Sabbath Praise

The Red Sea Rules #3

So far we have learned:
#1. "Realize that God means for you to be where you are."
#2. "Be concerned for God's glory than for your relief."

And this brings us to #3:
"Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord."

"And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 8. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon." Exodus 14:5-9

"The great tyrant has not forgotten you, and he designs your capture and re-enslavement." Charles Spurgeon

The Bible warns us many times that there is a Devil and he is out to get us.



"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

But there is good news:

"but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action." Dan 11:32b

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you..." James 4:7-8

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." Ephesians 6:13



If we will hold onto our faith in Jesus Christ - He will give us the victory.



"For all his insights and explanations about the evil one, the apostle Paul, in reality, focused on Christ. In the Pauline letters, the word Jesus occurs in 219 verses, the word Lord in 272 verses, and the word Christ in 389 verses. Satan, on the other hand, occurs in only 10 verses, and the word devil in only 6." (page 38)



God will see us through what ever trials we may face.

Encouragement

"For your sakes," "to the intent ye may believe." To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly," 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience." DA 528

This quote was in my reading this morning, in the chapter titled: "Lazarus, Come Forth" This was a fantastic chapter. It really spoke to my heart. You can click on the link to read the whole chapter.

Another quote that really spoke to me today:
"Implicit belief in Christ's word is true humility, true self-surrender." DA 535

I hope you all have a blessed day! :o)

What I am Working On...

This is a photo of what I have been working on the last couple of days and again today I will be tackling it. Believe me - it will probably take at least a week to get this corner of the yard, long neglected, cleaned up. It has poison ivy growing back there. And I had hoped to get to it before the poison ivy started getting leaves but we have had so much rain. Oh this photo is from last year - so there is was probably more to it when I started the job than this photo shows. Anyway I hope you all have a great day. I better get busy while it is still cool outside. :o)

Week end Get Away - 2

Yesterday I shared about our week end get away. We had a really nice time. It was really way over due. We really needed the time away. It is very refreshing to the soul to change things up a bit with new scenery and new experiences.

I loved how each morning my husband would make me a waffle in the shape of Texas. That always makes a special time. It is nice to be waited on some.

There were just a couple of things that I wanted to share that were not all that fun but they did add to the week end get away.

Each evening we went to Purtis Creek to fish. We fish at a pier and this pier has big lights and it makes it great cause you can fish into the night. Well the only problem is that when the sun goes down - and the lights come on- that all the bugs for miles around are drawn to the lights. So they go flying around and bug me to death.

Another not so nice thing. As we were fishing there were several pretty big snakes swimming around in the water- checking out every ones lines and they were scary to look at -well to me and the other women on the pier anyways.

A very large snake was found at Lake Whitney State park recently a large rattle snake that is. Anyway so I was a bit nervous when we were hiking out in the woods for several miles that we would come across a snake. Oh and when we were at the Arboretum - there was a large cage -specially to catch wild Boer's - and there were the digging marks in the yard as well. Anyway I was kind of worried that we would meet up with a Boer too. But I prayed and I am thankful to report we saw nothing dangerous. And had a good time. :o)

QUESTION: Ok - I wrote up this post and it looks nice here - where I am typing it out but once I publish it this all smushes together. Does anyone know why it does this?

Our Week End

This week end my husband and I went away for the week end. My husband really enjoys going to Purtis Creek to fish. So that is what we did first. It was very relaxing. There were only two parts that I really didn't like. #1 - when the sun when down then the lights over the pier came on and bugs from everywhere flocked to the light. And since we were right there- bugs were bugging me - lol! I am sorry, but I did not do a very good job at taking photos to share.
Next we went to the Fresh Water Hatchery.
These were some pretty flowers at the entrance. Wish they had been in the sunlight more - they were beautiful!

We took a tour around the place and then we went to the pond area - where they provide the basics for fishing. We found a great bench with a large umbrella and had a very nice time. We had quite a bit of luck.

