Modest Fashion Week

My Sister and her friend are doing a "Modest Fashion Show" where you have fun trying to match your wardrobe with what the "theme" of the day is!!  If you haven't already, join in!  It is going to be lots of fun with prizes at the end!

Today was Flowers.  I actually had quite a few clothing items that have flowers on them, but they are usually pretty small- background designs.  Sarah actually told me what I should wear...and I did.  :)  What can I say, having a fashion diva in the house is pretty nice at times.  It was really handy when I went shopping.  I just let her have free reign bring me clothes.  Although some of them I really didn't care for- weren't my style- I did try on some I normally wouldn't have and really liked!  They are in my closet thanks to her.....:D

Here is my outfit for today.

 

Sweater- Target (LOVE it!)

Tank Top-Walmart

Skirt- Roamon's

Shoes-Shoe Dept

Hat- Walmart

Earrings- Avon (My cousin just became a consultant!)

Better close up with the earrings.  Don't you love how Sarah posed me?  She did such a great job taking my pictures!!  We just both got our outfits on and took each others pictures.  :D:D

 

The Shoes.  Aren't they fun?  Mine are Clarks which are ALWAYS very comfortable
and last a loonnnggg time.  Can't go wrong there.  :D

That's all for me.  I have a couple of posts in mind, but it will have to wait. Did you do the fashion show?  

Love,

Rebecca

Mark Hamby- The Process

Here is yet another piece of golden wisdom from Mark Hamby.  I have had the pleasure to meet the man, and although very focused and not your "soft, sensitive" fellow, he follows the Lord completely and with such humbleness!!  There is much to learn from a man of God like him and I hope you enjoy this tidbit of wealth from him as much as I.   ~Rebecca

The Process 

Today I was reading a devotional written by Oswald Chambers and it smacked me right between the eyes. So if you don't like someone taking a swing at you, you may not want to listen any further. If you can take it, then this is what Chambers had to say:  

"Often, Christians think that if Jesus Christ compels them to do something, He will lead them to success in the endeavor, if only they are obedient to Him. If you agree, then you are in for a rude awakening; our dreams of success are not God's ultimate purpose for us. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is not of primary importance. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God often sees as the goal itself.

If I can stay calm, faithful and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish-- His purpose is the process itself.

God's purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience and trust are the goal, then each moment as it comes becomes the real standard of success."

I think it was Theodore Roosevelt who said that success was failure upon failure with great enthusiasm. He may have been closer to the truth than he realized.

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (Philippians 3:12).

The Company of the Committed-Mark Hamby

Once again, Mark Hamby of Lamplighter Publishing, hits the nail on the head!  

The Company of the Committed

Elton Trueblood begins his 1961 book, The Company of the Committed, with a sobering question: "What reason is there to suppose that our civilization, in contrast to civilizations which have preceded it, will endure?"

The Roman Empire, one of the powerful regimes of all times, was brought to its knees by a small group of people, known as the Way. They were not merely professing believers who viewed Christianity as something which is merely lived out in church attendance one day a week. Rather, they were focused, energized, and passionate about their faith; in a word, they were committed.

Why are the masses discontented with the church? Trueblood writes, "they are looking for a bold fellowship, and what they find is a complacent society concerned to an absurd degree with its own internal politics or so unimaginative to suggest that the world can be saved by three hymns and a sermon or a Mass."

He goes on to say that, "...Many contemporary seekers cannot abide in the Church [sic] as they see it, their dissatisfaction arising not from the fact that membership demands too much, but rather from the fact that the demands are too small."

As Trueblood sees it, American Christianity has trivialized the community of the committed by reducing the focus to a place, a time, and a person. If America is to endure according to Trueblood, we must become fully committed to Christ and His cause by reintroducing the power, wonder, truth, and beauty of God in all of life, not solely on Sunday.

Where in your life are you too complacent?  I read somewhere that sometimes it isn't what I got out of Worship, it is what did God get out of Worship.  Ouch.

