Sharing with Others...

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas season approaching, this is a wonderful time to be planning and preparing delicious meals for family and friends...and even strangers. Our last few posts have been on the topic of true Biblical hospitality and our prayer, as women, can be that God would make us to be women who are quick to open our homes and share Biblical hospitality to others, so that the love of Christ can be seen and experienced in practical ways. It doesn't always mean sharing meals with others, but that can be one way to love others.

Recently, the women of our church were blessed to enjoy some delicious foods made by Diane Nichols at the Fall Women's Conference. She has been so kind to share those recipes with us. Maybe these recipes can inspire you to show loving hospitality to others in the weeks ahead.

French Onion Beef Brisket Sandwiches:

1 tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter
1 2- to 3-pound) beef brisket
3 large (about 3 cups) onions, halved, sliced
1/4 cup apple juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed beef consommé
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
10 Kaiser rolls
10 (3/4-ounce) slices LAND O LAKES® Deli Swiss Cheese


Heat oven to 325°F. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet until sizzling; place brisket in skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until browned (8 to 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients except rolls and cheese in 13x9-inch baking pan. Place browned brisket over onion mixture; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is fork tender and internal temperature reaches 170°F.

Place brisket onto cutting board; trim fat. Slice brisket across grain into thin slices; place beef slices onto bottom of Kaiser rolls. Top each with onion mixture, cheese and bun tops. Spoon pan juices into cups for dipping. This recipe serves 10 people.

Recipe Tip
Cook and slice brisket the day before you intend to serve it. To reheat, cover tightly with aluminum foil and heat in 350°F. oven until hot (30 to 35 minutes). Or place in microwave-safe dish. Cover with plastic food wrap; microwave on HIGH (100% power), stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition Facts (1 sandwich): Calories: 490, Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 890mg, Carbohydrates: 38g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Protein: 43g

Check back for some more delicious recipes to follow!

Sunday's Hymn of Thankfulness

My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow’r upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev’ry promise is enough
For ev’ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev’ry thought is love.
For ev’ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him.

“My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness“
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2003 Thankyou Music

Hospitality--An Event or True Love Lived Out?

Vonette Bright, who along with her husband, Bill, founded Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951, encourages Christian women to use their homes as a center for evangelism. Writing in The Joy of Hospitality she explains how hospitality can build bridges to those who need Christ:

"Hospitality is more than entertaining. It is expecting God to do great things through you as you reach out to touch the lives of others. It is focusing our relationships, especially the greatest relationship of all--walking and talking with the Lord Jesus Christ. True hospitality doesn't wear us out or make us feel pressured; life sharing is not entertaining in our own strength. It flows from a heart full of love for others. Christ's love, which doesn't come for our self effort, is a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The love of Christ is what draws people to God. This love transforms a party or other event into true hospitality. Hospitality, then, is not an event; it is a genuine concern for another's well being."

~From Practicing Hospitality by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock

Hospitality Defined

As a believer in Christ and desiring to live out what it means to truly be a faithful follower of God's Word, we must include Biblical hospitality as a quality in our role as women serving the Lord. What does Biblical hospitality look like? In Practicing Hospitality by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock, we can find a thorough and Biblical explanation of what hospitality should look like and what the heart of a woman who has a desire to serve the Lord and others acts like.

Women who participated in a survey gave these definitions of hospitality...they are worthy of reading. But, don't just read them...allow God to work in your heart to examine yourself and see what is holding you back from practicing hospitality. Repent and move forward to allow God to use you in this area.

A love of strangers, a willingness and a desire to meet any need of those whom the Lord brings into our lives.- Melissa Barnes

Opening up and sharing our lives with other people...we tend to think of hospitality as planning and executing an event or dinner party...while these activities fall within the realm of hospitality, they can not define it.-Bonnie Bishop

Being helpful and generous to others. It extends beyond the confines of the home.-Lynn Cathy

A welcoming spirit to open your home and share what the Lord has given you with anyone He brings our way: friends,family, neighbors, or someone you just met.-Lisa-Ann Chun

Meeting the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of our guests in an atmosphere of warmth and love.-Sue Edwards

Defined by servanthood, striving to do for others, causing them to feel welcomed, wanted, and worthwhile...The ultimate goal of Christian hospitailty is furthering the kingdom of God...in other words, will my behaviors encourage others to know Christ?-Debby Lennick

Showing love to strangers; welcoming people into a dwelling place with love and grace for the purpose of demonstrating Christ's love to them.-Connie Naresh

Demonstrating hospitality is one practical method for demonstrating our love for both God and others.

Romans 12:13 "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."

1 Timothy 5:10 "...and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work."

1 Peter 4:9 "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling."

Yearning to Study God's Word...

Are you a woman who hungers for a careful exploration of the meaning of scripture? Do you long to see the Word illustrated in your own life and discuss it with other women in a small group setting that is transparent and accountable to applying the Bible?

If so, the please join us as we study the Word together. The ladies Bible study is beginning soon and we would love for you to be a part of it! We will be studying the Epistle of James with the help of a book entitled, *With the Master in the School of Tested Faith* by Susan Heck.

Martha Peace says this about the book:

*With the Master in the School of Tested Faith* is an excellent verse by verse Bible study tool. Susan Heck's study of the Epistle of James is refreshingly solid and thought provoking.

The dates and times are Tuesdays 10:00–11:45 a.m. beginning Sept. 15 or Wednesdays 6:30-8:15 p.m. beginning Sept. 16.

You may register and purchase the book in the foyer of the church. Hope to see you there!

In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive.

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, letters and papers from prison, 31

Femininity

Elisabeth Elliot, writing on "The Essence of Femininity," offers a fitting summary of God's ideal for wives:

Unlike Eve, whose response to God was calculating and self-serving, the virgin Mary's answer holds no hesitation about risks or losses or the interruption of her own plans. It is an utter and unconditional self-giving: "I am the Lord's servant ... May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). This is what I understand to be the essence of femininity. It means surrender.

Think of a bride. She surrenders her independence, her name, her destiny, her will, herself to the bridegroom in marriage ... The gentle and quiet spirit of which Peter speaks, calling it "of great worth in God's sight" (1 Peter 3:4), is the true femininity, which found its epitome in Mary (John Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1991], 398, 532, emphasis added).