Raining

It is so nice to see and feel rain after such a time of drought. It is so refreshing to the spirit and the senses to feel the coolness, to smell the freshness, to see the birds, trees, plants --all respond with growth (and seeming joy!). A lack of something (like rain) does make you oh so much more appreciate it!!

Listened to a bit of Jakes when doing my exercises yesterday--some things he said that I want to think on--"Walk in the light of what is clear." ...How you see yourself affects how you see the situation around you. In Numbers the guys that went to spy out the land saw themselves as grasshoppers--but Caleb and Joshua saw it differently--they had a clearer understanding of who they were in the Lord--they knew they could do it. They faced the same situation , but had a different perception of it. Jakes encouraged us to hang with the right people--people who have faith, boldness, confidence in God. A situation reveals how you see yourself---it reveals what is inside of you.....so we must build up what is inside of us!! We must realize that in Him we are more than conquerors.

Then Joyce said some good things too--Keeping the word of God in front of you will transform your life into a reflection of his promises. We are transformed from glory to glory into his image. Romans says in chapter 12 not to be conformed to this world , but be transformed by the renewing of your mind--being conformed is what we try to do but he wants us transformed on the inside by His spirit working in us. It can be a slow, painful process--but it is a process that takes time--beginning, middle, end. Change is worth it, but hard when you are going though it. He is developing the character of Jesus in us. If we want to love God we have to spend time in his word so we know him more intimately--Heb 5;13 and14 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." We want to know him and the POWER of his resurrection!

Boeuf Bourguignon

Well the recipe with Greatgrandma came out well (mentioned below). We had this once for a church supper and it was wonderful tonight:

three pounds of lean boneless beef, cut in 1 inch cubes (can use stew meat -but cut
out the worst fat)
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup burgandy
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt (maybe less depending on broth you use)
1-2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef broth (swansons lower salt kind)
2 tbs flour (or 4 of cornstarch for gluten free)
4 Tbsp butter
1 pound mushrooms, fresh, and sliced however you like
2 Tbs veg oil or olive
1 16 ounce jar whole small oinions
cooked rice


In a skillet, brown beef cubes in oil. Transfer to a Dutch oven (I used my iron one-great!). Pour wine into skillet. Scrape up brown bits and pour over beef. Add all seasonings--and the garlic, tomato paste and broth to meat. Cover and bring to a boil. Transfer to oven. Bake at 325 or 315 degrees for 2 or 3 hours. discard bay leaf.Add onions. Make a roux of flour and 2 tab of butter. Stir into dutch oven. Saute mushrooms in 2 tab of butter and oil. Add to dutch oven . Mix well. When thickened serve over rice. Serves 6-8.

What we did--we cooked it in the oven for two hours and it was so tender; then we transferred it to Grams crockpot for another hour or so on low cause we wanted to use the oven---we added the roux, onions and mushrooms the last 20 minutes and it was fantastic. So very tender and flavorful--we added a bit more burgandy for more flavor (Hey--the alcohol all cooks off!) oh--and the first hour we cooked at 325 and then lowered it to around 305 for the second hour and fifteen minutes.

Next week we will probably try a chicken dish we saw on the cooking network.

Every Thought captive

2 Corinthians 10:5--"We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Now how hard is that!!! This shows me how much we need to know Christ and to be letting His Spirit take control. ....to know the mind of Christ---that is really awesome when you think about it. I can't let my thoughts be obedient if I don't know Him intimately. I like what Paul Tripp says about this:


"Spiritual blindness is attempting to see without Christ, no more possible than trying to see physically without eyes. Paul says in Colossians 2:8, 'See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.' If my thoughts about myself, others, my situation, and God aren't captive to Christ, they are captive to the hollow and deceptive philosophy of the world."

Now for the more mudane--Greatgrandma and I will attempt making dinner together--a new weekly thing we are trying. This week it will be dump cake with apple pie filling, pears and peaches; beef bourguignon on rice, garden peas, and salad. We will seeeeeee ;-)

Had to

Had to post my little honey of a kid--I love this picture of Rhianwen--what a little blessing!

hmm

God's ways

Well--one thing I'm really finding helpful is Is 55 :8 and 9---For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

It is sometimes so helpful for me to focus on this. It is easy to get discouraged especially about other people ....but God is God and He works the way it is best to work in them. It is hard when you see someone that may not be happy and it can be a simple thing of attitude. I have really seen the importance of controlling thought life and using Philippians 4 :8 as a filter--whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good repute, excellence--anything worthy of praise---that is what my mind needs to dwell or ponder on. This has to apply to me and my thoughts of others--trusting God to love and work in them at his rate which is of course the right rate!! He knows what He has to teach them and how.

