Christmas Recipes

Some recipes for you and your family to enjoy:

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Turkey Breast with Sage Mustard Crumbs

Yummy Yam Casserole

Apricot Honey Glazed Ham

Cranberry and Raisin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Crunchy Pear and Celery Salad

Hot Curried Fruit

O Come Let Us Adore Him!

Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:5 Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.

Romans 1:3-4 Concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Praise God for His undeserving gift to us....a Savior, which is Christ the Lord!

Sunday's Hymn

By Faith
Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend

By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand...

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

The Call to Follow Jesus

Faith and obedience seem to be synonymous when it comes to the Kingdom of God. If we truly believe, then we do the things which God commands. And when we do what He has commanded, we ought to say, "We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done" Luke 17:10. FAITH OUGHT TO OBEY.

May we not get puffed up by all we do for the kingdom of God. May we not trust in ourselves that we are righteous while viewing others as sinners. Instead, may we give thanks to the ONE who has been merciful to us as sinners.

~Kay Arthur *The Call to Follow Jesus*

Word for Wednesday

Psalm 116:1-9

I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

Praying for those who are weeping today...

Kindness

Martha Peace says in her book, Becoming A Titus 2 Woman:

Being kind encompasses generosity, compassion, and kind deeds. It is shown in practical ways by doing kind deeds joyfully, expressing kind and compassionate words, and speaking those words in a kind and gentle tone of voice. Being kind is one of the hallmarks of being a godly woman. The Titus 2 woman should do everything she can to help the younger woman adorn herself with true beauty--good deeds done from a kind heart.

Christ Has Loved Us!

Christ has loved us
“There is no other solution to the marvelous mysteries of His Incarnation and Sacrificial Death but this: Christ has loved us.

There is not a circumstance of our Lord’s history which is not another form or manifestation of love.

His incarnation is love stooping.
His sympathy is love weeping.
His compassion is love supporting.
His grace is love acting.
His teaching is the voice of love.
His silence is the repose of love.
His patience is the restraint of love.
His obedience is the labor of love.
His suffering is the travail of love.
His cross is the altar of love.
His death is the burnt offering of love.
His resurrection is the triumph of love.
His ascension into heaven is the enthronement of love.
His sitting down at the right hand of God is the intercession of love.

Such is the deep, the vast, the boundless ocean of Christ’s love!”—Octavius Winslow, The Sympathy of Christ

From Of First Importance

Kindness is on her tongue...

Kind words are sympathetic, compassionate, and biblically loving. A kind woman is apt to say something like. "I know this must be hard for you. Is there anything I can do to make it easier?" or "I'm so sorry that this is hard. Let me help you." She is kind when she opens her mouth.

~Martha Peace from Becoming a Titus 2 Woman.

Proverbs 31:26 The excellent wife "opens her mouth in wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue."

Be mindful and purposeful today that all of your words are kind.

All I Have Is Christ!

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still
But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

Sovereign Grace Music

Sacrificial Love Proves Genuine Faith

How are you doing in the area of genuinely loving others? Is it a chore or do you strive to love as Christ loved? Agape love is the love that gives. It is completely unselfish.

John MacArthur says in Strength For Today:

This is the highest form of love, which all the other virtues in 2 Peter 1 ultimately lead to. It seeks another's good, no matter what the cost. Agape was exemplified perfectly by Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. But what does this highest type of love look like? A brief survey of the *one anothers* in the New testament gives an excellent picture. We are commanded to:

Edify one another (Rom 14:19)
Serve one another (Gal 5:13)
Bear one another's burdens (Gal 6:2)
Submit to one another (Eph 5:21)
Forgive ano another (Col 3:13)
Instruct one another (Col 3:16)
Comfort one another (1 Thess 4:18)
Rebuke one another (Titus 1:13)
Encourage one another to do good (Heb 10:24-25)
Confess sins to one another (James 5:16)
Pray for one another (James 5:16)
Be hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:9-10)

Dr. MacArthur goes on to say:

The Lord Jesus Christ was involved with individuals. He was a true friend who caringly, lovingly, and sensitively interacted with feeble, needy, and unimportant people and made them eternally important. Nevertheless we still find people spiritualizing love into a meaningless term. "I love so-and-so in the Lord" really means, "She irks me, but I guess I have to love her if she is a believer." Don't let yourself say that.

Instead, display genuine love.

