YEOW-ZA Apple Crisp

As I go throughout my day, I look about this great big world God has created and given us.  I am simply overwhelmed at the abundance, but none more so than on grocery day.

Nothing quite says, "God is the provider of abundant blessings," like a colorful, full crisper drawer!

Unless, of course it is these beautiful, juicy apples...

That I promptly made into a crisp. 
I mean, seriously, is there anything better to do with apples?  (If your answer is "yes," then shoot the recipe my way!)

I have tried several crisp recipes and all are good.  But this one?  This one is great.  Wonderful.  Beyond Delish.  It's YEOW-ZA!  

I adapted this from several different recipes, so I'm sure you'll recognize the cast of characters:

Apple Goodness
2 1/2 Tbs. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 heaping Tsp. apple pie spice
1/8 tsp. salt  (do you really measure for 1/8 tsp?  I just shake some in the bowl...)
6 c. crisp apples, peeled, cored, and cut into smallish chunks (I used Granny Smith and Fiji)

Crisp Topping
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. rolled oats (either quick or slow cook -- I used a bit of both)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
1/4 c. caramel sauce (optional, but it does take this to a whole different level -- a YEOW-ZA level)

It would be great if I was skilled enough with my new camera to have taken photos all along the baking process, but alas, I am awaiting the arrival of the owner's manual to figure out my new shooter.

So, bear with me...

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8" x 8" baking dish. 
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, pie spice and salt. 
Peel, core, and chop apples.
Add to flour mixture and toss until well coated.
Transfer apple goodness to baking dish.

In another large mixing bowl (or, just wash and dry the one you used for the apple mixture), stir together the brown sugar, flour, pie spice and oats. 
Pour in melted butter and mix until well blended.  It will sorta look like cookie dough.  Very buttery cookie dough.  Very yummy, buttery cookie dough.  I won't look if you wanna taste it. 
Evenly spread/sprinkle the crisp mixture over the apple goodness. 
Place baking dish on a cookie sheet to catch any drips.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, testing apples for softness.
Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with pecans and drizzle carmel sauce over the entire crisp.
Let cool (if you can wait that long) to set up and allow caramel to melt into the crispy topping.
Get a fork friends, and be prepared to eat the entire crisp.
Yes.  It's that good!

Here's the crisp after MotorMan and I tried a wee little sample.

 

See all those yummy chunks of apple sprinkled with spices?  How about those luscious pecans (do you say pea-kan or puh-cahn?)  And the crisp on the top?  YEOW-ZA!!

Make this today.

I said, today. 

It's good for your health.  (Not really, but I'll look for any excuse to consume yummy baked goods!)

"An apple a day..." And this one has 4 large apples.  Whoa, Nelly!  I can stretch this health benefit for days!

Enjoying God's abundance,

GHM

Conviction

Conviction.

I'm not talking about legal conviction.  That's a big topic and not one I'm going to touch in today's post.  Maybe not ever on this blog.  (Never say never, huh?)

I'm talking about spiritual conviction.

Huh?  What is that?  Spiritual conviction?

According to Webster's Dictionary Online (Which is now called Merriam-Webster by the way) ...

whoa, whoa, whoa... eeeerrrrrccccchhhhhh!  (That's the sound of my mental brakes)

I need to get serious here.  This is a serious topic.  Excuse me while I remove my Humor Hat and put on my Serious Hat.   Hmmhmmmhmmm... (That's me humming while I look.  It's been a while since I've worn the Serious Hat.)  I'm beginning to wonder if it's even possible for me to blog/speak/breathe without being sarcastic, humorous, or just plain silly.  

Let me try that again...

Spiritual Conviction --

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of conviction is as follows:

1.  the act or process of convicting of a crime especially in a court of law

2a.  the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth

  b.  the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth

3a.  a strong persuasion or belief

  b.  the state of being convinced

As mentioned previously, we're not looking for a legal definition, nor are we trying to convince or compel someone.

Look at 2b:  The state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth.

Also at 3a:  A strong persuasion or belief.

Both of those speak to me about spiritual conviction.

Within the last year, I have been spiritually convicted about several areas in my life.  Specifically with regard to TV shows and books.   I feel I have been convinced of error and now I hold a strong persuasion or belief that I should not be watching those shows or reading those books. 

