Music Monday and Service Project

Service Project ~

Please make sure to email me pictures of collecting food for the Food Bank.

imogenenoe@gmail.com

Food bank needs
http://www.centralchurchofgod.org/ministries/detail.cfm/min_id/20/min_cont_id/217

Food Bank Mobile - Click Here

Girl's Night Out: Recap

At the beginning of the summer, Musing Foodie, Carolina Clipper and I put our heads together and were mulling around having a blog GNO incorporating each of our individual blog's readers. We knew what we wanted to do and were excited about it BUT we were having a hard time getting the pricing and logistics juuuuust right. Just as we were getting ready to throw in the towel, I shared our vision with good ole Caroline Simas.

The Lord laid it on Caroline's heart to say, "Hannah! IIIIIIII will create a custom art piece incorporating scripture and IIIII will come share and teach your group how to create that piece." It was an amazing answer to prayer and above or beyond anything our minds could've conjured up!
So, I shared the idea with the women's ministry at our wonderful church and they not only were thrilled about the idea but wanted our Bible Study, mom's Heart to Heart to host it for alllllll the Women of Central.
Well, Thursday night was THE night and it was so fun to. There was something so refreshing about getting out of the "mom bubble" and being able to spend an evening with women of all ages and all walks of life. I was able to sit at a table with a beautiful, spunky lady in her 70s that reminded me sooooo much of my grandmother and I loved every minute. The only thing better would have been if my grandmother could have been there, too!

I was so busy that I didn't get many pictures but Musing Foodie catered a FABULOUS baked potato bar and smores bar and Caroline created a mixed media piece incorporating a choice of three scriptures.

• Women of Central theme verse: "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ."  2 Corinthians 2:15
• Roof with a View theme verse:  "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops." Matthew 10:27
• Mom's Heart to Heart Study of James theme verse: "Consider it all joy, brethren, when you encounter various trials" James 1:2

Here is my creation which I admit felt a little challenged and "special" when I compared it to the others. Once I got it away and on it's own, I was feeling just a tad more confident about it. :)

One girl who happens to be an art teacher got REAL fancy with it! Whoooo would've thought of a bird cage?!?!?

...and HOW about this BABY that could be our RWAV theme picture!?!!? I LOVE it!

Caroline took a TON of pictures and will be putting them on her blog soon so be sure to head over there to see them! Let's hear it for GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!!!!!

Any of you girls that were there and want to show and tell, send me your creations to roofwithaview (at) gmail (dot) com!

Tasty treat for the week: Apple Cake!

You know this cake must be good because I missed Bible Study due to sick kids and I got a phone call soon after Bible Study from a trusty friend that I would be getting the recipe via email and needed to make is PRONTO.

Low and behold, I made it today and she was right. I was not disappointed and you won't be either.

Thanks, Elizabeth S.!

Elizabeth says:

Apple Cake
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups peeled, chopped apples (I used Gala)

Sift together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs through vanilla with electric mixer for 2 minutes.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.  Fold in apples.  Pour mixture into a prepared bundt pan and bake at 350 for one hour.  The recipe says to just dust powdered sugar over it, but I am an icing girl so... combine 2 cups powdered sugar with enough milk just to get the right consistency and pour over cooled cake.  Enjoy!

Love ya'll!!
Elizabeth :)

Week 6: James 3:1-12

To open, we sang this worship chorus. I love these words.

I will bless you, Lord.

I will bless you, Lord. 

With all of my praise,

I'll worship you always.

I will bless you, Lord.

Let your life be seasoned with salt – a picture that people will thirst after. Let your SPEECH be like salt.

Don’t desire to be a teacher – James points out the strict judgment that follows those who teach. You have to SPEAK it and walk it. Concentrate on what you say.

No one is perfect – stick to the Word, it’s perfect.

Glenda read dictionary definition of the tongue: fleshly muscular organ…humans use for articulating speech.

-          Has power

-          Has the ability to bless and curse

-          Can’t be tamed

Things we say that bring a curse 

Here are some things the ladies shared: 

-gossip

-complaints

-lies

-comparisons

-criticisms

-blame

Things we say that bring a blessing

The ladies shared:

-praise

-encouragement

-apologies

-affirmation

-thanksgiving

-truth

-hope

An example for us is the horse's bit and bridle. A horse's bit and bridle can be changed depending on its attitude – one even with spikes if needed. God can use the same effect on us – He doesn’t want to, but will use it as necessary to guide/change etc. If you are interested in watching a POWERFUL, real life visual of ourselves via a green horse being broken, I invite you to check out these amazing videos by Riding High Ministries. It is a beautiful illustration and you will never look at yourself and what God does for us in the same way.

