Posts by Kerry Weisser
Culture Intersects Truth
Time lines of history buzz through my brain colliding with present day experiences that bring biblical truth to life. As our incredible opportunity of walking on a two week journey following the footsteps of the apostle Paul is coming to its conclusion, my heart is filled with a new passion for examining how Biblical truth intersects with our present day culture. We have witnessed two cultures full of colorful people who have had a rich heritage throughout the centuries. We have learned how the God of the bible has made Himself know to these people groups and how the movement of the early church was spread through Asia Minor ( modern day Turkey) and Greece during the first century. This was in large part a result of the obedience of the apostle Paul and his zeal for spreading the gospel.
Early cave church from 4th century AD in Eastern Turkey
How am I going to take what I have learned home with me to be an influencer for truth? How can I help shape the culture that is moving so rapidly away from a Christian worldview?
I will be pondering these questions as I summarize my notes and reflect on my new knowledge and experiences. But for tonight, as I fall asleep and begin my journey back to the reality of real life at home, I will always remember this trip as a pivotal experience that strengthened my faith walk…….more lessons to come!
How can you be a messenger of truth in your circle of influence? How is God revealing himself to you in your culture today?
…
Read MoreCranberry, Date and Orange Crumbly Bars
Are you looking for a new twist to the typical fruit bar? This recipe is delicious and nutritious and full of fiber. You can take these to your next summer picnic for a tasty dessert or snack or serve them as a breakfast bar for a high energy “running out the door” breakfast. Store them in a tupperware in the refrigerator until ready to use but once you pack them to go they do not need to be refrigerated and they will be gone before you know it!
Ingredients
2 cups chopped dates
1 ½ cups fresh orange juice
1 cup dried cranberries
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
3 cups oats
3 cups flour (I used a combo of whole wheat, white-wheat and almond meal flour)
1 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups butter (I used 1 cup butter and ½ cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon water
In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup orange juice and dates and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir often so dates do not stick. Add remaining ½ cup orange juice, ⅔ cup dried cranberries and orange peel. Stir and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Cut in butter/coconut oil until a coarse crumbly mixture results. Press ⅔ of the crumbly mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread cooled date, orange, cranberry mixture evenly over cookie crumble base. Add remaining ⅓ cup dried cranberries to the oat mixture with 1 Tablespoon of water and mix thoroughly, to make topping. Sprinkle topping over date mixture and press down lightly. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden on top. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 24-30 …
Read MoreWellness Wisdom Campaign Revealed
Working together as a family on our Growing Weisser Blog has been a dream come true for me. Experiencing the joy of being included in my daughters’ lives is a privilege that I cherish. I love working with my daughters. I love sharing our passions, our hopes, our joys as well as our sorrows and disappointments. Having a vehicle like our Blog to work out the growing pains of life: raising children, adjusting to the newlywed years, developing a consistent faith walk, decorating on a budget, mastering meal planning and deciding what to cook for dinner….has been a refreshing way to share our lives with one another and with you, our followers.
Growing Weisser has decided to add a new dimension to our blog site. We will be starting a new campaign called “WELLNESS WISDOM“.
One of the newest passions in our family is learning about Nutrition, Health and Wellness. Our Cooking Wisdom posts have always tried to offer alternative, healthier ingredient options and we will continue this. As we introduce our “Wellness Wisdom” campaign we will also be providing more information to you in the form of downloadables. The first of our printables will be available this week. Some of our other ideas for the future include printables with lists of anti-inflammatory foods, another with calcium rich foods, maybe some of our favorite smoothie add-ins.
We have also become increasingly interested in some of the newest fitness models. We will be sharing our favorite DVD fitness programs with evaluations and best prices. We will keep you updated to the newest trends in fitness that we try and love and others that we try and are not fond of. We have so many exciting opportunities for health and wellness to share with you we can’t wait to get …
Read MoreGod Revealed……..
How does God REVEAL Himself to you?
We have an exercise in our women’s bible study that is part of our weekly routine. We call it sharing our LESSONS for LIFE.
As we work through the passages of scripture that we are studying for the week, we challenge each other to formulate new insights we are learning into real life practical applications for our lives. Some weeks we find encouragement to be brave, other weeks we learn more about the character of God or how to better serve Him in our daily lives. We have been challenged to look at how authentic our commitment to serving God has been. Are we just going through the motions or are we truly desirous of seeking Him with our whole heart and serving Him with our time, talents and treasures? Are we willing to be His messenger with His message of salvation for all who believe?
