Falling for Temptation

Luke 22:31-34
Jesus said “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

I’ve been thinking about this passage lately. A couple of things that I have been mulling over…

First, Jesus told Simon that Satan asked for him, by name. That would be scary, wouldn’t it? Even scarier – it appears that the reply to Satan was yes, and Simon was given to him, much like in the story of Job. Satan was given permission to wreak a little havoc in Simon’s life.

Second, Jesus was praying for Simon. For his faith not to fail. We have to remember that Jesus is praying for us, for our faith not to fail in our trials. And if someone we know is going through a trial, we need to remember to pray for them.

Third, of course Simon does deny Jesus just as Jesus had predicted. Simon’s trial doesn’t seem anywhere near as horrible as Job’s, but denying the Lord is pretty bad.  I’m thinking we need to be very careful not to compare our trials with someone elses, and think ours is worse than theirs…

Fourth, do the words “when you have turned back” strike you as much as they do me? Satan tempts Simon and Simon gives in to temptation, but when he turns back he has a purpose, which is to “strengthen his brothers.” If we haven’t already, we will be tempted in some way or another too, and whether we stand or fall, our purpose is always to “strengthen our brothers.” Over and over in the Bible we are told we are to love and encourage one another. 2 Corinthians 1:4 tells us God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” I love that verse!

My final thought is Jesus knew Simon was going to be tempted and fall. Jesus was really not “just” Savior and Lord, He was Simon’s friend. If we are friends with someone who is tempted and falls, we should not condemn them, but pray for them as Jesus did for Simon. Often we criticize and look down on people when they sin, but we need to realize that it’s for God’s glory as well. When they “turn back” -which could be right away or could take awhile – we should always be there to encourage them to be an encouragement.

For He alone is righteous, and worthy of praise! :)

Life’s a beach

A few weeks ago, Dan and I had a mini vacation in Virginia Beach. We had the most wonderful, romantic weekend! We stayed at a hotel with a jacuzzi (in our room!) on the boardwalk, enjoying the sights and sounds of the rolling surf and dolphins, and locals, joggers, and tourists on the boardwalk. We enjoyed some local places, meeting up with Dan’s old classmates, as it was his reunion weekend. That was the first time either of us had gone to a reunion and it was very interesting. :) He was outgoing and popular in school and we spent a lot of time talking and catching up with everyone.

We ran a 5k while we were there and somehow I managed to come in 3rd place for my age group! It was a surprise and I was excited about it, even though it really wasn’t a very fast pace. I am supposed to be getting a plaque in the mail. It was a great way to start the day, and we spent the rest of the day enjoying the Neptune festival, biking, and some terrific food.

The North American sandsculpting competition was part of the festival. It was simply amazing. These are my photos of the event. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2345988342759.117902.1641554828&type=1&l=f1c91ce365

There is nothing quite like a vacation, with time to spend with the two of you alone. At the reunion, one woman asked me how we could have possibly kept our love alive after so many years of marriage. I didn’t even have to think about it, I said, “we have a lot of fun together.” After God pronounced His creation good, He said in Genesis 2:18 that something was NOT good: It’s not good for man to be alone, so God made man a partner. Sometimes, husbands and wives can get so busy in life, we can feel alone. We have different jobs, different functions around the house, some couples have different interests and hobbies and even friends. Make sure to make time for just the two of you. Remember that your partnership comes first. Have lots of FUN together! This mini vacation was the perfect time for us to put one another first. I hope that you are able to enjoy that too!

Chickens!

This summer we decided we’d get some chickens. A woman was renting incubators and we thought we’d give it a try. Three eggs fit in the incubator. She also had another family hatching three eggs and asked if we’d like to keep any that hatched from that batch as well. She said typically only one or two eggs would hatch for a total of 2-6 chicks.

So, July 1st we picked up the incubator and three eggs. On July 20th we could hear peeping inside all three eggs!

July 21st we woke up to two little babies! You can see we still had two days left, so these little guys were early!

We waited all day Thursday and most of Friday and were worried about the third baby chick, but then we heard peeping and the egg shook and after a couple hours, we got a third little baby!

This one we got to watch hatch! He was a big baby, and is still the biggest. Actually, I’m saying ‘he’ but I have no idea if it’s a girl or boy yet.

