Memory Monday: Jeremiah 15:16

Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.

I shifted gear for this week.  I had planned on continuing with the Ephesians passage, but this Jeremiah verse hit me.  I'll get back to Ephesians, hopefully, next week.

Last week's verse:
Ephesians 6:14-15
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

This World of Blogging

I've spent a good chunk of my blogging time during the past week just reading other's blogs and discovering just how vast the world of blogging is.  You can search for just about any topic and find someone who is blogging on that topic.  I found many new blogs that were really interesting to me in the areas of food, home organization and management, exercise, and the Christian walk.  But in doing all this blog reading, I didn't get to any real writing on my blogs or any reading of the books on my reading shelf.   I am curious to know just how much time other people spend daily in this world of blogs, keeping up with the blogs they follow.  Also, I would love to know how much time others spend daily writing their own blogs.   This wonderful world of blogging could easily monopolize your time, if you aren't disciplined about it.   Why does so much of life require discipline in order to achieve one's goals and dreams!!??  And why are some people so good at the discipline needed and other people fail miserably at it?!?!  

I don't have a blogroll on my blog yet.  I think I will have to post my blogroll like a David Letterman top 10 list and then change it periodically to reflect the blogs that have been the most encouraging, educational and entertaining to me.  I'm out of blogtime today...I'll add my top 10 blogroll soon.

Memory Monday - Eph 6:14-15

Eph 6:14-15
Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;


Last week's verse:
Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Happy First Day of Spring!

We had beautiful weather yesterday, a sunny balmy 65 degree day! We woke to a blustery, snowy, gray day. So, in honor of the first day of spring, I'm posting a couple pictures that remind me of spring.

Online Bible I'm Trying

Here's a link to an online Bible that I'm trying. I've been following a Bible reading plan this year and this site has my plan on their site. So I'm giving it a whirl.

Memory Monday-Psalm 34:4

Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Last week's verse:
Psalm 34:3
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.

Granola

Ever since going to New Zealand in 2007 and having the great variety of granola to eat at breakfast, I have been on the hunt for good granola here in the States. I have found one that I like in the organic section of our local grocery store, but I thought I would try making me own. Here's the first try..

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/3 cup sliced almonds (1 oz)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup green (hulled) pumpkin seeds, sometimes called pepitas (1 1/2 oz; not roasted) **
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup mild honey
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 cup tart dried cherries ***
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup dried pears (1/4-inch dice)
1/2 cup diced dried apricots (1/4 inch dice)
1/3 cup golden raisins

Accompaniment: Sliced bananas; plain yogurt flavored with vanilla extract.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Stir together all ingredients except the fruit in a large bowl until combined. Spread mixture evenly on a large (17-by 12-inch) shallow baking pan**** and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer granola, in pan, to rack to cool stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Stir in dried fruit.

Granola keeps, frozen (the fruit’s moisture softens granola if not kept frozen) in an airtight container, 1 month.

* I got away with 1/3 cup.
** I accidentally bought the roasted ones – which are by the way, so tasty, can’t stop snacking on them – so I mixed them in just as I took it out of the oven, when the sugars were still melted and they gummed to the granola as if they’d been there the whole time.
*** The store was out of dried cranberries, my favorite, so I substituted cherries. I’m still short a lot of dried fruit, but plan to remedy that soon.
**** Next time I do this, I’m lining it with foil. When the granola came out of the oven, it’s soft and in smaller pieces. When I returned 15 minutes later, it was like one giant, loosely-packed granola bar. This is wonderful as you can break it up into whatever size chunks you like, but bad because it had stuck a bit to the pan, making for an annoying cleanup.

Joy, peace and hope!

One of my friends sent me this email today....what appropriate words for me today as I wrestled with this coming week's Bible study subject.

She writes:
"Here’s my verse for today—I read it this morning during devotions & wanted to share it with you!

Romans 15:13 (NIV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s cool that we can “overflow with hope”! We need to “trust in Him” and we also need the “power of the Holy Spirit”. Are we lacking in that? How do we go about “doing” this so we can “overflow with hope”? :o)"

Thanks, friend!

Prayer

This week our subject was fasting and prayer. Another tough one for me! I love to eat and found it difficult to fast. Matthew 6:17-18 says "But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret." The words that hit home to me were "when you fast". Jesus isn't suggesting it; he assumes I will voluntarily fast out of humble reverence to God, in order to learn self-control and reliance on Him alone, and to remember that my treasure is in heaven. Fasting goes hand in hand with prayer. You can pray without fasting, but I don't think you can fast without praying. I fast out of obedience to God and when I fast, I am spending time with God in prayer. The result of fasting and praying is found in Isaiah 58.

"Then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am 'if you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Campus Crusade has a good explanation on fasting and prayer at Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer :: Campus Crusade for Christ International

http://www.ccci.org/training-and-growth/devotional-life/personal-guide-to-fasting/index.htm

Memory Monday-Psalm 34:3

Psalm 34:3
O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

Last week's verse:
Psalm 34:2
My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice.

I like this song!

Friends

I'm thankful for my close friends.  They make me laugh, they encourage me just by being my friend, they make me want to spend time in the Word, they help me make good decisions, they make me think.  It takes time to develop friendships and even more time to maintain friendships.  Spending time together is the glue that helps maintain a friendship. 

"A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked." ~Author Unknown

Thanks, DD friends, for being my friend!

Prayer

We've been studying prayer in our Tuesday morning Bible study this semester. I've discovered it's easier to learn about prayer than it is to simply do it.  While I pray pretty much all day long in a running conversation with God, to sit down and have an intentional time of prayer with God is so hard for me.  I allow myself to be distracted during my prayer time or I just don't "get to it".  If you love someone, you usually enjoy spending time with them.  Why, then, is it so hard to spend intentional time with God in prayer?  Do I not love Him?  Am I so selfish and small to think I can ignore Him, the One to whom I owe my very life?  Forgive me, Lord, for relying on myself more than You.  Renew in me the desire to know You, study You, sit like Mary at your feet in worship, to keep a time daily with You alone and let nothing distract from it.  You alone are worthy of my time and my attention.  Thank you for loving me!

Memory Monday-Psalm 34:2

Psalm 34:2
My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice.

Last week's verse:
Psalm 34:1
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.