God Interrupts Reality to Meet Our Needs

God Interrupts Reality to Meet Our Needs

Has God ever interrupted or bent reality to meet a need? He's done it for me several times, and He did it for the Apostle Paul. In Acts, chapter 28, Paul is bitten by a very poisonous snake, and the Islanders expect him to die; but he's just fine.

On June 13, 2011, at Camp Joshua in Gentry, AR, at about 9:45pm, I went into my pop-up camper to get dressed for bed after having helped Pastor Thomas Hawkins with the object lesson for his message. I sat down with my foot propped up on the bench to remove my right shoe, and felt what seemed like a needle stabbing into my upper leg about 3/4” deep. I felt around the area and couldn't find anything. I continued to get dressed for bed, but the pain did not go away.

When I pulled my pants down, I saw what I believe was a brown recluse spider, about 1 ½” to 2” across. I screamed and batted at it, but it was imbedded into my leg; and I couldn't get it out. I was able to knock off it's round butt that was about 1/2” across and a few of it's legs. The upper body was really stuck into my leg. It was right in the center, towards the inside, at the approximate location of my femoral artery. I think that it was biting me when I sat down; and when the pant leg twisted from my putting it up on the bench, that was what drove it into my body.

I didn't panic, though I was pretty freaked out. I started calling everyone for whom I had cell phone numbers, which ended up being my daughter, her friend Kimberly, Pastor Thomas, and one of the adult leaders, Kelli. When I couldn't reach anyone, I finally left a message with Pastor Thomas. He later said he couldn't understand the message, but he knew I was upset; and he came right up. I called my husband and asked him to pray for me. Pastor Thomas showed up at about the same time. I asked him if he was a first aider. He said he wasn't. I told him that I needed someone who was at least a first aider to help me. He left to get help, and he later told me he was praying for me then.

At that point, my leg had started swelling, getting blotchy, and my foot was tingling. I knew that a spider bite in this location could either mean death or at least a week's hospitalization on heavy-duty antibiotics. I, also, knew that this was just another attack from the Enemy trying to get me to NOT be at camp! I started “pleading the blood of Jesus” over myself – asking God to cover me with the blood of Jesus and to heal and protect me. I, also, rebuked the Enemy and the effects of this attack in Jesus name. Suddenly, I felt a warmth flowing through my body, and I felt God's peace wash over me. At that time the pain markedly decreased.

Kimberly called then, and I told her about the spider. Quite alarmed, she asked me if I was going to be okay? I told her I was going to be just fine – I really knew that I was – that I might have to go to the hospital and be checked out or something; but I was going to be just fine.

A few seconds later Kelli showed up. I got up onto my bed for her to look at the spider. She bent over and said, “Sharron, there's nothing there!”

I reached down and felt. I couldn't feel anything. I looked. I couldn't see anything. We looked on the floor where I'd seen the body parts fall. There was nothing there. Later, I looked in my pants and there was no evidence of a large spider having been squashed in them.

God stepped in and bent reality to meet my need. He took that spider and the attack from the Enemy and made it as if they had never existed. God reached down and saved my life! Obviously, I'm not done working for His kingdom. I have no ill effects from that attack, and I've gotten to share my story, and subsequently pray with many people. I know God will cause this testimony to bless and encourage many. What the Enemy meant for my destruction, God is turning for good!

Praise His Name!

And just think, if He can do this for me, then what can he do for anyone who calls on His Name??

Delicious Mayonnaise and Egg - Free Potato Salad

This really is tasty.  Even my friend who decidedly does NOT like potato salad had thirds of this!  No mayonnaise (mayo), no soy, no eggs, dairy, wheat or sugar :)
It has a light lemon or apple cider vinaigrette with mustard for the dressing.  This can easily become a main-dish salad by adding 2 cups cooked chicken, ham* or turkey to it.
*Note:  I've recently learned that most processed meats have hidden gluten in them.  I haven't found a single ham that I can tolerate.


Delicious Mayonnaise and Egg - Free Potato Salad


Place into a large pot with a lid
6 yukon gold or red potatoes, about 4" across each

and cover them with water.  Put the lid onto the pot and turn the heat onto HI.  Bring them to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer.  Simmer the potatoes for about 15 minutes or they pierce easily with a fork.

Drain the potatoes and cover them with cold water to cool.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the rest of the salad.

