Recipe of the "Week"

Cooler weather is on the horizon! Can't you feel Fall coming?! I LOVE Fall! Love, love, love, love! I get so excited when the weather starts to get crisp & leaves start changing colors. Shoot! I get excited just thinking about it! Tawny hued leaves floating through the air, the caw of crows, camping in the Smokies, sitting on the front porch with my dearly beloved without a rerun of "Attack of the Mosquitos". And suppers of warm, comforting foods like this. . .

Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

-3 cans Blue Runner Creole Cream Style red beans (you can use the dry beans as well, unless they hate you, too, & refuse to cook no matter how long you cook them & regardless of the fact that you follow "bean cooking" directions to a tee &. . .oooh. Take a deep breath. . .ahhhh. Sorry about that. Beans do that to me.)

-2 onions

-2 stalks celery

-1/2 bell pepper

-2 cloves garlic (or 1/2 tsp. dry minced garlic)

-smoked sausage (the more the better; I used 3 packages of turkey sausage & it was very meaty. Which = very good!)

-1 T Italian seasoning

Directions:

-Mince onions, celery, & bell pepper. Putting all 3 of these in the Cuisinart at once & pulsing several times works like a charm!

-Mix beans, vegetables, & seasonings in a large pot & simmer. Don't turn the heat up more than this, because the sausage takes a while to sauté, & you don't want the beans to get too soupy.

-Slice the sausage somewhat thinly (see the picture above to get an idea of the width). Of course, this is a personal preference. You may have heard me mention my aversion to big gobs of meat. Once.  Or twice.  Plus, the meat goes further when you have smaller slices.

-Sauté the sausage until both sides are the color & texture you desire. I like it to be brown bordering on black & slightly crispy. Again, it's a personal preference.

-Add the sausage to the beans & allow to simmer for 30 more minutes. Now's a good time to begin your rice.

-Serve over cooked rice with a side of cornbread or corn casserole.

Fall, here we come!!!

Sunflowers

Can you guess the name of one of my favorite flowers?  Let's see. . .what clue could I give to help?  ;-)  How gorgeous are these?!  I saw these in Publix & was compelled to give them a loving home.  Just thought I'd share!  It'd be wrong to keep all this beauty to myself.

Not Seeing Spots ~ R.C. Sproul, Jr.

I love opening up my email to read yet another "Kingdom Note" or "Ask R.C." from Highlands Ministries. Here's today's Note that is well worth our perusal:

"Saint Augustine took the view that the marital act was at best a necessary evil. Having both lived a rather licentious life as a youth and having bought into Manicheaism before his conversion puts the error in perspective. He was virtually both a recovering sex addict and a recovering gnostic. On the other hand, considering the prodigious intellect and fine character of the man, one has to wonder how he missed this. Augustine was certainly the finest theologian of the first 1000 years of the church, and may still hold that title. But he erred. He had a blind spot that is rather obvious for the rest of us to see.

Which ought not, of course, encourage us to think we’re up one on Augustine. It ought instead to cause us to consider our own blind spots. If someone with Augustine’s keen mind and warm heart could miss something, how much must I miss who is so dull and cold?

I was once engaged in friendly debate with a co-worker. She, growing frustrated with me, complained, “You always think you’re right.” She paused for a moment when I explained, “Of course I always think I’m right. So do you, think you’re always right. But I don’t think I’m right always.” All of us, when asked about this or that, always agree with us, which is another way of saying we always think we are right. All of us, however, know we are fallible, and thus we don’t think we are right always. The trouble is I believe a, and b and c, all the way down to z. But I know I must be wrong somewhere. If I knew where, then it would be easy. That’s the problem with blind spots- they are invisible to us.

Herein lies one of the blessings of friends we can trust. Too many of us, present company serving perhaps as the worst offender, pick and choose our friends precisely on the basis of their having the same blind spots we have. That is, thinking ourselves fine fellows because we believe a and b all the way to z, we naturally think that others who agree with our wisdom are the very best kinds of friends to have. Jesus told us what ends up happening here- the blind lead the blind and there’s danger up ahead. Friends we can trust, however, have far more to do with their character than their ideological test scores.

Years ago I was asked in a public setting how it was that Doug Phillips, a known non-baptizer of babies, and I, a notorious sprinkler of little ones, could be close friends. For my part the answer was easy. I respect Doug Phillips. I admire him. That, and not ideological similarities (though of course these are many, despite our obvious differences) is what makes for a good friend. Doug has, on at least one important occasion, kindly and graciously pointed out a blind spot I had been guilty of in dealing with a tricky pastoral situation. It was glorious. He spoke to me clearly but gently, and my eyes were open. Happily my bad counsel didn’t ruin the pastoral situation, and it all worked out in the end.

Do you know people that you respect, and disagree with? Make it a point to become friends. When you find yourself in disagreement with others, look first for the opportunity to have your blind spots exposed, before worrying about the blind spot, or speck, blocking your brother’s view. When you have received your sight, don’t forget to thank your friend, and He who is a friend to sinners like us."

Wonderful words of wisdom from a humble man of God.

What is the Bible Basically About?

Absolutely PHENOMENAL!!!

The Scandal of the Gospel ~ David Platt

Bear with it. The initial screen will give way to David Platt as he's preaching. This is an INCREDIBLE sermon!!!