Christmas Stocking

What Motivates Me?

Walt Disney- Why worry? If you've done the very best you can-worrying won't make it any better.

For the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. I Corinthians 10:26

All things belong to Him, and we are given all things to enjoy.  But some things in life are not helpful and do not build others up.  As we face daily decisions, we must ask ourselves, what motivates me?  Am I being selfish or am I thinking of others?  ...will it honor God? Am I motivated by my desire to help others know Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:33)

If you know something is a problem, deal with it.  Sometimes that requires me to give up something or to remove myself from the situation altogether. 

In the end, it's not about me anyway. Deny self. Do what is right. Consider others.  In my opinion, that is giving my very best.

INB 23

Triangles 8/30/12

What I Loved About My Day

<p>My biggest treasure in this world...my daughter.&nbsp; So what did I love about my day...<br>
Watching you sleep,<br>
Cooking scrambled eggs with cheese,<br>
Eating popsicles...letting you have my favorite blue ones,<br>
Listening to you ping and practice piano-you are truly blessed with an ear for music,<br>
Picking raspberries and eating them fresh off the vine,<br>
Watching you ride your bicycle, wearing the sparkly green glasses across the yard,

Ducking from the green grapes you were throwing at me-ouch!

Listening to you giggle as you watched the Turtle Man,

a hug, a kiss, knowing his grateful I am to have spent another day with you...

A conversation with a friend reminded me just how important EVERY relationship we have is... what we invest in those relationships is what remains when we are gone. 

Take time to build friendships.  You're not promised anothe chance tomorrow.

Syncing or Sinking?

Last weekend a young man in our church shared God's Word one last time before leaving for 5 months for training in his military job.

The key passage was from 2 Corinthians 4:8-18.  After reading verses 8-20, he turned to Matthew 14-the account of Peter walking on water all to take his eyes off...lose his focus on Jesus, started focusing on the storm and he started sinking...

As I wrote that last word, I thought syncing.  Years ago had you asked me about the word sync, I would likely have thought of the beauty of synchronized swimming. Now with all our tech gadgets, its about plugging in to make sure all our apps and files are updated and current.

So my question is am I syncing or sinking?

Without plugging in daily with my God- to get in sync with Him by time in his Word, filling my heart and mind with His goodness, I will soon take my eyes off Him, begin focusing on the storms in life and soon, I'll. start to sink...

Its a simple analogy but sometimes hard to keep in sync when we choose to fill our days with many tasks unrelated to Him.

Next time you are feeling whirled about in the busyness if life, take a moment to be still, plug-in to His Word, talk with Him in prayer or close your eyes and listen to His goodness in a favorite praise song...

When we are in sync with God, our days will likely be more smooth sailing, when faced with a trial, we can stand confident...and our lives can be as beautiful as that synchronized swimming I mentioned earlier...

BBQ Ribs

Ribs are one of those things I always thought was too difficult to attempt.  Then about 10 years ago, my pastor shared his strategy for perfect, delicious ribs!

Sprinkle both sides of a slab with seasoning salt - like Lawry's. 
Place in oven-safe dish.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake at 300 for 1 hour. 
Remove from oven, unwrap. 
Flip slab, cover tightly and return to oven for 1 hour. 
Remove from oven, brush on KC Style BBQ sauce or your favorite. 
Cover loosely and return to oven for 30 minutes. 
Remove foil and bake uncovered 15 minutes. 
Flip, brush on more BBQ sauce and bake uncovered a final 15 minutes.

You can heat them on the grill as well when you've added the BBQ sauce, but I am not a grill-buff.

These turn out deliciously every time!  Thanks, Bro. Rick!

Apple Eggrolls

Just an experiment, but turned out very yummy!
Peel, core, dice 1 medium apple.
Sprinkle 1 TBsp. lemon juice
2 TBsp white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Stir well.
Place 1 TBsp cream cheese on the center of an open eggroll wrapper.
Add 1 tsp softened butter.
Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar.
Add 1 heaping TBsp apple mix.
Roll according to eggroll directions on wrapper.
To fry: heat oil to 350° and fry until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar. 
To bake: heat oven to 400°.  Brush tops of rolls with butter and bake 10-12 minutes.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Makes about 6 rolls.
Also try with scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of warm caramel.