Missionary Monday ~ Your Choice

First off, the winner of our giveaway for
One Thousand Gifts...
#28 - The Lopez Family!
Mrs. Lopez, please email me or send me a message on fb with your address,
and I'll get this book in the mail for you!
If you are interested in a copy for your Kindle,
they are currently on sale for $4.99!

This week's theme: Your Choice

Feel free to link up to a particular post or just link up your blog.

Next week's theme: Homeschooling

As school is starting back up for many of you,

share a post of your homeschooling day,

or your curriculum,

or anything related to homeschooling!

*Please note that amazon link is my affiliate link, if you purchase from the link I earn a small percentage.  Thanks, Jen!

Sunday Scriptures ~ Hebrews 12:1

Pinterest - 3-D Hand!

I love Pinterest.

So many projects, so little time!

Here is one we did recently.  In fact is one the only pinterest project we did over school holiday.  I had so many high hopes, but at least I got one done! 

It was an easy project.  We traced Autumn's hand in pencil.  Then took a black sharpie and traced a line with a rule until we got to her hand part.  For that part you just make a "rainbow" as the kids called it.  I let Autumn do it herself.  I think if the lines had been a bit more curved it would have looked even sharper.  But it was still a cool project that is proudly hanging on our fridge! 

Here is the link from pinterest (just click on the photo)...

Learning Humility

Pride always has to take the credit for a job well done, a victory achieved, a soul saved, a Christian helped.  Pride always has to take the credit and never the blame.  If something goes wrong, it is always someone else’s fault.  Pride would rather choke than say, “I’m sorry.”  Yet, we can achieve so much more as long as we don’t have to take the credit!

So how can we deal with our tendency toward pride and arrogance?  How can we learn to let agape love rule our service and relationships in the church?

Spend Lots of Time in Worship

Isaiah looked through the doorway of heaven one day and saw the Lord high and lifted up, sitting on a throne.  “Woe is me, for I am undone!  Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts” (Isa. 6:5).  The best way for us to stop saying, “Wow is me!” is to spend lots of time seeing the Lord who is high and holy.  Then we will find ourselves saying, “Woe is me.”  

I was intrigued to hear Isaiah talk about his lips as his being “unclean.”  To me, he is the golden-lipped prophet!  Yet as he worshipped, he felt dirty and in need of cleansing.

Spend time with God.  See the Lord high and lifted up, glorious and holy.  If that doesn’t cure your pride, nothing will!

Listen to Yourself, Look at Yourself

Listen to yourself talk, and then stop talking when it’s all about you.  Ask lots of questions about other people.  Stop talking about your kids and ask about theirs.  If there are single people in the group, remember that they have a family too!  Ask them to share their photos.

Use the Bible as a mirror of your soul. James says, "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." (James 1:23-24). Look into God's Word and see yourself clearly. See the blemishes, but don't walk away and forget. Try to improve things you see in the "mirror."

Years ago I took care of our three-month-old grandson, Drew, for a day.  The baby was upset much of the time, and I found it difficult to keep him happy.  At last I found the answer.  I held him up in front of the mirror in my bedroom.  This worked wonderfully!  Drew saw himself and cooed and talked to the mirror until his parents came back.  I told Judy about it, explaining that as long as he saw himself, he was quite happy.

“Oh , Mom,” my daughter replied, “he is at the age where he doesn’t recognize himself.  He thought it was another baby!”  My daughter is a psychologist, so far be it from me to argue with her!  But the incident gave me a good illustration.  Like Drew, we look into the prefect law of liberty, the Word of God, and see ourselves reflected there with all our blemishes.  Most of us don’t really realize that we are seeing ourselves, and so we go away and do nothing about what we have seen.  If we can allow God to show us our pride and arrogance, our rudeness and selfishness, and ask Him to change us into His image, then the mirror will have done its good work in our hearts.  So listen to yourself and look at yourself!  Then fix the blemishes you notice!

