Favorite Friday Blog Links of the Week #3

I love putting out Favorite Friday Blog Links of the Week.  There are so many wonderful and creative people pouring their hearts and souls into their writing.  I wake up each morning looking forward to what beautiful thoughts I am going to read, what handy tips are being offered that day, and what creative and wonderful designs and ideas are going to help me over the next week.

So the drum roll please!!! Tah Dah!!! This week blogs are:

Michelle and her husband Calvin

I have often talked about Frugal Granola on my blog.  Michelle is the author of Frugal Granola, and her tips and recipes are wonderful and easy.  This week though I wanted to post a link to Michelle's post from last Friday called Frugal Granola - A Heart Journey.  Michelle and Calvin have a 2 month old baby boy named Haven, and this story is heart wrenching and uplifting all at the same time.  Their faith that in God's plans for Haven is inspiring and beautiful.  I hope that all of you will take a look at Michelle's blog, and possibly reach out and give this beautiful family the love and support that they need at this time.

Carrie Raab - The Young Oil Lady

This next blog is written by Carrie Raab, and her blog is called The Young Oil Lady - Fun In The Sun.  She has shared a recipe for a natural homemade sunscreen.  This is a great recipe, and she has all kinds of other helpful and natural information on her blog also.  Take a look for yourselves and learn about all of the research she has done to keep her family living naturally.


Blog number three this week is written about grace.  It is a beautiful, thoughtful, and thought provoking.  The link to Chatting to the Sky - Why sinking is the only way to float.  Emily is married and a mom and has had her blog for 5 years.  When I was reading this post, it touched my heart and spirit, I am posting a link, because I am hoping that touch your heart and spirit also.  Take a look and meet this inspirational woman.

Natalie at Hungry Hippie

And last, but not least I am posting a link Natalie at Hungry Hippie.  She creates fun, easy to make, and always funky clothing.  It is fun to see what she is up to in her blog postings.  The May 27, 2012 post about patching her jeans is so cute and fun.  This is something I have been doing for years, but never thought about writing a blog about it.  I also love her June 13, 2011 blog.  The shoes and coat are so beautiful, when you see the pictures, you see spring.  I am posting a picture of the shoes, because I love them.  I don't know if I could walk in them, but they are beautiful.  Anyway, take a look at this fun blog, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

It would be great if you could post this link somewhere in your post I am a featured blogger at Adorned From Above's Favorite Friday Blog Links Week 3

I hope that all of you have a great weekend.  Please leave comments and let me know what you think of this weeks blogs.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Recipe - Family Favorite

This recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake is one of our family favorites.  We love this cake.  It is moist and chocolatey and outrageously good.   It is a great Sunday Dinner Dessert.  I have been on a diet for a long time.  Flour and sugar to not agree with me, but every once in a while, I need to have something really, really yummy.  Okay so enough of that. This cake is so easy anyone can make it, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your house.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

1 box devils food cake mix
1 16oz container sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
box devils food pudding
4 eggs
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.  Spray well because chocolate chips can stick.

Pour cake mix and pudding into a mixing bowl and stir.  Add add water, oil, sour cream, and eggs to cake mix and beat with mixer until smooth.

Once smooth stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into bundt pan

Bake for 55 minutes it should be done.  If not, check every 5 minutes with a tooth pick until it comes out clean.  This is a little tricky because of the chocolate chips.  As long as it is not doughie.

Let cool in pan for 15 minutes on a cake rack, and then turn onto cake rack and let cool.

Put on cake plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar  Serve


Serves 12 to 16 pieces

I would love to hear what you think about this recipe and if you enjoyed it.  Please let me know what your favorite easy dessert is.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

Now for my Natural Brown Sugar Body Scrub

I came up with this recipe for my natural Brown Sugar Body Scrub in March.  This stuff is good enough to eat, but don't.  This body scrub just melts into your skin.  Use it at the end of your bath, and your skin will be exfoliated and silky soft.  It leaves your skin so hydrated that you will not even need to use a moisturizer after your bath.

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raw sugar
8 TB coconut oil ( melted )
2 tsp cinammon ground
2 tsp cloves ground
2 tsp nutmeg ground
1/4 tsp vanilla or 20 drops vanilla essential oil

Mix brown sugar, raw sugar, cinammon, cloves, and nutmeg in a bowl.  In another bowl melt the coconut oil and then mix into the sugar mixture, also add the vanilla.  Once mixed put the scrub into a 1 pint mason jar.

