My own backyard

One of my favorite things about a house in a small-town neighborhood is that we have REAL trees. I loved the city, but most my friends who lived in houses had only a few trees in their yard if any, and most trees were not even 10 ft tall. Our yard has huge trees and a few smaller trees. We loved this when we bought the house last summer. This summer, now that there is no insane drought, we learned how great our trees really are...all our smaller trees are flowering trees and we even have some rose bushes. I love going out to our back yard and seeing all these beautiful flowers! We truly are blessed.

Enjoy the pictures.

Crape Myrtle - light pink

Rose of Sharon Close up

Rose of Sharon tree

Crape Myrtle - darker pink

Red roses...they smell great too

Pink roses too- my hubby picked this one for me :)

CaminoPro COMPLETE Peanut Butter Bar

A PKU Review

One of the things I hate most is trying a new PKU product. If the product tastes bad, its not a problem. The biggest issue I have is in the loss of hope that a product will work for me...especially if it promises to help my lifestyle.  I travel often and nothing is more challenging then getting calories and formula I need. Formula is hard to drink while on-the-go. I have tried PKU protein (and amino acid) bars before, and they were disgusting. I've actually never made it through an entire bar before now. I spent a lot of money on trying new "edible formula" type products and hated them all. I very distinctly remember almost choking in front of a bunch of people at a children's hospital while trying an "amazing" chocolate protein bar like a crunch bar about 20 years ago (it was nasty  - tasted like fake chocolate mixed with formula powder and Rice Krispies....and I still can't eat a Crunch bar without thinking of them). And about 6 years ago, I tried some fruit flavored bars and could barely chew off one bite and the rest expired in my fridge untouched.

The only reason I was brave enough to try these bars was that they were FREE SAMPLES. It couldn't hurt. My main formula is BetterMilk, and its the best I've ever tasted, but it still has a bit of an aftertaste. It's really hard to claim no aftertaste and convince me...I've been told products have "no aftertaste" for years, and its all been lies...UNTIL NOW!

I was very surprised that Cambrooke's Camino Pro Complete Peanut Butter Bar actually taste like chocolate and peanut butter. They aren't amazing....they are no candy bar after all, but they are decent tasting. I was a bit worried because steering clear of peanut butter most my life, I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter flavor...but with the chocolate flavor coating, it tastes good (I would actually prefer a higher "chocolate" to "peanut butter" ratio, but I'm pretty sure the "formula" part is in the "peanut butter" stuff and is much needed.)

The inside texture was a bit dry and flaky, but I think mine melted a bit in transport.* It was very soft when it arrived, so I stuck it in the fridge for a day. It is supposed to be a meal substitute at 320 calories per bar. I took it because I was still hungry after dinner, and honestly it didn't fill me then. I skipped my night formula (since it can replace the formula) and went to bed a bit hungry (not that abnormal). I actually woke up very full....so it did do the trick, just a long delay in feeling full. 

(*EDIT - It did melt..I tried a fresh one and it was so much smoother...tastes like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup...and yes I've cheated and tastes Reeses...guilty)

At 320 calories, I really don't want to add these to my "normal" routine, but I'd love to find a way to order a few each month for convenience when out-and-about during normal life, and I'd love to stock up on them for long trips, especially overseas - these would have been amazing to have in Romania - I found myself useless and depleted so many days during my internship there...this is exactly what I needed then.

I haven't tried the fruit flavor yet...it scares me even more  for some reason. I'm sure it taste great...I'll review later when I'm feeling brave and hungry.

Looks like a "normal" protein bar packaging 

a bit dry inside, but good overall

New York City Trip

New York City is one of my favorite places to visit. This year, we were not planning on going, but we actually had a need to be in Philadelphia and learned it was MUCH cheaper to fly to NYC and take a train...so needless to say we are now spending the first few nights in NYC.

Every time I've been to NYC I've come across all sorts of free things...but I didn't know about any of them ahead of item. One summer I found movies showing in the park and a free Broadway Night concert. One year I was even there for the Olympic Torch parade. All of these were surprises I found once there. This year I decided to plan ahead and realized I can search for many of the events online.
NYC may be known for being expensive, but the summer parks have tons of free events, concerts, kids activities, and more. You can even find a morning yoga group in the parks. And I found free kayaking, fishing, and canoeing as well!

