My daughter Cammie visited us this weekend so we made a tried and true family favorite - Pizza! I like it because it's easy and the bread maker does the hard work while I get to enjoy my company. When the dough is ready. we get to spend some time cooking together which we've always enjoyed. And of course we all like to eat it. At about half the cost of ordering pizza from our local pizza shops, it is a frugal - and healthier alternative.

Pizza dough recipe: (makes 2 medium sized pizzas)
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/3 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour ( or half whole wheat and half bread flour)
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Set your machine on dough cycle if possible.

When it's done roll the dough out on your pans and top with whatever you choose. We used sauce, cheese, garlic, peppers, onions, slices of the first ripe tomato from my garden, sautéed zucchini and yellow squash also from the garden for a yummy veggie pizza. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until it is lightly browned on bottom and crust edges.

Enjoy your family and of course, the pizza!

Hidden potential...

Are you a visual person? Do you tend to judge things by how they look?

Sometimes I do that, but being a frugal crafter, I often find myself giving things a second look to search for an item’s hidden potential. For example, old books that are coming unglued or dog-eared old maps, make a wonderful supply of “design paper” for card backgrounds or embellishments. Or an empty cereal box can be turned into chipboard embellishments like fancy monograms or buttons with a little cutting, design paper and glue, mimicking their more expensive chipboard die-cut counterparts sold at the craft store.

Maybe that’s why I also enjoy certain home improvement programs like HGTV’s Property Brothers. Two brothers, one a real estate agent and the other a contractor, help people to purchase their dream homes. They start by showing their clients a move-in ready home with everything on their must-have list. This serves as a reality check for the clients because the home is usually way out of their price range.

Then they show their clients several “fixer-uppers” along with renovation plans which fit into the client’s budget. These properties which might be glossed over as unacceptable at first glance have the potential to become the show-places their future owners want. The client decided on a property and the renovations start. Ultimately, the homes end up looking as good or even better than the move-in ready house.

But, what about people? Do you judge them by how they look as well, or do you look for their hidden potential?

The prophet Samuel was told to go to the house of Jesse and anoint the future king of Israel to replace Saul. When he got there, he met and sized up each one of Jesse’s sons – all were good looking and had the appearance of great potential. But God cautioned Samuel not to pick any of them.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at the way he looks on the outside or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. For the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLV

God had his eye on David, Jesse’s youngest son who was still a gangly, awkward teenager. He wasn’t much to look at yet, compared to his brothers who were already grown up, buff-looking warriors. But David’s heart stood head and shoulders above the hearts of his brothers because of the young man’s devotion to God. His hidden potential was what made him important in God’s plan.

We need to be careful how we judge others because we can’t usually see at first glance what’s inside. Yet God knows what they have the potential to become with a little work. and he has both the time and the patience to do it! After all, take a look inside your own heart and check out what he’s doing there!

Thank you Lord for looking at our hearts and giving us a chance to become all you know we can become. Amen.

Shields Locked!

“You are my hiding place and my battle-covering. I put my hope in Your Word.” Psalm 119:114 NLV

I have a group of very dear friends whom I've never met face to face. We are actually all part of a Internet writing group, sharing our love of the writing craft, critiquing each other's work,

But over the past 5+ years that we have known each other, we have become a very close-knit bunch, sharing the ups and downs of life and especially praying for one another..

I'm not sure where it started, but during a particularly difficult time for one of the gals, another one closed her e-mail with the illustration of a line of ancient soldiers in battle, with their shields locked together. As long as the army advanced together, the arrows of the enemy couldn't get through their wall of shields and they would all protect each other.  She ended her e-mail of encouragement with the words, "shields locked."

Whenever one of us is going through a hard time, we can count on the others to pray.We lock our shields together and advance into the enemy's territory, protecting our vulnerable needy, sister behind the wall of shields as we advance her prayer request to God's throne.

It's more important than ever that we band together in prayer. If we try to go it alone during these difficult times, we may become fatigued, depressed and overcome by the trials of life. But if we align ourselves with others who can surround us in prayer when we are most vulnerable, we will be better able to get through the trials

If you're not part of a group that prays, begin to ask God to help you find a prayer partner or prayer support group. Join or start  a small group Bible Study where relationships can be built - including prayer relationships.

