Growing UP! Monday

Paul and I were visiting a nearby church this morning. We are kid-less, so we decided to head down the hill and listen to one of our favorite pastors, Louis Neeley. As he stepped up to the podium, he began, "Today I feel led to take a break from Romans and share what I feel the Lord has put on my heart. Our Calling."

He shared 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, and went on to remind us that we are ambassadors of Christ. We are chosen soldiers in a foreign land. We all desire to be accepted, yet, ambassadors often times forget who they represent.

I was encouraged, when he reminded me, we are all uniquely made. We are jewels in His crown. God has made every precious jewel with distinct and beautiful characteristics. All to be used for His glory.

Pastor Neeley wrapped his sermon up by reminding us of the charge we are to keep. Ambassadors of the one true King, we are to take each day seriously, seeking out opportunities to share the love of Christ to a hurting world.

As Christians, everyday is important.

And, everyday, holds eternal implications for someone.

Pastor Louis Neeley

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Isaiah 9:6

Overwhelmed this evening, just can't wrap my mind around a God who would come to earth for me.

We serve an amazing God, don't we?


Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas.

My Early Christmas GIft!

Shuttling my son home from his dentist appointment, I decided to check the mail. Peeking out, between Christmas cards and holiday ads, was a manilla envelope from In Touch Ministries.

My heart skipped a beat.

It was here.

The January/2010 edition of In Touch Magazine had arrived. My article The Proper Care and Feeding of Ogres, proudly sits between pages 22 and 24, respectively.

As a writer, rejection is common, so moments like these are rare treasures.

As a Christian woman, I highly respect Dr. Charles Stanley. Just the thought of him reading my article blesses me more than my words can convey.

As a mother, I am cutting the path for my children. They will learn through my experiences that perseverance is a virtue.

As a wife, I am heading off to a celebratory dinner with my family. My husband is a doll. He says it's my pick. How sweet is that?

Hmmmmm, what would Dr. Stanley eat?


Blessed is she who believed what the Lord said would be accomplished. Luke 1:45

While You Were Sleeping

I worked an eight-hour shift yesterday. In that time, I spoke to a woman who had been in a car accident, a mother whose baby was having a seizure, a teenage girl who had locked herself in a bathroom while strangers were in her home downstairs, an elderly gentleman who was angry about holiday drivers, and a father whose teenage daughter was getting annoying phone calls from a boyfriend, just to name a few.

My friend took a call from a neighbor who discovered the murdered body of her 64 year-old girlfriend. It was a busy day.

While driving home, I couldn't help but think about everyone I had spoken to. I've been enjoying a new song by Casting Crowns, "While You Were Sleeping". It has been the song this Christmas season, causing me to ponder about my God and my fellow Americans.

I love my job. I love the girls I work with, and I love having an opportunity each time I go into work, to be the voice on the other end of a 911 call. I love to help people.

But, my help is temporary.

I pray for so many hurting this season.

I pray they won't be sleeping.

Winner-Winner-Chicken Dinner!

Tis' the season for LOTS of Christmas parties. I attended two in the past week, and my desserts were a hit. I won 'Best Dessert' at the party on Saturday night, a whole $50. WooHoo!

Since I LOVE to share good recipes, I thought I'd share them with you. Don't plan on cutting calories this week. As a matter of fact, wear your elastic pants for these tasty treats. And in January, you can join me on the treadmill!


Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake

Yields: 1 cake
Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking 1 hours
Ready In 1 hours
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup butter melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup liqueur coffee flavor, such as kahlua
24 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions
Mix crumbs, butter, and sugar.
Press onto bottom and up the sides partway of a 9-inch springform pan.
Freeze 5 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees F for ten minutes and allow to cool.

Heat in a bowl or pan over boiling water 2/4 cup chocolate chunks until melted and smooth. Add 1/4 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup Kahlua and stir until blended.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
Add first mixture to the second and blend well.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and vanilla.
Pour over prepared crust and bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Decrease to 275 degrees F and bake another 45 minutes.
Remove from oven to cool: loosen cake from rim of pan and remove.

Melt remaining chocolate. Then add 1/4 cup whipping cream and the 2 Tbsp Kahlua, mixing well. Spread on top of cake and refrigerate six or so hours.



Grandgirl's Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time: 30 min Inactive Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min Level:
Easy Serves:
16 to 20 servings Ingredients
Cake:
Butter, for greasing pan
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a tube pan.

