Peanut Butter Delights Recipe

Ingredients


1/2 cup butter

4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 cups creamy peanut butter

3 cups crisp rice cereal

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons shortening



Directions

In a large mixing bowl, mix butter, sugar, peanut butter and crisp rice cereal together thoroughly.

Roll into small balls and set aside.

Melt chocolate chips and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Coat the small balls in the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate for several hours.

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Roasted Garlic And Chicken With Broccoli Salad

- get 4 Garlics and cut top of each garlic and place in a pan

- poor olive oil on garlic
- salt and pepper the garlic
- strip the rosemary
- put stems of rosemary in a different pan
- season 4 chicken breasts with salt and pepper
- poor some olive oil in pain with stems
- place chicken in pan
- sprinkle rosemary on chicken 

bake in oven 400 degrees for about 45 min to an hour
- then you want to remove the garlic and cut out the cloves
 - place the cloves to the side.....we are going to use those in a bit

Now to start the broccoli salad.....

- cut up the broccoli - spread in a pan
- stem mushrooms and chop
- spread the mushrooms over the broccoli
- cut up 2 tomatoes and spread those in the pan
- poor olive oil 
- salt and pepper
- squeeze a lemon over the salad and place this in the oven for approximately 20 to 30 min or into it's baked to your liking (everybody likes this different)

Now to start a Garlic spread for the roasted chicken.....

- get your roasted garlic that you placed to the side
- add salt and pepper
- lemon juice
- a touch of rosemary
- mix in olive oil
- smear this on the your roasted chicken and place in the oven for another 10-20 min.  

When all is ready add the Broccoli Salad on top of the chicken and it's WONDERFUL!

There is not a whole lot of measurements on this recipe as this is one of the recipes I just do as I feel, so you should try that also.  Follow your cooking heart and you won't go wrong! =)

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Love Is Unconditional

Here lately I have been questioning "forever love" and it's true existence in this life.  I've learned over the years that we all have a choice for this type of love.  However, the choice is not always ours to make.  Sometimes one half of the relationship wants to make it last forever and the other half wants out.  I don't know what it's like to be married but I hope one day I do know and I hope one day I will know exactly what forever love is.  I don't know if I will get married and wake up in 30 or 40 years to a partner who wants out.  All I know is that I can't and will not give up on the hope that there is a relationship that will outlast any trials and tribulations life brings.  I refuse to let go of that dream that there is that one person who I will find in life who will stand by my side, and I his, through anything and everything and do it holding hands.  I have to continue to pray that I will find somebody who will always choose to say yes to me unconditionally and no to a love with conditions.  

I won't always make the right choices and I won't always wear a size 3 (clearing throat or 5) and I won't always be pleasant and neither will life.  So, all I can hope for is that the person I choose to love will also choose to love me unconditionally.  I know love is a gamble.....it's a big big chance we take but I am in this to win it.  I am in this life to have the life that God intended on me having no matter what the risk and I certainly intend on having the type of marriage God intended.  The world has turned love and marriage into a  temporary season.  Marriage is not a season we go through, it's a life long commitment we make to God.  We are to love our spouses the way God loves the Church and that is unconditionally!  

"Love is not determined by the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love."

"Unconditional love will not be swayed by time or circumstance."

What a concept, huh?  Isn't that what we all want?  Isn't that what we all desire with every ounce of breath in us?  Even the hardest of hearts just wants to be loved.  It's not just the feeling or action of being loved either but it is the ability to trust somebody.  It's hard to put yourself out there and risk being hurt.  So, who doesn't want to find that one person that through all the garbage in life can just give that one amazing magical most needed thing in the world.....love.

So, if you are currently married, look at your spouse today and recommit yourself to fall in love over and over and over again with without conditions.  If you are single, keep the faith and know God has AMAZING plans for you and your heart! 

Loves Is Not Jealous

"If you're not careful, jealousy slithers like a viper into your heart and strikes your motivations and relationships."

I learned a while back what jealousy can do. It eats at one's soul and can literally change somebody's personality.  Jealousy takes away our peace and our love from others and replaces it with darkness and evil.  Jealousy literally will slither like a viper into our hearts and kill amazing relationships.   

"If you don't diffuse your anger by learning to love others, you may eventually begin plotting against them. The Bible says that envy leads to fighting, quarreling, and every evil thing (James 3:16, 4:1-2)."

So many quarrels between people are rooted from jealousy. I look back on many of my arguments with girlfriends and I realize that one or the other rooted these arguments through jealousy. Love is about cheering one another on through good times and supporting one another through bad times. Life isn't a competition. Life is a gift to be shared with people we care about, so why allow envy to take place in our relationships?