I'm not gonna lie.  I was reading smut.  Trashy romance novels, thriller/suspense/bloody killer novels, and the occasional trashy romance/thriller/suspense/bloody killer novel.  Entertaining, sure.  But food for my soul? Not even a nibble.

As for TV shows?  Pretty much the same as my reading.  Sure, there was a lot of HGTV in there and some PBS, but mostly it was network drama.  You know, the medical intern who can't pass his test but has slept with everyone on the planet is now dying and so we are all sad... Or, the cops who are all fighting for the "right" things even if that means lying, stealing, and forcing a false confession while sleeping with half the planet.  Entertaining?  Sure.   Glorifying to God?  No way.

So, some of you will stop reading here and think, "Well, I know what's on the show is morally or scripturally wrong, but IT'S A TV SHOW!  It's not like I'm the one committing those sins!"   Heh, heh, heh.  I laugh not at you, but because I've been there.  I'm not a mind reader.  I just know that when I started feeling a bit unsettled when picking up a certain type of book, or when turning on a specific type of show, those are the thoughts I had.  And honestly, I felt defensive.

And, really, I'd like for you to get defensive.  To think about what I'm writing.  If you're feeling something, Yay!  Look at that feeling.  (Or, as a shrink would say, "unpack that feeling."  Thank you very much for lying on my couch, that will be $90 please.)  Look at the feelings and decide why you're feeling that way.  And then pray.  And then tell me all about it!

Anywho...

My defenses rose and I had an internal argument with myself that I wasn't the one that was committing the sinful acts that were portrayed in the TV programs or books.  I was only watching them.  Reading about them.  For entertainment.  Really, what harm was in that?  

But then, the Still, Small Voice spoke to me.  Convicted me.  Convinced me of my error and I began to admit the truth.  I began to feel that my watching the shows and reading the books was giving an unspoken "okay" or acceptance to those topics that the Bible says are sin.  The children's worship song, Be Careful Little Eyes What you See kept popping into my head.  And I began to realize that what my eyes see will soon lead to my heart.  As a line in Casting Crowns' song Slow Fade says, "The journey from your mind to your hands is shorter than you're thinking." 

So, let me put it out there for you.

"Hello, my name  is Greyhaired Momma and I abstain from watching any shows or reading any books that go against the teachings in scripture." 

I believe it takes courage to stand up for what you believe in.  I know I risk others' judgment or harsh words.  Staying away from TV programs and books that promote ideas, lifestyles, and images that are not how Jesus would have me live my life is how I've been convicted.  The courage of conviction is not easy, but it is worth it.  Eternally worth it.

How are you being convicted?

Love wins,

GHM

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."   Philipians 4:8-9 (NIV)

Surrender

I walked into church this morning and saw the Communion table set up in the front.  Immediately, I thought, "Oh, no.  Why is that there today?  I am so not ready for it today."  

For the first time since becoming a Christian, I truly felt my lack of worth (unworthiness?) at being offered a place at Jesus' table.

Let me be completely transparent here with you now, dear ones.  I spend a lot of time thinking of posts to write for my blog that will be encouraging, inspiring, uplifting, and humorous to you.  Posts that will draw you closer to the God who loves you so much.

But today?

Today I am the one needing encouragement.

Needing to be inspired.

Needing to be lifted up.

You see, I'm struggling.

I'm struggling to let go of me, and to surrender it all to Him. 

I have always been an independent gal who gets things done.  I have seen this as a good thing.  It has served me well as a military wife who is required to take care of everything during deployments.  Some might say I'm a control freak, and I might have, at one time, had a nickname of "In Charge Sarge."  Uh, yeah.  Whatever.  I prefer to see it as independent.  Only now, that independence has become a wall.  A wall between me and God.  And that, my friends, is not a good thing.

Let me be specific about my struggle.  My husband and I are (anxiously) awaiting his orders.  We are expecting to receive orders that will require us to move sometime this summer.  We are looking forward to that.  Sort of.

Where the struggle comes in is when I think of the house we currently own and live in.   This house has been the proverbial monkey on my back.  From the beginning of it's inception, this house has been a nightmare.  We did not seek God's will when deciding to sell our perfectly fine house and build a bigger house.  We did not look at what could happen financially, only looking at the best case scenario.  Of course we didn't plan for the bottom out in the real estate market, either.  These things all set us up to have a house larger than we need, that is waaaaaaay out of our means, and that has cost us piles and piles of money.  And heartache.  And tears.  Oh, and did I mention piles of money?  (Cha-ching, cha-ching)

But, there has been blessing in this house too.   Had we not built this house, our finances wouldn't have become so painful that we sought another way to handle our (God's) money.  We went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church and have consistently followed that plan for about 18 months.   We see a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to our finances.