To use:  Get a small amount in your fingers and rub your hands together, and then rub on your body.  Rub into skin until melted away.  The raw sugar will not be totally gone, but the brown sugar will be gone.  Rinse with water and you are good to go

This Body Scrub is great for gifts or yourself.  I would love to hear what you think of this recipe, and what can be improved upon.  Let me know what you think.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Bible Study Week 4 - Sharper Then a Two-Edged Sword

Good Morning Everyone.  I pray that all of you have a great Memorial Day.  For anyone out there with family members who are in the armed services or who have lost a family member in the armed services, I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU.   My family understands how hard this is on your families.  We have a son who is a marine and has done two tours in Afghanistan.  We are just waiting for him to get out of the marines and come home at this point.  Hopefully that will be next Sunday, June 3rd.  We await anxiously for the signed paperwork, so that we can go and get him and help him move.  Again, I would like to thank every family out there for the sacrifices that you have made, I know that they are great.

So for today's Bible Study.  We have moved on to chapter 3 (Spirit, Soul, Body) in the book Sharper Then A Two Edged Sword by Andrew Wommack.  I will post a picture of the book and the link to Amazon to be able to buy the book, in case you do not already have it.

Link to Sharper Then A Two-Edged Sword

I love this scripture in 1 Thessalonians, and wanted to post it for you.  I believe that it says so much to our hearts.
 

And the  very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit

and soul and body be preserved blameless unto coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Question 1: Which part of me becomes new when I am born again?

• Because we can see our bodies, we know that the physical part of us does not change when we are born again.  We can see that it is still the same as before we were born again.
• We also know what our soul is doing.  We still have the same feelings and thoughts that we had before we became born again.  If we are happy, we are still happy, that is something that we can feel, same with depression or irritability, those things have not changed.
• I believe from what the Bible tells me that my spirit is what becomes new.

Jesus said, "God is a spirit; and they that worship him in the spirit and truth"

John 4:24

• When we become born again your spirit becomes a new creation, a new creature. Scripture says that you become a new creature in the scripture below.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;

old things are passed away, all things become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

• The all things that become new can only be our spirit.  Our bodies and souls still remain the same.

Question 2: What happens in my spirit when I become born again?

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:17

• God gave us a spirit identical  to Jesus when we became born again. It tells us that in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and also in 1 Corinthians 6:17
• In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says that you are a new creature, this is not your body or you soul.  For your.  For your emotions and personality traits to change you would have to renew your soul.
• It also does not say that you will become a new creature someday, it says that you will become a new creature now.  

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;

old things are passed away, all things become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

• The transformation of your spirit is complete and total and takes place immediately.

Question 3: Is my spirit affected by the sin nature?

• I believe that our spirits are not affected by the sin nature.
• If our spirits are like Jesus, then your spirit would be righteous like the spirit of Jesus.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness

in the day of Judgement; because as he is so are we in the world.

1 John 4:17

• There would be nothing of this world in our spirit, no negativity, depression, rebellion, fear, deception, or sin.  Our spirit is pure.

Question 4: If nothing can damage my born-again spirit, then why can't I just live however I want and not worry about it?  Won't god still love me?

 And you put on the new man which was created according to God,

in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:24

• God loves and relates to us in the spirit.
• We received holiness when we were born again and God loves us.
• God is not dealing with the sin of our flesh, he is dealing with our spirits, which is pure and holy.

In him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, 

the gospel of your salvation; in whom also having believed

you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 1:17

• To sin at this point would be silly and stupid.  It would be allowing Satan a stronghold in your life.  Why would we want that for ourselves?  I don't think we do.
• God would not turn away from us, but it is possible for us to turn away from God.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

• Why would we want to invite Satan in to destroy us?  We wouldn't, he has not good intentions for our lives.  Though God and Jesus came into our lives so that we can have eternal life. 

Question 5: What does renewing my mind mean?

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he "Eat and Drink"

says he to you, But his heart is not with you.

Proverbs 23:7

• This scripture means that it doesn't matter what your experience with God is.  The way you think is the way your life will go.  Until you change your thinking, your life will not change.
• The way you think is not instantly renewed or changed.  The only way to do that is to read the Bible and know the word of God.
• Just reading the Word of God is not enough, you must know it and understand it.
• The Bible says:

And be not conformed of this world: but be ye transformed by the 

renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good

and acceptable and perfect, will of God

Romans 12:2

• Things of this world will not renew your mind, only confuse it.  Reading, meditating and understanding God's word is what will renew your mind.

Question 6: You say I'm righteous as Jesus, but I can't believe that.  It's not possible if my spirit was identical to Jesus, I'd know it!  Wouldn't I?

• You can answer questions about your body and your soul.  You know if your body is tired or in pain.  You know what your body is feeling.
• You also know what your soul feels and thinks.  You know if you are sad, depressed, or even happy.
• But the Bible says there are not just 2 parts to us after we are born again.  Scripture tells us that there are 3 parts to us.  Specifically in the scripture below.

