~
There's JOY in the Kitchen ~
~When we realize that ~
Children are the hands by which we take hold of
heaven.
Henry Ward Beecher
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
WHEN LIFE WAS EASY
By Shannon Parish
Seems like a long time ago. You looked up at
your mom or dad and said, "I can't wait to
grow up!!" They most likely said,
"Don't be in such a hurry now!!! Life is
easy when you are a child, enjoy it!!"
Jesus said, "verily I say unto you,
Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as
a little child shall in no wise enter
therein." (Luke 18:17) Before, I used to
think that this meant receiving Jesus as my
personal Savior. But if He had meant that, He
would have said "Be born again, like a
little child".
No, what He was saying is that there are
benefits to being in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Glorious, joyous, wonderful benefits, passed down
from the King Himself. In order to receive those
benefits we have to be like a little child. What
exactly did Jesus mean?
He meant, I believe. . . and forgive this
little saying, but I think it is appropriate. . .
. use the "K.I.S.S. method". (Keep It
Simple Stupid) As we grow up, we learn greater
and greater things. We leave the world of child
like faith behind. That simple excitable faith
that believes without question. As an adult, we
think too much, things begin to be complicated.
Ever thought to ask why? Perhaps it is because
our pride gets in the way. Reasoning things out
and making plans. . . is another trap laid by our
PRIDE.
Jesus said we are to become like little
children so that we could receive the Fathers
love and blessings in an undefiled way. Receiving
no glory for ourselves, or taking credit for what
we enjoy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Too Much of A Good Thing
By Christina Weimer
There is a famous saying... "Too much of
a good thing is not a good thing." Now as an
adult I have used this with my children to show
them that one candy is good... 10 can turn out to
be bad. However, God has opened my eyes showing
me that this applies to more than just candy.
I have always been the type of person who
keeps myself busy. I always have a dozen ideas
going through my head and several projects in the
making. Unlike many... I get them done. Because
of this I am always on the move. Never lacking
for things to do.
This past summer I decided to add more things
to my list of activities. Just so you have a
picture.. I will list what I attempted to do: I
grew an herb garden, a vegetable garden, watched
10+ kids.. 5 days a week, taught Sunday school,
wrote a women's newsletter, at church, taught
VBS, organized women's functions, at church, took
15 units of college courses... correspondence,
canned over 200+ things, and did all the normal
things a mother and wife does.
Now most would say NO WAY.. that is too much..
Well, for me, it wasn't. I should say at first it
wasn't. All these were good things. I was excited
about the idea of canning things for the winter.
While the things came to harvest I very excitedly
began to can. It started to become an obsession..
I wanted to can everything.
All would have been fine until one day..
church problems started to surface. Members were
turning against us. Stress levels began to
increase. I maintained that if I continued to
can, watch kids, garden, and do my classes..
problems at church would not bother me.
However, as the saying goes... too much of a
good thing is not a good thing. Early one summer
morning I awoke to what I thought was a
nightmare... someone hurting me in my dreams.
Unfortunately, the pain did not stop. Suddenly, I
realized that this pain was real ... and it was
very painful. Was I having a heart attack? Was it
going to get worse? Should I wake my husband? Did
I need to go to the hospital? Needless to say I
was scared.
I survived that night and no .. it wasn't a
heart attack. It was stress, and to no
surprise... from overdoing it.
Too much of a good thing is not always a good
thing. I can not do all things or be all things
for all people. I am not the answer to all the
church problems. I am not the person who is
needed when a position needs to be filled at
church. I can not do every fun craft that comes
along. There is a limit. There is a point that is
"too much."
Through all this God kept speaking to me in
that still small voice. He kept saying
"Peace, Be still". Peace was what I
needed. It was what my heart desired. Through my
prayer life, my devotional life, the support of
other pw's, the honesty of pw's... telling me to
slow down, to say no to things, to rest in the
Lord, I did find that peace.
I am still learning that too much of a good
thing is not a good thing. I am trying to scale
back, trying to say no at times, trying to find
that peace that comes from God.. I know that with
the help of God, friends and fellow pw's (who
hold me up and keep me accountable), I will learn
this lesson.. Praise God I have a God who cares
and will let me learn lessons, and when I have
learned... He provides an answer.. a gentle
guiding, a gentle hand to show me the right way
to turn and a Peace that surpasses all
understanding.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Look around you and be distressed,
Look within you and be depressed,
Look to Jesus and be at rest.
