Homemade Cornbread

 

 

Ingredients

Three cups Martha White Hot Rise Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix

2 Eggs

2 cups of Milk

¼ cup Vegetable Oil

Pour vegetable oil in cast iron skillet.

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees and place skillet in oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour mixture in skillet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

(If sweet cornbread is desired, add ¼ cup of sugar to mixture.)

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Life’s Best Comforter - Martin Wiles

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT

My wife and I are now the matriarch and patriarch of our family.

My youngest brother and I discussed the concept not long ago. Although our mom is still living, her Alzheimer’s keeps her from managing her affairs, leaving me as her POA to take that responsibility. And meaning that her three boys are the patriarchs of their respective family branches.

I remember the sorrow I felt when my father died, but at least I had my mother left. When she’s gone, there will be no parents left. My wife’s parents are gone, as are her two older brothers. The day has approached when our children and grandchildren must look to us, as we did to our parents. How we’ll handle the last parent dying, I’m not sure.

According to Paul, God is life’s best comforter, and he needed comforting. Since trusting Christ as his Savior, he had faced turmoil and trials. They hounded him like dogs on a rabbit’s trail. Beatings, stonings, jail time. He faced them all. Yet he found comfort in knowing that God was in control and that he was doing God’s will.

God hasn’t changed roles. As he comforted Paul, he comforts us. And not only when we lose a loved one, but also as we face daily life’s challenges. Paying attention to how God comforts us helps us be better comforters.

God’s comfort never runs out, nor does he tire of giving it. Giving comfort to others can be taxing and drain our emotions. God can handle the task, for he is all-powerful. Nothing we face is too difficult for him to know how to comfort us.

Comforting others is often inconvenient. Jesus’ ministry was filled with interruptions from others. When we choose to comfort others, we, too, will have to deal with being inconvenienced. Death, accidents, and broken relationships never happen at a convenient time.

Comforting others takes time we could use for something else, perhaps something more enjoyable. True comfort is more than shooting someone a text or email. Or posting a prayer comment on their Facebook post. It involves hands-on activities when possible.

While comforting others is time-consuming, doing so brings us comfort. God designed us to be involved in others’ lives. Doing so fulfills part of his plan for our lives. We can only fully appreciate God’s comfort when we channel it to others.

Don’t soak up God’s comfort without squeezing out some for others.

Father, use me as an instrument of comfort to those who are hurting. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

God Understands - Martin Wiles

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. Psalm 139:1-2 NLT

Regardless of how many times I explained the concept, some still misunderstood and made mistakes.

Correctly punctuating compound sentences is one of the simplest yet most difficult concepts I teach in Language Arts. The rule is simple: when two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, a comma must precede the conjunction. For an independent clause to be claimed as such, it must have a subject, a verb, and a complete thought—not just a verb and a few prepositional phrases.

And it was the latter that confused many students. Many of them placed a comma when the sentence was actually a simple sentence with compound verbs. Others would mistake the word “then” for a coordinating conjunction and place a comma. I spilled a lot of red ink correcting papers on correctly punctuating compound sentences. Although I explained the concept in every imaginable way, the rule often didn’t sink in. Sadly, their failure to understand cost them many unnecessary mistakes.

I, too, failed to understand concepts in school, although my misunderstanding was more in math than in English. But it is more worrisome when others misunderstand us.

The psalmist was confident God understood him. After all, God had created him. He knew everything about him, even his innermost thoughts.

Failing to understand a concept and being misunderstood by others aren’t pleasant. Both can lead to frustration. I’ve taught students who practically gave up, and I’ve known people who struggled with depression because others just didn’t “get” them. 

Since God made us, he knows everything about us. He knows what things we struggle with—the hard subject, the unpleasant work atmosphere, the tough relationship, the co-dependent friend, the addiction. He doesn’t have to hear us voice our frustrations because he knows our thoughts. He understands us.

We will always encounter situations we don’t understand—and probably people who won’t understand us. Yet we can live with that if our Creator is by our side, guiding us along life’s journey. He’s the friend who will never leave, who will always comfort, and who will forever understand.

Take comfort in knowing God understands you when no one else does.

Father, thank you for creating me and understanding everything about me. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

How to Master the Art of Good Comforting - Martin Wiles

I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are! Job 16:2 NLT

Regardless of where she went, she couldn’t find comfort. It seemed as if no one knew how to master the art of good comforting.

Leah and her husband were never apart. They even volunteered at the same place after they retired. Both appeared to be in good health, so you can imagine Leah’s shock when her husband dropped dead. Jeff was outside cutting grass. He had no recent health concerns. But when Leah saw him stumble into the doorway and say he wasn’t feeling well, she could see something wasn’t right. Within a few minutes, he had slumped over, never to recover.

Although months had passed since Jeff’s death, Leah still mourned and suffered with anxiety and depression. She went to counselors, pastors, and friends, but nothing seemed to soothe her mental agony. She couldn’t focus and struggled to make it through each day. She left her old church, saying she just couldn’t stand to attend without Jeff. Leah longed for lasting comfort, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

Job didn’t find it with his fair-weather friends either. He had lost almost everything a person could lose and still survive. What’s worse, God permitted his woes to prove to Satan that Job would maintain his loyalty to God despite extreme adversity. The only comfort Job’s friends could muster was telling him he had sinned. Confess, and things would get better, was their advice. Job, however, had nothing to confess. He maintained his innocence and muddled through his pain and sorrow.

