All LIFE is sacred —

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
   I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 138:13-14

please join me in prayer for 40 DAYS FOR LIFE

The world spins madly on…

Ah, the life.. It's Saturday. These late summer days are fleeting. Golden & dusty. It's one of those warm lazy afternoons. I'm sitting at the kitchen table, doin' nothing, (well, I'm typing), but mostly just sitting & listening to Saticoy, & the crickets chirping through open windows. The sound of my younger brother's crayons coloring steadily on a Spongebob-Square-Pants themed coloring book, tickles my ears. It's a beautiful day. A light breeze is blowing through the house, it unsettles the flies that have evaded my flyswatter for the past hour... 

Lately, I've been trying to embrace each moment that God has given us. Trying not to let time slip by & having regrets later, but simply celebrating the present time & making memories to hold on to for later. I  am so thankful for the life I have been given. I'm so glad to be me, to live where I live, to do what I do... What a blessing the simplicity of life is. Fighting the good fight from home. Building the kingdom. We should always do what we do, not for man, but for the glory of our Heavenly Father. When we work each day, or teach, study, drive, wash dishes; everything we do, God has ordained. Thank you Lord for life. For family. For friends. For work. For seasons. For change. 

Here's a C.S. Lewis quote:

"God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want." So as busy or uneventful as your life is, remember, that everything happens for a purpose, & that all things ultimately work for the good of those who love Him. (Rom. 8:28)

So often, we tend to lose ourselves & Christ in the busyness of life. We are so prone to forget, doubt, & distraction. When was the last time you turned your phone or computer off to study scripture? Or took a walk in the crisp morning air? Or didn't go anywhere? Sat on your front porch to watch the sun set? Enjoy the ordinary blessings & miracles of life, that are so often overlooked. We are so blessed, as people, & as a nation. But we have lived in gross defiance of God & His law & are now seeing our liberties disappear like a mist before the morning sun. We need to run back to Jesus. We need to repent, & pray that God will judge us not to destruction, but to repentance. We still have so much freedom that is taken for granted. There are times when we should step back from our busy lives & let the world spin madly on. The world won't even notice. We must step back to be still & meditate on our God. As we assess the sins & the strugles of our lives, we must confess them to God & rely solely on Him for deliverance. Praying for ourselves & our leaders... Drawing close to God in meditation is an important part of the Christian life & should be precious time for us! When Jesus walked the earth 2,000+ years ago, he would spend long hours withdrawn from the crowds, in communion, prayer & meditation with HIS Heavenly Father. When life gets hectic, (I know from experience) sometimes it's hard to find the time to read. You just have to strap on the seatbelt & hang on for the ride. But all throughout the day, no matter where you are, or what you may be doing, you can fight for Christ. You can talk to God. He will listen to you. You can pray. 

-GB

Zucchini-Carrott Bars:

Hi there! Here's an amazing recipe, taken from a fun cookbook called Fat Witch Brownies.
If you have a garden & are overrun with giant zucchinis - this recipe is for you!

Ingredients: 1¼ cups shredded carrots, boiling water,  1¼ shredded zucchini, 1 stick unsalted softened butter, 1 cup natural cane sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract, 1½ cups unbleached flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon. 

Preheat oven to 350℉ & heat up a small pot of water.  
When it's boiling, pour into a colander, over shredded carrots.
 Let everything sit for a while, to cook/tenderize the carrots. Drain well. 

Mix the shredded (& drained) zucchini throughly with all other ingredients. 
 I added ½ cup chopped walnuts,  a few raisons, & chocolate chips,  for good measure.  

Blend everything well; batter will be thickish. Pour into a greased 9 by 9 dish. 
(Sometimes my batter is thiner, but it doesn't make a difference when baking. )

Bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in dish. Your house will smell like autumn, while it bakes.  Mhmm…  I whipped up a cream-cheese frosting & spread it over the cake, just before serving. It was really good, & turned the flat bread into more of a dessert. I like eating dessert for breakfast. Or really any time of the day.

