Our Hope Endures by Natalie Grant

I ran across this song the other day. I'd never heard it before, but it resonated with me.


"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. 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. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified" (Romans 8:24-28).

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

"There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off" (Proverbs 23:18).

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him" (Psalm 28:7).

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11).

"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" (Psalm 46:2-3).

"Praise to God for a Living Hope
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:3-9).

"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold" (2 Corinthians 3:12).

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

"God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf" (Hebrews 6:18-21).

http://youtu.be/QrBLhyNNjYg

Our Hope Endures by Natalie Grant

You would think only so much can go wrong
Calamity only strikes once
And you assume this one has suffered her share
Life will be kinder from here
Oh, but sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear?

[Chorus]
But our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

How do we comprehend peace within pain?
Or joy at a good man's wake?
Walk a mile with the woman whose body is torn
With illness but she marches on
Oh, 'cause sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear?

[Chorus]

Emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient (repeat)
We never walk alone
And this is our hope

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

Tomato & Pesto Chicken

Jeremy and I tried this recipe for dinner last night, and it was delicious! We made some changes to the original recipe (of course!), and it turned out great. I'm getting to be a pro at forgetting to take a picture, when we try new recipes. I'll try to get better at that. The main differences between the original recipe and what we did... we cut the recipe in half, we used chicken thighs instead of breasts, and we cut the broccoli and chicken into small pieces. Anyway, this is a dish that we'll definitely make again.

Tomato and Pesto Chicken
Adapted from Hunts.com

Ingredients:
4 oz dry penne pasta, uncooked (4 oz = 1¼ cup)

Hunt's Tomato & Pesto Chicken

1½ cups small fresh broccoli florets (we used a 9 oz package of frozen broccoli)

1 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces (we used thighs)

½ can (or 7.25 oz) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes, undrained
½  can (or 4 oz) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce
¼  cup soft cream cheese spread
8 tsp refrigerated basil pesto

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
• If using fresh broccoli florets, add for the last 2 minutes of cook time.
• If using frozen broccoli florets, steam in microwave (then we cut the broccoli up to be in smaller pieces) and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken; cook 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Add undrained tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover.
6. Simmer 5-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in centers (165°F).
7. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. (not sure how necessary it is to remove chicken at this point... we cut it into bite-size pieces, rather than leaving the chicken thighs/breasts whole)
8. Add cream cheese to sauce remaining in skillet; stir until cream cheese is melted completely.
9. Stir in pesto; simmer 2 minutes to thicken slightly.
10. Drain pasta.
11. Add pasta, broccoli, and chicken to skillet; stir together.
12. Serve.

Sea of Faces by Kutless

This is such an encouraging song. How wonderful to be reminded that God always has time for each of our lives. He sees, hears, and loves each and every one of us. Among all of the people and chaos of this world, we can always be assured that He sees us... He loves us. And what a beautiful gift that is!

http://youtu.be/aYkowPR82Iw

Sea of Faces by Kutless

I see the city lights all around me
Everyone's obscure
Ten million people each with their problems
Why should anyone care

And in Your eyes I can see

[Chorus]
I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your body's the bread, Your blood is the wine
Because you traded Your life for mine

Sometimes my life it feels so trivial
Immersed in the greatness of space
Yet somehow you still find the time for me
It's then You show me Your love

And In Your eyes I can see
And in Your arms I will be

[Chorus]

If only my one heart
Was all you'd gain from all it cost
Well I know you would have still been a man
With a reason
To willingly offer your life

[Chorus] (repeat)

Just one in a million faces

Breaded Pork Chops

I can't actually remember where I found the original recipe that inspired this dish, but I do know that it ended up as a combination of the original recipe and me tinkering with it (partially because we were only cooking a few pork chops). And, they ended up delicious!

Breaded Pork Chops
Adapted from tasteofhome.com

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless pork chops
1 egg
3 Tbsp milk
1 cup combination of saltines and breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
Flour
Garlic pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Get 3 separate dipping trays lined up near the stovetop.
3. Stir together flour and garlic pepper (optional) in tray #1 for dipping.
4. Beat egg and milk together. Pour into tray #2 for dipping.
5. Mix breadcrumbs, saltines, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning together in tray #3 for dipping.
6. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic.
7. One at a time, dust each pork chop into flour/garlic pepper mixture, then egg/milk mixture, then breadcrumb mixture. Cook in skillet (with oil and garlic) for about 5 minutes per side.
8. Cook all pork chops at 325ºF for about 25 minutes (pork should be at least 160ºF on the inside - do not undercook).
9. Let pork chops stand for 5 minutes before serving.

