The Damage Of Diabolical Words
Biblical Womanhood · Discipleship · Mentoring

The Damage Of Diabolical Words

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Continuation of the book, Adorned, Lesson #6

What would you say is the easiest way to determine a person’s character?

Listen to them talk.

Our Savior said that what is in our heart will come out of our mouth.

As we continue through Titus 2, we read,  The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers .

Our last lesson spoke about  being reverent in our behavior.  Could a woman have behavior that is reverent – realizing that God is present and acting in a way that reveals His character – and also be a false accuser?  No, of course not.  Another type of speech a false accuser uses is slander.  To slander someone is to simply spread harmful information or lies about another person. 

Slander is so harmful.  It hurts the one we’re speaking about, and it will also harm or discredit our testimony as a woman who should be adorning the Gospel.

Often we run another person down, perhaps sharing something we perceive about them, but don’t know to be true.  We might also share something that is true about them, with an intent to make ourselves look better, or to discredit their reputation.    

If you’ve ever been the one talked about, you know the pain involved, yet we must admit that we are guilty. Where does this come from anyway?

The word “malicious gossips” or “false accusers” is the Greek word diabolos, from which we derive our English word diabolical.  This word refers to Satan.  In other words,

Slander is devilish.

The first time we meet Satan in Scripture is in Genesis when he is speaking to Eve, and what kind of speech is he using?  Slander.  Against Whom?  God.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

So, Satan slanders God to humans.  It’s one of his tactics.  Have you ever had him tell you things like, “If God loved you, this wouldn’t be happening!”  Or “Why didn’t that happen?  God is not on your side!”

Satan also slanders believers to God. In Rev. 12:10 John called Satan the accuser of the brethren. He constantly brings slanderous accusations about us before the throne of God.

Here are three questions to ask ourselves before we share information:

  • Is it true?
  • Is it kind?
  • Does it need to be said now?

All three questions need to be answered affirmatively before you should speak it, and even then it might be best not to let it from your lips.

Wow, slander is easy to speak, but its damage is widespread, both to ourselves and the precious Gospel. Let’s ask the Lord to set a watch before the door of our lips so that our words adorn the Gospel and speak of our much of our Savior .

You can listen to the full broadcast on this lesson on my podcast by going here. You will also find all the posts in our study of the book, Adorned, by Nancy Wolgemuth.

Ask the Lord to refresh your speech so it will run from slander in any form.

In case you missed any posts this week…

Donuts Even On a Diet!
dessert · Weight watchers

Donuts Even On a Diet!

RefreshHer2 Comments

There’s nothing worse than having a craving for something sweet when you’re wanting to watch your sugar intake or lose a couple of pounds! Am I right? However, I love finding recipes that fit into my WW way of life that allow me the pleasure of something sweet without killing the whole day’s points on one treat!

I recently found these Double Choclate Banana donuts on Drizzlemeskinny.com while scouring Pinterest for a baked version of this sweet treat. The addition of the banana gives enough sweetness that they don’t need much sugar. We loved this recipe and found them to be the perfect dessert, or even an addition to breakfast! These aren’t Dunkin Donuts variety, mind you, but they will certainly do just fine when you want to be a little better at watching your calorie intake!

  Double Chocolate Banana Donuts

  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbl sugar
  • 1 medium mashed banana
  • 1/4 cup milk – I used 2%
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 1/2 Tbl. dark chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 6 hole donut pan with some cooking spray.
  • In a bowl whisk the egg and stir in the sugar, mashed banana, milk and vanilla.
  • Stir in flour, baking powder and cocoa powder then fold in chocolate chips.
  • Divide batter into the donut pan; they should be filled to the top.
  • Bake for 16-18 minutes or until baked through, let cool then gently remove from donut pan.
  • Store in sealed container, best in the fridge after a day and the donuts will freeze well.

Her website says these are 2 SP for the blue plan and 3 SP for the green plan. Not bad, huh?!!

These made for a delicious addition to our anniversary breakfast a couple weeks ago!

