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Thanking HIm For All Things

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I just finished re-reading The Hiding Place – the story of Corrie Ten Boom’s imprisonment in the German Concentration Camp.  It would be easy at the onset of the book to wonder why God would allow these innocent people to suffer as they did.  Starvation, cold, fleas, lice, cruel punishment, humiliation, and hatred were only some of the hard things the prisoners endured.  Why, Lord?  Why?
Life is full of hard questions, isn’t it?  Have you ever asked or been asked questions such as:
  • Why do God’s children suffer? 
  • Why is a faithful Christian taken to heaven when they’re young? 
  • Why do young children, who are so innocent get terminal diseases? 
  • Why doesn’t God stop people from doing sinful things to innocent people?
If we really want answers, we need to do what this proverbs says –
 They that seek the LORD understand all things. Proverbs 28:5b
We must seek the Lord.  If we open God’s Word (the place where we find answers about God), we will understand all things.  That doesn’t mean we’ll have the answers to all things, but we will understand because we will come to understand our God.  If I am seeking the Lord, I learn that He loves me.  I learn that He wants to conform me to His image. I find out that I am always under His care.  I see that God gives men a will to choose Him or reject Him.  I am reminded that one day He will righteously judge all sin and that men won’t always get away with the evil they have done. 
In The Hiding Place Corrie tells about being sent to a barracks that was infested with fleas.  Corrie asked her sister, Betsie how they were going to be able to survive such conditions.  Here is Betsie’s wise answer:
Corrie!  He’s given us the answer!  Before we asked, as He always does!  In the Bible this morning.  Where was it?  Read that part again!  It was in I Thessalonians.  Here it is – Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all…rejoice  always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus–.  That’s it, Corrie!  That’s His answer.  ‘Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do.  We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!
Betsie then prayed and thanked God for everything – including the fleas, because, as she said, “Give thanks in all circumstances.  It doesn’t say’ in pleasant circumstances.’  Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”  Corrie said she was sure her sister was wrong about this! 
During their stay at these particular barracks, the guards seldom came around, giving them much liberty to have Bible studies and prayer times with the other women prisoners.  Some time later, they learned that the guards avoided their barracks because of the fleas!  So even these little annoyances were part of God’s plan.  Because Betsie sought the Lord, she understood this simple truth.
Are there “fleas” that you’re dealing with right now?  Or perhaps they may seem more like elephants because of their enormity.  Remind yourself to keep learning about your God so you, too, can understand that God is using even those difficult things for a purpose that we might not have answers for right now, but perhaps He will enlighten our understanding so that we might trust Him  and thank Him for all things…even the fleas.
With love,

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A Peek Into the Parsonage

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 Pajama Runs and Family Fun

A happy home doesn’t mean that problems and difficulties never exist.  A happy home is a place where the people who live there deal biblically with the issues at hand.  The family inside a parsonage has as many troubles and struggles as their neighbors, and have to work just as hard at maintaining a right mind- set about dealing with the hard things and remembering to have plain ol’ fun together.  Having fun as a family is so important!  The Bible reminds us in Proverbs 17:22 that a merry heart is good medicine. If parents have a merry heart they can make a merry home by loosening up the stress and having fun as a family.

Just yesterday I read this entry in my diary from May 16, 1999.  (Our daughters were eight and fifteen at the time)

This evening after the girls had showered and gotten in bed, Dale rang a make-believe bell and hollered,

“Pajama run!  Pajama run!  Everyone in the van!” 

 We piled in and drove through Dairy Queen for a treat.  Allison was so tickled at the fun of it all that she came up to Dale’s seat while we were in the drive through line, put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.  Whitney enjoy it too.  Her words were, “I don’t have any make-up on!” 

It was a fun family memory builder.

Those little fun times did wonders to bind our hearts together as we laughed (usually at Allison’s antics or comments).  They relieved the stress of many things – ministry, discipline issues, hard work, or just growing up. 

The family in the parsonage sure isn’t perfect – we’ve dealt with many hard things, but when things got tough we tried to remember to loosen up and have fun!

Does your family need a pajama run and family fun?  Go for it!

With love and laughter,

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Trusting God for the "All Things" In Our Lives

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The following is a synopsis of our Bible study of Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George:
Romans 8:28, 29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
What are some of the “all things” that God will work together for our good?
  1. Our number one problem.  Before you get out of bed identify your number one problem and give it to God.  Let Him take care of it.  God can take the very worst thing in your life and turn it into something good.
  2. The good things. Too often we only think that God will use the bad things for His glory and our good, but He will use even the good things to do the same thing, because many times they are just as challenging! Ministry is a good thing that can be a challenge.  Graduation from college can be a good thing that’s a challenge – where do you go from here?  A promotion at work is a good thing!  You’ve gotten to be the best at your job, and you get promoted to a whole new position and it’s tough!  Retirement is another good thing that brings changes and challenges.  We have to grow and stretch during these times and we need God’s help.
  3. The bad things.  Most of us think we understand this one.  There are things we label as bad – evil, hard done to us, or suffering.  Along comes Rom 8:28 and we understand that God doesn’t prevent “bad” things from happening to His children, but He turns those things into blessings for us by using those situations to transform us into Christlikeness. 
  4. The “people things.”  People who make your life miserable, people who hate you, or people who are just difficult can be used to bring about good in your life.  Here’s a quote that will help you not to blame others for how they are – It is not them – it is Him!  We must realize that God is using the people in our lives to conform us to the image of His Son.
The following prayer should be the prayer of our hearts as we trust God for the all things in our lives:
“Lord, Your Word says,  “in every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.” Therefore, we choose with our wills to thank you.  Lord, your Word says all things work together for good to those who love you, and we do, to those who are called according to your purpose, and we are.  You have also said heaven and earth will pass away before your Word will pass away.  Therefore, Your Word is truer than anything we are thinking or feeling right now. 
 
