Chippy's Pumpkin Dessert

I'm ready for us to have this at small group again. Thanks for sharing, Heather!

2 cans (15 ounces each) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces0 evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package yellow cakes mix
1 c. butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 c. chopped pecans
FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen cool whip, thawed (-I whipped whipping cream instead with a little sugar and vanilla)

Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with waxed paper and coat the paper with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, milk and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix and drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto a large serving platter; carefully remove waxed paper. IN a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Frost dessert. Store in refrigerator.

Casey's Sweet Potato Casserole

thanks for sharing this recipe, Casey!
4 cups sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 325. Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Cook until tender; drain and mash.

In a large bowl, mix sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Put in a greased casserole dish.

In another bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and butter. Then stir in pecans. Spread on top of potato mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy :)

resting in forgiveness

friends,
I felt very unworthy of love this weekend.

I harbored negative thoughts, bitterness and resentment in my heart. I spoke out in anger. I pouted. I burrowed my brow and squeezed my eyes shut, thinking proud thoughts about myself and untrue thoughts about my husband. (This was all over something incredibly ridiculous and of little importance, mind you.)

I was in the middle of complaining to God when the Holy Spirit slapped me upside the head and said LAURA, those thoughts are NOT of the Lord! I stopped, and considered the hurtful lies that I was allowing myself to believe. God was right. Satan was tempting me to think less of Andy, to disrespect him, to hold him in contempt. Satan saw an opportunity to tempt me, and I had given in.

I was so ashamed of myself. After all the progress I had made to be the kind of wife who sees the best in her husband, I fell back into my old ways. What did God think of me? What did Andy think of me? They must have been so disappointed, so frustrated. I let them down.

Thankfully, my husband is a loving man, and he accepted my apology with tender mercy. He rubbed my back as I clung to him, and we eventually fell asleep.

But before I made things right with Andy, I repented to my Father. Sometimes I imagine him shaking his head at me in a "I know you can do better, why must you fight it" type of way. I can't snuggle up to my Heavenly Father, but I can rest in his love, in his mercy, and in his forgiveness.

I can trust that God has loved me since the very beginning - since before I was even in my mother's womb. I can trust that He rejoices over me, even though I am a sinner.

The best part of being forgiven is that it's over. When God forgives us, He doesn't hold our sin against us. Hopefully our Christian family/friends will forgive us in the same way. When you're forgiven, you should be able to rest in the knowledge that you've righted yourself with God.

Is there anything going on in your life that you need to ask God's forgiveness for?

love you,
L

sample quiet time

friends,

Remember when Heather explained her method of studying the Bible? Here's what she studied today:

(thanks for sharing, girl!)

---------

Today I was reading this passage in 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:1-5 "[1] Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, [2] speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, [3] forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; [5] for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

There is so much in here, but there are a few things I was thinking hard about.  This passage is so relevant today, we are surrounded by teaching that is not based on truth, but on feelings or wisdom from the world.  We need to make sure that we know the truth that we stick to the doctrine of the Bible and know it so that we aren’t deceived (just like we were talking about in our Spiritual Growth study).

In verse 2 Paul talks about what the false teaching looks like, that it’s hypocritical and that the teachers have repressed their conscience so much that they can no longer feel right from wrong (a very dangerous place to be). 

Verse 3 Paul talks about some of the legalistic requirements that these false teachers will burden people with.  There are probably denominations that you can think of where people are required to eat according to Mosaic principles and are considered to be more holy if they are single.  The holy spirit condemns this.  We are allowed to eat all food as long as we are thankful and marriage is permissible. Here is a quote from the commentary I read on this passage:

“We often think that if we sacrifice something for God (such as the right to marry or to eat certain foods), then He owes us something. This is legalism at its worst; trying to manipulate God into giving us something. The idea is that we can make God indebted to us, make Him our servant and make ourselves His master. In this we fulfill the original doctrine of demons - that we should be gods.” -David Guzik

I think it is important to remember that Paul (and the Holy Spirit speaking through him) was not against marriage. He was shown by the Holy Spirit that marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. And he pointed out that marriage helps us control our passions so we do not fall into sexual immorality. He highlighted the blessings of singleness which would have been foreign as a positive concept in Jewish and Gentile cultures, but he never said that believers cannot marry.

