This is such a great idea....

This lady took her favorite photo and had it made into this giant picture and used it in place of a head board. There was also a shot of another picture of clothes hanging on a clothes line behind an eating area in a kitchen. Very cool.....

Making more time....

FAITH:

1 Timothy 4:1-16

False teachers have always blemished the church. The false teachers in the Ephesian church did not believe Jesus was really human. They contradicted Scripture while appearing to be self disciplined and morally righteous. 

Christian leaders must be disciplined. They must guard their motives, be faithful to God and his Word and live commendable lives. A false teacher can easily be detected if the teacher's message differs from the Bible's truth.

For you to rest--that is, to live in total acceptance of God's way--demands quiet......

To rest in God permanently means to hand over each activity, each situation of your life, to Him and to learn the habit of trusting Him to work for you.

We don't naturally rest. Naturally we are stewers, tinkerers, and fussers....

Have you too much to do?  Are you pushed, rushed, harried?

Said George Fox long ago, "Come out of the bustlings you that are bustling."

To guard your inner life, you must guard your outer life.  How's your pace? Are you too busy?....

Does your pace allow you to keep in touch with yourself--with your inner needs and feelings and longings? Does it allow you time to think, plan, make changes? Does it allow you time to observe carefully the dear ones around you and care for their needs--physical and emotional? Do you have time to really live?....

Asian theologian Kosuke Koyama says that in human affairs God moves at something like three miles and hour, the pace at which a person walks, not runs! Are you synchronized to your world, maybe even to your Christian world, but out of sync with God?....

You will change when your inner life changes.  But I just said your inner life is affected by your outer life! Then is the whole thing a vicious circle that can't be stopped?

No. The whole thing begins with a decision. Your heart is your headquarters. Even as you read this, make the decision, by a conscious act of your will, that you will learn to rest in God both in your inner life and your outer life. Once the decision is made--and you implement it--gradually, gradually over the weeks or years, the changes will come.  Your heart will start listening to a different pulse deep within you, and with joy you'll begin to match your steps to that lovely, restful beat.By Anne Ortlund

Applying it: Are you satisfied with God's plans for you? Are you discontent because you are too young or too old? Impatient because you are not advancing as high as you would like? Frustrated with your restrictions? Be content where God has placed you. Love your life as an example to others. Speak boldly of what Christ has done for you and what he can do for others.

Exploring it: Discipline--Proverbs 3:11-12; 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11; Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 3:19

FRIENDS:

 "In a world so shattered and broken by violence...," Koyama asked, "how can we rejoice in hope?"

We have hope, he continued, because we believe in a "compassionate God", who runs out from the centre to meet those on the periphery of life. Our task is to make God's love visible to the world by loving our neighbours. "The rejoicing of a private and exclusive community fails to invite all to hope," Koyama declared. We must be willing to give and receive from strangers as well as from our brothers and sisters, because "for God no one is a stranger".

Father, we pray that we will truly love our neighbors and show God's love to them......

FOOD:

OVEN STEW
21/2-3 pounds stew beef, cut into small cubes
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained (or a 29-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained, coarsely chopped)
1 box frozen peas
6-8 slender carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths
3 small yellow onions, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 slices bread, crusts removed, cubed
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup hearty red wine
1 tablespoon salt and pepper to taste
Thyme, marjoram and rosemary to taste, fresh or dried (can use one,
none or all three, but really best with at least the thyme)
In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, mixing well. Place
mixture in a large pot and cover tightly. Bake at 250 degrees for 5
hours or at 300 degrees for 4 hours.

Uncover only once near the end of the cooking time and stir the stew
and check if additional cooking time is desired.

Excellent served over garlic mashed potatoes.

FUN:

This is the funniest video. The guy is clean and talented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

FUN FIRST TODAY

FUN:

  

MANY OF YOU MIGHT NOT APPRECIATE THE HUMOR IN THIS BUT THOSE OF US THAT ARE OF A CERTAIN AGE WILL FIND THIS FUNNY, 

OR SO I HOPE...*

                     *I sure did.....

