honey.

Me: "Which would you like to eat?"
Noelle: (after giving me a quizzical look) "The one with the honey."
Me: "Why?"
Noelle: "Because it is sweet and looks good."
Me: (Wiggling the garbage spoon a bit) "Well, why don't you want this one?"
Noelle: "Because it is yucky and full of gross stuff."
Me: "Where do you think I got this stuff?"
Noelle: "Um...from the garbage?"
Me: "Right! God says in Proverbs 16:24, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

We had a great conversation about how important it is to speak good and kind words to people, because people don't want to hear meanness and other garbage coming out of our mouth. I think this was a very powerful lesson that she will always remember!

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

Directions
Heat oven to 350F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips. Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Notes
I give this recipe a 5-star rating! I had all of the ingredients on hand, and I only had to dirty one bowl. The cookies were flavorful and had the perfect blend of chewy and crispiness. It would be very simple to substitute a cup of raisins instead of the chocolate chips too! This one is definitely going to the front of the cookie section in my recipe box!