Where you are right now is God's place for you....

I have been working on reacquainting myself and our children with the 10 commandments

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the lord your God.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not give false testimony.
10. You shall not covet.

I remember having to memorize these before my first communion in 8th grade. I dreaded it. The 10 commandments and the Lord’s prayer. The 10 commandments, I usually just took them for granted and as for the Lord’s prayer, that I clung to…even though my heart did not belong to the Lord. I think it was my only form of prayer for years, especially through my teen years. Now as I am growing physically and spiritually, I have a desire to understand what I have been taught to believe and what I pray. Not only understand, but have these truths, these pleas to be embedded in my heart for what they are…not just because I was taught to memorize them.

Starting a relationship with Jesus was far too long to wait, but it was all in His good timing. I want something very different for my children. Yes, I want them to have a head knowledge for the word of God and to follow the example of Christ….but that is meaningless unless their hearts are His. We are doing our best to not get caught up in the power of knowledge, but focus more on the power of Christ…a true loving relationship with Him. Anyone can read and learn the Bible, but to truly understand, to truly be saved, our hearts have to be His.

I was listening to a sermon about how to communicate the gospel to a child. It was very good, at the same time, many of us need to know how to communicate the gospel to adults….including ourselves. So often the gospel is “dumbed down” or conformed to the likeness of the age, supposedly to reach a new generation. When reading this scripture, it reaffirmed something stirring in my soul for quite some time now.

“This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?” or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But you must not mention ‘the oracle of the Lord again’ because every man’s word becomes his oracle* and so you distort the words of the loving God, the Lord Almighty, our God.” Jeremiah 23:35-36 (niv)

Yes, sharing our heart, what Jesus has done for us is important. But lets not forget who God is and why He gave us His words. His words are just that....the words of God. God is greatness beyond our comprehension. So often when sharing, listening to others, we will form an image in our minds of what the other person might be experiencing and compare it with what we have experienced or some knowledge we have gained. We need to be very careful not to create God in our image or speak on behalf of Him in telling someone God’s will for their particular situation. Yes, we are to encourage, listen and share….but we must remember who God is.

“Am I only a God nearby,”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:23-24 (niv)

This is such an in depth thought, the heart behind the matter could fill the pages of many books….and it has, the Bible. This again, reaffirms the importance of each of us being accountable for the truths we embrace. There are many false teachings out there.

“I have heard what the prophets** say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions*** of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their father forgot my name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, let the one who has my word speak it faithfully…..” Jeremiah 23:25-28 (niv)

We are responsible to take them to the Author of all creation to ensure we are walking in the ways of life that we have been called to, to be content in those steps, no matter what they may be.

We all struggle and Christ is there not only to show us the way, but to hold our hand…even scoop us up in His arms…when the darkness seems to be so overwhelming.

“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.” 1 Corinthians 7:17 (the message)

Our time here on earth is a learning process. We must question what we don’t understand, eternity is to precious of a gift to be thrown away on what is temporary. Christ’s blood came at too precious of a price to be ignored or taken lightly.


*Oracle: a prophecy (usually obscure or allegorical) revealed by a priest or priestess; believed to be infallible
Infallible: incapable of failure or error
**Prophet: someone who speaks by divine inspiration; someone who is an interpreter of the will of God
***Delusion: a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea

Pancakes..no egg, no sugar, no oil!

I have to share this. I may be a little slow in this area, but it’s new to me and wonderful…so I am sharing. Just bear with me if you already know and if you have more healthful hints, please do share with me.

My family just LOVES pancakes. Problem is that they are so bad for you. The eggs, sugar, oil and refined white flour….so I went searching and found a nice “no-fat” recipe online. It’s simple.

1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ tsp baking SODA
1/4 tsp salt
(¼ tsp cinnamon if you like)

Mix dry ingredients

Add splash of vanilla
Add as much skim milk to make proper pancake consistency. (I like mine the consistency of lumpy ranch dressing).

Prepare as usual. For those of you who don’t like maple syrup, try honey….this is Matthews favorite.

Okay…..so I started making this on a regular basis. Yummy pancakes with no oil, egg or sugar….plus its whole wheat….after awhile I stopped using the recipe. I ended up using a different wheat flour and accidentally starting using baking powder instead of baking soda. It made for a sticky pancake. Before I realized the powder/soda mix up I blamed it on the flour….so the next time I bought flour I tried something new.

