good morning wonderful friends. I hope you had a great night of refreshing rest and ready to make a difference in your part of the world today. rest is something that's hard to come these days. it seems like there are more things than ever to steal our time and also our rest time. we tend to think we can rest anytime, but when we leave no time for rest, that's when we fall apart. so I hope we all make rest a priority and that we can make better decisions about our time. I have a hard time saying no and even putting myself on my list of things to take care of. but I have to say, I'm getting better at it. I realize not that I don't have to do everything in a days time. it will get done when I get to it, I'm not being lazy at all. just trying to give myself some time to rest. you do the same. I heard the train go by earlier, and I found myself wondering if the conductor of that train ever rests while on the train. then I found myself stressing over it hoping that he stays alert and watches what he's doing. that makes for a stressful morning for me. no rest for me all day. hahaha so instead of worrying about the conductor, I started praying for him. may not have done anything for him, but it sure made my morning better. just speaking life over him made me feel better. sometimes it's just that simple to change ones perspective. now, I can move on with my day. hahaha
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let's do it, "2 minutes in the kitchen.......". I couldn't remember if I had shared these or not, but if I have, I'm sorry. if not, then I hope it's something you can use. these are my 4 inch walfos muffin tops pans from amazon. I use these for a lot of things and this is one of them. I'll cut up cheese slices and put 2 strips in each divit. 3 whole slices per tray. with half of a cheese slice in each divit, cut into 6 pieces and spaced evenly on the bottom. then I'll use 9 sausage links cut into 4 pieces per link. I'll put 6 pieces per divit. then I'll scramble 3 eggs and 4 tablespoons of water and pour over the cheese and sausage and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes and let them cool. then I'll bag them in fliptop sandwich bags and then put 2 per ziplock freezer bag and put in the freezer. easy to thaw and pot in a skillet and heat them up while the bread is toasting in the oven. they are delicious.
I hope this is something that might come in handy for you.
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it's time for our little "giggle for the day":
Q - What do you call a lion with no eyes?
A - Lon.
😂😂😂
you know you giggled just a little bit. I know you did. hahahaha
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we're starting with the book of Proverbs today.
Chapter 1 tells us the purpose of this book is for wisdom and understanding. without these 2 things, we'll never know the heart of God. without wisdom and understanding we'll never have a firm grasp for what truth is. truth is NOT what I say truth is. truth is what God says truth is. we can't live righteous lives without wisdom and understanding. the world is always trying to set snares for us to get trapped in and if we don't know what truth is, then we'll get caught in the devils snares. if our parents are Christians, they can be counted on for wise counsel. seek friends that will share wisdom and knowledge and truth with you.
Chapter 2 tells us to look for wisdom like we're looking for treasure. it's important for us to know the value of wisdom and knowledge. wisdom and knowledge usually comes from making mistakes or if we're blessed, it can come from learning from other peoples mistakes. it's important to seek it and not stop till we find it. are you listening to the word of God in your life? this is the treasure, the word of God, which is more valuable than anything else on the planet.
Chapter 3, in verse 5 we see this: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." why? why do you think we see this? because if our understanding is not based solely on the wisdom and knowledge from God, our understanding can and will get us in trouble, not just a little trouble, but a lot. our understanding changes from one breath to the next and sometimes, even when we are trusting in God with our whole heart, we can still get ourselves in trouble when we go by how we feel about something. our feelings change, the word of God never changes, that's something I know. do you live by how you feel or by what you know for a fact? the answer to that is very important.
Chapter 4, shows that if we are chasing after wisdom we will be guarding our heart from evil and wicked ways. it seems as if the world is chasing after evil and wicked ways. our lives will mirror what we invest our time in. wisdom is the guiding force of our lives, or it should be. if it isn't, we're seeking after the wrong things. most fathers can and will pass on wisdom to their children, but the children have got be teachable or inclined to learn from their father. I realize some people don't have earthly fathers worth listening to for life instruction. seek out someone you know who does have godly wisdom and try to learn from that person.