The Show by Lenka

We watched Moneyball a few weeks ago... and loved it! I really enjoyed the movie, but this song really stuck with me. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/biXGO32uGbU

The Show by Lenka

[Chorus 1]
I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze, and love is a riddle
I don't know where to go
Can't do it alone

(I've tried)
I've tried, but I don't know why

Slow it down, make it stop
Or else my heart is going to pop
Cause it's too much, yeah it's a lot
To be something I'm not

I'm a fool out of love
Cause I just can't get enough

[Chorus 1]

[Chorus 2]
I'm just a little girl lost in the moment
I'm so scared but I don't show it
I can't figure it out
It's bringing me down
I know, I've got to let it go
And just enjoy the show

The sun is hot in the sky
Just like a giant spotlight
The people follow the signs
And syncronize in time

It's a joke, nobody knows
They got a ticket to the show
Yeah

[Chorus 1]

[Chorus 2]

Oh oh
Just enjoy the show
oh oh oh oh oh

[Chorus 1]

[Chorus 2]

Dum de dum,

Duh dum de dum
Just enjoy the show

Duh dum de dum,

Duh dum de dum
Just enjoy the show

I want my money back
I want my money back
I want my money back
Just enjoy the show (repeat)

Cinnamon Crisps

We made these one night for dessert. I accidently overcooked them a little, so they were a little more like cinnamon sugar chips.

When I was younger, my mom would make a similar thing... I think it was easier and tastes as good (or better). I'll go ahead a make a recipe for that (she always just made it... no recipe needed) - see below.

Cinnamon Crisps

Recipe from FamilyFun.go.com

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter
6 (6-inch) flour tortillas
2 to 4 Tbsp sugar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon

honey

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 450º.
2. Melt the butter in a large baking sheet in the oven, about 2 minutes.
3. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon.
4. Place the tortillas in the baking pan (they may overlap a bit), turning each once to coat both sides with butter.
5. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the tortillas.
6. Bake the tortillas until golden and puffed in spots, about 7 minutes. (you may want to move the tortillas after a few minutes in the oven, especially if there is a lot of overlapping) * Do not overcook *
7. Serve them warm - we served with honey drizzled over cinnamon crisp.

Mom's Recipe

OurBestBites.com

Ingredients:

flour tortillas

butter or margarine

cinnamon sugar

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350º.
2. Cut each flour tortillas into quarters.
3. Spread some butter on one side of each.
4. Lay buttered tortilla quarters down on a baking sheet (overlapping just a little on some corners).
5. Sprinkle tortillas with cinnamon sugar.
6. Bake until hot and as crispy as you like. (to make them cinnamon chips, cook approximately 10-12 minutes - look for edges to curl and crisp up)
7. Serve warm.

I suppose you could brush melted butter and add cinnamon sugar on each side of the tortilla quarters, then cook at 400º for 6-7 minutes. 

The Real Me by Natalie Grant

This song is so relevant to me. My sister has always told me that I'm an oyster... that I have a hard outer shell, but hold a beautiful pearl within. I've always had trouble opening up and allowing others to see the real me... In some ways, I've gotten better with this... but, in other ways, I've gotten worse at it.

Living with an invisible illness can make this even more of a challenge. I find myself guarding myself much more around a lot of people. Many people don't know how to be around someone that lives with pain all the time. So, they may ask, "How are you?" but they're really just looking for a quick answer (i.e., "I'm okay")... and that's what they normally get. It really drains my energy to try so hard to let some people see the real me, especially if I don't feel like they really care. It's hard to open up and pour out your heart to someone, and then nothing happen.

To those in my life that I feel truly do care and want to know the real me, I'm an open book. Many (not all) of these people are friends that I've made online since the accident. We have an unspoken bond because we're each dealing with illness and pain in our lives.

But, our Lord sees the real me... "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5). I'm so grateful that He sees and loves the real me!

http://youtu.be/i6RezoHKni0

The Real Me by Natalie Grant

Foolish heart looks like we're here again
Same old game of plastic smile
Don't let anybody in
Hiding my heartache, will this glass house break
How much will they take before I'm empty
Do I let it show, does anybody know?

[Chorus]
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me

Painted on, life is behind a mask
Self-inflicted circus clown
I'm tired of the song and dance
Living a charade, always on parade
What a mess I've made of my existence
But you love me even now
And still I see somehow

[Chorus]

Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me
You're turning the tattered fabric of my life into
A perfect tapestry
I just wanna be me

[Chorus]

And you love me just as I am
Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me