What You Wore Today

March 2 - Photo Challenge: What You Wore Today

March 30 Day Photo Challenge

My daughter, Ashley, at Ridges and Ripples, is trying a 30 Day Photo Challenge on her blog for the month of March and I've decided to join in the fun!

Here's the post where she plans the challenges for 2014.

Here's the post detailing March's Photo Challenge.

Today's Photo - Yourself

How's Your Spiritual Health? A Diagnostic

I am beginning a new Bible Study on the Fruit of the Spirit and I found a wonderful article that includes some great diagnostic questions about your spiritual health.  I've included the intro; if you're interested in reading the whole article, click on the link included.

How long since you’ve had a checkup to assess your spiritual health?    

by Scott Williams

Not long ago, a seasoned marathoner had just crossed the finish line with an impressive time when he suffered a heart attack and died. From the outside, he looked to be the picture of health, but a fatal condition was hiding on the inside.

Every one of us needs an occasional visit to the doctor for a checkup to make sure everything is working alright and that we don’t have an unknown serious internal condition.

The same is true with our spiritual lives. As creatures of habit, we tend to go through life on autopilot. We often miss clues that indicate that our spirit is not enjoying the good health that God created it for.

In the same way that the doctor puts us through a battery of tests to diagnose potential physical problems, God has given us a process of evaluating spiritual problems in our lives:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

For the rest of the article, see here:

http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/faith/essentials/growing-in-your-faith/10-ideas-reflecting-the-fruit-of-the-spirit#.UxDUn9yLQds

Baked Tilapia

(picture from Taste of Home)

I'm trying to tempt you to try some of my delicious recipes! If you'd like to see how I slightly adapted this quick and easy baked fish dish, pop over to my cooking blog and take a look. Enjoy!

All Things Will Be Made New

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End...

This week I finished A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place, a Beth Moore Bible study on the Tabernacle.  I can’t even begin to tell you how transformative this stuy has been in my life; it’s been amazing.

The last lesson concluded with God dwelling among the people during His Mellennial reign. Beth described Jerusalem: the city, the gates, etc. She suggested that maybe God didn’t tell us more about what would be included in the new heavens and the new earth because we wouldn’t be able to even imagine it!  He did, however, leave us with what will not be there. (verse 4)

There will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying and no more pain.

If we were to write this list we probably would've written it in the opposite order so it would build for impact…no more pain, no more crying, no more mourning, and no more death. Wow, that’s going to be good, isn’t it.

But Scripture doesn’t record it like that. Instead it’s as if God is saying, “There will be no more death. (Amen!) But not only will there be no more death, there will not even be mourning. No only will there be no more death and mourning, there will not even be crying. Not only will there be no more death, mourning or crying, there will not even be pain!

Can you imagine that? The old order of things will have passed away. The weight of sin, the sadness of this life, the heartache – it will all be gone. Just take a moment and let that sink in.

He continues, “I am making everything new!” We won’t recognize this new order, we haven’t lived outside of sin and pain. How exciting it will be – how joyous, how light. We will bow and be thankful for all He has done.

He assures us that these words are trustworthy and true. Does it seem too good to be true? Don’t doubt that it’s coming! You can believe it.

The next verse, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”  In essence, He's saying, "I started this story, I’ve been in control the whole way through and I will see it to the end and the end is going to be good!”

Whatever you are struggling with right now I hope you’ll rejoice that you are not alone in it and that this too shall pass. Someday we won’t live in a world that is an enemy to us. Someday we won’t have a sin nature that we'll have to continually put to death. He will make all things new and it will be finished! Praise the Lord!

Carnitas

(picture from all recipes.com)

Need a delicious, easy-to-make carnitas recipe?

Check out my cooking blog:

Angie's Home Cooking

None of them fell to the ground

You know how it goes, you pray that the Lord will work in the life of your child and instead He shoots a reminder right across your bow that maybe you should be examining yourself. That happened to me this week.

I've got a Jr. Higher (again, for the 3rd time) and let's say, sometimes her words and tone used in speaking to me are not exactly Christlike. I've been working on my reactions to my husband since the beginning of the year so I thought I had been paying attention to my words and tone already, but once I started praying I began to notice the impatience in my own reactions when dealing with this child.  In many ways she was just mirroring me. Ouch!

We had out-of-town family here for a few days this week and both this child and I did well...until they drove out of the driveway. Everything was back to normal within minutes. I thought, "Wow, if we can control our responses for our reputation, then we should be able to control them for our character too!"

That morning I had been reading in 1 Samuel and had to stop at chapter 3, verse 19.

"The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground."

This verse probably means that all of Samuel's prophecies came true, however, I can't deny the power of the actual words used...none of them fell to the ground.

I waste a lot of words and too often use an ungodly tone.

Not only should the following verse be a song on our lips, but a prayer in our heart, as well.

Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Hodgepodge 1/15

Joining Joyce, From This Side of the Pond, for the Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1.  Are you a force to be reckoned with? In what way?

I think most people in my life would say, "yes," but I have mixed emotions about that response. I'm a first born, a type A-ish personality, struggling not to be perfectionistic. I really hate change too. While  I know the Lord blessed me with this personality, I often feel at battle within myself, asking Him to smooth off the rough edges.  So, while I might be a force, I hope the Lord has transformed/influenced me enough to be pleasing in His sight.

2. What are two things you love about the wintertime? Or, if love feels like too strong a word, what are two things you 'like' about winter? 

Oh, I LOVE winter. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I'm a homebody, so this season lends itself to staying indoors. Whoo-hoo! I enjoy the beauty of the snow, the snuggles under blankets, the days we take off for "snow days" that include hot chocolate and good books to read. Winter snow days are the adult version of skipping class or playing hooky! Awesome!

3. Pomegranate, kumquat, persimmon, kiwi, and guava are all fruits said to have health benefits, particularly during the winter months. Do you have a favorite on the list? Are there any on the list you haven't tried? 

Hm. I like kiwi in salad and pomegranates are ok, but messy. I've had guava (no thanks!) and persimmon (in a cookie long ago). Never tried kumquat.  I guess kiwi would be the favorite.

4. I passed a local church yesterday and noticed they had this on their outdoor sign- 'When all else fails, do the right thing.' Your thoughts?

Yes! I was raised to "do right no matter what."  Whether it's when all else fails or when no one is looking, "do right!" 

We use rolling carts for supplies at our church and a couple of years ago the entire staff was told to use only the service elevator when moving the carts. I spend a good amount of time doing that on Sunday and I have never broken the rule, even though many, many others have given it up. I've even been encouraged by other staffers to go ahead and do it, but I can't! I'm such a rule follower. Once my boss saw me send away an elevator I couldn't use to wait for the service elevator and she said, "You've never broken the rule, have you?" I said, "No way!" She laughed. Just can't help it!  (I'm a force that way, ha!)

5. Do you ski? According to one list I've seen, the top 5 ski destinations for 2014 are-St. Anton Austria, Whistler Canada, Cortina Italy, Tahoe USA, and Zermatt Switzerland.  Of the five listed, which would you most like to visit? We can make skiing optional if that helps the non-skiers with their answer. 

Sigh. I skied when I was younger. Now I look at the slopes and think about my knees. :)

I would choose Austria, because I hear it's a beautiful country and I'd like to see it someday.

6.  What's the last thing you looked for online? (Besides my blog!)

Yesterday while clearing off my desk I listened/watched a sermon by Matt Chandler at thevillagechurch.net. Wow! This pastor was recommended to me by my sister-in-law and although the message was on the sanctity of life (I'm pretty firm on where I stand on that one), I thought the message was amazing. He is very entertaining, but his analytical style really spoke to my way of thinking, as well. So good!

7. What saying, slogan, quote, or motto have you seen lately that inspires you for the new year?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Today is National Hat Day and National Strawberry Ice Cream Day! I'd hate to blow my diet on strawberry ice cream and I don't look good in a hat, but it's National Oatmeal Month and Hot Tea Month, so I think I'll have tea and oatmeal for breakfast! 

What if ?

I found this interesting short story on ReadWave.

It is entitled What if Jesus Could be you for 24 hours?

It's a quick read. See if it gets you to look at your own day differently.

Enjoy!

Doing the Ordinary Well

I spent some time this week thinking on a devotion published on Jan 8 in Our Daily Bread. The devotion talks about the hidden life, one filled with ordinary deeds and simple forms of human helpfulness.  Today, many believers want to do the BIG things for God: go on a mission's trip, raise money, write books, become influential in Christian realms, but throughout history, most believers will spend their lifetime doing the ordinary things: caring for their families, praying for those with needs, and listening to their hurting friends. The Lord needs a lot more "ordinary" opportunities well-met in His name, than He does the BIG, seen-by-the-world opportunities.

"Every act of love rendered for His sake is noted and has eternal consequences. Every place, no matter how small, is holy ground. Influence is more than lofty acts and words. It can be a simple matter of human helpfulness: being present, listening, understanding the need, loving and praying."

As I read that quote, I thought, "Yes, these things are so valuable!" Then I wondered why there was such a hunger for these things today and I believe in part, it's because we're too busy to actually do them often or well. 

Being present, listening, understanding the need, loving and praying.

How I would love to be able to do those things better this year. It will take intention, a slowing down, and a change of focus from myself and what I think it "more important" to truly putting others first.

The devotion concluded with "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus," and "do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance." (Col 3:17, 23-24)

How I would love for my family and friends to be able to say I was present, I listened, I understood, I loved and I prayed.