Tasty Tuesdays........Recipes From the "Good Ole Days" ;)

This is another recipe that Trula made and although it is not her exact recipe (she did not use one) this is very close tot he original and is compliments of Cooks.com.

DRIED APPLE STACK CAKE Using a basic sugar cookie recipe, bake the cookies in an 8-inch cake pan. These large cookies will be used to stack. COOKIE RECIPE: 1 c. butter or shortening 2 c. sugar (1 brown, 1 white) 4 eggs 3/4 c. milk 3 1/4 c. plain flour 2 tsp. Clabber Girl baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla Cream butter or shortening. Add sugar; mix; add beaten eggs and milk. Mix thoroughly. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Add flour mixture to wet mix. Blend completely. Place the mixture on a wooden dough board, add flour. Knead until it can be cut to fit into 8 or 9-inch cake tin. I place tin on dough and use a sharp knife to cut around the bottom of the tin. Spray cake pan with Pam or some baking aid. Place large "cookie" in tin, bake at 350 degrees until brown. Set cookies aside to cool as they are taken from the oven. You should have at least 12. CAKE FILLING: Cook dried apples with the following ingredients: 1 tsp. powdered cloves 1 tbsp. vanilla 1 1/2 c. sugar dash of ginger 3 lbs. dried apples Water to cook (approximately 3 c.) More water may be needed as apples cook. Taste apples; add spices and/or sugar as needed. Each apple batch is unique.Cook until apples mash just like potatoes.

Enjoy :)

I'm Just Sayin by Alan P. Scaglione

“Jett chooses Percy over Thomas the Train-

                 “I’m Just Sayin’”                                  by Alan P. Scaglione

“You like me! You Really Like ME!”

Quick! Who said that?

Better yet—who was watching it on TV when she said it?

For those of us oldie but goodies…it was Sally Field when she won her first Oscar!

She displayed what we all feel…we all want to be picked…we all want to be wanted, we all want to be favored!

I got a call from my son the other day.

He said, “Pops! It’s official! You are Jett’s favorite person!”

I was surprised, startled and yet…had a grin from ear to ear.

I asked him what made him say that?

He explained that he had gone through a list of everyone in Jett’s life and asked him who he liked better?

“Nano or this person?” Jett said “Nano!”

 “Nano or that person?” Again—“Nano!”

My son said, “And he even picked you over Mommy and Daddy!”

Jett likes me, he really likes me!

I tried to laugh it off, but…man, that just made my day!

Jett favored me! Over all of the other grandparents in his life, aunts and uncles, even cousins…Jett chose me!

We all want to be chosen above the others—to know, in the midst of choices, they would still pick you first!

Then I read my daily devotional today, and I went “Wow! Even God wants to be picked first!”

I read the passage in Matthew 16:13-18 where Jesus asks the disciples “who do men say that I am?”

They responded: Elijah or one of the prophets.

Then Jesus asked the question that He still asks today—“Whom say ye?”

Who do YOU think that I am???

Then… My favorite new testament hero pipes up, without hesitation.

Simon Peter says, “Thou art the Christ!”

Jesus was pleased!

He told Peter “Blessed art thou Peter—and upon this rock will I build my kingdom and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!”

The rock was NOT Peter—that rock was the recognition that HE is the CHRIST!

Of all the other “gods” out there—He wants to know—“who do you say that I am?”

It’s funny—it reminded me of a sermon I used to preach to my youth group.

“Is He your bratty brother or your Best Buddy?”

Do we ask Him to go with us wherever we go, or do we begrudgingly let Him tag along as long as He doesn’t say a word?

Is He just our medicine bottle God that we only pull out when we need a physical healing or…

Is He the lover of my soul, the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon, the strong and mighty tower?

Do we choose Him over all the other possible choices in our lives?

Choices like…our job, our toys, our friends, our family?

When we prioritize all of these things in our life—where does He fall?

