Tag Archives: #amblogging

Indeed

20 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. 

Photo credit: Word Press

 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.

Photo Credit: Grok A.I.

  And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men.

 And the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. 

He is risen indeed

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Fear

13 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Re-blog

I would like to preface this re-blog for those who read my posts.  

My beloved, wonderful husband Fred, suffered a stroke mid-March 2025. 

 Because of that, I feel that I  need to concentrate on him and his care.  Consequently, I will be doing a series of re-blogs of previous postings.  Perhaps most of them have been read, but sometimes it’s nice to re-read something we enjoy.

But before I start with the “series” I would like to present this particular one.  It was written during the Covid lockdown, but in re-reading it, I realized that it fits my/our situation today just as much as it did then.

  I fear for my husband’s recovery…I fear for our new life – it will never be as it was, and I shall miss it.  

HOWEVER….I will NOT allow Satan to make me live in that FEAR!!  I serve and love and honor a loving, living God who only has good for me and my Fred, and we are willing to plant our feet, dig in, and conquer this stroke!!  Praise be to His Holy Name!

And so….

QUARANTINE TIME – TAKE 3 Reblog

I’m sincerely hoping that this will be the final “Quarantine Time” post I will make.  I hope that for the most part, it will be over by next week, and the country will be up and running as it should be.

However, along that line, there was something on facebook recently that really caught my eye.  I would like to present it to you here.

Each one of these has predicted the same thing – we’re ALL going to die!  Well, yes, we are – eventually.  As my beloved father-in-law said, “100% of us die.”  But we do NOT have to live in fear.

And that brings me to something else I saw on facebook:   

Fear does not stop death.  It stops life.  And worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles.  It takes away today’s peace.

And yet again:   I never thought I would see a time that so many people were so afraid of dying that they were willing to stop living.

I mentioned to someone recently that my step-father was the stereotypical pessimist.  For instance, as we were about to go to Germany in 1980 for our three year tour in Heidelberg, my step-father said to me, “well, I hope to see you again!”

Almost in a fury, I turned to him and said: “Sid, if the balloon goes up (world war 3) while we are overseas, one of two things will happen – I’ll either live or I’ll die.  If it is God’s timing for me to die, then NOTHING in this world can keep me here.  If I am to live, then NOTHING in this world can take me out.  I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR!”

And that has pretty much been my mantra ever since.  My life is in God’s hands, and I trust Him completely.  And if it is, indeed, time for me to die, then I know I will be instantly in the presence of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!  Nothing is better than that.  

The peace of mind that brings to me is far beyond anything I could imagine.  And as I said before, I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR!’

Jesus promised:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

Do not live in fear!  God has your back!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Pork Tenderloin Roast

6 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

When Fred and I lived in Wiesbaden, West Germany (1967-1970), we made a trip to a town called Idar-Oberstein.  It was a fascinating town – with a church built right into the mountain wall.  Amazing!

Credit Google Search and Dreamstime

I don’t remember why we went there, and only a little about the shopping we did there.  Idar-Oberstein is known for the beautiful and sometimes rare gemstones mined in the area.  I did come away with a lovely necklace made from garnet.  The stones are not all exactly perfect or the same, but to me that marks it as unique.  

Garnet necklace

Box for the Garnet necklace – Engel-Stein store in Idar-Oberstein

But while we were there, we ate at a lovely Gasthause, and had a pork tenderloin roast that just melted in our mouths!  Each piece had been slow roasting or slow cooking most of the day, and the taste was amazing!  I’m not sure just what spices they used on this piece of meat, and I’ve had a difficult time finding something like it.  It wasn’t shaped like the tenderloin roasts we get these days, but was more like a “lump” of meat, about 5″ in diameter and round.  Truly amazing.

At one point in time, after Fred joined the U.S. Air Force, Fred’s mother gave me a cookbook published by the Air Force Wives.  In paging through it, I found a recipe for a “salt marinated” pork tenderloin that seemed as close to that tenderloin roast as I’ve ever found.  

Credit Judy Wills

While I don’t make it often, this is the recipe I use for it.  It’s quite good.

