A Simple Pot of Beans

Pinto beans. Soup beans. Bean soup. There are many names for it. I grew up with it. In the Appalachian mountains, it was sometimes all a family had, along with a hot iron skillet full of fresh baked cornbread. And sometimes some potatoes, either boiled down low with butter or lard, or fried with onions. Ah, it makes my mouth water.

However, when I was a child, every time I saw it I couldn’t help but think, “Beans? Again?” Of course, you dared not speak that out loud! By God’s good graces, Mom would say, We should be thankful for it because some people don’t even have that, and would love to have it! I knew that, really.

I swore THEN that once I grew up, I would never cook such a thing, no sir, not me. That was “poor people food”, I thought foolishly. And now, I find myself looking for an occasion to cook it! As a matter of fact, I just served a huge pot to my family that gobbled it up, along with cornbread and bits of meat left over schnitzel from last night.

You can tell from the ring in the bean pot and half of the bread being gone that I didn’t get pictures until after supper 🙂  But that’s okay. It’s a simple meal that’s easy to fix (once you learn how to cook it) and it keeps good as leftovers too. Have you ever had a mug of cold cornbread with milk? Oh my goodness, but that is simply DIVINE! It’s one of my favorite things, and was even back in those days when I thought it was just awful to have to have beans and corn bread.

So how do you fix them? Well, it’s not as hard as you think. Now, I’ve heard people talk about soaking dried beans overnight and then pouring the water off, but I’ve never done that. So, you might hear somebody say that’s how it has to be done, but I’m here to tell you, and my Mother will tell you too, we’ve never done it that way and never had a bad outcome.

First, you take your dried beans… I’ve found that a one pound package usually feeds a family of 4+, usually with leftovers. I always put mine into a colander and wash them real good. Even though they’re packaged and on a store shelf, they’ll still be dirty, I don’t care who tells you different. You can find this to be true yourself if you put them in a bowl to hold the water and squeeze them through your fingers a time or two under the water. In some cases, it will nearly turn black. Another reason you want to wash them and look through them is that there may be little rocks or pebbles, clumps of dirt and bad beans that you need to pick out. Nobody wants to find a rock in their soup! I mean, I’ve heard of stone soup, but…  🙂

Once you’ve rinsed them and made sure they’re free of debris, you put them in a big pot, about the size you’d make spaghetti in, and fill it full of water. Bring that to a rolling boil and let it boil like that for about 10 minutes. You can add your fat at this time, either lard, meat scraps, butter…whatever you’d like. Next, turn your heat down to about medium, or maybe a little less, put a lid on it and let it boil. BUT…you have to keep an eye on it! You’ll need to add water as it cooks down, every half hour or so, and keep adding water until the beans are done, which should be anywhere from 2-5 hours. It depends on how mushy you want them and how thick you want the soup to be, and also the altitude plays a part in it as well.

And that’s about it. I usually add some onion to the pot about a half hour before they’re done, which adds an excellent flavor, but to be honest, you can over-season beans really easily. I use to try to follow directions for bean soups that had all kinds of different seasonings thrown in, but my family never liked them near as much. Yours might, it’s certainly something you can play around with. It’s a really cheap meal to make, especially if you know where to shop. Some people add things like oregano, beef broth, soul seasoning, curry or cumin…I’ve seen recipes with all kinds of stuff in the ingredient list. But for us, beans, fat, salt and onion are the best way to go about it 🙂

So, I guess that’s it for this post, guys, thanks for reading along. If you make a pot of beans like this, be sure to stop in and let me know how they came out 🙂

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Fish Don’t Climb Trees (Challenge Post)

“Three Days, Three Quotes Challenge” #1

I have been nominated by my dear friend S.M., over at Second Time Blogger for this challenge. Thank you so much for that nomination 🙂 You know I love stuff like this, don’t you? 🙂

I’ve always been a fan of great quotes, and I use them quite frequently, sometimes to drive home a point, and sometimes just because they are inspiring and beautiful. Quotes are a great way to do those things.

So today, for my first day of the challenge, my quote is….