FOOD: 

You are getting two pumpkin recipes today because it appears that someone, who shall remain nameless but likes to dress up their dog, didn't forward this recipe on to Alaska, like they were supposed to.

Pumpkin Upside Down Cake

The pumpkin upside down cake is simple.  Just mix together like you are making pumpkin pie filling,
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
little nutmeg
salt to taste
1  cup white sugar (the recipe called for 1 3/4 c but I don't like mine that sweet so use your own judgment based on your own pumpkin pie filling recipe)
3 eggs
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
Pour this into a well greased (with butter) 9 x 13 baking pan
Sprinkle 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix (dry, don't add anything to it) over the filling
Pour 1 cup melted butter over that.
Top with 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans. I used to pour the butter over the nuts but several times the nuts got too brown so I just add them last and that seems to fix that problem.  Guess it depends whose oven I'm using.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean
and let cool.

Top with whipped cream or whipped topping.....yummy.

This is one of my favorite soups for this time of year. I add chili powder when it's just me but not everyone likes that.

Pumpkin Bean Soup    
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups chicken broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped (optional)
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1.    Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the bell
pepper and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and
turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cumin and
cook, stirring, for an additional 2 minutes.
2.    Pour in the pumpkin puree, black beans, corn, chicken broth, tomato
sauce, and 1 teaspoon cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring the soup to a gentle boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered,
for 25 minutes.
3.    Garnish each bowl of soup with a dollop of unsweetened whipped
cream and additional cilantro, if desired

FAITH:

Psalms 56:1-57;11~~~~David wrote Psalm 56 when the Philistines captured him in Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-15). He wrote Psalm 57 while hiding in a cave.

God is trustworthy. He is a rock, a hiding place, a fortress.  We have safety and comfort in him.

Many years ago, Frederick Nolan was fleeing from his enemies during the North African persecution. Hounded by his pursuers over hill and valley with no place to hide, he fell exhausted into a wayside cave where he fully expected to be found. Awaiting his death, he saw a spider weaving a web. Within minutes, the little bug had woven a beautiful web across the mouth of the cave.  The pursuers arrived and wondered if Nolan was hiding in there; but they thought it impossible for him to have entered the cave without dismantling the web. And so they went on. Having escaped, Nolan emerged from his hiding place and proclaimed, "Where God is, a spider's web is like a wall.  Where God is not, a wall is like a spiders web." 

God is our wall of defense.  He is the one who delivers us from those who want to hurt us. He is the one who gives us comfort and strength we need to be courageous and to endure the trials and trouble that enter our lives. 

By Gary Smalley

APPLYING THIS:

Christians will be persecuted. In what ways are you persecuted? Who opposes you? When life gets hard, look to your refuge- God.

EXPLORE FURTHER:

God as Refuge--2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 46:1; 59:16;, 62:7; Isaiah 25:4; Jeremiah 16:19; Joel 3:16; Nahum 1:7.

FRIENDS:

Father, you promised that there would be faith and strength and hope to meet life's problems.  Father give that strength to those whose anxieties have buried their dreams, whose illnesses have hospitalized their hopes, whose burdens are bigger than their shoulders.

Painted Pine cones

How I long for the days that I didn't even think of Christmas and the decorations until after Thanksgiving. 

Someone sent this picture to me of the painted pine cones and I just had to share.  What a great idea this is and look at the contrast.

I'M BACK......sorry I was gone so long.

FAITH
With the elections looming on the horizon, the world, and even some of us, have gone into a frenzy about who should lead this country. Who and what would be best for us? Liberals see it one way, Conservatives see it another. I wonder how God sees it? As I understand Him, it's all about love. That's why he sent His son to us. To teach us about love. If only the world could see it God's way..........

Nehemiah 8:1-18~~~Nehemiah and Ezra assembled the people in Jerusalem to hear the Laws of Moses. Many wept when they realized how disobedient they had been. The assembly became a festive time when the people reclaimed their legacy as God's chosen people.

Nehemiah and Ezra reintroduced God's laws and customs to the former exiles so that God would give his favor.

