~
There's JOY in the Kitchen ~
~When we realize that ~
Experience in not what happens to a man, it's
what he does with what happens to him.
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A weekly newsletter from Sarah's Tent, an
online ministry tailored towards Pastor's Wives.
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Isa 51:1-2 / Isa 54:2-3 / Heb 10:24 ,25
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FOOTSTOOL OF THE HEAVENS
By JoyfulArt
There was a period in my life when I would
wonder each day if I could possibly make it
through another week. Life at that time was a
harvest of bad decisions I had already sown.
Sorrowfully I was gathering in the decayed wheat
of a rebellious time and thought I had come to
the end of all that life would ever offer me.
During this time, when things became more
unbearable than I thought any human could live
through, I would flee into the night to a nearby
field or parking lot. Once I reached the center
of the field, as far away as I could get from
humanity, I would plant my feet firmly in the
soil or concrete and throwing my face upwards cry
out "Why God?" All my anger would rush
out and spill into the night air in a torrent of
self-pity and bitterness. On and on I would vent
my pent up emotions, pacing back and forth waving
my arms and clenching my fists in agony.
Once my emotional outburst faded on the breeze
I would stand spent, listening to the crickets in
the distance or the cars passing by on near by
streets. Silence. The universe above and beyond,
I in the center insignificantly small. This
became a habit of mine, fleeing into the night to
save my sanity. The more I did, the more precious
these times became. Many a day passed when I
eagerly anticipated the setting of the sun so
that I could once again throw myself into the
heavenly expanse of solitude I so desperately
sought. This was God's footstool. The stars above
shouting out His majesty, His greatness, His
omnipotence, His limitless power.
As I would stand, night after night, I found
simple and profound answers that would effect my
life even today. Repentance would follow as I saw
the errors of my own way. Before I knew it those
times became precious times of intimate worship
and praise.
Time has passed. I've matured and been blessed
above and beyond anything I could ever think or
imagine. Yesterday while taking a shower I had
some flashbacks of those nights, and felt a
twinge of regret. Regret in that now things were
not so nightmarish, that I seemed to so easily
NOT find the time to spend with the King of kings
and Lord of lords. How easy it is to run to God
when things are bad. How much easier to loose
hold of our Lifegiver when the water is smooth
and there is no need for a Lifesaver. Perhaps
trials come into our lives to bring us to His
footstool in order to discover who He REALLY is.
Don't wait until you are drowning in despair to
cry out for the Lifesaver. Embrace the Lifegiver,
sit at His feet, let Him speak mysteries to you,
and direct your paths. There is so much more that
needs to be done
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For whatever is born of God overcomes the
world; and this is the victory that has overcome
the world - our faith. 1 John 5:4
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MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS
By BHale7904
Fear thou not for I am with thee: be not
dismayed for I am thy God, I will strengthen
thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10
When you are up on the mountain and you look
out you can see the other mountains. You may
think I'd really like to be on that mountain, the
view must be awesome. So you pray God let me see
the view from that mountain. Well as anyone knows
if you are going to go up another mountain, you
must come down off the one you are on. You must
cross a valley to go between the two mountains.
You can't skip from mountaintop to mountaintop.
So down off the mountain you come. You start
through the valley and for awhile you are doing
ok. Then you start getting tired. You start
wondering is there any end to this valley. Is
this valley really so long? And so you trudge
onward. After awhile you forget about the
mountain you were on. You forget about the
awesome view you were going to see from the
neighboring mountain. All you can think about is
how long and dark this valley is you're going
through. After a while, you fail to notice the
lilies that are growing by the way. You fail to
notice the beauty in the valley because you are
so caught up in getting out of the valley. You
want to hurry and get back on the mountaintop
where you feel invincible.
So finally you reach the foot of the mountain
and you look up to see the mountain towering over
you. You being to think, it didn't look that big
from over there. You think there is no way that I
can get up this mountain. Many people never do
get up that mountain they stay in the valley
where the walk is easier. They don't want to put
forth the extra effort to go the extra mile fort
he greater rewards. They want to stay where it is
safe. Just as you've beaten the discouragement
and gotten to the end of the valley, more
discouragement comes in the face of that towering
mountain. So which do you do? Stay in the valley
where it is safe or press forward?
