Friday, March 29, 2013

QUOTE

People have no power over you that you yourself do not give them.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Passion week

 The son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.  Luke 24:7

I tend to get a little emotional during passion week.  Contemplating the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  He was innocent and the only one whose blood could cover our sins.  Only Christ's sacrificial death on the cross could satisfy Gods wrath against sinful man.  As soon as Christ was nailed to the cross, he began to pray for those who crucified him.  His prayer softened the heart of one of the two thieves that were on each side of him.  The one knew he himself deserved to be on that cross and he saw that Jesus was innocent.  The one prayed with humility asking Jesus to remember him.  The thief, now a forgiven child of God!  The other one's heart remained hardened and died in his sins while the very Savior of the world was right next to him.  If you seek Christ you will find him and he will show himself to you.   On the same day Christ rose from the dead, he appeared to the two disciples that were on their way to Emmaus.  Christ brings comfort to them as he explains his death on the cross was not a mistake.  That his suffering and death on the cross was God's divine plan from the very beginning.  This wasn't an accident, where an ambulance had to be rush to the scene.  No, this was the appointed way to the Glory of God! 
Have a Happy Resurrection Day!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Spring Cleaning

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.  Colossians 3:23

Now that Spring is just around the corner I've been itching ( and sneezing ) to clean, clean and clean some more!  Spring time always motivates me to organize my home and to clean up my garden, removing dead plants and flowers and replacing them with new colorful and healthy ones.  Well,
if you are in the spring cleaning mood, there is one area in our homes that should be cleaned at least once a month and it can't wait till springtime.   Can you guess what that is?  It's in your kitchen, bigger than a bread box and most are white or stainless steal.  It's the Fridge.  The refrigerator can often be neglected.  Some spills don't get cleaned up as quickly as they should and some items are passed the expiration date or get placed on shelves where they don't belong.  So, what's in your refrigerator? Are there any science projects growing in yours?  Lets do some spring cleaning in our fridges!
1) Take everything out of the fridge, but clean one shelf at a time to avoid spoilage.

2) Throw out anything you don't use regularly.  Discard any moldy, aged food. Check expiration dates.  When in doubt throw it out.

3) Wipe inside with warm soapy water or baking soda and water mixture.  Rinse well with water.

4) Keep food organized with lunch meat and cheese together.  Keep vegetables in the crisper (veggie drawer)  Put milk, juices and other drinks on one shelf.  Salad dressings, sauces and condiments can be kept in the shelves on the door.

5) Don't forget the UFO'S (unidentified frozen objects)in your freezer.

6) Use an open jar of baking soda to keep out odors and excess moisture.

There you go.   This shouldn't take too long.  If you don't feel you have enough time then just spend 15 mins. cleaning just one shelf and come back another day to clean one or two more.

Happy cleaning!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Monday, March 4, 2013

Waiting on God

We all are waiting on God at different times in our lives.  Are you waiting on God right now?  For you it could be a healing, a baby that you long to have, a job, buying a home or praying for the salvation of a loved one.  We can grow weary in waiting.  What is the purpose in waiting?  God tells us in His word that it is good for us to wait on Him.   Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.  They will fly high on wings as eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.  Is. 40:31  Here is an illustration I recently read of how the Lord strengthens us during trials.
"Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?  The eagle will fly to a high spot and wait for the winds to come.  When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.  While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.  The eagle does not escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift it higher.  It rises on the winds that bring the storms.  When the storm of life come upon us, we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God.  The storms do not have to overcome us; we can allow God's power to lift us above them.  God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment into our lives.  We can soar above the storm.  Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them."  Some purposes in waiting can be-
1) God producing humility in us 2) God teaching us to trust Him more 3) purifying us 4)  protecting us 5) strengthening us 6)  maturing us 7) God allowing the excitement of anticipation.  Oh, there are so many more purposes that I could go on and on!  Has this ever happened to you?  While you are praying for a particular situation, your prayer begins to take a turn and you begin to pray with new insight. your prayer goes in a different direction then it did at the start.   It could be that the Holy Spirit began to give you a different perspective than the one you had at first. While we are in that waiting room our perspective can change even though the circumstances don't!

Friday, March 1, 2013

QUOTE

The height of our joy depends on the depth of our thankfulness. 
John Piper