Becoming a Woman of Faith Study, Heald

I just finished my study of Becoming a Woman of Faith by Cynthia Heald. It was a good look into the heroes of faith and I absolutely adored the message.

excerpt:

"... How quickly I forget, as did the disciples, that Jesus told them as they entered the boat, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." It was a promise from him they were going to the other side! I need not doubt His word, no matter what the circumstances

..... This is faith- trusting God with my past, present, and future even though, logically, I should trust no one but myself.

But if I do rely on my own insight, I will spend my life risking nothing, depending only what I can see and touch."

Next Bible study: BE RICH: Ephesians, Wiersbe

Learning to Trust

So truly be glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is neccessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure... So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

- 1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT

Maybe the reason we are hit with so many trials is so we can actually believe through the experience of our Faith?

Memory + Menu Mondays

Memory Verse:

I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'they are my people', and they will say, ' the Lord is our God.' - Zechariah 13:9

Weekly Menu:

Monday:

Tuna Casserole

Tuesday:

Fish Tacos

Wednesday:

Turkey/cheese melts, cream of broccoli

Thursday:

Honey mustard glazed chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Friday:

Fried breaded fish w/ homemade fries

Saturday:

Chicken/cheese/tomato calzones

Sunday:

Open

Saturday to freeze (or for sunday):

Cream of cauliflower

Herbed Rolls

Vanilla cake w/ buttercream frosting

Whole wheat flat bread

Is God reprogramming your mind or are you?

There is alot of talk in the Christian community about scripture memorization. And may I add for good reason. God instructs us in his word to reprogram our minds (Romans 12:2, Joshua 1:8). I have my own system down as well... holding myself to the discipline of memorizing one verse a week. I do this because if I hide it in my heart it will keep me from sinning (Psalm 119:11). How does this work? well by hiding it in our hearts Gods Spirit can bring it back to our memory in our time of need (John 14:26). Back to the point at hand, as I was doing my own Bible study I came across a story in the Bible which I have seen several times in the last week. Mind you, I have been studying the Bible for 3+ years and have never seen this story before. Then it dawned on me, "God is revealing this to me- he wants me to see this, he wants me to soak it in my spirit, he has a lesson to teach."
How many times have you seen a verse repeatedly only to have it stick with you? Do you really believe it is a coincidence? Maybe as we are physically turning the pages he is spiritually programming us with the information he wants us to retain? How often do we create our own bible studies/memory systems (which are valuable) yet he knows we need a different scripture to teach us what we need to learn. I just am awestruck by his sovereignty.

So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate, and letting saliva run down his beard. - 1 Samuel 21:13

That is the scripture in case your wondering. Who was the person who was drooling on himself? It was no other than David, King David, the man after Gods own heart. I love the fact that this man was anointed by God so powerfully yet when in need succumbed to complete embarressment just to survive.

Patience to be Patient

"God, who is timeless requires of us a mature faith that may involve delays that seem like trials. Patience is one sign of that maturity, a quality that can develop only through the passing of time.

Many prayers in the Bible come out of of the act of waiting. Jacob waited 7 years for a wife and then worked 7 more years after being tricked by her father (Gen. 29:15-20). The Israelites waited 4 centuries for deliverance; Moses waited 4 decades for the call to lead them, then 4 more decades for a Promises Land he would not enter.

"My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning," wrote the psalmist (Ps. 130:6). The picture comes to mind of a watchman counting the minutes for his shift to be over.

I pray for the patience to endure times of trial, to keep anticipating, keep hoping, keep believing. I pray for patience to be patient. "- Philip Yancey

Monthly Agenda: February

I am a couple of days late posting my monthly agenda for February due to being so busy. The funny this is I have been focusing on simplicity. I really want to cut down on things. They drag my spirit down. We all love filling our home with goodies but the question is when do those things begin to drift our focus away from Christ and where he wants us to be? 2 Corinthians 11:3 reminds me that the devil is the one who tries to distract us from the good things God wants us focused and centered on. So, in my quest for simplicity I am throwing or giving the junk away that bogs down my life. February is going to be a month of simplicity! Will you join me? I am going to find ways to cut out the clutter from my space, time, + thoughts.

Memory Verses (1 per week):

#1: Luke 10:19

Hymn:

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Kirkpatrick

Books:

Crazy Love, Chan

Facing your Giants, Lucado

Conflict free living, Meyer

Knowing God, Packer

Bible Study:

Becoming a Woman of Faith, Heald

Be Rich {Ephesians}, Wiersbe

DD Bible Study:

Training hearts, teaching minds, Meade

Cookbook:

Rachael Rays look + cook

Creative Inspiration:

Mrs. Meyers clean home, Meyer

The Fashion Designs directory of shape and style, Zaman

Training Activities:

Creativity: Continue practice shading.

Nature Study: On hold.

Home Economics: Doing basic chores;responsibilities.

Christian Womanhood: Diligence

Game/Movie Night: Open

Cooking/Baking Day:

Week #1

Tortillas, muffins, rolls, pesto, cupcakes.

Ideas to incorporate into my life:

Family scrapbook

Menu Plan Mondays

Starting now, I will be posting our menu-plan for the week. Because I also do memory Monday's (scripture memorization) I will make this one post. It will have my weekly memory verse + our weekly menu plan.
As far as the menu goes we go by a basic blueprint which we follow weekly. Such as Tuesday: taco or wrap night. But, we change the combinations so we can enjoy variation. As far as our eating habits I try to stick to healthy choices as much as possible without being legalistic. Although I do have to say canned food grosses me out occasionally (I love home cooked meals!). For pasta I use whole-wheat, same with bread, I really want to step away from commercial breads... so my plan is to develop my bread baking skills in the next year (goal). We also eat red meat very rarely so we increase our poultry, fish, and bean consumption. This is not because I feel bad for cows. This is because I believe red meat is unhealthy- so we limit.
Our Blueprint:
Monday- Pasta
Tuesday- Tacos/Wraps
Wednesday- Soup + Sandwich
Thursday- Chicken/potatoes/veggie
Friday- Fish and Fries(or?)
Saturday- Pizza or Calzones
Sunday- Open (special)
I like to cook special meals and goodies on Saturday to prepare for the Sabbath.

This weeks meals are outlined below:
Monday- American Chop Suey
Tuesday- Chicken/Cheese/Veggie wraps
Wednesday- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches w/ Cream of mushroom soup
Thursday- Baked chicken, potato salad, creamed spinach
Friday- Salmon stir fry over brown rice
Saturday- Pizza w/ sauteed onions, mushrooms, and olives
Sunday- Calzones

Make on Saturday to freeze:
Chicken noodle soup
Calzones
Potato Chowder
Herb Rolls
Blueberry muffins