Job’s friends did what is typical. They thought they had to say something to soothe his grief—and they did. But what they said didn’t do the trick, nor was it biblically sound.

Telling someone that God needed another angel, or that you know how they feel, is hollow comfort. God doesn’t take life to get angels, nor do humans become angels after death. And no two people grieve over the same episode in the same way.

Our presence during grief is better than words. Sharing truth from God’s Word can be comforting, but timing is critical. Sitting, listening, and letting the person cry on your shoulder is better. When the time is right, they’ll ask, and then you can share words of wisdom they might need to hear. For the moment, silence is golden, and practical help is priceless.

Comforting those who grieve is tricky business. Before you speak or act, pray and ask God for direction and wisdom.

Father, give me wisdom to know how to comfort those who are hurting with grief. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Cole Slaw

 

Ingredients

½ BELL PEPPER (CHOPPED)

             

½ CARROT (CHOPPED)

1 GREEN ONION (CHOPPED)

      

1/8 PARSLEY (CHOPPED)

1 SMALL CABBAGE (CHOPPED)

        

½ CUP MAYONNAISE

½ TEASPOON SALT

2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR

½ TEASPOON PEPPER

1 TABLESPOON VINEGAR

Directions

CHOP ALL VEGETABLES FINE EXCEPT CABBAGE. LEAVE HALF FINE AND HALF COARSE.

MIX ALL VEGETABLES.

IN A SEPARATE BOWL MIX ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS AND LET STAND FOR 5 MINUTES.

POUR MIX OVER THE VEGETABLES AND TOSS.

CHILL FOR 1 HOUR BEFORE SERVING.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

The Blankets - Lynne Phipps

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 NIV

While watching television, I often busy my hands with crocheting baby blankets.

Over the years, some have gone to individuals, while others have gone to groups and churches. The ones I remember best, however, went to an orphanage in Guatemala. Missionary friends had let me know that newborns, in the poorest sections of the country, were sent home from the hospital wrapped in newspapers to keep them warm. Having delivered newspapers for many years, I remember how black my clothes got from touching the newsprint. They truly did look like filthy rags. Surely the babies of Guatemala deserved something better. Eventually, with the help of our missionary friends, we delivered handmade blankets to those hospitals. Many newborns were no longer wrapped in the equivalent of filthy rags.

Scripture also talks about filthy rags. Isaiah says all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). How, though, can the right things, the good and lovely things which we do, be classified as filthy? In fact, they are not.

When we seek to wrap ourselves in the blanket of them, however, with the belief that they will make us acceptable to God, they become as pitiful and useless as filthy rags. Our good deeds mean nothing to God when it comes to preparing us to stand before Him. They all fall short. No amount will cover our sins or make us righteous before Him. So what are we to do if our good deeds are not enough to gain us entrance into heaven and fellowship with God forever?

Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, but we can be justified freely by God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

Blanketing ourselves in God’s grace—believing in Christ and the work He did when he shed his blood on the cross—is the only way we can stand in righteousness before a holy God. Our righteousness does not come through good deeds but through the righteousness of Christ. 

Examine yourself to see what you are blanketed in. 

Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, Christian Devotions, and Love Lines from God. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

 

Praising in All Seasons - Abigail Skelton

Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:1-2 NIV

There are countless books and self-help guides about what to do in periods of crisis. Even in the church, we hear far more sermons on grief and hardship than on joy and rejoicing. Praising in all seasons challenges the best of us. 

Yet, sometimes for me, in seasons of blessing and wonder, my focus on the Lord seems to drift. Life is good. Life is easy. Relying on God for everyday help is less of a necessity until something bad happens again. But what if I could rejoice like those in Scripture, who focused on God and whose prayers multiplied in the good and easy seasons?

Hannah longed for a child. Not just on occasion, but for years. God answered her prayers the way she wanted. And what was her response? She gave her greatest gift back to the Lord. And even as she fulfilled her vows, she rejoiced. 

Hannah wasn’t the only one in the Bible who remembered to praise God when things went right. Miriam, King David, Zechariah, Mary, and numerous others celebrated God’s goodness in seasons of blessing. If God is the giver of all good gifts, we should accompany everything we receive, large or small, with thanks.

Paul reminded the early church to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). This command sounds simple, but in our own happiness, it’s easy to miss unless we take intentional time to dwell on our Savior’s generosity. Maybe this looks like taking a break from work and thanking God for the spring flowers outside the office window. Perhaps it’s thanking God at the end of yet another wild day for a family or for small children.

God doesn’t owe us anything, but he gives us so much. Thanking him—rejoicing over seasons of blessing—should come naturally. But even when it doesn’t, we can honor God by intentionally praising him—like those in Scripture—and by living a life of rejoicing.

Make a plan to help you praise God in all seasons. 

Abigail Skelton is from beautiful Southern Oregon, where she grew up with an avid love for Jesus, chocolate, and writing. She has lived in three countries while involved in missionary work and frequently travels and studies foreign languages. You can connect with Abigail on her website: https://abigailskelton.com.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

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