Wow! I've been abusing God's Grace for so long...

 

So, I have a heavy heart. I've been really struggling in my relationship with God for months (since becoming a Mommy and not having so much time to HAVE a relationship with God). I was listening to this sermon in the car today, while driving to Sam's with David babbling in the backseat. The sermon was on Romans 6, the part that says,  "Why should we keep on sinning, so that Christ's grace can abound more and more? If we have died to sin, we should no longer continue to live in it." I thought about the fact that, while I still feel chastisement and guilt and remorse for sin, I've been abusing God's grace over and over. THEN I went on facebook and found this old note I wrote that spoke EXACTLY to the issue that was on my heart. So I thought I'd "republish" the note here. I can't believe I wrote this: it must have been Christ writing it, because I do not write eloquently nor do I complete thoughts very well. Here's the note from a couple of years ago! God used it to speak to me again today.

Hello All (whoever chooses to read this note of mine):

So, I've been thinking alot lately about this verse: Hebrews 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

At first, I didn't get it. What does it mean resisted to the point of shedding blood? Then it hit me like a light bulb (actually, someone just explained it to me, no revelation here). It means that in my daily walk with Christ, I struggle with sin. By "struggle" I mean, I try not to sin against God in doing things that are sinful but that nonetheless I WANT to do. I struggle with my shopping addiction - YES, it's an addiction - I struggle with overeating (SO TABOO, I know!) and I struggle with making sure I am respectful to my husband and others. I have anger issues, too - (Me?!?! Yes.) I struggle with not complaining - I really want to be a positive person. But in all my struggles to NOT sin, have I said NO to myself and my flesh to the point where it made me BLEED?! How HARD am I actually TRYING?! I know the Christian life is NOT in any form or fashion lived out of my own effort - it's totally CHRIST in me. But Christ lives in me, and Christ has power over sin, therefore I have Christ's power over sin within me. Romans says, "Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" Other scriptures help me know, that it is my WILL that chooses to obey God. For instance, in Ephesians chapter 4 over and over Paul says, "Put away" or "Put on" ...other scriptures include, "Take every thought captive." "Run with endurance" "Clothe yourselves"...I could go on and on.

Do you know what I am saying? 1 John 2:3-6 says, "How can we be sure we belong to Him? By obeying God's commands. If someone says, 'I belong to God', but does not obey His commands, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. Those who obey God's commands really do love Him and that is the way to know whether or not we live in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did."

My heart's desire is first and foremost to have Faith in the Living God. I'm realizing more and more and more, the OBEDIENCE is a product of Faith. If I believe God will do what He says he'll do, and I have Faith that He is going to provide - then Obedience (which causes the FAVOR of God , Gen. 50:19-21 and Rom. 8:28-29) will be a product of my Faith. For example, if I have faith that CHRIST is the ultimate fulfillment NOT A COACH HANDBAG - then my obedience to God by not buying the handbag will follow. Another example, Do I really believe that God will justify me in every situation? Think about all the times you've been WRONGED, or I've been hurt and victimized over issues that made me angry. If my FAITH is in the fact that GOD justifies me (WE KNOW HIS WORD SAYS THIS), then the product of my faith will be the obedience in forgiving those who trespass against me and hurt me.


In my struggle against sin, I have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. I get this really funny image of my trying to head out the door - money in hand - to go shopping and someone holding my by the wrists while I struggle towards the door and actual blood seeping from the grip in my wrists. Maybe that's kinda gross? Maybe kinda funny? I dunno. I don't have an answer to anything I am talking about - other than what scripture says. I'm just thinking out loud, on facebook.

What do you guys think of this? In your struggles against sin - how hard do you really try? Have you gone to painstaking efforts to keep sin away from you and your family? Internet filters, banning certain tv and movies from your kids, watching what you eat, read, and talk about? Gossip about? Think about?

Thought it would be cool to get your thoughts. I'd love to hear your comments!


In Christ Holy, awesome, POWERFUL Name,

Brittany

Scripture references:
1 John 3:9
Colossians 3:12
Romans 6:1
1 John 5:4-5
1 John 5:18

Gorgonzola - recipe # 2

This recipe I can't take credit for at all! I got it from my friend Windee who got it from allrecipes.com! So here's the link: 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Walnut-Gorgonzola-and-Mixed-Greens-Salad-with-Fresh-Citrus-Vinaigrette/Detail.asp

   Arugula

 I used pecans instead of walnuts, because walnuts are gross! OH, and you DEFINITELY need red onion. I was out, but it MAKES the salad! So, to make the vinaigrette, I just followed the directions on the recipe! Really easy, and I keep it around now and I can throw the salad together really quickly!

 Toast your pecans!

 It's gorgeous, but like I said, missing the pretty and delicious red onion!

 Tastes FABULOUS with the bruschetta from the previous post!

• 3/4 cup walnut halves
• 10 ounces mixed salad greens with arugula
• 2 large navel oranges, peeled and sectioned
• 1/2 cup sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese 

Gorgonzola - a GREAT ingredient!