Chapter 5, this is where the rubber meets the road for a lot of people. lots of people have fallen victim to adultery. even David did. that doesn't make it right. however you look at it, it's a sin and nothing less than that. if you're married, you took those wedding vows. sexual immorality is of the enemy and he knows how to seduce people. so, we have to guard our heart and forget our own understanding. we will get ourselves in trouble every time.
Chapter 6, is telling us about working and making a living and not being lazy and slothful. also about not backing other peoples financial deals. work hard, earn what you have, pay your debts, don't co-sign other peoples debts unless you want to be left paying it off.
real life case example: many years ago, I took a young lady that I worked with to the local furniture store. I knew the owner of the store, and had known him all my life because that's where my parents shopped and all my brothers that had gotten married and then even my husband and I after we got married. she wanted to go, and I took her one evening when we got off from work. she was looking a small little stereo and she wanted it so bad. the owner tried his best to get me to co-sign for her. I told her, "look, I love you, but you can save the money and pay cash for it, or you can get it with your own name". the man heard everything I said, and I looked at him and said, "I'm not signing for her. I have my own debts to pay and I'm not going to pay off someone else's debt". I just told her to take her time and I'll be in the car when she makes her decision. had I not just a little bit of wisdom, I would have co-signed for her and then been responsible for her payments if she decided not to make them. this man even told my father what had happened. he thought I should have signed for her. but my father said that I, his daughter, had learned well.
Chapter 7, shows us the and warns us against temptation and how dangerous it is when we give in to temptation. one of the best ways to avoid temptation is to not let ourselves get in a place where we can be tempted. a scripture in the New Testament says to avoid all appearance of evil. if something is tempting to you, more than likely it's not what you should be doing. even if it's not tempting to you, why would want to risk it becoming a temptation. temptation can lead to death. seek after the heart of God in all that we do. I don't drink. I'm not a goody 2 shoes, I just know I don't need to be around alcohol because of the temptation. so if I go somewhere with a friend, I need to know up front if there will be alcohol, if the friend I'm with will be drinking and so on. if that friend says they might drink, I don't go. the people in my life that know me, will not ever put me in a situation where I might be tempted. when I became a Christian, it became very apparent that I would have to change friends and I did. a lot of people in my life have come and gone over the years, but the ones who have stayed there are the ones who look after me and the ones who I can look after, by avoiding the temptations that we each have in our lives. we all need people who help us, but who will also help us quietly. we don't to have to tell another soul that this friend has a problem or could possibly have a problem. I'll tell on myself before I'll tell on a cherished friend.
Chapter 8, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, the perverted mouth.......", these are evil. the writer tells us that wisdom is to be sought after!!!! those who seek after wisdom hate evil. what about the perverted mouth? my take on that is this: if you keep on telling nasty, hateful, despicable, cursing, blasphemous things with your mouth after you have say you have accepted Christ as Savior, you may need to rethink whether you actually got saved or not.
Chapter 9, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!!! there is a big difference between the wise and fools. wise seek after understanding and knowledge from God, the fool has said in his heart there is no God. the godly person has to make a decision between being wise and being a fool.
Chapter 10, notice all the contrasts between righteousness and wickedness. just one prime example is the fact that a righteous person knows how to build another person up with the words they speak. the wicked person only tears people down with their words. there is either life or death that comes from out mouths. who we belong to determines whether we speak life or death. may we be found speaking life over people instead of death. do you make fun of people? you may be speaking death over someone then. that's how easy it is to be a fool.
next time we pick up at chapter 11.
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I guess that's it for the day. I hope and pray that we are all seeking after wisdom and knowledge from God. I pray that we will all be found seeking after the heart of God in all things. we won't go wrong, that's for sure. I hope we all have a great day that we remember to thank God for allowing us to be a part of it. blessings of favor and wisdom be ours.
hugs and love, patty
