Rich Gifts

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Project 365 - December 6, 2009

Project 365 again! The year is almost up. I have really enjoyed this meme even though I have strayed from it a little during the year. Sara has been a wonderful hostess and has kept up with this all year long. I really have to hand it to her. Thank you Sara!

I missed last week and have lost track of which pictures are for what days so just know that these were all within the last two weeks. Here we go!

I love to watch the little ones play like this. I can just see the imagination at work. You can't see it in the picture but she has about 10 little cars all lined up that she is driving back and forth across the couch.

I found this little pop-up Christmas card that Word Girl had made for a friend, then left it at my house. I love finding little tell-tale signs that they think of Christ even when I'm not telling them to. :)

It's so good to be clean again!

I finally got my inspection sticker! WooHoo!

Word Girl and I went to Hobby Lobby one day and she wanted this little nutcracker. It was unfinished wood so she used watered down paint and q-tips to stain it. Turned out pretty good.

My friend Angela thought she wasn't getting in the picture here. Her son just celebrated his 13th birthday and she told him she was getting him a pink brick. He said he was going to name it Pinky. Well I have lots of paver bricks cut in various sizes from laying a section of my patio so I created The Pinkster here.

Here he is preparing to be wrapped. Her son loved it and has him proudly displayed on a shelf in his room.

Happy Sunday!

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"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Friday, December 4, 2009

Apple Pecan Braid

I thought I would share the recipe for my Apple Pecan Braid pictured above. Please excuse the crumbs and sloppy presentation, I took the picture after I had already cut a piece off the end for Computer Girl to taste.

I created this recipe as my replacement for apple pie. You see, I'm not a big fan of apple pie. I love the crust with the flavor of the filling on it but I don't like the gush of cooked fruit. It didn't really turn out like apple pie but I love it and most of the people I have shared it with do too. This would make a yummy, inexpensive gift if you're baking for Christmas this year. This recipe will make two braids.

Braid:
2 Apples peeled and sliced
3 T Granulated Sugar
1 T Flour
¼ tsp Cinnamon
⅛ tsp Nutmeg
1/2 C Chopped Pecans
2 refrigerated pie crust, (from 15oz box) softened as directed on box

Glaze:
½ C Powdered Sugar
¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
2-3 tsp Milk

Preheat oven to 375o

In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a food chopper, chop apple slices into small bits. In a mixing bowl mix together apple bits and sugar mixture being sure to coat the apple bits well. Stir in pecans.

Unroll the pie crusts onto ungreased flat baking sheet. Spoon a 4” wide strip of apple-pecan filling down the center of the pie crust to within ¼” from top and bottom edge. Fold the top and bottom edge just over the filling to help keep filling in while cooking. With a sharp knife, make cuts 1” apart along the sides of the dough from the edge of the filling to outer edge of the dough. Fold dough strips over filling to center alternating sides and overlapping dough at center to create a braided look.

Bake at 375o for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.

While braid cools mix glaze ingredients to desired consistency. Remove braid to serving plate. Drizzle glaze over top of braid. Cut into slices and serve warm or cooled.

Variations:

For a colorful Christmas or Easter appearance:
Separate glaze into small bowls. Add a drop food coloring to glaze using a different color for each bowl and mix well. Drizzle colored glazes over braid alternating colors.

For a not so sweet braid:
Before baking, sprinkle top of braid with a cinnamon and sugar mixture and omit glaze.

Carmel Apple Pecan Braid:
In braid substitute granulated sugar for light brown sugar and add ½ tsp margarine. In glaze substitute vanilla extract for maple extract.

Enjoy!

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Urgent Prayer Request for Doug

Many of you already know Loren at The Magoos News and already have this prayer button but I am sharing it again today as Doug's condition has declined and they are in deep need of prayer. Please come together to lift up Doug for healing and for Salvation. Please pray God's Peace and Comfort over this family.

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"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Giveaway Alert

Not too long ago I hosted a blog makeover giveaway at my other blog Rich Gifts Graphics and Blog Design. Karen at Surviving Motherhood won the makeover and tomorrow her new look will be up and running. To celebrate, Karen is having a giveaway of her own but it will only run for one day and that day will be tomorrow, Thursday, December 3, 2009.

I encourage you to visit Karen's blog tomorrow and get in on it while you can. Even if you don't win, you will be so blessed when you get to know her. God has used her many times to speak to my heart and encourage me. She is not only a wonderful lady, she is fun and so REAL that you can't help but feel at ease with her.

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Monday, November 30, 2009

Choose Wisely

Last week the girls and I went to rent a movie, something I haven't done is about 15 years. When you don't expose yourself to tv and movies, it's amazing how much more aware you become of the sinful and evil nature of the shows that are being produced these days.

While I was paying for the movie and the girls were looking through the candy section, I noticed this candy on the counter, Twilight Sweethearts.

This movie is being depicted as a love story between a teenage girl and a vampire, and it has created an incredible love in this nation for all things vampire. Sadly, even Christians have fallen for this. A vampire is defined as a corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or demon, that periodically leaves the grave and sucks the blood of the living. In other words, this story is a "love story" between a teenage girl and a demon in a dead mans body.

Lets look at what some of these hearts say. Dazzle, Lamb, Live 4 Ever, Bite Me. The definition of Dazzle is to overpower or dim the vision of by intense light, to shine or reflect brilliantly, to excite admiration by brilliance. So when we look at the first three we might believe it is referring to Christ. Jesus and only Jesus is The Light and The Lamb that gives us Life 4 Ever. But one of the hearts says Bite Me, referring to a vampire (a demon in a dead persons body) sucking the life blood out of a human by biting them.

Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood... Leviticus 17:10

According to this scripture, God sets His face against vampires. Vampires are about death, God is about Life. Satan is the great copier. He copies everything about God because he wants to be God. He is the great Liar and twists the truth to deceive God's people. Even the reference to the Forbidden Fruit on the box and in this picture clearly point to the first sin when Satan deceived Eve and convinced her to do what God had Forbidden.

If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible. Leviticus 5:17

We are in the last days and we must be more vigilant than ever to teach our children to make wise choices that will lead them into Truth. We have to stop reasoning that because something is fun to us it is safe, and right in God's eyes. How can we teach our children to choose what is right even when it is hard, if we don't do that ourselves? In the words of Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who loses what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."