My prayer this morning...

Thank someone today...

I see her when I go to the produce department of our neighborhood grocery store. I see her carefully putting vegetables or fruits in their bins or moving things around to make the display nicer. I think to myself...she enjoys her job. She almost always takes time to say hello and check to see if I am finding everything OK. I have seen her help others and always with a smile and an attitude that shows she cares. For about two weeks I have felt like I was supposed to tell her thank you for the good job she does and to let her know that this does not go unnoticed. I just couldn't get my nerve up to speak to her about this. Silly as it sounds, I got nervous every time I felt like I was supposed to tell her and would just leave. A friend suggested I write a note to her. I could do that. It would be much easier to put down on paper what I wanted to say in person. Jim suggested I write a note to the manager of the store also. What a great idea. I wrote her the note and this morning knew I was supposed to go to the store and she would be there. She was! As I handed her the note I told her I wanted to thank her for all she does in the produce department. She seemed surprised and thanked me. I asked her name and introduced myself. Then I went to customer service where I spoke to a manager and he suggested I fill out a card and send to the corporate office. The card will be filled out and mailed! Hopefully they will recognize her in some way. I think we take so many things or people for granted. I am thankful that God is opening my eyes to see those around me. I want to see them with His eyes and hear Him tell me how I can bless them. This time the blessing was for a lady in the produce department. Perhaps she was wondering if anyone noticed her, or if anyone cared. I pray that this note blessed her. I know I was blessed to write and give it to her.

Look around and ask God who you can be a blessing to this week! Maybe there is someone that needs to hear the words THANK YOU!

A good book is worth reading and giving...

Yesterday you would have found me at Starbucks in a comfy chair, with a vanilla latte, and reading this book. 

A few quotes from the book:

"We are God's chosen ones, even when our world does not choose us."

"To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer."

"From all eternity, long before you were born and became a part of history, you existed in God's heart."

As I was reading this book I kept thinking of a friend that I thought would like it.  I am giving her a copy...and a hug... this morning at church!

What book are you reading? Have you been thinking of a friend that might enjoy a copy?  I bet she would!

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.