A NOTE TO MY DEAR READERS...

No fancy pictures, or colorful font...just some plain talk today!

Today is my last post here at StoneGable.

Sorry, this is so sudden. But when God tells you to move, we better move! And I am a little slow in listening!

Moving from this blog is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I love it so! But I maybe love it too much! 

Some of you know that I am a bible teacher and a Christian speaker and I feel this is the real reason God has put me here on earth. My real purpose is to speak God's love, salvation and Word into the lives of others. Sometimes blogging has gotten in the way of doing that! More and more of my time has been given to blogging and less and less to the God I serve. More of my worth and affirmation, as of late, has come from blogging and my worth as a precious, desired and adored child of God has seemed a little less bright. How foolish of me!

It should be an easy decision... to obey God. God says it, we do it! But sometimes it is very painful, even if we know that God is always right... that He loves us more than we could ever imagine or think. He tells us that HE has a plan for our live. A good plan with a good outcome! I believe that with all my being and want to be in the mainstream of that plan. I don't want to go it alone, be out of His will or miss this good plan and all the blessings that go along with it. I am all in! I belong to Him!

For sometime now I have know that my focus has been too much about my blog and not enough about His plan. So I am not off-roading any longer! I am getting on the right path. As hard as it is, I know that the path God has planned out for me is where my blessings are... and where I will meet Him!

One last thing...

Thank you for your friendship!

The biggest joy of blogging is YOU... and is what I will miss most. Thank you for reading, supporting and being so very kind.

I wish you all a holy and blessed Christmas. May the Author of Christmas, Jesus, find His manger in your heart this year! I pray that your best Christmas gift this year is HIM!

With love from StoneGable,

Yvonne

CHILDREN TELl THE CHRISTMAS STORY~ SUNDAY SCRIPTURE

The Christmas Story...Told By God


At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decred that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was now obviously pregnant.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.


The Shepherds and The Angels

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among the, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angels reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior- yes, the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize hin by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of other- the armies of heaven- praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyonewhat had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Luke 2:1-20

UNLEASH THE POWER... OF THE SLOW COOKER!

We all have busy schedules... and cooking dinner is probably the last thing we want to think about! Especially at 5:00 pm!

A slow cooker can be a LIFESAVER at dinner time...

Make cooking dinner one less thing to take up your time and energy! Remember to use your best kitchen time saver... the slow cooker... also known as the crock pot!

Here, at StoneGable my slow cooker gets a workout weekly! As I am writing this my slow cooker is happily making stock from 2 chicken carcasses! It smells scrumptious!

Whenever I know that my day is hectic and it leaves me no time and energy to prepare a good meal I spend a little time on the early end of the day to get my meal going in the slow cooker!

Meals don't have to be boring or over cooked in your slow cooker! I have found a great slow cooker cookbook filled with upscale and richly flavored food! NOT YOUR MOTHER'S SLOW COOKER  COOKBOOK, by Beth Hensperger  is an ode to creative, delicious meals. She now has 5 fabulous cookbooks to help your slow cooker turn out the best dishes!!!! Amazon.com has great deals on these cookbooks!

Here are a couple of SG tips that will help you to utilize your slow cooker on those busy days in your life!

~ plan ahead... if you know you are going to have a long day plan ahead to make a slow cooker meal

~ have the ingredients of at least 2 go-to slow cooker meals on hand.  This gives you the option of throwing a meal in the slow cooker without a visit to the grocery store. A real time-saver!

~Prepare dinner the night before. Let dinner cook overnight, cool while you get ready for your day and pop the dinner into the frig before you leave the house. When you get home... just reheat! I love to wake up to all  the delicious smells working their magic in my kitchen!

Best SG Tip: brown meat, saute veggies and warm spices on your stove top first... before putting them in the slow cooker. This will make such a difference in the final taste of your meal!!!!

Here is a go-to list of StoneGable Slow Cooker Meals ..

~ Braised Short Ribs (one of my favs)

~Taco Cheese Soup

~ Chili (see Tuesday's menu)

~ Killer Fajitas
~French Onion Soup (see Sunday's menu)
~Smoky Pork Chili (another fav)
~Ham Tetrazzini (see Thursday's menu)
~Slow Cooker Ham And Bean Soup
~Beef And More Beef Barley Soup (see Sunday's Men)
~Broccoli Cheese Soup (see Sunday's Menu)
~Black Bean And Pumpkin Chili (see Sunday's Menu)
~Whole Chicken In A Crock Pot With Bonus Chicken Stock (see Friday's Menu)
~Chicken Cicciatore (see Saturday's Menu)
~Tamale Pie With Corn And Black Olives (see Saturday's Menu)
~ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
~Sausage And Peppers (see Sunday's Menu)
~ORANGE HOISIN CHICKEN (see Thursday's Menu)
~Beef Estofando (Spanish Beef Stew)
~Collard Greens (see Saturday's Menu)
~Classic Meatloaf (see Sunday's Menu)
~Holiday Beef Brisket (see Thursday's Menu~ I made this for Christmas dinner last year)







Remember to