Saturday, September 25, 2010

Steeples to heaven

I was driving and passed this church in the country. The sky, the clouds, the knockout roses and the steeple looked so pretty, so I had to shoot a couple pictures.
Knockout roses

Church steeple was taken by me on September 25, 2010


 I  came across this photo of another country church steeple.

Country church with tall steeple located in Sugar Hill, NH
Photo credit: earl53 from morguefile.com


Oh, yesterday I received my latest Woman's Health magazine. Inside is an article about a secret ingredient for your face.  Pear is the secret ingredient.  Can you believe it?  Just last week  I made up a facial mixture with some crushed pear, and it was a wonderful.  The pear, buttermilk, yogurt, lavender essential oil blended together made for one mighty fine facial. My skin was so smooth feeling that I kept touching my face, it felt that smooth.  I'm going to be using pear  in more facials I made up in the future.

Until next time, keep you face toward the Son

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Friendship and flowers

I have a very good friend who blesses me with her friendship. There are a number of  things I find so refreshing about her.  I appreciate the most her eye for beauty, and how she so graciously lives and gives, but also her artwork called Natures Notables of pressed flower art. And, I have to mention she's equally talented and creative in her country kitchen.  My friend, Bonnie, has Southern hospitality down to a science, and you're the welcomed recipient of it the moment her door opens.  She's a gourmet cook, an author, a horticulturist, motivational speaker, and a very creative person with an upbeat attitude and a huge heart and she obviously adores her husband.  I just want to show you some of her creative handiwork using flowers she presses and displays to preserve. To have one of these pieces is truly a gift, and an honor to have.  She gets orders from near and far taking flowers of special occasions to preserve the memory of the person or occasion-which makes for a very personal and touching memento or sentiment to give or receive.  Let me introduce you to her website to view many other compositions, and view more of her meticulously crafted compositions.  My friend has mastered the time consuming technique of drying flowers, much of the process and materials is of her own design, and the completed compositions are professional looking masterpieces. The flowers are designed by God, but her finished pieces make for lovely appreciated framed art that can be proudly displayed and enjoyed.  I've told my friend that she can both cook and create so beautifully and do inside and outside her manicured home, that I bet she could give Martha Steward a run for her money.  If you could view and hold one of her compositions in person, you'd be truly amazed - I don't know how she gets them to look multi-dimensional, and so vivid, but they are.  Each one different and framed to compliment the pressed flowers.  Below are two framed pieces I took photographs of a couple days ago.
A Nature's Notables composition 




Another composition of pressed flowers 
I went on a cruise a couple years ago and was so disappointed with the cuisine on the ship. I thought to myself, 'I've tasted much better at my friend's table.' I was so let down with the cruise because I had been so looking forward to eating the much talked about cruise ship food. My friend's every day meals are so much more delightful and satisfying. I guess she's spoiled me, and everyone else who's eaten at her table. She's coming up with something new all the time in her kitchen and I'm thrilled when she asks me to sample something new because it's shear tummy and tongue delight. She's written cookbooks so you can delight those at your table. She's won awards on several occasions with her kitchen craftiness- she's so naturally creative. Oh, I'm salivating thinking of the last dish she created. And by the way, I know for a fact that I'm not about to go on another cruise. And I can't wait for her to complete and publish the first volume of her memoirs. She's read parts to me and it's memorizing.

I'm so blessed to have a friend with such wonderful talents of beauty to please the eyes and the tummy.  Thank you God. Be sure to check her website gallery.

 And my comment on my blueberry, buttermilk, pear facial was one, if not the best facial I've ever experienced. My skin was so dewy and soft for quite some time afterwards. I'm gonna  see if I can top it, but I doubt it.

Until next time, I'm keeping my best face toward the Son.


Addition on 10/31/2010- be sure and see more pressed flower compositions and creative handiwork by Bonnie

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Trilogy thinking

It's a Sunday morning and I was thinking about some differences of Christianity with respect to other religions.  I'm not a scholar by a long shot, but I think Christianity is the only religion having the Godhead trilogy. Anyway, let me type a few things my little brain was thinking about this morning putting together things I've learned.  
Jesus ascended to the heavens and will come back one day for his church
Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

1.) Long before man was even on the scene, God had devised a plan that would later show his creation, Man whom was going to have a brain in his cranium to think with.  God was going to make man inquisitive and have questions and scratch his head and wonder a lot about stuff and try to figure it out so he would feel smart and think he's a know-it-all.  Well, God being true to his almightiness, wanted to prove to Man that He is without limits or shortcomings of any sort. If God says it, then it's so. So God divided His Spirit Oneness into three characteristic personality qualities so that Man, having a brain in his cranium could understand a little of the greatness of God.
Ten Commandments boil down to love God and love your neighbor
Photo credit: grafixar from morguefile.com