However, we still own this house, which is a HUGE money black hole.  And we're expecting orders.  And we can't afford to rent this house (for only part of what we pay for our mortgage) and keep up it's insurances and then go rent something wherever our orders send us.  I just want to be done with this house now, now, now!!!  AAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!  (That was a little GHM tantrum, in case you wondered!)

We have listed the house.  According to our realtor, we have it priced well.  I have kept it clean, kept the yard looking nice, staged it for showings, minimized the "stuff" inside, put away personal pictures, etc. etc. etc.  We have done everything in our power to get this house sold.  I don't know what else to do.  (This is where panic and anxiety start feeding until it just becomes a big 'ole monster.)

I told MotorMan that I am so tired of worrying about getting this house sold and about money.  I told him that I know I need to surrender this house and our future to God.

Let me say that again... I know I need to surrender this house and our future to God.

I know... I know... I know...

But I don't feel it in my heart.  My head knows, but my heart doesn't. 

My heart is asking, "How do I do that?"

How?  How?  How?

Dear ones, God is so good.  His timing is perfect.

Here is what arrived in my inbox this morning while I was at church (accident or coincidence?  I think not...)

Surrender:  let go and let God work  by Rick Warren

Surrender  yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 (GW)

Surrendering your life means -

• Following God's lead without knowing where he's sending you;

• Waiting for God's timing without knowing when it will come;

• Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

• Trusting God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be "in charge." Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

Whew!!  Was that written for me, or what?  I still tear up each time I read it.  Seriously?  If God had sent me Moses' burning bush, it wouldn't have been any more clear!  Like I said:  God is good and His timing is perfect.

So my intent with this post is twofold:  I ask you, my friends,  to pray for me.  Lift me up as I strive to surrender to God.  Of course that means relying on Him instead of myself.  But, that's a good thing.
Secondly, I pray that if you find some similarity with my struggle and if you have something you are struggling to surrender to God, that you might find solace and truth here.  That you might take that truth and hide it in your heart so that you, too, can learn to surrender all to God.  What I know is that God's timing and His plan are perfect. 

Oh, and about communion this morning?  That wasn't an accident or a coincidence either.  God knew I needed to be reminded that His body was broken and His blood shed for me.  

And if He gave it all for me, then I can do nothing less.

"All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all..."  

Grace is...

the unexplainable hope

that washes away

the accusing whispers that dance in the darkness

and hide behind the mirror

and say, “You need to be thinner

and thinner

and thinner.”

Grace…

is the light that calls you

toward something so good that you’re scared to trust it.

You might even ignore it at first,

thinking it’s not for you.

Instead,

you try to get better

and fix things on your own.

You try to be strong.

Confident.

Perfect.

But hours of 3:00 a.m. sit-ups,

calorie counting,

dieting,

scrutinizing,

and hiding,

will make a person fall.

Yet Grace…

is the mighty hand that will catch you

and promise you

that you don’t have to be

perfect.

That you are loved

exactly

the way you are.

Grace…

is the gentle voice that lifts your chin,

tugs at your heart,

and encourages you to believe.

And when you do,

Grace rains

and pours

and washes away

moments,

days,

years,

of worry and trying,

trying,

trying,

on your own.

Grace…

restores your dreams,

fills your heart,

melts your fear,

and opens your eyes

so that you are once again able to see the beauty

in the world

and in yourself.

Grace…

is the free gift from God

that has the power to heal,

to renew,

to deliver,

no matter what your struggle is.

If only you’ll let it.

Grace…

is the cross.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. - Ephesians 2:8

(Post copied from (In)courage)

Reflections

With the new year upon us, I have been thinking back through the last year.  My intention was to review the blessings I received over the year, and also to see where I struggled.  To review my failures.  Not so as to dwell on them, or have regrets, but to learn and grow from them.  To see where God was during the struggles, and how He used that struggle for His glory.

