Yummy Waffles! Healthy and Cheap!

Hi Everyone!

A couple weeks ago my mom asked me what recipe I used for making waffles. Well, turns out she wasn't happy because my waffle recipe requires the use of a blender--and she does not have a blender where she currently is.

Blenders are NOT that expensive--not if you are just purchasing a cheap one at Walmart, anyway. And this recipe needs no special high-powered blender. Just your plain "garden variety" blender will do just fine! So, my advice to Mom is to go buy yourself a blender! These waffles taste yummy, they are SO healthy for you, and they are CHEAP on top of it. I love it when healthy foods end up being truly cheap on your grocery budget! :) That does not happen ALL the time, but it is always nice when it does!

So here it is--my "famous" waffle recipe. Just for you, mom. Have I convinced you to go buy a blender yet????

Light Oat Waffles

2 1/2 c. water

2 c. regular rolled oats

2 T. whole grain flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 T. sesame seeds

Blend all ingredients except sesame seeds until creamy. Preheat a non-stick waffle iron on high for 5-8 minutes.

When waffle iron is hot, lightly spray with cooking spray and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Sorry this picture is fuzzy, but I figured better a fuzzy picture than none at all!
Pour batter into waffle iron, then sprinkle more sesame seeds lightly on top of batter and close waffle iron.

Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the light on your waffle iron goes off to show it is done.

NO PEEKING!!!!!










Eat right away, or you can cool on baking rack before freezing. Separate waffles by wax paper and freeze in Ziploc bag. Then I reheat them in our toaster oven.

Yum! Whole grain, healthy waffles. And oats are cheap!

Good toppings include natural peanut butter, fresh fruit, fruit jam, granola, etc.

Enjoy!

(Mom, have I convinced you to buy a blender yet?)

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week Nine

Good Morning Everyone!

And "Happy Monday" to you! :) Sorry I am a bit late in posting my new verse for this week. So many many things seem to keep me very busy all the time--but this semester especially!

My Bible in 90 Days reading is moving right along--in one more week or so I will be entering the Gospels! It's hard to believe! Didn't I just start reading Genesis a week or so ago??? I LOVE reading the Gospels, though, so am very much looking forward to being in that portion of the Bible. As I have already mentioned, I am having to keep my Bible in 90 Days reading my #1 priority for my quiet time each day, and my Bible Memory is going to have to take 2nd place. That said, I am continuing to choose a new verse each week and write it out on a card which I then place on my metal ring. Sometimes I get a new verse posted on my bathroom mirror, sometimes I end up leaving the previous weeks verse posted there. I figure either way it's good--there is always a verse on that mirror for me to read when I'm washing my hands! Not sure how firm my verses are getting memorized, but I am not going to worry about that for now. If it is more of a "meditate on a verse each week" instead of a memorize a verse each week, so be it. I figure it's still good!

And speaking of worry--that reminds me. The verse I am choosing for this week is one exactly on that. Worry. If you remember, I was already focusing on some verses in Matthew 6, and I am going to skip over a few and go down to Matthew 6:25 for this weeks verse. It goes like this:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Matthew 6:25

Do not worry. Why? Because there are other more important things God wants me to be doing instead.

So there you have it. Go have a wonderful week. And don't worry!

With all your Heart

Good Morning!

I am reading in Jeremiah this morning, and I noticed something interesting. As I started marking some verses that were standing out to me, and I thought I might share them on here, I realized that there was a pattern that was being repeated. It is the phrase "with all your heart." I am sure it is repeated many places in this portion of the Bible, but I wasn't watching for it at first. But as I started marking verses, the first verse I marked to share was this one:

"My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." Jeremiah 24:6,7

Return to me with all their heart. Completely. With nothing held back.

Then I marked this one:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

Seek me with all your heart. Not half your heart. Not part of your heart. ALL your heart.

Wouldn't it be interesting to do a study on that phrase--"all your heart?" Sometime I would love to do this! I know, I know. In all my spare time. . .

I ran across more references to our hearts. This verse does not use that same phrase, but it is oh so beautiful:

"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Jeremiah 31:33

Isn't that lovely? That is what I want God to do for me. To write His law in my mind and on my heart. I would say I am an "impossible case." That I fail so many times. But I cannot say that, because look at this verse:

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27

And did you know God refers to His heart as well? He says this about Himself:

"I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." Jeremiah 32:41

God is in my heart.