I have learned over the years that NOBODY'S life is perfect.  We are all blessed in different ways and we all have struggles of different kinds.  One person might struggle with school but is amazing at playing a sport while that person who is good at a sport struggles with school and vice versa.  Stop comparing yourself to other people and love them and most importantly love yourself. Most of the time envy would not take root if one had security in themselves.  

So, how does one let go of the envy if it's already there?  Simple, take it to the cross.  God already knows that ugliness that is going on inside and He wants you to come to Him and willingly hand it over to Him.  He knows your struggles and He knows what is already going on inside so just be honest with yourself and Him.  Share your heart and why you are feeling the way you are feeling and then hand it all over to Him.  Trust me, the relief you feel when you do this is AMAZING!  Not only have you handed your cares to our amazing Father but you also allow room for love in your heart to come back in.  Jealousy pushes that love to the side and takes over.  Don't let that happen.  Give it to God to handle and walk away feeling at peace and loving again!!!  


Love is about encouragement and support. Love is happy for another's successes and not jealous. I dare you to not be jealous today!!!!  Love is waiting just around the corner for you!  

Love Believes The Best

"Love believes all things, hopes all things." 1 Corinthians 13:7

I will first start off by admitting.....this is an amazing challenge for me and something I have really struggled with my whole life.  Even as a Christian, my mind tends to wonder into the negative fields of doubt and insecurities.  This is a place that satan loves to take me and I have had to constantly seek God on ways to avoid this nasty playground.

"Love chooses to believe the best about people.  It gives them the benefit of the doubt.  It refuses to fill in the unknowns with negative assumptions."

I tend to think the worst in certain situations and a lot of that comes from insecurities.  I sometimes get the "they are all out to get me" mentality and become very protective of myself.  I easily shut down in certain situations and will just think the worst.  Although, I am typically a positive person, it's amazing how negative I can be when it comes to the thought of being treated badly.  I am quick to walk away and avoid negative situations instead of facing them head on.  Sometimes walking away is a good thing and this is when we need His amazing discernment and wisdom.  We need to know when to stick around and when it's time to walk away.  Often times, if we just change our perception on situations and circumstances, so many arguments and so much negativity can be avoided.

"It's time to start thinking differently.  It's time to let love lead your thoughts and your focus."

You must develop the habit of reining in your negative thoughts and focusing on the positive attributes of the people in your life. Love believes the best.  We all make mistakes but that should never overshadow the amazing qualities that we see in our loved ones. Love should always be the main opinion we have of somebody.  Love should be the first thing we think of when in the middle of conflict.  Love can end a battle and we should all work on ending our battles before they even begin.  Love, is the only way we can do this.  He loves us and has so much amazing mercy and grace for each of us.  Can you imagine how awful it would feel if God expected US to be perfect?? So, why do we expect perfection from others?  

We shouldn't.  

 I dare you to believe the best in people and in your circumstances today!

Am I The Thorn Or The Rose?

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city." Proverbs 16:32

The Bible tells us to be slow to anger and there is a reason for that.  Anger always forces us to do something we regret later.  Anger can lash out and spurt out words that can ruin relationships and even ruin lives. It's amazing how just one moment of anger can change so much and can especially change how others view you.  As a human, we will get angry but as a child of God, we must gauge what angers us and how we handle that anger. 

"When under pressure, love doesn't turn sour.  The truth is, love does not get angry or hurt unless there is a legitimate and just reason in the sight of God."


The Bible holds us accountable for the things that make us angry.  Today I challenge you to go through your day and make a list of the things that make you angry.  Look at your list before you go to bed and ask God to show you which things were and were not legitimate in the sight of Him.  You will find that 90% of the things that anger you, are not worth getting angry over.

"A loving wife is not overly sensitive or cranky but exercises emotional self-control.  She chooses to be a flower among the thorns and respond pleasantly during prickly situations." 

"Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife." Proverbs 21:19

Am I the delicate rose, or am I the thorn on the stem that makes others bleed and scared to even hold a rose?  I'm not a wife yet but I hope that when I am, I am the loving wife that God commands us to be in the Bible.  As a wife, you are not supposed to nag or be overly sensitive.  You are supposed to be God's reward to your husband and what kind of reward or gift are you if your husband is constantly nagged at or he has to walk on egg shells because he doesn't want to hurt your feelings or anger you?  What a miserable life and that is not the life God called you to give your husband.  

Controlling irritability is easy for some and hard for others.  With this busy life and all the things going on in one day, it's very easy to be irritable.  I dare you to try and capture those moments and make sure you are still treating loved ones right even when under life's pressures!  Life is precious and so are the people in it!  

