My Paraphrase and thoughts on I Cor. 13

It really doesn’t matter if I can speak all the languages of earth and even tongues. If I don’t really love others, I am only a noise maker, as undesirable to hear as kettle lids being banged together. I can have all kinds of wise insights and understand God’s secret plans, yes and even possess all knowledge. I can be so faith-filled that I can move mountains, but if I don’t love others, it’s nothing. Even if I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my own body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

• Love is patient and kind. Yet in my day to day dealings with the little one… How often do I become impatient? To be always gentle with them!

• Love is not jealous - Do I desire the recognition or blessings of others? Does it rankle me when things are unequal?

•  Or boastful - Do I quietly go about serving my Maker? Or do I ever seek recognition for my accomplishments, etc?

•  Or proud - Pride…so sneaky…so easy to fall into the trap of self focus and self seeking! Even my supposed humility can be so prideful!

•  Or rude - this one makes me think of that day when the phone didn’t hang up when I thought  it had, and I was in the middle of scolding my little one when a voice on the other end asked if I was finished…. Yes, if you are reading this, you know who you are and remember! I blushed and hung up without even answering. I was mortified… yet, my little ones here me speak like this and I don’t even think is it loving?

• It does not demand its own way - do I?

• It is not irritable - oooh! Ouch! Yes, I confess I do get irritated much to quickly…those daily irritations, the constant questions of toddlers, the foolish prattle….

• It keeps no record of being wronged… (you always do thus and so)

• It does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

• Love never gives up… those prayers that seem to go unanswered?

•  Never loses faith… when days and weeks and years pass by?

•  Is always hopeful… ALWAYS?!

•  And endures through every circumstance… the long moments of every day with his love?

“Oh Jesus Christ who bore the bitter cross for me -

 Stretched out Thine arms in love and agony

Impart Thy love and fill, transform my heart - 

Til’ it breaths naught but love - the love Thou art!”

"Dairy-Free" Cheesecake!

Okay, so, as long as I'm breastfeeding I'm officially abstaining from dairy and gluten. For one who grew up dairy intolerant, that isn't so terrible, but it just so happens to cut out my favorite dessert - Mocha Cheesecake! It's the holidays, and every single party or gathering I go to is well stocked with every sweet treat imaginable - all of them loaded with dairy, gluten (and of course sugar and calories). Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that I can't eat them, because then I'm not packing on the pounds either, but I finally got so hungry for my favorite, that I decided to see what I could do about it.
The results? Quite satisfactory! So in case there is another Mocha Cheesecake lover out there, living in self denial, I'll share the recipe with you!

In my case, my little guy handles me eating a bit of goat milk, so that is the yogurt I used, but I think one could easily substitute soy, almond or other dairy free yogurt, only maybe the flavor would be a little less authentic. And by the way - I got the yogurt and cashew butter on sale at a discount grocers! Score!

Here's the filling. For a crust - simply use a graham cracker crust recipe with gluten free cookie crumbs if desired - and butter substitute like earth balance:

In saucepan over low heat
2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tsp of hot water
1/4 cup of honey(this can be adjusted to desired sweetness and could be another sweetener)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I use Kirkland brand because they are dairy free)
2 Tb dark cocoa powder

Stir till melted and then add:

2/3 cup raw cashew butter

Mix well and add:

1 1/3 c. plain goat milk yogurt

Pour over crust and chill until set up - I chilled mine overnight.

Mmmm!  Enjoy!

Cardboard Gingerbread House

 Did you know that the box the presents come in can be just as much fun as the gifts themselves? Grandma's box of sparkly gifts arrive in this box and Christy asked me to make her a house. When I started to cut it, I suddenly saw some fun potential and we got out the paint and glue. This is what we created.

 

Here is a note from Johnny to Grandma - "Our dear Grandma,  We love you. This gingerbread house is neat! We are excited to open the packages. Thank you for sending them! I think that the little one might be money!"

And this one is from Christy -"I love you. I want to open my package all day long soon! But I want to wait til Christmas. We made a house from your box. I like it."

Winter in Wyoming

Saw this poem today and it made me grin. I changed a stanza for sake of politeness...


It's winter in Wyoming
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Wyoming
With all this snow to tackle
You take a breath of winter
And your nose begins to crackle.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Wyoming
I'm frozen to the ground!

Our cheerful little man! He can sit and giggle and wiggle in this swing so sweetly! Beth Alexander, if you are reading this, how can I thank you for it enough? 

Snowball!

This is the nature of snow in Cheyenne - Bare patches and drifts! They have what they call ground blizzards here, when the already fallen snow blows around and drifts the roads back shut.

Jack Frost's handiwork - see the neat designs in the ice? Isn't our Creator amazing? I found this frost pattern on Christy's window one day.

 

Our little smiley guy(I don't know how to get it to play the right speed...)

Our Advent Branch

And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth...

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox...

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious. from Isa. 11:1-10

So I saw a neat idea of using the days leading up to Christmas to teach a Bible lesson everyday, and make a little symbol to represent it to hang on a Jesse tree or branch. 

Today we made salt dough and molded little symbols and painted them. We hung the first couple and I told them the stories to go with them. They look forward expectantly to putting up the rest day by day.

Seven Years Today

It's been exactly seven years today since I walked the isle with my love and vowed to be his til death do us part. It's been a wonderful seven years, not without their growing pains, but together we have grown - I believe, more like HIM we both love. I have learned to see that our strengths and weaknesses compliment each other. Together we can learn to be more like the Master than we could alone. And I am thankful for my man, thankful for his constant caring commitment and strength of character, thankful for the ways he stretches me, thankful for the home we are building together. May it be a house of praise where God the Almighty reigns - a home where God is enthroned and his name proclaimed!

And just a little out of the mouth of babes quote for you - Remember the athiest sales man that I wrote about? When he was here John turned on some hymn worship music and said to him "Do you know why I like to listen to that? Because we love Jesus in this house."

We do. And it makes such a difference.