"Watch Unto Prayer" I Peter 4:7

"The prayerless life is a powerless life.

A prayerless life may be a noisy life,

and fuss around a great deal;

but such a life is far removed from Him who,

by day and night, prayed to God."

from Streams In The Desert

photo credit: Michael Dudash

Anchor For Our Souls

"Often the weight we carry is the anchor for our lives. 

 It anchors us to the Lord Jesus. 

 It keeps us dependent on Him." 

Gigi Graham

He has Risen!

It's Friday...But Sunday's Coming

I can face things...

Let's preach this to our hearts today:

 I can face things that are out of my control

 and not act out of control.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

gentleness, self-control."

 Galatians 5:22-23

Photo credit: Pinterest

Happy February!!

Happy February!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

“The Lord bless you and keep you..."

Numbers 6:24

photo credit - Pinterest

Out of Nowhere

Before looking too far forward into this New Year I want to look back and share a lesson I learned from I Samuel 23:26-28. It's a message Pastor Jonathan Lee shared which He titled, Hope Where There Was No Hope.  Saul was in hot pursuit of David and his men, things were looking hopeless!  Out of nowhere a messenger comes and tells Saul that the Philistines had invaded the land and all of a sudden, "...Saul returned from pursuing David."  Out of nowhere God provided deliverance! Sometimes we look at our own circumstances and see no way out...a bill, a burden,  a root of bitterness and out of nowhere God provides Hope Where There Was No Hope for you as well!  May you be encouraged by this as much as I was!


Photo credit - Pinterest

I finally picked my Word!

I have tried a couple of words on for size this month, picking a few that weren't quite right and finally selecting "intentional".  Like you I want to be intentional in my Bible reading, prayer time, relationships, my time and daily schedule and much more.  In Ephesians 5:15-16amp Paul writes: "Look carefully then how you walk!  Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as unwise and witless, but as wise - sensible, intelligent people; Making the very most of the time-buying up every opportunity-because the days are evil."  Of this Wiersbe states: "Only a fool drifts with the wind and the tide.  A wise man marks out his course, sets his sails, and guides the rudder until he reaches his destination.  Someone said, "When a pilot does not know what port he is heading for, no wind is the right wind."

So I encourage you to pick a Word that will guide your course and anchor you in the year ahead!

Well now lets get to our drawing! 

Our book give away is

 Glory Days.

In it Max Lucado encourages us to not be

 "Wilderness Wanderers but Promise Land People!"  

I love that, what hope for the New Year!

From his book:

"The wilderness. Maybe you know it well.The Israelites sure did. After all, they spent forty years wandering the desert. Victories were scarce. Progress was slow. They were free from Pharaoh but not free from fear...

We all face them. Strongholds with a strong hold on our lives. Roadblocks to our joy. Obstacles in our marriages. Fortresses of fear blocking us from peace. How can we bring down these walls that keep us from the future God promises? Remember the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho? Those were some formidable foes and big barriers.

Max Lucado says the book of Joshua is in the Bible to remind us of one thing: God Fights For Us! We can overcome, because He has already overcome."

And our drawing winner

 this month is Lorna S. 

Congratulations!!

Clarity For The New Year

Clarity for the New Year

Lose the long list of changes you want to make this year

 and instead pick ONE WORD 

that can give you clarity and focus for the year ahead.  

Take a few days and pray about it,

and let the Lord lead you.

Leave your word in the comments to be entered in

this month's giveaway!

Joy to The World!

Merry Christmas!

Quiet Moments to Read

It's time to announce the winner of our book giveaway for:
Home & Garden Devotions by Sandra Byrd, 
Pocket Prayers by Max Lucado and
  A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer Allie. 

But before I do I have a little musical present for each of you
as we celebrate His birth,  
my niece Janelle shared it with me, enjoy!

It is 

Magnificat

                                                              from Waiting Songs by                                                          Rain for Roots

https://rainforroots.bandcamp.com/track/magnificat


The winner is
Bonnie L.
Congratulations!!!!

Christmas Blessings to all of you!!

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 
and they shall call his name Immanuel” 
(which means, God with us).”  (Matt. 1:23)

Find a Comfy Chair for Some Good Reading!