For the cake: in a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract; and mix well. Fold apples, coconut, and pecans into batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.

Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.



**Growing-UP Monday! Will resume next week.**

The Star of Bethlehem- A Real Historic Event

"We saw His star in the east and we have come to worship Him." Matt. 2:2

If you haven't already watched the documentary, "The Star of Bethlehem", take a moment this week and pick up the DVD at your local Christian bookstore. Produced by Stephen McEveety, who also produced "The Passion of Christ", it will blow your mind.

My Dad and Stepmom gave it to Paul and I last Christmas. We loved it.

I am ashamed to admit how amazed I was when astronomy clearly proved the star of Bethlehem. And, once again, science proves scripture.


Friends, live like its real. Because it is real.

I'm STUFFED!

Stuff. We all have it. Make no mistake about it, our houses, cars, rooms, cupboards and even purses are filled with it. Things you once loved or didn't, now stuffed in a closet, behind a chair, under a bed or overhead in the attic. If you were to make a list of all the stuff you have in boxes, stacked in the garage, or tossed beneath a cabinet, you couldn't. Forgotten stuff, used only for a time, not to be remembered again.

Stuff holds us in bondage. It keeps us from moving forward, from focusing on the present. And, at times, it overwhelms us. Yet, each Christmas I want more of it. I check the Sunday ads searching for it. Not only do I want more stuff, I want to give stuff to my husband and children too.

My teenage daughter Meghan, recently told me a story her college professor shared with her class. It helped me see “stuff” in a much different way.

As the students filed into the college class for their final exam, they were greeted by their teacher. He was standing beside a table of archaic looking items. As each curious student came forward, their professor explained the odd -looking objects, and then proceeded to try and sell them to his students.
“This here is an 8-track player. I'll sell it to you for $100.00.”
“Are you kidding? Those are obsolete. No one uses 8-track players anymore.” The student smirked.
“Well, how about this transistor radio? I'll give you a deal...$40.00.”
Another student peered over the table and laughed at his teacher. “That transistor radio is a dinosaur. And it only gets AM!”
“Ok, then how about this TV?” The professor waved his arm towards the gargantuan television, towering over the table.“I'll give you a bargain...$500.00.”
A chorus of students roared with laughter. “Is this a joke? I bet that TV weighs 500lbs!” The students crouched down to get a better look. “Are those dials for changing the channels? Cmon' professor!” Their laughter had them doubled over by now.
As they chuckled and giggled, their teacher calmly shared, “Men and women... some of them your own mothers and fathers, worked long hours to bring this “stuff” home to their family. Time taken away from their loved ones was used instead to bring a couple smiles, and a few light moments to those they cared about. Not much has changed today. People are working harder and longer to give those they love “stuff”. When what matters, what really counts, is time. And in time, even your newest and neatest toy this Christmas will become archaic, odd and obsolete.”
The teacher looked around his classroom. The laughter had stopped.

This Christmas, take a moment, ask the Lord to help you discover something your husband and children can't tuck away to be forgotten in a box or on a shelf. Take a walk together. Make cookies together. Share a cup of cocoa together. Cuddle on the couch together. Play a game together. Love on one another and laugh together. Memories should be the “stuff” we tuck away in our hearts this holiday season.

Call the Police. I'm an Ornament-Felon.

Call 911. I want to turn myself in. My name is Joanne and I am an ornament-felon. My children will be including this sordid chapter of their childhood in their autobiography one day.

It's a tradition in our home that each child hangs their own special ornaments. The older you get, the more ornaments you have made and collected over the years. So, it is very important to our younger children that they have their own to hang too.

Samuel is our youngest. When it came time to hand him one of his special ornaments he savored the moment. Carefully he walked to the tree, not wanting to drop the treasure he gently carried. Turning it over in his hand he read aloud, "Baby's 1st Christmas" He softly said, then immediately blurted out, "Hey Mom, this isn't me!?"

He was right, and for seven years mommy has yet to  print a teeny tiny picture to put in Samuel's ornament. I tried to convince him, "Oh, honey...are you sure that isn't you? It sure does look like you." It looks nothing like him.

Am I the only one who has pictures of complete strangers adorned in ornaments on her tree?  Am I the only mother trying to convince her blonde-haired green-eyed son that he used to be a Hispanic, brown-eyed baby? Am I the only ornament-felon at-large?

