A woman's heart

Recipes using pork and beans

Okay, this is pretty brilliant. It combines my favorite things; frugal and delicious food, using up items already in my pantry, and finding out-of-the-box uses for things! This is from www.thriftyfun.com

To each 14 oz can try adding two cups of shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix will work) small slice celery, one small shredded carrot and one small very thin sliced onion. Allow to "steep" in the fridge overnight, stirring once or twice. For a little kick you might want to add powdered mustard.

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Campfire Bean Stew
Uses about a # of ground beef, equal cans of pork and beans and canned tomatoes.

Brown the ground beef in the skillet with onions, bell peppers, garlic seasoning, salt and pepper. Add the cans.

I like to add some worcestershire, BBQ sauce, ketchup, Bacos and some finely chopped onions to a can of pork n beans. Mix it all together in a casserole dish and bake til warm!

Also add a can of your pork n beans to chili for added flavor to your favorite recipe!

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Bean Dip
Place the Pork and Beans in blender. Add 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder (or 1 teaspoon of minced onion), dash of mustard (any kind), 1 teaspoon of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of sour cream. Blend. This
makes a very tasty dip for corn chips (Doritos, etc).

Sandwich Spread
This also makes a nice spread for a vegetarian sandwich with sliced tomatoes, cheese and lettuce. Hope you like this as much as we do!

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Speedy Baked Beans
6 slices bacon, diced
2 medium onions, minced (about 1 cup)
3 large cans (approx. 1 pound 3 oz. each can) pork and beans
1/3 cup chili sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons mustard

In large skillet, cook and stir bacon and onion until bacon is crisp. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat until bubbly. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed OR pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole; bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

I buy these beans when they are on sale -- 6 for $1 and the other beans are usually a $1 a can....so I use them in bean soup, chili, taco meat, and any place else that calls for beans.

For example, when we make chili and say it calls for 4 cans of beans - we use two pork and beans and two of another kind.

You can also rinse them off to ease off on the pork/bean flavor. 

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This may sound disgusting but it is really good and moist. Top it with cream cheese frosting and you will think you are eating a spice or carrot cake.

Pork and Bean Cake

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can baked beans with pork
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins or 18 oz can crushed pineapple well drained(optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour five 16 ounce cans OR two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and beans until smooth.
In a separate bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and soda. Add to bean mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in raisins and vanilla. Fill cans 2/3 full with batter, or divide batter into prepared loaf pans.
Place cans or pans on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before removing bread from cans or pans.

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I like to put the beans in a pan bring to a simmer and then add two eggs to poach in the beans.. Pan needs a tight lid.

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put in a baking dish and add catsup, mustard, brown sugar, onion and bacon. bake slow for a couple of hours. yummy!!!

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I call it goulash. Brown 1Lb. ground beef. Drain oil. Add 1 can pork and beans, or i use ranch style texas beans for a little more spice. 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can vegetable ABC soup. Reheat to warm and serve. My kids loved this when they were growing up. 

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I put them all in a casserole with bacon, green peppers and green onions, chopped onions, bbq sauce, brown sugar, and cooked ground beef. Put in a 350 oven for about an hour or until it reaches your desired taste.

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EL CHEAPO

1 pound ground chuck
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp vinegar
1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
1 can of pork and beans

Brown ground chuck with onion; drain. Add spices, ketchup, brown sugar, worcestershire, tabasco and then beans. Mix well and place in a casserole dish.

Bake 25 mins at 300 degrees

Note: We eat this as a main dish but you could certainly have as a side dish

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I know this is going to sound strange but growing up my family put pork and beans on top of scrambled eggs. It is really tasty. I had to convince my husband to try it and he now likes it too! He thought we were crazy.

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i use them in chili. also do baked beans by chopping onion and green peppers and sauteing them in a little bacon drippings. add a can of beans a little molasses or brown sugar, a little mustard and if needed a shot of catsup or b-b-q sauce. you can then bake them or cook on top of the stove.

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brown a pound of ground beef (season to taste), add a can of beans and ketchup to taste (about 1/8 cup)... serve on bread or burger buns for easy sloppy joes - add onions to the beef if desired

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Chili Macaroni

brown one pound of ground beef with one chopped onion and a bit of oil

stir in one can of tomato soup and one can of beans

In a pot of boiling water, cook up a cup of dried macaroni, drain and add to the beef/bean mixture.

season to taste with garlic powder, onion salt and chili powder.

