Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Luscious Lemon Bars

Crumbs on the couch....


Crumbs on the counter....


Can only mean one thing....

Lemon Bars.

This recipe is easy easy easy and one of the many that I've stolen from a fellow seminary wife. I made these the other night for our Desiring God Bible study and got rave reviews! These arent your ordinary lemon bars, so dont come expecting some bright yellow jelly-like bars with powdered sugar on top (although I wont turn those down either!).

These yummy, creamy, crumbly lemon bars wipe the floor with the ordinary lemon bars.

They fart in the ordinary bars' general direction.

So make these the next time you need a quick & easy dessert! It wont fail you!

Lemon Bars
1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
8 oz cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine cake mix, 1 egg and oil until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of mixture for topping. In a 9x13 pan, pat the remaining mixture into the bottom, making a thin layer. Bake for 15 minutes. While baking, combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and remaining egg until creamy. Smooth over baked crust. Sprinkle on the crumbled topping. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into squares.


Or just wait until it's not blistering hot, forgo the squares and eat the entire pan of lemon bars while they're still warm. With skim milk of course.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!



Happy Easter Everyone!!! ALL praise and ALL honor and ALL glory be unto Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer!


Ps. Congrats EMILY on winning the S&D Giveaway.... shoot me an email ASAP with your choices and a mailing address! (hollie_mims@yahoo.com)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Three Hundred!

So I promised something wonderful and exciting for my 300th post, and I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I live up to my word!

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!
In celebration of the arrival of the Summer 2011 styles from Stella & Dot, I'm giving one lucky lady something fabulous and sparkly!!! I love Stella & Dot so much, I decided last fall to become an independent stylist. They have pieces for everyone! Gold. Silver. Sparkly. Simple. Classic. I have thoroughly enjoyed making some extra money letting the jewelry sell itself! Let me share some of my favorite pieces:

Petra.
This bracelet is the most versatile piece of jewelry you'll ever invest in. I wear it All. The. Time. And I get compliments on it EVERY time I wear it! Wear it with jeans and a cute top or with a dress and heels- it works with so much and adds some interest and attitude to an outfit! I love Petra!

The toujours bracelet is brand spankin new, is super cute, and is incredibly affordable! I cant wait to wear this beauty!


I could put pictures of the entire line up here! All the jewelry is of the highest quality and made with sterling silver and 14k gold. I cant say enough about the jewelry from Stella & Dot (can you tell?!). And soon enough, one very lucky lady will will $50 to spend on Stella & Dot Jewelry!!!!!

Are you salivating yet?! Here's how to enter: Visit stelladot.com/Hollie and look around. Then come back here and tell me what your favorite piece is! Easy peasy! (please also leave me an email address!)

Plus get a few extra entries!!!
1. Become a follower!
2. Blog/tweet/or facebook about a great ministry: Do Something Now: Haiti Rising (read all about it here.) Also, stay tuned for a blog all about Haiti Rising!

Entries will be accepted until Friday, April 22!


(want more than $50 to spend as you wish? Talk to me about hostessing a show! My hostesses have all received at least $250 in jewelry!)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Breath-taking.

The Lord, in all His great sovereignty never ceases to amaze me on a very personal level. He never fails to teach me when I ask for knowledge. He is always faithful to humble me when I seek to be more like Him. As Dr. Piper put it, God uses us and our circumstances to make much of Himself. Isnt that the business that God is in? Making much of Himself? And isnt that the only thing we can expect from the Creator of the Universe?

But are we so lost in the shuffle of life that we've lost sight of the miraculous fact that Creator God wants to use us to bring Him glory? That He wants to call our name?

In Acts 9, we learn of a man named Ananias. Sure, the big story, the awe-inspiring story from this chapter is that of Saul's conversion. If there's anyone who can ever say "God doesnt want me, because I've done bad things," then Acts 8 & 9 should be their proof that God can use anyone to accomplish His purposes. Even more than that, who would have ever anticipated that evil Saul would be transformed into Paul who found joy in his imprisonment and won nations over to Christ in his writings. As Louie Giglio put it last week, Saul experienced a 180 degree change in his life's trajectory. Saul was at one time persecuting and imprisoning Christians. He stood by and watched as Stephen was stoned to death- he in fact approved the execution! Fast forward 30 years and Paul can be found in prison stating "To live is Christ, to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21). What a miraculous and God-glorifying change that would have such a massive worldwide impact. Can you even begin to understand the measure of what God has done in this one circumstance?

Getting back to Ananias- he played a crucial role in this story as well.

"In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, 'Ananias!' 'Yes, Lord,' he answered." (v. 10)

Two things here: First off, lets get obvious. The God of the universe called Ananias by name. The Creator of all things called. out. to. him. We know this, because in the Bible, it's in red letters. Red letters = words of Christ. How cool would it be to see your name in red letters? God still calls to His people. He called to Ananias to be apart of His plan. This leads to #2 which is that Ananias says YES. Not "maybe" or "hold on" or "I dont know" or "let me pray about it". Just yes. He didnt know what God was calling him to, but was willing to go with it and said "Yes."

How much could we accomplish for the Kingdom of God if we were both (1) Listening for and anticipating God's call and (2) willing to say yes no matter the cost? What if we said yes? Not "maybe" or "hold on" or "I dont know" or (the ubiquitous church blow-off) "let me pray about it."

Now Ananias shortly learns that God was sending him to Saul. (The evil persecutor Saul) Nobody knew at the time that God had already visited Saul on the road to Damascus, so understandably, Ananias was fearful of his mission. Despite this (and with considerable encouragement from the Lord in the next few verses), he never backed down on his "Yes."

Fast forward: Ananias meets Saul and restores his sight. Paul later speaks of Ananias: "a devout man according to the law; well spoken of by all the jews who lived there, came to me and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight... The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.'" (Acts 22:12-15)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Glimpses

I'm still reeling from Passion 2011.

Trying still to process the weekend, my soul is overwhelmed and encouraged and overjoyed and burdened by Creator God.

"The Lord said to him in a vision, 'Ananias.' And he said, 'Yes, Lord.'" Acts 9:10b

You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of the dust.

Self will never satisfy a heart created for God.

If you let me live until tomorrow, you're getting Jesus. If you kill me, I get Jesus.
(Phil 1:21 paraphrased)

I'm not okay with knowing that the first time some people hear about God is from the Koran.

For You and You alone awake my soul to sing.
For the world to You love, Let your will be done in me.


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