Blogging

I am learning more about how this works every day. I have now added labels to my past posts. I have added links to some of my friends' blogs. Unfortunately, I am a bad friend. Some of my friends' blog pages have been lost. So to my friends who are not on my link, please forgive me and let me know your blog address again, so I can get caught up. And if you would prefer me to not link to your blog, you can let me know that as well.

Coveting

Wow! I had no idea what I would discover when I embarked on a study of coveting. In fact, I think I am more confused about the idea than when I first started. Therefore, I am not even going to begin to unravel the confusion. But what I will share is why we don't need to worry. I have read these before, but it is always good to read them again.

First, from Matthew 6, verses 25-33 is Jesus speaking. He says, "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food or drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things, saying 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everthing you need."

This passage is repeated almost word for word in Luke. It must be pretty important for us to remember if God included it twice. But then Jesus expands on this idea a little more. Luke 12:16-21 Then He told them a story: "A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, 'What should I do? I don't have room for all my crops.' Then he said, 'I know! I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I'll sit back and say to myself, "My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!" "But God said to him 'You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?' "Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

That is all I can share today. I am going to continue to investigate this topic, and pray that God will unravel it for me and teach me what it is I need to learn.

All Things Are Possible

I often see, and use, little snippets of Bible verses as inspiration or what not. However, this doesn't always reveal the true meaning of the verse. God's Word is so much more complicated, meaningful, and valuable than little snippets of verses. For example, let's look at Matthew 19. Verse 26b says, "but with God all things are possible." By itself, this is an incredibly powerful and utterly true statement. I recently watched a video from evangelist Louis Giglio about some of the stars that were breathed out by God at creation. That alone is enough to convince me that ALL things ARE possible. We could leave it there and be incredibly strengthened and inspired by that. But then, we would miss out on the 'so much more' that God has for us. What could be more than all things? Well, that's God for you. Let's take a look at the context of that verse. Verses 23-24 say, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'" Jesus had just been asked by a wealthy man how he could get eternal life. He had kept all the commandments. Jesus told him to sell everything and follow Him. It was like he asked the man to cut off his arm. Clearly, happiness and eternal life cannot be found through material things. In verse 21 Jesus told the man, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." What!?! If you want to be perfect! Romans 3:10-12 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." So not only can wealthy people not have eternal life, but no one can. But wait, back to Matthew 19:26. "Jesus looked at them (His disciples who had just asked Him who could be saved) and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" So "all things" does not necessarily mean I'll get everything I want in this world. But God's plans are so much bigger and better than what I can dream for myself.

I Want to be President

No, I really don't. That would be a job of stress, beyond all stress. If you want a good picture of what that job would be like, go back to the Old Testament. Read the story of David. His struggles were so far beyond anything I would ever want to imagine. But I can bet, many of them are similar to what the president goes through on a daily basis. In 1 Samuel 30, the Israelites are in the middle of a war. David and his men have just returned to a village that had been pillaged by the Amalekites. The men's wives and children (including David's two wives) had been taken captive. So verse 6 says, "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God." So I take myself back to that time and put on David's shoes. I have never been to war, so it is very hard to picture. Of course I have seen movies of war, but it's not the same as being in it. I have also never had to live the basic lifestyle they had. If they had a bad day, they couldn't just run and grab dinner at Chick Fil A. They couldn't just throw a frozen pizza in the oven. They had to work hard for every piece of food they ate. Then, to be in a war on top of that. I wonder how much they actually ate when they were out. Add to that, coming home to find all their families had been kidnapped. They are tired, hungry and distressed. I wouldn't want to lead that group. But David did, under threat of stoning. Even with everything that had gone wrong, David found strength in the Lord. Now I think about my "problems". When you put them in perspective, I really don't have any serious problems. My housing situation isn't exactly what I'd like, but I have a place to live. Gas prices are outrageous, but I have a car and gas to get me places. I don't have a lot of extra money to do all the things I would like, but I have food to eat. I have two precious children that I am fortunate enough to be home with and have the opportunity to raise them up in the ways of the Lord. If David, in his circumstances could find strength in the Lord, how much more can I find strength.

Shrimp Ceviche

Yesterday, we went to a 4th of July party. Chris made a Shrimp Ceviche that was very popular. Here is the recipe.

Shrimp Ceviche
1 batch of Tomato/Citrus Marinade (see below)
1 batch of Marinated Onions (see below)
4 cups Water
1 1/2 lbs shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 Tbsp cilantro
pinch salt/pepper
Hot Sauce to taste
2 Scallions (the white part plus one inch of the green)

Prepare Tomato/Citrus Marinade (can be done the day before). About 4 hours before serving prepare Marinated Onions, use half in the recipe and half for garnish. In a large sauce pan, combine water and scallions, bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, simmer 2 minutes. Add shrimp. Remove from heat and let stand a few seconds until shrimp turns pink. Drain and discard scallions. Rinse shrimp under cold water. Cut shrimp in half crosswise. Add shrimp and cilantro to Tomato Marinade. Stir to mix. Cover with plastic and refridgerate 2 to 3 hours. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.

Tomato/Citrus Marinade
1 cup Water
1 lb medium sized tomatoes
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp worcestershire
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp EVOO
1 tsp black pepper
1 - 2 tsp hot sauce

Bring water and whole tomatoes to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove and cool. Remove tomatoes with slotted spoon and let cool. Slip off skin of tomatoes. Put tomatoes in blender and blend until smooth. Strain out seeds. In medium glass bowl, mix tomato puree, citrus juices, ketchup, worcestershire, mustard, oil, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir. Cover and refridgerate up to one day.


Marinated Onions
hot water
1 medium red onion halved and sliced lengthwise into paper thin half moons
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Pour hot water over onions. Let stand 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. In small mixing bowl, combine onion, juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and let stand at room temp until onions turn pink, about 3 hours. It is best to make the day you are going to serve.

Eleven Years

The 4th of July holiday messed me up a little, and I missed Friday Inspiration. But it is fitting that it come on Saturday this week anyway, as I am taking a break from what I said I was going to do. Why, because it is my anniversary today. So the verse for today comes from 1 Corinthians 13. It was read at our wedding, 11 years ago today.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always prseveres. Love never fails.

It has been a crazy, but amazing eleven years. Twelve years ago, I was very single (and possibly contemplating becoming a nun). On this very day, in 1996, I went to the wedding of my very good friend. It is a very crazy story of why I asked Chris to dance, but that's for another day. The point is, we did dance. A very short 36 days later, we were engaged. So, on this day in 1997, we were married. Five months later, we were expecting a son. September 1998, Lucas was born, and then we moved across the country. At that point we really learned the meaning of "Love is patient". We were both working crazy schedules to keep Luke out of daycare. We were sleep deprived, living in a new place, never saw each other, and had the stress of a new baby. What were we thinking? The ooh, aah feelings of new love were not there at that point. But praise God, that love did persevere. That's the thing, no where in that verse does it say that love is a feeling. We could not have gotten through that, or made it eleven years by relying on feelings. However, the other thing is, once we persevered through that our feelings followed the action. Chris is an amazing man. He supports every crazy thing that I do. He loves God, loves me, and loves his children. No, the circumstances of our life are not perfect. We are not living in a dream house, have all sorts of money to go on lovely vacations, the list could go on and on. But would I give him up to have all of that? No way. He is the man not of my dreams, but that I never imagined possible. All that, and he can cook. What more could a girl ask for.

So, today I shout it from the mountain tops "I LOVE MY HUSBAND". I am so looking forward to the next 11 years, and beyond.