May Our Thoughts Be Pleasing

What better way to start the day than a devotion that says to me "keep your mouth shut". Hmmm. I've been challenged in this area my whole entire 36-year life. When God reaffirms this statement (okay, so I paraphrased), it's time to pay attention.

 

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14

"A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly." Prov. 12:23

"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret." Prov. 11:13

I am thankful that I married a man that will listen to me ramble, raise his eyebrows when I've said too much, and be patient with me when I forget that I can be silent. I pray for the understanding to know that in all three of these times, I can be still. I also pray that the Lord keeps my idle words from springing forth. I hope that you find the strength with me not to blurt out folly.

God bless!
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Thirty-Second Blog

When I started this journey into cyberspace, I wanted to craft glorious stories of my daily life that would draw people in to read and read and read. Then I visited a few of my favorite blogs and found that I was looking for something but had to muddle through long (but funny or poignant) recollections of how the author had happened across whatever s/he was "selling", discovery of an amazing donut shop, the best bread recipe known to man, the secret to Olive Garden's salad dressing. Whatever it was was sorta buried. I didn't mind delving into a portion of their lives to get the goods, but three paragraphs later, I just wanted what I had come to find. That led me to believe that there's a shorter way to do this... three parts in 30 seconds. Part 1: Greet & intro, Part 2: Tell what you know, Part 3: The parting shot. The "glorious" part is difficult; three parts will be much simpler. And, Simpler is my new existence.

**Special Note: I'm sure I'll break my cardinal rule some days, but I solemnly vow to keep it simple to the best of my ability!

Simply Love a Latte

When your daily scripture starts out "Simply love", you know it's going to be a fabulous day! I simply love my God, my husband, my son and my life. I simply love to smile. What a great day!

Today, as I enjoy life, I enjoyed it with a wonderful (and inexpensive) homemade Chai Tea Latte. My new lifestyle (without paycheck but certainly not with a "job") doesn't afford me the luxury of my favorite latte. What's a girl to do? Make her own, of course.

Knowing that steamed milk is what makes it a "latte" as opposed to just tea with milk... I remembered hearing/reading/knowing to use a microwave to steam milk. The time to test it is simply now!

 

Chai Tea Latte
6-8 oz. water (leaving lots of room for additions)
4-6 oz. milk
1 Chai tea bag
3 sweeterner packets (or 2 teaspoons sugar)
2 mugs (1 smaller for milk & 1 large for water and final drinking)

Heat water for 2 minutes in a large mug that has plenty of head space. Place the tea bag in the mug and allow to steep about 2-3 minutes, depending on the desired tea strength, dunking the tea bag several times to get a full flavor.

Once your tea has brewed, remove the tea bags & add the sweetener.

 

In a separate mug, microwave the milk. This will steam your milk into a froth, start with 1 minute and then continue in 20 second intervals until you get the bubbles you are looking for around the top edge of the milk.

 

Add the milk to the tea, stir. It may be too hot to drink immediately, so be patient. Don’t scorch your mouth or you won’t be able to enjoy this luscious drink!

*If you prefer an iced beverage, pour the latte over whole ice cubes (not crushed, or you’ll get an instant watery latte). Be advised though, that since this beverage isn’t as thick as those made by baristas, adding ice will result in a thinner latte; for a thicker beverage, use whole milk.

*For a stronger, spicier Masala flavor, find a genuine Indian Masala tea blend. They can be found in ethnic markets or gourmet marts, such as Central Market or Sprouts.

I love a latte, and this is my favorite. If you try it, let me know how your version turns out!

With a Latte Love,

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