Unless you ask God to help you with your tongue, you’ll never be able to manage it.

Another example: One "beautiful" Saturday, our family was sailing on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. We were very new at this activity but ‘thought and acted’ like we knew what we were doing. All of a sudden, a storm came out of nowhere and our response clearly indicated we had nooooo clue what we were doing. The sail was not tied down and was flapping all over the place. We almost capsized. Our lives flashed before our eyes. We were a sight!

We need to operate in God’s wisdom, not our own. Saying the wrong thing can cause turmoil. Use God’s word as your base.

Psalm 5:9 – What you do not want your words to be

You want your words to be authentic, reliable, trustworthy and bring encouragement.

Proverbs 12:18 – We want to have/speak words of wisdom – it brings healing.

Pray for the Lord to show you how to say things in a loving way (example of difficult situation where a sharp answer will turn other person away).

Ecclesiastes 3:7 – There is a time to be silent.

Matthew 10:19 – The Spirit has the power to give you what to say in all situations.

Ephesians 5:19 – A heart that loves God and knows God made everyone. Take what He’s done in you to minister to others.



Here is your homework for Week 7 and it is a GREAT passage on wisdom. I'm looking forward to next week!

A special thanks to Catherine C. who took excellent notes in my (Hannah) absence so that you wouldn't miss a beat!

Music Monday and Food Bank Needs

Food bank Needs ~
CENTRAL’S FOOD PANTRY NEEDS STOCKING
CHURCH-WIDE FOOD DRIVE • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
During both morning services, items can be brought to the
following locations: the Narthex, Kids Central, the Student
Life Center, the Discipleship Center and Central at Lake Park.
Please check food expiration dates carefully. Current needs
for our Food Pantry include: black beans, black-eyed peas,
kidney beans, pinto beans, green peas, rice, macaroni and
cheese, pasta sauce, brownie mix, cake mix, cookie mix,
canned tuna, canned chicken, as well as paper towels.

Have fun with this! I found a book at the library to help with teaching my children to help others. "Uncle Willie and The Soup Kitchen". Please list any others that you may have found.

Meal Mammas~

After cooking a meal myself the chicken requirements on the dishes may be a bit high. I use one frozen bag and it only had 8 breasts and worked out fine. So just make judgement call per recipe. PLEASE PLEASE read the instruction on packaging and delivering which is located at the bottom of each recipe.

Music Monday ~ What a great sermon on Sunday! If you missed visit site and watch or listen. His message of "go and sin no more" reminded me of this song! One of my old favorites!

This week's tasty treat~Sour Cream Coffee Cake

You know a week of Bible Study has not passed unless someone brought something that teasingly goes great alongside your cup of coffee. Here is what we grazed on this week. :) Thanks, Christine!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
3 Tbls brown sugar


Cream butter, sugar and eggs, fold in sour cream and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients

Spoon 1/2 batter into greased and floured 10" bundt pan (I use the flour Pam spray)
Cover with topping
Add rest of batter

Bake 350 for 50 - 60 minutes
Cool in pan almost completely

Week 5: James 2:14-26~ Faith & Works

I wanted to open today with this quote I saw online that made me think of our study.

As seen on Pinterest

RECAP:
In review, James has been speaking and encouraging the believer rather than trying to proclaim the gospel message to nonbelievers. So, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's son this message is for you!

1st week- Statement to the believer that your life will be polka dotted with trials. You can count on it!
2nd week- We talked about the fact that those trials will be beneficial to our character and be used in the lives of those around us. Do not let testing be time to fall into sin.
3rd week- We saw how important Gods Word is for our daily life.

Last week- We were encouraged to not be arrogant in our faith and to love everyone, never showing personal favoritism.

This week our faith is to lead us to action!

The Bible does tell us that faith in Jesus Christ leads us to Heaven. As we grow in that faith, our life will be fuller if we know the dimension Jesus intends for us. James 2:14, tells us that, as Christians, we are not be people that have faith and just sit still.