Here is one of the fishies that I caught. My husband caught one even bigger than this:


While we were there we also visited the East Texas Arboretum. I really wish I had gotten more photos here. It was a great place to visit. And was only $2.00 per person.

They had a house with several furnished rooms. I really enjoy seeing how people used to live years ago.Of course, What I saw that I did not think that I would like - was having to use an out house. When I was about 12 years old - my dad lived somewhere where we had to use an outhouse. Not fun at all.

This photo does not do the garden justice. It was a very pretty garden. I would love to have a cute

little garden like that some day. Something to dream about and maybe take small steps toward it.

Next we walked on a hiking trail around to where they had a suspension bridge. We accidentally started on the wrong end of the trail.(It would have helped if they had maps that you could get and carry with you- my only complaint about the place.) We ended up having a nice walk and found the bridge and enjoyed it. It was not exactly what my husband had envisioned but it was fun. I was glad that there were not a lot of other people trying to cross the bridge when we did! It was quite bouncy with just the two of us. Not too bad though.

I was trying to include a link so you could go check out more photos of the East Texas Arboretum but I am not being able to make it work. But if you type in the eastexasarboretum.org - you should find it. Oh and click on the "Trails" at the top of the page and then you will want to click in the more photos of trails. Lots of great photos.

Another great place that we went to while we were in Athens - was the Henderson County Historical Museum. This was a very cool place. The down stars was where the grocery store- of like the lady there said - it was the "walmart" back in the day.

The upstairs was open to look around as well. Lots of cool stuff. I wish I had taken a few photos. We were in a bit of a hurry since we were there towards the end of its hours of being open. This was free - had a jar for donations. I like to support places like this because some people may not be able to afford going there but they set it up that everyone has a chance.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txhchc/museum/museum.htm

by the way - I borrowed the photo from their site. I can not get this to link up so I have to just put there link in like that.

Well I hope that you enjoyed our week end get away as much as we did. It was great to get away -just me and my husband. :)

Checkin' In

I hope everyone has had a great week end. We sure have. I am working on a post to tell about it. But I am tired and accidentally deleted a photo - and the photo is on my other computer so I am thinking I will just have to finish that post up tomorrow.
See ya then! :o)

Sabbath Praise

Burdens are Lifted at Calvary

So Much Truth in These Words:

Fill My Cup Lord
Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy;
But then I heard my Savior speaking:
"Draw from the well that never shall run dry".

(Chorus)
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

(Verse 2)
There are millions in this world who are craving
The pleasures earthly things afford;
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.

(Chorus)
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

(Verse 3)
So, my children, if the things this world gave you
Leave hungers that won't pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you,
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray:

(Chorus)
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

Upon a Rock

"... I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. 2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

Psalms 40:1-3

Lately I am finding myself being knocked to the ground every time I turn around. Each time I think, 'it can't get any worse than this" and then guess what? Yep - something happens and it is like I have been punched in the stomach and I am struggling to catch my breath. But I have been amazed that God has given me strength to endure each new trial. Just like the verse above. Not sure if I am at the point of having the new song, but I trust that God will be faithful and fulfill His word.

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Red Sea Rules #2

"Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief." (p. 17)

"For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so." Exodus 14: 3-4



"If we could only look upon a difficult crisis as an occasion to bring out, on our behalf, the sufficiency of divine grace, it would enable us to preserve the balance of our souls and to glorify God, even in the deepest waters." C.H. Mackintosh



As many of you know, I have been going through a rough time. In the past month or so I finally feel like I am finding my joy and peace again. If you'd like to read about our rough time click here.



As I read this Rule and the information provided. I find one of the main reasons why I had such a hard time - for such a long time. I was asking the wrong questions. "Why is this happening to me?" Along with other type questions. These questions did nothing to help me.



This book points out that when we are going through rough times ask the question: "How can God be glorified in this situation?"


