Wow, I haven't written on this blog for over four years!  I'm going through a really hard time right now.  I'm trying to remember to get out of bed, sing a worship song to God, talk to Him, and read His Holy Word, the Bible. I might write more later.  It's really nice when friends will pray for you too.

Cutting Meat

It's much easier to cut meat that is partially frozen - not frozen solid - than it is to cut fully thawed, raw meat.

Faith-

      Hi.  I am an actively believing follower of Jesus Christ, aka a Christian.  This blog is about my walk of faith, even though I have some "fun stuff" thrown in, as well.  It's how I believe, and I have a right to publish it on the Internet, so I will.  You do not have to read it if it upsets you and/or you don't agree with it.  That's your choice, and I'll respect that.
      If you too are a believer and are trying daily to "walk the walk," then maybe any insights I have written may help you.  Keep walking! :o)

You Are A Warrior!

Ephesians 6:10-20

“Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. ¹² For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. ¹³ This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. ¹⁴ Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist,
righteousness like armor on your chest,
¹⁵ and your feet sandaled with readiness
for the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In every situation take the shield of faith,
and with it you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit,
which is God’s word.¹⁸ Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. ²⁰ For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.” HCSB

(bold emphasis by me)

      There was a time in my life when I was having so many struggles and troubles in my personal life that I thought I literally could not get up out of bed and go on even one more day.  During this time, I awoke one morning, and before my eyes were even open and before I was even completely awake, one, single word popped into my sleepy mind – FAITH.  Now, I’d been reading my Bible and praying that God would help my family and I to wear The Full Armor of God as is in Ephesians 6 every day for years.  But that morning, God put the single word “faith” into my consciousness before I was even fully awake.  In a moment, it all made sense to me, and I understood it:  If I even would have one, small grain of faith – one small amount, it would be like holding the Shield of Faith out in front of me.  I just needed one, small piece of faith that God was there, and He would help me.  I did just that – I held my small

Shield of Faith out in front of me, and it started to grow.  God helped me to get out of bed and to keep going on.

      Just because we’re Christians, doesn’t mean our lives are perfect  or that we’re perfect.  It does mean that we will be attacked by Satan and his army of demons.  That sounds scary, but it isn’t – not when you remember that YOU are God’s child, and He is greater and more powerful than Satan -1John 4:4:  ^4” You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  God is THE and ONLY Creator.  Satan was part of God’s perfect creation, and he chose to sin against God.  -Ezekiel 28:12-19, Isaiah 14:12-14

      So, you are a warrior for the Living God – just like the Bible says in Ephesians 6!  Woo-hoo!!!

And, perhaps your most important piece of spiritual armor is your Shield of Faith!!  Don’t forget to hold it high!  I LOVE how the Bible says, regarding the Shield of Faith, “…..you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”!!!  (emphasis on will and all are mine)  Woo-hoooooooooooo!!!!!!!  Remember to have:

FAITH

COME ONE, COME ALL to the Huckleberry Festival at Donnelly, Idaho on August 11 - 12!!!  Great entertainment and lots to see and do! Watcha' waitin' for? Take hwy 55 north from Boise straight to Donnelly!

Twice-Baked Potatoes

I bought five bakers - those are the larger Idaho potatoes used for baked potatoes.  I washed each potato off and put them in the oven in a large pyrex baking pan that I covered with aluminum foil.  Make sure to stab each potato first with a knife a couple of times, so they won't explode in the oven.

Bake for about two hours or until done like a baked potato - soft - at 350 degrees F.  When they're done baking take them out and let them cool a little while, so you can handle them without burning yourself.

When cooled, carefully slice each potato in have with cooking knife and scoop out the insides trying to get as much of it off the skins as you can.  You'll have to leave a bit of 'tater on the skin, so the skin won't rip.  Melt about 1/2 stick of butter in microwave, and ladle about two tbs. of melted butter into each potato skin.  Put all the potato insides in a large, mixing bowl and break it up with a large spoon, so that it's in very small pieces.  Then cook a package of bacon.  I like to use maple flavored smoked bacon.

When the bacon is cooked crispy, take it out of the pan and place it on a paper towel-covered plate to drain off grease.  Let cool, so you can handle it.  Meanwhile, I picked fresh chives from my garden - a handful - and washed them.  Then I chopped them into small pieces and stirred them into the potato insides that were in the bowl.

When the bacon was cool enough to handle, I minced it into small pieces and stirred it into the potato-chive mixture.  Stire all this together well, as I did.

Then, I spooned the mixture into the potato skins, which I had carefully lined up in the large baking pan. I placed the potatoes uncovered in the oven after I sprinkled them with plenty of grated cheese.  Just bake them at 350 degrees F until the cheese melts - 10-20 minutes.  Take them out, serve with sour cream on top, and yum!  Or, if you have a dairy intolerance, like myself, use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter melted in the skins and ranch dressing on top and leave off the cheese. :o)

My husband told me these are on the top 10 things I've ever made! :oD

Barbecued Smoked Pulled-Pork

I was in the longest, largest "dinner rut" of my life!  I just didn't know what to make anymore.  My family was tired of the same dinners I'd made for the past 25 years.  Then, my husband treated me to some "scrumpdiliicious" dinners this past weekend, and it totally inspired me with some knew ideas.

First of all, I have been using recipes from allrecipes.com for about a decade, and they have GREAT recipes.  It's still a free website.  Here is a delicious recipe for barbecue sauce that I found tonight:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bourbon-whiskey-bbq-sauce/detail.aspx

Next, I needed the smoked pulled-pork.  I've never smoked meat in my life, although I have used the liquid smoke.  I happen to have in my cupboard Cabela's Jamaican Island Rum seasoning.  You can find it here:  http://www.cabelas.com/product/Home-Cabin/Food-Processing/Seasonings-Cures-Brine%7C/pc/104798880/c/104723280/sc/104557680/Cabelas-Open-Season-Spice-Blends/734151.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1101298%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd734151&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd734151%3Bcat104557680

It's $7.99 for a 10 oz. bottle and worth every penny, plus a little bit of rub goes a long way!

I rubbed the small, pork roasts all over with a bit of the Cabela's seasoning.  My local grocery store was out of larger pork roasts, so I got four small ones that equaled five pounds.

I put, probably, a good four cups of mesquite wood chips in a bowl the night before with water to soak them.  Then, I drained the water off and put the soaked chips in aluminum foal and folded them up in it.  I then poked about eight holes in the top of the foil package and put it on the far left side of my barbecue. I turned the far left burner on between low and medium and put the seasoned, pork roasts on the far right side of the barbecue.  I had to put two of them on the grill and two on the grill above.  I wish I could have had them all up high.  The ones up high - on the swinging grill - smoked better and more thoroughly than the ones on the stationary grill under it.  I left the meat in there smoking for about six hours.  I did get a meat thermometer to check and make sure that the inner temperature of the roasts was high enough before I took them out.  Safely cooking pork:  http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Pork_From_Farm_to_Table/index.asp#20

I pulled the pork apart after it cooled, when I had the above barbecue sauce simmering on the stove.  When the barbecue sauce was finished, I poured it over the pulled pork and stirred it all together.

When I served it to my husband, he exclaimed, "MAKE MORE!"  He then told me it was in the top 10 things I've cooked for dinner! :o)  Bon Apetite!