Chicken Paillard

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Mustard-Cider Sauce

Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts                                                       salt and pepper                                                                                                                       2 T and 2 t vegetable oil                                                                                                       1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 T)                                                                              1 1/4 cups apple cider                                                                                                           2 T cider vinegar                                                                                                                     2 t whole grain mustard                                                                                                       2 t minced fresh parsley leaves                                                                                          2 T butter

heat the oven to 200 with the rack in the middle of the oven. Half the chicken horizontally and pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. season with salt and pepper. heat 1 T of oil in a pan until smoking .Cook the cutlets until browned, 2 minutes on one side and about 30 seconds on the other. keep the chicken in the oven covered with tin foil to keep them warm while you make the sauce.

Using the same pan as the chicken heat the oil and shallot in the pan for about 30 seconds. Add the cider and the vinegar and cook until it has reduced to 1/2 cup. stir in the mustard, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and wisk in the butter.

Serve the chicken with the sauce on top and have extra sauce to pass around the table.

How to Fold a Fitted Sheet

I read this in a magazine and I thought I would share it. I always wondered how to do this. The pics are mine, but I got the directions from: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/laundry/fold-fitted-sheet-00000000002236/index.html

1. Spread the sheet on a flat surface, fitted corners up.

 

 

2. Fold sheet in half horizontally, tucking the fitted top corners into the fitted bottom corners. If your sheet has gathered sides, tuck them into each other, too. Smooth the edges flat.

 

3. Fold the sheet lengthwise so that all four fitted corners are on top of one another. Again, slide the top set of corners into the bottom set.

 

 

4. Fold the sheet in half again, and fold over the smooth end to finish. For a smaller bundle, fold again.

Encouraging Speech

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ESV

I just finished the book “Humility” by C. J. Mahaney and it was excellent, very practical and helpful as I try to walk a Godly walk. I don’t know a lot about C. J. Mahaney, so please note that I am not endorsing him as a writer, just this book and specifically the chapter on Encouraging others.

Sometimes, I feel like no one needs to hear Ephesians 4:29 more than I. “let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths”; “corrupt” meaning causing death or decay, breaking down instead of building up. I immediately think of examples such as: complaining to others. When did anything good come out of complaining? It just put knots in people’s stomachs. Talking about how good you are at something makes others feel inadequate. Any kind of cursing just exhibits your frustration to others. Why would I ever want to do that? When I stop and think about it, I am probably know for some of this stuff, especially to my family.

And what about venting? Where in the Bible does it say that it is a good idea to go off about how much you hate this or that and all the “horrible” things that are happening to you to others. Are your hearers being edified? The Bible does say to “cast all our care on Him” (1 Peter 5:7) and to “confess our faults one to another and pray for one another” (James 5:16), but I don’t see any verse in the Bible condoning venting. Venting usually involves slander: “I can’t stand so-and-so”, “so-and-so did this and I was shocked”, gossip: “I heard this or that”, “I was shocked when they said this”, it is all so corrupting. You are corrupting your self and the receptor of your venting. I am not saying that it is wrong to share your burdens with others, but only when we have first cast our burdens on to Christ to bear them with us and then we can go to the prayerful arms of friends to labor with us in prayer.

So, for the second part of the verse, building up. When you think about it, there is so much that can be done to help and encourage someone with a few well thought out words. And to think that with God’s help, every word we speak can be used to encourage: to point everyone you speak to closer to Christ. Its simply amazing, and to me, it makes me more motivated to get up in the morning.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

And we urge you brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. ESV

I come in contact with idle, fainthearted and weak people everyday, we probably all do. One big requirement of encouraging these people is figuring out what they need. Just because someone looks down, doesn’t mean they are fainthearted, we need to learn to ask questions, not to pry into people’s lives, but to know them well enough to be able to determine what they might need. The Holy Spirit will help you with this. Sometimes it’s hard to decide if my co-worker is frustrated about work, if they are just tired or if there is something going on at home. The more we get to know someone, the easier it will be to make these judgments. Once we know how a person is feeling, we can better determine what words to use and how to communicate to that person. This Bible verse commands us to respond to people with grace in a way that will point them to Christ. This means that as Christians we cannot sit in our corner, minding our own business, refusing to communicate with others. Communication, valuable communication, has to happen to fulfill the calling in this verse.

Almost the End of Me on Earth

Kaph
My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes long for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
All your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.