"One's perspective is entirely changed by the spiritual realities behind that approach. It's like switching on floodlights in a dark stadium." (page 19)



"I know He tries me only to increase my faith, and that is all in love, well, if He is glorified, I am content." J. Hudson Taylor



We find that Jesus "practiced Red Sea Rule #2 when difficulties and demands complicated His agenda."(page 21) When Jesus was "facing the most excruciating week of His life, Jesus asked not, " How can I get out of this? but "How can God's name be glorified?" (page 22)



"God doesn't waste suffering. If He leads us into impossible spots He will deliver us in His own time, in His own way, and for His name's sake. Our job amid the difficulty is to learn our Lord's simple but submissive prayer: What shall I say? Save me from this hour? No, Father, glorify Your name. " (page 22 - 23)



So now I realize that I had been asking the wrong questions. I had been focused on me and that was not helping me at all. Now I have taken the focus off of me and am learning to ask the question: "How can God be glorified in this situation I am facing?"

Edited to add: Wow - As I just read through this, it has helped encourage me in the trial I am now facing. And I have renewed my prayer of how can this glorify God? I hope you were encouraged as well. :O)

Allowing God to Lead

One morning I was starting to have my devotional time when I felt inspired to write a blog post. I had just been reminded of a painful situation in my life. And I realized that although felt alone with the pain from this circumstance - that I was not alone. Others out there are suffering also. And so I anted to write something that would be encouraging to others going through pain and suffering.

I love how these kinds of posts are written. I feel as though God is giving me just the words to say. So I began to write. After about 3 paragraphs - my mind began to wonder a bit and I became concerned about what Scripture verses would be of most encouragement. And I began to look up a few things. Although it was a blessing to spend the time in my Bible - I have to admit that I had begun to rely on myself for the wisdom to write the post and by the time I figured this out- the inspiration for writing the post was gone. I needed to learn- relearn and important lesson- I need to totally depend on God.

Later in the day when I was not even thinking about the post - guess what happened? God brought the verses to my mind that He wanted me to use. God supplies our needs(Philippians 4:19) We don't need to depend on our own wisdom- all we have to do is to follow where God leads.

Next time that God inspires me to write something- I will allow God to direct me and then I will be doing His will. I will be depending on Him. He will supply my needs.

Pain

There are a couple of different kinds of pain/sorrow. There is a kind of pain that comes from situations and circumstances that we can share with other people and there is a pain that is involves situations and circumstances that we can not share with others.

I much prefer the first kind-the kind that is the results of things that I can share with other people. Many times when I have shared these pains, I have found that I am not the only one. What a comfort it is to know that I am not alone in my suffering. I am also able to ask for prayers in dealing with this pain. And what a comfort it is to know that people will be lifting me up in prayer.

The second kind of pain/sorrow - is secret pain. This is the pain that comes from situations and circumstances that we can not share with others. And we do not feel as free to ask for prayers with this kind of pain either. It seems that people are more inclined to pray for you when they know the details. Don't know if that is true or not but sometimes it feels that way. Often times this leaves us feeling the weight of the burden which often times seems to increase the pain and suffering, just because we feel we have to carry it alone.

Right now I am dealing with some things that I can share and somethings that I can not. It has been a comfort to be able to share with close friends and family members those things in which I can share. And I have been blessed with some great friends that not only love me but love the Lord and they lift me up in prayer.

When you are faced with any type of pain and suffering - be sure to take it to Jesus. It is those painful times in life which often times, if we allow them, draw us closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And when you are closer to Jesus, He is able to strengthen you.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

"7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Treasure Found

On Friday, I stopped by a local Antique Mall. On a mission to find a "new" dresser. Right now I have a large, old dresser - that takes quite a bit of space on my side of the room. I was wanting to get a standing (up and down) dresser, and that way maybe I could find a great chair to fit on my side of the room. Anyway - so I was looking for the dresser and I ended up finding something else. Look:

The cutest little hutch. It is just under 3 ft tall. I loved it. So I took this photo and went home. Then today - soon after the Mall opened my husband and I were there to get it. I paid a pretty penny for it, but it is very sturdy and I think that it will be used for a LONG time.

