Faithful love

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1,26 NLT

Central PA has several large caverns which are tourist attractions. In years past, we've visited most of the local ones: Penn's Cave, Indian Caverns, Lincoln Caverns and even the Seldom Seen Valley Mine - a man-made cavern which was once a working coal mine.

One thing that always impresses me is that moment when the guide shuts off the lights, leaving the guests to experience a moment of total darkness. To be in a place that's so dark you can't even see your hand in front of your face is a bit unnerving and I always felt better after the guide turned the lights back on.

But another thing that amazed me were the colors and shapes of the formations in the caverns. Formed by the constant drip of water through the limestone, great stalactites and stalagmites take on various shapes. Underground streams carve out rooms and other formations as in Penn's cave. The fact that God took such care to create so much beauty in a place few people would ever see inspires me!

God's love is faithful. He's constantly at work, sculpting his beauty in the darkest recesses of our hearts. When his light shines into those cavernous places, we can no longer see the darkness of sin, but we see the beauty of God's handiwork in our lives.

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness!

Prayer and praise

““O give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Let the people know what He has done.” 1 Chronicles 16:8 NLV

God has given us some very unlikely weapons to fight the spiritual battles we face each day. On the surface, they don't look like they would accomplish much since they are only made up of words. But God has ordained them - they do work and are very powerful.

Prayer is one. It loosens the power of God so he can fight for and with us against the hard things that come against us.Because of prayer, God is able to do the impossible to save us out of difficult situations. Other times, prayer changes us somehow so that even if the circumstances in our lives don't change, we do. We can bear them and we can trust God to work the situations out for our good.

The other weapon is prayer's twin: praise. Praise is an extremely personal weapon in that it always affects us at the heart level. When we praise, our attitudes change - despair becomes hope; fear turns into trust.

This morning I read the testimony of a trafficking victim who was herded into shipping containers with several other women. She lived this way for three years but she still was able to retain her faith. How? She learned to sing praise songs to God in her darkest hours. And she taught the other women to sing with her.

Another prisoner was kept chained in a tiny, dark cell. He said the only part of his body not in chains was his mouth. Yet, he kept his faith strong by singing songs of praise to God. Somehow, another inmate heard him through a small hole in the stone wall and learned to sing the songs of praise. By the time he was released, 8 inmates had learned to sing praises to the Lord.

What ever kind of "prison" we live in today, we have the weapon of praise to heal, sustain and encourage us. The good news is that as we vocalize our praises, others are healed, sustained and encouraged too.

Thank you Lord for the twin weapons of prayer and praise. Teach us to wield them well! Amen.

Homegoing

“Let the teaching of Christ and His words keep on living in you. These make your lives rich and full of wisdom. Keep on teaching and helping each other. Sing the Songs of David and the church songs and the songs of heaven with hearts full of thanks to God.” Colossians 3:16 NLV

A tribute to my father-in-law, Floyd Winters who passed away on Wednesday, November 21, 2012.



We'll miss you Dad - see you soon in heaven.

Peace - Monday Moments with God

My Dear Child,

Some days, worries fill your mind. You worry about finances, family matters, relationships and all sorts of things. These worries steal away your peace, causing you to be afraid. They damage your ability to trust in me.

Don’t let your heart be troubled or afraid. I’m always with you and I want you to have a peaceful heart. I’m stronger than any enemy that might attack you. I’m bigger than your biggest difficulty. I know what lies ahead and will carry you in my hand through the storms.

The only thing preventing my peace from flooding your heart is your refusal to let me.

Love,

Jesus

Philippians 4:7 CEV Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NLT) Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

John 14:27 (NLT) I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Comfort food

Back in October, the pumpkins were everywhere: the big ones for carving and cooking, the little sweet pie pumpkins, and even my favorites - the long-necked squash pumpkins. I was ecstatic when I found some of my favorite kind right across the street at the stand of a roadside vendor. I bought one at the time, but they were a little pricy for the quantity I wanted.

When I got home, I asked the Lord to provide a couple more pumpkins of any kind for canning since my food budget was a little limited. Nothing happened at that point. Pumpkin season passed and I pretty much forgot I'd even asked my Father for them. But God never forgot.