We will probably still try to catch a show and eat at some fun places. (Junior's Cheesecake is a must) but we love the idea of filling in some of the time with free activities. And I can't even imagine how great this would be if we had kids along with us - they have tons of daytime art and kids shows that would help a walk in the park be much more exciting for kids.

This is the best search I've found...you can enter in the dates of your trip and even search for free...or if you want all events (not just free) you can search that as well. I'm not sure how many we will end up trying out, but I'll update when we do to let you know if they were exciting/fun/worth the time. Hope its helpful for those of you wanting to do a trip to NYC without spending tons each day on activities.

NYC Parks - Free and Low-Cost Events

Spicy Enchiladas

   Our new favorite recipe in our household is not one I can take any credit for, but I do want to share it with the world. It's really for Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas. My meat-free version, however is a bit different. The sauce makes enough for one pan of enchiladas (between 6-10, depending on how much you back in there) I usually make half for me, half for my husband. The link is for the chicken avocado version...which is what he gets. Mine is a lower-protein, avocado-free recipe with mushrooms as the filling.
   I make my husbands chicken version using this recipe I found on pinterest, Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas And then my more-PKU friendly recipe is adapted. I make the sauce the same for both of us. ( I just make one recipe). The "insides" are what I change. Here is the PKU-friendly version. I have not added the PHE yet, but I will update later with an amount of PHE.


Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 Serrano pepper, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup medium salsa verde
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

For the enchilada filling*   
This makes enough for half the pan, if you are making this just for the PKU crowd, double the filling ingredients.

4-5 sliced large white mushrooms

1 T. chopped cilantro

1 T. salsa verde
1 small yellow onion, chopped (you will use half for the chicken recipe if making both)

4 oz. low-pro cheddar cheese shreds 
Low-Protein flour tortillas (or regular if you are allowed the PHE, as I am)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Sauce: In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute Serrano pepper and garlic, for 1 minute. Stir in flour, constantly stirring, and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, whisk in the sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro. Remove from heat. 

Filling: In a small frying pan, saute sliced mushrooms in the1 tablespoon salsa verde and 1 tablespoon cilantro. I usually do this on medium heat, stirring until mushrooms have soaked up all of the salsa verde. Set aside for filling.

Assemble: Spray/grease a 9×13 baking dish. Add 3/4 cup sauce to the bottom of the pan. Warm up the tortillas by placing a them on a plate in between a 2 wet paper towels in the microwave for 30 seconds. This makes them softer and easier to roll. Place a spoonful of the mushrooms and onion in the tortilla. Add low protein cheese if using. If you do not have low-protein cheese (or do not like the cheese) you can use a small amount of sour cream instead. Roll the enchilada and place it seam side down in the pan. Repeat until filling is all used. Continue with the steps for the chicken enchiladas if making those. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH SIDE IS WHICH. I always use the end of a pepper or the cilantro stem to mark which side is the chicken and which is low protein. Pour the remaining sauce over all the enchiladas. Place remaining cheese on the correct sides (real cheese on chicken side, low-pro cheese on PKU side). Bake for 15-20 minutes and serve.

Left is the chicken avocado, right (after the pepper) are the mushroom*
*I did top my side with REAL cheese (not low-pro) b/c am allowed the PHE

Homemade Pizza Crust

One of the easiest ways to save money for us has been to not order pizza, but make it ourselves. It's actually pretty cheap and after a few attempts with crusts too thin, we've found the best crust for us. I've made it a few times on a cookie sheet, but I splurged and bought a pizza stone...and it really is great! I recommend one.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 package dry yeast
1/2 tsp. warm water (120-130F)
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic- finely chopped
1/2 T rosemary
Oven: 425 F

1. In a large bowl, combine about 1 1/4c. flour, yeast, and salt.  Mix and then add warm water and oil. 
2. Beat on low for 30 seconds and scrape the sides, then beat for 3 minutes on high. 
3. Add garlic and rosemary. Beat in as much of the remaining flour as possible.
4. Put dough on a floured pastry mat (or clean surface) Kneed in more of the flour until it is elastic-like. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise for 10 minutes (you can just let it rise on the mat/counter)
5. Roll out to 15 inch circle. Prick the bottom with a fork. Pinch the edges. Transfer to baking stone or pan. (I actually usually prick the top with a fork, then flip it over on to my stone, and then I pinch the edges. Make sure to prick a lot of spots...this keeps the crust from having bubbles.)
6. Bake crust for 12 minutes. 
7. Spread toppings then bake about 10 minutes more, when cheese is melted and bubbly.

