Friday, November 23, 2012

I Can See Clearly Now (or - I Got A New Windshield)


A few days ago I got a new windshield.  The next morning I was discussing things with God and giving Him thanks for my blessings.  When I told Him I was thankful for the new windshield, the conversation got really interesting.  I don’t know how He talks to you, but it’s always plain and simple, often with visuals for me.

He said, “You know that windshield is like the wounded spirited people you work with?”

Me, “How?”

He said to think about how the whole thing happened and see how it parallels to “real life”:

The crack started one day in a parking lot.  I wasn’t with the car when the windshield got the crack, but it was there when I got back to it.  It really was a little crack, maybe about 2 inches tops.  It was late in the day, and on the passenger side of the car, so it didn’t really seem urgent to fix it.  Within two days, the crack had grown to half a foot.  Still, it was on the other side of the car and I really didn’t have the time nor the money to get it fixed.

The six inch crack stayed there – six inches – all through the winter months.  It didn’t get any bigger and did not demand my attention. So, I ignored it. I would deal with it later.

One day in the spring, my youngest daughter and I went to the store. It was one of the early beautiful days of spring.  The temperature no longer required a jacket and the sun was shining bright.  We shopped for maybe an hour and got back to the car to discover the six inch crack had spread almost all the way across the windshield! A little heat evidently caused it to spread.  Money was still an issue, so I didn’t plan to replace it soon. The crack, however, was right in my line of vision.

I am going to backtrack a bit here and explain what I see:  the windshield took some type of blow that left it damaged.  Probably not the car’s fault since it was sitting still when it happened.  We all take various hits and blows in life.  Some leave visible wounds.  Some leave emotional or spiritual wounds.  I chose to ignore the crack in the windshield like some of us choose to ignore the wounds we have.  We think if we stuff them down, they will just go away. When the heat came on, that little crack became a very large issue, just like a little hurt can fester and some seemingly little thing can make us feel like we are falling apart, and we choose to bury our heads in the sand, we can’t change because we can’t get past this huge wound.

Now, there were times I could look around that huge crack and kind of pretend it wasn’t there, but sometimes the sun (Son) would hit that crack just right and it would nearly blind me! Like when Jesus brings something to light that He wants to heal, but we close our eyes and ignore it as best we can.  Driving at night, a lot of times it was difficult to see around that crack, like it can be difficult to see down the road past the huge hurt we keep hanging on to.  When the darkness comes, the hurt can become all we can see.  That in itself can cause more pain, until pain is all we can see.

So, what do you do??

You have to make a change.

You have to let go of the cracked windshield- you call the windshield Specialist and He brings you a brand new windshield, with no cracks.

The Specialist can replace what was damaged by the world and give you brand new clear vision.  All you have to do is make the call-  He will come to you.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

The Sacred Meal The Ancient Practices Series (Review)


The Sacred MealThe Ancient Practices Series

By Nora Gallagher, Phyllis Tickle
Published by Thomas Nelson







My expectation from the title of the book and the series was a deeper study into communion, cultural meaning and experiences, variations of the practice from faith to faith.  For this, The Sacred Meal did not meet what I was hoping it would be.  It did prove to be something quite different. 

This book is a lovely memoir of Ms. Gallagher's experiences with communion, not what I expected, but lovely nonetheless.  She reveals up close personal experiences with others during communion and how her life was affected from those encounters.  Quiet, awe-filled encounters with the King of kings and feeling His presence surrounding her- those moments are precious, both in her experience and her openness to share those experiences with the world.  

Did I learn from the book?  Yes.  Not what I expected.  I would not recommend the book for a deeper study of the meaning of communion. I do recommend reading it for an encouragement for your faith. 





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Dangerous Favor


And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
 Luke 1:28-30

“Favor.”

It’s something we often seek from our Lord. Sometimes we might even know what we are asking.  Dictionary.com defines “favor” this way:

1. something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice or for remuneration; a kind act: to ask a favor.
2. friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill: to win the favor of the king.
3. the state of being approved or held in regard: to be in favor at court; styles that are now in favor.
4. excessive kindness or unfair partiality; preferential treatment: to treat some people with favor and others with neglect.
5. a gift bestowed as a token of goodwill, kind regard, love,etc., as formerly upon a knight by his lady.

