Amish Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter 2 large eggs 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon nutmeg or 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons milk 3 cups oatmeal (regular or quick) Directions:

1 Melt butter. 2 Grease 1 1/2 quart baking dish and drop in eggs and beat well. 3 Add brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon, and salt. Mix well, no lumps. 4 Whisk in butter and both measures of milk, then add oats. 5 Stir well, and refrigerate overnight. 6 Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-45 min, or until set in the middle. 7 Serve hot with warm milk poured over.

I have made this and it is excellent. Great that you can put together at night to just use in the morning when you are in a hurry.

Students learn your A's B's C's and D's

Well, it's here kids. The day you have probably dreaded all summer. Duh duh duh, back to school! I just wanted to give you the ABCD's for back to school.

1. Acquire and Apply

The first one is be someone who loves to learn! Decide that this year you will be a student that loves to learn something new. Proverbs 18:15 says, " The mind of the prudent (wise) acquires knowledge. The ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Find a way to apply what you have learned. One way that you can do this is by studying to do well on your tests. That is applying what you have learned. Another apply, is to determine this year to apply yourself. Apply yourself to learn and study, and then maybe you can even teach someone else what you have learned!

2. Best-

This year, be determined to give your best, to the teacher, to the Lord, and to yourself. A great scripture to keep in mind is: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." Colossians 3: 23. If you do your work like you're teacher is Jesus, it should make a difference. Even if you don't like your teacher, you should be able to give your best if you are imagining you are doing it for the Lord instead.

3. Commit-

Proverbs 16:3 says, " Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established." Pray about your school year and commit it to the Lord. Pray before you study and ask the Lord to help you remember the things you are studying. Before your tests and exams, and ask the Lord to bring to your mind everything you have already studied. Seniors, you may have a senior project this year. Have you committed your project to the Lord? It's not to late to do that. Lastly, Commit your life. If you have not committed your life to the Lord, I pray that you will do that. It won't do you much good to just commit your work, if you have not committed your life to God. To live for Him, not just at home and church where it's easy, but at school too. That's the real test isn't it?

4. Diligent-

It says in Proverbs 12:27b "... the precious possession of a man (woman) is diligence."

The dictionary definition of the word "diligence" is: being constant in an effort to accomplish something. Keep at it, work hard and be diligent with your school work this year. I believe that it will pay off at the end with good grades. If you are diligent in your work, there is no telling how much you can accomplish, and how far you can go!

Try to remember these things. Pastor Steve and I will be praying for you this school year. We are here for you. We are on your side, pulling for you and cheering you on! You can do it!

Now go and learn your A, B's C's and D's!

The gift of the seashell

Our family recently went on a catamaran cruise to the Cape Lookout lighthouse. On the way, we stopped at a place called, "Seashell island". It's known for it's seashells that collect on the shore line. I have been to a lot of different beaches. Never have I seen one that has so many shells lying on the sand. I don't know what it is about this particular beach, that makes it like a giant sieve. It harvests large amounts of shells from the ocean and leaves them on the sand.

We are given a bag to put our shells into. So we can bring our "treasures" back with us. As I was picking up my treasure, my mind was focused on the seashell. When you think about the ocean, it is beautiful, with its wide expanse. But it's rough and sometimes violent with hurricanes. It can wreck a ship on its shoals... and yet from it comes the seashell.

We are given a gift, a treasure from something very unlikely, the sea. Every time I go to the ocean, I look for beautiful seashells. It is the best souvenir because it's free. The sea, with it's tide ebbing in and out, seems to be tugging at you, the sand, and everything around it. It is always saying, "More, I need more... come out here to me." Assigning a human characteristic to it, it is selfish. But when you look at the seashell, the sea is displaying a very different nature. It is a gift that the sea gives. It does something quite unselfish and hands over something of itself.

When we return from any trip to the ocean, we bring back our shell as a reminder of our trip to the coast. As I was thinking about writing this, I held up the large conch shell to my ear. They say you can hear the ocean's waves.

I think I heard something... it said, "Come back soon... you know you love to be here." I said, " I will, and thank you for the beautiful gift."

Back To School help for Kids, Uh I mean...Moms

Help! My child is ready to start school and I'm not ready to let them go!

Little Mommas... so many of you have wee ones that are starting school today; some for the very first time. But what do you do when your children are excited to start school and you aren't quite ready yet? May I just say... been there and done that.

When Ashley and Daniel started school they were all smiles and rip raring to go. Me.... I was not ready for them to go... I was a mess! Oh yes, I had prepared them, they skipped into their classrooms with their little lunch box and book bag, turned and waved goodbye...bye Mommy! (I think Ashley waved so enthusiastically that her pony tail just swayed back and forth!)