This past week, my father-in-law passed away. The family had already made plans to come home for the day - partly because we wanted to get together like we did each year and partly hoping they could see dad alive one more time to say their last good-byes. But that's not the way it worked out.

After we got the news of his passing on Wednesday morning, I had an especially difficult time getting things ready for our big family dinner. Thankfully, my children were bringing much of the food because I couldn't focus on cooking. I think God knew I needed a special reminder of his love and care to help me through the holiday family time.

Thursday morning, my daughter and her brood arrived. As they got out of their van, six-year-old Sam struggled over to the porch carrying a large, orange pumpkin. Ten-year-old Jack brought another. Sam proudly proclaimed that his mommy couldn't possibly cook all her pumpkins - she had one for each of her 7 children - so she sent me the two biggest ones to can.

I remembered asking my heavenly Father for some nice big pumpkins to can and suddenly felt hugged by God. At a time when I needed to know his presence and comfort the most, he sent me a tangible reminder that he cares about me and the details of my life.

Thank you Father! Amen.

“Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the LORD is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.” Psalm 100:4-5 CEB

Second chance tomato soup

The recipe for tomato soup was typed on a piece of onion-skin typing paper, in the days before we used personal computers. An older pastor's wife had taken the time to type it out for me when we tried out for the youth pastor position at their church, MANY years ago.

The soup she served us was excellent, but when I tried to make it a few years later, I took a shortcut, pureeing the tomatoes in my blender without slipping the skins first. I loved the flavor of the soup, but I kept getting pieces of tough skin in every jar with each bite of the soup. Ewwwww!

Considering it a failure, I tucked the recipe away in my stash. But I kept it because of the memories of the sweet woman who took time to mentor me - both in canning and as a pastor's wife.

I dug that old recipe out last week and tried it again with the frozen tomato juice from this year's garden. This time, I followed the directions - no skin on the tomatoes. Wow! It tastes phenomenal - better than tin-canned tomato soup. I will definitely not forget about this old recipe again.

It reminded me of an important life lesson: Listen to those who take the time to mentor you!



Thank you Lord for being patient with me, even when I try to do things my own way. Help me to eventually get it right and do it your way!

“Come, let’s sing out loud to the LORD! Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation! Let’s come before him with thanks! Let’s shout songs of joy to him!” Psalm 95:1-2 CEB

Home-canned Tomato Soup

by Sister Barriss from Jeanette, PA
Cook and puree:

• 1 Peck of tomatoes (about 15 pounds)
• Or use 6 quarts of home-canned tomatoes
• Or 6 quarts of home-canned tomato juice (use half the recommended salt and sugar if you used them to can the tomato juice)

Cook well and blend, then add pureed veggies to the tomatoes:

• 2 large ribs of celery
• 2 green peppers
• 6-8 onions (small to med)
• 1 Tbsp parsley flakes

Add to mixture and heat until all are well blended:

• 1/2 pound of butter or margarine
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of salt

Make a paste with 1 cup of flour and some of the tomato juice. Blend well then stir slowly into the tomato soup. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
Ladel the soup into your jars and process for 20 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure for a pressure canner

Find your strength in the Lord - Monday Moments with God

My Dearest Child,

Are you sad today?

Think about me and our relationship. Think about who I AM and my great power. Think about how much I love you - enough to leave all heaven's splendor to become like a human infant, helpless and dependent on my earthly parents for food and protection.

I know what it's like to feel limited and alone. As I hung on the cross, it felt like my heavenly Father looked the other way and for one awful, eternal moment, I hung there alone, forsaken. That's why I will never leave you or forsake you.

My Child, come to me. Look at me. Cry out to me. Tell me about your dreams, your hopes for the future. Confide your deepest hurts to me. I will listen to you and together we will work toward your future and your hope.

When you do this, I will help you grow strong and tall, like a mighty oak tree that's planted next to a cool refreshing stream of water. You won't lose your hope like the autumn leaves falling from the trees, but your hope will be firmly rooted in me and nothing will shake you.

Love,
Jesus

*Philippians 2:6-9, Jeremiah 11:29, Psalm 1, Psalm 22