A Prayer In The Garden

Grace Gift
His Patience

 Matthew 26:36-45 -

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a

place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there

and pray.” 

 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he

began to be sorrowful and troubled. The

he said to them, “My soul is

overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of

death. Stay here

and keep watch with

me.” 

 Going a little father, he fell with his face

to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if

it is possible, may this cup be taken from

me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. 

 Then he returned to his disciples and

found them sleeping. “Could you men not

keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that

you will not fall into temptation. The spirit

it is willing, but the body is weak.” 

 He went away a second time and prayed, “My

Father, if it is not possible for this

cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 

 When he came back, he again found them

sleeping, because their eyes were

heavy. So he left them and went away

once more and prayed the third time,

saying the same thing. 

 Then he returned to the disciples and said

to them, “Are you still sleeping and

resting? Look, the hour is near, and the

Son of Man is betrayed into the hands

of sinners. Rise, let us go!

Here comes my betrayer.”

 

 

The First Lord's Supper

Grace Gift
A Savior

Matthew 26:26-30

The First Lord’s Supper 

²⁶ As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” ²⁷ Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father’s kingdom with you.” ³⁰ After singing psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

The night before Jesus died he had a final meal with His disciples. It was His final meal and yet a 'first' meal. He had never done anything like this before during the Passover meals; this was a first-last supper.
 As He broke some bread and passed it around, and then also some wine, He asked that everyone who follows Him should do the same - as a way of remembering Him. The broken bread is to represent His broken body on the cross. The red wine - as a reminder of His blood spilled our for us.

Our Lord, singing....that's a pretty awesome thought. I always see Him as a Teacher but somehow, forget He loved to sing the psalms- even on the eve of His betrayal.

 

 Oh, Lord, I love You!

And after singing psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Weeds, Weeds, Beautiful Weeds

~ Grace Gifts ~
Beautiful Weeds

Let the wheat and weeds both grow together....Mathew 13:30

Almost everyone I know complains about weeds; they pop up in in places you don't want them to, they hurt if you step on them barefoot and are a general nuisance to gardeners.
I beg to differ with weed haters. I love them. While mowing our yard, I see many pretty close-up views of weeds and wonder to myself, why do folks hate weeds so much? They are so pretty!

I remember picking handsful of these when I was a little girl; how I loved to gather a bunch of these pretty little 'flowers' and give them to my mom and grandma.

Speaking of Nana, my grandma, this funny little picture reminded me of her. Oh, she never wore a bikini whilst gardening but still......she was always battling weeds....and I could never understand why.

A garden of weeds... ah, no worries.

Blow-away dandelions ....why did Nana always tell me not to blow them? Such fun!

Thank You, Lord...even for the dreaded weeds; I think they're beautiful!

Yummy

Grace Gifts
Soup and Cake

1 Corinthians 10:31 

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God

It's just one of those kind of days when you want to turn on the oven and bake something. 
Happy Thursday, friends....♥

 

Ok, I love anything orange so this caught my eye right away.

 

Fresh Orange Cake

Vegetable oil spray
Flour for dusting pan
1 package yellow cake mix with pudding
1 cup fresh orange juice (about 5 oranges or from the carton)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla
4 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a Bundt pan with spray and dust it with flour. Shake out excess flour.Set aside.
Place the cake mix, orange juice,oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down sides, Increase motor speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down sides as you need to. The batter should be thick and well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and place in oven.

Bake the cake until its golden brown and just starts to pull away from pan. 45 to 47 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Run a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack to cool..let cool for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the glaze.
1 cup powdered sugar
3 T. fresh orange juice
1 t. freshly grated orange zest
Combine into a small bowl and stir with a spoon until well blended.

Place the cake on a platter and drizzle the glaze over the top and let it dribble down the sides and into the middle. Let it set for a while before slicing.

Store this with a cover or cover it with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to a week. Or it can be frozen.

Ok, I didn't make any yummy cakes or desserts but I did make a huge crockpot of hamburger soup.Yummy!

Thank You for the world so sweet

thank You for the food we eat

thank You for the birds that sing ♬ ♫

thank You, God for everything

In Jesus Name we pray

amen

Hope, Strength, Rest

~ Grace Gifts~
Hope, Strength, Rest

  The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer  and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 18:32-34

Have you found yourself to be in the dark about something? Wondering where God is taking you, or what He is up to.  Wondering how things will ever work out?    Have you remained  faithful in your respect for the LORD?  And you're still obeying His voice, as He speaks?  Yet ... there you are, still in the dark....having no light? 

 What are we to do? Where do we find our hope, our strength, our rest?
I found the answers right there in His Word.

Isaiah 41:10  fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Rest on Him.  Rely upon Him.  The Hebrew transliteration is "shaan" which means to Lean, to support oneself upon.  Lean Upon the strong arm of the LORD.  Rest upon Your God.  Did you realize that HE is YOUR God!?  How personal is this?  Isn't this wonderful?  Not only is HE the Creator of the universe,  but He is YOUR Very own, One and Only, Loving, Tender, Compassionate, Forgiving, Patient, Gentle, Sweet, Strong, Heavenly Father---He is Yours!  And you, my friend, and I, are HIS!

 

We praise You Father, for bringing hope and encouragement to us who are following You, yet still "in the dark" about things.  We know that You tell us if we walk with You we will walk in Light...and we fellowship with YOU, Who IS the LIGHT of the World. . .we thank You that You understand we have the desire to understand things . . .and yet we are unable to.  Thank You for encouraging us to keep on walking in the direction You are leading, as we know You have said You will lead "the blind in a way that they have not been before."  How very scary to be blind, and in unfamiliar territory!  Help us continue to obey You, and trust and fully rely upon YOU!  We thank You for when You WILL break forth the Son-shine, we shall see what this was all about!  And we pray it will be for Your glory!!  And for our good!
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

 

 

Wood Burning Stoves On A Blustery Spring Day

Grace Gift
~ Wood Burning Stoves
And Blustery Spring Days ~

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease . Genesis 8:22

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.  ~Henry Van Dyke
  

 It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
 

 I know... the calendar says it's springtime-outdoors says something entirely different.
So thankful today for wood burning stoves to keep stoked on a blustery 'spring' day.

 This stove is the closest that I found that looks most like the one in our home.

Just a sweet photo....cozy and warm by the stove.

ahhhhh.....keeping our tootsies warm whilst not paying the power company a single cent.

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet


Thank You, Lord.

Sun Kissed~ Something To Think About

~ Grace Gift ~
Sun-Kissed Yellow

 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart 
and with all your soul  and with all your mind  and with all your strength.  ~ Mark 12:30

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
~ Psalm 34:17

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." ~ II Cor. 9.1

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." ~ James 1.17

When it's cool and sunny and the birds are singing and the flowers - wild - are blooming and all is well with me and mine, it's easy to be agreeable and gratitude spilling.

The real test - the challenge for me - is this. When it's hot and humid, and the cat throws up on the carpet, and I drop the yogurt on the just-mopped kitchen floor and all is not well with me and mine. Does gratitude spill then?

Have I truly cultivated an eye for life's mercies? Will I still count my blessings - name them, list them, play them on the keyboards, speak about them, paint them - on difficult, less-than-stellar, horrible, no-good days?

 What about you? What are you savoring these days? And how are you counting His gifts?