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid ~ Albert Einstein

I love this quote in particular, because it speaks volumes in so few words. It’s especially important for young people today, who are caught in a society that teaches that it’s best to be like everyone else. But it’s not.

It’s not even “okay” to be like everyone else. YOU are the only YOU that God created, with your own skill set, your own gifts and callings, your own special traits and your own reflection of Him. The Bible even speaks specifically about this…

1 Corinthians 12: 14-17 … ¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁶ And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

 

I do believe, with all my heart, this is one of the reasons the suicide rate is so high. Along with everything else that people have to go through in this world, they don’t see themselves as important or worthy, they seem to have the thought that “no one will miss me” or “someone will come along, just like me, to replace me, so, no loss”. They may not think those exact thoughts, but the basis is there.

So in closing, just hear me when I say this: if you’re a fish, you DO NOT HAVE TO CLIMB THAT TREE! Swim like the you are the only fish in the ocean! Because you were known before you were knit together in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5), and you are the only you there will ever be.

And that’s okay.

Now the rules of this challenge are as follows:

1. Post 3 quotes for 3 days.
2. Nominate 3 people each day, with no repeats.
3. Thank the person who nominated you.
4. Inform the nominees.

So my nominees for today are:

• Rachel from the obligatory eccentric
• Renae from Reflections of Life!
• Pete from Awethentiq

I hope you guys have fun with it 🙂

A Few Notes On Prayer

I have had prayer on my mind, as it so often is, for days and days now. The enemy constantly tries to make me feel as if my prayers are no good, that they aren’t getting anywhere and that they make no sense to God.

May I just say that the enemy is a liar? Because I DO say that quite often 🙂

So I sat down here tonight, which is usually my bedtime, and decided to do some looking. I compiled a few notes on prayer from the New Testament. I’m not purposely neglecting the Old Testament, but right now, my focus is on what Jesus thought about it and how his followers carried it on. I think that is an important place to start, since we are under grace and not under law (another blog post for another time, if you like)

Pray for those that despitefully use and persecute you. (Matt. 5:44) (Luke 6:28)

Don’t pray like a hypocrite, to be seen by men (Matt. 6:5)

When you pray, enter into your closet and shut the door (Matt. 6:6)

When you pray, don’t use vain repetitions (Matt. 6:7)

Some things don’t happen without prayer AND fasting (Matt. 17:21) (Mark 9:29)

Whatever you ask in prayer, IF YOU BELIEVE, you will have it. (Matt. 21:22) (Mark 11/;24)

When you pray, forgive anyone you have anything against, so God can forgive you (Mark 11:25)

Should a woman pray uncovered? (1 Cor. 11:13)

Your spirit can pray in an unknown tongue (1 Cor. 14:14)

Pray about everything. (Philippians 4:6)

Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17)

Everyone should pray, without anger or doubting (1 Tim. 2:8)

If you are afflicted, pray! (James 5:13)

If you are sick, call for the elders of the church to pray and anoint with oil (James 5:14)

The prayer of faith will save the sick and cause sins to be forgiven (James 5:15)

Husbands, give honor to your wives, as the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of live, so your prayers are not hindered (1 Peter 3:7)

The Lord’s ears are open to the prayers of the righteous, but He is against those that do evil (1 Peter 3:12)

Pray in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20)

Prayer is often accompanied by fasting…

Luke 2:37

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Luke 5:33

And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?

Acts 10:30

And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Acts 13:3

And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Acts 14:23

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

1 Corinthians 7:5

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

I only posted the one verse for each example, but I encourage you to read them in context and pray and let them become real to you. Many people try to say that fasting is not pertinent anymore, but I don’t believe that is so, otherwise there wouldn’t have been mention of it in the Scripture like this. The Bible tells us that if all the deeds of Jesus were recorded the world would not be able to contain the volumes it would amount to, so if something “made the cut” so to speak, then don’t you think we should pay attention to it? I do!

 

John 20:30-31 … ³⁰ And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ³¹ But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John 21:25 … ²⁵ And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

This was just some rambling thoughts that I had to get down tonight. Please, feel free to add thoughts and Scripture in the comments. If need be, this can turn into a series, but it’s something I just desire to know so much more about. I’ll be studying on it.

