Small Town Life In Big L.A.

Pumpkin Fellowship! A Mini Retreat

Last night we enjoyed a Women's Pumpkin Fellowship at church. It was a night to take a break from our daily lives, enjoy the Fall season, share a candlelight dinner, and relive the fabulous women's retreat some of us attended in September.

It's nice to relax and converse while waiting for everyone to arrive.

We had a lovely spread of goodies. As for me, it was time to try a new recipe, Roasted Butternut Squash Salad. I think it was a hit. Roasted Butternut Squash, pecans, dried cherries, and feta on a bed of spinach with maple dressing. Check out this recipe. Perfect as a Thanksgiving side.

There were fruit platters, dips, pumpkin chips, and pumpkin salsa!

We weren't lacking in the dessert department! We all savored Sylvia's homemade apple tart as well as pumpkin cakes!

 

 

 

At the end of the meal we were treated to Crystal's Autumn Spiced Coffee. Yum! It was comforting to take back to the "living room" as we gathered round to share.

But first our Group Photo. WE had a blast doing several takes and came up with a winner!

What a great group of sisters in the Lord! Our sharing time was meaningful. Each of us spoke of a favorite memory of the retreat. There were so many good ones, the testimonies, quiet bible time, worship, food, shopping, weather, fellowship, and more! The retreat was called MISSION POSSIBLE. The main theme being that sometimes the Lord will lead us to step out in faith to minister in areas that we don't feel equipped for. That's OK because it's when you rely on HIM that you get to see Him work through you. What you feared can be the thing the Lord uses to be one of His greatest blessings. 

Rich Or Poor?

I keep coming back to this verse:

"One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;

another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth." Proverbs 13:7

The word that keeps  throwing me is "pretend". Why would you pretend to be rich? You either are or you are not. What does this mean? I have waited a week pondering, praying, looking up different versions and commentaries. And now today, even as I'm typing I get it. 

I was going to change the word pretend to "seems to be" but then why do all the translations use pretend? Hmmmm

Pretend means  "to speak and act so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not." This verse is showing the difference between worldly riches, aka lots of cash, stuff, and good deeds, and what God calls rich. 

One person pretends to be rich yet has nothing. Really? NOTHING??? God's riches only come one way, through His Son Jesus Christ. When you confess your sins and put your faith in Him you are immediately indwelled with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who gives you His fruit, the true riches, that are pleasing to God. They are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. 

The rich pretender to most looks like the real thing. They are the ones who think that by being good and doing good works they are justified before God. They do not have Jesus but in their own minds they think they are a "good" person because they do "good" things. The Bible says they have nothing. It says there is none good. NONE. Our righteousness comes only through Jesus. When you are covered by His blood in God's eyes you are good, rich, because of Him. 

Another pretends to be poor yet has great wealth. To come to the Lord you must become poor. Poor in spirit. To realize your sinful condition and need for your creator. You don't come to the Lord full of yourself. You must humble yourself and truly repent. When you do this you have great wealth! The confident assurance of salvation and eternity with the Lord. 

So which are you? Rich or poor? It is horrifying to think you can spend your whole life thinking you are rich only to find out you have nothing. Ask the Lord. Seek Him while He may be found. Don't wait. Your very life depends on it. 

Wisdom has set her table. You are invited to take a seat. 

"You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

Revelation 3:17-20

 

 

Are You A Plotter or Promoter?

A  common theme throughout the book of Proverbs is contrasting the difference between the wicked, those who do not honor God, and the wise, those who do. 

In studying chapter 12 a clear contrast is given:

 

THE WICKED 

These are described as continually plotting.  They spend their time thinking of ways to bring about their schemes. They  have lots to say and tend to blurt. They are always right in their own eyes and if you don't agree with them they are quick to show their annoyance. Their mind is warped and they are often despised by others. This is not God's way and He brings their plans to ruin.

