One Light in a Sea of Darkness

 

My heart has been so heavy with the way people (from both sides) have been handling our current political situation. Just ugliness, pure and simple. Of course if the outcome of the election had been different, I would still feel disgust with how both sides were treating each other. Treating others anything less than the best is unacceptable.

One day I had just had it, thinking to myself, "Is this what God sees?" I really couldn't understand
why He just didn't take us all out, you know, start all over in a Noah's Ark kind of way. But then again, that's why I'm not God and He is. His grace is limitless. My grace is a short fuse! I'm working on that ;) That's when I decided I had to do something radical and not just my annual Facebook Fast. This time around, I would force myself to pray for others...not for myself but for the friends I see through Facebook. I thought to myself, "How about combat this ugliness with love. Love that comes from a God willing to love even me, a sinner!" I decided that I would pray for all my friends. 19 to be exact...and then 19 new ones the next day until I had prayed for all 562 friends.

The first two days have been insightful. It literally took all day. I'd sit down after doing something and pick out a few friends to pray for. I then sent them an email telling them that I had prayed God's blessing on them and their families. The response I have gotten in a mere two days has been awe jnspiring. Of course, I would never divulge what my friends have asked me to pray for but I will say that my heart hurt for them. The thing is everyone is going through something that we don't know about. Everyone needs grace. And God in all His majesty has given them that grace. I was overwhelmed to realize that not only does God see the ugliness of everyone's heart,  He also sees their pain, their problems, their entire life...


Tonight I took our puppy out to potty and shut the door behind me. The cold air hit my face in a refreshing kind of way and the quietness was as if God was saying, "Pray to Me." So I lifted my head to the sky and noticed  one single light in a sea of darkness.

"Lord, there is so much darkness in this world, so much that I can't handle. But You are that one shining light for all to see. Never having  made a mistake, always giving us grace and love. You are perfect in everyway and everything I long to be. Thank you for calling on me to pray for my friends. It has shown me a little glimpse of all that You see. And thank you for giving me grace even when I know I don't deserve it. Amen."

 



In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Instant Pot Chili

If you have been following me on Facebook, I have been venturing on the annoying side when it comes to my posts about the Instant Pot. Ha!  As a Christmas gift from my wonderful In Laws, I have to say loud and proud, "Thank you! You have made my life so much easier." Do I want a roast in 30 minutes? Sure! How about Ginger Chicken that tastes like you just stepped into Panda Express but without all the bad ingredients? You bet. For the mom who comes home from working long hours or the mom who stays home cleaning and taking care of kids, this thing is for every woman. I have decided to do a few simple recipes to show you just how easy it is. By the end of this blog, you will head to Amazon and buy one for yourself (wink wink).

Instant Pot Chili

1 LB 93/7 Ground Beef

1 can undrained diced tomatoes

1 can undrained kidney beans

1/2 green pepper diced

1/4-1/2 sweet onion diced

1 Packet McCormick  Mild Chili Seasoning (or make your own, whatever floats your boat)

1/2 cup low sodium beef stock

To feed into my spontaneous nature, dinner is sometimes planned but now that I have an Instant Pot...not. at. all! Quick and easy is what I say.

Turn your Instant Pot to Saute. Brown your ground beef, green pepper and onion.

Next, add tomatoes, kidney beans, beef stock and chili packet.

Close lid on Instant Pot making sure the lever at top is set to "Seal". Next hit the Soup button and let it do its' thing.

Hmm Hmm Hmm Hmm (me humming). I'm just sitting here and waiting for my dinner to cook itself.

When Instant Pot beeps, either allow the Instant Pot to depressurize in 20 minutes or manually use a fork to turn the seal to "Venting." But be careful. The hot steam will fly. This will depressurize the pot in a matter of  minutes. All done! Add your sour cream, cheese, rice, what have you and enjoy!




Now who is ready to hit "Add to Cart" on Amazon???