 

Thank God For The Rainbow

Just a little forewarning that I may very well repeat something I’ve said before in this post. Not that I’m trying to, just that I might.

I don’t watch television. We have cable, but just the most basic package we could get that would allow for internet as well. I always call it “the internet bill” because that’s literally all we get out of it, and I’m fine with that. I had to go through all the eye rolling and sighing when we moved here and my son started talking about wanting cable. Great, I thought, 200 channels of sports we don’t watch, digital music and all the television we don’t watch either! No one in our family cares for it at all, to be honest. We have Netflix, so we basically watch what we want to, when we want to. The kids each have a Wii and television so they can so watch it through that, or play online or whatever.

But I guess I’m pretty lucky when it comes to my children and television. My son is a musician, so he hardly ever turns it on except for a couple hours at night. Other than that, he’s practicing guitar, drums or bass, at least 6 hours a day, sometimes more. Yes, he’s serious 🙂  And my daughter is an artist and writer, so that’s what she spends her time on after school. I wound up having to get her something like an engineer’s table last year, with the tilted top and all, and she really enjoys that. It’s incredibly roomy!

Anyways, I was saying that I don’t watch television. Still, somehow, the media news usually seeps through after a week or so. I’ve just heard the latest round about police shootings, riots, looting, violence towards people because of which side they believe in, religious intolerance, deplorable people and on and on and on and on and on…

Frankly, I’m just wondering when they’re going to set up and equip a lion’s den and a Colosseum!

Seriously though…

What are we doing? I realize we all have our own belief set and all that, but after hearing some of the things that are going on lately, I’m just sure this has to be the last days we’re living in! Every time I hear a news story, I can only think about how it must grieve God’s heart. We should be thankful that He said He would never destroy the earth again because of the wickedness of man, because I’m pretty sure the world we’re living in today is much worse than before the flood, or even Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 6:5-7 … ⁵ And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷ And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord…

And so a remnant was saved. Snap forward all these thousands of years, and we find ourselves back at square one, but THANK GOD for His mercy!

I always pray for peace, I pray for the people involved in these sorts of things, and it’s always in my mind when I speak to God. Pastors need strength as well, so don’t forget to pray for them as they try to shepherd their flocks through a world like this. Pray for parents who try to teach their children right from wrong when the whole world, and many of the authority figures in it, steer them away from God, whether they realize it or not. It’s not an easy job to try to remain right with God, not in this world, not with the standards that are being set, not when people are saying, much like Job’s friends said to him, to forsake God and enjoy life. As if to walk with God means that we cannot.

But I digress…

I sure am thankful for that rainbow, though.

Genesis 9:14-16 … ¹⁴ And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: ¹⁵ And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Hear and Heed

I’m so thankful that I had a Mom who listened when God spoke! Can I get an Amen? I wouldn’t be here if not for her hearing and heeding.

Satan tried to take my life at least twice that I know of, and probably more that I’m not aware of. Two particular instances come to mind, not that I remember them in great detail because I was so young, but they were relayed to me by my Mom…

Once, when I was maybe three years old, we had a dog that was chained to his dog house outside in the front yard. My family was never really a fan of keeping a dog tied up, but we lived in the mountains in Eastern Kentucky and at that particular time there had been sightings of both bears and big mountain cats and my parents didn’t want the poor dog wondering off and getting eaten.

So on one particular day, I went outside to play while my Mom worked in the house. I sat down fairly close to the dog house to play in the dirt and while I sat there, the dog walked around me, several times, and wound up getting his chain looped around my neck. I was helpless and choking by the time my Mom came flying out the door.

She said that she had been working and suddenly God spoke and told her to get outside immediately! When she got out there, she found me sitting there choking, and ran to try to help. She got her fingers underneath the chain and loosened it enough so that I could breathe, but the dog had pulled so far away that she couldn’t reach it without leaving me, which she didn’t feel safe doing either. She said she didn’t know what she was going to do and it was at that time that my brother came walking around the corner, up the holler, and quite unexpectedly. And so I was saved.

