Tasty Bites: 4-Ingredient Pork Loin

By Beth V

This week’s recipe is short and sweet! That is a welcome expression in my cooking world most of the time. A simple recipe that yields a delicious, juicy, flavorful, no-fail pork loin? Yes, please!  I stumbled upon this recipe and made this on Easter Sunday.  It was nice to have such an easy dish to go along with some other, more time-intensive dishes. This pork loin does not require a special occasion- it is perfect for anytime.

The marinade consists of McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a 2-lb pork loin. Have a 4 lb pork loin? Just double the recipe and add about 20 minutes cooking time per pound.  Mix the marinade ingredients together. Place the pork inside a zipper bag and pour the marinade over it. Squeeze the air out so the seasonings contact every surface of the meat. Let this marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Overnight is even better if you remember.

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Our Daily Bread

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I can remember going to Colorado for a National Conference for Compassion. Our hotel was right there nestled in the mountains. It was so awesome just to see the snow capped peaks and to gaze at the majesty of the Rockies. The leaves were changing and everything just spoke of God's creation. I stood on the balcony in awe and just praised Him. Amazingly enough that evening I happened to mention the sight to one of the hotel workers and was kind of surprised my her apathetic response. How could those glorious sights become so familiar that the beauty did not excite her anymore.

Reminds me of the Israelites in the wilderness. Shortly after their exile they ran out of food and cried out to God. In a wonderful fashion he provided them with their daily bread-their manna. I can only imagine the wonder they had each morning as it appeared and fed them. Yet after awhile they grew tired of the same food and began to gripe and complain. God had provided and yet it became familiar and boring to them.

Each day God provides for us. He gives us shelter, food, friends and family, employment-everything we need. Not everything we want but everything we need. I can not imagine anyone reading this in need of anything more than they already have. God gives us blessings each and every day for which we should be thankful for. Take a moment and think whether you are taking them for granted. Have they become so familiar that we are no longer grateful for their provision? I am not just speaking about the material things He gives us but what about our health, strength and life. Each day should be counted as a blessing and we should be thankful.

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Do You Deny?

By Pat

"As Simon Peter stood warming himself, as was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."" (John 18:25)

Have you ever denied being a follower of Jesus? I have. Not verbally, for I have always readily proclaimed my Christianity. And yet, sadly, I have indeed denied Jesus.

When I have raised my voice in anger and allowed unkind words to flow from my lips, I have denied Jesus. When I have acted selfishly, or forgotten that true riches are found in the heart, I have denied Jesus. Each time I have used a lame excuse not to lend a helping hand to a person in need, I have denied Him. And worst of all, when I have allowed the difficult circumstances surrounding me to weaken my faith and question God's love for me, I have denied Jesus.

Instead of shunning Peter, Jesus understood his human weakness and not only forgave him, but used him as the rock upon which He would build His church. (Matthew 16:18). We must try to live our lives in a way that serves and glorifies Jesus so fully that, if asked if we are followers of Jesus, we need not answer aloud, but instead let our actions shout with a resounding "YES!"

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

God Is... Spirit

By Nick (My Experience As...)

Worshiping that which we cannot know

Back in the day I was very much into arguing.  I know, people are shocked and surprised at this admission but it is true.  Ok maybe I would be better off saying I was even more into debate than I currently am.  Over the course of a year or so I got into several online debates with a Mormon who was both rude and insulting. This is not to say all members of LDS (I did learn that many of them don’t like the term Mormon but the abbreviation LDS, for Later Day Saint, is less offensive) are rude or insulting, but this guy was.  It started on an old blog of mine, and moved to other blogs I participated in.

A key LDS belief is that God is a corporeal being so this guy often mocked the Christian belief that God is Spirit.  At one point he took a picture of his “Bubba Keg” and said he trapped our God in it since clearly God’s spirit has no mass or volume.

This argument doesn’t follow for many reasons, but at the very heart is a complete misunderstanding of what “spirit” really is.  Most people seem to assume it is some kind of ethereal energy, something like sentient electricity. This is an error in classification based on the assumption that “spirit” is something related to this natural order.

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Fingerprint Friday: Generosity

By Ginny (MAD21)

I recently worked on a project with a group of people that was successful only because of the grace of God and generosity of many others. What started out as a simple gift to some homeless families, turned out to be so much more because the resources just kept pouring in. God had some big plans for those families, and for those of us who were answering the call to serve.

I can't begin to tell you how amazing it was to have the opportunity to serve a community of folks who really need to know that God loves them. To step out of reality even if only for an afternoon and just have some fun. I am in awe of the generosity of those who made it all possible. God presented a need, and they stepped up and made it happen. These are fingerprints from God that will hopefully leave a lasting imprint for generations.

Fellow blogger Beki at The Rusted Chain has a really great weekly post she does every Friday called "Fingerprint Friday." We are to look around and see where we can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Anywhere? Go find out where Beki saw God this week, and be sure to check out the other bloggers who linked their stories as well.