And the  very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit

and soul and body be preserved blameless unto coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

• We are told specifically in the scripture above that we have a body, a soul, and a spirit.  It is the spirit that we receive when we are born again. 
• We do not necessarily feel our spirit when we are born again.  This is something we have to work on.  We need to know the word of God to know the spirit.

Question 7: If I have the power and faith of Jesus in my spirit, then why do I need to bother renewing my mind?

• You do have the faith and power of Jesus, but you need to read the Word of God ( the Bible) in order to know the word, and you need to believe what it says.  You need to meditate about it to know your spiritual identity.

It's only the truth that sets you free.

John 8:32

• Your mind is like a valve and it has the power to release or obstruct the power of God. (This is from the Workbook for Sharper then a Two-Edged Sword)
• If your mind is focused on your body or soul you will not feel and experience God in your Spirit, but getting your mind in agreement with your spirit will open the full power of God to you.
• We need to renew our mind in God's word in order to come into agreement with God.
• Our Spirits are already perfect. When our mind aligns with our spirit we begin to see the ability of God that is in our Spirits spill over into our bodies and souls.  Our bodies will get healed, our emotions will be healed, and we'll see the anointing of God pour into our lives.  (This is from the Workbook for Sharper then a Two-Edged Sword)

Question 8: How is the word of God relevant to my daily life?

• If we do not know God's word, then we open ourselves to being deceived by false teachers and doctrine.
• How will we know what is true and what is not, if we have never bothered to learn God's word?

It is a lamp to guide our feet and a light to help us find our path through life.

Psalms 119:105

• The Bible is basically our instruction manual that God has given us on how to live our lives.
• God's word is how he speaks to most of us. 
• It is through his word that we get to know him and how he wants us to live our lives on a daily basis.

Question 9: How should I go about reading the bible?

• I believe that you should read the Bible systematically.  You should start with the new testament, and learn about Jesus and the redemption that God gave us through Jesus.  
• I believe that the first four gospels are really important for you to get to know Jesus, and then go from there.
• I always pray for wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and truth to be revealed before I start to read the Bible.  I believe that this helps with all of the distractions that try to come in and stop you from receiving the fullness of the Word.
• I believe that you should meditate and understand what has been written in the New Testament before moving on to the Old Testament.
• I believe that we need to know both testaments of the Bible.  We have lessons to learn from all of the Word of God.  I think that reading the New Testament first will give a better perspective on the Old Testament.  
• The Old Testament has the stories and the laws that God gave, but I believe that we need to know about our redemption through Jesus first, so that we understand that following the laws will not give us eternal life.  Only belief in Jesus and what he did for us by dying on the cross will give us eternal life.

This is the end of this weeks Bible Study.  I hope that it is helpful to you.  I would love to hear what you have to say, and what you would like to add.  Please send me any comments or questions.  I am never too busy to answer.

Enjoy your day!!!

Debi

Christian Fiction (Spotlight on Left Behind Series)

A Link to Barnes and Noble and the book Left Behind

My spotlight today is on the Left Behind Series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B Jenkins and how Christian fiction can play a part in bringing people to the Lord.

Christian fiction has played a big role in my life over the last seven years.  You see, in a small way, it was a big part of what led me back to Jesus.  I have a friend Karen who was reading this series of books with a book club in Denver about 11 years ago.  I noticed that she was reading these books, but did not pay a lot of attention, because I had converted to Judaism.  It is funny how this series of books led me back to Christ. 

My journey to Christianity has been fairly circuitous.  You see, I was brought up, probably like most of you, in a Christian family.  I was baptized Episcopalian as an infant.  We were not a family that went to church, but my parents did send my brother and I to an Episcopal school in Los Angeles.  My mom was Christian and my dad was Jewish, we celebrated all of the holidays of both religions, but not in a religious way.  They were just holidays. Christmas was about Santa and Hanukkah was potato latkas, these holidays were not about the birth of Christ or that one day of oil lasted eight days for the Jews.  They were just times for my family to spend together and they were fun.

Eventually, I had my own children, and my husband and I raised them the same way, you see he was Jewish and I was Christian.  Then one day our 12 year old son came to us and said he wanted to be Jewish.  So the three kids and I converted to Judaism.  We were practicing Jews for probably about 6 years, when my middle son came home and said he had gone back to Christianity, that he had gotten a bible and he had accepted Jesus Christ in his heart as his Lord and Savior.  This presented me with a dilemma.  How do we have a Christian and Jewish household again?  The rest of us were still practicing Jews. 

