Constant prayer, day 10 Topic: Prayer Today's emphasis for the Ten Days of Constant Prayer is God's blessing.
For the promised blessing of Christ among all people.
For His Church: *For Christians to live with expectancy for the ancient promise of blessing to be fulfilled, seeing transformation of their communities and countries. *For churches to work together in unity, co-working with God to change lives, cities and nations.
For our world: *For the righteousness and justice of God to transform the ways of commerce and politics, cleansing whole societies from the curse of corruption. *For the peace of Christ's kingdon to change the way cities and nations are governed. *For the joy of Christ's life to flourish throughout every people group on earth!
***I am particularly interested in this way of praying for God's blessing, as I went to a mini conference on it back in April. In 2 weeks, Charles and I are going to a prayer conference where this same speaker will be teaching again. I will report on it after we go.
Today is the last day of the Ten Days of Constant Prayer. Our church is doing a 24 hour prayer 'marathon' with people praying around the clock from sundown on Friday evening til sundown on Saturday evening. Tomorrow is Pentecost, originally a Jewish holy day designed to give to God the first 'fruits' of the first harvest of produce. Today, as Chrisitans, we can see how God also produced on that first Pentecost after Jesus died and rose again, the first harvest of Christians worldwide. He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all who give their lives to Him. The Holy Spirit prompted the disciples to preach the good news of Jesus to those who were gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost, bringing their first fruits. Each of these people groups heard the message in their own language and God reaped a powerful harvest of believers from all over the known world, who then went back to further spread the gospel.
Tomorrow, you can check out all that is happening with the Global Day of Prayer U.S. and all of the world.
Our church is studying/using the guide for the Ten Days of Constant Prayer in preparation for Pentecost Sunday, which is in 2 days!
Today's prayer emphasis:
For Christ to bring substantial healing.
In His Church: *That God would move amoung the sick around the world to bring physical healing. Acts 5:14-16 *That Christians would act withpersistet compassion to work for the eradication of diseases. *For Christians to be engaged in providing basic health care where needs are great.
In the world: *For the END of HIV/AIDS in OUR generation. (wouldn't that be awesome? Our God IS an awesome God...please pray about this horrific epidemic) At this time 250,000 young people are infected every month. *For basic health care for the most needy of our world. Over 30,000 children worldwide die daily from preventable diseases!
I am praying specifically today for some people I know in our church and community with serious illnesses...and for my father, who is suffering greatly with dementia. I think the ultimate healing for him would be to go to be with the Lord....and I would never say that lightly.
Constant Prayer, Day 8 Topic: Prayer Today in the prayer guide for the 10 Days of Constant Prayer before Pentecost Sunday, we are encouraged to pray for the glory of Jesus.
For Christ's glory to be revealed in the courage of His people.
For His Church: *For those who come up against oppostion because of the name of Jesus....that they would display the gentle, bold character of Jesus. (Acts 4:13) *For Christians who suffer for Christ's name to be strong in joy and faith. *That God will be glorified by His great deeds in those places where He has been opposed. (Acts 4:21)
For Our World: *For our leaders and governments to be blessed. *That some government leaders who are opposing Christ would be blessed with wisdom and be found "not fighting against God." (Acts 5:39)
Stow it Topic: People/Family stories I am so unorganized, and such a procrastinator, it is really a problem for me. When I can't get motivated to get something done, but it is important enough for me to keep, I stow it.
I started stowing my childrens' keepsakes long ago, when my oldest (who is 18) was in kindergarten. She brought home the cutest, dearest things.....handprints, essays with pictures, polaroid photos on special days, awards, and crafts. My refrigerator door was overloaded with cute stuff. I had a pile of things on my dresser that stayed there for a year or more, not knowing what to do with it. One day, I decided I would just take a paper grocery sack and load all of the cute stuff I couldn't throw away into it and keep it on my closet shelf. Then each time she or one of the other girls (who eventually had their own sacks) would bring home something dear or cute or historical in some way to their small lives, I would slip it into the sack. These sacks are folded, as to not take up so much space. Keeping them folded also protects these cute artifacts from dust...mostly. So at the end of my closet shelf, through 2 moves so far, there sits the sacks.
We take them down once in a while to wander through them. I did this the other day. I actually found the sacks in a box that had not yet been unpacked from our recent move and I took them to my closet. But before I put them up there, I had to go through them. I actually was just going to go through Emma's sack, because I have LOST her immunization records and she needs them to go to high school this Fall. (I did not find them and I am hoping this will not be too much of a problem....????) So I went through Emma's sack. Her little blankie (the 'gee gee') was in there and she saw it and carried it around the rest of the day. I found it once again back in the sack at the end of the day....she said it didn't smell the same anymore. lol
I don't know what I will do with the sacks once they are grown and I don't have cute things to put in there anymore. I have never done anything with these things....no scrapbook, no pretty box or preservation of any kind. But the sacks have become a sort of artifact in themselves and we like them now just the way they are.....brittle as they may be.
