Putting this here for my daughters who are always making dozens of cookies. These recipes will make less than a dozen and will help me not eat so many cookies. ;)

Any Chip Cookies

Makes 8 cookies

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup chocolate chips or mini M&Ms or peanut butter chips

Sugar Cookies

Makes 6 cookies

1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 10 cookies

1/8 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream butter and sugar
3. Sift dry items together and add to cream mixture
4. Add wet items
5. Fold in chips (Chocolate chips only)
6. Put dough in the freezer for 10 - 20 minutes
7. Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake around 10 mins

Image Credit: Stockio.com

Another good podcast is Young Coupled and Free from out of the UK. I had a chance message with Issa in a podcasters group. I love how he and his wife have fun together.

Where trees provided shade and the grass was the only blanket you needed. When I talk to my daughter I don't detect the same level of wonder as she interact with the world. Maybe it is the difference between boys and girls. I remember sweeping adventures that went from one end of one neighborhood to the far end of another.

We had tales about the old homes in our neighborhood. From the story of old man Barry who had killed his brother to assume his familes property to the old boarded up house that was packed full of boxes of money. Then there were the old things we would find in the woods In between the neighborhoods. We would regularly find old cars in the woods and think how did they got there.

These paths were the wormholes to distant lands. Pushing through the undergrowth was emerging through a portal to elsewhen or otherplace. I guess I was just an imaginative kid. I don't know.

In my life God used this sense of awe and wonder to draw me in. As I look back over my life I see how he had set eternity in my heart. How His very creation pointed to something beyond the conventional. Even in my very hidebound mind I see that he was placing in me eyes that were always looking for the miraculous.

~~~~~~~~~~~

There are moments where I can still hear the voices. Like echoes through time I can still hear the battle raging. I wonder if I will ever get beyond that moment.

The smell of smoke and the clanging of weapons. The shouts of battle reflecting off of the armor of warriors who had seen both their first and last battle. Their young faces seem far to young to have been part of the carnage around them.

The heat of fire still cascade through my mind. We had tapped into something in those days that no one even remembers in this age of peace. Time is short for one such as I and at my age you would think I would have all the answers. However because of my age I know how crazy an assumption that is. For every answer we have found there continues to be even more questions.

I mean I was around when we hit that moment. The moment that should have been out most prized moment. Everything understood, catalogued, and accessible by everyone. We had found a way to link it all together. We had found a way to link all of us together.

No more confusion. No more separation. No more division.

But we had forgotten one thing. One very important lesson. In the run up to building this amazing thing. A group of us had come up with a way to connect our minds. We could live whole lifetimes within. Knowing and being known. Inside there was no limit. Inside there were no boundaries. We could be everywhere, do anything. We even figured out how to to touch the outer world. We could create whole worlds and began to invite others in.

We decided that we would connect our worlds. United as one mind there would be nothing we could not do.

We we so foolish...

We had not idea what we would unleash...

We would come so close to losing it all...

~~~~~~~~~

Chasing after His Glory...

Posted with Blogsy

This was a fun one too.

Enjoy your weekend

• God's Man

As we look at the theme of Jump for this month's NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) one of the things that we should make a habit of doing is trying new things.

I went into the shoe store last week and tried on a pair of the Skeltoes from Fila.  I had looked at them many times but because of the weirdness of my feet I have ignored any shoe innovation.  I buy the same type of New balance shoe that I know fits my custom orthotics.  A weird thing happened when I tried them on.  They fit.  Even without my orthotic I could move around and they felt comfortable.  I am going to get a pair and see how working out with them feels (winking at Fila).

Anyway,  Jump into something new today.  You never know what the outcome will be.

-God's Man

Jesus Not Religion 

Sex Lies and Fairytales

So I got this in my email today. I get so many different messages a day I barely ever read them all. This one however caught my attention and I have been processing it ever since. Take a look

Dear Carlton,

"If you want to become wealthy, let go of your middle-class beliefs that say money is about ego or greed. World-class wealth gives you control of your time and the luxury of doing what you want, when you want. Middle-class earners are slaves to money and are forced to undersell their time. Rich people have options and choices. It's not about ego or greed. It's about hating the idea of spending your life as a slave subservient to the demands of others, and subsequently finding a way to exchange a product or service for the exact amount of wealth you need to buy your freedom."

-Steve SieboldThe first time I experienced Steve Siebold was through his book, 101 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class. I love this book and I recommend that you pick it up. It was a an eye opening book for me and even now, 5 or so years later, I am still digesting it. The major thrust was changing your thinking to change your actions. Change your actions to change your outcomes. When I first got this book I felt as though my life good enough. I wasn't really challenging myself. I was content.

Now there is nothing wrong with being content where you are. Learn to have joy whether at the top, bottom, or middle. There is however a fine line between being content and settling.

Being content = :)

Settling = :(

I haven't run across any reason to settle for less than your best. If your calling is higher than your reality that you need to examine your thinking.

But back to the message above. One of the most visited posts on this blog is Postive Thinking, Negative Thinking, Right Thinking. This post was all about the choices that we make. One of the most important choices that we make is what we think about during the day.

Today I want everyone to examine their thoughts. For those nerds out there track it in a spreadsheet. For the free spirits draw it out. Whatever your slant see if the thoughts that you have are consistent with where you want to go. For me I found that where I wanted to go was completely incompatible with my thinking. For those the marrieds see if you and your spouses thoughts match your goals. Heck, make sure that you are focused on the same goals. ;)

I hope that this message speaks to you.

Go Go Go

PS. I will be back to publish the links to these resources after I find a plug. Battery is dying.