The reality of what people mean by saying "they’re not worth it".

Recently at bible study the topic of forgiveness was discussed and it made me think about what people have been telling me my whole life especially in the last month. People have been telling me “they’re not worth it” or “he’s not worth your time thinking about, so move on”. Sometimes people hurt us. It might be a friend, a relative, or a significant other. Maybe you have said this to someone before or even thought it before.  

Whenever friends try to say the comforting words of “they’re not worth it” or “he’s not worth your time…” to me this stings for a couple of reasons. One is the reality of moving forward and showing them grace & forgiveness and two is they don’t know & understand how I feel right now. What I think that people really want to tell me but don’t want to come right out and say is that when people hurt you— you should just move on and stop thinking about the “what ifs” and the past because you can’t change it now.

But what I really want them to say is…I understand you’re hurting. People are imperfect and don’t always know what they want, occasionally people make mistakes, and other times people do what is best at that moment because they are uncertain. Don’t try to relive the past and dwell in the “what ifs”. Thank God for His love and pray for the one who hurt you and forgive them. Eventually the hurt will disappear when you forgive them. Whatever happened is in the past is the past. Your value and self worth are not based on that person. Your time should not be spent thinking about it. Spend your time forgiving him.

In reality aren’t people who hurt us worth our time thinking about? God is superior and in His timing everything will be made alright. So I am trying to remember that friend/relative/guy is worth loving…he is worth forgiving…he is worth praying for…and he is worth my time. Like I’ve said before, “You is kind, you is smart, you is important” and forgiveness is one of the steps to mending the rough spots along your road so you can begin moving forward with life and feel kind, smart and important again. For me forgiveness brings peace and "life is good" again. And yes, I'm there now hence the post.  

Goals, Plans, Dreams & Wishes...Oh My!

Today at my in-service I learned the following things

 

This got me to thinking tonight...My goal is to get to heaven someday. Yes, it would be nice to have someone to share that goal with that would help me achieve it and be an encouragement along the way. I am content with waiting and being on reserve until I find the right person who deserves my heart and vice versa. I know that I am worthy and deserve so much that I am unwilling to settle for just anyone or anything in life. Some people call this picky, but I feel that my selectiveness if a very valid. Within our society today, the world views relationships and marriage & divorce as disposable and replaceable objects like diapers. Why did I choose the metaphor of a diaper…because whenever they get smelly, stinky or too full they are thrown out and a new one is in place almost within minutes. What happened to cloth diapers that were washed and cleaned daily & took skill to whiten and keep bright from those pesky stains? 

Being a single Christian allows one to have a deeper relationship with God and serve him more fully according to 1 Corinthians 7. God has a plan for everyone. God has a plan for some to marry and for others he wants them to have contentment in singleness. I know God has a plan for my life and my goal is to fulfill his purpose within my life. Like I have said throughout my blog I am unsure what my future holds and what God’s plan for me is, but then again who is 100% certain? I am looking for God to help fill in those gaps because I know that within due time…when God thinks that I am ready…I am sure that His plan will be revealed to me within His timing. God has a plan and I cannot wait to see the “Providence” in the upcoming years to see how everything ties together.

My prayer is that God helps me be content regardless of whatever else does or does not happen in my life. I also pray for patience and peace as His plan is revealed within my life. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13.   

So, I’m on this journey through life growing in my trust of the Lord and believing that He has a plan for me so that I can reach my goal. My short-term goal currently is to move forward with a positive attitude, confident and content while practicing peace, obedience, and patience.        

 

My thoughts on "Muscle and a Shovel" by Michael Shank

The congregation where I attend church collectively over the past few months has been reading the book “Muscle and a Shovel” by Michael Shank. I started the book with everyone else, but like my blog talks about…life…yes it happened to me...and I put other activities and books ahead of “Muscle and a Shovel”. I let procrastination get the best of me but I finally was determined to conquer the book today before our big “Muscle and a Shovel” Sunday at church! I was on a mission to read or else I was going to stay up all night to get it done. I spent a few hours this afternoon and a few hours after dinner getting this accomplished. This awesome book is a true story about the author and how God used his co-worker to lead him to think deeply about his believes and question everything that he knew about religion. Within the book, the author tells his compelling story of how he comes to understand the truth through reading his Bible and how he and his wife became Christians through digging deep into studying the word.

I am hoping that within my life I can be more like the co-worker in the book! Sometimes we get scared when it comes to religion and then just do not say anything at all to others. This book logically outlines the church of the New Testament and what individuals must do to become part of the body of Christ. The book shows us how scriptures within the bible can be used to change lives forever by simply starting the conversation with a few questions and following it up with your beliefs backed by scriptures. An underling theme in the story for those who are already Christians like me is to dig deeper and really understand the full message of the Bible so that you can answer questions about your faith whenever asked.