 

THE  WISE

The wise one, who follows after the Lord, holds his tongue and thinks before he speaks.  He understands how the wicked operates and who he is influenced by, the evil one, and thus overlooks an insult. His plans are just and he keeps his knowledge to himself. He is prudent in his speech and listens to advice. He is full of joy because he promotes peace. This man obtains favor from the Lord. 

 

We find the plotters in our workplace, our neighborhood, and they even try to operate in the church. May we be those who are the promoters of God's ways. Spending time in His word and living it out. 

Chapter 12 ends with this. "In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality."

 

 

 

Who Is Right? How To Tell

"From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced." 

The lips of the righteous knows what finds favor,  but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse." Proverbs 10:31-32

Have you ever been in a situation where one person is saying one thing and another is saying something else? Where division is ensuing? How do you tell who is right?

The first thing is to  pray and ask the Lord for wisdom. His Word is wisdom and these verses give us decision making input. 

What is coming out of the persons mouth? What are their ways? God's ways are just, gracious, otherminded, thinking before we speak, gentle, humble of heart, just to name a few. Those that don't know the Lord are just the opposite. Their speech is anything but gracious. They are verbose (aka talk too much), have something to say about everything, insulting, can not be pleased no matter what you do, want it their way or else, threatening, intimidating, devisive, and just plain not nice. 

Examine what ways are the two people exhibiting? Who is acting in a godly fashion and who is not?

The bible tells us here that a perverse tongue will be silenced. A perverse tongue is one that seeks to divide people, to cause strife,  to hurt someone's reputation, to gossip. Sometimes we see the Lord's intervention in the here and now. He gives them a chance to repent and if they don't He moves them on. We are also told warn a devisive man once, warn him twice, and then have nothing to do with him. A devisive person  has an agenda. They seek out lots of different people and groups and use their perverse tongue to do harm. You can not change them. That is between them and God. But you can and should take measures to not allow a devisive person to operate in your midst. This is biblical. 

"The righteous will never be up rooted. But the wicked will not remain in the land." Prov 10:30

Look to the Lord, the One who moves mountains!

 

After The Storm

"When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever." Proverbs 10:26

Oh the gems that are found in Proverbs! God's wisdom and how things work. Those who follow the Lord will encounter storms in this life. They come about because we have an enemy, Satan, that hates us. One of his tactics is to stir up people against you, especially if you are making, or are about to make, impact for the kingdom of God. 

These are plotters and schemers and the same chapter tells us they find pleasure in their wicked schemes. Satan fills their thoughts with them. God calls them fools. 

As for our part when we find ourselves in one of these situations we are to realize that our battle is not against flesh and blood (the person/s) but against the the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms that are using them as their pawn. (Eph 6). We are to put on our full spiritual armor, also described in Eph 6 and stand, fully trusting in the Lord. We don't return evil for evil and we don't operate the way they do. 

Battle can be draining but your strength comes from the Lord and it is amazing to watch the way He works. Don't expect "In and Out Burger".  Sometimes spiritual battles can take years. But you stand firm overcoming evil with good and one day you see He has removed the gossips, plotters, accusers, intimidators from your midst. The storm has passed. They are gone and you are standing, rejoicing in the Lord, thanking Him for training you, and stronger for it. 

FIRMLY PLANTED

Is Your Wisdom Godly Or Worldly?

Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Nestled in the middle of the Old Testament it is full of godly wisdom, instruction, insight, and  how things really work.  There are two types of wisdom: worldly wisdom which God hates and is unprofitable now and in eternity, and godly wisdom which only comes one way: through having the fear of the Lord. 

Proverbs 1 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When you repent of your sins and come to the Lord  that is just the beginning. As you spend days, weeks, months, years dwelling in God's word and spending time alone with Him, you become full of His wisdom and His ways.