Can also be served over spaghetti instead of stirring in the macaroni.

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Some additions I use with Pork & Beans are:

Turkey sausage, Beef sausage, Keilbasa (all the "rope" kind"), turkey ham, cut into chunks and of course cut up hot dogs.

Fry up 1 lb hamburger, add a couple cans of P&B, serve with fried potatoes. Not too bad mixed all together either, VERY filling meal!

Simple additions: chopped onion, brown sugar, mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce, garlic powder, onion powder. 

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One easy way to use them is to throw a can or two of these in a crock pot with 2 or 3 other types of heartier beans like black beans, chick peas, ect. You may want to drain some of the liquid from the beans. Add some barbecue sauce and mustard and let them cook slowly in the pot, you can even add cut up meat like polish sausage if you want. Good with corn bread.

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First I just "doctor" it up by adding a little catsup, some bacon fat, brown sugar and a very small amount of prepared mustard, and some instant onion. I just taste test until I get it right.

Next is a casserole. Place beans in a casserole, top with slices of spam then slices of cheese. You may cook this on top the stove in a corning ware pan or bake it in the over until hot and bubbling and the cheese melted. I usually doctor the beans before putting them in the casserole.

The ADHD Child's Bill of Rights

The ADHD Child's Bill of Rights

1. “Help me to focus…” Please teach me through my sense of ‘touch’, I need ‘hands on’ and ‘body movement’.

2. “I need to know what comes next.” Please give me a structured environment where there is a dependable routine. Give me an advanced warning if there will be changes.

3. “Wait for me, I'm still thinking.” Please allow me to go at my own pace. If I rush, I get confused and upset.

4. “I'm stuck! I can’t do it!” Please offer me options for problem-solving. I need to know the detours when the road is blocked.

5. “Is it right? I need to know NOW!” Please give me rich and immediate feedback on how I'm doing.

6. “I didn't forget, I didn't ‘hear’ it in the first place!” Please give me directions one step at a time and ask me to say back what I think you said.

7. “I didn't know I wasn't in my seat!” Please remind me to STOP, THINK and ACT.

8. “Am I almost done now?” Please give me short work periods with short-term goals.

9. “What?” Please don't say ‘I've already told you that’. Tell me again in different words- give me a signal- draw me a symbol.

10. “I know, it's ALL wrong, isn't it?” Please give me praise for partial success. Reward me for self-improvement, not just for perfection.

11. “But why do I always get yelled at?” Please catch me doing something right and praise me for my specific positive behaviour. Remind me (and yourself) about my good points, when I'm having a bad day.

12. I may be hard to live with, and have ADHD, but I still have feelings and would have never chosen to behave like I do sometimes…

Artisan Bread

All credit goes to The Italian Dish blog for this recipe. You'll definitely want to head over there for additional instructions and pictures! I've copied this word for word from the blog.

*before you start, I must note, this is SO salty that I'm sure the 1 1/2 Tbsp of salt MUST be a mistake, I'm guessing it should read teaspoons*

No Knead Artisan Bread

 

adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

for a printable recipe, click here
makes four 1 pound loaves.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated fast acting (instant) yeast (2 packets) 
• 1-1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
• 6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour

(My favorite way to make this bread now is to use half bread flour, half all-purpose flour and throw in 3/4 cup wheat bran into the dough.)

After baking, if your bread is gummy on the inside, try either increasing the amount of flour by 1/4 cup and/or increasing the baking time by 5-10 minutes. 

Also, If the dough is just too sticky for you to work with comfortably, increase the flour in your next batch.  

Instructions:

Mixing and Storing the Dough

1.  Warm the water slightly.  It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature, about 100 degrees F. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours.  

2.  Add yeast and salt to the water in a 5 quart bowl or a plastic container with a lid. 

3.  Mix in the flour - kneading is unnecessary.  (Note: I dump all this in my KitchenAid mixer, let it mix it for just about 10 seconds and then put it in the plastic container.  I just find it easier to let the mixer do this part). Add all of the flour at once, measuring the flour by scooping it and leveling it off with a knife.  Mix with a wooden spoon - do not knead.  You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches.  This step is done in a matter of minutes.  The dough should be wet and loose.

