I tried this recipe today and was pleasantly shocked delighted at how good it came out!

Gluten free baking can often be a bit of trial and error, but this recipe just WORKS. Plus, this was after I did some major substitutions for the butter, eggs, and milk.

I’ve also been trying to reduce my sugar intake lately, so I reduced the sugar by quite a bit. If you like things very sweet, add more sugar, but the natural sweetness of the apples and the minimal amount of sugar tastes excellent to me!

The texture was more of a very light coffeecake, perfect for breakfast as well.

I didn’t have my camera with me when I tried this recipe, so the image shown is from Betty Crocker. But I’m happy to say, my version looked almost exactly like the one pictured.

You can have God’s Word on your computer all the time, thanks to this beautiful new desktop wallpaper from DuoParadigms.

Melanie’s beautiful typography design perfectly accents Romans 11:33:

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33

For all the available sizes, download the wallpaper over at DuoParadigms.

This coming Thursday marks the National Day of Prayer, a very special day in the life of our country.

As we quickly approach a pivotal election, Christians around our land desperately need to seek our Father’s face for wisdom, direction, and above all, mercy and healing.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

The National Day of Prayer tradition predates the founding of the United States of America, evidenced by the Continental Congress’ proclamation in 1775 setting aside a day of prayer. In 1952, Congress established an annual day of prayer and, in 1988, that law was amended, designating the National Day of Prayer as the first Thursday in May.

This year’s theme, “One Nation Under God”, is based on Psalm 33:12 which reminds us that “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

For more resources and information about the National Day of Prayer, or info on how you can attend a prayer event in your area, visit www.nationaldayofprayer.org.

If you had to place a value on a person’s soul, how much do you think it would be worth? $100 dollars for someone on death row? $350,000 dollars for a cardiologist who saves lives on a daily basis? $350-550 (the average cost of a first trimester abortion) for an unborn child?

Scary thought, this attempt to place a figure on the worth of a human soul. But sadly, it’s something that we—and I include myself—do sometimes subconsciously.

I found myself thinking about this earlier today as I was out grocery shopping. One of my favorite hobbies is couponing, and although my efforts pale in comparison to the folks on the famous TV show, I’ve been able to reel in some fun hauls. This morning I had my sights set on raiding the HEB shelves of Cinnamon Chex (love the stuff), Randalls of Ken’s salad dressing, and a bunch of other great deals.

As any serious couponer will tell you….it’s all about the numbers. We know how to pinch a quarter till you hear the eagle scream, so every. single. penny. counts. Especially, when you’re on a cash-only budget, planned out within an inch of its margins.

So this morning, right as I hit my first stop, I saw one of the regular clerks at the store sacking groceries. I don’t think his English is very good, but he has always had a smile to share with me as he has bagged my items. Today, after I finished checking out, he came outside a few seconds behind me. He saw me loading up all my loot into the back of the car, and kindly walked over to help me out.

Now, I’d love to be all virtuous and tell you that the first thing that crossed my mind was “WOW, what a perfect opportunity to share my faith with this nice man.”

But sadly, no.

My thoughts were turned to more earthly matters . . . like “OH GREAT. Now I’ve got to tip him. Rats. That’s totally going to mess up my budget.”

I figured I could try to make up the difference somewhere else along my route, so I grabbed a few extra bills out of my purse, along with a tract, and thanked him for his help. With a big smile and a nod, he shuffled away and I hopped in the car.

Suddenly, as I started the car up, I heard God speaking to me in that gentle, guiding voice I’m still learning to recognize as I go through life. It was as if God tapped me on the shoulder, shook His head patiently, and said, “Aaress, how can you place a price tag on the soul of a person? Wasn’t that man worth a few dollars?”

Talk about convicting.

How many times do we let a few dollars get in the way of listening to God?

Instead of obeying God and sponsoring a hungry child for $20.00 a month, we instead rationalize how we positively NEED our Chipotle or Starbucks fix each week. A summer mission trip doesn’t quite seem worth the $2,000.00 it will cost, yet for some reason, a vacation to Disney World for $4,000.00 seems like a bargain. Or after an event like a Bible Club or Vacation Bible School, do we subconsciously find ourselves doing the math afterward to see if the number of kids who got saved divided neatly into the cost of the electricity or air conditioning?