Another time, Mom had went to her bedroom to rest a bit and watch TV. I might have been four, or maybe five, at the time. I was playing in the kitchen, apparently as if I were a dog, and had made my own “leash” from a jump rope. I tied the jump rope to the top of the sink and the other end around my neck and when I got down, I slipped. My feet flew back out from underneath me, the rope caught me by the neck and went taut, while my hands wouldn’t quite reach the floor. I was flailing and trying to grab hold of something, that much I do barely remember, when once again, Mom came running in.

Again, God had told her that if she wanted to see me alive to GO NOW! She said I was blue when she got there and saved me.

I shudder to think what would have happened if she had simply thought, “Oh, that’s probably just my overactive imagination,” or “I shouldn’t be such an overprotective parent, that’s what the books say”. Too often, these days, we are led to believe and sometimes taught outright, to suppress any thought that we are hearing God’s voice. What a dangerous time to live!

If you read the third chapter of 1 Samuel, you find the Lord calling to Samuel as a child, but Samuel thinks that it is his mentor, Eli calling him. He goes to Eli who tells the child Samuel to go and lie back down, because he had not called him. But the third time Samuel came and answered the call, Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. This is what Samuel told Eli…

Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak Lord, for they servant heareth. (1 Samuel 3:9)

I believe that God will still speak to a person who is willing to take the time to listen. But how many of us actually do that? We live in a time when praying is all about “I, Me, and Mine” but how many people actually tell God that they will listen when He speaks? How many actually put themselves in a place of calm and quiet, where He can even be heard?

I have been very guilty of this myself, and it has been my prayer lately, that if He has something to say, then I will listen. And He never disappoints!

Now I find myself in a place where I’m wondering if what I think I heard was actually what I really did hear, and whether or not it was from Him, or something that I made up in my own mind. I don’t know if that constitutes doubt or not, but I sure hope not. Then again, what I think I heard carries big implications at a time when I already – as my Mom use to say – have too many irons in the fire! I mean, I know that where God leads, He will make a way, so right now I am just prayerfully considering. I dare not be caught saying, “But, God, I don’t want to do that…” because I’ve already told Him I would!

What about you? Have you ever heeded God’s Word on something important? How has it changed your life?

It’s A Matter Of LIFE and DEATH!

There is something that has bothered me for a great while now. And it’s hard to explain, especially to anyone who isn’t a Christian, but I will try.

I spend most of my time at home. No, no, that’s not what bothers me 🙂 I gladly accept my position because I know that this is where God has placed me and I love it. I work from home and try to make it a place that’s worth being in for my family. I’m not the world’s best at cleaning house, but I’m not bad 🙂 While there are occasionally dusty picture frames and stacks of laundry that needs to be put on hangers, there isn’t anything you could consider “dirty”, thank God, that’s just how it is.

No, the thing that bothers me – first and foremost – is the fact that there isn’t a church anywhere near that I can go to. Now I know, believe me I know, that that is a loaded statement. I’ve had momentous debates on this subject with a good many people. And of course, everyone has “the perfect church that I should attend”, so they say…

Now, let me stop there for just a moment and say a few words about that. Because it’s something that really takes up a great deal of my prayer time. I often pray and ask God to show me, I mean really show me the Truth, yes, with a capital “T”, because I do not dare want to walk down the wrong path and into a teaching that will pull me further away from His will for my life, further from His Truth, or further from the true Church.

The biggest problem I have with many of the churches that I have attempted to go to is their blatant disrespect for God’s Word. (While the only one I’ve found that I feel right in attending is too far away to go to on a regular basis.) Not that they flaunt these things, and for the most part, I’m not really even sure they realize it, but many churches have a great deal of practices that go against the Word of God. They have put man’s doctrines and traditions in place of God’s and I don’t feel comfortable with it. Even Jesus spoke about it…

Matthew 15:8-10 (KJV) ⁸ This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. ⁹ But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

And again…

Mark 7:6-8 (KJV) ⁶ He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ⁷ Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. ⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Ok, in this last one, I think Jesus is saying look, you’re putting more emphasis on men’s tradition for the washing of dishes than you are my Word! I wonder sometimes, how many people are truly cast out, or don’t feel like they’re good enough to go to the “House of God” strictly because of these traditions of men?

