Simplify Your Life

In my devotional time yesterday, the heading was Simplify Your Life from Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. It really reinforces what we are doing in our household. I would like to share it with you.

The scripture reference is Mark 4:18-19
Simplify Your Life! by Gloria Copeland
In the years I have lived by faith, I've noticed that it's easy to become entangled in the affairs of this life. In fact, it sometimes seems as though this world is like an octopus always trying to grab you with its tentacles. If you don't watch out, it will wrap itself around you until you're completely caught up in the mundane, trivial things of this world.

If you let them, those trivial pursuits will hold you down and keep you from soaring on into the eternal things of God. They will choke out the Word that has been planted in your heart and leave you without faith and without power. That's what Mark 4:18-19 is talking about.

Here in the United States, we must be especially vigilant against such entanglements because we have such an abundance of material possessions! We can easily end up spending all our time just taking care of them.

As the Lord told a friend of mine in prayer one day, this nation has become a nation of maintenance men. We maintain our house. We maintain out yard. We maintain our car and our hair, our nails and our clothes. The problem is, by the time we've done what it takes to maintain all the natural things in our lives, we often don't have any time left to maintain the spirit man who lives on the inside of us.

There's only one thing to do: Simplify your life.

"But Gloria," you say, "the things I do are important. I can't just cut them out of my life!"

Listen, there's nothing more important than spending time with God in prayer and in the Word. So make whatever adjustments you must to spend time with God. Whenever you take on anything new, count the cost--not just in money, but in time. Ask yourself, Can I afford this spiritually? Can I spare the precious hours and minutes this project (possession, hobby, etc.) will require and still have plenty of time to fellowship with the Lord?

If the answer is no, then set that project aside. I realize that may mean passing up some things you enjoy, but remember, your aim is not to please yourself. It's to please the One who enlisted you. And believe me, when you make sacrifices to Him, He always makes sure you're well-rewarded--fellowship with God is "the good life."

For Further Study: Luke 12-22-31

Speak the Word: I lay aside every weight which so easily besets me. Hebrew 12:1

I Don't Do That Anymore

Well it has been 3 months since I no longer drink Diet Coke....I LOVED Diet Coke...it was the first thing that I drank in the morning and the last thing at night...when I was hungry, I got a DC...when I was stressed, I got a DC. I could drink in 1 to 3 days a case of it.

...and boy did I eat the junk food. I craved it. When I lived in Slidell, I would stop at the gas station right outside my neighborhood and get 2 more Diet Cokes and 2 Hubig lemon pies as my breakfast and for the drive to work. I ate chips and candy bars and junk all day long with all the Diet Cokes.

...and the salt that I would add to my food was a truck load. I did not even taste the food before I poured the salt on it. And I do mean pour it on.

The other day, I realized (and my husband did too)...I don't eat junk food anymore and I rarely add salt to my food after it is cooked.

I am not a nutritionist but it seems to me that something in Diet Coke made me crave junk food and salt

Things have changed....for the better

refusing confusion, i only focus on Jesus!

We (Brent and I) receive a partners letter from Kenneth Copeland Minsitries once a month. This month it is about keeping our eyes on Jesus.

Proverbs 4:20-27

1. My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Instead of ever altering God's Word to my lifestyle, I make the quality decision to always alter my lifestyle to fit the Word
2. Let them not depart from thine eyes;
I give my attention only to the Word, keeping it in front of my eyes CONSTANTLY!
3. Keep them in the midst of thine heart.
I keep the Word in my heart and refuse to be sidetracked, allowing His promised harvest to come (Mark 4:14:20).
4. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Since the Word is vital to my health and to my very life, I give no attention to things that would rob my peace and engender strife. I stay on the faith side of everything. I stay on the love side.
5. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
I know that my mouth speaks out of the abundance of my heart. I put away any disobedience or unbelief from my heart ---from my mouth!
6. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all they ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
By attending to the Word and keeping my eyes on Jesus, I always know where I am and where I'm going. My ways are established. I will not be confused.

From a Pile of Wood

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This project started because I wanted some coasters but I was not about to pay $7.00 for some coasters that I really did not like and only got 4 of them.

So, we have this wood pile in the back of the house from a oak tree that Brent (my sweetheart) and his dad cut down last year.

My sweetheart



Well...guess what...Brent cut them into 8- 1/2 pieces for me and I am putting on several coats of varnish on them. See the pictures below.




The grain of the wood is very pretty....

The Force of Righteousness

Well, I have finished this little book. I recommend it to anyone that wants to understand what our standing is before God in Jesus Christ.

Below is a piece from the book that really spoke to me:

"The righteousness of God in Jesus Christ is the driving force behind our faith, causing us to triumph in His Name.

Jesus triumphed over Satan in three areas.

First, during His earthly ministry, He spoke to Satan and said, "It is written..." (Matthew 4:4,7,10), and Satan had to obey the Word of God.

Second, at the cross and resurrection, Jesus stripped Satan of his power and took the keys of hell and death.

However, the third and most important area of Jesus' triumph over Satan is His victory in the new birth. It was impossible in Satan's thinking for God to take a man in sin, turn him into righteousness, give him the armor of God and enable him to triumph as Jesus did. This is victory of the highest order! Sin turned into righteousness! Death turned into life!"

Bread Making

My husband and I alternate making bread twice a week...and yes I have a full time job as does he (his is from the home but it is still full time). It is so easy, rewarding, healthy(we know what we are putting in it).