Unfortunately, I had never found fulfillment in being Jewish.  I always felt like something was missing.  When times were tough I didn't feel like my religion could help me through these difficult moments.  I felt alone and sad.  In the meantime my friend Karen was praying for my family to find our way back to Jesus.  One day, I was at Walmart and I saw a movie called Left Behind, and I remembered that was the book that she had read so long ago.  So I bought the movie and brought it home and watched it.  To my amazement,  I enjoyed this movie, and wanted more.  Amazing how God can touch you like that.  Once we have a little of him we want more.  I then went to the library and checked out the rest of the series in audio books.  At the time I was knitting a lot and I liked to listen to the books while I was knitting.

I devoured the Left Behind Series.  I think that I had listened to almost the whole series of books in about 3 months.  At that time I think that there were probably 10 books.  A funny thing happened when I was listening to these books.  I came to realize that what had been missing in my life was Jesus.  I had felt to empty when I converted to Judaism, and as I was reading this series of books I found my way back home.  I found what I had been looking for in my life.

It took me a least a year to tell my husband that I believed in Jesus again.  Not that he would be angry, but it just felt strange.  You see, when you convert to a religion like Judaism, you can't just convert to the secular part of the religion.  You have to follow the rules, become Jewish, not just make the food, and celebrate the holidays.  You have to go to synagogue and pray and live that life.  It is hard for Jews who are not religious to understand.  Well the same thing happens when you are Born Again.  You want to practice the religion, talk to God, have a relationship with him.  You don't just celebrate Santa and the Easter Bunny.

Through the Left Behind books I finally understood that I could have a relationship with God.  I could talk to him and pray, and he would hear me and answer.  To this day I believe that God is talking to all of us, but most of the time we are not listening.  Sometimes, it's that we don't want to hear God, because it might mean we have to give up doing something fun.  Sometimes, we hear him, but do not want to do what he is telling us to do.  You know that small voice that you hear in the back of your head, that's God talking to you.  He wants to have a relationship with us.  He wants us to hear him.  He wants us to turn to him in our time of need.  He wants us to love him the way he loves us, if only we would listen.  Well I am listening.  I am praying that you can hear him also.

I want to thank Tim Lahaye and Jerry B Jenkins for writing these books.  The first book Left Behind
actually has the prayer in it to invite Jesus into your heart.  I can tell you, it felt great to pray that prayer.  You see, I was a sinner with no way to be good enough to go to Heaven, but through Christ dying on the Cross, I am forgiven, and I will live with God forever.  What an amazing thing to learn from a series of fiction books.  I will forever be grateful to these two wonderful authors.

I pray that if you have not read these books yet, pick one up.  They are wonderful, fast paced, and exciting to read.  Please let me know what your favorite books are, and what books have made an impression in your life.  I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Half and Half Baked S'Mores and Baked Reese's S'mores

The Apron Gal - Baked S'mores

I was inspired by the Pinterest Pin at the link above to make this delicious dessert pictured below.

Top is Baked S'more and two bottom are Baked Reese's S'mores

I made the Baked S'mores from the Apron Gal at The Apron Gal - Baked S'mores, but with a twist.  I am going to add Reese's Peanut Butter cups in one half of the pan for me and I will add the Hershey Bars on the other half for my husband.  I featured a link the The Brady Girls Blog this week Cookin' Up Good Times - Reese's S'mores.  I had wanted to make the Brady Girls recipe, but it is too windy today in Denver and will be the whole weekend to roast marshmallow outside.  When when I saw this recipe for Baked S'mores, I realized that this was the answer to my craving for Reese's Peanut Butter Cup S'mores.

I must say these Half and Half Baked S'mores and Baked Reese's S'mores were outrageously good. I of course had to test both last night.  The recipe from The Apron Gal is so simple to follow and easy to make.  So here goes. 

Half and Half Baked S'mores and Baked Reese's S'mores
recipe courtesy The Apron Gal, Baked Perfection, and Cookin' Up Good Times.
Adapted by yours truly Debi Bolocofsky

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 large Hershey Symphony Bars
12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
1 7oz jar Marshmallow Creme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch pan with non stick spray.

In a large bowl mix butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light.  Then add egg and vanilla.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder.

Next add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well.

Next separate the dough in half and spread one half in the bottom of the prepared pan.  Place the 2nd half in a large ziploc bag, and roll it out to the same size as the ziploc bag.  It can be about 2 inches narrower then the bag.  Set this aside until you have finished with the fillings.

Now sometimes I get distracted, and this was one of those times.  I forgot to take pictures of the next steps, so I will just have to tell you what to do, or you can go to The Apron Gal - Baked S'mores Recipe, she did not forget to take pictures.  My recipe is a little different, because we will be also using Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

So now, place your first Hershey Milk Chocolate bar and break your second bar lengthwise, so that you have 2 long rows of bars.  The chocolate bars should fit on 1/2 of the pan.  Next unwrap the peanut butter cups and start placing them next to the chocolate bars.  I had 3 rows of 4 peanut butter cups next to the chocolate bars.