Praise God that He didn’t do the math before coming to earth to save each of us. He could have easily calculated how many times a week I turn my back away from heeding Him and decided that I just wasn’t worth the price of redemption.

It does not matter to God whether a life is on death row for committing an unspeakable crime, or whether it is the life of a tiny unborn infant, who might have been the result of an “unwanted” pregnancy. There is no such thing as an unwanted life. Man might not have wanted it to be born, but the Savior of the world, the Creator of the universe, the Redeemer of all mankind values each life as something beyond measure.

I am priceless. You are priceless.

It’s about time we started treating those around us as being priceless too.

[photo credit: Tracy O]

I have been craving oatmeal for a few days. Now, when it comes to cravings, I’ve been known to crave weird things, but this was pretty random, even for me. I never liked oatmeal as a kid—and I’d only touch oatmeal if it were in a granola bar, cookie, or apple crisp.

But, not surprisingly, now that I can’t have regular oatmeal, my fancy’s taken to wanting it again. Go figure.

So after pondering how I could satisfy this craving, I remembered seeing gluten-free oats, available from Bob’s Red Mill. I’d never tried them before, but thought it would be worth a try.

For my first gluten-free oats experiment, I decided to make cinnamon apple oatmeal cookies. I wanted something that could double as a breakfast cookie, perfect for those mornings on-the-go, but also sweet enough to pass for a cookie with a bit more sugar. I found this excellent recipe online and came up with a gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free version. If you want it to be more suitable for breakfast, try reducing the brown sugar by 1/4 cup.

What a WONDERFUL wedding idea!

Today I did something I’ve never ever done before in my life. I bought an entire music album online after listening to less than 30 seconds of one track.

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but for someone who could be legendary for her buyer’s remorse (even over digital music purchases), this is a huge deal. Normally, even the smallest of purchases online often requires a few hours minutes of research.

But today I turned over a brand new leaf.

Around a dozen years ago, I had the amazing experience of watching Michael W. Smith perform selections from his instrumental album Freedom live, backed by the Houston Symphony. It was an evening I’ve never forgotten. Over the years, I’ve often wondered if Smitty would ever release another instrumental album, as although he is most popular for his vocal work, Freedom was his most loved album.

Today while browsing on Amazon, I stumbled across the answer to my 12-year wait. How it slipped past me when it was released last fall, I’ll never know!

Glory is the long-anticipated sequel to Freedom and features twelve new original compositions. So far, I’ve listened to it a couple of times and after comparing it to how much I like Freedom, I’d have to say that it is close. Really close.

“I’ve said many times that Freedom is my favorite record, so I’m very excited to be releasing my second instrumental record,” said Smith. “I think the people that enjoyed Freedom will love this one; and I actually think some of the unique musical twists this project is taking will open it up to a whole new audience as well.”

Here’s a sneak peek at three of my favorites so far, “Glory Overture”, “Redemption”, and “The Tribute/Agnus Dei”.

Recorded with a 65-piece orchestra at London’s prestigious AIR Studios, Glory was arranged by Smith’s longtime friend David Hamilton and features a moving collection of original music. Included on the album, produced by Smith, are “Glory – The Overture,” “The Patriot,” “Heroes,” “Whitaker’s Wonder,” “Redemption,” “Atonement,” “The Romance,” “The Tribute” and a larger-than-life symphonic version of “Agnus Dei.”

“When I work with an orchestra I feel like I’m in my element,” said Smith. “I often think of the film ‘Chariots of Fire’ and the famous quote by the film’s hero Eric Liddell. He says, ‘when I run I feel His pleasure.’ This statement encompasses my experience when I work on instrumental music. When I’m able to see sweeping melodies and epic, cinematic songs come to fruition, it’s like I am offering a prayer to our Father in Heaven.”

Unlike Freedom which has a few random selections that I normally skipped because of the rock beat, I really enjoyed that this album was so beautiful and sweeping that I never even thought about skipping one song. You can purchase the CD or MP3 versions of Glory from Amazon or wherever music is sold.

This past weekend I had the wonderful privilege of participating in an Inner Princess conference in Centerville, Texas.

