Not the End!

Hi girls!  I hope you have had a wonderful and blessed Easter.  Our Savior Reigns!

We had a relaxing Easter with wonderful new friends who actually after almost three years of knowing them, are becoming "old" friends....we cherish our old friends and our family back home, but we also cherish our new friends and we know that God is good.....all the time.

I'm having a hard time believing we are already at the end of our study journey.  What a study it has been!  I hope and pray that for all of you, the study of Acts has been one you won't forget.  I know for me, I have learned so much that I never knew before.  It has been one of the most interesting bible studies I have ever taken!  I enjoyed my time with the leadership team, and Sarah's wonderful teaching gift.  It's been a great experience!  I have also enjoyed my time blogging, and for those whom I interviewed,  loved getting to know you better.  I hope to have one or two more interviews....pray that my camera gets fixed soon or we are able to get a new one!

Help is on the Way!

by Lisa Grant, Christian Women Online

“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”  Psalm 71:14

“I never thought this would happen to me.”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

“I’m not even sure God is listening to me.”

“That’s it, I give up.  It’s hopeless!”

I have several friends going through some very tough stuff in their lives right now…major health issues, custody battles, rebellious children, legal issues, and rocky marriages to name a few.  I’ve heard all of the above statements and more.

Chances are, you’ve made these statements during rough patches in your life.  I know I have.  Maybe you’re there right now, in the pit of despair.

God’s Word offers some tremendous encouragement.  In Mark 5, a synagogue ruler named Jairus came to see Jesus.  Jairus pleaded with Jesus to just come and put his hands on his daughter, who was dying.   He said he knew she would be healed if Jesus would do that.  Jesus agreed and they headed off to Jairus’ house.

Let me pause the story right there.  Maybe you have done just as Jairus did.  You have fallen at Jesus’ feet and begged him for a healing of your problem.  Perhaps your faith was even strong enough to say, “I know this situation will be restored with just one touch from you, Lord!”

Let’s rejoin the story now.  You see, there was a journey that Jesus and Jairus had to take.  They had to walk together from the lakeside to Jairus’ house.  The Bible doesn’t say how long this trek was, but on the way Jesus was continually surrounded by people who wanted and needed Him.  One woman simply touched Him in faith and was miraculously healed.   Jesus stopped to talk to her.  I wonder how Jairus felt at this point.  I imagine he was freaking out, as every minute mattered in getting Jesus to his daughter.  I imagine him thinking, “Get out of our way!  This crowd is annoying!  And why does Jesus have to actually stop and TALK to them?  UGH!”

Pause.  Is this where you are?  Are you on the journey with Jesus?  Are you getting frustrated that everyone else seems to be getting answers to their prayers, and you feel like He just hasn’t gotten around to taking care of you yet?   Let’s read on.

While Jesus is still speaking to the woman who was healed, bad news arrives.  Jairus’ daughter was dead.  Jairus was told there was no need to bother Jesus any more.

Pause.  Maybe this is you.  You believe all hope is lost.  There’s no point in even talking to Jesus about it anymore.

The Scripture says Jesus ignored the news of the girl’s death.  He looked Jairus in the eye and said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  They arrived at Jairus’ house, Jesus said two words to the girl, and she was restored to health.  Hmmmm, imagine that, Jesus arrived at just the right moment.  Not too early, not too late.

No matter where you are on the journey with Jesus, He says the same thing to you today.  Don’t be afraid, just believe.  With Jesus, there is always hope.

Hang on…help is on the way!

                         
            
The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian. But the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.  (Elisabeth Elliot)

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer  (Corrie Ten Boom)

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'  (Billy Graham)

                        

Feel like it's never going to stop?  I know the feeling!  Here are a few suggestions to do with your kiddos, spouse or friends on a rainy day.

