Honey Bun Cake...

I took this cake to Bible study yesterday.  A friend that has great recipes and is an excellent cook gave the recipe to me a few years ago.  It is easy to make and very good!

HONEY BUN CAKE

1 pkg yellow cake mix
4 large eggs
2/3 C vegetable oil
1/3 C water
1 (8-oz) carton sour cream
1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
2/3 C chopped pecans
Powdered Sugar Glaze

Combine first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl;beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes.  set aside.  Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans;set aside.
Pour half of batter into a greased and floured 12x9-inch pan.  sprinkle half of sugar mixture over batter.  Repeat procedure with remaining batter and sugar mixture.  Gently swirl batter with a knife.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from oven.  Drizzle glaze over cake and cool.  Cut into squares. (15 servings)

Powdered Sugar Glaze
1 C sifted powdered sugar
1 T plus 1 t milk
1/2 t vanilla

Combine all ingredients;stir or beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

We give and God blesses...

The title of the chapter we were on Tuesday in the book What Happens When Women That Say Yes to God was

Giving Up What Was Never Ours...We are managers, not owners, of God's resources

Two significant things happened in class:

One, a lady shared that although she loves blessing others she has never been blessed in a tangible way.

The second thing was that a lady asked for prayer for their finances.  She had to leave class early so she told me the request before leaving. As we were going to prayer another lady in our group felt that we were to help supply the financial need. How fun to reach into our purses and give to this precious lady. A card would be purchased and we would give her the card with the money in it the following week.

Eight of us went to lunch after the study. As we were preparing to pay our bill the waitress told us a man in the restaurant paid for our lunch. He paid the bill for ALL of us! We could not believe it...it was our lesson.  It was saying yes to God.  It was receiving a blessing when we give what is not ours.  We began to reach into our purses to bless the waitress.  As we left that day I looked at the pile of money laying there on the table and wished I could see her eyes when she came to clear the table. I could hardly wait to share this story. I wonder if the waitress is telling someone this story?  And the man that paid our bill must be filled with joy for blessing us. I have a card with a large sum of money ready to give to the lady with a financial need and can hardly wait to see her smile. 

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

1 John 3:18-19



I am keeping my eyes and my heart open for opportunities God places in front of me to give, to bless another and to say YES to God! 

It's a choice...

Today's devotion from Jesus Calling really spoke to my heart!

Romans 8:38-39

 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Exodus 33:14

And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."

YOU ARE MINE FOR ALL TIME;nothing can separate you from My Love.

Since I have invested My very Life in you, be well assured that I will also take care of you.

...Each moment you can choose to practice My Presence

or to practice the presence of problems.

I am thankful that nothing can separate me from His love!

I choose to practice the presence of the Lord and receive His rest!

Great is thy faithfulness

www.papercraftmemories.com

Is it easy for you to accept changes?  It is not always easy for me.  There have been changes with our church which are good and I am excited about, but a still they are changes. I woke at 3 Monday morning and could not go back to sleep for over an hour. I thought of how our church was moving in a different direction and changing names. Not everyone is going with us in this change.  I know it is OK and we will still be friends, but I will miss seeing them weekly. I will miss them participating in our small groups. The more I tossed and turned the sadder I became. I felt alone and unloved. I prayed and poured out my heart to the Lord about how I was feeling! I finally fell asleep. Ever been there? When I woke that morning I felt drained, sad and had a headache.

At ten o'clock I received an email from a friend in Minnesota:

Just wanted you to know how you have been on my heart. I love you.

Yes, I cried. I knew that the Lord had put me on her heart! I wrote her back and as soon as she received my email she called me.  My heart felt lighter the more we talked. I felt loved...by God and by her.

Last night I received another email.  This one was from a friend that lives near me:

I love you so much and miss you…do you know that? It is true, I do!!! Also, I want you to know that I think about you and pray for you often. I know that there are so many changes going on with the church and I just think about your heart and how you are dealing with longtime friends leaving. I can imagine that it is hard for you to see all the changes. I know it would be hard on me. I was thanking the Lord just the other day that I didn’t have to go through any of it. Change is hard. I am not looking for any details, I just wanted you to know that I love you and I am praying for you.

 I cried again.  How good of God to speak to two friend's hearts letting them know some of what I had only told Him.  How precious of them to pray for me and then to let me know they care.

Today, I'm not sad, I don't feel alone, and I feel loved.  I will surely have these emotions again and I hope when I do I will remember God's faithfulness to fill my heart with His love and joy. I am so thankful to Him for His lovingkindness and to my friends for hearing God.

Never Alone

We are in Chapter 6 of our book study Women Who Say Yes to God.  Reading the book, studying the scriptures and class discussions each week has been life changing for me.  In this chapter the author, Lysa TerKeurst, writes of a time when she was discouraged due to the many difficult happenings going on in their life.  She tells how God wants our perspective to be one of seeing Him in everything and rejoicing during these difficult times in what God is doing through us. At the same time I learned my sister, Stephanie, missionary in Honduras, was having pain and swelling in her leg and foot. She went to the doctor and was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis. She had been working with her high school students preparing to attend Convention this week.  Due to this health situation she was not able to attend and she was heart broken. I am sad for her as well as extremely concerned about her. Needless to say, it is difficult being far from her. As I have prayed for her the Lord has reminded me that though I cannot be there to hug her and help her He has never left her and will not leave her alone. 
Hebrew 13: 5b in the Amplified says, "for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will]not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you]down (relax my hold on you!)[ Assuredly not]
Friends in Honduras are helping her, friends all over are praying and asking about her, a friend who is a physician's assistant is making sure she is getting proper care and staying in close touch with her,  another friend who at one time also had a blood clot wrote an encouraging letter to her and after days of being on medicine and elevating her leg the swelling is down.  I am seeing God's faithfulness and tender care in so many ways.  


