Super Easy "Homemade" Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls

For something special this Christmas, I decided to go all Pinterest on my family and came up with a WAY easier way to do "homemade" cinnamon rolls without all the hassle of rolling out dough or dealing with yeast. They turned out GREAT although, I think we all wish there had been more for each of us (we each got 2). They remind me a little of chocolate croissants from Target or Starbucks.

Ingredients (Makes 8 rolls, served 4 of us):

• 1 can crescent rolls
• 2 TBSP Butter, melted
• cinnamon sugar
• bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips)
• Icing: 1/4 C Powdered Sugar and 2 TBSP Milk

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Roll out the crescent rolls on a cutting board or wax paper

•  Brush with melted butter

•  Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar

•  Place chocolate chips on crescents, leaving the small end open. Lightly press chocolate chips into dough so that they stay in place as you roll them. (We only did four rolls with chocolate and the other 4 plain cinnamon rolls)

•  Roll the crescents, starting at the large end and rolling to the small end. If chocolate chips fall out or are not "inside" the roll, take them out. Place the rolls on an ungreased baking sheet.

•  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and not doughy in the middle

•  Glaze with powdered sugar icing (2 TBSP milk and 1/4 C powdered sugar)

•  Serving suggestion: Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Crescent Rolls and Sliced Kielbasa

Wait.

This past week, the Lord has been asking me to learn what it really means to wait on Him.

So often, that is a cliché Christian phrase. We hear it everywhere: wait on the Lord, He'll give you the answer when He's ready. Wait on the Lord, He will lift you up and set your paths. Now, I'm not discounting any of this - all of these are paraphrases of some of the most powerful commanding verses in the Bible. What I am saying, is sometimes it's really hard to know what it actually LOOKS LIKE to WAIT! So, I went straight to my Bible concordance (where you can look up a word and see where it's used in the Bible) to find the word 'wait' and all of its derivatives. From there I found the following passages to manuscript and really dig in to: 

Isaiah 40:28-31, Psalm 37:3-11, and Psalm 40:1-3

 Now, let me tell you, I got more out of these handful of verses than I have in a quiet time in a LONG while.

I specifically asked God to show me what it would look like in my life, everyday, to wait on Him.

First, in Isaiah 40, God reminded me that it's HIM and NOT ME that increases my strength, gives me power, and lifts me up. Isaiah is very clear in distinguishing the contrasts between us and God: God is everlasting, we are weak; God does not faint or get weary, we do; God is unsearchable and all-knowing, we cannot know His full plan. At the beginning of verse 28, we are asked straight up, "You already know this, so why are you doubting?!"

Next I looked at Psalm 37. My first observation was that we are given a list of things to do: trust, do good, dwell, feed, delight, commit, rest, wait, and DO NOT FRET. I put this one in all caps because it is repeated three times in just 8 verses, so it must be important!

I'm a HUGE language person, so I am kind of obsessed with definitions. When I saw this repetition, I just had to know what the truer meaning of 'fret' is, and this is what I found::
Fret: to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like; to cause corrosion or wear away at something
When I read that last part, I literally froze with my dictionary open. Fear literally WEARS AWAY at our faith!! Have you ever thought of that before? All of our preoccupation with things beyond our control is not just preventing us from trusting God - it is actually causing us to do the exact opposite!

From there, I went on to define all of the command words we are given in these verses and put them into phrases of how I can apply them to my everyday life. Here's what I came up with:

TRUST (rely on, place confidence in) the LORD
DWELL (live or stay as a permanent residence) in the land
FEED (be nourished or gratified) on His FAITHFULNESS (promises/Word)
DELIGHT (have great pleasure) in HIM
COMMIT (entrust for safekeeping) our way to HIM
REST (stay or remain without further action) in HIM
WAIT PATIENTLY (remain inactive but ready for action without complaining no matter what) for HIM

--> To do these things requires humility - our ability and willingness to recognize our NEED for HIM. When we are humble we will inherit the earth and delight in an abundance of peace.
Meek: humbly patient or docile; overly submissive; gentle; kind


      Abundance: overflowing fulness; over-sufficient supply
      Peace: a state of tranquility or serenity; freedom from annoyance, distraction, anxiety; silence, stillness

Psalm 40 gives us a deeper picture of what happens when we wait patiently on Him. Here is what we are promised when we wait patiently on Him: He inclined to me; He heard my cry; He brought me up from a horrible, sticky place; He set my feet on a firm foundation; He set my way which is committed to Him; He put a new song in my mouth.                                                  

I used this scripture to create a confession to speak over myself. There is POWER in our words, and especially in the WORD of God. 

Because I wait on the Lord without complaining, He will save me - He will pull me from a place I can't get out of on my own; He will strategically place my feet on a firm foundation in Him, and He will permanently and firmly settle my steps - prove Himself to be valid. He will fill me with praise to glorify His name. When others hear His praise in my mouth, they will trust in the LORD.