4.  Allow to rise. Cover with a lid (not airtight).  Lidded plastic buckets designed for dough storage can be purchased many places.  (I used a plastic square food storage container at my local grocery store.  I just make sure that the lid is not snapped on completely).  You want the gases to be able to escape a little.  Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on top), about two hours. Longer rising times will not hurt your dough. You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and is easier to work with than dough at room temperature.  So, the first time you try this method, it's best to refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping a loaf.

Baking

5.  Shape your loaf.  Place a piece of baking parchment paper on a pizza peel (don't have a pizza peel - use an unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside down).  Sprinkle the surface of your dough in the container with flour.  Pull up and cut off about a 1-pound piece of dough (about the size of a grapefruit), using scissors or a serrated knife.  Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball as you go.  Dust your hands with flour if you need to.  This is just to prevent sticking - you don't want to incorporate the flour into the dough.  The top of the dough should be smooth - the object here is to create a "gluten cloak" or "surface tension".  It doesn't matter what the bottom looks like, but you need to have a smooth, tight top.  This whole step should take about 30 seconds!  Place the dough onto your parchment paper.

6. Let the loaf rise for about 30 - 40 minutes (it does not need to be covered).  If it doesn't look like it has risen much, don't worry - it will in the oven.  This is called "oven spring".

7.  Preheat a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven for at least 20 minutes at 450 degrees F.  Place an empty rimmed baking pan or broiler pan on a rack below the baking stone.  This pan is for holding water for steam in the baking step.  (If you don't have a baking stone, you can use a baking sheet, but you will not get the crisp crust on the bottom.  You will still have a great loaf of bread. Baking stones are cheap and easy to find - Target carries them - and are a must for making pizzas, so go out and get one as soon as you can.)

8. Dust the loaf with a little flour and slash the top with a knife.  This slashing is necessary to release some of the trapped gas, which can deform your bread.  It also makes the top of your bread look pretty - you can slash the bread in a tic tac toe pattern, a cross, or just parallel slashes.  You need a very sharp knife or a razor blade - you don't want the blade to drag across the dough and pull it.  As the bread bakes, this area opens and is known as "the bloom".  Remember to score the loaves right before baking.  

9.  Bake.  Set a cup of water next to your oven.  Slide the bread (including the parchment paper) right onto the hot baking stone.  Quickly pour the water right into the pan underneath the baking stone and close the oven door.  This creates the necessary steam  to make a nice crisp crust on the bread.  Bake at 450 F for about 30 - 35 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf.  Make sure the crust is a deep golden brown.  When you remove the loaf from the oven, you will hear it crackle for a while.  In baking terms, this is called "sing" and it is exactly what you want.  

10.  Cool.  Allow the bread to cool for the best flavor and texture.  It's tempting to eat it when it's warm, and that's fine, but the texture is better after the bread has cooled.

11.  Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (with a hole punched in the top)  container and use for up to 14 days. Every day your bread will improve in flavor. Cut off and shape more loaves as you need them.  When your dough is gone, don't clean the container.  Go ahead and mix another batch - the remaining bits of dough will contribute flavor to the next batch, much like a sourdough starter does!

Bread is best eaten the day it is baked. Leftover baked bread is best stored at room temperature, unwrapped. Simply place the cut side of the bread on plate or counter.  If your bread is gummy on the inside, try either increasing the amount of flour by 1/4 cup and/or increasing the baking time by 5-10 minutes.

Notes:
used 4 1/2 cups of white flour, 2 cups whole wheat, and 1 Tbsp sugar

VERY salty!

I didn't preheat the baking stone, and I can understand why that would be in the instructions. The bottom crust stayed soft.

Chocolate Milk Syrup (Brown Cow)

Is there still a product called Brown Cow? Or is it just the Nesquik bunny now? Regardless. You can use this for chocolate milk, hot chocolate, or drizzle it on your ice cream or cheese cake or....

This is from the Valley Mennonite Academy recipe book, submitted by Mary Klassen.

