Some Reflections for your day

Are your problems bigger than God, or is God bigger than your problems?

God is infinitely bigger than your biggest problem or biggest dream!

His Grace is definitely bigger than your biggest sin!  
                                               (The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson)

There is nothing that God cannot do! 


Praise Him for this today!

Rend Collective Experiment

My head is still spinning from the excitement of last night. Friends, Worship, Jingling Johnny and Francis Chan! Need I say more? The music keeps playing in my heart and head, the deep exhortation that Francis gave is pushing me forward and the sight of that Jingling Johnny sent me on a quest to discover more about this unique instrument.

The jingling Johnny looks like a banjo, cowbell, drum set all in one! I kinda want one!  Can you imagine the look on everyone's faces if I played it during worship?  

This instrument is also called the Turkish crescent,or jingle, Chinese pavilion, jingling Johnny, Schellenbaum, pavillon chinois), chapeau chinois  - literally "Chinese hat"). Basically it is a percussion instrument that was used traditionally by military bands. (Wikipedia)

The Jingling Johnny kept the beat and was used as a battle cry! The Rend collective's heart for worship was seen on the faces, felt in the exciting music and heard through their voices and in the words of their songs. I think I love this Jingling Johnny because it looks so silly, but is so powerful. It reminds me that I must be willing to do anything for Jesus, even looking foolish in the eyes of others! 

1 Corinthians 3:18a-19 says, "If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness if God's sight.

Build Your Kingdom Lyrics

Come set Your rule and reign

In our hearts again

Increase in us we pray

Unveil why we're made

Come set our hearts ablaze with hope

Like wildfire in our very souls

Holy Spirit come invade us now

We are Your Church

We need Your power In us 

Go and don't be afraid to be a Jingling Johnny today!

Paleo recipes

Paleo has been so good to me! I feel better, am sleeping better and the food is scrumptious! I feel so satisfied after eating these healthy and delicious foods.l

This week's favorites on the menu were Turkey Spaghetti with Zucchini Noodles, Apple Blueberry Crumble and Mashed Potato Cauliflower. 

Turkey Spaghetti 

Turkey Spaghetti

Ingredients
1 can of organic No Salt tomatoes, plus 1/2 a can of water
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 medium to large bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp pepper,and sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
1 cup fresh spinach
1 large zucchini-sliced into thin noodle like strips

Directions

In a medium frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion, carrots and bell pepper to the frying pan and saute until all are tender. Remove from heat. Brown ground turkey in another pan. Add in the veggies, and season with spices and garlic. Pour in tomato sauce, and half a can of water over the ground turkey and veggies. Add in sliced mushrooms and spinach. Bring sauce to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cover.
Simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.

Zucchini noodles

Use a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer and make thin slices of the zucchini. Mix with salt and pepper and microwave for 2 minutes. 

Pour spaghetti sauce over noodles! Satisfying to say the least!

Apple Blueberry Crumble 

Apple Blueberry Crumble 

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup coconut oil

¼ cup agave nectar

1tsp honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 medium apples, peeled, and sliced 

1 cup of blueberries

Directions

Combine apples with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tsp of honey, then mix in the blueberries, set aside. Combine almond flour, salt, 1 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg. In a smaller bowl, combine oil, agave and vanilla. Add into the dry ingredients and stir to make a crumble. Spoon apples and blueberry mixture in a square baking dish. Crumble topping over the apples.

Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake 10-12 more minutes to brown the crumble. 

My mouth waters just talking about this!

Mashed Potato Cauliflower 

This recipe and a great how to can be found at nom nom paleo.  I couldn't believe how easy and tasty these were! My husband didn't even realize that they weren't regular potatoes!

What I learned about God through these recipes:

He satisfies us and meets our needs!

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NLT

Pancakes for Supper

On days like this day, I love my job!  Who wouldn't love dressing up, reading a story, and making pancakes with children?  

The character in this story finds herself all alone in the the wilderness, with wild animals lurking behind every corner. She uses her clothing as gifts for the animals so that they wouldn't attack her. Her clothing became her protection!

This made me think of Isaiah 61:10

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

This is an amazing picture of how God sees us! The redeemed, are clothed in the splendor of God's holiness.We are the bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle, decked out in fine linen.

