4th Celebration
Our family always enjoys a reason to celebrate.... Okay... I enjoy celebrating; my husband and kids play along. For the 4th, we had Red, White, Blue and You day at our house. This included a do-your-own-thing art project that demonstrated what Freedom meant to the "artist." Amazingly, everyone had something different. Mine was a Statue of Liberty on one side of a sheet of paper. My rendition of Jesus and the crown of thorns was on the other side. My husband's artwork illustrated the freedom to make choices. My daughter's was her impression of the things freedom allows her to enjoy, and my son's was a tribute to the soldiers who fight for freedom. All of our expressions represented things worthy of celebration...so we did. With good ole hamburgers and time spent in the hot outdoors, with decorations and red, white, and blue desserts, and with an explosion of fireworks, we certainly enjoyed the festive aspects of the day, but it was the moments that we took to honor the real meaning of living in a free country that we will most remember,,,and that will give us reason to celebrate again and again.
Around the World:
Since I already mentioned our family eating adventure that is taking us around the world, I will share a couple of those recipes.
Our pastor was on a missions trip to South Africa, so we HAD to try food from that area.
South African Marshmellow Dessert:
1/2 lb white marshmellows
1/2 c. orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. cream (or Half and Half)
1/4 tsp. salt
Cut the marshmellows into small pieces. In a large sauce pan, mix marshmellows, juice, and vanilla. stir on low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, beat the cream until stiff; add the salt. Mix with the marshmellow mixture. Pour into a greased pie pan. Refrigerate until set.
It is thinner than pudding and has a tart taste.
In addition to other foods from Africa, we also tried Argentinian foods
One of my favorite Argentinian foods was grilled corn on the cob
Ingredients:
6 ears of corn, shucked
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
The official way to cook this is to.grill corn over medium high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, turning frequently, until the ears appear lightly browned in some places. It was pouring down rain, so I wrapped my corn with the seasoning in wax paper and microwaved until the kernels were tender. Yum!
Spiritual Moment:
Apart from the foods, there is a cool devotional thought that I want to share. It's a spin-off of my Jesus Calling devotional book that I have loved using this year. It was Sunday, July 29th entry that talked about Jesus being the centerpoint of all that we are. It used the verse
:Hebrews 6:18-19 New International Version (NIV)
"God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
The devotional talks about how Jesus is our anchor, and if we drift too far away, he will tug on us. The important thing is to remember to keep a short rope between yourself and Jesus. Then you're never too far from Him. As I was reading this, I could see the summer lake with the sailboats dotting the water. It just seemed like the thought HAD to be shared in the July post.
Our pastor was on a missions trip to South Africa, so we HAD to try food from that area.
South African Marshmellow Dessert:
1/2 lb white marshmellows
1/2 c. orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. cream (or Half and Half)
1/4 tsp. salt
Cut the marshmellows into small pieces. In a large sauce pan, mix marshmellows, juice, and vanilla. stir on low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, beat the cream until stiff; add the salt. Mix with the marshmellow mixture. Pour into a greased pie pan. Refrigerate until set.
It is thinner than pudding and has a tart taste.
In addition to other foods from Africa, we also tried Argentinian foods
One of my favorite Argentinian foods was grilled corn on the cob
Ingredients:
6 ears of corn, shucked
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
The official way to cook this is to.grill corn over medium high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, turning frequently, until the ears appear lightly browned in some places. It was pouring down rain, so I wrapped my corn with the seasoning in wax paper and microwaved until the kernels were tender. Yum!
Spiritual Moment:
Apart from the foods, there is a cool devotional thought that I want to share. It's a spin-off of my Jesus Calling devotional book that I have loved using this year. It was Sunday, July 29th entry that talked about Jesus being the centerpoint of all that we are. It used the verse
:Hebrews 6:18-19 New International Version (NIV)
"God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
The devotional talks about how Jesus is our anchor, and if we drift too far away, he will tug on us. The important thing is to remember to keep a short rope between yourself and Jesus. Then you're never too far from Him. As I was reading this, I could see the summer lake with the sailboats dotting the water. It just seemed like the thought HAD to be shared in the July post.
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