God's Growing Garden

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Perseverance & Character

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5

I just love this part: "justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." What is the meaning of "justified"? - I looked it up - "defended, validated, to declare free of blame; absolve." Also, we "gain access by faith"!

WOW - through our faith (our belief that Jesus Christ died for our sins) we gain 2 things:
1. We gain freedom from our sins and become blameless - we have peace.
2. We gain access to God - we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The word "grace" is very important here - we did not gain this access by our own doing - it is by God's grace - a gift that we do not deserve and therefore only Jesus can be glorified.

The next few verses are very difficult for some people. The Christian walk is not all candy and lace - it is difficult and many times we as Christians will suffer. I looked up the 3 steps of suffering in the Thesaurus: Perseverance produces Character which produces Hope.

Persevere - endure, stick it out, persist, keep on going, keep at it, carry on, proceed

Character - honor, integrity, strength, reputation, moral fiber

Hope - confidence, expectation, anticipation, faith

And let's not forget that "hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" - we have God's love inside us through His Holy Spirit!

The most difficult part for me is to rejoice in our suffering - I have not mastered that part yet (I'm working on it though).

Next time you are going through a hardship - remember to walk in your faith in Jesus Christ - you will become a stronger and better Christian at the end of your suffering.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Goldfinches Also Love Sunflowers

photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Goldfinches Also Love Sunflowers

I became very nervous (& excited) when I was taking these pictures - realizing that this cute little guy was actually posing for me. I wanted to capture this moment but (as usual) my hands became very sweaty - hence the unclear blurriness of some of these photos. I guess I'm not wildlife photographer material :-(

ENJOY!

photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Linked to:

Mop it up Mondays

Blissful & Domestic

Bees & Butterflies Love Sunflowers

photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Bees & Butterflies Love Sunflowers

I enjoy watching all of the bees and butterflies fluttering around my sunflower patch. The following are some of my better pictures from this summer - ENJOY!

photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Linked to:

Mop it up Mondays

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Zucchini & Carrot Cupcakes

About this time every year I come down with "Zucchini Exhaustion" - it is a medical condition where...........well OK, I'm just being silly - it certainly does feel like a medical condition though. I've used zucchini in just about every way possible. This is one of my more enjoyable zucchini recipes.

4 eggs Printable Recipe

1 cup butter (melted)

2 1/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt (only 1/2 teaspoon salt if you used salted butter)

2 cups carrots (peeled & shredded)

2 cups zucchini (shredded)

1 cup walnuts (or pecans)

Prepare the ingredients as listed above. Beat eggs & sugar until sugar is dissolved & mixture is very light in color. Then beat in butter. Now, with a wooden spoon - stir in the dry ingredients until combined. Add in the carrots & zucchini & stir until mixed in (as seen in the picture above). Finally, stir in the walnuts.

Butter or spray a 12 count muffin tin (you may use paper muffin liners if you prefer). Drop about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin space (this dough should be the perfect amount for exactly 12 cupcakes). Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean). Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove from the muffin tin onto a cooling rack (see pictures below).

While the cupcakes are cooling - make the frosting:

Frosting

1/2 package of cream cheese (at room temperature)

1/4 cup butter (softened)

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer - cream the butter, vanilla extract & cream cheese until fully combined (about 5 minutes). Now add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and mix until all sugar has been combined. Then do the same with the second cup of powdered sugar. The frosting should be perfect but if you like the frosting a little thicker then you may add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more powdered sugar.

Spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and then top with a walnut half.

ENJOY!!

Linked to:

52 Mantels

Pamela's Heavenly Treats

Days of Calk & Chocolate

Country Momma Cooks

Birthday Mop It Up Monday

Monday, August 6, 2012

Great New Kitchen Gadget: The NutriBullet

Well, OK - it's more like an appliance than a gadget. The company "Magic Bullet" first started with a blender that chopped, shredded and blended. Then they came out with a "Baby Bullet" for making homemade baby food. Now they've struck gold - the "NutriBullet" is specifically for making "smoothies." For decades I have been having whey protein drinks every morning for breakfast - since I don't digest milk very well - I have had plain old protein powder mixed in water - YUK!!! Now instead of dreading breakfast I look forward every morning to experimenting with new flavor combinations.

The "NutriBullet" comes with a blade for processing seeds and nuts and then the regular blade for making the fresh smoothies.

In the weeks and months to come I will share some of my recipes from some of my more successful smoothie experiments. I will share these recipes once a month or maybe once every other month on what I will be calling "Smoothie Saturday."

ENJOY!!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Fruit of the Spirit - FAITHFULNESS

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22 & 23

This is the seventh of a nine part series I call "Spiritual Fruit of the Month Club". Have you ever seen or received a gift where you are entered into a club and once a month you are sent a box of fruit - a different kind of fruit each month? Well, that is what we will be doing here - on the first Sunday of each month for nine months I will be sending you a digital box of Spiritual Fruit. We will study and try to use that fruit in our daily lives for that month.

I looked up "faithful" in the Thesaurus: "loyal, devoted, trustworthy, committed, dependable, reliable and constant. I love that last one: "constant" - always and forever, in every situation, never ending! Let's look at how important it is for us to be faithful:

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."
Proverbs 3:3

"Writing them (love & faithfulness) on the tablet of your heart and binding them around your neck" is serious. This means that we are to be devoted first to God, our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. We also need to be committed to our spouse, children, family, friends, neighbors and aquaintances.

When we are faithful (please take some time this week to read the following Bible passages):
1. God preserves - Psalm 31:23
2. God guards - Psalm 97:10
3. God promises - Psalm 145:13
4. God protects - Proverbs 2:8
5. God blesses - Proverbs 28:20
6. God strengthens - 2 Thessalonians 3:3
7. God frees - see the verse below

"..........And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

This verse in 1 Corinthians states that God is faithful and implies that our Christian walk will not be easy but if we follow God's example and remain faithful to Him.......then God will "provide a way out" and free us from the bondage of sin through Jesus Christ.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

What will you do with your case of FAITHFULNESS this month?

Fruit of the Spirit - LOVE

Fruit of the Spirit - JOY

Fruit of the Spirit - PEACE

Fruit of the Spirit - PATIENCE
Fruit of the Spirit - KINDNESS

Fruit of the Spirit - GOODNESS
Fruit of the Spirit - GENTLENESS

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Strawberry Saturday Linky

A few weeks ago I ran a survey asking what your favorite berry was. There was a tie - Strawberries & Blackberries are your favorite. Since Strawberries are less expensive I decided to have an annual "linky" party (blog hop) all about STRAWBERRIES.

It's called "STRAWBERRY SATURDAY" and one Saturday (it starts on Saturday and is open for 1 week) every summer I will have this "blog hop" where you can link up anything STRAWBERRY: any strawberry recipe, any item from your online shop that includes strawberries, any gardening tip on growing strawberries - anything STRAWBERRY.......you get the picture.

RULES:

-Link up as many as you want

- Please keep all submissions decent

- Grab my "Strawberry Saturday" button (if you desire - NOT a requirement)

The Strawberry posts below are from my blog and they are in order of my preference - please click on the title to view the post in detail and ENJOY!
(The "Linky" is below my posts)

Simple Strawberry Shortcake from Scratch