Here they are at two weeks. Aren’t they cute!?

The other family had three chicks hatch as well! The woman who rents the equipment was really surprised.

So, now we have six! They are four and a half weeks old now. They grew out of their box, took over our dining room for awhile, and now are in the basement.  They make such a mess! I made an aviary in the basement for them as they are beginning to fly. They are old enough to go outside each day for just awhile. Dan is looking over coop ideas and has to get to work on one soon so they can go outside full time in a few weeks.

I’m praying for at least five hens and hope to have some fresh daily eggs by Thanksgiving or Christmas! :)

Banana Danish

So I have modified my morning breakfast danish. I look forward to it each morning, it is just heavenly!

I melt 1 T cream cheese and 2 T butter at 30 secs in the microwave. I put a paper towel over it as it nukes, so it doesn’t splatter.

Whip in one egg, 2 spoons splenda, and about 1/4 of a banana.

Microwave 1 min, 25 secs. I top with a big spoon of cool whip.

The carb count depends on the amount of cool whip and banana you add. Bananas are fairly high carb fruit, with 26 carbs in a medium banana. If you are eating low carb, I believe fruit is healthy enough to include some and your carb count will still be low.  This is just wonderful!

 

~ Enjoy!

Best Low Carb Burger Buns!

Hands down, these are the best hamburger buns I’ve tasted! They also would be fantastic for any other bread purpose. I toasted one and smeared on peanut butter. I toasted another and topped it with butter, equal, and cinnamon. It’s excellent!!

I got the recipe here at low carb friends, an older post back from 2003.

I ordered the Atkins mix and a muffin pan for about $10 each on Amazon. This is the link for the muffin pan I bought: OvenStuff Non-Stick 6-Cup Muffin Caps Pan And this was the Atkins mix I bought: Atkins All Purpose Bake Mix, 2-Pound Bag I ordered them on Thursday and they came Saturday! That was super fast and I couldn’t wait to try.

Here are the ingredients:
1 8oz Pkg cream cheese
2 T olive oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup Atkins Bake Mix
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1) first thing is to put the lemon juice in the heavy cream to ‘sour’ as you get the other things ready

2) soften the cream cheese in the microwave about 30 seconds

3) mix all the ingredients with a blender until smooth

4) spoon in 2 Tablespoons mix for each muffin onto pan sprayed with Pam


5) bake at 350 for 12-15 mins

These were perfect!

And as I said, the possibilities are endless.  Add or top with sweetners like butter, cinnamon, and equal. Or add some garlic powder and top with butter and cheese. Or make a sandwich! It’s bread without the carbs.

Using a measured 2T per muffin, I made 18 muffins with one mix. That’s less than 1 carb per muffin and it was the perfect size to hold a hamburger as well as tasting exactly like a bun.

One of these days I’m going to try to make my own almond flour mix… but for now, this is awesome!

Enjoy! And be blessed! ~

Low Carb Hamburger Bun / Bread

Since hamburgers are allowed on the low carb lifestyle — but the bun is not — I have been looking for a way to eat the burger besides with a knife and fork. I tried the Oopsie/Revolution bread and wasn’t able to get it right. I found the Atkins mix kind and ordered the Atkins mix and a muffin pan, but it’s not here yet. So, yesterday I got the bright idea to try the egg/cheese pizza crust as my hamburger bun. It was delicious! And super easy. I think it might be my new lunchtime favorite.

1) Stir one egg and add in a handful of cheese. So far I’ve used cheddar, mozzarella, and a bagged mix. All worked. I added sea salt, garlic powder, and ground pepper as well.

This is what it looked like.

2) I divided it into two lumps on my cast iron skillet. The skillet didn’t even need greasing, because it’s already well oiled.

I cooked them while my hamburger cooked. I love low carb because I was free to add mayo and I added a slice of American cheese.


Doesn’t this look yummy?!
It was! It is kind of like a pancake consistency, but it holds all of it together so I can eat it in my hands. It’s quite filling.

I was so excited about them that I made them for dinner last night too. Same amount made into smaller rolls for the family. I added a bit of cheese and more garlic.

SO, so easy!!!

Enjoy! And be blessed! ~

Mock Danish

My new favorite low carb breakfast each morning is “mock danish.” I read about it in some forum and tried it out. Linda has it on her site and just now I did a search and see someone even did a youtube video for it.