Humble Yourself

If we don’t humble ourselves, then God will humble us!  So dare to invite God to keep you humble.  Now let me tell you, this is an exceedingly dangerous prayer to pray!  I have learned from experience what it’s like to have God humble me—and it’s not always a pretty picture!  Yet I still dare to ask God to do what it takes to keep my head the size it should be, and He still delights to oblige.  The Bible says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,” (1 Peter 5:6), and I would add, “You had better do it, or God will do it for you!”

In His Love,

Jill Briscoe
Executive Editor
Just Between Us Magazine 

Missionary Monday

This week's theme:  A Little About Yourself

Next week's theme: Your Choice!

Sunday Scriptures ~ Deuteronomy 32:4

Have a blessed Sunday!

Expressing Gratefulness

Beth Spilger is a pastor's wife in St Louis, MO. She and Ken have been married for 37 years and at Grace Baptist Church for 35 years this December. They have 7 children, two sons-in-love, and 7 wonderful grandchildren. Beth has home schooled her children since 1984. Their last child will be graduating from High School in two years. 

Expressing gratefulness to others for their benefits to my life is NOT one of my strong points. It is something I have to work at and cognitively practice.

Challenged by a speaker to list those who had made significant contributions to my life gave me reason to make a list and write simple thank yous. I began the process and have purposed to continue adding more as they come to mind.

Surprisingly, out of the many notes I've written only two who received a thank you have acknowledged those notes.

One was from a very godly lady who had rebuked me soundly after a comment I made to the girls in my dorm at camp. She and I shared a cabin and hearing my comment she drew me aside and kindly rebuked me for the very foolish thing I had said. She was right! I was foolish. I listened to her rebuke and I took it to heart. I've lived by that admonition ever since and God has blessed. She wrote that she didn't even remember having said anything to me but was glad that she had made a difference.

The most significant and life changing to me was the acknowledgement from my uncle.

This uncle also happened to be my 8th grade math teacher. Imagine calling an uncle by Mr. rather than Uncle! He had my best interest at heart, so when I missed a test question or didn't quite do as well as he knew I could on homework assignments, I not only heard about it on my paper through the score and notes written on the sheets, but I also heard about it at the next family gathering! Embarrassing? Yes! Challenging? Even more! He cared.

A few years ago our family drove three days to northern Washington state to help my uncle and aunt celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. 

The surprise came when he took me aside and thanked me for that thank you note. He also shared that out of ALL the hundreds of students he had taught and coached in junior and senior high school I was the ONLY one who had ever thanked him!

My aunt also took me aside and told me how much it meant to him. She said he cried when he read it. He cried! Imagine a tough athletic man crying because of a thank you!

That made me stop and think...how many others are out there wondering if they have helped anyone in any way. Wondering if their lives and the sacrifices they have made meant anything to someone else.

I was reading in Psalms 107 this morning and verse 22 stood out to me.

"And let them sacrifice the sacrifices to thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing."

Our thanksgiving is a "sacrifice." [This is a wonderful Bible study relating back to Leviticus 7 and 1 Peter 2.]

The person I need to be thanking most is my Lord. Have the "wondrous things" [meaning those things that go beyond human power and expectations] brought a "sacrifice of thanksgiving" from my lips to my Lord today? HE should be the first that I thank everyday.

What about others who have benefited me in numerous ways, like my family. They "do" all day and what they do or say is a great benefit to me and to others in our family.

What about folks in my church family? My pastor? My Sunday School teacher? The missionaries we support? A neighbor who keeps their yard beautiful to behold? Think about it, this list could go on... who are you thanking this Thursday?

~Just some Thursday Thoughts...

Summer Time Favorites: Baked Beans

 When I think of a summer BBQ, there are few foods that must be on the list.
Baked beans is definitely one of them!
When we first moved to Ghana I was so excited to see that they sold canned baked beans! I decided that the food adjustment wouldn't be too bad after all.
And then.
Hmmmmmm.
Well, first, I found out that these are British baked beans, which basically means that they are beans in tomato sauce. NOT. SO. YUMMY.
Sorry if you're British!
And secondly, they are either eaten for breakfast or mixed with lettuce and put on rice!
EVEN MORE NOT YUMMY!
Then one day my hubby had an idea....ask my mother! Maybe she had an idea of how to make these baked beans into something that tasted a bit more like "real" baked beans.
Sure enough, mama had the answer!
*I must add, this recipe may only work for people in Ghana, because I have no idea if you have beans in tomato sauce where you live. But you might be surprised! Look around!

