Prices

[Here is the lesson outline for a devotional I did for a ladies brunch last Saturday. If it doesn't make sense, don't hesitate to comment.]

I went into Hobby Lobby to frame a small painting that I bought for my Dad in Tanzania, East Africa. I walked up to the desk and started the process of looking at frames and that sort of thing- now I'm not the greatest at framing art, but I do enjoy looking at it! The lady was very patient and helpful and I filled out the paper and handed it back to her; she gave it back and asked me just one little question "How much is it worth?". I kinda looked at the paper, at the painting and then at her- my mind was going a totally different direction then she was thinking, so I scribbled twenty dollars on it, we finished it up and I walked to my car. But I sat there and just let my mind go. What is the price of my painting?! Well, I payed 10 dollars US for it, I bought it from this little Tanzanian guy, I have no idea of his background, if he's even alive right now! I spent $1500 on a ticket to Tanzania, I spent 30 precious minutes with a friend I only get to see maybe once or twice a year, I bought it because my Dad loves art and it looked just like the kind he would like! What was it worth? Way more than 20 dollars! It's actually priceless! But it's also worthless. In the world's standard, in almost any one else's standard, it's not worth very much.
Then I got to thinking about other pieces of art, say, Mona Lisa. (I really like that painting.) Do you know that it is worth 700 million US? Seven hundred million dollars. We know who painted it, we know all about it, we know about de Vinci, we know about the story of Mona Lisa, etc. But is it any more important then my little painting? Is it worth anything more? Really? No. In relation to things eternal, and things that make life real, no. It made me think of Matt. 16:26- For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?










*What is the price of that painting?
*I couldn't really put a price on it: It was both priceless and worthless.

-Mona Lisa
*worth 700 million dollars.
*is it any better in actuality then my little painting from TZ? It's both priceless and worthless.

What are real prices? The price we place on our selves, our children, our spouse, our future spouse, our time, God, etc.

I'm focusing on God and time.

What price does God put on us? And what price do we put on God?

-The price God puts on us:
Gen. 1:26&27 (made in God's image)
Proverbs 139:14 (God has a plan for us before we are even born)
John 3:16 (God sent his only son to die for us)
Philippians 2:8 (Jesus came willingly to bear our sins. To become sin.)

-The price we put on God.
John 5:24 (He will save us)
I John 1:9 (Forgives sins)
I John 5:13 (Hope of heaven)

*We are all very humbled and grateful for the price God places on us: we're faithful and confident in the price we have in God. But what about every day living? When life gets busy and distracting, do we lose track of the price?


-What is the price we put on our time?
*We as women are frequently commenting on time. There are times that I just marvel at time and how fast it goes by! And I'm not even a Mom!

*What the Bible says about time:
James 4:14 (life is a vapor)

a) what do we do with our time?
Do we use it to God's glory? Or do we get caught up in the cares of the world?

How much time do we as women spend on our physical appearance?
I Peter 3:3-4 (the hidden man - it's our hearts and the beauty of Christ within us that matters.)
Romans 12:1-2 (Present ourselves holy to God)

How much time do we spend on things like books, movies and hobbies?
Phil. 4:8 (careful choices)
Proverbs 4:23 (guard our hearts and minds)
Luke 6:45 (the things we put into our hearts and minds will come out)

How much time do we spend on our houses and belongings?
Luke 10:40-42

How much time do we spend worrying about something?
Luke 12:22&25 (By worrying can we add to our lives?)
Philippians 4:6 (Do not worry!)

-These are just a few categories but they have really made me think about the emphasis I place on things. When we put a price on our time, what are things we can do to make it price worthy?

*Personal study and prayer time.
a) Study- do we feed our spiritual body as much as we do our physical body?
-Hebrews 2:1-3 (We are urged to not neglect our salvation)
II Corinthians 13:5 (Prove ourselves)
II Timothy 2:15 (Study)
I Peter 3:15 (Always ready to give an answer)
Look at these action words (underlined) We have to stand up and take action with our personal lives.
b) Prayer- do we talk to God as much as we should? How close would you be to your husband or friends if you only talked a few minutes before you go to sleep?
c) Memorization- Do we store up God's word in our heart? (Matt. 4) Jesus had a scripture ready for everyone of Satan's temptations. How many of us can quote movies and books? I can! What would our lives be like if we could quote a passage from God's word as much as we can quote movies and books?