Psalm 119:81-88 ESV

As I was doing my study on Psalm 119 the other day, I came across this portion and it was like I could have written it. If I were poetic and talented like this writer, this is what I would have written, or what I would like to think i would have written.

Meditating on this passage, I am just realizing that I am majorly in need of encouragement, and I have to learn that that encouragement has to come from God, and I need to stop looking elsewhere.

No one will understand like Jesus does,

no one will love me just the same no matter what like Jesus does,

and no one will always be there no matter what like Jesus is.

The Bible holds incredible treasures that I will never find completely, incredible relief and comfort that I can only see when I search with all my heart. Sometimes I can hear God calling me to His precious word, but I am too busy to listen, somehow what I know I need most just isn’t as important as what I need least.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
”The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
”therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV

Man a Nothing – A Puritan Prayer

When thou wouldst guide me I control myself,

When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.

When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.

When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself,

When I should submit to thy providence I follow my will,

When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself;

I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself,

Instead of thee I look to man’s approbation,

and am by nature an idolater.

Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.

Convince me that I cannot be my own god, or make myself happy,

nor my own Christ to restore my joy,

nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, rule me.

Help me to see that grace does this by providential affliction,

for when my credit is god thou dost cast me lower,

and when riches are my idol thou doest wing them away,

when pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.

Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart;

Show me that none of these things

can heal a wounded conscience,

or support a tottering frame,

or uphold a departing spirit.

Then take me to the cross and leave me there.

-Anonymous

asa and seeking the Lord

ever since the semester has come to a close and even before, the Lord has been calling me to himself. Matt 11:28-30 says that when we come to him he will give our soul rest. The more i study this, the more i realize that seeking the Lord always results in rest whether physical or spiritual. one verse that Lord has repeatedly brought to mind is Psalm 119:2-

“Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.”

what does it mean to be blessed? will i get presents? a paid school bill? a job? an enormous engagement ring or a trip around the world? no, it is something much more valuable. it is a peace with God, an assurance of his will and a knowledge of Him. Guidance that only the Lord can give. at this point in my life i am asking God to show me his will for me. i am looking for answers- career, marriage, where will i live? all of these life questions seem to be coming to me at once. God’s word clearly gives the answer as to what i should be doing right now in my decision making and that is seeking his face. the first thing that i will get from seeking Gods face is the uncovering of his face. i will find the God whom my soul needs and longs for (Deut 4:29, Prov 8:17). secondly, I will have all my needs met and taken care of (Matt 6:33, Luke 19:10). but the truth that i have grasped in this study of God’s word is the peace and direction he gives.

2 Chronicles 14-16 gives the account of the life of Asa the king of Judah. he was a good king for 10+ years of his reign. he destroyed idols and commanded the people to seek the Lord. one verse that really stuck out to me was chapter 14, verse 7-

“Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought Him, and He has given us peace on every side.”

Asa was so wise. He made lots of good decisions for Judah. Many Israelites fled to Judah because they wanted to serve the Lord. In this verse, Asa knew what to do because he had sought the Lord. The Lord gave peace on every side of the land because Asa sought God, learned God’s will, and obeyed him. Later in the passage it talks about how he dethroned his own queen mother because was making a worshiping idols. It must have taken a lot of guts to go against family. Yet, when you think about it, christians do it every day in foreign countries, and even here in America.

This seems a simple concept: seek God, find his will, do it and that results in peace, reward, blessing and joy.  seems easy, but who actually does it? we are like the people in psalm 14:2-3-

“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. “

we have no excuse not to seek him. we have all the tools- the Bible, a miriad of Bible helps, the Holy spirit and Christians surrounding us. why don’t we seek him? i have a deep desire in my heart to know God, to be intimately near to him, to understand his ways and be like Him and i would believe that every Christian has that desire in them somewhere. maybe some do not because other desires and ambitions have taken over, but at the end of those desires and ambitions are nothing but more and we never get fulfilled. i think of these Bible characters like Asa. What about David and all that time spent just him and his flock. he didn’t have the Bible. he didn’t have the Holy Spirit. what did he do? or what about Paul? he spent all that time in prisons with nothing and no one. how would your spiritual life be if you were taken away from church, your Christian friends and everything familiar? i wonder why we are so stubborn and lazy. or maybe we think we don’t need God. i don’t want to be like this. i must seek the Lord.