• Isaiah 43:19-21: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” 
• Exodus 13:18: “Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness” 
• Hosea 15:5: “It was in the wilderness that I knew you”

We use to sing a little song that said, “he my Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow”

And all of us, at one time or another, we have found ourselves “in the wilderness”. Yes we stand and sing, “for all my life You have been faithful, for all my life You have been so so good, with every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.” And aren’t we grateful for His goodness and His faithfulness? And yet, each of us have experienced times where we didn’t feel grateful or blessed nor did we feel that God was hearing our prayers and was allowing us to be in the wilderness, where we wandered and wondered, “where is He? Where is His goodness and why does it feel like has He deserted me?” As Christians we have Gods promise that he is always with us we hear that God never leaves us or forsakes us. And yet some days it feels like He has. These are the days when we have to trust His Heart when we don’t see his Hand of goodness or guidance. Yet His Word promises just that. And we know in our hearts that it is true! His Word promises that . Yet days of doubt sometimes leads us to dwell in self-pity or wallow in the “ wilderness!” Sometimes we are led to the wilderness in order that we are being taught something the Lord wants is to learn.

When our lives take a completely different turn other than the one we had planned (and doesn’t it always do that?)or even just anticipate how our life would be, we find ourselves in circumstances beyond our control and situations that we would never have chosen. This morning as I read Psalm 119, David was determined to follow Gods laws and commands! He knew that no matter what he went thru, God loved him and was always working for his good! As I thought about that it reminded me of Gods faithfulness all during my almost 74 years even when I was not faithful to follow Gods laws and commands! Yet He loved me. And never gave up on me!

Recently I read about the parents that died in Florida a few days ago as they got caught up in a rip tide! The 2 older daughters made it back to shore but try as they may, the parents did not! When I thought back about a very similar experience when we were in Hawaii, I want to tell how God showed up and rescued me!

I had left Randy in a chair under an umbrella up on the shore, and decided to go out snorkeling. That is one of my favorite things to do. So I grabbed my mask and off I went. we were close to a huge black rock where I knew people went to snorkel so I dove in. I was able to get past the waves rolling into shore and put my mask on and proceeded to enjoy the sea life I knew was there! After awhile I knew I needed to get back so I began to swim towards shore. But that didn’t happen. As hard as I could, I just went further out! I tried floating for a while to save my energy so I could try again but still could not make it in. I was to far out to call for help. So I prayed. I ask the Lord to please help me get back to shore. I looked up and there were 2 men beside me who took my arms and helped me get back as they scolded me and said “never come out here by yourself!” As I waded up to shore I turned and they were gone! Were they angels? You cannot convince me otherwise. When I thought back over the years, there were so many incidents which tell of Gods wonderous acts. Sometimes He uses these special moments when we are in a wilderness to assure us of His presence, and sometimes just because we need Him to show up. But always God is with us! Never doubt that.

When you find yourself in a wilderness remember the little song, “ my Lord knows the way through the wilderness all I have to do is follow”. And allow Him to guide you safely through!

Maybe years ago I made one of these cakes but if so I don’t remember! Had a request from a young lady for this cake for her birthday, I began to look through different recipes and decided on this one. Since the cake needs to feed about 15 people, I choose this recipe. I finished the cake about 30 min ago but I’ve been busy scraping out the left over frosting and indulging in spoonfuls of some amazing frosting! I made up my own frosting since the young lady wanted some kind of “fluffy frosting”, instead of a buttercream type.

I loved this so much next week I’m going to make an Oreo cake with chocolate cake mix with mint flavored Oreos and use chocolate pudding instead of vanilla. That will be my reward for all the packing to move! And a great reward it will be!!! I’ll post that next week!

Oreo cake

2 Betty Crocker French Vanilla Cake mix

6 whole eggs at room temperature

2 cups water

2/3 cup oil

17 Oreos cut up in small chunks (not to small as you want crunch but not too big, I diced them with knife on cutting board. Don’t use a food processor for this step. Makes them too powdery (is that a word)?

Blend all ingredients together except the Oreos! I did end up adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter but that is up to you! When cake mix is blended well, stir in the crumbled Oreos to the mix and stir just until blended. Because I used two cake mixes I ended up pouring most of the batter (2/3 of it) into a greased 9 x 13 and then I used an 8 in.² pan to bake the other part of the batter! This allows me to make a pyramid style cake since it needs to feed more youngsters!

Bake in preheated 350 oven until each pan tests done. Cool and then invert the 9×13 onto a serving plate! Frost with Oreo frosting and place square cake onto the bottom layer. Frost and cover this top layer. Then sprinkle Oreo crumbles over top of cake. Then place a few whole Oreos as decoration if desired!

Frosting:

1 small package (3 oz size) of instant French vanilla or just instant vanilla pudding

1 1/2 cups of cold whole milk

1 8 oz tub of Extra Creamy Cool Whip

5-6 Oreos placed in food processor to grind them to a powder

Beat instant pudding with the milk until thick. Add the thawed but cold Cool Whip and blend with pudding. Stir cookies in just until mixed well. Frost cake layers and keep in fridge until ready to serve!

