What Does Your Answer Look Like?

It is true that many are still looking and waiting for their Messiah!

Jesus was NOT what the Jewish nation expected of a ruler, so many did not accept him as King.

He was born in a stable and not in a palace. He associated with the poor and with sinners and not the privileged class.

He did not protest and cry in the streets requesting the vote of the people. He did not seek recognition, but often retreated to find seclusion in lonely gardens or in a mountain to pray.

Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey, and He did not come galloping in on a white horse.

Yet multitudes thronged him daily, usually hoping to receive FREE food or a miracle.

For the Jews it was not popular to give up the old life style, and follow Jesus. Even today it is not always trendy and in some places is can be dangerous to acknowledge Christ!

Jesus was not recognized by many to be the King, because he did not “Look like a king.”

When we pray, we must anticipate our answer will surely come, but we may be amazed that it might not appear as we think it should be. It may not “Look like an answer.”

Often we do not recognize God’s voice because we already have preconceived ideas of what His voice sounds like and what the results of our requested prayer will predictably be.

May we learn to open our Spiritual eyes and Spiritual ears to see and hear what God is actually saying to us? May we recognize the answer to our prayer and be grateful!

Thank you Lord for your many gifts to us and may we ever exalt you as King in our lives.

Teach us to be aware of you in others who may not seem to us - - that you are also residing in them.

A Bird in Our Attic??

We had recently moved to a new city and a new house, so everything was an exciting experience for us.

A tornado had recently blown through our back yard, taking with it a tree house that the former owner had made for his children. This was windy Oklahoma and we were thrilled.

We could look out our kitchen window and view the meadow behind our property and enjoy the pastoral scene of the cows munching the green grass.

After being gone all morning, we arrived home one afternoon to hear a bird chirping in our house.

“Where is it?” we asked each other. How did it ever get inside the house?

Softly so as to not frighten the bird, we crept from room to room. Not here in the kitchen, not in the bedroom. Peep, Peep, we continued to hear the chirping noise.

“I think it is here in the hallway,” I exclaimed to my husband.

“It sounds like it could be up in the attic,” my husband replied.

Getting a ladder he cautiously climbed up and opened the crawl space and peered inside.

From his vantage point - - it dawned on him what the chirping noise actually was.

There in the hallway, high on the wall, was a smoke alarm and the battery being weak, was setting off a signal that it needed replacing. How embarrassing, not a bird at all!

In life we often get signals that our prayer life is getting weak, or that our Bible reading may be in need of new energy.

We get so involved in earning a living, and just being active that we often forget to keep tuned in to the things of God.

Is your life crashing around you? Perhaps it is that your battery has grown weak and you need a surge of New Life. Take some quiet time to get alone with the Lord and plug into his Holy Word.

There is an old Hymn that I am reminded of and it is so true, “Take Time to be Holy.”

Talk often with the Lord and take time to listen as He speaks back to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zut3rCzk6bw

Jesus is Risen INDEED!

My friend, Cris F. from Brazil, left a new comment on my post "Hosanna" where I spoke about coming to Jesus as a little child, and the children shouting Hosanna!

Cris remarked, “The pastor at my church did a similar thing last Sunday, we all got to shout "Hosanna" three times. It was powerful!”

Another Blogger friend from Finland commented and said, Last Sunday your church shouted Hosanna, and today (Easter) I do hope they will shout, “He is Risen.”

Wouldn’t you know but that is exactly what happened today (Easter Sunday,) at my church!!

Our Pastor asked one side of the church to shout, "He is Risen," and the other side to shout, "He is Risen Indeed." Then he switched sides and had us to say it again. At the end of the preaching, he again has us shout, He is Risen Indeed! After the service, I told the Pastor, “Thank you for doing this. It was amazing!”

At the end of the service, we all joined in singing the Old Hymn, “HE LIVES.” This is such a blessed hymn. We need to sing it more often.

Yes, Jesus is alive! He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed, just as He said!

Hosanna

On Palm Sunday at our church, our Pastor preached on the word, Hosanna. Most of the Hymns for the day also expressed the word Hosanna.

Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

At a time for sharing, I told my story about needing to believe and sometimes think as a child would do.

Jesus said we must come as a little child in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The children in the Bible joined with the adults as they praised, danced and they all shouted Hosanna.

Then I made the statement, please join with me as we all shout, Hosanna, (pause) Hosanna, (Pause) Hosanna.

By the third hosanna, most of our reserved formal church members, did join in!

This coming Sunday we will celebrate Easter and the Risen Christ.

I don't think our church members will shout, "He is Risen," but who knows, perhaps they will.