But what does it mean to be clothed in the garments of salvation?

We must remember that it is not of our own doing. Isaiah says "He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, and He has arrayed me with a robe of righteousness."
Only God can give these clothes to us. Absolutely nothing that we do, in and of ourselves, can ever be enough to earn salvation or make us righteous.

Isaiah 64:6,  Zechariah 3:4

To be clothed with the robe of righteousness means to abide continually in Godly attitudes.

Clothe yourself in the fruit of the spirit and in the full armor of God every day, every moment for your protection and for the glory of God. 

Ephesians 6:10-18, Ephesians 5:22-23

Father, thank you for clothing us in your spectacular robes. Remind us to put them on each day and to live in them. 

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Happy Birthday

 April 22nd, 1986 Lissa Diane Cobb joined our family. From the beginning we knew she was going to bring something different to our family!

At an early age she had a way of negotiating to get what she wanted.

 "How about if you......and then I will. ....."

She could be heard saying this to her sister, cabbage patch dolls, our dog or even to her parents.  The fine art negotiation has and still remains a strong gifting for her. 

You may have noticed that she has 2 S's in her name. There are numerous "S" words that describe Lissa.

                                                                                           

Servant of Jesus

Singer

Sister

Shouter

Sharer

Socializer

Speaker of the truth
Strong-willed
Sweet

Life with Lissa has and is, always an adventure!

She has a discerning spirit that often is right in sync with what God is teaching me.  As a mom, I adore that! Her dad loves that she is a huge Angels baseball fan and that she understands and love ministry and missions.


Lissa we love you and our so thrilled to be your parents!


May you know this day that:
God chose you before the foundation of the world.
He uniquely gifted you.
He wove you together in my womb.
He knows you by name.
His plans for you are more than you could ever imagine!
He will never leave you.
You are love and adored!


Happy Birthday, princess Lissa!

New tires!

In my marriage, my sweet husband takes care of everything regarding our cars. This means, filling up the gas tank, getting oil changes, small maintenance issues and changing the tires.  My domain definitely is the kitchen and my husband loves that I enjoy cooking. A few months ago, we noticed that a light indicating that there was an issue with the car kept coming on.  After investigating what this warning was for, we found out that it was a tire pressure alert light.  The tire was refilled with air and the next day the light remained on and the tire pressure still proceeded to get lower and lower. Again the tire was refilled with air and the very same thing happened. 


My husband took the car in to the local tire and repair shop to resolve the issue. later in the day I received the message that the car need some repairs, new tires and that it would cost several hundred dollars to fix. Don't you just love those bills?

That evening we went and picked up the car, I felt a sense of relief that my husband had taken care of this while I was at work. I wondered though, why the alert light was still on.

The next day my husband asked me if the tires looked new. I honestly only know if a tire looks really old and worn down. Over the next 2 days we began to notice that the tire pressure continued to diminish. " It must be the sensor", we both agreed.

After a return visit we found out our answer.

The owner of the tire shop came out and looked at the car, his words are forever etched in our minds!

"Well, the reason these don't look like new tires, is because, well, they are old tires!  Somehow we didn't put on the new tires! 

There was nothing wrong with the sensor, just a uncompleted task by an employee.

This reminded me of how often we continue in life in the same patterns that we have always done, yet expecting different results! Like the old tires, our old habits and patterns and life must be changed, remade into new patterns if we want to make lasting changes! Here is the good news, we don't have to do this by ourselves!

The bible is full of verses that talk about change.

I Corinthians 15:51 says we will all be changed.
Philippians 3:21 reminds that He will transform us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 We are a new creation.
Matthew 9:17 tells the story of the wine skins.
Romans 6:4 encourages us to live a new life.

"if you always do what you have always done, then you will always get what you have always gotten"


Why not try something new in you relationship with God today?
Pray out loud, kneel in prayer, ask for something really big, begin a new habit of praise. 

He is our foundation!

When we feel like our lives our out of control, it is because we have forgotten our position in Christ!

When we understand who we are in Jesus Christ, We will be able to stand!

What is our position?

 We are his children, 

deeply loved. 

 Loved so much that He

 sent His son, for us! 

We are forgiven, 

freed and 

empowered!

