Welcome Heart, Sue Donaldson, Speaker

We either look to God for strength or... anything else.

Psalm 33:16,17 rocks with truth:

"No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance, despite all its great strength, it cannot save."

I keep going back to Proverbs 3:5 - if we are trusting God with all our hearts, we won't trust in ourselves - which includes horses, cars, bank accounts, brains, past triumphs, people we love, talent, our kids, etc. etc. God has a wonderful way of allowing the proverbial rug to be pulled out from under us to show what we are really riding on - God or a silly horse. How will you saddle up today?

I must have found this in a magazine and jotted it down, but who knows which or when? Tried it last night for company - delish! I made most of it the night before since I got home 20 minutes before they arrived. We loved it! Oh, I wasn't sure how many people were coming, so I added more chicken and peppers and used a large can of diced tomatoes - I should have doubled the spices and will next time. We had tons since my friend brought a major salad - so we called 5 other families to join us last minute. All couldn't come so now we have lots of good leftovers. The kitchen didn't get hot so it's a good summer recipe.

Creole Chicken Stew

Saute sweet bell peppers and a diced onion

Cut 6-8 chicken thighs and cook.

Add two slices of bacon and two cloves garlic

1/4 cup white wine

1 can tomatoes

Add 2/3 cup water

spices: 1/2 t. cumin and organo; 1/4 t. thyme

1/2 t. hot pepper sauce

The last 10 minutes add 1/2 lb. cut fresh green beans.

Serve over white rice.

I had rice in the rice cooker so it was ready when I arrived home. A great side dish is tastes-like-homemade cornbread: 3 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, 3 eggs and a can of creamed corn. Pour into a 9x13 cake pan -  ready in 20 minutes (recipe from Ceslie.) Fresh fruit salad: canned peaches, partially frozen ollaliaberries hand- picked from Avila Valley, and bananas. Bethany's friends (all boys, big boys) had come to see her the night before since she'd had wisdom teeth surgery - stayed for dinner - so I had a half a cake leftover for the next evening...sprinkled with the new M&M covered pretzels. Pretty and yummy and simple.

1. Acknowledge the Lord when faced with a need. (see previous blog post)

Isn't that just too obvious? Obviously not.

Sidney Lear wrote:

"Thoughts that disturb and trouble us seldom come from God. It is generally best to put them away, and throw ourself, with increased trust in Him and mistrust of self, at His feet."

Love that dichotomy -- God or self - and there's no sitting on the fence. What "needs" do you face today? Get off the fence and throw them on Jesus. That's one way to "acknowledge the Lord." Active faith is an increasing trust.

Did you choose two yesterday?

In case you didn't get a chance to hear's Tim's message, here are the 11 ways to actively live a life of faith, as shown in Genesis 24 (of course, it sounds more inspiring in the context of Abraham, his faithful servant, and Rebekah...but isn't it great these principles resound and teach us all the same, a zillion years later?!)

1. Acknowledge the Lord when faced with a need.

2. Obey the Lord in what you know.

3. Exercise faith in God in what you don't know, believing He will work.

4. Leave room for the Lord not to work (the way you think He might.)

5. Obey the authority God has put in your life right now.

6. Boldly ask God to act through your circumstances.

7. Be wise and focused and compelling in the task God has given you - live intentionally.

8. Give God the glory for all things and every step of the way (not just at the end!)

9. Be kind and hospitable to a stranger (or 6...)

10. Recognize the call of God in your life (so fabulous!)

11. Be willing to leave the familiar and the comfort of what you know for a long journey into the unknown...be open to God's call. Look for ways to give up your convenience and comfort.

Did I say they were daunting? Yes, when confronted with 11 - but just choose 2. I've got a couple good ones. Let me know how God is speaking to you (and how your faith is growing.)

PS I did add "10 minutes a day on the treadmill" - sigh. It didn't feel so bad after the first 8...

I read an article about a woman who knew she needed to make some healthy lifestyle changes or else. She had fought the diet war for too many years, but was headed for diabetes if things didn't turn around somewhat drastically and soon.

She decided she would choose two things. Just two things she would do every day. She would begin each day with 5 jumping jacks, and she would add 2 tablespoons of flaxseed to her food in some way - every day. In six months, she'd made considerable progress in all the important areas.

I found that incredible. The key, of course, was consisitency - "every day" is no small thing, even though she did small things.