I hope you’re hungry for donuts now and will give this easy recipe a try! What do you get hungry for when you’re trying to watch your calories?

In case you missed any posts this week…

Our Sabbatical Weeks and How You can Create a Period of Rest for Yourself
Refreshment · Sabbatical

Our Sabbatical Weeks and How You can Create a Period of Rest for Yourself

RefreshHer6 Comments
My sweet husband made this breakfast feast for me on the first day of our sabbatical!

You may never have a sabbatical, but at the end of this post I’m going to share how you can create your own times of rest on a weekly basis, so keep reading!

As of yesterday, July 1, my husband and I completed our month-long Sabbatical. Wow. Our hearts are so full of all the things the Lord has done during those precious 30 days! You can be sure that I kept a journal each day to recount what was happening, what we were doing, and how the Lord was speaking to my heart.

I thought perhaps you would be interested to see how we spent some of our days. I mean, what do you do with 30 days of no ministry when it normally fills every day of the year?

We got outside. We got to choose the month for our sabbatical, and we chose June for a couple of reasons – one being that we love summertime and being outdoors. We took opportunities for drives to beautiful spots where we saw the hand of God. Here it is beautifully displayed in this double rainbow at Watauga Lake!

We enjoyed celebrations. The first day of June was Tennessee’s birthday. Jonesborough is the oldest city in the state, so the governor here came to speak briefly to the large crowd that gathered. The Oak Ridge Boys were there to sing the anthem and a couple of their oldies. It was the perfect beginning event! They were really popular in 1981, the year we were married, so their songs were pretty nostalgic. Anyone remember Elvira?!

So patriotic and fun to enjoy Tennessee’s birthday at an outdoor event!

We rested and read. We spent about five wonderful and quiet days at a lake cottage friends of ours graciously loaned to us. There’s no Internet; that in itself makes it a vacation! The beauty surrounding the cottage is always breathtaking and so relaxing!

One thing I prayed about were the books I should read. The Lord clearly led me to each one – even the fictional book about a pastor who takes an interim pastorate at an island church. There were so many parallels in our lives. But just having time to read was so wonderful!

We invested in our marriage. My husband chose a month-long devotional for couples that he found on-line and we read it together each day. It was on the love languages. You would think that at 40 years, we would each know the other’s love language, but this was a real learning time for both of us! Just having time to talk as a couple with no distractions, to read this devotional and pray together was another huge blessing.

We visited churches. Each Sunday we visited a new church in the area where we were. That was a blessing and also a time of learning. When you’re always in your own church, you don’t see your blind spots. As we visited other churches, it made us aware of things that might need change or adjusting in our own church. The preaching and worship (in most cases) were a true joy.

Now, how can YOU create your own regular period of rest in order to refresh yourself and be ready for the work ahead? Remember that we rest so we can work. It’s easy to think “I’ve worked hard; I deserve a rest!” But God’s directives to His people were that they would rest on the Sabbath so they could work the rest of the week. I began taking a “Sabbath rest” early last spring. Here’s my formula for refreshing myself each week:

  1. Choose one day a week for your Sabbath. For ministry families, Sunday is generally the busiest day of the week, so my day is Friday. It doesn’t have to be Sunday. Choose the day when you can really rest.
  2. Determine to spend quality time in God’s Word and prayer.
  3. Keep your busyness and chatter to a minimum.
  4. Decide what kind of things will fill your time. This doesn’t mean filling your day with busy things, but if you normally are doing work with your hands, then choose things that would work you mind. Read, work a puzzle, memorize a passage of Scripture. If you are normally working with your mind, do work with your hands. Work in the yard, organize or clean, work on a project.
  5. Rest. Allow yourself time to sleep in and/or take a nap.
  6. Get outside. Take a walk, ride bikes, go swimming. Sit outside and read.
  7. Spend time with those that will aid your rest.This isn’t the day for planning events or giving counsel. Spend time with others who will refresh you and you them.
  8. Plan ahead so your meals will be “easy” meals. Either prep a meal ahead and have it ready for the oven, or go out or pick up carry-out.