Ready to bake the second time

Done!

The crust is not too thin or thick.
Ignore the missing bite, I was very hungry and impatient.

Mail SPAM?

Today I got 4 of these in the mail...I usually get 2-3 a week, but these all arrived together. This is not the first time I've had 4 at once either. I buy from them once a year only (for Romania supplies) and that is all. Pretty sure the hundreds of magazines they send each year cost almost as much as I spent (it wasn't much) I assume it pays off in the end, but really? How many different covers can you have for the same products featured in different ways? I'm not a marketing genius, but this seems off.

Same stuff in each one, as always.

Saving money

This post on saving money has been moved to my new blog. Click here for the original post, Saving Money Part I.  I also have an updated post with more info and tips that you can find here: Click here for Saving Money Part II. 
Sorry for any confusion!

Mushroom Burgers, minus the soy/eggs

This recipe has been moved to my new blog. Click here for the recipe. Sorry for any confusion!

My burger, after Saran Wrap is removed, right before cooking

7.

Homemade Bread- The Recipe

Homemade Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I have had tons of views on my homemade bread post, but I never shared the recipe. I've been making two loafs every week or so since then- no more store bread for us. At last, I have made the recipe "mine" with the texture an taste we want. So for those searching for a recipe, here it is.
(remember bread can change in different climates/areas...so if you don't live in north Texas you may need to tweak it for yourself)

Ingredients:
2 packs active yeast
1/4 c. warm water (105-115)
1/2 c. molasses
1/4 c. butter
3 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. very warm water (120-130)
5 c. whole wheat flour
2-3 c. all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water using small bowl, set aside
2. In mixer bowl, combine butter, molasses, salt, and very warm water (hint- pour water into 1/4c measuring cup you used for the molasses to rinse out the molasses that is stuck). Let cool for about 5 minutes
3. Beat in first 3 c. of whole wheat flour on low speed for 3 min. Scrape sides to mix well.
4. Best in remaining whole wheat flour and the dissolved yeast.
5. With a wood spoon, add as much of the all-purpose flour as you can (save about 1/2 cup or more for kneading)
6. Place dough on flat surface and knead the rest of the flour in for 5-10 minutes.
7. Grease a bowl and place dough in bowl to rise. Cover with plastic wrap and then a towel. Place bowl in warm place like the oven (do not turn the oven on!)
8.Let rise 45 minutes or until double in size.
9. Once it rises, split the dough in two equal parts (I use a gram scale and weigh them, but you can estimate). Roll each part into a 8 inx18ish rectangle. Roll the rectangle into a "loaf" shape pinching the dough with each roll (for no air bubbles). You can roll it all the way from one end to the other, but I like to roll both ends and meet in the center. Pinch at the end. This page had great tips.
10. Place bread loafs in greased pans and cover with plastic wrap and towel again. Let rise 45 minutes or until double.
11. Heat oven to 375.
12.Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350 and keep baking about 10 more minutes (or less). The bread will sound hallow when you tap it if it is done.
13. Put on cooling rack and let cool for at least an hour.
14. Enjoy.

Web Design

Yet another blog fast, but this time it was due to spring break followed by amazing weather. Weather is still amazing, but blogging must happen sometime.

So as a quick blog for today, just wanted to share my first ever full website design for a fundraiser benefiting a child advocacy center in Texas. I have always wanted to try web design, but never had anything "real" to design. Yes, I used iWeb, but I did not use a template and added some HTML code for some stuff. Someday, maybe I can own a real design program an even make money managing sites, but for now, I think this is a good start!

See the site here: www.runforthechildrentx.org

DIY Aviation Decor

I've been meaning to try a few pinterest crafts for our office decor and I finally tried out the "met.engaged.married" maps and I sort of cheated. We have an aviation theme in our office, so I used some high resolution digital files and just cropped them to the right size for our frames. My hubbie loved them because he loves all airplane related stuff. They took about 10 minutes total...a super-easy project that added a custom touch to our office. The best part...you can find the maps on the FAA website for free!

