Homemade Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of milk

2 Tablespoons Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 

1 teaspoon Organic Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Put the milk in a pan on a medium heat to simmer, stirring constantly
2. Stir in cocoa powder, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. If you desire, add more sugar and/or cinnamon to taste
3. Pour into your favorite mug, add whipped cream, if desired, and enjoy!

Is it a Sin not to Hope?

Hello everyone! I hope you have had a great Christmas and New Year. I wanted to share something I found interesting:

I was doing some literature homework for the book The Old Man and the Sea and one of the questions read, "Is it a sin not to hope?" This question puzzled me. As a Christian, I hope in the second coming of Christ, but I had never thought of NOT hoping in something. So I thought for a few minutes on that question. Then I decided to look up the definition of sin. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it defines sin as, "an offense against religious or moral law," or, "an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible." I was still puzzled. Then I looked up the definition of hope. Merriam-Webster defines it as, "to cherish a desire with anticipation," or, "to want something to happen or be true." I thought for a bit longer. I finally came up with an answer to my question, "If you have nothing to hope in or for, what does it matter in the things you say or do? You are doing things for the sake of doing them. To sin is to commit an immoral act against divine law, so if it is a divine law to hope, then it is a sin NOT to hope. But if you have no divine law, then there is no 'sin' in not hoping." To me, a better to state the book's question is, "Is it wrong not to hope?" Then there can be a varied answer: If you have no hope, there is no purpose, no striving for better things. There is hardly any value in life if you have no hope, no dreams. There is no need for determination or perseverance. All there is to do is eat, live, work, and other common things we do as humans. But where there is hope, you have dreams, you have higher expectations. You have something to live FOR! I live for the coming of Christ Jesus. I strive for perfection to be like my Saviour. I will fall short, but I have a dream. I have a goal of bringing others to Him, of seeing Him in His glory and hearing, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" That is what keeps me living. That is my hope. So, is it a sin not to hope? For me, yes, it is. I have faith and hope in the promise of my coming Lord, and if I lose that, there are no goals for me. So I do my best to keep that hope alive until I see Him.

Share with me your thought on this question in the comment section!

Homemade Ketchup

Ingredients:

6oz.can Tomato paste (BPA free can & organic) 
26 oz. can Tomato puree

2/3 cup water 

anywhere from a dash, pinch, or 1/8 of a tsp. of white pepper

anywhere from a dash, pinch, or 1/8 of a tsp. of paprika

3 tbsp. & 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp. & 1 tsp. of Xylitol 

4 tbsp. coconut eminos (molasses substitute)

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

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 Take a small pot and pour the tomato puree and tomato paste into it place the pot on a medium high heat and let simmer add  half of the water. Put in your white pepper, paprika, vinegar, Xylitol, coconut eminos, onion powder, and garlic powder. pour in the remainder of the water and stir continuously letting the mix simmer. when it is hot, take off the heat and let it cool before you put it into a container. then put it in the fridge.