A Homecoming Princess

This past Friday night was our Homecoming football game.

My beautiful daughter, Alex, was a Queen Candidate.

She didn't win, but can I just say she was the most beautiful girl there?

Don't you agree?

I am one proud mama.  And feeling so very blessed. 

It's Salsa Time!!!

We eat a lot of salsa at my house. 

Let me say that again . . We eat a lot of salsa at my house.

Two summers ago we canned over 100 pints of salsa.  Last summer our tomatoes did NOT do well, so we didn't can any salsa.  We ran out of our homemade salsa last winter.  So this summer it's salsa time again.

If you would like the detailed recipe, look HERE.  And really, salsa is a personal thing.  If you like it sweeter, add more sugar.  If you like it hotter, add more jalapeno.

One year I added corn to my salsa.  

Some folks add black beans, although we haven't. 

If you've never done any canning, salsa is a great place to start.  You really can't go wrong. 

Last night we canned 50 pints of salsa.  50 pints.  That's about a year's worth.  Hoping to do another batch over the weekend, or maybe next week.

Our green beans didn't do well this summer, we only canned about 20 quarts.  Our fall beans are looking GOOD, so we are HOPING to can another 80 or 100 quarts of green beans in a couple of weeks.  Fall green beans do better for us.  Fewer bug bites, less "rust" just a better bean, IF you can get them before it frosts.  And with our weird Missouri weather, well, you just never know.

So take the plunge, pick yourself some tomatoes and MAKE SALSA!!!

You'll be glad you did!!!

Remember What God Has Done

Today I am sharing a devotional with you from David Wilkerson. 

REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE

by David Wilkerson

[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

Moses instructed Israel, "Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well

remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt . . . the

signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby

the Lord thy God brought thee out: so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the

people of whom thou art afraid" (Deuteronomy 7:18-19).

What a powerful message! Moses was reminding the Israelites, "No matter what

enemies you face, God has promised you victory over them all. He delivered your

fathers from Pharaoh, and he will do the same for you today!"

"Remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days

of thy life" (Deuteronomy 16:3). "Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman

in Egypt" (verse 12).

Moses' cry to the people was, "Remember the past! If you think you're having a

difficult time here in the wilderness, think about all the terrors you faced in

Egypt. Don't forget what life was like when you were all slaves. And remember

everything God did to deliver you from it all!"

The prophet Isaiah also spoke God's Word to a people who were full of fear.

This was at a time when Israel was convinced God had forsaken them, but Isaiah

assured them:

"Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of

the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker,

that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth;

and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as

if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?" (Isaiah

51:12-13).

God said through the prophet, "The reason you're afraid is because you have

forgotten who I am. You are looking only at your troubles and have forgotten

that My hand is still on your life!"

You may have trouble remembering God's miracles in your life. You may think,

"My life has been one long, hard nightmare. How can I remember God's miracles

when I haven't experienced them?"

Our experiences can inspire faith, but they are not meant to be the foundation

of our faith. That is why God's Word always points us toward what Jesus has

done. We are to remember His victory on the cross and cling to it by faith. He

alone empowers us to victory, by His Spirit.

 

Have you forgotten who God is??  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I get so focused on how big the situation seems, that I forget how big my God really is.  I forget all of the miracles that He has done.  I forget that He spoke the world into existence.  If God can do that, then how can I doubt Him when it comes to trials in my life?? 

 

Lord, today, help my unbelief.  Help me to trust You completely and not doubt.  With every situation, and every circumstance, You are in control.  Help me to keep my eyes on YOU, and not the problem.  And help me to leave the outcome totally in Your hands.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

 

Stuff

Today I attended the funeral of my Great Aunt.  She was 87 years old.  I have wonderful memories of this sweet lady.  She was, without a doubt, one of the nicest people I have ever known.  She always had a smile on her face, always a kind word to say to everyone.

At the luncheon after the funeral I was visiting with one of her grandsons, and they were talking about all of the "stuff" she still has at her house.  He said that a couple of weeks ago they had all picked what they wanted to have from her house, things to remember her by.  And as he was driving home his brother had called him and said this:

"We all work our whole lives to accumulate stuff, and when we die, we can’t take one thing with us, and then other people come and get our stuff to add to their stuff that they can’t take with them either."

And I thought about this statement, and how very true it is. 

We are all so protective of our "stuff."  We like our "stuff."  We want the same "stuff" everybody else has.  To be honest, we want NICER STUFF than everybody else has.

We trade our lives for a job, so we can get MORE STUFF.

Why do we do this?

In Luke 12 Jesus said: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

I typed this in red, because these are Jesus' words.  Not mine. 

But I have been guilty of this.  Being very concerned with the things I possess.

Wanting to possess nicer things, newer things, bigger things.  Guilty.

And why do I do this??

I mean, I've been to a lot of funerals in my life.  A lot.  And I've never seen anybody buried with anything other than their clothes, maybe a wedding ring.  No house, no car, no fancy electronic equipment, no cash, nothing in that casket but their body.  So it's not like I don't KNOW that when we leave this world we take nothing with us.  We all know that. 

And still, we are on a relentless pursuit for more stuff.

Why?

I believe it is because as humans we are made with an empty space in our hearts.  And that empty space is to be filled with a love for God.  And if we don't completely fill that space with Him, well, then there's still an emptiness.  And I think as humans we try to fill that empty space with "stuff." 

And it doesn't fit.   The "stuff" doesn't fill the void, because the void is only made to be filled with God.  Not stuff.

Don't get me wrong.  Stuff, in and of itself, is not bad.  But shouldn't that "relentless pursuit" I referred to be a relentless pursuit for more of God, instead of for more "stuff?"

So today I'm asking God to help me pursue more of Him.  To keep my priorities straight, and desire Him more than I desire the empty "stuff" of this world that I know I can't take with me anyway.

At the end of her life my Great Aunt did not ask for her "stuff" to be brought to the nursing home with her so she could see it.  Her desire was to be surrounded by her family, those she loved.  The "stuff" that was in her house was just that, "stuff." 

What are you pursuing today?  A closer relationship with God, or "stuff."