In case you happen to know who this darling little boy is in the picture ornament above, please let his family know he will be spending his seventh Christmas at our house.







Originally posted December 2008

Who is your "Elizabeth"?

Who is Your Elizabeth?


As a third grader, my teacher made the big mistake of sitting me next to one of my girlfriends. It wasn't long after that I rightfully earned the nickname gabby. What did she expect? It's no secret that us gals are relational. Get a group of women together and we will talk and talk and talk and talk. We can't help it, it is how God wired us. When I have something big happen in my life, after talking to my husband, my next impulse is to call my girlfriend Celia, my Elizabeth.

Celia, my Elizabeth.

When Jesus' mother Mary, was given the biggest news of her life, she had no husband to confide in. Her first instinct after her visit from Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, was to immediately go out and seek Godly counsel from her cousin Elizabeth.  "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.  Luke 1:38-40 NIV

Mary didn't wast any time, she rushed right over to Elizabeth. Throughout the joys and sorrows of my own life, I have hurried to my very own Elizabeth. My dear friend Celia has been beside me when the heartaches of cancer and divorce painfully touched my life and once again stood by my side to share the joys of my remarriage and the births of my children.

As a Christian woman, who is your Elizabeth? Who do you rush to in a hurry? Who do you seek for Godly counsel? If you don't have a Godly woman of your very own, ask God to put one in your life.

Your Elizabeth should not:

Gossip with you about others, or with others about you.

Disrespect your husband or your family.

Remind you of past failures, or make fun of your shortcomings.

Pull you away from others.

Discourage you from serving the Lord.

Be in competition with you, or insecure in your achievements.

Your Elizabeth should:

Have a steadfast walk with the Lord.

Give Godly counsel in truth and love.

Encourage you in your walk with Jesus.

Encourage you in your marriage.

Be someone whom you desire to learn from.

Pray for you.

Rejoice in your successes.

See your God-given gifts and encourage you to use them.

Mary rushing to Elizabeth touches my heart. She was a real young woman with a burning desire to share with her cousin and friend all that had just happened to her. I just love that. The Bible tells us that Mary lived with Elizabeth for three months.

No doubt they were talking and talking and talking and talking...

Christmas Tour of Homes - Come on in!

It's that time of year again. Time to open our homes up and share some Christmas cheer.

Some things are the same - like my annual "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree,  and some a bit different -like the hostess this year. BooMama hung up her garland and handed the mistletoe and eggnog over to The Nesting Place. So, make sure you take a stroll on over there to see all of the beautiful homes and give a warm greeting to all those precious hostesses.

Scroll on down and walk on in...I can't wait to meet ya!

Welcome friends! Let me take your coat. Don't worry about taking off your shoes in our house, I have four children...enough said.  It is my hope that you will enjoy your stop by. There are lots of homes left for you to see, so pace yourselves! And, please, make sure to comment so I can stop by your place soon too. Merry CHRISTmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Here you go Valerie.

You asked me yesterday if I knew of any good Bible commentaries, and where you could find the prophecies Jesus fulfilled online. So here ya go!

Here is a great site with Messianic prophecies cited here. .

As far as Bible commentaries, yeesh, there are quite a few I enjoy. A good place to start would be the site Blue Letter Bible. It contains commentaries from the following:

Bowman, Robert M.


Brown, John

Calvin, John

Chafer, Lewis Sperry

Eastman, Mark

Edersheim, Alfred

Guzik, David

Henry, Matthew

Hoekstra, Bob

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Lightfoot, Joseph Barber Luther, Martin

Murray, Andrew

Newton, Isaac

Pirolo, Neal

Smith, Chuck

Smith, Donald R.

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

Stedman, Ray

Terasaka M.D., David

Torrey, R. A.

Walvoord, John

My favorites are Spurgeon, Torrey, Murrey, Henry, Smith, and Guzik. David Guzik is a pastor in Germany right now. His commentaries are easy to understand and always shine light on something I never knew before.  There are also the Warren Wiersbe commentaries. Great stuff there too.

I have to run. I'm here at Starbucks and my hubby needs me to pick him up down the street. Anyone else out there have a good Bible commentary or site they can share with Valerie? Or me!?

Probability

Last Sunday morning, I was flipping through the TV channels before leaving for church. I was sad to hear how a pastor of a very large church began his teaching about the gospel of Matthew, the very beginning of the New Testament. He told his congregation, "The first chapter of Matthew is pretty boring, all of those begots and all…Abraham begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers, And Judah begot Pharez and Zarah of Tamar, and Pharez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Aram…” He went on to say, “If you can hang in there long enough you will get to the good stuff.”