Does this Sabbath rest appeal to you? Does it seem do-able? I’d encourage you to pray about it and ask the Lord to help you come up with the best plan for you and then implement it as soon as possible!

Refresh yourself with a Sabbath rest!

discipline · Discipline · Godly Character Traits · Refreshment

It’s the Little Things That Help

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Ever heard that it’s the little things that count? It’s so true!

I look at people who spend an hour or more working out at the gym and I groan.  That’s just not my style of working out.  Instead, I choose to walk the country roads of my neighborhood.  I also do a 15 minute calisthenics routine in attempt to tone my muscles.  While I might not be making the fast strides that those folks at the gym are making,  those little times of working out do help. 

I don’t spring clean my house each week, but every day I do something.  I may dust or mop the floors, clean the windows or scour the kitchen sink.  Also each night before I go to bed, I make sure that things are tidy and put away.  I might not clean everything all at once, but those little jobs keep my house in order every day.

Each morning for years I have read the Proverb for the day (there are 31 chapters, one that can be read each day of the month).  It doesn’t take long, but since I’ve made this a habit for so long, I can finish many verses before reading it.  Those little times of pouring God’s Word into my heart haven ingrained those practical truths into my heart. 

Memorizing Scripture passages takes time and I can only memorize one verse at a time.  I might only get one or two verses a week in my memory, but eventually I get the whole passage memorized by doing little bits, one verse at a time.

I attend women’s conferences twice a year and they are a blessing, but in order to help my spiritual growth, I create my own little daily “conference” by listening to Revive Our Hearts and Love Worth Finding.  That little time of hearing God’s Word while I get ready in the morning has probably done even more for me than conferences!

It really is all the little things that make my life richer – especially in spiritual matters.  It’s a reminder to me that I have no excuses for not doing what is right!  It doesn’t require BIG amounts of time (though when I can take more time, I want to take advantage of that!).  It really only requires making habits of doing little things consistently to have a life that is fulfilling and fruitful.  

When I look and see a tiny little bit more of a toned arm or a clean kitchen, I see how rewarding those little things were. But even more rewarding are the little things that push me towards being like Christ.  They all matter.  They all make a difference!

Are you taking time to do the little things?  If you’re not in the habit, pick one and watch the difference it makes in your life!

dessert · Pie

Hand-Held Fried Apple Pies

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Fried pies 1a

When I was growing up, summer picnics almost always included a special dessert made by my mom – Fried pies. She usually made Peach Pies, but another flavor we all loved were the Apple variety.  They are made with dried fruit that has been cooked and sweetened.  The dried fruit keeps the filling from being too runny and seeping out.  The pies are fried in butter just until they’re browned nicely on all sides. They’re not especially pretty, but man oh man, are they good!

If you’re having a picnic for July 4th, maybe you could start the Fried Pie Tradition for your family!

Here’s how they’re made –

Buy one bag of dried fruit -peaches or apples. (One bag makes A LOT of pies! You’ll usually find these where the raisins are in the grocery store.  Place the fruit in a medium-sized pan and add water and cook over low heat until the fruit plumps up.  Add sugar to sweeten to your liking.  Cook until fruit is soft. This takes a while.  Cook them slowly.   Set aside.

Either make your own pie dough, or you can use store-bought.  Roll dough out and cut out circles, about 4 inches in diameter. Place about 2 tablespoons (no more) on half of the circle.  Fold dough over.

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Crimp edges with a fork.

Fried pies 1

Melt half of a stick of butter in a skillet and melt over medium low heat.  Add pies and cook in batches,turning to brown all sides.

Fried pies 6

Place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to absorb extra butter.

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These are super good warm, but they’re also delicious at room temperature!

Note: You may need to add butter as they are frying.  In between batches, I wipe the pan out with a paper towel so the butter doesn’t turn too dark and color the pies before they start to cook.

These are so great for picnics because all you need is a napkin. It’s a hand-held pie; perfect for on the go!

Wouldn’t this make a great addition to your Fourth of July picnic?!

From my country kitchen,