Friday, February 27, 2009

Recipes Made Today

Chicken Meatloaf and Potatoes

I designed this recipe, based on one I found on-line that just sounded interesting.

37-32-31
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Cook Time: 7590 minutes
Cook Temp: 350 degrees


AmtMsrIngredient



1/2 cup Carrots



3 & 1/4 Tbsp Catsup



1/4 tsp Celery seed



7/8 lb Chicken, ground



1 ea Egg, white



3/4 ea Garlic, clove



1/2 cup Oat bran



3/4 sm Onions



1/8 tsp Pepper, black



5/8 lb Potatoes, red



7/8 tsp Salt



7/8 tsp Worcestershire Sauce













Preparation Instructions:
One has a choice....either have potatoes on the side (and then cook as desired). OR cut into cubes, boil until done, mash them up and add to the meatloaf mixture. Combine chicken and oat bran in large bowl.Set aside. Cut the carrot& onion into chunks and add to blender. Add the remaining 7 ingredients to the blender. (NOT the potato) Process in blender until carrot is very fine. Pour blender mixture over meat mixture. Mix very well using your hands. Form mixture into a loaf and place in lightly greased 9" X 13" pan. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. Remove foil & continue baking for 15-30 minutes, until loaf is cooked through.

UPDATE: Jim found they had a bit too much carrot in them, so I'll be tweaking the recipe at some point. I liked it as it was, but I'll tweak it to make it better for my hubby.

I also made these:

Sweet Cornbread Muffins

Contributed by monizoni

41-26-33
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Cook Temp: 350 degrees



Amt
MsrIngredient



1 Tbsp Baking powder



3 Tbsp Butter



1/2 cup Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen



1/2 cup Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow



2 ea Egg, Whole, Large



1 & 1/2 cup Flour, All-Purpose



2/3 cup Fructose



1 & 1/4 cup Milk, nonfat



1/3 cup Oil, vegetable, canola



8 scoop Protein Powder



1 tsp Salt













Preparation Instructions:
Line 32 mini-muffin cups. (You may make the cornbread in a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray instead and increase baking time 2 or 3 minutes.) Melt butter. Combine all ingredients. Stir until blended. Pour batter into muffin cups and fill not quite to top of the paper. Bake 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire ricks for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Serve warm. Leftovers freeze well.

Jim really likes these. They reheat easily too.

Abortion Speech, 12 year old girl

Kim from upward call pointed my way to the Daily Scroll.

Eloquent speech on abortion by a 12 year old girl.


How About that : a model of biblical proportions

My hubby had me see this.

This is rather cool. Lots of pictures so those on dial-up be aware.
Now, here's a model of biblical proportions. A retired farmer has spent more than 30 years building an enormous scale model of Herod's temple - and it is still not finished

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Do YOU have a pickle Jar?

The Pickle Jar

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar.

As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled.

I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank.

Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck.

Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. 'Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back.'

Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly 'These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me.'

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. 'When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again.' He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. 'You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters,' he said. 'But you'll get there; I'll see to th at.'
No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar.

To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me. 'When you finish college, Son,' he told me, his eyes glistening, 'You'll never have to eat beans again - unless you want to.'

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed.

A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me.

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. 'She probably needs to be changed,' she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there wa s a strange mist in her eyes.

She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. 'Look,' she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.

This truly touched my heart. I know it has yours as well. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for Good in others.

The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller

- Happy moments, praise God.
- Difficult moments, seek God.
- Quiet moments, worship God.
- Painful moments, trust God.
- Every moment, thank God.

hey All....see this at boomer in a pew

Hey all, Boomer in a pew is celebrating one year of blogging.
so he's giving away a ESV study bible. Rather cool eh?

So go check it out here.

Monday, February 23, 2009

True Woman - tough questions on Modesty

Email teaser from Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Tough Questions on Modesty

Listen in as Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Holly Elliff, and her daughter, Bethany, respond to women’s questions on modesty.*

  • Develop the ability to converse about everything with your kids. It may wear you out, but it keeps communication open as they enter their teen years.
  • Ask your husband what he really enjoys you wearing, and then find appropriate times to wear what he likes.
  • You're responsible to live up to the truth that you know and to pray that God will teach others those same truths. If God brings you into relationship with someone, then you may have the privilege of being one of the people that helps share truth with them.
The rest can be found here.