I do a similar thing with recipes that I collect from magazines and friends. I have an accordian file folder that I neatly labeled one day....one amazingly organizational day....but I don't always have time to file the recipes. So I slip the recipes that are new into a pocket in the back of the accordian file and keep them there, waiting to be filed...which I do about once a year.
Both of these stow away ideas keep me from having piles of things everywhere. And I know right where to find all the recipes I've cut out over the year, instead of losing them.
Constant Prayer, Day 7 Topic: Prayer Today is day seven of the 10 Days of Constant Prayer for our communities. Today the emphasis is praying for the nations to hear the voice of God.
This includes: *The gospel preached in every language. *The Bible translated into more languages. Currently there are 3,000 known people groups without Scripture in their own language. *Churches to be planted around the world, in every culture/language group. *That many (Acts 2:39) would call on the name of the Lord and be saved. (Acts 2:21)
I forgot to copy down yesterday's prayer emphasis, but you can still pray for this very important one:
Day 6 The Coming Generation:
*For marriages and homes to be strengthened in Christ. *For children and youth to become devoted to following Christ early in life and to serve Him with extreme devotion! *That young leaders will be recognized and released to lead the church to grow in multiplying ways. (Acts 6:3-7)
Global prayer Topic: Prayer
I meant to write about this over a week ago. But my mind went into neutral with the busyness that surrounded my week last week and the thought that my dad would be placed in a nursing care facility, I thought by today. As of this morning, that is not a possibility...problems with the insurance approval and beds available. I have to snap out of this fog, I've decided. So I 'm just going to start putting some things out on here that I've been pushing aside, as to not to have to think.
We are in the middle of the 10 days of constant prayer. Read about it to find out more. Very simply, this is patterned after what happened at that first Christian Pentecost in the book of Acts. Jesus ascended into Heaven, leaving them with a promise of the Holy Spirit. For 10 days they were together, praying continually, until the day of Pentecost when they received the Holy Spirit. Then for 90 days they reached out to their community and thousands understood their message, were saved and the church grew and spread. So for 10 days, currently we are on day 6, we are encouraged to pray in groups, alone, fast and they have a prayer guide on their sight to guide you. Then this Sunday is the Global DAY of prayer, all believers who are participating, praying in one accord for God to work in their communities. Then for 90 days, churches are to reach out to the community, to be a blessing to them and watch God work.
I think it is a wonderfully organized effort. I have not heard much of it except through our church. I hope they continue to grow and do this each year so that more churches can participate and a more concerted effort will be in place. I can't wait to see what God will do through these that are praying. I have slacked this week through my own numbness due to my little life struggles. But I am committing right now to start in....day 6 though it may be....and join the effort. I will hopefully be able to post some more resources for this prayer effort later today. Right now I am being urgently summoned to get my 16 year old daughter to work!
Day by Day Topic: God things Day by Day Words: Kar-o-lina W. San-dell-Berg, 1865 trans-lat-ed from Swed-ish to Eng-lish by An-drew L. Skoog (1856-1934). Music: “Blott en Dag,” Os-kar Ahn-felt, 1872 Listen here
Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find, to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure Gives unto each day what He deems best— Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest.
Every day, the Lord Himself is near me With a special mercy for each hour; All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me, He Whose Name is Counselor and Power; The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself He laid; “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,” This the pledge to me He made.
Help me then in every tribulation So to trust Thy promises, O Lord, That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation Offered me within Thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, Ever to take, as from a father’s hand, One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, Till I reach the promised land.
Cook/freeze once, then stir in all month INTRO: OK, I'm giving in and joining the Works for me Wednesday craze over at Rocks in My Dryer. At first, I wasn't sure I could offer a helpful hint EVERY week because I don't think I am all that inspiring around the house. However, my first tip will be to make a list on your Stickie Notes with all the hints you can think of, one to be used each week. Now I have a list of a dozen or so ideas to work with each Wednesday.
REAL POST: I love to shop at warehouse stores. I have a Sam's Club card and just this past week, my mom registered us for a Costco card as well! Choices, choices..... And I love to have a well-stocked freezer and pantry. In years past, I would bring home a bulk purchase of ground beef and divide it up, wrap it in foil and label it GB. But for the past few years, I've been doing something ingenious, which I cannot take the credit for. I wish I could remember where I read it, but it's so simple and a real time saver.
When I get my beef home, I usually set aside 2 pounds for a meatloaf, which gets assembled quickly and put into the freezer all ready to pop in the oven. Then I use a huge skillet and cook the rest of the beef (usually 4-6 pounds left after making a meatloaf). I cook it well, then drain off the grease. THEN, to make it even more degreased, rinse the cooked beef in a colander under hot water to remove even more fat. Cool your meat and slip it into large ziplok bags. Lay the bags as flat as you can in the freezer so the meat is in as thin a layer as possible, not in a big lump. Now you can break off as much meat as you need all month to make short work of preparing taco meat, chili, spaghetti sauce, soup or stuffed peppers.
