"Do you want to be healed?"

 

I'm going to start this post with a bit of a disclaimer; I typically do not like Christian movies.  I find that most of them make a caricature of Jesus and the Bible and do not present Jesus as someone that people would be drawn to.  Having said that; I have enjoyed the series The Chosen.   

The above scene is from Season 2 and the full episode can be watched on Youtube.  The Scripture it follows is John 5:1-17, when Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethesda.  Jesus first asks the man "Do you want to be healed? (vs 6).  We may see this as an odd question and think "of course he wants to be healed, who wants to be a cripple?"  but here's the thing; Jesus knows us, He knew this man.  We can become so stuck in the things that cripple us that they become our identity.  Our sins and limitations become how we define our lives; and we find a false sense of comfort in that. The familiar, no matter how messed up, can become comfortable because it is easier to stay stuck in what we know than to face what we never have before.  Did this man want to be healed?  It would change his life, he wouldn't be languishing by a pool all day and would have new responsibilities.  Jesus was also offering this man spiritual healing; He was "knocking" on this man's heart (Revelation 3:20) and was asking to be invited in; to enter into relationship with this man as his Savior and THAT healing would change everything!

I was so touched by this episode because it made me think.  Am I placing my trust in things that can never bring healing? Change? Hope?  Am I stuck defining myself by my own limitations and sinful habits rather than making the tough choice to truly let Jesus change me to follow His purposes for me?  All throughout His life Jesus kept teaching that the only thing that we need is to keep our focus on Him.  HE is all we need and HE is the only One who can bring true hope and healing.  

So, "Do you want to be healed?" If you haven't already, are you willing to open the door of your heart to Jesus and let Him heal all the broken parts of your life?  To be your Savior?  To bring hope to places where you are feeling hopeless?  I pray you will.  

Tuesday Tunes

I'm going to try something different for this month.  If you've read much of this blog then you've probably noticed that I love music.  In conversations I typically have a song pop into my head about whatever we might be discussing.  Music just speaks to my soul and I'm so thankful for the gift of music.  

One criticism that I often hear about newer Christian music is that it's mostly focused on what we get from God rather than on Who God is and worshipping Him.  I get that, it's great to share testimonies of how our lives have been impacted by God but it's also important to share Who this awesome God is and why He is so worthy of our praise, worship, honor and adoration.  So, as we enter into this month where we are focused more on Thanksgiving I want to share some songs focusing on Who God is to help focus our minds on why we should be so grateful for not only all He has done for us but grateful for Him.

Two Fall Favorites

Well, it hasn't felt much like fall around here, with temperatures in the 70's most days. I took this picture of our rose bush yesterday; lots of buds and flowers.    

Even with the warmer weather we've still been enjoying some of our favorite fall recipes. Since we have one kiddo allergic to anything apple, I have to make sure there's an option for her whenever I bake something apple; so these two recipes tend to get made on the same day.   I'm horrible at labeling blog posts so I may have shared these recipes before but here they are again.  

Pumpkin Pie Squares: 
(adapted from this recipe)

3/4 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C rolled oats
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter, softened
2 C pumpkin puree
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
2 Eggs
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 C chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1/3 C packed brown sugar
2 TB butter, softened
1/2 C oats

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray or Grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and butter. Press into pan, bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

In large bowl or blender, blend together pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt and spices.  Pour custard over baked crust; bake for 30 minutes or until firm.

While custard is baking, mix together the chopped nuts, brown sugar, butter and oats.  Sprinkle topping on custard and bake additional 15 minutes.  Cool and cut into squares.  To serve, top with whipped cream if desired.  

Straight from the Orchard Apple Cake:
(adapted from this recipe)

2 eggs
2 C sugar
1/2 C oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 cups apples, peeled and diced
1 C oats

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 9x13 pan.  
Beat the eggs, gradually add sugar, oil and vanilla.  
Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices then add to egg mixture; stirring well.
Stir in apples and oats.
Spread evenly into pan
Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

A couple notes about this recipe.  First, the ingredient proportions will seem way off; like there's not enough batter for that amount of apples but there is.  Second, I recommend mixing this all by hand; it just seems to come out better for me when I do it by hand.  Lastly, the original recipe calls for a frosting but honestly, I think it would mess up the cake, it is already plenty sweet.  When baked this has a crusty top which is our favorite part, it gives a nice contrast to the soft, appley inside.  You can see a bit of what I mean about the topping in this picture, 

Fun & Frugal

 

Pictures taken at a reservation near our house

Good morning!  The pictures above are some I took last week on a walk near our house.  It was a bit cloudy so the colors don't show up well but it was such a pretty walk (and free entertainment & exercise)!