And I am in His.

Good Table Manners

Hi Everyone!

I am researching how to teach good table manners to children today. In my search, I ran across this cute video. While I do not normally go for green talking cats, in the case I thought the video was nicely done and look forward to sharing it with my daughter.

Hope you enjoy it too!

Susan

Where does Bread come from?

Fresh, home made bread. Yum! :)

Good-bye Isaiah!

Good Morning Everyone!

I finished Isaiah today! Sniff, sniff. I'm going to miss reading in this book. In spite of all the warnings, it is also filled with some of the most beautiful promises. Ah, well. I know, I know--there will be more beautiful promises ahead. And before I know it, I will be starting into the New Testament, which is almost overwhelming in it's beauty--reading about Jesus and how much He did for us.

But--before I leave Isaiah completely, I have to share some of my favorite verses from today with you! :) This may seem like a long list, but trust me--I DID narrow it down! ;)

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

This next one was new for me--I have read it before, but just didn't notice it I guess. But it's perfect for me to claim for my son:

"All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace." Isaiah 54:13

THAT'S what I want for my son. For him to be taught by God, and to have great peace.

And others that stood out to me today:

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near." Isaiah 55:6

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord." Isaiah 55:8

"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

"Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I." Isaiah 58:9

This next one is my "Texas Verse." Those friends of mine who live in Texas will understand why! I had to claim this verse constantly, as this Michigan girl did not enjoy the Texas heat very much. . .

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

Oh, and this one is one of my absolute FAVORITE verses in the entire Bible! It fits every situation, not matter what it is:

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear." Isaiah 59:1

And then we have my "moving verses." Ever since I have married, I have never lived in the same house longer than five years. And since gardening is one of my hobbies, I have always planted fruit trees and blackberries. Of course, just about the time the trees are old enough they are starting to fruit--we move! So these verses really appeal to me!

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. . . They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat." Isaiah 65:17,21

And the final verse I want to share with you is so precious. God--the Creator of the entire Universe--knows and is listening for me.

"Before Susan calls, I will answer; while she is still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24, Susan's Version

Hope some of these verses I have shared will be an encouragement to you today--have a beautiful day!

My Teacher

Good Morning!

Time to get up and get to school! Well, if you remember that "life" is a school. As a teacher, I like school! I LOVE back-to-school sales, and walking through isles of new notebooks, pencils, and crayons.

But there is one thing about being a teacher--we don't know everything! Sometimes our young students might "think" we know everything--but that is so far from the truth. In fact, the older I get, the less I feel like I know!

But I have a teacher, and THIS teacher truly does know everything. I can go to Him at all times, and He leads me and guides me in the way I should go.

I am still reading in the book of Isaiah this morning, and take a look at some of the verses I ran across:

"This is what the Lord says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." Isaiah 48:17

And then I found this one, which I think is so neat because each morning I get up and listen to my Bible CDs at the same time as following along in my Bible. This helps keep my mind from wandering to other places as I read.

"He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." Isaiah 50:4

See? God is my Teacher!

Other favorites from today's reading:

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

"But now, this is what the Lord says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

You. Are. Mine.

Did you catch that? Can you imagine those words being thundered out from the God of the Universe?

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

A way in the desert. Streams in the wasteland. A way where there was none.

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49:15,16

Have I given you enough promises for this morning? God is my Teacher. He leads me where I cannot see. He creates a way where there was none. He cannot forget me. I am His.

Stand Forever

Good Morning!

I am reading in Isaiah today, and ran across this little gem that I had to share:

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

Isn't that beautiful?

Then, Isaiah chapter 40 also contains another of my favorite verses--one I claimed OFTEN when my son was little. . .

"He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

Many, many beautiful verses. My favorite books are probably Psalms and Proverbs, but Isaiah is pretty high up there in the running!

How about this one?

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

Or

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you, declares the Lord." Isaiah 41:13,14

See? There are pretty neat verses in this book. Yes, I guess it has to rank right up there with my favorites. Of course, when I come to Matthew, that is my favorite as well! ;)

Spend some time in God's Word today, and see what special things you can find!

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week Eight

Good Morning!

Happy New Week! :) Can you believe how fast this year is flying by? I can't. Just sort of seems like I am running a race but getting further and further behind! I keep waiting for things to slow down, but it doesn't look like that is EVER going to happen!

