FREEDOM!!!

Freedom can mean a lot of things

• Buying sugar FREE jello = making fun 4th of July desserts (see below)



• Being FREE from the longest class ever = getting to eat a Brownie Batter Blizzard (how’s that for alliteration?) from Dairy Queen



• Being a teacher = being FREE from work for the summer



• Being FREE from studying = getting to spend a night playing Scrabble with my roomie



• Having men and women willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of our FREEdom = getting to live much more comfortable lives



• Being FREE in Christ = still trying to grasp exactly what that means :)

How can we be free if we’re not in control? Freedom and surrender often seem to be opposites.

However, it’s when we let go that we can truly experience freedom. It’s when we submit ourselves to Christ’s authority that we can find true freedom in Him. It is “for freedom Christ has set us free” … but we so often “submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). John 8:36 tells us that if the Son sets us free, we are free indeed! Yet sometimes we turn the Christian life into something that doesn’t look like freedom at all.

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.” (Psalm 118:5) If only we lived that way all the time. If only we really called out to the Lord in stressful times rather than pretending we have it all together. If only we truly understood what life looks like when we live freely. If only we recognized that calling out to the Lord brings a much more desirable way of life than trying to do it all on our own.

Happy (early) Independence Day! Celebrate Freedom!

I adapted the following fun 4th of July dessert from a few different recipes I found online. It turned out to be quite tasty and was a great addition to family cookout night on Tuesday! I made it using an 11X7 pan, but you could double the recipe to make a thicker 9X13 size dessert if you have a larger crowd.

1. Make a graham cracker crust (mix 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 5 tablespoons of melted margarine, and 2 tablespoons of sugar; spread evenly across pan, bake at 350 for 8 minutes, cool for 8 minutes, place in refrigerator to chill until crust is no longer warm)



2. Add 1 package blue (mixed berry) Jello mix to ¾ cup boiling water. Mix in about 6 ice cubes. Stir until all Jello is dissolved. Chill in refrigerator until slightly thickened. Mix in approximately 1 cup of blueberries



3. Spread blueberry/Jello combination over graham cracker crust



4. Refrigerate about 20 minutes until Jello is set but not firm



5. Meanwhile, prepare cream cheese filling (Beat 1-8 oz package Cream Cheese, 1/8 cup sugar, and 2 oz. of Cool Whip until well blended)



6. Spread cream cheese filling evenly over blue Jello layer



7. Add 1 package strawberry Jello mix to ¾ cup boiling water. Mix in about 6 ice cubes. Stir until all Jello is dissolved. Chill until slightly thickened. Mix in approximately 1 cup of strawberries



8. After strawberry/Jello combination is prepared, spread evenly over cream cheese layer



9. Chill for at least 4 hours



10. Before serving, spread about 4 ounces of Cool Whip over the strawberry Jello layer and decorate with blueberries and halved strawberries to resemble the US flag



11. Enjoy!
    

[Don’t be overwhelmed … it’s really not as complicated as it looks. Reduced fat/sugar free ingredients work great … I don’t think anyone even noticed that I didn’t use the “real” ones!]