1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c] 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
When I make the "End of year call" to my friends, quite often I hear "It wasn't bad, nothing special. I hope next year will be a little bit more exciting!" Well, I believe these friends (including me) got their wish this year.
I believe many of us have experienced fear about uncertainty, frustration for waiting, hopelessness about winning... (No, not about the election, about the Covid!) After all these months, we still don't know when we can send the children back to school, we don't know when we can gather together in our church, or when can we hug each other again and sit together to have a cozy dinner...
In March, I was shocked about the COVID, I couldn't believe something like this can happen in this modern day. I thought we can go back to work soon again, but it didn't happen "soon" and I started to think a lot "If I get the covid", "If I lose my job." I started to work in my backyard and sow some seeds in my pots since I caught myself thinking "unproductive thinking" too often.
In June, I cracked my favorite cup which has "Be still, and know that I am God!" On it whenI was collecting some okra which I sow in March. I realized that I can't remember at all in what context this verse exists and I received a great blessing when I have read the Psalm 46. What confidence I can feel in God's character. God protects us, God is all powerful, God is always everywhere even when I forget about it, even when I don't feel it, even when I doubt about it because He is faithful. I am thankful for the encouragement Psalm 46 gives me. Another fear might knock my heart in the next 7 months as it has done in the past 7 months, but now I know the fear can't have much space in there anymore since the hope in His word is filling in my heart.
"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble."
These peanut butter chocolate sandwich cookies were a Christmas season staple in my household growing up. My sister and I used to make these from boxed peanut butter cookie mixes and canned chocolate frosting, and over the years I’ve graduated to this homemade version. If you like chocolate and peanut butter, you’ll love these!
Preheat your oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar. Stir in vanilla and egg. Add salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour and mix until combined. Scoop twelve drops of dough onto a baking sheet and use a fork to create a criss-cross pattern on each cookie. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet while they cool.
Stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water and stir until cocoa is dissolved. Stir in the butter. Stir in the melted chocolate. Sift in the powdered sugar and stir until just combined. The mixture will be pretty thin and runny. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for roughly half an hour (not too long or you’ll be stuck with a hard block of chocolate). Remove the bowl from the fridge and stir again. The frosting should be thicker and “spreadable.”
Spread a generous layer of frosting on half of the cookies and close your sandwiches with the other half. This batch will make twelve sandwiches. Enjoy!