Not long after we got home - did not even have a chance to get it set up where we wanted it in the room- my son brought our sweet granddaughter over.

She loved it. Oh - I was so thrilled. I had a box of these dishes. They are glass(I would have preferred plastic) but she did very well at playing with them. I only got a few pieces of the set out for her to play with. We had a very good visit with her.

**************************

I was so glad to get our yard mowed this morning. And I got a lot of weed eating done as well. Would have gotten more done but one of our batteries is not working properly. I am testing it tonight. I don't know if I did not let it charge up enough or if it is messed up. Anyway I will know tomorrow.

Oh but I have so much weed eating to do. With a decent amount of rain lately - the grass has really been growing alot. And today I had to get my gloves and actually pull some of the tall weeds. But I have got SO much weed eating to do to catch up. I am hoping that my push mower will be fixed this week and then I will be able to get a lot done with the push mower. I am hoping to get caught up soon. Because I have a BIG job to do- clean up a big corner in our yard. I am hoping to clear it up before the poison ivy starts growing. So I have a limited amount of time. And guess what - it looks like we will be getting ALOT of rain the next couple of days. So no yard work - and with more rain - I will have even larger weeds...uggg.

Ok enough of dwelling on that. I will get it done eventually.

Well I hope you all have a great week! :o)

Some Encouragement

I really needed some encouragement -with a difficult situation that I am going through. This quote encourages me so very much. So I really felt like I needed to share them today - just in case any of you are struggling:

"If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him!

The trials of life are God's workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace." MB10-11

Sabbath Praise

The Cheapest in at Least 7 years!

Yesterday we got our electric bill. Guess what? It was $40.00 cheaper than last year same month!! Yay! I am so happy about that. I just went and checked our electric bill for the past 7 years and guess what - we are cheapest this year of any year in the past in the month of March. The closest we have gotten to as cheap as it was was within about $21 but that was like 6 years ago! And when you consider that the rates for electricity have gone up then it really does show how just making a few changes here and there- make a big difference!!

We have had great weather the last couple of days!! I have spent time getting my garden boxes ready for planting. I had to go get some soil and such to help fill up two of our garden boxes. We got them dumped and everything mixed up. My husband used our small tiller and mixed the dirt up really good. Then yesterday I was able to plant some of my plants. I am not planting a lot, but I plan to really take care of what we plant and praying that God blesses and we are able to share some of our produce. I planted some yellow squash, zucchini, cherry tomato plants. I am hoping to be able to get a couple of cucumber plants planted and a few other things. I just have to work on getting my other garden boxes ready for plants. I look forward to the fresh produce that will help supplement our grocery bill. And because I am starting out small - I am hoping that I will be able to do a good job to keep all the weeds and such under control.

Well that is what is going on in our neck of the woods this week. I hope that everyone is having a great week! God bless you and keep you till we meet again. :o)

Edited to add: I just went back even further in my Record Notebook- and found out that I had to go all the way back to 2001 in order to find an electric bill cheaper for this month. That is amazing!! :O)

The Red Sea Rules #1

The first year that I had this blog- I found this cool book and did a series of the 10 God given strategies for difficult times. I have decided that I will be posting one each week. I think it will be a good reminder to me at least since it has been a while since I have read the books - I might just learn a thing or two. And I hope that it is encouraging to you as well.





Realize that God means for you to be where you are."

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea." Exodus 14:1-2

There may be times in our lives as we are going through these rough times that we feel as if God has forgotten us, or that He does not realize what is going on in our lives, but this is not the case.

"The sea was before them, Pharaoh's hosts behind them, and the mountains around them. And all this be it observed, permitted and ordered by God." C.H. Mackintosh

We all face hard times throughout our lives. We can even find many people in the Bible who found themselves in really tough situations. To name a few: Joseph, David, Moses, Hagar, Hezekiah, the disciples and even Jesus, Himself.

