Blessed Controller of All Things

"Oh, the peace of yielding to His ways, His timing, and His will!  When we truly bow before Him as the Blessed Controller of All Things, the small problems that slowly tear us apart and the gigantic ones that crash over us like a tsunami wave do not uproot us.  We are nestled in the Holy One, our refuge...safe and sheltered in the Haven of His wings." - Linda Dillow, Deeper Kind of Calm

I truly don't mean to start each blog post with some profound statement or piece of scripture.  However, each week since the ectopic pregnancy seems to have a theme, something I'm learning about the truth of who God really is.  Because the truth is, shouldn't I be a basket case, totally uprooted, shattered by what has happened?  Yet, I'm not.  I'm heartbroken, but I'm okay.  He is my refuge, in control of this and all other things in my life.  I am beyond grateful for the safety He alone provides. 

Update: By the end of January, I hope to have a laparoscopy to shed some light (hopefully) on what's going on in my innards, and even explain why my pregnancy was ectopic.  It will be my first surgery, so I'm a bit nervous, but I'm also very ready to gain a better understanding of what's going on in my body!

Adoption:  Have you ever heard of this blog?   I'm totally blown away by this precious girl who, in her early twenties, has adopted 13 children.  Please read her blog - it's a great reminder of how faithful our God is.

Baking: I got TWO new aprons for Christmas.  What do you think?  With all the baking I'm doing, they're coming in very handy!

Here's a picture of the precious and teeny-tiny brown sugar muffins I made last week.  Thank you, Allenda.  I have many more plans for my mini-muffin tin.

Our volunteer coordinator at LifeCare had a birthday a few weeks ago and requested something lemony to celebrate.  I searched quite a bit and decided on Lemon Cheesecake Squares.  I have to say, I'm my biggest critic when it comes to the things I make, but these are darn good!  I almost couldn't get these out of the house and to work without gobbling them up.

I used butter instead of shortening for the crust.  In my opinion, cheesecake crust MUST have butter.  Yummy.  Not so good for the waistline - Sorry! 

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
• FILLING:
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Combine the flour, oats and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Press dough into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Spread with jam.
2. For filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until fluffy. Add the eggs, lemon juice and peel just until blended. Carefully spoon over jam. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and store in the refrigerator.  

One Last Thing: I got a pile of cards and letters from a women's small group.  I don't know any of the women who wrote these words of encouragement to me, but it really touched me.  If you're reading this blog, thank you.  I've read them several times since I got them in the mail.