Cranberry Apple Casserole

Lots of friends have requested this recipe in the past.  It's a great dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas - or anytime.  It's so sweet, that it should really be a dessert, but we eat it as a side dish.  I remember the days when it would last Sean and I the better part of a week.  Now with our children it's gone by the end of the first meal.  That makes me happy;  I love it when they love the food I cook!  :-) 
Enjoy!

Mix the following 4 ingredients together and put in a baking dish:

• 3 cups chopped unpeeled apples
• 2 cups whole cranberries (I just use the whole bag)
• 2/3 cup white sugar (I often use Splenda)
• 1/4 cup water

For the topping, mix together the following:

• 1 1/2 sticks melted margarine
• 2 1/4 cups dry oatmeal
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute)
• 3/4 cup nuts (optional) - such as pecans

Spread the topping over the apple cranberry mixture and bake at 350 F for one hour.

My aunt adds some spices - perhaps nutmeg and allspice - maybe cloves?  That also tastes delicious.  At Thanksgiving, we usually have two dishes: one made with regular sugar and one with sugar substitute for all the diabetic people.  Scrumptious!

Shamu Express

Over the summer, our family went to Orlando for me to take a couple of classes.  While we were there, we were able to go to Sea World. At Sea World, Elliana’s favorite ride was the Shamu Express, a little roller coaster in the younger kid section of the park.  Even though she loved the ride, she was scared by it.  She would always ask me to hold her tightly.  So instead of sitting normally in my seat, I would lean halfway over to the middle, with my arms wrapped around her, holding her close to me. As we would go up and down the ride, she would even lift her hands in the air as long as I  was holding on tightly to her.  She relaxed and enjoyed the ride knowing that I, the person she really trusts, had a firm hold on her.  She knew I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.  In fact, every time we came off the ride and looked at the picture of all the riders, you could hardly even see her because she was squished up next to me.  She was safe and secure and enjoyed the ride because she trusted me and was confident that I would not let anything bad happen to her. 

Sometimes my life seems like a roller coaster. Our oldest just became a teenager this summer, and and at times it has felt like being on a roller coaster.  In fact, all of life, not just having a teenage daughter, can feel like a roller coaster at times.  And yet the way that Elliana trusted me this summer on Shamu Express is a picture of my relationship with God, except that God really does have control of the roller coaster I'm riding.  Just like Elliana could relax and enjoy the Shamu Express, if I go to God in faith in the midst of scary circumstances, I can be like Elliana, and enjoy the ride of life, through the ups and downs, fun parts and frightening parts, all the while knowing that He has a firm hold of me.   I can rest in Him because He has authority over my life, and even more, over everything in life and over life itself.  I can rest in Him.