I have an acquaintance that was telling about how someone told her that she was going to hell for using instruments along with her voice to worship God. Where is this in the Bible? What commandment is she breaking? How has she cast away the grace of the work of the cross by worshipping and singing with instruments? Thank God this did not cause her to lose the footing that she has in her faith in God, but she is in the minority, I do know that.

There are a lot of people out there, with an undying devotion to their “church” (notice the little “c”), who are very quick to tell people that what they are doing will send them to hell, but how much time have they put into prayerful searching of the Scripture? They may really believe that what they are saying is true, but does that release them from the obligation to speak with love to their brothers and sisters?

Now I will add here, that I do believe there is truth in knowing a tree by the fruit it bears, and there are different ways of talking to different people about what they might be doing wrong. The book of Jude says to have compassion on some, making a difference, but some, save with fear, pulling them from the fire (chapter 1). There are certain things that are wrong and can in no way be made right, and the only thing a person can do is repent and turn from that sin, and if we, as believer’s, aren’t willing to tell someone where they are, they may never even know. But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about the traditions of men that pass in churches for absolutes from God – which there are, make no mistake. Jesus said that all of the laws of the prophets hang on two commandments: Matthew chapter 22, to love the Lord thy God…and to love thy neighbor. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but if Jesus says everything can be summed up in this, what do we do with information like that?

Some of the major things I’m hung up on, that I just don’t feel I should be, and that I feel are desperately hindering my walk with God and my carrying out what He wants me to do, give me a lot of grief. I see how the Word gets twisted and how it can be misleading. I realize that, and it grieves my spirit and my heart immensely. It hurts me that each and every denomination believes that THEY are the ones who are right, and everyone else is wrong. Even if the only difference is whether or not they take the Lord’s supper every Sunday, or certain Sunday’s, or not at all.

I have always said that if it’s “in there”, meaning if it’s in the Bible, then I believe it, and if it’s not, I don’t. But there’s a little more to it than that, as it should so happen. Paul talked about a “local church”. Do we even know what that is anymore? I live right across the street from a “certain denomination” but I can’t bring myself to go there, because of their beliefs and how I feel like they think they are the only ones that are right and there is not other way to Heaven. AND I HATE FEELING THAT WAY!! That’s what it all boils down to!

I don’t want to stand on a soap box and tell everyone what they should or shouldn’t be thinking, and I don’t want to assume to know exactly what the Bible says about every little thing that we should do in a service, or in a particular venue. I DO, however, want to be assured in WHAT I BELIEVE, enough to stand up and say why. The Bible says to always be ready to give a reason for this hope that is within you. And that’s what I want to do.

But…

I feel that if I stand my ground on MY beliefs, then I will have to understand why someone else’s belief’s are not accurate, or as dire, etc., etc. I know, that’s probably as clear as mud, but it’s the dilemma I find myself in at the moment. I am certainly no scholar of the Bible. I do not know Hebrew, Greek or Arabic, so I cannot read from ancient texts as Jesus did, and many who came after him. I can’t read the writings of Paul and others, who wrote the Truth after having been with Jesus and knowing first hand what it was all about. So I have to go by these translations, which is another thing the church fights about…

Why is one better than the others? I have been a staunch supporter of the King James Version all of my life, having been raised that way and gone to churches who adhere to that belief. And I still read from it but I can’t help but wonder…why? What started that? It was the 1599 Geneva Bible that accompanied many of our ancestors over here from England before the birth of our country. The Geneva Bible was the first true English translation of the Bible, so why isn’t IT the one that was chosen? The circumstances surrounding the writing of the King James Version are very shady, so I have to wonder if I can really trust it for deep study in searching for THE Truth.

