Missionary Mondays on a Thankful Thursday

Hello Dear Family and Friends! I can hardly believe in 11 days Dave and I will be on a flight to Asia. It’s surreal.

There is no way possible that we would have made it to where we are if it weren’t for the love of Christ and the love that so many of you have poured out for us. From praying for us, to helping us move, for commenting on my blog letting me know you support us, for the cards, words of encouragement and much much more. There is no way we can count the abundance of blessings God has poured out on us but we are humbled and grateful.

Today I have two things for you! The first is a giveaway. I’ve teamed up with some really great women who have supported and encouraged me on my journey. We are giving away a Chemex coffee maker with filters, half of a pound of fresh roasted coffee from The Spice Merchant (a local joint in my hometown) and two hand painted cards from Burma. I’m super excited for whoever wins this prize!

If you haven’t heard of a Chemex coffee maker you can go to their website to learn more about why this coffee maker is so great. Basically their brewing method takes out the bitter coffee tastes and makes a great cup of java. Plus, I always feel like I’m creating some amazing scientific lab experiment when I make coffee with my Chemex.

The second thing I have for you is some snail mail! I love receiving snail mail and I love sending it. If you e-mail me your name and address I will send you a card from either Thailand or Burma. Due to postal regulations it might take me a few weeks to send you some snail mail but I give you my word if you ask for some snail mail I’ll do my best to send you some!

Thanks again friends for all your love and support! Here are the lovely ladies that are teaming up with me today. I hope you will take a few minutes to check out their blogs and see what they are all about.

            Rachel                                 Sarah                                 Amanda                                Beka

        Topaz N Pearls               Sometimes Photojenik         The Lady Okie                           SS2SI

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway Rules:

1. The giveaway will run from Wednesday, October 22nd - Tuesday, October 28th. 

2. This winner of the giveway must have a US address. It is not open internationally.

3. All entries will be verified. 

4. The winner will have 24 hours to respond. If no response is received a new winner will be picked. 

For some of my other favorite coffee recipes click on the pictures below:

Perfect Cold Brew Coffee

With Summer in full swing so is creating fun summer drinks. I've created brazilian limeades, blueberry lemonade, strawberry lemonade but today I'm sharing one of my favorite summer drinks ever - cold brew coffee. 

As you all know I'm a huge coffee fan and summer never stops me from drinking my hot morning latte. A couple of years ago my sister introduced me to cold brew. However, I forgot all about iced coffee until Alicia posted a picture and it gave me a huge craving! Alicia made a fun no-mess recipe and if you want to check out her batch you can do so here. 

I had a lot of fun taking pictures of this which means I'm sharing a lot of pictures. I got up early yesterday morning to take pictures and I just snapped away. Then I couldn't decide how I wanted to post this recipe: simple, step by step with pictures or just pictures and then instructions at the bottom? So ... I'm giving you all three. You're welcome. You're welcome ;)

One important thing to note is that the ratio is 1/2 c. of coffee for every 2 c. of water. 

Step by Step with Pictures

Add 4 cups of water, 1 c. of medium ground coffee and 1 tsp. of vanilla to a pitcher, pan, container (whatever you got on hand) and cover. Let it sit at room temperature for 8-10 hours. Then give it a good stir and re-cover it. 

Some people place their brew in the refrigerator but I don't feel like that releases enough of the coffee flavor. Either way will work though. I just like my coffee nice and strong so I leave it at room temp. 

After your coffee has set for 24 hours you will want to strain your coffee. I use a Chemex but you can use whatever method you have on hand, even a cheesecloth will work.

Also, you should know there is no magic number to the 24 hour thing. Sometimes I make this in the early evening and let it sit out until the next morning and it usually turns out just fine.

After the coffee has strained and after you have taken upteen zillion pictures fill a glass with ice.

 Pour the cold brew coffee right over that ice.

Then it's time to make some magic -  grab your heavy whipping cream. Also note, you don't have to use heavy whipping cream - you can use sweetened condensed milk (I'm talking to you Aunt JB) or 1/2 & 1/2 or whatever you prefer.

Then slowly and carefully pour a splash of cream into your glass. I was busy taking pictures and missed the glass. ha ha! You can't tell too much, right?

Then you watch the magic happen. This is probably my favorite part...

Stir and Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2c. water
1/2 c. coffee - medium grind
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
Splash of 1/2 & 1/2 or sweetened condensed milk (optional)

Directions:
Place the water, coffee and vanilla in a pitcher, cover and leave at room temperature. Some people place their mixture in the refrigerator but I think that the cool temperatures don't allow the coffee to release all of it's flavor resulting in a weak brew.

Approximately 8-10 hours in stir the coffee mixture and recover.

After the coffee has set for 24 hours strain the coffee. You can do this using a cheese cloth, a pour over method, a french press or a chemex. I use a chemex. If you use a french press after you press the grounds out I'd transfer the coffee to another pitcher to prevent the coffee from getting bitter.

Add ice to a glass, pour in coffee and add a splash of 1/2 & 1/2

Now go do a happy dance and enjoy that coffee!

_____________________________________

Do you like cold brew coffee? 

Have you ever made cold brew coffee? 

Also, if you enjoyed this recipe, would you be so kind to pin it or share it? Thanks! 

on-line stores

blogtember day 7 - share some of your favorite on-line stores.

Well, living in the middle of no where Oklahoma, I must say Amazon has become my new best friend when it comes to purchasing lots of items. However, I'm sure everyone already knows about amazon so I'll share some other fun sites I use.

Have you ever heard of Emergen-C? They are little packets filled with tons of vitamins. You add it to a glass of water and drink away. Blueberry-Acai is my favorite flavor. They are perfect for fall and winter when all those nasty germs float around. Dave is sick now and I feel it coming my way too so today I ordered a box of my favorite Emergen-C. It is immune+. You can log onto their website here for a free sample.

Cute Tape - I already mentioned this store in a previous blog pospt but they have some great products that are affordable. It's a great on-line store to order washi tape, party favors, stationary, stamps as well as other various great gifts. You can check them out here

Remember my amazing chemex coffee maker??? Those make amazing gifts too plus their website is just fun to read. Check out Chemex here

Where is your favorite on-line store? Do you shop on-line very much? Anybody know of an on-line store where I can order some cute floral leggings??