Tasty Blueberry Muffins

We had "breakfast for supper" the other night and I made these wonderful muffins. The whole family loved them!

Tasty Blueberry Muffins

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 large egg)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the orange juice, egg, applesauce and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray; fill half full with batter. Bake at 400 for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen

Blueberry Tips: To keep them from sinking to the bottoms of the muffins, toss the blueberries in a little of the flour you've measured out for the recipe. Also, you can use frozen blueberries -- just stir them in straight from the freezer.

There's a New Name Written Down in Glory

Father's Day, Sunday morning, our pastor based his sermon on Psalm 128. Verse 3 says, "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table." Brian quoted John Phillips who told of how olive plants are slow to grow and the planter has to be very patient and continue caring for it even though it has shown no berries.
"Normally, it will bear no berries until the seventh year, nor will the crop be worth much until the new tree is from 10-15 years of age." (John Phillips) I laughed when I heard this -- God certainly knew what He was talking about when comparing children to olive plants! I thought, with a touch of humor, "But Lord, couldn't I see just a little fruit in their lives, now and then?"

Well, God said, "Yes."

I went on to Sunday School after the sermon, and I began to greet my students (1st & 2nd Grade) and prepared to get them busy until class started. Our children's minister came to the door and told me that Katie was in counseling with Miss Annharrow. Kaitlyn had come forward during children's church saying that she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart! Annharrow talked with Katie about her decision and then prayed with her to accept Christ as her Savior.

Katie will go to a special new Christian Sunday School class for four weeks. After that, she'll be baptized as a symbol of how her old life has passed, and 'behold, all things have become new!'

Central Asia 2007

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This was an amazing trip! Ten of us from Maysville Baptist went to Central Asia. We had two primary purposes in going -- one, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the other, ministering to our missionaries already there.

The first part of our trip we spent at a business called Compass where we participated in conversation groups. Basically, students from the local university come in to practice their English and to meet real live Americans. Our group's goal there was to make friends, enjoy conversations, and to be real about who we are in Christ. Everyone in the group was able to share the gospel at least once. We drank gallons of coffee, laughed, and used lots of big hand gestures to get our point across! Several of the nationals had handheld computer dictionaries that they'd use to look up what they wanted to say, or to figure out what in the world we were saying! One young engaged couple was particulary eager to hear about Jesus. He kept telling our pastor, Brian, "I'll come back tomorrow and you can tell me more about Jesus." One of the missionaries made sure Brian had a Bible to give to the young man. Today I got an e-mail saying that on Sunday the young couple both trusted Christ as Savior of their lives. It is absolutely amazing to see God at work!

The second part of our trip was spent leading a retreat for the missionary families. Our pastor and minister of music led the conference for the adults, three others did an intense Bible study with the seven youth, and the other five led VBS for the fourteen children. I was part of the VBS team, of course, doing the Bible story. We also had crafts, music, games, and snacks. The kids had a great time with the Western/cowboy theme and they especially enjoyed the crafts and the music.

Of course, the flights were long and the layovers decidedly not fun. The showers were sometimes cold. But every little problem that came up is nothing compared to the rejoicing in heaven and earth over the two who have been saved. I know that there were many seeds planted and watered, and I look forward to hearing from the missionaries about how God is continuing to move and allowing them to be a part of the harvest.

What's the Difference?

Can you spot the difference between these two pictures? Well, okay, there are lots of differences -- but I'll direct your attention to the most important one! In one of the pictures, Katie is missing a tooth! She was unbelievably excited about it. She stayed up until 11 o'clock at night, wiggling until it finally came out. A (tired) tooth fairy took her tooth from under her pillow, leaving Katie with a tiny note, and two quarters. (She used her fifty cents to buy a gumball for herself and her brother.)

Whew!

Wow! We have been crazy busy lately! This will be a catch-up post and then over the next few weeks I'll add details. For now, you get the high points! Rewind to the first part of May. The first weekend I drove with the kids down to Granny and Papa's in Blackshear to a family reunion. My Aunt Belinda and Uncle Steve were here for a visit from Germany and our family got together to see them and everyone else, too! The following weekend was graduation weekend. That Thursday, Mom graduated with her Master's degree from University of South Carolina, Aiken. Friday was Jeff's brother Joe's commissioning ceremony -- he's now officially a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. Saturday was Joe's graduation from Augusta State University with his bachelor's. May 17th was Field Day for our homeschool group and also rehearsal for the children's musical at our church. The next day was dress rehearsal for Katie's ballet recital, with the actual recital on Saturday. Sunday was the children's musical. (Are you tired yet? We sure were!) The week after that I spent focusing all my energy on getting ready for my trip to Central Asia. I left for CA, along with nine others from Maysville Baptist, on the 28th of May. So, the kids split their time between Jeff's parents' house, my parents' house, and being home with daddy. I got back from the trip on June 6th, and spent the next few days being jetlagged and going to bed at 8:30 in the evening! The trip was absolutely amazing and I'll have more details on it in another post.