Abba's Girl

When sending your Christmas cards, send at least one to this address: A Recovering American Soldier c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6900 Georgia Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20307. If we pass this on, think of how many cards these wonderful brave soldiers will receive....

According to the church calendar, tomorrow is the new year - Advent. (Would love to find my Advent Wreath - stored it somewhere special, since I put it out before the Christmas decorations.)The Advent Season is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord. The wonderful thing about God is not only do we have a new year, He gives us a new heart, a new mind, we are new creations, the old unsaved person who wallowed in sin is gone. Remember it's never too late to start over, He gives us a clean slate. We are washed clean by the Blood of Jesus. The Bible tells us: So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope you spend time with family, friends and the Lord. Feast on Psalm 100: 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I must say I am more than a little amazed by people's reaction to the movie 2012. I have seen the commercial for it a couple of times, heard people discussing it in line at the post office, in restaurants and even on Facebook. Some people really believe the message of the movie and are fearful which caused me to think...which we all know is considered dangerous by many... Many people have been frightened since 9/11, people feed their spirit fear driven material daily such as It Could Happen Tomorrow (or something like that) on The Weather Channel, I caught part of an episode 1 day at lunch while trying to catch the weather forecast on The Weather Channel, the episode described what could happen in the Austin area if a brush fire were to sweep through the area...you know what, a lot could happen...but we are to fear not and trust in the Lord. How do we trust in Him? By knowing Him. How do we know Him? We know Him by spending time in prayer, the Word, and worship. We know Him by...

I chose this verse after thinking about Psalm 16 through out the morning, it is also the Psalm apointed for the day (Episcopalian terminology)... Psalm 16:7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. Literally in the night I want me heart to instruct me in the things of the Lord, I don't want my heart dwelling on the things of the world. If I am spriritually in the dark, I really want the Lord's counsel, I want to hear Him and know it's Him. I want to know Him and His word so well, that I will not be led astray. I've been down the wrong path before whether in error or willful sinning on my part. In other words: been there, done that - prefer not to do it again, though as a human, I know I will sin. I pray you have a blessed Sabbath.

Here is my ginger snap recipe: Cook Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: 2 3/4 cups self-rising flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 cup brown sugar, packed 3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened (I prefer butter.) 1 egg 1/4 cup light molasses (I've experienced failure using black strap molasses) Preparation: Combine flour, soda, and spices in a bowl and set aside. Cream sugar and margarine. Beat in egg and molasses until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture just until blended. Chill for 2 hours or more. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place on lightly greased baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake about 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Makes 8 dozen cookies - so you can share with friends... (If you need a quick fix buy Betty Crocker Gingerbread Mix, it's in the grocery stores now) P.S. Gin...

The last 2 mornings I have awakened myself praising the Lord. As I was contemplating the Lord and what He promises us in His Word, I cannot help but rejoice, as I rejoice I magnify the Lord. When I was young I hated the word magnify in connection with worship because during Lent we droned on 1/2 way singing & 1/2 chanting a song which seemed to be 3 pages long with each stanza ending in praise ye and magnify the Lord. I so hated it, I quit looking at the words and their meaning. (In the old days, Lent was very austere in the Episcopal Church especially when we used the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.) No matter what is going on in this life - and it can be very hard and painful, we have promises from the Lord and He is ever faithful. Press into Him, get prayer support from friends and your blogging sisters. Feed yourself with praise music. Spend some time with the Lord. He is right there with us. II Cor 4 tells us: 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexe...

In all seriousness, this year has flown by quickly. The end of January to probably the end of May is still mostly a blur. As mentioned in my previous post, though filled with much joy and peace this year, my energy level has been low and I have not enjoyed gardening and other activities. This week I have been out weeding, cutting plants and flowers back, and planting fall flowers and veggies...enjoyed myself immensely. Went for a walk/run - did NOT enjoy myself immensely. When I walk - I think & pray, when I run - I simply try to breathe...maybe I should stick to walking. My memory verse is Psalm 9:1, verse 2 will be my next Siesta verse. I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. Sisters - let us praise Him at all times with all of our hearts. Let us tell everyone of His wonders - for He is God! It's not about what He does for us (though I am not going to turn down a blessing or Holy Spirit conviction) it's all about Who He is! ...