Libby’s Lines

It has been a stressful few weeks. Issues at church, getting ready for school to start for the kids, car trouble, etc. However, I’d like to talk about church.

When things first got bad, I reacted very harshly. I regret it and deleted the blog entry and wrote an apology. However, I don’t want to recant so I deleted the apology. I am sorry for the way I reacted, however, the issues remain.

And there are issues, for more than just me and my family. There is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed openly, otherwise I don’t believe things can change for the church. And if things don’t change, I don’t see how the church can really grow and have a positive affect on the surrounding community. And isn’t this the goal? I believe so and I believe it truly is the goal of the church family and it’s leadership.

Being rebuked is not easy but Proverbs 9:8-9 says:

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

This is why there is room for dissent in the church. If there weren’t, we wouldn’t have the church as we know it today. But, I do not have the finesse or skill to dissent in the way it should be done (I am too emotional), so I am praying for those who do. My prayer is not for anyone to be punished, just that things would be brought to light, confronted, lessons learned and growth started.

Hi, in a post I deleted, I also deleted my chicken salad recipe. Sorry. Here it is, again:

Libby’s Chicken Salad

Chicken Breasts, cooked, cooled and chopped (or shredded)
Onion, diced small (approx. 1 t. per chicken breast)
Celery, diced small (approx. 1 t. per chicken breast)
Carrots, diced small (approx 1 1/2 t. per chicken breast)
Grapes, cut in half or quarters (approx. 2 T. per chicken breast)
Pecans, chopped (approx. 2 T. per chicken breast)
Mayonnaise (must be real mayo), approx. 2 T. per chicken breast)
Dill Pickle Juice, to taste (offsets some of the sweet from the mayo)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Mix everything together, to taste. I like my chicken shredded instead of chopped, but, you should make this your own to how you like it. I have given some approximate measurements, but still engourage you to add more or less depending on the flavor you want for your chicken salad.

Two things that are a must are the Dill pickle juice and the Real Mayo. I use Kraft Real Mayonnaise. If you use salad dressing (Miracle Whip), it will completely change the flavor. And if you use sweet relish it will drastically change the flavor as well.

I really like a lot of pecans and grapes. That sweet and nutty crunch is great.

Have fun with and make it your own.

Peppers. Hot sauce. Spicy.

Some of my favorite words. My husband and I have been receiving gifts of peppers: jalepeno, hot banana and now habenero. We used some of the jalepeno peppers to make a green sauce with onion and peach jelly added. It turned out to be a really nice marinade with a slow burn. It needs some tweeking before it will be a good sauce. Then, we used the hot banana peppers with a couple of hungarian wax peppers to make a red sauce. Quicker burn and pretty good pepper flavor.

Now we have habeneros. We’d like to continue working on a hot sauce that has a ton of pepper flavor with just a nice amount heat to it. Our goal is flavor not pain.

I think we are going to take small amounts of the two we have already made and try different additions with them, including adding the two together. In any case, the process is fun (and tasty) and I look forward to the eventual outcome.