This doesn't even go into the ways we can use our time wisely by serving others, but we must be sure of our salvation. And as we grow in it, on of the byproducts will be serving others. As we grow closer to God our lives will reach others and the circle will extend. We will affect our families, our friends and the people we meet.


Ending- We are of great price. God considers us a great price. Let's live our lives as a great price. I Corinthians 6:20 I Peter 2:9-10 Ephesians 5:15


(This lesson has been very challenging for me. As I've studied each of these different points, and thought about the significance of time, my heart is pricked. And I'm challenged and provoked to try even harder to do better. )

My heart always gets so full

Here I am in Africa. I find that every time I come back I notice something new. And I wonder why I never saw it before. Like the sun. The sun is so bright here. I know the reason is because Tanzania is 7 degrees off the equator. But the color and warmth seem more. Making the sky and the trees and shrubs so much more so.

It's so beautiful here! I wish you could all see what I see. I could try to tell you but it's just not the same. You can't really describe sunshine so warm and yellow you can almost see it. But really all we see is the light from the sun making the colors all around glow. You can't describe the songs of birds and the wind in corn. You just have to see it and hear it and feel it.

Airplanes really are handy. You can get on it and go places you might not ever go. I'm very blessed to be able to be here. In Tanzania, East Africa, with the Jensen family. I really do love them. There is just something so good in essence about them. :)

So I'm here for a month. And it's going to be such a wonderful time. :)

A little computer-challenged...

So it managed to post twice and then I tried to delete it...and I don't know how...so...yeah, I'm the smart one!!

Hahah...it's ok, I don't mind. Have a great day!

:D

The Problem isn't the Problem!

Sometimes bad days happen. Sometimes bad weeks happen. When everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. The washing machine breaks. The kids get sick, YOU get sick. You break your great-grandmothers salt shaker. You find an over due bill that fell behind the desk. You hear bad news from some friends. You have a co-worker that is really obnoxious. It's been rainy, cloudy, cold and drizzly until you think the sun went on vacation! It just is going bad.


But. Through it all, it's not the problem that's the problem. It's us. It's how we react to the problem.


It's not easy to react well sometimes. After all, who really likes being sick? But you can take that time to let others practice service and learn serving skills by serving you. You can rest and take in all the blessing you have.
About that salt shaker...you really loved your great-grandma, and she's been gone for several years, and it hurts. That's all there is to it. But somebody is watching you react. Do they hear you say a bad word? Do they see you pitch a fit? Sulk? Or do they see you simply sweep it up and react with grace. Some one is going to see you, even if it is only God. Maybe that co-worker just grates on your nerves to no end. But what does our lives as Christians demand? That we turn the other cheek, that we go the extra mile, that we give them our coat also, that we heap burning coals on their heads. (go look at Romans 12:20 if you don't understand)


I always think about what Paul said in II Corinthians 4:17 "For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory;" Do you know what Paul's light afflictions were? II Corinthians 11:23 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft." And on down through verse 28. Beatings? Imprisonment? Death? I know for a fact that my 'bad' days are walks in the park compared to Paul's bad days.


So let's all try a little harder and look a little deeper. Sit down, count your blessings, look the problem in the face and see where the real problem is. Go to God in prayer and go to His word- Psalm 46:10- "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

Let the problems of life just be stepping stone for growth, not stumbling blocks that set us back.

"Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4-7

A few thoughts while sweeping...

I was sweeping the mud room today and the thought crossed my head- Our house would be so much cleaner if I swept the mud room every day. We walk through the mud room every time we come into the house. It's where we keep the shoes and coats, etc. That's where we bang our shoes, wipe our feet and then go into the main part of the house. And if I swept it every day, we wouldn't be tracking in all the dust and dirt into the main part of the house. Sounds simple, right? Not a cure all, but it would definitely help!

