ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
MAY 23rd, 2010
It's SUNDAY!
And the SUN is supposed to shine today! As a matter of fact the whole next week and through the weekend too looks like it will be sunny and warm. What a blessing after all the rain and chilly weather we have had. The weather man on TV said we were going from Soggy, to Foggy to SUMMERY!
As always I'll be off to church this morning and then home to enjoy the beautiful day. I am so looking forward to soaking up some warmth.
DS#1 called yesterday to let me know they have a new member in their family. He is an 8 month old Golden Lab mix. They sent a picture on my cell phone and he looks like a happy fellow for sure. I'll get to meet him this coming week when I visit there.
It seems most of my children have dogs so I'm thinking I'll probably never have another, I can just enjoy all of theirs.
Have a great day of R&R everyone!
THINKING
I can let God's will be my will, knowing that whatever unfolds, God's will for me is always good.
At one point or another, we are all tempted to ask, What about him? Sometimes we feel like someone is getting off too easy. REMEMBER that the closer you get to Jesus, the clearer your purpose will become and the less worried you’ll be about the details or about someone else. God has something good for each of us
Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother
Mark 3:35
NEW IN THE KITCHEN
STRAWBERRIES
Whether you're enjoying strawberries with your breakfast, using them to prepare vinaigrette for your salad, or garnishing a healthy dessert, these plump, sweet berries are delicious with many meals. Strawberries are rich in dietary fiber and offer a good amount of vitamin C, more than any other berry in fact.
Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake
16 (2-inch)graham cracker squares (approximately 1 1/4 cups chopped)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 package (24 pieces) soft ladyfingers
1 quart fresh strawberries, rinsed and patted dry
1 container (16 ounces) sour cream, divided
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 package (10 ounces) frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling
1/2 cup powdered sugarCook's Tip: Vanilla instant pudding and pie filling can be substituted for cheesecake pudding.
Preheat oven to 400?F. For crust, finely chop crackers. In a small microwave-cooker, melt butter on HIGH 20 seconds; mix in brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of springform pan. Bake 10 minutes; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
Trim ladyfingers flat on bottom. Place ladyfingers around edge of pan, standing up against sides; fit together snugly. Set aside one perfect strawberry with stem for garnish. Hull remaining strawberries. Place strawberries next to each other, hulled side down, over entire surface of crust.
Measure 1/2 cup of the sour cream; set aside. Place cream cheese in a bowl; microwave on HIGH 20-30 seconds or until softened. Gradually whisk in thawed strawberries in juice and remaining sour cream. Add pudding mix; whisk until mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. Immediately pour pudding mixture over strawberries in pan, pressing down between berries. Smooth surface.
Combine reserved sour cream with powdered sugar in a bowl; mix until smooth. Spread topping over cake, leaving 1/2-inch border around edge. For garnish, slice reserved strawberry to create a strawberry fan; place on top of cake.
Yield: 12 servings
PRAYERS
Spirit of the living God, I want to grow closer to Jesus. Help me to put aside worrying and simply follow the One who loves me
Amen
Please pray for God's protection of
our troops and HIS wisdom for their
commanders.
Lord, hold our troops in
your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the
selfless acts they perform for us
in our time of need. I ask this in the
name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters
and Paramedics and EMT's
GOD BLESS YOU!
AROUND HOME
Just for Pentecost Sunday - a gift bag for you!
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Starburst Candy
Smarties
Rose Petals
Stick of Gum
Card with AHA written on it
Pretzels
Suckers
Knowledge is the gift that helps us to know ourselves and the world around us. It helps us to know where our faith is leading us and what our church is about. Knowledge is the gift that makes us smart about ourselves. [smarties]
We receive the gift of Understanding. This helps us to untie the knots, to straighten out our lives, to deal with our problems. Understanding is letting the Word of God have room in our lives. [pretzels]
Wisdom is the gift of the Holy Spirit that helps us to see and understand God’s plan in our lives and in the world. It helps us to say, Aha, I finally understand. [AHA card]
Courage is the gift of the Holy Spirit that helps us walk out into the world and feel prepared. It gives us the stick-to-it-iveness to stand up for what we believe. [gum]
Reverence is the gift of the Holy Spirit that helps us to see God in everything around us. It teaches us to treat our fragile world gently. [flower petal]
Wonder is the gift of the Holy Spirit that keeps us awestruck by the power and beauty of God in our lives. Wonder and awe explode like a starburst when we let the Holy Spirit into our hearts
Right Judgment is the gift of the Holy Spirit that encourages us to talk things over so that we can make choices that let us feel comfortable with ourselves afterwards. Right Judgment keeps us from feeling like suckers. [suckers]
FAMILY
Memorial Day is coming up. It is the opening of summer, not by official date, but by tourist standards. More importantly though, it's a day to honor our fallen heroes.
One of the crafts I hope to do with the grand babes is to make some red white and blue coffee filter flowers.
Make a bunch of these easy but beautiful flowers for your barbecue or picnic
What you need
basket coffee filters
chenille stems (red, white, blue, gold and/or silver)
red and blue watercolor paint
paintbrush
scissors
2 pieces of paper towel or a kitchen towel
Cover table with newspaper, a plastic tablecloth or even an old shower curtain.
Gather your supplies and have them all within arm's reach. Cover kids clothes with a smock or old t-shirt.
Now you are ready to begin making your coffee filter fireworks flowers...
Place one of the filters onto the paper plate and flatten out.
Paint the coffee filter with water color paint. Paint some solid red, some solid blue and others a combination of blue and red, leaving some areas unpainted.
Move the coffee filter to the towel and lay flat to dry. Repeat with the second filter
Leaving the center of the filter in tact, cut the coffee filter in strips, working you way around the circle
Cut a 1.5" piece off of one end of a chenille stem and set aside.
Take the longer piece of chenille and poke it through the center of the coffee filter. There should be about 2" of chenille poked through.
Turn the entire thing upside down and grasp the filter with your fingers. Gather it around the chenille and secure it by wrapping the extra piece of chenille stem that you cut off in an earlier step. Twist it around the part you are holding and turn the flower back upright.
Manipulate with your finger until strips are spread out and it looks the way you want it to.
COUNTING THE DAYS
There is no danger of eyestrain from looking on the bright side of things.
anonymous
29 DAYS UNTIL SUMMER
Keep looking ON THE BRIGHT SIDE of things.
A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone near…
Love,
ma
2 comments:
Such beautigul thoughts and sentiments. The recipe sounds delicious, I will try it this week! Hope you will visit as well!
Karena
Art by Karena
Oh, my! This post is just full of good stuff! The recipe sounds yummy and makes me really hungry! I love your thought about the closer we get to Jesus, the less we'll worry; I need to remember that! The craft idea is so neat and one that I plan to use with my granddaughters!
Have a wonderful week!
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