Today, be the flower among the thorns and work hard making sure people enjoy life around you rather than dreading it.  

Love Is Thoughtful And Caring

"Thoughtlessness is a silent enemy to a loving relationship." 

"Love thinks before speaking.  It filters words through a grid of truth and kindness."


Recently I have learned that encouragement and support are both just as important in any relationship as love and loyalty are.  We must learn to bring balance into our relationships and that includes making sure we are meeting other's needs in all aspects as best as we can.  

Great relationships come from great thinking and it is important to be mindful of what the other is going through outside the relationship and to express concern and support in those other parts of their life. Too many times we are selfish with our thinking.  We are only thinking about what WE are going through or how somebody else made US feel and never take a moment to think about what that person might be going through.  What kind of battles are they dealing with and instead of taking offense, we should reach out and care.

Being thoughtful can range from words of encouragement, words of affirmation, to small gestures to let the other know they are important.  It's one of those things that does not take much time.  Showing somebody that you care is vital to a thriving relationship.  Being selfish and never taking time out to take an extra step to show somebody they are special is dangerous and can be a silent killer in your relationships.  Everybody wants to feel special and though of, everybody!  

Today I dare you to be thoughtful!

Love Is Not Selfish

So the past month has been a very up and down month and in the midst of it all I have realized my relationship with God is there but it isn't as deep as I want it to be or as it should be. I have kept Him in my life but I certainly lost my focus on Him.  I have really began to realize a lot of things about myself and the battle has been a tough one this week. I never viewed myself as selfish and I don't think that I am....I can be just like everybody else but I don't believe it is a characteristic I can claim. I realized that me holding on so tight to trying NOT to be selfish for so long has been selfish. Might not make sense but I try so hard to make sure everybody in my life is happy that I tend to forget about my own hopes and dreams and desires. I have really needed some time with God to sort through some feelings and most of all forgive. I spent the day today letting go of some anger and unforgiveness and I realize that sometimes when we forget about ourselves we are being selfish to our God who desires us to be happy. We hold what we really want at an arm's length in order not to offend others or "cross the line". I think in my time of thinking about "selfishness" I realized that I have been super selfish to God. He has blessed me with so many gifts that I have put them on the back burner in order to keep other's happy. I tuck the desires of my heart deep down inside to where I don't even know what they are anymore....desires of my heart that I have had for many years. So, maybe I am not selfish in the worldly way but I have definitely been selfish in the spiritual realm. I don't give enough of my time to Him and I have stopped living for the desires He placed in my heart a long time ago. 

I used to wake up every morning and have a Bible Study and spend my morning seeking Him and His guidance for the day. I used to be so happy and feel so blessed and lately I have realized that I spend more time trying to figure out why others aren't happy and trying to fix them and their misery. It has finally been revealed to me that I can't fix anybody and I cannot take the responsibility any longer for somebody else's unhappiness or inability to see the blessings they have in their own life. I can't. I have to keep my focus on Him and all I can do is pray for those around me who need an eye opener to what life really is about.

Life is beautiful and even though it is so hard sometimes..... even during the hard times we can reach out to our God and reach out to the people He has placed in our lives to help make this time on earth a better time. We have the ability to find the joy and peace in any situation, good and bad. We have the ability to balance the important things in our lives and not let the important people slip away. Yes, we should give and yes we should always put others first BUT not at the expense of losing ourselves and losing what God intended for US to be as individuals. That isn't what He means when He wants us to be selfless. I hope to move forward from this awakening but for now, I think I need some more time in prayer and focusing on the topic at hand. I need to figure out where I am leading my heart and if God is my guide for where I am leading it or if I am allowing other's lead it for me. I have spent too much time living in a dark place trying to fix somebody else's misery.

I finally have realized that it isn't ok for me to allow others to continue to hurt me because they are hurting inside. I do forgive but I will also guard my heart better. Sometimes people are not what they seem and it is a hard blow when your eyes are opened wide and you are hit with the truth. It is amazing how somebody can appear to be so amazing only to realize that they have their own selfish issues to work through and it is not something my anger or unforgiveness will ever fix for them. It is something they need to see on their own. Just like I did. I was once that selfish clueless person and I had to learn with the help of God who I really was and become who I really wanted to be.

So selfish, it isn't always about being selfish to the world or people around you.....sometimes it is being selfish to yourself. We have to love ourselves before we can love anybody else. I can no longer be selfish to my God or to myself. God wants balance in our lives and He certainly does not want us standing in the middle of other's anger and foolishness taking an emotional beating. I'm taking my life back and remembering who I am and who I have come so far to be. The pain isn't worth it anymore and it's simply not ok anymore.