Grey Day

Spring is in the air...

because it hasn't stopped raining all day, and we had our first thunderstorm/tornado warning this morning at 5:30am!!!

OH boy!!

I say the solution to a grey and rainy day is...

SOUP!!

Minestrone in Minutes

 

1 lb keilbasa, sliced

1 c. chopped onion

1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes, with liquid

2 sm. zucchini, cubed

3 beef bouillon cubes

3 c. water

2 c. finely chopped cabbage

1 can (15.8 oz) great northern beans, undrained

1 tsp. dried basil

1 T. chopped fresh parsley

Grated parmesan cheese

 

In a large pot, brown sausage and onion until onion is tender. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese. Simmer 1 hour. sprinkle with cheese.

 

Yield: 2 qts

 

*note: we usually use less meat and add more veggies...as in we keep the meat amount the same, and double everything else. :)

I actually love rainy days. 

Any excuse to eat soup, I say. 

And to stay home, drink tea, and read in my quiet attic room, with the rain pitter-pattering on the roof. :)

Learn the Depths

"This hard place in which you perhaps find yourself is the very place in which God is giving you opportunity to look only to Him, to spend time in prayer, and to learn long-suffering, gentleness, meakness - in short, to learn the depths of the love that Christ Himself has poured out on all of us." --Elisabeth Elliot

Satisfied?

"The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want."

(Proverbs 13:25)

 

Just thinkin' on God's provision.

My first thought is how abundantly the Lord has blessed me personally! I have a large and loving family. A beautiful home to live in. Food on the table every mealtime...and then some! A peaceful country where we're free to worship without fear. Books and tea enough to make anyone happy. :) God's provision for our family is been overwhelmingly abundant, and we give Him glory for it! We definitely have "enough".

But what I find interesting, is that what I've just described as my experience isn't always God's definition of provision.

 Consider the Israelites:

The way God handled them in the desert isn't at all what you expect. Instead of providing them with enough abundance that they won't be tempted to move back to Egypt, there are only 3 things recorded that He gave them to eat: manna, quail, and water. For FORTY years!!!  

"And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

(Deuteronomy 8:3)

Consider the persecuted Church:

Believers in countries where men and women are being killed for their faith in Christ...where mothers and fathers are killing their children for their faith in Christ. How is that God's provision? And yet He says:

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." 

(Matt. 5:11-12)

Just kinda blows my mind. 

I think it's human tendency to think of blessing and provision in terms of what we have. But I think the key might be in the words "enough" and "want" in the verse above from Proverbs 13:25.

The righteous person is satisfied in what God provides. Whether it be much or little...he's content and doesn't grumble for "MORE!!!" The Lord Himself is his ultimate satisfaction and joy, regardless of what he's physically provided with. He knows that the LORD knows his needs and will provide what is best. He has ENOUGH.

The wicked man, on the other hand, has a belly that's continually dissatisfied. Doesn't matter if he has all the money, all the big houses, great vacations, all of everything...OR if he has next to nothing. Because he's just thirsting and craving for more and more. And is either spending his life doing anything to grab more...or spending his lazy life wishing for it. So that even though he might have "enough"...he suffers WANT. And doesn't even think about his spiritual needs! He will die without ever having spent a thought on things eternal!

Strange to think about.

Convicting...actually. 

:-O

It's so much more than "things". 

It could be work situation. Friendships. Marital status. :-P

"Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." 

(John 6:35)

"How much" isn't really the question anymore.

It becomes more a question of "what am I seeking to be satisfied with?"

Will I suffer want, in my craving for [fill in the blank]?

Or will I find enough in Him, who can truly satisfy?

"For He satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul He fills with good things."

(Psalm 107:9)

Live the Life of Faith!

"We must sit down humbly in the presence of God, look the whole subject in the face, examine clearly what the Lord Jesus calls sin, and what the Lord Jesus calls "doing His will." We must then try to realize that it is terribly possible to live a careless, easy-going, half-worldly life, and yet at the same time to maintain evangelical principles and call ourselves evangelical people! Once let us see that sin is far viler, and far nearer to us, and sticks more closely to us than we supposed, and we shall be led, I trust and believe, to get nearer to Christ. Once drawn nearer to Christ, we shall drink more deeply out of His fulness, and learn more  thoroughly to "live the life of faith" in Him, as St. Paul did. Once taught to live the life of faith in Jesus, and abiding in Him, we shall bear more fruit, shall find ourselves more strong for duty, more patient in trial, more watchful over our poor weak hearts, and more like our Master in all our little daily ways."

--J.C. Ryle

Holiness (pg. 17)

Stop #2. South Carolina!

 And on to the beach! 

My sweet sister-in-law. :)

 Katie's sister-in-law.

 The backyard critters.

 The beautiful 5 minute walk to the beach...how I miss it!!

 The way stranded sand dollars bury themselves under the sand...

and by all appearances, die.

It got a little creepy, seeing all these marks on the sand everywhere.

Luke and Katie's kitty, Cairo...who loved to be involved in everything we did.

Had beautiful weather most days, and though I was sick for most of the visit, enjoyed my time there. I've been so blessed to have a brother and sister-in-law that I just love and enjoy hanging out with!! And it doesn't hurt they live at a beach resort. ;) Though I would keep in touch wherever they lived...Hilton Head is fine by me. :)

And now...I'm glad to be home again. The only thing about "personal vacations" is they can't all come with me and I miss them all so much!!

Stop #1. North Carolina!

 I haven't posted for the past several weeks for the simple reason that I was on vacation!!

 :)

First stop was visiting some dear friends in NC! I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked...but these are from the Billy Graham Library...

Bethany (in orange) and I have been emailing since we were about 13/14...and this is only the 3rd time we've gotten together in person!  I suppose the fact that they lived in Papua New Guinea for most of that time had something to do with that...

And this is the Graham home, where Billy Graham grew up! It was moved here from its original location a few miles away.

But before exploring the house, we toured the inside of the library/museum...this was Ruth Graham's wedding dress. :)

 Didn't get many pictures of the rest of the tour...but these are some inside shots of the Graham house. I just loved the kitchen and color schemes! So light and cheerful! :)

It was a really fun time of catching up with Bethany and getting to know her family better. The time was too short...but lovely. :)

Next up South Carolina!