Having said all that, I will also add that I DO believe, with all my heart, that the true and living Word of God can rise above any malicious thought or intent of man, which I believe is what happened with the King James, so I’m not AS worried about that. BUT, the fact still remains that if a person reads another “version”, some well meaning Christians will tell them how wrong they are and might possibly even tell them it will keep them from Heaven. I’m not sure I believe that… even knowing that these newer version do, in fact, leave out many verses and words that change the meanings of whole thoughts in the Bible. And I will NEVER adhere to the belief, as one of the newest Bibles attempts to say, that God was a “she” or worse, a non-gender, or gender neutral being. The Word says – no matter which translation you get your hands on, save for that one new one I’m talking about – that God is our FATHER. Plain and simple.

I also get all balled up about many of the things that make people say, “Well, that was only in the Old Testament” or “Well, that was because Jesus did it, and we can’t,” or “Well, those things went out with the apostles in the Bible…”

I know there are things in the Old Testament that we aren’t bound by anymore because the Old Testament was the place where LAW ruled. Law was never meant to save us, but rather to be a rod by which to measure the fact that we will never be good enough to attain God’s Mercy on our own. That’s why there was a sacrificial scapegoat which the priest brought out, and basically that animal took all the sins of Israel upon itself, per God’s Law, and was sent out into the desert to die, thus making atonement for the sins of Israel for the past year. BUT, Jesus became our “once and for all” sacrifice when He came to Earth in the flesh and died on the cross for the sins of each and every one of us. When he arose, he made a way for us to escape, by paying the sin-debt Himself, in our place. Once we accept that free gift of salvation and the finished work of the cross, His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness and we become joint-heirs with Christ Jesus, and no longer citizens of this world, but of Heaven.

Another example is the Levitical law that forbids certain foods. This was abolished when God showed a sign to Peter who was praying one day before going to preach to the Gentiles (Acts chapter 10). Yes, there are many dietary and health reasons not to eat pork, catfish, shrimp and so forth, but I do not believe that doing so will send a person to hell. May God correct me if I am wrong, which is my prayer about everything that I believe…that if it isn’t the Truth and the WHOLE TRUTH that He would show me and reveal it to me and allow me to share it with others.

So what are some other things that separate churches? What makes one church different from all the others? What makes one church “right” and the others ALLL wrong?

• Taking the Lord’s supper on the fifth Sunday?
• Washing one another’s feet?
• Baptizing the THE NAME of Jesus?
• Praying to Mary and the saints?
• Wearing modest clothing?
• Women covering their heads?
• Women remaining silent in church?
• No playing of stringed instruments?
• Speaking in tongues?
• Believing in the gifts of healing, tongues, etc.?
• Believing in the anointing with oil?

There are literally hundreds more. Some are trivial, some are not, but they all separate the Body into buildings that are sometimes right across the street from one another! If we can agree that some things are tradition and some are not, then why can we not all worship in the same building and still be allowed to worship in the way that we have worked out with God? What is to be our measuring stick? And can we use that stick without eventually turning it into a rod of discipline on our brothers and sisters?

Perhaps I’m way off base, but I have felt in my spirit for a long time to write this so may the Lord forgive me if all I’ve done is stirred up dissent! I really, truly am only searching for what is right, what is from God, and what is the most important matters. I pray I am not hung up on a single “tradition of man” that would make Jesus speak to me the way he spoke to those in the quotes above.

Father, I only want to serve You, and follow your commandment to tell others about You. I only want to follow Your Truth and NOT the traditions of men. Open my eyes, open our eyes, that during these trying days when our heart’s almost fail in fear, that we will be strengthened by Your Truth and Your promises, for it truly is “good news” worthy to be shouted from the highest hilltops. And forgive me, Lord, if I have ever led anyone astray with my own depictions and versions of what I think Your Word says. Grant me the eyes to see and the ears to hear what you would say to the Churches. I will not fail to give you the glory, the praise and the honor and I ask it all in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Proverbs 18:21 … Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Happy Birthday!

Twenty-one years ago today, my life was changed forever. I didn’t know it then, but I had gained a title that would come to mean more to me than any other title that I would ever hold. It meant a lot of things, but most of all, it meant that I now had a “forever job” and that would be fine with me.

Twenty-one years ago, I became a Mom.