Next, spread the marshmallow creme on top of the chocolate bars and peanut butter cups.  I used a knife, and just did it very slowly.

Next, you will cut open your ziplock bag.  Pull the sides all the way back.  The bag is wider and shorter then your pan.  Once I had the bag pulled back all of the way, I then spread the dough to make it longer, so that it would be the length of the pan.  Then I flipped the bag on top of the marshmallow creme, so that there was a top crust.  As you can see at the end I still had to piece it together a little bit.

Next, put it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Once done, pull it out of the oven, and let it cool off, before cutting.

I let it cool for about 45 minutes and then cut the pieces.  The second picture on the page is how it looked cut.

I would love to hear what you think of this recipe, or what desserts you are making this weekend.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Suing The Devil - Movie Review

Malcolm McDowell in Suing The Devil

 To Order the Movie Suing The Devil at the Christian Cinema website click on the link

I was able to get this DVD at my local Christian bookstore a couple of weeks ago.  I had been waiting for it to come out for a while, and it was definitely worth the wait.

The plot, for Suing The Devil, is about a janitor who is in law school at night, Luke O'Brien, who decides that he is going to sue the Satan for $8 trillion dollars.  The night before Luke would file for a default judgement, Satan actually show up.  Satan and his legal team of 10 of the country's best attornies are prepared to defend the Devil ( Malcolm McDowell ) from Luke's charges.   The spiritual battle in the courtroom keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

Malcolm McDowell delivers a stunning performance as The Devil.  He is the perfect person to play this role.  He is certainly believable as The Devil.  Actor, Bart Bronson, gives a great performance as  Luke O'Brien.  He is able to help you identify with this law student / janitor and his struggles with life, family issues, social issues, and the forgiveness that we have received from God.

This is definitely a must see fast paced, faith based, legal thriller.  It certainly presents a God against Satan scenario that is fairly intense at times.  I think it will leave everyone rooting for Luke to win, even when it seems like he doesn't have a chance.

I hope that you are able to see this DVD.  I would not recommend it for children under 15 or 16, the content can be a little intense at times.

Let me know what you think of this movie, or if you have seen something else recently that you would like to share with me.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

List of Links To the Blogs of the Week 2

So here is the list of this weeks favorite blog reads.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I have.  All of these women are great writers, wonderful chefs, and artists, each beautiful in her own way.

Here is the first blog of the week.  It is done by a family The Brady Girls

The Brady Girls at Cookin' Up the Good Times

I read the recipe for their Reese's Peanut Butter Cup S'mores, and that was it.  I was a goner.  They had me as a lifelong follower.  Their writing is fun, light, and cheerful.  They say they are spread around the country, and this was their way of keeping in touch.  I am certainly happy that they decided to let us be part of their family.  They also have a cookbook out, I have not bought it yet, but I may just have to give it a try.  I hope that you enjoy their blog and recipes, as much as I am enjoying them.  Click on the link below and it will take you to their blog
 Cookin' Up the Good Times - Reeses Peanut Butter S'mores

The next blog is from a beautiful single mom who calls herself Aunt Apple.

Aunt Apple from An Apple A Day Wisdom

Yesterday was my birthday and the first blog I opened to read with my coffee was from Aunt Apple at An Apple A Day Wisdom.  It was so beautiful that I read it out loud to my husband, who whole heartedly agreed.  Aunt Apple is a single mom, a beautiful writer, and like the rest of us struggling to make the best life possible for her son and herself, all while following her Christian values.  I was very impressed.  The quote below was the first thing I read, and what a birthday gift it was.

 

Aunt Apple inspired me yesterday.  Her writing is honest, soul bearing, and beautiful.  I hope that you find her blog as enjoyable and faith inspiring as I do.

 An Apple A day Wisdom - Contentment with the Love of God 

The next blog that I wanted to tell you about was from Dana at Made.  I found her blog last week, and really enjoyed reading about her family, and looking at her very talented sewing skills and fun take on fashion.

Dana and her kids at Made

I no longer have small children, but it was so fun looking at the outfits that she made for her children, that I was trying to figure out how to adapt them for me.  Her tutorials are great and easy to follow, and I love her tutorial on  the Simple Skirt.  Take a look and I am sure you are going to be trying to decide which one you would like to make.

