Celebrating Halloween?

I have long been conflicted about celebrating Halloween. I grew up not participating in Halloween in any way. I am perfectly fine with that and do not feel like I missed out at all. It was rather easy, in fact. We lived in the country and so no one came knocking on our door anyhow. Now my family and I live in town and I find there are more aspects to consider about Halloween. We have neighbors that are going to come knocking on our door whether we have our light on or not, I realized when we first moved in. That year I wasn't prepared and had to give out candy bars to our new neighbors. :) oops! Though I don't like Halloween, I do love to give. (It's one of my favorite things about Christmas.) So even before we had kids, we decided that we would definitely turn on our light and hand out candy and be friendly. We needed the opportunity to see our neighbors more! Now that we have a child of our own, the questions only grow. This year we will be handing out candy and if Millie would like to dress up, she can. I always loved dressing up as a kid. Halloween or not, imagination and dressing up is always encouraged at our house!
I will always be opposed to the dark, sinful aspects of Halloween. And for now, we choose not to go trick or treating.
Do you trick or treat? Do your kids? Did you as a kid?

Here are a couple articles from Focus on the Family president Jim Daly I've read recently on the subject..

Halloween and Christianity
Halloween: Trick or Treat or Abstain?
He makes some very good observations and the comments are also quite interesting, good and entertaining. :) 

Beauty of a NE sunset

Thursday Thoughts on Romans

Today I started reading through Romans via a reading plan on my YouVersion Bible app. It's supposed to be a 8 day plan. I am sure I won't finish in that short of a time frame but I intend to do at least a chapter a day.
I've always loved the book of Romans. There are so many bold verses! Paul speaks so strongly about Christ and what being a Christian is all about. He doesn't mince words.. my kinda guy. :) I was blessed to study Romans at Bible college and it only deepened my convictions. And I haven't read entirely through this book since then.
After only the first day and the first two chapters, I am encouraged and convicted. Here are a couple verses that jumped out at me...

Romans 1:24-25 NKJV, especially verse 25.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
   I always have heard that line about worshipping the Creator rather than the creation and didn't know it was actually a verse.

Romans 2:29 NKJV
but  he is  a Jew who  is one  inwardly; and circumcision  is that  of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise  is not from men but from God.
   Beautiful picture and such a convincing reminder.

Wow. I love how any time I read the Word, I'm moved and encouraged. What have you been reading and learning?

Feels like Football

 This week I saw this bus parked in the lot of my local Wal-mart. And then this chair in my grocery store. Looks like it's almost football season! It sure is going to be exciting this year... Since we're now in the Big Ten, the Penn State - Nebraska rivalry in our home is going to really heat up!
I am dying to buy one of these little camp chairs for Millie. Every since she learned to climb on our kitchen chairs, she has been climbing on EVERYTHING. Maybe a chair her size would be less dangerous. :) I've also been hunting for the perfect Husker tee for her. She's not quite ready for the 2T size but I'm so done with onesies. And I think this year she might get a PSU tee and  Nebraska tee. Maybe I won't let her out of the house in Nittany Lion blue. Millie has been learning new words left and right. I can't wait to hear her say GO BIG RED!

Satisfying the Sweet Tooth

 

 We just finished these S'more bars. OOH YUMMY!

Starbucks Outrageous Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Starbucks Outrageous Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark raisin
1/4 cup golden raisin
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping (optional): 4 tablespoons dark raisins, 4 tablespoons golden raisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Blend oats, flour raisins, cranberries, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, cinnamon, and vanilla; beat until combined. Gradually add oat mixture to butter mixture; beat until combined. Combine raisins for topping in separate bowl and set aside.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart onto two lightly greased baking sheets. Place 1 mounded tsp of raisins on top of dough.
Bake about 12-16 minutes, until cookies are golden brown, but still soft. Cool on sheets before serving.

Notes: I don't do the topping because they usually burn on me and they're really not necessary because there are plenty of raisins and craisins in the cookies. Also, 1 batch makes 17 cookies when I use my pampered chef scoop. So I like to buy all the stuff and keep it on hand to make a small batch every once in awhile or double or triple it. Do not succumb to eating all the craisins after you make one batch! They're so good but expensive! :)
Oops I guess I haven't made it quite clear that I didn't come up with this recipe. I got it from my sister who probably found it online somewhere but I don't know where. 
Hope you enjoy these cookies!

S'mores Cheescake Bars

S'mores Cheesecake Bars
from Annie's Eats (who adapted from Sugar Plum)

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 7 graham crackers)
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake
4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup marshmallow cream
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Topping
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Milk chocolate chips, melted (optional)

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil leaving an overhang on opposite sides to lift the bars out. Spray the lined pan with cooking spray. Stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter together in a small bowl with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the mixture in an even layer into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Transfer the pan to a wire rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.

To make the filling: Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second bursts on 50% powder, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and marshmallow cream on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and eggs to the bowl and beat until incorporated. Finally, beat in the melted chocolate. Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is evenly combined. Pour the filling over the graham cracker crust and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the center is just set (does not jiggle when shaken gently). Transfer the pan to a wire rack and spread the mini marshmallows evenly over the cheesecake layer. Return the pan to the oven for about 2-3 minutes, or until the marshmallows just begin to melt into one another. Remove the pan to the wire rack and, using a kitchen torch, brown the tops of the marshmallows. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature then drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before cutting into squares and serving.

I found this great recipe at Tracey's Culinary Adventures. This week I signed up to make dessert for Bible Study and since my birthday is also this week, I wanted to make something chocolate so I could enjoy the leftovers all week. So started hunting and found that August 10th is S'mores Day so I had a lot of marshmallow and chocolate treats to choose from. Amy Atlas did a fun s'mores day roundup and Tracey's cheesecake struck my fancy. But when I found I could make it in bar form, I was sold! They were easy to make, didn't require the traditional cheesecake water bath and are very tasty! I hope everyone else liked them as much as I did!