Here is the recipe for the basic one that we do:

25oz Bread Flour (about 5 cups)
1tsp dry yeast
1tsp salt
1tbsp honey
7 fl oz milk, lukewarm
7 fl oz lukewarm water
1 oz butter, room temp
flour for dusting (we don't ever use this)



Turn on the light to your oven.

Mix all ingredients together for about 15 mins. I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer using a dough hook (love it!!!!)

Take out of bowl and knead for about 1 minute. Place in a glass bowl that has been oiled with olive oil. Lay a damp kitchen towel over it and put in oven. (Forgot to take pictures.) Let it rise until it has doubled and then some...we let it rise for 3 hours.

Once it has risen, punch it down in the bowl and take it out of the bowl and put on your counter (you will probably need to flour it unless it is marble.) Shape it into a ball and then cut in half. Put one half back in the bowl for right now and the other put in a bread pan (we have used both glass and metal, both work great). Take a plastic bag (grocery) and put over the bread pan and then either put it back in the oven without the oven on...just the light or leave it on your stove. It will need to rise again for about 90 minutes.

Once you take the bread out of the oven (if that is where you put it), turn it on to 360 degrees. Put bread in for 46 minutes (we actually did it this last time for 35 minutes....oven temps differ).

Spray down the oven with water...use a spray bottle in the beginning and then half way through do it again. Take it out after you decide when it is done

You will have amazing bread...

...now for that another half. Wrap it up in butcher paper and put in your frig until you run out and then you only have to rise it 90 mins in the bread pan

Weekly Bible Reading

I have posted a weekly bible reading that I follow from Faith Life Church in Branson, Mo (http://www.moorelife.org/flcbible.php). We are at the end of the yearly, week day reading.

This one of the best that I have come across. FLC knows the importance of "renewing your mind" not just lets get through the Bible in a year and mark this off the list of things to do. This weekday read has you read one chapter a day so that you can meditate on it throughout your day.

Storage

My husband and I have decided to make changes by not using plastic as much as we have in the past. It is hard in this day and age to get completely away from it but we are taking steps. We have started to buy Ball canning jars for storage. Here are some pictures of the sizes and ways we are using them.


This is the smallest jar that they have. I use it for leftovers, gluten, spices, etc


This is how we now store our beans.....pretty cool!! We are going to store our rice, pasta and flour next.

So Much....

I have so much that I would like to share with you today. A little about knitting, cooking, canning, gardening but the one thing that I would like to share with you today is spiritual.

The Bible tell us, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8.

A friend of mine at Forever His (http://susan2956.blogspot.com/)wrote about "Thought Attacks" this morning. If we do not take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corthinthians 10:3-5), then we risk (actually it will happen) some garbage, something fleshy to take root in our minds.

About 2 weeks ago we turned the TV in our home off. The news was negative. Commercials were touting the latest prescriptions. We were tired of listening to it all.

We got quiet before God. We wanted to hear what He had to say to us. His news is always good and He is our Healer.

Right after we made that decision, a meeting was taking place in Branson, Mo at Faith Life Church. The Branson Victory Campaign with Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. Brother Copeland's son-in-law, George Pearsons also spoke. Here is a link to it if you would like to listen to it or download it. It is good news:

http://www.bvov.tv/kcm/ondemand/2009bvc.php

Vinegar and Mopping

Last year, I had been reading about natural ways to clean. One that I am using when I mop the floors is a solution of white vinegar and water.

I use an O-Cedar mop and 4 micro mop heads by O-Cedar as well(just throw then in the laundry to wash with the towels when they get dirty). I have the solution of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle.

Not only is it economical but it is good for the environment (meaning your home and loved ones). Yes, it does smell like someone just busted a pickle jar but it is temporary.

There are many, many website that tell you want types of floors you can use it on. I have oak hardwood floors (from the 50's) and linoleum. Depending on your floors and the seal on them, you will have to see if vinegar and water is an option for you.

Here is one of many website that tell of the uses of vinegar.
http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/

First Post

Well, this is my first blog and first post. I wanted it to express what is going on in my life right now. I am not going to start at my birth and tell everything that has happened to me from then to today. I am going to start with today.....

My husband and I have been married for 2 years and 6 months. He is a wonderful man. He is has a tremendous heart for God. Pours himself into God's Word....and he loves me.

We have a desire to live our life sustaining on God's Word and off our bit of land. We live in a neighborhood in Mississippi. We have 4 lots and we are learning to use it. More on a later post on how we are using the land.

As important as living off the land is to me, it is more important to live by God's Word. I was raised Presbyterian. After college, I went to an Assembly of God church primarily. I also went to a Southern Baptist Church for a few years. Not until after Hurricane Katrina, did I realize how "religious" I was. Since my husband and I have not found a church where we live right now, I have plunged myself into God's Word. Brent, my husband, had introduced me to Kenneth Copeland Ministries. I was a little leery of his ministry, a Word of Faith ministry(they had a reputation of being the blab it and grab it faith) but I thought, well, I am a big girl and if I don't like what I hear...well then I won't listen to it....

Well, I have heard. It is not that at all...they teach God's Word. I have grown more under his ministry then any of the ones that I went to before.

Disclaimer here: I am not saying that the Presbyterians, Assembly of God or Southern Baptist do not preach the Word of God. They do. It just did not reach me at that time in my life.

On this blog I will sharing a lot...my favorite blog sites, recipes (friends at work will be happy), gardening tips, household tips, being a helpmet, exercises, eating, farmers markets, etc.

I hope you enjoy my eclectic blog.

Renee