Now what? What about Mommy?

I tell you what? Mommy went home, went in her room, rocked back and forth in the rocking chair and just cried like a baby!

As I was perusing the Internet to see if there was any encouragement for Mom's on this subject, I saw there wasn't much. So, I want to try to encourage all the sweet little Mommas today.

1. It's okay to cry.

Yes, that's right. Just go on and give yourself permission to do just that! I think we have so much Mommy guilt about everything! I believe that the Lord created us with feelings and emotions and if it was wrong for us to cry, He would not have created us to be emotional creatures. So, for today, I say go ahead and cry, it may be good for you to do that, a good release.

2. Trust yourself.

Trust that you have instilled within your child the Christian values that he or she needs to be able to adapt in this new environment. If you have taught them to be kind at home, they will be kind at school. If you taught them to share at home, they will share at school. If you taught them to love, especially to love the Lord, they will be a loving person at school.

"Train a child in the way he should go..." Proverbs 22:6 You have trained them, and now they are going, let's let them go.

3. Trust your child.

Trust that your child has heard you and paid attention to you all these years and will carry these life lessons with them into the classroom. Yes, they are little children, but they are all unique, and special to God and to you. They have their own interests and likes that need to be developed. They have so much to learn. Let them learn it.

4. Trust the teacher.

This one may be the hardest. If you don't know the teacher on a personal level, this one can really be hard. At the beginning of the school year, I would pray that the teacher my child had, would love my child. Pray that the teacher will see all of the wonderful qualities in your child that you see. And would guide your child to blossom and flourish in their classroom.

5. Trust God.

Trust the Lord. He created your child. He knows them by name. Jesus loves them. He will be with them every step of the way as their guide and friend. He will bring back to their mind everything you have taught them.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Jesus loved children and they loved Him. The children wanted to come to Jesus. There was something warm, winsome and loving about Jesus that the children wanted to be around Him. He still loves children today. Trust Him with your child. In other words, place your child in God's hands.

6. Let peace be your constant companion.

If you are a stay at home Mom, your child has been your constant companion from birth. Now you must let the Lord and His peace be your constant companion. So,try not to stay a mess! Give yourself this day to be a mess, but be resolved not to stay a mess! Don't continue to stay in a constant state of turmoil. It is not good for you, or your child. Think about all the new and wonderful things your child is going to learn. They will be coming home at the end of this day, so excited and ready to share with you all their new experiences. Be ready to put your feelings aside and get excited with them!

Here is a scripture for you to memorize and take with you today and everyday.

"You (God) will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he
trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3 So keep your mind focused on God. He is the Prince of Peace and He will give you His peace if you meditate on Him and His Word.

Let me have prayer with you dear Momma.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would be with all the dear, sweet Mothers today who are sending their little ones off to school. I pray that you would bless these children as they go with Your protection. I pray that the Moms would place their confidence in this and in You. I pray that their children would learn and grow into the people that You would have them be. I pray that you would be with the teachers, give them wisdom and knowledge to impart to the children, but more importantly, give them a heart full of love for each child. Again, be with all the Mothers and help them to feel your love for their child and for them. Give them Your peace today I pray in Your blessed name Jesus.

Amen

God bless you little Mommas. You have done a great job. Your children are ready to go.

You may have your tissue in one hand and your Bible in the other. But even though you may think you're not ready, you are...

With God's help... He will give you the strength!

Stay Thirsty My Friends

On our recent visit to Missouri, my Sister-In-Love, took my camera and snapped some beautiful pictures of her neighbor's little fawn. There are some scriptures that mention the deer.

Psalm 42: 1-2 says, " As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?"

Hunger and thirst is something that is hard to ignore. God placed these cravings within us so that we would seek food, or drink and get what our bodies need to survive. I believe that He also placed a similar craving within us for Him. We will not be satisfied, truly with anything else.

The picture here in this passage is of a deer that has been chased up into the hills and is so thirsty. This is a thirst and craving similar to an alcoholic craving alcohol. They just have to have it or else! The deer is so thirsty that he not only bends his head down to drink, he dives his whole body right into the river. He just wants to soak it right into his pores!

Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount that if we are that thirsty for Him and His righteousness, we are blessed, the word happy could be inserted here.

"Blessed (happy) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (filled). Matthew 5:6 I would submit to you that you don't want to be righteous apart from knowing God. We need to want to know God with that much desire. Like a deer that is on the brink of thirsting to death if he doesn't get water!

Am I that thirsty for God?