These are ready to get sent out tomorrow!

Leave a comment on any December post to be entered in the drawing!

Daily Refreshed In Him

Some Devotional Guidelines

1.   Say thank you and Praise Him upon waking.

2.   Ask, "What do You have for me this morning?"

3.   Open a hymnal and pick a song to have on your heart and mind.

4.   Read a portion of scripture,  praying as you read.

5.   Asking, "What does this mean to me?"

6.   Read a devotional with your highlighter in hand.

7.   Leaving it in God's hand, resting peacefully.

8.   Thank Him for His presence.

9.   Get up and get on with your day.

This is an excerpt from a post by Robert Wogemuth after his wife Bobbi passed away, it was a little slip of paper that fell out of her Bible.  A pattern for us all.  I would add one thing to it and that would be to spend time in prayer, you'll be glad you did!

Drawing*  Leave a comment on any of the December postings and you'll be entered into a drawing for some wonderful devotionals that I'm still putting together, I will post a picture soon of what will be sent to the winner! The drawing will be Monday December 21, 2015!  

All The Way My Savior Leads

Enjoying this hymn by Fanny Crosby today...Jesus does all things well! Amen

Keeping Your Heart

What do you suppose filled Mary's thoughts during her journey to Bethlehem? Did she think back on the moment she first heard she would carry the Son of God?  Did she replay the angel's unexpected words over and over in her mind?  At first Mary was troubled by the words...and then we see her sweet surrender as Luke 1:38 tells us, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy will."  What a beautiful picture of trust.  May your heart be surrendered to the Lord as Mary's was this Christmas season.

Wonderful Bruschetta!

Ok, it doesn't get any easier than this!!

If your on a Costco run your thissssss close to a wonderful 

appetizer, snack or gift!!

This is so easy and great to take to a Christmas Party too.  

Ingredients:

1 can 14.5 oz. Kirkland Signature Organic Chopped Tomatoes (drained)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. McCormick Bruschetta Sweet Basil & Oregano Seasoning Mix

Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl.  

Let the mixture sit to allow the flavors to blend.

Serve on top of deli baguettes sliced into serving sizes,

lightly toasted if you like.

Serving ideas:  Delicious over pasta and chicken 

or even served on top of a baked potato.

Bought at Costco:

Kirkland Deli Baguettes (pkg. of 6) 

these are softer than Costco's long single baguette.

Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes (pkg. of 8-14.5 oz. cans)

McCormick Gourmet Bruschetta Sweet Basil & Oregano Seasoning Mix (19 oz.)

Gift Suggestion:  Pour into a cute jar and give as a gift with 

a delicious baguette 

Picture credit Holly at Cook, Crave Inspire

Wrap Up Something Special

Wouldn't your Molasses cookies from my last post

 look adorable wrapped up like this?  

For the bag on the left, take any tea towel or scrape of material, 

place right sides together and with your glue gun 

glue your two sides and the bottom together like you would for a pillow case,
leaving one side open for your top.

you can machine stitch as well, turn right side out.
If you'd like the tea towel to be a gift as well
don't glue or sew just fold under and tie closed.

For any kind of word on your gift bag
you can handwrite on the material 

or if you'd rather you can cut out a word from a Christmas card

 or print something out on the computer and glue to the material.  

It would be really cute machine stitched around your inscription!
Enjoy embellishing with twine, jingle bells,
a small cutting from your Christmas tree,
cinnamon sticks, pinecones and berries or whatever is close at hand.

(photo credit - Leslie at House on The Way)  

Home Baking, Just In Time For Christmas!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 original molasses

2 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp. soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix butter, sugar, egg and molasses throughly.  Stir in all dry ingredients, chill.  Roll dough into balls the size of large walnuts.  Dip tops into sugar.  

Place, sugared-side-up on a prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle each cookie with with 2-3 drops of water.  Bake 12 minutes, enjoy!

Have fun making these then package them up cute as can be

 and bless someone with a little treat today!

"Therefore, as we have opportunity..."

Galatians 6:10

Picture credit- Mom Foodie

Hold Me

"God has chosen not to heal me but to hold me. 

The more intense the pain the closer His embrace." 

-Joni Eareckson Tada