Cut up about 1/2 cup of celery and dill pickles.  Add them to a large bowl.  Add 1 can drained olives, 1 can of quartered artichoke hearts.  Toss the veggies and set them aside.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon celery seed, 1 tablespoon parsley flakes, 1 teaspoon seasoning salt or Adobo seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper.  Combine the dressing ingredients and dip a bit of celery into the dressing and taste it.  Adjust seasonings to taste if desired.

When the potatoes are cooled enough to handle easily, cut them into bite sized pieces.  Add them to the veggies in the salad bowl.  Pour the dressing over all and mix well.

Enjoy!

Updated flour mix recipe -- gluten free

Hi,

My doctor thinks I'm having a problem with gluten, so barley flour is out for me.  Here's a mix I just tried:

2 cups sorghum flour
1 cup corn flour
3/4 cup potato starch
3/4 cup corn starch

I've been able to freely eat potatoes for a while now, so I'm giving it a try.  I'm not adding Knox to the muffins I just made because I think the potato starch will be sticky enough.  I'll let you know!

UPDATE 12-12-11

Ok, so here's yet another recipe.  I like this one best:

Combine equal parts of
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Sorghum flour
Tapioca flour

If you need it extra tender, use more tapioca flour.

Creamy Artichoke and Spinach Dip -- Non-Dairy :)

Hi, 
This dip is fantastic.  I'm going to post a general "guideline" -- If you need help with something like making a white sauce, just let me know.


Creamy Artichoke and Spinach Dip


2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
8 to 10 ounces of frozen chopped spinach
1 - 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
1 to 1 1/2 cups white sauce or Alfredo sauce, from scratch using goat milk or rice milk
3/4 cup Romano cheese (sheep milk)*
1/2 cup soft goat cheese or home made yogurt "cream" cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper


Combine all of the ingredients.  Either microwave on high for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally or cover and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Serve warm/hot.


*We have started to add some real cheese back into our diets.  The ratio we used was 1/3 cup Romano and about 2/3 cup Italian shredded cheese.

Non-Dairy (No Cow's Milk!) Hot Cocoa Mix -- No sugar added, either!

Hey,


This is a great mix for those who can tolerate powdered goat milk.


Non-Dairy, Sugar-free Hot Chocolate Mix


2 cups Stevia in the Raw, measurable
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 cups (packets) powdered goat milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup cornstarch


Combine all of the ingredients in a container and store in a cool, dry place.


To use:  Use 1 to 2 tablespoons, or so, per cup of hot water.  Mix well.  Enjoy :p

A New Shake N Bake to try -- Yummy!

This recipe has no wheat, sugar, soy or dairy in it, unlike the processed kind.  It is really good on chicken, fish and pork.


Shake and Bake Coating Mix


4 cups ground corn tortillas (corn tortillas ground up in a food processor)
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic granules
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 packet Truvia


Combine all of the ingredients and store in a cool, dry place until ready to use.


To Use:  Pre-heat oven to 400F.


Scoop the desired amount of coating mix into a plastic bag.  Wet the meat, (chicken, pork, fish, etc.), and shake off the excess moisture.  Place the meat into the bag one piece at a time and shake the bag to coat the meat.  Place the meat onto a baking sheet and bake it until it is cooked through.  

Crispy Oatmeal Cookies -- wheat, egg, soy, sugar and dairy free

These are actually Rolled Barley and Flax Crispy Cookies.  They aren't my usual jumbo, chewy cookie.  These are smaller and crispier.  I hope you enjoy them!


Rolled Oats and Flax Crispy Cookies
Makes 24 cookies


Pre-heat the oven to 350F.


In a mixing bowl with an electric cream until light


2/3 cup lard (or other solid fat)


Add and continue beating


2/3 cup Stevia in the Raw measurable
1/3 cup maple sugar (or fructose, honey, etc.)
1/4 cup agave nectar


Add and beat some more


1 tablespoon ground flax seeds + 3 tablespoons water, allowed to rest for a few minutes
2 teaspoons vanilla


Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add all at once


1 cup flour mix (my recipe here)
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups gluten free oats
1 cup ground flax seeds
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt


Mix the ingredients until they are all combined.


Using a 1/8 cup scoop or measure, scoop the dough out onto parchment lined sheets about 2" apart.  Tap the tops of the dough so that they will flatten during baking.  Bake the cookies for about 14 minutes, or until they are becoming golden and crispy.  Enjoy :)

Whey Chocolate Cookies -- without sugar, wheat, soy, dairy or eggs

These are smaller than my normal cookies, but they are really good.  They taste like a brownie cookie.  They have the health benefits of flax, dark chocolate and whey.  The whey came from my straining my goat milk yogurt to make cheese.