The Person of Christ

Jesus is my divine Savior!
His bounty will supply me,
His omnipotence will deliver me,
His omnipresence will protect me,
His omniscience will guard me,
His love will animate me,
His mercy will heal me,
His grace will support me,
His compassion will comfort me,
His pity will relieve me,
His goodness will provide for me,
His tenderness will soothe me,
His kindness will encourage me,
His patience will bear with me,
His justice will avenge me,
His faithfulness will embolden me,
His holiness will beautify me,
His anger will awe me,
His life will quicken me,
His light will illumine me,
His Word will regulate me,
His joy will delight me,
His blessedness will elevate me,
His long-suffering will lead me to repentance,
His immutability will secure the fulfillment of all the promises to me,
His truth will be my shield and buckler,
His sovereignty will raise my admiration,
His condescension will inspire me with gratitude and love,
and His all-sufficiency will satisfy me both in time and eternity!

(James Smith, "The Person and Work of Christ" 1849)

Supermom VS. Abiding Mom

Are you striving to be a supermom or an abiding mom?

Click on to enlarge.

Her Character

I have been reading back through Martha Peace's book, Becoming a Titus 2 Woman...because I am always needing help and encouragement in this area.

Martha discusses what "Her Character" should be when an older woman begins to mentor a younger women.

When an older woman befriends a younger woman, she is likely to influence the younger women's thinking and actions. That can be good news or bad news. For example, it is bad news when the older woman leads the younger women into heresy. It is good news when the older woman is doctrinally sound. It is bad news when the older woman rebels against the authority of the elders in her church or her husband. It is good news when she is graciously under their authority. It is bad news when the older woman is a gossip. It is good news when she is like the "holy women of old". (1 peter 3:5)

Obviously, God does not want an older woman to be a bad influence on the younger women. Instead, he wants her to have godly character listed in Titus 2:3-5.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Regardless of our ages, we can all learn to be a Titus 2 woman..and we can eventually become an older woman who truly does "teach what is good" and "encourage younger women".

“The Law is for the proud and the Gospel for the brokenhearted."

- Martin Luther, quoted on monergism.com

A Right View of Trials in Motherhood

If you are a mother, hopefully you received the gracious gift from our church leadership entitled Motherhood by Brenda Payne recently. I would encourage you to read this short, but very helpful booklet if you have not.

At times we can be discouraged as mothers...we struggle and endure trials through this very important season of life. Payne says, "When trouble comes, it puts the squeeze on your heart, and whatever is in your heart will be revealed in your words, your actions, and your attitudes. Even your motives will become apparent."

She goes on to say these encouraging words:

James says that all our trials are designed to bring about spiritual maturity. In other words, don't waste your trials. Your mothering mayhem is a means to further your sanctification. "Consider it joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" James 1:2-4). This way of thinking challenges your natural assumption that where there are trials, there is misery. Because you are a Christian mother, God wants you to think differently about your trials. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. " This is not a cliche; it is a promise! God is up to something really good in the midst of your trouble--He is conforming you more and more into the image of Christ! In the end, that will be worth every conceivable trial you could ever face.

The God of Self Sufficient Fullness

It was such a blessing to have Dr. Bruce Ware speak on Sunday! His high view of God and passion were encouraging and edifying. These words of his are worthy of repeating.

When we compare what we have, can we add to the greatness, wisdom, and knowledge of God? No--all we have is what He has granted to us. He is infinitely full. We depend on God for everything, He depends on us not at all.

So then, why are we here? What is our purpose?

The answer is not that God was lonely and needed fellowship. Psalm 50--He's offended and dishonored to think so.

Rather, particularly in relation to His people, the answer is this: Though He doesn't need us, He loves us, and His purpose in creating and redeeming us is not that we might fill up some lack in Him, but that he might fill us up with Himself. He made us empty to be filled with His fullness, thirsty to drink of the water of life, weak to receive His strength, foolish to be instructed and corrected by His wisdom. In His love, He longs to give, to share the bounty. He wants us to experience in finite measure the fullness of joy and blessing that He knows infinitely--all to redound to the praise and glory of His name, the Giver and Provider of all the good we enjoy.

These truths just make me love God more....for who He is and what I am which is...an empty, thirsty, weak, and foolish person...that He chooses to love and fill. Incredible.

His book, Big Truth for Young Hearts, is a wonderful teaching tool for your families. Through its pages, you will clearly see how great and BIG our God is!

Bless the Lord, O My Soul!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:1-14

The Passing World

Christian living in the world is a matter of not being swept away by its influences, not bowing to its demands, but maintaining integrity to God and living preeminently for Him--not for yourself or for the world.