When we look at “favor” as merely option #4 or #5, preferential treatment or a gift, I think we short-change God and ourselves.


This card came into my office at Christmas time a couple of years ago and for some odd reason, it held my attention. After Christmas, it came home with me and I placed where I would see it every day. Every time I looked at it, God would whisper to me

                                                            "favor can be dangerous…”

Look at Mary. She was a mere teenager when the angel visited her; her life had just begun, really. She was looking forward to starting married life with Joseph.  Was she perfect? No. Did she know everything? No. Was she willing to be used of God for His purpose? Yes, completely.

What did “favor” look like with Mary? Option #3. She was approved or held in regard by God. Again, she wasn’t perfect.  She was willing to allow God to work his purpose through her life. She didn’t know it, but by saying “yes” she was changing her life, and the world, forever.

Favor for Mary involved:

scandal
           whispers
                         gossip
                                    giving birth to her Son in a place where animals stay
                                                 at times, living a life on the run
                                                              watching her precious Son whom she loved dearly being beaten
                                                                           seeing Him die

and…..
the love of a man who knew when his God was speaking,and was faithful to obey and love Mary
            holding the newborn Savior of the world in her arms and kissing His face
                         loving Jesus face to face and knowing He loved her too
                                   changing the world by being part of God’s plan to bring man back to Him

Would Mary have done things differently had she known what was to transpire? We will never know, but it’s a good argument for the reason God doesn’t always give us the game plan ahead of time.

Favor. God’s favor. Which version of God's favor do you seek? The gift or the regard?

Oh! Why do I call this "Dangerous Favor" you ask? Because that favor can change the world!


You know who else had favor?  Noah. We will talk about him in another post

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Things I Learned From Betty Lou - You Need a Hot Skillet


This is a new thing - we will see where it goes.

Nanny made cornbread almost every day for years. She slowed down when she got older, but I remember every day the butter beans and cornbread.  She would let me help and she would teach me how to make whatever she was making. Cornbread was no exception. Her first rule for the best cornbread?  You have to start with a really hot skillet. The batter won't rise as well if the skillet is cold. 

What's your spiritual connect with this?  Don't wait until you get to church to get fired up.  Get hot BEFORE you get to church and church will take on a whole new meaning. Understanding will be deeper and you will go higher...just like the cornbread.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Here Sits a Dreamer


Here sits a dreamer. Wrapped in blankets of gold, lights low, candles glowing, this dreamer sits. And writes. The dreamer dares to dream dreams that seem impossible. To the surrounding world, yes, impossible. 

The dreamer remembers the soft words spoken to her all those days ago, the Voice that sometimes is so faint the dreamer can barely hear. But hear, she does. And she remembers. She remembers the dreams and the destiny given to her by her God. In the still of the night she holds those dreams close and wonders how her destiny plays out- how do the impossible circumstances change? Did she hear the Voice correctly? He assures her that her dreams shall come true. He gently reminds her that His promises are "yes" and "amen." 

He reminds He is not a man that He should lie. The dreamer decides to trust what she knows she has been promised will come to pass. The Voice reminds her that she is His princess....

                                                                       ....and dreams come true, if you only believe....


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Green Velvet Cake Bites

Yes, I know I have a blog and have been neglecting it terribly- life has been super crazy! My apologies, and I will try to do better.

Today we are playing with Green Velvet. Kind of like Red Velvet...but...well, you know...green.

Here is the basic guest list for this recipe:


1 Milk Chocolate Cake Mix (for the mix I used, you also need 3 eggs, 1 1/4 c water, and 1/3 c oil)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 bottle green food coloring
2 tbsp cocoa (optional)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1 12 oz package white chocolate morsels
1 12 oz package semi sweet chocolate morsels
green sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9"x13" cake pan (I "floured" mine with extra cocoa). Combine water, oil, eggs, and cake mix and mix according to package directions (2 minutes). SLOWLY add the food coloring, and the cocoa and vanilla if desired. These pictures are from my first attempt, I used the cocoa and vanilla, and a whole bottle of the food coloring. Second test, I omitted the cocoa and used only 1/2 a bottle of food coloring, with only a minor depth of color change. Go with your personal preference on this one. Once food coloring is evenly distributed, pour into prepared pan and bake for recommended time (30-35 minutes) - check at 30 minutes- I found adding the cocoa, vanilla, and entire bottle of food coloring required 5 extra minutes baking time.




