Denver... we have arrived!!!

We drove 12 hours yesterday to get to Becky's condo in Denver. We have the blessing of spending Christmas with her... she has this week off and we are going to ski for the first time in any of our lives!! I'll try to give you a day by day report of how things are going!!

In the meantime, some of you have asked for my Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe... so here it is!!

Chocolate Mousse Celebration Cake

Bake a Devil's Food cake according to the instructions on the box...cool.
In the meantime, prepare the mousse.

Chocolate Mousse

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips- partially melt in microwave.

Bring to boiling:
1/3 c. whipping cream
3 Tbsp. sugar
Pour over the chips and stir until well blended and chips melted.
Add:
1/4 c. coffee liquor
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Beat until creamy. Cool to room temp.
Fold into mixture:
4-5 cups Cool-Whip... I use fat-free
Refridgerate for 20-30 minutes.

Cut the 2 cake layers in 2 and layer between each section the choclolate
mousse. Prepare the frosting.

Frosting

1 1/2 c. whipping cream
1 1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/3c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Place in bowl and whip to consistency of firm whipped cream. Frost the
cake.

Chocolate leaves for garnishing:

Melt:
1/2 c. semi-sweet chips
1 tsp. shortening
Take washed and dried leaves of choice, rose or holly .and paint chocolate onto the back of the leaf. Cool and peel leaves off of the chocolate. Use to decorate.

ENJOY!!

This is one of our family's favorites...but oh, so rich!

See you soon.

HE IS BORN!!

It's just days away...

... that we stop to give thanks for the many things we've been given. I am most humbled that I have been given so much... rich in relationships and full in love with life. Days are not always easy, nor "fair", life throws curve balls, but how thankful I am that I serve a God in control of it all. He never twiddles His thumbs wondering what to do next, and He pursues what is best for me... so that I may become more like Him. How grateful I am, that He pursues in my life the right plan to make me...better...like the daughter of God I am called, adopted and destined to be. He will not relent, cause there is much work to do and He loves me so much that He will persevere with me!!! Can you believe that?

"Give thanks, with a grateful heart,
Give thanks, to the HOLY ONE,
Give thanks, because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son..."

... there and there alone is the place of goodness...the heart of thankfulness. No matter what life brings, nothing changes the goodness and love that flowed down that tree...for you... for me.

Don't do Thanksgiving without Him...the Pilgrim's didn't!!!

Only days away... is Thanksgiving!

Helloooo.....

Just before I head to bed to catch up on the many hours of sleep I am behind on, I want to let you know how thankful I am for all of you. Life is busy, and too many times we do not slow down enough to reflect to each other how we would miss them or see and compliment each other for the strengths He has given us. So, I so appreciate your own uniques gifts and watching you grow into them and use them to His glory.

Am headed to bed... am trying to fall asleep at this key board....

Mama C

Up I go, into the wild blue yonder...

... to see Becky!!! Yeah!!! I haven't seen her since July! Oh, my! So, the next time you hear from me I will have been to the Mile-High City and had coffee and fun with my dear daughter. Just remember, ency is a sin!!!! :0)

Love you all, Mama C.

Frosting...

For those of you who requested it...



Easy Decorator Frosting

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
4 - 4 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
2 Tablespoons milk or half-and-half

Beat on high speed until fluffy..will keep in the refridgerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature and beat again before using. Color as desired.

Covers equivalent to 8-9 inch round double layer cake.


... and for those chilly nights...


Zucchini and Summer Squash Soup


2-3 medium zucchini, 1/2 inch slices
2-3 medium yellow squash, 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup chopped onion

Saute the above in 2/3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add:

8-10 cups water to which 8-10 teaspoons of instant chicken boullion have been added.
2-3 Tablespoons of pesto, according to taste
More garlic to taste.

Cook, serve with croutons or french bread. Warms your insides and good on your waistline!!!!

Love to you all, Mama C.

Monday night quiet...

