Blog Archives

Pumpkin Bread

8/25/2014

Ladies, I decided this time to share a recipe with you that welcomes Fall into our homes. Living in Florida, the only way we get to enjoy Fall is with the special foods and aromas we create within our homes. I love to bake and my favorite bread to make in the Fall is pumpkin bread. I've had this recipe for years and it is really a good one. I hope you like it.

PUMPKIN BREAD

3 CUPS SUGAR                             2 TSP. SALT

1 CUP OIL                                      1/2 TSP. BAKING POWDER

4 EGGS                                          2 TSP. BAKING SODA

2 CUPS PUMPKIN                          1 TSP. EACH OF CLOVES, NUTMEG, CINNAMON,

3 1/2 CUPS FLOUR                         AND ALLSPICE

2/3 CUP HOT WATER                       A CUP RAISINS OR CRANBERRIES

1 CUP CHOPPED NUTS

ADD SUGAR TO OIL, ADD EGGS, PUMPKIN AND SPICES AND FLOUR. ADD ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS EXCEPT 2 TSP. SODA AND HOT WATER. ADD THAT AT THE VERY LAST. POUR INTO 4 LOAF PANS, 2 LARGE AND 2 MINI, 4 X 6, FILLED 1/2 FULL. BAKE AT 350 DEGREES. IT USUALLY TAKES 40 MINUTES FOR THE MINI'S AND 55 TO 60 MINUTES FOR THE LARGE LOAVES. CHECK AFTER 40 MINUTES AND WHEN A TOOTHPICK INSERTED COMES OUT CLEAN, THEY ARE DONE. COOL ABOUT 10 MINUTES IN PANS THEN REMOVE AND LET COOL ON WIRE RACKS. WRAP IN FOIL. THEY KEEP WELL AND FREEZE WELL ALSO.

ENJOY WITH YOUR FAVORITE COFFEE OR TEA.

LINDA DAVIS

How can you glorify Him today?

8/18/2014

This past Saturday we had our first WINGS Luncheon. WINGS – Widows in God’s Service is a new ministry Women’s Ministry is starting with four wonderful widows as leaders of this ministry. We sent out questionnaires to widows in our church to see what their needs would be and what this ministry should look like in the future. I feel so blessed to read these precious widow’s needs, suggestions, and sharing their hearts and their everyday lives, and what they struggle with. I’m grateful for this new ministry to women who have lost their husbands and are now facing everyday life without their spouse. I have read and heard their stories, and have recognized God’s faithfulness in a new way. His Word “I will never leave you nor forsake you” from Hebrews 13:5 was a good reminder to me personally.

Have you ever felt alone? Lonely? I think most of us have felt that way at one time or another. Single, married, widow – we have lonely moments in life. But are we really alone? No, not if you have trusted Christ as your personal Savior! If you are a believer in the fact that Jesus died for your sins, you have received the Holy Spirit of God. The Bible says that He never leaves us. Jesus said in John 14 to His disciples:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.” John 14:15-18

The God of this Universe, who created everything including you and me, has called us as believers, His temple where He resides every hour of every day. You and I are never alone: we can talk to Him, we can praise him, we can tell Him our deepest fears and our biggest struggles, we can ask Him for comfort, we can ask Him for guidance and we can rejoice with Him in our victories.

It is for His good pleasure that you were created! It is for His glory that you were saved by His grace. It is a gift. Seek Him, see what His plan is for your life today. How can you glorify him?

Pastor John Piper puts it this way, “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him.”

Krisztina White

Finding What You’re Looking For In The Most Unexpected Place

8/12/2014

In March 1987, the world-famous band, U2, released their 5th studio album that was simply named, The Joshua Tree. It sold over 25 million copies, topped charts in over 20 countries, including the U.S., and won a Grammy Award as the best album of the year. This project was inspired by and represented a spiritual quest of faith through difficult life experiences for the band’s lead singer following a humanitarian trip by which he witnessed extreme suffering among the people.