2.) The perfect plan of God was set in motion from the beginning. God knew Man would screw up and need help. This plan was so astonishing that it's still to this day unbelieved by many men and women with brain in cranium. A special baby be born to a virgin, (of course that's impossible for man but not impossible for God to pull off). The ingenious plan included part of the Godhead would be this baby in order to be the perfect human sacrifice for all mankind and ultimately be the stand in and suffer death for all of mankind's sin.  No human could've thought of such a plan in a million years. God the Father remains in heaven, but Jesus, part of the trilogy of God,  would give up His seat in heaven and be born a helpless little baby, grew into a young boy, then a man in order to truly live a sinless life, and all the while be pleasing to God. Jesus is the acceptable spotless sacrificial lamb. This perfect plan of God worked in spite of all the attempts satan tried to get Jesus to sin and not fulfill the plan, not to mention all the people satan used to get Jesus killed while a baby.  But all of satans's attempts failed, including getting on of Jesus' disciples, Judas to betray him for thirty pieces of silver.  God knew that man would have doubts about Jesus and would have a hard time believing. God can confound the smartest of men, but God is the wiser and smarter. And besides, it takes faith to believe. Faith. Just faith.

3.) So God had eye-witnesses write of their accounts of Jesus in their own individual styles of writing.  We're graced with being able to read these first hand experience in the Bible about Jesus' life, ministry, miracles, death and resurrection.  Many books in the Bible were written by Jesus' disciples as eye-witnesses with a first hand account of Jesus' life in the #1 best selling book, called the Bible, which is a collection of 66 books. Each book penned by a different author (all inspired of God) has overlapping stories, many spanning many years apart, so we, the reader can cross examine and study and see the storyline is all knit together leading up to Jesus, his life, and after he's been resurrected. Some authors wrote more than one book in the Bible.  Even Paul, formally known as Saul, who killed Christians before his life changing experience with Jesus, was immediately converted from a Christian killer to a Christian and went on to pen many of the books in the New Testament of the Bible.  One of the disciples, named Thomas, wouldn't believe that Jesus was alive after being crucified. He had to put his finger in Jesus' wounds in order to believe. Well, the resurrected Jesus appeared and Thomas got to do what he needed to do and he was made a believer right then.
Inspired writings make up the Bible- God's book of love for all Man
Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

4.)When Jesus ascended to heaven, the third part of the trilogy, the Holy Spirit, arrived upon the scene for us.  All of this to me means God can't be boxed in by human standards. God is awesome. But more importantly, God is love and His love is unconditional. He's proved His love by dying for us.

TO SUM IT ALL UP- God provided us with a written account that sin has to be dealt with. Before Jesus, people brought animals to priests to be sacrificed for payment of sin. Blood had to be shed and symbolized a death has to occur and blood shed to wash sin away.  Moses brought commandments to live by.  People worshiped false gods. People were told a messiah would be coming that would save them. God's chosen people were descendants of Abraham and he rescued them whenever they called upon God to save them, but they repeatedly returned to their selfish ways, got their eyes off God, and got involved with the gods of other people and lost their holy land. Today people still have their eye on other gods and idols and sin is still rampant. But the plan is still in place and until you die the first death, you can still accept the perfect plan of God and accept Jesus. Yes, it's for all and you don't need to be perfect to accept the gift.  Just believe and accept the gift into your heart.

The Word, came to us from heaven in the form of a little baby boy, birthed by a virgin in a lowly little manger. Imagine that. The King of Kings born in a manger, and given the name of Jesus. He humbled himself for us. That is so interesting and so awesome that Jesus, humbled himself and came from the heavens as a little baby. There are no words which can  express what he did except that He did that for us, to be human so he could later be the pure human lamb to pay for our sins. He is the Messiah of the world and He is the Way, the Truth and the Light. God's Word says it. Your chose where your soul will spend eternity. In the lake of fire without God for eternity is the second death. Your body will die, but you spirit will never die.


DANGER- Now satan is all about lies and since he couldn't kill Jesus, his main purpose is to get anyone to get their eyes off Jesus and onto anything else. He diverts the truth from you and gets you to stumble or to think there's something else other than the truth. But don't be deceived by this fallen angel. Don't let him get away with murder. Because if he succeeds and you don't believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that you're a sinner, and that Jesus died for your sins and you don't accept Jesus as your personal savior, then because of you disbelief in God's Word and God's plan for you to be saved from doom, then satan will be having his way with you without end in the lake of fire. It will be all doom and gloom of the worst kind without any hope of every getting out.
hell and the lake of fire not pleasant
Photo credit: raphael_galante from morguefile.com


One additional thought- The road to hell is like a super highway.
Super highway
Photo credit: dantada from morguefile.com


