Psalms 100:4,
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
God is a good God! We ought to thank God continually for all that He does.
Psalms 136:26, “O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy
endureth for ever.” I am in bodily pain continually because of my neck
injury, and I could complain often, but I choose to praise the Lord for the
health that I still have. I am thankful I can still drive. I am thankful I
can still walk. I thank God for the pain medications (100 mg. Oxycontin + 3
Percocet 10/325's daily) that give me some sort of life. Without the pain
meds, the pain is unbearable.
I am thankful for my web visitors who pray for me. Hebrews 13:3,
“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and
them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”
I am lonely at times, but Jesus keeps me singing and He is with me.
Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content
with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee.” I choose to praise God for my eyes that can still see, my
ears that can still hear, my tongue that can still taste, my legs can can
still walk, my hands that can still prepare a meal.
I love making homemade Chicago-style deep dish pizzas. You should try it.
Trust me, you'll love them. In fact, this is the meal I am making for
Thanksgiving Day. It takes about 3-4 hours, because you need 2-3 hours for
the dough to rise. It's really easy. Here's my recipe. This pizza tastes
like Uno's pizza restaurant in Chicago:
CRUST: For the crust, mix the following ingredients in a big bowl: 2 cups
warm water (I microwave it first in a small bowl) and 2 packages of
dry yeast (I use the active dry, original. Any big store should have it.
You can also use the quick rising instead if you'd like). Then add 1/2
cup of vegetable oil (I use corn oil). Add 4 Tablespoons of extra
virgin olive oil. Then add 1/2 cup of yellow corn meal (only use
yellow, not white). And finally, add 4-5 cups of flour. I like to use
unbleached flour, but regular or organic is fine too. That's 6 ingredients
total for the crust. Add 4 cups and kneed the dough. Continue adding a
little flour at a time until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Cover
in a bowl with a paper towel or cloth and let it rise (about an hour). Press
it down and let it rise again (another hour). The longer it is left to rise,
the more robust the wonderful yeast flavor will be (sometimes I'll let it
sit for 3 hours). I make 4 pizza crusts with this, using a 9-inch round
1-inch deep baking pan. You can make a larger pizza if you want, but
then you'll have to guesstimate the ingredients. I always make the 9-inch.
If I make pizza for others, I just make multiple 9-inch pizzas.
SAUCE: For the sauce (for one 9-inch
pizza), I use one 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Drain the
tomatoes, otherwise your pizza will be soggy. I just press my fingers into
the can, over the sink, and let the liquid drain. If you don't like
it as chunky, you can use scissors to chop the tomatoes up more (I do). Then
add 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (it should have that
wonderful fruity aroma). Add 1/4 teaspoon of oregano. Finally, add
1/4 teaspoon of salt (that's one level spoon, not heaping. No more than
1/4 teaspoon, or it will be too salty. If you don't like salt, only add 1/8
teaspoon or none, but the pizza will be bland. The canned tomatoes do
already have a little salt, but it is negligible. All
measurements are always level). I don't recommend adding any other
ingredients for your first pizza, as it tastes best like this in my opinion.
Later, if you'd like, next time, you can try a little fennel seed, marjoram,
Italian sausage or favorite toppings. I've tried them and I have concluded
that the basic ingredients that I am giving you are BEST. Just a little
salt, oregano and olive oil (as specified).
PREPARE FOR OVEN: Flatten your dough in the
baking pan (I use 9-inch round deep baking pans). I put a little extra
virgin olive oil in the pan first, to prevent the dough from sticking after
the pizza is heated. Knead the dough up the sides of the pan. Cover the
entire dough in the pan with plenty of mozzarella cheese (I buy big
bags of shredded mozzarella cheese, but flat slices is fine too). Then when
cheese is covering the whole pizza, dump the pizza sauce on top and spread
it out. That's it!
BAKING: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. I have
a gas (propane) oven and cook my pizza for 25 minutes. Make sure not to put
the pizza into the oven until it is fully preheated. Now, I hate electric
ranges, because they cook very differently than gas. The last electric range
I had years ago, took around 50 minutes to cook my pizzas. I also had to
cook the pizza half of the time on the top rack, and half of the time on the
bottom rack. It was a hassle. So I hope you have a gas oven for your sake. I
think a gas oven produces a much better tasting pizza. Gas ovens get hotter
than electric.
When removed from oven, I sprinkle parmesan
cheese onto the middle of the pizza pie. You eat it with a fork and a knife.
If you save some, reheat it later at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (25 minutes
if oven is not preheated). Don't microwave it, or it'll be soggy. I love
making this meal. It's a regular for me.