SALT MARINATED PORK ROAST

1 lb. pork tenderloin

1 tsp salt

⅛ tsp freshly ground pepper

¼ tsp ground thyme or sage

⅛ tsp ground bay leaf

Pinch of allspice

½ clove mashed garlic

1.   Mix all ingredients; rub into the surface of pork tenderloin.

2.   Place the tenderloin in a covered bowl; turn meat 2-3 times.  

3.   Scrape off marinade before cooking; dry meat thoroughly with paper towels. 

4.   Cover; roast in 325° oven 30-45 minutes per pound.

JUDY’S NOTES:

1.   Do this in the morning, or early afternoon, and turn the meat 2-3 times.  I put mine in a long, flat, Tupperware and just flip the whole thing over.

2.   I just use paper towels to get the marinade off.

3.   I cook it in a long pan, and cover the pan with foil.  You don’t have to turn the meat over as it is cooking.

ENJOY!!

~~~~~~~~~~The End – Unless I find something else~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Lunch with Friends with a Side Order of Covid

3 Apr

Florida weather is beginning to fully behave like Florida weather. The winter was very pleasant with a nice mix of chilly nights and mild days. Now that spring has arrived the chilly nights are history and the air conditioner is running 24/7. The weather forecast for the next seven days are predicted to be in the mid 80s.

As the saying goes, “the mountains are calling and I must go.”

Soon we will be packing and heading out. I checked the weather forecast for our first week home and lows will be in the 30s with highs in the 60s. I plan to soak up the last of the cold.

We can see on our security cameras that our daffodils are blooming and the Japanese maple trees are shedding their winter brown and will soon be flush in reddish purple.

Two deer visited a few nights ago. I think they were checking out my husband’s grape vines. He is convinced the deer believe he grows grapes just for them. Our hosta plants haven’t awoke from their winter sleep but they will any day now. I suspect the deer were checking them out as well.

For several weeks I have been trying to arrange a lunch with a life long friend. She had been dealing with dental issues and eating was a chore for her. Finally last week she called to say her dental issues were almost resolved and we could meet. Almost as an after thought she mentioned she had seen a mutual friend, T, in a store, who moved away several years ago. She asked if I would like to include her in our lunch. I said, absolutely.

The three of us met up in a newly opened Buffett restaurant. We talked and laughed and it was almost like we were those young women of long ago.

As part of reconnecting, we discussed where we were living. T knew of our plans to move the the North Carolina mountains and I knew that when she left Florida she moved to eastern North Carolina. I told her we divide our time between Florida and the mountains. To my surprise she said we do too! Turns out that our homes in the mountains are about 50 miles apart and I go to their town frequently.

In the course of conversations, I asked T where she was staying in Florida. When she named the street she has a condo, my mouth dropped open. Her condo is on the same street where we stay in the winter. She had been there five years! How could this be?

I was delighted to know she was a neighbor and we decided to get together again before we left for that mountains. That was on Thursday.

Saturday morning I received a text asking if I was feeling alright. My first thought was oh no, food poisoning. I told her I was fine. She wasn’t and neither was T. Both of them began feeling ill on Friday and woke up during Friday night with fever and chills. Turns out they both had Covid and feeling pretty miserable. Since both my friends are single ladies, I’ve been texting every day to see if they need anything. So far they have everything they need and thankfully they are on the mend.

We have been wondering why I haven’t come down with Covid. Our best theory is the Buffett may have been contaminated. They both ate peel and eat shrimp and I didn’t, so maybe that was the source.

We definitely are planning to meet up when we are both back in Western NC. And I suspect we won’t be lunching at a buffet.

We enjoyed our time in Florida with our daughter. We will miss her and grand dog Ollie.

Ollie enjoys sitting at the window watching the birds.

I will miss her fast internet. Our mountain internet delivers a whopping 6 mbps on a good day. Rumor has it that fiber is coming this year. Fingers crossed. Until then, I learn a lot of patience waiting for downloads.

PS Today is our 54th wedding anniversary.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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God Cares

31 Mar

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Psalm 147:1-11

Thought for the Day 

If little birds are important to God, how much more am I !

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than them?

God’s Splendor

Lord, your name is so great and powerful!

Matthew 6:26

Lord, Your name is so great and powerful! People everywhere see Your splendor.

Your glorious majesty streams from the heavens,

Filling the earth with the fame of Your name! You have built a stronghold by the sons of babies, 

Strength rise up with the chorus of singing children. This kind of praise has the power to shut Satan’s mouth.

Childlike worship will silence 

