by Kimberly | Feb 10, 2014 | Arkansas, Bible, Books, Worship
I’m still reading through the OT and making lists of the God the people of the OT encountered, served, feared, and loved. I am loving seeing how God interacts with his people. I know that He is the same God today as he was 8000 years ago.
Currently, I’m in Leviticus, and its not very exciting reading – but still I see that God talks to his people and tells us how we can please him. I see him showing mercy. Here are seven things that I learned this past week.
1. God has a purpose for color. I saw this as I attended the Bloggers in Bloom event last week and as I await the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show. The reports in Exodus about color is that God intended certain aspects of the temple and of the worshiper’s attire to be a certain color. He is an exact and detailed God. But, how he uses color now for our benefits are different. He uses color to express warmth and invitation. He uses color to express that winter is over and spring is finally here. He uses color to brighten moods and take away frowns. All of these are great reasons to use color in your home, kitchen (in what you cook), and in your wardrobe.
2. God is a free-ing God. The If:Gathering was this weekend, and although I wasn’t able to attend in Texas, I was grateful for one of my friends, Sharon Miller, who posted some of her favorite quotes. I particularly loved this one by Christine Caine: “You came out of Egypt, but Egypt is still in you. But God wants to get Egypt out of you so we can walk into the Promised Land free.” This basically means that we desire so often to return to what God has freed us from. But, how much better life would be if we never turned back and desired the old ball-and-chain!
3. The Lord shows mercy to stiff-necked people. I’m not talking about chiropractic care (though I love mine in Raleigh), but I’m talking about the mercy that he shows us when we refuse to give up our sinful ways, when we balk at his correction, when we settle for every day ho hum when he has called us to live the extraordinary!
4. God gives gifts to people to use for his glory! Let’s take a look at the oil maker in Exodus 37. God gave him the talents and abilities to make oil so that a particular type of oil might be used in the worship of God! That is so cool to me. That God might give me a particular gift that I can use to bring God glory in our home, in the local church, and in the church around the country and world. That gets me excited!
5. The Lord requires sacrifice for sin. I often thought in reading all of the lists for sacrifices that I’m glad that Jesus paid my sacrifice once for all so that I don’t have to sacrifice daily or weekly or yearly or anything to recompense for my sin. The perfect Christ already did that! Oh what a blessing. And this is how we can use the Old Testament, even in Leviticus, to teach others about the beauty of the Gospel and that the whole Bible points us to Jesus!
6. The Lord tells us what is pleasing to Him. He has given us His Word. That Word, the Bible, is sufficient in us knowing what it means to please Him. In one way, we stand before God because the Son has pleased the Father in his death and resurrection. But, we still try to please God in our actions. Not for acceptance. No, but for his pleasure.
7. God shows his glory to his people. He did this many times for Moses, and He dwelt in the Tabernacle with his people. How we might long for that. Do you long for Heaven? Do you long to be worshiping and singing where God and Jesus and the Spirit are front and center? I was reading a Donald Miller article about why he doesn’t feel the need for church and the first paragraph – singing really isn’t my thing – I just don’t like it. It made me sad for him because Heaven will have singing in it. We will get to sing to the Lamb! Moses’ song will be sung there!
How are your devotions going? Do you find them dead and lifeless? Or do you long to meet with God every day? I’m not quite to the last one – but I am finding the more time I am in the Word the more I want to be in the Word.
by Kimberly | Feb 10, 2014 | food
A new month brings a new detox. These, in 2014, are going to be monthly challenges. When you’ve been cooking and baking as long as I have, you get in ruts. You need challenges in your kitchen. And when you are trying to lose weight (two babies back to back will do that to you), you also need something to spruce up those rice cakes (I’m really kidding – no rice cakes here).
So, what began yesterday, my husband and I will begin on a 4-day journey to experiment with new recipes and old ones – just nothing containing grains. Here are the reasons/challenges for this detox for me:
1. Grains have been my go-to the last few weeks. Since my raw detox back in the middle of January, I’ve indulged in muffins, cookies, pastas, sandwiches. This detox will get me out of the habit of instinctively reaching for bread.
2. I eat a lot of soups or salads in the winter – my main side for those is bread. I want to get out of that rut or realize I don’t have to have bread with soups and salads.
3. Breads really do create bloating in me. I can tell. Jeans fit tighter, they don’t like to zip the whole way. But, mostly a diet full of breads and carbs bloat my tummy more than anywhere else on my body. I want my jeans to fit better!