There were ups and there were downs. I cried, I laughed, I worried, I lost a lot of sleep, but I was happier than I had ever known was possible. He has been my reason for going on more times than once and has gone from my “baby boy” to my “adult son” that I can also call a friend.

So, Happy Birthday Nathan. I love you with all my heart and I pray God’s blessings on your day, your life and all that you endeavor to do.

Nathan and I

In Everything, Give Thanks

1 Thessalonians 5:18 … In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

What are you thankful for today? No, I mean really, REALLY thankful for? If you are anything like me, you become aware, from time to time, that you are actually taking for granted a great many things that you should be thanking God for on a regular basis, with nearly every breath almost. Or at the very least when they come to mind.

1 Chronicles 16:8 … Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

But one of the enemy’s main priorities is to KEEP you from thinking about those things that you are thankful for. He is literally hell-bent on keeping you focused on fear, doubt, jealousy, envy…anything that can get your eyes off Jesus. And it has worked SO well for SO many years in SO many situations! That’s really all he has to do… give us one little thought that will absolutely consume us until we are not a worry or a threat to him. And these days, he doesn’t even have to go to the trouble of focusing on each of us, separately. He uses the mass media outlets to be channels of fear as we hone in to those things we simply “have to know”.

Psalm 18:49 … Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

This is one of the main reasons I have almost closed my social media accounts on MANY different occasions. If there’s anything at all you can count on, outside of God’s unfailing love and mercy and grace, it is being able to find all the latest bad news on social media, and you can’t even trust that everything you see is the truth! Things get shared on a regular basis that go absolutely viral and have little to no truth at all. I have seen people get bombarded as lairs themselves when all they did was to share something without validating the source first.

Psalm 119:62 … At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

And then there are the political stories in abundance that not only instill worry and fear, but pit people against one another when they disagree on principles and what should and should not be done, and once again, you can only truly believe about half of it. Those things that “are” true are more than likely only true in part. And we forget that we are all human… even those with political careers. It doesn’t make them all correct in their leanings, but there is much more to it than simply a statement that begins with “I believe….”

2 Corinthians 9:11 … Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

The fact of the matter is that there is so much for us to be thankful for that we should guard ourselves diligently against falling for these ploys of the enemy. Because if he learns that they will work for you, in particular, he will keep pressing that same old button over and over again. So choose THIS DAY whom you will serve and know that He is in control and there is coming a day when none of this will matter. But He knows who has a thankful heart.

Ephesians 5:4 … Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

The True Nature Of God – Andrew Wommack Ministries

This is an amazing read from Andrew Wommack’s ministry website. I especially like the way he explains the difference between being “under law” and being “under grace”. So many people today seem to have the idea that we are still under the law and reaping all the same things for our wrongdoings. Just have a read here and be encouraged today by the True Nature of God!

Stacey~

 

Recently the Lord woke me up at 3:30 a.m. with the words, “I have raised you up to change people’s opinion of Me. That will change their lives, and then they will change the world.” Wow! That pretty much sums it up. If people knew how good God is, they would love Him and live for Him. That in turn would solve all the problems of the world. But God has been so slandered that most people don’t know Him as the good God He really is. Why is that? One of the biggest problems is religion’s misuse of the Law. This has done tremendous damage to God’s image. The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17). The Law wasn’t inaccurate but incomplete. And if it is not properly applied, it gives a wrong representation of God. Jesus was the perfect representation of God (Heb. 1:3). He said if we have seen Him, then we have seen the Father (John 14:9). He did exactly what He saw His Father do (John 5:19). Jesus showed us that God is love (1 John 4:8). Yet He was constantly accused of breaking the Law. Of course, Jesus didn’t break the Law. He’s the only One who ever truly kept the Law. But the mercy and grace Jesus extended toward people was radically different from the “eye for eye” and “tooth for tooth” of the Old Testament Law. Jesus forgave a woman whom the Law condemned to death (John 8:1-11). Jesus ate and fellowshipped with publicans and sinners, which the legalistic Jews of His day wouldn’t do (Matt. 9:11). Jesus touched the untouchable (Matt. 8:3) and loved the unlovable (Luke 8:2). He showed us grace and mercy, which the Old Testament Law didn’t do. A wrong understanding of the purpose of the Old Testament Law leads to a misunderstanding of the nature of God. Most people believe God gave the Law to show us what we needed to do to obtain relationship with Him. But the Law was never intended to bring us into relationship with our heavenly Father. It was intended to show us our sin and our need for God. It was given to show us how unholy we were so we would despair of trying to earn salvation and just receive it as a gift by faith. It was to turn us from self-righteousness to a faith-righteousness that could only come through a Savior (Rom. 10:3-4). Consider some of the things the Scripture says about the Law: • The Law strengthened sin (1 Cor. 15:56). • The Law was a ministry of death and condemnation (2 Cor. 3:7 and 9). • The Law gave guilt and knowledge of sin, not salvation (Rom. 3:19-20). • The Law made sin come alive, and killed us (Rom. 7:9). • The Law magnified sin and produced hopelessness (Rom. 7:13-25). Why would God give us something with all these negative effects? It was because we were already beaten by… Read More