~Jay E. Adams in Christian Living in the World

Women's Spring Conference

Just a reminder about the Women's Spring Conference. It sounds like a lovely time of learning from God's Word and fellowship. Please pray about attending and register early if you can!

BCLR Women's Conference
"With the Master is Fullness of Joy" with Susan Heck

April 16-17, 2010

Friday: 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.

A continental breakfast and lunch will be served on Saturday.

Susan will teach us from the book of Philippians.

Registration Cost: $10 per person

$25 family rate (3 or more from the same household)

Remedy for Worldliness...

The remedy for worldliness is a complete devotion to God and a complete dejection of self. ~ Susan Heck in With the Master in the School of Tested Faith.

In James 4:6-10, God shows us a clear remedy for worldliness. James has stated very practically how we can make sure we are not living worldly, but in a relationship with God, through Christ.

1) Submit to God
2) Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
3) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
4) Cleanse your hands, you sinners.
5) Purify your hearts, you double minded.
6) Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
7) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.



How will we know if we have truly repented and been sorrowful over our sins? Is there a way to know this...yes there is.

2 Corinthians 7:9-12 "As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God."

The sorrow of the world produces death, but the sorrow of a sinner over his/her sins produces repentance that leads to salvation. Susan Heck goes on to say this in her chapter on the Remedy for Worldliness that shows how we can know if our sorrow is a godly sorrow leading to repentance:

1) We will be careful to deal with the sins in our life.
2) We will cleanse ourselves by seeking forgiveness of God and others.
3) We will have indignation...which is simply a holy anger that we have allowed sins in our life that offend a Holy God.
4) We will exhibit a fear of God...not a fear of others or consequences.
5) We will have a vehement desire in our hearts to settle the issue and see the relationship restored.
6) Our zeal to remove sin will be evident.
7) We will no longer try to protect ourselves from punishment, no matter what the cost.

Thankfully God takes our sorrow, our mourning, and our tears and turns it all to JOY! Why....so that He may be glorified!

“Have you heard God’s blessing in your inmost being? Are the words “You are my beloved child, in whom I delight” an endless source of joy and strength?

Have you sensed, through the Holy Spirit, God speaking them to you? That blessing – the blessing through the Spirit that is ours through Christ – is what Jacob received, and it is the only remedy against idolatry. Only that blessing makes idols unneccesary.

As with Jacob, we usually discover this only after a life of ‘looking for blessing in all the wrong places.’ It often takes an experience of crippling weakness for us to finally discover it. That is why so many of the most God-blessed people limp as they dance for joy.”

- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 164.

Mothers of Young Children....Do what You Can.

How does a mom of young children find any time for Bible study and meditation? During the season of life where diaper changing, feedings, and disciplining children are the most time consuming events of the day , how can God and His Word be a big part of your daily life? “Do What You Can” is the answer Don Whitney gives in Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed (pp. 157-158).

She was converted in her late teens. Discipled well from the start, Jean thrived on a spiritual diet strong on disciplines like the reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, service, evangelism, worship, silence and solitude, journal-keeping, and Scripture memory. She felt herself making spiritual progress almost daily. All this continued after she married her equally-dedicated husband, Roger.

Then she had three children in diapers. Caring for their most basic needs eliminated almost every moment of the time she used to devote to caring for her soul. Her longings for the things of God reached as high as ever, but her time and energy had new and severe limits.

On at least three occasions I’ve eavesdropped as Jean addressed young moms in similar situations. In effect she’s told them, “At this time in your life, you can’t do what you’re used to doing. You don’t have time for all your heart desires to experience in your spiritual life. Nevertheless, do what you can do, even though it’s precious little. Just don’t deceive yourself by thinking that you can put off a devotional life until you have more time. Because when the years roll around and you finally do have more time, your spiritual habits will be so ingrained that you won’t give more attention to your devotional life at all.”

Then I heard Jean tell her own story. She would keep Bibles open in several rooms–in the kitchen, nursery, bathroom–and look at them when she could. While warming a bottle or changing a diaper, she’d glance over and perhaps read only one verse. But this discipline helped her keep the Word in her heart and the presence of God in her awareness. And as the children’s needs grew less demanding, her disciplines were already in place to receive any additional time she could give them. Even though Jean felt almost spiritually dormant during those years in comparison to her early growth as a Christian, she kept alive the spiritual disciplines through which her soul would blossom in years to come.

Like Jean with three in diapers, you may be in a situation that curtails many of your spiritual activities. You may be looking at many months or even years of such limitations. Do what you can. God does not love us more when we do more, nor less when we do less. He accepts us, not because of what we do for Him, but because of what He’s done for us in Christ.

