Thursday, April 11, 2013

Everyday Birding

It's amazing what all this water everywhere will do! :)  I saw three very nice birds today .. two are new to me for the year .. actually, I think they are lifers! That means I've never seen them before.

Coming home from lunch with Rob, I saw this bird in the bush by the pond coming into our subdivision.

Belted Kingfisher.

and then later, when DS1 and I were leaving to get him to his Biology classe, I saw these ..

Hooded Mergansers

And then when I was coming home just a little bit later from a run to Menards and Walmart.

A Sandhill Crane.

These were all in the two ponds that flank the road coming into our subdivision!  Isn't that something!?!?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Nearly Gluten Free Oatmeal Choc. Chip Cookies

So I saw this recipe on facebook. It looked really good and I was "dying" for a cookie! :)  I figured I'd try it out today. :)  Mine aren't totally gluten free, as my MILK chocolate chips have a trace of wheat warning in them, but they are flourless!

Mix in the bowl ....

Put onto the stones before baking ....


After Baking .. mine took about 14 or 15 minutes ... cold stones usually take a bit longer .. but less time for hot stones...

Don't they look delicious! 
This is the full recipe.  We got 18 cookies ... 2 Tbsp sized scoop ... and they were so good!  They are mostly gone now .. not even sure dh will get a single one.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A Confident Heart by Renee Swope

So I will be starting a new bible study ... called "A Confident Heart" by Renee Swope.

Also .. this week, I'm doing the 7-day Doubt Diet which is available on her website as a companion to the "Confident Heart" study.

I thought I'd list some of the bible verses that I have read today related to this study.

But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. Jeremiah 17:7 NLT

—“See, I am doing a new thing!” “I am working all things together for good, because you love me and are called according to my purpose.” “All things are possible to [her] who believes” (Isa. 43:19; Rom. 8:28; Mark 9:23 NASB).

Rom. 12:2

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14 NASB).

Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (NASB),

A prayer from the devotional ...

Praying God’s Promises Lord, I pray that You would give me a confident heart in Christ. Take me beyond believing in You to truly believing You. Help me rely on the power of Your promises and live like they are true. You say blessed is the one who trusts in You and whose hope and confidence are found in You. Those who hope in You will not be disappointed, because You work all things together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. When self-doubt tells me I can’t overcome my insecurities, I will believe Your promise that all things are possible to whoever believes. I will not throw away my confidence, because You say it will be richly rewarded. I will persevere so that when I have done the will of God, I will receive what You have promised. My confidence is in Christ and I am no longer one who shrinks back and is destroyed, but one who believes and is saved! In Jesus’ name, Amen. (See Jeremiah 17:7; Isaiah 49:23; Romans 8:28; Mark 9:23; Hebrews 10:35–36, 39.)
“Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isa. 49:23).
“See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isa. 43:19). “And we know that
in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
“All things are possible to [her] who believes” (Mark 9:23 NASB).
 “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”  “Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live” (vv. 2–3 NIV).
Food for thought: So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36, (NIV)
Lord, I want to become a woman with a confident heart in Christ. Show me how to recognize when I’m tempted to throw away my confidence. And please help me throw away my insecurity instead. I want the reward of persevering in Your truth so that when I have done Your will, I will receive what You have promised. I don’t want to be a woman who shrinks back and is destroyed but one who believes and is saved. When doubt or insecurity tells me I can’t do something, I will remember that all things are possible to her who believes. In Jesus’ name, Amen. (See Hebrews 10:35–36, 39; Mark 9:23)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Birding

Rob and I went for a walk this afternoon at Harrington Beach State Park ... it was a nice walk, especially the parts that we were blocked from the wind.  It was quite windy later this afternoon, but with all the trees at the park, it was beautiful.  While walking we talked to a couple of other walkers, and they mentioned they had seen some Swans on County Road A  just south of Belgium, so we drove the long way home so that I could see them. :)



As a bonus, we saw a couple of Redheads (ducks).  These are both new for my list for the year :)

A good "last day" of vacation with dh.