Remember that  friendships take time and care to cultivate, but as they grow and are nurtured, will offer solid, strong support. My online writers' group grew into the supportive group it is today through several online Bible studies where we chatted in real time. It didn't just happen over night.

Check to see if there is some kind of local organization in your community that is centered with prayer. We have a Christian Women's organization in my community that features monthly "prayer coffees." I've been attending them for two years now and have been watching the group gel together and become a strong support system  through prayer.

If needed, take advantage of  ministries that offer phone-in prayer lines. While they won't give you the support you need for long-term trials, they will help in the short-term. Speak to a pastor for help in finding prayer support.

We were never meant to fight life's battles alone! Prayer is the best weapon to fight against life's difficulties and is most effective when done with others. Shields Locked!

Thank you Lord, for friends who are willing to go with me into the battle through prayer and lock their shields around me when I need it! Amen.

Adopted

None of us can choose who our parents will be. But  what a blessing it is that parents can choose their children! Whether the child is planned for and loved from the time they're conceived or actually chosen by the parents through adoption, a child can enter into life knowing they are loved and wanted.

A couple who are friends of my family travelled to China several years ago to adopt a little girl with special needs to round out their family of two boys. Over the years, this young girl has blessed the family and all who know her because of her happy nature and ability to find a way to accomplish whatever she sets out to do in spite of her handicaps.

Her adoption prompted the couple to develop a ministry to encourage  others seeking to adopt, both internationally and here in the US. Because of their abundance of love, the couple recently returned to China to adopt two more  special needs children who have also blessed those of us who know them.

In a spiritual sense, when we choose to follow Christ, we are adopted by God into his family.

"An adopted child is no less a son or daughter than my natural born children. And to apply that in a spiritual sense, I  have learned that to be a son of God makes me no less his son than his true son [Jesus]. Adoption has changed my life. But it's also changed my relationship with my Father in heaven." ~Billl Schick.



“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” John 1:12-13 NLT

I am the Sparrow in his hand

Sometimes I just need a little extra reassurance to strengthen my trust in God. Call it a return to "Lessons in Trust 101." Maybe that's why the fate of this little bird seemed so important to me.

After being shaken out of its nest during last week's gusty thunder storms, I found this little guy perched on a fallen limb right outside my front door late Friday afternoon. He looked so sad,, cold and alone that I couldn't help but worry about him. Being so close to the ground and away from the safety of the nest, I feared my dog, a cat or some other rural predator might be able to get him. I didn't think he would survive the night.

Suddenly it became urgent to me that he survive - maybe because his forlorn appearance triggered a kinship with the way I felt inside. I don't know, exactly, but I felt helpless and unsure what to do for him. If I moved the branch, he might fall off onto the ground and lose the meager safety and camouflage of the branch. I didn't want to pick him up. because I was afraid his mother bird would abandon him and I didn't know where his nest was to put him back. Yet I knew he wouldn't survive without help.

As I pondered his situation, I remembered this verse:

Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. Even the hairs on your head are counted. Matthew 10:29-30 (CEV)

Though it might seem a little silly to some, I began to pray for this little guy. I already knew God cared for him, but at the core of my being, I needed to see my big, strong God prove his care for such a small, defenseless bird - especially right at that moment because of things going on in my life and in the lives of those closest to me. I sensed God saying, "Watch and see what I will do" as this precious object lesson about his protection unfolded right before my eyes.

Friday night turned into Saturday morning and when I looked out the window to check on him, the little bird was still there. I also saw a second bird perched on the branch with him. Through the day when I glanced out at the branch, he was still there, sometimes alone, but often with his guardian-angel bird, even after the Saturday afternoon downpours.

When night fell again, I prayed the same prayer for him, encouraged that God had protected him for one night, and believing he could protect him again. He did. I looked out early Sunday morning and the little bird still huddled on his perch, his guardian-angel bird close by.

But 2 hours later when I went out the front door to walk to the church, he was gone. I walked closer to the branch, looking for feathers or signs of an attack (oh faithless me!) but saw nothing to show that something "got" him. Apparently he had finally flown away on his own to a safer perch.