Whey Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 24 cookies


Cream with an electric mixer
1/2 cup lard


Add, continuing to beat
1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw, measurable
1/3 cup fructose


Continuing to beat, add
1 tablespoon ground flax plus 3 tablespoons water, allowed to rest a few minutes
2 squares (ounces) unsweetened chocolate (verify it has no soy in it), cooled


Add on low speed
3/4 cup whey (or sour "milk" may be used -- 1 teaspoon vinegar + 3/4 cup "milk" you can tolerate -- rice or goat, allowed to rest about 10 minutes)
1 teaspoon vanilla


Add to the wet ingredients on medium-low speed
1/2 cup ground flax 
1 1/4 flour mix
1 packet Knox gelatin
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt


Scrape the bowl down then refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour.  Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Scoop the dough by spoonfuls then roll the dough into balls and drop them into a small dish with a couple of tablespoons of Stevia in the Raw Measurable.   Place the stevia coated dough balls onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake the cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Homemade Goat Milk Yogurt turned into Herb Cheese Dip!

I made homemade yogurt, which didn't turn out well.  I started with a half gallon of a bit "over-ripe" goat milk.  I learned from various sources around the net -- primarily www.westonaprice.org -- that raw milk doesn't become putrid like store-bought processed milk does.  It actually starts to become yogurt on its own.  So I decided to help the process a bit.  I used to make yogurt all the time years ago.  I added a full "cup" (container) of the Dannon Greek plain yogurt to my milk.  The first time I processed it in my Salton Yogurt Maker for a full 12 hours as normal.  I ended up with curds and whey.  It had too much cow milk in it for my family to use, so I started over.  I didn't have any yogurt to begin with, though, so I put about 1/4 cup of the whey into my quart of goat milk.  I only processed it about 3 hours, and it was ready.  


This second batch still wasn't the best consistency and was already breaking into curds and whey, so I strained it through a kitchen towel that was not "nappy."  I ended up with about 1/2 cup of yogurt "cream cheese."  It is similar to both chevre and ricotta cheese in taste.


I put the cheese into my mixer and whipped it up, then I seasoned it with 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon dill, 1/2 teaspoon chives and about 1/4 teaspoon Adobo seasoning.  We dipped it with chips.  Oh my yum!! :p

Can you believe it? Non-dairy, egg-free, sugar-free, soy-free, wheat-free CHEESECAKE!!!

Oh yeah!  I did it!


Allergy Friendly Cheesecake


Bring to room temperature the following for the filling


2 - 6 ounce packets of goat cheese (it looks like cream cheese in a tube) 
3 tablespoons ground flax + 1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups goat milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar + 1 packet Knox gelatin
1/4 cup goat milk


While the above ingredients are coming to room temperature, (about 2 hours), prepare the crust.


In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, or by hand, combine the crust ingredients


3/4 cup flour mix
2 tablespoons fructose
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lard
1 tablespoon ground flax + 2 tablespoons water allowed to rest for a few minutes to thicken
1/4 teaspoon vanilla


Press the dough into a 10" pie pan.  Bake it in a pre-heated 400F oven for about 6 minutes or until it is just becoming golden.  Allow it to cool while the other ingredients are coming to room temperature.


I cannot stress enough the time to bring the ingredients to room temperature. If this step is rushed, it will produce a cheesecake of poor quality.


Pre-heat the oven to 450F.


In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the above mentioned goat cheese until light.  Add and continue beating


2/3 cup fructose
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla


Add and continue mixing the ground flax that has been coming to room temperature for the filling


2 tablespoon flour mix
1 tablespoon tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
1/4 teaspoon salt


Carefully add the goat milk/vinegar/Knox and goat milk and mix it on the lowest speed of the mixer.


Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust and bake it for 10 minutes at 450F.  Reduce the temperature to 300F and continue to bake the cheesecake for 30 to 40 minutes.  Don't let it become browned.  It will be quite jiggly in the middle still when "finished" baking at this stage.  Open the oven and allow it to cool down for about 20 minutes without disturbing it.  Let it rest on a cake rack or trivet until it is room temperature*, then refrigerate it until it is fully chilled.


*At this point it may be topped with the blueberry topping (below) or not, your choice.  


Serves 8.


Blueberry Topping


2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
1/3 cup fructose


Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a full boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before spreading on cheesecake*.

My Favorite Stock (Broth) Recipe

I've not been able to find any commercial broth, (stock, base, bouillon), that doesn't have something I'm allergic to in it!  They all either have something that is soy or sugar or yeast it seems.  Here's a simple way to make stock from some leftover bones.  It can then be used for homemade soup, stew or just making cooked veggies more interesting!