1 Peter 4:12 tells us not to "think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you....."

As Christians we will have our faith tested. How is this done? By allowing trials and temptations into our lives. We may not think we can handle the situation that we find ourselves in, but the Good news is that we have a heavenly Father who will provide what we need, when we need it.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand." Psalms 37:23-24

Now I realize that not all the trials that we find ourselves in are orchestrated by God. Sometimes we get ourselves into trouble all on our own.

But there is good news here as well! When we confess our sins- God "is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." 1 John 1:9

"Sincere repentance routes us back into God's will." (page 14)

And we remember what Romans 8:28 tells us.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

So no matter the reason behind why we find ourselves in a tough situation we know that God knows exactly where we are. He loves us and He will get us through.

Heaven

Yesterday I talked about the great controversy, well this is the good news. For those who choose God and believe upon Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, there will be an eternal reward. Well worth any trouble that we may have to go through here on earth.

I am so thankful for the Bible. It is God's love letter to us. It is filled with so much information that we need. And when we have questions -it is a good idea to go to the Bible and look up the answers. That is the reason why God gave us the Bible. He has filled it with truth and when we want truth- we need to go to the source of truth.

So what will heaven be like? There is some awesome information in the Bible about heaven - all we need to do is look.

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

"For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me," says the Lord, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the Lord." Isaiah 66:22-23

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:1-14

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert." Isaiah 35:5-6

"But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:1-2

"But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Corinthians 2:9

Isn't that some amazing information. Our finite minds can not even come close to imagining what a perfect world would be like. That is why I am thankful for the Bible and the information we can gleam from it if we will only open it up and read. Of course, we have a better chance of understanding it if we will ask the Holy Spirit to help us as we study the Bible. God gives us wisdom, all we have to do is ask!

If you want to read more about heaven - refer to Revelation 21 -there is a lot of cool information. Don't take my word for it - check it out for yourself. :o)

This is me - holding some photos that me and some of my classmates made of some of our thoughts of what heaven and the throne of God would look like.

The Great Controversy

The Bible tells us that Lucifer was created perfect and without sin. (Ez 28:15) Pride and self-exaltation's was his downfall.

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'" Isaiah 14:12-14

And because Lucifer wanted to be exalted -he tried to convince as many angels as possible to take his side, then a war broke out in heaven and Satan and his angels were cast of of heaven to the earth.

"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelations 12:7-9

Satan knows that his time is short and now he makes war with the woman and her offspring(that's us)

"Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." Revelations 12:12

"And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelations 12:17

But do not fear!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John3:16

We need to realize that we have an adversary- his main goal is to destroy people. He has so many people fooled into believing his lies.(John 8:44)

There is a great controversy going on between God and Satan. Satan wants to destroy us. God wants to save us. The decision is yours. Who will you choose to follow? There is NO in between. You either serve one or the other. I choose God! :O)

(If you want to read more about this controversy - click here -"The Great Controversy" )

In The Kitchen

Overnight Cauliflower Salad

small head of lettuce, shredded
large head cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 C chopped onion
1/3-1/2 C imitation bacon bits

1 C mayonnaise
1/3 -1/2 C Parmesan cheese
4 T sugar

In large serving bowl, layer first 4 ingredients in order listed. With a fork, blend mayo, Parmesan cheese and sugar and spread over the top of salad. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir well at serving time.

This is a recipe that I got from my husband's aunt. Then I tweaked the recipe a bit. It is pretty good.
I hope you all are having a good week-end. It has been a rainy one here in Texas. We really need the rain to make up or such a shortage last year. And plus the next few days look to be sunshiney and warm. I had really wanted to get my garden planted this week end but will have to wait a few more days. Ya'll have a good one! :o)

God Uses Trials For Our Good

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

This week I had a light bulb moment. One of those times when you thought you knew something but then a much deeper meaning comes to your realization. As baby Christians, I think that we look at this verse in the Bible and figure that it basically means that everything will work out for good. But where the problem is - is that we are going by our own idea of what the word "good" means. You see God's meanings of things are many times totally different than our meanings of things. Our world was taken over by sin and so many of our ideas are riddled with sin.