Cream Cheese Frosting:  

☙ 4 oz. cream cheese,  room temperature
☙ 3 Tsb. unsalted butter,  room temperature
☙ 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
☙ 1¼ cups confectioner's sugar
☙ 1 tsp lemon zest (optional) Beat cream cheese & butter until smooth. Add vanilla,  sift sugar directly into the bowl, mix until smooth. Add zest. Spread on cool brownies or bars. Store in refrigerator. 

notes: When I make zucchini bread, I usually quadruple the recipe - the bread is so good that it all gets eaten quickly. It freezes great too.  

Taste the goodness.

 -GB

How to eat (oversized) Zucchini:

I enjoy cooking, & I love eating. Don't you? Food is just amazing. All the different smells & flavors. The gift of taste is such a blessing. God didn't have to give us taste buds, but He did. God likes us to enjoy the different textures & flavors He created.  Just imagine life without taste buds. It would be rather bland.  (haha) Making healthy decisions with what we consume is really important.  Whenever able, go organic & whole grain.  In a sense, we are what we eat. Mhmm… I could go on & on about FOOD.  It's just so awesome. A friend shared an idea with me for cooking zucchini, & I decided to try it. I've been getting monster-sized (10lbs) zucchinis from the garden all season long.  Having fresh food is fantastic, but you have to eat it up fast.

Here's the idea, it's for veggie pizza; it's fairly fast to make, tastes realllly good & different, & its low-carb since there isn't any bread crust. My "zucchini pizza" fed five, with two large pieces leftover. 

I sliced the zucchini in halves, & removed the seeds. I pan seared the 

zucchini in olive oil, garlic & pepper, for about 5 minutes on each side. 

Fried some bacon. 

Picked some sweat corn from my garden! (I wrapped in saran wrap, 
& cooked it in the microwave. Probably really unhealthy.)

Mozzarella, tomato sauce, bacon, sweet peppers, & fresh basil were the toppings
 I chose. Then I baked 'em at 375℉ for 15 minutes, or until the cheese was golden. 

Ta-da! Everything was quite satisfactory.  :)_

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" -Psalm 34:8 

Here is a link for zucchini carrot bread - my favorite way to use those oversized zucchinis. Check it out! :) 

180 Documentary —

Wow. You've gotta watch this short film.  It makes you think. 

It could save your life or save the life of another.

How to eat Eggplant:

  

For supper tonight I fried freshly picked Eggplants. Dipped 'em in beaten egg, added a dash of pepper & battered them in panko breadcrumbs.  Once they were cooked, golden & crispy, I dunked them in finely grated parmesan cheese. 

DELICIOUS.

They melt in your mouth! 

pickin' veggies

This evening I picked 10lbs of green beans, a large spaghetti squash, 
HOT salsa peppers, sweet corn & a couple large zucchinis. 

Okay, so I had a little fun  editing this picture.  :)

These dry & dusty summer months have flown by too quickly! Oh dear, where has time gone? Can you believe it's September? My summer was filled with spice, adventure, family & friends. A beautiful summer haze, with memories that are golden… 

I planted a garden, but it sadly got neglected. As morning-glory infested as it is, I've gotten, (& am still getting), lots of produce from it. It's been such a blessing. Take the beans for instance: Ordered from Burpee Organics, a pack of bush bean seeds cost $3.95. That pack of seeds (with a little TLC, water, sunshine & hard work), so far has yielded 25lbs of plump & tasty beans!
 Here's my favorite homemade recipe for cookin' green beans:
Crunchy Vinegar Green Beans & Bacon ❧

■ A heaping pan full of washed & snapped green beans
■ One pack bacon; fried flat & crispy, chopped into large pieces
■ One medium red onion; thinly sliced, slightly sautéed in butter 
■ Apple cider vinegar 
■ Sugar, salt, pepper 

Set aside cooked bacon & sautéed onion. 
Add a little water to beans, cook until just tinder, or still slightly chewy, with lid on pan, stirring occasionally. Cooked al dente is best! 

Once the beans are tinder, add enough apple cider vinegar to cover the bottom of saucepan. Simmer on low for a bit, adding more vinegar if desired. Cook by smell. You want it to smell strong. 

Then add salt/pepper to taste & sprinkle sugar over beans. (Be generous with the sugar!) Lastly add sautéed onion slices & stir in bacon pieces, just before serving. Enjoy! 

It's the best way to eat green beans in my opinion. If by chance you try it, leave a comment for me to see! I'd love to hear from you!!