Anonymous
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
JESSE'S DASH
By Kellie Stevenson
I was blessed recently by being able to read
the testimony of an extraordinary young man
battling terminal cancer. His name was Jesse. He
was 16 years old and carrying a burden that we
all pray we never face. Through it all, he
remained steadfast in his faith in God. He used
his life and struggles to witness to family and
friends. Even at the end, his last thought were
of who could he pray for one last time. How many
of us would have been doing the same thing? Think
about it honestly.
When he lost his battle to cancer a week ago,
he went out not in self pity, but rejoicing that
he was going to be with Jesus. At his memorial
3,000 people showed up, and 250 kids prayed to
receive Christ.
One of the speakers said something that has
really made me stop and think. "There are
two constants on each tombstone, a birth date and
a death date. Between them is a dash, 'What are
YOU going to do with your dash'?" Have you
ever thought about that sincerely? When we face
Jesus at time's end, what will we have to say?
Some will say, "I held this office or
that." " I was in church every Sunday
and Wednesday." "I was goodÑnever did
this or that." But what else?
What if Jesus asks, "How many people did
you tell about Me?" "How many people
gave their lives to Me because of something you
did?"
How many hurting lives did you touch today?
This week? This month? This year?
Who did you reach out to?
What about the sinner down the street or next
door?
What about the homeless person you saw on the
street? Did you show Jesus' love to them?
What about the young person who is so eager to
serve? Did you encourage them, discourage them,
or just ignore them?
One person CAN make a difference! Jesse did.
Think about it!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A problem not worth praying about isn't
worth worrying about. Glen Wheeler
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The only preparation for tomorrow is the
right use of today.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
JUST REWARDS
A preacher and a taxi cab driver died and were
together at the "pearly gates". Saint
Peter went to the preacher to show him to his new
place in Heaven. The preacher was a little
befuddled to see that he was in a small shack -
but he was content.
Then Saint Peter went to the taxi cab driver
and showed him to a beautiful mansion. The
preacher saw this and was a little concerned. He
went up to Saint Peter and said, "Look, I
have spent my entire life dedicated to preaching
the Word every Sunday to a wonderful church, and
this cab driver didn't even attend church
regularly. He is in a mansion, and I in a shack.
What gives?"
"Well," said Saint Peter, "we
look at the results. When you preached you put
people to sleep, but when the cab driver drove,
he had everyone praying."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
POT LUCK!
PINEAPPLE BREAD
Yvonne Layman in Earth, Texas
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 tsp. vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS: Cream butter; gradually add sugar,
beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well
after each addition. combine flour, baking powder
and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with
pineapple, mixing well. stir in vanilla. spoon
batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3 inch loaf
pan. bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Remove
from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Yield
- 1 loaf.
For even MORE recipes, click on these!! More
Recipes and Once-a-Month
Cooking (OAMC)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BECAUSE WE LISTEN FOR THE SHOUT ..we miss the whisper
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHUCKLES
Serenity Prayer for "Puterholics"
God, grant me the serenity To accept a post I
cannot change, Courage to walk past the computer
without turning it on when I am running late for
work, And the wisdom to know the difference
between "come to bed now" meaning
"let's have some fun", and "come
to bed NOW" meaning "the computer has
got to go!"
* * * *
THE SKY'S THE LIMIT
Submitted by Christina Weimer
A devout but worldly man was out one night
looking up at the clear star- filled sky, full of
awe at the nature of God. Overwhelmed, he said
out loud, "Lord, what is a million miles to
You?" He was shocked to hear a voice from
heaven answering him, saying, "It is but an
inch."
Thinking himself pretty spiritual at the
moment, he then asked, "Lord, what is a
million years to You?" The voice of God
answered, "It is but a minute."
Now he starts feeling real confident and asks,
"Lord, what is a million dollars to
You?" God answered him by saying, "It
is but a penny."
The man, feeling pretty clever, gets up the
nerve to ask, "Lord, can you give me a
penny?" He was elated when the answer came
back, "Yes, I can..."
Until the voice continued, "... in just a
minute."
__________ God supplies all our needs - one
day at a time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For your Exploring Pleasure,
(If you have discovered a web site that you think
others would be interested in, please let me
know, and I will put it in our newsletter. Just
click & drag the sight from your Favorite
Places and drop it into your letter.)
Here's a good site for anyone interested in music!
It's the Integrity Music site online and it has a lot
to offer!
The Home of
Integrity Music.
Then there's a cool Candle site for shopping and
tips on making and burning! CANDLES
PLUS - Candles and Candle Accessories...
LAST WEEK: Unicef Home Remember as a youth
going out and "trick ot treating" for UNICEF? If
you do, we now know how old you are! They are
still around...
______________________________________________________________
|