Here’s my recipe ~ I make it and eat it in one microwaveable bowl:

1) gather eggs, sweetener substitute, cinnamon, butter, and cream cheese.

2) melt 1 tsp butter and 1 oz cream cheese in a bowl for about 20 seconds.

3) stir in 2 eggs, some cinnamon, and 1 pack equal.

4) microwave for 30 seconds, repeating till done (until the center isn’t jiggly)

5) I top with another tsp of butter, a dash of cinnamon, and a spoon of whipped cream.

It may look funny, but it’s quite yummy!

I count it as 5 carbs. 1 for the cream cheese, 2 for the cinnamon, and 2 for the whipped cream.

It is very filling and satisfying! And very quick and easy as well.

Enjoy! And be blessed! ~

Easy Egg Muffins

This morning I tried something new. Egg muffins!

1) I mixed two eggs, a bit of sour cream, and some sea salt in a bowl. Poured 1/2 in the bottom of a buttered cupcake tin.

Added in some chopped veggies, bacon bits, and cheese. Then topped with the rest of the egg mixture.

2) Popped in the oven and baked for 15 minutes at 350.

The finished product! I ate all three. :)   I was able to pop them out and eat them by hand. Plate and fork were not necessary, so this would be a very convenient food to eat on the go. It wasn’t crumbly at all. Very tasty and easy!

Enjoy! And be blessed! ~

Low Carb Pizza

Pizza is my favorite food. I used to work in pizza places, then managed some, then even co-owned two. I LOVE pizza! All kinds. My favorite around here is Three Brothers. We (used to) get Papa Johns a lot, as they’re nearby. Dan’s favorite (but my least) is Dominoes. I also like Ledo’s. Thick, thin, crispy, chewy… it’s all good!

Now that we are eating low carb… the one thing I miss most is pizza. I don’t really miss bread or pasta. But I do miss pizza! I’ve tried several online crust recipes and they were awful. I tried one on Linda’s site and so far it’s the best.

I woke up this morning craving pizza for some reason, so I made some and remembered to take photos.  It’s a pretty easy recipe.

1) Crust

In a bowl, mix an egg and a handful of cheese and a bit of garlic powder. We always have cheese in the house- I’ve used mexican 4 cheese, cheddar, and mozarella. Use whatever is your favorite.

Spread it out on a stone if you have one, or a very well greased cookie sheet. I’ve tried well greased foil and it was awful. It sticks and the whole point is a real crust. It doesn’t take like real crust if half of it is stuck to the foil.

This is the egg/cheese mixture before baking. It looks like mac and cheese, but it’s not. ;)

Bake at 450 for 5 minutes, then turn down the heat and bake at 400 for 5 more minutes.

2) Top the cooked crust with your favorite toppings.

Pizza sauce is the only real carb source here. Mine has 6 carbs per serving and I only used about 1/2 a serving.

I added a handful of cheese, and 4 peperoni. I would have also added veggies, but I didn’t feel like cutting them up.

Put back in the center of the oven on Hi Broil for 5 minutes.

Here is my finished product:

Doesn’t it look scrumptious?!

It has a bread-like crust consistency where you can pick it up and eat it by the slice in your hand. And it takes like pizza, not like egg. It’s crazy to me that eggs and cheese can taste like pizza crust, but it does!

Enjoy! And be blessed! ~

Low Carb Cookies

I wanted to make something off of Linda’s low carb site, so I found a recipe that I already had the ingredients in the kitchen. I changed her recipe a little, here’s what I did:

1) Put these in a bowl in the microwave for 20 secs to melt:
2 teaspoons peanut butter (2 carbs)
2 teaspoons butter

2) Mixed in:
1 egg white
2 scoops chocolate whey protein powder (6 carbs)
8 tsp equal
3 tsp water

3) Dropped on wax paper and microwaved at 20 second intervals
It took me a total of 70 seconds.

Here is what they looked like coming out of the microwave:

It made 8 cookies, for a total of 1 carb each (total, not net).  I’m not sure why her recipe only makes 4 cookies. Mine were a pretty good size.

This was incredibly easy. It only took me a matter of minutes. I ate one right away and it was surprisingly good! My husband LOVES these!

Enjoy! And be blessed! ~