Okay...I have to admit this...I'm getting really tired of Nancy's continuing theme on modesty. So I approached this lesson with irritation in my heart. :) It's like I was saying "enough already!". So I was surprised a bit.

One of the things mentioned is this:
I think one thing that's important to do is to go to your husband and say to him, "What do you really enjoy me wearing? Are there some things you just like? Do you like me better in long skirts, in shorter skirts, in jeans and a sweater?" Find out what are his favorite things, and then find appropriate times to wear those things. I would listen to him.
Not particularly something I ever really thought about before doing. To deliberately ask hun...what do you prefer that I wear? Not sure what I'd do if he said...I want you to wear a dress to church every Sunday. Makes me wonder if I should ever dare to ask that! :) I suppose though, that it would be another way to honour him, and therefore to glorify God. Hmm....I'll need to think on that some...... What do you all think?

I do know that I prefer to go shopping with someone else for clothes. Clothes aren't something that particularly matter to me. If it's clean and relatively in decent shape...I'll wear it. I do have "Sunday clothes" but otherwise...it's clothes...I wear them. I'm used to people shaking their heads at me. I've learned to heed the "don't wear that out in public" comments that people make. But for the most part...I don't care as long as what I'm wearing doesn't make me look horrid colour wise. :) Jim is a pretty good guide in that, and I have learned to say "Hun? Does this match?" :) Makes me feel odd quite often as it seems to me that most women have no problems with this stuff and automatically know how to dress properly all the time. I am amazed at times by my sisters and sister in laws...they KNOW this stuff, and it seems to come very easily to them. I'm often left feeling like an odd duck.

Back to the lesson for today..... I was disappointed that once again no scripture was used as a basis for anything. It was just talk and teaching about 'stuff'. And what I want is the scripture and not just talk about "stuff"...I want to know the whys and hows. Like Is it more honouring of my hubby and glorifying of God if I say hun....what do you think I should wear? (and then following through on that - even if doing the dress thing is something in the winter I'd really rather NOT do). And what's the scriptural basis for that type of statement.

I don't know. Modesty doesn't seem to be an issue for me. And continuing to talk about it is just I don't know....irritating without more scripture being involved. I don't know...we'll see how tomorrow goes. :)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

True Woman - More than a list

Nancy Leigh DeMoss's next devotional starts with this inbox teaser:

More Than a List

We send our kids to school. We give them piano lessons. We put them on sports teams. But who’s teaching them about modesty?*

  • There are formal, structured times to teach your children the ways of God, but more is taught in the course of everyday life using teachable moments and opportunities.
  • Ask your children questions so they can discover truth themselves. Then they will have ownership of it and it will be much more valuable.
  • If your children's hearts are to please the Lord and to make choices that are based on the Word of God, then they won't just conform to a list that you’ve come up with, but will become difference-makers in their culture and in their generation.
In this teaching Nancy points out that if you want to teach your child how to live properly, you need to teach them the heart stuff first. This is why God wants you to act in a certain way, this is right, that is wrong.

Start with the principles of God’s Word. Teach your children, beginning at the earliest ages, what God thinks and what are the principles that need to govern our lives when it comes to modesty—things we’ve talked about on this program, such as:

  • The principle of ownership: Your body is not your own; it belongs to God once you’re a child of God.
  • The principle of Lordship: Jesus is Lord over all.
  • The principle of citizenship: If you’re a child of God, you belong to a different kingdom; you don’t belong to this world.
  • The principle of stewardship: God has entrusted some things to you, like a body. He’s entrusted beauty to you, and you have to use that in ways that are pleasing to the Lord . . . teaching the meaning of modesty in things that we have talked about at various times on this program.
To reinforce this imperative...that we teach our children, Nancy turns to Deuteronomy 6
4"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Oh....but this indeed what we need to do. To teach our children to love God wholly...ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL our might. This is my job as a parent. Yes, I can't "MAKE HIM" become a Christian...but I can teach him the joy of God, the fear of God, the wonder of God, and so on.

Oh...that I might do so. This is my greatest heart's cry.
Help me Lord to teach my boy that you are indeed good for him completely. That he was made to bring glory to your name. Let his heart remain soft before you.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Hamburg and Potato

Tonight's supper for me was hamburg and potato.

7 & 1/8 oz Beef, ground, 95% lean



7/8 cup Carrots



1 10oz cn Cream of mushroom soup, canned, condensed



2 & 5/8 med Potatoes, red





Preparation Instructions:
brown ground beef. dice potatoes, cook them up and then add to ground beef. fry until nicely browned. Mix in soup. heat through. either cook carrots and mix them in or have raw on side.

This recipe made using Formulazone. Mind you, this was a double recipe, I made a single sized portion for myself. It wasn't bad, wasn't great. Not something Jim would have been keen on.

Jim had the extras from Sunday nights dinner.
Justin did "apple and carrot dip". he still refuses meat and potato.

True Woman - Modeling Modesty

Nancy continues her True woman series by addressing how one Models Modesty. Here is here email teaser this week.

Modeling Modesty

Training your children about modesty at age thirteen is too late. How about at age three? Learn why modeling modesty for young children is vital.*

  • Make sure that the kind of entertainment you enjoy fits what you say you believe.
  • It is inconsistent for parents who profess to believe the gospel to let their kids watch sexually explicit movies that promote unbiblical philosophies.
  • Modesty should be a way of life.
The rest of Nancy's message can be found here.

And I have to admit, today I could not connect with anything she was saying. It didn't help that it was all just talk and no scripture was used for the whole message. Nothing she said was wrong, most of her focus was on being consistent when training up your children (boys and girls) in the whole area of modesty....as it relates to clothing.

I don't know, in my mind's eye, we've already more than covered this. :)

All I can say to this folks is....dress in a way that brings glory to God...not to yourself.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Probably a good thing that.....

It's probably a good thing that people did not mention that I'd have to deal with oodles of spiders and spider webs when I told them I wanted to tackle the basement.

ACK!!!!

All I can say is my vacuum was well used.

I got the camping shelf emptied, vaccuumed once, twice...three times. Spiders and webs ALL GONE! He too, took great delight in sucking up those spiders! :) We got things all neatly piled with help from a toddler - not the spiders and webs....the boxes and stuff that we moved!

J - we don't like bugs mommy. Bugs are BAD!
A - yes Justin, bugs are bad IN the house.
J - Why mommy?
A - oh...mommy is scared they will jump out and land on her. that just scares mommy Justin.
J - I don't like bad bugs either mommy. AHHHH!!! Spider!!!! kill it mommy!

Can you see I'm influencing him for good? :) He will defend his wife one day! :) (and hopefully not just laugh at her). :)

Jim came home.

J - we vacuumed bugs Daddy!
Jim - you did?
J - yes, LOTS of them daddy.

Jim helped me move some of the garage sale stuff over to the camping table. We talked a bit about what we don't need to keep from the camping stuff...more stuff to sell!!!! YEAH!!!! Some I'll kijiji first though. See if I can sell it that way.

So...we made progress! YEAH!! Maybe, just maybe I'll get her finished this week yet. :)

True Woman - Training our Daughters

Training Our Daughters

Learn how to train the next generation of women to have modest hearts as they grow up in an increasingly permissive world.*

  • Modesty is, first and foremost, a heart issue. Don’t expect this world to teach your children how to be modest in heart, behavior, and dress. That’s your job as a parent.
  • One of the killers of the faith of Christian young people is that they do not see that their parents’ faith has joy in it. Your kids will most likely reject your religion if it is a joyless religion.
  • Make sure you are setting an example of loving and obeying God. When you fail, be humble enough to say, “I was wrong. Would you please forgive me?”
I have time today to do my devotions! YEAH!!! :) the buggy is still sleeping and the house is quiet. :) so.. okay, let's hop to it shall we? :)

So Nancy Leigh DeMoss is now taking us into Titus 2, and she starts off with an email teaser about the importance of training our daughters. Let's read what Titus 2 has to say.
1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 submissive to their own husbands,to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and that the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

15Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

My guess is that she'll be focusing on the bold verses where we read:

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 submissive to their own husbands,to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and that the word of God may not be reviled.

Nancy, in her address here, points out this:
Titus chapter 2 gives us a mandate for our lives as women; whether we’re younger or older, we’re told that we have a training role as older women and a learning role as younger women. All of us are older women to someone, and all of us are younger women to someone. So we both need to be teachers and learners.
Teaching and learning is a life long thing isn't it?

I know that in my life I have very much benefited from the advise and example of older women. How do I live out my faith when I'm feeling testy, how do I live out my faith when my hubby/son/co-workers drive me mad? What does it mean to be loving and kind when life makes you want to scream? What does it mean to be moderate, and forgiving, and busy about the house and wanting to learn more of God and so forth. Older women can help! And in today's passage we find that we are indeed mandated to help!

But when you think about it....isn't that what family is supposed to do? Isn't that as believers what we're supposed to do? We're supposed to be wanting to be more like God and less like the sinful people that we are. Look at how God helps us! He wrote down his word through a variety of people, he sent his son to die for us so that we can have relationship with him, he put the holy spirit within us to help guide our actions and stir our consciences and when we cry out to help he helps us. Yes, he also disciplines and corrects and gives us a timely "bonk on the head" when we need it. So shouldn't we follow his example?

Let us teach each other, let us be willing to learn from each other.
Teach what is God.
Teach those young women how to love their hubbies and children.
Teach them how to be submissive to their hubbies (yes, in today's culture that can be difficult).
Teach them to be self-controlled, pure, home-workers, kind and how not to revile God's word.

Easy tasks?
No.
Necessary tasks?
Yes.

Nancy, in her address, goes on to talk about how we need to model in practical ways that God is the most important aspect of our lives, that living with God brings joy and contentment to us, that bringing God glory is what we live for. If we truly live that way, our children will be more apt to follow in Christ's steps. That way living for God and bringing him glory simply becomes a solid way of life.

Let's step up to the plate shall we ladies?

Monday, February 16, 2009

Today....a good day

So today I made three young men laugh and my hubby made me smile. :)

Monday...our day to just get out of the house and get away.
I had three buns to deliver to London today, and was running short on time as I wanted to get going by 1100 and AH>>>>> we were not going to make it and get needed things done at home.

While I cared for the bunnies and got three littles ready for transport.... my sweetheart finished the dishes for me and got the ones I had gotten washed, dried and put away. Made my heart smile. :)

LATER in the day on the way home I was bipping to some music in the car. Jim was ...well...tolerating me. :) I glanced over and the car next to me...three young men were...well...mocking me...BUT they were laughing. I considered it all in good fun as well...I am a bit of an odd ball at times. So I made them laugh..at my expense...but hey...it's all good. :)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Recipe: Tomato Beef

I used formulazone to make this recipe.

3/8 Tbsp Basil, dried



1/2 lb Beef, flank



2 & 1/2 Tbsp Cheese, low fat, cheddar or colby



5/8 10oz cn Mushrooms, canned



2 & 3/4 oz Noodles, Elbow Macaroni



3/8 med Onions



2/3 cup Peas, green, frozen



3/8 10oz cn Tomato soup, canned, condensed





season meat as desired with salt and pepper. cube beef into bitesized pieces. brown through in frying pan on stove (or however you wish to cook it).

Prepare pasta as per package directions.
Dice onions, add to browning beef, add mushrooms, heat through.

Then add cooked pasta and peas, add the soup and mix thoroughly.
add a good tsp of basil/oregano or some other spice that works well with tomato and pasta,
let simmer for about 15 minutes or so. Add cheese about 5 minutes before serving and voila, one nice sunday night dinner that took about 40 minutes from start to finish.

Toddlers can help with this! :)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentines Day - 3

Hey...Valentine's Day has struck again!

Let's all have fun celebrating this mass-market money making event.

Show your loved ones that you do care...not just today but everyday. Candy just don't cut it! Just love 'em up in real ways. Shovel that snow, clean that car, introduce them to God, make them supper, make God's love real to them, and extend some grace.

Happy valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Valentines Day Myspace Comments

Valentines Day Myspace Comments

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Just how much.....

Lots of thoughts in my brain...but how to express them. :)

Jim's been preaching in Genesis lately. This morning a sermon on the last half of Genesis three.

God's been punching at the submission, attitudes, desires of my heart stuff lately in my heart.

I'm feeling a bit caged! Like an animal being poked at from all sides lately and I don't know which way is the right way to go at times.

God's grace keeps staring at me in the face.

I know that since sin came into the world that my heart desires to please my man. I know that my heart HATES conflict and just wants to make people happy. And I find it difficult to balance out hubby needs, child needs, my own needs...without feeling selfish about wanting my own needs met. And then I question...should I want my own needs met when God has promised me that he will meet all my needs. Therefore wanting my own needs met is not quite trusting God is it?