I grew up with a saying “If HE isn’t Lord of All—He isn’t Lord AT all!”

So…what If?

What If God was needing to know…”if you had to choose a team, would you pick Him first?”

Anybody remember recess? They always had two captains pick their teams.

I was never the first pick. I was often the last pick. I know the feeling of being picked last. It does NOT feel very good.

I would never want Jesus to feel like He was last on my list.

But…I have to ask myself…how many times is HE first?

That grin that I could NOT wipe off when my son told me that I was FIRST on Jett’s list!

That sense of “You like me, you REALLY like me!”

How often do we make God grin ear to ear?

How often is He our first pick?

Of all the choices in your life…

Is He your Favorite?

Until Next Time

I’m Just Sayin’…

Brother “A”

Points2Ponder By Alan P. Scaglione

                                      

    Points2Ponder

So I took my two grand-kids to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Macie was with Nana, and Mykai hung out with his Nano.

He and I walked into the store part of the restaurant, and this sales person greeted us with, “we have 25% off all of our Halloween merchandise!”

I politely thanked her and kept walking around.

I am not lying when I say, she circled around the aisle to catch me a second time and said, “All of our Halloween candy AND merchandise 25% off!”

I had tried to be nice, but…come on? A second time in 2 minutes?

So, I took a deep breath and said, “We do not celebrate Halloween. Thank you anyway!”

Mykai pipes up, “I do!”

The sales person was startled by my revelation…and my grandson’s!

Mykai and I kept walking, and he asks, me “Nano, why don’t you celebrate Halloween?”

Here we go…I had hoped to avoid this just because I know his parents do not share our beliefs about this. His mom was raised to abstain, but his dad was not.

My wife and I raised all six of our kids not to participate in Halloween for spiritual reasons. That’s how they were raised.

I can also tell you that, since they are all adults now, not a single one of them kept the tradition going. They all participate in some way.

We accept that it is now their choice to make.

I had an experience when I was a youth pastor of having a young man who came to our youth service and accepted Christ. He was a warlock!

Once his coven found out that he had converted to Christianity, they marked him for death for their Halloween sacrifice.  I had to physically help him move to another town and keep him in hiding during the Halloween season because—his coven had marked him as their sacrifice. He had betrayed the coven code, and they had to make an example out of him.

He stayed away for more than a year. I kept in contact with him, and he continued with Christ.

It was then that I knew...this stuff can be serious and true!!

So… my kids know why it is real to me.

POINTS2PONDER  Why do we hesitate to state our beliefs when they are not a majority opinion? Why do we ponder the pros and cons of simply saying why we believe what we believe, regardless of the possibility that it will not be accepted and may cause us to be ostracized? Why can’t we just say “I believe this way, even if you don’t?”

I didn’t want to stir up trouble, but…my grandson is quite articulate for 6 years old, and he asks inquisitive questions and thinks things through, so…

I took a deep breath and started.

I said, “You know Christmas has Santa and reindeer and a Christmas tree, but we know the true meaning of Christmas is the Nativity scene and Jesus being born?”

He nodded. So far, so good. I haven’t lost him.

So I proceeded, “Well, there’s the fun side of Halloween, the candy and trick or treating, just like Santa stuff is for Christmas, but…Nana and Nano know that there’s the serious side that has to do with people who serve the devil and do bad things, like the opposite of the Nativity and Jesus being born at Christmas!”

His eyes were focused on every word I was saying. I could see he was processing it and attempting to understand the comparison/contrast to Christmas.

Mykai then said, “You mean like the gh0sts and goblins and witches and zombies are the bad stuff about Halloween?”

I nodded, not wanting to say too much more until I knew that he had processed what I had said and either didn’t understand or …did!

He said, “Yeh, I don’t dress up like those things because they are bad. I dress up like super heroes or funny cartoon characters.”

Wow! Crisis averted. He seemed to understand what I was saying.

