What Is Different Is Not The Same: 019

Matthew 23:14

KJV

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

NIV

14 [a]

ESV

NRSV

Did I forget to finish this post? No! That is seriously all they say--- nothing.

What Do You Do With Extra Watermelon? Juice It And Freeze It!

A couple years ago I grew lots of watermelon. We could not eat them fast enough and they were getting over ripe and turning grainy.

Mr. In The Mid-west had the idea to run them through the Victorian strainer and then freeze the juice. So that is what we did!

I had 5 or 6 quarts of watermelon juice in my deep freezer for two years now. I wasn't sure how to use it up. I had tried making gelatin with it but that wasn't very good.

A few weeks ago I decided to pull a bag of watermelon juice out of the freezer and partially thaw it out. Then I used a butter knife to chip away at it and make ice shavings.

I filled a tall glass with the shaved watermelon ice and then topped it off with carbonated mineral water.

I thought the result was delicious! :)
Mr. In The Mid-west, not so much. :/
So, may be it is an aquired taste. ;)
I sure do like it, though, I only have one bag of frozen watermelon juice left. Mixing it with the carbonated water makes it like having pop or soda, only more refreshing.

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 018

Matthew 20:20

KJV 

20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

NIV 

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

ESV 

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.

NRSV 

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him.

James and John worshipped Jesus because they knew he is God. 

They did not merely kneel to humbly ask a favor of this "famous Rabbi".

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

I made some homemade strawberry ice cream last week. Here is a link to the original recipe. I made a few changes to the recipe that I will share.

The original recipe called for fresh strawberries. All I had were frozen strawberries and I made them work.  :)

I added half of my frozen berries to the cream, sugar, and milk mixture as it was heating up on the stove. Then I used my stick blender to puree the strawberries. Then I added the other half of my frozen berries and blended it slightly to leave some chunks.

The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup of sugar. I only used 1/2 cup because I usually cut back sugar in recipes and we are used to that. The ice cream turned out really good. We enjoyed it! :)

Simple Strawberry Ice Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
12 oz. frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

In sauce pan over medium heat combine cream, milk, half of the strawberries, and the sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.

 Using a stick blender blend mixture until strawberries are smooth. Add the remaining frozen strawberries and blend for a few seconds until the strawberries are small chunks.

Chill in refrigerator until completely cool. Place mixture in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

You can serve the ice cream soft serve straight out of the ice cream maker or put it in the freezer for a few hours to firm it up.

Hymn: Did You Think To Pray aka Ere You Left Your Room This Morning

I learned this hymn by listening to some recorded church services within the past six months or so. It is always nice to learn a new old song! :) This hymn contains some great truths and encouraging reminders.

It has been on my mind recently. Last week a family friend of ours died from injuries sustained in a bad accident. We heard about the accident on Wednesday. He had been life flighted to the hospital and was in critical condition. Thursday morning I was listening to some hymns and this hymn began to play. It was very comforting to be reminded that our prayers are powerful. The Lord saw fit to call this brother home to heaven on Thursday night. His family still needs lots of prayer. His parents had to bury their first born child at just 29 years old. I can't imagine that kind of pain. I know that Jesus can feel their heartache, though, and He can provide comfort and healing.

Hebrews 4:15

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 Do you know this hymn? Do you sing it at church? Did you learn as a child? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below! :)

If you want to read more about this particular hymn you can click this link Here to go to Hymnary.org's page on this hymn.

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 017

Matthew 20: 16

KJV

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

NIV 

16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

ESV 

16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

NRSV 

16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Homemade Basil Pesto

Pesto is a summer treat that I look forward to every year. I always try to grow a couple Basil plants so that I can make fresh basil pesto in the summer.

Typically Pesto is a combination of fresh basil, olive oil, fresh garlic, pine nuts, (Pine nuts are quite expensive and not widely available. Some people substitute almonds, walnuts, or even pecans), grated Parmesan cheese, and kosher salt ground into a paste.

Pesto makes a great addition to pasta, potatoes, lightly cooked vegetables, like sautéed zucchini or steamed green beans. You can garnish meats with Pesto, broiled fish, grilled chicken, or steak for example. I like to add it to Alfredo sauce.

Brown rice and chicken topped with Pesto Alfredo sauce next to a side of sautéed zucchini.

You can make pesto in large quantities when basil is in season and freeze it in small containers for enjoyment during the cold months. Pesto is very flavorful. I used two thirds of this size batch to flavor 1 1/2 cups of Alfredo surface. Here is the recipe I use to make pesto:

Basil Pesto

3 cups of fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups nuts preferably pine nuts (I used English walnuts)
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 pinch black pepper
Place all ingredients into a food processor.
Pulse until mixture becomes a chunky paste.
Use in desired recipe.
Enjoy!

Sad For My Sunflower :(

Last night my sunflower got blown over during a rain storm. :(

I was pretty (still am a little) sad about it.

I really like sunflowers and this one had just started to bloom last week.

When it got blown over I went out to see if it could be salvaged. 

It was snapped clean off at the ground.

There was only one thing for me to do and that was cut all the blooms off and bring them inside.

This event brought two scriptures to mind:

First, Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Second, Jonah 4:10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

The lesson being: The life of plants is not important, they come and go. I should not be sad about plants or worried about material goods. The things I should be concerned about are reaching souls with the gospel and having faith in God.