Last week, we talked about the man that looks in the mirror, is disheveled and does nothing about it. This man does not have a heart for God. I shared with the group that sometimes there is a man that looks in the mirror, doesn't like what he sees but can't do anything about it. Example-ME today! I am a creme fanatic and and have cremes for the dark circles under my eyes, to lift my skin...you name it. I have a creme for it. Sometimes, I even make cremes. Unfortunately, today, I was out of my cremes and I was having one of those "disheveled" days and couldn't do anything about it. BUT, I DO have a heart for God. Just wanted to make sure we don't mistake the two. :)

Verse 22 has another formula for us: Faith + Works = Faith made perfect.

Several years ago, there was a lady in a church where I taught a Bible Study that always sat in a room and studied the Bible. She would write everything she learned on notecards and study, study, study. Because of her head knowledge, she was asked to lead quite a few things but always declined. Unfortunately, several years later, she drifted away. What she knew in her head did not change her heart. Faith is not about knowledge. It is a head, heart and feet matter!

Faith only=empty and stagnant. REMEMBER: Even the demons believe and tremble!
Works only=empty b/c it is not the whole picture of a faith perfected (James 2:22)

The passage we read this week mentions the word "dead" twice in reference to faith only and/or works only. Dead=Ineffective! This makes me think of the saying, "what you do speaks so loud I can not hear what you say. "

So, in other words faith works (and I'm not talking "busy" work). You must let what you know in your mind (that Jesus died for you and when you came to Him you became a new person), what you have experienced in your heart (the way you view life now versus how you used to look at it), and let it set your feet in motion (responding to the needs around you as God prompts you).

It is not enough to just go about works or good deeds, we need to pray that God take our every moment to lead us to the situations where He wants us placed and how He wants us to be obedient. That will be an effective life and work.

The person that James uses as an example of faith and obedience is Abraham. In your homework, you read Genesis 22 and listed the things this passage said made Abraham a friend of God.
Here are a few things that the ladies shouted out:

• He responded to what God told him.
• He didn't procrastinate
• He was available.
• He was willing.
• He didn't complain.
• He didn't go to someone else to ask for their interpretation (LOVE this one).
• He wasn't "above" the test or too good.
• He was at peace.
• He didn't show anger.

The things I noted were:

• He knew when God spoke because he had a personal relationship with Him.
• Did what God said.
• God saw His faithfulness.
• He recieved reward and blessing.
• He was a man of faith - acted in faith - God rewarded his faith.
• He made himself available.
• He was obedient.
• He could not possibly see what was going to save him or his son.

Genesis 12:7 tells us that Abraham built an altar because God appeared to him. Scripture tells us that Abraham built a lot of altars but he kept on moving. He didn't sit still. Faith does not sit idle. Please don't mistake this, however, for doing any and everything that seems "good." Man's definition of  "work" is to labor. God's idea of works is an obedient and faithful heart towards Him. Three examples are:

1. Works that stem from obedience-These works are a result of a mind obedient to God. An example would be when we do something that God specifically directed us to do.
2. Works of a godly life- This is the act of of getting rid of ungodliness and all filth in our lifes. It is to live a life of integrity and morality.
3. Works toward others.

Until next week, let your faith transform your heart and keep your feet moving! I am praying for you.
Here is your homework for week 6.

Love,
Glenda

Glenda

Worship Music this Week!

Tasty treat for the week

If you were at Bible Study this past week (and even if you weren't), you no doubt want this recipe for some of the best pumpkin chocolate chip muffins you've ever had. Our dear Caroline brought them and the ladies couldn't get enough! She posted them on her blog here.

Week 4: James 2:1-13~Humility & Partiality

RECAP:

• James is writing to people of faith and talking to them about their faith.
• Chapter one says that our faith is foundational for dealing with trials in our life and that our faith will indeed be strengthened as we endure and come through trials and difficulties. Our faith will be the glue that gives us focus and stability in the midst of the storms that life will bring to each one of us.
• Chapter two tells us that people of faith should have an attitude of humility toward everyone.

Week 4~James 2:1-13
The picture from this week's passage is of a teacher in a sanctuary sitting in a chair and a poor man walking in and the teacher full of knowledge just sits in the chair making the poor man sit on the floor. From this passage are three points about humility which we will get to in a minute. First, let's talk about the definition of humility and go over a few scriptures.

Humility is not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.

I mentioned to the class that I am old enough to recognize when there a certain "buzz words" that run trends in Christian circles. These words come and go like clothing styles and basically mean nothing. A word I've noticed lately is "servant leader."  It may sound humble but beware of false humility. Basically, what this means is that person wants to be the leader and you be the servant. Jesus was not a servant leader. He was a SERVANT (Philippians 2:5-11) and THE picture of humility.