So, what does it look like to wait on the Lord??

• Rely on Jesus for my strength
• Be fully present in the place God has put me in this moment in my life
• Be fulfilled by God's promises, His Word
• Take pleasure in God and my relationship with Him
• Hand my future over to God
• Stop working toward my own plans
• Be ready when He calls me to action on His plans

Lord, help me to do these things in Your strength.

"I'll Pray for You"

How often do you actually pray for someone when you tell them you're going to? I find myself frequently telling a friend or coworker that I'll be praying for them. I used to fall into the habit of saying this and then realizing later that I never did actually pray for them.  I have also been in friendships where they would say "I'll try to remember to pray for you." or "I'll do my best to pray for you." While I appreciate the honesty of those two statements, I appreciate even more when you hold praying for others as a priority. Yes, telling someone you're praying for them is a great way to encourage them in a hard time; but what is even more encouraging is actually praying for them!!!

Something I've started making a habit of is that as soon as I tell someone I am praying for them, I pray for them right then and there. Whether it's in a comment on Facebook, a text message, in a letter, or in person, I take a moment right then to lift them in prayer. It doesn't have to be long, it doesn't even have to be out loud. But it does need to happen. Anytime I have the slightest thought about someone go through my head, I immediately send up a prayer for them, whether I know what it is that they need or not. It's the perfect opportunity to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and impact someone else's life.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thes. 5:16-18 (ESV)

What is so awesome about prayer is that it is literally just a conversation with our Creator, our Lover. We should talk with God the way we talk with our friends. We do that all day long, so why not talk to God all day long? Tell Him about the "hi" and "lo" of your day, or the funny moment that happened in class, or the stress you're feeling about an assignment. Ultimately, take the time to put yourself and your needs aside and pray for those of someone else, just as if you were encouraging them right there in front of you. Jesus knows what they need, and He wants to give it to them. Help them get what they need.

My challenge to you: Who are you praying for today, and I mean really praying?

Everyone Is Fighting A Battle

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”    - Plato

 This got me to thinking, this is more true than most people even realize because we are all fighting a battle every day - a spiritual one. One for our souls, for our very lives. One that is very, very real. For those of us with Jesus in our lives, this battle is already won and we are to go on to fight for others in their battle. The battle we face is not against flesh and blood (other people) but against principalities of darkness (the spirits behind the evil things people do) (Eph 6:12). This means that these battles are best fought and won when we fight them God's way and not our own. Wearing His armor of peace, love, salvation, righteousness, truth, faith, His Word, and His blood (Eph 6:13-19). With love, prayer, and relationships.

As we begin NSO this week, I am reminded that each new student we welcome to campus is not just another target to hit with Jesus. Rather, they are each someone searching for something bigger and better, looking to be loved and accepted, to feel needed and wanted, and to have a place somewhere. By God's grace, maybe that place is in our body of believers here at UWRF.

What's Good for Me...

In the last week or so I've had a few people ask for my input or opinion on matters of moral choices or right vs. wrong according to our Christian faith. It got me to thinking, how exactly do we decide what's good for us or bad for someone else? In the end, we're not supposed to be judging anyone else's actions, but when a friend asks you for your advice on something, it kind of requires a bit of sound judgement.

This led me to thinking about something I learned way back when during my time as a wee one at Living Word and MCA. Ok, so maybe it was like middle school - I don't really remember. But it came back to me at such a perfect time!

what's good for me may not be good for someone else.

Think about that statement for a second. How often do you pass judgments on someone else's actions based on the expectations you have for yourself? Here's the thing - we all have different strengths and weaknesses, different gifts, different convictions. When God tells me to stay away from movies with hot scenes or looking at how thin another girl is, it is because He knows that I am weak in the areas of seeking affection from wrongful places and putting my self worth in how others see me. For someone else, though, these may be fairly trivial and not invoke much temptation in them. For a friend of mine, maybe online shopping is wrong because she is a compulsive buyer, or talking to her boyfriend leads them to irresponsible conversations.

I'm not saying that there are things certain people should be able to get away with that others can't. I'm saying that God has chosen the battles we are to fight and we are not to inflict those battles or regulations on anyone else. If a friend wants to see a movie that I know will cause wrongful thoughts or feelings in me, it is perfectly acceptable for me to excuse myself but that doesn't not give me any sort of permission to judge them for watching it. Even if there is something you strongly believe is wrong, you have to trust that your brothers and sisters in Christ are following the leading of the Holy Spirit in their own lives.

So the next time someone asks you for your opinion, remind yourself that it is how God has spoken to you about these things. You should definitely share your thoughts with them because, after all, they asked you. But if they disagree, allow it to become a constructive conversation about each others' strengths, weaknesses, convictions, temptations, etc. versus an opportunity for an argument.