Source: The True Nature Of God – Andrew Wommack Ministries

My First Blog Award Ever!!

I’ve been a bit absent from my blog lately. It seems that when I make the most resolve to write daily, that’s usually when things will pop up, more often than usual, to keep from doing that. I have been incredibly busy lately with homeschooling, writing for clients, fall-cleaning (much like spring cleaning lol) and trying to get things together for my son’s upcoming birthday party. So my day runs from about 6-7 am until about 11 pm, if I’m lucky enough to get in bed at that time.

So imagine my surprise when I checked my notifications this morning and found that I had been nominated for this award!  I was nominated by Second Time Blogger – to whom I give a HUGE THANK YOU! I appreciate so much that you thought of me and my humble blog 🙂

And I do suggest you go and read her posts. She has an amazing blog with some amazing photographs to go along with them. You’ll surely enjoy!

There are some rules for the award. They are:

• Thank the person who has nominated you.
• Share the versatile blogger award on your blog.
• Share seven random things about yourself.
• Tag 10 bloggers with less than 1000 followers and let them know they have been nominated.

 

Now, let’s see if I can come up with seven random things about me 🙂

1. I speak just enough Spanish to get myself in trouble.
2. Honey graham crackers are my favorite snack.
3. Even though I’m an introvert, and somewhat of a hermit lol, I absolutely love to have dinner parties and feed everyone.
4. If I can cook a whole meal using nothing but cast iron, I will.
5. I play guitar, bass, mandolin and keyboards.
6. I cry in church. Every time. No matter what.
7. I still get crazy butterflies in my stomach every time I look at my husband, even after 19 years!

Shew! That isn’t as easy as it looks, lol. I never was much on talking about “me”  🙂

Now for the 10 bloggers I’d like to nominate, in no particular order. These are blogs I read on a regular basis and you probably will too, once you check them out.

1. Reflections of Life!: Renae’s blog will challenge you to think and to move. Jump over and visit her page today, you won’t be disappointed.
2. In A New Place: A homeschooling mom who blogs about an array of things, always in an uplifting way.
3. Romans KJV: A Bible study blog, focusing on the book of Romans, with insight and commentary. A great read.
4. the obligatory eccentric: Rachel’s blog is an excellent and interesting read, every time.
5. Awethentiq/BlessedBeyondRecognition: Pete’s posts will definitely give you something to think about, and each post is interesting and unique.
6. mommamcculloch: These posts are very real from a very real girl.
7. A Writer’s Journey: This is a writer’s blog, and you’ll enjoy the read from here.
8. Life According To Kelly: You’ll find some great recipes on Kelly’s blog, as well as a few other things.
9. My Extended Weekend: Another blog with recipes that will make your mouth water! Check it out.
10. Swamp Yankee Style: A great blog with DIY projects, recipes, thrifty tips and much more.

So there you have it 🙂  I do hope you will check these blogs out, as they are all worth the trip. Again, thanks so much to Second Time Blogger for nominated me. And I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed day!!