So today I wanted to do a quick post to share a couple tips.  With inflation rising and the cost of items going up and up; especially groceries!  I thought I would share a couple quick tips that we have found helpful to save some money.  Here are a "top 5" of how we save on groceries and clothing:

1) Buy & Freeze - Buying off the discount rack is a great way to stock up on items.  I always check discounted bagels & breads that are too pricey to buy normally.  I throw them in the freezer so they stay as fresh as possible.  Last week I was able to buy 5 loaves of cinnamon swirl french toast bread for $1.68 each!  I also check the dry goods discount rack and often find great deals on pasta and other items there. 

2) Rotisserie Chickens - I have found that these are cheaper than buying a raw whole chicken.  Even cheaper is to look for the cold chickens that didn't sell (at our store these are listed as "cold chicken parts")  I bring them home, debone/skin them, shred and place in quart freezer bags.  These are great for quick meals.  The price on the cold ones used to be just under $3/chicken but last week I noticed they had gone up a bit but still cheaper than buying any other way.  Another meat tip: It's almost always cheaper to buy and cut yourself.  We'll buy a large pork loin roast and cut it into smaller roasts or chops ourselves to save the difference in price. 

3) Make it homemade - If you have time, this is obviously one of the biggest ways to save money.  I make our regular sandwich bread each week.  Muffins, quick breads, etc are all quick easy snacks to make homemade.  I also make a large batch of granola every couple of weeks; since granola is so versatile you can tailor the ingredients to your budget.  

4) Learn to DIY - This is similar to #3 but making something or fixing something yourself is not only frugal but also very rewarding.  There are Youtube videos for pretty much anything you want to learn.  

5) Thrifting - I joke with my oldest daughter that we were into thrifting before it was cool. :D  Whenever my kids need clothes or I'm looking for something for the house the first place I like to check is Savers.  Savers is similar to a Goodwill but I've had better luck at Savers so that is my "go-to" place.  

Bonus: If you have the time and space consider planting a garden. It doesn't have to be big.  Some things that produce a lot in a small space are green beans, tomatoes and hot peppers.  

A few words on Peace

Double rainbow in South Dakota; taken on our 10yr anniversary trip

You slide into a comfy chair with your favorite book, all is quiet, your loved ones are in good places physically, spiritually and mentally and you feel that sense of peace.  But the thing is; it doesn't last long.  You hear your toddler yell "mama" from the other room, your teen comes and shares some tough stuff they are dealing with and you feel the tension rise again.  We all long for peace, yet it can seem so illusive; especially in the times we are living now.  See, lately I've been fighting for some peace.  I'm an introvert who loves routine and not much about our lives lately has been routine.  With two kids working, school schedules, a family member needing a medical procedure (that is looking like it might be delayed for a second time); it all just feels yucky and unsettled. 

I mentioned in my last post that I had gone away for a ladies retreat a few weeks ago.  One of the things God impressed on my heart was that I have been looking around a whole lot more than I have been looking up.  I love to read, I usually have at least two books at a time that I'm reading (as well as my daily Bible reading).  Reading is something that I have always loved.  Usually, my books are a nonfiction memoir and a Christian study book.  There are so many wonderful books, but here's the thing.  Many of those books are testimony books.  They share how God stepped into the life of the author and taught them a lesson.  The author is sharing about a time or mess that God brought them through.  These books are awesome and great to read; however, sometimes we need more.  In these testimonies we are still looking around; around at how God has worked in lives and while we can learn a lot from that, the authority and focus we truly need can only be found by studying Scripture.  I'm always thankful when I find out one of these books come with a study guide that digs into the Scripture; that is where true transformation, growth and peace is found.  

