1 c chopped onions
1 T olive oil
1 c chopped tomatoes  OR 1 can diced tomatoes drained
1 1/2 c fresh or frozen corn  OR 1 can whole kernel corn drained
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T fresh lime juice
1 t salt (optional)
1/2 t ground black pepper
2 c rinsed, stemmed, and chopped Swiss chard or spinach*
2 c crushed baked tortilla chips
8 oz (or so) grated fat-free sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 c salsa
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Saute onions in oil until translucent.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, black beans, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Saute for 5 – 10 mins. or until heated through.
4. Prepare your casserole dish (I used a 9″ round deep casserole dish) with a coating of cooking spray.
5. Spread half of the chips on the bottom. Spoon sauteed veggies over the chips.  If you used canned vegetables, there will be quite a bit of liquid left in the pan.  Don’t pour it all in or your meal will come out soggy. Sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese over that. Arrange the greens over the cheese and spoon half of the salsa on top of it. Then, sprinkle the rest of the chips, salsa, and cheese.
6. Bake for about 35 – 40 mins, or until it is beginning to brown.

Oh and my confession–I didn’t actually measure anything, I just eyeballed it.  But then I never measure anything when I am cooking–baking is a whole nother story

Whenever I heard the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, I always imagined him wearing that poncho.

The story of Joseph is basically how God took human failings and turned it into good.  Joseph’s brother sold him into slavery and many years later, Joseph was 2nd only to Pharoah in Egypt.  Joseph persevered through the dark times, he continued to work with diligence and excellence, honoring God in all that he did.

Whatever you are going through right now, know that God sees you in these dark days.  Persevere.  He means it all for good in His ultimate plan.

That’s a very good question. And I think it’s especially relevant because we live, I think, more now than ever, in a day when entertaining kinds of things are immediately accessible.

I was thinking the other day of the difference between our temptations and, say, 250 years ago, the day of Jonathan Edwards. Edwards would write about the folly of young people getting together to do “frivolous conversation” or other worse things. (”Bundling” it was called: getting in bed together and keeping your clothes on, that sort of thing. Just spice up life a little bit. Life gets boring in New England 250 years ago.)

Today we carry in our pockets radio, television, internet, and games, and anything that would be titillating, fun! And “fun” is a word in the church today that’s just rampant! It’s an adjective, it’s a noun, it’s a verb, because we do ministry in order to fit this mentality.

I’m deeply concerned about that. I want to stand for seriousness about God, instead of making him palatable by making him “fun”! Turning him into another piece of entertainment.

So this question is, “How do you break free from that kind of addiction?”

1. Recognizing it is a huge step in the right direction.
2. Seek the Lord earnestly about it. Pray like crazy that God would open your eyes to see wondrous things out of his law.
3. Immerse yourself in the Bible, even when you don’t feel like it, pleading with God to open your eyes to see what’s really there.
4. Get in a group where you talk about serious things.
5. Begin to share your faith. One of the reasons we are not as moved by our own faith as we are is because we almost never talk about it to any unbeliever. It starts to feel like a kind of hothouse thing, and then it starts to have a feeling of unreality about it. And then the powers of entertainment have more sway in our life.

And so those would be some of the things, but ultimately it’s a gift of grace to feel the glory of God.

One last suggestion: think about your death. Think about your death a lot. Ask what you’d like to be doing in the season of life, or hours or days, leading up to meeting Christ. I do that a lot these days. I think about the impact of death, and what I would like to be found doing, and how I would prepare to meet him and give an account to him.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

I clean up my front yard out of fear that someday somebody will stop and start sifting through stuff and ask, “How much do you want for this?”

Maine Coon Kittens By elda1 CC-BY-NC

Twenty-six years old and I am dead.  My heart still beats.  I still breathe in Oxygen and expire Carbon Dioxide.  All my vital functions are strong, but I know that it is a facade.

My spirit is flat.

I approach my dreams with equal doses of conceit and self-doubt.  My villans do battle on my shoulder–the screaming and shouting of battle is so loud that I can’t hear myself think.

I know that if I sat down to write, I could write the great American novel.  I fear that if I sit down to write, that I would have nothing to say.

Through the battle, a scrawn golden kitten with mangy fur and big sad eyes looks up at me and meows.  “Don’t give up,”  she says.  Those Sad eyes plead with me.  I know that to give up on my dreams would mean the death of that sad-eyed kitten.  To give up on my dreams would be the death of me.  To fight on above the battle…perhaps that kitten could someday be a lion.