1/4 cup cocoa

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Combine first four ingredients; cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Use 2 Tbsp syrup for 1 cup milk.

Notes:

Wouldn't it be lovely to use strong coffee in place of the water? MMM!

I only used 1/2 cup sugar and I found it plenty sweet!

I had a great idea... I cleaned out an empty barbecue sauce bottle, got the smell out and everything, then poured the hot chocolate syrup in. Oops! The bottle wasn't made to withstand heat. Would have worked great if I had let the syrup cool first!

Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

 A very simple and yummy recipe from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It's gluten-free, no sugar added and still tasty! This is copied directly from their site:

1-19 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed well
3 eggs
1/3 cup of coconut oil*
1/2 cup honey 
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup, sifted cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Grease a 9 " inch pan.  Line with parchment paper. 
2. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until it is all liquid with no lumps.  
3. Pour into the cake pan.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30  minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (In my oven it took a full 35 minutes, so make sure to test your brownie).
5. Cool for 10 minutes. 
6. Remove from pan, and cool completely. 
7. Cover and refrigerate over night.  In my opinion this tastes best cold straight out of the fridge.
8. Serve with whip cream or ice cream if desired.
9. This cake is suitable for gluten free, lactose intolerant diets. 

*vegetable oil can used in place of the coconut oil, but I like the hint of coconut flavor it gives the brownie. 

Notes:

I  used vegetable oil so I didn't have any coconut flavor, and I'm okay with that. 

The kids couldn't keep their hands off these brownies!

May 12, 2015: I made 12 muffin sized brownies and they worked great! LET COOL IN PAN!

Bread maker bread

I've made so many loaves in my bread maker in the last few weeks that it needs its own post. This is based on the Flax Buns recipe, which I adapted for loaves, and then adapted again for bread maker.

3/4 cup warm water

1 egg

1/8 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup ground flax

2 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 Tbsp yeast

I've had a few loaves that didn't rise very well, and I'm pretty sure it was because it was too dry. I added a few extra teaspoons of water this time, as well as making sure my cups of flour were not extra full at all. 

This makes a 2 lb loaf, and I use setting 3.

I am not the enemy

I heard a great sermon recently about submitting our lives to God and resisting the enemy. The pastor was reminding us that it’s not “THAT” person that’s the enemy. As believers, we have an enemy. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) The Scriptures remind us to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

If you think someone might have horns, remember there is an enemy who is looking for ways to mess with relationships and destroy our personal peace.

Grandma Elias' bun recipe

I don't know if the VMA (Valley Mennonite Academy, one of the private Christian schools in the Winkler area) does a recipe book every year or if they just have the one, but the copy I have (March, 1995) is great! I got it as a wedding gift from my Taunte Anne Friesen (and Joanne and Laura). It was my first favorite recipe book, my standard and go-to for anything I wanted to make; and for good reason, half the recipes in the book are submitted by my relatives! There's a bun recipe that I tried February 4, 2006 that was my Taunte Anne's recipe. I talked to my Grandma today and when I asked her for her bun recipe, she told me it's the same one my aunt uses. So here it is!

4 1/2 cups warm water

3/4 cup melted lard

1 egg, beaten

3 Tbsp sugar (Grandma said she does 2 Tbsp, but Taunte Anne's buns are always better so maybe she should try 3 Tbsp too)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp instant yeast

5 cups of flour

6 1/2 to 7 cups flour

Beat the first 7 ingredients with a whisk until smooth. Put the dough hook onto the machine. Add 6 1/2 to 7 cups more flour; knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Put on pans; let rise for about 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for about 17 to 18 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen buns.

Notes:

I also had a conversation with her about lard. I asked if she always used lard. (short answer = yes) She said she sometimes used chicken fat that was rendered after chicken slaughtering. I've never heard of people keeping it and using it in baking or cooking! She said my great-grandma used to like that very much, and used it instead of butter. Isn't that interesting?!

She said she would store the pail of lard in the freezer and just keep a smaller portion in the fridge for easier access.

Used 8 cups white flour, 4 cups whole wheat.

Made 2 full pans of buns with 2 dozen on each pan, plus a large handful of dough leftover which I made into bite-sized pieces, deep-fried them, and rolled them in (2Tbsp) sifted icing sugar and (1 tsp) sifted cinnamon.