I was impressed.

Then he looked at me and said, “I just like the candy!”

I cracked up laughing. He kept walking. Conversation over.

My grandson had heard it all—listened intently to my reasons for not participating in Halloween, and….

Summed it all up by his assessment of why he was going to participate anyway.

It all came down to the candy!

And, I had to admit, from his perspective, the boy has a point!

Guess we adults can ponder the moral or spiritual consequences or repercussions of participating or abstaining from Halloween.

But, for a kid, it’s still “Trick or Treat, smell my feet, please give me something good to eat!”

Tasty Tuesday :)

Every once in awhile you come across a recipe that is just the best thing you have EVER eaten and well...this is the one for me. My late mother in-law Trula made this cake and along with EVERYTHING she made it was the BEST! She taught me so much about great food even though I had cooked for many years prior to marrying. This cake is just perfect for this time of year and has the consistencey and heaviness of a "fruit cake" but is far from it.

About 3 or 4 years ago ( can not remember for sure) my neice Sheilagh and her family came for Thanksgiving and traditionally this cake is made only at Thanksgiving and Christmas (not sure why exactly) so I made the cake using Sheilagh's Granny's (Trula) recipe and a very very special ingredient which was my Granny's black walnuts that were in her freezer when she passed and I carried them home with me from Illinois and placed them in my freezer for a special occassion. Sheilagh and I sat at the table that morning with our coffee and looked at the cake which is soooo incrediable when first taken from the oven and contemplated cuting a small slice (no one would know) and we realized at that time that the cake was extra special that year with it being her Granny's recipe and my Granny's black walnuts (I only had 1 cup) which would not ever happen again...we both teared up and left the cake untouched for the moment knowing it would be all the more special when we cut it with the rest of the family.

Enjoy this wonderful cake with your family and make a special memory.

Trula's Apple Black Walnut Cake

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a tube or bundt pan with Pam.

Mix together in large mixing bowl:
3 Cups peeled and chopped apples (red delious/golden delious are very good)
2 1/2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 Cup finely chopped black walnuts

Beat well in a separate bowl:
1 1/2 Cups Crisco oil
2 Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Sir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well, batter will be very stiff (about like a fruit cake). Pour into bundt or tube pan and bake for 1 hour.

Outside crust will be a little crunchy and the inside will be super moist. It may settle a bit when it is removed but this is nothing to worry about.

Enjoy
Suzann

I'm Just Sayin' by Alan P. Scaglione

                                       "It is Written...do you know What is Written?"

“I’m Just Sayin’”


by Alan P. Scaglione


As my daily devotional, I’m reading the New Testament again, starting in Matthew. For me, every time I do this, I learn something new that applies fresh to my life and to my spirit. His Word really is life!

So I’m reading in Matthew 4 where Jesus is in the wilderness for 40 days, fasting and praying.

Hmmm… fasting AND praying?

How many of us even fast anymore?

Waiting for the microwave to hurry up and cook your food does NOT count as fasting!

For 40 days? Really? Who still does this?

I can tell you that my wife and I fast the first 21 days of each year—sacrificing something that means more to us than food—TV!!

For us, turning off all television for 21 days, spending our evenings in prayer, contemplation, meditating on the Word, just starts our year out right!

We started this at our last church, and I know they still do it each year. We don’t attend there anymore, but it was a good habit to continue.

Reading this passage, it says Jesus was hungry. See, He was 100% man and 100% God.

After 40 days, who wouldn’t be hungry? Who are we kidding? Go 4 hours past our normal meal time, and you may need to hide sharp edges!

Then it happened—the devil tempted Him!

And each time…Jesus said the same thing--- IT IS WRITTEN!

WOW! Here’s the Son of God, who could just say POOF be gone!

But instead, He used the Scripture to respond to the temptation!

Made me wonder?

Who knows scripture anymore?