We talk about how our God is a God who wants us to:
Seek relationship NOT ritual
Have a heart of worship and service and a willingness to sacrifice…
Rend our Hearts and not our garments because life with God is all about our heart Desperately long for ways to honor and serve Him
This week as we gather together for our final meeting this year, we will share “God at Work” stories. We love to hear how our women’s lives have been impacted by our God, who REVEALS Himself to us through His Word the Bible. We will share how He has answered their prayers, how they have grown in their faith walk, what new insights they have learned that have impacted their lives…….
I keep a Blessings Journal, called “Choose Gratitude” and lately it has been filled with the ways God has REVEALED Himself to …
Read MorePeanut Butter Super Power Ball Snacks
Since we have been focusing on the the theme, REVIVED, I wanted to post a recipe I made for a girls weekend. This snack is easy to make, super delicious and extremely nutritious. These healthy treats store in the refrigerator or freezer for many days, even weeks. They are easy to take in a ziplock bag in your purse, or transport in a tupperware to an event.
This new recipe was based off of Bekah’s original Power Ball recipe with a few things added that will help you feel physically REVIVED!
You can find Bekah’s original recipe at the bottom of this post or click the link above.
We will call this newer version, Peanut Butter Super Power Ball Snacks.
Ingredients
1 cup natural peanut butter (I used creamy but you can use chunky)
2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
¼ cup flax seed meal
⅛ cup chia seeds
⅛ cup hemp seeds
⅓ cup chocolate protein powder
½ cup unsweetened coconut
½ cup raisins
½ cup mini chocolate chips
½ cup honey
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until wet ingredients are evenly distributed within the dry ingredients. With your hands, form 1-2 inch balls rolling until solid and firm. Place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet with sides. Place cookie sheet into refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until chilled and then transfer to tupperware. Makes 30-40 power balls.
- Ingredients
Growing Imagination and a Grand Adventure
Having a great imagination is a gift. Exploring the undiscovered experiences of make believe is an activity you can do with your children or grandchildren as a planned activity or on a whim. The world of imagination can turn an ordinary Saturday morning into a GRAND ADVENTURE.
Our culture is so programmed to think that the way to entertain children is to have non-stop activities planned out of the house on weekends. We shuttle our kids from one thing to the next and to make matters worse, we are drawn to fill up any spaces of in between activity time with video games , television shows, iPads, iPhones, tablets or electronic gadgets. I am not against all technology for kids but I do think there is a time and place for it and I do believe that parents should have a really good handle on the time allowed and monitor their children’s technology activities carefully.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of spending time with 4 of my fantastic grandchildren. Our GRAND ADVENTURE began with the building of a fort and with a tiny bit of creativity and few things from around their house we began an imaginary Pirate Adventure that will be in their memory for years to come. They could not wait to tell their mom all about it when she returned.
SIMPLE SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR PIRATE ADVENTURE
white computer paper
felt pens-sharpees and water color markers
crayons
scissors
tape
4 old fashioned clothes pins
4 colored scarves or pieces of cloth (we used rolled up t-shirts)
cardstock cut into any shape for pirate name badges
variety of healthy kid snacks-anything will do
favorite food prepared ahead of time so you do not have to stop the adventure to make their lunch
any kind of lunch box …
Chinese Chicken Salad Revived with a Healthy Twist
The beautiful evenings in spring invite a desire for lighter dinner options. This hearty dinner salad gives you a delicious option for those warmers nights as spring turns into summer. And with many folks wanting to get into better shape before the beach weather is here….this salad is worth adding to your repitoire of light and healthy dinner options.
Chinese Chicken Salad
2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded or cubed
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 head napa cabbage
2-3 cups chopped kale or spinach
3 stalks celery sliced thin
2 carrots peeled and sliced thin (you can spiral slice them with a messermeister peeler or a Paderno spiral slicer-see below)
1 zucchini sliced thin
3 green onions sliced
1 can water chesnuts sliced
1 cup toasted almonds or cashews chopped
1 jicama peeled and cut into small cubes
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 cucumber peeled and sliced (no need to peel if using english cucumber)
1 yellow or orange bell pepper cut into small chunks
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
Dressing
1 cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon honey
Cook chicken.
Shred or cut into cubes and mix with hoisin sauce.
