Peppermint Cream-filled Cake

Some asked for the recipe for Kali's birthday cake, so here it is:

Peppermint Cream-filled Cake
From Betty Crocker's Chocolate Cookbook

For the cake:
1/2 C. cocoa
3/4 C. boiling water
1-3/4 C. sugar
1-1/2 C. flour
1-1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/2 C. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
7 egg yolks
1 C. egg whites (about 7-8)
1/2 t. cream of tartar

For the Peppermint Cream:
1 C. powdered sugar/icing sugar
2 C. chilled whipping cream
1 t. peppermint extract
6-8 drops food colouring

Heat oven to 325F.
Mix cocoa and boiling water; let stand until cool.
Mix sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt in 3-qt. bowl. Beat in cocoa mixture, oil, vanilla, and egg yolks with spoon until smooth.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a 3-qt. bowl on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Pour egg yolk mixture gradually over beaten egg whites, folding with rubber spatula just until blended.
Pour into UNGREASED tube pan, 10x4 inches.

Bake until top springs back when touched lightly, about 1 hr., 15 min.
Invert pan on heat-proof funnel (or on a glass bottle with a thin neck); let hang until cake is cold.

Remove cake from pan; place cake upside down.
Slice off top of cake about 1 inch down; reserve top.
Make cuts down into cake 1 inch from outer edge and 1 inch from edge of hole, leaving substantial "walls" on each side.
Remove cake within cuts with a small spoon, being careful to leave a base of cake 1 inch thick.

Prepare Peppermint Cream, beating all the ingredients together in a chilled bowl until stiff.
Spoon mixture into the cake cavity.
Replace top of cake; press gently.
Frost side and top of cake with remaining Peppermint Cream.
Just before serving, garnish with chocolate leaf mints, crushed peppermint candy, chocolate shavings, or other garnish of your choice.

Keep uneaten cake refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Our Daughter Kali Is 17!

Isn't she beautiful? She is so sweet, and I'm blessed to have her as a daughter.

Here's the Peppermint Whipped Cream Chocolate Cake I made for her. Yes, of course, that's lime green tinted whipped cream! Everything has to be lime green for Kali!

It was delicious!

God bless our Kali.

Then Understood I

"When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I..." (Psa 73:16-17)

Sometimes I, like the Psalmist, do not understand why people who do not love and serve God as I do, continue to prosper--sometimes even more than I prosper! Why does it seem that they have it all together? That they have no troubles?

Asaph says when he went to the house of God, then he understood! This is so true! When I spend time with my spiritual family, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am comforted and I see things much more clearly than before. God uses the fellowship of other believers to strengthen and encourage me.

Last night was an amazing evening at our church! The spontaneous singing and testimonies went on and on until 9:00! We didn't even have any preaching, but some of the testimonies were just as encouraging and uplifting--even convicting!

Asaph must have had the same experience in the house of God. His conclusion close to the end of his Psalm says:

"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." (Psa 73:24-26)

His time in church made him realize once again that God was his strength and his everything! He realized that all that mattered was: he had God!

I can also experience this every day when I come into the sanctuary of His presence, reading His Word, praying, and spending time in the quiet, seeking to hear His voice in my heart.

Many times I do not understand the stuff of life. I am discouraged. I get angry. I become confused. I even question God. But when I go to the sanctuary, then understand I!

Finally Free: The Answer to My Migraines

I've suffered from migraines for years--since I was a teenager! This fall God gave me the answer! I wanted to share with you the all-natural products I'm taking that have taken away the migraines. I've been on them for a month, and the results have been amazing! Praise the Lord! Even when I didn't have a migraine, my head always felt a thickness or tightening in the back, and I normally had a general "yucky" feeling with little energy--especially in the morning. Even that is gone!

I went to our local health food store and "randomly" went up to a worker who was not already helping someone. Lillian had suffered migraines for 30 years herself and had just this spring started these products. She has not had a migraine since! I truly believe that God led me to Lillian!


1. Bio-Strath drops (30 drops/1 ml, 3-4x/day before meals) -- This is like an herbal "multi-vitamin" supplement that boosts your immune system and helps you absorb the second product, listed below. The drops contain filtered herbal yeast plasmolysate (prepared in Switzerland, distributed by BioForce, Montreal, Canada) Cost $25CDN for 100 ml. Available here.

2. Dr. Schuessler's Combination 12: Salt H13-6x (2 tablets under the tongue 3-4x/day before meals) -- Also referred to as tissue salts, these contain 12 different kinds of cell salts that your body tissues absorb. Each tablet contains 6x of each of the following salts: calcium floride, dibasic calcium phosphate anhydrous, ferric phosphate, potassium choride, monobasic potassium phosphate, potassium sulfate, dibasic magnesium phosphate, sodium choride, dibasic sodium phosphate, sodium sulfate, silicon dioxide. (Distributed by Robert & Fils, Montreal, Canada) Cost $12.20CDN for 120 tablets. This was the main key to getting rid of the migraines! Read about them here and here. It is available in another format here.