I'm home alone! The kids are off to harvest parties, and I'm home alone!! The quiet is nice. And, I can focus on tomorrow's Bible study that I'm teaching. Ephesians has been wonderful. How many times I've read it over the years, but, it's fresh and new again. It's funny how His word does that! The first 2 chapters focus on "who" we are... chosen, predestined as to salvation and becoming more like Him... all of that according to the "kind intention of His will", the cross! Chapter 3 focuses on: we are LOVED... again the ultimate act of that love is at the cross...
At the end of chapter 3, Paul again prays for the Ephesians... and the last 2 verses are, I am convinced, written with great emotion..."Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, acccording to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to alll generations forever and ever. Amen." Here is Paul, the one who passionately pursued those who believed in Christ, to hunt them down and kill them, protecting His Jewish heritage and what he knew to be true... now proclaiming the "mystery", of how Christ also died for the Gentiles... and Paul is pursuing the very ones, you and me, who were outside his Jewish heritage to let them know the liberty, grace and power available to them to live life in Christ. WOW! Paul was changed... totally!
And next week, we will, now that we know "who and whose" we are, learn how to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which (we've) been called." Is it a heavy responsibility... yes, until I fully understand that the cross also provided the power in the Spirit to do it all...indeed, it is the Lord's load. I just need to be the conduit of the power already given to me.

Oh, how I fail... to lean on Him.

Grace is soooo wonderful... sooo amazing. I do not deserve it, yet He has extended it fully to me.

His love...complete and wonderful... and "surpassing all knowledge", yet I can "be filled up to all the fulness of God". The more I love, the more I understand the sacrifice of His love. Especially when I am hurt by the ones I love... for it is then I understand more the sacrifice of His love... an almighty God who could anihilate those who hurt Him, leaves me to learn and fail, to love Him. Incredible...

Dear Brother Monte...

...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MONTE... THE MOST WONDERFUL BROTHER IN THE WORLD...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.


Love you little bro, Caroline

I'm back...

... and what a special weekend it was. God carries me when I'm not sure what to expect. I love looking back on days or weekends like that. Pensive going in, knowing that it is fully out of my control, and the only thing I can do is trust Him. Listening to His voice. Quite by accident I stumbled into one room as they were praying. Leading them in the ACTS "form of prayer", what God did durning those moments was so poignant and moving that I knew God was encouraging me to spend time in prayer with each room. It was a special time for me... to be with all of you, who may be reading this, and listening to hearts that so desire to tweek their course and pursue God harder!!!

So enjoyed seeing you Lucky, Abbi, Sparks, Styx, Cassie, Jeanette, James... did I miss anyone? I look forward to Thanksgiving.

On the road home, I had to apply what I was teaching this weekend... things had not gone on at home as hoped or planned. God give me patience and grace... right now!!!

Have had a busy day. Had to take the dog to the vet, and we are giving her meds... treating her symptomaticly.... Nothing big and bad could be found. For that we give thanks.

Best run, need to do Bible study... Ephesians is so rich!!

Love to you all, Mama C.

Pine Cove, here I come!!!

I'm headed to Pine Cove to teach a women's retreat, The Refiner's Fire, this weekend. I feel so inadequate, just where I want to be... "more of Him and less of me" will have to be the way I get through!!! Pray for the ladies, pray for me!!! Thanks.

Fun thing... coming from a Catholic elementary school test... spelling preserved:


In the first book of the Bible, Guinesses, God got tired of creating the world so He took the Sabbath off.

The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.

...for you engineer types...

The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.





Have a great weekend!!!!!!

Hummm...

As I sit in the Hampton Inn with my coffee and cereal, I am thinking of all of you. As I drove through the Oklahoma hills last night, I called some of you, but I prayed for lots of you... at Covenant, LeTourneau, at OWU, ACS, and my family and friends. What a way to love. Yet, I do it way to little, because an enemy keeps me too busy doing "great" things. Prayer is the greatest love note I can send you. When I, we, become truly convinced of that, realizing the utter need we have for prayer, we will be much wiser indeed. God has truly gifted each of you, me, with many abilities that He created for one thing alone...to serve the Kingdom of God, and bring Him glory...

... Wednesday, Katie, Jonathan and I saw that lived out again... in a man we had to bury in our community. At age 45, Tom came down with a virus and within 10 days it killed his heart. He had his heavenly homecoming Saturday evening. The funeral was so much like David's... a giant in the community that everyone loved, respected and now reels from the unfairness of life. Praised as a godly man in business, as a husband, as a father, God's kingdom was cast as a wonderful, safe place for those who believe. Tom believed that to die was gain, no matter how much he loved his wife and children, and would have never chosen to leave them. And, his children and wife know that to be true, too...evidence of a life well lived. Prayer will get them through... our prayers for them... their prayers to Him, the One and Only that has suffered and understands everything their heart cries during the pain of letting go to death and focusing on their loved ones eternal life...Just as prayer has gotten the Casselberrys through the earthly death of our loved one, David.

