Sunday, May 31, 2009
John 6:47 and everlasting life
Joe and I were there to witness an 84-year-old WWII veteran give his life to Christ this morning. He was crying tears of joy just before he was dunked under to be baptized.
How relentless God is!
How beautiful salvation is!
It reminds me of how closely God is paying attention to my prayers for those who still don't know Him.
How relentless God is!
How beautiful salvation is!
It reminds me of how closely God is paying attention to my prayers for those who still don't know Him.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
22 and 24 pounders
...and we will be lugging these things up Mt. Leconte in the Smokey Mountains Thursday for 2 nights of "roughing it."
Please pray for:
* Thomas, Catherine, Julia (Joe's mom) and her friend who will be keeping the kids.
(safety, comfort, health, lots of fun)
* Joe & I to reconnect & have a wonderful trip free from illness, accidents, etc.
* nice weather!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
George & Charlie
Thomas has loved George being in his class at Mother's Day Out. George and his older brother, Charlie, came over for a visit last week. Thomas equally loves Charlie! ... and they all equally love getting wet!
** As an added bonus, I love Geoge and Charlie's mom! She's a sweetie!!
** As an added bonus, I love Geoge and Charlie's mom! She's a sweetie!!
Happy Birthday, Mary Elizabeth!
Mary Elizabeth, our little neighbor, turned one!
What a beautiful cake from Julia's Bakery!
What a pile of gifts!!
Even the dogs were ready to party.
I think I may have caught Thomas in the middle of a sniffle... but he still is my cutie-pie!
.... here is the Birthday girl!!
Then, we spent the rest of the evening loving on each other, or babies and playing in the yard.
What a beautiful cake from Julia's Bakery!
What a pile of gifts!!
Even the dogs were ready to party.
I think I may have caught Thomas in the middle of a sniffle... but he still is my cutie-pie!
.... here is the Birthday girl!!
Then, we spent the rest of the evening loving on each other, or babies and playing in the yard.
Perfect Summer Lunch
that is, if you like tuna.
Take some Italian bread and slice it open to make a sandwich. Take a large plate and pour olive oil into the center. Sprinkle the olive oil with sea salt & basil. Press Italian bread into the mixture to soak it up just on the inside of the sandwich. Bake it on 350 degrees until golden crisp.
Lay 2 slices of provolone cheese on the bottom. Empty an entire can of tuna (packed in olive oil, drained) on top of the provolone. Then, add sliced roma tomatoes that are barely ripe!
Serve with potato chips and fresh fruit!
Flower Girl Dresses
Thank you Belk for marking these dresses down so many times it made my head spin...
Orig. Price: $52 plus tax
Final Price: $7.13 after tax!!
Orig. Price: $52 plus tax
Final Price: $7.13 after tax!!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Recipe for Mozzarella
Recipe for Mozzarella (Makes 0-2 servings. This recipe works best in very warm weather.)
Fill 2 sippy cups with milk. Give to children as you leave the house to run errands. (Come home, put away groceries, make lunch, check e-mail, get babies down for nap) One day later, go out to car to look for missing toy. Note smell. This means your cheese is probably ready. Dig sippy cups out of the bottom of backseat floor, take inside, then drain liquid from sippy cups. Slab of mozzarella should come out next.
Mozzarella is a staple in Italian recipes, though I haven't actually tasted this version. Maybe your cat will want it.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Albertine
I want to be in Africa, but not a moment too soon.
"Albertine"
I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don't see with my own
rwanda
[CHORUS]
now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are
I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda
[CHORUS]
[BRIGDE]
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine
[CHORUS]
I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine
"Albertine"
I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don't see with my own
rwanda
[CHORUS]
now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are
I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda
[CHORUS]
[BRIGDE]
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine
[CHORUS]
I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine
my walk
For months now, I have wanted to sit down and write about what God is doing in my life, in my heart… His work in me. I feel overwhelmed each time I start my mental list of areas he is convicting me on. Basically , He is teaching me how to really love HIM. He is teaching me how to really love others and how to serve. I’m still struggling with faith only because He has blessed me beyond imagination and really, when I think about it, it’s harder to live by faith when things are going so well.
First off, I’m so very BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!
It’s easy to fill my life up with so many things, especially with my babies. Then, give God whatever is left.
