To love someone with "all of your heart" is quite a lot! To love Jesus that much is even better, and we can demonstrate this by praising and worshiping Him, but sometimes life demands a lot of us. It is truly a great challenge to stand with arms held high, singing at the top of our lungs whilst getting things done!
Colossians 3:23 (NKJV) says, "23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, I truly think this honors God - when all that you do is done with all your heart - as if God has made the request of us himself. The NIV translation uses the phrase "with all your heart". If you are feeling that you lack skills in an area, it may help to change your perspective and complete those tasks as if Jesus was the inspector. This principle helped me today to be able to make the best oatmeal I have ever made. First of all, you should know that I hate oatmeal. I cannot choke it down. Once as a child, my mother made it for breakfast (she was amazing and we had a hot breakfast most of our lives except occasional Saturday morning - when we were given a "treat" of cold cereal). She made this oatmeal and insisted I eat it and not go to school hungry. The texture of it was so hard to swallow, and part of it came back up as I made my way down our long driveway to wait for the bus. I have never been able to eat it again. Cookies, cake, bread - anything else with oats - I love! Just not the warm, mushy, slippery stuff.... So today, my sweet mother & father in law were leaving after a 10-day stay, and I wanted to send them off with full bellies. After being told they'd "probably stop at McDonald's for oatmeal", I knew that would simply not do! So I said I would make some, prayed that it would turn out, and quickly googled "perfect oatmeal". Apparently, "perfect oatmeal" includes toasted oats. This is super simple - put the oats in a dry skillet on medium high, shake them around occasionally, and when they begin to smell like Cheerios, you are good to go. (I used QUICK oats. That is important to know.) Boil water that that is twice the quantity of oats you plan to prepare.(I used about 1 1/2 c of oats and nearly 3 c of water) When it is at a rolling boil, add your oats, stir well, and remove from the heat. While they are soaking up all of that moisture, finely chop a few pitted dates. (I used 3). Add them to the soaking oats and slightly stir. Add in about 3 T of brown sugar, a pinch of salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, and a good squirt of maple syrup. Because I wasn't sure if my guests would like nuts in their oatmeal, I served some candied pecans (sold in a salad area of our grocery store - or easily make your own in a crock pot! http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/slow-cooker-sugared-nuts-with-a-free-printable/ and a little brown sugar for added sweetness on the side. My mother in law actually suggested I sell this fantastic oatmeal, and God knows we could use some extra money. Instead, I decided to share my experience here, and hope that it blesses someone looking for a simple breakfast treat. Much love to you all, Jodie
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October 2016
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