Hello, Saturday and Sunshine!

It's Saturday! Have a few pics to share and a recipe and some quotes. Stuff to encourage myself and others with!

I made another new crockpot recipe yesterday from the Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook. It turned out really good! And even had an ingredient that I went, "HUH?", but I think it added to the flavor. So the recipe I am sharing today is: (drum roll, please!)

"Absent Cook" Stew

(Credit goes to Kathy Hertzler from Lancaster, PA)

Makes 5-6 servings and the ideal slow cooker size is a 4 quart

1. Combine in slow cooker:

2 lbs. stewing beef, cubed

2-3 carrots, sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 large potatoes, cubed

3 ribs celery, sliced

1-10 3/4-oz can tomato soup

1 soup can water

1/8 tsp salt

Dash of pepper

2 Tbsp vinegar

2. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours.

Now you know I did some variations, right? Yeah, I did! I didn't have any beef stew meat thawed out, so used a 1 lb package of pork stew meat instead. Everything else that the recipe called for was the same, except that I did add a little bit of Worchestershire Sauce to mine for a little added kick. I'll be honest, it calling for vinegar kind of surprised me! But it really did not distract from the taste at all. LOL - and I didn't realize until yesterday that Worchestershire actually has white vinegar listed as one of it's top ingredients! I will make this one again, for sure!

I've had people ask what kind of dog Cady is. To answer that, she's a rescue dog that I got from the Gainesville (GA) Humane Society almost 12 years ago. What I was told there was that she is part Australian Shepherd (you should see her run....and act like she's herding!) and part Terrier of some sort. She was being cooperative this morning so she actually looks like she's smiling instead of avoiding me and the camera!

Alot of pictures I take, or go to take, she looks at me like, "Ah, Mom, not again!!!"

I think the flash bothers her and reminds her of lightening. Very much a scaredy cat when it comes to thunderstorms. The neighbors were putting off fireworks last night nearby and she was shaking like a leaf! And followed me everywhere I went in the house!

I'm adding this one as right after I took it, she figured out how to push the outside door open with her nose! Little stinker! Fortunately, she was hooked up to a tie-out so she didn't get too far. When she does get loose, it's like, "Oh, boy! Now I can RUN like the Wind!" and she does! I sometimes have to trick her into thinking we are going to go for a ride in the car to get her to come to me! She loves car rides! And walks! And people!

Most of the time, though? You can find her sleeping on the end of my bed!

Encouraging Words from THE WORD:

When I said, "My foot is slipping," Your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul. The LORD has become my fortress, and my GOD the rock in Whom I take refuge.

~Psalm 94:18-19, 22

He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.

~Job 8:21-22

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

~Romans 8:26 

God Always Has a Plan B quotes:

When children are secure, they feel free to be who they really are. That's how you and I can live, too. God is the only one who knows everything about us. He knows our good thoughts and the thoughts that we struggle to admit even to ourselves. So no matter what you could tell someone else about your life that would change that person's opinion of you, nothing you could say would dampen God's heart toward you. He knows it all, and He loves you. Surely, this kind of security should set us free to be who we really are.  - Sheila Walsh, pg 5

Laughter is a riotous vote of acceptance that God is the God-who-sees. Whatever it is probably won't go away, so we might as well live and laugh through it. When we double over laughing, we're bending so we won't break. If you think your particular troubles are too heavy and too traumatic to laugh about, remember that laughing is like changing a baby's diaper. It doesn't solve any problems permanently, but it makes things more acceptable for awhile.  - Barbara Johnson, pg 7

So often we kick and scream at the thought of yielding. We don't want to give up control. If we could just understand that yielding to a benevolent and trustworthy"other" can bring us quietness, rest and even happiness.

It isn't just babies who resist yielding. And it isn't just those whose minds are tormented and distrustful. It's all of us who for various reasons can't or won't trust in the promise of rest that yielding offers.

When I find I am unable to yield a point or to yield to the spirit of Jesus, I ask myself: What am I holding on to? Why is it so difficult to simply yield, knowing full well that I will benefit from doing so? God promises to work in me and in my will. Since in my humanness I have trouble letting go and yielding, I'm enormously comforted by this promise of His active work in my life. - Marilyn Meberg, pg 8

There ya go.... a little extra something for your Saturday. May you be blessed beyond measure today and always! Thanks for stopping by!

Be blessed,

Sue