I discovered that we don’t actually care for yogurt made with real vanilla extract (or homemade vanilla extract). We only like the yogurt flavored with vanilla powder. (This is what I had been using in place of vanilla extract for a long time when I first attempted the vanilla yogurt. After the first several batches, I ran out, and had to use regular vanilla extract.) The extract’s base leaves a weird aftertaste in the yogurt.
I meant to post this for Works for Me Wednesday, but I forgot to post it on Wednesday.
We have very dry (electric) heat in this house. It had been causing us some problems, so we bought humidifiers. I bought some cheap Vicks steam humidifiers, because I read that they kill more of the potential mold, etc. than the cool mist ones. (They do add a little more heat to the air, though, so we had to bump the settings on our heaters back a tad.) And I wanted one that did not take a filter, because who are we kidding – am I ever going to remember to change a bunch of humidifier filters on time? There is no way. So then we would be breathing mold or something and probably worse off than we were without the humidifiers. So I bought these, which were about $13 each, I think. We can run them for an hour or so in each bedroom at bedtime, and then it is plenty moist and we will run ourselves out if we keep them on (especially if we also close the doors). I wish they had on/off switches, though, as one is plugged in behind a dresser and it isn’t very easy to plug and unplug it every day.
But using humidifiers has certainly been working for us!
I think this might be the first time I’ve had difficulty writing a review because the book was too good! lol Really.
If you’re anything like me, you often find yourself torn between the admonition to “let go and let God” and the “take responsibility for yourself“ camps, knowing that surely there must be a balance but unable to quite find it. The Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness steps in to answer just that question: how do we balance God’s grace with our own responsibility?
The reason I have a hard time with this review is that there is so much here. The book is simply jam-packed with teaching, to the point that I really haven’t been able to assimilate it all yet and will have to read it again – at least once.
One of the early points Bridges makes, and a critical, underlying truth throughout the book, is that “your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” This is such a simple concept, and yet it’s such an essential one to get a really solid grasp on. Although we recognize that we are saved by grace, we often think as though we live by works, either falling into pride because we’re doing well or condemning ourselves mercilessly because we fall short. Instead, we need to recognize, by faith, that we live every day by grace. It is grace that equips us to do well and grace that catches us when we fall.
This essential need for God’s grace every day, and for continual reminders of the gospel that allows us to live by this grace, are the subject of the first half of the book. This might leave the reader thinking, “what about the disciplines? When are we going to talk about my role?” But this foundation is a necessary one.
The second half of the book talks about our responsibility in the pursuit of holiness, with one chapter devoted to each discipline, and all continually pointing back to the foundation of grace. The primary disciplines the author addresses are probably not the ones that first come to your mind when you think of “Christian disciplines,” although those disciplines are included within some of these final chapters. The discipline of commitment, the discipline of convictions, the discipline of choices, the discipline of watching, and the discipline of adversity are all covered.
As with Dr. Bridges’ other books, this one is biblically solid, meaty, convicting, and helpful on a practical level.
Definitely recommended!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
It occurs to me that in the immediate context of my last post, that probably sounds like a question about screen wallpaper! lol I am wondering, though, what you have on your actual, physical windows. What do you like/dislike about it?
Most of our windows currently bear whatever coverings they had in/on them when we moved in, and I’m trying to decide what to keep and what to swap out.
I love the idea of blinds. Regular white or colored plastic blinds aren’t my favorite, because they’re just lacking something aesthetically, in my opinion. But wooden ones, or bamboo or faux wood blinds, can be very pretty. And nothing compares to blinds for versatility. Not only can you raise or lower them, but you can open or close them. You can let in light but not let the neighbors see in. They’re just very practical, as far as that goes. But they’re a nuisance to clean and, more importantly, they’re a safety hazard for households with children, because of the cords.
Roller shades are okay – and avoid the cord issue – but they’re generally not very attractive, and we’ve learned that our children can break them in a hurry just by being a little too eager to look out the window.
So that leaves curtains, or something like Roman shades. (And don’t those have cords, too?)
So…what do you use? And why do you like it or dislike it?
What screen resolution do you use? (The width is the first, larger number.) Please vote!
(reading chronologically)
