Strawberry Whips - Light, fluffy, and utterly delectable. These strawberry whips are so beautiful and a lovely, sophisticated treat.
We just got back from a wonderful weekend with Beth Moore. The Motto of the conference was “RE” the most beautiful prefix in history. She taught from Gal. 6: 1-10 about restoring one caught in sin.
She expounded on 6 key “RE” verbs. 1. Reverb means to echo back. We are to share what we have learned with one another like a bell ringing out. The result is that we are able to strengthen one another. 2. Restore means to put back into use or service. We are to do this with humility and strength. She admonished us to recognize our own vulnerabilities by taking note of our unmet needs. The devil loves to set us up for a fall by temping us to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways. She also explained how to avoid falling into a codependent relationship while attempting to help one another. We are to help bear the oppressive heavy loads, but to allow each to carry their own personal responsibilities. 3. Reframe is to look at something from a different perspective. We who are in Christ are a “new creation” 2 Cor. 5:16-17. This is the new point of view from which to view ourselves and fellow believers. 4. Replant in the barren fields of unmet needs. God has established the law of sowing and reaping. We must starve what we want to die, while feeding what we want to grow. God’s word is the seed. We are to let the word grow by application of the word to our daily lives through obedience. If we hear and forget, it is like we are eating the seed rather than letting it produce a harvest of righteousness. It will produce a harvest, if we do not give up. 5. Repent means to change direction. Sometimes we need a do over. Forsake sin and start again. 6. Remember what you need to forget. Leave the past in the past and move forward without looking back. Luke 17:32 “Remember Lot’s wife.” I wish you all could have been there. We had a great time of fellowship, shopping and Bible Study. It doesn’t get better than that. It was very nice for Pastor Russell to keep up with out theme with “Re-conciliation” J See you at Bible Study Wednesday night. Beverly Chesnut A definition of work is something we do for survival and fulfillment, but it is something that needs to be defined as God sees it to prevent us from bringing harm to ourselves and our families. We are commanded to work six days and on the seventh to rest. GENESIS 2:3 says" Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done (NIV). If we do not follow God's outline for work we will ruin our health and cheat our families out of precious time needed for growing in grace and knowledge of God and for developing our children into disciples of Jesus through teaching them His word and his character. God's 4th commandment tells us we need to have a Sabbath rest. Our work can deny us what we really want if it is not balanced. Work will suck the life right out of us and keep us from what God commands us to do, like being the wife God has called us to be, the neighbor we need to be and the friend to others. Also, it can keep us from serving others in the body of Christ if it is out of proportion. We must always remember that our work does not define us nor does it bring us our security. Our worth comes from Chris Jesus and He loves us with an everlasting love that is not determined by what we do or what job we have. It is because of the cross He suffered and died upon to purchase us from sin and give us eternal life. He is our provider and the lover of our souls. EPHESIANS 2:10 says, " For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV). We need to put our trust in God and let Him define our life and know that our significance comes from Him and not our work. We can never do enough to guarantee our success. We have nothing to prove by over-working.
There will always be tension between work and family which is why we need to set rigid boundaries. It is a two-fold struggle between our finiteness and our fallenness. We must first realize and accept the fact that we are not capable of doing everything. We have to make choices. That is actually a blessing that requires us to focus. We have a tendency to try to do more tasks that exceed the time allotted, thinking if we work harder or faster, we can accept more on our plate that is meant to be there. We should embrace our limitations and not strive to be "super woman". All of life requires balance. Our families need to recognize and truly know that our priorities place them ahead of our work. Sacrifices will be required, but they are worth it and you will never be sorry that you made time for your child's school play or other special event instead of working to accomplish one more task. We must be intentional about building high fences to protect what is most important to us----our families. Plan vacations, date nights with your spouse, family activities, special things for your own "down-time" to keep you energized and focused. Be a part of a small group, like a women's Bible study, that will keep you focused on Jesus and also keep you accountable to others so that you can maintain balance. Balance is maintained by keeping God first by spending time with Him at the beginning of everyday. Spend time in His word and in prayer and it will change your outlook and your demeanor and equip you for whatever you will face that day. ROMANS 12: 1 - 2, is a very good passage to read every day. It says " Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. (2) Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." (HCSB). We need a large group, like our church, to keep us balanced and thirdly, we need an inner circle of two or three people who know us well, who love us deeply and care for us. These are your "BFF's" who you can call any time, day or night, for any need you may have. We worship through our work. COLOSSIANS 3:23 says " Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. (NIV). We need to enjoy God throughout our work day. We need to be surrendered to His will and His agenda with open hearts and minds. We need to know God in order to accomplish this and to know Him, we must first know His character. Learn His attributes and make them our own. This will impact every area of our lives and conform us into the women God created us to be. We need to be the same at work as we are at church. People are watching us all the time. We must pursue character and competency just as Daniel did. When Daniel was observed by those who were trying to find fault with him and accuse him, they found nothing wrong except that he prayed three times a day to his God. Excellence is demanded and Christians should always set the standard high with excellent work ethics. We need to love and serve our team at work. Genuinely care about others and do random acts of kindness which will make them ask, "why is she so different?". Bear fruit at your workplace and make it great. PROVERBS 12:14 says " From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward." (NIV) May you do your work, whether in the workplace or at home, as unto the Lord. May God bless the work of your hands and keep you in the shelter of His wings. You are loved and highly esteemed! LINDA DAVIS In the last month I had a privilege to attend our Celebrate Recovery ministry program for two totally different reasons. It was a refreshing experience.
The first time I was invited to go and hear a testimony of one of our leaders. Amazing testimony of the pain and suffering of one person who God is healing, restoring and using for His glory at the same time. I was touched by the reality of pain in the room, but most importantly I was touched by the people who had no intentions of hiding their pain. These leaders showed their pain to share the hope of recovery with others. No pretense, no pride, just raw pain from the past, where God brought them, saved them and healed them from. We generally have an idea that Celebrate Recovery is like an AA program, they just call Jesus their Higher Power. That is not the whole story. Celebrate Recovery is a program to help recover from any hurt, habit or hang-up that keeps you from the full life that God would want you to have. I have seen women who were there to recover from abuse of parents or husband, women who struggled eating disorders of any kind, women who had bad relationships, co-dependent tendencies to please others around them, women who dulled their pain by shopping and women who struggled with any sexual sins. The list is endless. Pain and hurt will keep us from living a life for Jesus. Jesus came to: “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:1-3 The second time I went I heard another testimony of a Celebrate Recovery leader on video, whose family’s life was restored in a way, I could not even imagine ever even possible. If you imagined the best possible scenario from the beginning of the story, you wouldn’t dare to dream, what God actually did in that family’s life. I was speechless, and was reminded another verse in the Bible: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20 God works through us and in us at all times. But why not give Him a chance to love us and bind up our broken hearts, set us free from bondage, fear, anxiety and comfort us in our mourning. Let Him give us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, so we can joyfully praise Him all the days of our lives. Krisztina White |
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