3. A.Vogel's Avenaforce: (15 drops 3x/day) -- Fresh organically grown flowering oats (avena sativa) herb tincture, 427 mg. (Manufactured by Bioforce AG, Switzerland; distributed by Bioforce Canada, Inc., Montreal, Canada). I take this only if the weather is crazy--if a pressure system is coming through, it's rainy, or there has been a drastic change in the weather. Available here.

If you're not in Canada, I'd suggest printing this off and taking it to your local natural health food store (not a commercialized one like GNC). Ask them if they have these products, can order them for you, or if they have something comparable. If these don't work, I encourage you to keep searching for YOUR answer. With natural products you have to be willing to do it by trial and error.

If you go the medical route, they tend to only treat the symptom (the pain) and you just end up with stronger meds each time, which can become addictive, and after years, will hurt your liver. (Lillian now has liver problems due to all the meds she took to try to alleviate migraine pain.) Traditional medicine certainly has its place for serious issues, but in my opinion, it's much better to go natural when you can... use what God created to make you well.

If you are helped by these products, please comment and let me know!

Another Christmas Gift Idea

Here's a neat Christmas gift idea:
Beverage Mixes

I'm going to make up some of these mixes, put them in jars, print out tags with preparation instructions and tie them on with a ribbon. Easy, fun, inexpensive gift.

Kyla Nichole Is One

Our precious grandbaby Kyla Nichole turned one year old on Saturday, November 14. Where does the time go!? When you look at her photos, would you pray with us that she will come to accept Jesus at an early age?

Her Aunt Kali (our daughter)--or Auntie Kakes, as she's affectionately called--and Nana (me) baked and decorated a flower birthday cake.

It was our first cake decorated on this scale, so we were excited and pleased with the outcome!

Here's our cutie patootie enjoying her cake:

Handcrafted Christmas Ideas

Need some inspiration for Christmas craft gifts? Here's a great blog by Monica, who obviously loves crafting!
The Homespun Heart

I love her Gratitude Wrap...
Gratitude Wrap

...and little memo book she put inside it, as well as a wreath she made from songbook pages...
Song Wreath and Decorated Memo Book

I also love her repurposing ideas! Here's what she did with some ice skates found at a thrift store.
Handcrafted Christmas Ice Skates

Here's her recipe for making homemade soaps...
Homemade Soaps

...and holiday cream cheese mints...
Cream Cheese Mints

Of course, I won't have time to make all these things this year, but there are many fun ideas out there! Want to try one?

Kind to the Unthankful

"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (Luke 6:35-36)

This verse struck me one day as I was feeling very angry toward someone. It seemed that God had brought more than one ungrateful person into my life, and I didn't like it one bit! As I was telling God how mad I was that I could not get away from these types of people--boy! does that ever sound egotistical!--God led me to these verses, and needless to say, they ended up written out on a card on my refrigerator! I needed reminding day by day!

I had memorized the Matthew version of this passage as a child: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:44-45)

Sure I knew that. Love your enemies. Do good to them that hate you. But these people didn't hate me; they just seemed ungrateful. I felt used. So the Matthew passage didn't really cross my mind in relation to this issue.

But when I ran across the words in Luke: "He is KIND to the UNTHANKFUL" and "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful," I realized that I wasn't doing as Jesus would do.

First it was just a little thing here and there--things I began doing to be kind to the ungrateful. I'll admit at first it was grudgingly. But as I started doing it as an act of obedience toward God, and also praying for the ungrateful person as I did it, my heart began to melt toward them! God worked a miracle in my heart, and I actually FELT more genuine love toward them! For us ladies, it's always nice when FEELINGS join us! :)

Is there an ungrateful person in your life to whom God wants you to be kind? What will you do TODAY as an act of obedience to be kind to that person?

It's just a simple principle, but it will so profoundly change your life!

Patriotism!

Pray for our national leaders and our troops!

"My" Psalm 136

This "psalm" is most encouraging when read aloud to God...