This year in our Mom's Night Out group at church we are reading through the book Jesus Over Everything by Lisa Whittle.  I read this book last summer on my own and it was powerful.  This time I decided to go a bit further since I had already read the book and grabbed the study guide as well (this goes with a DVD series but I'm just using it a bit different without the DVD's).  At the end of each day she has you read a passage of Scripture and dig deeper by looking up a key word in a concordance to learn more about what the passage is saying. (I'm going to digress a bit here to say that my favorite Bible study tool is actually a Lexicon.  I love that you can look at the original Greek and see what the word means there; it often gives a much fuller understanding and that is just what happened the other day.)

One of the passages that Lisa had us look at was Philippians 4:4-9 and in particular the word peace.  In the Greek, the word used for peace in this passage is εἰρήνη (eirēnē); the meanings listed are: "one, peace, quietness, rest".  The definition "one" caught my attention; further down in the definition it fleshes this out a bit more as meaning, "wholeness, when all essential parts are joined together".  You see, we can only have true peace when we are one with Christ, He is the essential part we need to be joined to, in order to be truly whole.  Our focus should be on striving for oneness with Christ no matter what the circumstance.  When we focus on Christ and put Him as our priority (as Lisa says "Jesus Over Everything") then we find peace that will last.  We look up rather than around.  Another verse that uses this same Greek word for peace is Romans 15:13 and it is my prayer for you today "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace [rest, quietness, wholeness] in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." 

Exhausted yet pursuing

 

"And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 
men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing." 
Judges 8:4

This past weekend I was able to attend a women's retreat.  Normally I go every year but 2020 being what it was there was no women's retreat.  I always look forward to the time to spend time with sisters in Christ and also to have some more focused time with God.  So often, these times away have been times when God has worked powerfully in my heart.  

As with so much, this year was different.  Not only was the retreat at a different location but it felt different.  The location was beautiful, quiet and was nice to have time for reflection and yes, God was definitely working;  but there was also a heaviness.  I was chatting with a friend and she described it perfectly; "There is so much pain.  Everyone I talk to is carrying so much pain"  We are all exhausted.  The last 18 months have taken its toll.  We are physically tired, we are emotionally tired, we are tired of the division, we are tired of wondering who we will lose next. Personally, I am tired of Jesus being used as a tool for people's agendas...political and otherwise.  Exhausted.

I had never noticed this phrase from the story of Gideon (Judges 6-8) until the speaker this weekend pointed it out.  Gideon didn't want to be chosen by God, Gideon listened to God's calling but didn't think he could do the task God was asking him to do.  Gideon put out a fleece twice, and twice God graciously agreed to the test and answered Gideon's request.  Then, God reduces the people  helping Gideon to a mere 300 men against an army of 120,000 Midianites.  Gideon and his men were exhausted; they requested help from two different camps and were denied by both.  Gideon was following the path he was given, he was doing what God had asked him to do yet he and his men were exhausted and without earthly help. Gideon stayed faithful to his mission and God gave Gideon and his men the victory.  

There's so much going on in our world; even when we know that we are pursuing the path God has for us it can be exhausting.  It is in these moments we are reminded that we are not to put our trust in others (Psalm 146:3) or in earthly methods and tools (Psalm 20:7) but ONLY in God for our salvation and strength (Psalm 46:1).  We can pour out our hearts to Him (Psalm 62:8) and cast our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7).  May we be faithful to keep pursuing Jesus even when we are exhausted.  Just like Peter on the water we will sink in the storm if we take our eyes off Jesus (Matthew 18:22-33) but if we keep our eyes on Him we will walk on the waves.  May we never stop pursuing Jesus; even when we are exhausted.

A poem and a song

 Can you believe I've been trying to get this simple post up for over a week!  Such is life right now; I feel like the summer just started and it's almost ended already.  Anyways,  last week I attended the funeral for a beloved Great Aunt; she was so very special to our family and will be greatly missed. I'm so thankful that she had trusted Jesus as her Savior and I will someday see her again.  That evening, as I was thinking about her life, the last two lines of this poem by C.T. Studd popped into my mind.  It is so true and such a good reminder to keep focus on what truly will last:

Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will it's fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet,
And stand before His judgement seat;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, "Thy will be done";
And when at last I hear the call,
I know I'll say "Twas worth it all";
Only one life twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

The song I want to share today is one that a friend shared a few weeks ago on Facebook. It's always a good reminder that we always have a sure and steady anchor as we walk this life.