The Bible says, “He made us accepted in the Beloved [that is, Jesus]” (Ephesians 1:6). And nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Love God, and within the limitations He has sovereignly placed in your life at this time, do what you can.

From Josh Harris

Fully Paid

John MacArthur at Grace To You:

There was a little girl who secretly and quietly had saved up enough money to buy her father a present for Father's Day. But when she had all her money collected, she was very concerned and so she went to her mother and said, I can't be going down town every month to make payments. Mother, is there a store where they let you pay for the whole thing at once?

That's the kind of question a child would ask. And it is also true that there are religions in the world, in fact all false religions believe that you buy your salvation on some kind of an installment plan. You pay a little bit as you go. Good works offered to God each month, each week, each day, but nothing could be further from the truth. Salvation doesn't come on the installment plan. The price was fully paid at once by Christ and the gift of salvation is given at once by Christ to the penitent and believing sinner.

Let It Be Said Of Us....

Let It Be Said of Us
Words and Music by Steve Fry

Let it be said of us that the Lord was our passion,
That with gladness we bore every cross we were given;
That we fought the good fight, that we finished the course,
Knowing within us the power of the risen Lord

Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song.
By mercy made holy, by the Spirit made strong.
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song
'Til the likeness of Jesus be through us made known.
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song.

Let it be said of us: we were marked by forgiveness,
We were known by our love and delighted in meekness.
We were ruled by His peace, heeding unity's call,
Joined as one body that Christ would be seen by all.

Taming Our Tongues...

Picture with me the following scenario:

A large family was sitting around the table for breakfast one morning. As was customary, the father returned thanks, blessing God for the food. Immediately afterward, however, as was his bad habit, he begins to grumble about hard times, the poor quality of the food, the way it was cooked, and much more. His little daughter interrupted him and said, "Father, do you suppose God heard what you said a little while ago?"

"Certainly," replied the father with the confident air of an instructor.

"And did He hear what you said about the bacon and the coffee?"

"Of course," the father replied but not as confidently as before. And then his little girl asked him again, "Then, Father, which did God believe?"

Perhaps the above scenario describes what goes on in some Christian homes. We speak well of God in prayer and bless His name, only to lift our heads and complain about what we don't have. Or we begin to criticize and maybe even curse others.

By Susan Heck--*With the Master in the School of Tested Faith*. pg.213

Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.


Before we speak, let us ask ourselves the following:

*Is it kind?
*Is it necessary?
*Is it true?
*Is it gossip? (sharing private information with those who are not part of the solution)
*Am I defending my own opinion rather than listening to the individual?

~Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock in *Becoming a Woman Who Pleases God*

It is a Restless Evil...Word for Wednesday

James 3:5-12

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Teach Me How To Pray, Mother...

Lord, teach us to pray!" Luke 11:1

A little child missed her mother at a certain time every day. The mother's habit was to slip away upstairs alone, and to be gone for some time. The child noticed that the mother was always gentler, quieter and sweeter after she came back. Her face had lost its weary look--and was shining! Her voice was gladder, more cheerful.

"Where do you go, mother," the child said thoughtfully, "when you leave us every day?"

"I go upstairs to my room," said the mother.

"Why do you go to your room?" continued the little questioner. "You always come back with your face shining. What makes it shine so?"

"I go to pray," replied the mother reverently.

The child was silent for a little while, and then she said softly: "Teach me how to pray, mother!"

"When you pray, say: Our Father . . ." Luke 11:2

That one word is the key to the whole mystery of prayer. When Jesus taught his disciples to speak to God, calling Him by that blessed name--He gave them the greatest of all lessons in prayer. When we can look into God's face and honestly say 'Father,' it is easy to pray. God loves to be called 'Father'. It opens His heart to hear all that we say--and to grant all that we ask.

Such power has the word 'father' spoken by a child, to open a human heart. Such power too, has the name 'Father' to find and open the heart of God! If we can sincerely say 'Father' when we come to the 'gate of prayer', we shall be sure to find entrance. If God is really our Father, we will no longer have any question as to whether we may pray to Him, or as to how to pray.

Some of us find life hard. It is full of cares and questions, of tasks and duties, of temptations and dangers. There are thorns and briers, among its roses. There are pitfalls in its sunniest paths. If we do not know how to pray--we can never get through the days. The privilege of prayer is always ours. The 'gate of prayer' is always open! Any moment we can look up and say 'Father', lay our need before the throne of mercy--and God will answer us as He desires!

J. R. Miller, "The Wider Life" 1908

May we be women who pray to Our Father.