O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good:
For His mercy endureth forever.
O give thanks unto the God of gods:
For His mercy endureth forever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him alone Who doeth great wonders:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him that by wisdom made the heavens:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him that stretched out the earth above the waters:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him that made great lights:
For His mercy endureth forever.
The sun to rule by day:
For His mercy endureth forever.
The moon and stars to rule by night:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him that won victory over the world:
For His mercy endureth forever.
And brought me out from among them:
For His mercy endureth forever.
With a strong hand and with a stretched out arm:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To God Who will never give me more than I can handle:
For His mercy endureth forever.
And gives me His power to go through anything:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him which conquered the biggest problem in my path:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him Who leads me through the wilderness places of life:
For His mercy endureth forever.
To Him Who smites and kills giants of sin in my life:
For His mercy endureth forever.
And slays the most common irratants in my way:
For His mercy endureth forever.
And gives grace to face whatever is in my way:
For His mercy endureth forever.
Who gives me grace to give a soft answer:
For His mercy endureth forever.
And helps me take back ground from the enemy:
For His mercy endureth forever.
He give me peace in the midst of the storm:
For His mercy endureth forever.
He remembered me in my low, sinful state:
For His mercy endureth forever.
And redeemed me from the enemy:
For His mercy endureth forever.
Who provides food for my table:
For His mercy endureth forever.
O give thanks to the God of Heaven:
For His mercy endureth forever!

Secret Place

This song is powerful! Will you let Jesus into the secret place of your heart?



My heart is like a house.
One day I let the Saviour in.
There are many rooms
Where we would visit now and then.
But then one day He saw that door,
I knew the day had come too soon.
I said, Jesus, I'm not ready
For us to visit in that room.

'Cause that's a place in my heart
Where even I don't go.
I have some things hidden there
I don't want anyone to know.
But He handed me the key
With tears of love on his face.
He said, I want to make you clean;
Let me go in your secret place.

So I opened up the door,
And as the two of us walked in,
I was so ashamed,
As His light revealed my hidden sin.
But when I think about that room now,
I'm not afraid anymore
Because I know my hidden sin
No longer hides behind that door!

That was a place in my heart
Where even I wouldn't go.
I had some things hidden there,
I didn't want anyone to know.
But He handed me the key
With tears of love on His face,
And He made me clean!
I let Him in my secret place.

Is there a place in your heart
Where even you won't go?
Do you have some things hidden there,
You don't want anyone to know?
But He's handing you the key
With tears of love on His face,
And He wants to make you clean!
So let Him in your secret place.


sung by Michael Booth and the Booth Brothers
written by Paul Steven Chapman, Shepherd's Fold Music

Unashamed

Psalm 119:1-11

Have you ever felt embarrassed or that others view you as imperfect? I have many times! But verse 6 says we don’t have to “be ashamed.” When I feel ashamed, it indicates a focus on myself and a lack of wholeness and freedom within my own spirit. Ultimately this is pride (See blog entry Thoughts on Pride). My focus is on ME. I want to be viewed as good or right. I want to be liked by everyone. I want to feel good. I want to look good. I don’t want to be inconvenienced. I want what I want—now!

David recognizes that the "undefiled" (pure and clean) are blessed—not ashamed, and that these are those who "walk in the Law of the Lord." They "seek Him with the whole heart... do no iniquity... walk in His ways." God has commanded us to "keep His precepts diligently."

David then gives the prerequisites for truly living “unashamed” in the previous verses. David describes the habit or general mode of walking in the Lord's way. The focus is HIM. When my focus is HIM and HIS way, THEN "I will not be ashamed." THEN I will "praise [Him] with uprightness of heart." Why? Because THEN "I shall have learned [His] righteous judgments"!

OK, so I realize how self-focused I am... now how can I correct this? With sheer will power? “I’m not going to focus on myself anymore. I’ve tried before [sigh], but I’ll try again.” Is that what the Psalmist said? How can I truly “cleanse [my] way”? Psalm 119:9 tells me to cleanse my way “by taking heed” to His WORD! The Word is where the power is! I need to hide His Word in my heart (verse 11). If I take this to heart, then I need to “get the Word in” any way possible. When my body has an iron deficiency, I need to learn to pay attention and eat the foods that are rich in iron. Same with the Word of God. When I have a deficiency in my life—I’m continually wallowing in a low self esteem or self pity (when God says I’m complete in Christ, Colossians 2:10), I’m always blowing my stack (when God says to let all bitterness go, Ephesians 4:31), or I’m not giving (when Jesus said to give, Luke 6:38)—would I not be wise to seek out the power in the Word to counteract that specific deficiency?

The Old Testament speaks of putting God’s Word on the door posts (Deut. 11:18-20). One of the most effective ways I have found to hide God’s Word in my heart continuously is to print out Scripture ( Biblegateway.com or eSword) and post it around the house. Tape it on the bathroom mirror, on the refrigerator, on the front door so that I see it as I leave the house... Listen to Scripture on CD. The Word gives me power to "not wander from [His] commandments" (Psalm 119:10). The more I read it and hear it, the more I memorize it and hide it in my heart.
What is the outcome? I am settled in my spirit. I don't need to have the credit or praise for what I am doing, because I have peace inside my heart: my spirit is free to adore the Lord. My focus is HIM, not ME.

What verses are YOU meditating on today? Comment and let me know.