If you decide to press forward there are more
obstacles in your way. They may be jagged rocks
or a crumbling path or not path just gut instinct
to guide you to the top. You stop and set small
goals for yourself. I will make it to the top of
this cliff before night or to the shelter of
those pines before the rain. Either way you have
quit looking at the whole as being intimidating
you are walking one step at a time. You know what
the goal is (to get to the top) but you have
broken it into goals you can achieve. You allow
yourself to be encouraged by what you are
accomplishing. So you make it to the top and the
view is as spectacular as you thought. You rest
and look around and enjoy the fruit of your
labor, then before long you start looking and
saying wonder how it would be from that mountain?
You start thinking well I made it through the
last valley and this one don't look like its so
long, I think I'll just run over and check out
the view from that mountain. And so the saga
continues.
Have you felt down in that valley for so long?
Have you felt that the situation was hopeless?
That you couldn't win for losing? I believe we
all have thought that. We have all reached a
place of being so low that we felt unworthy and
unable to do anything to help ourselves. We feel
that no matter which way we turn we are lost and
abandoned and unworthy of being loved even by
God. We feel that the Lord doesn't hear our cries
when we are down in this valley. We feel so
alone. This is when Satan likes to work his
hardest. If he can get our focus turned away from
what God wants us to do, (going toward the
mountain to climb it) and get us focused on the
mistakes we made, (the valley we are in), then he
has gained an advantage. He has gained a foothold
in keeping us from being an effective witness
because we are so concerned with our own well
being. He has gotten us into the old poor me
routine.
But God doesn't leave us, He is with us
always. He is our ever present help in a time of
need. In this scripture we find that he is with
us. It is a promise. He promises us that he will
strengthen us when we are weak. He promised us
that he would never leave us or forsake us. He
will bring us through the valleys. We must learn
to be content whatever state we are in whether in
the valley or on the mountain. There is much
beauty in the valley and many things to learn
while there which will help us on our journey
back to the top of the mountain. When up on the
mountaintop after awhile we forget the beauty. We
start taking it for granted. So we set off in
search of more beauty. You have to remember
though if you become content to stay where it is
safe, you will miss out on an awful lot of
beauty. Have a blessed day.
GOD SEES THE SCARS
Submitted by Momkoff
When some friend has proved untrue -
betrayed your simple trust;
Used you for his selfish end
and trampled heartstrings in the dust.
The past, with all its memories
and all its sacred ties,
The sunlight blotted from the sky -
while something in you dies.
Bless your false and faithless friend,
just smile and pass along
GOD must be the judge of it;
He knows the right from wrong.
Life is short, don't choose to spend
time dwelling in the "ago"
His great laws are good and just;
truth conquers all, you know.
Deep and raw our wounds may be -
but after all the pain...?
GOD'S own finger touches us
and we are healed again.
With faith restored, and trust renewed -
we look up toward the stars.
The world will see the smiles we have -
but GOD will see the scars.
~ ~ ~ ~
For every one who keeps on asking
receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and
to him who keeps on knocking it will be opened.
Matthew 7:8
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STEPPING STONES
Submitted by KBuck39548
The Lord came to me like a dream one day and
asked, "Daughter, why do you sorrow?"
I answered, "Lord my life is so full of
pain, I can't face one more tomorrow."
The Lord sat down beside me, and gently took
my hand.
He said, "Let Me explain to you and then
you'll understand."
Each sorrow is a stepping stone You must
surmount each day,
And every stepping stone you climb Is a sorrow
that's passed away.
The road of life is a mountainside, With
crevices in which to be caught,
But as you struggle on your way, I the Rock,
will lend support.
Every stepping stone you climb, Makes spirit
and heart grow strong.
Exercising character and faith, This road
seems painful and long. T
he way is paved with stepping stones, To
uplift your heart and soul,
Though difficult they aid your way, To a City
paved with gold.
Daughter, I know that you are tired, For I too
have walked this way,
My sorrows did they multiply, But I cleared
many stones away.
I left my Rock to lift you up, I left behind
my story.
To give you the strength to make Your Climb,
To that special place in glory.
And never fear, the Rock is here, You'll never
climb this mountain alone.
Surmount life's sorrows, continue on For they
are but stepping stones."
Faith sees the invisible, believes the
incredible, and receives the impossible.
AMEN, AMEN and AMEN
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
POT LUCK!
The
Country Kitchen http://members.aol.com/StndNFaith/Kitchen.html
Submitted by PrasHm
This is a personal favorite of mine when I
just want to make a dip for quick company:
1 lb ground beef
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 lb Velveeta Cheese
Brown the ground beef, drain. Then add melted
cheese and Rotel tomatoes drained to the mix. Put
some Tortilla chips out and eat up!
