thoughts for today

“I feel like all of us choose whether to look at life from the glass half-full or half-empty perspective. I have made a concerted effort over the years to look at my life in light of all that God has provided for me. I have determined to find joy and to cultivate contentment so that I can have the strength and courage to face everyday.”  

~from Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson (pg 140)

thoughts for today

“The key to enjoying God in every moment of these daily pleasures is to open the eyes of my mind to see and to appreciate what he has given. A thankful heart galvanizes the connection between my God and me….

…….When we really see that God is a wonderful Provider and has gone to great lengths to make our earthly home pleasurable, we will appreciate him more and our hearts will be lifted to thank him. It is when we come to see what he has given that we begin to be mature. It is when we understand that God’s gifts are with consideration of our truest needs - for love, beauty, purpose and belonging- instead of for our selfish gratification, material possessions, ownership. When we are humble and appreciative of who he really is, then we move down the road to a more foundational intimacy with him. But without a heart of thanksgiving, in which we recognize his chosen gifts, our joy will not be full.”

~from Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson (pg 92-93)

thoughts for today

(in ref to Matthew 7:26-27...) 

“…… indicates that rain will come and the winds will burst against us in this life. We were made for gladness of heart and joy, but in this world, which is wildly rebellious to God and his ways, storms will indeed come and rage against our souls. What determines whether such storms will destroy our happiness or push us toward it is whether we struggle against the wind or let it push us toward God.”

~from Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson (pg 59)

thoughts for today

“Clearly joy is an issue of the heart. Joy is not found in performing for people or in doing all the right things for God. Nor is joy in the absence of difficulties or problems. Joy is found in the presence of God in the midst of all circumstances, in delighting in the life he has given.”

~from Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson (pg 38-39)

giveaway!

I have throughly enjoyed several of Sally Clarkson's books and read her blog regularly.

I am currently reading through "Dancing with my Father" and am going share a couple thoughts and things that were good reminders for me over the next couple weeks. It is a wonderful book on finding joy in life, regardless of circumstances. I've been making notes as I read and need to sit down and type them all out, the copy I am reading belongs to the library. I am so thankful our library had it as I couldn't go out and buy it just now, but wanted to read it. It is definitely going on my "wish list" to buy for myself someday.

Check out her latest conferences and a giveaway HERE!

Homemade crackers

My kids and I have been loving Katie's recipe for homemade crackers.

The first time I made them, we ate them all that day :-)

The next time I made a double batch and they are lasting longer!

Click this link for the detailed directions - below is the recipe and simplified direction!

Homemade “Wheat Thins” Style Crackers

Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

From Kitchenstewardship.com

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ Tbs sugar (or honey)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp paprika

4 Tbs butter

¼ cup water

¼ tsp vanilla

salt for topping

Method:

Mix ‘em: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and paprika in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it in thoroughly, using your fingers, a pastry blender, a mixer or a food processor. Combine the water and vanilla, and add to the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.

(Note: If you use honey, just mix it in with the water.)

Prep ‘em: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper. For crackers, I would HIGHLY recommend using a baking stone , or at least parchment paper. I roll the dough right out on the stone or mat and bake them. Yep, right on the stone. That way I don’t have to worry about rumpled crackers as I move the fragile dough. People say, “Those are homeMADE?” because most of my crackers have perfect shape and are sooooo delectably thin.

Roll ‘em: Divide the dough into 4 pieces; keep the other pieces covered while you work with one at a time. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin and roll the piece of dough into a large rectangle, which should be at least 12 inches square when trimmed. Keep your pin and the surface of your dough evenly floured. Flip the dough frequently to keep it from sticking, but too much flour will make it difficult to roll. Keep rolling until the dough is as thin as you can get it without tearing, at least 1/16 inch thick. Trim the dough to even the edges and use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the piece into squares approximately 1 1/2 inches wide. I skip the trimming and just deal with weird shaped crackers. Those go to the toddler right away!

Bake ‘em: Transfer the squares to a prepared baking sheet; you can crowd them together, as they don’t expand while baking. See, I get to skip this step, which seriously cuts down the time and failure stress of making homemade crackers! Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt, if desired. Oh, yes – do it! Just use real sea salt with all its minerals intact! Sometimes I also poke the crackers with a fork to make them look even more like the “real” thing. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Save the scraps under plastic wrap and reroll them all at once just one time.

Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, 5 to 10 minutes. If some of the thinner crackers on the edges brown too quickly, remove them and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. These crackers bake quickly, so watch them closely – even 30 seconds can turn them from golden brown to toast!

Are they done? You want them to be almost crispy, but not totally breakable to deem them “done”, because they will crisp up a bit as they cool. You’ll learn after a tray or two the difference between “too soft” “done” and “oops”. They’re still tasty when they’re soft, just not so cracker-y. Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan or on a plate; they cool quickly. These crackers will stay crisp for many days, but are best stored in airtight containers.

Soaked Granola Bars

Here's this great recipe from Katie's new Heathy Snacks to Go e-book.

Soaked Granola Bars

4 1/2 cups soaked and dried oats (Directions for soaking and drying HERE)

1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 or 3/4 cup butter*

2/3 or 1 cup honey*

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup add-ins (mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, coconut, etc)

In a small saucepan, melt butter, honey and vanilla over low heat. Once butter is melted and bubbly, cook and stir for 5 minutes. (DO this! Don't cheat and just get the butter melted, it does actually need to COOK- not that I figured this out from experience or anything....!)

In a separate bowl stir together the dry ingredients. Mix the liquid with the oats. Incorporate add-ins at this point (mini chocolate chips melt, so you may want to cool first!)

* The difference in the quanities are in whether you want to make baked or unbaked granola bars......

For Unbaked- (Use the 2/3 cup honey and 3/4 cup butter)

Line a container of any kind with waxed paper. Press bar mixture in, well, with waxed paper. Allow to harden up (the refrigerator speeds it up but isn't necessary) and then cut into bars.

For Baked- (Use the 1 cup honey and 1/2 cup butter AND ADD 1 tsp baking soda to your dry ingredients and mix in throughly)

Press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan; use wax paper on your fingers to apply pressure. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow to sit in pan until completely cool and then cute into bars.

Taste difference? Believe it or not, the 10 minutes in the oven does something considerable. The baked bars have a mouthfeel related to a cookie, but not quite and are less sweet. Unbaked bars are more like a sticky Quaker chewy bar but with 1 cup honey are much too sweet and more expensive anyway. You could make a half a batch of both and see what you prefer!

Makes about 20 bars.

My note..... I "think" I like the baked best. Not sure, both are good and are really pretty different. Your add-ins make a difference too. My unbaked ones tend to be really sticky, so they aren't great for the little kids when we are out and sometimes my baked ones turn out a little crumbly. BUT, I find if I refrigerate the baked ones they old together better when we are out!

I am going to play with a little more honey in mine next time- I am wondering if altitude makes a difference in them?