When the Tears Just Don’t Fall

This is somewhat of a follow-up to Laura's guest post about tears.

I really appreciated that post because Laura verbalized a lot of the thoughts I had been thinking lately.

So many times I have prayed and asked God to give me a greater burden for the lost, I've begged Him to give me those tears and a broken heart for those who are facing an eternity without Christ.

But here's the thing.  If I don't tell others the way of salvation, it's not God's fault.

I can't base what I do on how I feel.

To be honest, I often feel nothing.  Maybe you don't have that problem, but I do.

I try to look at the faces I walk past in the store and view them not just as a body, but as an eternal soul.  I try to think about whether that soul will spend eternity in heaven or in hell.  I try to let those thoughts really sink in and create a burning desire to point them to Jesus Christ before it's too late.  But still, so often, I feel absolutely nothing.  My humanity still sees that person as nothing more than a body in front of me, making my time in line last a little longer.

My lack of emotion does not excuse me from obeying Christ's command to preach the gospel to every creature.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, “Love is an action.”

And it is.  If I love Jesus, I will do what he says. (John 14:15)

And in the case of lost souls, he has told me to give them the gospel.  If I don't do that, I am demonstrating not just my lack of love for them, but a lack of love for Jesus Christ himself.

So, the question I must ask myself is, “Do I love Him?”

If the answer is yes, I cannot wait for the tears to fall.  I must obey not as a result of my feelings, but as a choice.

Feelings are usually secondary to actions.  When we act on our love toward others, the emotions usually follow.

Perhaps my tears don't fall because I haven't acted on what I know I should be doing.  Perhaps when I make the choice to reach out to the lost, a heart that is broken over their condition will follow.

So today, just as I have asked myself “Do I love Him?”, I challenge you to ask yourself the same question.  If the answer is yes, then I simply say to you, “Prove it.”

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

The following post is from guest contributor Andrea.

I love cooking in the winter.  I can cook and bake to my heart’s content without overheating the house.  And I can make soup – a lot.  We eat a lot of soups in the winter months.  They are usually frugal to prepare.  They are very filling and healthy.  And most soup recipes make a lot, which means that I can cook once and get several meals out of the effort.  I especially love soups that can be tossed into the crock-pot in the morning and then ladled into bowls at dinner time. One of my family’s favorite “soup” recipes is White Chicken chili.  I first heard of this recipe from my friend Sarah.  I have tweaked it a little until it is just the way my family loves it.  It’s frugal, hearty, easy, and it makes a whole lot.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

This isn’t a true white chili because it calls for black beans instead of white beans.  You can choose to use canned ingredients and a store-bought spice mix to make it really fast, or prep the ingredients yourself.  I prefer to cook dry beans.  I cook up a whole bag and then freeze it in 2-cup portions.  For this recipe I use two of my pre-portioned bags.  You can buy a white chicken chili seasoning packet, or just mix up some spices at home (for much less money!).

White Chicken Chili

2 cans of corn (or about 4 cups of frozen corn) (do not drain)
4 cups cooked black beans (if using canned beans, do not drain.  If using cooked dry beans, add about ¼-1/3 cup water)
2 chicken breasts
1 tsp. garlic powder
Sprinkle crushed red peppers
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. oregano
Pinch cayenne

Combine first three ingredients in crockpot.  I often throw the chicken in straight from the freezer, but you can thaw it first.  Combine spices and sprinkle over the top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  Before serving, remove chicken from crockpot and shred with two forks.  Return chicken to crockpot and mix to blend all seasonings.  Serve over rice or tortilla chips, with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese!  (My husband likes his with a big helping of Tabasco sauce too).

DIY Valentine’s Day Vases

Since Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, I decided to turn my winter vase into a collection of Valentine's Day Vases.

I took 4 of these vases from Dollar Tree and applied fabric glue with a paint brush.  Then I wrapped some brown yarn around them until they were covered.

I used various white or off-white items from around the house to spell out the word “LOVE” – a piece of lace, a felt rosette (here's a tutorial), buttons, and a piece of white yarn.

And there you have it.

And now, my dear readers.  Here's a question I have for you.

I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to filling vases.  And, to further add to my problem, my decorating budget is $0.  I have to use what I have around the house.  And in this case, these are the only flowers I had that were white or pink, or any sort of Valentine-y colors.  So, do you have any ideas for how to fill the vases using only these flowers or things I could find outside?  I'm no good at this.  Help!

Easy Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

You all know I love me some chocolate. But I really try to stay off the sugar.

These homemade peanut butter cups are one of my favorite healthy treats!

And what I love about them is that they are so easy to make – no melting down the chocolate and trying to coat the peanut butter mixture like so many other recipes for homemade peanut butter cups.  Nope.  Just mix it all up and you're done.   So I'll stop talking and just give you the recipe:

In a small saucepan, melt together

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil (Tropical Traditions is my favorite, but sometimes I get the inexpensive stuff from Vitacost.)
1/4 cup raw honey (Tropical Traditions is my favorite, but local honey is awesome too!)

Whisk in

1/4 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder) (I get raw cacao very inexpensively through Vitacost. Get a $10 off $30 coupon when you sign up through my referral link.  Or get it here if you already have an account.)

Note: I used the natural peanut butter from Aldi, which has some molasses added to it. If you're using unsweetened peanut butter, you may want to add a little more honey.

Spoon into mini muffin liners and freeze until hardened. Keep frozen or refrigerated until served.

Easy Sandwich Buns

I'm over at The Grain Mill Wagon today, sharing an easy, all-purpose recipe for sandwich buns, biscuits, or whatever you need some type of bread for!

Get the recipe here.  (Thanks to my sis-in-law, Lauren, for the original recipe!)

Sealy Baby Cool Gel Crib Mattress Review {Plus a $100 Gift Card Giveaway!} #SealyBaby

As a Kolcraft Mom, I have the privilege to represent Kolcraft and Sealy Baby, and I am excited to introduce you to the Sealy Baby Cool Gel Crib Mattress!

Disclosure: I received a free mattress to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% my own.

The following video highlights my favorite features of the mattress:

The very first thing I checked out when deciding whether or not to accept this mattress was whether or not it would be safe for my infant.  When I went to the product page, I was happy to see that this mattress is GREENGUARD® Gold certified for indoor air quality and low chemical emissions.  And perhaps one of my very favorite things?  Made in the USA!  You don't see that much anymore these days, and I am always happy to support American-made!

A little more info about the mattress:

The Sealy 2-Cool 2-Stage Crib Mattress is available in-store or online at Buy Buy Baby.

Giveaway:

One winner will receive a $100 gift card to Buy Buy Baby to help you pay for a new Sealy Baby Cool Gel Crib Mattress!

To enter, just complete the form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway