The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

What parent is there that would want their child to remain an infant all their life? As cute as our babies are, we rejoice at each step of growth as they mature. In the same way, as we continue on this journey of walking with the Lord, we have learned in our study by Elizabeth George, that we must first have a relationship with God by receiving Christ as our personal Savior. After that, the natural outflow from our spiritual life should be growth.

Elizabeth learned from an older godly woman that in order to go beyond just floating along in our Christian life, we need to dig deeper. The means that she used to do that was:

1. She never bought a skirt or pair of pants without pockets in it. At the beginning of the week she would write a new memory verse on a 3×5 card and would take it out all day long and read it and work on hiding that verse in her heart. What verse are you currently working on memorizing?

2. She had “Five Fat Files.” She purchased five file folders in order to tuck away information on Biblical subject matters. She was to pick five areas in which she wanted to grow in expertise so that she was filling herself up with knowledge in these areas.

   In order for us to follow this advice we need to ask ourselves (and pray about) what we’d like to be known for. Do you want to be known as a woman of prayer? Mentoring? Soul winning? After you’ve chosen your five Biblical topics, seek knowledge in these areas. You’ll then know what subjects to be studying. We can’t read everything, but when we have chosen five areas, we have a better idea of what kind of books we should be looking for. We’ll know which workshops to attend when we go to a ladies’ retreat. We’ll clip articles from magazines on those subjects, or print off information we read on the Internet. We can talk with people who are excelling in those areas and ask them questions.

It really helps to funnel our attention to a much smaller focus, and then to seek knowledge especially in those five areas. How will this aid your spiritual growth? You’ll be anxious to get out of bed in the morning to jump up and get in God’s Word to learn more what He says about those five subjects.

Along with filling your five fat files, Elizabeth encourages us to code our Bibles. If you’re seeking knowledge about prayer, mark a P next to each verse you read about praying, a person who prayed, how to pray, Jesus’ prayers, etc. If you make a study of the Women of the Bible, role of women, older women, place a W beside each passage you find about them. Each day as you read your Bible, read it with a pen in hand; that is an act of faith, revealing that you’re certain the Lord is going to show you a nugget that you need to mark.

This kind of study is the main stream to ministry. As you fill yourself up in these five areas, you’ll be like a teapot jumping on the stove. You’ll be so filled with knowledge from God’s Word that you’ll be pouring out on other people. Like the woman that Elizabeth learned from, women will seek you out to get wisdom from the areas in which you have grown.

So, what kind of ministry will you have from the outflow of your spiritual growth? By His grace, let’s each choose those five areas and start growing!

Because of His grace,

Springtime brings a couple pastor’s conferences for my husband to enjoy. Preachers need preaching to just like we do! He spent a good bit of the last week away from me at The Wilds for their Power in the Pulpit Conference. What a refreshment it was to him!

I wanted to plan a special meal for him to have upon his return home, so I planned this grilled Sirloin with Charred Tomato Salsa. We enjoy grilling steaks, but I typically always make the same Teriyaki Marinade. This recipe is a great change. It tastes healthy and really wakes up a plain ol’ grilled steak! I had a little extra meat and salsa left over – that will make some delicious beef burritos!

Charred Tomato Salsa

1 14.5 oz Can of Fire Roasted tomatoes

1/2 Cup Red onion, thinly chopped

1 tbl red wine vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Serve at room temperature with grilled sirloin steak.

I love fresh asparagus, but have never had it fresh from the garden. We have a dear pastor friend who dropped off some for us – wow! What a difference it makes to have it so fresh!

I placed the asparagus on a sheet pan, drizzled it with olive oil, then salt and pepper. Bake it at 400 degrees 6-8 minutes. I like it crisp-tender.

I served a twice baked potato along with it to round out the meal.

For dessert I made Sunflower seed cookies. If you like Pecan Sandies you’ll like these. They’re a little salty mixed with the sweetness of the dough. They’re thin, crispy rounds of goodness!

Sunflower Seed Cookies

1 cup butter or marg., softened

3/4 Cup shortening

2 Cups sugar

1 T water

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 Cup roasted salted sunflower seeds

Cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Add water and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture; mix well. Add sunflower seeds. Shape into 1-inch balls; place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.

Flattered with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Yield: About 10 dozen

I think my husband was pretty glad he came home – even if he did have to grill the steaks!

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen lately?

With love,

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. Proverbs 22:3

I read through the chapter then he said, “Read the first three verses again.” When I got to verse three he said, “That’s the one I wanted to hear. Isn’t that wise?” We talked about it a minute before we hung up. I’ve meditated on the verse all day.

We can all probably think of people who didn’t obey this instruction, but I wanted to think about some illustrations of people who have done what this verse says.

One perfect example is Joseph in the book of Genesis. When Potiphar’s wife began speaking seductively to him, Joseph, in prudence, ran from her presence. He could see that the end result would be sin and he “hid himself” from it.

Then it also dawned on me that by calling and asking me to read Scripture to him, my husband was putting into practice the wisdom of which this verse speaks He knew that without the Word of God to calm his heart, he would continue in his frustration and anger. Rather than stewing over the stupidity of drivers, he ran to the Wisdom of the Word to redirect His thinking. How wise.

How will you practice prudence today? Guard your heart against sinful reactions. Stay out of places where the end result would be sin. Turn from temptation. Hide yourself from the evil you see ahead of you rather than passing on – oblivious to the danger in your path!

Have a great weekend,