As we live our lives working  in the world we find ourselves surrounded by  people who do not follow the Lord and have no interest in doing so. In their eyes they think they know everything and are fine but Proverbs 1 calls them fools and says they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.  Nothing they do will prosper. On the other hand, those that listen to the Lord will dwell in safety and be at ease without fear of harm. Such encouraging words! 

 

It's All About The Money

Bible Study Acts 19-20

And this is how riots start:

* Somebody gets disgruntled. In this case it was a fellow named Demetrius who made silver shrines of false gods, namely Artemis. He was worried HIS INCOME WOULD BE HURT because Paul was leading so many people to the Lord. 

* The instigator is then used by the enemy to stir people up and fill their heads with lies and FALSE ACCUSATIONS. 

* The people, not knowing the Lord or having any discernment, believe the lies and become FURIOUS and begin SHOUTING. These two behaviors are always a sign that the enemy is at work. Quite the opposite of the fruit of the Sprit which is peace and gentleness. 

* The evil spreads. Soon the whole city was in an UPROAR. This is the supernatural work of Satan. The funny thing is most of the people participating didn't even know why they were there!!!

* Thank God for someone who comes along with some COMMON SENSE, in this case it was the City Clerk, to quiet things down and restore order. 

Books, BBQ, & The Titus 2 Woman

Through the winding Santa Susanna Pass...

headed for Simi Valley. See it between the mountains? I'm sure that lone bird does.

Tonight we are meeting up with our sisters in the Lord to enjoy a new foodie & shopping experience.

Welcome to Family Mongolian BBQ!

We had a peaceful table in the corner and would you believe they were piping instrumental hymns like "How Great Thou Art" through the sound system. 

Complimentary Egg Drop Soup and Wontons were brought to the table.

Then it was off to assemble our bowls. Crystal expertly instructed me in the process. You pick your meats first.

Then load up with your favorite veggies, herbs, and noodles.

Next comes the sauce. There are several great choices!

 

Now for the fun part! You get to watch as they cook your food!

Does that look healthy and delicious or what!!!

Here's my plate with turkey, veggies, peanuts, noodles, garlic sauce, sweet sauce, and sesame oil. It was FABULOUS!

Watching the show!

They also offer white or brown rice. And it's all you can eat! After dinner Crystal shared a meaningful and moving message about the Titus 2 Woman and who it is that exemplifies that in her life.(You'll find out at the end of this blog.)

As if that weren't enough fun we hopped over to a neighboring center to check out the $5 Or Less Bookstore.

We were on the hunt and found hidden treasures.

Here is my stash including a series of short stories published in 1942.

And now for Crystal's Ode To My Titus 2 Woman...

Ahhh so well written! And what is "Women's Ministry" but to encourage one another in the Word and all the more as we see the day approaching. Thank you sisters for a most encouraging and Spirit led night!

The Good News About Jesus

Bible Study Acts 17:16

Paul was in Athens and distressed that the city was FULL of idols. 

He began reasoning with people preaching the good news of Jesus and THE RESURRECTION. 

They wanted to hear more so he shared that God does not live in buildings and things made by human hands...He doesn't NEED us...He made the nations so that they would SEEK HIM...He commands us to REPENT...He has set a day to judge the world through Jesus...He raised Jesus from the dead. 

 

Praise Breaks Chains!

Bible Study Acts 16

A female slave with a demonic spirit which gave her fortune telling abilities began following Paul around. She kept shouting these are servants of the most high God. Paul found this very annoying so he spoke directly to the evil spirit and commanded it in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of the girl. The spirit left immediately. 

This shows that people with evil spirits can be loud, persistent, mocking, and annoying. The total opposite of the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, peace, kind, gentle. 

 

The girl's owners were furious because their income was affected and they had Paul & Silas beaten and thrown in prison. Around midnight they were singing praises to the Lord and there was a great earthquake that broke their chains!!! They could have escaped but didn't. As a result of their testimony the jailer and his entire family came to the Lord.