It grieved me to hear that. This pastor had missed such a great opportunity to share with his church. When I was a new Christian I had no idea what this list of names in the beginning of the New Testament was all about. Now I know differently. This list of names is the geneology of Jesus.

Just as God began the book of Genesis with the words, “In the beginning…” so He does the same thing here in the New Testament. He starts in the beginning by fulfilling the prophecy of the coming Messiah being from the line of David (Heir to the throne of David. Isaiah 9:6-7). He gives every single name of every relative of Jesus. He not only proves for us that Mary was from the line of David, but that Joseph, Jesus’ father here on earth was also from the line of David. What an AWESOME way to begin the New Testament!

My daughter Meghan is taking a math class this year called, ‘Probability and Statistics’. In this class she takes statistics and then with this information, she comes to a probable solution to the question given. I looked up the word probable and LOVED the definition…”Having more evidence for than against, evidence that inclines the mind to belief but leaves some room for doubt.”

God has given us so much evidence of His existence. We will always have those moments where we may doubt. Praise God, through His Word and prophecies fulfilled, He has given us very little room for that. Our faith does not have to take a very big leap at all. This morning I have included a list of just a few of the prophecies of Jesus.

There are over 300 prophecies of our saviour in the Bible. Again I must repeat that I have included just a few below. I have also included below, an excerpt from an interview with Josh Mcdowell on the internet called ‘What are the Odds'.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

"What is the probability that just eight of these prophecies could be fulfilled in one individual? Dr. Peter Stoner, in an analysis that was carefully reviewed and pronounced to be sound by the American Scientific Affiliation, states that the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled in just one person is 1 in 10 to the 17th power.

That's 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000!

Now maybe your minds go that high, but mine doesn't. So let me give you a visual picture of what it is. Take the state of Texas and fill the entire state two feet deep with silver dollars. Then take one silver dollar, mark it with a big red X, toss it back into the pile, and use bulldozers to mix up the entire state of dollars.

Then, blindfold a person, and starting at El Paso on the western border, let him walk the entire length and breadth of the state, from Amarillo to Laredo, all the way to Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico, stopping just once on the way to pick up a single silver dollar out of that two-foot-deep pile, blindfolded. The probability that on his first attempt he would pick up the silver dollar marked with the red X is the same probability that just eight of these prophecies could be fulfilled in any one individual!

In other words, it is nearly unthinkable to imagine that eight Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah could have come true in one man-let alone the sixty major prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth-unless, of course, he is "the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God," the One who was and is and is to come (Mark 14:61; Revelation 4:8)."


JUST A FEW PROPHECIES FULFILLED...
Tenakh/Hebrew Scripture New Testament
His pre-existence Micah 5:2 John 1:1, 14
Born of the seed of a woman Genesis 3:15 Matthew 1:18
Of the seed of Abraham Genesis 12:3 Matthew 1:1-16
All nations blessed by Abraham's seed Genesis 12:3 Matthew 8:5, 10
God would provide Himself a Lamb as an offering Genesis 22:8 John 1:29
From the tribe of Judah Genesis 49:10 Matthew 1:1-3
Heir to the throne of David Isaiah 9:6-7 Matthew 1:1
Called "The mighty God, The everlasting Father" Isaiah 9:6 Matthew 1:23
Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:1
Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:18
His name called Immanuel, "God with us" Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23
Declared to be the Son of God Psalm 2:7 Matthew 3:17
His messenger before Him in spirit of Elijah Malachi 4:5-6 Luke 1:17
Preceded by a messenger to prepare His way Malachi 3:1 Matthew 11:7-11
Messenger crying "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" Isaiah 40:3 Matthew 3:3
Would be a Prophet of the children of Israel Deuteronomy 18:15 Matthew 2:15
Called out of Egypt Hosea 11:1 Matthew 2:15
Slaughter of the children Jeremiah 31:15 Matthew2:18
Would be a Nazarene Judges 13:5; Amos 2:11;
Lam. 4:7 Matthew 2:23
Brought light to Zabulon & Nephthalm, Galilee of the Gentiles Isaiah 9:1-2 Matthew 4:15
Presented with gifts Psalm 72:10 Matthew 2:1, 11

MERRY CHRIST-mas!



Originally posted December 2007