I know my mind is simple, but here's what it made me think: Do I need to sweep my "mud room" every day? What are the things I'm allowing to enter my head, my mind, my heart? I'm not necessarily talking about big sin issues, but little things that can get us down and clog up my life. Like the dustiness of a negative attitude. Or the little clumps of discontent and nagging tongue. What about just a general lack of responsibility?

Every morning I have the choice of waking up, sweeping the mud room; that is going to help keep a lot of the dirt out of the house. Not all of it, but it will help.
Every morning I have the choice of waking up and being responsible and "sweeping the mud room" of my mind. Removing all the little things that can keep me from being the kind of Christian, first of all and sibling and daughter, second of all, that I can be.

Here is a thought that encourages me to no end. And is a nice ending to what I'm trying to say-

...lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith...
Hebrews 12:1&2

"If it's not billowing black smoke, it's probably ok"

That's what I told my little brother Silas when he came in and told me to come smell my food that was in the oven! When I checked, it was fine, just smelling yummy! If you hadn't noticed...I love to cook. :) Like a lot!

In my last post I mentioned Tomato Soup...well here's the recipe! It's kinda a mix of several...we all liked it fine...especially with melted cheese sandwiches! Enjoy!

Simple Tomato Soup

1 onion, minced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart tomato juice
1 large can diced tomatoes and one can rotel blended
a little extra tomato juice if needed.
sweetening to taste
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
basil to taste
2 cups 1/2 and1/2
1/2 tsp. soda

Saute onion and celery in a little butter until just cooked through. In a stock pot heat broth, and tomato juice (all of it!) . Add onions and celery. Season with the basil, garlic (small amount!), salt and pepper. Taste soup, adjust seasoning and add sweetening. (not too sweet) Right before serving turn soup off and add soda. (the soda keeps the 1/2 and1/2 from separating) Stir in 1/2 and 1/2 and serve with melted cheese sandwiches.

Did I mention these are good with melted cheese sandwiches?! Haha...oh by the way, it would be even better if you had melted ham and cheese sandwiches, as this is a little low on protein. Plus, you could also make some really yummy hot chocolate to go with the general atmosphere of a cold winter day and eating warming, favorite food! :)

"All hands to the kitchen!!!"

Well, first let me say that I finally figured out that you can click on that little tab at the top right hand corner when you're typing your post out and "compose" means you can actually dress it up, not just have the plain layout of "edit Html"! Oh yeah! I'm the smart one! So! Moving on!

Today was a coldish rainyish kind of day...you know the kind where you like to eat warm food and watch a movie! So for lunch I decided to make Tomato Soup and Cheese Melts. (Melts because we are low on bread. So single slices and those left over biscuits work just fine! By the by, I made TWO batches of bread this week. TWO!!!)

So picture this: Miles is washing dishes and Nathan is drying. Anna is making pizza dough for supper and DJing the music for us. (it's movie music-Pirates of the Caribbean, Cowboys, Quigley Down Under, Lord of the Rings, Chicken Run, Narnia, to name a few!) Naomi is grating cheese and making the melts, Silas is setting the table and doing little tricks for me, and I'm making Tomato soup. Now in case you don't really know me, 1) I love to cook and 2) I love to tweak recipes. So I had looked up Tomato Soup on-line and scribbled down a few notes on my handy dandy marker board. So I was happily fretting over my soup and consulting my board.

The kitchen was filled to the brim with people and teeming with humming, singing, harmonizing and conducting of music, questions, conversations and reminders to go around!

"Silas, paper plates and bowls" "Nathan! Will you please rinse!!" "Miles you just sloshed the water!" "Is this enough cheese?""What part of the movie is this from!?" "How many pizza's should I make" "Lollie, how many do I set for?" "Could you hand me a squeegee please?" "This music is nice!""Could you taste the soup?"....

So then, suddenly, the melts are melted and smelling great, the soup is done and awaits the final test...whether it's edible or not....we call Dad and Mom in and have a lovely lunch. It's calm, it's peaceful, and cozy. It's another typical meal and time with my family....and I love it! :)