Isn't this an AWESOME green???

Once cake is removed from the oven, allow to cool. When completely cool, crumble the entire cake into a large bowl. Add 1/2 the cream cheese frosting. Remaining frosting can be refrigerated for later use. Or eaten with a spoon. Whatever.

Anyway....

Smush the crumbled cake and frosting together. I suppose you could use a spoon, but hands are much easier. Once thoroughly combined, roll this "dough" into balls and place on a cookie sheet or wire rack- temptation is to make them larger. Go smaller. The final cake bite is really rich and you don't want to overwhelm folks. Once rolling is complete, place the cookie sheet or wire rack in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

Melt one package of chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, 20 second intervals, stirring often. Be prepared to work fast. Have plenty of paper towels, toothpicks, and couple of teaspoons, the sprinkles, and wax or parchment paper ready to use. Place a ball on a toothpick and dip into the melted chocolate. Quickly coat and gently "jiggle" to remove excess chocolate. Place cake bite on paper. Use the teaspoon to fill in the hole from the toothpick. Add the sprinkles and you get something that looks like this.


Oh happy day!!!
And just so ya know, when you add the whole bottle of food coloring, you can tell exactly who has had a cake bite.
You have been warned :-)

Friday, March 2, 2012

http://bible.us/Ps84.11.ESV For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Banana Pudding

So... I got up this morning with a "hankering" (yes, that is a word. At least in the South) for my Nanny's banana pudding. You have to understand that THIS is THE ONE recipe I never got specifics on when watching her make it. I've been scouring websites to find something that seems similar to Nanny's 'Nanner Puddin'. This is close. I will keep playing with it until it's right. In the meantime, here is playing with food for today...


Make sure you are prepared. I obviously was not, so these chocolate graham crackers are my substitute for vanilla wafers. You gotta love me!

Here is Plan-B in case this pudding was a flop:

Triple Chocolate cake eventually covered in chocolate whipped icing. I'm sure we will figure out something to do with it....

Anyway.

Banana Pudding

1/2 c sugar
1/3 c flour (scant measure, mine got too thick too fast; may reduce to 2 tbsp on the do-over)
3 egg yolks (save the white for the top!)
2 c milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

2 ripe bananas
vanilla wafers (I prefer Nilla wafers. Use what floats your boat. Or what you have on hand!)

3 reserved egg whites
dash of vanilla
1/2 c sugar (scant measure)

Whisk sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Add egg yolks, milk, and vanilla. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (important!!! keep stirring!) to prevent lumps. When sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat and set aside.

Place vanilla wafers (or graham crackers) in the bottom of a round casserole dish. Layer 1 sliced banana on top. Add or reduce bananas as you wish. I prefer fewer bananas, but added more for this experiment. Pour half of the sauce over the wafers and bananas, then repeat; wafers, banana, sauce.

Set aside. Now to the topping.

In a very clean (read zero oil residue) dry bowl, beat the reserved egg whites until slightly stiff. Add the vanilla, continue beating. Add half the sugar and beat some more. Add the last half of the sugar and beat until blended and the egg whites form very soft peaks. I realize that most meringue recipes call for cream of tartar. Not going there. My Nanny never used it and hers is what I am looking to recreate. If you want to use it, please do - all food creations belong to the creator and can be adapted as one sees fit. Dollop meringue on top of pudding - all the way to the edges of the bowl. Sprinkle with sugar before popping it in the oven to brown to meringue. 350 degree oven - DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED. When it decides to brown, it will brown VERY quickly.

This is wonderful freshly made warm, but also very good straight from the fridge.
Enjoy!


Thursday, February 2, 2012

Easy Peach Cobbler


Easiest cobbler recipe ever! I think this recipe came from my mom - I remember having it when I was young(er) and loved it then too! This is the only cobbler recipe I ever use.

