Thursday's Thoughts on....Evangelism, Mentoring, and Discipleship

I recently visited with a  couple who are leaving to serve as Missionaries in Turkey. It was fascinating. The story of how God prepared them for this stage of their service to Him is jaw dropping. She has been serving with a small group of women who minister to the ladies in strip clubs. He has been ministering to a group working at an abortion clinic.  (That's a post for another day)

Here's the thing I DO want to sort through....

These folks (and so many like them) are giving up everything (literally selling all they have) and moving to a country where they know no one to share the Gospel message.

I go to church with my Christian people, work at my job (where we have Bible Verses on our Marquee), hang out with my Christian friends, go see my Christian therapist and... well, I don't come in contact with many (if any) openly non-Christian people.

Sadly, I have been content with that. I have rationalized that writing here and there ministers to people. I have rationalized that I serve in church, I live a "Christian Life" and "set an example" and invest in younger women in hopes of helping them deepen their walk with Christ.

But in reality, am I really doing anything? I mean, am I REALLY making myself available to be used by God?

So when I saw Perry last week (because I thought I was sliding into depression again and it scared me - post for another day) we discussed this. He reminded me that the things I do matter. The kids in my Sunday School class matter, the people I work with matter, my family certainly matters, my pastor/husband matters, my friends matter. The people who stop by here from time to time to read my thoughts matter.

This made me feel better for not selling everything I own and trying to save the world.

Last night I was still thinking about this as I waited to fall asleep.  It struck me that we ARE influencing people all day every day. We ARE mentoring the people we work with, go to school with, live with and do life with. We ARE making disciples of our friends, family, and coworkers.  We ARE Evangelizing the world around us.

The question that comes to mind is "what are we leading them to?"

Are we leading the people in our lives to Christ? To a deeper and more meaningful relationship with our Savior?

Are we mentoring the people in our lives so that they will become more mature spiritually? So that they will be better prepared and equipped to fight Satan and his minions?

Or

Are we leading them and teaching them and being an example of how to do all sorts of things that will help them get ahead in this life... without being concerned with their eternity.

I don't really know what to do with these questions. I mean, I try to teach Iz to brush her hair, take showers, manicure her nails, and to be polite and considerate of others. I'm not so sure that I put the same effort into intentionally leading her to grow spiritually, intentionally equipping her to win battles against Satan's minions, or intentionally helping her to learn to discern the difference between God's voice and Satan's.

I don't want my kids to just have a list of do's and don't's. I don't want them to only do things because we (mom and dad) expect them to...or to not do things simply because they know we won't approve.

I want them to WANT to serve God, to be an example of Christ's love, to make decisions based on who they are in Christ above and beyond everything else.

So many times I feel like I need to do something "BIG" for God.

I lose sight of the seemingly "small" things He has been gracious enough to entrust me with each day.

Big hugs!
K

Wednesday's Weekly Recipes - Traditional Southern Banana Puddin'

I  honestly never gave much thought to banana pudding. It's not something I make, and I haven't been inspired to ask the ladies at church who do make it what is involved. I always thought it was banana instant pudding (or maybe vanilla? I dunno), bananas and Nilla Wafers. 

I was wrong.

Turns out you can make it the way i described above OR you can make it completely from scratch. (Who knew pudding didn't always come from a box?!?!?!) Last weekend I decided to try making it from scratch.

Snagged this recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker (no, that's not me- haha). 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!!!

Traditional banana pudding straight from the south – Nilla wafers, sliced bananas, homemade vanilla pudding, and a gorgeous meringue.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Pudding

• 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (71 grams) all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3½ cups (840 ml) whole milk, divided
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Assembly

• 1 (11-ounce) box vanilla wafers
• 6 medium bananas, sliced ½-inch thick

For the Meringue

• 8 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1⅓ cups (265 grams) granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Make the Pudding: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in ½ cup of the milk and the egg yolks. In a large saucepan, place the remaining 3 cups milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Whisk the egg mixture into the remaining hot milk in the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat. Add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
3. Assemble the Dish: Arrange vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish (you can reserve some to garnish, if you wish), and top with the banana slices. Pour the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve over the bananas and spread into an even layer.
4. Make the Meringue: In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon the meringue over the pudding, spreading it right up to the edges of the pan.
5. Bake until the meringue is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish with vanilla wafers, if desired. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

RECIPE NOTES:

• I don’t recommend using super ripe bananas in this recipe, as they will break down too much when the pudding is in the oven.

Tuesday Tips and Tricks - Getting organized - the bedrooms

Okay, so one of my resolutions is to get my home in order. I have a terrible habit of "stuffing" closets, drawers, and cabinets with the intention of "taking care of that later." Being unorganized and messy really does drive me crazy. Chaos causes me tremendous anxiety.

Still... I've been "stuffing" stuff here and there for TWELVE years!!!!

It is a daunting task to unstuff, clean out, purge, donate, organize and clean all the closets, cabinets, chests, and drawers in my house.

But... It must be done.

Now my normal way to tackle something like this is to take a day off of work (Monday or Friday) and spend the weekend plus that day going through my home like a mad woman.

THROW IT ALL AWAY!!!!!

This isn't really very productive. Sure I can get most of the work done, but by the time I'm through, I don't want to clean ANYTHING...so it quickly gets all messed up again.

This year I am focusing on moderation, relaxing, not getting so worked up over things. So, I'm breaking this whole "clean, purge, and organize everything" down into manageable parts.

For the rest of this month, we'll work on the bedrooms.

This week:

1. Purge and organize dresser drawers
2. Purge and organize hanging clothes

Have a trash bag handy and don't over think it!

If it has holes or stains, toss it!

Take those clothes that look nice but no longer fit to Goodwill or some other charity.


Once you're done, upkeep should be easy...
Put away laundry as it comes out of the dryer


We can purge again in 6 months or so!


Much love and big hugs!
K

Monday Motivation

Having trouble deciding what to do? Trouble making a decision? So often, we do things in the heat of the moment and spend a lifetime regretting those decisions....