Put the buns in the oven to rise and set a small pot of boiling water in the bottom of the oven to aid in the rising. Worked well!

Baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (My oven would probably have been closer to 400 degrees because it's hotter than what the dial is set at.)

The buns are a great texture, even though I haven't eaten one yet.

A New Thing

I watched this on TV and it was so great that I just had to hold on to a copy! Thankfully they had this posted on the Hour of Power website so I didn't have to type it out :)

Bishop Kenneth Ulmer

Hour of Power

December 25, 2011

One of the most significant disciplines and lessons that a person can learn is the ability to recognize, hear, and respond to the voice of God. It is a truth that should be a part of the very fabric of the life of every believer. To know that God still speaks. The presence of the living God is in this place, even as we speak. And He is yet speaking.

One of the ways that God speaks is through His Word, and He never speaks in contradiction to what He has already spoken. God never says that which contradicts what He has already said. And one of the ways that He speaks is through His Word.

Today, we’re going to study a passage out of the book, the prophecy of Isaiah. You will determine whether it is merely the written Word of God, or whether it is a word from God, for you, based on where you are, based on where you are going. The prophet Isaiah was the one who declared unto us a Child would be born; unto us a Son would be given.

The same Isaiah in the 43rd chapter of his prophecy declares in verse 2, “I will be with you.” I will be with thee. When you read scripture and there’s an interesting shift to first person, the context will reveal that it is God speaking. I declare unto you that God speaks at this very moment and He says to you, “I am with you.”

God brought someone to this place today. You may have just come for the tour. You may have just seen the crowd and casually wandered in. But God brought you to this place today that He might deposit into your spirit the truth that He is with you.

God speaks even today. And through the prophet Isaiah, He says this: “When you pass through the waters,” Isaiah 43, verse 2, “I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle thee.” Through the water, through the river, through the flame, through the fire, God says, “I will be with you.”

I have some bad news today and I have some good news today. The bad news is, if you continue to walk with the Lord, sooner or later you will go through the fire, you will go through the river, and you will go through the water. The good news is, if you continue to walk with the Lord, you will eventually go through the fire, through the river, and through the water.

Every now and then you can toss in an “amen”; just toss one in there if you agree with what I say. Keep your head nodding so I know you’re still awake and just toss in an “amen.” That was a great place for an “amen.”

If you walk with the Lord, I guarantee you sooner or later you’ll go through the water, through the river, through the fire. But if you continue to follow Him, you will go through the water, and through the river, and through the fire.

God brought someone to this place today and your testimony is: I’ve been through it. That’s someone’s testimony today. I have been through it. The operative word is I’ve been through. He did not say you’ll go in it, you’ll go through it. Through it means you came in one side, and if you keep on walking, you will come out on the other side. Sometimes you even have to tell the devil, I’m coming out of this in the name of Jesus. Sometimes you have to declare your own destiny and look the enemy in the face and declare, “I may go through, but I’m coming out.” That’s a good place for an “amen,” right off down through there.

God says, “I will be with you.” In this new season, you will know the unusual presence of God. God says, “I’ll be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I’ll be with you even when you are going through, I’ll be with you.”

Notice, if you will, He also says in that same chapter - it’s a very, very interesting exhortation that He says in verse 18: “Remember not the former things; neither consider the things of old.” Interesting, God says, He speaks and He says, “Remember not the former things.” Interestingly enough, to remember not is not the same thing as to forget. I’ll say it again. When God says do not remember, remember not, that’s not the same as saying forget. To forget suggests that you erase it from your mind and your awareness.

God says remember not. The word remember means to behold or to place before, or to hold before one’s mind or one’s consciousness. What God says is don’t get stuck on what I’ve already done - the things of old. I brought you through the water, I’ve brought you through the storm, I’ve brought you through the rivers, I’ve brought you through the fire, and yet, it’s not over yet. There is much that I shall continue to do. And God says remember not. In other words, don’t get stuck on what I’ve already done. Even the good things that God has done shall pale in comparison to the better things that God has yet to do. I’ll say it again. Even the good things that God has done, will pale in comparison to the better things that God has yet to do.

