What are you?

After reading George Barna's recent research on the term "Born Again Christian," I have to say I am a little shocked. -Why I don't know....I shouldn't be surprised by anything these days. It appears that many people who classify themselves as Born Again Christians do not fit the standard definition of it (belief that through Jesus Christ alone we can know God personally and spend eternity with Him in heaven by confessing our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection as the only way of salvation and way to heaven). This will definitely change the way I talk with people about the Lord....I will not assume that because they use the "correct" terminology that they have truly accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Another surprise in his study was that out of those who are fit the true definition of Born Again, only half had prayed to God, read the Bible, and attended church in the last week! I do not want to be critical of those that didn't pray, read the Bible and go to church, but I am very worried for them. Those steps are critical to developing a close relationship with the Lord.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!
We are going to my in-laws today. I made pumpkin pies and whole cranberry sauce to take over for the celebration. This was the first time I've used organic pumpkin in pies. It's not quite as orange as the non-organic pumpkin I usually use so they don't look quite the same, but I'm sure they will taste fine.

30 (my age) Things I'm thankful for:
in no particular order

1. God, and His promise of an eternal life with Him in heaven.
2. Family - especially my wonderful husband!
3. Friends - often they are family too! :)
4. Our church
5. Bible
6. Bible Study Fellowship
7. The basics (physiological needs - air, food, water; shelter; love) Oh, and I love bottled water!
8. Safety
9. Washing machine & iron - boy I'm sure glad I don't have to wash clothes the old fashioned way!
10. TiVo - BTW, if you ever buy a TiVo, please let them know I referred you (erinb@runbox.com) Thanks!!
11. My pets
12. Computers & DSL internet - it truly is a small world now!
13. Our Gym - they have a great ladies only section!
14. Cell phones - what did we ever do without them???
15. Digital cameras (and regular ones too) - Isn't it great being able to capture memories!?
16. iPod - So I don't have to listen to the music the gym wants me to hear.
17. Vacations - we aren't able to have many, so when we get one it's a BIG blessing!
18. Weather - here in Southern CA it's great most of the year.
19. Freedom - wow, it's great to be an American woman!!
20. Books!!
21. My health this year - I have Lupus, but have been in remission - Praise the Lord!!
22. Our community
23. Automatic timers for our indoor lights - makes waking up early easier.
24. Trader Joe's and Whole Food's to buy fresh organic food from
25. Extra room for guests
26. My husband's business
27. Our vehicles - boy it would sure be difficult to have the lifestyle we do and not have reliable transportation.
28. My blow-dryer...my hair is VERY thankful for this one!!
29. Being a stay-at-home wife.
30. Blogs :)

Recipe: Cheddar Cheese Bread

I just wanted to share an easy bread recipe that I made the other day. It's really yummy and simple to make....no kneading!! That's my bread after it came out of the oven. ---------->

Cheddar Cheese Bread
From: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Makes: one 9-inch loaf
Total time: 1 hour 10 min. plus 1 hour 10 min cooling time

Note: The texture of the bread improves as it cools, so resist the urge to
slice the loaf while it is piping hot. Leftover cheese bread is excellent
toasted; toast slices in a toaster oven or on a baking sheet in a 425-degree
oven for 5 to 10 minutes, not in a conventional toaster, where bits of
melted cheese may make removing the slices a chore.

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater (1 cup)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbspn baking powder
1 tspn salt
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1/8 tspn black pepper
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 sour cream
3 Tbspn unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350
degrees. Generously coat a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray,
then sprinkle 1/2 cup of the Parmesan evenly over the bottom of the pan.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper together
in a large bowl. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the cheddar, breaking up
clumps, until it is coated with the flour mixture. Whisk the milk, sour
cream, melted butter, and egg together in a separate bowl. Gently fold the
milk mixture into the flour mixture using a rubber spatula until just
combined. (The batter will be heavy and thick.) Do not over-mix.

3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the
remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake until deep golden
brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with
just a few crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.

4. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire
rack to cool for at least 1 hour.


Variation:
(I haven't tried this yet, but it sounds yummy too!)