Then I stumbled across a pinterest aviation theme idea with the phonetic alphabet ...and made my own version. It is my first-even attempt at graphic art for our own personal decor (I've made cards,stationary, t-shirt designs, websites, but I've never attempted "art" for the wall). I used our office colors (blue and orange) and printed it on a full sheet of paper (using boderless printing).

The print I designed on Photoshop

The finished products are not that exciting in the photo (I didn't want to hang them up yet and the glare from the glass was a pain). I may update with a photo later if I can capture then glare free, but even with the glare, it looks like "real" art. Not bad for a Monday night project.

Finished frames that need to be hung someday

Italian Bread

Last night, I made a pasta dish and I knew I needed some great bread to go with it. We have been enjoying our homemade wheat bread every day and somehow buying store bread didn't seem good enough. So, I decided to continue to conquer my fear of baking bread and tackle an Italian bread from scratch. It took a bit longer to make then the sandwich bread, but it was good. I even made some garlic butter to go along with it. I highly recommend it to anyone.

The finished bread

Bread:
 1 3/4 cup warm water (105-115)
2 tbs honey
2 packs active yeast
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbs salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
8 cups flour

And to brush on the bread later:
3 tbs butter, melted
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 clove garlic

1. Stir warm water, honey and yeast. Let stand 10 min.

2. Stir in eggs, oil, salt, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp thyme and minced garlic.

3. Stir in as much flour as you can then knead the rest in on a lightly floured surface. Shape dough into a ball and let it rise in a lightly greased bowl. (cover and place in in cool oven for about 1-1.5 hours or until double in size)

4. Punch dough down and place on floured surface. Divide into 3 equal parts then divide again into 3 parts (9 parts total) Roll into about 24 inch ropes and braid 3 together. Shape the braid into a spiral loaf (like in the photo) repeat with other ropes for 3 loaves total.

5. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheet an let rise until double in size (30 min)

6. Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and mix with 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp crushed rosemary, 1 tsp dried thyme and 1 clove garlic. Brush on loaves.

7. Bake for 30-35 min until loaves sound hollow. Cool on wire rack.

P.S. For the whipped garlic butter, I put 2 sticks of room temperature butter in a blender with 2 cloves minced garlic and 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (added a few tbs at a time). Blend and scrape into a container with a  lid...and put in the fridge until ready to serve.

Cheer T-Shirts

I was on a roll blog-wise for a while, but took a break to work on some free-lance graphic design. I've had a few projects that I'll blog about later, but one is finally complete. I have a connection with a local PeeWee Cheer and I've been able to design some shirts for them.  T-Shirts are challenging because the more colors, the more money. I am limited to 2 colors usually.This year they switched colors on me (from black to gold...and I really don't see how it matches the purple) so I wasn't as big a fan of the design, but here are the shirt designs I made the in 2010 and now.

2010 Design - The "G" is the logo for their teams

Original 2012 Design

2012 Design with "new" colors

New (free) Blender

Living on a budget and being new to the "homemaker" world, it amazes me what things now excite me. Today I met a goal- I saved up tons of stamps from my grocery store (and collected my mother-in-law's as well) and was rewarded with a free blender. Tonight we are making some more homemade ice cream then testing out the blender for some milkshakes. And now to save up for the less exciting electric can opener!

Ice cream

Our fun ice cream maker doing it's "thing"

We had a lot of left over ice cream from our wedding ice cream bar- 25 half gallon Blue Bell ice creams to be exact. Four months later and many pounds gained, we finally finished them all. Don't worry, we didn't eat it all ourselves- we had lots of help. Amazingly, we did not get tired of ice cream at all. In fact, we went straight to the store to buy more and were shocked with the price - we had not paid for ice cream in so long!  Then I remembered we had a great wedding present that had been neglected...an ice cream maker! I did a little recipe research and read some reviews. We settled on Paula Deen's recipe and it was a big hit. It had less eggs than others (some had up to 8 eggs) and we liked that it was simple. It is a bit softer than store ice cream, but the flavor was amazing. We reduced the sugar by about 1/2c., and ended up using 1c. heavy cream and 1c. 2%milk because we don't own whole milk. Then we put it in the freezer after our first sample to allow it to harden more.  I highly recommend this recipe! It tasted great with the dark chocolate brownies we made a few nights before.


Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Whole milk

Directions
With an electric mixer, cream eggs and sugar. Add evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla. Beat well. Pour into an electric ice cream churn. Add whole milk to fill line. Insert dasher. Pack cooler 1/3 full with ice. Add a layer of rock salt. Repeat layering with ice and salt until full. Note: be careful not to overfill, spilling salt into the churn. When machine starts to labor or shut off, remove the dasher and drain water. Fill with more ice and salt. Cover with a towel and let harden.

You can't tell here, but it's very creamy!

BetterMilk Fudgsicles

A PKU post
After my horrible experience with the hot chocolate formula, I was hesitant to try any other recipes. But I reasoned with myself and decided if I like my formula really cold, what could be better than in Fudgsicle form. I had fun taking pictures this time and was actually excited to try them- until they were frozen and ready. Then I started making excuses, tons of them. Finally, only because my husband would get tired of seeing them in the freezer, I gave in. The flavor was pretty good, but the after taste still lingered a bit.

I decided that I don't want to sip my formula slowly or eat my formula in any recipe type form- I just like to get it over with fast. I also like it to taste the same everyday. So I won't be venturing out toward any more recipes. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try a few. Maybe you aren't as picky as me!

Ingredients

It looked like "normal" pudding

Don't use this popsicle-maker set - it didn't work well. I had to use a spoon!

DIY Seasoning Mixes /Spices

A few months ago, I had the beginnings of a good idea. I found a great recipe that needed garlic salt. I had both salt and garlic powder. But no garlic salt. I wasn't about to run to the store and get some. I knew I could make my own, so with some quick googling I found the ratios. The ratios provided a bit more than I needed, so I decided to just save the extra in one of those fancy spice rack jars that had been empty for years.

A few days later I was making burritos and finishing of a packet of taco seasoning and thought the same thing. It smelled like a combo of all the spices I already had. I found a "recipe" for the seasoning via pinterest, and it was exactly the same. And then, of course, why not make some cinnamon sugar topping just because. 

I've been using each for months and finally decided to put labels on them. (My husband didn't know what is what and I'm not sure he liked my "open and smell" technique to tell them apart from some other spices I had unlabeled. I whipped up some labels on address labels via Photoshop/Microsoft word, and now they are complete.

Ratios/Recipes are below. And yes I need to make more garlic salt and cinnamon sugar. And just a little confession or two....I don't measure my taco seasoning in the beef - I just shake til it looks/smells good. And I gave the "normal" cinnamon sugar ratio, but I totally just go by taste - lots of sampling needed that way. I think I prefer a bit more cinnamon then it suggests. Hope they work for you. Let me know any other ideas for spice/seasoning mixes if you have any. (Always needing a great Italian one).

Finally a great use for my spice rack set's empty jars

TACO SEASONING

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
3 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Use about 2-3 tablespoons in place of the packet taco seasoning.

GARLIC SALT

3 parts salt

1 part garlic powder

(for example, 3 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon garlic powder)

CINNAMON SUGAR 

1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mexican Rice Recipe

The recipe for this yummy rice has been moved to my new blog. Click here for the recipe. Sorry for any confusion.

Best Mexican Rice Recipe

BetterMilk Hot Chocolate

PKU post
I was really excited to try the recipes that came with my new formula, but I wasn't a big smoothie fan. However, when Cambrooke posted a hot chocolate recipe idea on Facebook I got motivated. I love hot chocolate on a cold winter evening (or a 60 degree winter evening like we've had lately)
So I gave it a try. I should have known as soon as I smelled the warm BetterMilk it would not be a success. I have always been a snob about needing my formula to be very cold before I'll drink it. Room-temperature formula has always been gross to me. Hot formula with chocolate in it was even worse. Loved the idea of it, but it really had the worst aftertaste. If you or your PKU child doesn't mind the aftertaste, give it a try. But for now I'll save up my PHE and have a "normal" dairy free hot chocolate every now and then.

Forgot to get a photo of the final product! Oops.

"Selling" Jesus

Don't worry - this is not a real advertisement

Lately, the topic of "selling" Jesus has come up a lot.

