It's Official

The torture of keeping this secret is finally ended, because it's now official - I'M GOING TO THAILAND!!!!! ^_^

John Baxter from AFM called me a couple months ago with an urgent need - a homeschool teacher for the children of a young missionary couple in Thailand. After much prayer, I accepted the call.

Now, let the challenges begin. The first $1,700 of $5,000 is due in just 10 days. The rest is due by August 15.  Then, there's the language... Then, the challenge of trying to teach two active little boys, when I've had only one class on such things - "Intro to Teaching" - 6 years ago. Am I in over my head? Perhaps so. But by holding God's hand, I can walk on water, just like Peter. Where challenges abound, God's grace much more abounds. I'm excited. :)

Contact me for more info on how you can help with this project! I'd love to answer any questions you might have. You can email me at studentmissionary05@gmail.com or call me at (828) 837-4219.

I look forward to seeing how God is going to work!

Gems from Acts 8

Acts 8:30 - "And Philip ran thither to him..." He ran...he actually RAN! Can you imagine? A grown man sprinting across the desert... :D

And I thought, Do I have the same sense of urgency? I remember seeing some in my canvassing team a few years ago who actually would RUN from house to house, with that heavy canvassing bag! I remember thinking to myself, How do they do that?! They had that sense of urgency, that divine unction.

Acts 8:37 - "...And he [the eunuch] answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he was baptized.

You know, I've heard this verse used a lot among the conventional Christian world. They say, "See, all you have to do is believe!" For a while, this puzzled me, too. Why, throughout the book of Acts especially, does it seem like so little was required for one to become a Christian and be baptized? What about all the other important doctrines that we teach before baptism today?

This time, it finally hit me. That was their "present truth" - that Jesus was the Son of God. It was unpopular. In fact, many lost their lives because of that profession. Keep in mind, too, that - especially in the beginning of the apostles' ministry - most of their converts were Jews. They already knew the doctrines. They were only lacking Christ.

To claim the same "present truth" today - to require only that people profess belief that Jesus is the Son of God - would not require any real sacrifice. It has become the popular, accepted belief in mainline churches. We need to go deeper. The Three Angels' Messages - the Sanctuary message - the anti-typical Day of Atonement - the Sabbath truth, and how it relates to the Mark of the Beast, etc. - this is our "present truth". Does that mean we should abandon the "present truth" of yesteryears? By all means, no! All present truth builds on the foundation of present truth that has come before. The Three Angels' Messages would have no impetus without preaching Christ as its center. Likewise for all the other messages we preach.

Anyways, sorry to get all preachy, but I'm excited. :) Now I finally have a totally logical answer to those "just believe" objections, without having to just scramble around from verse to verse and put puzzle pieces together. (Though of course that definitely has its place, too!)

Mother's Day Parfait

Mother's Day Parfait 

(or anytime, for that matter!)

Simply layer granola, fruit sauce, and vegan whipped cream in a tall glass. Top with a sprinkle of granola. For an extra special gourmet touch, slice a fresh strawberry from bottom to top, not cutting all the way through, then fan out the slices and place in the center of parfait.

Enjoy!! ^_^

Fruit Sauce

½ cup frozen white grape/raspberry juice concentrate (100% juice)
2 Tbs. cornstarch or arrowroot
1 12-oz. (or 16-oz.) bag of frozen strawberries or blueberries
½ cup water

Dissolve cornstarch in cold water, then thicken with juice in a saucepan, stirring constantly.
When thick, add frozen fruit. Simmer for 2 minutes; turn off heat.

Makes 3 cups.

Whipped Topping

1 cup water

2 Tbs. agar flakes (or 2 tsp. powder)*

½ cup raw cashew nuts

1/3 cup honey or ½ cup evap. cane juice

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon guar gum (optional)

1 can coconut milk (or 2 cups soy milk)   I use Thai brand coconut milk; it is thicker and has no added chemicals or preservatives.

1.  Stir together the agar and water, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

2.  Place remaining ingredients in blender (Vita-Mix is best) along with hot agar mixture.  Blend on high until smooth, adding water as needed to make 3½ - 4 cups total mixture (3½ cups total mixture for icing; 4 cups for whipped topping).  Pour into a quart container and chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight.  For quicker chilling, use a large shallow container. 

Hint:  Since this recipe needs blending twice, leave the blended mixture (step 2) in the blender and refrigerate overnight.  Then simply re-blend as in step 3, saving the work of washing the blender and containers twice!

3.  Before using, place chilled mixture (which will be quite firm--almost sliceable) in blender or food processor, and blend until creamy.  (If you have a lightweight blender, you should blend just half of the mix at a time.)  It should be the consistency of Cool Whip.  Try not to add more liquid.  The mixture will eventually go through the blades and become creamy if you carefully push it toward the blades with a rubber spatula. 

*The agar is a key ingredient in this recipe.  The mixture has to be re-blended only once.  Then it can be frozen and used without re-blending , but remains a nice creamy texture.  So make a double recipe and freeze in small containers to use as needed for icing, dessert topping, or pancakes.

Makes 6 cups.

  

Joy

I love cooking for my family.

I love watching them enjoy the delicacies I've worked so hard to prepare. I don't consider it work, really; it's just something I've come to love - making others happy, especially those I love.

Of course, I have a wonderful family who make sure I know how much they appreciate my efforts, and a mother who habitually brags on me. :)

Yet, as I washed dishes today, I pondered: Would I enjoy it as much if my efforts went unacknowledged, unappreciated? Would my heart still sing if my efforts were belittled or even criticized by ungrateful people?

This is the ultimate test. Lord, help me. I fall short.


Yet, my heart is encouraged by this: Our Father always takes delight in our efforts, no matter how many others fail to notice. In fact, He takes pride not only in our successes, but even in our apparent failures, because at least we tried. We gave our all. And that's what counts. To Him, it's as if we had the most stunning victory. Because really, we did.

Isn't He awesome? :)