My memories are many today... he was a wonderful companion and husband, and I miss him much. How grateful I am that my God at the cross gave me the most "kind intention of His will", the sacrifice of His Son so that this life is only the "blink of an eye", and my hope lies well beyond the borders of this earth.

Love you all... am praying for you!!!!

It's morning...

Never will I sit and look at a sunrise without awe that I know the One who painted it. The colors herald a new day and warmth surrounds my soul as it comes out of chill of night, not unlike the time when I sit at His feet and contemplate the Creator and His wonderful Word. I've been studying Ephesians... teaching it... (which I should be doing that now)..and can't help but think about the new beginnings of life. There is the day we are born, for all of us. There is each spring... babies in the meadow, spring grasses, flowers, chill to warmth each morning as you step outside...this South Dakota country girl loves these things!! There is each new morning... a new (yet old) sunshine, a refreshment from sleep (you adopted kids and my own better be getting enough! :0) ), an opportunity to do right what we failed at yesterday and to do what we need to do today. To start anew, pausing and listening to Him... slowing enough to hear. But the best new beginning of all is in the Lord. Chosen by the Almighty God according to "the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1)", accepting His one and only Son's sacrifice for our sin (His death and resurrection from the dead), we have an incredible new beginning. One that never fades away, a covenant that has no time limit except eternity, and the promise of the Holy Spirit to be our seal, our identification that we are indeed His, walking in newness of life. What can I say but... WOW.

Then the sun goes down... but it's back every morning. Just like the Lord is constant in His love for you and me... every morning He awaits His beloved, you and I, to enjoy the day with Him.

Enjoy the morning!

Mama C.

It's all basic...

... that is, the Basic Mix recipe of homemade Bisquick! As you have requested, here it is...

12 cups All -purpose flour (I use half to 2/3 whole wheat)
2 Tablespoons salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons baking powder
2 cups shortening or butter

Combine flour, salt and baking powder; sift. Cut in shortening with pastry blender, Kitchen Aid or food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Place in covered container. Store in the refridgerator or any cool place.
Yields: 14 to 14 1/2 cups.


Use for biscuits, muffins, shortcake, pancakes, coffe cakes, nut bread, etc.,

Biscuits

2 cups basic mix
1/2 cup milk

Mix and roll out to 1/2 inch thick, cut with biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Yields 10 - 12 biscuits.


Drop Biscuits

2 cups mix
3/4 cup milk
Mix and drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 12- 15 minutes. Yields: 10- 12 biscuits

Muffins

2 cups basic mix
2 tablespoons sugar
1 well beaten egg
3/4 cup milk

Mix and fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 425 for 15 - 20 minutes.



Pancakes

2 cups basic mix
1 1/4 cups milk
2 well-beaten eggs

Mix and cook over medium heat on hot, greased skiillet. Yields: 18 pancakes






.... and one more thing that is basic to life... our understanding of God's sovereignty. What we believe about whether or not God is in control determines our gratefulness (or lack of ) as we live our life. It determines our level of confidence, peace and love of life. The scripture we treasure tells us He is the Most High God... El Elyon. No one or nothing has any authority over Him. Nothing... in the spiritual realm or here on earth. That is a delight to my soul (... as well as it's greatest struggle in the want of me being the authority over my own life). It especially excites me when I focus on His character. Today I taught the overview of Ephesians. Listed over and over again are evidences of how this God makes decisions of authority: "according to the KIND intent of His will", "according to His purpose", "according to His good will", "according to His extravagant grace". Yes, this loving God allows the good and hard in our lives, having sifted it through His loving fingers, "according to His kind intent of His will", and provides all we need through "His abundant grace".

...as David's (my dear husband) grandfather said when David's dad told him that David had brain cancer:
"Should we take good from Providence and not accept the hard?" It is a basic question worthy of our wrestling and answer.

Good night... God's blessings on you all.
Mama C.

It's too late...

...for me to be doing this now. After all, I get up at 5:50 to do my walking with Dorea. I have to keep in shape somehow... and that's part of life at this age!! Besides, I want to keep up with my kids... skiing with Becky in Denver, climbing the Great Wall with Ryan someday... who knows!!!
So, it is to bed tonight ... and girls... I'll put the recipe for homemade Bisquick on tomorrow!!!

"Thanks to God for all my blessings"...In many shapes and personalities!
Good-night!