I may never know whether he had been dazed by the fall and finally recovered or if he had finally developed enough strength to fly away on his own, but the lesson af the sparrow will stay with me for a long time. God cares for the sparrow and he will take care of me too because I matter to him.

Thank you Father for sharing such an important lesson in trust at a time when I needed it the most. Amen.

Pressure cookers and pea soup

My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger.” James 1:19 ERV

"Cloudy, rainy days are perfect for soup." Grandma gathered the ingredients for her prize-winning pea soup recipe. She decided to use her new pressure cooker that night to help the soup cook faster. She smiled to herself. "Oh yes, the family will eat well tonight!"

She checked the rubber sealing ring on the cooker before tightening the lid, then turned up the heat to build up pressure and tenderize the hard, dry peas. Then she left the kitchen to finish some mending.

Within a few minutes, she heard a loud crash in the kitchen. What a mess! The pressure cooker popped its top and pea soup dotted the walls, ceiling and floor. Right away, she knew what happened. Something blocked the steam vent, causing pressure to build up inside the pot with no escape.

Well, supper was a little late that day as Grandma cleaned up the mess and started again, this time using a regular soup pot. We might not have noticed, except that Grandma kept looking at the green polka dots on the ceiling and her new pressure cooker now resided in the attic.

Likewise, when we fail to vent our anger properly, it causes pressure to build up inside us. We may eventually blow up, spewing anger over everyone around us. Or, the pressure will build up to an unhealthy level, causing physical or emotional internal damage.

Today's verse offers sage advice on anger management.

Listen first - this gives you a little space/time to diffuse the emotions of your anger

- Listen to your emotional response to the anger. What triggered your anger? Is it in proportion to the offending event, person or problem or is it magnified out of proportion from past events that weren't dealt with properly?
- Listen to what the other person has to say. We may have made untrue assumptions about something they said or did that caused anger to build up.

Speak second - Take time to choose your words carefully if/when a response is needed

- Speak the truth in love
- Speak in "I" terms about how you feel and not "you" terms which can ignite further anger, hurt or retaliation in others.
- Talk about the problem with a counsellor or pastor first to gain an outside perspective if you are having difficulty.

Keep control of your anger - don't let it control you.

- channel it into a healthy activity
- use it as a healthy motivator - for example, an emotionally wounded person becoming a helper for other victims
- practice forgiveness. It doesn't let the offending person off the hook for their actions - but it does relieve you of the need for getting even.

Lord help me to properly vent my anger so that I don't hurt myself or those around me. Amen.

God is...

It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6MSG

"How do you convince an atheist that Jesus exists?" Two teens in my Sunday youth Bible class recently asked this question because they had a family friend who refused to believe there was a God.

Their question led to a discussion of the ways we know Christ is real:

• Personal experience - I know Christ exists because I had a real, up-close and personal experience with Him when I was a child, following an abusive experience.I knew Him as a big brother while growing up and I've known Him as a Father since I became an adult. I can't imagine living without Christ in my life because of all the times I 've sensed, known, felt His love and presence with me.
• The experiences of others - When I hear the testimonies of others, my faith is strengthened. In some cases, their stories help me to know I'm not alone - not the only one wh has ever felt a certain way. Other times, I am awed by the things God has done for them.There are simply to many valid experiences by others to say that God isn't real.
• Nature- the development of a baby in the womb and feeling it move for the first time. The Grand Canyon, The intricacies of a snowflake and the fact that there are no two alike. All I have to do is look around and I can see Him everywhere.
• Miracles - How a person with cancer becomes cancer-free and the doctors can't explain it. How a migratory bird finds its way thousands of miles to a seasonal nesting area for the first time, even though it's never been there. How situations line up just right for the perfect outcome, even though it looked impossible in the beginning. Even "coincidences" or God's little miracles incognito are evidences of his reality around us. I've seen too many "God-incidences" not to believe.
• Because the Bible says it's true.The Bible is a life-changing book. When a person sets out to disprove God by discrediting the Bible and ends up believing instead - wow! Now that's a powerful testimony of the truth of God's word and his existence.

While they cannot change their friend's mind, they can pray for him and live their lives so that he will see the reality of Christ in them - then trust God to do the rest.

Lord, help us to live every day so others will see your reality in us and believe! Amen.