Mix shredded napa cabbage, chopped kale or spinach, celery, carrots, green onions, water chestnuts, jicama, cilantro, cucumber and peppers in a large bowl.
Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.
Add chicken and toasted almonds (or cashews) and sesame seeds to greens.
Toss dressing into salad and mix thoroughly. chill and serve.
Serves 8-10
Curried Chicken and Brown Rice Salad Revived
Remember the old school Chicken and Rice salad that was served at many potlucks? I think it was made from a box of Rice-A-Roni and it had chicken, celery, pimentos and mayonnaise in it. Well the times have changed and so has that old school chicken and rice salad recipe…it has been REVIVED! Olive oil and lemon juice instead of mayonnaise and some other yummy ingredients added to the rice and chicken base and viola…a delicious and nutritious dinner salad that is sure to please!
Ingredients
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
½ onion chopped
2 ½ teaspoons curry powder (divided)
2 cups cooked long grain brown rice
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2-3 green onions sliced thin
½ cup raisins
1 medium apple (granny smith or fuji) cored, peeled and chopped
Dressing:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½-1 teaspoon sea salt
In a large pan over medium heat, add 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil, chicken pieces, chopped onion and ½ teaspoon curry powder. Saute until chicken is cooked, about 5-8 minutes. Cook brown rice according to package directions, allow 20-30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine brown rice with bell pepper, green onion, raisins and apple. In a small bowl, whisk 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, remaining 1 teaspoon curry powder, salt and pepper to make dressing. Add the cooked chicken and onion sauté to the rice. Add the dressing and combine thoroughly. Serve with pita or naan bread, hummus and a place on a bed of greens if desired.
Revived by My Own Challenges
Revive means to activate, set in motion or take up again, to renew……..As a verb, “to be revived” means to return to life, to restore consciousness or return to a flourishing condition.
During the past few weeks, I have felt like my life has become a 3 ring circus-or maybe a 5 ring circus. Each one of my passions I am currently involved in pursuing, increased in demands and time commitments. I found myself feeling like there were not enough hours in the day to get everything done. We had special birthdays and then the blessing of gathering for Easter which are always fun celebrations but for me and my schedule…it involves a 6-8 hour drive to these events. But how could anyone miss out on spending time with these precious people?
But of course these important events happened during my most important month of preparation for a speaking engagement I had volunteered for almost a year ago. My teaching topic was based on a life principle that I am totally committed to, so it didn’t surprise me that I was being challenged from every angle to live out the very thing I would be teaching on. I believe you are tested the most when you are taking risks and are willing to step outside of your comfort zone, but those tests…when passed and survived are the very things that “REVIVE” your life.
During this testing time, one of my 5 circus rings that had also increased in commitment level was my passionate involvement in our Growing Weisser blog. I am currently enrolled in a class with a few other bloggers to learn how to improve our blog by working SMART, CREATIVE, WISE and PRESENT! Our first assignment was to list our 5 top priorities in our life. So, in …
Read MoreCelebrating Bekah
Happy Birthday BEKAH!!! Today we are going to celebrate you! We LOVE you and are so blessed by the beautiful young woman you have become. As the baby of the family, you have been teased most of your life that you were spoiled…..but in reality you were irresistibly adorable. You were my little shadow and I cherish all the memories we have made together. Your sisters entertained you and you always giggled at their silliness. You wanted to be just like them as you grew up…….. it was easy for the entire family to spoil you because we had a lot of love to give you! You are creative, kind, organized, and know how to persevere to conquer every hardship. You are brave and courageous and you love and trust Jesus with all your heart. It is fun to be your mom! Happy Birthday, Bekah.
Her husband, Ashkon loves her so much and it has been a blessing to share Bekah with him, for LIFE!
We love your enthusiasm for all things Christmas and this year you hit a home run with your tacky sweater party outfits….chair back covers turned into vests!
We are so glad that you have moved back to the states so you can participate in family gatherings!Bike riding through your new community is a fun past-time for you and
We went on a lovely hike this past weekend and enjoyed God’s beautiful creation.
Bethany wrote you a tribute: “Bekah is a joyful spirit , a refreshing light, a steadfast friend, a compassionate giver, and a creative dreamer. She loves to bless other people through her creativity and her thoughtful gifts. She loves her friends and family with her whole heart. She is always so busy giving to others that it’s nice to be able to celebrate …
Read More