  

This recipe is for Bruschetta! I guess I'm spelling that correctly. I dunno. All I know, is that this will knock your socks off because it is absolutely amazing! The ingredients are as follows (really hard to put measurements on a recipe I just guess at, but I'll try). 

1 large onion or 2 medium onions, julienned

2 cups or so of chopped, fresh tomato (use whatever looks best in your grocery store that week)

Chopped, fresh parsley

EVOO, s and p

a nice crusty loaf of bread, cut on the diagonal

Gorgonzola

I start off by caramelizing the onions as shown above!

Diced tomatoes and fresh parsley, evoo, and s and p need to hang out with each other in a bowl. They need to love on each other for a little while until their flavors all meld together!

 This is what it looks like! Then I bake my bread (or if I'm feeling skinny that day I fry it in butter and get it all nice and crispy). The important thing is that the bread is crispy so that it holds up to the juicy tomatoes.

 Start assembling these wonderful appetizers! I load them up with caramelized onions and the tomato mixture.

 Then I pile on gorgonzola cheese, bake at 450 for five or ten minutes, finish with a broil to melt the cheese and eat!

     Pretty Bruschetta! Tastes great too!

Pool Pics - No need for words. I got thousands right here!

Mexican Soup with Homemade Tortilla Chips!

NOT pictured are the BEST ingredients:

A nice drizzle around the pan of EVOO

2 Cups of diced red onion

 1 Cup of Bells (I used half and half of green and red)

1 Tbsp of garlic

 2 Chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce) 

2 tsps of chili powder, cumin

1 tsp of oregano and cayenne pepper

 3 cups of diced, cooked chicken

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans of Mexicorn

1 can of black beans

1 can of Rotel

1 cup of water or so (however much you want, depending on how much you want to stretch the soup)

1 cup or so of chicken stock

 As with any good soup, you start by sauteing the veggies. Throw the onions and peppers in a hot pan with some s and p. Cook for a good 5 minutes before adding the garlic and seasonings and chipotle peppers. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes (letting all that yummy goodness coat the pan) and then add the chicken! Let the chicken absorb that goodness! Next you wanna' deglaze the pan! I use the chicken stock to do that! Then add all the other ingredients!

 I just used a pizza cutter to cut triangles out of tortillas! Definitely not original, but delicious! Bake at 350 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes! I had to really watch these, they cook FAST. Each oven is different.

 I GREW this cilantro!

 Top with Shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and homemade tortilla chips!

Cake, Cookies, Decor and Pizza!

 This, my friend, was a VERY delicious pizza! It starts with a sour dough bread starter! I made the starter myself about a month ago! Then I made batches of the bread, divided them into what looks like a small cantaloupe, and froze them!

 Then you take the dough out of the freezer when you are ready to use it and let it rise all day in a draft free, preferably warm room! I stick my oven temp on warm and place a damp towel over them and they rise much faster!

 Once dough has rise, knead into pizza shape of your choice, don't forget to place corn meal on the on bottom of your nonstick pan! Top with pizza sauce, protein and veggies of your choice! I used 'shrooms, pepperoni, sausage, red and green bells, and red onion! It was DELICIOUS!

 These are homemade chocolate chip cookies and I was playing around with the Easter M & M's! This recipe is soooooooo good! These are, by far, the best chocolate chip cookie if you like crunchy on the outside and softer in the middle! I like mine crunchy all the way through, but bake time is essential for that. Here is the recipe (I omit any kind of nut and add m&m's):

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookies/77c14e03-d8b0-4844-846d-f19304f61c57

 As Sandra Lee says, this is my "tablescape" for Easter Sunday when we also celebrated my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary...but really, what DO you call it?

 We did red and gold for anniversary colors!

 The red was my grandmother's china!

 These are my sour dough yeast rolls!

 This was a lesson in complete experimentation! This is my made up recipe for ganoshe cake! I couldn't find a recipe online for this believe it or not! Not one I trusted anyway! Thanks to Windee Robinson for the BEST chocolate cake recipe! Chocolate Cake Recipe (I ignored the peanut butter part)

 Ok, so I NEVER claimed to be a cake decorator! Actually, I'm a fabulous cook and baker, but I am too careless to be a decorator! I'm fast and sloppy! Anyway, with that said, I think it turned out beautifully! I had to freeze the cake overnight to ice it and I had to apply one very thin coat of ganosh, let it set, apply another coat, let it set, etc, etc....until all the ganosh was gone with the exception of about 1 cup! OHHH, ganosh recipe was 2 cups of cream and 20 oz of chocolate. Steam the cream and off the heat add chopped chocolate! It should melt smoothly!

 

I topped the cake with chocolate covered strawberries, drizzled with more chocolate and at the very last minute powdered sugar (which did melt away)! Then I SERVED the cake with chocolate whip cream (which is also what I FILLED the cake with) and the rest of the ganosh! It was ridiculously yummy! 

Oh and a sprig of mint in the center!