A dear friend of mine, Chrissie Dunham posted this recipe on her blog last week! When I saw it, I knew I had to make it for Memorial Day to go with our shredded pork sliders, baked beans, potato salad and Hawaiian Rolls. And my goodness it was delicious and well received. I’m not a huge slaw person but I loved this recipe. I ask Chrissie if she minded me sharing her recipe and of course, being the gracious Southern Belle that she is, said “of course you can”.

So here it is folks! So easy and so so yummy. Thanks Chrissie! Guess I owe you a chocolate pie!

First of all, I want to thank each man and woman who have served and are serving! As a Nation, we have become so separated emotionally (and that certainty includes me) from being thankful for the sacrifices that have been made for us today. Let’s teach and remind our families that Memorial Day is more than a day off….

Lord, rekindle our hearts to not only individually, but as a nation turn to You! Like the song we all began to sing in days following 911, “May We Never Forget” the sacrifices of so many! Today take a few minutes to tell our families why Memorial Day is celebrated and to just say a prayer of thanksgiving for the people who have given so much. And for God who has put us here in still the greatest country, “for such a time as this”

Alan W Jankowski   Poems  

Dec 2011

We Shall Never Forget (9-11 Tribute)

Let the world always remember,
That fateful day in September,
And the ones who answered duty’s call,
Should be remembered by us all.

Who left the comfort of their home,
To face perils as yet unknown,
An embodiment of goodness on a day,
When men’s hearts had gone astray.

Sons and daughters like me and you,
Who never questioned what they had to do,
Who by example, were a source of hope,
And strength to others who could not cope.

Heroes that would not turn their back,
With determination that would not crack,
Who bound together in their ranks,
And asking not a word of thanks.

Men who bravely gave their lives,
Whose orphaned kids and widowed wives,
Can proudly look back on their dad,
Who gave this country all they had.

Actions taken without regret,
Heroisms we shall never forget,
The ones who paid the ultimate price,
Let’s never forget their sacrifice.

And never forget the ones no longer here,
Who fought for the freedoms we all hold dear,
And may their memory never wane,
Lest their sacrifices be in vain.

This morning I felt so guilty leaving Randy alone last night to go have dinner with Jason (my oldest) that I knew I needed to make a better than normal peanut butter toast breakfast for him! Years ago while living in CA we learned about this great egg breakfast. And Loved it! So today before going to watch our grandson play ball, we dined on Chilaquiles. Such a simple yet so flavorful and filling breakfast.

This recipe serves 2

4 slices of bacon or Canadian bacon friend and chopped

3 eggs

2-3 corn tortillas diced or cut in small strips fried until crisp in a little oil

1/2 cup mild green enchilada sauce

1/2 sharp cheddar cheese

Spray small baking dish with Pam

Dish the fried and crisp tortilla strips into baking dish

Fry and scramble the eggs with the cooked and crumbled bacon or Canadian bacon. Spoon this mixture over the tortilla strips. Pour the enchilada sauce over mixture and top with cheese. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. Serve with salsa if desired and warm tortillas! ole’

Yesterday was a packing day! As I prepared to pack some of the pantry, I thought about what kind of pie would taste good in the evening after dinner and we sit down for a couple hours before going to bed. Lemon meringue!!! That sounded like the perfect dessert for the night! When we lived in CA, a dear friend, Kathy, use to make the best lemon meringue pie. Asking her for the recipe, she took me into the kitchen and showed me the box of cook & serve lemon pudding and said “follow the instructions on the side of the box”. I was so surprised to learn that it was that simple and so delicious. So ever since then, that is what I have done. Except in today’s world, cook & serve lemon pudding is not easy to find. I had to order it from Walmart to be delivered. It is never in their stores. AND it costs $13.99 for 4 small boxes. But when you take that first bite of pie, you won’t mind that the little box of pudding mix cost you $3.50 a box.

I ended up making a chocolate pie for Sevy, our grandson who came over to bring us more boxes and requested I make him a chocolate pie with whipped cream. This one is not from a box. But the recipe is on the blog.

Lemon pie

1 small box of lemon cook & serve pudding

2 1/4 cups water (divided)

2 egg yolks (keep the whites for the meringue)

1/2 cup sugar

In saucepan, combine the sugar, pudding mix, egg yolks and 1/4 cup water. Using a whisk, stir mixture until smooth then add the remaining 2 cups of water. Continue stirring over medium heat until pudding is thickened! Pour into baked and cooked pie shell.

Meringue

Beat room temp egg whites (I added a 3rd egg white to the mixture to be sure it would be enough to over the pie well)

After whites have begun to get stiff, add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, slowly, as you continue to beat until whites form stiff peaks. Spread meringue over entire top making sure the meringue goes all the way to the edge touching the crust on the side. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 10-12 min or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool (if you can before you “have” to have a small piece, just to “try” it!