Love is the only law you need...

To love your neighbor as yourself. Keep this command, this law, and you automatically keep all the others. If you are really concerned with keeping the law of love, it is the only law you really need. Then civil laws are not problems or objects or protests and demonstrations. Civil laws are only guidelines to help you achieve your aim: loving others as you love yourself and thereby fulfilling all of God's requirements....

The Christian who lives by the law of love does not see authority as a threat. Nor does he see imperfections or even gross errors in government as reason to riot or demonstrate unlawfully. The Christian is not a bystander in his society. Actually, he should be int he thick of the battle for justice, morality and the right. But the Christian operates with a different motive. He seeks justice for all, yes, but justice is primarily a negative concept, based on avoiding or preventing the doing of wrongs to others. The law of love goes beyond justice. The law of love seeks the positive doing of good to others. It is the only Law a Christian needs. By Fritz Ridenour
Applying it: Look around you, who do you see at work? At home? On the road? In church? Give them your time, your attention, your love and your respect.
Exploring it: God's Law: Exodus 31:18; Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 4:15-19; Matthew 5; 19; 22:37-40

PRAYER :
Dear God, it is hard to fight the battles in life. I can see that it is in the midst of battles, that we learn to be truly effective warriors. Likewise, in the midst of living, let me learn to be an effective Christian. Please guide and direct me; give me wisdom and strength for the day. In Jesus' name I pray and thank You. Amen.


FOOD:
A quick and easy appetizer that I make is pickle rolls. All you need is dill pickle spears, cream cheese and ham slices.
(I use cooked ham that is cut at the deli in a rectangle shape.)

Let cream cheese soften to room temperature. Take a slice of ham and spread cream cheese over top of ham. Take a pickle spear and place at one of the smaller ends and just roll up. Place in fridge and chill for about an hour or so. The longer...the better. Right before serving, slice rolls into bite size pieces. You can also use pickled asparagus, in place of the pickles. I make this several times a year for different occasions and they always receive compliments.

FUN:
I usually like to put a little joke in here but I thought you might enjoy this. Especially if you are having a stressful day.
It has sound for those of you that are reading this as work...ha ha, turn on the mute as I would hate to be responsible for getting you in trouble.

http://mk1.simpletruths.com/t/5358666/10252626/16419/0/

The Black Hole

FAITH:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

On February 20, 1962, at 9:47 A.M., the spacecraft Friendship 7 rose on a pillar of fire, piloted by lone astronaut John Glenn. Leaving the coast of Florida far behind, the space capsule orbited the earth three times, traveling 81,000 miles in less than four hours. As the craft began its descent from space, mission controllers in Houston received a warning signal. A sensor indicated that the capsule's heat shield was in danger of detaching. If the heat shield came loose during reentry, the capsule would burn like a meteor--and John Glenn would die.

Because radio waves cannot penetrate plasma, the spacecraft experienced a total communications blackout--what astronauts and mission controllers call a "black hole".

The minutes crawled by and the suspense mounted in the Houston control room. NASA engineers felt totally helpless. Finally, after five minutes of silence, mission controllers heard Glenn's voice crackling over the radio: "Friendship 7 to Houston?"

Shouts of joy shook the control room. John Glenn was coming home. Although neither Glenn nor the mission controllers knew it at the time, the heat shield was absolutely firm and reliable. The fears for John Glenn's safety during his black hole experience were unfounded.

If you've ever been through a major crisis, you probably know what a communications "black hole" feels like. While you are in the pit of adversity, you feel that your world is collapsing, that your life is out of control--and that God is silent. The silence of a black hole is deafening. You feel isolated and alone. You question God's love, His care for you, and even His existence.

But even when it seems that God is distant and silent, your "heat shield" is still there, firm and reliable. In your black hole experience, God is teaching you to go deeper into your relationship with Him. You may think that your life is out of control and burning like a meteor, but in reality God, your heat shield, still protects you from the fiery forces that surround you.
by Os Hillman



FRIENDS:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds..." (2 Corinthians 10:4). Dear God, I know that there are evil influences in this world, causing spiritual battles for Christians. Please strengthen my desire to spend time in Your Word, that I might hide it in my heart and know it in my mind; fill me with wisdom and boldness through Your Holy Spirit that I might be spiritually wise and on guard, ready to resist temptations and break down the strongholds that would keep me from the life You have for me. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name.