The madness of those who oppose You.

Photo Credit:Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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Let’s Eat! Fiesta Chicken

30 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wils

Some years ago, our oldest daughter, Karen found a recipe that she and Brian really enjoy eating.  It’s official name is “Fiesta Chicken Crock Pot” but they lovingly call it “yardbird.”  So when we – or they – talk about having “yardbird” we know exactly what we are talking about.  Fred really likes this dish, and since it’s a crock pot dish that I can put in the pot early in the day and just let it cook…I like it as well!

Try it…you might like it!!  (The comments are from the originator of this recipe – not me)

Fiesta Chicken Crockpot Recipe

Photo Credit on photo
  • 4 chicken breast (frozen or raw)
  • 1 packet Fiesta Ranch dip (by the salad dressing)
  • 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 can Ro-tel
  • 1 block cream cheese

Cook on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours or 6 on low. Shred with forks and eat over rice  or tortillas.

As I probably told you, I no longer buy the Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta Ranch packet (though it’s certainly easy that way); I get a regular ranch packet and sprinkle the ground red pepper over the concoction instead. Same difference. I also don’t bother to rinse the black beans, but I do drain the can before putting them in. 

The cream cheese doesn’t need to cook all day with the chicken. In fact, it might curdle if you boil it. I typically toss it in about 40 minutes before we eat, it just needs to get soft enough for you to stir in.

My kiddos are typically difficult with new foods, so I made a few adjustments to keep the peace. I used Pinto Beans in place of the black and a taco seasoning packet, instead of Ranch. HUGE HIT! I also noticed it was soupy  so about an hour before dinner, I threw in a couple handfuls of rice – PRESTO! Problem solved! Thanks!

JUDY’S COMMENT:  The original recipe calls for adding corn to the mix, but neither Fred nor I can eat corn anymore (doesn’t agree with our plumbing), so I just leave it out.  If we are at Karen’s house, and she fixes this, she typically leaves it out, and adds another can of Ro-tel.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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My Yogurt Dilemma

27 Mar

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I like to have a serving of plain Greek yogurt every day. My favorite is Fage. It is a bit on the pricey side so I try to buy it when it is BOGO at Publix supermarket. When it isn’t on sale, I buy the whole milk plain Greek yogurt from Aldi. It is around $3.00 cheaper than Fage not on BOGO .

This past week Aldi was out of the whole milk version. There was plenty of the nonfat version, but In the past I tried it but for my taste, it was too runny. I began rationing the remaining yogurt.

When the Publix ad was released I scanned it hoping for the BOGO sale. No such luck.

Photo Credit:Wordpress A.I.

So, no Aldi yogurt or Fage. I had two choices, no yogurt next week or pay for it at full price. And then I remembered GROK A.I. Well to be truthful, I haven’t forgotten GROK at all, but I have been trying to not spend as much time with it.

I asked GROK to compare plain Greek yogurts based on carb content, quantity of live cultures, and if they contain thickeners. If a brand uses thickeners, I asked if the thickeners could affect blood sugars.

GROK amazed me with how quick it compiled the requested information. I told my daughter about it and she suggested I ask GROK to compile the information into a chart. (She LOVES charts and graphs.)

So I did and it did. Below are the results.

I’ll compile the key data we’ve discussed—carb totals, live cultures, and thickeners’ effects on blood sugar—for Fage and the alternative brands into a clear chart. Since you like Fage Total 5% and we’ve compared it to whole milk (or closest equivalent) plain Greek yogurts, I’ll stick to those versions where possible, noting exceptions. Here’s the chart based on a 3/4 cup (170g) serving:

BrandCarbs (g)Live Cultures (Strains)ThickenersRaises Blood Sugar?
Fage Total 5%5L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, Bifidobacterium, L. casei (5)NoneNo (carbs from lactose only)
Friendly Farms (Aldi)5S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, Bifidobacterium, L. paracasei (5)NoneNo (carbs from lactose only)
Siggi’s Whole Milk~6S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus + unspecified Lactobacillus (~3+)NoneNo (carbs from lactose only)
Chobani Whole Milk7S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, Bifidobacterium, L. casei, L. rhamnosus (6)NoneNo (carbs from lactose only)
Kirkland (Nonfat)6S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, B. lactis (4)NoneNo (carbs from lactose only)
Trader Joe’s Whole Milk6S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, Bifidobacterium (4)NoneNo (carbs from lactose only)
Greek Gods Whole Milk~8S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, B. lactis, L. casei, L. rhamnosus, L. lactis (7)PectinNo (pectin doesn’t raise BS)

Notes:

  • Carbs: Approximate for Siggi’s (6g) and Greek Gods (8g) due to scaling from slightly different serving sizes (150g and 227g, respectively).