This passage reminds me that I need to be aware of what the Bible teaches so that I am not deceived.

That if I ever think I can curry favor with God by living more strictly than the Bible tells me to, I have fallen into pride and have missed the mark.  That I need to listen to my conscience so that it remains sensitive to God, because I want it to help protect me from sin and the accompanying guilt.  It’s a scary thought, but if we repress our consciences enough this can happen.  When you feel your conscience prompt you listen to it!  God put it inside every human being for a reason.  This passage (especially verses 4-5) was also a good reminder that I need to be more thankful to the Lord for food and drink and not take it for granted.  I encourage you to make tomorrow a day where you not only give God thanks for food, but for everything He has blessed you with.  It is so easy to think that we have a right to certain things (food, drink, clothing, housing, money, etc.) but these are all gifts from God.  We only get to be a steward of these things for the time being so let’s have an attitude of gratitude and remember what Christ has done in our lives.

-Heather

change in quiet time

friends,
What do you do when you finish your current study?
At the beginning of this year I started at Genesis and worked my way into Nehemiah. Then I spent about a month reading a few specific Psalms over and over, trying to drill them into my brain. Then I decided to re-read Philippians through Jude. Last night I finished Jude, and when I shut my Bible I thought, "now what?"

I love Romans, but I'm also intimidated by it. It's so jam-packed with crucial information. I'm dedicating the rest of 2011 to Romans (let's be honest, I could spend a whole year learning Romans) and I'm so excited to see God teach me and stretch me during my quiet times.

I just ordered this study guide and I'm SO pumped to get started. Anyone want to go through the book with me, or borrow it when I'm done?

What are you studying right now? I'd love to know!
If you're nervous about keeping up w/ reading the Word over Thanksgiving break... girl, I feel ya. I *always* struggle with reading by Bible when I'm surrounded by the extra distractions that vacations bring.   At home, I read the Word in the evening. But I know my family will probably watch movies or play games at night, so I'll strive to do my quiet time in the morning while people are waking up and taking showers. So my advice to you is - anticipate distractions and plan ahead.

love,
Laura


p.s. remember our study on identity? this song is such a good reminder!

notes on nobility + Thanksgiving challenge

friends,

Our current study is on "becoming a woman of noble character."
If you weren't at Bible study a couple nights ago, we looked at Proverbs 31:10-31 and we studied eight characteristics that the "Proverbs 31 woman" has and discussed practical applications for each characteristic. On 11/28 we'll look at ten more characteristics.

Here's what we've covered so far: this woman was dependable, loving, hard-working, energetic, sacrificial, contemplative, resourceful  and charitable.


She wasn't flaky, hateful, lethargic, selfish, impulsive, lazy  or self-absorbed.


Starting tomorrow, I'm going to embrace one characteristic a day. I'm thinking about what's coming up in the next week and basing the characteristic I choose on the activities I'll be doing that day.

Thursday- energetic (lots of chores)
Friday- resourceful
Saturday- sacrificial
Sunday- dependable
Monday- loving
Tuesday- contemplative
Wednesday- charitable
Thursday- hard-working (I have to work on Thanksgiving! bummer)

Will you join in this challenge? You can start it any day of the week. Some of you students might choose to start on Saturday because you'll likely be around family around the holidays.

lots of love!
L

dear friends,

as Paul wrote to his brothers and sisters in Christ, I write to you to encourage you in your faith.
I desire for each one of you to grow closer to Christ and to become more like Him. I pray that you will find conviction and hope in His teachings.

"I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words."
Psalm 119:147

I will use this blog to write you letters - to share thoughts on our Bible studies, remind you of our memory verse, share what I'm learning in my quiet times and alert you to any events/opportunities that might be coming up.

This blog is meant to be interactive - please post comments and questions (feel free to do so anonymously), and contact me if you're interested in writing a guest post.

Let's continue to be in prayer for one another.

don't forget this week's memory verse - which is also an awesome close to this post!

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ."
Philippians 1:9-10

with love,
Laura