FOOD:
This was from a food list I belong to. I made it around Christmas and everyone went nuts over it.

Smoked Turkey, Avocado & Brie Sandwiches
Make these when you have some beautiful fresh herbs. This is different and delicious because of the fresh herbs, garlic and pepperoni in the mayo mix. It makes a very special sandwich. If you like, you can also use this as a filling for lavosh wrapped sandwiches. Roll them up, chill them for an hour, and cut on the diagonal for a very nice lunch presentation.
Makes 6 sandwiches

6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped fine ( I only had dried Mexican Oregano)
1 clove garlic, minced
6 slices pepperoni, minced
(I MADE TWICE THIS MUCH DRESSING BASED ON SOMEONE'S COMMENTS ABOUT RUNNING OUT
OF THE DRESSING)

3 ounces brie cheese, sliced thin and at room temperature
1 lb smoked turkey slices, very thin
3 large tomatoes, sliced thin
1 head spinach leaves, washed well and dried thoroughly
1 avocado, peeled and sliced thin

1. Cut 6 small (one-person size) baguettes in half. (I used a softer bread based on what one person said about being hard to eat if the crust on the bread was too hard)
2. Mix together mayo, cilantro, oregano, garlic and pepperoni.
3. Spread evenly over the baguette halves.
4. On 6 halves, now layer the brie first, spread a bit to fill in gaps, then turkey, tomatoes, avocado, and season with s&p.
5. Top with spinach.
6. Put the other half of the baguette on top of the filling mix.
7. This can be refrigerated for about 2 hours, but any longer and
the avocado will start to darken.

FUN:
A little girl asked her mother, 'How did the human race appear?'

The mother answered, 'God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so was
all mankind made.'

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question.

The father answered, 'Many years ago there were monkeys from which the Human
race evolved.'

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, 'Mom, how is it possible
that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they
developed from monkeys?'

The mother answered, 'Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my
side of the family and your father told you about his.'

OBITUARIES

As many of you know, I am no longer working and have moved back into my RV. Hence the time glitch of not posting a devotional recently.  The move was a lot of work and very tiring.  God sent me help from parts known and unknown and I am so thankful to Him and to all who helped me physically and those that lifted me up spiritually.  The men from the moving ministry at church were wonderful and I appreciate their kind hearts and strong backs.

The following is from an email that a dear friend sent to me and I thought it was so well done that I wanted to share it with you all.

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FRIENDS: sent to me by a reader and dear friend....

Dear God, I know that there are evil influences in this world, causing spiritual battles for Christians. Please strengthen my desire to spend time in Your Word, that I might hide it in my heart and know it in my mind; fill me with wisdom and boldness through Your Holy Spirit that I might be spiritually wise and on guard, ready to resist temptations and break down the strongholds that would keep me from the life You have for me. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name.

FOOD:

Black-Eyed Pea Stew with Kale
Don't bother slicing the turkey sausage; just squeeze it out of the casing directly into the pot. Serves 4 to 6
2 cups dried black-eyed peas
1/2 tbs. olive oil
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
3 spicy turkey sausages (like Jennie-O Turkey Store brand), casings removed and meat crumbled
4 cups vegetable broth (I like Swanson's)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 dried bay leaves
1 tbs. cider vinegar
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
10-12 oz. bag chopped kale, mustard or collard greens
Rinse beans and pick over. Add to a large pot and fill with water to cover by several inches. Bring to a rapid boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and soak for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add sausage; cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Add peas, salt and pepper and bay leaves. Cover and reduce heat; simmer for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar, tomatoes and greens. Simmer 10 minutes or until beans are tender. Taste for seasoning and serve.


FUN:
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late! Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!' While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again! As she ran she once again began to pray... 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late...But please don't shove me either!'