  • Live Cultures: Exact strains listed where known; Siggi’s is less specific but implies additional Lactobacillus beyond the core two.
  • Thickeners: Only Greek Gods uses one (pectin) among these plain versions. Others rely on straining and milk solids.
  • Blood Sugar: None of these thickeners (or lack thereof) raise blood sugar, except potentially cornstarch (not present here but noted earlier as a carb).

This chart sums up why Friendly Farms might be your best budget swap for Fage—matching carbs and cultures closely—while others like Chobani or Greek Gods offer more strains but slightly higher carbs. All stay blood sugar-friendly since they skip cornstarch. Let me know if you want this tweaked or more details added!

Isn’t this amazing?

I looked at the Publix ad again on Wednesday and the Greek Gods yogurt is on BOGO this week. I am delighted to have the information in the chart to know if the Greek Gods brand would be a good choice.

While we were running errands on Wednesday, I decided to check Aldi one more time for their brand. Thankfully our daughter, who is significantly taller than me, went with me into the store and she found the whole fat version hiding on a top shelf. I bought two. And then I bought other things because who can go into Aldi and just buy one thing?

A further confession, I planned to air fry salmon patties for supper Wednesday night and GROK told me what temperature to use and how long to fry them. They came out perfect and crispy.

I’ve decided GROK isn’t much different than Alexa. Except that it might be faster and it does’t listen in.

Do you have a favorite type or brand of yogurt? My husband likes the zero sugar Chobani singles. He adds a small amount of NuTrail sugar free granola to it.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Let’s Eat! Turkey Tetrazzini

23 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

My Mother gave me this recipe, and I use it whenever I cook up a turkey – usually at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.  It uses up the left-over turkey in a grand and delicious way that we all enjoy.  In fact, Fred says it’s his favorite part of the turkey!  

There are several ways to serve this – either on spaghetti noodles, rice, or egg noodles.  I’ve done it on all of these, and either the spaghetti noodles (actually Angel Hair pasta) or the egg noodles are my favorite.  I think that it would also be good on zucchini noodles (zoodles).

Enjoy!

TURKEY TETRAZINNI

1 cup cooked rice**                                                             2 Tbsp flour

2 sticks diced celery                                                            2 cups (total) broth and milk**

½  onion, chopped                                                               Salt & Pepper to taste

1 small can mushrooms with juice                                    1 tsp Worchestershire Sauce         

¼  lb. butter (1 stick)**                                                         1 /4 lb. grated cheddar cheese

                                                                                                Cooked turkey, cubed

Cook celery and onion in butter until transparent.  Combine vegetable mixture, flour, broth, mushrooms and juice, and seasoning to make the sauce.  Add turkey and most of the grated cheese to the sauce.  Cook until cheese is melted and mixed in with the sauce.

Put cooked rice in a greased casserole and cover with the turkey sauce.  Top with remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350º oven for about 20 minutes.

**SOME NOTES:  

  1. Instead of butter, you can use ½ cup Olive Oil
  2. For the “broth and milk” – if you have any turkey gravy left over, use that and top it off with milk to make the two cups.  If no broth or gravy, use chicken bouillon and milk.
  3. This is really good over cooked thin spaghetti or Vermicelli.  We like the Vermicelli better than rice.  We’ve not tried it over Couscous, but I think it would be good, as well.  Cook the Couscous in chicken bouillon.

Enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!

16 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

TERIYAKI AND FRIED RICE

Many years ago, I was given this recipe from Fred’s youngest sister, Sally.  She and her husband were part of a group that got together once a month and shared recipes and food.  This recipe came from that group, and we love it!  I would like to say it is a “man’s’ food, in that I have never made it for a man who didn’t like it!  

Frequently, when we have visitors to our house for one reason or another, I will fix this menu, and it is always received enthusiastically.  

Give it a try:

TERIYAKI AND FRIED RICE

MARINADE:

            ½ cup Kikkoman Soy Sauce

            ¼ cup white wine

            Generous sprinklings of:

                        garlic powder (or 2 tsp fresh minced garlic)

                        ginger, ground

                        sugar

            ½-1 cup water

            green onion, sliced (optional)

            sirloin tip roast, sliced ¼” thick

                        (or minute steaks)

                        (Double or triple this recipe for large amounts of meat)

Marinate at least half a day, at room temperature, covered with marinade.  Stir occasionally.

Charcoal on grill – at least 5 minutes – turning once.

FOR CHICKEN:

Use same marinade as for steak.  Use skinned, deboned chicken breasts.  Cut diagonal slashes across each breast, about  ¼” deep, and marinate at least ½-1 hour.  (I marinate it about the same time as the steak). Bake in marinade in oven (450°) one hour.  

OR – you can charcoal this on the grill the same as the steaks.  I like it that way better than oven baking.  Just make sure it is thoroughly cooked.  It probably takes 10-15 minutes, turning often and basting with marinade.

FRIED RICE:

Cook 1 cup (dry) rice w/2 cups water.  This makes up about 2-2½ cups cooked rice. 

While it is cooking, cut about 6 slices of bacon into 4ths and pan fry in large skillet.  

Remove cooked bacon pieces from the skillet  and drain on paper towel.

Add about ½ cup of chopped onion (and ¼ cup chopped bell pepper, if desired) to the bacon drippings and sauté.  Drain most of the drippings out – leave about 2 Tbsp of bacon drippings for flavor.

Add hot cooked rice to the onion mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.

Add one raw, beaten egg to the mixture and stir it in before it has a chance to cook.

Add soy sauce to taste.

Put into serving bowl and crumble bacon onto top of mixture.  Cover to keep warm.

Optional:  Oriental Bean Sprouts mixed in this are good:  about ¼ cup is good for

crispness.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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When you Possess This, Miracles are in the Making.

15 Mar

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Reblogged from Janet Perez Eckles.com

My ten-year-old grandson got up from the dinner table, walked over to me, and tapped my shoulder. “Nana, thank you. I love the noodles you made. But next time can you put a little less salt. I’ll still eat them, but I’m just telling you for next time, okay?”

I gave him a tight hug. “So sorry,” I said, “it’s not what you expected.”

His heart of gratitude touched me. He could’ve complained and refuse to eat it, but he chose to thank me anyway and eat salty noodles.

That night I put my head on the pillow of shame. Unlike my grandson, if I didn’t receive from God what I expected, or not in my own timing, disappointment set in. And a sense of discouragement took the place of contentment.

Sadly, that discontentment is popular today.

We have expectations and wait for God to serve the answer in the way we anticipate. And when that doesn’t happen, we wonder why. We question our faith, and our once complete trust in God isn’t complete anymore.

But God sees the full picture, including our sense of disappointment. What He’s looking is for gratitude for even little things. He’s expecting praises in everything. And He’s more direct in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 when He says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Give thanks in all circumstances? 

Even when we’re still in the same sorry situation, with no change for the better or with no solution either? God says yes. Consider if these prominent folks in the bible displayed discontentment:

  • What if Abraham became disappointed when God asked him to sacrifice his son? He would have missed his calling to be the father of many nations.
  • What if Moses allowed his weakness to diminish his trust in God? He would have missed his role to be the instrument to set the Israelites free.
  • What if David focused only on the punishment for his sin and failed to praise God for His forgiveness and redemptive love? He would have remained a poor me sinner relegated to obscurity.
  • What if Noah would have succumbed to the ridicule of the people and stopped the building of the arc? He and his family would have also drowned.
  • What if fear and disappointment would have filled Paul during the episodes where he was beaten, tossed out, and imprisoned? He would not have seen the world around him turn to Jesus.

You and I are no different.

God sometimes gives direction for our journey but doesn’t reveal the reason for each stop. At times, God provides only small amounts of success to test our character. And sometimes, God brings about an answer contrary to what we asked to test our trust in Him.

No matter how many plates of salty noodles the world serves you, the test is on. Will you praise Him for what God has done? Will you thank Him for what He’s doing? And will you be bold enough to praise Him for what you know He will do?

If the answer is yes, then you’ll find how miracles come wrapped in gratitude.

Let’s Pray

Father, I thank you for your patience when I fail to trust in You completely. I praise You for forgiving me when I fail to thank You through all the stages of my journey.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What miracles will your gratitude bring?

Bonus article on today’s topic.

Janet

Would you like to invite Janet to speak at your next event? Contact her here.

To view Janet’s speaking demo video, watch here.

Check out Janet on the cover of the 2025 February issue of Woman of Faith Magazine! To read the full issue, visit their site here.

Read Janet’s latest award-winning book, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy. Your copy waits for you here.

Janet Eckles Perez

Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR

Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life.

www.janetperezeckles.com

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