MINESTRONE SOUP!!!!!!! MY NEW FAVORITE

Every night before we say our goodnight to each other, we pray together.  Our prayers are very multifaceted, to include our family, friends, health, church family, etc.  

The prayers that we have been praying concerning our health over the past few years, have been very specific.   Recently, we have continued to pray that my salivary glands would function and that I would be able to eat more variety of foods.  As we prepared for the Daniel Fast, we knew that many of the recipes included tomato products.  So far,  tomatoes have not been tolerable.     When I have accidentally gotten a tomato on something, I would immediately feel the effects of it.  It just wasn’t worth the pain.   

Well today, Gary and I went to Olive Garden for lunch.    They have Minestrone, fresh vegetables, and beans in a light tomato broth.  It is a vegetarian classic.  I decided to try it.  After all, we had prayed before going into the Daniel Fast, that I would be able to tolerate the tomatoes.  The first bite I took was AMAZING!  The second bite I took was GLORIOUS!  The third bite I took I began to BLUBBER and could not stop!  I cried through the 2 BOWLS of Minestrone that I ate!   I kept saying to Gary “I don’t know why I am so emotional over this bowl of soup.”   But I quickly realized that these were tears of GRATEFULNESS!  For the first time since I began to recover from the trauma of this past year, I actually FEEL like I am going to be ok.   

Still TRUSTING,

Debbie

DREAMS OR GOALS?

Dreams or Goals?

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and the New Year is upon us.  With the New Year comes New Year’s Resolutions – most of which will never come to pass.  Too many sugar plums dancing in our heads, I guess!  The truth is, more resolutions are just dreams rather than goals.  I read once that a goal is a dream with a “deadline.”



Our grandson, Cinco, brought his mom and dad to our house for Christmas this year.  Cinco is four years old and kept asking his mom if he could open presents.  Shanda, our daughter, kept telling him, “not today–tomorrow.” On Christmas morning, the time finally arrived.  As we all gathered around the tree, with great anticipation and excitement, Cinco looked at his mom and said, “Mommy, is tomorrow, today?”  Unfortunately that is what seems to happen to our well-intended resolutions.  Tomorrow becomes today and today becomes yesterday and yesterday is too late.   I am going to put some deadlines on my dreams this year.  And then, like Cinco, I can get very excited when tomorrow is today!

May this coming year be a year of fulfilled dreams for you and your family!  And may your tomorrows be filled with the blessings of God!

Blessings, Gary

QUIET - The New Year

As the New Year approached I began to pray and ask God to give me a word for the coming year. To be honest, I anticipated more than just “ONE” word, but all I could hear Him say was, “Quiet.” As I thought about this “ONE” word, I went back to the Lord and said, “Can you give me more? I really thought I had enough ‘quiet’ time last year.” I sat in solitude for the better part of last year. But as I continued to pray and listen to the “quiet,” I realized the Lord wanted to continue to QUIET MY SPIRIT and have me sit in His presence. Over the course of this Trusting Journey, I was in a way forced to be “quiet.” I lost my strength, I lost my voice, and I lost time with my family and friends.   Now that I have begun the healing process, regaining strength, being able to eat, becoming more active and connected, I feel, at times, the overwhelming need to make up for lost time. My mind often runs at such a fast, breakneck speed; when I try to do everything my mind wants to do, it renders me exhausted physically. So, the Lord has once again reminded me to—be quiet—not to skimp on our time together, to resist the clamor of tasks waiting to be done.

The story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10:38-42 gives us a glimpse of how important our time with Jesus is to Him.

38. As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. 
39. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. 
40. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.” 
41. The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. 
42. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Basically Jesus is saying, when you choose to spend quality time with Him, you have chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from you!

My prayer for you during these early days of the New Year is that you will experience some “quiet” time with the Lord—time during our 21-day fast to pray, reflect, sit at the feet of Jesus, and thank Him for His faithfulness.

Much of our stress comes from trying to make things happen before God’s timing. Instead of jumping to conclusions or jumping too far ahead of God before He says it is time, we should slow down, let Him set our pace, and enjoy this Journey through the year 2012!

Still TRUSTING,
Debbie