This morning, Pastor Tim challenged us to choose two ways to live by faith (from the list of 11 he had just given us from the life of Abraham - Genesis 24.)  I'm glad he just mentioned 2 - 11 was a little daunting. If you want to know them all - check out the pod cast at www.graceslo.org from today's message - a great and encouraging one.

The point is this: we can't grow up completely all in one day or one hour - not even all in one year. But, we can grow up in our faith. God expects us to, He longs for us to - it's all for our good, and, His glory, besides. Choose two things you already know to do today. And, begin.

PS I remember whining to Anne one time: "I don't have time to do 30 minutes on the treadmill..." She replied mildly, "Do you have 10 minutes?"  Hmm...

Start small, start somewhere, but do start. Choose two. God will let you know which two.

A statue of Christ was partially destroyed in a French village during WWII -- the hands of Jesus had been broken off. When it came time for the restoration, it was decided nothing would be done. Instead, a sign was posted nearby: "He has no hands or feet except for ours."

God wants our lives to be tangible expression of His love to others. Maybe the reason your life is in a mess right now is so that you can be His hands of compassion to someone you will meet next week-- or next year-- who is in the same mess.

My brother, Hyatt, tore his rotator cuff and has a bad back. He just emailed me that he takes a long time to get out of bed in the morning and he moves gingerly when he can move. (And he takes 3 jacuzzis a day, bless him and that old jacuzzi in their back yard.) This whole ordeal is making him very empathetic with others' pain and disabilities. He began his email the other day: "Still feeling compassion for others..." Poor guy. Surgery is early August.

Ask the Lord how He wants you to be His hands and feet to another today. Maybe you can even share a jacuzzi with them.

This sounds like something we all could do... and it takes some Spirit-led finesse: 

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24)

Ask God: "How do you want me to encourage my friend, my child, my spouse - to love and do right and to not give up hope?"

Think on His answer, consider how to go about it, then go for it. You may be the only person in your friend's life who knows God. And He's placed you there for this very time. We aren't meant to journey alone. Consider it.

Bethany eats these as a main dish. Try with homemade granola or your favorite store-bought. I didn't have either this morning, so combined Grape-Nuts with Honey Bunches of Oats - we'll see how the experiment goes...

Chocolate-Topped Granola Bars

Beat together:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

Stir in:

1 1/2 cup granola

1 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats

Bake in 9x13 at 350 degrees for 20 -30 minutes or until brown around edges. Remove from oven and sprinkle on 1 cup chocolate chips. When melted, spread over bars. Cool before cutting.

The other day, while waiting at an intersection for oncoming traffic to turn right, I suddenly realized a very large car was beginning to turn left - right into the one-way street! I laid on my horn, trying not to scare the driver into crashing into any parked cars or, me, for that matter.

Since I had to keep moving - the right way - I just hoped that the cars coming her way slowed way down and graciously waited while she righted her boat of a car. Since I didn't hear any loud crashes, I suspect that's exactly what happened. I bet that lady was sweating and bewildered and had a great story of grace and blessing at her dinner table that evening.

When people we know begin going in the wrong direction, we have a certain responsibility, whether we like it or not.

First, we need to warn them: "Hey! What you're doing is going to hurt you! And, maybe others as well - turn around - like, now!" Some horn-honking could be in order - the louder, the better.

Second, once they turn down that wrong path - in spite of our best efforts - we need to do all we can to get them turned back around, in spite of any inconvenience to ourselves - gently, graciously, kindly.

Third, if they insist that they are right (and we are wrong) - we love, love, love - so that if they hit bottom, we can lift them back to God.

Billy Graham said in reference to the actions of a politician when he had turned down more than one one-way street: "It's God's job to convict hearts and change lives; it's my job to love."

Keep honking, when necessary, and love always.

Don't you hate that term: "people-pleaser?" No one wants to believe that we are wired to please people, no matter what. But, of course, we can't help it. We LIKE people to LIKE us, period. And, God uses that part of us to help us keep our mouths shut, when necessary.

Of course, our main judge is God, Himself. He's the One with Whom we should be concerned. 

Here's Paul's take in Galatians 1:10 (written in the first person):

"I am not tring to win the approval of other people; I want to win Your approval, O God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Wow. It sounds like there is a choice involved for Paul. And, he's decided to take the higher road. The only approval rating he's worried about is God's. He's looking upward.

A prayer for today: "Lord, God - help me please You in every way today. And, may that make others want to please You, too. Amen."