All things, including this______________. Whatever the “this” is, God can work together for my good!
Never view life through the lens of feeling.  They are too varied and unstable.  God doesn’t call us to be feeling oriented, but faith oriented.  There’s a place for mercy and compassion, but we must walk by faith and not by sight.  Faith looks to see the Big picture – which is God working behind the scenes to make us like His dear Son.
If our circumstances, find us in God, we will find God in all our circumstances.  D.L. Moody

Thankful that we can trust a mighty God for the “all things” in our lives,

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What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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This little piggy was at the market, and this little piggy came home… and found himself sitting on our dinner table!  That’s what I found on sale recently at our local Ingles store – pork!  It was a nice change from chicken and we do love it. I was also anxious to try a couple of new recipes.

One recipe was Mushroom Glazed Pork Chops.  I found this in my recent  Good Housekeeping Magazine.  These were browned in my iron skillet, then put into the oven to finish cooking.  They were very good.  I served them with mashed potatoes so we could spoon the gravy over top.  Mmmmm!  Fresh asparagus and popovers completed the meal.



Mushroom Glazed Pork Chops

 The changes I made in the recipe were:  I didn’t go to the expense of buying the fresh mushrooms, but used canned ones I already had.  I also substituted the alcohol for beef broth and milk for light cream.  It was still delicious!

I just had to show you my gorgeous roses from my sweet husband.  See why I love to fix him new recipes?  He’s just too sweet!  I’m also blessed to be married to a man who is willing to try whatever I make.  There have been very few things he didn’t like.  That sure makes cooking fun!

For Sunday dinner I fixed a Pork Tenderloin.  A dear friend of mine makes the best pork and I tried to copy the way she fixes hers. I marinated the tenderloin on Saturday night with a mixture of olive oil, cumin, oregano, garlic, black pepper and lemon juice. A little here, a little there – you know what I mean.  Tenderloin doesn’t take long to cook, so I didn’t want to leave it in the oven at a very high temperature while we were at church.  So I browned it ahead of time following this method: 

Take the tenderloin out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Film an ovenproof skillet with oil and sear the tenderloin over medium-high heat to brown all sides, about 5 minutes in all. (Reserve marinade)  I then placed the skillet in the oven at 200 degrees to cook slowly while we were at church.  Remove from the oven, tent the pork with foil and let it rest. 

I deglazed the skillet using the reserved marinade and the drippings from the pan to make a  gravy, and I also added a little chicken broth.  I thickened it up a little with some corn starch.  Serve this meal with rice and pinto beans and you have a nearly Puerto rican meal!  Thanks, Sue!

 I also added a Strawberry Salad – Leaf lettuce, fresh strawberries, red onion, and almonds with a vinaigrette I made up with 2 T Balsamic vinegar, 1/3 C olive oil, 2 T strawberry jam and a pinch of salt and pepper.  This has to be my favorite salad!

The Lord so sweetly give us richly all things to enjoy…good sales and yummy pork!

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen?

With love,

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A Peek Inside the Parsonage

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Being in the ministry requires stepping outside the parsonage to minister to people. One of the places we frequent is the hospital. It’s not always easy – especially if things are critical, but sometimes it is truly a special time – especially if we visit a strong believer who has gone through, or is going through a hard trial. That may sound odd, but the blessing is in finding a seat, and then just listening as they speak.  That was the joy I had yesterday.  I sat and listened to a dear lady who has been ill for over a year share what the Lord has been teaching her.  Wow!  I heard what God’s grace has done in her life.  Let me hit some of the highlights with you:

  • If I had been wealthy, or had lots of possessions, even that wouldn’t have stopped this from happening.  However, those things couldn’t have given me the peace the Lord’s given me.  You can’t put a price tag on that!
  • The Lord has been so faithful.
  • I’m not afraid. I can honestly say, whatever the Lord wants, I know will be good for me. 
  • I wish I could be doing other things, but I’ve had lots of time to pray and I’ve been praying about…..and….and….
  • I used to have to be in control, but the Lord’s showing me that I must take my hands off and let Him be in charge.
  • The Lord’s been teaching me some wonderful truths from His Word…
  • A wife needs a husband that will stick with her in times of sickness like mine has.  You don’t just stay together when things are easy.
  • The Lord has been so faithful.
  • I’ve been through some painful things, but I try to cooperate with the hospital staff.  When they tell me what a sweet patient I am, I tell them it’s because of God’s grace.
  • The Lord’s been showing me unconfessed sin and He’s digging deep in my heart.  It’ been hard, yet so sweet as He’s revealed these things to me.
  • The Lord has been so faithful.
Do those sound like things that come from the lips of a woman who has been battling illness for a year?  The only kind of woman that can say that is a woman who is walking closely to the Lord, as she is. This verse came to my mind as we stood around her bed and prayed:
They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. Psalm 119:74
Indeed, I was glad!  Glad I’d left the parsonage and come to the hospital.  I had come to be a blessing, but I received one instead!
With gladness,