There are many areas that the way that God looks at things are different than the way we look at things. The world looks at the outer person, but God looks on the inside. Here on earth we look at a person's education, amount of money, and looks as a way to place value on a person. But God is not a respecter of persons.

So as I was thinking about some really rough things that I have been going through and also about some very rough situations that several people I know are going through - it finally hit me.
God loves us so very much and His number one goal is the salvation of those He loves. He wants as many people that will accept Him as their Lord and Savior to come to Him and have salvation. And sometimes He allows bad things to happen in order to draw us closer to Himself. I am not saying that He causes things to happen, maybe He does, maybe He does not- that really is not what I am talking about here. What I am trying to say is that He uses different situations in our lives and many times it is the painful one, to bring us into a deeper relationship with Him. See from His point of view - these earthly lives of ours, are but for a short time period compared to eternity. And He might have to allow us to go through some really rough times on this earth- and He sees it as worth it and of much gain - if we allow Him to mold us and lead us even through the difficult times. What gain - Salvation - living forever with Him in eternity!!

So if you are going through some hard, painful things in your life realize that God is in control and that we can trust Him. He is working things out for our eternal good. This life is just as a drop of water into the ocean - compared to eternity. And I for one - want to be ready when Jesus comes again. And if that means that He has to allow trials to come into our lives then I am willing to allow Him Lordship in my life. He know what is best for me and I am so thankful that He only has my best in mind!

Sabbath Praise

Glad I did This, Wish I had not done That

Good Morning~Today is one of my 2 laundry days. And I have to say that I am so glad that I decided to dedicate certain days to laundry. I have full loads by those days and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I do laundry now. Not only am I getting the job done but I am feeling satisfaction and you can't beat that.

******************************

Several of the blogs I read talk about deepening your pantry and have a little extra on hand just in case of emergencies. And with the way the economy is, I think it is a great idea. So when I saw these containers at work - I thought they would be awesome to store things like beans and rice in.

But there is a problem, a major problem, I can't seem to get the pickle smell out of them - no matter what I try. Do any of you have any suggestions? I would love to hear them so please share.

*******************

Now I am sure that you are all wondering what in the world this photo is here for:
Well believe it or not it is to help save money. That's right! About a year and a half or so ago, we had new windows put on our house. We got double paned, double hung windows thinking this was such a good idea. However, I am hoping that by sharing our experience I will be able to help save someone else from making the same mistake we did. We got double hung windows - now I am wishing we had not. You see when you open and close the bottom pane- it pulls on the top one and lowers it and so you can have the top window open without realizing it. So I have to use this board to go around and make sure that the windows are closed at the top. My husband tried to tell the company that makes the windows that they needed to come up with a way(he told them a great way) to design them so that you could make the top window stay in its place. Anyway so if I had it to do again - I would not pay the extra money for the double hung windows. Wish I could have them come out and change out our windows. Oh well...lesson learned.

Divided into Two Categories

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:36-40

There are those who try to say that because several times in the New Testament -Jesus states that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself that these are the only commandments that we need to keep now. Well I beg to differ with them. If you will look at the photo above that shows the 10 Commandments - you will notice something very interesting. The first 4 Commandments have to do with our relationship with God. And the last 6 deal with our relationship with our fellow man. This is what he meant when He stated that the great commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart. Because if you love God you will want to please Him by following His commandments. And the next 6 commandments - are what we will follow in order to love our neighbors- other people- as ourselves.

The Ten Commandment were written by the finger of God onto two tablets of stone- also to show how permanent He meant them to be. When speaking of the Ten Commandments He might have summarized them into two basic commandments, but He did not do away with them.

The Working of the Holy Spirit

"The wind bloweth where it listeth , and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh , and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8

"By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditation upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God, - a patient protracted process.

