Awesome God and Blueberry Muffins

I love Pandora and healthy recipes!

And they go so well together! I turn on Pandora on my IPad, turn the volume up probably too loud, and jam out while cooking or baking...it's the only way to be in the kitchen baking.

Today, I was listening to "Group One Crew" radio station - they're a Christian mix of pop, rock, and a little rap, which is awesome to listen to for great up-beat songs that can get you singing way too loud and dancing around while mixing a teaspoon of this and tablespoon of that. One of the songs that came on was "Awesome God". Now, I grew up singing this song. We sang it at all of the Christian summer camps I ever went to, and I loved Michael W. Smith's version. However, this wasn't the summer camp version. It's my new favorite song right now. If you can stand rap, and yes, there are Christian rap bands out there, this is a great song! It's called Anthem by R-Swift. Then I remembered this version by Rich Mullins, another one I grew up singing, which is a flash back to the 90s! And then there's the Kirk Franklin version, which I first heard live at a Christian Music Festival in high school - it just makes me smile while walking down memory lane.

Oh Kirk Franklin...there are no words.

While I was singing out to my God full voice, I was also making these blueberry muffins. My sister made them for us when we went to visit a few weeks ago, and I have been waiting for an opportunity to make them my self. My parents are coming to visit this weekend, so I thought I would whip up some muffins for breakfasts of snacks.

Blueberry Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 blended/mashed banana
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil and applesauce into a bowl; add the eggs, vanilla, blended bananas, and milk to fill the bowl. 
3. Mix this with flour mixture. 
4. Fold in blueberries. 
5. Fill muffin cups right to the top.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Very tasty! Thanks Mera for the recipe! 

God Bless

"Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above 

With wisdom, power, and love.

Our God is an AWESOME God!"

A Cajun Wedding

My childhood friend, Andrew, who has been like my brother growing up, got married last weekend in Baton Rouge. My sister, Meredith, and I decided to make a road trip out of it, so she and her baby, Henry, drove to Birmingham to pick me up and we drove over to BR. The drive was beautiful and was so easy. We drove through a lot of middle of no-where places, but got to see some beautiful landscape of Mississippi and Louisiana. Plus, we had six hours each way to talk and catch up and enjoy spending time with each other. Hanna had to work that day, so unfortunately she couldn't join us for the ride and she was greatly missed, but we were still able to catch up when we met up with her at the hotel.

 

My mom taught Henry how to say "yah" with his arms in the air! So every time we would say "yah, Henry!" he would hold his arms up! It was the cutest thing ever! 

As he is learning to make sounds and "talk", by making the "m" sound, he has learned how to make bubbles in his mouth! It's really funny, but so adorable. 

First time trying lemon at lunch on Saturday...he didn't like it too much. :) 

On Saturday before getting ready, we were able to walk around the city a bit. I had never been to Baton Rouge and although it was quiet in the city, it still looked like a neat city.
We walked to a pier and got to see the Mississippi River. This is also a view of the city from the pier. 

Looking down the Mississippi - made me think of Huckleberry Finn and Mark Twain. 

A proud Papa at the reception. 

The wedding cake. It was gorgeous and very tasty. 

Mrs. Overcarsh, Bev (my God-mother and also the mother of the groom), and my mom. 

 Mr. Overcarsh, my Dad, and Mr. Hutchinson (the father of the groom).

Me, Bev, Michael (grooms brother), and Hanna. Bev has always considered us her three daughters, and she has been like a second mom to us. Needlesstosay, Andrew and Michael are like our brothers!

 

Sadly enough, I did not get a picture of the groom and his beautiful bride. However, Kati looked absolutely stunning and I am so happy for the newly married couple. I pray their marriage will be full of wonderful life long years. 

God Bless

She said....

YES!

Congratulations to my wonderful brother-in-law, Scott, and his amazing fiance, Holly, on their engagement! 

We are so excited for you both and cannot wait to have Holly as a sister. 

We love you both so very much! God bless your marriage and your life together. 

God Bless

Happy Wednesday

Yesterday was one of those days where everything that could possibly go wrong did - and then some! It seemed like around every corner I was being targeted with a "flaming arrow of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16), with some bad news on top of it all. It was hard to smile throughout the day and to play happily with the precious little children I take care of.

But the Lord is faithful and I felt His presence along the way as I went about my day.

It was the little boy asking for a hug and kiss before I left.

It was sweet emails and text messages with words of encouragement.

It was the ray of sun that hit my hand as I wrote in my journal.

It was my husbands loving arms welcoming home after a long day.

It was a vase of flowers waiting for me with a reaffirming note that I'm not alone.

It was God's Words whispered softly in my heart: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you." (Deut. 31:6)

Today has been better. I was able to to take Vance for a nice long walk in this gorgeous weather, which is always wonderful. The sun was out. The birds were singing. The trees and flowers are blooming.

He was a little tired after walking for an hour. 