I thank God for this delicious recipe, and the
tastebuds, stomach and health to enjoy eating it! I thank God for saving my
soul in 1980. I thank God for the
assurance of my salvation 7 years later. I thank God for allowing me to
attend Bible college. I thank God for Pastor jack Hyles. I thank God for
letting me grow up in a free country, in the United States. God is so good!
After 18 years of a troubled marriage, my wife
divorced me in 2006 against my will,
but I thank God that we have four children, which the Bible says are a
heritage from the Lord (Psalms 127:3). I lost my home as a
result of the divorce and subsequent circumstances, and now rent, but I thank God for a roof over my head.
I refuse to become bitter. If the Lord was willing to forgive all my sins, I
am certainly going to forgive everyone (Ephesians 4:30-31). I cope with
chronic neck pain 24/7, but I thank God for most of my health that I still
enjoy. Being in constant pain makes me irritable. People don't understand.
My own family doesn't understand. People at church don't understand.
Therefore, I spend most of my time alone. I get lonely. As I type, the
toothache-like pain in the back of my neck is horrible—throbbing, gnawing,
debilitating, constant, raw pain. Yet, I praise the Lord that I'm not
confined to a bed or wheel chair. Praise the Lord! I'll take the pain! There's always something to be thankful for. I've suffered
inexplicable emotional trauma and pain of soul over the years, but God has
seen me through it all. I've been hurt by many people in my life, but God
has always been faithful. You can't live for money, friends or even family,
because they'll all let you down.
I just wanted to thank the Lord publicly for
all that He is and does! Psalms 145:9, “The LORD is good to all: and his
tender mercies are over all his works.” We live in a fallen world. Bad
things happen. Evil abounds in this sin-cursed world. Satan is the god of
this messed-up world (2nd Corinthians 4:4). Our home as believers in not of
this world, but in Heaven. Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation is in
heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We are pilgrims passing through, not settlers (Colossians 3:1-2). I feel
sorry for all Christ-rejecters, because they are going to spend eternity
burning in the fires and loneliness of Hell, when they could have had the
good life just for the taking (Romans 8:32; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:5-6).
All that God requires to be saved is that we admit we are a needy sinner in
His sight, and completely rest (trust) in Christ's sacrifice on the cross as
payment for those sins, believing that Jesus was burial and bodily
resurrection three days later. BELIEVE IT OH SINNER AND YOU ARE SAVED! The
Gospel is Good News to be BELIEVED, not a lifestyle to be lived, nor
a call to turn away from poor behavior.
If you are saved my friend, you have that one
sole reason to thank God every day, with all your being, for the rest of
your life. What an awesome Savior! The Scriptures have been my sole source
of comfort through all my suffering and loneliness (Romans 15:4). My hope is
built upon the promises of God. When people hurt my feelings, and they often
do, I let it go into God's hands. I've learned how to let painful things go.
I simply focus on the reality that none of this earthly life will matter 100
years from now. The people who hurt, betray, insult and wound our soul
cannot make one iota difference in our eternal happiness.
One of my favorite Scriptures in Romans
8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.” I love that Bible Verse! It means that what other
people say, do or think about us doesn't matter. People can hate us. They
can talk about us. Family can mistreat us and betray us. Parents can disown
us. Spouses can divorce us. Children can hurt and disappoint us. Pastors can
let us down. Co-workers can abuse us. The world can persecute us. Courts can
prosecute us. Enemies can attack us. BUT PRAISE BE TO GOD, NONE OF THAT
MATTERS! The reason why is plainly stated in Romans 8:34. It is because
JESUS CHRIST DIED AND IS RISEN, AND IS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AS OUR
INTERCESSORY HIGH PRIEST!!! Who can condemn us? The answer is NO ONE!!! Our
only Judge is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus has the nail-scared hands and feet.
Amen! So keep your chin up when people slander, attack and hate you, even if
the information is true, or partially true, because Jesus is your only
Judge, not humanity (James 4:12; Hebrews 4:13; Matthew 7:1-5).
And of course, I am thankful to all
my web visitors for regularly coming to my website ministry, and allowing me
to be a part of your life, valuing my my opinions. I realize that most of my
web visitors don't agree with all my beliefs. It is OK to agree to disagree.
That's what makes America great! A free society is one in which it is safe
to be unpopular. I don't want you to agree with me, I want you to agree with
God. That's why the Lord gave us the Holy Scriptures to teach us (John 5:39;
Romans 15:4).
Thank you Lord for the King James
Bible! Bless God, the inspired Word of God never
changes, just as our dear Lord never changes (Hebrews 13:8). God is so merciful, understanding and a good God.
Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth
not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” I love you Jesus!
THANK YOU!!!
