Wednesday, March 18, 2009

LEFTOVERS...IN AND OUT OF THE POT!

With my refrigerator brimming with several left-over dishes from the past few days, it was time today to peruse the expiration dates and see what needs to GO today or tomorrow. Ahhhh, the ham soup.

Tonight for dinner I've thrown together one of my concoctions that I hope will taste good and get a "thumbs up" from DD and DH. My ham stock soup was originally very tasty--it had warmed the cockles of my being during the colder days of last week.

2 cups of soup
1 1/4 cups of ricotta cheese(skim)
1 cup of cheddar cheese/reduced fat
3 egg whites and 2 eggs
1 tbsp freeze-dried onions
Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle
Prepared pie crust

It all went in my large pottery plate and got sprinkled with Parmesan cheese when it went into my 375* preheated oven, for probably 45-60 minutes...'til the eggs were set.
Pray with me it comes out tasty, too!

Speaking of leftovers and concerns for not wasting things, this re-use of my previous entree reminded me of the importance of not WASTING opportunities to mix our lives with others and share what Jesus has done...not by standing on the street corner or going door to door with pamphlets. I mean in every-day discussions with our children, with friends, with spouses...when things are bumpy or uncomfortable or when we know in our hearts something needs touching in a special way.

Someone may think their problems are LEFTOVERS to only get thrown away.

Listen to your head AND your heart...
step into the unknown pot and say, "You know, something like this happened to me when...". Your personal spice of experience and your showing REAL concern may open their lives to a new RECIPE of Jesus' love...in a bread-of-life kind of way! When Jesus is not brought specifically into a discussion, it could turn into a "throw away" moment of blessings for both of you.

In Bible class today we talked about Jesus' example of how He REALLY reached people...not through criticism and judgment, but by being WITH the people in need...rubbing elbows with them in REAL situations and listening to their needs. He was the living water that flowed over many as He shared what God had done for Him, would be doing for Him and what He wanted Jesus to share and DO for ALL of us.

WHERE HAVE YOU HAD A REAL ENCOUNTER WITH SOMEONE AND SHARED WHAT JESUS HAS DONE OR CAN DO, helping to reduce the "leftover" souls (HE chose to die for ALL of us 2,000 years ago)?


James 3:17 Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

update: from stockpot to pie pan!
Here's the outcome...it needed a little more spicing up, so next time I will add more spices when converting.