I stopped by the library expecting to pick up one or two of the books I had reserved and ended up getting all five! I can't wait to read each of them. Although I think it may take me longer than the three weeks I have them. Thank goodness for on-line renewing.

And I had the sweetest orange ever for a snack. It was SO good! And didn't last long.

Happy Wednesday!

God Bless

Taking a moment to be still

In today's world, it's hard to just sit and be still.

    To not think about anything.

         To just sit and listen for the Lord, and to rest in His presence.

It seems like we are constantly being distracted and bombarded by something - phone calls, To Do Lists, emails, Facebook, media, work. We live in a fast pace world and things rarely slow down.

However, finding time to be still is something that I try to do every morning, before I do anything else. And it's become the most important time in my whole day, one that I thrive on. If I miss a morning with my time with the Lord, then I feel like I have missed something important.

This past month in Jesus Calling, "Jesus" has been speaking to my heart to really trust in Him, especially during the tough times. We all go through the ups and downs of life. We have mountains to overcome and valleys to rest in. During each of those times, we are called first and foremost thank the Lord for whatever situation we are in, and also to seek Him and trust in His Word, His love, and His divine plan.

Today's devotion was very reaffirming to me.

"You are on the right path. Listen more to Me, and less to your doubts. I am leading you along the way I designed just for you."

God is in control and that is so comforting to me. And all He is asking is for me to trust in Him, to follow Him, and to love Him.

Before Christmas I spent some time making memory verse flash cards. I had them all put together except for the ring that holds them together, however they were just sitting on my dresser. Today, I put them together, and started memorizing the first verse. I love being able to recall verses during the day when something happens - good or bad. It's like God is actually speaking to me, reminding me that He is near.

There are 52 cards, one for each week of the year - obviously, I have some catching up to do! My desire is to have these 52 verses written on my heart by the end of the year - reference included. And then next year, to start on 52 more. 

The first verse I chose for a reason:

"I have written your word on my heart that I might not sin against you" ~Psalm 119:105

God Bless

What's Cooking?

Tonight for dinner was fun! 

I found a picture on Pinterest for grilled avocado, bacon, and cheese a while ago, and decided to try it tonight. 

Anything with avocado sounds good to me! 

I got some fresh baked whole wheat bread from Whole Foods, provolone cheese, and bacon (for Paul), and grilled up some sandwiches.

For the soup, chicken broth, fresh tomatoes, onions, a little garlic, basil, and a touch of milk. Boiled them all together, simmered for a few minutes, then pureed about half of it in the blender, leaving half chunky.

Together, the combination was great! Nothing beats a rainy day than finishing it with grilled cheese and tomato soup!

God Bless

Happy Birthday Mom!

My grandmother, who my sisters and I call Mom, celebrated a big birthday in November. My family arranged for us to get together at her cabin in Dahlonega, Ga for a weekend to celebrate.

It was so wonderful to get away for the weekend with family to just sit back, relax, play some games, hike, walk, and catch up. We figured out that we hadn't all been at the cabin together as a family for over 10 years! It had been way too long, so it was great to be back all together.

I love this cabin. I have so many memories from growing up spent here. My grandparents built it in 1988-1989, so it's been around practically my whole life. My sisters and I used to spend a week at Christmas here  every year - and I can't begin to retell all the memories. This cabin will forever be held close to my heart. It is a house built with and filled with love.

When my sister and I were little we buried a time capsule that we were to open each time we were there together. However, we couldn't even remember when we opened it last so we were anxious to get out there and dig it out. The only problem was that we knew the general area in which it was buried, but not the exact location. We had to dig a few holes to find it!

My grandmother called it digging for buried treasure!

You can't see it too well, but there are about five holes in the ground from digging. This is Hanna wondering where our treasure is. 

Yah! We found it! 

I'm holding a plastic bag covered in Georgia red clay that holds an old plastic tub within which is our treasure!

That was a mighty big and deep hole for little girls to dig!

Our note inside. Evidently, we've buried this three times before! 1995, 1996, and 1999. 

The random contents - a speech, a hair rubber band, some money, a "perfect man" key chain, a magnifying glass, and a pack of gum. Hmm...not really sure what all of this meant when we put it in there, but it must have meant something to us at the time.

Of course we updated the paper record, and added new things to it. Then we reburied it. 

Saturday morning we went for a walk down the road. It was a pretty day and good for walking. 

LOVE this little guy!! These are the Carhartts Uncle Paul found for Henry. They were perfect for a weekend at the cabin. 

Saturday afternoon we hiked down the mountain to the river. Vance got to come and had a blast leaping down the mountain, over fallen trees, and of course into the river!

Meredith, my dad, and me. 

The weekend was wonderful. I honestly do not think there is anything better than quality family time. And now that my family lives in three different states, we value and hold on to the time that we can spend together. I am so blessed to have my family.

And it can only get better as it continues to grow.

Here's our group picture before we all parted ways.

Dad, Hanna, Mom, David, Meredith and Henry, Mom, Pop, Me, and Paul.

"As for me and my household, we will choose to serve the Lord"

God Bless