Bunnies, Balloons, And Bears 08/09/20

Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.  ~ Proverbs 28:26

I’ve decided to every so often, share excerpts from portions of that dating study I mentioned the other day. Up first . . . .

GOD – –

   Everyone has within them the knowledge of God (Romans 1:20).  Different people groups have different stories and call Him by different names, but God has placed within everyone, the knowledge of Him and a desire to seek Him out (Deuteronomy 4:29).  We often search in the wrong places for Him.  We often don’t know or want to admit that it’s Him we’re longing for.  So we look for fulfillment in drugs, money, job, family, others, self – and any number of other places.  And we feel frustrated or depressed or angry or hopeless and continue to search in vain (Psalm 14:1a), because the only thing that will truly fulfill our souls is a personal relationship with our Creator and Savior (John 10:10b). 

   But even Christ-followers (that’s what the term ‘Christian’ means) feel separated from God on occasion.  This is usually the result of unrepented sin in our lives.  And during these times, it’s important to remember that it’s not God who has abandoned us, but us who have abandoned God (Hebrews 13:5b, James 4:7-10).

    God is so much more than we can even begin to understand.  As a Holy God, He is to be respected and honored above all (Mark 12:30).  Currently, one of the most widely accepted sins committed by Christians and non-Christians alike, is the misuse of His name (Exodus 20:7).  Misusing His name means saying or using it in any way that is not honoring to Him.  The use of OMG, whether in spoken or written word, lessens God to a simple phrase and eliminates the honor and respect due Him.  It is misusing His name, and it’s a sin.

   Did you know that there wasn’t even a word for the name of God in the Old Testament?  That’s why you see the letters YHWH in the original Hebrew.  The early Jews respected God  and His name so much, they wouldn’t even say it out loud.  When Moses asked God what His name was, God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:13-14).  Jesus, because He is God, also called Himself ‘I AM’ (John 8:28, 10:30).  It’s one of the main reasons the Jews hated Him – He called Himself God.  And that was considered blasphemy and punishable by death.  Any time we use God’s name other than to address His person (who He is, what He does, etc.), it is a sin.

   Of all the major religions in the world (some examples are Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist), our God is the only one who pursues His creation. (Luke 19:10) He’s the only one who desires an intimate, unique to each person, relationship with His creation.  He’s the only one who made the way for us to Him simple – we can’t earn His love.  We already have it.  It’s a free gift that Jesus bought on our behalf.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” ~  Ephesians 2:8-9

If you don’t already know Him; if you’ve not chosen to have a personal relationship with Him, may I suggest you do so now.  Right now.  Right where you are. He’s waiting for you to invite Him in!  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me. ~ Revelation 3:20

Today began with our customary breakfast out on the patio with the bunnies and hot air balloons.  And once again, there are no pictures to commemorate the event because, one, we don’t normally take our phones to breakfast, so we just enjoy the bunny hopping around eating grass like we slurp spaghetti; and two, the balloons are always in front of the sun and pretty far away.  You’ll just have to trust me on this.

By 8:15am, I had donned my stinkin’ hot shirt.  We’d just completed our on-line worship service with our home church, The Chapel, and were ready to get some exercise.  That’s pretty much all it was.  Three miles of stinkin’ hot exercise, with a few information boards thrown in for good measure.  I will say though, those boards were actually full of interesting and new information, so I recommend reading them.  😊

Many of the trails here intersect, so we ended up on Raccoon Ridge, Bear and Coyote Runs, Soaring Kestrel, and Bobcat Way, in one large loop from home and back.  We saw none of those critters.  But I’ll bet this place is stunning in the Fall, because there are tons of those short scrub oaks (or more accurately named, Gambel Oak) everywhere, and we’ve seen them in other states in the Fall.  Gorgeous!

We were home by 9:30.

And that’s all the exercise we got in today.  It’s really a shame because we’ve been eating some form of pizza nearly every day recently, plus Blaine decided we needed those delicious cinnamon rolls SafeWay bakes (a grocery store chain out West).  We’ve had shrimp pizza, buffalo chicken pizza, WalMart meat-lovers pizza (doctored up with veggies), and tonight, it was Mexican pizza (a Taco Bell clone that’s supposed to taste almost like the real thing!)  And Blaine keeps saying he’d like to buy Little Caesar’s at some point in the next few days. 

I guess, when you stop to think about it, the pizzas aren’t really all that unhealthy.  All the ones I’ve made have plenty of veggies and use a simple crust of baked tortillas or the homemade one I recently found, neither of which have much fat.  Oh, who am I kidding?  Pizza’s not particularly healthy, no matter what you make it with.  😊

And then there was tonight’s dinner.  I’ll add a recipe at the bottom, but it certainly won’t be the one I used.

First of all, it took waaaay longer to make than I’d anticipated – about twice as long.  Second, it was a new recipe – as I mentioned, a clone of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza.  It had lots of good reviews and people saying it tasted just like Taco Bell’s, but I don’t know which Taco Bell they eat at, because the meat tasted absolutely nothing like Taco Bell’s.  It wasn’t even edible!  I had to throw it out and start over.  Thank goodness I tasted it before I made the pizzas! 

Should’a just had tacos . . . .

Oh!  You want to know about the bears!  I almost forgot!

That was just a lure to get you to read the entire uninteresting post.  The only bear we saw was on that yellow sign at the beginning of our walk.  Sorry.  😊 

But I promise you, there are some more exciting excursions planned for the near future!

MEXICAN PIZZA

4 – fajita-sized flour tortillas, pricked gently all over with the tip of a knife.  If you don’t, they swell up and look a bit like misshapen balloons!

½ # hamburger

½ package taco seasoning, and ½ the required water (I always add about a teaspoon or so Mexican seasoning, too, but it’s optional)

½ can refried beans, and add 2-3 T. taco sauce (you can freeze the rest, or serve at another meal)

½ C. enchilada sauce, and add a dash of tabasco, 1 t. sugar and 1 t. onion powder

½ – ¾ C. shredded cheese – either buy pre-packaged Mexican cheese, or mix your own like I did, out of leftover Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and mild Cheddar

1 small chopped tomato

Sour cream (optional)

Brown and drain the meat and prepare according to package directions (remember, you’re only using half).  Meanwhile, heat up the beans, and bake the tortillas (400⁰ for 4-5 minutes, just until beginning to turn golden brown)

Turn the oven to 350⁰. 

Spread the beans on two of the tortillas and place on the pan you’re baking on.  Add the meat on top, then place a second tortilla on top.  Spread some enchilada sauce on top the tortilla (Guaranteed you won’t use anywhere near what the recipe calls for!  You’ll have to save the rest for something else, freeze, or pitch it).  Then cover with cheese. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes.  Top with tomatoes and serve. Makes two pizzas.