Living For Today

By Pat

With all the crazy weather the world has been experiencing lately, much has been said about "the end" getting closer. Earthquakes which seem to be increasing in frequency, hurricanes, flooding, record-breaking seasons of tornados and droughts...hmm. People are talking. Could it be true? Could the end really be getting close? Wow! I hope so!

But wait...didn't Jesus clearly state, after telling us the signs to watch for, that we won't really know when it will happen? "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36). Yep. he sure did say that, and I believe it.

Therefore, instead of anxiously awaiting our departure from this world and arrival into the one to come, shouldn't we be making wise use of our time? I admit, with the current struggles my family and I have been undergoing for what seems to be a VERY long time now, nothing would make me happier than a swift and final exit. Goodbye, troubles! Goodbye, sadness! Goodbye, heartaches and pain and worries! I'm outta here! But also goodbye, unsaved friends and family. Goodbye, opportunities to discover more fully how God wants me to use my gifts and talents. Goodbye, chances to make the world a little better.

As tempting as it is to focus on the coming of Jesus, we can't allow ourselves to become so wrapped up in looking for signs that we fail to focus fully on the present, and therefore neglect the things we need to be doing here. We have to live more fully, serve more joyfully, seek more diligently, and witness more urgently. We must focus on today and live it to the best of our ability and allow God to use our current difficulites to mold and strengthen us. If we live with the "get me outta here" mentality, we fail to become the very best we can be for God.

And so, no matter how tough things get, there is still work to be done, more souls to be won, so I pray that God will adjust my focus, correct my mindset, and use me to be the best servant I can be!

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Tasty Bites: Lentil Soup with Sausage

By Beth V

It's getting to be that time of year again... soup season. The cool morning temperatures are starting to hint that fall is really coming. It may still get up to the mid to upper-eighties here in the South during the heat of the day, but it doesn't keep this mid-Atlantic girl from treasuring the cool mornings and evenings and dreaming of days where the highs are about 65. It can always feel like fall in an air-conditioned house, right?  Believe me, a high of 85 feels like fall compared to the 105 highs at the height of summer. Anyway, the cooling trend and shortening daylight hours are sending me into the kitchen to cook things like soup, pot roast, caramel apple dip, butter pecan muffins with pumpkin cream cheese frosting, you get the idea.

Today, I want to share with you a delicious Lentil Soup with Sausage recipe that I found in the Autumn 2011 edition of The Baking Sheet, a cooking magazine published by King Arthur Flour. A friend gifted me with a subscription and I have really been enjoying the delicious recipes and beautiful photographs.

Along with a renewed desire for fall foods, I have made a renewed effort to make our dinners at home higher in fiber, and lower in fat and calories. This soup fits the bill perfectly. Unlike other types of beans, lentils do not have to soak overnight or cook for hours and hours. They are relatively quick-cooking and they have a ton of health benefits. They are full of fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and balance blood sugar. Lentils are also an excellent source of B-vitamins, protein, folate and magnesium. The insoluble fiber helps keep the digestive tract clean and helps prevent digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome. The fiber, along with folate and magnesium also play a role in promoting heart-health. Click here for even more detailed information about the health benefits of lentils.

Click to read more ...

God Says... "Nothing is impossible for me. "

By Jason V (Ponderings of a Pilgrim Pastor)

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

I have a friend who has now been cancer-free for five years, but five years ago, things did not look very good for her.  She was in intensive chemotherapy and was not given a good prognosis.  She was suffering such terrible side-effects from the chemo that she elected to stop the treatment.  The cancer went away and has not come back in five years.

I've also been praying for a little girl who has brain cancer.  She was showing remarkable signs of progress and was in remission until a few months ago, when the cancer came back.  Her parents are trusting Jesus for a situation that just seems impossible from a human perspective.

Life often seems impossible.  It's not just cancer.  I lead a men's recovery group on Wednesday afternoons.  The bondage of addiction and the side-effects of sin are devastating beyond description. 

Impossible.

Such a word seems so heavy, so all-encompassing, so utterly and devastatingly absolute.  For God, it is ultimately meaningless.  Impossible is simply impossible for God.  Of course, that doesn't mean He always does what we want Him to do.  His actions don't always make sense to us, but God never runs into a problem or situation and says, "Wow!  I didn't see that coming.  What am I going to do?  This just seems impossible!"

If anything were to be impossible for God, these things would certainly have to be near the top of the list:

Click to read more ...

The Storms of Life

By Pat

Another thunderstorm rumbled through early this morning, about one A.M., and right on cue, the bedroom door flew open and in dashed our six-year-old granddaughter, Kendra. As always in these situations, she hopped into bed with us, snuggled up in between us, and went back to sleep, safe and secure in the knowledge that we would protect her from the storm.

God tells us very clearly to run to Him during the storms of our lives, no matter what kind they are. He is always there, waiting for us, just as we were waiting for Kendra to seek our protection. Kendra came to us immediately, but I have to admit that sometimes I wait and try to weather the storms myself, refusing to admit my fears and worries. Whereas Kendra's first instinct was to run to our arms for safety, sometimes running to God is my last choice; it's the one I make after nothing else has worked and my own attempts have failed.

God wants us to have "childlike" faith and trust, and I know what He means! I need to learn that even though the storm may rage on, the winds continue to howl and the thunder crash, God is a God of promises, and I must run to His arms first, trusting in His protection and garnering courage from His strength. Perhaps if I do, the storms won't seem so scary after all...

"Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." (Mark 4:38-39)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

God Says... "I have not given you a spirit of fear."

By Dusty (Reflections on the Life of a Christian)

I have been afraid of a lot of things in my life. They range from the common to the unusual. Some fears cripple while others nag. Every one of them has kept me from doing or enjoying something in my life.

I believe most everyone has suffered from such fears. While some may deny it or hide it, everyone is afraid of something. Here is a list of common fears:

• Disappointment
• Failure
• Ridicule
• Rejection
• Injury/Death
• Unknown
• Abandonment

None of those have ever applied to you? Are you sure?

Well then, maybe I am the oddball (but I think not!) because I can think of a lot of instances where I suffered from one or more of those. For a guy, a lot of them might come into play when seeing a girl we like and wanting to ask them out. For a child, they may surface in their desire to please their parents or other authority figures. But fear is not limited to gender relations or age.

Click to read more ...