There were so many choices. After reading the ingredients, we decided to try Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake & Waffle Whole Grain Mix. It has everything above, plus more goodness. The directions say to add oil and egg…and in some versions sugar, fruit and/or meat…..but I decided to make an attempt with the plain of flour and milk option.

They turned out awesome! Fluffy and tasty! I used about two cups of the mix with enough skim milk to make the consistency I preferred as listed above. They are super yum, super easy and so awesome….no eggs, sugar or oil!

I am so excited about this find, I decided to post it to my blog….and yes, I do get this excited about food!

Where Our Heart Is

A few weeks back I was saddened and excited about the possibility of change. Anxious about where we were going and thankful that the transition was going so smooth. I had high hopes that our next location was firm and final. As the weeks lingered on I found myself griping about all the inconveniences, the lifestyle changes, the “things” that were not the same. How many times do we have to be brought through change before I remain steady in the truth that we are blessed beyond measure, no matter what provision is given.

In listening, sharing with others, it became clear to me that we are conditioned to complain, even when things are good. I was just reading in the book of Matthew and read that where our heart is, our treasure will be. When my heart is fixed on Jesus, life is beautiful beyond measure. When I start focusing on what the world has to offer, my vision gets blurred and my heart grows heavy. That goes on to the rest of the scripture from Matthew It says “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

How easy it is to get our eyes dirty. We don’t even have to look for ways. I believe we are all guilty of this in some form or another. Looking back to where my family was even a few months ago, I began to gripe about having to stay in a hotel for a few weeks. I began to gripe and become discontent in many areas. Happy about many things, but growing discontent in many ways. If we were sitting back in India, seeing the children living on the streets, begging for food. If we were back in Omaha, hearing the news of homeless people struggling to survive in the cold. If I was thinking about Africa, the children caught up in a war far to violent to comprehend. Do you think my vision would have been any clearer? If I see how good life is, just to have a roof over our heads, a steady means for income and food in our bellies this could stir my heart toward compassion and thankfulness for all we have.

That compassion and thankfulness has driven many to work towards change, but none of it can be lasting without an anchor. Going back again, to before Jesus ruled my heart…I would be effected by the things I saw and experiences. Wanting to be helpful and acting on that desire on occasion. But the center of self would always settle in. Fear of giving too much and I myself would have far too little. Always driven for the comfort and to be very honest, the glory of myself. Do good in return for reward, change to better myself for myself and my surroundings. Help others to help themselves and make our world a better place. Peace at any cost. Where is truth in that? It still all boils down to self. When we focus on self, no matter how we package it, it still produces darkness. A glimmer of light may shine for a moment but it is put out when self settles in. This so contradicts what we were created to do. We were created to reflect the image of life, truth and freedom…..not to be tossed around like a ship on the waves living at peace only when the seas are calm.

It is very important to keep our eyes on the goal. Not forcing the goal, but walking slowly and surely on the path created for us. Not all of us were created to be the eyes, we all have a job to do. We all have a purpose….a specific skill set given to us by our creator. Some will be the eyes, some will be the hands, some will be the feet. Listen to our Teacher and trust in Him to hold our hand as we walk through the woods…like sheep among wolves being protected by our wise and strong Shepherd.

Instead of looking at our circumstances, our provision and what others are doing…we are to trust in the Provider to clear the way and use us to bring light into the darkness…in our lives and the lives around us. Giving glory where glory is due. We can and should be content in all circumstances, using each moment to learn, grow, even teach. Not letting the trappings of this world diminish our eye sight, resting assured in the life we have been given.

We cannot do this on our own, no matter how educated we are, no matter how hard we try. Each of us has the responsibility to ask for truth, test what is taught and act responsibly in what we believe. We are to go to the One who has the answers, to be open to correction and willing to admit when we are wrong. We are to be walking in humility in the strength, wisdom and life He has given us. As I said before and many others said before me, we cannot do this alone. We must be anchored in truth. The truth that comes from His word, the Bible. The truth that comes from being still and knowing He is God. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us…then we can truly live, producing fruit and being content in all circumstances….giving glory where glory is due. When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus we not only endure we succeed beyond measure.