Love as a Verb

Recently I found myself involved in a Facebook conversation on love. It all started with the question, "If God is "Love" and not all people know God, then how can all people love?" There were many responses and one thing was very apparent- we're clueless when it comes to love. This is sad considering Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Deidre over at "For Such a Time As This" has challenged those who are interested to post about love every day in February. Check out her post "Love as a Verb" for more details. As you can see, I'm already behind. I know I won't be able to post everyday but I do want to make a conscious effort to make this month about the Only Love that counts- His.

With all this said, this week at BSF I got the very opportunity to kick it all off. Every week since Jonah began BSF, Miss Eugenia has watched him before class begins so that I am able to set up my room for my group and pray with the other leaders before everyone gets there. She never fails. Every. Single. Week. Esther Grace will reach for her from across the hall when we get there. She loves my babies so faithfully and I adore her. This week when we arrived, Miss Eugenia was nowhere to be seen. I don't think Esther Grace even realized where we were without Miss Eugenia's sweet, warm welcome.

Sweet Miss Eugenia has fallen & broken her hip. I was heartbroken for her. I told Jonah about it and he has been very concerned. He prays for her each night and she's even made it into our dinner blessing all week. :) I wrote her a card & helped Jonah decorate one for her to stick in the mail today. (I really wish that I had taken a picture of it for this post but he was so excited to stick it in the mail today that it didn't cross my mind until it was too late!) But I don't think this is nearly enough....not for how much my heart just pours out for this sweet, sweet woman. If it weren't for her faithful volunteering, I wouldn't have a place to take my children so that I could adequately prepare for discussion group. If it weren't for her consistent face and loving disposition, my kids might not be as comfortable and willing to go to BSF and learn God's Truth. So I'm planning on another little project.....I'll keep you up to date. :)

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God..." 1 John 4:7

SSMT #3

I can't believe I'm already on my third verse! Time is definitely flying by but not without me having ample time to hide these Truths in my heart. I don't know about you but I've got the first two verses down pretty good. Let's see....

"You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance."

Psalm 65:11

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope."

Romans 15:4

I just typed those from memory so don't check my punctuation or anything. And I have no idea what translation they're in but at least I got 'em! Here's my third verse-

I stole it from Amy's post about Libbi's baby dedication. This just happens to be one of Libbi's life verses that they chose for her and I think it's absolutely beautiful. Don't you? Our God is so tender to us despite our failings and I need every reminder I can get.

I also chose it because I loved the part about God calming all my fears. Bear's headed to India with four other guys from our church on February 21. He'll be there for 12 days and we've never been apart that long. It will be an intense spiritual time preparing for his departure as well as while he's overseas. Please keep our little family in your prayers! This verse will be a great one for me to memorize prior to his leaving. I can see myself reciting it at night here at the house when I'm by myself. Such a comfort.

Can you type your first two verses from memory? What's your new verse? Maybe I'll steal it for my fourth one coming up....

"For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." Zephaniah 3:17, NLT

Quick Answers

Okay, I've really been slacking lately! I'm pretty sure I'm cursed with all things related to technology. For the longest time, my phone wouldn't charge. Bear got me a new one & now that one won't charge! Unless he plugs it in. Weird, I know. Then, our computer got this weird pop-up virus thing that won't let me into any sort of application. For now, it's completely disappeared for no apparent reason so I'm taking full advantage. I've called Geek Squad & they'll fix it...for $200.00. Who has that type of free cash just laying around? Not us. So, I think I'm just going to lay hands on our Hewlatt Packard & pray for the best.

I know I posted last on some unanswered prayer during my fast. The Lord is so good! He answered me despite my imperfection. Doesn't He always do that though? Answer us despite ourselves? I'll quickly let you know what He's been doing.

