Are You Feeling Alone? Exhausted? Empty? He Sees You.

The other night I sat at my kitchen table. And cried.

I felt alone. I felt misunderstood. I felt mistreated.

No one saw me... no one, except God.

I sat there, feeling so alone.

As I cried, my heart yearned for God, 

"God, You see me. Help me".

That's about all I could express.

In the midst of my pain and my emptiness, I cried healing tears and uttered a prayer that comforted my soul.

He sees me. He can help me!

Are you feeling alone? Exhausted? Empty?

He sees you. He can help you!

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
Psalm 34:15

Deep Clean Your Dishwasher, Drain, and Sink

Recently I have had a funky smell coming from my sink/dishwasher area. I thought it was in the garbage disposal, but I also noticed it when I opened the dishwasher (after a cleaning cycle!). YUCK!

Time to do a deep cleaning!

I was simply going to tackle the dishwasher, but when I got some good info from TidyMom.net about how to clean my dishwasher and more, I decided to take it further!

I cleaned my dishwasher, drain, and sink, all at once and here’s how:

Dishwasher:

• Fill a sink halfway with hot water and add a cup of vinegar. Use this water as your cleaning solution.
• Scrub all removable parts.
• Wipe down the entire inside.
• After you clean the drain and sink, pour a layer of vinegar (about 1 cup) into the bottom of the dishwasher and do a quick, rinse cycle. The dishwasher will smell like vinegar when you are done, but that smell will go away after the first wash cycle you do.

Drain:

• Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain and cover immediately. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes, while you are cleaning the sink.
• After it sits, you can run hot water down the drain for a couple minutes to do a good flush.

Sink:

• Drain the water you used to clean the dishwasher.
• Start filling the sink with hot water. While it is filling, pour in a layer of vinegar and a layer of baking soda and essential oil if you wish (I used lemon). Use a wet rag to wipe down the sink basin and surrounding areas with the water in the sink.
• Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Drain the water. Wipe, rinse, and dry.

Voila!

Sweet Potato Enchilada Skillet Casserole

I have to say, “This is delicious.”

Vegetarian. Full of flavor. Packed with nutrition.

Oh, and topped with cheese of course!

The original recipe, from “This Gal Cooks”, asked for some specialty items that I decided to work around, and my final product was still scrumptious!

I hope you try it!

Sweet Potato Enchilada Skillet Casserole
Original Recipe
Printable Version

1 cup white rice
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 red pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini, cored and diced
1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 oz. can of diced green chilies
1/2 c frozen corn
1 14.5 oz can Petite cut tomatoes with chipotle chilies (not drained)
2 10 oz. cans of red enchilada sauce (or ~2 cups homemade, can use half red and half green)
1/4 cup water
2 oz. cream cheese
1 cup colby jack or Mexican cheese, shredded
1/2 T olive oil
cilantro, for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sweet potato. Saute for 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini and red pepper and saute for a few more minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the rice. Cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the enchilada sauce, water, tomatoes, green chilies, black beans, and corn. Mix well and bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 18-20 minutes, or until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

Once the rice is done cooking, stir in the cream cheese.

Top with the shredded cheese and turn on your broiler. Broil until the cheese is bubbly.

Garnish with cilantro.

A Few Ways to Spruce Up Your Family Bible Time

There are a lot of ways you can study the Bible and talk about the Bible with your family.

You can:

• Focus on a particular book of the Bible
• Concentrate on a particular theme
• Memorize Scriptures
• Share what you are reading in your own, personal devotions

No matter how you study:

• Don’t always be the leader. Ask your children to talk about something they learned by reading their Bible or at church.

Recently I have started doing a couple activities with my children during our morning worship times that help us grow in our knowledge of the Bible and make it fun too.

• Bible Quiz – Ask each other questions about the Bible:
• Where is Amos located?
• Whom did Jesus raise from the dead?
• What does Romans 12:1 say?
• Fill-in-the-Blank Verses
• “I can do all things through Christ who __________ me.” (Phil. 4:13)
• “But the ________ of the _________ is love, joy, peace…” (Gal. 5:22)

How do you study the Bible with your family?

There’s Hope for You in the Empty Tomb. He is Risen!

About 2,000 years ago a man was born, not just a man, but the Son of God. He came from heaven to give Himself up for us, for our sin, that we might be cleansed and redeemed.

Although Jesus’ mission was a glorious one, He had to endure much difficulty and suffering to accomplish it.

Jesus even said, “Father if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42

Jesus was mocked, beaten, and crucified. Jesus died, and His body was laid in the grave.

Perhaps it looked like sin had defeated him.

However, three days later, He rose from the dead!

And now we find an empty tomb, a tomb that provides every person with tremendous hope.

No matter what situation you find yourself in today, there is hope.

No matter what your struggles are, there is hope.

No matter what has defined you, there is hope.

God’s desire is to give us hope.
That is the gospel message.

God has provided a way out of sin, and He doesn’t leave us nor forsake us.

God desires for us to live abundant and victorious lives.

God didn’t just save us, He has a plan for our lives – to live pure, peaceable, godly, wise, fulfilling, amazing lives here on this earth.

Do you need hope today? Look to the empty tomb.

He is risen!