Hosea 13:6 says, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”
God gets a scrap or two only because we feel guilty for giving Him nothing. A mumbled 1 minute prayer at the end of the day over dinner. It’s like, “Here, fetch, God.” So much of my life, I have given THE MOST HIGH GOD scraps. I felt no shame. I took my eyes off of scripture and compared myself to others. Well, at least I’m not doing such and such. The bones I threw at God had more meat on them than others threw so I thought I was doing fine. Obviously, it’s not what I advertise, but what I am REALLY made of that counts.
I’m learning that God measures my life by how I love; how I love Him and how I love others. Paul wrote, “I have all faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
Recently I did a little exercise. I’ll share it.
Read this:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, endures all things. Love never ends… faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
– 1st Corinthians 13:4-8, 13
Take the phrase love is patient and substitute your name for the word love. For me, “Sarah is patient…” Read through the whole thing. By the end I felt like such a failure.
A few weeks ago, I shared with a friend how difficult it has been to serve others with two little children. Besides cooking a meal for someone in need, visiting a nursing home friend on occasion, and opening my home for showers, parties, dinners, etc… I feel so limited. She told me that when my children are little, my priorities should be to serve them. She suggested that the recipes I double should not be given away, but should be frozen and saved for my own family so I can have a night off from cooking. I get so much joy from serving others. In fact, when life is hardest, you can find me in my kitchen…. making a meal for someone. That is where God meets me, every time. I never neglect my own family to serve another. Instead, I see the opportunity to show my children what servant-hood looks like. Thomas knows how to help me bag dinner up. He loves being part of the whole thing and Catherine is along for the ride, but will one day enjoy it, too.
In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose his, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." And in Luke 14:33, He says, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17
“For God so loved the world, He gave….” John 3:16
Right there, we see the connection between loving and giving.
I don’t see serving as a burden. I just love loving God by loving His people.
(Matthew 13:44; John 15:8)
Here is the other thing that has been on my mind. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God…” Hebrews 11:6
What am I doing right now that requires faith? Honestly, very little.
First off, I’m so very BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!
It’s easy to fill my life up with so many things, especially with my babies. Then, give God whatever is left.
Hosea 13:6 says, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”
God gets a scrap or two only because we feel guilty for giving Him nothing. A mumbled 1 minute prayer at the end of the day over dinner. It’s like, “Here, fetch, God.” So much of my life, I have given THE MOST HIGH GOD scraps. I felt no shame. I took my eyes off of scripture and compared myself to others. Well, at least I’m not doing such and such. The bones I threw at God had more meat on them than others threw so I thought I was doing fine. Obviously, it’s not what I advertise, but what I am REALLY made of that counts.
I’m learning that God measures my life by how I love; how I love Him and how I love others. Paul wrote, “I have all faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
Recently I did a little exercise. I’ll share it.
Read this:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, endures all things. Love never ends… faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
– 1st Corinthians 13:4-8, 13
Take the phrase love is patient and substitute your name for the word love. For me, “Sarah is patient…” Read through the whole thing. By the end I felt like such a failure.
A few weeks ago, I shared with a friend how difficult it has been to serve others with two little children. Besides cooking a meal for someone in need, visiting a nursing home friend on occasion, and opening my home for showers, parties, dinners, etc… I feel so limited. She told me that when my children are little, my priorities should be to serve them. She suggested that the recipes I double should not be given away, but should be frozen and saved for my own family so I can have a night off from cooking. I get so much joy from serving others. In fact, when life is hardest, you can find me in my kitchen…. making a meal for someone. That is where God meets me, every time. I never neglect my own family to serve another. Instead, I see the opportunity to show my children what servant-hood looks like. Thomas knows how to help me bag dinner up. He loves being part of the whole thing and Catherine is along for the ride, but will one day enjoy it, too.
In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose his, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." And in Luke 14:33, He says, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17
“For God so loved the world, He gave….” John 3:16
Right there, we see the connection between loving and giving.
I don’t see serving as a burden. I just love loving God by loving His people.
(Matthew 13:44; John 15:8)
Here is the other thing that has been on my mind. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God…” Hebrews 11:6
What am I doing right now that requires faith? Honestly, very little.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Happy 1st Birthday Catherine!!
We spent the day loving on each other and soaking up the beautiful sunshine!
It was a marvelous day yesterday, May12th! My baby is growing up... both of my babies, actually!
It was a marvelous day yesterday, May12th! My baby is growing up... both of my babies, actually!
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