A Week to Remember

About a year ago, my dear friend Jane, was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was a shock to us all. After many sessions of chemo which they thought was working, they found her liver full of cancer with only weeks to live.

On Monday night they called to ask if we would come and offered to help with the plane fare. So by Wednesday morning we were headed to the airport.

Because of storms in Chicago, we found ourselves stranded at the airport with thousands of others scrambling to decide what to do. Since our time was so important and so short, we decided to rent a car and drive the five hours to Waterloo. That was the best decision we could have made as it stormed for two days and the only flight that came into Waterloo was the one that took us back on Saturday morning. 

Unfortunately, we had plane - side checked our bags and they never did arrive. We picked up a few necessities and our bags met us back at home just a few minutes ago.

We stayed with some dear friends who had come to know the Lord during our tenure in Iowa. What a joy to sit on the couch with a cup of coffee and chat; just like we had done so many times before and hear how they are investing in others and sharing Christ in so many different ways. They loan us a car to come and go and we spent most of our time with Jane.

These two days were filled with Joy/Sorrow/Laughter/Tears. She was such a godly women, always investing in others. It was hard to say good-bye, but know that she will be safe in the arms of Jesus very soon.

On Friday night, we had a pre-funeral service at their home with a few friends. What a special time. We sang, prayed, gave testimonies and praised the Lord for her life. 

Thank you Lord for bringing Jane into my life and teaching me with your actions how to be a godly women.

On Love and Spider Plants

I recently read an article by Robyn Huck called On Love and Spider Plants. Here is a quote:

"Every spider plant on our shelves had many shoots that produced sprouts, and those sprouts produced more sprouts. Sometimes the little offspring landed in the pots on the shelf below, and they’d happily root and sprout again.  Eventually, the spider plants cascaded down to the floor. They made such an impact in that room that we called it “the spider room.”

As odd as it may sound, this wall of spider plants reminds me of Christian love. Just as there is something in the plant’s DNA that causes it to produce a never-ending bounty of sprouts, the same is true of godly love. Our outward acts of love toward others (making meals, helping with bills, lending a car, spending time, exhorting, encouraging, etc.) continuously sprout from a heart whose spiritual DNA is coded by the Holy Spirit. Loving others becomes endemic to who we are—part of our character—like sprouting is to a spider plant."

Since the last few years have been stressful; relationship hard; I think I have not watered the Love God had put in my heart. It seemed easier to just tuck it away so that the branches of this love were not trampled on or broken away. But now God is prompting me again to get back to reaching out. After all, "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8), as we are reminded on this Good Friday.

Here are some of the points Robyn points out:

1.  Love is a character trait: I Corinthians 13 shares with us a whole list of how loves acts and responds

2.  Love makes an impact: It furthers the Kingdom of God. FUN FACT: spider plants sprout and hang in the air actually removing toxins and improve the air quality

3. Love connects us with something bigger: FUN FACT: after a few years it is impossible to pick out any individual plant because they are happily intertwined.

4. Love Cultivates Love: It's catching; it's hard to be mad at someone who is happy

After reading this article, I headed to Home Depot and picked up a small spider plant. I'm looking forward to it's cleaning properties (hope I don't have to dust as often) and as it grows and spreads, it will remind me to share the Love that God has put into the heart of every believer.

2 Peter 1:5-8

. . . make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with LOVE. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

PS: I've heard that Rubber Plants are really good at cleaning too - think I will put one of those in my bedroom too.

Before you Hurt Someone - FEEL!

I read this poem on Facebook and it encompassed so much of what I feel,

I just needed to comment on it. 

 

Before you Assume; Learn the Facts! 

Before you Judge; Understand Why!

We've all been there! Times when we feel so overwhelmed with life that we can't put on the happy face anymore. Sometimes it comes in the form of just a bad day, but other times those days go on and on and it's hard to keep it bottle up. And when it finally comes out, it can be harsh, critical, jealous, bitter and even to the point of questioning God. Coming from someone who is a Christian, it almost seems like they have crossed the bridge and lost their faith and it's easy to just walk away.

But a true friend will Learn the Facts!  As one who has moved from State to State and experienced life around the world, I've learned to first look at their history. At this point in our life, we are a compilation of the family we were born into, our general upbringing, our personality, who we married, where we have lived, and everything that we have experience. As I look at my parents and sibling who have never moved from Hudsonville, MI, I realize that as supportive as they are, they can never really understand my life; and I theirs. But we can try!

 

I have a friend who lost a small child in a trauma center hospital. When her adult child had an accident and they took her to that same hospital, I could hear the fear in her voice as she said: "Lynette, they took her to Cooper Hospital." Knowing her history, made it easy for me to run to her with comfort and support.

So before we make assumptions, it is wise to Look at the Big Picture!

Before you Hurt Someone; Feel!

Before you Speak; Think!

Proverbs 15:28 says “ The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” As Rich mentioned in one of his messages that we need to work on the be-er and then the do-er will come naturally.  That is to say, that when you become a godly person to will automatically do righteous thing. Many times I have said that I wanted to be living is such close communion with the Lord that whatever came out of my mouth or whatever actions I took, it would naturally be what He wanted. I don't think I have always achieved this goal, but I'd like to think that I'm working on it.

From this passage it also reminds us that the righteous ponder how to answer. Fewer words – less mistakes. I've been reading through the book “don’t sweat the small stuff” and one of the thing that has stuck in my mind is “it’s better to be kind than right.”  Even though this book is not written from a Christian perspective, it talks a lot about having inner peace. 

As Christians we know that we can have inner peace when we allow the Lord to control our thoughts, actions and words. So I want to sum it up in two words. “Be Nice.” Like you, I have had many situations where people have criticized me and complained. It really hurts when I hear things coming from someone who has no idea about who I am or what I am experiencing at the moment and I think was that really so important that you had to destroy me to make your point.

So before we Speak, it is wise to Feel and Think.

 

 

For the brownie base, preheat oven to 325F and butter a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap bottom of pan in foil.

In a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup, melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments. Whisk until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt them together over low heat in a small saucepan.

In a small bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder and salt.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, Swerve and vanilla until smooth. Beat in almond flour mixture, then butter/chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts.

Spread evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. Let cool 15 to 20 minutes.

For the filling, reduce oven temperature to 300F.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, Swerve, cream and vanilla until well combined.

Pour filling over crust and place cheesecake on a large cookie sheet. Bake until edges are set and center just barely jiggles, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Run a knife around edges to loosen and then remove sides of pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Serve with sugar-free chocolate sauce or ganache.

Read more at http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2013/02/brownie-cheesecake-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html#xKZItUEJ8YWMpZEV.99