This post was entered on Cheryl Smiths site: http://www.culturesmithconsulting.com/2011/04/simply-silent/
There are times to allow our active mind to be silent and listen to the Holy spirit - - -
(But on Easter it is time to Shout, "He is Risen!")

WAR CAKE

My husband’s brother and his wife were visiting and the discussion turned to an interesting cake their mother would bake for them. She called it the Canadian War Cake. It was popular during World War 1 when eggs and milk were scarce. Mom used lard or shortening, but I have substituted butter.  Also included is Peg Bracken’s "War" Chocolate Cake version.

1917 WAR CAKE

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups hot water
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 cup raisins

Mix brown sugar, hot water and butter in a medium size saucepan. Add raisins, and spices. Boil for 5 minutes after it bubbles. Cool completely (important). Next - - add

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in
2 tsp. hot water
3 c. flour

Add baking soda that has been dissolved in hot water. Then add flour. Mix well and pour into a greased tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour.


Another interesting similar cake is The Cockeyed Cake a chocolate “war” cake from the “I Hate to Cook cookbook,” by Peg Bracken. This cake is egg-less and butter-less, uses oil for the moisture, and vinegar and baking soda for leavening. This Cockeyed cake is a fun cake for children to make from scratch.

Chocolate Cockeyed Cake (Peg Bracken’s War Cake)

1 and 1/2 cups sifted flour
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cold water

Put your sifted flour back in the sifter, add to it the cocoa, soda, sugar, and salt, and sift this right into a greased square cake pan, about 9 x 9 x 2 inches. Now you make three grooves, or holes, in this dry mixture. Into one, pour the oil; into the next, the vinegar; into the next, the vanilla. Now pour the cold water over it all. You'll feel like you're making mud pies now, but beat it with a spoon until it's nearly smooth and you can't see the flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

This post has been entered in Ann Kroeker’s, Food on Fridays at http://annkroeker.com/
Do visit her site and gather up some delicious and nutritious recipes.

Let us Speak for God

One of my recent posts was titled, “I am not God.” It went on to chat about not judging others and minding our own business and letting God be God.

As I went to Face Book to enter my notice of that new post, I become aware of an entry by the daughter of one of my adopted nieces.

She had posted a photo of a very large picture that was being tattooed on her back. Several of her empty-headed friends had made comments, about how beautiful it was.

At one time, I had researched the origin of tattoos and did not like what I discovered.

Ancient tribes would tattoo their spirit god on their body, or their tribal markings, all devilish. The Polynesian people believe that a person's (mana,) their spiritual power or life force, is displayed through their tattoo.

I also knew the God forbid his children to “Mark or cut themselves.”

King James: Leviticus 19:28  "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD."

The anger of God riled up within me, it may not have been any of my business, but I simply could not help it. I made a comment:

“I am so sorry that you felt the need to mutilate and disfigure God’s temple in this way.”

After placing my comment, I remembered my Blog post about not judging and minding my own business!

Then I made another decision. Although I am not God, I can and should at times, speak out for Him.

In this case it was too late, because the sweet young girl had already marred and defaced her body.

Are these children crying for acceptance among their silly peers? Surely they understand that these marks placed upon them are of a permanent nature and are not erasable.

Why did someone not teach them to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit and not to lower themselves to fit in with the worldly crowd?

Mothers’ take heart; you are not to blame for the scatter brained antics of your children who have reached the age of “maturity.” We can only hope and pray that their stupidity and rebellion will end here.

I AM NOT GOD!

Yes, it is difficult being God. I must stop trying to be Him.

Getting down off the throne and allowing him to reign from there is not as much fun, but after all, He can do a much better job than we can.

God reads our hearts, our thoughts, and those of our friends and loved ones. He knows where they are with Him, and our judgment of how we would change them, is useless.

Our part is to pray while we minister before the Lord, and allow God to be God.

Think about it! We only have a portion of the story before us. If we knew how the chronicle ends, we might stop worrying and fretting for now.

I have heard it said, that when we get to heaven, we will be surprised to find some there that we had no idea of their trust in the Lord. AND - - we will look for others who we thought surely they will be there, and they will be - - no where to be found!

Now that is a sobering thought.

The best scenario is to keep our own feet firmly planted on the rock, taking care of our own business and keeping our nose (for the most part) out of other peoples business.

Allow God to be God! And be thankful that you are, Not the Holy Ghost, for it is a full time job, much too big for any of us mere mortals.

Romans 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

Think of it as an ADVENTURE

Changes in family situations, including your work, housing, a need to move to a new location, can cause stress, worry and often panic.

If you have some advance warning it does take the edge off somewhat and allow for a bit of planning.