This takes literally less than 10 minutes to get into the oven. Doesn't get much easier!



1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 140z can of sliced peaches
1 stick of butter (not margarine)

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in your baking dish. The easiest way is to place the butter in the baking dish and put it in the oven while preheating is happening.

Mix together the flour and sugar with a whisk. Slowly add the milk 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well between additions.
Once the oven is preheated, pour the batter in the baking dish. Spoon sliced peaches on top, then drizzle the juice over the whole thing.

Bake until golden brown (approximately 1 hour). Careful! It's awesome, but very hot for a very long time!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Today...









I took my children to school because their bus was unaccounted for. This morning was the first time I've been down Old Springville Road and Deerfoot Parkway.

To my friends who live near me - I am so very grateful that you are here to read my post.

To those who are seeing video and pictures - it's far worse "in person."

To the young girl who is staying with us - I am so so very glad that you are with us and we got to have cheeseburgers together. And I am glad you are here to tell me you don't like strawberry cheesequake Blizzards :-D

My heart goes out to all those who have suffered loss this week. Prayers for your peace, safety, and speedy provision. Much love you all!

Peace

Friday, January 20, 2012

When blind eyes are opened...


Psalm 146 ESV

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

7 who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.


Today I had the opportunity to spend some time with a young man who is on a radical journey with God. He is scheduled to have surgery in a few weeks. Surgeons will removed 50% of one lung and 20% of another. Keep him in your prayers.

I have watched this man grow over the past months since his diagnosis. He has been through fear, pain, suffering, guilt, the whole range of emotions. I cannot explain to you what happens when I listen to him talk now. God shows up so intently; I feel what's in this man's heart. He knows what he's living with now is a result of poor life choices and he accepts that (Jesus can heal him, pray for that). He also accepts that his Jesus loves him and intends to work mightily through him. I believe that! He opens his mouth and Word comes out. I love it! He's destined to preach.

He speaks of reaching those who are doing the things he used to do.

He speaks of telling them how much he hurt his body with what he's done.

He speaks of telling them how much Jesus loves them and can save them.

He's going to do it. Jesus wants him to.

And I want to watch him let Jesus work through him to reach the world.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.  Romans 11:19-21


Saturday, January 14, 2012

You are the man!

Do you have a Nathan?

Do you need a Nathan?

Do you know who Nathan is??

2 Samuel 12.

We all know that David was a man after the heart of God. He truly loved God and he did some really great things. Read his story. He also had failures. Some REALLY BIG failures. This time read the part of David's story where he steals another man's wife, impregnates her, then to try and fix things, has the husband killed, marries the woman, and is trying to live happily ever after.

Does this sound like a mess?

Yes, just go ahead and say, "Yes, it does."

2 Samuel 11 tells us that it displeased the Lord. Nathan the prophet was sent to confront David about his sin.

Nathan addresses David with a parable, this one describing in veiled imagery what David had done to Uriah. David was angered at the "man" in the parable, even says that this "man" deserves to die because of his actions and lack of pity.

Then Nathan delivers this awesome line, "You are the man!" (see, you thought this was a new saying. Turns out, it's been around for centuries!)

David did his sin in secrecy. He thought no one knew. God always knows. God always knows.

David needed accountability for his sin. God sent Nathan to bring the sin to David's sight. God didn't kill David for his actions, but He did hold him accountable. The baby born of David and Bathsheba's affair died. A mighty price to pay for one's sin...that he didn't recognize as being...sin .In his mind, he thought he had fixed it.

What do you need to take away from this story? You need someone to whom you can be accountable. It doesn't matter if you are a new Christian, been going to church since before you were born, or somewhere in between. You need someone speaking into your life that can say, "Hey man, we need to talk about what you did," and YOU LISTEN AND CORRECT YOUR ACTIONS. A wise man will take the lesson and learn from it. A foolish man will blame someone else. The evil man will act like it never happened. A man who will not be accountable for his actions, well, he's not someone you need to follow.

Find a Nathan or two to keep in your life. You need the accountability. Be the man!