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither 

the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Nothing and no one can tear you away from or put distance between you and God! 

When you know that no one can pluck you out of his hand you are able to stand,and 

able to say," though I die, I’m still gonna serve Him".

No one can take you off of the foundation which is on Christ! No one! 

Father thank you for creating a firm foundation that we can put our trust in. 

This child is so grateful that there is security in your hands. Hold tightly please!

He is able

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his
 glorious presence without fault and with great joy. Jude 1:24

He who is able. God is sufficiently powerful! 

In mountain climbing, the beginning hiker attaches himself to the expert
 so that if he loses his footing he won’t stumble and fall to his death.
 In the same manner, if we  keep connected with God, we cannot fall. 
He keeps us safe.

The word able means- The God who is continually able

He is able to- establish you

Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to the gospel

He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more

Eph 3:20; Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or

 imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

We worship a God who is capable, and present and powerful!

He who is able will Keep you from stumbling

It is ultimately God who keeps us from stumbling and falling.

Keep- means

to guard a person (or thing) that they may remain safe

1) from suffering violence, be despoiled, etc. to protect

2) to protect one from a person or thing

3) to keep from being snatched away, preserve safe and unimpaired

4) to guard from being lost or perishing

5) to guard one's self from a thing

To keep is like a Garrison. As if God and His angels are surrounding you-Once and for all. 

A FORTRESS BY WHICH WE ARE SURROUNDED. He is our rear guard. Isaiah 52:12 

He will keep you from stumbling or falling

He will establish you so that you do not slip! Psalm 66:9

There are times when I know in my mind that God is able to keep me from falling, but when everything is spinning, it feels like chaos.  As if I am falling, tumbling out of control. 

This where faith comes in to play.  Do I trust Him enough?  Do I remember that He is able? He is, after all the same God who parted the red sea, brought Lazarus back to life, sent manna from heaven. He is the same one who healed the blind man, walked on water, created the heavens and the earth. He who is able, is able to keep me from falling.

Our job-trust Him!

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me. Psalm 94:18

Praise God that He is Able to hold onto us~

Little ears are you listening?

It was story time in kindergarten, the children were seated and the teacher had begun reading. Surrounded by squirming 5 year olds I was amused by the actions of a little boy.

His body was an endless motion of wiggling, pulling at his clothes, putting his face in his hands, turning around to look at me and occasionally looking at the teacher as she read a story. Then he began to play with his ears. At first I couldn't figure out what was so interesting abouht his ears that he was so taken by them.



Pop, pop! "Did that really happen", I thought. The little guy had bent his ears and was sitting and waiting as each of his ears popped back into shape. It was quite amusing! He did this while pretending to be listening to the story that was being read. Pretty sure he had no idea what the story was about.


How often am I like this little boy?


My father, God, has many things to share with me, but often I am distracted by all types of things. Oh it migt not be my ears, but it could be anything on this list:


Dinner
Laundry
Work
Shopping
Bills
To do list
Family
Friends
Etc, etc, etc


As I am writing this, a note pops up that tells me to read my bible. God is speaking to us all the time.


Jesus tells us that "His sheep hear His voice".


Today when you hear His voice, listen.

posted from Bloggeroid

I was so confused when leaving the gym. There in front of me was a women who had been working out the same time as I had. What she did next, shocked and befuddled me.

This woman who is concerned about having a healthy body, lit up a cigarette! I couldn't believe it!

Our muscles need energy to work properly. They use the chemical adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for their energy source. Muscles must continuously make ATP when we exercise and oxygen must be supplied to the muscles 

A recent study found that smoking hampers physical fitness and smokers seem to have lower physical endurance than nonsmokers. Cigarettes push blood pressure up, and increase the heart rate. 


This woman was poisoning her body with the cigarettes yet expects the same stressed organs to work hard during exercise. This puts a double strain on your heart, blood vessels, pulse, and blood pressure, as well as diminishes the oxygen levels in the blood.


Why would anyone do this to themselves?

Before I get to judgemental, I must confess, that I do many things that are not good for me. Then I started thinking about all of the things that hamper my relationship with God.

sin, 

selfishness, 

laziness, 

anger, 

fear, 

unforgiveness

I say I want to have a great relationship with God and yet I do things that get in the way of it. 

