Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Pie

Swirly Pumpkin Pie?...why yes.  It sounds lovely...

Well now that we're all in the thick of Thanksgiving prep I thought it be good to share this with y'all.  I make this baby every year....I absolutely love it. I first made it a few years back because I was looking for a little twist on regular pumpkin pie.  I've always felt that pumpkin pie needed a little more body...and the cream cheese in this baby give it just that plus it makes it so pretty too!  If your feeling adventurous or just want a little something extra in your pumpkin pie give it a whirl. You'll love it. It's a thanksgiving staple at my house. :D

Ingredients:

1 9oz (extra servings) ready made Graham cracker crust

(You can also use two regular size 6oz crusts if don't find the "extra servings" crust or you can make yours from scratch...whatevs...I like to use the store bought...it's cheap and cheerful...less mess :D)

3 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened)

1 cup sugar (divided use)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (use real vanilla extract..not "imitation"...yes it makes a difference)

3 large eggs 1 cup canned pumpkin (not canned pumpkin pie mix)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
1. Make sure all your ingredients come to room temperature before mixing them.  This will prevent the filling from becoming lumpy. nobody

2. In a large bowl mix on medium speed with electric mixer the cream cheese, 3/4 cup of sugar, and the vanilla until well blended.

3. Add one egg at a time, mixing the batter in between each egg just until blended.

4. Once blended separate 1 and 1/2 cups batter and set aside in a small bowl.

5. Add to the remaining batter the canned pumpkin, 1/4 cup of sugar, and pumpkin pie spice and stir to combine ingredients.

6. Pour pumpkin mixture into crust(s) (if using two divide the batter equally among both)

7.Dollop cream cheese mixture on top of pumpkin batter in several places on pie.

8. To create the swirl effect you can use a toothpick or butter knife.  Drag the knife without disturbing the crust across the pie from left to right and right to left alternating with each line.

9. Bake for about 50-55 minutes (40-45 minutes for two regular size pies) at 325degrees Fahrenheit.  The center will be a little jiggly when you take it out of the oven.

10. Cool pie completely on a wire rack and then refrigerate for at least four hours but over night would be best. Serve with some Cool Whip ;) and enjoy your sweet creation. Happy Baking! :)

Here they are fresh out of the oven.  Ready for Thanksgiving :D

Phil Wickham Concert :)



Loved the lanterns and rugs on the stage...



A few weeks backs a couple of friends and I went to a Phil Wickham concert.  I had seen his brother Evan Wickham in concert before but I had never been to one of his.  I loved every minute of it.  I could hardly contain myself about being able to go see Phil Wickham live and worship God!  Phil was awesome.  It's so awesome to see how anointed he is.  Amazing.  The Lord moved so beautifully.  I love the feeling one gets when worshiping God.  There's nothing else like it; to experience that disconnect with the world and only have that direct connection with God...simply beautiful. He sang a good mix of songs from his older CD Cannons and his newer on Heaven & Earth.  I'll post up some of my favorite songs another time for you guys.  For now here are some pics of the night. Sorry for the blurryness...my camara was broken at the time so I could only take pics with my phone. God bless!

We had awesome seats :)

We took pictures "with" him...lol





Thumbs up!!

Thanks Phil you rocked!!!

Give God What's Right Not What's Left

Hi Guys! So I know I've been sort of slacking on blogging. I feel badly about that but I've realized something...I can't wait for the time to appear but I must MAKE the time.  There will always be things in the way that will seem "urgent" and/or "important" that will in essence distract me.

(Luke 9:23) Following the Lord is a daily responsibility which involves the subordination of my desires and will to His. For this is to take place effectively, we need daily time with Him, waiting at His thrown.

The Lord has really been speaking a lot to me lately and I feel as though I should share but I warn you this might seem random and all over the place...lol.

I'm always kind of scared to do that because...I guess in essence it shows my weakness..(and I really hate to be looked at as weak....not that I feel I should be or am "Super woman"..it's just a thing I have...I'm not entirely sure why)...but I've learned that in my weakness He is strong....
I really understand  now that now..In my weakness God's strength is made strong...wow.  It shows us how much greater and grander the Lord.  Once again the Lord showed me that for those who love Him...everything stems from Him and for his Glory....Think about that...everything.  The good and the "bad".  Nothing comes to pass in this life with out it passing by God first.  If it happens...good or bad...It's because He allowed it to.  To help us grow in our walk with Him, to draw us nearer...but most importantly of all it's for Him to be glorified.(Romans 8:28) But anyways..getting back to what I was saying...
I've been feeling lately like there is no time for anything.  In this race we call life (especially this day in age) it seems as though there are not enough hours in the day to do all that is needed, wanted, or expected of us.  Many times I've gone to bed feeling overstimulated and exhausted by life in general.  I would wait until the end of the day to "spend time" with God because that's the time I had "made".  But in analyzing it now; I wasn't really making that time with God.  I was actually giving him what was left of my day not what was right.  Many times I would fall asleep and wake up the following day feeling like I had cheated the Lord in someway because I couldn't even stay awake for ten minutes reading his word at night.  My day would be filled with getting "urgent" and/or "important" things done but never really feeling like I was accomplishing anything.  There was never enough time.  Always rushing, Always racing.  After a while I started to realize my neglect of spending quality time with God was effecting my state of mind.  In essence I was starting to starve spiritually and I was was dying inside.

In my realization of this I wanted to feel some relief from the craziness of life.  I realized I must decide what is truly essential in life and what is not.  I always use to use the excuse that "If I didn't have to work...I would "find" the time"...ha! Lies!! I know this because on days that I would stay home I would still fill my day with other "important" things like laundry or cleaning or whatever else needed to get done in the house.  This happened repeatedly.  So who was I fooling ? No one but me. Yes, they were necessary things or chores (in it of themselves)but were they imperative or urgent? Certainly not.  Our time In prayer, reading his word, fellowship, etc with God..above all else is important.  It's literary your water for life...your bread..your manna from God.  It will sustain you all the days of your life.

(Mathew 6:11) It shows our need of God's sustenance is daily as is also our need of prayer for God's supply.

So, here's what I learned...

Things that we see as urgent are not necessarily important.  Things that are important are not always urgent.

SELAH!  THINK ABOUT THAT!  PONDER ON THAT!

(Psalm 68:19) God is committed to our care, deliverance and direction (1 Peter 5:6-7) He is our burden bearer, but our need is to learn to take our burdens to the Lord daily.

Ask the Lord to prioritize your day.  Let Him lead you in all you do and you will start to see what "time stealer's/wasters" you've been paying way too much attention to and seemed "urgent" but in actuality weren't.  Remember that the enemy's entire game is to distract us as believers.
.

(Proverbs 8:34) In humble submission to His sovereign purpose; blessing is promised to those who listen but the listening that leads to blessing is a daily matter of waiting on the Lord as our master and Provider.


God Bless!! :)

The Most

This is a clip from a movie that is titled "The Most"

 I thought it was a good example of  the love that is spoken of in John 3:16.  Get the tissues ready! you're going to need them...it gets me every time.

"For God SO loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. " - John 3:16 &17

For more information on the movie click HERE

God Speaking

Musical Muse: God Speaking
By: Ronnie Freeman

I love this song! I had to post it after my last post..ha ha :) How true it is that God can use anything or anyone to speak to us. We need only to incline our ear and listen to what He's saying. God bless!