In asking myself that question, I thought of that clever commercial of "The Most Interesting Man in the World". You know the one I"m talking about? At the end of the commercial, he says, "Stay Thirsty My friends"... this is a clever way for the advertiser to sell his product. It is not however something that we are interested in being physically. Who in their right minds would ever want to "stay thirsty"? However, this is a good way to think spiritually. We need to stay thirsty for God and His Word and His righteousness.

Are we thirsty for God?

Stay thirsty my friends...

A Psalm While Packing Books By: Joseph Bayly

So many hurting people... I have friends who are without jobs, in bankruptcy, and even the loss of a baby. There are many Scriptures that help us during this time, but I also like to hear from people who have walked down this same path. Through Randy Alcorn's devotional "90 Days of God's Goodness", he had a poem written by Joseph Bayly. Before I share this poem, I just wanted to tell you a little bit about Joseph Bayly. Joseph and his wife Mary Lou, lost three children. One was a baby, 18 days old, after surgery. Another at five years with leukemia, and the third was 18 years old, after a sledding accident due to complications from hemophilia.

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has gone through this much suffering. Who has worked through things, and yes even wrestled with the Lord and is still in ministry helping people.

I purchased two of Joseph Bayly's books, and the poem I am going to share with you is written by him, from the book "Psalms of My Life"

A Psalm While Packing Books

This cardboard box

Lord

see it says

Bursting limit

200 lbs. per square inch.

The box maker knew

how much strain

the box would take

what weight

would crush it.

You are wiser than the box maker

Maker of my spirit

my mind

my body.

Does the box know

when pressure increases close to

the limit?

No

it knows nothing.

But I know

when my breaking point

is near.

And so I pray

Maker of my soul

Determiner of the pressure

within

upon me

Stop it

lest I be broken

or else

change the pressure rating

of this fragile container

of Your grace

so that I may bear more.

Things Change...Through the Years

Things change... Through the years

The dress label number has increased...

But you don't seem to notice...

Your acceptance of me never ceased.

My face is betraying me when I catch my own reflection...

But from you I receive no rejection.

My hair is fading in it's color...

You don't see that it's duller...

The gleam in your eye makes my hair shine...

To you it's divine.

We don't feel the need to talk and talk...

With you beside me I will joyfully walk...

You're holding my hand...

As we travel down this road...

We share each others load

The empty nest...

Discovering each other...

We are so blest...

As we turn down the road that will bend...

My forever friend...

Left up to me it will never end...

You calm my fears...

Even sometimes there may be tears...

When others have jeers...

I'll always be here...

That will never change... Through the years.

Written to my dear husband Steve Roy by your wife JoAnne

On the occasion of our 31st Anniversary... With all my love.

All that glitters is not gold

Steve and I were recently in New Orleans for the SBC. After the convention was over, we set out to explore the city. We went to Bourbon Street. The sights and sounds and smells were overwhelming to the senses. Not just a bombardment of my senses, but of my soul. As we were walking down the sidewalk, my attention was drawn to a place on the sidewalk . The owner of the shop had sprinkled some beautiful, gold glitter on it. The glitter laden sidewalk was right in front of a place that said, "Angel readings". As I stopped to look at this, I realized that it was a place where you could go and get a "fortune telling" done. This grieved my spirit. We are told in Leviticus 19:31 "Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God." I wonder how many people went in there because of the beautiful glitter on the sidewalk, or the attractiveness of the place. My heart was so sad for this woman. So I stopped there and prayed for the woman who would be doing these readings. I prayed that she would come to know Jesus as her Saviour. The God we serve knows our future. He holds our future in His hands. I don't know about you, but I don't want to know my future! God created us so that we would not know the future for a reason. It would keep us in a turmoil and scared all the time to know the bad things that may lie ahead for us.

We should not be surprised by this. This is Satan's mode of operation. II Corinthians 11:14 reminds us that ..." Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." This is what he is so good at! Making sin look attractive and beautiful!

Next time you are tempted by something that looks so enticing remember that's how Satan works. He disguises the sin into a thing of beauty. That's how the serpent got Eve! The unfortunate thing is you don't see where it leads. Oh, there is a definite trail, but to where?

It may lead to your destruction.

James 1: 15 says," Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings for death."

Thomas Gray in 1742, in an "Ode on A Distant Prospect of Eton College" wrote these wise words, "Not all that tempts your wand'ring eyes And heedless hearts, is lawful prize; Nor all that glitters gold."

If you can't remember the Scriptures, the next time you see something that is shiny, that glittering thing of beauty that would be oh so tempting, just remember this little phrase...

"All that glitters is not gold."