 I am so thankful that He allows do-overs!

Dizzy

Sometimes after a hard workout of spinning I can feel dizzy! This morning I forgot my water bottle and went the entire spin class without it.  Needless to say, I was dizzy and thirsty! It is difficult to focus when I am trying to just simply catch my breath!  Ever feel this way?

Stress can also have a dizzying effect on me as well. My head begins to spin as I think about everything on my schedule and I simply just want to sit down and have a warm, comforting, cup of tea.

I have discovered a secret that helps me in these times of stress. Stop!

Stop doing and start listening to the what the Spirit is whispering to me. 

Stop striving and start breathing in the life sustaining presence of Jesus.

Stop worrying and start trusting the one who holds the future.

Stop guessing and start following the Bible.

Stop!

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Be like a tree!

Think about how the tree lives its life.

Firmly planted by the water

Sending out its roots deep down

There is no fear when the heat comes

Leaves are always luscious green

Times of drought does not effect it

Fruit continues to be produced

This tree knows where it gets it's nourishment and life giving water.

Vs 7 explains why this tree is blessed.

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

We can learn a lot from the tree!

Put your hope and confidence in Jesus and you will be blessed.

The Hebrew word for blessed is (barak).
Which means to kneel down to offer blessing.

When you acknowledge God's provision in your life, you are a  blessing to Him.

We too are blessed by this humble act as our confidence and trust increase.

How can you kneel down before His throne today?

The rocks will cry out!

Luke 19: 32-40

Jesus rides along the dusty rode on the back of a colt. He knows that Jerusalem lies ahead of Him, but for now there are people to see and to show concern for. Men, women and children have placed cloaks onto the path as a sign of homage to Him. Many have followed Him down the road and now all of His followers including the disciples, have begun to offer praises and shouts of joyous worship as He strolls by them.  

Imagine the excitement to see the Messiah right in front of you!

What would it be like to have the opportunity to say thank you for the miracles and provision that you witnessed?

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
   “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

At that moment, some Pharisees demand that Jesus silence the crowd. I love His response! 

I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.

Often people do not understand our need to thank Jesus for all that He has done for us. They may even act like one of the Pharisees, demanding that we quit talking about all of this Jesus stuff!

I can not keep silent about my Jesus!

He laid down His life so that we may live
He conquered the grave and rose again!
He will return on a glorious day!

Blessed are you Jesus! You:

Saved and redeemed me
Gave me a hope and a future
Promised that you will never leave or forsake me
Filled and sealed me with the Holy Spirit
Prepared a place for me.

I can not keep silent!

Arise Shine

I awoke this morning to the sun rising behind the hills and then

 this glorious sight was in front of me. 

My eyes could barely take it in. 

The brilliance, the warmth, the beauty

Isn't just like God? 

In the midst of what feels like the darkest time in our lives, He rises,

 shines His glory and overwhelms us with His;

  presence,

 power,

 strength, 

comfort, 

 peace. 

Live in this truth today- "the glory of the Lord rises upon you". Isaiah 60:1

Father, thank you for the sunrise this morning. Thank you that every day we
 have the blessing to experience your holy presence.  

A New Beginning!

We just finished an 11 week  Beth Moore study on the book of Revelation. Here and Now, There and Then. Wow! So much to take in and to dissect. My head is still spinning from the symbolism and metaphors.  I wish I could say I understand it all now!  It has motivated me to learn more. This week 2 phrases have flooded my spirit. 

God will make all things new.  


He is in the business of resurrecting.


When you come to the end of a season in your life, there will be a new beginning. 
He makes all things new. 

You may find yourself at the end of

 a job

 a marriage

 a career

 taking care of children

 a living situation

 school

 a friendship

Remember that He could have started over and made all new things, but He didn't. He chooses to take us and remake us! He is able to take any situation and make a new thing out of it. He is in the business of making all things NEW!

He will make a way!
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

He can change us from the inside
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19

Our lives can be different and new
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

We are truly born again

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, I Peter 1:3

He makes everything new!
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

It can seem that you are at the end and that there is nothing that can change your

situation. God can and will do something miraculous in your life.  Trust the one who is trustworthy and true.