Holiday Cheese Balls

Thank you for all of your interest in the Cheese Ball that I posted in my last post.  Just wanted to let you know that I now have the recipe on Mimi's Making Meals. 

This is a great recipe for the holidays.  The cheese balls make great gifts or a great hostess gift to take to your holiday parties.

I hope that you enjoy them as much as my family does.

Mimi's And A Movie

"W" and I had such a great day today!  We went to church and after church we decided to go out to eat. (Since he has been out of work, we have not been eating out very often and so it was a real treat to get to go out.)  This Sunday, "Mimi's Kitchen" was closed, but "Mimi's Cafe" was open!

Faith had given me strict instructions prior to going there, that I HAD to try the Carrot Raisin Nut Muffin and let me tell you...It did not disappoint!  It was scrumptious!

We decided to order from the breakfast menu since it was still only 11:30 am, and this is what we split - Mimi's Original Pain Perdu Breakfast.

It came with French Toast stuffed with cream cheese and orange marmalade! 

Here's a picture of "W" humoring me by allowing me to take yet another picture.

After eating a big breakfast, we decided that we probably needed to "Move It, Move It, so we caught a matinee and went to see this.

It was so cute!  I think that we were the only adults in the theater without kids with us and I think we laughed harder than anyone else.  There was a lot of adult humor and I think it is probably one of those movies that every time you see it you would hear or see something that you hadn't caught before!

When we came out, "W" said, "Wow, we've had more fun THIS weekend than we've had in a long time!"

We headed back home to "Mimi's Kitchen" and started making some Holiday Cheese Balls. (Some of the girls I work with have been after me to make one of my cheese balls, so I finally got it done this evening!)

I will be posting the recipe for these little "gems" on Mimi's Making Meals in just a few days, so be sure to check them out! 

A Bible In My Hand

This past Sunday our Pastor preached an awesome sermon from 2 Timothy entitled "A Bible In Your Hand".  I was reminded of just how important it is for me to keep God's Word close by me as I go through this life.

The Bible is how God speaks to me.

His Word will make me complete.

His Word will give me everything I need to do anything that God asks me to do.

His Word contains everything I need to live a life that pleases God.

God's Word helps me to obtain His wisdom and to get from this earth to Heaven.

This message really got me to thinking throughout the week about whether I truly treasure God's Word. In many parts of the world, people do not even have a Bible. They may feel fortunate to have just one page torn out of a Bible, but most of us in this country have multiple copies of God's Word, in various translations, in our homes. But....do we treasure it? Do we place great value on it?

God really began to convict me this week about how, many times, I seem to place more value on even my cellphone than I do on God's Word.

If I leave my Bible at home when I leave out in the morning, do I turn around and go back home to get it?

Do I glance at it all throughout the day to see if God has sent me a new message? Or, if I have missed a call from God?

Do I carry His Word with me everywhere I go? Do I keep it right beside me throughout the day?

Do I open it as soon as I wake up each morning to make sure that I haven't missed anything?

I am in God's network. I have a better plan than free mobile-to-mobile; it doesn't cost anything to talk to God! I don't have to wait until after 7 p.m. at night, either. I can talk to Him any time of the day or night with perfect reception! There is no such thing as "roaming" with God. I can have unlimited minutes with Him! And, unlike our cellphones, I don't have to worry about having service disconnected because God has already paid the bill.

Lord, help me to cherish your Word more than I do. Help me treasure it in my heart so that I might not sin against You. Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. Make me to understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders. Help me to rely on Your words to see where I am going and to look to Your words to throw a cast of light on my path. Amen.

THE MAC IS BACK !!!

A couple of weeks ago I started having a problem with my MacBook computer. The fan was running continuously and, as a result, the laptop would get very hot.  After trying everything recommended by Apple Support, I took it into the Apple store last Saturday and had to leave it. I picked it up late Tuesday night and unfortunately it was completely void of any of MY information.  They had to do an "Erase and Re-install" -  which means that my computer is back to factory settings.   )-:

I am in the process of trying to set up email again and restore some of my information from a previous backup from my IMac Computer.  It's a slow process, though, because I haven't had much time to work on it.

I am behind on posting, as well as, reading all of my friend's blogs, but I hope to get caught up over this weekend.  Just wanted you to know why I haven't commented on your blogs in a few days.  (I just looked at my Google Reader and it says I have 154 posts to read!) YIKES!!!!

I may have been "out of pocket" for a few days, but THE MAC IS BACK!!!

Thermometer or Thermostat

My husband and I were talking yesterday morning about our values and beliefs in light of the election results and he told me, "Honey, we're a dying breed." I refuse to believe that! I believe that there are millions of people that share our same conservative values and beliefs, but we've all been silent for too long.

A while back I  heard an illustration comparing Christians to thermometers and thermostats. It got me to thinking about what the differences in these two items were?

A thermometer rises and falls with changes in the temperature. It measures and indicates temperature. Thermometers never CHANGE the climate -- they just gauge the temperature. In other words, a thermometer simply tells us what the temperature in the room is.

A thermostat, on the other hand, automatically regulates temperature. The device is activated when it reaches a certain point. It's purpose is to maintain the temperature at the desired set-point. In other words, a thermostat dictates the temperature in the room. 

I wonder, do we rise and fall based on our environment, or are we setting the "temperature" for our surroundings? 

Are we like a thermometer that simply records what's going on in our environment?

Or, are we more like a thermostat setting the desired "temperature" for our surroundings?

Do we "adjust" to the crowd or do we choose to change the crowd?

The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 15:33, "Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits."  I can't mess around with people who weaken me and expect to stay strong. (For more on this subject read this post.)

We are commanded in Matthew 5 to be "the salt of the earth" and the "light of the world"! We are to be vessels of change in our world. God calls us to separate ourselves from others (both Christians and non-believers), if we find ourselves being influenced rather than being an influence. 

God is calling each of us to be thermostats in our world! He wants us to live in such a way that our lives set the tone in our families, our neighborhoods and in our workplaces.

We should be the pacesetters. We should influence rather than be influenced. We should be thermostats rather than thermometers.

So.... am I influencing my surroundings --- or am I being influenced by my environment? 

Definitely something to ponder today.  

What about you? 

Thermometer or thermostat?

Fall Festival Fun (Part 2)

As you recall from my previous post, this little ladybug "landed" at my house on Halloween night. 

We headed out to Fall Festival at our church.....

With Uncle Josh and "Shell" (Michelle).....

Nana and Bubba....

** Note: Faith was worried about looking like she had horns in this picture, but it was actually E's antenna on her ladybug suit.

Hangin' out with Thomas The Train (her friend Hayes)....

Shooting the paint ball gun with Bubba....

Bubba adding some MORE candy to her collection!

Shootin' some hoops with Bubba....

And FINALLY, riding the train .......

With her friend from church, Sage......

Mimi's girl !!!

Almost time to head for home!

But not before a quick "ride" in the backseat of the Police Car! 

Cutest ladybug behind bars that I've ever seen!

Fall Festival Fun (Part 1)

Last night I had the cutest little LadyBug "land" at my house!

After donning all of her "bug attire", we were off to the Fall Festival at our church. 

"Flying" out the gate to head out to the Festival!

First Stop -----Ste@k and Sh@ke for a Chocolate Milkshake.....

Some fun times with Bubba ..........

And of course, a Jr. Ste@kburger and shoestring fries!  YUMMO!!!!

Stay tuned for a recap of ALL the fun times at the Fall Festival in my next post!

Hope you and yours had a Happy Halloween!