So balancing it all out...trying to figure out just WHO does God want me to be.

I don't much like who I am right now (not in everyway, but in enough ways) ...but I'm somewhat concerned about who God might want me to be as it feels somewhat....changeable and new and....I don't know.

I know...it all comes back to....how much "of me" am I willing to trust to God and his redeeming power????? Just how much....

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Tonight's Supper - Beef, corn and potatoes

Beef, Corn and Potatoes - my own recipe

6 oz Beef, Roast Beef, Deli



1 Tbsp Butter



3/4 cup Corn, white



1 med Potatoes, red













Preparation Instructions:
cook corn to desired tenderness, add butter.

heat roast beef (we used leftover roast beef) through (cut into chunks and put in fry pan). Scramble fry with pre-cooked potatoes if desired.

Balanced using formulazone.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Recipe: Strawberry Pancakes

Strawberry Pancakes


31-43-25
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Cook Temp: 0 degrees


AmtMsrIngredient



2/3 cup Cottage Cheese



11 ea Egg Whites



5 & 1/2 Tbsp Flour, Wheat, whole-grain



2 & 3/4 tsp Oil, olive



7/8 cup Strawberries



2 & 3/4 tsp Vanilla extract



2 & 3/4 Tbsp Wheat germ, toasted, plain










TOTAL CALORIES: 711

Makes 12 pancakes
(Each whole pancakes is 59 Calories)


Preparation Instructions:
Whip egg whites and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour and wheat germ. Fold in cottage cheese. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Spread olive oil on a non-stick griggle and heat. Pour batter onto griddle (If making recipe as enterer, this will make 4 pancakes ) and cook over medium heat. Put strawberries in microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute in microwave. Stir and pour over pancakes and enjoy!


For more balanced recipes go to formulazone. :)

I made a substitution... 1 oz of oat bran instead of wheat germ. I used what I had on hand, and this was a balanced substitute (they have a very handy substitution thing). AND I added splenda to the strawberries. Next time I'll blend the strawberries into a puree before serving.

This recipe was well-received. :) YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! Makes a big breakfast for two people.

True Woman - Reflecting God's Glory

Reflecting God’s Glory

Your outward appearance can reveal the inward desires of your heart. Do you want to glorify yourself or reflect God’s glory?*

  • Your physical appearance gives an impression of God to people who can’t see Him.
  • When you buy clothing, check your motives. Are you trying to draw attention to yourself? Are you putting people in a position where you may set them up to sin by being seductive or distracting?
  • When you extend yourself, your heart, and your hands in good works, you’re adorning the gospel and making Jesus believable.
ooh...now this teaser interests me. Ever since I learned that God created us to for HIS glory....it's been a thought that just sits there in my brain and often influences what I do. Am I showing God's glory in thus and such action?

The rest of Nancy Leigh DeMoss's message can be found over here.

Once again for this study, Nancy is using 1 Timothy 2:9-10, I've included the whole paragraph to help with context.
8I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
What her whole post comes down to is....are you drawing attention to God or to yourself by the clothes that you wear? Just who is being seen in your actions, your clothing, your behaviour? You or God?

If it is yourself...then you're not bringing glory to God are you?

I like how she put it here (not just Nancy, but the person she quoted).

There was a fourth century church father—some of you are familiar with the name of Chrysostom—and here’s what he wrote:

What then is modest apparel? Such as covers them completely and decently, and not with superfluous ornaments, for the one is decent and the other is not.

What? Do you approach God to pray with broidered hair and ornaments of gold? Are you come to a ball? To a carnival? There such costly things might have been seasonable. Here, not one of them is wanted.

You are come to pray, to ask pardon for your sins, to plead for your offenses, beseeching the Lord and hoping to render Him propitious or merciful to you. Away with such hypocrisy.

In other words, he’s saying, “Let your external appearance reflect why you’ve come to church.” And why did you come to church?

  • Was it to get attention?
  • Was it to be the center of attraction?
  • What is your heart motive?
  • What is your heart attitude?
    • Is it humble?
    • Is it modest?
    • Or are you trying to flaunt your wealth, flaunt your beauty, or even worse, to allure men sexually?
Where is your focus?
Do know that you are showing it by how you dress, how you act and so forth.