Made - Simple Skirt Tutorial

This week and am going to give a 4th blog, because I felt like these simple DIY Febreeze recipes were so easy.  This is just a link to Instructable, but the recipes were so simple I truly thought they were worth including.  I did make the first recipe, with the vinegar, water, and fabric softener, but it has too much of a vinegar smell.  Next, time I think I will try to do something a little more natural, but all of these recipes are great ideas.  So take a look and see what you think.

Homemade Febreeze at Instructables.

I would love to hear what you think about the links above, and what blogs you like to read, so send me your comments.

Enjoy!!!

Debi

Natural Swiffer Floor Cleaner and Wood Floor Cleaner

Wood Floor Cleaner Ingredients

I came home from my daughter's house last Friday with several new tasks for myself.  She was out of Swiffer refillable spray for cleaning her floors.  This presented me with a challenge.  You see I have told my family that as they start running out of cleaning supplies do not replace the cleaning product.  The challenge is to see if I can make it myself, and to make it all natural and safe for the environment.  This is especially important for my daughter, because she has an auto immune disorder which chemicals and certain foods cause flareups.  We normally buy green cleaning products, which are very expensive.  In these difficult financial times, I am trying to make as much as possible to help save money for all of us.  That is why I will try my best to only give recipes for natural beauty products and cleaning supplies on this blog.

Now,  we have all wood floors in our home, and we are only supposed to use vinegar and water on the floors, but that is not as great at cleaning the linoleum at my daughter's.  I also wanted to try to kick up the anti-bacterial and disinfecting qualities, because our family is very big on pets, so I wanted to make sure the the floors were getting as clean as possible.  So, at this point I decided that I was going to use some Dr. Bonner's Baby-Mild Castille Soap, Tea Tree oil, and Lemon Essential oil.   I figured that would be great for her linoleum floors, but I did not want to use the soap for our wood floors.  I decided to make the wood floor cleaner without the Dr. Bonner's, but still wanted to kick up the disinfecting qualities with the tea tree oil and the lemon essential oil.

I mixed up several batches of the wood floor cleaner, and it worked great.  I put it in a small quart  sized bottle with a small mouth, that way I could pour small amounts.  I did not want to soak my wood floors.  This worked great.  Since it is concentrated I could just pour a small amount on the floor, mop, and then go and rinse the mop.  My floors looked beautiful.  I also made a batch for my son, and put it in an old squirt bottle.

For my daughter, I mixed up a batch of this recipe for Homemade Swiffer Cleaner Spray, and I put it in a spray bottle.  That way she could just spray it on her floor, and then use her Swiffer to mop it up.  This apparently worked great on her floor.  So TAH-DAH, here are the two recipes.

Homemade Swiffer Floor Cleaner Spray

Print Screen

1 cup vinegar

2 oz Dr Bonner’s Baby Mild Castille Soap

3 cups water

10 drops tea tree oil

10 drops lemon essential oil

Mix all ingredients together in a spray bottle and spray on floor and use your mop or swiffer to clean, rinse the mop and move on to the next area.

Homemade Wood Floor Cleaner

Print Screen

1 cup vinegar

3 cups water

10 drops tea tree oil

10 drops lemon essential oil

Mix all ingredients together in a container and pour on floor and mop as usual.

This was so easy to make and use.  I did not need to use a lot, since it is pretty concentrated.  I maybe used about 1/2 cup on my first floor, and mopped about 900 square feet, so it goes a long way.  It also left a great citrusy ( probably not a word according to my spell checker ) smell, which I like much better then the smell of the plain vinegar and water mixture.

I hope that these DIY solutions work for you.  I would love to hear from you.  I am always open to suggestions or a better idea.  So let me know what you think and how it works for you.

As always, Enjoy.

Debi

All Natural Hair Smoothing Serum

I decided I wanted to make my own Hair Smoothing Serum.  I have been using John Frieda products for a while, but I have been making my own natural beauty products for the last several months.  I am not only enjoying it tremendously.  I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I feel like I am not putting all of those chemicals on my skin or in my hair.

I have been doing a lot of research, and decided that these are the oils I wanted to use, because they are so nourishing for your hair.  Each oil does something different, which I felt would make this serum more effective.

The avocado oil is full of vitamins which will help dull, damaged hair, so I thought this was going to be a great ingredient.  The Castor oil is great for making hair shiny, and the jojoba oil is not only a great conditioner, but it is also the best oil for penetration.  It can help the avocado oil do it's job even better.  I used jasmine fragrance and geranium and jasmine essential oil for scent because I love the way they smell.

Smoothing Hair Serum

1 1/2 oz avocado oil
2 TB jojoba oil
1 TB Castor oil
20 drops jasmine essential oil

Mix all ingredients together in a small measuring cup, and pour into a bottle with a dropper.

Rub a few drops in your fingers and smooth over hair.  Use less at the crown of your head and concentrate more at your ends.