Be sure to check out ministry tested recipes
at: Doffycook's
Nethome
For even MORE recipes, click on these!! More
Recipes and Once-a-Month
Cooking (OAMC)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*** Sarah's Tent Book Club....***
is back in session!!!
I would like to invite everyone who is
interested to join with me and become a part of
the Sarah's Tent Book Club. We will choose a new
book every month and then meet on the last
Thursday of the Month at 8:00pm EST to chat about
what we have learning and to discuss our ideas
with others.
The book that is chosen for the middle of
August to the end of September is:
" Just as I am " : The autobiography
of Billy Graham
This is a longer book which is why I gave an
extra 2 weeks to read it.. but even if you cannot
or do not want to read the book, please still
feel free to join us at the chat, which will be
located at the following link on Thursday Sept
24th, 1998: The Book
Club (Available through America Online only
at this time)
Hope to see you there and if you have any
questions.. Please e-mail me at WeesaS@aol.com
!!
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Dear Pastors and wives: Do you know someone in
your congregation who is looking for a ministry
opportunity as well as a job? Born Again
Marriages is looking for Area Representatives to
help us bring, "The Marriage
Encourager" newspaper into each town or city
nationwide. This person should be a strong
Christian, who presents themselves well. They
will be contacting local Christian businesses and
churches for the ministry. The part or full-time
job pays $1200-$1500 per edition. Please refer
them to our Managing Editor Mike Vroman at vro@mlode.com or
they may call us at 1-800-BORN AGAIN. Thank you
for your help in strengthening and even restoring
marriages nationwide
~ Love in Jesus Pat and Sandi Greenwell
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NEEDING PRAYER?
Contact Sarah's Tent at SarahsTent@aol.com
, and not only will we pray, but your request
will be sent to the proper prayer chains as well.
Just be sure to send your praise report when God
moves on your behalf!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CHUCKLES
Sent in by RxMom03
I would like to share this with everyone--I
think it is probably my favorite joke ever.
A Jewish lawyer became seriously troubled by
the way his only son had turned out, so the guy
decided to call his synagogue for a counseling
appointment with his rabbi.
"I brought him up in the faith,"
said the lawyer to the rabbi, "I spent a
fortune to educate him. And now he's suddenly
decided to become a Christian. Rabbi, where did I
go wrong?"
"Funny you should come to me," said
the rabbi, "I too brought up my boy in the
faith, put him through Yeshiva University, sent
him to Brandeis to get his doctorate. I spent an
absolute fortune educating him. Then one day, he
tells me he has decided to become a
Christian!"
"What did you do?"
"I turned to God for the answer."
"And what did God say?"
"He said, 'Funny you should come to
me...' "
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Pattie's Picks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Christian Downloads at:
http://users.serveyou.com/timshen/index.html
Here's an amazing list of lists of downloads--all
free (and in my book, free is good). This site
organizes lists of sites that have Freeware
software to download. The categories include:
General Free Christian Downloads Selection, Free
Devotional/Christian Literature, Free Counseling
/ Recovery Downloads, Free Missionary Downloads,
Free Christian Games Downloads, Free Bible
Study/Teaching Downloads, Free Christian
Screensavers/ backgrounds and Clip Art Downloads,
Free Evangelism Resources, and Free Christian
Worship Music Downloads. I am amazed at what's
out there and that someone had the time to make
this site! As my teenaged students would say,
"it's the bomb!"
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The following illustration appears on Today's
Best Illustrations, now available from
Parsons Technology and Christianity Today, Inc.:
A Heavenly Shake-Up
Sometimes your medicine bottle has on it,
"Shake well before using." That is what
God has to do with some of His people. He has to
shake them well before they are ever useable.
Paul wrote to Timothy, "Stir up the gift of
God, which is in thee."
-- Vance Havner, from The Vance Havner Quote
Book/On This Rock I Stand. Christianity Today,
Vol. 30, no. 16. Reprinted from the CO
Newsletter.
As we all get ready for school to start (some
sooner than others, as I'm learning), let's keep
our students, teachers, administrators, and
school boards in prayer. Thanks!
If you have any web sites you would like to
recommend, please send them to PattieRWR (Pattie)
We'll be happy to write reviews for the
newsletter!
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Joy In The Kitchen is an extension of Sarah's
Tent An online ministry devoted to gathering
together God's silent warriors, the wives of
pastors and ministers of all denominations and
cultural backgrounds, as well as their families,
for fellowship, support, laughter and prayer. Isa
51:1-2 / Isa 54:2-3 / Heb 10:24-25
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