The album included a song titled, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” whose lyrics acknowledged the artist’s faith, but still offered a look into his spiritual doubt. One particular verse of the song reads:

“I believe in the Kingdom Come…You know I believe it. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for…”

Have I found what I am looking for? I began considering my own personal journey of faith, often traveling through a spiritual desert of suffering that causes doubt and discouragement. Only by God’s grace, I am no longer searching to find the Savior of my soul, Jesus, as God saved me over 20 years ago, but I was a bit surprised when I realized a couple years ago that something seemed missing from my life, or maybe just hidden, which led me on my own quest to find what I was looking for.

What was I searching for? What had been lost that I desperately wanted to find? Or had I ever really possessed it in the first place? Maybe I found a slight version of it, but not the genuine artifact. I’m not referring to a tangible object that can be purchased; rather I was looking for JOY, a gift to be received. I wanted to find JOY so badly, since my pursuit for happiness in the mist of difficulty was falling short to satisfy me. There had to be more. So I began to ask God to show me where to find JOY. I wanted to experience the JOY that His Word describes in detail. I wanted nothing less than the real deal. According to Nehemiah 8:10b, “the JOY of the LORD is your strength.” I needed strength and it had to begin with God’s JOY.
It didn’t take long for God to direct me in finding the JOY I was looking for. But He reminded me that genuine JOY begins with Him, not with our circumstances. Isaiah 58:14 offers truth about honoring God in how we live our lives, so that “you will find your JOY in the LORD.” When we seek to find JOY in our experiences or in other people, we are really seeking temporary happiness. I wanted to know the JOY that remains and is evidently displayed in a Christ-follower regardless of adversity because of WHO that JOY is founded in. King David must have been on a similar quest as he spoke of the LORD in Psalm 16:11, “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with JOY in Your presence...”

In summer 2013, God guided my family and me to a location we had never been before. It was Camp Allen, outside Houston, TX. I thought we were strictly going there to attend and enjoy a Joni and Friends Family Retreat, which ministers to families who care for a loved one who lives with disability. Surprisingly, I found that God also brought us to this unexpected place where I could find the desperately-needed JOY of the LORD that I had been searching for. God not only enabled me to see His authentic JOY in full action during camp week, but to also experience it personally alongside other families who shared similar challenges as our own.

When you share time at camp with over 40 other families who have all been affected by disability, it silences and humbles you. You realize you are not the only family traveling through the desert and that other God-fearing families are seeking refreshment from their weariness just like you are. God’s grace is sufficient for each day, but sometimes that grace offers much-needed rest from our usual routine of physical limitations and heavy burdens. During the Family Retreat, God encouraged us with His constant presence and fellowship with other believers, while caring for us through the ministry of Joni and Friends. He lavished us with His unlimited JOY that goes beyond personal happiness and ease.
God used Short Term Missionaries (STMs) to love on our family and give us renewed hope in His goodness and grace. They spent time daily with our sons and the other children as personal buddies to help them participate in various sports, engage in fun activities and events, and most importantly teach them about Jesus and His love for them. They genuinely cared for us with natural enthusiasm while honoring God in the process. My husband and I were able to spend time alone together without being overwhelmed with distraction and responsibility while our kids were wonderfully cared for. For the first time since our journey began as parents to a child with disability, we felt a sense of belonging regardless of our differences.

Seeing kids with disability honoring God their Creator by just being who He designed them to be granted me a new perspective on experiencing the JOY of the LORD. I believe I finally understood how God delights in His creation, even if we don’t. Our first and last breath on earth comes from God, and so does His JOY. Looking for JOY elsewhere is useless. After all, I discovered that JOY wasn’t really lost, but it was right where it has always been...in the arms of Jesus. I just needed to see it in an unexpected place and embrace the JOY that was given. I definitely found what I was looking for.

I am thankful for God and His work through Joni and Friends, who have been used by God for 35 years to impact multiple families affected by disability, including mine. You can learn more about Family Retreats, volunteering as an STM, and the ministry of Joni and Friends by visiting www.joniandfriends.org.

“May the God of hope fill you with all JOY and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

Tamar Miller