Homemade Broth


First, it is necessary to have the bones leftover from a cooked chicken, turkey, salmon, pork or beef.  For best results, do not start with raw bones.  If the bones are raw, like purchased ones from the butcher, it is best to roast them until they are cooked through before making stock.  If raw bones are used, the broth will end up with a raw taste to it.  Also, it is best not to combine the bones unless they are compatible like chicken and turkey.


Put the bones and any cooked skin or cartilage into a large pot.  Cover them with water, (filtered is preferred), and bring the water to a boil.  As it begins to boil, impurities in the form of foam will come to the surface.  Using a spoon, skim off any bits of floating matter.  These are the things that will cause the broth to have a bitter or "off" taste.  Discard the floating material.


Cover the pot and turn the heat down to the point of just simmering.  At this point it can be cooked anywhere from 1 to 12 hours.  The longer the cooking time, the richer the broth, just be careful the pot doesn't boil dry!  A tightly fitting lid is essential for this process.


Once the cooking time is complete, the broth should be a rich golden color -- darker for beef, lighter for fish.  Allow it to cool until it is about room temperature.  At this point, it can be seasoned with salt to taste, if desired.  Set a strainer (colander) atop a large bowl, pitcher or another pot, and carefully pour the broth and bones into it.  The strainer will catch all the bones and other bits, allowing just the broth to collect in the container beneath it.


To store the broth, I find it very convenient to freeze it in ice cube trays and keep it in zip-lock bags in the freezer.  Sometimes, I also freeze broth in quart zip-locks.  I find the frozen cubes of broth much easier to work with, though.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Enchiladas? You got that right!

Hey and these are great for folks who are allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, soy and sugar, too!  This is a fun blending of French and Mexican food traditions in a casserole dish.




Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Enchiladas


Cook one 3 1/2 pound chicken, remove the bones and skin (save them for making broth / stock) and break it into bite-sized pieces OR use about 4 cups pre-cooked chicken


Reserve 4 cups cooking broth and set it aside (or use commercial stock if possible -- I've never found one that doesn't have something I'm allergic to in it!)


In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked chicken with one 16 ounce package broccoli cuts and pieces, set this aside


In a medium sized sauce pan, bring the  the 4 cups of reserved broth to a slow boil.  Meanwhile combine 2 cups goat milk (or unflavored rice milk) with 1/2 cup cornstarch.  Mix it well until it is smooth.  Add it to the bubbling stock in the sauce pan and stir it until it is thickened over medium heat.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, stir them well and remove the sauce from the heat.  Stir in 1/3 cup Romano cheese (made from sheep milk -- check the labels!)  


Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon Adobo (lemon) seasoning to the chicken/broccoli mixture.  Stir in approximately 1/2 of the sauce.


In a rectangular baking dish, spread enough of the reserved sauce to just cover the bottom of the pan.


Prep* 14 tortillas.


*To prep the torillas, either fill a pie pan or some other dish with about 1" of broth and allow the tortillas to soak for a couple of minutes, OR fry them for about 20 to 30 seconds in some cooking oil over medium-high heat until they are soft and pliable.


Place the tortillas one at a time on a work surface (I used a dinner plate), and fill them with about 1/2 cup of the broccoli and chicken mixture.  Roll them up and place them seam down into the rectangular baking dish.  Repeat until all are filled.  


I do have an 11"x24"x2" that this would have worked in, but instead I used one 9"x13"x2" and one 9" square baking dishes.  I did this because some of my family can have regular cheese and some can't.


Once all of the enchiladas are filled, spread them with the remaining sauce.  Sprinkle the top with about 1/2 cup Romano (sheep milk) cheese, and bake the casserole for about 25 minutes at 350F.  They are done when the filling is hot and the cheese and sauce are bubbling.




*****

On a personal note, if you've been reading my blog for long, you'll know that I've been off broccoli for about a year now.  This is my first experiment at reintroducing it into my diet.  I don't yet know if this recipe will be successful for me or not.

Some people might think I'm crazy eating things that I "know" I'm allergic to -- however, I'm doing it on the advice of my physician, Dr. Christina Cooke.  She said that as my gut heals, I'll gradually be able to add in most of the foods that are off my list.  My worst allergies, eggs, peanuts, sunflowers and almonds will probably be off my diet for the rest of my life.  However, only time will tell.

Right now we're just experimenting with adding things in.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Blessings,

Sharron