awestruck.

"And the Lord said to Job:
'Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.'
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
'Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further." || JOB 40:1-5 ||

This particular passage of Scripture has been on my mind all week; literally. The context of these verses is absolutely beautiful, and if you want to, read chapters 38-42. After Job receives bad advice from his friends, who saw suffering solely as a result of one's sin, he finally hears some sound advice; from the Lord himself. The Lord asks Job many questions for the purpose of giving Job a proper perspective on his own state, and the Lord's magnificent and indescribable glory. 
"Can you life up your voice to the clouds, 
that a flood of waters may cover you?
Can you send forth lightenings, that they may go
and say to you, 'Here we are'?"  ||JOB 38:34-35|| 


After all of this questioning, Job is reduced to silence, seen in chapter 40 verses 1-5. The whole picture of Job laying his hand over his mouth, because he now realizes he was wrong to question God, is absolutely amazing to me. Its a picture of humility and contrition. In going through trials or circumstances that are difficult, I pray that this would be my response; weighed down and silenced by the utter power of the Lords complete, infinite, cosmic power. w o w.
How often do i lose sight of this perspective! And the Lord has definitely been quick and extremely gracious to me by always showing me his sovereign hand and His perfect character.  
"Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" ||Job 2:10a||
Genesis 3:18 talks about 'thorns and thistles' that will come as a result of the fall. Both literal thorns, and those thorns that are trials, hardships, heartbreak, and despair. But I forget this so often; that all comfort was lost in the fall. Once sin entered the world, comfort was lost, and only the Lord can bring it back; by giving Himself to us, although I am a wretched worm, undeserving of any sort of 'favor' or grace from the Lord. And Psalm 62:6 says "He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken."
The Lord is our only source of comfort. There have been times where i have literally felt similar to the description in Psalm 32:4b "My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer."Times where the only thing I have had to cling to was the Lord, and he has faithfully been there, comforting me, leading me back to the cross, hiding me in the shadow of His wing, and protecting me as ONLY he is capable of  doing. And he did all of this for someone who hated him, sinned against him, and who's sin nailed him to the cross. Amazing. I don't understand it one bit apart from Gods grace; He would have been equally as just and perfect if He had allowed me to burn in hell the first day I was born. 
With that; ALL I can do is lay my hand over my mouth.

Garlic {Cheese} Bread

Bread and cheese are two of my favorite things. Put them together, and I'm sold. This recipe is sooooo yummy, and simple. I love it! Once again, I don't have any pictures; forgive me!

I N G R E D I E N T S:

~ 6 slices French or Artisan Pugliese bread

~ 1/4 C butter

~ 2 cloves garlic; pressed

~ 8 T fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese 

D I R E C T I O N S:

1. Place butter and garlic in a skillet over med-low heat. Cook for 15 minutes; stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, place slices of bread on a baking sheet, and place in broiler until the tops are slightly browned. (aprox. 3-5 minutes)

3. Remove baking sheet from over and turn bread slices over. Brush tops of bread with garlic butter, and sprinkle with 1 T or more of cheese. Place in broiler, and bake for about 2 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling. Remove and serve.

enjoy

xo 

B

{Chile Lime} Salmon

These past few weeks have been c r a z y, which is to blame for me not posting anything in a while! But hey, I'm not complaining! The Lord has been heaping blessings upon my head these past weeks, more than I ever could have thought possible; and definitely much more than I deserve!! In the midst of things I had a chance to make this dish a few days ago for the second time, and it is definitely a winner. Its a great marinade, and super simple to throw together!

I don't have any pictures though, because i had to make it on the run, and gobbled it up before the camera even had time to get out of my bag ;)

I N G R E D I E N T S 

~ 1 pound salmon fillets (tilapia works just as good too..)

~ 1/4 C olive oil

~ 1/4 C fresh squeezed lime juice

~ 2 T chopped fresh cilantro

~ 1 T minced garlic

~ 2 t chili powder

~ 1 t ground cumin

~ 1/2 t salt

D I R E C T I O N S

1. Pat salmon dry with clean paper towels. Place salmon in a 1 gallon recloseable bag.

2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour over salmon; seal bag. Gently toss to coat salmon. Refrigerated 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. (no longer than 2 hours; the citrus will begin to deteriorate the meat)

3. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil; spray with no-stick cooking spray. Remove salmon from marinade; discard bag. Place salmon, skin side down, on pan.

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees, until salmon flakes easily with a fork. (about 10 minutes per inch of thickness)

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." 

Zephaniah 3:17

Enjoy

xo

B

Creamy {Horseradish} Chive Bread

In my previous post I mentioned how I made this bread. I really enjoyed it, and its SUPER easy to whip up!

ingredients

~ 1 stick butter, at room temperature

~ 2 T horse radish

~ 2 T chopped chives

~ salt

~ 1 loaf of bread. (i used a loaf of artisan pugliese bread, but plain French bread works too :-)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Mash butter, horseradish and chives until smooth Stir in a pinch of salt. Slice bread, but not cutting all the way through the loaf. Spread mix on each piece, generously.

3. Wrap in foil, and bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

enjoy

xo

B