Saves work in the kitchen on days when you don't have a lot of time to spend cooking....and that's often around here!
PS: Here is a bonus picture I found while searching for a graphic for this post. I would make the smashed taters into sheep though and not ghosts. Although they are hilarious! It is too cute not to share!
Italian Meat Pie Topic: Crickl's Recipes The Old Fashioned Pie Auction was a success today. People in the church made pies to auction off to rasie funds for our youth mission trip this summer. They had around 70 pies and made about $5700!! Awesome, huh? A group of our high school youth will be going to Gulf Port, Mississippi to help repair rooves on houses damaged by hurricane Katrina.
I made a really cool Italian Meat Pie I found on allrecipes.com. Here is their recipe. I did not use all the different kinds of meats, but only used Italian sausage. This is a really good recipe and it was pretty easy. I made it in a 10 inch spring form pan. Don't worry if a little egg mixture leaks out while putting the top crust on. It all cooks and looks great too.
The texture and taste are kind of like a quiche with a top crust. Very savory and yummy!
This Is My Father's World Topic: God things
We sang this in church today. It is one of my favorite hymns. I just love nature and being outside. It always draws me to thoughts of God. Psalm 19 talks about this too.....
This Is My Father's World Text: Maltbie D. Babcock Music: Trad. English melody; adapt. by Franklin L. Sheppard
This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their maker's praise. This is my Father's world: he shines in all that's fair; in the rustling grass I hear him pass; he speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father's world. O let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father's world: why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad!
I'm cookin' Topic: Crickl's Recipes I was really in the mood to cook today. It helps get me in the mood when I know company is coming to dinner, and we had some friends from Williams coming.
I put some country beef ribs in the crockpot all day (which is too long because they fell completely apart!), Charles cooked chicken on the grill, I doctored up some canned baked beans, green beans, baked mac and cheese, and buttermilk cornbread.
Tomorrow I have to bake 2 pies for a pie auction fund raiser for youth camp. I'll let you know how that goes.
1 1/2 cups cornmeal 1 cup dry biscuit mix (I never have this around, but just a cup of flour works) 1/3 cup sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 cup buttermilk 2 eggs
Heat oven to 425. Grease a cast iron skillet (or 9 inch round or square pan). If using skillet, heat this in the oven after greasing for 5 minutes before adding batter.
Stir all ingredients until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake skillet 15-18 minutes, other pans bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with honey-butter mixture or jam.
Best Homemade Brownies Topic: Crickl's Recipes I had a nice relaxing day today. We are finishing up the few subjects of school that are left at the end of a homeschool year. We spent a couple of hours of this 105 degree day in the pool....niiiiiiiice.
I also watched cooking shows while browsing blogs on the internet, particularly this one called Two Many Cooks. It has lots of down home type recipes, so I copied down a lot of them to Stickie Notes. Then I realized I hadn't posted a recipe in a loooooooong time.
So this is your lucky day! Here is a recipe for thick, chewy, chunky brownies....from my sister Julie. I like this recipe because even if you don't have baking chocolate around, you can whip up some excellent brownies with chocolate chips...don't you always have a bag of chocolate chips in the cupboard? =) I buy the huge bags of semi-sweet chips from Sam's Club.
Double Fudge Brownies
In a pan, melt together: One stick of butter 1 cup chocolate chips
Add to pan: 1 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla
Mix together, then add to pan: 1 1/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt
Stir in: 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup nuts (optional....opt out, I say)
Bake at 350?. 45 minutes for thick brownies in a 9x9 inch pan. or 30 minutes for thin brownies in a 13x9 inch pan.
What I do is use 1 1/2 a recipe and have semi thick brownies in a 13x9 inch pan......=) Here are the measurements if you need LOTS of semi thick brownies.
Double Fudge Brownies (1 1/2 batch)
In a pan, melt together: 3/4 cup butter 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Add to pan: 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix together, then add to pan: 1 3/4 cup flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt
Stir in: 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1 1/2 cup nuts (again, optional...but don't)
Today in the prayer guide for the 10 Days of Constant Prayer before Pentecost Sunday, we are encouraged to pray for the glory of Jesus.
Today is day seven of the 
INTRO: OK, I'm giving in and joining the 
PS: Here is a bonus picture I found while searching for a graphic for this post. I would make the smashed taters into sheep though and not ghosts. Although they are hilarious! It is too cute not to share!
The Old Fashioned Pie Auction was a success today. People in the church made pies to auction off to rasie funds for our youth mission trip this summer. They had around 70 pies and made about $5700!! Awesome, huh? A group of our high school youth will be going to Gulf Port, Mississippi to help repair rooves on houses damaged by hurricane Katrina. 
I was really in the mood to cook today. It helps get me in the mood when I know company is coming to dinner, and we had some friends from Williams coming. 
I had a nice relaxing day today. We are finishing up the few subjects of school that are left at the end of a homeschool year. We spent a couple of hours of this 105 degree day in the pool....niiiiiiiice. 