I fasted from sugar & caffeine...which meant no easy breakfast in the morning. Nothing convenient like Pop Tarts or a cinnamon bagel. No. I had to make oatmeal (a huge 5 minutes) or scramble some eggs (again 5 minutes). Really it wasn't that much more time but it seemed like it. It took more effort. Sometimes, God calls us to areas of ministry that take a little more effort. We just can't always take the easy route.

My diet was a bit more healthier during my fast. Instead of grabbing a Hershey Kiss for a little snack, I'd grab a handful of baby carrots. I abstained from dessert (a biggie for me). I didn't drink sweet tea but just water. Boring water. It wasn't the most enjoyable change but it was the healthiest. Sometimes, God calls us to an area of ministry that might not be the most enjoyable but it's the healthiest for our spiritual walk.

I craved sweets all week. I crave them now & my fast is over. Something about not having them intensified my need desire for them. Honestly, when I spend time away from God, my cravings for Him don't intensify. They grow dull. It's easier to brush off my quiet times in the mornings. Paul said it best: "For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." (Romans 7:18-19) I'm like Paul and my sinful desire instensify the more I satisfy it. But God's Word is the ultimate satisfying dessert!

"The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb." Psalm 19:9-10

The biggest passage of Scripture that hit me was in Isaiah 36. King Hezekiah's being attacked by Assyria, power nation of it's time. Three of his officials go out to meet the Assyrian field commander who mocks Judah, Hezekiah, and God in front of everyone. The officials ask the commander to speak in Assyrian instead of Hebrew so that the people along the city walls wouldn't be able to understand what they were talkng about. The field official refuses & continues his mocks in Hebrew trying to divide Judah's people, cause rebellion against Hezekiah, and ultimately God and His Plan. In verse 21, it says, "But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.” Hezekiah later takes the enemy's attack in letter form, goes to the temple, and spreads it all before the Lord. What in the world does this have to do with anything?

Well- I've recently been attacked with logical arguments of why I can't continue in my current ministries. I'm the mother of two small children. I need to focus on them while they're at home & don't have the school distractions. It's too much time & stress. Let others who have more free time do it & I can do it once my turn comes around. Logical arguments spoken to me in my language. The enemy knows all of my fears & he can present them in arguments like no other. Hezekiah's people stood in silent trust knowing God would ultimately deliver them. So that's what I am to do. Stand in silent trust of my God knowing He called me to this ministry & He will deliver me from every difficulty. All I need to do is take it straight to Him, spread it all out, and wait.

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

Brown, Green, or Yellow?

Today is my last day of fasting. I began on January 11 as our entire church family began a fast to seek God's face in 2011. The purpose? To ask Him to do the unexplainable. To see an 11 on a scale of 1-10. I chose to abstain from anything sweet/sugary and all caffeine. This includes my morning "Halle Berry", an affectionate name coined by my friend Stephanie for the way I drink my coffee. (It matches Halle's skintone perfectly. Light and sweet. Basically, I drink coffee as a means to ingest creamer.) I was going to post earlier last week about my fasting but I didn't want to be like those Jesus described in Matthew 6 and wanted this to be all about Him and not me. Bear chose to fast from food.You read that right. Today is his 11th day without any type of food whatsoever. He's just drinking water and V8 Splash. For 11 days. Is it no coincidence that Becky is doing a blog post series on marriage? I think not. ;)

I'm personally seeking God's answer regarding areas of service & ministry. Have I had any profound answer? Not really. I'm still exactly where I was 11 days ago. We were talking about this in our adult small group meeting last Thursday. One of the members said that if you look in the Bible at fasting, God usually answers after the fast. The fast is our complete and total obedience to Him and only after we're fully obedient does He bless it. Makes sense, right?

Today has caused me to reflect upon this whole fasting ordeal and I'm pretty ashamed to admit that I don't think I did it right. I know all about fasting but I've never actually done it before. Bear & I cut things out of our lives all the time in order to seek God's face more diligently. I guess you could call that fasting but food has never been a choice for me. I love it too much. Should've been my first clue, right?

Jonah has a little car that he plays with in the bathtub. It's hypercolor & changes colors depending on if it's warm or cold, wet or dry.