I must say it makes my hair feel amazingly soft and I have no fly aways.

I would love to hear what you think of this all Natural Hair Smoothing Serum.  Also, let me know if there is anything you think could make this better.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Spinach and Feta Crustless Pie

I love this alternative to spanikopita.  Since I do not eat a lot of flour this is a low carb alternative.  I take it my church woman's group ( The Jesus Chicks ) on Saturday mornings.  It's a great alternative to all of the sweets that are there, and it always goes fast.  I am making this one to freeze for my next women's group at church, and wanted to share the recipe with all of you.

Spinach and Feta Crustless Pie

3 10 oz. bags frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
3 8 oz containers feta ( I use the lemon, garlic, and oregano flavor)
16 oz container ricotta cheese
6 eggs
3 TB dill
4 TB butter or olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic or I used the 4 squares of the frozen garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shaved parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 by 13 casserole dish.

Melt butter in a skillet and saute onions in pan until soft, add garlic, dill, salt and pepper, and cook for a few more minutes.  Then add spinach. Mix well.

In one bowl beat the eggs,  and in another bowl mix the feta and ricotta.

 Then add the cheese mixture to the beaten eggs.

Then add spinach mixture to egg and cheese mixture and mix well.

Pour into greased casserole dish, and top with parmesan cheese.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the center of casserole is firm.


Serves 12

I would love to hear what different recipes you take for women's gatherings, no matter what they are.  We are women, we love to eat.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

The Lord's Prayer

God's Light Shining On Us

This week I am departing from the Bible study from our book Sharper Then a Two-Edged Sword by Andrew Wommack.  I ran across a sheet of paper that explains how to pray the Lord's Prayer.   My friend Tracie from work wrote this out for me one day after I explained that I was uncomfortable being the only person to pray out loud with a group of people.  So she wrote this out for me so that I would understand that prayer can have a direction.  Kind of  a step by step guide to praying.

I thought this was really important when I saw it, and wanted to share it with all of you today.

Luke 11:1-5

Our Father which art in heaven        (acknowledge God)
hallowed by your name

1. How great his is
2. Thank him
3. How Holy He is

Your Kingdom come                        (pray for others)
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven

1. Proclaim the will of the Father over the situation                                                                           ( example: healing is in his will ; to prosper in all that we do is his will)

Give us this day our daily bread        (pray for sins so your prayers not delayed )
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.

1. forgiveness
2. sins known and unknown

And lead us not into temptation         (pray to not be deceived by the enemy)
but deliver us from evil
examples:

1.  doubt
2. fear
3. unbelief that prayer is answered

For Thine is the Kingdom                     (Proclaim God's Power)
and the Power
and the Glory
Forever and ever
              Amen

Then she writes to acknowledge how great God is again.

                                                           Written by Tracie Wiggins

I am so grateful that Tracie came to work with us.  I did not know she was a Christian when we started sharing an office.  One day I was preparing to lead a Bible Study at church and she asked to hear about it, and if she could go with me.  I was happy that she was interested, but did not know how much she had to teach me, not the other way around.

After sharing an office with Tracie for a while I found out that she had gone to Bible School back east, where she is from.  I feel that sometimes God puts people in our path, for reasons that we may not know, and he brought Tracie to us, to teach all of us.  She is one of the kindest, most compassionate, and caring people I have ever met and it is a privilege to work with her, and to call her my friend.

She is also a talented writer, and hopefully I will be able to get her to do some writing on this blog.  I would be so happy for you to meet my friend Tracie.

Please let me know what you think about Tracie's step by step prayer instructions.  I feel they have helped me tremendously.

God Bless All of You today and every day.
Debi

Sugar Free Rhubarb Berry Compote and Sugar Free Crockpot Yogurt

I have been making the Crock Pot Greek Yogurt Link from One Good Thing by Jillee for the last several weeks.  I have changed the recipe since I don't eat sugar, honey, or agave nectar, or Splenda, so I used Stevia in the Raw instead.  I also really like fruit in my yogurt, but I for a change I decided to make a type of sugar free Rhubarb Berry Compote to mix into my yogurt.  Both of these recipes have turned out great and I would like to share them with you in today's blog.  I also love that both of these recipes are natural, organic, and fresh.  Love that.

Now for the recipes and pictures.

Sugar Free Crock Pot Greek Yogurt
adapted from One Good Thing by Jillee

1/2 gallon organic milk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 cup granulated Stevia in the Raw
cheesecloth

Pour the milk into the your crock pot and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours or until it reaches 185 degrees.

I just cooked it for 2 1/2 hours and then you take the lid off and let it cool down to about 110 degrees.  Once it reaches 110 degrees, first skim the layer that forms on top of the milk.