As most of you already know, I am concentrating on reading the Bible through in 90 Days. Started this challenge on January 1, and it is amazing to realize that I am over half way through the Bible already. I read through some of my favorite books this past week--Psalms and Proverbs, and had this idea to keep an ongoing list of verses that I run across and would like to add to my "Memory List" for memorization sometime. Well, it was a great idea, but as I started keeping my list I realized that I might as well say that I want to memorize the entire books of Psalms and Proverbs! There are just SO many neat verses and promises in them! Then, this morning I am reading in Isaiah--there are lots of great verses in Isaiah as well! My list started getting so long that it became completely overwhelming to me, so I stopped that great idea! :) This happens to me. I love great ideas, but am not so good at narrowing down things to a managable amount. This happens to me with homeschool curriculum as well--I LOVE good curriculum, and want to do ALL the good stuff I find. Potlucks are dangerous for me as well! ;)

Ah, well, I suppose it is better to look around you and see many good things, rather than seeing no good thing. I am blessed to overflowing. So I have to rein myself back in every now and then. I started memorizing in Matthew 6, and I really do want to continue through some of my favorite portions of that chapter. So for this weeks verse, I am adding onto the two I have previously been memorizing.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

Where your treasure is. Have you ever thought about what that means? There are many "treasures," including our children. But I want my greatest treasure to be Jesus. So where Jesus is, my heart will be also.

Have a blessed week!

Amazing God!

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

Had an amazing sermon this morning from Pastor Batchlor, all about the nearness of God using the story of Jonah as his illustration. How awesome it is that God loves us so much! And this song seemed to go right along with this mornings sermon. Hope you enjoy it like I did!

Beannies!

Have you ever had a chocolate craving but you really didn't want to eat something totally devoid of any nutrition? If so, then Beannies are for you!

I have to confess--this idea was not original with me. I first heard my cousin mention that she had tried some brownies made with black beans at a healthy cooking class she had attended at her church. My sweet tooth antenna immediately went up.

Brownies? With beans in them? What is this world coming to????? Did I hear that right?

I e-mailed my cousin back and asked her more questions, upon which she told me that it was just a Betty Crocker brownie mix that they had used a can of blended up black beans in place of the oil, egg, and water that the directions tell you to add. Well, this I HAD to try! My first attempt tasted remarkably good, but I felt like the ones in the middle of the pan were a bit too moist for my tastes. The ones around the edges of the pan were really good, however, so this had potential!

I started thinking about those fancy "edge" pans you see in catalogs sometimes, where you are supposed to put your batter into a pan with zig zag type of edges--therefore giving you more of the "edge" part that you wanted. Well, I don't have money for a lot of fancy unique one-use-only types of pans, but I thought perhaps mini muffin pans might work. It would give more pan edge to the batter, therefore "drying" that batter out just a bit more. Anyway, I tried it and I think it works GREAT! My family does too. And while this idea was not original with me (I NEVER would have thought of this on my own!), as far as I know, the name "Beannies" is. I can't really call them brownies--but I thought "Beannies" fit pretty good!

I was having trouble getting a good picture with my camera this morning, so you will just have to realize that they were scrumptious even though they may not look like it in my poor photo. And by tonight, they are mostly gone--just a few left, and I only made them late last night after the kids were in bed!

O.K., I realize it may be a stretch to call these "healthy," but if you are GOING to eat something sweet and chocolate anyway, at least these are low fat and have some good fiber in them now! :)

As far as the recipe goes, one box of Betty Crocker brownie mix. One can black beans. Blend the black beans up in a food processor or blender until smooth--do not drain, just dump them in right straight from the can. Then dump the processed beans into the bowl with the dry mix, and mix good either by hand or by mixer. Fill mini muffin pans around half to three fourths full, and bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy! These are a great way to eat beans in my opinion!

Popcorn Anyone?

I just had some popcorn for lunch--then I run across this video! Hope you all enjoy it like I did. I love field trips, and if I can't go to them, it's good for them to come to me! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

For God so loved Susan, that he gave his one and only Son, that when she believes in him she shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn Susan, but to save Susan through him.

John 3:16,17, Susan's version

Jesus. The best valentine's gift I have ever received. Because God loved me too much to live without me.

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week Seven

Good Morning Everyone!

