Getting Through it!

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' – 

Matthew 22:37-39

Hello Again!  I hope you are all having a great week, and that the study of Acts is sinking in to your hearts....right where His Word belongs....I pray that you have a peaceful week of study, and that nothing gets in your way as you carve out your time for the Lord.  We do have an enemy....and when God's people study and seek, this one feels threatened.  So I pray that whatever obstacles all of you encounter will part like the Red Sea as you walk through it with confidence.

I hope that you all had a chance to go see at least one of the nights of Momentum.  I was able to see three shows, and it was tremendous!  We saw Bear Grylles, The Chapmans, and the Duggars.  I loved all of them!  I especially enjoyed how Mary Beth Chapman shared her ultimate heartbreak, and how she didn't really "survive", but made a choice to push forward and trust the Lord with her gut wrenching pain.  I'm in the process of reading her book, and so far I am really loving it.  Her pragmatic style of writing is easy to read and she has a wonderful sense of humor that really shows through as she tells her story.  Their family touched my heart in a very real way this week.

I also had an epiphany, of sorts, from the Duggars on Thursday evening.  I think they are a wonderful family and although I know I could not handle that many children, they do it with such grace that it makes you quite aware as you listen to them, that the Lord is watching over them as they put their trust in Him.  Jim Bob Duggar said something that really got to me though.  He talked about how they sit down and read the Word with their children.  It dawned on me that although we have taken our children to church regularly and talked to them about God, we have not sat down as a family and read scripture.  My two daughters are grown and married (to wonderful Christian men), but I decided as I listened, that it wasn't too late to start doing this with our son, even though he is sixteen.  We are going to take Jim Bob Duggar's suggestion and start going through the book of Proverbs, which is chalk full of wisdom we can all use.  We haven't started this yet, but intend to this week.  I'll let you know how that goes!

“When you become a mother, you stop being the picture and start being the frame.”
~

Here's a fun little something to do with the kiddos in your life, for Autumn

Leaf Suncatcher
You need:

• Wax Paper
• Fall Leaves
• Crayon Shavings
• Adult with Iron
• Newspaper

Instructions:
Cover work surface with newspapers. Sprinkle a small amount of crayon shavings on a piece of wax paper. Arrange leaves on top. Sprinkle more crayon shavings and cover with another piece of wax paper.
Place a piece of newspaper on top and iron with a warm iron until crayon shavings melt. Trim and hang in the window.

Somethin' Yummy Cookin'!

 Baked Stuffed Squash With Beef, Black Beans, and Chili Seasonings

                                           

This is a tasty stuffed squash with Tex-Mex flavors. Serve the stuffed squash with Spanish rice or your favorite mac 'n cheese.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium acorn squash
• 1/2 pound ground beef, chuck or round
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup corn kernels (use canned, drained or frozen, thawed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Dash pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• Dash garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
• Shredded Cheddar cheese, for topping

Preparation:

Line a 13x10-inch baking pan with foil; lightly grease the foil or spray with nonstick olive oil or cooking spray. Heat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Spray cut sides with olive oil spray or nonstick cooking spray and place, cut side down, on the foil. Add about 1/2 inch of water to the pan then cover with foil. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until tender.
Meanwhile, cook the beef and onion until beef is no longer pink; add bell pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes longer. Stir in all remaining ingredients except cheese and set aside or refrigerate until it's time to stuff the squash.
Stuff squash and put back on the baking pan. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until hot. Add cheese and continue baking for a few minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.
Serves 4.

Sending Autumn Love your way

From ilonasgarden.com, some Autumn advice for you, if you do your own gardening:

The late September-October period is excellent for reworking the perennial beds, planting all those beautiful bulbs, and for all shrubs and trees. In the city I might chance planting roses, but everyone is much better holding those off for spring. The great deal of vegetable matter from trees and gardens provides a supply for the compost pile. If nothing else, make a trench in your vegetable garden, fill it, add some fertilizer, cover with soil. You would not believe how good this makes the soil after a time. Chopping the leaves up speeds the decay time, and the fertilizer helps the good bacteria to do its work. Organic in the true sense of the word. If you have flower beds that need to be edged, this is the ideal time for that job, any garden construction work, in fact.  The soil is workable and the weather stays clear and pleasant, much better than the muddy spring conditions.  Think ahead to make everything ready for the spring planting: using the open window of spring for planting and dividing because the earth is in all readiness from your diligence in the fall.

                            



“But I remember more dearly autumn afternoons in bottoms that lay intensely silent under old great trees”-   C. S. Lewis

This comes from Francis Chan....if you have not seen it yet, it's amazing!

Jeremiah 32:17

  "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Q: What did one autumn leaf say to another?
A: I'm falling for you.

Q:  What did one jack-o-lantern say to the other?
A:  Cut it out!

Q:  What is a pumpkin's favorite sport?
A:  Squash









Inspiration from Sarah:

"Beautiful"
I wonder what different people consider beautiful.   Is the sounds of a baby napping, a warm blanket right out of dryer, a perfect plate of Thanksgiving Dinner, inhaling the crisp fall morning air, the golden hues of the leaves in October?  Does beauty involve all five senses?  Hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, as well as seeing?  Recognizing beauty in the things we can not see, hear, touch, taste or smell can be a challenge.  Many times I think maybe I take my five senses for granted.  I draw conclusions about my surroundings and circumstances based solely on those senses.  When I stop, and try to imagine how God sees our world through the sacrifice of Christ, my senses seem to change.  I become sensitive to forgiveness, mercy, grace, faith, and gratitude.  My world appears much more beautiful.

Amen, Sarah!!  Let's ponder that!

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16