Last week we talked about the man that looks at himself in the mirror. Humility looks into the mirror and sees who we are in face of Jesus Christ. THAT is what effects who we are and how we act. Being "knowledgeable" is not the prerequisite for us to praised or exalted NOR whom we choose to associate...quite the contrary (James 4:10). Also, while it isn't necessarily bad to "have" things, the Lord doesn't lift up those with the most money, the best clothes, the most disciplined kids, the coolest friends, etc. (James 1:9).

Personal Reflection: As I was studying to share with you all, I stopped to think about times when I have not been humble and have showed partiality. This is a really hard thing to do because you must admit you were arrogant and wrong. The Lord instantly convicted me of when I was a young mom. I was a Bible Study teacher. My "circle" of friends were all Christians. My kids associated with my Christian friends' kids. My life "looked like" I thought it should. While my intentions were good, I was in a bubble and I became to narrow in my view of others. I did not notice those outside of my circle, reach out to the person in the room that no one was talking to or seek helping those poor in Spirit. I was just fine right where I was. Guess what happened? My husband came home and said, "We're moving!" Talk about an eye opener. :)

In the past couple of weeks, I have repeatedly shared the verse from Hebrews 4:15, "We do not have a high priest that can't sympathize with our weakness." This has been huge encouragement to me through my suffering and trials over the last 5 1/2 years which have given me greater compassion for those that have lost a child, a loved one or something they can not replace and are grieving . Let me tell you! I thought I knew what it was like to suffer in these ways before the Lord chose it for me. In hindsight, I knew nothing until I walked it. This is a strength no class, book or man can cultivate. You must live it and walk through it.

Now, for our three main points about humility...
1. As Christians our attitudes are not to be of superiority but humility. We should never be so arrogant about what we know or have which in turn keeps us from loving someone that is not a believer or does not know or have all we have. Every person and people group need to know Him-- not just people in our circles.

2. Treat everyone with honor especially the poor. Love your neighbor as yourself. We have to remember that this is not just the financially poor person but the spiritually poor person. REMEMBER how poor of spirit you were before you asked Jesus Christ into your heart and life.
Read Matthew 5:3 and see that the very first beatitude is about the poor in spirit.
Read I Corinthians 1:27 and see God's systems and perspective are way different than ours. He considers poor rich. It is a matter of the heart and if the man with money places more loyalty to his money than Jesus, he is to be considered poor.

3. Let faith make your motives pure. Pray that God give you His mind about the people and world around you. Remember:

• You were poor in spirit before Christ. For a perfect picture of this look at Zach. 3 and the man in Joshua's vision. It is a perfect picture of who we were before Christ and who we are after asking Jesus into our lifes.
• Alot of these people were poor because of Christian persecution and no fault of their own yet the rich believers were taking them to court for unpaid debts. It is important that we not make assumption about someone's state and let our main priority be love and bringing people to Christ. If we willingly show partiality to the rich over the poor we have a false value system and are in sin. God honors the poor and weakness of man, in fact He uses it to glorify Himself. Read Luke 12:19-21 and Matthew 25:31-40.      

Time for us to break out and not be fearful! Faith prompts action so let's continue to pray that God shows each of us a person or circumstance where He wants us to extend kindness. It can be an encouraging word, a step to mend a relationship, a meal taken to a sick friend and the list goes on and on. Take action this week and share what happened! I am praying for you.
Here is your homework for next week.

Service Projects for Families

We are having a blast with these service projects in our home. At the last study we discussed collecting food items for the food bank and cooking for families in need. Here are some fun things to do to help with this project. I have a 2 and a 4 year old and I let the 2 year old color the box and sign. Then I let the 4 year old create this mobile.


Click Here for Mobile Instructions
http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/food-bank-mobile-lesson-plan/

Cooking Plan ~
Here is the site for the recipes if you are willing to cook a meal for a family in need.
http://www.mealmammas.blogspot.com/

We will have the pans each week at study for you to take.

PLEASE SEND ME PICTURES SO WE CAN MAKE A VIDEO OF THESE PROJECTS AND SEE YOUR CHILDREN!
imogenenoe@gmail.com

Couples Night Out

http://www.centralchurchofgod.org/events-seminars/details.cfm/event_id/775

Click Here to Register for this fun event for you and your husband!