How is your Bible memory coming???? I'm still plugging away on mine. Never got the new card for this past week made up and put on my bathroom mirror--so I was disappointed in myself for that. On the other hand, the card from the week before remained there--my verse that talks about things being impossible with man, but not with God, and THAT verse continued to bless me each time I went into the bathroom and read it. So maybe that is what I needed most this past week--that reminder. This is just a time period in my life when there are SO many different things going on. So many VERY important papers that need to be filled out. Phone calls that need to be made. ALL super important. ALL urgent. And ALL overwhelming. Most--though not all--having to do with trying to get things needed for our son, so THAT adds extra pressure. You know, that "Mommy Bear don't mess with my cub" kind of pressure. And I can't do it all. I can't even do SOME of it. With Susan, this is impossible. But not with God.

Have you ever done a search on the phrase "But God?" I heard a sermon preached one time on this, years ago. It was the very best sermon I have EVER heard. But God. Someday, I will have to share some of the insights shared in that sermon with you.

But back to my memory verses. This last week I was concentrating on Matthew 6:19--"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."

This week, I want to add the next part to it--verse 20. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

First, we are told what NOT to do. But we are not left hanging to stumble and figure things out on our own. No, we are then told what TO do--store up our treasures in heaven instead. I am SO thankful for these verses! I just figured out our taxes yesterday, and it sure does not look like we have many treasures on earth, though I know we are SO very blessed and have so much more than most people in this world have. We are lacking N-O-T-H-I-N-G. No Thing.

My heart desires treasure in heaven. Jesus is there. He is the greatest treasure.

Have a wonderful week! And don't forget to meditate on God's love letter to you!

How It's Made PENCIL

Cool. Just learned how pencils are made. Now I think that is VERY important for homeschool. After all, we use pencils every day! Hope you enjoy learning something new as well!

52 Weeks, 52 Verses--Week Six

Good Morning!

For those of you who are joining me in memorizing God's Word this year, how is is going for you? I have to admit--this past week was hard for me in the memorizing department! I just feel like my days were a blur, and I do not feel like I was able to give adequate time and attention to memorizing my verse for this week--Mark 10:27. That said, since it WAS an easy verse, I didn't do TOO bad. I wrote the verse out on a card and put it up on my bathroom mirror. And I put it in a different spot on the mirror than I had put last weeks card--because I wanted to still notice it when I went into the bathroom! Otherwise, I figured I was getting kind of used to a card taped up on my mirror in that spot, and would I really still read it or would it just become kind of like the other bathroom fixtures. Kind of a "yea, I know that is there and I know what it is" kind of thing. So it did work, and when I was washing my hands or getting ready in the morning I did review my verse. I guess what I feel didn't work so great was my wonderful plans to keep reviewing my previous four verses so I would keep them fresh in my memory as well. Ah well, there is always THIS new week! :)

For the next couple weeks I think I am going to choose a passage, and add on one connecting verse each week. And I am kind of cheating I suppose, in that I am choosing something I have already previously memorized years ago--but I have forgotten it quite a bit! And since I can chose whatever I want to, that's what I am going to chose! It is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, and it is worthy of reviewing! So, with that grand and glorious introduction, I am going to be working on passages of Matthew 6. Not even the whole chapter--just my favorite parts! But I do so much need to remember these parts, so they will be very worthy of my attention. (Especially when I am thinking about "treasure" as I work on my taxes in the next couple weeks!)

So, here is the verse I am going to start with:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19

Red letters. Words of Jesus. A warning--this world is not a safe place. Do not hang my heart here, it is not secure. Don't settle in too much.

Happy memorizing! And I would love to hear what you are focusing on this week!

How it's made-Globes

Don't you ever wonder how some things are made? Well, wonder no longer about globes. Thought you might enjoy this cool little video I ran across today. It's good to learn something new each day! :)

Set your Heart

Good Morning!

Today I was reading in 2 Chronicles, and came across this verse:

"He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord." 2 Chronicles 12:14

This verse is talking about King Rehoboam, who was ruling Israel. I couldn't help but read this verse and immediately turn it around in my mind. What if it read instead "He did good because he had set his heart on seeking the Lord."?

What "could" have been? What opportunities that were missed? What blessings that God could have bestowed upon His people, if only Rehoboam had chosen different. What was a sad and tragic story could have been a happy one instead. How sad. If only.

Dear Father--

Help me to set my heart on seeking You every day.