I know I’m old school, but…

I was raised on Sword Drills! Not the “slice you in half because it’s too sharp to touch” kind of sword…

No, the “two edged, cutting to the bone and marrow” kind of sword—the Word of God!

We would close our Bibles, and someone would yell out a scripture verse, and we would have to be the first one to find it!

We also memorized verses and got rewarded for knowing the scripture! Of course, we also had Sunday School classes!

I know, I know…most of you have turned me off already, but…humor me, read on just a few more minutes, please.

We have become a nation that does not know the Word of God!

We can’t quote it, we can’t reference it, we can’t respond with it—we are Scripture Illiterate!

What if we applied this to our Constitution?

How many know the 1st amendment? The 4th amendment? The 5th amendment?

We use them to defend our rights as U.S. citizens!

What about when someone challenges why you believe what you believe as a heavenly citizen?

What scripture do you reference to respond with the Word, just like Jesus said…”It Is Written!”

The average Christian these days doesn’t spend time in the Word…they are too busy with Facebook or their IPhone!

They have an app for the Word, but…it never gets used…much less taking time to memorize the scripture.

The Word says, “Thy Word have I hidden in my heart so I might not sin against Thee!”

But… that’s just not a priority these days--disappointing God with the sin in our lives!

Everyone is so politically correct, even in the church. It’s not sin, it’s a “problem I’m dealing with” or “God understands why I can’t stop it!”

We are scripturally illiterate -- a nation that is no longer God fearing! The only place we trust God is where it’s printed on our money!

Hosea 4:6 says “My People perish for a lack of knowledge!”

It Is Written!

Do you know What Is Written?

Maybe…It’s Time to Find Out!



Until Next Time

I’m Just Sayin’…

Brother “A”

Points2Ponder by Alan P. Scaglione

                       "Looks like that chicken laid a BIG egg...with GLASSES!"
                                                           Points2Ponder


Sometimes, I guess you just have to toot your own horn.

We were going thru the art show this past weekend, and I saw something that made me laugh out loud!

There was a crowd gathered around this man who was busy at work, nose to the grindstone determination, doing his craft.

He apparently paints chicken eggs—with all kinds of pictures and designs, while you wait.

So of course, there was a crowd of people…watching and waiting.

Believe it or not, it’s NOT the crowd that stopped me dead in my tracks with that shock that goes—are you serious?

Nope. It wasn’t the crowd that day.

It was … that chicken hat!

This man was fast at work, painting his eggs, with this hat on.

He never looked up, never spoke a word. His wife was taking orders, but…the Chicken Man was a man on a mission!

Sometimes, I just have to capture a picture because…you would never believe me otherwise!



POINTS2PONDER Why do some people have the confidence to make a fool of themselves just to make a point or promote a product? Why can’t we just laugh along while appreciating the boldness it took to step out of the car—looking like that! Maybe embarrassment is just perception!




So back to the chicken hat!

I pushed through the crowd, excusing myself as I got closer to that hat!

Did I mention that I was still laughing? In fact, I had started to outright giggle at the sight of this very serious old man, head bent down, paint brush in hand, painting his eggshells, intent on his work.

In a chicken hat!

Reminded me of the many times I have done something so outrageous or dressed up in a funny outfit or wore a hilarious hat—just to get somebody’s attention!

One time, in my younger days, in high school, it was Action Hero Dress Up Day. Guess they were envisioning Batman or Superman or Captain America. I decided to make up an action hero, and I created “The Green Triangle”. I wore a striped Kelly green bedsheet like a diaper and a solid green towel as a cape. I then cut up green construction paper and used elmer’s glue to affix 100 triangles on my face and chest and arms and legs. Two things: I was 17 and I was already a hairy beast! I did NOT think thru the use of elmer’s glue…especially the TAKING OFF of 100 glued-on triangles! OUCH! That hurt for days!! And yes, it left a mark!

So I know….how it feels to have all eyes upon you….and drawing attention, with people either laughing with you OR laughing at you!