If you are a believer your focus should be on God and showing forth HIS glory.

Monday, February 02, 2009

True Woman - Self-control

Self-Control

Purity and self-control help you make wise choices, even in tempting situations.*

  • God calls you to exercise self-control over your sexual passions, your demeanor, your dress and attitudes, and your way of dealing with men.
  • If you have self-control, you'll find there are a lot of situations you'll never end up in because you made wise, restrained choices on the front end.
  • The greatest freedom in life comes when you're under the control of the Holy Spirit. That's when you can really enjoy life and healthy relationships in the Body of Christ.
and so goes the email teaser for today's lesson from the true woman conference. the rest can be found here at Nancy Leigh DeMoss's site.

Once again for this study, Nancy is using 1 Timothy 2:9-10, I've included the whole paragraph to help with context.
8I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
Remember, that just as men have their duties, so do women.

Our part is to focus on
  • dressing in a respectable manner
  • to live with, to adorn ourselves with, modesty and self-control
  • to dress in a way that shows our godliness
  • to perform good works
  • to learn quietly and submissively
that's OUR job. Not an easy one, but one we are called to none-the-less.

Today's Nancy's focus is on Self-control. She talks abit about how living in a modest, self-controlled manner is very counter-cultural. Women today don't need to be modest, self-controlled, pure, respectable. We HAVE IT ALL. If we want it, all we have to do is go out and get it. That simple for us now-a-days. So living as a Christian woman in today's society is not an easy task that we are called to. It is truly living counter-culturally.

We need to exercise some self-control. To have this ability to say no...that's not how God wants me to act, therefore let me do thus and such instead. Now I am thankful that Nancy reminds us in this lesson that self-control is a gift from God. it's not something that we have to manufacture and therefore makes this all a legalistic thing...but something that God gives us.

Let me tell you, if you try to do this on your own, you'll die in the legalistic effort, but if you let the Spirit of God do it. . . . Look at this word self-control. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. As He controls us, He will produce this heart attitude in us. It's a word that means "moderation." Some of the translations say sobriety, and it means "soundness of mind." It means "mental sanity, self-control."

It's a picture of someone who's not extravagant, not outlandish, not extreme but who willingly, willfully chooses to restrain their sinful desires by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Nancy lists a whole lot of questions that we would be good to ask ourselves from time to time. I've copied most, but not all...go there to read in it's entirety
Let's ask ourselves some questions and let God evaluate our hearts.
  • Am I a self-controlled woman?
  • Do you have sound thinking?
  • Are you moderate and temperate in your eating habits, your exercise habits?

...........

As I think about this quality, if I'm going to eat excessively, obsessively, in an out-of-control way, that's an evidence that I don't have this quality of self-control in my heart.

  • Is your tongue temperate?
  • Is your tongue controlled and restrained by the Spirit of God?

This is so important in your home because you're likely saying things in your home that you would never blurt out at church out of anger or frustration. As a mom, as a wife, as a teenage gal, you need self-control when you're dealing with your family members.

  • Are you self-controlled in your use of time?
  • Are you prone to emotional outbursts, to anger, to temper?
  • Do you have command and discipline over your body and your physical appetites: food, sexually, morally, alcohol, drugs?
  • Are there any habits that enslave you, habits that are not godly habits?
  • Are you disciplined to do the job when it needs to be done?
I have to admit, I look over these questions and I can IMMEDIATELY think of things that I need to be more self-controlled in....things that yes I am learning to be better in. Interesting how God has been laying this on my heart and here he gives me a devotion that helps to solidify those thoughts more. Ah that I remember to talk with God daily and ask him to help me change in things that I need to change in. This would be a goodly thing. Let me not be so influenced my the culture, but more influenced by God.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Fallen into Sin, and Cast Out from God's Presence

So we are staying home from Church today, Justin and I.

Jim will be preaching with a sore throat on Genesis 3:1-24 .
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." 11He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14The LORD God said to the serpent,

"Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."

16To the woman he said,

"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you."

17And to Adam he said,

"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
'You shall not eat of it,'
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return."

20The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Jim entitled his sermon: Fallen into Sin, and Cast Out from God's Presence.

A crafty serpent.

People who chose to listen to the crafty beast instead of to God.

People choosing to make something else more important than God their king.

Sin entered the world.

God, despite of our actions, chose to promise us deliverance.

To him be all the glory!