For many of you, that might just be the logos. That just might be the written Word of God. But for someone, that is God’s prophetic Word to you; that God is about to do something in your life. In spite of what has already happened, in spite of what God has already done, never spend your today holding on to your yesterday and miss your tomorrow. Let me try this group over here, they didn’t get it over there. Let me go over here. Don’t waste your today, holding onto your yesterday, or you’ll miss your tomorrow. God says don’t get stuck on what I’ve already done.

Then He says this: “Behold, I will do a new thing.” I’ll give myself an “amen” on that one. God says behold, He says look, look at it. One version says don’t miss it. God says I will do a new thing - in this house, in your life. Behold, I will do a new thing. I release in this house a prophetic new. God says I will do a new thing.

Now be mindful that there are at least two words for new. There is one word for new that means, listen, new in time. There is another word for new that means new in kind. I’ll say it again. There’s a word for new that means new in time. And another word for new that means new in kind.

Let me see if I can help you. Does anyone own a Ford car? Oh, my brother Downs owns a Ford car. Let’s say, it’s what? A 2004, 5, 6, 10, 8? He has a car, and he comes in and says, “I have a new car,” and all of the saints rejoice and celebrate because this brother has a new car. He shakes the keys and says, “I have a new car.” And you go out to the parking lot and there is a brand spanking new 2012, a brand new Ford. And he says, “I have a new car.”

Now, before this new car, he had an old car. His old car was a Ford. And now he has a brand new Ford, right off the assembly line. It’s a new car, a 2012 brand new car. But it is new in time. The 2012 Ford’s will be an updated model of the previous Fords. It will be revised model. It will be a redesigned model of the same Ford because it will be new in time.

But let’s say the same brother comes in and he waves the keys and we all begin to celebrate because this brother has a brand new car. And we go out to the parking lot and now he has the keys to a brand new Mercedes Benz. Can I say that over here? Is that okay? Is that all right? And he waves the keys, and he says, ‘”I have a brand new car - a 2012.” Now, the other car was a Ford. The new car is a Benz. It’s not just new in time, it’s new in kind because it is nothing like the old car. Not just new in time, but new in kind.

God says, “Behold,” now who is this word for? “I shall do a new thing.” Not new in time, somebody sees it. What I’m about to do is new in kind, which means what I’m about to do in your life, what I’m about to do in this house is nothing like what I’ve already done. What I’ve already done was a good thing but what I’m about to do now is exceeding, abundantly above all that you can ask or think. I’m about to do a new thing, new in kind, brand new.

That’s a great place for a shout and an “amen,” right off down through there. Because God says to someone today, I’m taking you into a new season. I’m going to do something that is new in kind. And if you hold on to what I’ve already done, you’ll miss it. If you hold on to what I did yesterday, as good as it was, you will miss what I’m going to do because what I’m going to do is nothing like what I’ve already done.

Now watch this. When God does a new thing in your life, and He speaks it and declares it, it requires a unique kind of faith because now you need faith with no reference point. In other words, you cannot look back and base your anticipation on what God has already done because He’s already said, “What I’m going to do is brand new,” and so you now need a faith with no reference point. You need a God kind of faith, because what God is going to do, you don’t have enough faith to do it. You need to receive a God kind of faith, and allow God to believe through you what God is going to do in you. I said it too fast; you missed it. You must allow God to release His faith in you to do in you what He’s going to do for you and in your life. Because God says I’m about to do a brand new thing.

That’s God’s word for someone today. In this house, in your life, in your marriage, in your career, in your relationships, in your finances, I’m going to do a new thing.

In the next chapter, He says this: “I’m going to pour water; I’m going to pour rain from heaven.” God says I’m going to make it rain in the desert. I’m going to pour out rain from heaven, to water the dry places. Now, if you’ve never had any dry places, this verse is not for you. If you’ve never gone through any drought periods and any dry periods, if you’ve never gone through a season where you wonder where the crops and where the harvest was, you cannot relate to this verse. But if you know what it’s like to go through the water and through the fire and through the winds and the rains and the storms, while watching the enemy on the sideline trying to count you out and say you’d never make it, and yet you’ve seen God reach into the mess and bless you in spite of it, and bring you through. God says I’m about to do a new thing and pour out rain in dry places.