Now, you don't know me very well if you think I'm going to lay my soul bare here on my blog and tell you about all my failures, ahem, struggles throughout this year.  I will tell you, in all honesty, that I'm still a work in progress!  God ain't done with me yet.  (I remember having a poster on my wall as a young child that said something along those lines:  "Be patient with me.  God isn't finished with me yet."  Crazy thing?  I could still have that poster on my wall and it would be true!) 

This scripture, from The Message, seems to sum it up well for me:

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."  Philippians 3:12-14

And if I'm honest, my blessings FAR outweighed my failures.
So how about if I show you some of the blessings we experienced this year?
Yeah, I thought you'd like that one!

I'd be remiss if I didn't start with two of our biggest blessings.

And no, the blessings aren't the kids.  They are, in no particular order:

1.  Both kids smiling AND looking at the camera.

2.  Hugging instead of hitting/arguing/whining.

I'm kidding.  I'm kidding.  I'm kidding.  Of course the blessings are the kids.  I think.

Okay, so here's one of my failures:  I let the inside of my husband's car mold while he was on deployment.

And the blessing?  It wasn't MY car, but his!  "Muuahahaha!" (I have a nasty bugger of a mold allergy.)

Roses from MotorMan.  He never sends flowers.  Never.  Ever.

Well, there was that one time he brought home some grocery flowers when I was sick as a dog on the couch and asked for them.  Guess I can't say never.  Or ever.

TheBoy got his first tattoos. 

We welcomed MotorMan home from Iraq.  For the second time.

If you don't believe in God, or don't believe in blessings from Him, you need to up and catch you a military man.  There is no quicker way to find you need to rely on God and His strength to get you through this life than when you're married to the military.

"And that's all I have to say about that."  (Name that movie.)

I played with fondant for the first time.  And lived to blog about it.

 

Spent a really great week with the family camping and fishing and listening to it rain on our pop up camper.  A lot of rain.  Like, days of rain.

We also found out on that trip that there IS such a thing as too much close family time.  Especially in a pop up camper.  On a rainy camping trip.

We planted our first garden.

And watched it grow.

 

We had celebrations...

And marked new milestones.

 

We enjoyed the crazy beautiful world we are blessed to live in.

 We also enjoyed our Constitutional Rights.  What a blessing those things are, huh?

We loved on family.  Or, more precisely, they loved on us.

Let me take a moment from our regularly scheduled blessings list to direct your attention to the following information:  WE HAVE AN AWESOME FAMILY.  Seriously people, they're awesome.  And not just one of 'em.  But all of 'em.  MotorMan and I have been blessed with not one, but two sets of awesome parents EACH and we love 'em.

That's all.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

 

 Oh, Bacon!  What a blessing bacon is.

Dear God:  Thank you, thank you, thank you for bacon.  It rocks!  And so do you!  Amen.

MotorMan can see a light at then end of the Blazer restoration tunnel.  Hallelujah! The end-of-the-tunnel-light looks remarkably like headlights, but that might just be the angle he's standing at.  From the angle I'm standing at, I can see what a blessing this man is!  And handsome.  And sarcastic.  And smart.  And generous.  And sarcastic.  And funny.  Oh, and I love that he's never sarcastic with me.  Oops, did I just insinuate something here?

I read a lot of new blogs.  I fell in love with a lot of new blogs.  Especially this one.  I love her whit, her charm, her sarcasm.  And photos.  And cookbook. 

And because of her, I've started a new relationship with butter.  And my treadmill.

And now, my summation.

(Insert drumroll here)

In order to encompass the best blessings of our year, I believe I have to go back to where I started this post.

You see, my kids are one (two?) of the biggest blessings in my life.  Right up there with MotorMan.  But, my kids.  Ah, my kids.  Not only are they funny, loving, frustrating, smart, sweet, and generous, but they teach me everyday how to be more and more like Jesus.  Their kind and loving hearts are the things that I cherish the most about each of them.  And, you want to know a secret?  Jesus has used these two little blessings more than once to speak to me.  Apparently I don't always listen to His still, small voice.  **GASP, SPUTTER, SPUTTER!**  So, He uses their never still bodies and not so small voices to get whatever He is trying to tell me into my head.  And for that I am grateful.  And blessed.

Happy New Year, dear ones.  Know that this new year is set to be an adventure.  One that God has already ordained, and one that He is living with us.  What amazing blessings await us all?

Let it begin, let it begin, let it begin!  (Name that movie!!)