As the conference began to draw closer last week, I started to focus more on a session I was doing called You, Me, and Cookie Dough, which was about how God doesn’t make cookie cutter Christians. I taught this same session almost a year ago at another Inner Princess, but for some reason, I felt like God was changing its direction.

As I prayed, God once again proved Himself strong by sharing with me a fun and practical analogy of how baking cookies is a lot like the process God takes us through in our own lives. Here’s a quick look at the session notes that went along with my sugar cookie making demonstration:

Mixing Up the Ingredients

photo credit: sinksanctity

As you start mixing up your cookie dough, you’ll find that you need to use lots of different ingredients. God takes bits and pieces from family traits, combines them all and creates YOU. For example, you might have your father’s eyes, your mom’s love for math, or your grandmother’s red hair. “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” Psalm 139:14-15

A Lump of Dough

photo credit: Hello Turkey Toe

Now — you COULD eat the dough just like it is, but it’s not what it was designed for . . . because even after cookies are mixed, there’s still more steps. In the same way, even though we might be alive and here on earth, God’s not done with us yet. Some days, we might think that we’ll never be finished and just be doomed to being a lump of useless dough in society, but God has a special promise for us in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Rolling Out Your Dough

photo credit: ginnerobot

So now that we’ve decided to keep going with our cookie baking, instead of quitting, the next step requires some PRESSURE! In the same way, God has to mold and stretch us out too. This time of stretching and pulling is painful, but God does it to make us stronger.

Cutting Out Your Cookies

photo credit: SarahInDisguise

So now that we’ve got the dough all rolled out, it’s time to cut it out. You know in our lives, God has to cut sin out so that we can prepared for His use. Often, this time when God corrects us and shows us sin in our lives is painful, but He only does it cause He loves us. “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Hebrews 12:5-6

Decorating Your Cookies

photo credit: OakleyOriginals

Okay, now that we have our cookies all decorated, it’s time to have fun and decorate them!

Did you know that God decorates us too? You see, after He’s done cutting out the sin, He fills up all the empty space with beautiful things! How many of you have heard of the Fruits of the Spirit? Can anyone name a few?

God wants to add things to our lives, things that will make us beautiful. There’s nothing more beautiful than a gal who is full of Christ and His gifts, like LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, AND SELF-CONTROL.

Baking the Cookies

photo credit: OakleyOriginals

What’s the last step in cookie making? The OVEN! You have to turn up the heat to get the cookie to turn out just right.

Guess what — in our lives, even when we’re tempted to think that God’s almost finished, we still have to go through the fire. God never promised that the Christian life would be easy, but He did promise to stay with us through the rough times. As you go through fiery trials of life, never ever forget that God is with you.

photo credit: E. E. Piphanies

Once you come through the fires, you’ll discover that like the sprinkles, God’s fruit in your life (the Fruits of the Spirit) didn’t even melt. Job 23:10 says “But he (God) knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

As you can see from the cookies, this whole experience takes time — and it takes PATIENCE. I want to encourage each of you girls to keep your eyes on God through the trials of life and allow Him to mold and design you into the person He has called you to be.

You’ll never ever regret letting God make you into His perfect image, and we will be able to say like David in Psalm 17:15 that I shall be satisfied when I awake with THY likeness.

What happens when the lives of a prostitute, a foreigner, a melodramatic widow, and a wealthy bachelor all intertwine into one mesmerizing story? You get one of the most redemptive and beautiful stories in all of literature.

There’s a lot I love about the Bible, but one of my all-time favorite books is the Book of Ruth. I simply adore this story—and I wish it was longer than four chapters as there are so many other details about the characters that I would love to know, but I guess that’ll have to wait for Heaven.

I’ve read Ruth countless times and each time, it seems I come across something new and different. Over the years, God has used this book to teach me truths about patience, genuine love, compassion, loyalty, and so much more.

Needless to say, when I found out that one of my latest classes was a study of the book of Ruth, I was quite thrilled. I couldn’t wait to see how God was going to use this Bible study in my life!

One of my favorite authors, Max Lucado, has such a amazing gift for word pictures and I love how he introduces the book of Ruth. Consider this the Cliff Notes’ version for four wonderful chapters that will change your perspective on how God can make beauty out of ashes.

Here is a play with four characters.