Here is her blog: Precious in His Sight  and she shares what the Lord is doing in her life at this time.

Sweet surprise...

A surprise that blessed! 

I cannot eat chocolate...but love anything with white chocolate!

I love this candy bar, but more than that,

I love that a friend thought about me!


A simple act of kindness can bring a smile to a person's heart!
I'm still smiling!



 

Bran Muffins...

I love trying new recipes and often use them over and over. 
I also love having some of my recipes on my computer where I have fast access to them. 
But there is something special about reaching into your recipe box and taking out a recipe that a friend gave you many years ago. Sometimes the recipe is written by me, sometimes by the person that gave it. 
As I picked up the worn recipe card I had happy memories of the friend that gave it to me. I thought of the many times I had made it and how much our family had enjoyed it. This recipe is at least 38 yr. old. It is one I can always count on tasting good. I made the first batch and saved the rest of the batter for other mornings when we would want warm, yummy muffins. 

BRAN MUFFINS

1 C. oil

3 C. sugar

1 qt. buttermilk

5 t. soda

4 beaten eggs

5 C. flour

1 15oz. Post Raisin Bran

Mix cereal, sugar, flour, soda, eggs, oil and buttermilk.  Mix well.  Fill greased muffin tins 1/2 full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min. 

Batter keeps weeks in refrigerator. Don't stir batter again when you fill muffin tins from refrigerated batter.

Hearing God's voice

The chapter we are studying in

What Happens When Women Say Yes to God

 is

Hearing God's Voice...

God wants us to live in expectation of hearing from Him.

Thursday I saw this on a facebook status:

If quantity is an indication, Jesus takes our fear seriously. Number 1 statement he made repeatedly: "Don't be afraid!" -Max Lucado

That same day I read from What Happens When Women Say Yes to God:

"Do not fear.  Remember how I faced the devil in the wilderness, and how I conquered with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You too have your quick answer for every fear that evil may present...an answer of faith and confidence in Me. Where possible say it aloud. the spoken word has power. Look on ever fear not as a weakness on your part due to illness or worry, but as a very real temptation to be attacked and overthrown.  Does the way seem a stony one? Not one stone can impede your progress. courage. Face the future, but face it only with a brave and happy heart. do not seek to see it.  You are robbing Faith of her sublime sweetness if you do this. Just know that all is well and that Faith, not seeing but believing, is what will bear you to safety over the stormy waters."
~~A.J. Russell

I had not even realized that I what I had been feeling over some things was fear. But as God spoke to my heart these two times it became clear that I was hearing Him say I was living in fear. I am to stop living in fear and to live trusting Him.  I want to live this way... with faith and confidence in Him.

God wants all of us to live expecting to hear from Him. I love that He spoke to me about something I really had no idea I was living in. I say yes to living in faith instead of fear! 

Today my sister, a missionary in Hoduras, heard God while she was doing her laundry. Read her post here Precious in His Sight  You will be blessed!

Listen in expectation of hearing God speak.  It can change your life!

Say yes...

 

Ladies Bible study has started!!! Lisa TerKeurst says, "Do you want to experience life in extraordinary ways? Then see what happens when you say yes to God! Embrace simple obedience and watch it transform your life into a remarkable journey.  Say yes and discover the blessings God has planned for you." As I was encouraging the ladies at the first class I told them we would all have stories to share of times that we said Yes to God and how our lives would be changed through this. I left thinking that I sure hoped I would have some stories but could not imagine what they might be.

The title of the first chapter is A Soul That Longs for More...Whatever God Says Do, Do It!

This morning on the way to church God brought a young man's name to my mind. This young man has been looking for a job for some time. I knew I was to pray for him. As I prayed I thought I wished I had brought some food to give him.  Immediately I heard the Lord speak to my heart. This was our conversation:

God: Give him $20

Me: Lord I really don't have an extra $20 to give.

God: Give him $20.

Me: I have enough money to pay the bill I owe.

God: Give him $20.  You will have enough left.

Me: I don't think he will even be there this morning.

God: Give him $20.

Me: Ok, if I see him I will give him $20. (totally doubted that I would see him)

I walked into church and began talking to a friend. Up walked the young man I had been praying for. My friend was called away and I was left standing with him. I knew what to do. I reached in my purse and pulled out $20. (rarely do I have cash). As I handed it to him I told him the Lord told me I was to give it to him. I also told him that God loved him and cared about his situation and that I would continue to pray for him to find a job. I know he was blessed but I was too. Hearing God and doing what He said this morning brought me peace and joy...and excitement to see what else He is going to ask me to do. 

I am anticipating wonderful stories from the ladies in class who are willing to say YES to God!  What is your story?

Psalm 16:7-9

 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

Long time friends ...

I love when friends visit.  I especially love when long time friends come.  It is like we were never separated and after our welcome hug we begin talking as if we were just continuing a conversation we had the day before. Our friends flew here from Minnesota to attend the Kari Jobe CD Release Worship concert.  They brought their granddaughter Maddy.  She loves Kari's music, is a worship leader herself, and was so excited to come.  Stacy was able to get front row seats for them and meeting Kari was a surprise for Maddie!

If you are not familiar with Kari's worship music you will want to check her out here: Kari Jobe

We had to have lunch at a Mexican restaurant...their favorite food!

Love the days we spent together and can hardly wait for another visit with them!