Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. - Hebrews 12:14-15
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, boxer & author, (his book, Eye of the Hurricane, above) was convicted of murder in a highly publicized and racially charged trial. The boxer maintained his innocence and became his own jailhouse lawyer. After serving 19 years, Carter was released when the verdict was overturned.
As a free man he reflected: "Wouldn't anyone under those circumstances have a right to be bitter?... I've learned that bitterness only consumes the vessel that contains it. And for me to permit bitterness to control or infect my life in any way whatsoever would be to allow those who imprisoned me to take even more than... they've already taken."
If you put yourself in Carter's shoes, do you think you would have come to the same conclusion? Bitterness is something that we can have in our hearts and not even know it is present. One of my very good friends gave me some great advice that we should write letters to friends, family, husbands, wives, children, etc.. explaining how we feel they have wronged us & how that made us feel or react, as well as, apologizing to anyone who you know you have done wrong to. I, personally, love this idea because I am just not strong enough to face some them yet. The good thing about once you are done writing a letter, if you feel comfortable, you can send it, or if you don't feel comfortable yet you can burn it and with it make sure you burn those feelings.
Sometimes it seems that it is easier to "just sweep your feelings under the rug" rather than confront the person about the issue and deal with it. When I read Joyce Meyer "Approval Addiction", I came to a better understanding of why, sometimes, it is more beneficial to confront the issue. For one, it relieves you of those feelings and for two, the person is aware of the issue at hand. They can choose to fix the problem or not. What they do after the discussion is not your concern, you have opened the door for your bitterness or resentment to leave.
When we hold on to disappointment, a poisonous root of bitterness begins to grow. Allow the Spirit to fill you so He can heal the hurt that causes bitterness.
Currently, I am reading The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. It's amazing which should be no surprise because all of his books are phenomenal!
Julie's husband dies, and he sends her a note and a box. The note was written before he died, and he asked that it be delivered once he was gone. Inside the box was a dog, whom Jim sent to keep her safe. Julie gets mixed up with a dangerous man, and her late husband's best friend Mike is there to help her out, and fall in love with her.
Jason & I just started reading The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional by Gary Chapman. The first couple that we read, I wasn't over the moon about.... and that is just because it was focusing more on problems in marriages, but the more we have progressed, I am absolutely in love with it, just like any other book by Gary Chapman! It is a must read for you & your spouse! The devotions are to short and to the point, but like some devotionals that are short & you feel the longing for more, this one is different! You won't be sorry!
"The Love Languages Devotional "is your daily guide to how to express heartfelt love to your loved one.
FRITOS BBQ FRIED (BAKED) CHICKEN
This chicken is absolutely amazing! Some recipes that call for dipping into multiple ingredients sometimes tend to all fall apart, but this one didn't!
Ingredients
2 cups of Barbecue flavored Fritos, crushed
2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
2 eggs
1 tablespoon half and half or milk
3 medium to large chicken breasts, or 5-6 chicken thighs, de-boned and skinned
Your favorite barbecue spice mix or rub. I used Montreal Seasoning BBQ Rub & it was spectacular!
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and a wire cooling rack.
Place Barbecue Fritos in a gallon sized ziptop bag. Seal the bag, pushing out as much air as you can. Use a rolling pin to roll over the Fritos in the bag repeatedly, until you have breadcrumb sized pieces. You can also use a food processor to accomplish this.
Add two tablespoons of buttermilk powder to the crushed Fritos and shake the bag. Pour the crushed Fritos onto a large plate and set aside.
In a medium bowl, crack two eggs and add milk or half and half. Whisk the eggs and milk together until fully combined.
Take a fully defrosted piece of chicken, dip it into the egg wash to coat completely, the sprinkle the egg-coated chicken lightly with your favorite barbecue spice mix or rub. This is entirely to your taste, so sprinkle as little or as much as you want. Then dip and roll it into the crushed Fritos on the plate.
Repeat the dipping process once more with the same chicken breast, essentially “double dipping”. No need to season again on the second dip.
Place the coated chicken breast on the wire cooling rack that is set into the baking tray and repeat the process with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Bake at 425°F for approximately an hour. If the Fritos topping starts to get darker on top, lightly cover with a piece of foil to prevent over-browning.
The chicken is done when it reaches 180°F when pierced with a meat thermometer.
PEACHES & CREAM CHEESECAKE BARS
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pkg dry cake mix-white, yellor or french vanilla
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 c butter, room temperature
- 1/3 c sugar
- 2 lg eggs, divided
- 29 oz can light peach slices, drained
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13” pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg; mix with fork just until crumbly. Set aside 1.5 cup crumbs for topping.
Press the remaining crumbs on bottom of prepared pan; Bake 10 minutes.
Cut peach slices into 1” pieces; Spoon onto partially-baked crust.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla extract; beat with mixer until creamy. Spread over top of peaches.
Sprinkle with reserved crumbs; Bake 30 minutes.
Chill at least 30 minutes before serving; Serves 12. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
OK! Well that's all for now! I hope you all have a very blessed week!
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