Christian growth

Keeping a Memorial

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If I have a couple soap boxes, one of them is on journaling. I think it’s so crucial to write down what God is doing in your life. Over and over in Scripture we read about God telling the children of Israel to write for a memorial. Stones were to serve as a memorial to their children about what God had done for them. Why a memorial? Because God knew they would forget.

Without a journal, you and I will forget how God answered prayer. We will forget how He was at work in our lives. We will forget how desperate we were in a time of trial and how He moved in and worked in a mighty way. Oh, we think we’d never forget, but we will without the aid of some kind of memorial.

I am not suggesting you add some labor intensive writing to your busy day. Let me give you a few suggestions that will be simple ways to keep track of blessings and God’s work in your life.

  • Get a simple notebook (or use your current prayer journal) and make a page for each day of the week.
  • Each day write the date, then using phrases, bullet things you can praise God for – blessings He’s given.

Also add answers to prayer.

  • Write short blessings from the Scriptures that you read in your quiet time that day.

I’m not suggesting you keep a diary – but a memorial of what God is doing. I have my journal as a part of my prayer journal. Because it’s a three ring binder, I just keep adding pages to it. I have to tell you, it is such a blessing to me to look back on how God has been at work in my life. It increases my faith to pray about some hard thing in my life when I read about how the Lord answered prayer in some other “impossible” situation! It makes my heart overflow in praise when I read about His provision for the a need we’d been praying about for a long time. This book is a treasure to me! I know I would have forgotten most of what I’ve written and am so thankful to have page after page reminding me of how faithful my God is.

If you’re not journaling yet, can I encourage you to start out in a small way? Just do a little each day. It will encourage your heart. Have you been journaling? What do you see as a benefit in keeping this kind of memorial?

Remembering with thanks,

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What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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The truth about my cooking adventure yesterday is that I served leftovers for Sunday’s dinner. **Gasp!** You know what? It was wonderful! I didn’t have any preparations before I left for church. Along with the extra hour of sleep I got, I had all kinds of extra time yesterday morning!

This is the way my mom often prepares her Sunday dinner now that it’s just her and my dad. She’ll cook a nice meal Saturday night, knowing there will be leftovers, then makes up a plate for each of them and pops it into the fridge. The meal only has to be warmed in the microwave the next day, and perhaps a salad added to have the meal ready to eat. Pretty nice!

I didn’t scrimp on the table scape – I set the table the night before. I still use pretty napkins and plates, even when it’s just the two of us. I want to convey a message to my husband – you are important to me!

I will share a recipe I made earlier, however. I made a Golden Winter Soup (made with butternut squash) a couple weeks ago and froze it in gallon size bags. I put them in the freezer flat so they’d thaw quicker. I doubled the recipe because I had several squash to use. I also purchased leeks for the recipe and wanted to use all of those. To be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge fan of butternut squash, but I’d found a recipe that had 5 star reviews from many people, so I gave it a try. It was so good! It has chicken broth and potatoes in it that kind of even out the squash taste. Please try this and tell me what you think. It’s a very simple recipe with big bang flavor!

This kind of soup needs a crusty bread. We are fans of popovers – something I’ve only been making a year or so. Popovers require some time to bake, but are well worth the little bit of thinking ahead effort. I made some when I served this soup this week. They were a great accompaniment! I don’t have popover pans – I just use giant muffin tins. It works great. Here’s my recipe from my very used Better Homes and Garden Cookbook:

Popovers

2 eggs
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tbl salad oil
1/2 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with a rotary beater or electric mixer. Add flour, milk, salad oil, and salt. Beat ’til combined. (Over beating will make them fall!)

Fill 6-8 well-greased custard cups 1/2 full. Bake in very hot oven (475 degrees) for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to moderate (350 degrees) and bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or till browned and firm.

If you like popovers dry and crisp, turn off oven and leave popovers in oven 30 minutes with door ajar. Serve hot.

What did you cook this weekend? Have you tried something new or did you make a tried and true dish? Tell me about it!

With love,
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The Humble Will Hear and Be Glad

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I can’t believe it’s November! The cold front moving into our area today is a stern reminder, however! It’s definitely not June or July out there!

With November comes Thanksgiving, a favorite holiday for most. I recently read a magazine editor’s reference to Thanksgiving and she said something like, “Thanksgiving is all about family and food.” Have you ever found yourself talking to a magazine? I said out loud, “You’ve got to be kidding! Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God!” But I realize that the world sees both Thanksgiving and Christmas as family time, and what we can get, rather than reflecting on all we’ve been given and being thankful to the Giver.

Yesterday I was reading Psalm 34 – I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be continually in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Who is it that loves to hear others praise God? The humble! A proud person doesn’t rejoice when others are praising God. In their pride they sit and criticize. They scoff. They belittle. They do all this because they are proud of their standing, the way they conduct themselves, or their “proper behavior.” Remember the Pharisees? Did they love it when the sinful woman wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair and worshipped him? No. They looked down on her. She knew her sinful condition too, but it made her thankful for Jesus’ love and acceptance in such a way that she humbled herself and wiped his feet.

You will not see a proud person stand and praise God in a church service. You will not see a proud person nod in agreement or wipe tears from their eyes when another is sharing the overflow from their heart to their wonderful God. No, it takes a humble person to praise God and another humble person to be glad at their praise.

Check your heart. Do you rejoice when others praise the Lord? If not, it could be pride that is lifting its head. Remember the pit from which you were dug, and you will be humbled to a point of praise. You know what else? The humble will be glad!

See you in church Sunday!

With love,

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Spiritual Famine

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“I’m famished!” are popular words at our house after church on Sunday morning. The word famished means to starve to death. Okay, we’re not famished, we’re extra hungry. Probably none of us really know what it is to be truly famished in a physical sense.

However, there is another type of famine that God’s people can be very familiar with, and that is a spiritual famine. Ever experienced one? It is a time of waiting, of want. It can be a very difficult time. Perhaps you’re in a famine right now.


Yesterday I read Psalm 33:18, 19 – Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Note that verse 19 doesn’t say that God keeps us from the famine, but He keeps us alive in the famine. Times of famine are good for us. Here’s what I noted as I studied this passage. A famine will:

  • Make me more dependent on my God
  • Make me more hungry for the sweet morsels that God gives to me from His Word
  • Make me run to Him in prayer all through my hungry day
  • Make me thankful for times of abundance when the famine is only a memory

Don’t question God’s love for you if you’re in the middle of a spiritual famine. Anything God brings into our lives is because He knows we need it. He promises in Psalm 33 that He will keep us alive during those hard times. He will provide all we need. He’ll give His Word, His presence, His strength, and He will bring it to an end. While you’re in the midst of your famine, pray verses 20-22 to the Lord as you wait for it to come to an end: Our soul waiteth for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Just as God brought Elijah food from a raven to keep him alive, He will feed you, comfort you and provide for you in your famine. Wait. He is enough.

With love,

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Hearty Corn Chowder

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When the weather turns cool I love to make lots of soups, stews and chowders. A friend shared this recipe with me several years ago for Hearty Corn Chowder. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do!

3 T butter

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1/3 cup onion, finely chopped

3 T flour

2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can (12 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green sweet peppers

2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used sweet turkey sausage)

1 can (14.5 oz) evaporated skim milk

Heat butter, carrots, celery, add onion in large saucepan until bubbly; reduce heat and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly. Stir in water, salt, celery salt, paprika, pepper and corn. Heat to boiling. Stir cheese into chowder gradually. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add sausage and milk. Heat until hot.

O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusts in Him.
Psalm 34:8


Enjoy!