4. When you do a detox you practice self-control. I just can’t sneak a bite of my son’s granola bar or muffin at breakfast. I can’t eat a small handful of goldfish as I dish him some. I definitely won’t reach for those cookies at ministry events. Self-control, weight loss, less bloating, more vegetables and proteins. This is going to be a good detox. So what meals do we have planned? Broccoli Stir-fry Pork Sirloin with apples and sweet potatoes Pan sauteed fish with sugar snap peas Carrot-Ginger-Apple Juice for breakfast with some scrambled eggs. Spring Minestrone soup Tyson Chicken Tenderloins on salad. What else should we try?
by Kimberly | Feb 9, 2014 | What's Eatin?
This week will be different because of a Grain-Free 4-Day Detox (stay tuned for more on that) and a holiday and some ministry opportunities coming for the weekend. I really do love using my love of cooking for ministry opps – everyone loves food, right?
Monday: Making something similar to this pork roast and serving it with sweet potatoes and sautéed apples. Think cracker barrel.
Tuesday: Sautéed seafood with taco seasoning – think Taco Tuesday – with a salad (my husband will more than likely have it with a tortilla and cabbage).
Wednesday: Cabbage and Kielbasa. I’m trying to win my husband over with this meal. It is something I loved when growing up and now I’m just making it because I had the kielbasa on hand and needed a cheap meal.
Thursday: DATE DAY! Since our marriage retreat got cancelled a few wknds back, my hubs took the day off and we are doing us-stuff. That includes conversation, coffee shops, and lunch date!
Friday: Chocolate-covered strawberry pop tarts for Valentine’s Day breakfast, Crack Cookies to take to some widows for VDay – more on that later as well, stay tuned – and then my hubs cooks me a rather awesome steak each year on VDay and with it we are having roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus. Don’t know about dessert yet. We shall see.
Saturday: Having some friends over for a brunch on Saturday morning. These rolls will grace the table. This sparkly beverage. And a delicious quiche. Keeping it simple. But, delicious. And about friends and conversation and a pretty tablescape.
by Kimberly | Feb 6, 2014 | Quotes
I sang in a traveling ensemble group in high school at the Christian school I attended. One year we sang a very cheesy (think early 90s) Christian song “When you can’t trace his hand, trust his heart.” Ok – the words are true, but I will admit very cheesy indeed.
But, how true! When you know where you want to be in life and what God has gifted you with and don’t see how you are ever going to get there?
When you see some others advancing and succeeding and you just feel like you are stumbling along?
When there is no yellow brick road to travel?
God. He started you. He will bring you to completion.
by Kimberly | Feb 5, 2014 | Arkansas, creatives, Events, Festivals, Uncategorized
(This post has a giveaway at the end! Please comment for a chance to win. The AFGS provided me with these tickets at no cost to me and all opinions are my own. Thankful for their generosity and I look forward to the event to see the beauty that will be displayed.)
All day the city of Little Rock looked like a frozen glass house. Ice was on every tree limb and wire. But, at a blogging and flower and foodie event: it was warm and colorful inside.
Last night I went to a wonderful event hosted at a lovely home here in Little Rock. It was all about flowers, food, spring, the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show (coming up in a few weeks), warm weather, friends, and wine & food pairings. What a night filled with beautiful color and helpful information and prime rib and salmon (oh the salmon)!
For me, the night was about color.
Yellow is such an inviting color. Have it in your guest room, your entry way, or anywhere in your home where you would like people to feel completely welcome.Art can make a statement.
The owners of the home we were invited in to love art. There was a piece on every wall. Gorgeous ways to bring in color to your home.
Strawberries and black pepper – new fave combination!
I had on a pink scarf and there was so much purple in the room – love it! All these different hues found everywhere at the event!
I’ve been reading in Exodus in my devotions about how God was detailing the colors for the tabernacle. I love God gave us colors and instructed us to use them in worshiping Him! He is a colorful, creative God!
The last thing I learned was later when I was talking with my husband about the event: make sure your home tells what is really the most important thing in life. When people come in your home – what will they remember? What will their takeaway be?
And I have a giveaway for you!!! Thankful for the free tickets to the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show. I have three pairs to giveaway to readers! So, if you are going to be able to attend the event at the Statehouse in a few weeks, leave a comment below (only blog comments will count) about your favorite flower and how you bring it into your home to brighten up the blah months of winter. I will pick three winners who will each get a pair of tickets to the event. Thank you AFGS!!! I can’t wait to attend the event on Friday morning with my family! And if you have Sunday afternoon available – it is going to be a great time for the youngest gardeners out there!
So thankful for the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show, the owners of Colonial Wine and Spirits, Chris Olson and his talents for making flowers come to life inside your home, and the Arkansas Women Bloggers, and all those who gave us such lovely SWAG for this wonderful event.