When it's completely dry, it's brown.

When it's wet with cold water, it's green.

When it's in warm water, it turns yellow.

As he was playing in the tub this morning, I was wanting "Halle" more than anything. I began praying asking the Lord why haven't I gotten an answer yet? Will it be tomorrow? Will I even get one? He asked me, "Are you fasting on brown, green, or yellow?" I have been completely obedient with this fast. I haven't even had any salad dressings with sugar in them. In fact, we went to "Milk 'n Shake" (Steak & Shake) and I had water. I've been really good. But when those times come around 2:00 each day when I'm dragging & need a little boost, do I turn to the Word? No. I've been taking naps. I've been watching Netflix on the Wii. Again, coincidence that our Wii broke last night out of nowhere & has to be sent in for repairs? No. I haven't been brown. But I haven't been yellow either.

"For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?" Isaiah 58:2-5 (emphasis mine)

So today, I repent & ask the Lord to forgive my feeble fasting attempt. I have learned several things from this fast which I plan on posting later but for just today, I desire forgiveness.

I wanted to find some synonyms for 'half-hearted' to include in this post. I was honestly looking for ones that started with an 'f' to be cute & alliterative to go with 'fasting'. Isn't that just like me? To make my sin seem not so offensive by cutesy-ing it up? Pitiful. I found these words:

Apathetic. Uenthusiastic. Lazy. Reluctant. Indifferent. Doubtful. Fearful. Fickle. Wavering. Wishy-washy. Careless. Lukewarm. Flat. Lifeless.

Not words that I want to describe my walk with Jesus. But perfect to describe my sinful self. I'm lazy in the mornings and don't get up like I should. I'm fearful of where He will lead me. (How silly is that?!) I'm fickle in my commitments. I'm reluctant to fully commit. I'm careless when it comes to my thoughts and actions. But the words that stopped me in my tracks was lukewarm, flat, and lifeless. Mainly because this is what Jesus says about those.

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:15-16

I literally make God sick to His stomach. He spits me up. Vomit.

But I'm so grateful there's Jesus! Because when my walk seems flat and lifeless, He's exactly where to turn!

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them." John 17:13 (emphasis mine)

 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:9-10 (emphasis mine)

I'm so grateful that it's that simple. And that full.

Has anyone else fasted before? Did you get an answer? Was it what you were expecting? I'd love to hear about how God worked in your life!

I'm a Domestic Diva!

Okay, so this post is about 97% stolen! I stole the title from Deidre at "For Such a Time As This". Last night, I made the BEST dinner and had to brag on myself. I think what won me over was the prep time....a total of 10 minutes. That's right. 10 minutes. Including cook time. I stole it from Amanda at "Kevin & Amanda" and her pictures are better than mine...so I'm stealing those too!

Tortellini Alfredo

These are the ingredients you'll need:

1 (8 oz) pkg cheese tortellini

1 cup ham, diced

(8 oz) cream cheese
1 pkg dry Italian dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter

Add tortellini to a large pot of boiling salted water and let cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a skillet to medium heat. Add the cream cheese, butter, cream of chicken soup, Italian dressing, and milk and stir until smooth. Once smooth, add in ham and stir to coat. After the tortellini finishes boiling, drain, then add to cream sauce. Stir to evenly coat and serve warm.

I used the 16 oz. package of green & white mixed tortellini because Jonah likes to eat "Incredible Hulk Noodles". I also mixed in some frozen peas for an added sweet crunch. Mmmmmm. It was SO good.

For those of you who think it looks a bit slimy- it does. But take it from someone who can't stand slimy food- it wasn't. It was also very flavorful. When I usually make quick recipes, they taste pretty bland. I think the seasoning packet of Italian dressing makes all the difference. This was what I saw the entire dinner time. He didn't even stop to wipe his mouth!

 This sauce would also be great with grilled chicken and broccoli served over fettucini. Enjoy!