I also know…there was method to his madness!

I just didn’t know what…yet!

So I make my way to the area in front of Chicken Man, and I have been taught by my wife to ask, so…I asked, ”Excuse me sir, I love your hat, may I take your picture?”

He put his pointer finger up to ask me to wait a moment.

I wasn’t sure if he was about to lecture me or just make me wait.

He finished his painting, put down his brush, reached down for a moment and….

Pulled out a sign and placed it under his chin—and smiled the biggest smile!

And that’s the picture you see!

Everyone cracked up laughing!! There was a spontaneous roar of laughter coming from that crowd watching “Chicken Hat Man!”

And now…we all know his website too!

Guess you just gotta be ready—to toot your own horn!

I'm Just Sayin by Alan P. Scaglione

“God’s calling—can you hear Him in this crowd?”

                                          “I’m Just Sayin’”

                                                                 by Alan P. Scaglione

I get paid to listen to people, all day long- I’m in disability insurance. People tell me their problems, and I listen. And sometimes, I get to minister, in the middle of it all. I call it “Drive By Ministry”. If I can offer an encouraging word or spiritual insight, I do. And I often tell them that I will pray for them because…I will.

There are a lot of hurting people in our world, and they just want to know…is someone listening?

This Mom called concerning her son. He had been in a single car accident, fallen asleep(so he says, she commented!) and he landed in a ditch. She said he was lucky to be alive, but he just wasn’t listening. She didn’t know what else needed to happen before…God got his attention.

Apparently, the Mom found out that a fence post rammed thru the back of her son’s headrest, missing his head by inches.

She was exasperated…I felt the pain of this mom wondering…what was it going to take for her son to turn his life around.

I told her, “sometimes, God speaks in a whisper, like a cool breeze blowing on your face in the middle of July; and sometimes, God speaks loudly, like thunder…depending what it takes to get your attention!”

The Mom responded, without missing a beat “yeh but sometimes, God ZAPS you like lightning—that ALWAYS gets your attention!”

We both chuckled and then I said, “well, looks like the whisper didn’t work with your son!”

She retorted, “and let’s see if the zap does!”

That conversation made me wonder? What does it take for God to get our attention?

Guess it all depends… on how intune we are…to His voice!

The picture I used this week is of the Mount Dora Fall Art Festival, held this weekend. We went and walked around, in the midst of the roaring crowd.

So many people-- all moseying and meandering through the streets, appreciating or ignoring the art, depending on what interested them.

It was a growing roar as the day wore on…hard to hear each other comment on the art due to the blare of the crowd.

And yet, in the middle of all of this cacophony of voices, my cell phone rings, and I heard it—and answered.

All because…I was intune with the sound of my cell phone ringing, and I knew that sound and my mind was alert to that sound…and I responded.

Hmmmm! Anybody see where I am going here?

Maybe we are not intune with hearing His voice anymore? So, a “whisper” isn’t heard, “thunder” gets overlooked and even “lightning” is ignored!

Seems to me…a breeze across my face feels so much better than a lightning bolt in my back. Just depends….on how well we listen.

I was reminded of the passage of scripture in 1 Kings 19:11-13 when Elijah was searching for God. Scripture says, he looked in the mountain, but God wasn’t there; Elijah looked in the earthquake, but He wasn’t there; He looked in the fire and the rain, but He wasn’t there; finally, Word says, Elijah found God in a still small voice!

It doesn’t take a crackling bolt of lightning IF we will listen to a whisper.

When’s the last time we heard God’s voice?

When’s the last time we were waiting, alert and ready when He called?

What if He called you on your cell phone in the middle of a crowded, roaring street of people—would you hear Him then?

One thing’s for sure…

When God wants your attention, He will use whatever means necessary to get it!

Guess that really depends on you!

Until Next Time

I’m Just Sayin’…

Brother “A”