While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit upon the soul will reveal itself in every act of him who had felt its saving power. When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced: love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflect the light of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing that comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God." DA 172-173

photo gotten here

Why Marriage is Under Attack

"In both the Old and the New Testament, the marriage relation is employed to represent the tender and sacred union that exist between Christ and His people. To the mind of Jesus the gladness of the wedding festivities pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day when He shall bring home His bride to the Father's house, and the redeemed with the Redeemer shall sit down to the marriage supper of the Lamb." DA 151

- This is the reason that I believe in the sanctity of marriage and the reason why there is such a fight to allow same sex marriage - Satan is trying to do away with a beautiful expression here on earth of the "sacred union that exist between Christ and His people."


"And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you." Isaiah 62:5b


"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."Revelation 19:7-9

In the Sewing Room

A couple of weeks ago, I was at one of my favorite thrift stores and I found these:

Three packages of these Moda Charm packs. Well one day - I had some free time so I started sewing some blocks together. Since there was like 1 square of each fabric and each bunch had about 25-30 different fabrics. So I got to a point that I was kind of stuck as to what to do with the pattern of it. So I got a piece of graph paper or something like that and began to work:

I ended up having to unsew a few places in order to make things match and look good. All and All I am pretty happy with the results.

Except the fact that it is only about 40 inches square. And do not have enough fabric to do another round of squares on it. Then I ran into another problem. Well what I would like to do is to buy some of one of these fabrics in order to do a border or two around it and then one of the fabrics for the binding, but guess what? Since it has been a while since this fabric was sold - I am having a hard time finding some fabric to work with. So now I am kind of stuck. I am kind of wishing I had have thought it all out and then I might have just tried to make a table runner or two. The positive - is that I know now. So before you start a project - think it through.

He Will Never Fail Us

"To His children today the Lord declares,"Be strong,.... and work: for I am with you." The Christian always has a strong helper in the Lord. The way of the Lord's helping we may not know; but this we do know: He will never fail those who put their trust in Him. Could Christians realize how many times the Lord has ordered their way, that the purposes of the enemy concerning them might not be accomplished, they would not stumble along complainingly. Their faith would be stayed on God, and no trial would have power to move them. They would acknowledge Him as their wisdom and efficiency, and He would bring to pass that which He desires to work out through them." PK 576

I had forgot about posting this quote. When I read this - it really spoke to me. In times of trials and major stress, sometimes I find myself fussing and complaining. Instead of trusting that I serve an awesome God. He loves me so very much and He will guide and direct me through life if I will allow him to. When we are going through the tough times - God is able to use them to mold us more into His image if we will but trust Him. And I can not forget - He will also give us the strength and courage to face what ever we are facing-we only need to go to God in prayer. He will never fail us.

Cost of our Redemption

"Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing." Rev. 5:12 DA 131


"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

I am so thankful that God loved us so much!! Aren't you? :o)

Sabbath Praise

Around the House

We have been having springlike weather! It has been wonderful! I have spent a lot of time this week weed-eating and also weeding my flower beds -all 4 of them. And I am also working on weeding my garden boxes. I am going to do my best to plant at least - zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and some lettuce. I have a little more weeding to do - but I am excited to be able to do this. We did not get my large garden area - my future garden area ready. We would have to burn the pile of branches and such and then get quite a bit of soil to fill in that area. I am disappointed but I am just focusing on what I can do and that is work on getting my garden boxes all ready to get my garden going.
Look how wonderful our weather will be. Hoping I have a chance to get our yard mowed before it rains. But I have a busy couple of days coming up. I have BOM this morning and then I have to work - my sister in law lost her daddy this week so my MIL will be going to the funeral and I will have to cover for her on the grill. Then we have ASI meetings going on at our church. I went to the first meeting last night. Ron Halvorsen, SR spoke. He has an book - "Prayer Warrior" that the meetings are about. It was an awesome meeting. And I can not wait to hear what else he has to share with us.
I hope you all have a great day! :O)

Heavenly truth must draw....

"The King of glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were his earthly surroundings. His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of a earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him. The character of the Messiah had long been foretold in prophecy, and He desired men to accept Him upon the testimony of the word of God." DA 43