Wednesday's Weekly Recipes - Sausage Balls

Here's another quick and easy something to add to your Christmas goody list! You can make them ahead of time, they package well and are a nice "salty" to balance out all the sweets!

Ingredients
1 pound ground sausage
3 cups biscuit baking mix, such as Bisquik
1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well with hands.

Form mixture in to bite-sized balls, about 1 inch in diameter.

Put formed sausage balls on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, or until golden brown.



Enjoy!
K

Tuesday's Tips and Tricks... Making Memories

I get it. Christmas is about gifts. Whether you hold to the idea that Jesus is the greatest Gift, that The Wise Men gave Jesus gifts or that Santa is the greatest dude alive, gifts are a huge part of Christmas. Here's the thing tho... it's not ALL about the gifts.

I mean, presents are great. We all like receiving gifts. The greatest gift I ever received was the gift of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice paid the price for my sin and acknowledging Him as Savior and Lord secures my place in heaven for eternity. I want to share that with everyone I know. I want my life to reflect my love for and gratitude to Him. Woven in with this, I want the hearts of the people I love filled with memories of laughter and goodness and kindness and love. I do think that there are many ways to make Christmas about more than opening presents.

There are a few obvious traditions that will keep you and your family focused on Christ at Christmas. Among these are having a Nativity set prominent in your home. Even the smallest children enjoy unpacking the Nativity and discussing the characters and reading the story of Jesus's birth. Perhaps you can visit a living Nativity.  You can invite someone who is without family to eat Christmas dinner with yours. You can participate in Toys for Tots, Operation Christmas Child, Angel Tree or any other organization that provides for children. One year, a friend and I took our children out in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and left gifts on the porch of a family consisting of a young mom and her 4 little kids. It brought all of us SUCH joy!

My family has a "tradidtion" that happened completely by accident. One Christmas Eve, when Izzy was really little, I took her, Brian and a lady I'd just met to look at Christmas lights. The lady had no car, so I used "looking at Christmas Lights" as an excuse to have some time with her (so that I could share the message of Jesus with her). We went to Waffle House afterward and talked a bit more about Jesus and the difference He made in my life. The next year on Christmas Eve, my family and our then Youth Pastor's family went and looked at Christmas lights and then went to Waffle House (because nothing else was open)... and a tradition was born. Now it's a "thing" with my kids. They invite their friends and their friends' families. We end the evening with Waffle House. They love it and I love them.

I tried giving my kids an ornament every year. That's been hit and miss. Maybe I'll do better with them as adults. We'll see.

My friend Tashia has her kids put hand prints on her Christmas tree skirt each year.

I saw a neat idea on Pinterest (imagine that) where you have all the people present at your Thanksgiving dinner sign the table cloth. Use the same cloth each year. In time, those signatures will be a treasure! Same could be done for Christmas.

I like the idea of writing a letter to the people I love. I suppose this is a given for me being that I am such a lover of words. Surprisingly, though I have considered this many times, I don't think I have ever done it. I do think that Christmas is a nice time to tell the people God has given me that I am thankful to Him for them. Maybe this is something I'll start.

That's all I've got for today....
K

Friday Revamp

Now that my "Get fit Friday" challenge is over... What am I gonna write about on Fridays...and why do I feel this overpowering need to have something that begins with the letter "F" in the theme?

Friday seems like a good day to share my thoughts on my Faith. (see what I did there?)

As Christians, we observe Good Friday the Friday before Easter Sunday, the day when Christ Jesus was crucified. I have often wondered what the disciples and the others who loved Jesus the person went through on that Friday and Saturday. I mean really... Can you IMAGINE??? Have you, like me, stopped to ponder how devastating those days must have been?

I know Jesus only as Savior and Lord, but to the disciples and others who loved Him, He was... well, He was Jesus. Some understood and confessed Him to be the Son of God, but he was also the guy they walked from town to town with. He was the guy they ate dinner with and who talked with them after meals. He was present, tangible... he was their friend.

Can you IMAGINE having someone like Jesus as a friend? I mean really... how amazing would it be to ask "Hey Jesus, what do you think about... whatever?" I mean REALLY... who WOULDN'T want JESUS in their inner circle of people? I know that I would LOVE to be able to walk and talk with the physical Jesus person.

How much must Jesus's friends have loved him? I love my people.... and all my people have let me down at some point (just like I have let them down at some point) because we are just people. Still, I LOVE them fiercely. How much more must Jesus's friends have loved him? I mean... He was JESUS.

I know how devastated I have been when I have lost people I love. Whether it is cancer or old age or heart attack or the consequences of addiction or tragic accident, losing someone we love is HARD. It HURTS!

Now, try and imagine someone we love dying the way Jesus did. Start on Thursday with the bogus arrest, continue thru Friday with his time before Pilate and the others, imagine seeing that person you love accused of bogus garbage and seeing him beaten beyond recognition. Then imagine that person you love, your friend and confidant, the person you trust most, being crucified.

I simply cannot.

I imagine that the ones who loved the person Jesus were completely wrecked by His death. The people who witnessed his death did not have the assurance we do. They did not know what Sunday would hold. They only knew that they had lost someone they love to a tragic death.

I imagine the hopelessness they felt is much what I would feel with out Christ....but worse because they felt intense loss.

Anyway, this makes me think that Friday is a good day to share my faith, my walk with Christ, how Christ influences my choices, and the difference He has made in my life. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you are fully aware that I struggle. My life would not be characterized as easy or free of troubles. Still, in order to be completely transparent, I feel it is important to intentionally share my faith, simply because it colors so much of who I am.

I have no degree in Theology, nor do I claim to have any special understanding of Scripture. All I know is what it means to me to follow Jesus... so that's what I'll share.

Now, for a catchy Friday theme to help me stay focused.....

I guess I have a week to decide...

Much love and big hugs....
K