In 1975 we announced to our two teen age daughters still living at home, that since they had graduated from High School, they were entitled to make a choice. Our son and one daughter were married and our announcement did not affect them, except for their disapproval.

We told our two daughters that we were taking a year of planning, and at the end of that time we were making a move from California to Oklahoma. They could stay in California, get a job and their own place, or come with us. If they came with us, there was work and colleges in Tulsa and they could live with us and enjoy the time there.

Think of it as an ADVENTURE we told them!

After much thought they both agreed that they were up for it!

My husband had asked me if I would be willing to sell our home and travel to Oklahoma to attend a one year School of Ministry?

Bob and I had just returned from a week of meetings at an exciting Faith Building seminar and for him to make such a statement was unusual because he is such a steady individual. Now me, I can be a bit more flighty.

He concluded that we would need to sell our home, and save our money for one year so we could afford to make this move. We had a thriving business, so there were many plans to make and changes to consider.

So much happened during that year of preparation; and the following year in Oklahoma was the highlight of our lives. God was with us all the way!

Stepping out in faith and hoping that the water will carry our weight is an exercise that calls for either an adventurous attitude to begin with or a change in attitude rather quickly.

Walking with God is always an exciting journey, and where He leads He always holds your hand. It is not a matter of us holding on and hoping!! Always remember that God is the one doing the holding and our job is to trust and obey.

How about you, are you ready for an Adventure? Are you counting each day as your Adventure with God?

This post has been entered in “Changing the World One Word at a Time” Please visit and check out the other great posts at: http://peterpollock.com/2011/04/adventure-blog-carnival/

Picketing Safeway

It was in the early years of the 1950s. The signs read, “Don’t buy grapes. This store is unfair to the farm workers!”

Union workers organized by Cesar Chavez, were protesting for the Mexican laborers by picketing our local markets.

Their goal was to increase the wages of the grape pickers by using their union signs and picket lines.

One of the young college girls stopped my husband to argue with him. He asked her if she was in favor of raising the price of grapes to a dollar a pound.

She informed him, “No, that will never happen, we just want a fair wage for the laborers.”

Isn’t that the way it usually happens! Protest – Win – and double or triple or more the prices.

It was true that the workers lived in extremely poor housing and worked very hard for their money. The farmers did not provide livable conditions in those days. It isn’t a whole lot better today, but some ranches make available portable out houses.

Today two things happen.

1. The farm workers are more organized and receive somewhat better pay, with not much better housing conditions. Plus they pay union dues to the Union.

2. OR -- They stay in Mexico or South America, grow food there, pay their workers what ever they want - -  and ship the food to us.

In both situations we pay more, and if the Unions can’t be held responsible for higher prices, then the stores blame the price of gas, the cost of transportation, and their own highly paid Union member staff.

Perhaps we all need to return to a small garden spot in our own yards and at least grow a few tomatoes and some squash.

If I hate anything on this earth, it must be two things.

1. The Devil - - and
2. The Unions (They are a form of the Mafia.)

God doesn’t care if I hate the devil, and I believe He forgives me for hating the Unions, because they are criminal in nature.

Childlike Trust and Faith

Seems that I usually know what a small child might enjoy for their birthday or for Christmas.

I remember back to a time when one of my friends, purchased her child some expensive toys for Christmas, and I had given him a low-cost pounding bench.

Immediately he grabbed the small hammer that came with the bench, and began to pound the colored pegs down into their cavity. Then he joyfully turned the small bench over and began again, sending the dowels this time into the opposite direction.

My friend was upset because her young boy seemed to enjoy my simple gift best.

Maybe it is that often I revert to being a child at heart!! I think, “What would I enjoy if I were a child?” That is also a good practice when selecting a gift for anyone!

In the Bible Jesus spoke about children, and that we must became as a little child to enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

He also said, “Do not tell them to be quiet! Allow them to sing, shout and be happy.”

Children believe what you tell them and they accept truth as fact. God desires that we believe His Word and come to Him in simple faith and trust.

In another place He also said, that those who take advantage of and seek to harm a child shall receive the absolute worst punishment.

Jesus loved the little children and he said, “Forbid them not to come unto me.”

May we become as children when we worship God. Let us dance before him with abandonment.

Psalms 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp..

May we enjoy with thanksgiving, his gifts that he lavishly outpours upon us.

Let us always show our gratitude to God and never neglect to praise Him for His wonderful works!

Psalms 98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

This post was entered in Cheryl Smith's "Simplicity" Do visit her site at: http://www.culturesmithconsulting.com/2011/04/the-simplicity-of-distance/