Character number one is a prostitute.

Character number two is her son. By the time we meet him he is wealthy, powerful and single. (We wonder if his bachelorhood has anything to do with being the son of a prostitute.)

Character number three is a foreign widow in a clannish culture. Everything about her is different. Speaks with an accent. Wears a different name. Eats different food. Has a different way. Her only friend is her mother-in–law who happens also to be a widow and happens to be:

Character number four. She is older than the first widow. Too old to have kids. When her two sons die and her husband dies, she is left alone. With only a foreigner as a friend.

Four people. Each rejected. Each alone. Four frazzled strings in the bottom of the knitting basket. Left untouched, awaiting the toss of the master weaver. But he doesn’t discard them.

He picks them up and weaves them together.

The result? The unmarried son of the prostitute meets the foreign widow who left her homeland to accompany her mother-in–law. The mother-in–law recognizes the bachelor as a relative and urges her daughter– in–Law to make her self available. She does, the two marry, and the single bachelor has a wife – the young widow has a husband and the older widow has a grandson and we have a story of providential romance.

Such is the story of Ruth.

You’ll recognize her as the younger widow. The older is named Naomi. Boaz is the son of the prostitute. And the prostitute? Well she isn’t mentioned in this book. But she is mentioned in of all places, the Gospel of Matthew.

Read the words in the parentheses of Matthew 1:5. Go ahead and flip over there, I’ll wait for you. Matthew 1:5 And Salmon begat Boaz of Rachab;

Did you see it? Salmon was the farther of Boaz. (Boaz’s mother was Rahab.)

Who would have thought? A harlot on Jesus’ family tree. But these kind of things happen in the Bible. Aren’t we glad they do? Aren’t we glad the Master Weaver has a place in His plan for each of us?

I attended Muslim class a few weeks ago. Needless to say, it was quite the experience.

Before you think I’ve literally lost my religion, I’ll explain. A pastor friend of ours and his wife have a wonderful ministry to an impoverished community in our area, and as part of their ministry, they are hosting a class on how to reach the Muslim community around us. Teaching the class is a former missionary couple to Tatar Muslims in the Ukraine.

The two hours I spent there were challenging—and eye-opening. I realized just why so many Christians have failed to effectively share their faith with those in the Islamic communities and was encouraged to learn more about how I can help reach them for Christ. Here’s a quick look at a few things that stood out to me:

Don’t Slap Their Faces

The quickest way to build up a wall in the spirit of a Muslim you are trying to reach is to insult their culture. Muslims are very sensitive to the traditions of the past and by making light of their culture, you will shut them off completely to the possibility of developing a relationship with you.

Muslims are peaceful, Islam is not.

The majority of Muslims are peaceful people. However, Islam is not a religion of peace. Fortunately for the rest of the world, most Muslims don’t know the depths of their religion and are what has been termed “nominal” Muslims. They may sound devoted to the old ways of their forefathers, but many of them don’t even regularly attend mosque. (Kind of like Christians that go to church on Christmas and Easter.) Guess what — these are some of the easiest Muslims to reach for Christ!

Muslims can put many Christians to shame when it comes to love and compassion.

The Muslim community is a culture of welcoming love. Muslims treat their acquaintances like most of us Westerners treat our family. Because of their welcoming environment, they are winning converts at an alarming rate. When they say they will take care of you….they really mean it.

Can the same thing be said of us Christians? We are often quick to talk about God’s unconditional love, but we don’t live this love out with the people who are sitting in the pews behind us.

“The neediest person you meet all week may be the one sitting behind you in worship service.” Max Lucado

Witnessing to Muslims takes TIME.

Witnessing to a Muslim is not a one-evening project. Because of their culture of building relationships, you must be willing to build a relationship with them to reach their souls. It’s been said that realistically, it can take about two years to win a Muslim to Christ. If you are serious about reaching them for Christ, be prepared to invest great compassion, great patience, and great love.

Share with Muslims that Jesus is the Word of God.

Muslims are resistant to the concept of Jesus being the Son of God, however, they have a deep respect for the Word of God and consider it to be eternal. Make the connection of Jesus being the Word of God and challenge them to read John 1.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States and as Christians, we can no longer ignore the mission field around us.