Thanksgiving Thoughts

Every year this busy day comes around: Thanksgiving! And in all the busy-ness I find myself forgetting what the day is truly about. To me, this day is not about simply being thankful for what I have: for friends, family, good food, a warm home, etc... Today is a day about being thankful for what I could not live without, and that is only one thing: my God and Savior, Jesus Christ! For the Christian, every day is to be a day of thanksgiving, of praising God for who He is and for His indescribable gift, but today especially I am reminded of how thanksgiving needs to characterize my life.

I've been thinking a lot about God's grace lately, and so this morning, before all the busy-ness, I decided to worship God through one of the greatest hymns ever written, Amazing Grace. The song is such a wonderful display of so many things I have to be thankful for:

• He's saved a wretch - me!
• God's grace relieves my fears.
• His grace brings me safely through the trials of life and His grace will lead me to home in Heaven!

But what really struck me this morning was the last stanza:

When we've been here ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we've first begun.

I'm not only to be thankful for today, but I can be thankful that I have the hope of eternity praising God! And I want to begin today!

Cranberry-Glazed Pork Roast

My mom makes such great meals! Here's a recipe for a really yummy pork roast we had this week (and this is coming from someone who's not a huge fan of meat!)

Ingredients:
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
1 boneless rolled pork loin roast (4 lbs.)

1. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberry sauce, apple juice, barbecue sauce and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Combine the cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside 1 cup sauce.

2. Place roast in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 3/4 hours. Spoon a third of the remaining glaze over pork. Bake 30 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, basting twice. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved sauce.

A Day At The Zoo...?

Actually, not a day at the zoo... just a day in Vermont! Who knew? This is how we spent our Saturday:

Gramma's horse, Mark:

Miniature Donkeys:

Yes, a Zebra in Vermont! His name is Zeus.

Proof that I took these pictures: that's my dad's hand!

He was a such a friendly zebra!

Alpacas:

Texas Longhorns... also in Vermont:

A Great Fall Dessert!

The first time I made this dessert, it went very, very wrong... but I had to try again because I wanted it to come out good! It came out so bad the first time because I used just pumpkin filling instead of pumpkin pie filling, with all the spices included. The second time, the time I did it right, it came out really good! It's so yummy!

Here's the recipe for Crunchy Pumpkin Dessert Squares:

Ingredients:
1 can (30 oz.) pumpkin pie filling
1 can (12 oz.) fat-free evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz.) yellow cake mix
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 cup reduced-fat butter, melted
1-1/4 cups fat-free whipped topping

1. In a large bowl, combine the pie filling, milk, and eggs; beat on medium speed until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with cake mix and pecans; drizzle with butter.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Garnish with whipped topping. Refrigerate leftovers.

This is a "makeover" recipe from Taste of Home. The original recipe had 330 calories, 17g fat, and 61 mg cholesterol in one piece. The makeover recipe has 246 calories, 10g fat, and 44 mg cholesterol in one piece.

Blog!

I decided to start blogging again! It's been a while, but I've been missing it. Hopefully this will keep everyone updated on all the exciting things that go on. =)

A snapshot of my exciting summer:

Boston Duck Boat Tour with Jill and Jeremy.

A little sight-seeing.

Catching a game.

Visitng Karyn, Jared, and Addie in Tennessee.