Dirty and exhausted after helping our son and daughter-in-law move, I heard a song on the radio yesterday that immediately reminded me of our wedding. I don’t recall the name of the song, but a few of the lyrics stick out.

“From this day forward…I’ll be at your side forever…” …continue reading: Love is a Ten Letter Word

Summer months are full of kid camps, vacations and plain ole’ hanging around. Neighborhood kids stop by to hang out, unexpected visits from neighbors and friends and the planned cookouts seem to be weekly and sometimes daily events in the summer. Preparing meals and snacks for all these occasions seem endless! Below are a few easy and tasty recipes the whole family can get involved in making and will satisfy young and old alike.

Bug Crunchers

1 box round crackers
1 jar natural peanut butter or soft cream cheese (flavored optional)
1 bag stick pretzels
Raisins

Spread peanut butter or cream cheese on one cracker. Place 4 pretzel sticks on each side acting as spider legs. Spread more peanut butter or cream cheese on second cracker and lay on top of pretzel sticks. Cut one raisin in half. Using peanut butter or cream cheese as glue, place on top of cracker to become the spiders’ eyes. Enjoy!

Fruit Snackers

Wooden sticks
Diced, watermelon, in season melon, banana, apple, pineapple, grapes and strawberries

Place diced fruit onto wooden sticks. Place on platter and serve.

Easy Pasta Salad

1 lb. Box of favorite pasta, cooked

2 Zucchini, diced
2 Red peppers, seeded and sliced
1 onion, chopped
Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with foil. Spread out vegetables on tray and coat with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add to cooked pasta. Add vinaigrette and serve.

Lemon Vinaigrette

Zest 1 lemon
Juice 1 lemon
2 T. favorite vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ c. olive oil
Pinch salt and pepper

Wisk well.

An acquaintance of mine, a new Christian, was asking what scripture she might use to win over an unsaved co-worker who was caught up in a promiscuous lifestyle. Ah, I remember my days as a new Christian, full of intensity in seeking to know God’s will, full of fervor for telling people about my salvation, hoping some might “see the light” through my sharing.

As I thought about my friend, I could imagine her concern over the unsaved co-worker. I could imagine her saying, “Because I love you, I want to see you get saved!” I know that was my inner mantra on many an occasion. But as I thought about that mind-set, contrasted with Jesus’ mind-set, I realized: It’s not the wanting to see anyone get saved, that actually saves them. That’s like me saying, “Because I care about my health, I want to eat healthy.” It’s not the wanting to eat healthy that accomplishes the task of improving my health. It’s through the actual eating of healthy foods that I reach my goal!

Our old pastor had a great saying: “Don’t feel your way into an action, but ACT your way into a feeling.” No matter how long I sit around trying to “feel the love”, trying to get into the right mind-set to minister to some difficult acquaintance who needs to know the love of God, I usually can’t quite muster the energy to impact their life through an act of love. But if I should just forge ahead with an action, even while somewhat lacking a full sense of love and compassion, the very act itself seems to bring me into a feeling of love. Mission accomplished!

I need to simply “love” people, including the unlovely. Perhaps I don’t need to focus on how much I want to see them get saved. Prayer is always good; I can always pray for God to touch their hearts. And if I happen to mention a piece of scripture that might apply to the situation, great. But my biggest job is probably just loving them. God will do the saving!

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Jennifer Cote’s cookbook, From the Land of Milk and Honey, is available online at Winepress Books. (Or at Amazon.com)

Sign up for Jen’s newsletter at the PC Cuisine Home Page.

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I removed some pictures from the wall last week as I redecorated just a bit. At first, I would see the holes in the wall every time I walked by. I’d see them out of the corner of my eye, and do a double-take, thinking, “Oh, a bug”. But I noticed that, as the week went on, I stopped noticing the holes. It just hit me today that sin can be like that.

At first, we might notice something’s wrong; it stands out like a blotch on the wall. But after awhile, if we leave it there, eventually, we become calloused to that sin. After awhile, it doesn’t seem very bad at all. We can successfully ignore it!
…continue reading: Overlooking Sin?

“All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself.” – Galatians 5:14

When Jesus was a young man, He had many friends and followers, but he also talked to and ate dinner with people who weren’t very well thought of by others. Jesus didn’t care if people were rich or poor. He didn’t care if they had on the best clothes or wore their hair in a certain way. He loved everyone.

Did you know that God loves and accepts you as you are? It might seem like we should try to be really good and do everything right before God would love us. But the God of the universe wants to have a relationship with YOU!
…continue reading: Devos for Kids: Topsy Turvy Love