Baked Beans

4 slice bacon (this is optional, we don't have bacon here and these still taste great!)
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 cans baked beans in tomato sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. wet or dry mustard

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Cook onion in bacon drippings until tender {if not using bacon, saute onions in whatever fat you prefer}.
Mix together baked beans, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, crumbled bacon, and cooked onions in glass casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45 min. to 1 hr. 15 min. {I know that is a big variance. The original recipe said 1-1 1/2 hrs., but it has never taken me more than 45 minutes, so you may need to play with the time a bit to find what works in your oven}.
When hot and bubbly, remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes.
Stir in yummy, crusty stuff on top {have no idea what it should be called, but sure tastes good!} and
enjoy!

Missionary Monday

This week's theme - Your Kitchen

Share photos of your kitchen, maybe you cooking with the kids,

or cooking an unusual dish from your field.

Next week's theme - A little about you

 Let's take a little time to get to know each other better!

Please link up below, and don't forget to enter our giveaway!

Sunday Scriptures ~ Isaiah 55:8

Have a blessed Sunday.

Spiritual Weapons for Wayward Kids

How to Help Grown Wayward Children

What can you do when your grown children begin to stray spiritually? I've seen a lot of parents hurt, mystified, and shaken by sudden and radical spiritual changes in the lives of their adult children. I realize, one day I may be one of them - and so could you.

In these moments, some parents grasp for control—trying to maintain a mythical strangle-hold of childhood authority. This always escalates a situation to become worse and creates greater distance relationally and spiritually. In a wild swing to the other extreme—some parents abandon their post of parental influence. They mentally, emotionally, and spiritually disconnect with an “oh well” resignation, as if there is nothing they can really do. Others respond in anger—returning hurt for hurt.

Recently, Dana and I prayerfully and fearfully sat down with some parents who were facing circumstances in which we all felt powerless. Together, we rediscovered the weapons God had given us to fight battles that are far beyond our human control. And together, we saw God work a miracle. These are the weapons that God gives us all to use against impossible circumstances:

Unconditional Love and Acceptance

Regardless what my child does, how my child hurts me, or how far out of bounds my child behaves—I will choose to respond with Christ-like compassion and unconditional love. This is a powerful weapon that speaks to the heart and the conscience. By the way, acceptance of a person does not equal approval of sin.

Godly Grace

Regardless of what my child has done, I extend grace—unmerited favor. Just as grace is God’s response to my sin, grace will be my response to my child’s sin. Grace is always undeserved, and is the most powerful resource for creating an environment where repentance and change are possible.

Intercessory Prayer

This weapon brings all the powers of Heaven to work in the situation. It is the single most powerful and yet most neglected response to any strained relationship.

God’s Word

Opinions and personal preferences matter little, but the principles of God’s Word are powerful. When battles of the will only escalate a situation, the principles of God’s Word speak to the heart with the potential of lasting life change.

Patient Endurance

Change takes time. Repentence is rarely instantaneous. Parents who win these battles never give up (emphasis on NEVER.) They faithfully and persistently use these weapons until the battle is won.

These are weapons of the Spirit. Think about it:

• Weapons of flesh will react, weapons of the Spirit will respond.
• Weapons of flesh will lash out. Weapons of the Spirit will reach out.
• Weapons of flesh desire retribution. Weapons of the Spirit desire reconciliation.
• Weapons of the flesh will seek control. Weapons of the Spirit will seek influence.
• Weapons of flesh will make demands. Weapons of the Spirit will make pleas.
• Weapons of flesh will accuse. Weapons of the Spirit will accept.
• Weapons of flesh will return hurt. Weapons of Spirit will return grace.
• Weapons of flesh will argue. Weapons of the Spirit will reason.

Here they are again: unconditional love, godly grace, intercessory prayer, God’s Word, and patient endurance.