 

I know I thirst for more, but I don't always know how to go about it- or I am scared to be seen as a "radicalist" and strive harder than the rest.  

 

What do you think?  Are Mark Hamby's words true?  Are we too complacent as a Church?  

 

Love,

Rebecca

Mother's Day Brunch

We had a most delightful Mother's Day Brunch this past Sunday!  We used our easy family favorite recipes Oven Omelet, and Butterscotch Sticky Buns, some fruit with sweetened whipped cream, and bacon.  The china was brought out, some teacups placed on the table, cloth napkins used, and just plain old had a fun time dreaming this brunch up!

Oven Omelet is a recipe from a friend which has become a favorite- especially as it is so easy to mix up and you can add meats and/or veggies to make a bigger meal of it. 

You can find it HERE.

Our roll recipe is one we use on occasion as it isn't very good for you....Is so delicious we have to eat it sparingly!

Butterscotch Sticky Buns
From Aunt Donna


1 package cook and serve butterscotch pudding
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
24 white, frozen dinner rolls (the kind that you bake 
1 stick of butter, melted


Grease a Bundt Pan with oil spray.


Combine pudding mix, brown sugar, and nuts.

Layer Rolls in pan, sprinkling each layer with pudding mixture. Drizzle melted butter evenly over all and cover with saran wrap.  Refrigerate over night, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

We have done this recipe in the bundt pan as well as a 9x13 or a bit smaller.  It depend on if you want the rolls all covered in sticky stuff or somewhat less of it. 
We especially love the make it that night and wake up to turn on oven and pop them in!  Makes the morning so easy.  :D

After our guests left we loaded up in the car and went bowling in town.  It was a very nice relaxed afternoon.  What did you do?

Rebecca

Pug Figs- Mark Hamby

Ever wondered why Jesus cursed the fig tree that did not bear fruit?  Now you can know!!!  Mark Hamby is with Lamplighter Publishing.  I highly recommend joining his e-mail list!

Pug Figs   

"One of the puzzling miracles of Jesus' teaching was the cursing of the fig tree because it didn't have fruit; yet the text in Mark 11 states that it wasn't the time for figs. It seems to me, at least on the surface, that the poor tree didn't have a standing chance. I have speculated for years about this unusual scene but recently I found the answer as I was walking through Herod's coastal seaport of Caesarea.

When I arrived in Israel to make preparations for our Lamplighter Guild-Israel tours,it was early spring. When Jesus came upon the fig tree it would have been during this same season. It is true that spring is not the time for figs but the first fig tree I saw was full of figs. You see, in early spring a pungent and bitter fruit appears known as a pug fig. In Hebrew, pug means premature baby. (1) The leaves would be sparse at this time of year but these early pug figs would be in abundance.

Pug Figs in Israel (Photo by Mark Hamby)

Pug figs were also the forerunners of the later sweet figs that one could eat. (2) If there were no pug figs there would be no edible figs in the fall. (3) Poor people or those who were very hungry would eat these first fruit figs though the taste was not desirable. (4) When Jesus comes on the scene he is hungry but finds only leaves--no pug figs.

The reason Jesus curses the tree is because the tree was not functioning as it should by providing fruit for the poor and hungry. Another reason is because the tree was full of leaves which represented a life of hypocrisy--it looked good on the outside but had no fruit within.

The fact that Jesus performs this miracle right on the heels of cleansing the hypocrisy of the temple now makes perfect sense; it also serves as a reminder that our lives need to be in a perpetual state of fruitfulness. We never know when God may need to pluck a few figs for some hungry travelers who need our assistance."

In Christ,

Rebecca

Quote #5

The most important decision you make every day is what you choose to put in your mind.


~Chip Ingram

Wonderful Blog Post

I have been following this young man's blog for a while now and have enjoyed his posts.  This one I thought very good and wanted to pass it on.  Take the time to read it.  It is worth your time.  :)

"My Life, My Passions, My God"

Blessings!
Rebecca