Get Fit Friday - 100 Day Challenge- Week 12

16 Days left!

Thursday's Thoughts on... the desire in your heart

I heard a pastor say that if you have a desire in your heart, God put it there and there is a "yes" in your future. He went on to say that if you want something, you should go after it, because God obviously wants you to have it.

Now, I don't know this man. I don't know his family, his church, or his friends. I am inclined to think that they must be the most wonderful people to be around... being that he can make such a statement without a "but" or "as long as" attached to it. 

See, if I said something like "if you want something, go after it," I would have to make sure to clarify, "make sure it is in line with God's Word"... cause Satan puts desires in our hearts too. I mean, I can WANT to be in a relationship with a man who is not my husband. I can DESIRE this in my heart. God's Word makes it crystal clear that this "want" and "desire" is NOT placed in my heart by God. (Don't commit adultery.)

I do not believe, as the aforementioned pastor seems to, that all the desires in my heart are from God.  I WILL say this.... the more I know Jesus, the more my desires DO line up with God's Word. 

A few Scriptures come to mind as I consider this...

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

God's Word assures me over and over again that following Christ will keep me on the right path. When I find myself in a "what should I do?" moment, lining my choice up with God's Word is always the right choice. 

The greatest tool Satan has is deceit. We believe that he comes to us as some frightening thing, when in reality he comes dressed as everything we ever wanted. Satan doesn't frighten us into following him, he entices us with promises to fulfill our deepest desires. He promises to meet our needs. 

What Satan DOES'T reveal is the price tag attached to that thing we want so desperately. You want fame and fortune? Look at the suicide rate combined with the number of drug and alcohol related deaths among the rich and famous. There is an equally deadly price tag attached to every single thing Satan offers and the fine print always includes phrases like "hopelessness and despair."

So, while others may tell you "follow your heart." I will tell you "Follow hard after Christ." Only following Christ has ever given me any peace. 

Satan's lie is the same as it was in the Garden: "God is holding out on you." What Satan DOESN'T tell you is all the heartache God is protecting you from. So no, don't assume that every desire and want in your heart is from God and that you should go for it. Satan puts desires there too. 

Just my thoughts 

K

Wednesday's Weekly Recipe

Okay so I am not even gonna TRY to compete with your secret family recipe for Dressing or whatever.

Instead, I want to share some of my favorite "finger foods." I suppose they could be considered a "snack" or "appetizer" or even "hors d'œuvre."

Whatever you want to call them... it saves me much stress and anxiety to have these on hand.

Crackers with Pepper Jelly and Cream cheese.
    This is absolutely as easy as it sounds. Pop a block of cream cheese on a plate, pour pepper jelly over it ( I like Captain Rodney's) and serve with crackers. IF you have time, microwave the cream cheese for about 15 seconds before pouring the jelly over it.


"Break and Bake" Cookies
      These are in the dairy section of the grocery store.  I keep some version of these in my fridge almost all the time. No, they are not home made... but they are fast and easy and... Is anyone really going to turn down warm cookies? I mean seriously. Sure I like to make beautiful home made shortbread cookies with fabulous icing details... but I do NOT always have time for all that. No one have ever complained - LOL!


Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Crescent Poppers
    This is a good one if you have a minute to prepare. Mix a softened block of cream cheese with diced jalapenos (add as much or as little as you like). Unroll a can of crescent rolls on parchment paper or something else that doesn't stick. (I like to pinch the seams together, but that's just me) Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crescent rolls. Starting with the long side (you should have a rectangle), roll into a "log". Refrigerate for about 30 min. (you can do this ahead of time and leave in the fridge a few days). Remove from fridge, cut in 3/4 inch sections. (if you start by cutting it in half, then those halves in half then those in half, you end up with nice, even "poppers". Place flat on a greased cookie sheet and bake until golden.  I hope that makes sense.
This is what they look like:

Oh! You can use the premixed jalapeno cream cheese spread if you want... I don't think it tastes as good tho.

So there ya go. Cream Cheese, Crescent Rolls, Break and bake cookie dough, and pepper jelly. That's all you need to have on hand to insure you are never caught empty handed this holiday season... or any other time for that matter.


Enjoy!
K

Tuesday's Tips and Tricks - Celebrating (not surviving) the Holiday Season - Thanksgiving

November is here and Thanksgiving will be here in the blink of an eye!

I hope that you don't miss this special holiday. I feel that we have, as a society, skipped over the entire month of November and lumped the meaning of Thanksgiving in with Christmas. We spend November shopping and decorating for Christmas and have reduced Thanksgiving to nothing more than a fancy meal.

Thanksgiving is the holiday to celebrate what we are thankful for. This is the time to gather with those you love and soak in all the many ways God has blessed us. As I have intentionally planned this year's holiday season, I am confronted with the sad fact that, for me personally, Thanksgiving has lost much of it's meaning. It is my goal, hope, and prayer that this will change in 2018, but I realize that in order to accomplish this, I must make a conscious effort to make it happen.

For the past several years, we have celebrated Thanksgiving with friends. The Davis family invites several families to eat with them and it is truly a time that I have come to treasure. I don't really want to change that just yet.

So, without totally changing our Thanksgiving routine, how can I make Thanksgiving more prominent, more meaningful? How can I be more thankful and how can I help those I love be more thankful?

For the past few years, I have participated in "30 days of Thankfulness" on Face Book. This is a great way to focus on what/who I'm thankful for, but I am not doing that this year. No particular reason. Just not. I probably will again next year. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll need to find something else...

I looked on Pinterest and there are tons of "thankfulness challenges"... feel free to pull something from there.

For me, this year, I am going to simply focus on being thankful. Not for social media. Not to complete a challenge. I want to FEEL thankfulness... humble gratitude. I want to rid my heart of any feelings of entitlement. I am aware today that I take so much of my life for granted. I want to fully see all the things that God has given me to enrich my life, and be truly completely and totally grateful for them.

Enjoy Thanksgiving. BE Thankful. Whatever that means to you, how ever that looks for you... be thankful. Make a conscious effort to see all the ways God HAS blessed you. Spend no time wishing for things to be different. Rather, experience and enjoy what you have. Spend November fully immersed in all the many ways God has shown His love for you.  Look for things to be thankful for all day each day...and intentionally thank God for them.


Much Love and Big Big hugs!
K

Monday Motivation

On October 9, my oldest niece was blessed with her first child. Most of our family gathered at my sister's home a few weeks later to celebrate this new life. Babies are so sweet. They are love, adoration, and innocence all wrapped up in a pink and blue blanket.

I cannot help but be reminded of Jesus's conversation with Nicodemus about being born again...

It is hard to imagine that, when we accept Christ as Savior, we are born again. Just like a newborn baby has no past and has made no mistakes or bad choices, our slate is wiped clean when we accept Jesus' gift of salvation.

Maybe you, like me, need this reminder today....

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Father God,
Thank you for the reminder of the new life I have in Christ Jesus. Thank you Jesus for making it possible for me to be reconciled to the Father!
Amen


Have a great week!
K