I was helping with a youth retreat a few weeks back, and they had us ask the kids why someone should become a Christian. Instantly they listed of things like happiness and that it makes things easier. Now don't get me wrong, these things can be true. But I couldn't help but think about all the people in my life that had been "sold" on the idea of happiness and then their faith was completely shaken when things didn't go well. One teenager in my group had just experienced the death of her best friend. Was she happy? I asked her if being a Christian meant she was happy in the midst of this. Instantly she shook her head. So does this mean she is not a Christian? I challenged the rest of the group. Of course it didn't mean that. She is struggling so much, but she has a peace that God is in control and is still trusting Him, even on the difficult days.

So why do we try to "sell" Jesus as a great way for fire insurance, blessings and happiness.  There are tons of places in the New Testament where it says trials and tribulation WILL come in our lives. Yes, scripture has mentions of blessing and happiness for the Christian, but it never promises these things on this side of heaven.

As a young child, I was "sold" on the idea of Jesus. I didn't want to burn in hell (who does?) and I wanted  all the "good stuff" people told me about, so I prayed a prayer. I may have even walked an aisle. I honestly don't even remember the details, I was too young. When I became a teenager, I was surrounded with trials and felt hopeless many times. I realized that I had not made Christ Lord of my life, I just "bought into" the idea of Jesus. In my eyes, I was "saved" but had none of the peace that came with knowing Christ. And even worse, I didn't have the happiness and great blessings people wrongly promised came with being a Christian. It wasn't until I decided to begin a relationship with Christ that I really began to understand (as in start seeking Him for all my choices/attitude/actions instead of myself).

I've been growing in my relationship with God ever since, but I've noticed in my own sharing of my faith and in so many others we often try to "sell" Jesus as things we think people want. I shared with people who believed in Heaven and wanted to go. I told them how great my life has been since becoming a Christian (which is true, but I often left out the trials and struggles with sin) They wanted things to go well for them, so they make a choice to be "saved". Some of them to this day call themselves Christians but think nothing of their faith (after all, they are "saved") unless something bad happens. What would happen instead of approaching people with "be like me because you can have (fill in blanks)" we really explained our emptiness and selfishness without Christ. Being "saved" wasn't about my prayer I prayed, it was about realizing that I cannot and should not try to live my life for myself. I fail on my own and I need Him as my Savior AND my Lord (as in DAILY, not just at the pearly gates).

It's humility and repentance that brings us into a relationship with Christ. That is the entire reason for the cross to begin with. Jesus didn't die on the the cross just because He wanted us to feel comfortable in eternity. (Essentially, that is an effect, but not the real reason). He sacrificed Himself because we are sinners and had no way of making things right on our own. We were separated from God and He made a way. His death and resurrection is so much greater than "fire insurance" or blessings that may or may not come. He didn't want to sell "insurance"packages for a bargain of praying a prayer and walking an aisle - He wanted us to turn from our sin and seek Him daily. "Selling" people the message that they are sinners and fail on their own doesn't sound as good as "selling" Heaven. But it's the Truth. Praise God that we aren't the ones who are responsible for their belief. It is the Spirit that convicts, not us. And amazingly, the Gospel "sells" itself to those who He has convicted and called because bottom line is that it's the only Truth and the only way. We don't have to be the "salesman". We are just the mouthpieces.

What an incredible disservice we do the Gospel by leaving out the hard parts and/or trying to add our own sales pitch "act now and get this and this" type approach. Yes, a believer will be blessed, but we can't even pretend to know the ways God may work in their lives, be it trials or blessings galore. The blessings may not ever be seen on this side of Heaven.


One of my favorite songs for over a year now is Jimmy Needham's "Part the Clouds".  Needham says it much more poetic than I ever could. It's time for me to stop "dressing up" the Gospel and start sharing the Truth.

Part the Clouds Lyrics: I like, like to be liked And no one likes to hear the truth And I've seen what the truth can do So I tried, tried to downsize The part of you that's hard to tell But the layoff didn't go so well I beat around the burning bush 'Til that fire went away God was once so palpable Before the shades of grey We might as well just fold our hands If we can't call a spade a spade 'Cause we will miss the heart each time If we won't ever shoot them straight These pleasantries have shaded me And you too long Let's part the clouds and show the world the Son We think, think we're helping By giving you a little flare But it doesn't matter what you wear  'Cause runways aren't your forte You prefer the narrow road Even though it's not en vogue The Gospel looked so very cold one night as I passed by So I gave it my best sugar coat and dressed it in a lie  This living water will not quench us if it's watered down It's not our place to hide again this treasure that we've found