The author points out that reading the bible is not for the lazy and weak because it takes a muscle and a shovel to really understand the message.  I love how the author explains the importance of a muscle and a shovel are: “Mental” muscle and a willingness to use “honest intelligence” (the metaphorical shovel) to dig deep beyond all of our preconceived ideas, our false beliefs, and our comfortable traditions. Studying the Bible takes muscle and a shovel. (p. 190-191). I know within the last year I have been trying hard to dig deeper and study the scriptures more myself, so I leave you with the same challenge and the challenge the author gave…study. Do not believe what others have always taught you or what you have always heard…study. Actually, open the Bible and dig deeper and investigate it for yourself.  

Shank, M. (2011). Muscle and a Shovel. Lightning Source Press.

http://michaelshankministries.com/

Southern Chocolate Cream Pie Tutorial

No southern girl should be without this easy standby recipe in her kitchen. My mother passed it down to me and I thought I should pass it down to you! Tomorrow at church we are having a fellowship meal after services and I thought “Why not a “Chocolate Cream Pie?”...thanks to a friend yesterday I was reminded about chocolate pie and I could not get my mind off of it! So this afternoon I got busy in the kitchen preparing for tomorrow and this is the result. Too bad that you cannot smell or taste this yummy dessert right now because it is heavenly! You can click here for the recipe without photos.  

 

Southern Chocolate Cream Pie

2 cups milk

3 eggs, divided

1 ¾ cup sugar, divided

6 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla, divided

 

1 tablespoon butter

1 9 inch deep-dish pie shell

1 teaspoon cream of tarter

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prebaking a piecrust is also known as “blind baking” and you will need to do this to your crust, so prepare the deep-dish pie shell by using fork to lightly prick the bottom of the pastry.

 

 Bake the frozen deep-dish pie shell until golden brown in your 350 degree oven.

Separate eggs. Don't know what this means...to "separate" means to take two bowls and gently crack egg to separate the egg whites into one bowl and the egg yolks into another bowl.  

Stir together 1 ¼ cups sugar, flour, and cocoa powder in a heavy saucepan.

Blend in milk and egg yolks.

Cook until thick. Stir constantly.

Remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter. Mix well.

 

Pour into pie shell.

 

Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in mixing bowl.

Beat egg whites. Gradually add ½ cup sugar.

 

Beat until egg whites are stiff. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat well.

 

Pile meringue on top of pie.

Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown. Enjoy!     

On a side note, fellowshipping together and enjoying hospitality can include food just like my pie above, which is the gift of sinfully good nourishment. Eating together fills our bodies with not only good food but also friendships. A mealtime is a perfect time to share with others and show service. The bible teaches us that one of the greatest gifts to give people is our time and we share our time through fellowshipping and bestowing hospitality. “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.’” Mark 12:28-31. In Galatians 6:10 we are told to fellowship with fellow Christians, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith”.

Let me know if you try this recipe at home. I want to know how it turns out. I promise it is not as hard as it may seem!

Happy fellowshipping!

Domestic Diva + Busy Girl = Priorities

Like many others, I lead a busy life. It is a juggling act for me at times. I am trying to find the perfect balance of work life, a social life, and the domestic life all while trying to stay sound mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. It is a balancing act to say the least sometimes but I think I make it fine with only really getting frazzled sometimes. I am thankful God made inventors of appliances and sent others into my life to teach me how to use them.   

One of the most important appliances in my kitchen (besides my coffee pot) is my slow cooker. This appliance helps me be a domestic diva from time-to-time. This morning it got pulled out of the cabinet and dusted off in order to be put to good use to serve a family at church that is grieving from a recent loss. I knew that with everything going on with my work schedule today that would be the best option for this busy girl. I was thinking simple, easy, and comfort food and what better appliance to help me accomplish all that than the slow cooker! Click here to check out what I made and to get the recipe. Now if only I had a recipe for helping me be a better domestic housekeeper this week! As I look around my house after a busy week…I’m glad the weekend here! My house needs a domestic diva to spend a little quality time cleaning and preparing for the week ahead. This busy girl will have to utilize other appliances within the house this weekend like the vacuum cleaner, the steam mop, the washer and dryer, and the old-fashioned dishwasher (washcloths & towels) to dust and wipe away the week’s messes. LOL. It seems that things have been let go around the house and everything have gotten quite untidy.        

Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us that we should put our sight on the Lord. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  

As Christian women, we need think beyond useful household appliances, our crazy calendars and day-to-day schedules and think about priorities within our life. If we lead a life focused on the Lord then he will help us balance it all in stride. Jesus should be the example we look to since he understands what we are going through. 1 Peter 2:21 says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”. My priorities are God, Family, Work, Service and Health. What are your priorities?