Chili

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped 

1 bell pepper, chopped  

1 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes  

4 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce 

1 (14 ounce) cans ranch style beans  

1 (14 ounce) cans pinto beans 

1 (14 ounce) cans kidney beans  

1 (10 ounce) cans Rotel diced tomatoes 

1 (1 1/4 ounce) packages McCormick mild chili seasoning  

2 lbs ground chuck

Directions

Brown Ground Chuck. Add all canned items, including juice, into large pot. 

Cook until onion and pepper are tender.  Freezes nicely! 

I made this chili today and it reminds of the chili that you can get at Wendy's. 

Onion Straws

• 1 whole Large Onion
• 2 cups Buttermilk
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon (scant) Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon (to 1/2 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• 1 quart (to 2 Quarts) Canola Oil
• Black Pepper To Taste

Slice onion very thin. Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk and soak for at least an hour.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Heat oil to 375 degrees.
Grab a handful of onions, throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and fry in  hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown.


These are so good!!!!

Living up to our Potential

                                            

As a follower of  Jesus I want to try and live up to my potential for Jesus.  But how can I do that?   If we lose sight of what God wants us to become then we can become discouraged or depressed.  Sometimes we may feel inadequate or unprepared for what God would have us do.  How many times have I thought that I just can't do what He wants me to do.  When I feel like that I need to turn to Him and to His word and draw closer to Him.
Sometimes we may become complacent or just settle for the life that we are living and not striving to do more and more for God.  We need to try and see ourselves the way that God sees us and if you are like me, that is very hard to do.  When I think about that if  I was the only person that sinned that God would have still died on the cross for my sins I become overwhelmed.  I feel like I am such an insignificant person but God sees me as someone worthy of His love.  To me that is just amazing.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:24 we read: "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."  If God is calling us to do something He will give us the ability to do what He is calling us to do.

An encouraging Bible verse for me is:

Isaiah 40:28-31

New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ Do you not know?    Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,  and his understanding no one can fathom.  ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.  ³⁰   Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall;  ³¹ but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

These verses tell me that God is always with me and will never leave me.  What a great feeling this is to know that He is always with me.  He is my strength and without Him I can not do anything.  I only have to remember to turn everything over to Him and He will give me strength to accomplish what He wants me to accomplish. 

Another verse I really like is:

Matthew 11:28-30

New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
A lot of times we may get into a habit and just keep doing the same thing over and over and not realize that we are not living up to our potential.  I'm sure many of you have heard the story where a little baby eagle fell out of her nest and a farmer found the baby eagle and put her in with their chickens.  As the baby eagle grew she believed that she was a chicken and would go around in the yard pecking with the other chickens.  She never tried to fly even though God had made her with majestic wings in which to fly.  One day a neighbor came by and saw the eagle out pecking in the yard with the chickens.  The neighbor told the eagle that she was an eagle and not a chicken but the eagle continued pecking away on the ground to find more bugs.   Later the neighbor came by and picked up the eagle and carried her to a tall mountain where he proceeded to throw the eagle over the mountain.  As the eagle was falling down to the ground all of a sudden she started flapping her wings and she flew away safely.  How many times are we like the eagle?  We are so comfortable with our life as we know it that we are not doing what God would have us do, we are not living up to our potential.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)