1.   Either go to, or rent a movie (I hear Soul Surfer is great, but I haven't seen it yet)
2.   Build a tent and go camping in your living room.
3.   Go through pictures and work on family scrap books together.
4.   Make puppets and put on a puppet show.
5.   Turn up the music and dance around the house, cleaning as you go.
6.   Bake up something yummy - like banana bread or cookies for your local fire or police station.
7.   Play a board game (they never go out of style!).
8.   Play with the globe and give some fun geographical lessons by playing guessing games.
9.   Learn a new video game with your kids.
10.  Do a puzzle together.
11.  Make a meal or treat for someone going through a hard time and surprise them.
12.  Write letters to soldiers.
13.  Start reading a good book aloud with someone close to you.
14.  Tea party!
15.  Go visit grandma and grandpa if possible....or write them a letter and color a picture for them to send.
16.  Dash outside and stomp in mud puddles (not when there is ligntning near, though!).
17.  Take a nap!  (well you could always try)
18.  Invite friends over for a scavenger hunt.
19.  Give the kids a list of extra chores they can do for pay.
20.  If you get to stay in all day for a day or two....count your blessings that you don't have to be out in it!  :)

                     

                      Oh, radiant vision I see

                      Quickens my Father's love for me

                      A sweet abundance in my sight

                     Of dazzling color, blooming light

                     Helps me remember in my sorrows

                    That Spring will always come tomorrow

                    And when it does I know for sure

                    His unfailing love is beauty, pure

Here's a little pre-Mothers Day humor.  He always cracks me up!  :)

                           


   

Sweet Easter

                    

      


Hello Ladies!  I hope and pray you are having a wonderful and blessed week.  It's Sunday as I write this and it's such a relief the sun is out and it's so pretty after such a cold day yesterday for Thunder over Louisville!  We watched it from the comfort of the indoors....in the nice warmth.  However, it wasn't quite the same as being there.  But we didn't want to brave that cold shivery weather.  

I so loved our memory verse for last week, and I even memorized it.....was so glad about that because I haven't always been so disciplined throughout the study.  I just felt the verse really spoke about Paul's heart.  And it was ironic, to me, that this same week of that particular verse (Acts 26:29), I got to sit in on a tender moment when one of our own sisters was baptized into the faith of her father, that specific heartfelt yearning from Paul coming true before our eyes.  Praise God!   

I hope to get back to interviews next week.  I'm having technical difficulties.  My camera broke!




                                 


          


I think of the garden after the rain;
And hope to my heart comes singing,
At morn the cherry-blooms will be white,
And the Easter bells be ringing!  ~Edna Dean Proctor, "Easter Bells"

     

Miriam's Not-So-Secret Challah (from Allrecipes.com)

By: MIRIAM571 

"A surprisingly sweet, yet light, challah that makes any night special. Feel free to knead some raisins into the dough if you like."

Prep Time:
30 Min

Cook Time:
45 Min

Ready In:
3 Hrs 10 Min

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 7 cups bread flour, divided
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 eggs 

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

  Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, combine water and margarine in a small saucepan. Heat until margarine is melted and very warm, but not boiling.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups flour, white sugar, brown sugar, yeast and salt. Add water and margarine mixture; beat well. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
  3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
  4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into six equal pieces and form into long 'ropes'. Braid the pieces together to form two large loaves. Place the loaves on two lightly greased cookie sheets, cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  6. Brush the risen loaves with the beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

The Legend
of the Dogwood Tree

When Christ was on earth,
The dogwood grew to a
Towering size with lovely hue.
Its branches were strong and interwoven
And for Christ's cross
Its timbers were chosen.
Being distressed at the use of this wood,
Christ made a promise
Which still holds good:

"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow
To be large enough for such a tree,
And so slender and twisted
It shall always be with cross-shaped Blossoms for all to see.
The petals shall have bloodstains
Marked in brown and in the
Blossom's center a thorny crown.
All who see it will think of Me,
Nailed to a cross from the dogwood tree.
Protected and cherished this tree shall be
A reflection to all of my agony." -Author Unknown

                    

~ Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song. ~

Pope John Paul II 

And now a little Easter cuteness

                      


                       


                                   



                                    

You might want to watch this more than once.......if you don't like it at first.....keep watching.