Cheese Bread with Bacon and Gruyere

Omit the melted butter. Fry 5 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Add 1/2 cup minced onion to the skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Set the skillet aside for the onion to cool. Substitute Gruyere for the cheddar and add the cooked bacon and onion to the flour mixture along with the Gruyere in step 2.

The best part of waking up

Two interesting developments in the world of java. You've gotta check out this article....especially you coffee drinkers!! Warning, it's pretty gross!

Ok, now the really sad news for us decaf drinkers. The American Heart Association just concluded that decaf coffee raises bad cholesterol. They only think it effects those who drink more then 4 cups of decaf coffee a day. -They suspect it's because decaf is a different type of bean. I definately don't drink that much decaf a day, in fact may days I don't drink any coffee...(LOL, I can hear some of you gasp!) and thankfully I don't have a history of high cholesterol because I can't drink regular coffee it makes my heart go crazy. It's a good, no make that a great thing that I love tea!

What is going on?

Ok, something is WRONG with this, LOL...which of course makes it the latest trend in holiday decorating! (Click here to see how this phenomenon got started...also an interesting side note, the author of this article apparently misquoted one of the "sources" in the article, Sheryl Karas, author of The Solstice Evergreen: The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree. Click here to hear her response to his article.)

I'm all for creativity and fresh ideas, however in my opinion this tree just looks funny. However it would be nice to have the extra floor space. :)

I don't think that Christmas trees represent Christianity these days, so I don't think it is an out and out attack on Christians or their faith, however I'm sure some non-Christians will rejoice at this idea.

Ok, another side note, a great idea for a "Christian" Christmas tree is a "Jesus tree"...you decorate the tree with things from Jesus' life. For example: a packet of seeds - for the parable about the seeds falling on soil; fish - because He makes us fishers of men.

Facial

I've been trying to take better care of my skin lately...it's a hard routine to get into for me. Why? - I have no idea other then the fact I'm lazy in that area. By the time bedtime rolls around I'm too tired to jump through the hoops. Well I decided it's time to change. The last couple of months I've tried to do my "beauty" routine and my face does look much better. Which made me think of how wonderful it would be to have skin that I could just use a tinted moisturizer on instead of make-up foundation. So in a quest for better skin I had my first facial yesterday....it was fabulous!! -Very relaxing (except for the extractions) and rejuvenating. My face felt very soft immediately afterwards. Today it looks great! I didn't think I'd actually notice a difference.

Ok, here's the plan

When it gets to be cooler weather this is SUCH a difficult habit to stick with for me….so here’s the plan:
Wake up – drink 12 oz.
Gym – drink 24 oz.
Thru out the day- drink 16 oz. or more
Dinner – drink remaining water
I’m stopping at dinner so I’m not up all night. I’ll try to remember to post my progress.

See more progress on: 43 Things...it's a really neat site that helps with your goals.

Breakfast

Ugh, we went out to breakfast this morning at our favorite spot and we're seated next to a family that SO reminded me of the Paolo family on the Amazing Race. Let's just say they were a little bit distracting, LOL. For those of you who don't watch the Amazing Race let me fill you in on what they're like....basically they are a loud, obnoxious, dysfunctional family. So needless to say it was an interesting morning. :)

Reading the above paragraph, I realize that I really should be more open hearted to people. God made us all different, thankfully, because I sure don't want everyone to be just like me. The Bible tells us:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
-Matthew 22:37-40

I need to be more mindful of loving others as much as I love myself....whether they are lovable or not.

Punkin Seeds and Oil of Oregano

Well I finally made J some "punkin" seeds. They are baking in the oven right now while he is watching basketball and I'm playing online.

I learned something new today, and it happened the same way it always does. God has to show me things multiple times before I notice them LOL....I was reading Chelle's Blog this morning and Sara Joy told her about using oregano (in a tea) to calm a cough....which doesn't sound yummy at all, LOL. But I thought to myself "hmmm, I'm gonna have to look into that." And then later tonight I was reading Christina's Blog and she posted all about oil of oregano. How cool is that! "The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man..." (Psalm 94:11) If you haven't checked out Christina's post yet you really should.