Take hope, parent! If you are facing impossible circumstances and you feel hopeless and powerless—there is much you can do to fight a spiritual battle for your wayward child! God’s work is not finished in your child’s heart, and God’s Word is still powerful to change lives!

In reality, these weapons are effective in any broken or strained relationship. About the time you think there’s nothing you can do, about the time you want to over-react or fight in the flesh—these are the only weapons that can truly make a difference. May God give us wisdom to fight our relational battles in the wisdom of His Word and the power, and filling of His Holy Spirit.

Article by:

Cary Schmidt

Associate Pastor, Lancaster Baptist Church

Birthday Time!

Today we are taking a break from our regular program for some birthday fun!
Why?
'Cause somebody I know is having a birthday today!
I'll let you guess who!
Since I don't know what kind of birthday treats you  might like, I thought I'd give a nice collection of recipes and links for you to look through, at your leisure {if you happen to have any of that!}
First up.....

chocolate ice cream {no ice cream maker required!}

and if you are more a fruity kind of gal, then try this orange sorbet recipe!

And then of course, you must have cake!

Salted caramel chocolate cake, anyone?

Or what about an amazing Snickerdoodle cake?*

Feeling minty? Try a chocolate peppermint cake!

My hubby would love this pumpkin cake with butterscotch filling!

Maybe those are too rich for you? Try one of these...

I love, love, love lemon cake.

Or how about a strawberry layer cake?

Or this absolute favorite* with the kiddos? If there were any leftovers, you could just

send some along to me!?!

*I try to only share recipes which I've actually made. With this many treats, that wasn't possible. So if it has a star, it is Sommer Family tested and approved. If not, then let us know how it turned out!

Missionary Monday ~ Independence Day

This week's theme - Independence Day

(Share how you celebrated this American holiday.)

Next week's theme - Your kitchen

(Share photos of how you cook or stories of how you had to adjust to cooking in your field.)

Please link up below!  Don't forget to enter our giveaway!

Sunday Scriptures ~ Psalm 103:12

A Giveaway! One Thousand Gifts!

I think it is time for a giveaway!  This giveaway is for Missionary Women ONLY please!  I have read this book, and can't rave enough about it.  Every one I know that has read it also gives great reviews.    Ann Voskamp has a beautiful writing style that is romantic, heart-warming, and encouraging!  You can check out her blog at A Holy Experience.

How to enter (please leave a comment for each entry)...

• Name and the country you are serving.
• What are you thankful for today?
• Become a follower, or if you already are one (there on the right).
• Follow us on facebook.
• You are a member of our BMW group on facebook.
• Share this giveaway on facebook or twitter.
• Post our button on your blog.

Winner will be announced July 30th.

*This review and giveaway is hosted by me, Jen Bauer.  Ann Voskamp knows nothing about our little blog here.  I just wanted to give away a copy of one of my favorite books!

Summer Time Favorites: Fourth of July!!!

My first Fourth of July as a married woman was a transforming day.
Really!
I had never cared in the least for learning to cook or bake, much less making something that looked amazing AND tasted delicious!
And then...I saw it! A recipe for a yummy-tasting, flashy-looking dessert right on the Philly cream cheese package. I was hooked!
That was what I wanted to take to the family's 4th of July picnic....a fruit-flag-covered-no-bake-cheesecake! I was going to show them how grown up I was; what an amazing cook I had become....in my entire one month of marriage {ha!}
In the ten years {wow! how time flies!} since then, I've seen similar recipes a dozen times, but in my opinion {whatever that's worth!}, this version is still the best!

On a side note, I am aware that all these items are not available outside the U.S.  So if you don't have them, then use your usual substitutes!

No-Bake Cheesecake

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2 T. lemon juice
1/3 c. sugar
1 small graham cracker pie crust
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
strawberry halves
blueberries

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in large bowl with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 2 cups of Cool Whip. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 3 hours or until set. Spread remaining Cool Whip over cheesecake. Arrange strawberries and blueberries in rows on top of cheesecake to resemble flag. Store leftovers in refrigerator {if there are any!}.

It's your turn! What was the first thing you ever made to impress someone?

Sunday Scriptures ~ Psalm 89:1