Building stronger families: part 2

Part One

Part Three

Building Stronger Families series

2) We must have a biblical perspective of self:
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Whatever we feed the most will win: be it flesh or spirit. If we continue to fight the spirit to hold onto our worldly things, then the flesh will win. Likewise, if we concentrate on God and His will for us, and what he wants, and what is holy, good, and true, then the spirit will win and we will grow closer to God as a result of that. But if we continue to allow our flesh to win, then we will continue to grow further away from God and lack that fellowship we so desperately need.

a) Pride is a destroyer of relationships:
If God is in the right place with both people in the relationship, the people will be in their right places within the relationship. If their sights are set on God, then they will not be set on each other's faults and worldly desires.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

b) Pride is defeated by appropriating scripture:

Romans 6:6-7
6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Whenever we give into the power of our flesh, then we resurrect our prideful attitudes. Do we really want that? Or do we want to break our prideful spirits and be contrite before the Lord?

Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

contrite:
"feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming " *

To Be Continued: Stay Tuned!

"That in ALL things he might have preeminence"
Sunday School Notes from April 27, 2008 (outline was provided)

I ♥ apple slaw by Hungry Girl

I ♥ Hungry Girl!! @HungryGirl
I've gotten her emails for years it seems. Jay got me Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories week before last. I was so proud of him. We had been at Target not over a week before, and as we were passing the magazine stand I stopped at the endcap and pointed out both of her books (the other one was Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World) along with the new Gosselin book (Eight Little Faces), and said "Here, here, and here. If there's ever a moment you might think you'd want to suprise me with something, either of these books will work". (I had already read Multiple Bles8ings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets when I was laid up in bed with strep throat back in January when Target didn;t have the third season of Grey's Anatomy DVD in stock!). So he come home bearing gifts a couple of weeks ago. Whatta guy!

SO - I've been pouring over this book for the past week and a half, and have been shopping, picking up what I need to make my Hungry Girl recipes. This slaw is GOOD. I made my own broccoli slaw so it was less expensive, too. I love that it is so simple.

1 medium Fuji apple
1 medium Granny Smith apple
2 C dry broccoli slaw mix
1/2 C plain FF yogurt
1/2 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp granulated Splenda

Cut the apples ito matchsticks. Mix with the slaw.

Mix the wet ingredients- add to the slaw- chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Love this recipe? Get the book for yourself! :o)

Product Review: Quaker Mini Delights

I saw an ad on Frugal Kitchen from Quaker offering free samples of their new Mini Delights (or Quakes) and signed up for a sample. One, I was very impressed that my sample arrived in less than two weeks! I chose the Chocolatey Drizzle Mini Delights, and they were indeed ... delightful!

Let me preface by saying in the past, I've not been a big fan of rice cakes in general. That being said, the last time I bought rice cakes was a couple of years ago. Since the kids weren't into it, I did not buy any more. I was intrigued with the concept of chocolate drizzle over little rice cakes, though. Since they are smaller than the regular rice cakes, the texture looked like they would go over better with the kids, too.

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed these little bites! They're no bigger than a quarter, and they're not skimpy with the chocolate, either. Each bag (20g) is only 90 calories, so it would be an easy way for someone to get their chocolate fix without all the calories. Not to mention, Hannah, my picky eater- really liked them! There are five other flavors available as well: Caramel Drizzle , Buttered Popcorn, Chocolatey Mint, Cinnamon Streusel, and Peanut Butter .

Overall, I give this product "two thumbs up"! But you don't have to take my word for it, go to their website www.quakerricesnacks.com and get your own free sample!

raising foodies 2-12

This week I am highlighting our "vension scramble" recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb (you could actually pull this off with 1/2 lb) sausage- we are a hunting family so we get t use tasteful deer sausage compliments of my brother in law's awesome spice-recipe.

8 eggs, or 1 pint of egg substitute.

1 Cup (or a little less) of shredded cheese of your choice, we like extra sharp cheddar for this.

Directions:
Scramble your sausage:




When the sausage is ready, add the eggs, stir well, then add the cheese until everything is melted and done


My camera went wonky that night so I didn't get a picture of a finished product, sorry! This is a kid favorite in our house, and Hannah (7 yo) can fix the whole recipe herself. It's easier using the egg substitute when she's cooking.

I enjoy using the Fit & Active brand egg substitute. You can buy it at Aldis for $1.99, which is a GREAT deal. I cannot tell a difference between that and a name brand!

This column is a part of:

Baked Oatmeal

This is another recipe I've tried lately. I found it in the most recent issue of Healthy Cooking Magazine (from Taste of Home). I was very intrigued and had to try it at least once. The results were split - Jackosn LOVED it, had two helpings before school. Hannah (the picky one) said she liked regular oatmeal better. Jackson liked the "bar" type consistency, and you can add probably anything to it to mix things up. (I'm thinking chocolate chips!)





TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 30 min.

Ingredients:
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Yogurt and fruit, optional

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the milk, egg substitute and oil; add to the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Transfer to an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve with yogurt and fruit if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Review:
I really enjoyed the magazine. It was the first time I had read it. I did not realize Taste of Home had started a new magazine so that was a nice suprise to find on the maagzine rack one day while at Target. I'm planning on getting a subscription for myself. Something I really like is the nutritional stats with every recipe. They are not vague, either- there's enough information there to be able to calculate Weight Watcher Points. There are also diabetic exchanges for each recipe. These visuals are important to me when finding new recipes. It definitely helps that this "good for you" recipe has the same down home feel that the regular Taste of Home magazine has, as well.

Product Reviews

Coming soon! :o)