The very phrase “pour out” speaks of what God did at Pentecost when He poured out His Spirit. God says I’m going to pour out of my Spirit; I’m going to pour out rain in dry places. And so I have the weather report. It’s going to rain. I declare it in Jesus’ name. It’s going to rain. An outpouring, a fresh outpouring of the presence and power of God in your life, and in this house. It’s going to rain.

I lived in a place called East St. Louis, back in the Midwest. And my dad would often stand on the back porch of my house and look up and the sky was totally blue. And my dad would say, “Son, it’s going to rain.”

I’d say, “Daddy, the weatherman says it’s going to be sunshine for the next three days.’”

My daddy said, “Son, it’s going to rain.”

I said, “Daddy, but the weatherman says there is sunshine for the foreseeable future.

My daddy said, “Son, it’s going to rain. I’m not talking about the weatherman. I’m talking about the man who made the weather and God says it’s going to rain.”

I said, ‘”Daddy, how can you be so sure that it’s going to rain when there’s not a cloud in the sky?”

My daddy said, “Son, I can feel it in my knees.”

“If my (God’s) people who are called by my name will humble themselves,” go down on their knees, call out to the God of heaven, God says I will hear from heaven. Tell your neighbor it’s going to rain. I make the weather forecast in this house; it’s going to rain. The presence of God, the power of God shall be poured out the likes of which you have not seen. It’s going to rain in this house.

There was a woman one day who heard her pastor say on a Sunday, “It’s going to rain.” It had not rained in that part of America for months and months. In fact, there was a drought. And the pastor said, “Tomorrow night, we’re going to come and we’re going to have a prayer meeting. We’re going to pray and ask God for an unusual outpouring. We’re going to ask God for rain.” It had not rained for months and months. Farms were failing and crops were failing because there had been no rain. The old preacher said, “Tomorrow night, we’re going to gather in this place and we’re going to pray for rain.”

Sure enough the next night, the saints of God began to gather in this old country church. They would come out because the preacher said, “We’re going to pray for rain.”

The kids gathered a little early that night, and they began to pray on the porch of this small country church. As they did, they looked down the road, and saw a strange sight. It was one of the older women of the church, old Mother Jones, walking down the dusty road dressed in a strange outfit. With every step she took, Mother Jones kicked up some dust. The children saw Mother Jones, began to laugh at the strange sight, and then ran to the pastor, saying, “Pastor, something’s wrong with Mother Jones. She’s dressed up in a strange outfit. And every step that she takes, she kicks up some dust and some dirt.”

Sure enough, the old pastor came out of the church, looked at her coming up the road dressed up in a strange outfit and said, “Mother Jones, why are you wearing such a strange outfit?”

Mother Jones was dressed in an old yellow rubber coat with an old rubber hat stuck to one side of her head and big, floppy galoshes on her feet. You all don’t know about galoshes out here - they’re big rubber boots. She was carrying an old umbrella, a parasol in her hand. And the preacher said, “Mother Jones, why are you wearing such a strange outfit? You’ve got on an old raincoat, you’ve got on a rain hat, you’ve got on rain boots, and you have an umbrella in your hand. Mother Jones, why are you wearing such a strange outfit?”

Mother Jones said, “Pastor, I thought you said we were coming out here to pray for rain and it seems to me, if we’re going to pray for rain, somebody ought to get dressed up and get ready to receive the rain because it’s going to rain, children.”

I came to tell you today, it’s going to rain. Somebody has to learn how to praise God in the rain. Somebody has to learn how to stand up and give God honor in the rain. Somebody has to learn how to dance in the rain; how to celebrate in the rain; how to wave your hands in the rain; how to shout in the rain; how to give God glory in the rain; how to magnify the Lord in the rain. It’s going to rain, children. Somebody praise Him because the rain is on the way!

Pour out Your rain, Lord!

It’s going to rain, children. Somebody give God praise in this house. Oh clap your hands, oh ye people. Shout unto the Lord with the shout of triumph. Somebody bless Him in the rain.

Let Your rain fall, Jesus. Let Your Spirit fall, Jesus. Let Your presence fall, Jesus.

Somebody bless Him in the rain! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! In the rain! Come on and bless Him somebody. Hallelujah!