Quotes from "When I Lay My Isaac Down"

Quoting Carol Kent----One of the Enemy's most damaging tactics is to paralyze us with our own emotional and psychological wounds---to fill us with such pain and shame that we despair of ever being able to 'get up and walk'. Jim Cymbabla says,

Instead of focusing on the faithfulness of God, we focus on what the circumstances seem to dictate....But faith enables us to see God on top of all our problems. If we only see the problems , we get depressed and start making wrong decisions...'Unbelief' talks to itself instead of talking to God...when we talk to ourselves, we're not talking to anyone very smart because our outlook is very limited. But if we talk to God we're talking to someone who knows everything. He knows what He promised in the beginning , and He knows exactly how to fulfill those promises no matter the circumstances."

Henry Blackaby says, "To walk faithfully with God will always bring a person to experience God's laying His Heart over his." As we lay our Isaac down without demanding that the thicket produce a ram we will discover that Jehovah-Jirah is the God who provides. He lays His heart over our heart and holds us tenderly, loving us as we trust Him for what we cannot see."

From before time, the Triune God has been the kind of Being who sacrifices what He holds most dear. The Father sacrifices His own Son, the Son willingly sacrifices His own life--for a good and holy purpose. The Triune God has always been essentially giving, willing to take on pain when He could have avoided it, seeking the good of the creatures He made. The God who asks us to sacrifice is the One who has gone through it Himself. He's not off somewhere in heaven demanding that we suffer while He sits comfortably aloof on the sidelines and observes."

God was transforming my root of bitterness over all the bad things that had happened into a sturdy tree of faith, hope, and positive action. I began to believe that God could indeed give 'beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness'---and that He could be glorified even in this heinous and painful experience of the past four years."

(another speaker gave her a bracelet with "tiny silver squares, spelling out the name, Ephraim") Jackie explained:

...............In Genesis, Joseph......is naming one of his sons: 'The second son he named Ephaim and said, 'It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.' In Hebrew, Ephraim means 'double fruit'. The Lord used the name Ephraim as a reminder that a person can be fruitful in suffering....."

My view of this world and the world to come is different. I am aware of the brevity of life and of the need to use my sphere of influence to help others. Not the kind of fruitfulness I once knew--one that was measured by achievements and productivity, but a deeper, richer more meaningful fruitfuless tht is based on a love relationship with Jesus. A relationship that begins with loving Him more and letting tht love spill into the lives of others. This focus takes the 'work' out of my Christianity because I don't have to perform. I just get to 'be' His child, and He is my Daddy. He loves me whether or not I disappoint Him. He teaches me priceless lessons on choosing hope over despair. He opens His arms and lets me crawl into His comfortable embrace. And I am safe."

Bad things happen, and the Enemy tries to destroy our spirit and our sense of purpose. If we can remember that we are engaged in a spiritual battle--not with weapons and hatred, but with hope, faith, and joy--we affirm our ultimate security in God and our love for Him in the midst of our heartache.The grace-filled reward is that we find ourselves enveloped in steadfast, intimate, extravagant love that continues to move us into the heart of the greatest adventure of all. (she then talks about the coming day when we will have it all--life healed and whole--total salvation--the future in heaven).

"Richard Alves summarize our thoughts when he said, 'Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to it now."

(Quoting Michael Yaconellie)--God.."loves us when we don't want him to love us. He loves us when we don't act like Christians. He loves us when our lives are a mess. His love is sticky, resistant to rejection, aggressive, and persistent. The challenge is on, so go ahead, resist his love, run from it, hide from it. Go ahead and try."

baby

Love this picture of two of my honeys ;-)

Busy-blessings

Well--been so busy and haven't taken time to write for a month!! I am loving Jan Karon's books. Here is a neat quote from Out to Canaan:

"Suppose for a moment", Reardon (Patrick Henry Reardon), "that God began taking from us the many things for which we have failed to give thanks. Which of our limbs and faculties would be left? Would I still have my hands and my mind? And what about loved ones? If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who or what would be left of Me?"

There really is so much to thank God for...family, cozy home, a church that worships, friends that encourage and love the Lord, good books, flowers and time to enjoy life---taking the time to enjoy little things like a cup of tea, a baby's kiss or attempt thereof, the beauty of the gift to pray, the trinity, the spirit of God and His power in our lives to transform, the creativeness He has given each one of us, .......there is so much fulness (I think of the quote somewhere--we should all be as happy as kings ;-)... Blessings upon blessings!