But the road to heaven is like a narrow path.
Narrow path
Photo credit: OldGreySeaWolf from morguefile.com



I made another homemade facial mixture by mashing up a quarter of a pear with a teaspoon of blueberry yogurt I had in the refrigerator, then a little buttermilk and a drop of lavender essential oil. It's thickening in the refrigerator now.  Will let you know how it turns out as a facial in my next entry.  Oh, and since it's fresh with no preservatives, after a day or so,  discard it.  I sometimes apply my homemade facials before I get on the computer, then after I log off, I rinse the facial off  and enjoy my dewy, fresh feeling skin and lock in the moisture with a light oil such as olive oil, or emu oil, or even some vitamin E oil. 
Facial mixture of pear, blueberry yogurt, buttermilk and lavender essential oil

Until next time, I'm putting my best face toward the Son.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Love that never fails

I was thinking, love is what everyone's searching for? We all want it, need it, thrive on it.  Has love become what we seek for ourselves,  but not what we always want to give to our fellow man? Has love become such a fleeting emotion or choice? It seems it's so easy to dislike or find fault in others, but not so easy to love others who may be a little different in what they believe or different in how they look.
Everyday it's feeling more and more like Fall in the air. The leaves are starting to fall and the air is a bit cooler and less humid.
The seasons change. But God's love never changes.

Photo credit: hotblack from morguefile.com


I'm studying about love in the Bible, I Corinthians,Chapter 13. When I read this chapter, I always receive a deeper meaning of this love.  The type of love that never fails, which has made me think about religion in current news events.  I'm well aware there are other religions besides what I practice, but my heart is saddened when I see unkind treatment to people associated with religion?  What kind of love keeps a gender subdued, confined or limited?  How could the God someone worships not call for love to all? I just don't understand. Women want to be loved unconditionally.  I am not going to hate anyone who doesn't accept the religion or God I serve and worship.  I am so pleased that my God loves unconditionally both men and women equally.  Because God loves us and shows us His love in everything, we are to love our neighbor, that means all people.  The entire message of the Bible is about love. God is love. And when we find that special person to love, we are to love them with another type of love one has for their spouse which binds them and their hearts together as one. That love should endure as well.

I believe God created man and woman to be together to love each other and be fruitful and multiply. This is God's idea of family. Anything else is not the designed family that God intended. A baby should grow up in a loving environment and see Mother and Father display unconditional love towards each other.

Father, Mother and child

Photo credit: presto44 from morguefile.com

But getting deeper on the love in I Corinthians, Chapter 13, is the type of love many of us may never experience from the people around us- called unconditional love. Oh, we want others to have that kind of love for us, because that kind of love is not changed by circumstances or situations, or what bad might be going on at the moment. This kind of love is extra special, almost extinct now.  Unconditional love is not the here today and fade away tomorrow kind of love. This love is the I'd-give-my-life-for-you-kind of love. This is the love God has for us. God sent His precious Son, a part of himself in the flesh, to die a gruesome death in full public view. God and sin don't mix. All men and women have sinned and are sinners. Sin is disobedience against God, so Jesus took your place by dying for you. His dying was displaying the depth of his love, unconditional love, so your sins are wiped clean away, and you don't have to die. Your soul will be able to enter heaven.  No sin can enter heaven so it has to be cleansed away, and Jesus did that for you, but you must believe it to have your sins forgiven.  I don't know about your faith, but has your God shown unconditional love for you? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has cleared the way so the only two things you need to do is believe and accept his free gift? You don't have to work, or prove anything, or be perfect or perform anything. All you have to do is simply by faith believe and accept that God's love was sent in the body of Jesus, His Son, who died for your sins, and you, a sinner, by faith accept into your heart this free gift. It really is that simple. Then God's gift of unconditional love will live in your heart, and can then be displayed to others. Once you know what unconditional love is, you can share it. It's the greatest thing to experience and to share.
With Jesus in your heart, you can do it. And it's the greatest thing.

We know how to love because of God's love for us

Photo credit: taliesin from morguefile.com

It's a matter of the heart and the heart has to be reborn to really know what unconditional love is. When you accept Jesus, you're born anew, reborn, saved.


                 
Bleeding Heart
Photo credit: ren from morguefile.com

P.S. Love is what took Jesus to the cross. Love is what kept him on the cross until he fulfilled his mission. Love is what raised Jesus from the dead. Love is what will fill your heart when you accept Jesus into your heart by faith. You see, love never fails. Love is what will prevail in heaven, not hate. God is love. And love never fails. Get it?
In heaven there will be no need for hope and faith because Jesus will be there. Love will fill heaven.
Read I Corinthians Chapter 13, and I John 4:7-21, and Romans 10:9

Until next time, I'm putting my best face toward the Son.

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