After Break

Hoping and praying you all had a refreshing break.  It was a nice week for me.....I totally relaxed and it felt really good!


                                              

                                


                                      

This just struck me as funny today since I'm looking at a pile of my son's clothes strewn on my living room chair.  :)




             
 

Your Face
"If you live close to God
And His infinite grace,
You don't have to tell;
It shows on your face."
-anonymous

PEACE of MIND

Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.

- Elisabeth Elliot

SWEET SLEEP

Have courage for the great sorrows in life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have laboriously accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in peace, God is awake.

- Victor Hugo


                                 

I was her

written by Lysa Terkeurst

Proverbs 31 Ministries

I saw her coming across the arena.  Deliberately.  Intentionally.  Her eyes fixed on the stage… on me… on what I must have represented in that moment, a woman who might understand.
Through the crowd.  Up the stairs.  Across the stage.  She stood next to me pressing her shoulder against mine as I was speaking to 6500 women.
And there she was staring out at thousands. But pressing into one.  Needing more than words.
Later she explained she needed to feel God and thought if she stood close enough to me, she just might be able to feel Him.
I didn’t have time to carefully plan what to do.  I’ve never had this happen before.  I’ve never seen this happen.  It wasn’t even on my scope of possibility.  But there she was.  And there I was.  Two women who simply and desperately need Jesus.
And because I am so hyper aware of my own desperation for Jesus every moment of every day, I simply wrapped my arm around her and kept on speaking.
It was a wrinkle in time.  Something that wasn’t supposed to be and yet was.  And I think I now know why.
I needed to remember that ravenous longing I once had to press against somebody who knew Jesus.  I was her.  Looking at other people’s faith wondering how to get that.  That depth.  That closeness.  That unswerving conviction.
I truly thought if only a person with that faith would let me close enough, I’d discover their secret.  I’d learn their routines.  I’d mimic their obedience.  I’d follow them to the ends of the earth until I got it right.  Then, then, then, I’d feel close to Jesus.  I’d understand the Bible.  I’d pray powerful prayers.  And all would finally make sense.
However, there is a big difference between being close to people who love Jesus and being close to Jesus Himself.
I can certainly learn from people.  “He who walks with the wise, grows wise.”  (Proverbs 13:20)
But if I want closeness with Jesus, I won’t find that in following anyone but Jesus Himself.  He is the One who must be pursued.
There have been a thousand whispers from my heart, “Show me, Jesus.  Show me how to follow you, be close to you, press into you, be more like you… show me.  Show me today.  Show me in this minute.  Show me, please Jesus, show me.”
A thousand whispers.  And there will surely be thousands more.  For Jesus isn’t One to be figured out.  And closeness isn’t something that can ever be explained.
He simply says, “Follow me.”  And those who dare to whisper and then walk, find Him.
Yes, there she was.  And there I was.  Two women who simply and desperately need Jesus.

Here are some weird facts - oldies but goodies!

Did you know that Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to have been born in a hospital?
Or that Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food FROM freezing?
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Uses every letter in the alphabet.     (developed by Western Union to test telex/twx communications)
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobile Services(two-way radios in  taxicabs, for instance) but did not Pre-number the other channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2
and up, but no channel 1.
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.
Did you know that there are coffee flavored PEZ?
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when  the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)
When opossums are playing 'possum, they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19.You  also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
No NFL team, which plays its home games in a domed stadium, has ever won a Superbowl.
The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It to Beaver".
It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
The Bible has been translated into Klingon.

Easter is fast approaching.....time to give thanks for the Sacrifice He has made for us, and at the same time be joyful He is risen and watches over us.



I found an interesting website in case any of you are curious about certain Easter traditions and where they originated.  It was too much to copy and paste but you can go here to check it out.

           

This is a little blurry but it's such a good video....you may have seen it before, but if not, give yourself time, it's kind of long...but tells the whole story.  A father's love.....wow....  It's awesome!!