 Next take 1 cup of the hot milk out of the crock pot, put it in a bowl, and mix in the 1/2 cup yogurt with a whisk until smooth.  Next pour the milk yogurt, milk mixture back into the rest of the milk in the crock pot.  Then whisk the Stevia in The Raw into the yogurt / milk mixture.

Then you will need to wrap the crock pot in a towel and put in the oven with the light on.  Leave it for at least 8 hours, or overnight. I normally just leave it in the oven overnight.  That seems to be the right length of time.  Once you take it out of the oven, you will need to put the yogurt in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Next you will need to line a colander with a wet cheesecloth and put it over a bowl.  You will take the yogurt out of the refrigerator and put it into the colander to let it start draining.

 
Put the yogurt back in the refrigerator, and let it drain for an hour, then dump the liquid, which is the whey, from the bowl.  Put it back in the refrigerator and let it drain again.  I do this for several hours, because I like my yogurt thicker, so I normally let it drain for about 4 hours total.  I empty the bowl several times during the process.

Once I have finished draining the yogurt, I then put the it in a Tupperware and use a whisk to make it smooth.

This is what it will look like with the fruit.  That recipe will follow.  I love eating this stuff.  It is so good.

 Sugar Free Rhubarb Berry Compote Recipe

2 16 oz bags frozen organic Rhubarb
1 16oz container strawberries cleaned and quartered
2 small containers blackberries
2 cups granulated Stevia in the Raw
1/2 cup black cherry juice ( any type of juice is okay )
2 TB arrowroot powder
1/4 cup water

Put rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries, Stevia in the Raw, and black cherry juice in a pan on the stove.  Stir all ingredients well and cook over medium heat.  Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low.  Cook the fruit for approximately 20 minutes.  Then put arrowroot powder in a mixing cup and add 1/4 cup of water.  Mix well.  Turn the heat back to medium.  Then pour into the fruit mixture and cook until it has thickened, about 5 minutes longer.  Take off stove and it is ready to serve.

It is great with the yogurt, or I even made whipped cream one night and put it on top of the fruit.  It would also be great over ice cream.

I would love to hear what you have to say about these recipes.  I hope that you enjoy them.  I would also love to hear what changes you make to them.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Check out all of the great links at Frugally Sustainable:
Frugally Sustainable - Week 28

Take a look at the Your Green Resource at these two great blogs.
Your Green Resource - Week 25 - Lived Renewed
Your Green Resource - Week 35 - A Delightful Home
Look at how cute this blog is Sassy Site - Friday Free for All 

Playlist on My Ipod - Music

 .
I don't know about you, but I love listening to music.  My favorite radio station is KLove.  In Denver it is station 91.1.  I get in my car, and find peace when I hear the music.

My Ipod is also loaded with my favorite bands and songs. I am going to post a list of just a few of my favorite songs from my ipod.  You can find them on itunes, or even cd's at your local library.  Some of my favorite cd's are the WOW cd's, because they put some of the most popular songs for each year on a cd.

Here it is, the final drum roll, songs from my ipod. Just click on the links to watch the videos.

1. Believe - Brooks and Dunn    Believe Video
2. Big House - Audio Adrenaline  Big House Video
3. Stained Glass Masquerade - Casting Crowns   Stained Glass Masquerade Video
4. Jesus Take the Wheel - Carrie Underwood   Jesus Take the Wheel Video
5. Deep In Love With You - Michael W. Smith   Deep In Love With You Video
6. Perfect Day - Josh Bates   Perfect Day Video
7. Postcards - Cindy Morgan   Postcards Video
8. Secret Place - Lincoln Brewster -   I could not find a video of this song
9. I Can Only Imagine - Mercy Me   I Can Only Imagine Video
10. God's Will - Martina McBride   God's Will Video
11. Can't Get Away - Rush of Fools  Can't Get Away Video
12. Hope Now - Addison Road   Hope Now Video
13. Hold Us Together Matt Maher   Hold Us Together Video
14. Letters from War - Mark Schultz   Letters From War Video
15. Your Love - Rush of Fools   Your Love Video
16. Follow You - Leeland   Follow You Video
17. This is God - Phil Vassar   This is God Video
18. I've Always Loved You - Third Day    I've Always Loved You Video 
19. I Was Created to Worship - Brian and Jenn Johnson   - I could not find a video for this song either.
20. He's My Son - Mark Schultz   He's My Son Video

Today is Sunday, the day of worship.  I hope that you enjoy the videos and the music.  I wish I could have found videos for all of the songs, but I have found most of them.

I would love to hear what music you are listening to on your ipod or mp3 player.  Let me know.

Enjoy my worship music list.
Debi